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Tag: Iceland

  • Elves In Iceland Delay Road Projects

    Elves In Iceland Delay Road Projects

    It is the time of the year for Elves to be in the spotlight, especially since it is Christmastime, as well as the recent release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in theaters. Elves have also been making a scene in Iceland; however, we are not talking about tiny humans with pointy ears as Hollywood and fiction books have sculptured them, but a community of elves does exist within the Iceland population.

    According to The Washington Post, “Elf advocates,” along with various environmental groups, have come together to recommend that the Icelandic Road and Coastal Commission and local authorities do not commence the construction of a highway that will pass through the Reykjavik suburb of Gardabaer (a common Elf community).

    The highway project is currently under review until the Supreme Court of Iceland rules on a case from Friends of Lava, who have brought the impact on the Elvish community to the Court’s attention. The Washington Post also reports that many people have blocked bulldozers from commencing the project in protest.

    In a report by National Public Radio (NPR) on this situation, Ragnhildur Jonsdottir, a self-proclaimed seer who is in communication with the elves, tells the Associated Press that the construction of the proposed highway would be a “terrible loss and damaging both for the elf world and for us humans.” Another seer (unnamed) thinks that it’s possible that the elves could be talked into relocating their church out of the path of the highway’s construction.

    The Associated Press (according to NPR) states that this issue with the elves has been brought up so often that “the road and coastal administration has come up with a stock media response for elf inquiries, which states that ‘issues have been settled by delaying the construction project at a certain point while the elves living there have supposedly moved on.’ “

    The Twitter community has also reacted to this issue; however, there has been some skepticism concerning the reality of the issue.

    Image via YouTube (0:07)

  • Exploding Gassy Whale Shoots Guts Onshore

    Exploding Gassy Whale Shoots Guts Onshore

    On Faroe Islands, a set of islands between Norway and Iceland, two dead sperm whales washed onshore. According to the Faroese Broadcasting Corporation, after two days, a marine biologist by the name of Bjarni Mikkelse was called upon to remove one of the whale’s skeleton for a local museum.

    Although it is very likely that Mikkelse is an adept marine biologist, this was his first time cutting open a whale. He knew that it was routine for dead whales to hold gas pressure, but nothing prepared him for the blast that happened almost immediately after he began cutting it.

    As Mikkelse began to slice open the whale, a powerful blast of gas and guts shot out of its belly with a loud bang. Thankfully, Mikkelse was light enough on his feet to avoid the gassy impact, and quick-fingered spectators were fast enough to record the explosion for us to enjoy.

    The biggest question of all is: Was it the smell that forced that marine biologist to flee or the force behind the exploding innards?

    (Image: Youtube)

  • Bam Margera Got Married In Iceland This Weekend

    Bam Margera, one of the stars of “Jackass”, married for the second time in Iceland on Saturday, October 5. The 34-year old professional skateboarder said “I do” before taking the stage at the Random Hero Festival with his band Fuckface Unstoppable.

    Margera went for a more casual look for the ceremony–a hoodie–but his bride Nicole Boyd wore a gorgeous white lace gown with a plunging back and pearl accents. It was the second wedding for the skater and stuntman, who was married to Melissa Rothstein in 2007; the two split in 2010 and were officially divorced in 2012.

    Iceland has been a favorite place of the “Jackass” guys for a while now; Bam’s brother Jess and his band CKY traveled there several years back and documented it for CKY2K, a video that incorporated the band’s music and travels with very early Jackass-type stunts.

    Image: screenshot via YouTube

  • The Pirate Bay Moves To The Caribbean To Avoid Domain Seizure

    Last week, The Pirate Bay moved to Iceland’s .is domain in hopes of escaping the ever watchful eye of the entertainment industry and its army of lawyers. It seemed that the infamous site would be safe for at least a while, but that has turned out not to be the case.

    TorrentFreak reports that The Pirate Bay has moved yet again. Those looking for the site will now be directed to a .sx domain. The .sx TLD belongs to the small island nation of Sint Maarten, a constituent country owned by both The Netherlands and France.

    So, what prompted the move to a new domain? It seems that the Swedish authorities have finally moved to take the .se domain that The Pirate Bay operated under for over a year. While they were at it, the authorities also filed a motion to seize the .is domain that The Pirate Bay recently moved to last week.

    The folks behind The Pirate Bay saw this coming earlier this year, and have long since vacated the .se domain. Those visiting the site’s .se domain will be redirected to the new .sx domain though. If the authorities are successful in seizing the domain, those visiting the .se or .is domains will no longer be automatically redirected to whichever home The Pirate Bay decides to move to.

    Of course, this latest development might bring a novel legal fight to the forefront as Sweden argues it has jurisdiction over the .is domain because it’s owned by a Swedish national. The company that operates the .is domain – INSIC – told TorrentFreak that Sweden’s argument may not hold much weight in court because the domain is still owned by INSIC, an Icelandic company subject only to Icelandic laws.

    In short, The Pirate Bay might get to keep the its .is domain if Sweden’s jurisdiction argument doesn’t hold up in court. Even if it does, The Pirate Bay can fall back on its new .sx domain. If that fails, The Pirate Bay still has hundreds of TLDs in which it can fall back on. Like I said last year, The Pirate Bay is in a war of attrition and it’s winning.

  • The Pirate Bay Moves To Iceland After Getting Kicked Out Of Greeland

    The Pirate Bay has been on the move quite a bit these past few months. The infamous Web site anticipated that its .se domain wasn’t going to last much longer and set out for free waters. It first moved to Spain and Norway, but soon found itself kicked out. It then moved to Greenland to much the same reception.

    After being tossed out of every port it came across, TorrentFreak reports that The Pirate Bay has finally found a home in Iceland. Its new .is domain reflects the move, and any attempt to visit old domains will redirect you to the new one.

    So, why Iceland? It seems that the company that operates the .is domain – ISNIC – won’t take any action against The Pirate Bay, or at least not yet. The company told TorrentFreak that it’s not responsible for what Web sites do on its domain. The only possible way for The Pirate Bay to be booted from its new .is domain is if the Icelandic courts issued a court order.

    For now, it looks like The Pirate Bay is safe in its new home. ISNIC has a good track record of hosting controversial sites without any issues. The country’s anti-piracy group will also probably stay away for a while as it’s still reeling from a piracy-related PR disaster from earlier this year.