Watch: Ice Break

The Bear Grylls of Norwegian vodka drinkers demonstrates how to survives an insane skating session in, on, and under a frozen lake.

You would pretty much have to be a nut to do this, and well, there you go...

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Volcanic Ash Plume Grounds All Air Traffic Over UK, Norway

Air traffic in the UK, Norway, and much of Sweden has been closed after an eruption from the Icelandic volcano 10 to 20 times greater than the one last month (video) sent a high-altitude cloud of ash drifting towards France.

 The NYT: "The move effectively grounded all flights in Britain from 11:00 a.m. GMT (7:00 a.m. EDT) and affected the estimated 6,000 flights using British airspace everyday, aviation experts said. The impact was likely to be among the most severe in many years, cutting transatlantic links and severing air routes across northern Europe. The silence of the skies reminded some aviation experts of the days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when transatlantic flights were suspended. Since then, aviation in Britain has seen huge disruptions caused by terrorism alerts and industrial unrest."

700 have been evacuated:

"The eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier - 10 times more powerful than another one nearby last month - showed no sign of abating after more than 24 hours of activity, University of Iceland volcanologist Armannn Hoskuldsson said. "It's becoming more intense, but there will be no lava - this is purely an explosive eruption," he told Reuters. To the east of the volcano, thousands of hectares of land were covered by a thick layer of ash, while a cloud was blotting out the sun in some areas along the southern coast of Iceland, local media reported. Hot fumes from the eruption melted vast amounts of ice on the glacier, Iceland's fifth largest, but flood waters which had caused wide damage to roads and bridges on Wednesday were receding, Hoskuldsson said."

New footage, AFTER THE JUMP...

UPDATE: Dutch airspace to close at 7 pm.

Gay Chinese Man Defies Beijing, Heads to Mr. Gay Pageant

You may remember that last month Chinese authorities shut down the country's first "Mr. Gay China" pageant an hour before it was set to begin, saying organizers did not have proper permits. Now, Mr Gay World 2010 director Tore Aasheim reports that a contestant from China has arrived in Norway to compete:

 "Aasheim said the Chinese contestant -- whose identity he would not reveal -- had been selected by his peers, the other contestants in the blocked Chinese pageant, to represent their country at this year's Mr Gay World. "It is very courageous on his part to have taken the risk to leave his country to take part in an event to which Chinese authorities are hostile," Aasheim said. "In Beijing, all the contestants were gathered in one room and police clearly indicated they did not want a Chinese participation in the pageant. It's very uncomfortable to receive such a message in a country where human rights are not the main priority," he added. This year, 24 contestants from five continents are to compete in Oslo for the Mr Gay World title in the second edition of the competition."

According to Aasheim, the Norwegian government rushed the Chinese man's visa so he could compete.

Cosmic Jellyfish Invasion Observed in Skies Over Norway

Remember the odd blue spiral that was photographed last month in the skies over Norway?

Now, an amateur photographer accustomed to shooting the Northern Lights has captured a jellyfish-shaped object that some say is the reflection of the aurora off a satellite:

"In this way it would act like an 'iridium flare.',These are created by sunlight reflecting off iridium satellites and appear as bright white flashes in the sky. One problem with this theory is that the light intensity from the Northern Lights is 100,000 times weaker than the sunlight. But Mr Hansen said this did not exclude the satellite reflection hypothesis." 

Unexplained Blue Spiral Light Seen in Skies Over Norway

A bizarre, blue spiral light which appeared in the skies over Norway on Wednesday morning that some theorize was a failed Russian missile but has of course has inspired all sorts of theories remains unexplained:

"The phenomenon began when what appeared to be a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain. It stopped mid-air, then began to circulate. Within seconds a giant spiral had covered the entire sky. Then a green-blue beam of light shot out from its centre - lasting for ten to twelve minutes before disappearing completely. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute was flooded with telephone calls after the light storm - which astronomers have said did not appear to have been connected to the aurora, or Northern Lights, so common in that area of the world. Fred Hansen, from Bø in Vesterålen, described the sight as 'like a big fireball that went around, with a great light around it again.'"

Videos, AFTER THE JUMP...

Sergio Lara of Spain is Crowned Mr. Gay Europe 2009: Video

Sergio Lara of Barcelona took home the Mr. Gay Europe 2009 crown in Oslo, Norway Saturday night, according to organizers:

"This is the second year in a row that Spain wins the title of Mr. Gay Europe.Sergio is 26 years old, he is a psychology graduate, and he also has a music middle degree...Belgium, Estonia, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain and Switzerland came to the semi-final, and Spain, Iceland and Ireland met again in the super final. At the end of the night Spain was standing alone as the new Mr. Gay Europe – the second time in the five years long Mr. Gay Europe history. Netherland’s Jeffrey Zevenbergen (27) won the People’s Choice award with 15.7 percent of all the votes. The televote received 9329 genuine votes. Estonia’s Madis Räästas won the Challenge at the Tusenfryd Viking village, and Russia’s David Baramija won Nr. 1 Talent competition. Sergio Lara did not only win the Mr. Gay Europe title, he also grabbed the Mr. Gay Swim Wear 2009 title."

Watch a clip of Mr. Spain getting his crown, a clip of the swimsuit competition, and a clip of the entrants with the Mayor of Oslo, AFTER THE JUMP...

Check out what Russian contestant David Baramija did to win the talent competition (you won't see Carrie Prejean doing this!):

Watch a clip of Mr. Spain getting his crown, a clip of the swimsuit competition, a clip of the entrants with the Mayor of Oslo, and another shot of Russian Jesus, AFTER THE JUMP...