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World’s Greatest Smile

News / Blog
Archiv 2009

12/21/2009, Monday, 11:06, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Art exhibition, snow and even more puppies...

Since yesterday the digital representation of the International Institute for Culture, Tourism and Development of the London Metropolitan University is showcasing some of my sculptures in my exhibition “Earth, Part II” there.

Sculpture “Ok, any comments guys...?” by Yeti Bing (aka me)


And even the weather is still wonderful! Minus 18°C and more snow! I love it! And so does Lana! We played with her till all three of us were exhausted and overhappy!

Just look how jubilant she is!

It is great to see that we can make her that perfectly happy!

 

12/18/2009, Friday, 23:09, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Finally...!

Today we finally got some weather I like! After all the time when weather was too hot, washed us away with continuos rain for months and months, and presented the never ending view blocking fog for decades, we finally got some beautiful snow today!
And Lana loves it as well - she has been very happy, running around wildly in this strange funny white stuff like an extremely excited puppy!

And it is so much easier to find her in the snow than in the
cold-rain-fog-mixture!

 

12/10/2009, Thursday, 04:46, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

So you tell me that this is not an alien?! Part VII

Almost forgot to introduce you to a little friend of us...:

(It has a little something on it’s side - don’t know what that is.)

 

11/30/2009, Monday, 21:45, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

How could you? I mean: How could you...?!

“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status....Article 2, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A row is brewing over religious symbolism in Switzerland.
Members of the right-wing Swiss People's Party, currently the largest party in the Swiss parliament, have launched a campaign to have the building of minarets banned.
BBC News

Well, I found that if you click in the Wikipedia-article “Human rights in Switzerland” on the link “Human rights policy “of the Swiss federal government you get a “Document not found!”
I was wondering why...

 

11/29/2009, Sunday, 21:29, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

There is beauty everywhere..., Part IV

Had to have a closer look inside...
...and found some beauty in Bielefeld.

 

11/22/2009, Sunday, 19:16, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Looked down - found a face, Part II

Found it like this - and it even wasn’t on Halloween...

 

11/14/2009, Saturday, 00:16, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

About 23 1/2 or so... Way to go... *

 

11/05/2009, Thursday, 17:07, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Today’s art exhibition opening

Well, I needed something soft, just something cute and cuddlesome. And this is the result:
My first solo exhibit “Puppies & Bunnies...” - sculptures by Yeti Bing!
Come around and enjoy!

 

11/03/2009, Tuesday, 22:11, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Hairy guys...

Well, horses are scary. I have read some books about horse behaviour and still find them scary. But I have to admit that these were very cute. And as kind of bonsai horses they have just the right size in my opinion!

And finally we even found some similarities:
the hairstyle...

... and the smile!

 

10/29/2009, Thursday, 23:08, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

What happened to you?!

And on this street in Bielefeld we found a...

... leaf with a history.

 

10/24/2009, Saturday, 21:17, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Cat walk!

Downtown we have found this catwalk for the beauty upstairs.

 

10/19/2009, Monday, 20:16, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

New art exhibition opening

At the weekend we had a big, big art exhibition opening. And if you count the fact that it was so overcrowded by visitors that lots of people just couldn’t get in and those who were in couldn’t see very much because it was so crowded - well, than it was a big success!
And the comments of those who managed to get in were very enthusiastic!

one of our plots
installation & picture by Yoa Ogee (Andreas) & Yeti Bing (me)

 

10/16/2009, Friday, 20:59, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

The  Find Maisy Odjick and Shannon Alexander Sign - update

Well, is one door is closed you have to look where you can find a window. And sometimes you will find a loophole in the law if you read between the lines.

Will say, what I read between the lines is that it isn’t allowed to use sings e-x-c-e-p-t they are about the art exhibitions events.
So what I’m going to do is to host an event called “Some easy ways to support the search of missing people”, place the sign as it is and put a second one over it with something like “Event announcement”. So I will maybe/probably be able to keep the sign...!

And as a present every attendant of the event will get a free Find Maisy and Shannon sign to place wherever they like to. I even produced three different types of Find-M&S-shirts for everyone to take along for free.

This sign challenge turned out to become more nerve wrecking than putting up the whole exhibition - but the outcome just has to become successful!

 

10/15/2009, Thursday, 21:20, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Happy dreams, II

I’m not sitting on a sofa very often but when I do, Lana insists on sleeping on my feet, lap, abdomen, chest... So I guess, my sneaking-into-her-dreams-to-make-her-have-sweet-dreams works fine...!

If she puts on here I-am-the-cutest-puppy-in-the-world-look you would let her sleep wherever she wants on you, too! You don’t even want to try to escape. She is really talented!

 

10/14/2009,Wednessday,22:14, Meike, Enger,North Rhine-Westphalia,Germany

Please help find Maisy Odjick and Shannon Alexander!
The sign-challenge, update

In the meanwhile I got a final no on my missing-sign. I told the families of the missing girls that I would place a sign for them, because not in my wildest dreams I expected someone having issues with it...! I know that this is just a small thing but I usually keep my promises by all means!

And the person of the art-event I’m corresponding with turned out to be very nice, engaged and willing to help - even if he has to observe the rules which are given to him. That is his job and he seems to do it well.

So... I have to figure out a solution which lets me observe the rules, make him look good - and last but definitely not least keep my promise...

 

10/13/2009, Tuesday, 18:07, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Please help find Maisy Odjick and Shannon Alexander!

We are having a big art-exhibition opening in a while and I want to place this picture (in a comparable small size) next to my spot.

And now the organisation of the art event sent me a message and want me to remove the sign, because a “missing children's sign is considered advertising”!

A-d-v-e-r-t-i-s-i-n-g...?! For what...?!

Two young girls have been missing for more than a year - and a sign about them is considered advertising...?! I can’t believe it! I wonder if they noticed how ill that sounds!
I could write for hours now about caring about others, responsibility of people for each other...
Maybe even about stupidity and stubbornness of organisations...
Well, maybe I’ll do that later... They might come to their senses of find that this was a “misunderstanding”. I hope so.

And in the meanwhile please start to help find Maisy and Shannon!

 

10/11/2009, Sunday, 00:54, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Happy dreams

From time to time I sneak into Lana’s dreams to make her have happy dreams in which she is as much beloved as she is in the awake-reality.
So when she falls asleep and starts dreaming I pet her kindly - carefully enough not to interrupt her dreams - and tell her softly what a beautiful, kind, smart, friendly (yes, and much more) dog she is. She seems to enjoy that!

And another tip for the weekend:
Try to practise Yoga in the “advanced Lana style”
and remember to pay attention to the elegant waves in your ears!

 

10/06/2009, Tuesday, 18:01, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany


Some more statistics - but impressively presented

Here is another very useful website for you: www.worldmapper.org

It contains 696 maps, with associated information and PDF 'poster' file. Each map relates to a particular subject. Click 'A-Z Map Index', and browse some maps and associated information. It’s very interesting!

 

10/03/2009, Saturday, 11:19, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Looked down - found a face
Part I

 

09/28/2009, Monday, 21:42, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Almost forbeared to mention yesterday’s local election...
Good luck, Germany.
(took these pictures some time ago in the neighbourhood)

 

09/27/2009, Sunday, 20:56, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Always good to have a friendly friend around...

Not just on hot days...

09/21/2009, Monday, 22:26, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Presents for you only tomorrow!

Autumn is coming tomorrow! YAY!
Who would like warm sunny days at the beach? Wet, windy and chilly sounds much more like fun!

To celebrate the day we have two presents (2 free avatars) waiting for you!

Come around, pick them up and have a great time!

P.S.: Oh and a special warm greeting to everybody on the southern hemisphere of earth!

 

09/19/2009, Saturday, 16:22, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Today: Let’s dance...!

Third week in a row with a new art exhibition opening in support of the WGS!
We are happy to invite you to the opening of our newest sculpture exhibition “Let’s dance!”

And again 100% of the gains are given to the international peace project "World's Greatest Smile"!

Date: Saturday, 09/19, 3:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8))
Place:
Click here

 

09/17/2009, Thursday, 22:19, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

And she got her pedicure today, as well...

Washed, brushed, trained, entertained, moved, educated, praised, fondled and surprised with some presents.
And what did she today? Showed us a heart. She just knows how to show us her appreciation...

(Move your mouse over the picture if you didn’t find the heart.)

 

09/16/2009,Wednesday,22:51, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia,Germany

Look: ick...! Touch: ick...!! Smell: ick...!!!
I saved the rest of the senses for later observation...

Highlight of the day was beautiful - and almost daily and extra fondly brushed - Lana and my hands covered with fox excrement! (Probably it was a fox, I’m not an excrement expert, never wanted to be for good reason...)
Yes, all of us got a shower afterwards...! And no, I didn’t take any pictures of her today.

 

09/11/2009, Friday, 20:12, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Tomorrow’s art exhibition opening

Yoa Ogee & Yeti Bing proudly present “Aliens are handling Earth culture -or- How I tickles an elephant in my pink pyjama.”

 

09/05/2009, Saturday, 20:42, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Had a great day...!

Yesterday I decided to have an especially felicitous day. After that much work during the last time to prepare the exhibition on Saturday and much more we really needed some time off! And I really wanted to spend it in an entertaining way - so we went to the local Dreschfest, the threshing festival. I have never been that long in such a rural area as we are right now, so I didn’t know what to expect. But I like all kind of technical stuff and since I had decided to have a great day I was sure that I could make myself like it. And I really did!

... liked the straw blower ...

... liked to see a tractor hanging in the air for some reason...

... and the hovering undercarriage...
(No, I didn’t remove any supporting stands, neither there and nor in the picture...)

... liked the pink shirts almost every manly man seems to wear ...

... liked the museum for motor equipment...
(I seemed to be the only one...)

... liked the faithful training-milking-cow...

... and the idea that milk definitely grows in neat cartons in the supermarket   ...
(Probably I’m still not very rural spirited - but definitely had a great day,
really!)

 

09/05/2009, Saturday, 20:42, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Hello art lovers!
We proudly present the new art exhibition by Yeti & Yoa

We are happy to invite you to today’s opening of our new virtual sculpture art exhibition called "mmmove"!
You will find brand new and ... well ... mmmoved sculpty sculpted sculptures.

100% of the gains are given to the international peace project "World's Greatest Smile"!

Date: Saturday, 09/05, 3:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8))
Place

Come around and enjoy!

“Going to see” by Yeti Bing, aka me

 

08/30/2009, Sunday, 21:23, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Flying saucers?!

Have found some dinnerware in a front garden. Sure signs of aliens, right?

 

08/20/2009,Wednesday,20:50, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia,Germany

Some philosophy

I have taken these pictures and then turned one around. So, now, which is the real one and which is the mirror image?

 

08/13/2009, Thursday, 16:27, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Today is International Lefthanders Day

“International Lefthanders Day has been celebrated annually since 1976, when it was first declared by Lefthanders International.

It stems from the fact that not too long ago being lefthanded was thought to be "abnormal" and something that should be fixed.

But studies have found that on average, left-handed people are more likely to be intelligent, creative and homosexual.

And what's more, the "sinister handed" among us seem to excel at both the good and bad. Some-left handed people of note include Leonardo da Vinci, Jimi Hendrix, Barack Obama, Robert De Niro, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig Van Beethoven.” ABC News, Australia

So we wish everybody a Happy International Lefthanders Day! Enjoy!

 

08/12/2009,Wednesday,14:18, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia,Germany

Bug of the day

Short version: Heard it, felt it, took a picture, saw it - liked it...

 

07/31/2009, Friday, 23:39, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Always good to know...

Well, yes, I always have to know what is inside, under, around the corner... So it seems that someone - anticipating me or someone curious like me to dig here - just wrote what we probably might find:

“Ok stone 131,50”

Now we just have to find out

  • if there are 131,50 stones
  • or if we have to dig that deep in a measuring unit of our choice
  • or if we stay long enough here wondering about the sign a 131,5 kilo stone will come flown around and turn into a baton twirling golden frog if we ask him to kindly
  • or one of the approximately 206.5+ completely different possibilities in my mind...

 

07/17/2009, Friday, 20:54, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Love story or So you tell me that this is not an alien?! Part VI

We have found a gorgeous outcome of a probably romantic love between a rhino and a beetle. The felicitous descendant came out neat, very polite and even a bit clinging when we became friends with each other.

I guess the mom was the rhino and the dad the beetle, just a thought.

handsome rhino beetle

Lana, rhino beetle and me

 

07/10/2009, Friday, 21:53, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Just for the statistics: Would it really hurt that much...?!

We have gone for a walk - along the scenic route at the sewage works.

And from time to time we stopped and stepped aside - sometimes into the grass or some bushes - to let cyclist pass by. After a while I started counting them and got to more than 30 altogether plus a few uncounted from the beginning.

And now: How many “Thank you!” did we hear? What do you think?

2! Two!

2 out of more than 30!

Really - I couldn’t believe it! Not even a nonverbal “Thanks!” like a smile or a friendly nod. Nothing! And one of the two was even forced by giving her ‘the look’! And, no, it has happened not just around the sewage works...

Would it really hurt that much to say “Thank you” from time to time?!
And I don’t mean the big, meaningful acknowledgements which can be said or not after you contemplated the special circumstances.
I just mean these little “I have noticed that you did that for me and I appreciate it!”.

I think it doesn’t have to be said each and every time - but 2 out of 30...?! I could live very good with maybe 10 “Thank you”s and additional 10 nonverbal thanks and the rest had maybe a hard day or something like that.

I bet if you would do the same in Canada there would be at least 20 “Thank you”s, 25 smiles (some including a “Thank you”) and at least one or two would stop and start telling you what a wonderful day, path or hat this would be. And I agree, it is a beautiful hat indeed.

 

07/04/2009, Saturday, 20:42, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Impressions of the Obersee

 

06/24/2009,Wednesday,22:11, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia,Germany

Awww! Part II

Good news: Lana is fine again! Yay!

On her behalf we thank you for all your Get-well-soon-wishes! We delivered all your hugs, kisses and all other extra signs of love you sent us!

And after two nights of holding her in shifts, a portion of carrot cookies we baked for her (first dog cookies we baked so far - we tried them, they tasted ok - and she really seemed to like them better than cheese), and lots of camomile tea (which she just wanted to drink out of our hands, what explains that we had one yellow hand each for several days) she hops around now again and is very happy. So are we!

P.S.: Maybe she was just polite enough to pretend that she liked the cookies because she wanted to appreciate our effort. Probably the next cookies will be better. She has a very effective motivation strategy!

 

06/14/2009, Sunday, 16:14, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Awww!

Pooooor Lana has hurt her dewclaw... So we went to the veterinarian and he(prepare yourself for an internal scream) grabbed a gripper and pulled the whole claw out. Ahhh...hh...!
She got a compression bandage - in princess pink of course - and he fixed it with some sticky tape on her fur because this way she doesn’t try to get rid of it... For the rest of the day and night (!) she didn’t want to lay down, probably because additional to the claw pain the tape pulls out the hair if she tries. So the poor one just leaned on us or laid her head on our knees and tried to sleep while staying - and waked up when started falling down. Actually she just slept when one of us was holding her in our arms and comforting her. Finally, when the sun came up, three of us were falling asleep on the sofa.
Now she is a bit better but still very unhappy. And today we have to (prepare yourself for another scream) change the bandage including getting the tape off the fur...

 

06/07/2009, Sunday, 20:52, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Love story or So you tell me that this is not an alien?! Part V
or
Today’s Elections in the European Union

Yes, I’m a supporter of democracy! I just like to live in states where people have the right to decide who is going to represent them!
And because sometimes to have rights mean to have duties as well we participated in the
Elections in the European Union today.

Because my election invitation got lost somehow on the way to me two official ladies from a somewhat office came with it for a visit to check if I am really “me and here”. (What brings us to the philosophical question: Am I? Really?).
At least I am officially registered here, because there is a German law to do so if you stay longer than three weeks somewhere and I obey laws -even some physical laws- for several reasons. And I even got a stamp... So I didn’t expect any challenges according my election, especially because Andreas went through the exact same procedure and got his invitation several weeks ago.
Well, the ladies took my election invitation along back to their office to check even more if I am still inhabitant of Europe or something. And we never heard of them again...
Maybe it easier for me to elect on the
sixth moon of the planet Jupiter! (I should check that out someday.)

That’s why I went today to do my duty as a believer in democracy - even without my invitation.
And after some “That has not have happened before...!” (how comes that I hear that so often?!) and “How do we handle that?!” from some very official people I finally got my election documents. And so I disappeared with a ballot paper which was literally longer than a half of me and definitely longer than the polling booth (yes, I tested that - I guess I confused some people even more (again)!) and finally did my duty!

polling booths

 

06/04/2009, Thursday, 20:21, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Think both headline is fit very well - so you get both...:

There is beauty everywhere..., Part III
and
Love story or So you tell me that this is not an alien?! Part IV

Andreas made a ... um ... slimy declaration of love for me. Isn’t that ... um ... romantic...?!

 

05/27/2009,Wednesday,22:19, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Love story or So you tell me that this is not an alien?! Part III

We have been at a strange-but-somehow-familiar-creatures-exhibition (the official name was somewhat different) and made some new friends.

The Love story part...

And my favourite: the Gongylus gongylodes, also known as the wandering violin mantis

Unfortunately we couldn’t attend a scheduled guided tour because it “was forbidden to have a tour with less than five people” and only the two of us were interested...
Oh, Canadian spirit, where are thou?! Well, yes, probably in Canada...

 

05/23/2009, Saturday, 20:54, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Love story or So you tell me that this is not an alien?! Part II

And love is really blind... well, at least sometimes headless...

 

05/15/2009, Friday, 14:15, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Love story or So you tell me that this is not an alien?!

We took some hours off and went frog watching...

 

05/13/2009,Wednesday,21:36, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

There is beauty everywhere..., Part II

 

05/12/2009, Tuesday, 21:35, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Squeaking...? Squeaking...!

Squeaking. There was definitely a loud squeaking when I opened the door to the basement today. And since it was a very loud and ongoing squeaking soon I found the origin of it a bucket in a lightwell in form of three shrews! They were definitely loud - and very cute!
Andreas and I did some internet research again and learned that they are probably old enough to survive on their own. So after a quick photo session we released them into the garden.
I hope they let our May beetle (05/08/2009) be...!

Shrews squeaking in the bucket...

The first squeaking shrew toddled off...

And the remaining two spent some time with ... um, yes, squeaking...

Did you know that:

  • Along with the bats and toothed whales, some species of shrew use echolocation.
  • Shrews hold nearly 10% of their mass in their brain!
  • Unlike most mammals, some species of shrew are venomous. Shrew venom is not conducted into the wound by fangs, but grooves in the teeth.
  • Some species of screws are listed as critically endangered.
  • Shrews must eat 80-90% of their own body weight in food daily.
  • The word shrew is used to describe a woman with a violent, scolding, selfish or nagging temperament, as in Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew as well as to connote a nurturing and endearing emotion towards a spouse.

Well, I didn’t - now I do. Just love the internet...

 

05/08/2009, Friday, 23:44, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Welcome to my world...! Part 2
Got a present today I never got before...

This morning someone we didn’t even know presented us...

... with a May beetle! Well, that (both) was a little bit strange...

... but pretty endearing! Even so we decided to release the beetle into the wild.

And off it went into a hopefully happy future!

 

05/06/2009,Wednesday,15:20, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Welcome to my world...!

Thanks for the feedback I got on my tick entry! It seems that I made some people think - what is always a good result. I love metaphors...!

And what I can say is: This is the world I live in... And some of you seem to join me thinking about solving little problems keeping a bigger background at the back of our heads.

It is not just about a tick - it is about the fine line between right and wrong.

It is about how much suffering or even death of an individual or a group justifies death or suffering of another individual or group.

I think about it when I read the news. I think about it when I get mail from people living in challenging situations around the globe asking for advise what to do.

So what would you suggest them to do?
How much suffering or death of an individual or a group justifies death or suffering of another individual or group?
And how do you rate someone else’s suffering? How do you compare someone’s physical harm with hurt feelings, consideration of religious beliefs compared with someone else’s death?
Where is the fine line between right and wrong?

Welcome to my world...! It is yours, too!

P.S.:
Oh, and two people wrote they have removed a tick and it has survived. Since my tick felt into the grass and I didn’t recover it for examination there is a chance that I did not kill it! Probably it didn’t like the procedure anyway. But thanks so much for the comfort!

 

05/04/2009, Monday, 18:54, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

I have killed an animal...

Today I killed an animal and I feel really bad about it!

No, not this one.

This poor fellow we found on the other one last night.

After quite some late night internet research we had to go downtown today and bought a tool to remove it. Otherwise it could have caused some bad infections...

Poor tick...

Lana is probably happy now she got rid of the tick. She didn’t make a single sound, even when we put some disinfectants on her.

Andreas is telling me probably true things about evolution and such - and I still feel pretty much guilty killing it - even doing it intentionally!

When I have gone to wash my hands afterwards the bulb in the bathroom lamp exploded. And I don’t mean, it made a little sound and didn’t work any more. I mean it made a impressing noise and literally exploded. Is there a deeper meaning in this?
At least we discovered the answer on the age old question of ”How fast can Meike leave a bathroom...?”.

 

04/30/2009, Thursday, 18:23, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

There is beauty everywhere..., Part I

I have found a beautiful Peacock butterfly and it was so kind to smile at my camera for a while.

 

04/28/2009, Tuesday, 17:01, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Cherry blossom celebration

Finally I have time post some pictures of last weekend’s Cherry blossom celebration in Enger.

With background music performed by members of the local music school,
governing mayor Klaus Rieke helps to crown
the new Cherry blossom fairy Milena Fleer.
The very first Ferris wheel in Enger
These were the only cars here today - celebrating in the underground parking.
If you manage to angle 15 duckies you could choose any of the prices.
And one of the scariest attractions...
And, yes I asked, according to the carer nobody broke his neck so far.

 

04/26/2009, Sunday, 22:48, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

WGS support event:
Oh, what a night...!

The Avatar Orchestra Metaverse (AOM) performed a live concert in charity for the World's Greatest Smile Peace Project yesterday evening (or today morning, here it was both)!

In the name of the World's Greatest Smile I like to thank the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse for its entertaining performance! We have heard some great music and have seen some impressing visual effects, have met many wonderful people, and have learned a lot again.

Especially we like thank Leif Inge aka Gumnosophistai Nurmi, Börn Eriksson aka Miulew Takahe and Andreas Mueller aka Bingo Onomatopoeia for their support!

Thanks everyone for coming around! And thank you a lot for your donations for the World's Greatest Smile Peace Project - especially Paco Mariani, Luce Laval and Roxelo Babenco!

We hope to see you all soon again and are looking forward to the next great WGS event!
At AOM’s concerts as a listener you hear the music according to where you place yourself with respect to the performers. You hear the performer close to you better than you do the performer further away. So it is a constant moving forwards and backwards, and you can even stay on the stage if you like to.

 

04/24/2009, Friday, 17:55, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

WGS support event:
The World's Greatest Smile proudly presents
the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse!

The Avatar Orchestra Metaverse will be performing a live concert in charity for the World's Greatest Smile Peace Project!

The Avatar Orchestra Metaverse is a global collaboration of artists from Sweden, Japan, Canada, Italy, Germany, the United States, Norway and France that approaches Second Life® as an instrument itself. The average distance of the artists to each other while playing a concert is 6.800 kilometres!
The Orchestra build its own virtual instruments, making it possible for each individual performer in the Orchestra to trigger sounds independent from one another and to play together in real time. These instruments feature sound, visuals, and animations. A performance of a jumping, hovering, floating, dancing, and twirling Avatar Orchestra Metaverse is a truly spectacular event.

The Avatar Orchestra Metaverse will play live “Fragula” by Börn Eriksson aka Miulew Takahe and “Aleacitry” by Andreas Mueller aka Bingo Onomatopoeia!

Admission is free!
Venue will be the
WGS-School.
So
come around on Saturday, 04 / 25 / 09, 4:00 PM, San Francisco time, bring your friends and enjoy yourself!

 

04/22/2009,Wednesday,19:37, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Castle sponsored by turtles...!

We had something to organize in Bielefeld and took off an hour to tour Bielefeld’s Sparrenberg Castle yesterday.
We are visiting Germany, so we have to visit a castle. Isn’t there a law in this regard? And the restoration of this particular one is even sponsored by 2002-2005 turtles! I wonder what happened to the undetermined 3, or have they just been hard to count?

two of the many, many stones with the names of sponsors
(Schildkröten = turtles)

 

04/19/2009, Sunday, 17:22, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Open house at the Nordhof

Today we visited the scenic Nordhof, a tree nursery in the neighbourhood.

the entrance
some friendly pigs
charming interior
Find the paw.
Well done, here it is.
“Portraiture at the Nordhof” - Done!
“Please pee at the next car, thanks!” (Not done!)
and another adorable visitor

 

04/17/2009, Friday, 16:04, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

A windmill...

Andreas is still trying to enthuse me for his old hometown and is showing me around as much as possible as long as we are here. And, yay, it has a windmill...
Ok, seriously, it is nice here, people are friendly and say “Guten Tag!” (“Good day!”) whenever you meet someone - sounds like the Icelandic greeting sometimes - so it is not that different. I just miss the ocean so very much...

the Liesberg-Mühle

more of the Liesberg-Mühle

Andreas showing the Liesberg-Mühle

me taking a picture of the Liesberg-Mühle

and even more Liesberg-Mühle

 

04/12/2009, Sunday, 12:41, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

The round and the angular

Part I

Part II

 

04/06/2009, Tuesday, 18:46, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Um, another strange German rite...?

Or... have we imported some creative Icelandic trolls by fluke? Our luggage was surprisingly heavy...!

 

04/03/2009, Friday, 18:44, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

If Lana says “It’s summer now!”... then it is summer right now!

Spring in Enger seems to be like everybody told is it would be in Halifax and Dartmouth: They just skip it. Last week it was freezing cold and today Lana officially declared the arrival of summer.
So it seems that when we go for a walk now - we do that a lot to discuss and enhance some projects - we are two vegetarians with a (thirsty) hot dog...

Isn’t this the sweetest nose tongue combination you have ever seen?

 

04/02/2009, Thursday, 19:57, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Well, maybe it isn’t the most important news of the world...

But our temporary neighbourhood sheep got a little charming offspring yesterday! To spring is a bit challenging so far... but it can already stay, drink and look sooo cute.

proud hairy dad

yes, barbed wire... and worth it

Aww, isn’t that adorable...?!

 

03/29/2009, Sunday, 19:46, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

My yesterday’s Hasi-Day: Had a firm's day out

Yesterday we had to talk us through some future projects and took the chance to do that on a walk along the almost world famous Brandbach (the Yellow River of Enger) and a took a stroll through the nature protection area "Bustedter Wiesen".
I’m always a bit afraid of getting shot from a hyperactive hunter who is sitting inactively on a raised hide when we enter a more natural area here. So I do stay on the walkways and try not to look too much as a deer! You couldn’t only loose your life but money, too, cause there is a fine for hopping through the woods...
Anyway it was nice and we had lots of very cool, fun, important, wonderful and great ideas! So it was worth it!

 

03/23/2009, Monday, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

23:51
Ok, three or four updates for a two-sentences-blog-entry...
Thank you for the hint!

  1. We have obviously ornithologists among our readers.
  2. Ornithologists are fast (at least some are).
  3. In autumn you can not meet thousands of herons at the Rehdener Geestmoor (at least not so far) but cranes...! Probably that is nice, too.
     
  4. Did I mention that I like squirrels, bears, hedgehogs, elks, crickets and racoons as well?
     


15:42
Rehdener Geestmoor

We have gone for an excursion to the Rehdener Geestmoor, a scenic bog in Lower Saxony.
In autumn you can meet thousands of herons here - must be very impressing!

 

03/19/2009, Thursday, 21:47, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Another strange rite to unscramble

We found another sign of an enigmatic rite: ‘Hang blue-white and white-blue socks on a string over a hedgerow’.

Maybe a try to placate the gods of cold feet to protect vegetable property lines? Invitation for blue skies and white fluffy clouds or the sea with spume to your garden? German way of hanging Christmas socks on the fireplace - just in another colour, at another place and another time of the year? Or, which would be a very common rite here, a form of an oblation, a solemn offering of the great element water to the big being called air for ceremonially presenting or for introducing one element to the other?

Germans seem to be somewhat different - lots of undiscovered mysteries for Andreas and me over here...

 

03/16/2009, Monday, 15:42, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Dear deer

We have caught sight of a deer! Actually there were even five but the others hopped away before they realized that they would become world famous if they would just hang around and smile at my camera. Maybe next time.

Andreas and Lana (my beloved dog-in-law)
watching me sneaking up a deer in a huge red jacket
(an extra “unspecified reference index” for the advanced communication fans among you
- and the pictures in your head are worth it, right?)

 

03/08/2009, Sunday, 12:23, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

15 months abroad and they have already changed German vocabularies...?!

Um, what was the meaning of the word “sofort” again? Did they change something while we were abroad?

Well, since a week we are in Germany for a visit - and maybe more important for long term assuring the financing of the World’s Greatest Smile Peace Project and especially the World’s Greatest Smile Peace School.
So during the last week we spent quiet some time in this regard in agencies and at the end the good news was that we would get a special and hopefully helpful consulting appointment “sofort”.
When we left “sofort” meant “prompt”, “at once” or “right away”. We got that information on Tuesday. And yesterday we received a letter which made us believe that they changed the meaning of “sofort” into “two and a half months”...!!!

Do we have to explore a mysterious German rite of ‘Changing The Meaning Of Words Randomly’ taking place every 37 1/2 years? Or does it have to do with the upcoming Pi-Day? The daylight-saving time? Or the fog...?

 

03/02/2009, Monday, 09:41, Meike, Enger, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Reykjavik - final thoughts for now
(instead of my traditional personal, very incomplete, but completely undemocratic and absolutely undiplomatic comparison of the cities we have lived in)

This series of pictures shows astonishing well my very the development of my personal impression of Reykjavik - even if it was not supposed to do it (I never said it would be easy to take pictures from me...).

First thought: Wow, that won’t be very much fun!
Used to Canadian behaviour, weather, architecture, style and water (!), Reykjavik was a bit of a challenge for several reasons at the beginning.
Second thought: There has to be the beauty somewhere!
When we systematically started to discover Reykjavik and its surrounding we  found lots of great, adorable details!
We explored a lot - in and around Reykjavik...!
Third thought: Like it!
Especially when we started to make short excursions in the surrounding I really started to love Reykjavik...
               


The classic tourist picture:
Sólfarið - The Sun Voyager, a Viking ship sculpture...

  ... a question of the right angle of view - as so many things in Reykjavik...
                         
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention “That’s Iceland - Part V”: Reykjavik’s
Nauthólsvík, a heated, artificial beach!
It is not very big or very hot, but a nice place to collect mussel shells, watch the boats - or the planes on the nearby airport.

And finally two of by favourite pictures, which symbolize Reykjavik in my eyes very good: pretty rough, kind of strange - and very beautiful...

 

02/27/2009, Friday, 20:18, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

That’s Iceland - Part IV

We spent our last day in Reykjavik at the Perlan... Its a perfect place for a last day because you have such a great overview over the surrounding!
Lots of “Oh, look we have been there!”, “And it has been so nice over there!”, “On that hill we were surprised by that sudden meeean and unexpected snowstorm!”, “On that one as well...”...

Perlan, outside:

...Perlan, inside, canned #1:
...Perlan, inside, canned #2:

 

02/26/2009, Thursday, 22:41, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Whaling = bad idea

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) released its report on the Future of the International Whaling Commission this month.

Summary of my opinion:

  • killing whales for commercial purpose = terrible bad idea
  • killing whales for scientific research = acceptable in very few, very selected cases and very much controlled, and as long as it is not just a disguise for commercial purpose
  • killing whales for aboriginal-subsistence = acceptable in very few, very selected cases and very much controlled, and as long as it is not just a disguise for commercial purpose.
    And sometimes it is a good idea to change traditions now because of new knowledge.
  • whale watching = if it is performed in a responsible manner, it can be a great way to spark the love for these fantastic animals in whale watchers. I had the chance to do it some years ago and it was one of the most impressing experiences of my life!

International Whaling Commission
The IWC is an international body set up by the terms of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), which was signed in Washington on 2 December 1946 to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry".

Iceland and the IWC
In 2002 Iceland was allowed to rejoin IWC with a reservation to the moratorium (Iceland withdrew from IWC in 1992), but this reservation is not recognized as a valid objection by many IWC members. In addition, Italy, Mexico and New Zealand do not consider the ICRW to be in force between their countries and Iceland. None of these countries, however, has mounted any legal challenge to Iceland's membership of the IWC.
As the moratorium applies only to commercial whaling, whaling under the scientific-research and aboriginal-subsistence provisions of the ICRW is still allowed. Since 1994, Norway, has been whaling commercially and Iceland began hunting commercially in September 2006.

Report on the Small Working Group (SWG) on the Future of the International Whaling Commission

whaling vessels in Reykjavik’s harbour

whale skeleton on a whale watching boat right next to them

 

02/25/2009, Wednesday, 23:56, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Socks for me!

We found these packs of socks with 3 (three!) socks per pack. And they don’t even match! Wonderful! Made for me, yes, made for me!

Oh, and we had a very good view on magical stratovolcano Snæfellsjökull (the rise on the horizon) again (see 01/18/2009).

 

02/24/2009, Tuesday, 21:28, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Get prepared for your next vacation in Iceland
New language resource: Icelandic

Even if it seems that each Icelander speaks a pretty good English I translated the most of our list of the most important vocabularies into Icelandic for you.

 Languages         Icelandic

Oh, and here are two of my favourite pictures I took in Iceland... If you visit Iceland in wintertime, bring your warmest boots! And have fun!

 

02/23/2009, Monday, 23:59, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Seltjarnarnes Baejarfelag

Today we decided wisely to take the afternoon off - even it was chilling cold - to make an excursion to Seltjarnarnes Baejarfelag which on the map seemed to be a very nice spot. And it definitely is!

a hot spring - I could have used it later the day...

the grotto
The tide was too high to walk there, and so we strolled along the shore.

The official labelling of this is “nasty slimy stuff” as I found out when I examined it with my perfectly warm and clean hands.
The result of the examination was that it is very nasty and extraordinary slimy. And the interesting fact was that you don’t get rid of the slime - not even rubbing in lava grit helped. Out of my sleeves my hands got pretty cold and things got very entertaining when I tried to wash my hands in the ocean without getting wet feet this time. That took quite a while because the stuff turned out to be remarkable clingy. At least Andreas had a good time watching me hopping back and forward rubbing my my hands on the lava in the icy (!) water and trying to keep the rest of me as far away from it as possible... At some point he found out that my hands really started to hurt somewhat uncomfortable and turned into an gentleman again and generously put his gloves over my stiff hands.
(I gave up wearing my own gloves long ago because I have to examine everything... I even lost my socks while wearing shoes somehow - so, how long would I own gloves?!)

owner of nasty, slimy and wet gloves...

The Seltjarnarnes Baejarfelag is such a gorgeous place! We could have stayed there for hours watching the sunset, listening to the waves and sponging up all the beauty around!

exhausted, cold - and very much touched by Seltjarnarnes Baejarfelag

 

02/22/2009, Sunday, 19:45, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Art - inside and outside

We visited the Hafnarhúsið, one of Reykjavik’s typical art museums.

And had a wonderful view on our way home. Ok, we made a little detour to visit Reykjavik’s scenic Fuel Terminal (well, the view is more scenic than the terminal itself) and it was definitely worth it!

See the two little stones on the right? Kind of romantic, isn’t it?

 

02/21/2009, Saturday, 21:17, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

New smiling friend

Andreas made a new friend in a pylon...
...and when I provided some enlightening, the smile became even brighter:

 

02/20/2009, Friday, 12:09, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Why are the trees singing...?

Ok, not all of them. But sometimes, if you pass a group of trees, there is definitely a singing. So I tried to to figure out what causes this melodious sound.

Why are trees singing?

Because they want to be hugged? Probably not, as I mentioned the physical distance of people in Reykjavik is very little, and even so I haven’t seen anyone hugging a tree. People don’t even seem to notice the auditive beauty.

To entertain themselves? Could be, especially because they sing in groups.

Does the singing maybe have something to do with the trolls around? Well, I’ll ask the next troll I meet if he knows anything about it.

To become warm-hearted not to freeze too much in the snow? Might be, I just don’t want to kill a tree to find out if it had a warm heart. And even if so - it would be cold then anyway...

To make me happy? Could that be? Trees singing just to cheer me up? They would have definitely reached their aim then! I just love it! It made my day more than once!

entertained listener of a singing tree,
(I didn’t find a tree songbook so far but it might have been the “Turdus iliacus” song)

trees taking a break of singing, will maybe sing again tomorrow

 

02/17/2009, Tuesday, 20:56, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Dark, dark history of Iceland or
We have been in the National Museum of Iceland.

Here are some tips for your next visit of the National Museum of Iceland:

  • Don’t take pictures of the exhibition! After I took some (there was no sign that you are not allowed to do so) a staff member came and unmistakably cleared this fact up for us. Well, now I have some brilliant pictures which would arise the strongest desire in all of you to visit this museum right away, but...
     
  • Find and push the buttons to enlighten the showcases! They are there - they are just a bit hard to find because it is so dark...!
     
  • Don’t push the buttons with the red ears next to them. They have obviously no function for you. Not if you pull them, push just the middle or the ring, turn them around, or just stare at them either.
     
  • If you dare to get in one of the little caves be aware that you might find some scary things in it.
     
  • If you want to get the attention of one of the motion sensors to turn on the light of one of the bigger display cases, don’t move like a Canadian as we did. Say yourself “I am in a museum - I want enlightening right now!” and move like that! Or just wave your arms as I did after a while.
     
  • The washrooms were clean.
     
  • And if you prefer not to see lots and lots of human skeletons (in the exhibition, not in the washrooms), just visit another museum!
    The Asmundarsafn Reykjavik Art Museum was very nice for example! (See pics from 12/22/2008) Or go and play in the snow...

I assume this is not a mop-exhibition, so I was allowed to take this picture, right?

 

02/16/2009, Monday, 20:52, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Found another magical place here in Reykjavik...

 

02/15/2009, Sunday, 19:43, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

That’s Iceland - Part III

Ever wanted to have a heated sports field in wintertime? Here we go...
Icelander seem to be very sportive in general. You can see them run everywhere no matter how mean the weather is. Actually they run on slippery streets I fight to walk on, just like Halifaxians. There are sport centres everywhere and the impressing Icelandic Olympic training centre in the park nearby.
I have read that Icelander tried to be in a perfect physical shape because they wanted to look good sitting in a geothermal pool. I’m sure they do!

(Here the snow still tries to resist the heating, but is has no chance... Comparing the snow
 on the field with the snow next to it I would say the heating wins the game 4:1)

 

02/14/2009, Saturday, 12:35, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Happy
Valentine’s
Day!

Here are the translations of “I love you!” in many, many languages: I love you!
Enjoy!

WGS-School Support:
Oh and yes, we provide a special
Valentine’s Day presents sale at the WGS-Shop for you today!

 

02/13/2009, Friday, 13:46, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Relax, everything is ok, everything is fine...

We found an advertising sticker on the floor of one of Reykjavik’s shopping malls - I don’t name it not to provide some extra advertising:

Maybe I have had to care about situations like this too often in 3D to find it appropriate in 2D.
People should get used to care about others who lie on the floor! And creating bad model behaviour - as passing by a person in need without caring - in the back of the heads of people is just so wrong in many ways!

Btw, ever noticed the little green bag I carry around at my belt? It contains a foldable respiratory mask and I have it with me wherever I go! You can get it in a drugstore, it is cheap, tiny - and it can save life! Your life too!
Get a respiratory mask today and use it if you have to!

 

02/12/2009, Thursday, 19:09, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Chess is art - so true

We have been at the Kjarvalsstadir, one of Reykjavik’s Art Museums. They have besides paintings by Jóhannes S. Kjarval the current exhibit of a very interesting collection of chess games. Some were very creative!

 

02/11/2009, Wednesday, 12:31, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Yesterday we got a very lovely mail from The Honourable Rodney Joseph MacDonald!

Rodney Joseph MacDonald, MLA, is politician, musician, educator and the current Premier of Nova Scotia, Canada.

Rodney Joseph MacDonald
picture from Wikipedia


He wrote us:

Congratulations on your unique initiative. I hope you encouraged a lot of goodwill on the 25th day of January.

I believe that big things can begin through the smallest of gestures. Your efforts to promote peace and understanding through something as simple as a smile, can only foster positive feelings everywhere.

Good luck as you continue to generate interest in this annual event.

...”

This made me have a look back at our wonderful Halifax / Dartmouth - time again! I still read Nova Scotia news almost every day and have to come back as soon as possible! I felt so much at home and welcome there from the very first day!

 

02/09/2009, Monday, 19:26, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

We have found a complete new kind of snow again!

Ok, the location was not very idyllic - but we had fun anyway! And everybody passing by had a big smile on his face and Andreas got some very nice comments about his new house...

 

02/08/2009, Sunday, 18:24, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

WGS-School-Event:
Let’s colour the world! Wow!

Ok, we expected yesterday’s (for us it was today’s) WGS-School-Event to be very popular... Well, and then the feedback was even much, much more than we thought it would be! It was amazing!
We passed more than 350 markers out and there were participants from at least 8 countries coming together. We are sure that there were even more countries because some participants were so enthusiastically painting that they forgot to tell us where they are from. It was so much fun-fun!
The event was scheduled for 30 minutes and even after one and a half hour some of the artists still wanted to continue! Some stood for hours!

And thanks so much to all wonderful WGS volunteers and donators for your help! You are highly appreciated!

There are more great WGS-School-Events coming up - so remember to check our schedule regularly!

lots of people in marker-outfits and some still choosing their colour

some of the participants on the red sheet

Painting even in 3D! The marker were made by Andreas.

People from around the globe painting together - so much fun!

 

02/06/2009, Friday, 19:10, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

For everyone...

...who wondered what I mean with “beautiful blue-pink Reykjavik”...

 

02/05/2009, Thursday, 14:19, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

WGS-School support activities:
More than 70 new products!

Andreas has been pretty busy and there are more than 70 new products in our World's Greatest Smile shop next to the WGS-School now!
Fancy avatars, exotic plants, from cute to scary shoulder animals, kinetic shoulder art and imaginative sculptures! So
come by and have a look around!

Oh and yes, 100% of the gains are given to the World's Greatest Smile Peace Project!

If you ever wanted a 10m high sculpture called “Elevenses”, here it is!

And if you prefer to look like a cute “kind of bird”, you can do so with avatars like this one.

Or you try this 6m long flying snake outfit comfortably hovering under three propeller.

 

02/04/2009, Wednesday, 23:05, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

One of these blue Reykjavik days again - beautiful!

When we came back from a little walk in a nearby park, we found this current weather conditions information on a gadget on our PC screen:
We have spent a whole winter in Canada and have never seen an igloo as weather condition info so far! Probably because we got the gadget too late.
So what does an igloo-weather mean? Stay inside? Attend a survival-class? Be aware of falling or growing icy dwellings?

Ok, it was indeed a bit chilling outside today and we have even seen a little igloo on the park playground, but how did they know?

 

02/02/2009, Monday, 20:08, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

WGS-School-Event:
Let’s colour the world!

Artists of the world – come around! And if yo are not an artist but like to have some fun, come around, too!

Because...
We’ll have a painting event next Saturday, 4:00 PM, San Francisco time! Yay!
Click for location!

Everyone will get one of Yoa Ogee’s awesome marker avatars and then we’ll create together a beautiful, precious, lovely, fun, world famous, ... um ... strange picture!

You know people from all over the world? Great! Bring them along!
Artists from how many countries do we get together to paint together one piece of art?

Let’s get creative! Let your imagination run away with you!
The more friends you bring the more colourful it’ll be!

And bring your camera! We could publish the pics on the website of the World’s Greatest Smile!

On your mark, ready, go!

See you then!
Love
Yeti Bing
(Yes, that’s me.)

 

02/01/2009, Sunday, 21:12, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

This is new...

Ok, serious, have you ever seen this kind of snow? Actually I haven’t - and now it’s all over Reykjavik! It feels like a very cold terry towel washed without fabric softener. This is extra cool!

 

01/30/2009, Friday, 02:55, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Discovered Fossvogur bay today ... um ... yesterday...

It supposed to become one of these blue-rosy days... Sunny, snowy, magical. So we decided to stroll along Fossvogur bay where we surprisingly haven’t been before. I found out that I still need some higher boots or stilts with snow chains. Even so we spent a beautiful afternoon thinking some new and exciting WGS-projects trough and getting some sunlight and fresh air at the same time. 

 

01/27/2009, Tuesday, 16:55, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
Two more Very Important Participants for the WGS!

And Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Dr. Sir Clive Granger sent us an hopeful e-mail and informed us about his participation in the WGS-Day!

“... I was happy to Smile on Jan 25th
---lets hope that it has an effect ...”

Professor Granger received the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2003 for methods of analyzing economic time series with common trends (cointegration). He was voted in 2004 in the 100 Welsh Heroes was made a Knight Bachelor in the New Year’s Honours in 2005.

I read his autobiography with interest! There are many worth knowing details in it! So I have to pass some of them on to you:

About luck:
He says that his career had largely been determined by a sequence of "lucky breaks". For example: “In one of the classes we all had to stand up and state our planned career. ... In those days I stuttered  somewhat and when my turn came to stand up, I tried to say "meteorology" but found I could not get the word out, so I just said "statistics," thereby determining my future path.”

“I have been asked if I consider myself to be naturally lucky. Certainly in my career the breaks have fallen my way. ... Even in general life I feel  that I am often fortunate, coming across useful information or scarce parking spaces. I have never tried to use the ability by gambling but I do have friends who call on my name when trying to find somewhere to park their car, and they say that it works, even in Florence!”

About Success:
A teacher told his mother that he would never become successful, “which illustrates the difficulties of long-run forecasting on inadequate data.”
And here is his recipe for success:
“Do  not start too high on the ladder, move to a good but not top university, work hard, have a few good ideas, chose good collaborators (I  had over eighty in my career), attract some excellent students, wait twenty years or so, and then retire.”

And he finds “that traveling is usually enjoyable  and certainly broadening both in general knowledge and also through  cross-fertilization of ideas.” Over his career he has visited over thirty countries!

I love wise people’s recipes for success - and because I might need some luck as well (even if I don’t need a parking spaces) I’ll certainly try to call on his name! I just wonder if I should try it best with his full name, with or without title, or maybe parts of it. Well, he would definitely be able to tell what the statistics say about that!

Quotations are from Clive Granger’s autobiography.



 

And we got another friendly e-mail with the confirmation of the participation of Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., United States.

 

 


01/26/2009, Monday, 19:41, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Icelandic financial crisis protests leads to government resignation

We have been downtown today, a loud experience, still. At least when you get close to the Alþingishús, the seat of the Icelandic parliament where parts of the Icelandic public have arranged protests against the Central Bank, the Parliament and the government's alleged lack of responsibility before and after the crisis, attracting between 3000 and 6000 people (1-2% of Iceland's population) on Saturdays.

On 22 January, police used tear gas to disperse people the square in front of the Althingi, the first such use since the 1949 anti-NATO protest!
Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced on 23 January that he would be stepping down as leader of the Independence Party for health reasons. The government are recommending that elections be held on 9 May 2009.

Iceland's commerce minister, resigned yesterday, citing the pressures of the nation's economic collapse, as the country's political leaders failed to agree on how to lead country out of its financial crisis. He also fired the head of the Iceland's financial supervisory authority. He acknowledged that Icelanders have lost faith in their government and political system.
Today’s negotiations on continuing the coalition broke down and Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced that he would hand his resignation in to the president later in the day.

Today’s protests in front of the Alþingishús. In the front you can see one of the lampposts maltreated with pots and metal rods - no flying potatoes today.

 

01/25/2009, Sunday, 15:30, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:

Happy
World’s Greatest Smile
Day!

We wish you all a peaceful and joyful
World’s Greatest Smile
- Start with a Smile - Day!
Enjoy!
 

The goal of World’s Greatest Smile Day is to give people from all over the world the possibility to state together that there is willingness for an intelligent and peaceful international communication. And the lots and lots of mail we got show that there is definitely a willingness!

We like to cordially thank everybody who supported us during the last time and helped the World’s Greatest Smile Peace Project so much!

As the newest part of the WGS we work on the first WGS Peace School where volunteers from all over the world teach live free classes to people in peace-related topics via Internet.
So if you like to be part of a great, exciting new project come around and join our wonderful group of volunteers!


Nanaia Mahuta

 

Lennart Axelsson

 

Magdalena Andersson

 

Tőkés László

And we got lots of supporting mail from politicians around the world again:

Luisa Morgantini MEP
Vice-President of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament, Italy

Nanaia Mahuta MP
Member of Parliament, New Zealand
“Teenaa koe Meike
... I would be happy to participate in this event, thank you for keeping me informed. Kia ora”

Marisol Espinoza Cruz MP
Member of Parliament, Peru

Lennart Axelsson MP
Member of Parliament, Sweden
“Of course I would like to participate in the international peace project "World's Greatest Smile"”

László Tőkés MEP
Member of the European Parliament, Romania
Bishop

Aaron Gilmore MP
Member of Parliament, New Zealand
“Sounds like a great idea, smiling is the best medicine count me in! ...”

Celia Barlow MP
Member of Parliament, United Kingdom

Magdalena Andersson MP
Member of Parliament, Sweden
“Of course I would like to participate! ...”

John Heppell MP
Member of the Parliament, United Kingdom

Walburga Habsburg Douglas MP
Member of Parliament, Sweden
“Hier wird gerne am 25. Januar mitgelächelt! ...”

Emma Henriksson MP
Member of Parliament, Sweden
“... Of course I will join you and smile on Sunday! ...”

 

 

01/23/2009, Friday, 20:41, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
The 18
th Noble Laureate supporting the WGS!

And Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Dr. Johann Deisenhofer wrote us a nice e-mail and announced his support for the WGS!

“... I look forward to smiling on the 25th of January. ...”

Prof. Deisenhofer received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1988 for the determination of the three-dimensional structure of a photosynthetic reaction centre.
He is a member of the Academia Europaea, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and currently serves on the board of advisors of Scientists and Engineers for America.
His Nobel Prize was followed by several non-scientific honours such as a high order of the Federal Republic of Germany and honorary citizenships of his home town Zusamaltheim and of his current residence Dallas.


Besides that we answered, sorted, and loved hundreds of e-mails today. And there are more Very Important Participants waiting to be published! We do it as fast as we can!

 

01/22/2009, Thursday, 15:16, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
Six new politicians support the WGS!

The second minister from Sweden!
The Honourable Dr. Cecilia Malmström, Minister for EU Affairs in Sweden, signed up for the World's Greatest Smile-Day!

Prior to her appointment as Minister for EU Affairs she had served as a Member of the European Parliament and was member of European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Cecilia Malmström speaks Swedish, English, Spanish and French fluently, and also decent German and Italian and is author of books, articles and essays.

The Honourable Dr. Cecilia Malmstrom

Simon Hughes

 

John Hemming

And we are also very thankful for the support from:

Arthur Roy Ainslie MP
Member of Parliament, Republic of South Africa
“... I look forward to taking part.”

Baroness Perry of Southwark, Paulina Perry
Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom
“I will be happy to smile on January 25th. I believe that smiles help us to know and like each other - and smiling at someone makes both of us happy.
...”

Lee Scott MP
Member of Parliament, United Kingdom
”I would be happy to be involved ...”

Simon Hughes MP
Member of Parliament, United Kingdom
will smile to participate in World's Greatest Smile Day

John Hemming MP
Member of Parliament, United Kingdom
"I welcome a campaign which it is entirely positive. ...”

And an extravagant Icelandic troll?
Round the corner we found these footprints:
Maybe a three-legged - and somewhat confused - troll here in Reykjavik?

 

01/21/2009, Wednesday, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

21:38
World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
He is bright, funny, can cook, and obviously even emptied the garbage nighty! And we have got him!

I have to mention that Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Dr. Martin Chalfie was one of the people on my personal wish-list of WGS-participants. You know... one of those people you see on a picture and think “Ok, he looks clever - I want him!” And then you read about them and think “Ok, I have to have him!” So you can imagine my happiness when we received his e-mail today...!

“Good luck with the project. We could all use more smiles and more peace.
I'm happy to join. ...”

And he added this gorgeous picture:

Prof. Chalfie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008 for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP.
He seems to be a bit self-deprecating and didn't answer the call from Stockholm because he slept through it and “woke up at ten after six, and I realised that they must have given the Prize in Chemistry, so I simply said, "Okay, who's the schnook that got the Prize this time?" And so I opened up my laptop, and I got to the Nobel Prize site and I found out I was the schnook! This was very funny to find. Now the other two guys are really terrific scientists, but I ... so this is a very big and very nice surprise.”
So I learned another vocable from his telephone interview.

Marty Chalfie is married with Tulle Hazelrigg who gave him permission to cite her unpublished research provided he meet the following conditions: make coffee each Saturday morning for two months, ready by 8:30 a.m., prepare a special French dinner at a time of his choosing, and empty the garbage nighty for one month.
He seems to have been able to manage that as well.



 

14:35
World’s Greatest Smile - Day,
January 25th 2009:

Mail from the United Kingdom

We got another nice e-mail from Lord Maginnis of Drumglass, Kenneth Wiggins Maginnis, who announced his participation in the WGS!
He is
Member of the United Kingdom House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

“I'm more than happy to smile. ...”



 

12:39
World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
Oooooho!

And now Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Dr. Charles Hard Townes sent us a wonderful e-mail!

“I am pleased to participate in the World's Greatest Smile. ... Very best wishes for this good enterprize.”

Charles Townes received the Nobel Prize in Physics 1964 for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle.

Besides that he was awarded the Niels Bohr international medal awarded for contributions to the peaceful use of atomic energy 1979 and the Templeton Prize for "Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities" 2005.

Between 1966 and 1970 he was Chairman of the NASA Science Advisory Committee for the first human landing on the moon, the Apollo lunar landing program.

Aged 93 he is among our oldest prominent supporters, and after watching and listening to him I still can’t believe his age! It is amazing! Well, he worked at some very cool laboratories - maybe they invented some kind of time-travel we don’t know about?

You can sit next to him at the Dr. Charles Hard Townes statue facing Falls Park on the Reedy River, Greenville, South Carolina.

 

01/20/2009, Tuesday, 19:25, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
Oh, wow! Really! Wow!

Another very friendly and encouraging e-mail reached us today:
The
Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Nils Daniel Carl Bildt will smile, too!

Carl Bildt was also Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994 and leader of his party for 13 years.

He has been noted internationally as a diplomat and mediator in the Balkan conflict, serving as the European Union's Special Envoy to the Former Yugoslavia, co-chairman of the Dayton Peace Conference in November 1995 and as High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina immediately after the Bosnian War. He also served as the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Balkans.

Carl Bildt was an early pioneer among politicians of using the internet for communicating. 1994 he sent an e-mail to U.S. president Bill Clinton, which was the first (as what is publicly known) ever electronic mail sent between two heads of government!

And on 30 May 2007 Bildt officially opened a "Swedish embassy" in the virtual world Second Life. The embassy, called "Second House of Sweden", is a virtual replica of the Swedish embassy building in Washington, D.C., the House of Sweden.
Yes, that is the same internet platform where we are opening our first
WGS-School! That is so great!

 

01/19/2009, Monday, 14:33 Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:

Mariela Baeva

Two Members of the European Parliament smile for the WGS

Yesterday we received two e-mails from Members of the European Parliament who wants to support the WGS!

Mariela Baeva, who is Member of the European Parliament from Bulgaria wrote: “Dear friends, I will follow your instructions with pleasure. I also attach a photo of mine indicating I am a true smile "container" ...

And Tom Wise, Member of the European Parliament from the United Kingdom, sent:
I am delighted to add my name to your campaign and will smile on the 25th January. BUT, I can go one better! My New Years Resolution, renewed every year, is to make someone else smile!
That someone HAS to be .......
1 At the end of a telephone taking my call.
2 Someone that I did not know existed before I made the call.
If I succeed in doing so, I ask THEM to try to do the same!  Smiles all round! ...”

You may also like to read: New Year’s resolution / Smile for health...

 

01/18/2009, Sunday, 18:52, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Sunday + visibility of 117 km + a bit of our rare daylight = Snæfellsjökull

Yes, I know that the picture isn’t very good, 117 km seems to be too far for my camera. But if you mix the three pictures in your head and add a little sharpness and a gorgeous sunrise, you have the right impression! It was beautiful!

Today we could really see one of the most famous sites of Iceland, Snæfellsjökull,  a stratovolcano with a glacier covering its summit. It is 1446 m high and at a distance of 117 km (!) from Reykjavik.
The mountain is included in the Snæfellsjökull National Park.

In the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), by Jules Verne, the protagonists find the entrance to a passage leading to the centre of the earth on Snæfellsjökull.
 

It is there, at the horizon... I promise!

 

01/16/2009, Friday, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

20:22
World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
One of the best pictures ever!

And we received a long and very special e-mail from Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Dr. H. David Politzer today. One of the things I like most at Professor Politzer is, that after reading each of his e-mails I end up smiling or even laughing - and I think he even intends this effect!

Anyway, in today’s e-mail he announced his participation in the WGS-Day! The rest is kind of private so I don’t quote it here now.
And he sent us this adorable picture of his smile:

Prof. H. David Politzer was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2004 for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction. He is professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
And in 1989 he appeared in a minor role as Manhattan Project physicist Robert Serber in the movie Fat Man and Little Boy, which starred Paul Newman as General Leslie Groves. So - as far as I know - he is the first Nobel Laureate among our VIPs who has also a Filmography at the The Internet Movie Database!


 

14:49

After a horrible day yesterday (from a technical point of view) between computer crashes and lots and lots of internet crashes we are more or less ready to work today again - most of the time...
At least I used the time to start to sort our WGS-Very Important Participants (VIPs) a bit.


First female politician participates in the WGS!

And we found another friendly e-mail with an announcement of a Smile: The newest member of our VIPs is Jana Bobošíková. She is Czech politician and Member of the European Parliament!

Here is a link to the European Parliament.

 

01/14/2009, Wednesday, 19:31, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
A Smile from beloved Canada!

Today we received a joyous e-mail from the Honourable Yoine J. Goldstein, Canadian Senator, who announced his support for the World’s Greatest Smile: “Great idea. Count me in.”

Yoine Goldstein was president of Federation CJA (central address for Jewish philanthropy and community service in Montreal). He is a leading member of Canada’s legal community and one of  the most highly respected lawyers in Canada.

He is active in all aspects of the work of the Senate and member of the Standing Committee on Human Rights of the Parliament of Canada.
Yoine Goldstein received the Lord Reading Law Society Human Rights Award in 1992 and the Lord Reading Law Society Service Award in 1998.

 

01/13/2009, Tuesday, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

18:21
World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
Our third Noble Laureate who participates the third time!

And we just got another joyful e-mail: Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Dr. Kurt Wüthrich let us know that he participates in the World’s Greatest Smile - Day for the third time!

Professor Wüthrich was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2002 for his development of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for determining the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules in solution.
Additional to his Nobel Prize the list of his awards is very long! Among others he gained the “World ‘Future’ Award, The World Awards, Vienna, Austria”, the “Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology, Inamori Foundation, Kyoto, Japan” and the “Médaille d'Honneur en Argent, Société d'Encouragement au Progrès, Paris, France”.
Besides that Prof. Kurt Wüthrich got several international Honorary Degrees in China, India, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Argentina, Hungary, and Russia.



17:47
And another dead mouse - and the new one is biting...

After our last brave and truly beloved computer mouse died a few days ago we had got to replace it. Actually it was the cheapest mouse we could find in Germany at that time and it was the best one I have ever had! It’s twin unfortunately already died in Canada and we had got to substitute it with a ludicrous expensive one (even if it was one of the low priced we could find) and then with a second one shortly after because the first one devoured batteries faster than we could click.
Anyway, third country, fifth mouse, and the first one I trapped my finger in - more than once and more than one finger in the mean*time...
At least we took the opportunity and visited Smáralind, Iceland’s biggest shopping mall.
And on the way back we had the chance to watch another beautiful Icelandic sunset.

Conclusion: Hamburg: one mouse - point, Reykjaik: two sunset - points!

 

01/12/2009, Monday, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

15:26
World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
Wonderful Nobel ideas!

We thought about setting up a camera and recording us while opening our e-mails because we get sometimes very excited doing that. Yesterday it definitely would have been worth it!
Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Dr. Dudley Herschbach announced his third participation in the WGS-Day!

“Thank you.  I am very glad to take part again in your WGS day.  It is heartbreaking to see wars and tensions continuing that cause so much suffering.  Anything effort that can foster Peace is precious.” 

And then he added a gorgeous and creative concept he had to enhance the WGS!
Just imagine Andreas and me pouring out ecstatically about 100 ideas per minute how to realize Professor Herschbach’s concept, how much it could help, how much fun it can be, and how wonderful he is!

Professor Herschbach got the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986 for the contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes.
He is a member of the Board of Sponsors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists which is a nontechnical magazine that covers global security and public policy issues, especially related to the dangers posed by nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.
Beside that Dudley Herschbach has lent his voice to The Simpsons for the episode Treehouse of Horror XIV where he is seen presenting the Nobel Prize in Physics to Professor Frink. The episode was nominated for the 2004 Emmy Award.

 

01/11/2009, Sunday, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

21:12
World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
Political and very encouraging Smile

We got post again from the other end of the world! The Honourable Minister Thakur Singh Powdyel, Education Minister of Bhutan, sent us a wonderful e-mail and announce his support for the World’s Greatest Smile!
Amongst other thoughts he wrote “what a great way to bring light and life to our world!”

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a very beautiful nation in South Asia which is one of the countries we want to visit as soon as possible.

Bhutan used to be one of the most isolated nations in the world, but developments including direct international flights, internet, mobile phone networks, and cable television have increasingly opened the doors.
After centuries of direct monarchic rule, Bhutan held its first democratic elections in March 2008.

Bhutan has balanced modernization with its ancient culture and traditions under the guiding philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH). The term was coined by Bhutan's former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1972 soon after the demise of his father King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk who has opened up Bhutan to the age of modernization.

The Gross National Happiness refers to the concept of a quantitative measurement of well-being and happiness. His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the 5th King of Bhutan, popularly known as King Khesar, declared that fulfilling the vision of GNH will be one of the four main responsibilities of his reign in his Royal Address of 17 December 2006.

Gross National Happiness, The Centre for Bhutan Studies



14:23
World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
Our second Nobel Smile this year and his third Smile in a row for the WGS!

And Nobel Laureate Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ketterle sent us a friendly e-mail again!
He participates in our project for the third time (!) this year and is “...happy to smile... “! Well, and we are happy that he smiles for us for sure!

Professor Ketterle was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2001 for the achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute gases of alkali atoms, and for early fundamental studies of the properties of the condensates.
Beside that Wolfgang Ketterle achieved a lot of awards including the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Cross of Merit) which is the only general state decoration of Germany.


 

12:54
“Israel must be the funniest place in the whole world...!”

I was a reading child. I read a lot - reference books, encyclopaedia, even dictionaries. And I very much liked to read the satires from the Israeli Ephraim Kishon about life in Israel. I literally read all of them in a very, very young age. I thought Israel must have been the funniest place in the whole world!

A couple of years later I found out that it was not quite like that. But I still wanted to visit the area sometime. And still a few years later - I was engaged to Andreas over the intervening years - we invited Mr. Kishon for a dinner. When we met in Hamburg he (Mr. Kishon) called me sweet names (ok, Andreas does that, too) and was so kind and I loved the whole time! So Israel got another bonus point.

And of course the Gaza conflict is a crisis which - when it is understood and hopefully solved as soon as possible - might give hints on how to settle differences in other conflicts as well. Thus when we thought about where to go after leaving Canada, Israel was one of my favourite destinations. But we thought that it might become an even more dangerous time for a visit in that region - and decided that it is easier to save the world when you are alive. So we booked our flights to the financial-crisis-ridden Iceland.

It seems that it needs much wiser decisions on both sides of the fence to protect lives and the chance on a peaceful future. And there are peaceful solutions possible! Violence can just be a sign of a lack of wise decisions - on each sides of every fence.

... I have no happy end for this entry this time right now. I am sorry. We are working on it.

 

01/09/2009, Friday, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

20:15
World’s Greatest Smile - Day, January 25th 2009:
Our first Nobel Smile this year!

There are still a few days till the World’s Greatest Smile - Start with a Smile - Day 2009 and we got already an e-mail from Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Dr. Sir Harold Walter Kroto.

He announced that he participates this year again and sent some of his great suggestions how to enhance the World’s Greatest Smile peace project! I love to have great brains supporting the WGS! That is sooo helpful! And encouraging...!

Additional he mailed this charming new picture of his Smile:

Prof. Dr. Sir  Kroto was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1996, for the discovery of fullerenes. The Fullerenes, are a family of carbon allotropes named after Richard Buckminister Fuller and are sometimes called buckyballs, when in a spherical configuration.

I recommend everyone to read his inspiring Autobiography!

Here is a short abstract:
“My advice is to do something which interests you or which you enjoy (though I am not sure about the definition of enjoyment) and do it to the absolute best of your ability. If it interests you, however mundane it might seem on the surface, still explore it because something unexpected often turns up just when you least expect it. With this recipe, whatever your limitations, you will almost certainly still do better than anyone else. Having chosen something worth doing, never give up and try not to let anyone down.”

Make sure to read the rest, as well!


 

12:29
Today we work a day in a bar and nurture our new tentacles...

I can’t believe that I say that, but we really spend all day in one of Reykjavik’s famous bars. And we even arrived before sunrise and will leave after sunset!
Will that make us better Icelander? Probably not, because we sit here with our full equipped office.

And the almost too simple reason for our works outing is the annual spray of pesticides in the house where we stay. That’s why we were stored out today abiding Icelandic law. Not to mention that they sprayed right next to us here a few minutes ago, too. Great. The bug-buster told us, that it would be completely harmless. So I don’t wonder too much about the new tentacles growing from the back of my head...

 

01/08/2009, Thursday, 17:04, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

World history here in Reykjavik

We have been at the historic Höfði in Reykjavik. 1986 Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met here for the Iceland Summit. The meeting is considered as a breakthrough which eventually facilitated the INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty), signed in Washington on December 8, 1987.

Initially, it was the house of the French consul in Iceland and it is now mainly used for ceremonies for the Reykjavik City municipality.

 

01/07/2009, Wednesday, 13:59, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

More thunder

After several hours of fireworks yesterday (actually there was always a little fireworks somewhere nearby since December 27th) the Icelandic Christmas time is officially over now.
It was strange to read and watch the news, work on the World’s Greatest Smile Peace Project, hear the bangs and thunders at the same time - and knew that lots of people in other countries hear bangs and thunders, too, and they don’t look out of the window to watch a beautiful lighting effect but they die, get hurt, or loose loved ones. And another generation of traumatized children is born the world has to care for.
Lots of work to do. Stop the violence, try to heal some of the wounds, restore warrantable confidence. Let’s do it. I like thunders with the purpose of a lighting effects better.

 

01/06/2009, Tuesday, 17:53, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

Troll milk and pig juice or Today’s end of the Christmas season in Iceland

Today the last Yule Lad leaves Reykjavik after they one by one travelled back to their parents after they have all gathered in the inhabited areas for Christmas.
But till today they are still well remembered, for example on milk cartons. It seems that there are no Yule Lads stealing milk cartons for that reason. Probably the Yule Lads on the cartons will disappear after today’s end of the 26 days long Icelandic Christmas time as well.

Just the pigs on the orange juice cartons will stay with us now...

 

01/05/2009, Monday, 12:00, Meike, Reykjavik, Iceland

We were welcomed in the new year with a cordial “No internet access” - now we are online again...!


 

January 3rd

13 years of Meike & Andreas

We won.

 


New Year’s Eve in Reykjavik
- if you like fireworks, this is the place to be!

Ok, we knew that Icelander, especially in Reykjavik, are famous for their fireworks. So we expected a lot, especially because they started to practice right after Christmas.
And what we had the pleasure to watch then was ... a...ma...zing! It looked as if the whole city would simply explode. And the sound was a constant, never ending thunder. That was much different from all New Year’s Eves I have ever experienced! Very impressive!

 

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