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The Machine of Amsterdam

A few weeks ago The Kennedys went to meet Machine. Machine are probably the coolest people I’ve ever met. They discard what is ‘supposed to be’ in their work which keeps it constantly fresh and exciting. What’s the point in not being fresh and exciting?

What they made us realize was why do something boring when you can do something amazing, I think.  Why do a TV ad when you could make an experience that someone will actually be inspired by; like an event or a club night or a massive sculpture. 

They’re unafraid in their work to say what they actually feel which makes it so honest and ballsy that you can’t help but not be inspired by it, even if it is ‘just a flyer’. I’d never been into flyers until I went there. Now I’m all over that shit. 

Actually, that’s what they made us realise that there’s no such thing as ‘just a flyer’ or ‘just a poster’ or ‘just a plastic bag’. Everything is a canvas for you to put your mark on it the best way possible. 

I was so inspired after I met them that I genuinely toyed with the idea of making some decent, personal stuff, then I had to go to work, then I realised, wait, I should be doing this AT work, making everything I do a creative outlet for myself, not just for the companies I work for. Try my hardest to bend the rules.

Advertising should just be a place where someone else pays for you to make some cool shit, but it always has to be a little bit dented, which is a shame.  Machine aren’t like that though. They just do what they want and it works so well.

Check out some brilliance by Machine here:

ourmachine

Text by Ella

Realstagram by Ben

 

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Amsterdam Canal Opera

Last week, as I biked home from work, I was heading along the Brouwersgracht when a beautiful ethereal melody drifted towards me. I looked towards the canal and saw the Amsterdam Student Choir rehearsing for their next performance, on a boat! According to one of the singers, the canals have great acoustics and are the perfect place to rehearse. That is some full-on culture floating down the canals, very cool.

It also cheered me up to see this spontaneous demonstration of the rich cultural ecosystem of the city, especially in these days of massive art funding cuts.

 

Post by Charlotte Jongejan

 

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Mongolia - Land of Undiscovered Beauty

 

“Mongolia is an unspoiled wonder, a land where sand dunes sing, horses roam wild and nomadic herders greet strangers with open doors. Keep your itinerary loose and expect the unexpected.”

(Michael Kohn)

Although most people don’t list Mongolia as a top choice on their see-before-I-die list of destinations, they should. And if you knew more about the impressive history Mongolia has, the rich culture it embraces, and the incredibly kind people that live there... you would!

I recently visited Mongolia for my brother’s wedding and came back wanting to tell as many people as possible to go and see it for themselves. I was amazed at the size of the country but even more surprised to find out that it has only 3 million inhabitants, half of which live in the capital city Ulaanbaatar. Life in the countryside steps a few hundred years back in time, while the capital is home to Mongolians who have swapped their recent nomad existence for Wi-Fi and western fashion.

Genghis Khan, the founder and emperor of the Mongol Empire, is still in the hearts of all Mongolians. You can feel his presence in the names of countless hospitals, streets, pubs, shops and restaurants and his image in gigantic statues around the country.

There is a lot going on in Mongolia and changes are happening fast. I can promise you this: you will see things unlike anywhere else in the world. Want to know more about this amazing place? Watch this beautiful documentary about Mongolia by the Brit Redburt O’Hanlon:

http://player.omroep.nl/?wopid=VPWON_1156433&md5=cdd8bb66e9c3a40bb15075b4975e995b

 

Post by Anke Kuckartz

 

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A message from The Kennedys

*Hey SO we're the new Kennedys...sorry we've been a bit slow on the blog biz, the promise of caffeine, long nights and a little (???) bit of craziness has certainly been fulfilled.

We'd barely finished our welcome beer when we were thrown in at the deep end and asked to do a project for Nike. There was no time for tiptoeing around so we got to know each other and our dads, Judd and Alvaro, very well, very quickly. After only a matter of days knowing each other Alvaro said "Look around you, you could trust any of these people with your life." And he was right.

Sleepless nights + beer + a lot of hard work = Great work we're proud of + delirium + friends 4 LIFE + "sure i'll put my life in your hands" which came in handy as our next project involved us driving round the canals of Amsterdam on a boat filled with balloons, bad ass animations and once again...beer.

Beers, tears (of laughter OBVZ), gifs, spliffs, sleepovers, no sleep, HARD work HARD party, paintballs, bitterballs, tired sighs, high fives, slo-mo wrestling, stenciling, furious printing, post-pitch grinning, the term 'Weekend and Kennedy', team 'Bendy', rave in a medieval gate, best mates and of course a pig getting his head tattooed to fat man scoop. Promising month, after all.

On to the next five.

*This was written with the intention that you copy and paste it into TextEdit and listen to it being read out ;)*

 

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