No Tears Over These Lost Jobs
I have only been on one military base in my life, and when I tell my war-protesting friends about that experience, I feel I have to give an aside. Visiting […]
No Blood for Oil! Now, Where Did We Park?
The 18th of March is the anniversary of Iceland’s declaration of support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. This year, two Icelandic anti-war groups chose to stage events in protest
The Unspeakable Brought to the Living Room
When the news network NFS was founded late last year, it had a lot to prove. Replacing the newsrooms of both Stöð 2 and Bylgjan, it was to become the […]
The Ghost Town on the Coast
On March 15th, the US State Department made an announcement that brought a decades-long chapter in Icelandic history to a close and left its future even more uncertain: effective O
The Phantom Menace
Well, it’s official now: the event we predicted last November (The Base Bows Out, on www.grapevine.is) has finally happened. Not that we were the first, of course. The signs had
Sour Grapes
Sportacus Many thanks for bringing up the subject of the LazyTown invasion. I do realize that there are things out there that may have a more negative influence on my […]
The Fatter, the Funnier?
Huge Hollywood money-makers like Big Momma’s House and The Nutty Professor, both so popular that they had sequels, tell us that fat comedy works. Big Momma’s enormous, jiggling
Bovine Colostrums
Who needs protein supplements when you can buy colostrums? The protein-rich form of milk, produced by the mammary glands in the first days after birth, is an original and inventive
Free Legal Aid
Orator, the Law Student Society at the University of Iceland offers free legal aid every Thursday night from 19:30-22:00. Call 551-1012 or visit www.islog.is. Although this is not
Draumalandið
Draumalandið – Self-help Book for a Frightened Nation. Writer Andri Snær Magnason takes a close and critical look at the discourse behind the most discussed issue in Iceland’
Páskabjór
If you want variety in domestic Icelandic beer, you have two chances, Christmas and Easter. Christmas beer is nutty and spicy, Easter beer is light and more refreshing; enough to [
Save the Water!
You may have heard of the new water laws that clogged parliament with filibustering and heated debate for days on end. According to the outraged opposition parties, this controvers
Seven Saunas and a La-Z-Boy
“You are going to a spa,” my editor said with a sly smirk on his face, obviously enjoying the idea of sending a man for whom the word “bouncer” is […]
$portacu$! – Leave my kids alone
(This opinion piece starts in media res. For visitors, you should know that LazyTown is a children’s television program produced in Iceland by fitness guru Magnús Scheving. It w
A Night at Thai Karaoke
I had an American friend visit me over Christmas. Needless to say, I took him to Geysir, Gullfoss and the Blue Lagoon, which is basically mandatory if you’re entertaining foreign
First They Came for the Knife-Wielding Maniacs…
Judging by the media coverage these days, downtown Reykjavík is a dangerous place to be after dark. If you don’t get smashed in the face with a bottle or stabbed […]
Letters
Letter to the Editor, Comic books, cartoons can be powerful. Words are powerful. Drawings are powerful. Why? Look at the hoopla that some Danish political cartoons has caused among
Out and About
At 32 years of age, young director Róbert Douglas has already made three feature films. His debut in that field was the 2000 film The Icelandic Dream – a football […]
PMs Take to the Stage to Fight Sexual Violence
The backstage at the City Theatre on March 1st, 2006 wasn’t filled with actresses as usual, but Icelandic parliamentarians performing in the Vagina Monologues. Like other actress
How an Inflated Currency Rate is Chasing off Icelands Smart Economy
Smart economy has long been a buzzword among Icelandic media, politicians and industry leaders. All parties agree that creating conditions where high-tech industry can flourish is