Archive for March, 2005

Ánægður með málsháttinn

Monday, March 28th, 2005
Gúrkur

Talsmaður skákmeistarans Bobbys Fischers kveður hann „sæmilega ánægðan“ með páskaeggið sem hann át á páskadagsmorgun í vistarverum sínum á Hóteli Loftleiðum. Samkvæmt frásögn Sæmundar Pálssonar, vinar skákmeistarans, var eggið frá Mónu, af stærð 5, og flutti Geir Jón Þórisson yfirlögregluþjónn eggið til skákmeistarans frá framleiðanda, milliliðalaust að því er Sæmundur best veit. Fischer var að sögn sáttur við hvernig staðið var að flutningi eggsins, þrátt fyrir lítils háttar bráðnun sem olli því að unginn hallaði óeðlilega til vinstri hliðar. Talið er að eggið hafi staðið í sól í farþegasæti bifreiðar Geirs Jóns. Skákmeistarinn lýsti að auki ánægju sinni með málsháttinn, og sagði hann lýsa velvild og vinarþeli íslensku þjóðarinnar. Ekki fékkst þó upplýst hvað þar stóð, og fullyrða forsvarsmenn Mónu að málshátturinn hafi ekki verið valinn sérstaklega fyrir Fischer.

Um eftirmiðdaginn varð skákmeistaranum ómótt. Kveisan er talin hafa stafað af súkkulaðiáti morgunsins, sem hefur reynst maga Fischers erfitt eftir langvarandi súkkulaðisvelti í haldi japanskra yfirvalda, en hún leið hjá við stutta göngu í Öskjuhlíð í fylgd Sæmundar Pálssonar og konu hans Ásgerðar Ásgeirsdóttur.

Í öðrum fréttum er að stór jarðskjálfti, 8,2 stig á Richterkvarða, reið yfir Súmötru í dag og mun líklega valda risaflóðbylgjum, þó ekki af viðlíka stærð og gerðist annan dag jóla. Marburg-veira geisar í Angóla og hefur lagt 122 að velli, og Angelina Jolie var kosin kynþokkafyllsta kona heims í atkvæðagreiðslu á vegum tímaritsins FHM. Ekki hefur enn borist opinber yfirlýsing úr herbúðum Fischers um þessa atburði.

Von er á metuppskeru í íslenskri gúrkurækt í sumar.

Edit: here’s an English translation (see comments for why).

A spokesman for chessmaster Bobby Fischer says he is “relatively pleased” with the easter egg he ate on the morning of Easter Day in his quarters at Hotel Loftleiðir. According to Sæmundur Pálsson, friend of the chessmaster, the egg was from Móna, of size 5, and was transported to Fischer by Geir Jón Þórisson, chief of police, without intermediaries to the best of Sæmundur’s knowledge. Fischer was reportedly satisfied with the manner in which the egg was transported, despite a minor melting which caused the top-mounted yellow baby chick to lean abnormally to the left. The egg is believed to have stood in direct sunshine in the passenger seat of Geir Jón’s vehicle. The chessmaster additionally noted that he was pleased with the saying1, saying it illustrated the goodwill and friendship of the Icelandic nation. The saying was not divulged, and Móna representatives maintain that it was not chosen specifically for Fischer.

In the afternoon the chessmaster had a spell of nausea. The illness is believed to have resulted from the morning’s chocolate consumption, which presumably posed difficulties for Fischer’s stomach after a long-lasting chocolate paucity while detained by Japanese authorities, but it subsided during a short walk in Öskjuhlíð with Sæmundur Pálsson and his wife Ásgerður Ásgeirsdóttir.

In other news, a large earthquake measuring 8.2 points on the Richter scale struck Sumatra today and will probably cause tsunamis, albeit not of the magnitude seen on the second day of Christmas. The Marburg virus is on the loose in Angola and has killed 122, and Angelina Jolie was voted the world’s sexiest woman in a poll run by the magazine FHM. An official statement on these events has not yet been received from the Fischer camp.

Icelandic cucumber growers are expecting a record crop this summer.

1   An Icelandic easter egg is a hollow chocolate shell containing assorted candy and a little note with a random saying, much like you would find in a fortune cookie]

More pictures of the newest Briems

Sunday, March 6th, 2005

The twins looking serene

More pictures of Ari Sigurður and Jakob Orri are up, right over there.

Ari Sigurður, on the left half of this photo, looks uncannily like his paternal grandfather, my father Sigurður. And Jakob Orri looks uncannily like his maternal grandmother, Karen’s mother Karólína.

I’ve never seen such a strong resemblance in newborns to their relatives. And it’s pretty clear to even a facial-recognition dolt like myself that these twins are dizygotic.

First real public appearance: Les Twins

Thursday, March 3rd, 2005

The Briem Twins: Ari Sigurður and Jakob Orri

They are finally here! And all went well.

On the left, Ari Sigurður, and on the right, Jakob Orri.

They totalled almost 6.5 kg (14 lbs) at birth. Karen, you’re a hero!

Congratulations to Gunnar and Karen and Baldur Fróði, and to all of us.

Clicking on the picture will bring up the short video segment it was taken from.