this day in icelandic history — The Reykjavik Grapevine %

GRAPEVINE’S PURCHASES THAT JUSTIFY EXISTENCE

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Pocket knives at Friða Frænka 450 ISK. Pocket knives for healthy young boys. Available at Friða Frænka. If you don’t…

The Local Specialities of Mývatn

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Last spring, the Grapevine attempted to pass through Mývatn. We ended up staying for a weekend, visiting Dimmuborgir, Krafla, the…

Letters

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Hey Bart – I’m rather new to the Grapevine as an Icelandic friend just introduced it to me the other…

Talarðu íslensku?

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COURSES: Taking a class is the most popular way of getting an introduction to the language (it’s also a great…

A Few Brave Extras: The Dirt on Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers

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However, a few brave extras have given the Grapevine a unique insight into what it has been like to be…

Government Intervention Works. The Libertarians Proved It.

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According to some, Iceland is the dream model for a conservative government. The former prime minister and key member of…

THEY KILLED KENNY! – Or was it the Vikings?

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Offensive humour is on the rise. Things that once were considered taboo are now a laughing stock in television shows…

Cheap Way to Work or a Big Damn Hassle?

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The sun is already high in the sky as I board the number S2 bus at Hlemmur, just after 8am….

The Violent Outburst of Graphic Design

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Liberal economist Thorvaldur Gylfason recently mentioned that once upon a time, and until quite late, history had been saturated with…

Come, Thou Divine Mistake!:

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Despite its name, Verslunarmannahelgin, Merchants’ weekend, is not really like Christmas. It dates back to around 1900 as a benevolent…

Two-Person Play “How Do You Like Iceland?”

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If you’ve been in Iceland for more than 24 hours, someone probably has, by now, already asked you, “How do…

Not a Rational Decision

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A couple of American emigrants stopped by The Grapevine office this week to discuss their move, our paper, and the…

Professor Hydrogen, Dr. Bragi Árnason

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I meet Professor Bragi Árnason at his small office in the basement of the chemistry building at the University of…

Letters

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Hi Bart, I was in Iceland until yesterday doing my journo-ing bit looking at a new product made by an…

Mired in TraditionIceland’s Courts and Sexual Assault Law

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This example is, unfortunately, one of many. A visit to the Icelandic Supreme Court’s website (http://www.haestirettur.is/control/index?pid=333) outlines one ruling after…

Iron Maiden

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Iron Maiden was formed in 1976, the brainchild of bass player and chief songwriter Steve Harris. After three years of…

Screaming Viking, Ignoring the Volcano

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That their majesties the Beckhams did not turn out was only the first of the ominous signs of the evening….

Dark Horse: Boy Meets Girl Raises the Stakes in Icelandic Cinema

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Boy meets girl. How liberating can the formula be in 2005? Very. The film, titled Voksne mannesker in Danish (Grown-up…

Four newspapers, twelve magazines, no press

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We made a difficult editorial decision here. Our planned feature on the repercussions of an oil scandal, in which the…

Pride or Prejudice?

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What led you to study this part of Iceland’s history? When I was doing my doctorate in England, I interviewed…