Blog food for the withered mojo
Everyone: THANK YOU. I love the diversity of your questions, and your comments. And your feedback. This interactive nature of the blog is precisely what attracts me to blogging over other forms of writing - I've learned that for me, at least, it's essential to feel that I'm not writing in a vacuum. So, thanks.
And now, without further ado:
From Bluegrass Mama:
Anyway, my question is: are you fluent in any languages in addition to English and Icelandic?
~ Yes, German. Although my written German is below average.
From Becky:
Do you Twitter?
~ No. I don't see the point of Twitter. I like to communicate with people, but have absolutely no need to be constantly informing them of what I'm doing in 140 characters or less. Twitter holds no charm for me. Lots of people like it, though.
From Ásdís:
Do you regard your blog as a personal space or a public space? I know there probably isn't a simple answer to this question, but I'd be interested in your thoughts. What I mean is that I have read about bloggers complaining about their personal spaces being invaded by advertisers, rude comments or some such and then others talking about how bloggers having to be aware of the blog as a public forum. It just seems to me that if you have to remind yourself it is public you don't truly believe it. What do you think?
~ Good question, and definitely no easy answer. I think the blog is mostly public, and a little bit private. I constantly evaluate what I write on this blog because I know it's public and that not only strangers read it, but also people I know. I sometimes joke that my life is an open book, but of course that's not true - or if it is, then only a few pages are visible. I definitely assess what I write here, and usually not so much to protect myself, but rather to protect other people, usually the people close to me. ~ That said, this is also a personal space - I write my own thoughts from my own perspective, and while I invite people in to comment on what I write, I also reserve the right to evict those who violate my boundaries or post offensive material. And also, as was rather abruptly brought to my attention a couple of months ago, I am responsible not only for what I, myself, post here, but also what other people post in my comments. ~ Now having said all that, I'd be really interested to know what other bloggers think about this question.
From Kirston:
What is cod liver oil and why does it make you so damn happy all the time?
~ Cod liver oil is oil processed from the liver of the cod and sold as a dietary supplement, either in capsules or as a liquid. Here in Iceland it's called lýsi and it's been a staple in the Icelanders' diet for years and years. Most children here have not-so-good memories of being forced to take lýsi [in fact it was administered in schools until late in the last decade]. It's been proven to be extremely good for you, something about the Omega oils and amino acids and vitamin D and stuff [which is why Icelanders were made to take it, especially in the winter, because our bodies take vitamin D from the sun and obviously there is a shortage of that here in winter.] All that good stuff is also said to have a positive effect on people's moods.
From Steve:
Drivers training...It`s not just a job, it`s an adventure!?! So how`s it going?
~ It's going pretty well. No major disasters so far. Student has learned to bring up clutch and take off in first gear without burning rubber and/or stalling. Can also back out of parking space. YT has gone prematurely grey, though.
From Elin:
Many times you have written (tongue in cheek, I think) that you are not "really" a Nicelander. You also write about a portion of your young life spent in Canada. Do you consider yourself a vestur islendinga? And what I really want to say is: Good. God. You don't consider yourself a vestur islendinga, do you? Follow up question would be what do you think of those of us who have a drop or two of Icelandic blood and who are obsessed with all things nicelandic?
~ I don't consider myself a Vestur-Íslendingur and never did. I lived far from the Vestur-Íslendinga community [in Ontario] and could never identify with it. I hope you don't take offense, but the V-Icelandic community seemed to me like so many of the other ethnic communities in Canada that lived and breathed a sort of a watered-down version of their homeland culture, that they were pining for something that didn't actually exist, and that sort of scared me. It seemed to be a kind of fumbling around for an identity, and I didn't want to lose my identity in that way. I needed to live in a place that had strong roots, not necessarily my roots, but strong roots, which you don't get much in Canada. Which is why I eventually left Canada for Europe. I love Canada, but I was - and am - much happier in Europe. That said, today I have respect for the Vestur-Íslendinga community - not only the ancestors [with their incredible resilience and tenacity!] but also the people who work so hard to maintain the language and the old songs and traditions. I think it's quite remarkable and lovely.
From Professor Batty:
What would an Iceland Weather Report blog post from 2020 look like?
~ Heh. To be honest, I very much doubt the Iceland Weather Report will still be around in 2020. I have no immediate plans for throwing in the towel, but I don't think I'll hold out that long [and if I do, I expect it will be in a different format]. But thanks for asking!
Okay! That's all I have time for tonight, but I promise to get to all the rest ... this is excellent food for blog, so again - thank you! I feel recharged.
AND OF COURSE THE REQUISITE WEATHER REPORT
It's very windy around here these days - windy and dusty. There's so much dust on the streets and the grass is all withered and dead and to be honest, it's not a very attractive time of year. Yesterday I went out for a run and it was super windy and all these little grains of sand got stuck to my moisturizer. Seriously! Free facial scrub - I don't know why people actually pay money for that stuff. Temps have gone up a bit, currently 5°C [41F] and sunrise was at 6.48 am, sunset at 8.17.
And now, without further ado:
From Bluegrass Mama:
Anyway, my question is: are you fluent in any languages in addition to English and Icelandic?
~ Yes, German. Although my written German is below average.
From Becky:
Do you Twitter?
~ No. I don't see the point of Twitter. I like to communicate with people, but have absolutely no need to be constantly informing them of what I'm doing in 140 characters or less. Twitter holds no charm for me. Lots of people like it, though.
From Ásdís:
Do you regard your blog as a personal space or a public space? I know there probably isn't a simple answer to this question, but I'd be interested in your thoughts. What I mean is that I have read about bloggers complaining about their personal spaces being invaded by advertisers, rude comments or some such and then others talking about how bloggers having to be aware of the blog as a public forum. It just seems to me that if you have to remind yourself it is public you don't truly believe it. What do you think?
~ Good question, and definitely no easy answer. I think the blog is mostly public, and a little bit private. I constantly evaluate what I write on this blog because I know it's public and that not only strangers read it, but also people I know. I sometimes joke that my life is an open book, but of course that's not true - or if it is, then only a few pages are visible. I definitely assess what I write here, and usually not so much to protect myself, but rather to protect other people, usually the people close to me. ~ That said, this is also a personal space - I write my own thoughts from my own perspective, and while I invite people in to comment on what I write, I also reserve the right to evict those who violate my boundaries or post offensive material. And also, as was rather abruptly brought to my attention a couple of months ago, I am responsible not only for what I, myself, post here, but also what other people post in my comments. ~ Now having said all that, I'd be really interested to know what other bloggers think about this question.
From Kirston:
What is cod liver oil and why does it make you so damn happy all the time?
~ Cod liver oil is oil processed from the liver of the cod and sold as a dietary supplement, either in capsules or as a liquid. Here in Iceland it's called lýsi and it's been a staple in the Icelanders' diet for years and years. Most children here have not-so-good memories of being forced to take lýsi [in fact it was administered in schools until late in the last decade]. It's been proven to be extremely good for you, something about the Omega oils and amino acids and vitamin D and stuff [which is why Icelanders were made to take it, especially in the winter, because our bodies take vitamin D from the sun and obviously there is a shortage of that here in winter.] All that good stuff is also said to have a positive effect on people's moods.
From Steve:
Drivers training...It`s not just a job, it`s an adventure!?! So how`s it going?
~ It's going pretty well. No major disasters so far. Student has learned to bring up clutch and take off in first gear without burning rubber and/or stalling. Can also back out of parking space. YT has gone prematurely grey, though.
From Elin:
Many times you have written (tongue in cheek, I think) that you are not "really" a Nicelander. You also write about a portion of your young life spent in Canada. Do you consider yourself a vestur islendinga? And what I really want to say is: Good. God. You don't consider yourself a vestur islendinga, do you? Follow up question would be what do you think of those of us who have a drop or two of Icelandic blood and who are obsessed with all things nicelandic?
~ I don't consider myself a Vestur-Íslendingur and never did. I lived far from the Vestur-Íslendinga community [in Ontario] and could never identify with it. I hope you don't take offense, but the V-Icelandic community seemed to me like so many of the other ethnic communities in Canada that lived and breathed a sort of a watered-down version of their homeland culture, that they were pining for something that didn't actually exist, and that sort of scared me. It seemed to be a kind of fumbling around for an identity, and I didn't want to lose my identity in that way. I needed to live in a place that had strong roots, not necessarily my roots, but strong roots, which you don't get much in Canada. Which is why I eventually left Canada for Europe. I love Canada, but I was - and am - much happier in Europe. That said, today I have respect for the Vestur-Íslendinga community - not only the ancestors [with their incredible resilience and tenacity!] but also the people who work so hard to maintain the language and the old songs and traditions. I think it's quite remarkable and lovely.
From Professor Batty:
What would an Iceland Weather Report blog post from 2020 look like?
~ Heh. To be honest, I very much doubt the Iceland Weather Report will still be around in 2020. I have no immediate plans for throwing in the towel, but I don't think I'll hold out that long [and if I do, I expect it will be in a different format]. But thanks for asking!
Okay! That's all I have time for tonight, but I promise to get to all the rest ... this is excellent food for blog, so again - thank you! I feel recharged.
AND OF COURSE THE REQUISITE WEATHER REPORT
It's very windy around here these days - windy and dusty. There's so much dust on the streets and the grass is all withered and dead and to be honest, it's not a very attractive time of year. Yesterday I went out for a run and it was super windy and all these little grains of sand got stuck to my moisturizer. Seriously! Free facial scrub - I don't know why people actually pay money for that stuff. Temps have gone up a bit, currently 5°C [41F] and sunrise was at 6.48 am, sunset at 8.17.
Labels: Reflections
posted by Alda at 10:23 PM
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