If you’ve been following the Do Shit series for a while, you should be able to do a lot of shit by now. We assume you’ve gotten your legal status squared away, successfully filed your taxes, gotten housing benefits, joined a union, and been checked for breast cancer. So hopefully things are pretty ship-shape.

Even so, feeling truly at home in Iceland can be more of a long-term project. Maybe people clock your accent and immediately start offering you noob advice you learned years ago. Or maybe you’re trying to work on your spoken Icelandic, but people switch to English the second you open your mouth. In these cases, it could be good to “pass” as Icelandic. And guess what? We’ve got some advice for y’all on how to do exactly that. So here are a few things you can try to vanish into the crowd, and pass as a native islander.

1. Always use the absolute maximum allowance at the duty free
You can start blending in as soon as you set foot on Icelandic soil with an extravagant trolley dash at the Duty Free store in arrivals. This is a place of true joy for Icelanders. Alcohol — and especially hard liquor — is prohibitively expensive in Iceland due to sky-high taxes, so you’ll see Icelanders absolutely maxing out their allowance. Couples and families will have a trolley that looks like they’re opening a bar. It’ll be stacked with trays of beer, whisky, and wine or aperitif. They probably have some útlönd contraband hidden in their case, too. Top up your trolley with some doorstop-sized bags of liquorice and a roll of snus, and you’re good to go.

2. Don’t queue for anything, ever
Something else you might notice Icelanders doing — or rather, not doing — is queueing in a traditional fashion. While English, Americans, and people of many other nationalities are overly polite, fastidious, habitual, natural (read: obsessive) queuers, often asking, “are you waiting?” before falling neatly into line, Icelanders have no such qualms about getting served. Stride boldly into any establishment like it’s your house, plaster a big grin on your face, and exclaim “HÆHÆ!” towards nobody in particular at high volume. You’re Icelandic, baby.

3. Eat ice cream outdoors in the dead of winter like a maniac
There’s a certain gung-ho “fuck it” attitude towards winter in Iceland. You’ll hear people saying, “there’s no bad weather, only bad clothing” — and they’ll mean it, too. In the dead of winter, when there are only a few hours of sunlight and the temperature hovers around zero for months on end, you’ll see Icelandic families standing outside of any ice cream place in town, dressed like the Michelin man and chowing down on a gelato as if the winter isn’t even happening. If you wanna pass as Icelandic, bundle up and join the throng.

4. Learn how to pretend it’s summer
Summer is a fleeting thing in Iceland that’s kind of half season, and half religious belief. After six months of the pitch dark, icy, storm-lashed shitshow that is the endless winter season, Icelanders are absolutely desperate for summertime to arrive — so much so, they’ll try to will it into existence. In that spirit, throw on a pair of shorts and some sunglasses at the first sign of blue sky in April or May, and go marching around town like you’re on a tropical beach holiday. Learn to steel yourself and pretend you’re not absolutely freezing. Whip out the barbecue in your back garden and try to quickly char some pulsa (or pylsa, depending on which camp you belong to) before it starts snowing again. It’s all make believe — but whatever it takes to stay sane, y’know?

5. Áttu kaffi, AEÐI!, svona, og hérna, HA?, jæja!
Even if your Icelandic isn’t stellar yet, you can freewheel your way through some conversations with just a handful of common buzzwords. Upon entering any room, from a library, to a gas station, to someone’s house, immediately utter, “áttu kaffi?”, your under-caffeinated eyes scanning the scene hopefully. If there is indeed coffee, exclaim, “ÆÐI!” and go get some. If someone says something to you, say, “HA?” and then mumble, “já… nei… og hérna…” as if you’re slowly processing what’s been said. A couple of progressively quieter, “jæjas”, you’ll be free to sidle away.

6. Have kids first, then get married
If you really wanna commit to the bit, few things are more Icelandic than having kids by accident then getting into a relationship as a result. It’s a bit more forward than dating traditions elsewhere, which usually involve, you know — having a coffee, going to the museum, escalating to a dinner date, and that sort of thing. In Iceland, it’s more, have kids first and ask questions later. Good luck with that, Íslendingur.

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Learn how to do more shit here.

The post Do Shit: Pass As An Icelander appeared first on The Reykjavik Grapevine.

Local artist Jyhling Lee has created a stainless steel sculpture informed by an origami bowl for an "iconic"  street in Downtown Toronto.

Reflector is a mirrored sculpture approximately 5 metres by 3 metres tall that sits on a corner of Queen Street West in Downtown Toronto, a major thoroughfare through the city and one of the "most iconic" streets, according to the team.

The sculpture consists of a series of angled planes clad in mirrored stainless steel that form a half circle and meet the ground at several spiked points.

Its shape was informed by origami folds, which Jyhling Lee has referenced in past works, such as her sculpture Origami Goose.

"My initial folded paper origami studies were of bowl-like forms which could offer an experiential space within and around its form, as well as being self-supporting," Lee told Dezeen.

"What began as a more enclosed bowl was opened up – towards Queen Street West – to create an invitation for the public to enter the sculptural space to interact with its interior, as well as its exterior."

Lee also chose the mirrored steel surface to accommodate a "human attraction" to the reflective surfaces.

"There is a refined beauty, awe, and precision to working with this material and a human attraction to mirrors and reflections," she said.

Its steel form is "highly" durable and will be resistant to corrosion and rusting, according to Lee – and also easy to clean.

Lights around its base are programmed to turn on at sunset and off at sunrise.

Lee created the sculpture to reflect the lively energy of Queen Street West, which she has been familiar with since childhood.

"Queen Street West is one of Toronto's most iconic streets and I have known this stretch of Queen Street since childhood," said Lee.

"Reflector has been inspired by the energy and dynamism of this place, and its presence serves to amplify and celebrate this as a new community landmark."

Commissioned by Queen Street West Business Improvement Area (QSWBIA) and the city of Toronto, the sculpture is intended to serve as an interactive public artwork and an "inhabitable environment", according to the team.

"An unexpected surprise of the sculptural space is its unique acoustical properties," said Lee.

Jyhling Lee is a Toronto-based artist and founder of Figureground Studio, which focuses on site-specific artworks for the public realm.

Elswhere in Toronto,  Grimshaw created a series of pre-fabricated bridges to connect the city to urban islands and Agency—Agency and SHEEEP designed stormwater gardens for a linear park underneath an expressway.

The photography is by Kurtis Chen

The post Jyhling Lee creates origami-informed steel sculpture for Toronto appeared first on Dezeen.

Recent news of Mattel, Inc. honouring Canadian soccer star Christine Sinclair was really heart-warming.

It’s a matter of celebration to see Sinclair joining the inspiring women series of Barbie dolls, which includes Rosa Parks, a towering civil rights hero. It’s amazing to see this company recognizing non-white female figures with motivating stories. After all, we need our daughters to grow up not only as career women, but also as social justice activists.

When Barbie was initially introduced decades ago, it was more like a fashion doll catering to Eurocentric tastes and environments. This was something that people of colour like me, coming from a country with history of colonial repression, couldn’t relate to. It represented predominantly white blonde beauty that ruled the Hollywood and the modelling industry.

In the last few years, the company has really evolved by creating dolls with features of other races, such as Black, Asian, Latino and Indigenous groups of Australia and North America. In an era of decolonization, it makes perfect sense.

Then there is a growing list of inspiring women, who cannot necessarily all be white. The Barbie club rightfully includes Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and Parks, a Black American activist who refused to give up her bus seat for a white passenger for the sake of a segregation law.

Other prominent figures on the list are Eleanor Roosevelt, the U.S. first lady with a legacy of activism; Jane Goodall, a famous anthropologist and an expert on chimpanzees; prominent poet and civil-rights activist Maya Angelou; Madam C.J. Walker, a self-made entrepreneur who broke many barriers; Bessie Coleman, the first African American pilot; Ida Wells, an African American journalist; Anna Maya Wong, an Asian American actress; and astronaut Sally Ride.

Parks doll ignites interest in civil rights

Parks, who was introduced in 2019 by Mattel, was our Christmas gift for our daughter, who was an 11-year-old back then. Not only did it bring a smile on her face, she was carried away by the brief story about Parks written on the box.

Our daughter later wrote an essay about her, and Rosa Parks remains her favourite among her private doll collection. Thanks to the legacy of Parks, her interest in the civil rights movement has increased. Our daughter turned 16 this year and she now reads books about Black history with lot of curiosity. The positive impact of such initiatives on young minds was noticed firsthand by our family.

Now, I wonder if Mattel can consider including Arundhati Roy in their list. The world-renowned, award-winning Indian author has written two novels, The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, and several political essays. She has always stood for the underdog and challenged power. The God of Small Things fetched her the 1997 Booker Prize that gave her international recognition.

Roy has been under constant attack for questioning the status quo. Her difficulties have grown under the current right-wing Hindu nationalist BJP government, whose political base is highly intolerant to religious minorities and any voice of dissent.

Some scholars close to Roy have had to endure imprisonment on trumped-up charges, and yet she has remained steadfast in her resolve. One of them, physically challenged former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba, was thrown behind bars in 2014 by the previous government. The present BJP government not only refused to let him go, but did not allow him to see his mother when she was on her deathbed.

Standing up for jailed intellectual

Saibaba was wrongfully convicted for merely advocating for the rights of the Adivasis or the indigenous peoples of India who were facing eviction from their traditional lands by the extraction industry looking for rich minerals. After having suffered in jail for a decade, he was acquitted by a court early this year and is now a free bird.

Roy wrote a very powerful article about his incarceration in the face of possible criminal action by the vindictive Indian establishment. She was slapped with criminal complaint in the past for speaking her mind, but perhaps her international fame saved her from any action on the part of the government.

She has been in the forefront of a campaign against the Narmada River dam in Gujarat that threatened the livelihood of many. Moreover, Roy returned her national award in 2015 following the murders of scholars and the lynching of a Muslim man on suspicion of consuming beef by supporters of the Hindu Right. She was given this award in 1989 for writing a film screenplay.

In 2023, Indian authorities unsuccessfully tried to prosecute Roy for sedition in an old case. Back in 2010, she had participated in a conference on human rights abuses in Kashmir, which led to a police complaint accusing her of treason.

Roy has been vocal against ongoing repression of Kashmiri Muslims who are asking for freedom. Not only that, she previously travelled widely in the heartland of Maoist insurgents in central India to understand their side of the story and wrote a very long essay for Outlook magazine.

During the COVID 19 crisis, she reported on the plight of the poor right from the ground.

Roy doesn’t play favourites

Roy has been consistent in her criticism of power and privilege without taking sides. This is whether it concerned the previous more liberal Congress government or the present one with an ultra-nationalist agenda.

She has even been critical of Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated by Hindu fanatics. Roy pulled no punches while criticizing Gandhi, who is considered as father of the nation. This came over his belief in the caste system even as he challenged untouchability.

Furthermore, her first novel was also critical of the communist government in Kerala for doublespeak on caste-based oppression and discrimination against Dalits. Her second novel is a moving story of the marginalized in India.

She definitely deserves to join Maya Angelou and Ida B. Wells, considering her work in area of social justice. Barbie has already created a space for female writers and journalists; they only need to make a little room for Roy, so that the girls of my daughter’s generation can be inspired by Indian icons like her and make tyrants across the globe accountable for their misdeeds.

It’s high time that the world shed more light on people like Roy. She stands in harm’s way, raising her voice against state violence in India, whose image as the world’ s largest democracy is often taken for granted. In spite of so much intimidation, Roy has not remained silent and continues to tell the world what India really is.

Gurpreet Singh is a B.C. author and co-founder of Radical Desi. Follow him on Twitter @gurpreetonair. Follow Pancouver on Twitter @PancouverMedia and on Instagram @PancouverMedia.

The post Gurpreet Singh: Why we need an Arundhati Roy Barbie doll appeared first on Pancouver.

Genderswap[dot]fm is a catalog of gender-swapped song covers — think Beyoncé covering The Beatles, Miley Cyrus covering The Talking Heads, or The Flaming Lips covering Kylie Minoque. There’s also a less comprehensive Spotify playlist.

💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

A standard QWERTY keyboard has a few dozen keys. How can Chinese—a language with tens of thousands of characters and no alphabet—be input on such a device? To answer this question, one needs to return to the beginnings of electronic Chinese technology in the wake of World War II, and follow up through to its many iterations in the present day. In particular, we need to examine the development of Chinese “input methods”—software programs that enable Chinese characters to be produced using alphanumeric symbols—and the profound impact they have had on the way Chinese is written. Today’s dominance of predictive text input, along with its unprecedented speed and ubiquity across both ideographic and alphabetic languages, owes its direct lineage to these input methods.

In case you missed it: Keanu Reeves has published a novel.

Yes, it’s true: the internet’s boyfriend has teamed up with China Miéville, one of the great speculative fiction writers of all time, to produce a novel set in the world of BRZRKR—the comic book series he also created—and we here at Literary Hub have been getting some questions about the whole thing. Questions like: “wait seriously?” and “but is it going to be any good?” and “is this really what we should be paying attention to right now?”

To those particular questions, I have answers: yes, yes, and yes.

But that still doesn’t answer the question of whether or not you should read this book—and so, in order to help decide whether you should invest your time, dollars, and imagination into The Book of Elsewhere, I’ve put together this short survey.

 

1. Are you a Keanu Reeves fan? If no… ???

2. Did you already know who China Miéville is before you clicked on this post? If yes, let’s not fool ourselves: you’ve already pre-ordered this book and I can promise you that that was a good choice.

3. Do you prefer action-Keanu or rom-com-Keanu? If the latter, I might suggest you re-watch Always Be My Maybe or even Much Ado About Nothing instead.

4. Do you like your action movies with a dose of philosophy, or would you rather it just be pedal-to-the-metal fighting? If the former, you’re going to love this book—Sigmund Freud puts in an appearance and characters frequently debate the nature of existence, the ethics and morality of warfare, Marxism, and the cost of inherited trauma, among many other heady ideas.

5. Was the pencil assault in John Wick Chapter Two metal as hell or a bit too far? If the latter, steel yourself: the novel opens with a pretty horrific act of terrorism and the main character is also an 80,000 year old immortal warrior currently working for a black ops facet of the US security complex so… he gets up to some gnarly stuff.

6. Do you need orderly storytelling, moral clarity, and clear resolutions in your narratives? There’s nothing tidy about this book by any metric—but then again, the same can be said about life.

7. If you were an immortal warrior and you discovered that the only other immortal creature on the planet was a babirusa, would you befriend it or would it be your nemesis? If this whole question makes you scratch your head, maybe move along—but if it intrigues you, do I have some good news for you!

 

On the celebrity-novel scale, The Book of Elsewhere stands well above pulpy cash-grabs like the Clintons’ co-written thrillers (to say nothing of the likes of Jake Tapper and James Comey) and it makes a better case for itself than the often-mediocre-at-best “sure why not?” novels and stories from prestige actors like Ethan Hawke and Tom Hanks. If it doesn’t rise to the “this deserves to exist on its own merits” level of something like Shopgirl… well, plenty of non-celebrity novels don’t make it there either.

Bottom line: this is a weird-ass book, far stranger than any plot synopsis or review could ever do justice. If you love Keanu’s brand of action, you’ll love this. If you love Miéville’s brand of heady speculative fiction, you’ll love this. And if you’ve never really gotten into either… well, who knows? Maybe you’ll love this too.