As we enter the twilight of summer, we look forward to the new seasons to come and are quietly thankful our legs won’t be sticking to our car seats for much longer. No more sterile, air-conditioned air, it’s time to get out of the house and get active.

Iceland has a ton of activities for you, and here’s how it works: check out our country on YouTube.com (you’re already on your computer, after all), take it up a notch by watching our women take on the U.S. women’s soccer team and, now that you’re motivated, get on out to Iceland for a music festival, a spa and shopping retreat, an exploration of the natural wonders of the island, or just to party in cosmopolitan Reykjavik. Read on to see what we’re talking about, and find out what’s cool about Iceland this fall..

Magni The Magnificent is in the top 4

You may remember Magni, we started talking about him in the last issue of Dateline, and now, we want to give all our visitors an update. So, here we go…

Magni Asgeirsson, a singer originally from the remote reaches of Egilsstadir in eastern Iceland, continues to wow the crowds and judges on the new CBS music reality show “Rockstar: Supernova.” The show, created by “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett, seeks to pair a singer with an all-star lineup of rockers, including drummer Tommy Lee (formerly of Motley Crue), bassist Jason Newsted (Metallica), and guitarist Gilby Clarke (Guns n’ Roses). A pool of 15 talented front men and women were chosen to compete against one another for the coveted spot in the new band, which will be called Supernova, and Magni stands a better-than-average chance of winning.

Magni-fans and Iceland-boosters can click on this link, and vote for Iceland’s next rock star. Do it, do it now!

Magni, 28, has been playing since he was 11. He is best known for his success with Icelandic pop act A Moti Sol, with whom he has recorded six albums, two of which have gone gold. He has also recorded an earlier album with the band Shape. Watch for his fiery performances Tuesday evenings on CBS (check local listings)

You Can’t Take a Bad Picture ADOBE in Iceland

Speaking of photography, it’s a given that you can’t take a bad picture in Iceland. Ok, well, maybe if you forget to install a digital card, it might not come out. But otherwise, Iceland’s high latitude means that “magic hour” (when the light is best) lasts for hours and hours.
During the summer of 2006, a group of ambitious photographers, sponsored by ADOBE, traveled to the pristine Icelandic landscape to capture its beauty. They applied their craft during 22-hour long days bathed in horizontal light.

Since each member of the team had to work around the clock, the processing equipment of choice were laptops running Lightroom, Adobe's new photo management software. Using Lightroom, photographers uploaded, sorted, keyworded, adjusted, and output their Raw images while still working in the field. Now you can read the stories, see the images, and listen to the photographers discuss this challenging assignment. (For more information: http://www.goiceland.org/).

“Airwaves” Is Back!

Iceland Airwaves, the four-day music festival held every year in Reykjavik, is back – and the line-up keeps growing. The festival, which will take place at venues all over the city from Oct. 18 – 22, will showcase over 130 artists, including Wolf Parade, Brazilian Girls, Singapore Sling, Apparat Organ Quartet, Kaiser Chiefs, Jenny Wilson and Mugison. The festival is a huge hit with music fans every time. Find out more by checking in with icelandairwaves.com regularly. http://www.goiceland.org/air.html

Get Closer to Your Feminine Side

The famed Laugar Spa Beauty and Massage Clinic near a large park in Reykjavik reports more and more men are coming in for facials. They have become a popular gift from wives and girlfriends. The Golfer’s Dream, a back and foot massage, is also very popular among men. Another treat: a massive relaxation room containing seven different saunas, each with a special theme based on aroma, lighting and sound or differing temperatures. There are waterfalls, ice showers, cold tubs and cold-water buckets to cool you off. Our favorite: a special relaxation room filled with La-Z-Boy recliners and a fireplace. (www.laugarspa.is)

YouTube.com Provides Uncensored View

Some people have simply too much time on their hands. Not only do they travel to Iceland, but they take the time to post their videos on YouTube.com, the video sharing Web site. But we’re glad they did. Rather than believe everything you read in those slick tourist brochures (or, ahem, e-mail newsletters), you can see for yourself. Just log onto YouTube.com and enter “Iceland” in the search window.

There you’ll find amateur videos of geysers, waterfalls, a tour bus stuck in snow, off-road racing with the UK’s Jeremy Clarkson (in a 900 HP Jeep), an Icelandic basketball star, even Bjork (without the swan dress). It’s makes us homesick, although we don’t quite understand the video called Iceland Slumber Party that involves a lot of pillows and a ripped map of Iceland. Something must come over people when they visit our far-away isle.

Picture This

Iceland’s self-taught portrait artist Rebekka Gudleifsdottir is one of the most popular photographers and digital artists on Flickr, the international photosharing Web site. A student at Iceland’s Academy of the Arts, her images have been viewed about 875,000 times in less than a year. It’s easy to understand why: Rebekka’s photographs, which won a Flickr award in 2005 for excellence in self-portrait photography, cover a range of subjects: portraits of her children, Icelandic landscape, objects in motion, multiple exposures (quite a few in which she appears twice). She has great skill, wit and imagination, often presented with a sly sense of humor. See her work at http://flickr.com/photos/rebba.

Stay Connected

Iceland is the world’s most connected country, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Research from December 2005 shows Iceland with 26.7 broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants, compared with 25.4 in South Korea and 16.8 in the U.S. So bring your laptop – you can get away while still staying in touch with the office. Don’t worry, your Crackberry will work there as well.

Iceland and U.S. Women’s Soccer Meet Again

The U.S. women's soccer team will play Iceland on Oct. 8 in an exhibition at Richmond, Va., part of its preparation for World Cup qualifying. The game, which will be televised live at 2:00p.m. on ESPN 2, comes after matches against China, Mexico (Sept. 13 at Rochester, N.Y.) and Taiwan (Oct. 1 at Carson, Calif.). The CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, which starts in late November, serves as the Olympic qualifying. (For more information: www.ussoccer.com)

Iceland Measures Up

How small is Iceland? According to U.S. Airways magazine, if it were placed over central Arizona, it would extend just a bit beyond the southern California border. So, not very big at all - but good things come in small packages.

For the Birds

Europe’s largest bird sanctuary is Lake Myvatn where species breed among the mystical blend of lush vegetation and lava spires. Tours are available this summer through Air Iceland and the Arkureyri Bus Company. (www.airiceland.is).

They Said It

“For a road trip, late April to late September is the best time to go, when there's a lot of light during the day to see where you're heading, and daytime temperatures usually range from 45 to 60 degrees or so. Also, many hotels outside Reykjavik are open only during those months.”

– Tommy Nguyen, Washington Post, July 30, 2006

"Iceland is now involved, helping very much the Chinese build a very large geothermal facility in Seine province in China. A bank from Iceland is providing some of the financing and there are also a lot of people from India as well…. They were here in this small country, a country of only 300,000 people -- Iceland. They're working to see what they could pick up and the Icelanders, who really are, right now, the most creative country in the world on the energy issue -- [they] were really helping to make this happen."
– John Topping of the non-profit Climate Institute speaking on the Voice of America, Aug. 4, 2006.

For information on other exciting activities in Iceland, be sure to visit:

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