Long time, no see!

I bow down to xkcd, as always.

Sri Lanka, War, and the scope of this blog

I am so sad because I read this article on terrible fighting in Sri Lanka today.

I am also sad because prior to researching for this blog I had no idea Sri Lanka has such strife and conflict. I feel so, so, so.......American!


I have been thinking about this a lot the last few days, I started this blog strictly to learn where countries were and some basic facts about them. I mean, just getting all that information is overwhelming enough without learning all the political issues and other problems around the world.

I feel sort of glib not discussing The civil war in Sri Lanka at greater length. War is nothing to take lightly. I wish and pray and dream for peace for all!



At the same time, I feel there is a time and a place for different kinds of information. There are international news and politics blogs where people get in depth on these issues. I do not feel I have the knowledge to fairly or accurately e-publish on that information.

Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

Belated Geography RESURRECTION!!!!!

Ok, I have shamefully procrastinated on this blog. It is pretty pathetic, but it is true. The sad thing is I love the concept of this blog and the opportunity to open myself to learning about the world and sharing with you too.

So, with that in mind I am going to resurrect this blog with a new format. I am going to have one country a week and I am going to pst a little each day, rather than one LONG entry.


Here's hopin' I can live up to this task!

And here's the beginning of Iceland:

Of course you all know their most famous citizen:

Beloved Modernist Poet Steinn Steinarr!!!

October 13, 1908 - May 25, 1958

His best known work is Time and the Water, of which the following is the first part.

Tíminn er eins og vatnið, og vatnið er kalt og djúpt eins og vitund mín sjálfs. Og tíminn er eins og mynd, sem er máluð af vatninu og mér til hálfs. Og tíminn og vatnið renna veglaust til þurrðar inn í vitund mín sjálfs. (Quoted from ljod.is)

Time is like the water, and the water is cold and deep like my own consciousness. And time is like a picture, which is painted of water, half of it by me. And time and the water flow trackless to extinction into my own consciousness. (Translation by Marshall Brement)

(Stolen from wikipedia)

Iceland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean between Greenland and Europe. The country is slightly smaller than the state of Kentucky (Where education pays!).

As of July 2007 the population was around 309,00. Of course that includes the current LIVING most famous Icelander:


Other living Icelandic musicians include Emiliana Torrini and Sigur Ros:

While I enjoy both acts, Bjork is clearly the most famous because she has the most diverse images on the interweb and the most scandalous youtube video.

The country is constitutional republic where Icelandic is the native language but English, Nordic languages and German are widely spoken.

Their President is Olafur Ragnar Grimsson and the Prime Minister is Geir H. Haarde.

(Grimsson)

This is the house of the executive branch of the government:

This design makes it clear where Bjork gets her flamboyant taste.

I have not abandoned my quest!

I have just been busy at work and life (as I am sure have been too!)!

The world keeps turning though and I am almost done with Iceland and narrowing down the next subject.

If anyone out there would like to post about a country that would be awesome!

Let me know.