The Iceland Weather Report

On the occasion of the opening of the Harpa concert hall

2011-05-13T13:38:31Z

This evening will see the official opening of Harpa, Iceland’s new concert hall. The story of Harpa is the stuff of legend – somewhere during the boom years its construction was usurped by one Björgólfur Guðmundsson, former owner and Chairman of the Board of Landsbanki [also former owner of West Ham FC], who planned to [...]

On silencing and the revoking of civil rights

2011-04-26T14:24:40Z

Hello everyone! I’ve decided to resurface because I wanted to post this important interview with Elvira Mendez-Pinedo, a lecturer at the University of Iceland and one of the clearest voices out of Iceland these days. Here she’s discussing a book called Indignez Vous! that is making major waves throughout France and elsewhere, about things that [...]

Lögberg Heimskringla reviews our book!

2011-03-15T09:44:56Z

Dear everyone: just checking in briefly to post a link to a glowing review of The Little Book of the Icelanders in the Icelandic-Canadian paper Lögberg-Heimskringla. There aren’t many books I’d recommend reading over morning coffee but The Little Book of the Iceanders is one of them. [...] I laughed at the essays in this [...]

Announcing our new eBook!

2011-02-18T22:46:57Z

As some of you may recall, when I decided to stop writing this blog last October I claimed I was just about ready to launch a new eBook. For various reasons it’s taken a bit more time than I initially thought; however, it is FINALLY ready now. Huzzah! It’s called The Little Book of the [...]

Some links, as per your request

2010-11-14T23:52:13Z

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for your kind and lovely words — and your encouragement — in the comments to the last post. I am truly touched. Some of you have been asking for links to other blogs about Iceland written in English, and of course it was remiss of me not to think [...]

The end of the line

2010-10-29T13:44:59Z

Well, we’ve seen it happen across the blogosphere, and now it’s happening here: after six years online, this blog has finally run out of steam. It’s time to stop. This decision has been a long time coming and has certainly not been easy. I’ve put a lot into this little project, and over these past [...]

Gearing up for a constitutional review

2010-10-27T23:58:38Z

Some of you may have noticed that I skated pretty nimbly over the issue of the constitutional reform the other day. If I do say so myself. Of course the matter of reviewing the Icelandic constitution is a highly significant one, and I happen to think that the way we’re going about it here is [...]

14.25

2010-10-25T12:48:21Z

Today, at 14.25, Icelandic women will be walking out of their workplaces. The reason for that precise timing: with the wage gap factored in, that is when women will have completed a full workday. Some interesting factoids from the Fréttablaðið editorial today: Women are 50% of the human race, but own one percent of the [...]

The new blogtitution

2010-10-24T12:00:54Z

As some readers will undoubtedly know, Iceland is in the process of reviewing its constitution. A constitutional assembly will be set up next spring, chosen via direct personal election, for which anyone can run. The deadline for submitting candidacies was last week, and a whopping 525 people have decided to run, which amounts to 0.2% [...]

Beaty polishes his halo in The Globe and Mail

2010-10-18T22:48:09Z

So, Toronto’s Globe and Mail today publishes an interview with Ross Beaty, CEO of Magma Energy, which focuses [among other things] on the controversy surrounding Magma’s acquisition of HS Orka here in Iceland. Now, we know this about Ross Beaty: he is a smooth talker. He’s got this slightly self-depreciating manner that instantly invites rapport. [...]