The m...mouse*

I´m alive...

2007-07-13T01:40:00.000Z

...and thinking about starting to blog here again...I might!....;)

Hubby is always right!

2006-07-12T12:48:00.000Z

Did you hear about the One Red Paperclip Guy?
His story reminded me, in reverse, of Hans Christian Andersen´s fairytale "What the Old Man Does Is Always Right". It´s about a farmer who went to market with his only horse and returned with a bag full of rotten apples and was rewarded for his "lucky" buisness with a big hug and kiss from his wife.
This paperclip-guy started out at the other end, with one red paperclip and ended up with a house. He surely knows how to play his tune. Let´s hope that his woman was at least equally as happy with his buisnessdeals as the Danish farmer´s wife with her hubby´s in Andersen´s tale!

At last...

2006-07-05T11:50:00.000Z

...I have a scanner/printer! It´s a Canon Pixma MP500, a very nice piece of equipment and I´m very happy with it. These days I´m scanning in a lot of old papercuttings that I´ve got and it feels good to get rid of all that old paper. Here is a sample, dating as far back as to the time when I lived in Scotland!:

I´ve also scanned in lots of my old photos which I´m happy to be able to show on the web. Here is a very nice one of my yonger son Úlfur, from the time when we lived in Tabora in Tanzania, in East-Africa.

The wonderful worlds of MYST

2006-06-30T11:49:00.000Z

Here the millenium mouse is seen playing her favourite computer game, Myst. This time she is playing Myst IV, Revelation, nearing the end of an exciting and mysterious journey...

Just playing around a bit on my computer...

2006-06-26T06:32:00.000Z

2006-06-25T22:13:00.000Z

A hard day´s night...?

Some drawings...

2006-06-25T11:39:00.000Z

(The two at the bottom were made after photographs).

Some more...

2006-06-25T11:02:00.000Z

A picture by MOI

2006-06-25T00:36:00.000Z

... hmm, what was I thinking, putting this picture of mine here right after Vincent himself; next to him it looks...not so good...ouch...flat...

The End...or maybe just A Pause...

2006-03-20T01:13:00.000Z

Dear readers,

As you can see I have not written in this blog for a while. I´m healthy and well, but I don´t seem to be able to find an inspiration for anything to write here and I don´t want to post here just out of a feeling of duty. I have been posting on my Icelandic blog, which I find easier in some ways.
So I have decided to stop posting here, at least for a while.

God bless and may all your days be happy days!

Greetings from
the m...mouse.

So now we know...

2006-02-26T14:29:00.000Z

Beautiful...

2006-02-24T13:24:00.000Z

...I could gaze at this picture forever...

2006-02-23T01:57:00.000Z

Folks...
My case is not severe...
I blame the flu and the dark
but amazingly mild
Icelandic winter for my lousy blogging these past weeks... ;o)
(Winters becoming milder every year in this country...
maybe a reason to worry...? :/)

[Thanks to The Nonist]

2006-02-22T01:01:00.000Z

Dear friends!

I promise
to become
a good blogger
again when
I have beaten this

2006-02-15T17:12:00.000Z

You Are Sheryl Crow!

Down to earth with tons of creative energy
When you talk, everyone can relate to you
"Life springs eternal
On a gaudy neon street
Not that I care at all"

Who's Your Inner Rock Chick?

...And today then I´m a Cheryl Crow with a cold and a sore throat and a nasty cough...arrg...

2006-02-14T16:39:00.000Z

Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.

~ Adolf Hitler

2006-02-14T11:32:00.000Z

Are you Addicted to the Internet?

50%

Average@Internet-User.com (41% - 60%)
You seem to have a healthy balance in your life when it comes to the internet and life away from the computer. You know enough to do what you want online without looking like an idiot (most of the time). But you enjoy seeing your friends and going out to enjoy life away from your computer.

The Are you Addicted to the Internet? Quiz at Quiz Me!

2006-02-02T22:18:00.000Z

Here is a very interesting and informative post by Einar Örn in Luxemburg on stuttering.

Oscar 2006...

2006-02-02T02:45:00.000Z

An Icelandic film, "The Last Farm", by Rúnar Rúnarsson and Thor S. Sigurjónsson is on the list of nominees for an Oscar for short films 2006. The musical score of the film was made by Kjartan (Kjarri), one of the members of the Icelandic band Sigur Rós.
This is the second time an Icelandic film has been nominated for an Oscar. The other was "Children of Nature" by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson (1991), nominated in 1992 for the Oscar for "best foreign language film".

I´m pretty sure that most people (300.000+) on our little island will be exited to hear the results on March 5th !

Joke?

2006-02-01T09:42:00.000Z

If you click on the image on the right, the sign for Islam, you will be able to view one of the cartoons published by the Danish newspaper
"Jyllands-Posten" that have caused such a lot of unrest and controversy in muslim societies all over the world. In my opinion this picture was never just an innocent joke. I fact I think it describes very well the fears and worries (and predjudices ?) that we in the west have about the Islamic faith and the way life seems to us to be lived in the Middle-Eastern countries. It´s highly provocative, both politically and with regard to religion and therefore highly explosive. I only publish it here to make that point.

I would not have published it if I was the editor of "Jyllands-Posten", I think it was a bad failure of judgement, a blunder, to do so in the first place. Very well, we Scandinavians pride ourselves that we cherish the human right of free speech, but it has to go along with limits of consideration for other peoples´s feelings and religion. Like the head of the small Islamic sect in Iceland pointed out on television last night, the comics always used to depict Jews like handwringing Scrooges in the last century, now it seems to be the turn of people of the Islamic faith to have themselves stereotyped and ridiculed as bombthrowing devils.

I think the Danes have handled this matter badly. We have a saying in Icelandic "Sá vægir sem vitið hefur meira", which means that the most clever person let´s go in a dispute. I think it should be put to use in this context. The right thing to do for the editor of Jyllands-Posten was to apologize to the Islamic world for having published these pictures, without fully realising how very provocative and mean at least some of them are. He has in fact at long last done so, more than four months after he allowed these cartoons to be published, in a letter of apology that looked rather lame to me, and the harm is certainly done.

Let´s not kindle the fires of hatred.
Let´s not light matches in a room full of explosives.
Let´s try not to throw bombs like this one at the frail peace there exists in this world.

Links:
Letter from Carsten Juste, Editor-in chief of Jyllands-Posten,
to fellow muslim citizens in Denmark.
Google Search - (denmark muslims)
Religinscope
The Star
Jyllands-Posten
Wikipedia about the Jyllands-Posten cartoons

If you are in London...

2006-01-29T19:26:00.000Z

...you have a chance to see an exhibition about my country:

Pure Iceland

Even Einstein knew it...*

2006-01-29T16:24:00.000Z

*I found out how to make this picture from Sadiq´s blog.

HOOKED ON BLOGGING

2006-01-29T15:22:00.000Z

I used to be a reader A compulsive over-eater, A meeter. A greeter. A dedicated jogger. Then I became a blogger. Now that's all I do, it's true. I've got plenty competition as I pursue my mission. Instead of going fishin' or selling on commission, since I started blogging I've given up TV and the Fox network can't deceive me. My love-life's out of fashion. Blogging is my passion.

Rhyme by Wegads

Perhaps you can figure out the dilemmas of my life :o)

2006-01-29T12:51:00.000Z

You Should Get a MFA (Masters of Fine Arts)

You're a blooming artistic talent, even if you aren't quite convinced.
You'd make an incredible artist, photographer, or film maker.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Your Scholastic Strength Is Evaluating

You are great at looking at many details and putting them all together.

You are talented at detecting subtle trends, accuracy, and managing change.

You should major in:
Statistics
Speech
Conflict studies
Communication
Finance
Medicine

What Should You Major In?

Cute...

2006-01-24T17:57:00.000Z

I found this when Googling on the net today:

Thaw...

2006-01-23T18:56:00.000Z

The temperature has gone up again, it´s windy and raining and all the snow is melting...let´s hope it´s all melted away before it starts to get frosty again...or else the emergency room is going to be busy casting broken bones :o(
That´s the wintertime weather in Reykjavík in a nutshell for you!

The Rainbow Children

2006-01-23T17:33:00.000Z

Stefán Karl Stefánsson, the actor who plays Robbie Rotten in LazyTown is the founder of the Rainbow Children organization in Iceland, with the goal of helping children who are the victims of bullying. As a child Stefan Karl was himself a bullying victim.

Now he is starting a campaign for a similar organization in the USA, touring to give
talks in schools and planning to have other celebrities join him in this work.

Ha, ha, I had a laugh when I saw what it says on the "white"board in the photo in the link above: Rass í bala = butt in a bucket!
The letters "Þ" and "Ð" are special Icelandic letters.

"How healthy is your world?"
Read Magnús Scheving´s (and other peoples) answer to the question on the homepage of WHO.

Debut

2006-01-23T16:55:00.000Z

On RÚV last night was a new Icelandic mini criminal series, in three episodes, called
"Every colour of the sea is cold", a debut in this field in this country. A promising debut, I must say, even though obviously the youngster still has some growing up to do before being able to be called excellent.

What Historical Figure are you?

2006-01-20T08:13:00.000Z

You are Amelia Earhart

Adventurous and boundary breaking. You believe that you can do anything, and do not hesitate to take risks to achieve a big goal.
You like to problem solve, when a problem comes up.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

2006-01-17T19:52:00.000Z

I´ve been tagged by aklanta kalita.
Here are the rules of the game, I´ll have to consider this carefully, hmm...:

1. The tagged victim has to come up with 8 different points of their perfect lover.
2. Need to mention the sex of the target.
3. Tag 8 victims to join this game & leave a comment on their comments saying they’ve been tagged.
4. If tagged the 2nd time, there’s no need to post again.

My perfect lover is a male who...

- is considerate, tender and affectionate

- has lots of humour (and makes fun of me all the time, out of necessity, I guess...!)

- does not try to change me (see above)

- is reliable; does not tell me one thing and then goes and does somthing completely different

- likes to go to the movies, also likes equally to travel and have a nice time at home

- has a mind of his own

- seeks ways to become a better person (even though he is very good as he is)

- loves me and loves to show it, like by bringing me flowers by surprise!

I could only come up with half the number of "victims" asked for, that´s to say four. Some of the ones I wanted to tag have been tagged already, and Móa is going to hospital for a big operation. I wish her well and send her kind thoughts, I would love it if you could do so too.
I´m going to tag Risa in Oslo, Einar in Luxemburg, the Irish child Beth and
the argumentative duck.

I´ll also try tagging my good friend Bellir the naughty aristocat, but I must admit that I have some serious doubts about if he can do this, as he is cruising the world at the moment on a luxxxury liner and also his English is not all that good, he is best at miauwing quite loudly, especially at the sight of lovely pussycats.

The treasured Iceland-India connection

2006-01-16T15:00:00.000Z

A poem made by Dr. Abdul Kalam, president of India during his official vistit to Iceland in May 2005.
(I found this on a blog by a woman who met the president when he visited her workplace during his visit and thought my Indian readers might be interested to read it):

Iceland

Nature, man and their clasped hands
And magnificent thoughts converging here
Sun, in the summers, keeps an eye on this island
Shines through the day and most of the night

Raining clouds and rainbows feature
Just like a song heard at a distance
Telling the humans to harness the nature
In a sustaining way, for beautiful rhythm

Continents met to make this beautiful landscape
Mountainous track and Vikings of yore
Showed us a system of deliberation and decision
Democracy in action lives to up to this day

As it eschews violence and naturally humane
Buoyancy in thoughts and peace in the soul
Shall take you to heights, with nature in tact
God bless you friends and may you all live well

Dr. Abdul Kalam, May 31 2005.
(Dr. Kalman got the inspiration for this poem when he visited the ancient Parliament of Iceland at Thingvellir Valley at Iceland.)

Dr. Kalam with Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, president of Iceland and his wife Dorrit Moussaieff.
(Two men with clasped hands! :o) )

Iceland is opening an embassy in New Dehli.

A Musical Treat:

2006-01-14T20:50:00.000Z

A very special all women´s group from Iceland:

Interview: Amína on Amína

Snow...

2006-01-14T16:09:00.000Z

At last the Christmas snow has come to Reykjavík, lots of it!
I think this time it´s going to stay put for a while...

More photos...

...and the skiers will be out and happy!

2006-01-13T23:34:00.000Z

Here is why...

A coincidence...?

2006-01-13T13:03:00.000Z

Googling along (for "fúll á móti", which is a term used in Icelandic, literally for a grumpy and envious neighbour, but in general for sombody of that disposition all round) I found these two gentlemen:

A strange likeness...can this really be a coincidence?
- Even though I think the guy on the right in fact
rather looks mischievous than grumpy!

The Dormitory Boys

2006-01-13T12:28:00.000Z

They are so funny!

Icelander number 300.000 was born on January 9th

2006-01-10T19:04:00.000Z

This is a photo taken today of Icelander number 300.000, a beautiful boy born yesterday, in the arms of his mother in bed at the maternity ward of the Landspítali (Iceland National Hospital), with his father sitting by the bedside and prime minister Halldór Ásgrímsson visiting this brand new citizen of Iceland.
News from Morgunblaðið

2006-01-08T23:55:00.000Z

Tonight I got an
After-Christmas
gift from Óskar:
A ticket to
a concert with
The Tallis Scholars

It was a wonderful concert!
I bought 3 CD´s with their music in the interval and put one on straight away when I came home. I´m listening to it now as I´m typing this.
Very relaxing music.

Gimell Records and The Tallis Scholars
A record company set up in 1981 by the group´s founder and director Peter Phillips and producer Steve C. Smith, solely to record The Tallis Scholars. It has released over 40 recordings.

About Thomas Tallis

Some more...

2006-01-03T23:19:00.000Z

Ib Spang Olsen
from Denmark

2006-01-02T17:34:00.000Z

A countdown-clock from Hagstofa Íslands (Statistic bureau of Iceland) on us Icelanders becoming 300.000, which will happen in near future:

It´s ticking!

01/09 - We are almost there ...!

I am Gandalf!

2006-01-02T16:34:00.000Z

2006-01-02T13:01:00.000Z

Carl Larsson
from Sweden

I just wanted to put something beautiful here for my readers!

New Year´s Resolutions!

2006-01-01T02:18:00.000Z

Usually I do´nt make New Year´s resolutions,
but this year I have made some. To live more healthily:

1. Read more books.
2. Exercize, preferably walks.
3. Draw and paint with the oils that Óskar gave me for Christmas.
4. Drink the herb-teas my son Úlfur gave me, brewed in the clay-teapot from my mom.
5. Less coffee, less sugar, less computer.
6. Meditate more, laugh more, worry less, be happy!
7. Become less a worrying workmouse, more a happy artmouse :o)

Happy New Year 2006!

2005-12-30T12:52:00.000Z

New Year´s Eve in Reykjavík - The photo is borrowed from the site of Stelpa
but this is in fact almost exactly the view from mys sisters apartment,
where we are going to spend the evening.

Many thanks for stopping by and reading my blog in 2005.

Scenes from last years New Year´s Eve celebrations in Reykjavík.
Photo on the left by Torfi Frans Ólafsson

Gerður Helgadóttir 1928-1975

2005-12-26T18:03:00.000Z

Gerður Helgadóttir (1928-1975)

A television documenty film about one of our best artists:
Líf fyrir listina eina

Silent Night ! Holy Night !

2005-12-25T12:06:00.000Z

The Holy Night - Painting by Carl Bloch

Silent Night - Wikipedia
Silent Night
Silent Night Web
Silent Night - English Variations
Silent Night and Oberndorf
Silent Night Audio
Silent Night, Holy Night - Notes

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2005-12-21T21:38:00.000Z

* Christmas Carol *

for everyone that views this,
from Millan.net and me.
...and I´ve decided that you simply
MUST see this fabulous Santa Dance too!
Christmas Is LOVE!

Nisse

2005-12-20T09:39:00.000Z

As I have already given links to blogs with stuff about the Icelandic yulelads, I now want to give a link to the Danish Christmas NISSE, from Denmark, the country of my grandmother on my father´s side. And here is some information about Danish yuletide traditions, some of whom have been adopted by the Icelanders, with Iceland being a former Danish colony, or until 1918, and a part of the Danish Kingdom, having selfrule in certain matters but with a shared monarch, until 1944.

Almost too good to be true...

2005-12-20T00:05:00.000Z

...have a look at this site:
Millan.net

Just for fun.....

2005-12-19T13:40:00.000Z

This is the girl the Icelandic Bachelor chose, with her daughter.
She is a single mom from a previous relationship. Even though always seeming a little withdrawn and shy, she very obivously had a big crush on the bachelor from very early on in the series. After the series she told that she had not expected to fall in love participating, but she also told that she held herself back on purpose in the girls competition over the bachelor, because she had sensed very early that it was her he was really interested in. Even so, she was not very good at hiding her jealousy! But, as the bachelor himself admitted: "I could not very well go ahead and choose one girl right from the early start, because then there would obviously have been no series... :) (Yeah, Monika, I think too he also had a lot of fun fingering all those other girls!)
A lovely girl and I hope they will be happy and manage to build a good relationship in peace, even though they have the eyes of our whole little nation on them !

*Íslenski bachelorinn - Skjáreinn

2005-12-17T00:40:00.000Z

Monika also blogs about
the Icelandic "jólasveinar"
like Móa of "Leikur og list".

<- This is Pottaskefill aka Pottasleikir/ Pot-scraper

2005-12-15T07:33:00.000Z

John Winston Ono Lennon
October 9. 1940 – December 8. 1980

John Lennon Official Website
Instant Karma
John Lennon Dreamsite
John Lennon Museum

2005-12-14T18:41:00.000Z

I saw this guy today

in Laugarásbíó in Reykjavík.

The yulelads

2005-12-12T22:28:00.000Z

If you want to learn more about the Icelandic yulelads or "jólasveinar" you will be able to read about them in Móa´s blog, "Leikur og list". She is a USA citizen of Icelandic origin and writes in English. She is an artist and has made the most cute figurines of the lads and is showing them on her blog day by day until Christmas, telling about them and their habits along the way. I have taken the liberty of posting her picture of the first one, "Stiff-legs" here on my blog.

2005-12-11T11:11:00.000Z

I must say I was a bit surprised by this result! : )

You are a Dragon!

Dragons are fabulous monsters, represented usually
as a gigantic reptile breathing fire and having
a lion's claws, the tail of a serpent, wings
and scaly skin. There are many different types
of dragons, some good and some evil. Dragons
are aggressive and determined, going after what
they want.

Which Fantasy Creature Are You? + Pics
brought to you by Quizilla

Guess what...

2005-12-10T18:05:00.000Z

Just crowned in China: Miss Iceland - Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir
- Miss World 2005 -
Congratulations, Unnur Birna !

Miss World 2005: the official website - 2005 contestants

Wikipedia has an article on Unnur Birna.

Delegates from Iceland have twice before won the Miss World title:

1985 Hólmfríður Karlsdóttir
Hófí was, and still is, a kindergarten teacher when she received her title. She has been working in the same place as she was when she became Miss World for the past 20 years, a happily married mother.

1988 Linda Pétursdóttir
Linda led a turmoilous life after being Miss World. She had problems with addiction, which she has now overcome. With other members of her family she owns and runs a ladies only health spa, the Baðhúsið. She very recently became a single mom, of her own choice, and lives life today very happily with her baby.

Baðhúsið
Baðhúsið is a unique health spa. It was founded by former Miss World, Linda Pétursdóttur, and is strictly for women. It is a place where women can relax and just enjoy themselves, far from any testosterone. Emphasis is placed on treatments, fitness, and relaxation. There are also various special services, for example beauty treatments. Baðhúsið is popular among Icelandic women, and an ideal opportunity for women visiting Iceland to talk with the women of Reykjavík.
www.badhusid.is

In 1963 Guðrún Bjarnadóttir (second from the left in photo) was chosen Miss Universe International on Long Beach, USA. After winning her title she had a successful career working internatianally as a much sought after model and has lived in France for many years.

And in 1970 Henný Hermannsdóttir, a young dance teacher from Iceland, won the title Miss Young International in Japan. She taught at her father´s dance school for many years.

Not bad for a nation with a population of a little less than 300.000, n´est-ce pas?

New Life Magazine´s Woman of the Year 2005

2005-12-09T12:24:00.000Z

Rembember Thelma Ásdísardóttir, the woman I told you about previously on my blog?

Now she has been honored with the title "Woman of the Year" by "Nýtt líf" (New Life), an Icelandic monthly magazine, for her courage to come out in the open with her story of how she and her sisters were abused by their father their entire childhood. In this photo she is seen with former president of Iceland, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir and Gulllveig Sæmundsdóttir, editor of Nýtt líf, after receiving her prize on 11/30/2005

Thelma has also been chosen "Ljósberi" (Light Bearer) of the year 2005, here is the newsarticle (in Icelandic, sorry) in one of Icelands two largest newspapers, the "Morgunblaðið" (The Morning Paper).

Thelma´s life is really busy these days, she is giving talks in various societies all over the country, including at a meeting arranged by the towncouncil of Hafnarfjörður, her hometown, where she grew up and which was the scene of her misery. She says in a short interview with "Séð og heyrt" (Seen and Heard), Icelands main tabloidmagazine, that her life has taken an U-turn, but that the most inportant thing that has come from the publishing of her book is the positive reception that it has met, going beoynd her wildest dreams, and the great effect it is having in opening up a debate about childabuse and encouraging other victims to come forward.

And Thelma is a great humourist: Talking about her feelings at the presentation of her prize as Woman of the Year, she told the journalist that she had been quite overwhelmed with feelings, but that she managed to maintain her calm and hold back her tears, in order to be able to make her speech of thanks, by thinking about her forthcoming VISA-bill!

Congratulations, Thelma, you are a real hero!

2005-12-07T12:22:00.000Z

I just found this list of sites about the way we celebrate Christmas in Iceland:

Many thanks to Carolyn of blog "December in Akureyri"! :-)

Dog Humour

2005-12-07T10:40:00.000Z

If you have a very clever dog, better keep a close watch on it, now that Christmas is coming!

2005-12-07T03:03:00.000Z

We went to see Lord of War tonight.
Man, was it good! It´s called an international thriller on the moviesite, but in fact I rather think it should be called a Real Life Horror film. Nicolas Cage, one of my favourite actors, at his very best and that means very, very good acting! Ethan Hawk and Jared Leto are also very good.

2005-11-23T02:19:00.000Z

Guilt admitted...I´m a lazy blogger these days (and nights)!!!

2005-11-19T13:03:00.000Z

Jaramusic

TV Person of The Year in Iceland :

2005-11-15T17:16:00.000Z

S i l v í a N i g h t Silvia Nótt - The TV Show
Silvía Nótt Tv star - the blog Silvía Nótt - fan site1 fan site2
Silvía Nótt - Star sign: Lion
Silvía Nótt - TV news interview: RÚV Kastljós 10/20/2005

Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, aka Silvía Nótt, received The Edda Award last
Sunday night for her part in creating the super star!

Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir is a "real" actress. Here she can be seen (on the right) in a scene from "A Midsommer Night´s Dream", in an open-air performance in Elliðaárdalur, Reykjavík, in the summer of 2003. She participated in a popular remake of the musical "Hair" last year. And she is also a "real" singer (TV Contest 04/28/05 tune 13; winner was nr. 12 with two ex-Eurovision contestants, oops, 3 counting back vocal, performing).
A talented young woman (unlike Silvía Night!).

Iceland´s answer to Sarah Silverman?

2005-11-14T19:41:00.000Z

The Romantic Princess
You are absolutely in love with love! Charming,romantic, and feminine are all words that describe you. You are a huge flirt and know how to use your feminine wiles to get your way. You are always on the lookout for the guy who will sweep you off your feet. Role Models: Isolde, Juliet You are most likely to: Free a cursed prince from a terrible spell with a single kiss.

What Kind of Princess are You? - Beautiful Artwork (Original Music is BACK!!!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Shorter Days

2005-11-14T17:34:00.000Z

Everything is now moving more and more slowly in this part of the world, at least where I´m concerned.
I cuddle up indoors and z-z-z a lot!
Then again sometimes I stay up a bit during the small hours of the night (as I´m not working these days), because honestly, what´s the difference? ;)

Photo nr.1:
More photos
Photo nr. 2: ?

On RÚV television tonight

2005-11-14T00:41:00.000Z

Himalaya - L´enfance d´un chef
Himalaya - A Chief´s Childhood,
a very special French-Nepalese film.
A monk´s milieu
The Film
Review

The wedding dress that suits me:

2005-11-13T14:45:00.000Z

Out of the Ordinary. The dress which
describes you, describes your inner self as
well. White simply bores you, so you tend to go
with more out-of-the-ordinary colours. The
styles you find comfort in may turn others
away, however, it bothers you not. You know
what you love, and this is it.

Which Wedding Dress Suits Your Personality? {Pictures!}
brought to you by Quizilla

I think this dress is beautiful, especially the colour,
yeah, I think I would wear it!

Just saw this film on RÚV television tonight...

2005-11-11T23:00:00.000Z

The Ernest Green Story
...good...!!!
[...] As one of the “Little Rock Nine,” Green and his eight classmates risked their lives to become the first black students to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Brown vs. the Board of Education, declaring segregation illegal. The integration of Central High School became one of the crowning victories of the Civil Rights Movement and a triumph over legal segregation. The first African-American to graduate from Central High, Green was the subject of a movie, “The Ernie Green Story,” produced and distributed by the Walt Disney Corporation...[Inside ASU ]
Ernest Green - Biography
Interview: Mr. Green looks back on 1957
1997 President Clinton honours The Little Rock Nine
More about Little Rock September 1957
...and more!

Winter in Reykjavík

2005-11-11T14:48:00.000Z

I will try to write a little about the wintertime here in Iceland (with a little bit of geography included!):

With the island of Iceland being situated in the midst of the Atlantic ocean, half way between North-America and Europe, winter here is not as harsh as people might expect from how far north on the globe we are. We have the benefit of The Gulf Stream bringing warm sea from the Gulf of Mexico up to our shores, bringing the warmth with it that makes life bearable here. If it was to change or stop flowing, this island would become inhabitable. So thats one more reason we have to be worried about global warming along with spillage being dropped into the oceans, changing the way things are supposed to be.

Right now the temperature here in the south of Iceland swings around the 0°C degrees, just mild weather, sun sometimes shining but for ever shorter periods every day, the way that our globe, the Earth, changes the position of it´s axis in relation to it´s revolving round the sun, until 21st December, when that relation starts changing back again. Sometimes it rains heavily, sometimes it´s has snowed a bit during the night, but that snow will soon melt during the day. You have to be careful driving to work as the roads might be slippery in the early morning, later in the day that is a problem no more. The north is getting a bit more snow, as it stayes colder there, even so the weather is relatively mild.

It´s the increasing darkness that mostly gets people down. And without much snow it´s even darker, that´s why some people will welcome a snowy spell, not to mention the skiers! We try to find ways not to be too much affected and find little things to cheer us up. We light candles, watch television and read lots and lots of books at this time of year. And we start looking forward and preparing for Christmas, the celebration of the light of Christ coming into the world, which for nations living this far north, having to endure darkness during these weeks and months, gives an added meaning to this event.

It´s not until January that we will be getting real snow, and then very often here in the south it will not stay very long, but melt into a dirty wet heaps, only to be frosen again during the next spell of frost, making the roads very slippery and pavements hard to walk on, with frosty ridges of frozen dirty snow to climb for those who venture to go for a walk on them. Which of course is everybody that doesn´t own a car. That´s maybe why Icelanders rank so high on the lists of carowners per capita in the world.

This kind of weather will continue until April, - ach, I´m being overly optimistic here, like always in spring, thinking it´s here a month too early. To tell the truth, it will not really be here until May. That´s when this woman will be very happy to see all the leaves budding on trees and bushes once again and the first flowers sticking their heads out of the soil!

I have not felt like posting -

2005-11-10T04:37:00.000Z

I´ve been a bit depressed about blogging lately. The reason is that I got a rather harsh e-mail from sombody Icelandic, living abroad, that I know a little bit, whose blog I had come across on the net. I quite enjoyed reading it, so I had made a link on it and made comments a few times. I want to stress that I had nothing but positive feelings about this person and all my comments were on a happy note. Then I got this e-mail from that person, telling me that the person in question did not want to be linked on my blog, or me making comments, that it was out of line and that the blog was written for a close(d) circle of friends and I must understand that. That I of course could not be forbidden to read but should refrain from commenting and linking. When I had a look at the blog I discovered that all my comments had been deleted. I was very sad about all this matter and wrote and apologized for intruding my person on that other person, telling that I would take out the link immediately and stop reading that blog. I guess this is something that can always happen to you in this jungle of the blogosphere. But all this matter is the cause that I don´t feel very much like blogging these days, along with the fact that Iceland is becoming a dark and cold place these days and will become so more and more until January, when days start getting longer again. Just fortunate that we have the festivities of Christmas to look forward to during this darkest time of the year.

Just to remind you...

2005-11-09T12:49:00.000Z

...for a laugh...
Have fun! :
The "I´m Icelandic!" song

Good news for "us knitters"...

2005-11-02T19:03:00.000Z

Top Fashion from Iceland:
The good old "LOPAPEYSA"
made from lopi, the unique Icelandic wool.
More information in these links:
The Lopi Sweater
Ístex

The word "peysa" for jumper or sweater actually has a funny story behind it:
When French-speaking sailors/fishermen came to Icelandic shores centuries ago they used to do some merchandising with the inhabitants. As they were often freezing in the cold climate, they liked to buy some warm garments from the farmers, made from the warm wool from sturdy Icelandic sheep. From there derived a misunderstanding on the part of the farmers; when the foreigners pointed at them saying the word "paysan", which means farmer in French, the Icelanders thought they meant the thick woollen jumpers they were wearing, wanting to buy them. Gradually they started calling the garment by the French word, and today it´s not a slangword from French, but a proper Icelandic word!
This is a good example of how language developes.
(Hmm, actually the same was the case with "mademoiselle", the word the sailors used for the pretty Icelandic girls, "young ladies" they met here. The jealous Icelandic males were quick to twist and abbreviate that to "mella" , which has quite another and negative meaning, that´s to say "whore". What a typical negative male reaction!)

Soumyadip...

2005-11-01T15:58:00.000Z

...had me wondering, so I Googled and found this:

Diwali, Lighting The Lamps
Wikipedia Diwali

Happy Diwali!

Maybe I should have remembered something about these festivities from my time in Tanzania, where there exists quite a large Indian community, but obviously I didn´t; certainly that was just 20 years ago!

*Bréf frá Tanzaníu/Letters from Tanzania-Icelandic

Passing the baton...

2005-10-27T11:32:00.000Z

O M G !
Soumyadip has passed the baton to me and I'm doing my bit in this 7 X 5 X n race.
Except in my case it will be 7 x 4, because I don´t want to tag anyone!

Seven things that I plan to do
(Except for number 7, I've no idea regarding the how and when):

Stay in France for at least 3 months and learn more French
Move to the Canary Islands for the winters
I want to buy a new car, as my old Ollie is getting so tired.
Go on a worldcruise
Jump in a parachute
Grow old gracefully and funny (it´s compatible in my opinion)
Go to the theatre and see a play coming November

Seven things that I can do:

Drive a car
Swim
Say a firm no
Type with "correct" finger positioning
Knit
Make verses with rhyme ("höfuðstafir" too!)
Draw

Seven things I can’t:

Type without occasionally looking at the keyboard
Play any musical instrument
Make a speech without getting a crazy heartbeat
Ski
Understand my country´s economy (heh, who can?)
Tell a lie (I feel too bad when people actually believe it)
Watch those television soaps and comics with canned laughter

Seven things I say most often:

Hæ (hello)
Já (yes)
Sjáumst (see you)
Hvernig hefurðu það? (how are you?)
Fyrirgefðu (sorry)
Ái (ouch)
Bless...or sometimes, guilt admitted...bæ (bye)

As I said before, I´m not going to tag anyone, but all readers:

Feel free to have a go...

The Women´s Day Off in Iceland on October 24th 2005

2005-10-26T15:58:00.000Z

This is a photo taken in the center of Reykjavík on this very special day last monday, where women stopped work at 14.08, the hour that equals the difference in pay to that which men are receiving (in a 9-5 job) , according to the newest surveys made in Iceland.

Women´s Day Off - Why?

The program of the day was organized in the smaller of the two squeres in the centrum. The turnout proved to be much bigger than anticipated, but by then it was too late to rearrange the placing (closing streets etc. by the police), so as you can see, it was a bit jammed (the reason I stayed at home and watched the program direct on TV!)

The first Women´s Day Off was held on the same date 30 years ago. More should have been achieved in this field of women´s rights than there has been. We women must not tire in the fight for our rights!

Rosa Parks

2005-10-25T17:32:00.001Z

From the AfroAmerican Web Ring:

"On December 1, 1955, seamstress Rosa Parks changed America forever when she was arrested for refusing to yield her seat to a white patron on a Montgomery, Alabama city bus. Mrs. Parks was found guilty of disorderly conduct and that lead directly to the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott. However, Mrs. Parks was not the "quiet seamstress" as the media has often portrayed her. In 1943 she became a member of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and she served as its secretary until 1956. After the Bus Boycott, Mrs. Parks lost her job and, with her husband and mother, relocated to Detroit in 1957. In 1965 she joined the staff of U.S. Representative John Conyers of Michigan and worked until her retirement in 1988. In 1999 she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest honour a civilian can receive in the United States."

Mrs. Parks passed away yesterday,
October 24, 2005, at the age of 92.

Special campaign launched today at UNICEF:

2005-10-25T12:34:00.000Z

Learn more about it here

It´s time for the northern lights - the aurora borelalis...

2005-10-23T17:29:00.000Z

To be honest, I never myself saw them as magnificient as they are in this photo and actually it´s quite rare to see them so big here in Iceland.
I think you might have to go closer to the Northpole, to Greenland, to see them like this. Even so, the ones I have seen on a clear and frosty night are a very beautiful sight!

This post is for Arindam, as promised - bring on the elephants, then! ;)

Northern Light Tours

Icelandic Artists - Sigur Rós

2005-10-23T11:45:00.000Z

...need I say more?

~ Click on image!

Anticlimax

2005-10-22T21:58:00.000Z

I just finished watching a direct transmission from Copenhagen from the celebration of 50 years of "Eurovision Song contest" and the choosing of the best Eurovision song of all times. The show was excellent and well performed, good entertainment...

BUT: The song that was chosen tonight by audiences all over Europe was, not very surprisingly, the famous "Waterloo", a fine song alright. But Abba, the winners of the contest for THE Erovision song, didn´t show up for this evening of celebration! What an anticlimax, after all the singing and dancing, the anticipation, that we didn´t get a view of the happy winners, the former members of the supergroup, hugging and kissing. No, just a rather shy representavive of theirs that came to the stage to recive the prize, thanking on their behalf with a few words...finish!

Where was Abba?

"Waterloo" was obviously one of the very likely winners tonight. In a way I think Abba owed it to the oragnisers of the celebration to show up, as this was also the hit that put them on the chart internationally back then and helped them become so famous. Have they become too big for the Eurovision nowadays?

Or maybe the reason they didn´t come is that they split up long ago and are not all that keen on hugging and kissing anymore ? Unlike "The Brotherhood of Man, that showed up for the night, happy and smiling.

Many very fine songs were remembered, but I was really offended by one thing:

There was no mention of Dana and "All kinds of everything" whatsoever!

Where was Dana?

I Googled an found out that this is what Dana is doing today. A beautiful woman, a fine singer and a very nice song that won the contest in 1970. As I said before, I find it very strange that there was no mention of her in the whole show, especially since they had both Johnny Logan and good "old" Cliff Richard there, who only "almost" won, more than once, if I´m correct, with songs that even so became popular. Like so many runners-up in this contest, where they are sometimes the songs better remebered than the real winners.

The Iceland Airwaves Music Festival 2005

2005-10-22T13:47:00.000Z

...is now in full swing in Reykjavík, with a big number of groups performing, both Icelandic and international, and everyone in general having a good time listening to music and partying for a couple of days.
A great number of the foreign groups are staying in Hótel Frón. And as I´m working this weekend, I have already met a few of the musicians. They were the ones that managed (or were hungry enough) to get up at 9.50 a. m. this morning to have breakfast (we close at 10.00 a.m.), as there were concerts scheduled as late as 4.oo a.m. yesterday night! Of course those were an addition to a couple of Irish guys that had not slept at all and were returning home around 6.30 a.m. and were able to persuade us breakfast-makers (easy, as we were preparing already) to give them a bite, even though breakfast really doesn´t start until 7.00.

And the fun goes on...today the group Hermigervill is performing on the banks of the Blue Lagoon , playing at the official Airwaves hangover party!

Some samples of Hermigervill´s music:
Sleepwork(CD)
Lausnin(CD)

Iceland Airwaves ´05

Icelandic Artists - Hera

2005-10-21T17:32:00.000Z

~ Click on image!

I´ve been tagged...

2005-10-20T18:53:00.000Z

I was tagged by Soumyadip of Mindless Musings of an Unmindful Mind. I´m not terribly good at this, but seems I´m supposed to state some 20 random facts about myself. OMG, that´s difficult, as I´m really rather a shy person and I don´t know what to tell about myself. But I´ll be a sport and give this a try, so her goes:

20 random facts about me:

1. I´ve got a whole stack of books that I´ve not read yet.
2. I don´t posess a credit card (unlike most of my countrymen).
3. I could not live without my car, an Opel Astra station 1995. Takes me everywhere and quite often my parents too. It can be very practical to have a station car if you have to move things and when travelling.
4. I have not read Harry Potter.
5. I don´t smoke, I very seldom drink alcohol and then I prefer white wine. My favourite drinks are fruit juice, coffee and SWISS MISS!
6. I like to sleep late in the mornings. Sometimes I get up during the night and do things I got the idea for while sleeping and then go back to bed.
7. I love having a bath and then going to sleep in a bed that has just had the sheets changed. Uhm...
8. I don´t like to eat meat, even though I´ll have a bite of it if I´m a guest somewhere just to be polite. But I like fish and seafood a lot. And I love any kind of fruits and vegetables. I´m not a bad cook but even so I don´t like cooking much. I´m not a very tidy housewife, even though I like having my flat clean and tidy.
9. I´m not scared of anything, except: Knives, guns and getting stuck in an elevator (hasn´t happened yet and hopefully never). I´m not afraid of insects or mice, though I prefer the latter to stay outdoors.
10. What makes me feel good: Listening to Buena Vista Social Club´s music will always put me in a good mood. Making pancakes too. I love candlelights, they also make me feel nice. I always have plenty of candles in my flat.
11. I love going to the theatre, regardless of the play. The movies too, but then I´ll refuse going to see some stupid horrorfilm, I´m not paying for getting revolted. War of the Worlds is the worst film I´ve ever seen and I´d rather not risk topping that!
12. I don´t know how to skate or ski.
13. I never watch soccer.
14. I don´t go to the gym or work out, but I want to go parachuting before I become too old and brittle and while I still have my own teeth:

...this video will show you why!

15. I would like to travel much, much more than I do now.
16. I collect teddybears, at the moment I´ve got 35.
17. I find myself increasingly agreeing with my mother when thinking back on my childhood. She once on the topic of me having done some pranks exclaimed: You! Impossible, you were always such a well behaved child! Fading memory....
18. First time in love? I had a crush on one of my big sister´s classmates when I was 4. When I was 7 there was a boy in my class that I really liked, but after I caught sight of him walking alone along the sidewalk and singing out loud, I dropped every thought of him, because I thought this was a very childish and inappropriate behaviour!
19. I´m addicted to blogging.
20. I think 20 is far too many random facts to tell...phew!

I´m only going to tag two persons, Risa of CALL IF YOU NEED ME and Arindam of duck on the third rock.

Funny videos

Icelandic Artists

2005-10-18T11:56:00.000Z

Barbara Árnason

Murals for Melaskóli, Reykjavík

Still about in-laws, but this time on a deadly serious note:

2005-10-15T12:10:00.000Z

"The Picture of Daddy
- Thelma´s Story"

This is the title of a just published book that has shocked and horrified the public in Iceland. It´s the true story of the girl Thelma and her four sisters, who throughout their entire childhood, during the seventies and eighties, were violated, sexually abused and prostituted by their alcoholic and mentally disturbed father and his "friends", to whom he "lent" his daughters to have sex with them, in exchange for booze and drugs and sometimes, Thelma suspects, even money.

The publication has especially shaken the community of the small town Hafnarfjörður, in the vicinity of Reykjavík, where the family lived, as well as everybody else in the country. People are asking all sorts of questions, as to how this could persist in such a close community, where everybody more or less knows each other and what is going on. It seems there were persistent, ugly rumours and that lots of people knew that there was something amiss in "the little yellow house". There seem to have been some inquiries and attempts to intervene on behalf of the girls´ school (where they are all noted as having been excellent, friendly and well behaved students, neatly dressed and smiling, despite of coming from a "problem" home) and the local authorities, but that nobody really took any serious action or initiative to find out what was wrong, to get to the bottom of what exactly was happening or take precautions to stop whatever it was.

It didn´t help matters much of course that the girls´mother, justly afraid of her husbands rage, when asked (as accounted for by an at-the-time school nurse, social worker and police) denied that the family was having any problems, insisting that "we are fine". But then, is it reasonable to expect a different answer from her, with a crazy husband listening in another room? In an interview on a television news program about the book and the story it tells, the former school nurse even muttered at the end that she was herself "dead-scared of the guy"! It has also been pointed out that the mother may have had some fear of the authorities, dreading the prospect of possibly having her children taken away from her if the truth came out.

As Thelma herself so pathetically puts it, all these years later, on behalf of the little girls that suffered their lot in silence and fear of their psychopatic monster of a father, whose punishment for disobedience could for example consist of beating them or killing one of their many and dear pets while he forced them to look on: "Nobody asked us. Nobody saved us!"

The woman Thelma is Óskar´s ex-sister-in law, she was the wife of his brother Helgi for some years. They had been married for about two years and she had given birth to their only son when she opened up to him and told him what went on in her childhood´s home. He had already had some suspictions, ever since he got to know her, but even so it was a great shock to learn the ugly truth. He was the one who encouraged her to seek help and go to "Stígamót", the center for victims of sexual abuse and violence, where she went and stayed for a whole year.

They later got divorced, but are still fond of each other and keep in good contact. Thelma has ever since that time been actively involved in the work of "Stígamót", giving council and helping other women that have had similar horrible experiences to her own.

And now she has with great courage, in this new book* authored by
Gerður Kristný, a well known Icelandic writer, unfolded to the public the story of the five sisters and the truth about their gruesome childhood.

Because, as Thelma says: "The shame is not ours! - If anybody in a similar situation can be helped by me revealing all and telling this story, my goal with this book is achieved."

She is a real hero!

*Myndin af pabba - Saga Thelmu

A post on the same subject from "The Iceland Weather Report"

Hilarious!

2005-10-15T11:56:00.000Z

I took my blogfriend´s duck on the third rock´s advice:

1. Go to Google.com
2. Type "failure" (without double quotes) in the search text box.
3. Press "I'm Feeling Lucky" button just next to "Google Search" button.
4. See what happens. Find it out yourself and laugh a lot. (Do not worry,
its not going to harm your computer.)

He, he, he, yeah this one is funny, I laughed a lot.

But did you know that the verb "to busk" means "to beg"?
And that the Icelandic nickname for USA´s president is "Goggi Búskur"?!

P.s. Follow the same process with the the word "idiot"
see what happens...

He, he, had ME busy for a while!

On the subject of in-laws...

2005-10-11T17:16:00.000Z

This is Óskar senior, Óskars dad and my dad-in-law. He is 82 years old and a very nice and funny guy. Here he is playing the mandolin he got as a present when he was fourteen.

He is an intelligent man, who has taught himself to read and write several foreign languages, and an ardent collector of many things. He has 112 Bibles in as many languages and stamps and coins from all corners of the world. He also has both musical and poetical talents, he makes small verses in rhyme whenever he wants and has composed some popular tunes.

Before becoming a pensionist he worked for many years as the school janitor of the only primary school in Neskaupstaður, his home village. When he was younger he was a seaman and used to drink too much, but he has managed to stay sober now for more than thirty years.

The Icelandic Bachelor...

2005-10-09T22:12:00.000Z

...he´s the one on the right, should you be in doubt...
...admittedly, he looks "cuter" than my darling son, the "incredible ulk" ...

...but this one is The Cutest Ever for sure!

2005-10-09T14:29:00.000Z

Ahhh...The Easy Bachelor Life!

2005-10-09T14:27:00.000Z

The big secret was revealed tonight...

2005-10-06T21:03:00.000Z

...we now know who of the four fellows from the pre-show presentation last week was chosen to become the "Íslenski Bachelorinn" (The Icelandic Bachelor) for the Skjár1 television series imitating (very exactly) the American equivalient...and thank God, it´s not MY baby... hjúkk! (sigh of relief)...

Just spoke with my son on the phone, he is on reflection equally as relieved as his mom, as he enjoys being a bachelor and probably would have ended up like the guy in the picture, had he been chosen to be "The Bachelor" and continued in the series!

And in particular, I will not have to be "The Icelandic Mom-In-Law",
a prospect of which I was not particularly happy...phew!

Ten Things That Age You

2005-10-04T14:22:00.000Z

1. Feeling overwhelmed by stress- No
2. Drinking too much alcohol- or drinking too little- Have to say too little
3. Moving too little- That too
4. Eating too much saturated fat- I don´t think so
5. Smoking cigarrettes- No
6. Breathing polluted air- No, I´m lucky
7. Getting too much sun- No, if anything I´d have to say too little
8. Getting too little sleep- No
9. Being overweight- I am not overweight.
10. Eating too much sugar- Yes, I have bouts of eating icecream and sweets!

I believe this calculates my age the 54 I am and I go for a check regularly anyway.

The Snow Queen

2005-10-04T13:42:00.000Z

Plans for new Iceland Music and Conference House

2005-10-01T15:34:00.000Z

The Icelandic President´s Site

2005-09-30T19:17:00.000Z

I found this site (in Icelandic) when Googling for "Latibær" (Lazy Town).
I didn´t even know it existed. Seems the president was present when Sportacus signed his contract with BBC!

Lazy Town

2005-09-30T14:29:00.000Z

Some "old" photos of the original Icelandic "Sportacus" or "Íþróttaálfurinn" in Icelandic ("Íþróttaálfurinn means "The Sporting Elf"), alias his creator Magnús Scheving, fitness champion as well as many other things.

"Íþróttaálfurinn" with the president of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson and his first wife Guðrún Katrín (she died of cancer in October 1998) on Christmas 1997.
I don´t know who his ladyfriend is!

Lazy Town Fanclub
Interview
Interview with Magnús Scheving from Iceland Review

Some more about Lazy Town from the www:
From an Icelandic guy who calles himself "Svenni" on "Metafilter":

"This "idea" is over ten years old.

It started as a pretty bad children's play called "Áfram Latibær", written, directed by and starring this aerobics guy who's previous media experience was selling dubious cleaning products on the TV market of a low budget TV station here in Iceland.

Magnús's idea progressed over the years, he made cartoon likenesses of the actors portraying the parts in the play, and those were licensed to push banks, milk products and whatnot in Iceland.

Five years ago I was involved in creating a web site for Latibær, it's purpose was to promote savings accounts for kids. This guy shows up to the office, tells us about his talks with major US TV networks about making a TV show out of this concept. We of course thought the guy was completely nuts.

Without any kind of support or grants this guy singlehandedly built up a media empire. Their studios in Garðabær has built up HDTV technology and technical staff that you can find in few places in the world.

AND he can do 20 push-ups with one hand, as I experienced at one meeting.

Beat that, Walt Disney!"

Talk about success stories; here are the latest news about Lazy Town (Latibær):

Michael Carrington, head of BBC´s children´s entertainment and Magnús Scheving after signing a 5 year contract.

BBC will start showing Lazy Town on October 3rd, where it is estimated to get 57 million viewers.

We are really proud of this guy here in Iceland!

Things we´ve learnt from the movies...

2005-09-30T10:15:00.000Z

Have a look at this post from "Caffeine Addict Anon".
Very funny!

MY SON the first Icelandic "Bachelor"?

2005-09-29T21:14:00.000Z

Hmmm...
1 chance out of 4...
...guess that means that I´m in danger of ending up as first Icelandic "Mom-in law"...ooouch...
I´ll get to know next Thursday...
My boy keeps silent as the grave - no breach of contract there!
I thought it was great of him showing his old beloved teddybear to the viewers of Skjár1 - that´s my boy; I´ve got 34 (teddies) at the moment.

My dad´s birthday today, he turned 82!

Ojibway Northern Lights

2005-09-20T00:01:00.000Z

Canadian Ojibway Cancer Medicine

2005-09-19T23:57:00.000Z