Nordic Reading challenge 2011

I just found this wonderful idea on the net whilst reading some other blogs reviewing my favourite books. If you have not yet discovered some Nordic authors (yes those that are translated into English), then now is the time) Although I have joined a bit late, I can count those books I have already read this year, so feel I can make the Odin level, but will be aiming for Valhalla.

The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011 and there will be 5 levels. The levels are:

Huginn and Muninn: Read 2 books
Freya: Read 3-5 books
Tor: Read 6-10 books
Odin: Read 11-20 books
Valhalla: Read 20+ books

I will be participating at the Odin level. You do not have to make a list before hand. Any book by any author born in a Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and/or Sweden) or a book set in a Nordic country. They can be from any genre (I will be reading a mixture of classics, children’s books, YA and mystery).

If you are interested in signing up, go to Nordic challenge 2011 post sign up  at the Notes for the North blog.

Books I have read so far this year:

Stieg Larsson trilogy - parts 2 and 3
Karin Fossum - Black Seconds

Camilla Lackberg - The Preacher
Camilla Lackberg - The Stonecutter
Camilla Lackberg - The Gallows Bird
Jo Nesbø - The Redbreast
Arnaldur Indridason - Hypothermia
Andrea Heiberg - Next Stop: Sejer Island

Currently reading: Mari Jungstedt - Unspoken

TBR:

Karin Altvegen - Shame
Camilla Lackberg - The Hidden Child
Jo Nesbø - The Redeemer
Jo Nesbø  - Nemesis

A list of Euro crime writers translated into English can be found here: Euro crime writers list

Should you join let me know here at Something to Ponder About.

Happy reading,

The taste of more to come - From Christchurch to Queenstown

New Zealand Tour 2010 continued/......
our shopping and tourist tour of Christchurch had come to an end. We had done the punt the gondola... been to Akaroa, done that....now it was time to move on...



Canterbury plains.... in the distance a taste of what was to come... Snow ice, mountains and alpine country. And the most spectacular scenery imaginable. We were lucky, they had just had weeks of heavy rain and a fresh dumping of snow several days before we arrived, so the weather was fresh, crisp and we were thermal equipped, coat and scarf wrapped and ready.





New Zealand is spookily similar to Iceland in many respects, both North and south Island but it was the alpine landscape that brought back such lucid memories of the land of "fire and ice" .
Yet another parallel to Iceland - New Zealand is one of only a few other countries on earth, (such as Alaska and Canada) to have the natural feature described as 'braided rivers' present in the landscape, as seen in pictures below. These rivers vary greatly in their width and depth according to the snow melt from the mountains behind. Prior to the melt, and spring thaw, the rivers are thin, windy, split by beds of shingle stones. Similar to a braided hair plait on a young girl, wispy, fine and running left and right of the river bed. In fully flood, it is a different story... wild and full, the shingle beds are hidden from view.

More information on these rivers can be found here:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/land-and-freshwater/wetlands/wetlands-by-region/canterbury/braided-rivers/

The bridge over this "braided river" is over 1.6 kilometres long! The longest in New Zealand


This area is naturally dry until the rainy season and the spring thaw.... but now the fields are lush and green year round, thanks to an extremely intensive irrigation system that ensures that dairy cattle can graze on this lush grass, any day of the year.

In turn, this has resulted in an ever expanding dairying industry, now New Zealand's biggest export. Not content with imported broad range products, China has commissioned a plant to be built especially dedicated to producing bottle formula for babies in China and it is to be built on the Canterbury plains.

A bus was to take us through the area, on our 11 hour journey to Queenstown. Whilst most of our fellow passengers slept peacefully with their Japanese-English earpiece translators tucked into their ears, I listened intently to the commentary by the Kiwi bus driver with eager ears and prepared my camera for some heavy duty action... because this was only the curtain raiser to the main event to come.... and that is really something to ponder about.. the mountains get higher, the sky gets darker and the snow gets lower...
But where do we stop for lunch... a nice cafe at a lookout spot, where one can test the limits of the battery life of one's camera on the beautiful backdrop of snow covered peaks???? No, in a dismal valley town with no discernible views save for that which includes Subway fast food restaurant ( which may I say is a gross over use of the word restaurant, although I do like the food), and the local service station.

A place called Geraldine!

Clearly the bus company has a contract with this lunch cafe come souvenir shop to bring their passengers here in the hope of stimulating the economy of this small town, but oh despairing I was that there was no vistas to be had of snowy peaks anyway! Not even if I craned my neck in all directions!!! There was a memorial garden to someone whom left no big impression on me, as I can't remember his name, but it did have some interesting flora within.
I guess the only other claim to fame was the fact that the town has the same name as my sister in law....
not something to ponder much about at all.....




Next: On To Tekapo one of the prettiest places in the world....

Icelandic eruption - eyjafjallojokull volcano

http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/04/eyjafjallajokull_eruption_upda.php


Explosive eruptive phase of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, Iceland, begins 14 April 2010

The eruption plume from Iceland that has caused the unprecedented
catastrophic disruption of air traffic and closure of airspaces over
northern Europe is due to an explosive eruptive phase that began at the
Eyjafjallajökull volcano on April 14. It is a continuation of eruptive
activity in the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic system that began 20 March 2010.
During an initial eruptive phase from 20 March to 12 April lava flowed
from eruptive vents on the volcano flanks, outside its ice cover. The lava
erupted in the initial phase is alkali-olivine basalt, with silica content
of about 47%.

After a short hiatus in eruptive activity a new set of craters opened up
in early morning of 14 April under the volcano's ice covered central
summit caldera. This eruptive phase was preceded with a swarm of
earthquakes from around 23:00 on 13 April to 1:00 on 14 April. The
earthquake swarm was followed by the onset of seismic eruption tremor.
Meltwater started to emanate from the ice cap around 7 o'clock on April 14
and eruption plume was observed in the early morning. Visual observations
were limited by cloud cover over the volcano, but an airplane of the
Iceland coast Guard imaged with eruptive crates with radar instrument.
Series of vents along a 2 km long north-south oriented fissure were
active, with meltwater flowing down northern slopes of the volcano, but
also to the south. Ash loaded eruption plume rose to more than 8 km
height, deflected to the east by westerly winds.

Jokulhlaups (floods of meltwater) reached the lowlands around the volcano
with peak flow around noon on April 14, with destruction of roads,
infrastructure, and farmlands. No fatalities as people had been evacuated
from hazardous areas. Tephra fall begins in southeast Iceland. A second
jokulhlaup/lahar emanates from the ice cap down the Markarfljot valley in
the evening.

On 15 April the eruption plume reaches mainland Europe with closure of
airspace over large part of Northern Europe. Activity continues at a
similar level with ash generation and flow of meltwater in pulses.
Jokulhlaup/lahar occurs in the evening. On April 16 some variability
occurs in seismic tremor and tephra generation, but overall the eruptive
activity remains stable. Pulsating eruptive plume reaches above 8 km, with
overall height of 5 km. Large closures of airspace continue.


Eyafallajökull: subglacial volcanic eruption (continued)

Chemical analyses of ash samples reveal fluorine rich intermediate
eruptive products with silica content of 58%, more evolved than in the
initial lava producing phase of the eruptive activity. The magma
composition may reflect evolution from alkali-olivine basalt by crystal
fractionation as erupted in the initial phase.