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Editorial: #Me2.0
The #MeToo revolution has had an incredible effect on the world, and raised a lot of questions about our legal system here in Iceland. The true effect, in my opinion, is giving women—many of them in pain and distress—a much-needed voice and…
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Chess Nerds And The Drug-Knights That Say Ni!
It’s safe to say that the Icelandic nation was in shock when the president of the Icelandic Chess Federation was arrested after special forces burst into their headquarters in January last year. Shortly after the bust, the police issued a statement that…
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Brace Yourself, Winter Is Upon Us
Iceland’s Road and Coastal Administration is warning of a short but powerful storm due to hit the southwest of Iceland today. The inclement weather was said to begin around 10:00 and be particularly bad until noon. The forecast predicts the winds will…
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Central Bank Removes Nude Art
The Central Bank of Iceland has decided to remove a classic painting by the famous Icelandic painter, Gunnlaugur Blöndal, after a staff member of the bank complained about the painting’s explicit content. The complaint was filed amidst the #metoo movement last year.…
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Bitcoin bandits sentenced to jail
The bitcoin bandits were sentenced to jail on Thursday. The most famous of them, Sindri Þór Stefánsson, was handed a to 4-and-a-half-year sentence for stealing 350 computers used solely to mine the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. The value of the computers, and the parts…
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Controversial Report Says Whaling Has No Effect On Iceland Tourist Industry
A new report from the Institute of Economic Studies was released on Wednesday and states the Iceland’s whaling operations have absolutely no effects on the tourist industry in Iceland. The report was made public at the request of Fisheries Minister Kristján Þór…
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Artist Offers To Buy Icelandic Banks In Exchange For Absolution
Snorri Ásmundsson, artist, former presidential candidate and enfant terrible against the Icelandic establishment, has made a formal, and, well, intriguing offer to buy the Icelandic government-owned banks, Landsbanki Íslands and Íslandsbanki. Both banks collapsed in the financial storm of Iceland in 2008…
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Iceland Has Three Composers On Top 25 NYT List For Best Classical Tracks
Iceland has no less than three artists on the New York Times 25 best classical tracks of the year. The Reykjavík Grapevine, as well as all music lovers in Iceland, have noticed that there is a unique scene brewing in Icelandic classical…
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Jodie Foster Goes To War
Well, not literally, but she is going to remake the Icelandic film ‘Kona fer í stríð’ (‘A Woman Goes To War,’ in English). According to Deadline, Foster is going to direct the movie, also starring as the main character, Halla, who Halldóra…
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Fifteenth Time Lucky: Björk’s Incredible Grammy Awards Journey
The news came out yesterday that Björk has been nominated for the Grammys for her new album, ‘Utopia,’ in the Alternative Albums category. Whilst this in itself might not seem that surprising—she’s a major international artist, after all—there’s one aspect of it…
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#IcelandSmites: Heimir “The Scarred Eye Of Óðinn” Hallgrímsson Sails To Qatar
Former manager of the Icelandic national football team, Heimir “the scarred eye of Óðinn” Hallgrímsson, The Darth Dentist, The Westman Warlord has confirmed that he will sail to Qatar, where he will coach the Qatari team Al Arabi in the top league.…
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Crowd Funding Cultural Magazine In The West
The Westfjords of Iceland are buzzing these days. We regularly hear news about creative projects, and newest thing happening in that field is an online magazine called ÚR VÖR that will be launched in the coming weeks. The duo behind it are…
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Well, You Asked: Sautéed Crotch Area
Stuck in a sticky situation? Don’t worry, Grapevine’s advice column is here to help you. The colder months have started and I noticed that I now have winter dick, it’s a real thing, it’s when the temperature is so low that your…
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War Of The Nurses: Nurse “Women” Goes Bananas
Well, perhaps not bananas—and not only women—but they were pretty irritated because of how they were depicted in the newest children’s book written by Iceland’s local celebrity, Birgitta Haukdal. Derogative In the book, called ‘Lára Goes To The Doctor,’ nurses are called…
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Editorial: What We Do In The Shadows
Icelandic society has been shocked and outraged because of an unprecedented leak wherein five MP’s were recorded talking trash about, well, basically everyone. They made fun of the disabled, said humiliating things about women and gays, and there are even indications of…
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Reykjavik Pond’s “Little Sea-Hotdog” Sculpture Stolen, Found Discarded
The controversial phallic art piece, Litla Hafpulsan (literally “the little sea-hotdog”, referring to the famous Little Mermaid in Copenhagen) has been destroyed. The artwork, which was by Steinunn Gunnlaugsdóttir, was a part of the Cycle Art Festival and had been in Reykjavík’s…
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Jónsi Nominated For Golden Globe
Jón Þór Birgisson, or Jónsi from Sigur Rós, has been nominated for a prestigious Golden Globe award, for his song Revelation from the movie Boy Erased. The movie is about a teenage boy who is forced to undergo a Christian “conversion therapy”…
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The Architect For The Barbershop-Conference Openly Misogynist
The former Foreign Minister of Iceland, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, and former Prime Minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, have been entangled into a political scandal in Iceland where they, with three other MPs, were recorded at a local bar close to Parliament. On the…
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Grapevine Playlist: Wood/Work, Commander, Svartidauði, Sólveig Matthildur, Hugar & More!
Very much like a torrent of aurora glimpsed through the clouds, rippling the surface of our planet’s atmosphere like a pebble dropping into a puddle, here are the latest majestic plumes to erupt from the wonderous geysir we call the Icelandic music…
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The Absurd Case Of The Punk Mayor And Banksy
When Jón Gnarr, former mayor of Reykjavík and a renowned artist, published a picture of him with his dog going to sleep, and posted it on Twitter, he did not expect it to end as the scandal of the weekend. In the…
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Food of Iceland: Prince Póló
The rule in Iceland before 1990 was basically this: If it’s good, it’s probably banned. For example, beer was banned until 1989. It didn’t change the fact that Icelanders were free to get shitfaced on undrinkable hard liquor. But the government thought…
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Word of the Issue: Skíthæll
So you really don’t like that insanely expensive bagel that you bought at the tourist stop near Geysir and can’t restrain yourself from giving the cashier a piece of your mind? Try calling him “skíthæll.” The word is a weird combination of…
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Word Of The Issue: Utangátta
‘Utangátta’ has suddenly become a mystical word in Hollywood, thanks to Cary Fukunaga’s hit Netflix series ‘Maniac.’ In episode nine, Jonah Hill’s character, Owen Milgrim, plays an Icelandic man called Snorri who (spoiler alert, not that it matters) accidentally kills an alien…
