Collecting great moments
More of the bounty from this fine Icelandic summer
Poetry by Kia Motors?
"Isn't it our job as humans to be collecting great moments?”
Entrapment
Bad news, kiddos. Not only is there no Santa Claus, but everything you wrote on these letters is gonna get fed into Palantir's all-seeing evil AI algorithm machine and will most definitely affect your secret social credit scores in the future. Don't shoot the messenger....
Polar Bear Club
Cool emblem. Shame this outpost won't be necessary much longer, after the much talked about deal to make it our 51st state is consummated....
Swimming Pool Ahead
The Icelandic sign for a swimming pool. That's a new one for me....
Mount Esja
The view north of Reykjavík with Mount Esja in the distance, which might sound familiar as it's named after a famous Icelandic beer….
Festival Against Borders
I was initially a little disappointed that the 7pm start of this music festival coincided with the nicest weather I'd yet to see in Reykjavik, but it turned out to be a super cool night.
If you ever get the chance to see a packed slate of Icelandic bands, singers and rappers you've never heard of (and Pussy Riot), take advantage of the opportunity....
Geðbrigði
Very much the vibe of the show. Geðbrigði is an all girl punk band, and was one of the highlights of the night for me....
Pussy Riot
The aforementioned Pussy Riot. Although it was just one member of the group (who lives in Reykjavík) and a guy playing electric cello. Still super cool though....
Safety First!
Some gratis party favours in the venue toilets.
On a totally unrelated note, Iceland consistently ranks amongst the top three happiest countries in the world in those comprehensive surveys they do....
Party's over
When the party's over, but it's still light out at 2am....
NB: Hat tip to the security guard in the cowboy hat. I didn't have any interactions with him, but in terms of aesthetics he really contributed a lot to my enjoyment of the night....
Skál!
What a 1500 krónur (or €10.59 or $12.26) road beer looks like in Reykjavík at circa 1am. Shops can only sell alcohol, including beer, from 11am till 6pm, but bars will gladly give you a to-go cup any time!
Another fun fact that was alluded to in the comments of an earlier post: Selling beer was illegal in Iceland until 1989, although stronger spirits were allowed after they partially repealed their 1915 prohibition law in 1935.
Late night snack
FYI, this is what a 1200 krónur (or €8.47 or just under $10) slice of pizza from a Reykjavík convenience store looks like.
Although to be fair:
it was delicious (at circa 230am after spending the previous many hours drinking €12 beers)
the price included chatting with the West African clerk about how he liked living in Iceland and working night shift at a convenience store, and
also included getting to see the aforementioned West African clerk in action foiling some local Goth skaters (?) from absconding with an excessive amount of ketchup, straws, napkins and other accoutrement from the pizza condiment station.
So all in all, obviously a great value!
Recycled House I
If you've always wondered what it might look like if an extremely eccentric Icelandic person collected loads of random items (some might call it 'junk') and decorated their beach house and its ground with it, and that beach house was also located in perhaps the most idyllic spot in all of Reykjavík, then you really wonder about some hyper specific things. Might want to talk to your analyst about it next time you meet. Just sayin'.
But you're also in luck, because a place like the one described above actually exists in real life, and I took a bunch of photos of it. They'll be posted over the coming day or two, but if you can't wait, you can google "recycled house Reykjavík" and get lots more info.....
Recycled House II
Recycled House III: Óðinn & Þór
“Odin: The supreme god - Black like his ravens, the weekday Wednesday originates from his ancient Germanic name: Wötan
Thor (Thursday): Stained red from battles with his magically imbued hammer (mjölnir)”
Recycled House IV: Boat v Seal
Seems this house is nowhere near as interesting for the general public or Meta's algorithm as it is for me. Good thing this page is solely for my own amusement....
Recycled House V
"Tucked away in a secluded corner of Reykjavik, along the North Atlantic coastline, the Recycled House is probably the single most unusual site in the entire city.
At first glance, this hodgepodge of rusty metal sheets, African masks, creepy scarecrows and every object you can possibly think of, might seem as if it's simply a dumping site of wacky hoarders, and while to large extent it certainly is, there is far more to this place than what meets the eye."
- Omri Westmark, Explanders.com
Recycled House VI
"If you wonder what is the story behind this bizarre edifice, it was created by the locally renowned filmmaker Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, who initially purchased the house while he was looking for a workplace to create all sorts of ornaments and objects for his movies.
Following a couple of years where he spent much of his time at the place, Gunnlaugsson transformed his studio into an unconventional medley of scrapped metal, timber and other materials, all of which were incorporated as parts of his now redesigned home.
Interestingly, Gunnlaugsson’s career as a filmmaker revolved around the production of Viking movies that were aimed at reshaping public opinion about the medieval Nordic group, ultimately debunking a lot of misconceptions about them.
His films were considered by many as provocative and eccentric, and thus Gunnlaugsson’s house should be regarded merely as a different expression of his whimsical work."
- Omri Westmark, Explanders.com
Recycled House VII
All right, the last one here. Appropriately a little Cuban flavour....