#Siggi Baldursson

[koufax73]

Emiliana Torrini: "Miss Flower", una storia di libertà #sottotraccia

Emiliana Torrini presenta il suo nuovo album intitolato Miss Flower, a distanza di quasi dieci anni dal precedente. Come ben noto, noi di TRAKS sconfiniamo fuori dal patrio suolo solo di rado (non per nazionalismo, ma per pura sopravvivenza: presente quanti dischi, singoli e video italiani escono ogni giorno?) Però ci si presenta l’opportunità di raccontare il nuovo lavoro di questa artista…

[sspacegodd]

Me and some friends. The drummer for Bjork's old band Sugarcubes, is our drummer.

[sykurvatn]

Some gifs I made for Sykurmolarnir’s Walkabout. Gifs: 1. Björk at the start. 2. Magga♡ 3. The band and then Siggi on Timpani 4. Björk being cute as always.

[lazy-goblin]

Latibær á Ólympíuleikum (LazyTown at the Olympics) - Chapter 18/28

Original story by Magnús Scheving (1996)

Illustrations by Halldór Baldursson

18. Sports Food

As soon as he leaped out of the room and wondered where he should go next, he saw Siggi Sæti come down the corridor. He knew Íþróttaálfurinn immediately and was quick to greet him with a handshake.

"You won't believe how happy everyone will be to see you that you're here! Where have you been?"

Siggi held on to Íþróttaálfurinn's hand.

"I have been far and wide, in many towns and villages," said Íþróttaálfurinn. "If you only knew how many townspeople all over have become lazy and stopped exercising. I have been to towns where no one knows how to ride a bike or play any games."

"What are you saying?!" said Siggi.

"SunnyTown was that way once. Have you forgotten that?" asked Íþróttaálfurinn and looked down at this hand, which Siggi still shook eagerly.

"Oh, sorry," said Siggi, letting go of the elf's hand.

"I need your help," said Íþróttaálfurinn.

"You need help from me?" said Siggi Sæti. "I'll do whatever it is. You helped me once. Now I'm going to repay the favor. What do you want me to do?"

Siggi waited eagerly for the request.

"You don't really need to help me but rather the kids in SunnyTown."

"Now, how can I do that?" asked Siggi.

"Remember when you ate sweets all day?"

"Umm, yes, that was a terrible day although sometimes it's good to have sweets every now and then. Now I just have candy day on Saturdays as you know," said Siggi.

"I know that. You stopped eating a lot of sweets and went instead to eating healthy food."

Siggi was getting excited.

"Yes, I have done that since then. Where are these kids?"

"Can you see that all the kids, who are trying to qualify for the Olympics, get the right food?"

"You mean that I prepare food for them - breakfast and dinner? That I give them apples, crispbread, banana, juice and muesli?"

"Yes, that's what I mean. You know all about healthy food."

"I can absolutely do that." said Siggi.

Íþróttaálfurinn and Siggi plotted about what the kids should eat. If you are going to succeed in sports, the food is the main thing. All good athletes know it.

Siggi knew this because he felt much better after he stopped eating a lot of sugar.

He always ate a healthy breakfast. He had popcorn instead of potato chips, boiled potatoes instead of french fries and fish instead of sausages.

Siggi immediately planned to prepare a sports menu and began to write down what the kids should eat.

Íþróttaálfurinn asked where to find kids who he could assist and Siggi Sæti pointed out that he should go into room number 22. There were boys there who greatly needed help.

Siggi's smile didn't vanish as he stood in the corridor and waited eagerly to take on the project.

Íþróttaálfurinn launched into cartwheels down the corridor. He did a somersault in the air, spun around at the end of the corridor and dashed around the corner.

He came to a stop in front of room number 22.

When the elf was about to open the door, he heard voices from the room. He stopped opening and listened in.

"You know that I was the only one who reached the minimum today."

The elf opened the door carefully. Pétur Plat stood in the middle of the floor, his back turned to him and continued to talk. He didn't notice Íþróttaálfurinn in the doorway.

"Yeah, I reached it! I'm the best, you see, and I don't need to practice anymore."

Íþróttaálfurinn cleared his throat and Pétur Plat turned around.

"Aren't you Íþróttaálfurinn?" asked Pétur Plat, blinking his eyes at the boys.

"Yes," replied Íþróttaálfurinn.

"Have you competed in decathlon?" Pétur Plat continued.

The boys leaped up from the bunks.

"Íþróttaálfurinn, you're here?"

"Wait, boys!" said Pétur Plat. "I am talking to him. I dare you to compete with me in decathlon. I'll pulverize you. I'm the best, I pulverize everyone. I was the only one who reached the minimum today. Have I told you that?" said Pétur Plat, pulling in the drawstring on his pants.

"Now you're lying again," said Íþróttaálfurinn. "No one reached the minimum requirements today."

"Now how do you know that?" asked Pétur Plat in astonishment.

"I have been observing you all day."

"Have you done that?" asked Pétur Plat. "How?"

"I've been observing you from the mountain and seen everything that has happened and you Pétur my boy, who is always deceiving people, must put an end to this disrespect and instead speak true and right."

Pétur Plat gulped and sat down on the bed.

<--previous chapter//   -   //next chapter-->

[cliffandivy]

Siggi Sigtryggur Baldursson (#Sugarcubes #PEYR, #KUKL) signed our albums at AKIMI Alaska Music Conference! #fangirl #fanboy #postpunk #alaska #iceland #immortal #gothfamily #Alaska #circumpolarmusic Independent Musicians Initiative - #AKIMI https://www.instagram.com/p/B5yHtOODvD9/?igshid=7yb9qy2po3rp

[spunkymunkey]

Tweeted

The Sugarcubes’ Siggi Baldursson and KEXP DJ Kevin Cole Take Us to Iceland Airwaves https://t.co/rN7ppmvZoz

— SPUNKY ⓂUNKEY (@spunkymunkeymus) October 31, 2018

[moviescorenews]

Why Iceland? L.A. Phil's Reykjavik Festival highlights amazing music coming from an unlikely place Jessica Gelt, latimes.com

Icelandic people enjoy bending the rules. This is bad if you’re a banker but great if you’re an artist, says Sigtryggur “Siggi” Baldursson, former drummer of the seminal Icelandic alt-rock band the Sugarcubes, which catapulted vocalist Björk to…

[historygreatest]

Bjork

Björk, whose stepfather had been in an Icelandic rock band, recorded her first album at age 11, and later joined Theyr, a legendary Icelandic hard-rock band whose drummer was Siggi Baldursson.

Einar Örn Benediktsson launched Gramm Records, and with Bragi Ólafsson formed punk band Purrkur Pillnikk, whose debut EP reached Iceland’s Top 20 in 1981.

In 1989 Björk’s ex-husband Thór (with whom she had…

[temple-of-the-morningstar]

The Sugarcubes

[sspacegodd]

Me making some sound.

Our drummer is Siggi, from Bjork's old band, the Sugarcubes.

[sykurvatn]

Black and white sugarcube photos!

[lazy-goblin]

Latibær á Ólympíuleikum (LazyTown at the Olympics) - Chapter 8/28

Original story by Magnús Scheving (1996)

Illustrations by Halldór Baldursson

8. Hinrik Hik

On the upper bunk above Stebbi Stafur, a boy sat and didn't say a word.

"What's your name?" asked Maggi.

"My na.. my na.. name is Hinrik."

"Hinrik. You're just called Hinrik?" asked Maggi.

"Hinrik Hik," replied the boy.

"Good day, Hinrik Hik," said Siggi Sæti.

Siggi decided to choose an upper bunk like Hinrik.

"Isn't it better to have me on the top bunk?" asked Maggi Mjói. "You are so much heavier than me. If it should break now..."

The boys laughed tremendously.

"Yeah, probably, since I don't know if can get up to the top bunk. You have to be pretty agile to be able to climb so high. I'll make do with the bottom," said Siggi, smiling and letting himself fall to the bed.

Hinrik Hik seemed a bit shy. Stebbi Stafur was starting to ask him all kinds of riddles but Hinrik couldn't answer any of them. Stebbi Stafur did not like the look of it.

"Don't you know what the difference is between hoofed animals and cloven-hoofed animals?

"No," said Hinrik. "Should I kn.. know tha.. that."

"I shall lend you this book and then you can read all about it."

Hinrik Hik looked at Stebbi Stafur and took the book a bit hesitantly.

"And it's not a bad idea that you read out loud so that they can learn this too," said Stebbi.

"Huh?," said Maggi Mjói, "read out loud for us. We know a lot of things, you don't need to read it out loud for us."

Stebbi was quick to break in and ask:

"Which animal runs fastest in the world? And which animal goes slowest?"

"Umm, I'm not really sure about that," said Maggi, scratching his head.

"Then just read it from the book. Hinrik, read it!" said Stebbi, determined.

"Read, wh.. where..." said Hinrik Hik, hesitating.

"It's here on page five," said Stebbi Stafur, standing up and waiting for the reading.

Hinrik Hik was a bit ashamed and said then:

"I.. I..."

He continued to hesitate and all three friends looked at him.

"I'm called Hinrik Hik because I always he.. he.. hesitate."

"Just read slow and easy for us," said Stebbi Stafur.

"I.. I can't read out loud," moaned Hinrik Hik.

There was a grave silence in the room.

"Do you not know how to read?" asked Stebbi Stafur. "Has no one taught you to read?"

"I mean.. I'm not go.. good at reading out loud, so I have to use gla.. glasses when I read."

"Just put them on and I'll help you read."

Stebbi prepared to begin the reading.

"I know you're going to laugh as soon as I put on the glasses - and also when I hesitate with the reading," answered Hinrik.

Maggi Mjói didn't believe his own ears. Was Stebbi Stafur going to teach Hinrik Hiki to read? And before he knew it Stebbi Stafur was sitting beside Hinrik and going over each word after the other.

"When you're learning to read it's best to take some easy books, with many pictures and short texts and increase the text little by little."

His grandfather had taught him this. His grandfather always had him read many books. As a result Stebbi Stafur was a bit of a bookworm and had a lot of fun looking at and reading books. His grandfather had a big library where Stebbi could always go to borrow both old and new books. His grandfather had once said to him:

"You just start and the bottom and then read every book in the bookcase until you get up to the top shelf."

Stebbi was not done with all the books in the bookcase but was almost halfway there. He had read books about the animals in Africa, all the Icelandic Sagas and books by Halldór Laxness.

Stebbi Stafur told Hinrik Hik that he should get his grandfather's books that would be good to start with.

"You have to be patient, then it comes."

Hinrik Hik said that he often hesitated and would have trouble talking when he was insecure, especially where there were strangers.

"With practice you won't hesitate on the text. Now put the glasses on," said Stebbi.

"Yes, but I don't have the courage for it," replied Hinrik Hik quickly.

"Now why not?" asked Stebbi Stafur.

"In my class this winter everyone laughed when I put my glasses on," said Hinrik Hik.

"There are always some dumb kids who laugh and we'll just let them laugh. They're hiding their own weaknesses."

Stebbi had answers to everything.

"Yes," said Maggi Mjói, "I was also laughed at because I was so skinny but Íþróttaálfurinn, who was here last year, taught me a lot."

"People are always being judged by their looks. Some might be fat..." said Siggi Sæti, stepping up on a chair.

"..and some are skinny like me," said Maggi Mjói.

"Still others are small but you're not supposed to judge people from their appearance. It's the disposition that matters," said Stebbi.

"Disposition?" said Hinrik Hik.

"Yes, it's how you are inside, appearance doesn't matter - for example what color your hair is, dark, light or red; it changes nothing about the person.

Therefore, you should never make fun of those who are different than others - whether they wear glasses or are bald. My grandfather doesn't have one single hair on his head and he can also take out his teeth and have no teeth and he is never teased," said Stebbi Stafur, looking proudly at the books that his grandfather had lent him.

"Do you think I should my glasses on now?" asked Hinrik Hik.

".. and teeth," added Maggi, teasing.

The boys laughed.

"Of course you should put them on now," said Maggi Mjói.

"It's inconvenient to be half blind because you don't dare to put on you're glasses," said Siggi Sæti.

As Hinrik was looking for this glasses, the door was thrown open and Óli Óþekki leaped in screaming:

"AHA.. you know who is in a room with me?"

"Nooo," said the boys in chorus.

"I'm ALONE in a room," shrieked Óli.

"No wonder," said Maggi Mjói.

"Now, why do you say that?" asked Óli Óþekki, starting to climb the bunks.

"It's because you are so naughty. No one could sleep in the same room as you. You never go to sleep on time and always wake up too late. Íþróttaálfurinn taught us that you must go to sleep early if you're going to succeed."

Maggi looked to the other boys in hope of agreement. They all nodded their heads.

/notes: 

Hik means “hesitation”

Halldór Laxness is a 20th century Icelandic writer (wikipedia link)

<--previous chapter//   -   //next chapter-->

[lazy-goblin]

Latibær á Ólympíuleikum (LazyTown at the Olympics) - Chapter 7/28

Original story by Magnús Scheving (1996)

Illustrations by Halldór Baldursson

7. The Community Center

The Rooster leaped out of his sun chair and crowed:

"Cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-doodle-doo,"

He looked over the town and saw that nobody woke up.

He crowed again:

"Cock-a-doodle-doo," - even louder.

Now the lights came on in each house after another.

The Rooster was extremely satisfied with this. He was also a bit conceited because he did such a good job. He had managed to wake up each morning at the right time, ever since Íþróttaálfurinn had talked to him. The Sun greeted the Rooster. She was crawling up in the sky. She stretched herself out and the Rooster did likewise. It's good when you wake up and begin the morning by stretching well.  After his stretching exercises were finished he went toward the stream, picked up his beak brush and brushed his beak. He looked down at the water, caught his reflection and fixed his comb so that he looked good.

"You never know if you're going to see some cute hen," he said to himself.

He started his morning workout. One step to the left and two steps to the right, stretch the leg, straighten the leg, shake the tail, clap. He didn't quite succeed in clapping. The Sun saw him and smiled out, letting her beams dance along all the rooftops all the way down to the square.

Maggi Mjói was up. He was out of his pajamas and now stood in a t-shirt and shorts in the kitchen making breakfast. Breakfast is the foundation for the day -  as Íþróttaálfurinn had taught him. If you skip breakfast you will hungry almost all day and you will not have the energy to play or do anything for the rest of the day.

Maggi wondered what he should eat. He decided to have crispbread, water, oatmeal, a glass of milk, toast and lýsi. Once upon a time, he thought that lýsi tasted awful. Do you remember that? But now he thought it necessary to take lýsi, which would prevent him from getting sick.

When Maggi had eaten, he ran to Siggi Sæti and asked whether he wasn't going to hurry up, they should be down at the community center. Siggi Sæti said goodbye to his parents with a kiss and took an apple with him for a snack.

When they arrived at the community center, there was a long line of kids who were signing up for the preparatory course for the Olympics. The boys got in line and took a look at the kids. There was Smári Smart, Tína Fína, Pétur Plat, Eiki Eyðslukló, Solla, Nenni Níski, Goggi and more and more. Some kids they did not know. They were probably kids from nearby towns and villages.

                         (text on building: “community center”)

When they got to the front of the line, Stína Símamær received them, welcomed them said that she was in charge and they'd better not cause any commotion or disobey. Everything she said should be obeyed, in every way.

"It's hardly surprising that Stína's being hard," Siggi blurted out.

"Huh?! Were you saying something, young man?" asked Stína.

"No, yeah, I said that it's hardly surprising what a big horde... I mean of children," said Siggi.

The kids were given a schedule on a big sheet of paper that Stína said they were not to lose under any circumstance. It said there when they had to go to practice, meal times and all about bedtime.

"But where should we sleep?" was heard from Óli Óþekki further down the line. "And when should we go to sleep?"

"You have to go to sleep nice and early.

Boys! Your rooms are at the north side of the house, but the girls are to sleep on the west side."

Stína went with the group and showed them the rooms.

Siggi Sæti and Maggi Mjói hurried to check who they were in a room with. When they got there, Stebbi Stafur sat there with a stack of books on the bed, reading. As soon as the boys appeared in the doorway he said:

"Boys, name me one animal that has four knees."

"One animal with four knees," repeated Maggi.

He looked at Siggi who shrugged his shoulders.

"There is.. there's a cat."

"No, no. A cat only has two knees - on the front legs. It doesn't have knees on the back legs."

Stebbi went silent then, clearly waiting for an answer.

"I give up," said Maggi.

"It's an elephant. It says here in this book."

Stebbi turned the book so that the boys could see.

"Yes, so it is. Yes, of course," said Siggi Sæti. "Of course it's an elephant. It can bend all its legs."

Then Stebbi Stafur showed them a picture of an elephant in the circus.

"Yes, yes.. I'd like it if I could borrow this book from you," said Maggi Mjói.

"No matter, I have enough to read," said Stebbi, handing him the book.

notes:

I’m sure you all remember that “lýsi” is fish oil, but I thought I’d make a note of anyway just in case.

<--previous chapter//   -   //next chapter-->

[lazy-goblin]

Áfram Latibær! (Let’s Go LazyTown) - Chapter 16/16

Original story by Magnús Scheving (1995)

Illustrations by Halldór Baldursson

16. The Sports Festival

When the Moon took his leave and the Sun took over, he told her everything that had happened the night before. He told her how beautiful and clean the gym had become and that everyone had eaten healthy food, brushed their teeth and gone to bed early. The Sun didn't believe her ears! She looked forward to rising up in the sky and seeing LazyTown with her own eyes. She peeked between the clouds and sent a few tiny sunbeams down to the roofs, where they tripped about and investigated the situation. She could see that the gym was gorgeous. There were buses running with many competitors. The Sun climbed even higher and thought that perhaps it was all true, what the Moon had told her. She had never seen so many people heading to town.

The townspeople had woken early this morning, but the Mayor was awake at the crack of dawn. He had been so anxious about the sports festival not working out that he had come down to the gym to check whether everything was up to snuff, whether everything was okay with the pool, whether the water was too cold.  He checked the clock that would take the times in the races and tried the PA system that Stína Símamær would talk into and explain the results. He also strolled over the running track, looked at the starting marks and then went back to the pool to be absolutely sure that nothing was forgotten. He looked at his notepaper and went over the list carefully.

"Yes, this is done," he said to himself. "Yes, this is done and this here."

He crossed them off his list until he had gone over all the items he had planned to check. He heard that the buses were parked outside the gym and hurried out to show the competitors where they could change clothes. When he came out he saw that these were people from neighboring communities. It eased his mind and there was obviously great competitiveness in people.

It was obvious that the Mayor was very anxious. He doubted that the residents of LazyTown could defeat these competitors. Everyone who has been to the country knows that people who live in the countryside eat healthy food, exercise a lot and are very hard-working. He knew from experience that people in LazyTown were not very hard-working. He didn't know that many were beginning to exercise and eat healthy food. He had no idea that now everyone had new uniforms and new shoes and were home eating healthy food as Íþróttaálfurinn had advised them.

When the Mayor was done showing people where they had to go, team manager Gústi came down to the gym and said to him:

"I have a letter for you, Mayor."

"You have a letter for me?" he said in surprise.

"Yes, I have a letter for you and it's very important."

The Mayor opened the letter and it said that the President was planning to come to LazyTown and be at the festival, he was coming at around ten o'clock with his entourage. The Mayor shouted out:

"Wow, the President is coming! The President is coming!"

He ran off and almost collided with Maggi Mjói and Halli Hrekkjusvín who were coming around the corner.

He shouted:

"Boys, do you know who is coming? Th...the President is coming here!" he stammered. "The President is going to watch the sports festival!"

The Mayor felt he had become young again and said excitedly:

"We must let the townspeople know. How can we do that?"

Halli and Maggi said:

"We'll just run to every house with the letter and let everyone know."

"What are you saying?" said the Mayor. "You're willing to run with a letter to all the houses in town?"

Joy shone from his face.

"Yes, yes, we've been practicing and we need to warm up before the competition. This is the best warm-up," they said.

The Mayor wrote down the news and then they ran off to house after house to inform the townspeople that the President would be at the sports festival. This was big news in LazyTown.

More cars rolled in. People saw that something was finally happening and curiosity grew with every minute.  Team manager Gústi pointed out seats:

"You can sit there! You sit there...!"

It was completely clear that many wanted to watch this first sports festival to be held in LazyTown.

The President arrived right on time at ten o'clock, as befitting, with all his entourage. The Mayor welcomed them with a brass band which he had called together in a hurry. The President was shown to a seat in the VIP section. The Mayor sat next to him, smiling widely. Now he knew that the townspeople of LazyTown were rather better equipped to buckle down and were going to do as well they possibly could at this sports festival.

All the competitors from LazyTown were in the changing room getting ready to compete. They were ready to dress in their beautiful uniforms, lace their shoes well, do their warm-up exercises, drink water and eat healthy food. They were ready.

Stína Símamær went out to the middle of the stadium and opened the festival. She was extremely fond of talking on the PA system so that her voice boomed in all the speakers. The opening ceremony took almost two hours and the rooster fell asleep during the speech! She said almost everything that came to mind and that was okay because she didn't speak badly about anyone. Everything was positive and good and that is how sports festivals are supposed to be.

The competitors flocked into the stadium one by one. Running, swimming, pole vaulting, relay. All of these were very exciting sport events and sometimes there was no difference but a hair's breadth between first and second place. Stína Símamær announced the results and was so excited that she was almost shouting into the PA system.

The Mayor and the President sometimes stood up to see better and all the people clapped and sang and had fun.

Siggi Sæti did very well selling vegetables and all the kids of LazyTown were very pleased to get oranges and apples because they are very healthy for the teeth and the whole body.

Íþróttaálfurinn watched the tournament from the top of his hill and saw that everything went off without a hitch. We don't know what the results were in each event, but that doesn't really matter. When you compete in sports, the main thing is not to conquer but to be included. Whether you win or lose, it's always equally as enjoyable to take part in something healthy and entertaining.

One thing I'm sure of, and the Sun told me this, that from now on she looked forward to rising up in the sky and sending her beams down to LazyTown because in the square was a trophy cup that the townspeople had. I suspect that that the town had received it as a prize at the sports festival. This was a beautiful cup that all the townspeople were proud to own. The Sun also said that there were now kids at play all over SunnyTown, either on the playground equipment, on bikes, at hopscotch or in sports.

"That's how towns are supposed to be," the Sun said finally and hurried to climb up in the sky and have the best view over the beautiful town.

That's right! SunnyTown! That was the old, good name!

"But what about the elf? Has anyone seen him?"

She told me that the elf no longer had work to do in SunnyTown.

But you never know where he'll turn up next.

Perhaps you'll meet him where you live...

/We all know he’ll be back.

There was also coloring page printed in the back of the book that you were meant to mail in to the publishing company for a chance to win a prize. I’m going to post it as a separate post, in case anyone wants to try to color it (although i imagine the contest is long over).

/notes:  Sólskinsbær might be more accurately translated as ‘Sunshine Town’ but ‘SunnyTown’ is what I used mostly because I think it rolls off the tongue better.

<--previous chapter//   -   //coloring page-->

There is one more book in the original series, called ‘Latibær á Ólympíuleikum’ (LazyTown at the Olympics). It actually comes between  ’Áfram Latibær’ and ’Latibær í Vandræðum’ but there was never a play version. I’ve already started work on it, so you can look forward to that pretty soon.

*edit : it’s done and you can read it here -   //Latibær á Ólympíuleikum-->

[lazy-goblin]

Áfram Latibær! (Let’s Go LazyTown) - Chapter 14/16

Original story by Magnús Scheving (1995)

Illustrations by Halldór Baldursson

14. Teamwork

           (text on building: LazyTown Gymnasium)

Íþróttaálfurinn requested assistance. He then asked for volunteers, who wanted to do important work for their town, to raise their hands. Everyone did so and asked what the assistance would involve.

"We must get the gym in working order," he replied.

That evening, everyone helped fix up the gym. It was a lot of work and lasted long into the evening.

The Mayor, however, knew nothing about this. He sat at home with heavy thoughts, worried because no townspeople had announced that they were going to complete in the sports festival. He became increasingly anxious with every passing minute.

The Sun was setting. She had followed along with everything that was happening and began to smile out. The rooster was up on the hill, standing in front of his sun chair, looked out over the town and couldn't believe his own eyes.

"What is this! A bunch of people are working to fix the gym? What's going on? I think I'll wake up really early tomorrow morning to see what's happening!" he said to himself.

He put on his nightcap, set the alarm clock and hurried off to sleep so he could wake up early.

The gym was finally spick-and-span. It had been scrubbed and cleaned of all the the grime, the gymnastics equipment pulled out and repaired.

Goggi fixed the electricity because he was so used to fixing TVs.

Siggi Sæti told Íþróttaálfurinn that he planned to set up a concession stand at the sports festival. He planned to have fruit, juice and healthy food for sale. Íþróttaálfurinn liked the idea. Siggi got a room to make the concession stand. He painted the walls in beautiful colors, made a counter and set up shelves for all the fruit that he was going to sell at the festival.

Nenni went to check the running track and walked the whole circle of the field to see if it was in good condition. It had been a long time since the track had been used and it was hard to see the lines. He got some chalk and put it on the track and marked it all so that it would be easier to compete on it. He was thinking of competing in the relay. That's when you run with a baton and hand it to the next person, but he had never in his life given any person any created thing! He had preferred to take things from people so this was a new experience for him.

Halli Hrekkjusvín checked the ring where the shot put was supposed to take place.  He had to mop it, clean all the dirt that had accumulated over the years, paint and find the balls. There were balls of various weights. There were balls that weighed from two kilograms all the way up to ten kilograms. He got a tape measure to measure how far each one threw.

While all this was happening, Stína Símamær, the town busybody, arrived. She wanted very much to know what was going on. There was no phone in the gym, so she came on foot. She looked in the door and cried out, thunderstruck:

"What's going on here? Why was I not told of this? How could there people working here and I didn't know about it?"

"You already know all of this," said Íþróttaálfurinn, smiling. "We're getting ready for the sports festival."

"Yes, but I didn't know that people were going to take part in it. I thought that everyone was in agreement that this was complete and utter nonsense," said Stína Símamær.

She was about to light a cigarette and smoke it in the gym but then all the townspeople said in a chorus:

"We don't smoke here! Absolutely no smoking allowed here."

"What's this?" she exclaimed.

She put the cigarette out and was about to throw it.

"No, no throwing cigarettes or other litter allowed here! It's going well here. We've been fixing things up all day and throwing cigarette butts is not allowed here. We have a wastebasket," said the townspeople firmly.

Stína Símamær was uncertain if she knew these people. She threw the cigarette away in the wastebasket and said, offended:

"But is there nothing I can do to take part in this?"

"Yes, I still need the right person who is good at talking to people and can explain each sport event and announce the results," replied the elf.

"Now that is, yes. Maybe I could do that," she said happily.

"That would be very good," said the elf. "You get to stand in the middle of the field during the festival and explain the progress of the games. You tell the audience how things are going."

"But can I do this over the phone?" she asked.

"No, of course not," said the elf.

He called for Goggi, who showed Stína Símamær a special radio device that was connected to a speaker in the gym. Stína had never before talked into a better device. Now she could talk to a thousand people at once. Íþróttaálfurninn said to her:

"The only thing you mustn't do is speak badly about people. Here there is only speaking well about people."

Stína Símamær agreed to this and said that she was also going to quit smoking.

The gym was almost unrecognizable. It was a magnificent building and all the townspeople were proud of how well it turned out. The elf thanked them all and said that he hoped to see people at the sports festival on Saturday and the competitors on the hill tomorrow.

Now the story turns to the Mayor. He was thinking of going for his usual evening walk. He went out and saw that not a single TV was turned on at his neighbor Goggi's. He didn't understand this. Was the power out? No, no, the electricity was fine but not a single TV was switched on! Goggi had fallen asleep long ago, dead tired after a hard day.

The Mayor walked down the street and saw to his great surprise that the gym was newly painted and like a magnificent palace right in front of him.

He couldn't believe his own eyes. He looked up and saw the Moon in the sky smiling at him. He had watched everything and knew that the sports festival had to be a success

The Mayor went with quick steps toward the gym, opened the door and looked in. It smelled of cleanliness, there were lines on the running track, everything was ready for the shot put and a big banner had been hung up which said: WELCOME TO THE FINISH LINE.

The Mayor was dumbfounded. Who had done all this? This was amazing. He danced with joy!

            (banner: Welcome to the finish line)

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[lazy-goblin]

Áfram Latibær! (Let’s Go LazyTown) - Chapter 13/16

Original story by Magnús Scheving (1995)

Illustrations by Halldór Baldursson

13. Sports Bank Book and Exercises

The days passed and it almost seemed that there was no change in LazyTown. But upon closer inspection, a number of things were being done. Siggi Sæti was eating half as much candy as before. He had stopped having it sent to his home and had tidied things up around his house. Goggi had drawn a hopscotch on the pavement in front of his house and Halli Hrekkjusvín was helping him. We didn't see what Nenni Níski was doing and we don't quite know what Stína Símamær was up to. But Solla Stirða sat in the middle of the playground and was doing stretching exercises.

The elf was busy going over his Sports Bank. He had a big book of exercises that he was going to show the kids so that they could practice at home. You never know if he'll show us too. We just have to wait and hope. Then maybe we'll be able to practice at home.

Thursday dawned and there were only only two days until the sports festival. Íþróttaálfurinn woke bright and early, did his exercises, two thousand push-ups and three thousand crunches, ate a healthy breakfast, combed his hair and beard and was outside in the blink of an eye. He looked to the sky and saw the Sun peeking out from under a cloud.

"You never know, after a few days you might be able to shine without having to be ashamed of it," he said to the Sun and went into town.

First he came to Siggi Sæti's house. He hardly recognized the house again because it had been tidied up so well all around it. All the cans were gone and all the caramel wrappers. It was almost an unrecognizable house. He looked in the window and saw that Siggi was tidying his room. He rapped on the window pane. Siggi opened the window and the elf said:

"Well, today, Siggi, we're going to meet and I'm going to show you some exercises."

"Oh," said Siggi. "Where?"

"In the square, be there in an hour."

Íþróttaálfurinn then went on to Maggi's thin house where the door was so narrow that he hardly got through it. There was Maggi Mjói. And what do you think? He was eating oatmeal! He had never tasted oatmeal before and told Íþróttaálfurinn when he came in: "Mmmmmm... this is the best thing I've ever tasted. I don't understand why I didn't want to eat this.

What do you have in your hands? A big book? What's in it?" asked Maggi as he swallowed yet another spoonful of delicious oatmeal. Íþróttaálfurinn told him about the meeting and the exercise bank that was in the book and that he was going to show them down in the square. Maggi was now very excited like the other to see what was in the Sports Bank Book.

After that, the elf went to to see Goggi and Halli Hrekkjusvín. They were outside the house learning the rules of hopscotch. It went badly now, because they weren't having a easy time standing on one foot and stretching to the stone. They stopped and stumbled a little. But they had a lot of fun playing hopscotch. They even scuffled a little. Íþróttaálfurinn heard Halli Hrekkjusvín ask Goggi whether he wanted to fight and Goggi agreed to it. They played together like best friends. He gave them the message about the meeting and they were delighted.

Íþróttaálfurinn met up with Solla Stirða and she showed him that she could even tie her shoes all by herself. He wished her congratulations on a quick success. But he knew well that you get quick success when you practice and are diligent and orderly. He went house to house and checked what was happening and told everyone to come to the square at two o'clock.

Although it may seem unbelievable, all the townspeople came and now there was no pollution in the square because everyone came walking. Íþróttaálfurinn said:

"You all know that the sports festival is in two days and we have work to do. We need to repair the gym. But first, before we take care of that, I'm going to show you some exercises. I want you to try to compete in the sports tournaments so that we can be proud of LazyTown."

He now opened the big, thick Sports Book with all the exercises, pulled up one picture after another and began to teach the kids.

On the next pages, you will see for yourself how the exercises are. Read the text and study the pictures well. Then try to do some of them at home.

Sports Bank Book

Lie on your back. Have one leg on the floor but point the other one up. Bring your hands gradually up along the calf to the ankle. Pull the leg closer to you every time. Hold the position for 30-40 seconds.

Balance exercise. Try to stand on one foot and hold the other straight out. This exercise in very difficult at first so it's best to support yourself with something.

Sit on the floor and have a good gap between your feet. Set one hand on the floor and raise the other arm over your head. Stretch up and then lean gradually to the side.

Bend your right leg but stretch your left behind you. Be careful not to lean forward. Hold the position for 30-40 seconds. Then bend your left leg and stretch your right. Repeat this a few times.

This is a balance exercise ("airplane"). Try to stand on one foot and lean forward. Hold your hands straight out from your shoulders.

When you're going into a split, it's necessary to go slowly. It takes time to take control of the exercise. Bring your feet apart and slide one foot slowly back. It's good to have your hands on the floor for balance.

Push-ups:

Have a good gap between your hands and put your palms on the floor. Lower yourself slowly and lift yourself back up.

It's also possible to jump up and clap but it's best to practice this on a mattress in the beginning.

When you do a push-up, you must be careful not to bend your back.

Sit on the floor, have your arms down at your sides and put your palms on the floor. Try to lift yourself up (including your legs). It's also possible to have your legs apart.

Find something you can put your foot up on. Take your calf and slowly bend forward but make sure your back is straight. When you can't go any further, hold the position for 30-40 seconds. - This exercise is very good.

Get a cardboard box and put a measuring tape on in. Sit down. Have your feet up against the box and slowly bend forward. Have someone write down how far you can reach. Let your mom or dad try it too!

He told the kids that they all needed to learn these exercises. It might take various lengths of time. In the end, though, they would be able to do all of them.

/notes: 

The illustrations are from the book scans, cropped and edited (badly) by yours truly. The illustrator is Halldór Baldursson.

The phrase ‘Sports Bank Book’  sounds awkward to me, but I didn’t know how else to translate the word ‘Íþróttabankabókin’. There may be something better I could have used, but I don’t know very much Icelandic or very much about sports.

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