Abomvubuso is a combination of two words in the isiXhosa language of South Africa, "abomvu" meaning 'red' and "ubuso" meaning 'face'; it was how my new colleagues nicknamed me shortly after my arrival to Cape Town, the name obviously showing a link with the usual colour of my face when i get drunk :)
So, abomvubuso is the new username of a LJ user with a long history, succeeding kollynn and luvdovz , founded in 2003 and 2005 respectively. The former was my first LiveJournal, reflecting the first stage of my life, ie my childhood and teen years back in my native Iceland, before my move to UK. The latter was dedicated to my stay in London, UK (then, supposed to be permanent). But now that i've moved to Cape Town, South Africa, and wanted to start it on clear ground here, too. For further reference, see kollynn , luvdovz and kolarchive .
Some TRIVIA: I was born on February 9th, 1982. I come from Iceland, from a town called Hafnarfjörður - the 3rd biggest town on my tiny rock in the middle of the Atlantic. Its known as the Town of Elves, or hidden people, and is the funniest place on the 64th parallel (the humorous heart of Iceland). I was born to my dad, a tourism manager (may he rest in peace) and my mom, a pharmacist. I have two elder sisters - Agnette (30, living in Strasbourg) and Frida (28, living in Stockholm) and a younger bro - Maksimur (20, living in Hafnarfjörður). I come from a very large clan with a long and turbulent history. When i was a kid, i started training skiing, then i changed it to football. A little known secret from my past is, i used to play violin for nearly 5 years in my childhood. Ever since i could walk, i became known for always creating trouble for the ppl around me and enjoying watching them struggle out of it from aside ;} No, actually i'm a rather caring (and careful) person, and i'm a good listener. Which doesnt mean that i wont always put ppl's nerves to the test by constantly arguing for the argument's sake. All in all, its not easy to live with me.
This didnt seem to be a problem to airiefairie , who happens to be the lady of my heart, the other half of me and you name it. An exceptional lady of mixed Irish/Icelandic descent. We've been together for almost 7 years now and we're married since 14.September 2005. Needless to say, she's the most precious person in the whole world, and i'm ready to die for her! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
I was lucky to have visited quite a lotta places around the world - be it as part of my early sporting occupation with a team called F.H., or on excursion with some pals, or visiting some relatives, or being sent on biz missions by my employers.
My visited countries so far (56).
More INFO: After graduating at HSÍ (the University of Iceland) i moved to London, UK, together with then my girlfriend airiefairie , where we spent 3 consecutive years. Then my latest employers (a large real estates company with global investment) gave me an offer which i couldnt reject. However i had to move to the other side of the world, Cape Town in South Africa, on a 2-year mission. Happily, my (now) wife also found a Cape Town job in her domain (journalism), so here we are now...
iKapa. My city. My new home... Gorgeous, aint she???
More of Cape Town: the V&A Waterfront (where I work).
My home.
Sights & sounds of the Mother City...
My LANGUAGES: Icelandic (99%), English (95%), German (80%), Russian (60%), Swedish (50%), Danish (40%), Spanish (40%), Dutch (30%), Afrikaans (25%), Serbo-Croatian (10%); some Norwegian, a little Greek and a few words in isiXhosa...
The best picture of myself was made by one doc_neuro : "if there's one thing worse than a cretin its a pretentious trashy european cretin who thinks hes a genius" Wow thats sooo me! :}}}
My motto... Every morning when you stand at the mirror, try saying this one to you:
One individual always has the answers to our problems. One individual is always there when called upon. No mortal can deter this individual. ..., this person is you! You can overcome any obstacle. You can overpower any enemy. You can solve any problem. You can bypass any restriction. You can break any barrier. You can conquer any battle. You can destroy any fortress. You can pass any test. You can surpass any master. You can exceed all expectations. You can win any game. You can create a masterpiece. You can make anything work. You can outsmart anybody. You can do the impossible. You influence everyone around you, changing the world forever Nothing would be the same without you... Because... You Are Mighty!
To ALL: I value ppl who have their personal opinion and who aint afraid to stand by their own decisions. My religion is a fine mixture of gnosticism/atheism/animism/buddhism/mysticism and discordianism plus Left-Hand Path ("enlightened individualism"). My way of thinking is 50% Nietzsche and 50% Jungian. My political orientation is pacifist, pro-European and left-of-centre. My philosophy is that The Goal Is Not Important, The Path You Walk Is What Really Matters (Jedi!?). What moves me is sincerety, trust and loyalty. What disgusts me is ignorance and selfishness. And arrogance - though i often have to fight it myself.
My 5 most positive traits: intelligent, compassionate, loyal, inventive, sociable. My 5 most negative traits: stubborn, arguing, unmodest, huffy, voluble.
So, in case you're ready to meet my unbearable character, you're welcome to have me as a friend. I guarantee it wont be boring even for a minute.
Another thing which keeps me excited these days. Following some events at work after which i learned some new facts and details about our company, i was finally able to pick up the last pieces of the jigsaw and realise the whole picture about Grace's nature.
I've told the story about the Cape Grace hotel and the Brandt family before, but it seems its only part of the whole thing. Shortly, it turns out Grace Collection is part of the large Nedbank Group (formerly known as Nedcor Investment Bank). Its a huge investor mainly concentrated in the banking and insurance sector, but also with interests in a number of industries, from wine and beverage production (owning several wineries and brewing companies in South Africa and Portugal), to transporting (UK, Africa), to crediting (originally Netherlands, since 1888) and of course hotels (RZA and Eastern Africa) and real estates (all around the Mediterranean, to the eastern Black Sea coast). The final piece of info which revealed the whole picture was the news that Nedbank are the main sponsor of the Cape Wine 2006 exhibition which is starting on April 4th in Cape Town at Waterfront, just beside Cape Grace hotel.
The story continues... I'm starting to realise the scales of the company for which i'm working, and the enormous opportunities for development, respectively. Some might ask why is all this kept in what looks like an unpronounced secrecy. Well, its never been a secret in the real meaning of the word. Its just never been loudly pronounced, as if from some kinda modesty. People just try to avoid irrational hostility spawned by jealousy. Besides, noone loves "multi-national corporations", right? Still calling me socialist? ;}
Places where Nedcor/Nedbank/Grace have invested or are planning to invest in the near future:
A post-mortem examination has found that former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic died from heart failure.
However there was no confirmation of the toxicology examination as yet, which meant accusations of poisoning or rogue drugs in his blood remain.
Officials from the UN war crimes tribunal confirmed the late Ballkan leader died from a heart attack in an interim report while awaiting the full results, scotching rumours he took his own life.
THE666 Ten years of fruitful work in the field of gothic-metal, dark-gothic, doom metal and black metal! And a huge number of masterpieces! Keep on doing yer thing, guys! Your great!
TYPE N You scored 83 imagination, 75 confidence, 41 dominance, and 79 generosity! You are a KINKY, CONFIDENT, SUBMISSIVE lover who prefers to GIVE. This means that: You like relatively kinky sex, and you have the great imagination that will always keep your partner guessing and excited! There's no getting bored with you around, you could never settle for dull sex, you want something fun and new all the time. You aren't afraid to try out anything you hear about. You might just be an intelligent lover who needs to be mentally engaged, or perhaps you have some dirty dark secret kinky desires, but either way, you're never boring. You are pretty confident in bed. This means that you know you can please your lover. Maybe you've read a lot of sex manuals, or have the experience from previous lovers, or just tend to be skilled at whatever you get your hands on, but you're good and you know it. You can really get results and know that you have pure talent, so you won't be hiding away shy, pretending to be all innocent. Your partners love your naughty self assurance, you don't hesitate and this makes you a sensational lover.
You tend to be submissive in bed, so you prefer to go along with what your lover likes rather than your own plans. You might like being ordered around and acting out a slave/master fantasy, or perhaps you just get turned on by being helpless and unable to move. Or maybe it's as simple as you lacking courage so prefering firm instructions in bed to make sure you are doing things right. Either way, you won't be dominating your lover anytime soon, and might prefer the missionary position to any others. You prefer to give than recieve. This makes you a very unselfish lover, devoted to the needs of your partner rather than your own. You get your pleasure from seeing them get theirs, you are a model sex partner. I'm sure plenty of people would love to have someone like you in bed with them! Remember though that if your partner gets pleasure from returning the favour it's okay to let them, they might love giving as much as you do!
WE SUGGEST YOU: Get crazy with the kissing. It sounds basic, but perhaps with all your wonderful kinky antics and games, you have forgotten how good it can feel just to kiss someone all over, and have the same done to you! Practise with different kissing styles, kiss your lover in places you've never kissed them before. Kiss to tickle, kiss to seduce, kiss for hours, or kiss when you know you can't go any furthur with it, like when you have to be at work soon. Rediscover kissing.
RED colour means: "Bullshit!"
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
A fine example of the Yanks' attitude to politics; and those are supposed to be electing the leader of the world...
"He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." -- U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section III
River sigue de fiesta y Boca empezó mal Los millonarios disfrutan de su nuevo hábito: golear; los xeneizes sufren por algo a lo que no están acostumbrados: perder
Lets face it. Iran WILL have a
nuclear energy industry. Despite the concerns, and despite the efforts
by some governments to keep the country in the Dark Ages. And may those
who havent stopped whining about the nukes, remember how India and
Pakistan got such, and tell me: have the two rivals used their nukes so
far, after all their barking? Noone is so stupid, be it even a Persian.
"...Did Russia blow up its own gas pipelines to punish
West-leaning Georgia? That's a long shot, mainly because Moscow has
more to lose on the world stage..."
Saakashvili hurried to accuse Moscow of "an attempt to force Georgia to its knees" whilst Russia responded by calling him histeric. Each side is throwing the blame on the other. Of course, there's the third possibility, the Chechens...
Indeed, nothing of this is a coincidence and is happening as part of a
larger process. Russia has taken on the offensive, trying to re-shape
the political/economic status quo and respond to the new threats (1) (2) (3). The rest of the world can do nothing about it, with a few exceptions.
Its
"their" island. Some'd call it "colonisation". Okay, its a touristic
invasion as a result of fashion trends in tourism (and good P.R.) - and
Icelanders, as very pragmatic ppl, will always know how to benefit from
these chances in the best way.
Iceland has regained its poll position as the UK's favourite European country at the Guardian/ Observer Travel Awards 2005.
Readers of the prestigious daily and Sunday newspapers gave Iceland
96.8 per cent of their vote, taking it from second to first place, a
position that it occupied previously in 2003.
This
prestigious award recognises the increased awareness that the UK
travelling public has for Iceland, attributable to the marketing
efforts of the Icelandic Tourist Board with support from its partner
airlines, hotels, attractions and tour operators.
Leading Icelandic airline Icelandair also excelled at the awards
climbing from 14th to fourth position in the category of Best Short
Haul Airline.
Thats a lot better as compared to earlier times (remember, there was even a "War"::). Ref: Uncyclopedia (not the best info source;), who at one point states that:
Unfortunately, due to the Icelandic habit of eating tourists, they are
not popular, especially in Britain. This led to a standoff in the 1980's
Its one of those games you regret not having watched live. Yet, watching it on TV (yes! live!! long story!*), now that was a privilege. The Gooners simply destroyed
poor Boro. Obviously, Henry's decision to stay at Highbury inspired the
whole club to do miracles, and started a new psychological revival. It
was also preceded by an extraordinary activity on the transfer market
from Arsenal's side, Wenger adding two of the greatest youth talents in
the world to his increasing collection of future super-stars (one of
them already had his debut on this game). Henry scored a hat-trick, and
reached the historic mark of 150 goals in the Premiership, thus
equalling the all-time Arsenal scorer's record of Cliff Bastin. Also,
Arsenal achieved (and still have chances to upgrade) a new clean-sheet
record, playing over 8 hrs without a single goal conceded (in all
competitions). Also, this was
the Gunners' biggest win in their Premiership history (since the
creation of the new Premiership). To add to all these remarkable facts,
twas finally Hleb's debut goal in the team, and Ashley Cole's return
after a long injury (Svenni was very happy to see him back in action,
and is now certain to rely on him at the WC). In the end, it was prolly
only Freddie who was a bit sad, cause he still didnt manage to break
his duck and score his 1st goal this season. Now Arsenal are just 3 pts
behind their arch-rivals Tottenham (with a game at hand), after the
Spurs' important defeat by Pool. In addition,
ManYoo were defeated by their town rivals Citeh. Oh damn, what a night!
And this, exactly as Arsenal are celebrating their last season at
Highbury, before they leave their legendary home and go to Emirates
Stadium... ____________________________________________ *
Now about the TV. Obviously, as Ola is not able to live a day without
television (i surely know some other ppl sharing his obsession!), he
took a portative TV and batteries, and we watched for an hour or two on
almost each evening during the expedition! Cant say we're rather
"isolated" out there :}
White-hot
Thierry Henry fired a hat-trick at Highbury on Saturday to help his
Arsenal team to a thumping 7-0 win over Middlesbrough. Elsewhere,
Liverpool beat Tottenham 1-0 at Anfield to move comfortably into third
in the Premiership table and West Ham came from behind to beat Aston
Villa 2-1.
Steve McClaren hailed Thierry Henry
as 'untouchable' after the striker equalled Cliff Bastin's club record
150 league goals with a stunning hat-trick - as Arsenal beat a hapless
Middlesbrough 7-0. The win moved the Gunners to within three points of fourth place Citeh 3 ManYoo 1 Arsenal 7 Boro 0 Pool 1 Spurs 0
We feel your presence...: cheerful
We hear you...: Barbara Streisand: Just For The Record
My favourite football
manager, Carlos Bianchi who won so many titles and international
trophies for Boca, was not lucky this time. Despite the good selection
guaranteed by Jesus Hill's son, Bianchi failed to inspire Atletico
Madrid to great achievements. Once again, the annoying habit of the
Spanish public to demand immediate success, here and now, and to punish
those who fail to achieve it, has shown its face. I hope he'll find a
better place soon...
Iceland is moving up, due to making a slow, but steady progress:
Some other examples: FREE: Ireland / United Kingdom / United States / Canada MOSTLY FREE: Sweden / Spain / South Africa / Croatia
MOSTLY UNFREE: Greece / Argentina / Romania / Russia
Heavy snow storm snarls traffic in Austria, France #
A storm that dumped heavy snow across much of
Europe
on Wednesday created headaches for commuters, causing trucks to
jackknife in Austria and stranding hundreds of motorists overnight in
northern France.
Scores of travelers spent the night in community centers and hotels
near the northeastern French city of Nancy, where road crews worked
through the night to clear up to 30 centimeters, or about a foot, of
snow. On Wednesday, France closed its border with Italy because of
heavy snowfall, authorities said.
Only about half as much snow fell on the Vienna region, but it was
enough to knock out power to at least 300 homes and cause treacherous
road conditions blamed for dozens of crashes, including one that forced
medics to use a helicopter to airlift two injured women to a hospital.
Police were working to clear Austria's key east-west A1 highway of
wreckage from a 10-car pileup in which one person was injured, and
authorities said at least 11 trucks jackknifed in the province of Lower
Austria, making many roadways impassible.
In Britain, freezing rain pelted morning rush-hour commuters in
some areas, and the icy conditions prompted officials to close roads
and cancel train service across a wide swath of Kent and eastern
England. Temperatures plunged to a nationwide low of minus 8.2 Celsius (18
Fahrenheit) at Benson in Oxfordshire on Tuesday night, meteorologists
said, and their forecasts called for the mercury to drop even further.
The Eurotunnel's Channel Tunnel services, which were briefly
suspended Tuesday night, were running normally Wednesday, with slight
delays for freight shuttles on the French side, officials said, reports
the AP.
I.L.
Vaduz, Liechstenstein
Snow Showers
-8°C
Feels Like -9°C
Oh sheesh. As if it
doesnt look scary enough in Lower Austria, i see some more snow expects
us in L'stein. But then, aint it so normal for the Alps? I just hope
the Swiss airports wont be closed in a few days...
Poor Bimini... One of the three edges of the ill-famed "Bermuda Triangle" (and one alleged location of the antedeluvian west Atlantean shores) took new victims after a period of silence.
It's chaos! New York Daily News
BY
PETE DONOHUE and CORKY SIEMASZKO. Millions of New Yorkers were forced
to hoof it over bridges, jam into cars with strangers and brave the
bitter cold on bicycles yesterday after city bus and subway workers ... NYC Enters Second Day of Transit StrikeABC News Transit walkout paralyzes New YorkBoston Globe
Newyorkers are having another chaotic day due to the transit workers
strike. The rivers of people hurrying across the bridge reminded me of
the 9-11 aftermath...
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is widely accepted by scientists
A court in the US has ruled against the teaching of "intelligent design" alongside Darwin's theory of evolution.
A group of parents in the Pennsylvania town of Dover had
taken the school board to court for demanding biology classes not teach
evolution as fact.
The authorities wanted to introduce the idea that Earth's life was too complicated to have evolved on its own.
Judge John Jones ruled the school board had violated the constitutional ban on teaching religion in public schools.
The 11 parents who brought the case argued that teaching
intelligent design (ID) was effectively teaching creationism, which is
banned.
The quesiton of
scientific tolerance and the tolerance to different (and new) ideas
arises again - and doesnt concern the American education only. Besides,
this case also involves religion as far as i can see. Its
understandable. After
all, Charles Darwin and any other discoverer was initially condemned,
before their theories were widely accepted. But, there always comes a
time when people realise that no teaching is eternal and necessarily
represents the ultimate truth.
Boca
Juniors won its second successive Copa Sudamericana title after
defeating Pumas of Mexico 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 result. The hero
of the night was goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri, who saved three
spot-kicks before hammering in the winner.
The
victory means Boca was able to finish the year with the glorious
double, after having won the Argentine Apertura Championship during the
week. A confident Boca controlled the match right from the kick-off,
but strikers Martin Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio were unable to make the
most of some good opportunities created by the Boca midfielders. Boca
piled on the pressure, and in the 32nd minute they finally took a
deserved lead when Martin Palermo shot in from an
inviting Federico Insua free-kick. It seemed that Boca would go on to
add to its account before the half-time whistle, but although Pumas
didn’t press they stood their ground.
In the second period
Pumas started strongly and in the 53rd minute they were awarded a
penalty after Rolando Schiavi handled the ball in his area. Determined
Argentine striker Bruno Marioni stepped up to the
spot and made no mistake, putting the Mexicans on level terms. A few
minutes later Boca was unlucky not to have gotten back into the lead,
when a brilliant Federico Insua free-kick flashed wide of the left
post. In the 61st minute Boca should have been reduced to ten men when
goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri handled the ball outside the area when
a Mexican player was through on goal. But Paraguayan referee Carlos
Amarilla only gave him a yellow card to the frustration of the Mexican
players. Two minutes later Pumas came inches away from taking the lead,
when a long distance Leandro Augusto effort rocketed off the crossbar.
From then on it was just one way traffic, as Boca went looking for the
winner, and created several good opportunities to take the lead, but
came up against a solid Pumas defence. In second half injury time
substitute Marcelo Delgado almost won it for Boca, but his powerful
effort struck Sergio Bernal’s left post. It was down to the penalty
shoot-out, and luck was on Boca’s side, which resisted the pressure to
go on to win its second successive Copa Sudamericana title, with
goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri hammering home the final spot-kick.
Team Line-ups
Boca Juniors (1):
Roberto Abbondanzieri, Hugo Ibarra, Rolando Schiavi, Daniel Diaz, Juan
Krupoviesa, Sebastian Battaglia, Fernando Gago (Cristian Ledesma 60m),
Daniel Bilos (Guillermo Barros Schelotto 83m), Federico Insua, Martin
Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio (Marcelo Delgado 82m). Coach: Alfio Basile
Pumas UNAM (1):
Sergio Bernal, Israel Castro, Joaquin Beltran, Dario Veron, Gonzalo
Pineda, Marco Palacios, Gerardo Galindo, Leandro Augusto, Ailton da
Silva (Ismael Iniguez 45m), Joaquin Botero (Martin Cardetti 79m) and
Bruno Marioni. Coach: Miguel Espana.
Goals:
BJ: Martin Palermo (32m).
PU: Bruno Marioni (55m).
Referee: Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay). Linesmen: Manuel Bernal and Amelio Andino (Paraguay). Stadium: La Bombonera, Buenos Aires. Att: 60,000.
Fotos:
Schiavi,
Abbondanzieri y Delgado, tres hombres acostumbrados a ganar títulos con
Boca, celebran un fin de temporada inolvidable en la Bombonera Foto: Fabián Marelli
Abbondanzieri, el gran héroe de la noche, festeja junto a la paridad xeneize Foto: Alejandro Pagni
The league leaders in England and Spain will meet again in the first
knockout round of the UEFA Champions League after Chelsea FC were
paired with FC Barcelona in a repeat of the tie that produced two
thrilling matches at this stage last season. #
2005/06 UEFA Champions League
First knockout round
Team named first at home in first leg
Chelsea FC v FC Barcelona
Real Madrid CF v Arsenal FC
Werder Bremen v Juventus
FC Bayern München v AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Olympique Lyonnais
AFC Ajax v FC Internazionale Milano
SL Benfica v Liverpool FC
Rangers FC v Villarreal CF
Chelsea and Barcelona played out two thrilling games last season
My predictions?
Barca (this stime), Arsenal (oh yes sure!), Juve (of course), Bayern
(believe it), Lyon (easily), Inter (quite easily), Pool (luckily) and
Villarreal (surprisingly difficultly).
Schroder to Head New Gas Pipeline
The Moscow Times, Russia
BABAYEVO,
Vologda Region -- Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on Friday
was named to a key post on the $4.75 billion North European Gas
Pipeline...
Schroder get a pipeline job (and criticism)
International Herald Tribune, France
ST.
PETERSBURG Gerhard Schröder, who as chancellor of Germany helped guide
a deal for a new Russian pipeline that bypasses former ...
Schroder under fire for taking gas pipeline top job
EUobserver.com, Belgium
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroder is facing
flak for taking a new job as board chairman of a Russian-German
consortium building a direct gas pipeline ...
Schroder to Head $4.75 Billion Pipeline
St Petersburg Times, Russia, Russia
By Valeria Korchagina. BABAYEVO, Vologda Region —
Former German Chancellor Gerhard SchrÚder on Friday was named to a key
post ...
...After all, wasnt this what he
was working for? Its one of the major goals of his political career,
naturally he's prone to continuing in the same direction in the
economic aspect ;P
Another proof that Politics = Money.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
kollynn's journal
iKapa. My city. My new home... Gorgeous, aint she???
curious
cynical
naughty
artistic
cheerful
weird
drunk
disappointed
Iceland has regained its poll position as the UK's favourite European country at the Guardian/ Observer Travel Awards 2005.
This
prestigious award recognises the increased awareness that the UK
travelling public has for Iceland, attributable to the marketing
efforts of the Icelandic Tourist Board with support from its partner
airlines, hotels, attractions and tour operators.
Steve McClaren hailed 
