Dreaming of Iceland

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:39:57 -0500

Iceland…. more like, DUH-celand!

icelandpictures: The Icelandic Arctic Fox was the only land...

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:07:07 -0500

The Icelandic Arctic Fox was the only land mammal in Iceland when the first people arrived in the year 874. It’s entire diet would then consist of birds, mainly the ptarmigan. To the Fox’s advantage mice came with the settlers and are also a large part of it’s diet today.

The fox can be sighted just about anywhere in Iceland if you are very lucky but the best place to find it is in Vestfirðir, The West Fjords. I’ve travelled all over Iceland and only twice seen a fox outside the West Fjords, but I’ve always seen one when in the West Fjords. There are even guides that can give you an Arctic Fox Tour up there.

This picture is from a really good Icelandic wildlife gallery on pbase by Michael Gehrisch

[Iceland] has a strong women’s movement and a high number...

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:39:00 -0500

[Iceland] has a strong women’s movement and a high number of female politicans. Almost half the parliamentarians are female and it was ranked fourth out of 130 countries on the international gender gap index (behind Norway, Finland and Sweden). … “Once you break past the glass ceiling and have more than one third of female politicians,” says Halldórsdóttir, “something changes. Feminist energy seems to permeate everything.” Halldórsdóttir, pictured, is the world’s first openly lesbian head of state.

Iceland: the world’s most feminist country | Life and style | The Guardian

I must make a PS note, for the sake of clarity. I disagree that criminalizing sex work, which is what this article is praising Iceland legislature for, equates with being more feminist as a country. There’s a lot of nuance to that issue, and personally I believe sex, just like any other skill or hobby, should be a legitimate source of income. But issues of gender, class, race, ability, and so on muddle the issue completely. All in all, I commend strides taken “against an industry that is both a cause and a consequence of gaping inequality between men and women” that this article is talking about.

icelandwantstobeyourfriend: Halló. Here is a moving picture...

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:17:58 -0500

icelandwantstobeyourfriend:

Halló.

Here is a moving picture that my friend Richard from Kansas made to show you how I looked last Sunday.

See you soon,
- Iceland.

P.S. You can see many other moving pictures of me on my Vimeo.

I love the clouds so much. My goodness how mysterious and fantastical they make these landscapes.

I am learning Icelandic on LiveMocha!

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 18:45:12 -0500

I am learning Icelandic on LiveMocha!:

Whoo!!

icelandpictures: Gurgling Land

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 09:00:50 -0500

icelandpictures:

Gurgling Land

Iceland: manly knitting dreamtown, I reach out to thee in my...

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 04:36:22 -0500

Iceland: manly knitting dreamtown, I reach out to thee in my mind.

icelandwantstobeyourfriend:

Halló, this is Iceland.

It is true that my men are very manly, and sometimes have names that are hard for you to say. This is Þórgnýr Thoroddsen, whose name is very hard to say, but he makes up for it by being a very good (and manly) knitter.

If you see him on one of my streets, and would like him to give you some advice on how to do knitting like an Icelandic man, just call out “Halló, Icelandic man with a difficult name who knits! Stop and show me how!”

He will not mind at all.

(But if you prefer to ask my women, you can do that, too.)