From the monthly archives:

April 2006

Sleepy gypsies

April 30, 2006

It’s become a trend: every time there’s a long weekend here in Iceland, somebody organizes a music festival. This weekend was no exception and we saw the first-ever world music festival, entitled Rites of Spring, featuring excellent world music both domestic and imported. To that end, EPI and I headed down to NASA last night [...]

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Power to the wallet

April 28, 2006

So, remember that DV debacle a few months back? This one? Seems that was the beginning of the end for the hapless tabloid, because today it was announced that it’s gone belly-up and will cease publication in its current format, effective immediately. [They will continue to put out some sort of ‘weekend paper’ though.] Apparently [...]

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Stunned and amazed…

April 26, 2006

Since publishing the last post, I’ve learned that the man I wrote about – the one EPI and I kept running into, who I became quite fond of, and whose last words to me so preoccupied my thoughts yesterday – was actually my third cousin. About an hour after I had posted, I received an [...]

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Sometimes conversations become significant a long time after you’ve had them

April 25, 2006

A few years ago, EPI and I were on holiday in Portugal. We were on the beach in the late afternoon, hanging out on sun loungers, talking away in Icelandic in the frequently mistaken belief that no one could understand us. Just then, two men approached us. They were an odd pair – one was [...]

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And today… bad news

April 24, 2006

Icelandic society is going to pot… and I’m not talking merely rising inflation and escalating gas prices. Sadly I’m talking random acts of violence and destruction. Not so long ago, Reykjavík was safe and benign. Granted, things could get a little out of hand in the city centre on a weekend night, but only in [...]

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Moby and me

April 21, 2006

See that dark dot out there in the water? That’s a whale. See that dark dot out there? That’s a whale, too. See that thing in the water there? [not the boat] … I don’t know what that is. Here’s one thing I had never thought about: it is extremely hard to get a proper [...]

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Here comes the hangover

April 19, 2006

The Icelandic economy has taken a serious nosedive over the past few weeks. After riding high on the crest of a wave for several years, apparently it’s payback time. Seems that overheating in the economy is to blame. Foreign reports started appearing about six weeks ago warning that the situation was not stable and criticizing [...]

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Today we have a guest blogger…

April 18, 2006

Dear friend, I have to thank God this moment for his direction as regards this mission. God wants me to complete this mission hence, I got your contact, but I know you may be wondering how I got your contact email. Actually you were introduced to me by a trusted contact in U.K. I was [...]

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Happy Easter!

April 16, 2006

See this jolly bunch? They graced the tops of our chocolate Easter eggs this morning. As per every Easter Sunday chez YT, the day began with the annual Easter egg hunt. Traditionally EPI’s youngest has always stayed overnight and taken part in the hunt with us; however as she has now reached the ripe old [...]

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No-fun Friday

April 14, 2006

AAH got up this morning, took one look out of the window and asked, “Who died?” YT: Jesus Christ.AAH: Oh. [Heathen child.] Icelanders fly flags at half-mast on Good Friday. They also believe that you shouldn’t have any fun. As a rule, everything is closed – although in the last couple of years that law [...]

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