With Friends Like These…
The hot item in Icelandic news these days is the American government’s attempt to obtain information about Birgitta Jónsdóttir—a member of Iceland’s parliament and of that
GRAPEVINE’S ANNUAL YEAR-END ROUNDUP 2K10 EDITION!
So this is the New Year. Again. Except this time is slightly different, because we are also ringing in a new decade. Oh yes, say goodbye to ‘the noughties’—it’s time [&hell
The Stories That Made 2010
The general consensus around here about 2010 seems to be “good riddance”. Where 2009 gave us hope that we’d be able to emerge from the rubble of our ruined econom
Iceland, The Cracker Factory
For nearly thirty years, dissidence wasn’t cool in Iceland. But during one good economic collapse, partaking in revolution became fashionable. A lot of people can feel saved by n
A Fortunate Nation
During these past years, our lives have had both positive and negative sides. Before the collapse of the banks, a long period of prosperity prevailed. There was very little unemplo
WORLD BANK, IMF, NATO, EU
One year is a long time, especially in Iceland, even though the years leap forward and sometimes there are leap years. It has been an exciting year. The world slowed […]
THE NEXT TEN YEARS: “Morality and something… oh yes, trust”
In stores, businesses and public spaces, security cameras have long ago become part of daily life and no one says a word about it. The cameras are supposed to protect […]
A Call For Intelligent Innocence And Transparency
The year began with devastating earthquakes, proceeded on to a volcanic eruption in, and ended with a lunar eclipse. It felt like nature reiterated how big systems are crashing, an
Sour grapes and stuff
MOST AWESOME LETTER: I am not a professional photographer. I really wanted to come to Iceland and take picture. I had tried to speak with NASA, but could not get […]
HOPE and CHANGE and stuff
I watched the Prime Minister’s address on New Year’s Eve. I should not have bothered. There were no surprises. It was Your Standard Prime Minister Of Iceland’s New Year
Total Drama Iceland
Icelanders who lived through the first decade of the 21st century found it to be the most interesting, and the most infuriating, epoch in our history. We experienced the highest [&
To Be Or Not To Be
Will October 6th, 2008 (the day Iceland’s luckless PM Mr. Haarde, asked God to help his poor nation since he himself could not) live on in our collective memory as […]
A Slice of Icelandic Christmas Through the Ages
How did a child-eating ogress, thirteen mischievous yuletide lads and a creepy bogeyman crash Jesus Christ’s birthday party? Ethnologist Árni Björnsson runs through the history
An Open Letter Regarding Saturday’s Death
Saturday night, one of Norðurmýri’s worst nightmares materialized. Unfortunately, I had a front row seat. A man was struck and killed by an automobile while crossing the in
The Yuletide Lads Rise To Christmas Stardom
In Iceland, Santa Claus doesn’t live on the North Pole. He doesn’t come to town on a sleigh guided by flying reindeer. He doesn’t squeeze down chimneys delivering presents, a
Iceland To Write Constitution, Nobody Cares
Well, it looks like we’ve once again made history: last month, we held elections for representatives comprising a constitutional assembly and ended up with the lowest voter t
Bringing It All Back Home
In the 1960s, pop music in Iceland was often referred to as Bítlatónlist (“Beatle music”) and today many even speak of Bítlaárin (“Th e Beatle years”). Despite the prox
Baby Steps
The first multicultural conference was held recently at the same time and on the same day as the National Assembly, where 1.200 people had been randomly selected to meet and [&hell
Suffer For Fashion, Or Whatever
It was 1977, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The voice, the vision, the inimitable Nina Simone erupts the audience with cheers and laughter as she chides them: “Come on [&hellip
Christmas And The Lazy Boyfriend
Christmas brings to many of us happy childhood memories of time spent with family and friends, Christmas gifts and winter vacation. Winter would probably be difficult to bear if we
Low Voter Turnout, Mixed Messages
On November 27, Icelanders partook in an unprecedented election when the nation voted representatives for a Constitutional Assembly that will convene in February. The assembly’s