They Said What? (Issue 13 2013)
“I’ve never paid wealth-tax.” – Minister of Finance Bjarni Benediktsson told Vísir, August 27. No, he was not admitting tax evasion. At least we don’t think so. The mini
Beware Of The Plastics
Although environmentalists consider Iceland’s coastline to be one of the cleanest in the world, many of our rocky beaches are covered in rainbows of plastic refuse. Bottles, cont
So What’s This Censorship Of Icelandic State Media I Keep Hearing About
RÚV, the state-owned National Broadcasting Service, has not been censored by anyone yet. What is making people uncomfortable is that it is necessary to add a “yet” to
At The Core Of Emiliana Torrini
Emiliana Torrini has just made a wonderful new album, ‘Tookah,’ which will be released on the 9th of September. We were in the middle of finishing one of our July […]
Sour Grapes And Stuff: Issue 13
MOST AWESOME LETTER From the perspective of a tourist, please don’t fill your beautiful city with hotels. One of the things I loved most about Reykjavik was the colorful cult
Five Years Ago
Hooray! We turned ten this year. For a humble street rag like Grapevine, turning ten is a pretty big deal—we barely expected to make it to ten issues (and, indeed, […]
HELLO, ANYBODY HOME?
In our last issue we ran a story that stirred up a lot of attention on our site and in the Icelandic media. It was called “Twenty Thousand ISK Gets […]
Every Thug Needs A Lady
Remember the war in Afghanistan? Of course you do. Not only does it have the distinction of being the longest U.S.-fought war in history (“Vietnam” has finally been defeated! U
National Formality-Deficiency?
I am by absolutely no means proper. In fact, the concept of formality scares me. Just typing out the word gives me chills and fills me with an inexplicable need […]
Pile O’Mail
Mailpile’s tech lead, Bjarni Einarsson, was in his apartment giving an interview the evening of August 7 when donations reached 40,000 USD, less than one week into its campaign o
A New Neighbourhood Watch In Force
In a warm and quaint little flat in 107 Reykjavík, Friðrik Jónsson and Sólrún Gunnarsdóttir’s faces are illuminated by the blue Facebook hue from their laptops’ screens.
Raping And Pillaging
Icelanders are taught that they are descended from blue-blooded Norse lords who fled from King Harald because they would not abide by his tyranny and crippling tax rates, instead o
Going Postal In Reykjavík
Each summer, Reykjavík goes on holiday; residents vacate their residences and the post marks their mail with a pink return sticker with the “gone away” box ticked. Even the po
All That’s Changing Is The Building
The Association of Muslims in Iceland has been cramped in the first floor of a building in the industrial neighbourhood of Skeifan for the last decade. Their 170-square-metre mosqu
The Wrong Kind Of Whale Watching
“How mentally prepared for this should we be?” I asked our driver, Marvin Lee Dupree, as we approached the turn-off to Hvalfjörður. Marvin paused, made a pensive sneer and re
Six Years Ago
Hooray! We turned ten this year. For a humble street rag like Grapevine, turning ten is a pretty big deal—we barely expected to make it to ten issues (and, indeed, […]
So What’s This Icelandic Horse Competition I’ve Been Hearing About
Since 1991 there have been world championships of the Icelandic horse. In case that sentence makes absolutely no sense, I should explain that there is a breed of horse that [&helli
Lemúrinn: The Presence Of A People
In the last decade of the 19th century a young Englishman named Frederick W.W. Howell travelled extensively in Iceland, visiting parts of the country that were overlooked by most o
News In Brief, Issue 12 2013
Word on the street is, Jesus was probably gay. And it’s Reykjavík Mayor Jón Gnarr‘s word, so it’s probably true. At a conference in Belgium in connection with t
What’s The Rush?
Shamefully, I have to admit to having, on occasion, ranted about people in service jobs overseas being too friendly. Yes, too friendly! Like the cashiers in Florida supermarkets wh