Crazy times.

These days everything seems to be happening. Like we say in Icelandic, 'rarely is the wave alone' (bad translation). First of all Iceland, seems to have become bankrupt when some filthy rich bankers and businessmen gambled with the small island's money as well as reputation. More are of course to blame, e. g. our central bank director, who claims he foresaw the whole situation but somehow failed to act accordingly. And then of course the rest of the nation which blindly believed everything these inspiring bankers said, and that all criticism of their banks from abroad was only due to envy. As a consequence we've had to turn to new allies, e.g. Russia, in search of money to pay off the country's debt.

(Our newest bank note, which has become necessary due to immense inflation.)

Here in the US, our NATO ally, things are also quite crazy. The presidential election is soon, and the media is constantly discussing it. While Icelanders might be cheering for Putin, here in LA, Obama is clearly favored. A lot of people drive around with Obama stickers, or have put Obama/Biden signs outside their houses. Furthermore people will also vote on a number of proposals, or measures, as well as voting for congress. Among the most debated proposals is Prop 8, whether or not to allow gays to marry. Apparently this proposal is in dead heat, and ironically due to African Americans voting for Barack Obama in record number, gay marriage is expected to be banned here in California.


Besides the election we have actually done something other than constantly studying or working. Last weekend we went to Julian, an old gold rush town up in the mountains in San Diego County. Julian is nowadays famous mostly for it's apples and their apple pies. October is the harvest season, and the town was propped full of tourists. It was interesting to see this rural other side of California, where unlike the Obama/Biden signs there were more McCain/Palin signs, along with "Yes on Prop 8" (ban gay marriage).






After having a slice of fantastic apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream at the Julian Pie Factory, we headed out to the Cuyamaca State park, which was nearby, for a short hike up a hill. The view was spectacular...





Finally, Dorte and I went to a Garba dance event at USC last week, which is a north Indian festival. Dorte got dressed up by a couple of Bangladeshi and Pakistani friends, and here's the result.


Dorte with loads of makeup... yep these are crazy times.

Cheers, Bjarni