Blog
A meditation on the resurrection
When I was twenty years old, I fell in love for the first time. It was the most intense and beautiful thing I had ever experienced. There was only one minor problem: I was struggling with a huge, terrifying, demonic force inside my own self. I’m sure there are many...
Of political corruption and misdeeds in Iceland and Namibia
The following is a compilation of posts I have written this week on my Facebook page, about a corruption scandal in Namibia that has caused a massive tremor among the Icelandic population. Primarily because it mirrors our situation here at home. Warning: it's long. ...
On my copyright dispute with Polish publisher Wydawnictwo Poznanskie
Just over a year ago, I received an email from a follower of my work, informing me that there was a book published in Poland that appeared to contain within it large sections of my book The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Old Days. This person knew my book well,...
European Court of Human Rights: Iceland’s minister of justice committed “flagrant breach” of Icelandic law
Almost exactly one year ago I wrote the post below, about the misconduct of Iceland's minister of justice, in my monthly newsletter. That justice minister, Sigríður Á. Andersen, has repeatedly been at the centre of corruption scandals, but certainly among the gravest...
Here comes the revolt
Do you remember a few months ago when I wrote about how the (corrupt, complacent) old guard of Iceland's two largest labour unions had been ousted, and a new, radical leadership had taken its place? At the time I also alluded to the fact that we Icelanders could...
Klausturfokk
So, the Klaustur debacle from a couple of months ago continues its slow and steady march into eternal ignonimy. For those who have not been keeping up, the incident to which I refer is one that took place at the bar Klaustur in downtown Reykjavík late last year, where...
100 years of sovereignty
Today, December 1, is very significant day for the Icelandic nation: exactly one century ago, in 1918, this country gained sovereignty from Denmark. The event marked a joyous end to a horrific year for the people of Iceland. It began with an excruciating cold spell...
October 2018
Each month I send out a newsletter to subscribers. One section each month is devoted to Icelandic affairs. The one below is from the October 2018 newsletter. Another month, another set of scandals in Icelandic society. Here comes a brief sampling, by no means...
Where we stopped on our bookdrop tour
Around the middle of this month (June 2017) EPI and I embarked on our annual book drop tour. This is where we drive the Ring Road around the country, visit booksellers, and introduce any new books we have. Originally we had books in the car and dropped them off (hence...
Queen E puts on a Team Iceland uniform
As you may or may not know, Iceland is playing some unprecedented football in the EuroCup right around now. They tied with Portugal and Hungary in their first two games, and then beat Austria in the most recent one. On Monday, they meet England. In light of this, the...
On the Icelandic prime minister and his wife's offshore activities
I expect that, by now, many of you have heard about the scandal rocking Icelandic politics, that of our Prime Minister’s wife, Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir, having an offshore company registered in Tortola - a notorious tax haven. Something that the PM, Sigmundur Davíð...
Black Friday comes to Iceland
Yesterday I was off on one of my book drop (distribution) runs around town, and along the way decided to stop off at a particular store to check out a piece of furniture we've been thinking of purchasing. I had a couple of questions about it, so approached a sales...