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Name: Daði Rafnsson
Pronounced Dathi...an old Irish and Scandinavian name
which means 'The Adored'. It is better than Jörmundur I guess.

DOB: February 17 1976
Apparently I am a poster child for Aquarius's and Dragons 

Place of Birth: Reykjavík, Iceland
Ah, home of the midnight sun, volcanoes, earthquakes, geysers,
glaciers, Björk and only about 300,000 mad, mad people.
I proudly feel the Ice on my chest (reference to a certain German),
support Valur Reykjavík, love hot dogs with everything, working hard and playing harder.  

Nationality: Icelandic
I have lived in the US for five years and traveled a lot.
Many people there ask me whether I am going to apply for citizenship but there
is no way I will ever be anything else than Icelandic to the core. Now on the other hand I do not believe in borders. I feel like I can go anywhere I want to and live, work and play. It does not matter if it is Europe, Iceland or the US...even somewhere in Asia or South America. I will find a way.

I really have come to look at Miami as a second home, and I have to admit that there was something really comfortable about living in Nashville...maybe too comfortable though...

Admittedly I love alternating between the US and Europe...and there is nothing more beautiful than a summer night in Iceland.

Parents: Rafn Haraldsson (1948) & Sigurbjörg Jónsdóttir(1952)
I come from an abnormal family...they are still married since 1975. He is a poultry company farmer/producer/part owner and a former
English teacher. She is a Registered Nurse. I actually like them very much.

Siblings: Hlín (1977), Rafn Haraldur (1982), Sigga(1984)
After me my parents thought they could do better...but they couldn't. But these kids are alright...Hlín is a political science major at the University of Iceland, which is strange because everyone who knows her actually trusts her. Rafn Haraldur is a student at Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurlands and has played against Manchester United. Sigga is also studying there and she is the only one who is somewhat like me...which makes my mom very worried.

Education:
I am still learning a lot every day, but these are the schools
which I have had to go to for the last 20 years.
Grunnskóli Hveragerðis, Hveragerði, Iceland 1982-1992
Compulsory Education Exams
Williamson High School, Tioga, PA, USA 1992-1993
High School Diploma
Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurlands, Selfoss, Iceland 1993-1997
Stúdentspróf, University Entrance Exams Completed
Cumberland University, Lebanon, TN, USA 1997-1998
Freshman Marketing Major
University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland 1998-1998
Thought I wanted to be a lawyer. I didn´t
Barry University, Miami, FL, USA 1999-2002
BSc. Marketing in May 2002

Marital Status:
Totally, absolutely single. Applicants are hereby directed to my mother who owns controlling interest in Daðicorporation.

Kids:
Yes, I still am one. 

Work:
Co-owner and manager of the recently formed DG Sports Marketing Limited in England.
Editor in Chief of Barry Buccaneer, the Barry University student newspaper.

I have done various things for money. I have painted houses, cleaned toilets, been a tour guide, chopped heads off fish,
worked as a journalist, stacked lobster tails, promoted concerts, taken photographs, sold menswear, worked in a casino and much more.

To borrow a quote from my friend Kobina, "I have done some things that were legal, others that were kind of legal and some that were downright illegal". But then again, who hasn´t?

Hobbies & Lifestyle:
Materially I own a TV, a PDA and a Cell Phone in Europe. That´s it!

My personal outlook is to do things and experience them instead of thinking or talking about them. I guess I do more than most people to get myself into positions where I can travel, meet interesting people and experience things.

I have met my heroes, I have done the road trips, I have heard the music. And there is still so much to do... 

My friend Eiríkur always used to talk about how people should "dare to be great". In my opinion that means to think outside the box and go for what you want. Not to be bound by either the past or what other people think. In my experience nothing is impossible and
you would never believe what you can get if you only ask for it.

*Travel*
Every chance I get I am on the road, in the air, out on sea or on my way there. I have been all over North America and various places in Europe. I live in Miami in the winter and Iceland during the summer but now I have to make a decision on a place in Europe.
The first two months of this year have been on the following journey: Reykjavík-London-Miami-Orlando-Reykjavík-Orlando-Miami-Tampa-Miami-Key West-Miami. Supposedly I also go to school and work pretty much more than full time.

To quote JRR Tolkien and echo my friend Birna
"Not all those who wander are lost"

*Foooooootball* 
Aka soccer. I have played since I was a little kid wearing a Maradona shirt to practice. I was not as good as him but managed to play one year of college in the States. I then had a retinal detachment and am not allowed to play competitively anymore. Instead I play
for a scary amateur team called FC Eurotrash which is comprised of seven beautiful guys and four beautiful women. We come from Iceland, France, Canada, Finland, NY, Baltimore, Ireland/Seattle, Naples, Botswana, Miami and Germany and have only lost one game ever...in a penalty shoot out. We are renowned for uncompromising tactics and direct approach...meaning winning at all costs.

I am a rabid fan of Liverpool Football Club in the English Premier League and I will give my sisters to Michael Owen...I don´t think they actually mind. This affection for a football club has caused me many ups and downs emotionally in the past two decades and has smitten into the family. All my siblings and most of my cousins are Reds as well. Lovely people.

By the way, Iceland will beat Germany in the Euro 2004 qualifiers!    

*Music*
I cannot play an instrument and I sing with my heart through my nose...but sing I will. My first concert was Whitesnake with David Coverdale and Steve Vai. Since then I have seen U2 four times, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Björk, Tina Turner, Garbage,
Smash Mouth, Sting, Oasis, The Corrs, The Quireboys, Joe Cocker, Bryan Adams, Skid Row, Goldie, Iron Maiden, Paula Cole, Coldplay, Blur, Rammstein, Pulp, Cornershop and many more.

I promoted some UK Dj´s in Iceland including The Wiseguys and Les Rythmes Digitales and I have seen most of the world´s best Dj´s play in Iceland, Miami and England.

I hold no prejudices against any form of music...but boy bands are evil...although slightly amusing. Anything by Mariah Carey makes me cry in pain.

The high point for me was to stand in the walkway at the heart at the U2 Elevation Tour as an official photographer. I could have grabbed Bono´s ass if I had wanted to.

*Movies*
I honestly think I would go to film school today if I had all the money in the world to do so.

I don´t watch much TV but I go to the movies at least once a week, sometimes four times. Fortunately as the editor in chief for my school newspaper I am invited to most pre-screenings, press screenings and interview opportunities in the Miami area. Many Hollywood stars have therefore been fortunate enough to have met me.

Don´t ask about a favorite movie...there are simply too many. Like any guy my age I am a total and absolute Star Wars freak (I even own a light sabre) and adore the Lord of the Rings (not to be confused with the Lord of the Dance). I think the Oscars are a big, phony, stupid ceremony.  

*Photography*
I have taken classes, I have been paid for shooting photographs and I have done well in contests. I think I am a decent amateur photographer but mostly I am chronicling my life in pictures. My most prized possessions are my photographs.

*Writing/Media*
The media interests me to no end. How we get our news, entertainment etc., who controls it and how it represents cultures. I also really like to write and have written my masterpiece (of course I did) but like most everything else I write it will not be revisited by me or anyone.

I look at the process of writing as something that captures the writer´s emotions, feelings, opinions and experience at each exact moment. I feel like I grow more every day so I cannot possibly like what I wrote yesterday. Which means I will hate this tomorrow.

I wrote for Sunnlenska Fréttablaðið in Iceland from 1995-1997 and since then I have freelanced on occasions for papers and websites and now I am the editor in chief for the Barry University student newspaper. Honestly it is not a career I want to pursue as I believe most editors are too bound by certain guidelines about how people should write...when writing at its best follows no rules. 

*Sports*
Running, street basketball, tennis, ping pong, beach volleyball...everything except for handball and the luge.

I am hoping that one day I will have the patience to play golf and I have a newfound enthusiasm for strength training which bothered me to no end when I played soccer.

Life Ambitions
I know what my ambitions are. Once upon a time I did not, but then I realized it and my life has been excellent ever since. If you are even remotely interested then just ask.

Why Nashville Weekly?
It started when I lived in Tennessee during 1997-1998, first as an email in Icelandic to the few family and friends who had email. After I started traveling so much it exploded into a multinational news corporation whose sole aim is to spread the word of Daði. It does not exist as a newsletter anymore but the meaning is to be able to stay in touch with friends and family with samples of my life through photos. It will probably always be Nashville Weekly...no matter where I am.