Winter Reading

Preview of coming attraction

   Nothing like curling up with a good blog on a wintry day. Presenting yet another of my periodic surveys of the blogsphere (does anyone even say blogosphere anymore?), things  I've been especially enjoying lately, these sites deserve a wider audience. And, as always, your mileage may vary:

retro vintage modern hi-fi is just what the title says. Mostly old ads and photos about audio equipment from the 50s, 60s and 70s. I may be a nerd, but I find this ephemera fascinating. Warning: the site's weekly feature, Retro HI-FI Girl Friday, is often NSFW. I find those posts to be fascinating as well but definitely in a different, non-nerdy, way.

Kateoplis is one of the few tumblrs I follow. Mostly images and quotes reflecting Kate's unique viewpoint on culture, philosophy, art and life in general. Some incidental NSFW images from time to time, noting gratuitous.

Quigley's Cabinet features various forms of memento mori, sometimes graphic in nature.

I'd Rather Be In Iceland  "Eva Lind's" chronicle of her Icelandic yearnings. A true kindred spirit.

I Could Go On and On  Oh yes, how can she ever! Karen Newton, lifestyle writer from Richmond, Virgina logs her detailed impressions of food, drink, music and culture. Unbelievable daily adventures and it's all true!

The Shelia Variations Professional critic Sheila O'Malley's personal site. Musings on movies, music and culture. Great stuff.

diary of mindless minion number 2703  I've been following "Grandma's Cellar Door" for several years, recently she has been posting installments of a serialized memoir/novel every Monday, complete with surreal illustrations. I'm hooked on them already.

Iceland Eyes  is back after a year's hiatus; Maria's photo-blog has always had a literary element.  Her latest installment really ups the ante. She also has an experimental literary blog which has been an inspiration to me for many years. It is some kind of a free-form novel built about modern relationships.

   For those of you who don't care to read, I offer a few video recommendations:

Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone has finally got an official music video after 48 years. It's mind blowing, but you'll need a petty fast internet connection to watch it seamlessly.

My old blog pal Little Miss Loopy (Auður Ösp) is featured in a great CNN report on Iceland, she appears at about the 3:20 mark and later on in the third segment as well.

Finally, there's this little vid  featuring my favorite Icelandic twins, say no more...


Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!