lights out
In a half hour, at 22:00 GMT (cause we're always on GMT in the Land, yo) the City of Reykjavík and its minion suburbs will shut down all of the streetlights, for a half hour. It's to kick off the Reykjavík International Film Festival tonight, and the very first movie is called "The Sky", showing now. It's listed in the film festival program book as an Icelandic film from 2006, with the director Reykvíkingar (the People of R-town). It's a clearish night so hopefully Mother Nature will serve as the real director, bringing us some eerie, 50-mile-high northern lights. IMAX has nothing on the sky, after all.
posted by JB at 28.9.06
6 Comments:
Isn't it more like GMT -1.5, since local noon varies between 13:11 and 13:41, depending on the time of year and the time of month?
Anyway I like the fact that Iceland is on GMT, year-round. After all, what difference does a 1.5-hour shift in time zone make in a land where the amount of daylight is so variable throughout the year?
I was downtown for the big event. All the streetlights were indeed out, but there was enough other light from businesses and cars to sort of ruin the effect. But there were tons of people out and it seemed like it would turn into a mini weekend night, judging by the crowds. I had a beer in Ölstofan with the famous Zophi and then came home.
My best friend from youth got married to day and this non-light happening was the reason she chose this day. I think it´s very romantic indeed.
I went to visir.is when the clock was 21:57 and saw that they were going to have a "live webcast" of the blackout (jibbí!), so I opened it and was greeted with an out-of-focus overview of some unknown part of the town. I think I missed when they turned off the lights, at just past 10 I returned to the webcast and found that yes, I could see that the streetlights were off in some streets but there were plenty of other lights. The effect of actually being there would have certainly been greater, but this was total "krapp". But glad to read that people could make a "fyllerí" out of it.
It really depended where you were in the town, I think. Places with lots of other light from businesses, houses, Thnikkamen, etc., didn't seem that different. But then the bottom of Hverfisgata was almost completely pitch black and that was pretty cool.
I wish they'd make this an annual event and next time encourage businesses and residents to also shut off their lights.
Is there a prize for being able to pinpoint what piece of popular culture "Thnikkamen" refers to?
Villi, there is a prize. But not for you. Or my li'l brudder.
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