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The current situation in France and, alas, elsewhere in Europe, has prompted a lot of discussion here in Iceland in recent days. You see, as the Fréttablaðið editorial so succinctly put it this morning, Iceland still has the 'luxury' of being able to learn from...

I stopped at a gas station convenience store today to pick up a bouquet of flowers, as you do.Gas Station Cashier Guy [indicating bar code on cellophane flower wrapping]: You know if you remove that tag, everyone will think you bought those at [insert name of...

It's happening with ridiculous frequency: "There has been a breakdown in the Farice sub-sea cable off the coast of Scotland. Repairs will be underway for the next few hours. In the meantime all online traffic is being directed through the Cantat3 cable. Users should...

Is there any feeling scarier than sitting behind the wheel of a car and suddenly feeling you've lost control? [OK, I'm sure there are, but that has to be one of the worst]. That's just what happened this morning when I was driving AAH to work at the bakery [for the...

EPI and I are getting all cultural today and heading out to a concert at Hallgrímskirkja church. On the programme, two requiems: Mozart's and Faurés. I love the former and am not familiar with the latter; however, EPI informs me that it is 'lighter' than Mozart's...

So EPI and I flaked out on the couch last night to watch the MTV European Music Video Awards. Me because I’m a sucker for award shows; EPI because I’d promised him a Good Time. I felt I could safely make that promise because Borat was hosting and if there’s one...

The snooze button is my best friend at this time of year. [Honestly, I don’t know why the inventor of the snooze button hasn’t been canonized.] Let me tell you, it takes superhuman effort to drag my butt out of bed when it’s pitch dark outside. It’s occasions like...

... And in other news:MADCRAZYWINDYSNOWYBADASSEDWEATHER... In the north. The day before yesterday around 100 cars were trapped on the ring road in Húnavatnssýsla for hours on end in a raging blizzard. Rescue squads eventually got everyone [around 200 people] to safety...

Today I made four significant phone calls. PHONE CALL NUMBER ONEWas to the police to report the placement of the mysterious Toyota Yaris with the open purse inside. Got a gruff-sounding officer on the phone who in no time had looked up the licence plate number and...

There is a Toyota Yaris parked outside our building, effectively blocking the entrance to the parking lot [you can squeeze a car in, but very slowly]. This is not an anomaly in Iceland; the Icelanders’ parking is on par with their driving, in that a large part of the...

So, come this morning, YT was chomping at the bit to go back to the ÚTSALA in the decrepit old building. [I failed to mention last time that it’s only open on Fridays and Saturdays and yesterday we were very sensibly deterred due to weather.] EPI was less enthusiastic...

Today's weather:... Just add howling gale-force winds [exceeding 20m/sec] and temps of -2°C. And a rabid YT, suffering from endorphin withdrawal and cabin fever. Do not piss me off.