Sunday Times Shocked that Blue Lagoon Doesn’t Cure Cancer
The May 22 travel section of London’s Sunday Times openly mocked an Icelandic national treasure with a full-page photo and the tag line “This place stinks.” The body of the [
Dirty Secrets Made Public
It is true that Oprah Winfrey has an estimated 30 million viewers and is one of the most influential people in today’s entertainment. It is also true that when it […]
Giving a F%$& Less
Whether I turn on the television, the radio, open up the newspapers or travel online, the same questions keep forcing themselves on me. These questions have one thing in common: [&
Svanhildur on Oprah
Here’s the transcript: Winfrey: Wonderful. Thank you, Thorunn. Mm. I think it’s fascinating. Svanhildur is an anchorwoman on IBC Channel 2 in Reykjavik (pronounced Rock-a-vit
Human Rights of Paedophiles
Child molesters undoubtedly commit one of the most loathed and brutal crimes known to humanity. Their photographs are front-page material for local newspapers, so worried parents c
Getting To Know Them
Tell me how the two of you met. Jana: I was living in Uzbekistan, and Ramin’s sister was staying with me. Ramin: My family had a company in Uzbekistan, and […]
What the Hell is Going on with . . .The Progressive Party
Lately the Progressive Party has been reminding me of one of my ex-girlfriends: attractive, sometimes charming and often imaginative, but prone to sending mixed messages and unclea
GRAPEVINE’S PURCHASES THAT JUSTIFY EXISTENCE
1 Fanny packs. In the UK they’re called “bum bags” (do NOT call them “fanny packs” in the UK) and in Iceland they’re called “pungur” (literally, “testicles”), b
Gallerí Gel
“I liked the atmosphere of our old location,” says owner Anna S. Pálsdóttir. “People would come upstairs and do more than get a haircut; they’d be browsing through clothe
Expat Fuel: A New Yorker Admires Europe
Perhaps in a more enlightened society we’d get self-select citizenship when we turned eighteen; Canada and The Netherlands would have a long waiting list of bong toting blue-stat
Crying WolfThe Myth of an Illegal Immigrant Problem
The immigration problem looks to be extremely difficult and threatening in the way all things evil are difficult and threatening: it is vague and unspecific. When asked about the e
Uncle Arnold and Cousin Ted want you armed and shootin’
In Mid April, Ted Nugent, the Republican poet laureate was in the news again. (You know, the guy who wrote Cat Scratch Fever: “I don’t know where they come from […]
Cheaper Calls Abroad
Buy a phone card. Three companies, Atlassími (www.atlassimi.is), Heimsfrelsi (www.heimsfrelsi.is), and Digital Frelsi (www.phone.is) sell pre-paid calling cards. The per-minute ra
SEND IN THE CLOWNS
“I am appalled and dismayed,” Genevieve de Fontenay told reporters. This de Fontenay character takes his beauty pageants seriously. Too bad he wasn’t running this year’s Mi
Letters
Dear Mr. Bart Cameron I picked up the latest issue of Reykjavík Grapevine yesterday and came across the following quote from an interview a journalist had with me about the [&hell
Being a Woman in the World of Pope Benedict XVI
The world watched as Benedict XVI was inaugerated on the 24th of April. Many cheered and applauded the new pope, while others mourned. Liberal Catholics, women’s rights groups, g
West fjords Wisdom: SUMMERTIME BLUES
It’s summer. Time to pick up your acoustic guitar, pop the beer bottle, twist the cap and march towards nature’s most secluded locations for serenades, misogyny, and punk rock
Screaming “Masterpiece“?
The categorical imperative: Create! It happened suddenly and swiftly and no one even seemed to notice. 30 years ago bohemians Dagur Sigurðarson, poet, and Róska, artist, walked d
A Foreigner’s Guide to What to Wear Outside:Into the Great Wide Open
It used to be an unfortunate rule of fashion that you simply cannot look good and stay warm at the same time: you can either bundle up and get laughed […]
Eurovision Guru Páll Óskar Gets to the Bottom of the International Competition
Páll Óskar, singer, performer, and DJ competed for Iceland in Eurovision 1997. He is a huge fan of the competition and knows everything there is to know about this event. [&helli