From the monthly archives:

June 2009

A small glimmer of sunshine amongst the Icesave gloom and doom

June 30, 2009

Amidst the general furor over Icesave in the last few weeks and months, there is a related matter that has gone almost unnoticed: that of Kaupthing Edge. Buoyed by the runaway success of Landsbanki’s Icesave accounts, which collected a whopping 4.4 billion pounds in its first 12 months of operations in the UK [and a [...]

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More on the delicate subject of Iceslave

June 28, 2009

This week, Iceland’s parliament will vote on whether or not to accept the Icesave agreement with British and Dutch authorities, negotiated several days ago. Some are calling this the most important casting of ballots the Icelandic parliament has ever had to undertake. If the agreement is rejected, it could well mean the kiss of death [...]

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A foray into earthquake country

June 27, 2009

Today EPI and I decided to live dangerously and head out for a hike on Reykjanes peninsula, right smack in the middle of earthquake country. Most of the quakes of the last few weeks have had their epicentre just a few kilometres from where we were today and, yes, I would by lying if I [...]

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And now Michael Jackson …

June 25, 2009

Such a tragic life he had. Never given the skills to become a whole and healthy human being. A continuous downward spiral. I suspect he just couldn’t take any more. May he rest in peace.

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JAYSUS!!! Earthquake!

June 25, 2009

Just had a major quake! I’d put it at over 5 on Richter. Still shaking [YT, that is.] Shouting from nearby apartment. More anon. UPDATE: mbl.is reporting two quakes, 2.6 and 3.9 on Richter, unconfirmed. Has to be more. Epicenter near Kleifarvatn lake, on Reykjanes peninsula. UPDATE 8.30 pm – well, it turned out to [...]

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Because honesty is its own reward

June 24, 2009

Today AAH, who got her drivers’ licence last September [holy cow it's been almost a year!] bumped into a car in the Kringlan mall parking lot and left a scratch on the bumper of a Citroen Picasso. She came home looking decidedly deflated and admitted the mishap to her mama. I went out and checked [...]

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Snap!

June 23, 2009

Last week, on June 17 [Iceland's National Day] a man here in Reykjavík [well, nearby municipality of Álftanes to be precise] took an excavator to his house and demolished it. He also dug a hole in his yard into which he dumped his car and shoveled some earth on top. He’d lost the house in [...]

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On becoming an Iceslave

June 21, 2009

We’re flying out of Berlin in a couple of hours after a fabulous week-long break from everthing back home. It’s been fantastic. Seriously. Icelandic current affairs, which I’ve loosely kept up with via mbl.is and Facebook, have seemed a whole lot more dreary from over here than back home. It’s like the old adage about [...]

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One Friday night in Berlin

June 19, 2009

Just had an incident. Noticed a neon green bug with long feelers sitting on a tube of cream next to my bed. Picked up tube and rushed to window with the aim of shaking off bug. [Was pretty grossed out.] Shook tube out window, pulled it back and noticed to my dismay that neon green [...]

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Searching the heart of Berlin

June 18, 2009

As cities go, Berlin is a hard nut to crack. It lacks the immediate charm of, say, Paris, or the infectious buzz of New York, or the homey feel of London. This is my third trip here, and until now, Berlin has been a bit of an enigma. Now, however, on my fourth day of [...]

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