Amsterdam

Sandy and Keith Kelley recently visited their daughter, Jennifer, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Jennifer, who has lived in Amsterdam for three years, performed in the Netherlands' Dutch National Ballet Company's production of "Sleeping Beauty" during their visit.Jennifer began her ballet training at age 5 with the Columbia Conservatory's Carlee Geranis.After studying with Mary Day at the Washington School of the Ballet, she received a scholarship to the School of American Ballet (City Ballet)

Just one year in age separated 17-year-old Travis Wood from the oldest of the Kenyan boys he was standing before, but at 6 feet 2, 190 pounds, he appeared like a giant to them. So too did 5-10, 175-pound 16-year-old Keifer Rawlings. The two linebackers from the St. Paul's football team were in Kenya in early January as part of a Fellowship of Christian Athletes mission trip. Sharing their faith and the sport of football, Wood and Rawlings coached the Kenyan boys for five days, helping them progress from knowing hardly anything about the sport - many of them play soccer - to participating in a scrimmage wearing helmets and shoulder pads.

Dr. Judith Amsterdam, an Essex dentist who fought breast cancer for five years, died of the disease Tuesday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She was 49 and lived in Owings Mills. A general dentist, she treated patients at public health clinics in Baltimore before joining a practice in eastern Baltimore County nearly 15 years ago. "She had a passion for living. She taught me how to make every minute count," said Marsha Gamerman, a friend who lives in Mount Washington. "There was no task she couldn't do. She was an honest person of basic values -- family, friends, work, her home.

'Party Earth — Europe 4th Edition' Party Earth LLC, $19.95 This book offers travelers a unique way to search for entertainment in popular European cities: by personality. Instead of randomly searching through a guide book for activities that pique readers' interests, Party Earth begins with introductions to four reviewers: Lucas, Adriana, Jonah and Emma. Each reviewer comes with a snippet of information that describes his or her interests and personality. "We have these reviewers, and it helps people personalize and customize the content," said Danny Milner, vice president of Party Earth LLC and a graduate of Pikesville High School.

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS // When considering Amsterdam, its famous red-light district and the coffee shops where cannabis is smoked, you may assume it's less than an ideal city to visit with young children. But you would be wrong. On a visit here last summer with Danny, 8, and Fiona, 6, we had a few, um, educational moments. Fiona wanted to know why all the women in the windows looked "like they were getting ready for a party." (I guess because they were wearing lipstick and underwear and that's all.)

While many of the Ravens players were enjoying their offseason, Drew Olson had to endure language barriers, strange food and indifferent attitudes as he played football for the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europa. And Olson wouldn't have had it any other way. "It was a good experience," he recalled. "It was good to kind of bring the game to Europe and show the people what one of the biggest games over here is like. It was definitely different playing in a setting where, to the people, it was just foreign to them.

AMSTERDAM, Judith, DR. On Tuesday, October 29, DR. JUDITH AMSTERDAM (nee Shenker), beloved wife of Dr. Lawrence Amsterdam, devoted mother of Alisa Amsterdam and Rachel Amsterdam, devoted sister of Adrian Steinwedel, loving daughter of Gloria (nee Armuth)and the late Lawrence Shenker, loving daughter-in-law of Norbert and Ela Amsterdam. Also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends, Services at SOL LEVINSON &BROS. , INC. , 8900 Reisterstown Rd. at Mt. Wilson Ln. , on Wednesday October 30, 2002, at 12 Noon.

Dr. Stuart Mc Caughey & Tracey Duble were married on February 6, 2006 at the courthouse in Towson, MD. In attendance were Nina Mc Caughey, John Mc Caughey and Hon. Grace Connolly. A honeymoon to Prague, Berlin & Amsterdam is scheduled for March.

SUN SCORE **1/2 When a director as gifted as Martin Scorsese works with talented craftsmen on an enormous scale, the size of his ambition alone can catalyze a hypnotic effect. This aesthetic X-factor - the X stands for artful extravagance - keeps you watching Gangs of New York even if you don't buy a minute of it. Based on Herbert Asbury's 1928 historical catalog of the toughs and tarts who reigned in pre-World War I New York, Scorsese's picture is a fantastic urban spectacle that wants to be an operatic epic.

'Party Earth — Europe 4th Edition' Party Earth LLC, $19.95 This book offers travelers a unique way to search for entertainment in popular European cities: by personality. Instead of randomly searching through a guide book for activities that pique readers' interests, Party Earth begins with introductions to four reviewers: Lucas, Adriana, Jonah and Emma. Each reviewer comes with a snippet of information that describes his or her interests and personality. "We have these reviewers, and it helps people personalize and customize the content," said Danny Milner, vice president of Party Earth LLC and a graduate of Pikesville High School.

While many of the Ravens players were enjoying their offseason, Drew Olson had to endure language barriers, strange food and indifferent attitudes as he played football for the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europa. And Olson wouldn't have had it any other way. "It was a good experience," he recalled. "It was good to kind of bring the game to Europe and show the people what one of the biggest games over here is like. It was definitely different playing in a setting where, to the people, it was just foreign to them.

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS // When considering Amsterdam, its famous red-light district and the coffee shops where cannabis is smoked, you may assume it's less than an ideal city to visit with young children. But you would be wrong. On a visit here last summer with Danny, 8, and Fiona, 6, we had a few, um, educational moments. Fiona wanted to know why all the women in the windows looked "like they were getting ready for a party." (I guess because they were wearing lipstick and underwear and that's all.)

OK, so it isn't Paris. This city -- one of two European Cultural Capitals for 2007 and capital of the richest per-capita-income country on the planet -- is pretty nice. Like all worthwhile European cities, this is a center of commerce -- but also a city of beautiful fruit stands and pastry shops, of historic churches and requisite statues and back streets worth poking around in, and of outdoor places to sip a cup of coffee or a glass of wine or a local brew while furtively enjoying the passing scenery.

Another glass ceiling can be heard breaking today as Marin Alsop becomes the first woman to conduct an entire program with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, one of Europe's greatest ensembles. That sound will be carried live over the Internet, thanks to a Webcast. Audio of the program - Piano Concerto No. 1, Suite from The Bolt, and Jazz Suite No. 2 by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich - will be available for download later. Online A live Webcast of Marin Alsop's all-Shostakovich program with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam will be available online at 2:30 p.m. via rcolive.

Dr. Stuart Mc Caughey & Tracey Duble were married on February 6, 2006 at the courthouse in Towson, MD. In attendance were Nina Mc Caughey, John Mc Caughey and Hon. Grace Connolly. A honeymoon to Prague, Berlin & Amsterdam is scheduled for March.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - The man selling key rings and disposable cameras and novelty T-shirts ran his fingers through his full gray hair when he considered recent events in his country, and then he looked up from the counter in front of him. His eyes were moistening, and he spoke quickly to avoid, it seemed, full-on tears. "Look around and you think you see Dutch tolerance," he said from his small shop near Amsterdam's central train station, where he shares a street with blaring bars, sex boutiques and "coffee shops" filled with smoke from marijuana and hashish.

HERE, AS PROMISED last week, is the second and final part of my report on the fact-finding mission I took to the Netherlands this summer to increase international understanding, a cause that -- as the great humanitarian Florence Nightingale so often pointed out as she toiled among the sick and wounded -- is tax-deductible if you write about it.My topic today is Amsterdam, which is the largest city in the Netherlands, unless it is not (somebody should look...

A Memorable Place Amsterdam soothes frustrated traveler By Jeff Kendrick SPECIAL TO THE SUN The trip to Tanzania to meet a friend and start a safari was supposed to be easy -- long, but easy. I would fly out of Washington around dinnertime for Amsterdam, Netherlands. Then, after a short layover, continue on to Dar es Salaam. But a dense fog rolled in, shrouding Amsterdam and preventing landings there. My flight was diverted to Brussels, Belgium, along with other planes bound for Amsterdam.

A Memorable Place Amsterdam soothes frustrated traveler By Jeff Kendrick SPECIAL TO THE SUN The trip to Tanzania to meet a friend and start a safari was supposed to be easy -- long, but easy. I would fly out of Washington around dinnertime for Amsterdam, Netherlands. Then, after a short layover, continue on to Dar es Salaam. But a dense fog rolled in, shrouding Amsterdam and preventing landings there. My flight was diverted to Brussels, Belgium, along with other planes bound for Amsterdam.

OAKLAND, Calif. - Like customers faced with a choice of French roast or Sumatra, venti or grande, those at the 420 Cafe have multiple options: Pure Skunk or Red Dragon, at $16 a gram or $350 an ounce. Only in "Oaksterdam." Here, cafes sell marijuana for medicinal use with the studied casualness of a Starbucks offering double-shot, soy milk, no-foam lattes. The model, as the nickname indicates, is free-wheeling Amsterdam, where cafe patrons openly enjoy joints with their espressos or beers.