Top 5! - Iceland/Icelandic Blogs
/For the longest time, I have been fascinated by Iceland and by all things Icelandic. I spent July of 1998 in the country studying the language (fascinating), its history (offering powerful lessons about family, honor and democracy) and its literature (the sagas remain a high-water mark in Western medieval literature and its crime fiction is second to none). If you have some interest in things Icelandic, I offer here 5 blogs to stoke your curiosity.
Music (Sigur Ros, Bjork), photography, videos and other ephemera brought to you by Kai and Marcel are bringing the contemporary Icelandic music scene to an English speaking audience.
The online portal of Iceland Review - the most comprehensive site I have found in English. Regularly updated with news, features and photography.
3. Iceland Eyes
A beautifully curated blog featuring photography from across the country. I loved public sculpture and modern architecture when I visited. Check this photo out!
Jonsdottir is a fascinating example of the kind of politician who just would not translate to the American public sphere. Representing a party that really isn't and being outspoken in behalf of a radically open understanding of free speech through the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (about which I have written earlier). Agree or disagree with her stances, she is interesting in a way that many 21st century politicians just aren't.
OK, I'll cop that this isn't really a blog, but it represents one of the qualities of the Icelandic people that keeps me interested. This is the site of the Constitutional Council of Iceland. Sounds sort of dull? It isn't. This is the public forum of the citizen's committee charged with rewriting Iceland's constitution (undertaken after Iceland's disastrous experience of the 2008 Global Recession). Notable, but typical of the Icelanders are some qualities of their work. It was conducted in public (the council's work was broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and on the website) and the council actively crowdsourced core constitutional principals from regular Icelanders. How is that not cool?