Shoes

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Leifur Þór Þorvaldsson*

Leifur writes: In a secret location on the in the middle of nowhere, these shoes have been lying for decades undisturbed. One can only imagine how it came about that they ended up there.

Leifur, who describes himself as an Icelandic theater maker, graduated with a BA in Theory and Practice from the theatre department of the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 2009. His graduation work, Endurrómun, was staged at Borgaleikhúsið, The Reykjavík City Theatre, last January and was then nominated for a Gríman, the Icelandic answer to the Tony Award. He is now working in the development stages of a new project currently set for production next year. This photo is a sweet example of his obvious visual talents.

During research on the Icelandic theater scene years ago, I discovered that it is amazingly robust for such a small nation. Though there are always grumblings (and rightly so) about reduced funding for the arts, and though the large national and city theaters have a serious corner on the market (here is a statement on that fact by the Association of Independent Theatres in Iceland) theater, as a direct progeny of the storytelling and rímur culture that kept the Icelandic national identity intact during the very difficult middle ages, is alive and strong.

For a bit of extra reading about Icelandic theater, here is a piece on Icelandic theater I wrote for the Reykjavík Grapevine in 2004 (which was, unfortunately, poorly edited and titled before it went to print. Sigh.)

*the letter 'Þ' in Leifur's middle and last names is pronounced 'Th,' so the English spelling of his name is Leifur Thor Thorvaldsson.

Reminder

In less than 24 hours.... hello ********************* :)

The thought of CNY. The red packet will not be filled with money this time, but it will contain a piece of paper which is the ... EXAM RESULTS! Only happens when studying in UK! sigh...

Anyhow, its a beautiful day today. Found out stuff. Excited. Learnt from it. Loved it. Can't wait. 100% confirmed something. Thank you!

SEM is in!

It looks like technologies are progressing. Currently, the in thing to do is to take really, really close-up pictures. We tend to want to know what goes beyond the naked eye. One way to do that is through Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM). Interesting shots below: SOURCE

Guitar string

Mascara brush

Salt and ground peppercorns

Teeth Floss: This is what we get on on the floss after flossing



Needle and thread



Sunset

~.~

Silhouette

A classic shot, and a memorable view for anyone who has traveled here to Reykjavík. This statue of adventurer Leifur Eiriksson, gifted to Iceland by the US in memory of his travels back in the day, stands brave and tall, silhouetted against an early winter twilight.

Clearing the air

Something which took so much time to be clarified and explained last night came to an end, i hope after this message:
"Over the past 24 hours..... enquiries....perceived inequity....We(lecturers) do not discriminate...Students showing initiative..."
Its just a very, very short summary :P
*Imagine a photograph here labelled 'Secret tutorial' for over a hundred ppl to view*

Coincidentally, my Daily Horoscope says:
"Discussions with those close to you could lead to the discovery of new concepts, perhaps from foreign cultures. You will want to learn more about them, Virgo, as will your friends."

We did, didn't we :)

Screaming Dragons

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Ýrr Geirsdóttir

Ýrr writes: This picture is taken at a birthday party for 4 year old Hildur, who is also one of the dragons in the image. She and Egill (the other dragon) are good friends and both have great imagination, often resulting in fun games and role-playing! The two dragons were jumping around and screaming their lungs out!

Photography has been a hobby of mine since I got my first DSLR camera in 2006. I Love taking pictures of "real-life" - of people, of children. Action shots, parties, events and kids playing. Of course, city-scape and Icelandic landscape and nature are also great inspirations but mostly my photos are about capturing life as I see it. "Snapshots" if you will :)

Ýrr has a B.S. in Computer Science from Reykjavík University and currently works in software for a major bank. Her photos are vivid and charming views into local life, bursting with color and somehow making even life's more mundane moments vibrant and alive. Please be sure to check out her Flickr album for more of her work.

And of course Happy New Year to everyone! Let's remember what really, truly matters in life this year, and in each moment, and be sure to breathe deeply, give thanks and hug the ones we're with!