From the monthly archives:

August 2008

Happy hookers – fiction or fact?

August 29, 2008

I’ve got the luxury of some downtime at the moment so I spent the better part of the morning just surfing t’Internet, you know, as you do. And I came across this totally compelling article about hipster prostitutes in New York City. I mean, I sat there in one sitting and read the whole damn [...]

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Booty

August 28, 2008

Next to our building there is a single detached house which has a lovely, lush garden. A couple in their 60s live there and until a couple of days ago I had never had a conversation with either of them – our interaction had been limited to a passing greeting. However, two days ago I [...]

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In which the little nationalistic heart CRINGES with embarrassment

August 27, 2008

I had a horrid dream last night. I was standing outside, here in Reykjavík, and looked up into the sky to see a huge jumbo jet taking off. It was flying at a remarkably low altitude, circled twice around, and then crashed to the ground. All I saw was the massive flames and smoke rising [...]

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So you won the silver … waddaya want, a medal?

August 25, 2008

Right. So now that the euphoria of Iceland’s near-Olympic gold win has worn off, I have to say I’m a tad put off by our president’s gleeful decision to award the Order of the Falcon to the entire handball team, plus the coach and the chairman of the handball association. [The last two get the [...]

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Merde!

August 24, 2008

France beat us 28-23. Shit. Iceland started off well, but the game bottomed out for us after about 15 minutes, as soon as France took a significant lead. Have to say, though, they deserved to win – they were a well-oiled machine and their goalkeeper was outstanding. Some Danish reporter said yesterday that he worried [...]

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Menningarnótt summary [such as it is]

August 24, 2008

Just got back from the Menningarnótt fireworks, which were spectacular as always. For those who don’t know, Menningarnótt [e. Culture Night] is the biggest party of the year in a country that doesn’t call everything its grandmother* when it comes to parties. Excepting New Year’s Eve, of course, next to which these fireworks PALE in [...]

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Into the finals!!!

August 22, 2008

We beat Spain, 36-30!!! We’ll compete for the gold in men’s handball – and will DEFINITELY take the silver. wOOOOOOOOtt!!!! [as soon as the game finished you could hear screaming from just about every building .... it was GREAT!! RÚV had an interview with our Minister of Culture - who is also Minister of Sport [...]

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Olympic insanity

August 22, 2008

So the Icelandic men’s handball team has now made it to the semi-finals at the Olympics and the first game in the round is today. We’re playing against Spain and the entire nation is set to grind to a halt – events have been postponed, businesses and organizations have planned special viewings for all the [...]

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MY ICELAND: Drangey

August 21, 2008

Few places I have been to in Iceland have impressed me as much as the island of Drangey, which we visited this past summer. Drangey is the manifestation of several things quintessentially Icelandic: awe-inspiring nature, mysticism and a multitude of stories. Earlier this summer I blogged about the outlaw Grettir Ásmundarson who is said to [...]

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The dark side of the Olympics

August 17, 2008

I don’t think I’ve ever felt as disinterested in the Olympic games as this year. I’ve awarded them no more than a passing glance ever since they’ve been on, probably only amounting to 15 minutes or so in total. However, it wasn’t until today that it struck me that much of my apathy has to [...]

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