Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Guð Blessi Ísland

Another fine, albeit breezy day. Picked up my Airwaves wristbands, my bike, and stopped in to Þjóðleikhúsið for my Saturday night theatre ticket:



I wouldn't dare miss a production with my favorite, usually half-naked, Icelandic Actor, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson:



My next stop was a riotously chaotic bookstore where I had a delightful chat with Sveitakall, seen here in all his glory:



We got to talking about a certain Icelandic author and we checked the shelves, but there wasn't anything I was really interested in. "Why don't you come with me, we'll go downstairs see if there is anything there..." We went through a back door and down an elevator, then down a hall with several identical doors. He opened the last door and behind it there was a room packed with shelves of "the good stuff." First editions, mostly in Icelandic, and much more. Still, the books on the shelves were not quite what I wanted. "I've got this box," he said, "there may be something in it..."



OMG!!!

After I regained my breath, we negotiated a fair price and I left the store with my treasures. Another swim 'n soak at the neighborhood pool, then a little web cam appearance for all my fans, a few minutes at Friða Frænka and some supper. I dined in early because I had seen a poster at the Háskóla Bíó for a movie I wanted to see and I'd read about:



It is a documentary about the Kreppa and last winter's protests and also about the lives of three of the people involved: a policeman, a trucker, and a witch. Not being able to understand Icelandic, I watched the movie at a certain distance, but the humanity of those involved was clear enough. The protest scenes were very intense, reminiscent of Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool. The evocative musical soundtrack was composed by Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson

Of course, this story isn't over yet, and may not be for a long time. As an outsider, I really can't comment too much on the film. I'll leave you with a link to an Icelandic blogger's reaction: Google translate is pretty sketchy in Icelandic, but the second paragraph is clear enough:
I wept
I wept when I watched about the police against protestors
I wept when Stulli and his wife had (a) Móment when he was going to Norway
I wept when Eva Hawke was to pack down (closing her shop)
Having met Eva once, and, having followed her blog, I almost wept myself.

Guð Blessi Ísland

By Professor Batty


7 Comments:

Blogger Darien Fisher-Duke said...

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations! And just as wonderful, you've discovered another book in translation--I can't believe it! You've had an action packed time so far, and the music hasn't even started yet! Is the bike for a trip to Gljufrasteinn today, weather permitting?
Boy Howdy.


Anonymous Anonymous said...

UCL says we miss you already. The Imocon is giving a White Calibration overexposed error, but I found the manual so we should be able to figure it out. Congrats on the books. Hope you are resting your ears.


Blogger Professor Batty said...

Rose ~ I wimped out on the trip to Gljufrasteinn, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak..

UCL - you have to set the resolution before you scan to something other than the default of 300 ppi


Blogger Darien Fisher-Duke said...

Sounds like you'll still have a job when you return, Batty. Nothing like job security ... take all your secrets with you to Iceland!

Hmmm. So would my job still be waiting if I take a trip to Iceland? I wonder ...


Anonymous mary said...

Keep the romance coming!
love the fact that you got some interesting books, you emphasize my ignorance yet again!


Blogger Professor Batty said...

Rose ~ the curse of the internet age!

Mary ~ Fasten your seats belt- you may be in for a wilder ride once the festival starts...


Blogger Darien Fisher-Duke said...

The portrait of Sveitakall at work is marvelous.

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