Amsterdam: A Change in The City That Never Slept


Photography and Text by Bartje Parade, Copyright 2022

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Amsterdam: A Change in The City That Never Slept

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Almost two years ago on March 15, 2020 the world changed.  Not only in Amsterdam, The Netherlands but all over the world. Life changed completely for everyone. Schools closed, traffic jams erased like there have never been cars.  Zoom conferences became a new standard, working from home was the new norm.  Clubs, bars and non essential shops closed . Planes didn’t fly anymore. Runways became parking lots. People stayed home.

I’m a natural born Amsterdam guy. I used to work as a music promoter, DJ, film director and tour director. One day I woke up and there was no work. I became unemployed and was scared for the unknown. I isolated myself from almost everybody I knew. Something I thought could only exist in a nightmare and it was sometimes.

After a couple of days I decided to walk into town doing day trips from home to different neighborhoods and tried to visualize my hometown in this surreal situation.  The results you can see in this series of pictures. I hope as tourists you like this photo story about “Amsterdam instead of Covid: and would love to see you back in real life as soon as it is possible!

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Portrait of dutch citizen Bartje Parade in his hometown of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Bartje Parade: Amsterdam, February 2022

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About The Author: Bartje Parade is a lifelong resident of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  He is currently working for an American tourist company and also available for private tours by contacting him here: bartjeparade@gmail.com

This is Bartje Parade’s first contribution to Tony Ward Studio.

Bob Shell: Fixing Forensics

Forensics lab technician working on a case
Lab Technician. Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2022

Text by Bob Shell, Copyright 2022

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Fixing Forensics

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I urge anyone who believes that our American justice system works to get a copy of the November/December DISCOVER magazine. On page 40 you will find an article with the same title as this post. Basically, the article says that real scientists have found that ‘forensic science’ is largely hogwash – to put it politely.
The article talks about Keith Harward, who spent 33 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, convicted with junk science. In his case an ‘expert’ testified that Harward’s bite marks matched those on a rape and murder victim. After 33 years, the Innocence Project had DNA testing done that showed Harward was innocent and pointed the finger at another man. But it should never have taken 33 years. Is that justice? Bite mark comparison has now been completely discredited as evidence.
If you watch CSI and NCIS on TV, you get the impression that their techniques are infallible. But that simply is not true. The Innocence Project documented 25 false convictions based on bite mark comparison. There are probably many more.
What about fingerprints? Aren’t they conclusive? In one case, examiners matched the fingerprints of an unidentified corpse with those of a woman whose prints were on file, and notified her mother of her death. The mother grieved and prepared for a funeral. Luckily, the woman turned up in California before her funeral. The fingerprint match was just wrong!
The FBI arrested Brandon Mayfield for involvement in the 2004 Madrid train bombing that killed 191 people. The arrest was based on fingerprints found on an explosive-filled bag at the scene of the explosion.
Fortunately for him, Mayfield had not been out of the country in ten years and could prove it. But the FBI had said the fingerprint match was “100 percent” and “verified,” before having to eat their words and release Mayfield.
Scientists showed fingerprint analysts pairs of prints they’d testified were 100 percent matches without telling them they’d seen the prints before. Most of the examiners said the prints didn’t match or were inconclusive! That was 15 years ago, and every study done since has produced similar results.
There’s much more, and I urge everyone concerned with justice to read the article.
Hundreds of people are in American prisons based on false forensic testimony, and I am one of them. It is long past time that something is done about this travesty.

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About The Author: Bob Shell is a professional photographer, author, former editor in chief of Shutterbug Magazine and veteran contributor to this blog. He is currently serving a 35 year sentence for involuntary manslaughter for the death of Marion Franklin, one of his former models.  He is serving the 13th year of his sentence at Pocahontas State Correctional Facility, Virginia. To read additional articles by Bob Shell, click here:https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/bob-shell-hes-different-lock-him-up/

Editor’s Note: If you like Bob Shell’s blog posts, you’re sure to like his new book, COSMIC DANCE by Bob Shell (ISBN: 9781799224747, $ 12.95 book, $ 5.99 eBook) available now on Amazon.com . The book, his 26th, is a collection of essays written over the last twelve years in prison, none published anywhere before. It is subtitled, “A biologist’s reflections on space, time, reality, evolution, and the nature of consciousness,” which describes it pretty well. You can read a sample section and reviews on Amazon.com. Here’s the link: 

Kathryn Brooks: February

black and white photo of barren landscape
February by Kathryn Brooks, Copyright 2022

Text and Lyrics by Kathryn Brooks, Copyright 2022

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February

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It’s a good cold morning here in Louisville, Kentucky and I am excited to announce the release of my song “February” officially out on all the classic platforms we know, love and put up with.
You can find it by just searching February Kathryn Brooks wherever you listen. And if you don’t see it there, let me know and I’ll sort that out!
 
I wish this song all the prosperity a simple folk tune recorded over the past month in the beginnings of my home studio can have.
 
I’ve been carrying ‘February’ around for many a February. Thank you to everyone who stuck around for this moment. Thank you to @natebrookstunes for essentially coproducing by helping with recording, for mixing and for moral support. Thanks to Max Erskine for mastering this as well as some other tunes I’ve been grateful to be featured on this past year.
 
There is more to come in the next few months! I’ll give a fairer warning for all that! But the uncertainty of timing led to this happy coincidence of the song releasing on the first snowy Friday of February, like it was planned all along. Thank you to all who give it a listen! Please enjoy ‘February’! Cheers!
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Lyrics:
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Cold cold is February

Short and never sweet

It holds a multitude of days I can’t think about 

While snow piles up in the street

Last summer I loved you but it’s been awhile

Now my heart’s beginning to roam

I knew when you left the country

You wouldn’t be coming home

Wrote you a letter 

Last february

Telling you how I’ve been

You wrote back a short note 

Saying you loved me

And promised to see me again

Cold cold is February

Short and never sweet

It holds a multitude of days I can’t think about 

While snow piles up in the street

When I’m sleeping 

I hear you breathing 

But all I feel are the sheets

I turn to hold you and feel nothing but open air

All the bad feelings repeat

If you knew 

If you knew 

How much I loved you

Would you cross 

Cross back over the sea

I’d like to believe 

I’m worth the journey

But it seems you’ve built a home out there without me

Cold cold is February

Short and never sweet

It holds a multitude of days I can’t think about 

While snow piles up in the street

When it all comes to an end

The hardest part feels over

The winter days are passing away

Springs around the corner

But until that first warm ray of sun

I’ll think about you lover

The warmth you bring with your memory 

My dreams of us back together

Portrait of singer songwriter Kathryn Brooks in her Louisville home 2022
Kathryn Brooks, Louisville, Ky 2022

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About The Author: Kathryn Brooks is a singer and songwriter based in Louisville, Kentucky. To access an earlier article about Kathryn Brooks, click here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/kathryn-brooks-songstress-rises/