Today RantWoman has been collecting quirky reasons to be wildly enthusiastic about a trip to Iceland
RantWoman has also been SLOWLY tiptoeing into Instagram. Adventures to be chronicled separately.
Quirky reasons....
1. NO MOSQUITOS. RantWoman believes the YouTube post where she saw this. Actually finding the post now, not so much.
2. NO McDonalds! Iceland is the only country in Europe without a McDonalds. YouTube promises plenty of other dining options so no loss.
3. A very safe place for women to travel alone. RantWoman kind of imagines wanting to assemble a posse of compatible souls but really likes the concept.
4. No freeways. From what RantWoman can tell, even the Ring Road around the Island is definitely a drive cautiously zone and a lot of the country is two-lane roads one needs a 4x4 to negotiate safely.
RantWoman posts this intending to provoke thought.
RantWoman also directs readers to Cliff Mass Weather Blog. Prof Mass appears to RantWoman to be immune to panicking, immune in a way that to RantWoman sometimes lacks engagement about how data looks for people's lives. RantWoman still finds him an engaging--and sometimes argumentative--read.
Surge equipment and supplies even when conditions are very difficult.
Bats bite the sweetest fruit and then kids pick up the contaminated fruit. DON'T eat fruit that has been bitten by a bat.
Talking Ebola at bedtime.
Ebola is a Disease of compassion
Synopsis:
Ebola in Africa is probably going to get worse
US could help by having been prepared and being able to surge in relevant supplies but current administration has squandered leadership, undermined relationships.
Risk low but not Zero in the US: travel bans are partly performative. We only roll the dice so many times before they come up snake eyes.
This video dates from 2016. The description says so, in spite of the contemporary time stamp. Plus even with RantWoman's bad eyes, John Oliver looks younger than he currently looks when, for example, saying goodbye to Steven Colbert on Late Night
Ramzan Kadyrov is known for many NOT FUNNY things so be warned before wandering into the world of lost cats, lost cat memes, and a "fragile electoral victory" by someone who got 97% of the vote.
As for whether or not the fugitive feline has been found by now, the flow of "Is This your cat " memes has completely subsided. Twitter / X shows no new postings since 2020 and Instagram shows nothing current. So even though RantWoman is flirting with a #GAAD rant about her experience with Instagram, Kadyrov's channel is off the hook for that at least.
Today RantWoman is displacing an urge to go off on all kinds of daily news topics toward ...Iceland videos. Before you click, RantWoman loves this narrator's voice for resonance with darkness but RantWoman HAS OPINIONS about some of the topics.
A plunge into the shadows? A dance with the supernatural? YES! Not just endless hikes and gorgeous natural vistas? History! Myth! Yes! Bring it on.
Limited Product availability?
Fair warning, but Icelanders are by all accounts quite happy even without the level of frenetic consumerism possible in other places. Honestly, plan ahead but readers who cannot live without every little thing on hand and deliverable within 3 hours at a click of an Amazon order might want to consider whether Iceland is the destination for you.
RantWoman on the other hand might need to grapple with some clothing size concerns before travel but would be THRILLED not even to have to think about rampant consumerism for a whole vacation. RantWoman is also happy to practice just COPING. Wouldn't RantWoman be a FUN traveling companion?
You can't disappear into a crowd.
Cue Jason Aldean's "Try that in a small town" and every reaction video on the internet. Also triple bonus reminder NOT just to act like an ignorant clueless tourist.
The WEATHER: well documented. Highly variable. Dress in layers and always make sure to have a water and windproof outer layer. RantWoman lives in Seattle where people have been known to wear parkas for the Fourth of July and where every spring and fall means a dance of how many and which layers for the sweet spot of both temperature control and water resistance. So RantWoman thinks preparing sounds manageable.
RantWoman has also lived in enough snowy places to be REALLY firm about learning abou snow driving before trying to drive in Iceland. Visitors from, say, places where temperature are above 30degrees C all summer should definitely take note of both weather concerns and driving issues covered extensively elsewhere.
Fashion trends: a lot of people wind up chasing the same item or consumer goods. Oh well. Have fun about it or about sticking out if that happens.
Beer was banned until 1989
Fun history of wine and beer. RantWoman is wondering what the Vikings drank?
No TV on Thursdays AND in July
Ask about the history of TV in Iceland. Don't just plug into a "glowing box" for a YouTube fix.
Interests: Digital Inclusion, Languages and language access, walkability, accessibility, disaster preparedness.
When in doubt, laugh about something!
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com
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