Wanna shake things up? Run a game on an Island!

Pair of interesting articles today, both about islands and pseudo-islands.
-- via Skyshroud 3, Deviant Art.

Huge hamsters and pint-sized porcupines thrive on islands, -- via Science Blog.
Island ecology is fascinating to me, and not just because I married a Newfoundlander (her father built their home, and all the fittings inside are designed for short people). Now I just want to run an island adventure with pint sized Manticores and some really colossal Giant Rats. It would be a great way to screw with long-term players' expectations.

and

"Death of a Data Haven: cypherpunks, WikiLeaks, and the world's smallest nation" -- via The Browser.
While it may have its problems in real life, it seems a perfect location for a near-future or Cyberpunk game. The article even references "Cryptonomicron".