Cover Feature
Most read
Latest
-
The Crazy World of the Quota System (somewhat) Explained
My cousin Gummi put it best: “The problem with the quota system is that it’s always been discussed in such an obscure, specialized language that no one really understands how it works, what it’s meant to do and why.” Raised in the…
-
Privatised and Downsized Cod
Icelanders’ allotted cod quota was recently cut by a third, which is more than ever before since Iceland won the cod wars with Great Britain in the 1970s and expanded their territorial waters to 200 nautical miles. The cutback is also the…
-
Laws on Stripping Laid Bare
In March, Parliament accepted new licensing laws making strip shows illegal in Iceland. According to the new laws which took effect on July 1, the promotion of nudity to attract customers to a particular venue or event, private dancing and the fraternisation…
-
Representing a New Generation
Director Rúnar Rúnarsson has been an active member of the local film industry since secondary school, when he started his career as an independent filmmaker by making a short-film with his friend, Grímur Hákonarson. After taking the first step, he has gone…
-
In Movies, Ignorance is Bliss
Silja Hauksdóttir is a 31-year old filmmaker from Reykjavík. She graduated with a B.A. degree in philosophy from the University of Iceland in 1999, and directed her first film in 2004, although she has been working in the film industry since the…
-
Gaykjavík: Exploring Reykjavík’s Gay Nightlife
“You show me a queer in any city, and I will in turn show you someone that incessantly complains about his gay scene and nightlife. It doesn’t say a thing about the gay scene in question; it’s just the way the discourse…
-
Democracy and Environmental Rationality
The Mismatch Problem Why can the fundamental procedures of democracy not guarantee or encourage suitable outcomes in environmental issues? Stating that democracy is about procedures but environmental rationality is about outcomes hardly does more than hint at an answer to that question.…
-
The Nature / Culture Duality
The other day I was in Skaftafell, the most renowned National Park in Iceland. A series of didactic panels are on display in the Visitor Centre to celebrate the saga of the area. One in particular drew my attention. The National Park…
-
Share Your Ancestors
Iceland’s genealogy is nearly done. “Finishing” a whole nation’s genealogy would be unthinkable in North America or Western Europe, where one looks back at previous centuries’ populations as unencompassable, surging masses of migrating humanity. But, as so often, Iceland is a little…
-
Reykjavík Burns
It was just before two p.m. on the last day of winter, Wednesday, April 18. Hressó – a popular bar & bistro located on Austurstræti 20, in an old wooden house from 1852 –was still buzzing from the lunch hour rush with…
-
The Struggle for Autonomy
March 1, at 10 pm, I joined around 2000 people gathered at Radhuspladsen in central Copenhagen before marching into Nørrebro, the neighbourhood where Ungdomshuset was situated. We carried coffins emblazoned with slogans such as “diversity” and “freedom”, we sang songs and shouted…
-
GUSGUS ARE FOREVER
The end was near and the heat had already been turned off by the time I visited the GusGus studio in the now-defunct Klink & Bank art factory, the place where most of their new LP, GusGus Forever, was conceived. It was…
-
HALLDÓR LAXNESS AND THE CIA
In 1946 Halldor Laxness’ epic novel Independent People was published in America. The publication and the success of the novel in the United States caused Laxness and Iceland to become of interest to both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central…
-
The Thirty Best Icelandic Albums of 2006
“I was quite pessimistic for the most part of the year, feeling that most domestic releases were quite mediocre, but the last three months of the year have proven a real goldmine, maybe even passing last year’s crop in quality. Narrowing the…
-
The Most Bizarre News Stories of 2006
In an attempt to bring to light the unbearable lightness of being, we bring you the funniest, oddest and most amazing news stories from our website in 2006. Friday, January 6, 2006 Giant Goldfish Caught Near Húsavík A goldfish, measuring 34 cm…
-
Faulty Logic, Half-truths and Innuendos
“The issue of immigration as such needs to be discussed. We need to decide how we prepare Icelandic society to welcome immigrants. In a way, the government has opened the debate by not taking the initiative in this discussion. But the way…
-
The Real Face of Icelandic Music
How would you go about explaining Bubbi Morthens to an outsider? Lets start with a few facts. He is the biggest selling recording artist in Iceland, bar none. His career, stretching roughly 25 years and roughly 50 albums, 30 of them as…
-
Connecting Through Music
Musician Will Oldham – sometimes known as Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – has in the past decade or so proved to be an unusually prolific and important voice in contemporary music, expanding his audience and cultural impact with each new release. Although maybe…
-
Best of Kárahnjúkar
As the Kárahnjúkar power plant inches closer to completion, opposition against the project increases. The Reykjavík Grapevine has compiled the major events that have shaped the discussion in the last few years. 1999: The government of Iceland, the National Power Company and…
-
“Don’t Make Iceland a Caricature of American Capitalism”
Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson is one of Iceland’s most experienced politicians. The former leader of the Social Democrat Party was a Member of Parliament from 1982-1998 and served as the Minister of Finance (1987-1988) and later as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1999-1995). After…
-
Halló Akureyri!
How To Make a Small Town Sweat Downtown Akureyri, just past midnight – I found the fast food stand Nætursalan already packed. In a single huddle, leaning against the glass of the counter, about 100 kids cluttered the shop in a queue…
-
The Heart of Rock in Reykjavík Waves Goodbye
This spring, about 60 middle-aged Nordic phenomenologists convened in Reykjavík to discuss their (very) particular branch of philosophy and its various conundrums. One of the fun-filled events sandwiched between the featured lectures and seminars was a reception at the city’s town hall,…
-
Flateyri And The Fate Of Small-Town Iceland
As anyone who’s spent a minimal amount of time in the Westfjords will tell you, the mountains’ ancient presence is great, colouring every moment of every day with their lumbering presence. And although their shape and form has stayed much the same during…