How not to do things

Anyone fantasizing about the romantic notion of an independent island in the North Atlantic should read the article "Lost," in this week's New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/09/090309fa_fact_parker

If you can get a copy of the issue or access the full-length version online, look for this quotation by a local businesswoman: "Maybe we can become a kind of museum of how not to do things."

Icelanders are currently experiencing their own political and cultural upheaval, though not the type that DW and the Sunshine Band like to talk about.

While NL endures Curious George's Circus, Ian Parker paints a stark portrait of the island nation long touted as a model for an independent Newfoundland.

According to Parker, "To see Iceland this winter was to be reminded of that queasy split second during which a spectacular injury decides on its accompanying level of pain." As we witness our own split second during which our political sanity and cultural smarts are tested, I hope that this week's brain cramp will not leave a lasting injury.

For a perspective on other island neighbours, see Nottawa:
http://nottawa.blogspot.com/2009/03/appel-au-secours.html


Links update:

The New Yorker had another insightful piece on Iceland last year, before it was on the radar of mainstream politics:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2008/04/21/080421ta_talk_surowiecki

And check out the Vanity Fair piece linked in Bond Papers:
http://bondpapers.blogspot.com/2009/03/islands.html