It’s an interesting experience, as interesting experiences go, to find a large chunk of your blog copied and pasted up on somebody else’s website. Me, I wasn’t sure whether I should be coyly flattered or massively annoyed. Such conflicting emotions! On the one hand, it’s nice that somebody likes your ‘intellectual property’ enough to blatantly exhibit it, and the fact that they credit you and have a link to your site is definitely the requisite redeeming factor. On the other hand, it would have been nice to have been informed of their intentions.
In any case, no harm done, and it made for good incentive to hunt down that Creative Commons logo and get that mutha up there on my sidebar. Yo.
WARNING: DISGUSTING NARRATIVE AHEAD
Hardly a week passes now when somebody or other doesn’t get picked up at Keflavík airport with a ‘record amount’ of drugs carried internally. The latest unfortunate is some Hungarian who was arrested at the end of last month carrying almost a kilogram of cocaine in his, um, internal organs. This guy evidently had swallowed his shipment on the Canary Islands where he lives, then flew to Madrid, then to Paris, then to Iceland.
Now, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a trip of that length just may exceed the time it takes for a human body to expel the contents of its stomach. And whaddaya know – that is precisely what happened. Yet this guy was obviously a trouper, for he simply rinsed off the packaging and swallowed his cargo again.
Sort of puts a new spin on the expression ‘eat shit’– doesn’t it?
AND THEN THERE WAS WEATHER…
It’s set to remain cold and slightly windy, with a storm expected in the east this evening and tonight. Temps are currently –2 degrees. It’s now pretty clear that Morgunblaðið has stopped sending us free papers, which means that The Iceland Weather Report will have to find new ways of bringing Iceland’s sunrise/sunset times to the world. Stay tuned.
I found one of my posts on one of those “pick a blog” style blogs. They hadn’t even picked a good one!
Where was yours?
Mine was on the Official Website of the Friends of Iceland in Ottawa, Canada. Who are very well-meaning, I am sure 🙂
You wouldn’t believe how often that happens. I know someone who had their entire blog copied on a daily basis (photos and all) and used on someone else’s blog. How freaky is that? The power of friends though; we all wrote about and exposed the ass for what he was. He went slithering away very quickly.
Hello Alda, I notice you have quickly added the Creative Commons notice to your page. Good for you. Several times a week I will get emails informing me that someone has seen another using my words or posts. It usually amuses me simply because I often write one or two line posts, what exactly is there to steal? However, not giving credit for another persons words is simply wrong.
Before I forget let me say: “Hello Michele sent me.”
Yes, you are it. I shall warn everyone to bundle up.
Will call back again ……like your site ………..Hello Michele sent me
All bundled up in my winter gear to say Hello, Michele sent me!
Those drug smugglers are dedicated, aren’t they!
I’m fairly new to the blog world, so I can’t say that I have ever found out about anyone stealing my posts – I’m sure it’s a very weird, annoying experience.
Hello Alda, Michele sent me…
I can never understand how crazy a person has to be to actually swallow huge amounts of drugs. Now what happens if that bag, say, EXPLODES???
Haven’t come across that yet. To quote is one thing but just to copy the whole post? Why wouldn’t they just link to it… Any way hello Michele sent me 🙂 !
Don’t you just hate word theft? Give credit where credit is due people.
Oh yeah… Michelle sent me!
Hello, Michele sent me. Great blog!
Hello, Michele sent me! 🙂
Oh my gawd, when you said cold, I didn’t know you meant THIS cold!!! *huddles in her jacket, voice muffled by her scarf* Anyway, Michele sent me! I am so sorry that someone copied your words, sheesh, aren’t there enough words out there for everyone to get their own?
There have been a few people who have linked to me in a post or quoted me and have been nice enough to tell me so. There are a few others who I find are still flattering to use my words, but I stumble upon them by accident. With those guys I am torn bc how can it really be complimentary if I might have never even known about it?
P.S. Michele sent me.
Nice blog, I like what your doing. Ah the copyright nightmares. Intellectiual property has been a trouble issue since it’s creation. It even makes it more so in the electronic and internet world. What most people don’t realize is there is no need for a copyright notice in most countries, writing and photographs published are automatically protected. If someone takes one sentence or one image they are violating the law and can be prosecuted in most countries with copyright laws. Most people appear unaware of this especially in the web and blogger worlds. I mean you can be prosecuted for copying one paragraph from one news site and adding it to yours. However, on the other hand many don’t especially if they get links, I guess it’s publicity. However, on the flip side any countries that do not have copyright or intellectual laws, none of the rules apply. This one of the places this even becomes uglier because the internet and web is a world community. Oh well I could write a book about this one so you have a great day!
Oh yeah “Hello 🙂 and michele sent me”
BlogCruiser
Thanks for reminding me about the Creative Commons thingy. Eww on the drugs thing! Oh, and, ‘Hello, Michele sent me’!
I am a big fan of Creative Commons as well. I should probably but something about CC up on my websites.
Anyway, Michele sent me.
Hello Michele sent me. Icelandic blogs seem to be like buses. I’ve waited for ages and then in one day, 2 come along at once!
Brrr! Michele told me to dress appropriately but I never remember my mittens! So gross re the drug mule! Yuck. I guess you’ve got to be pretty desperate to do something like that.
Can’t resist responding to Dana’s comment about what happens when one of those things actually explodes. About a year ago a body was found in the harbour in Neskaupstadur, which is a little town in east Iceland. It was an incredible thing, because a diver just *happened* to be there and just *happened* to find the body, two days after it was put there. Anyway, long story short, it was a drug mule whose cargo had exploded inside of him – and his accomplices had watched him die. Now *that* is disgusting!!
And I left my coat behind thinking Iceland was named Iceland so everyone would stay away… that it was actually a lush green island. That defied logic but worked for me to think there was that perfect island somewhere. Oh wait, they call that Utopia maybe?
Lest I forget ..Michele sent me.
Sol
hi, michele sent me! It’s rather shocking to stumble across one’s stuff elsewhere, but I find it flattering mostly….as long as the buggers link to me!
nice blog btw!
A dodgy girly magazine in the UK used a chunk of text from an old post, and a link to my former web address at blogspot. All without even sending me an email.
Lacking in common courtesy don’t you think?
Michelle didn’t send me, I came here under my own steam!