Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Boom Boom


Dearest reader - Happy New Year 2013.
 
New Years Reykjavík 2012-2013 - clip off youtube (prakkari) 
 
Having previously blogged about my feelings towards even and odd numbers I am a bit hesitant regarding the changing of the timekeeping guard this time around. The figure has an ominous feel to it, as if the coming twelve months could have something rather odd planned for us. There is no reason behind this hunch, all we will probably experience is more of the same old – government fiscal fiascoes and uprisings that bring no apparent change for the positive.

How cheery of me. I guess it has something to do with the loss of Tim´s contribution to this page and the temporary loss of Dan’s. Loss is never a good way to begin anything. Least of all a new year. So I will focus on the positive – the addition of Lisa and Caro.

In Iceland we celebrated the turning of the year in the usual fashion – by bombing the old year away with tons upon tons of fireworks, sold once a year for this particular purpose. Other than that they are banned. No one is thus tempted to explode the winter to hell come early spring – at that time there are no fireworks to be had. In Iceland however there is no danger of ambers or sparks setting forests on fire. This scenario requires a forest. They are banned for other reasons, not the least because of the loud and percussive sounds they make – scaring farm animals to death or loss of functionality (no milk).

Due to a rather nasty turn in the health of my father-in-law the day before New Year’s our annual crazy party was cancelled. We did however partake in the fireworks frenzy, taking up an offer of a couple our neighbors to combine our artillery and bomb the end of the street into oblivion. We tried our best for a little under two hours but despite this the end of the street is still there. Next year we must increase our numbers and powder mass, this particular street-end is going down.      

Tonight PBS in the States is showing two programs where Iceland has a big mention – one is called Doomsday, or something similarly lovely, and the other Life on Fire. If you saw them – keep calm and carry on, we are not about to bomb the world into apocalypse with our overdue volcanic eruptions. Promise.

Footnote: this promise does not extend to the end of our street – Ragnarrök awaits this section of the world, 31.12.2013.

Yrsa - Wednesday

1 comment:

  1. I watched the video and at first wondered why you were posting about the Green Zone. We Americans tend to think that way in the face of such shock and awe fireworks displays.

    Sorry to read about your father-in-law, but happy to learn your street is still there; and on your advice I skipped watching the PBS Doomsday special. The fact it ran opposite the Sugar Bowl Football game was pure coincidence.

    And speaking of happy, Happy New Year.

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