Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.12.2014, Page 2

Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.12.2014, Page 2
2 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 1 — 2011 Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík www.grapevine.is grapevine@grapevine.is Published by Fröken ehf. www.froken.is Member of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association www.saf.is Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 25.000 copies. Editor In Chief: Haukur S Magnússon / haukur@grapevine.is Editor: Anna Andersen / anna@grapevine.is Journalist: John Rogers / john@grapevine.is Journalist & Listings editor Gabríel Benjamin / gabriel@grapevine.is Editorial: +354 540 3600 / editor@grapevine.is Advertising: +354 540 3605 / ads@grapevine.is +354 40 3610 Publisher: Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson / hilmar@grapevine.is +354 540 3601 / publisher@grapevine.is Contributing Writers: A.M. Finnson Atli Bollason Bogi Bjarnason Chris D’Alessandro Davíð Roach Dr. Gunni Gabrielle Motola Haukur Már Helgason Kári Tulinius Magnús Sveinn Helgason Nathan Hall Óli Dóri Parker Yamasaki Ragnar Egilsson Snorri Örn Rafnsson Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir Editorial Interns: Elín Rós / elin@grapevine.is Melissa Coci / melissa@grapevine.is Saskia Vallendar / saskia@grapevine.is Tom Doyle / tom@grapevine.is Art Director: Hörður Kristbjörnsson / hordur@dodlur.is Layout: Hrefna Sigurðardóttir Photographers: Anna Domnick Atli Sigurðarson GOLLI Hörður Sveinsson / www.hordursveinsson.com Markús Már Efraím Matthew Eisman / www.mattheweisman.com Spessi Sales Director: Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / adalsteinn@grapevine.is Helgi Þór Harðarson / helgi@grapevine.is Óskar Freyr Pétursson / oskar@grapevine.is Distribution manager: distribution@grapevine.is Proofreader: Mark Asch releases: listings@grapevine.is Submissions inquiries: editor@grapevine.is Subscription inquiries: +354 540 3605 / subscribe@grapevine.is General inquiries: grapevine@grapevine.is Founders: Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson, Hörður Kristbjörnsson, Jón Trausti Sigurðarson, Oddur Óskar Kjartansson, Valur Gunnarsson The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18 times a year by Fröken ltd. Monthly from November through April, and fortnightly from May til October. Nothing in this magazine may be repro- duced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers. The Reykjavík Grapevine is distributed around Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes, Keflavík, Ísafjörður and at key locations along road #1, and all major tourist attractions and tourist information centres in the country. You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored (no articles in the Reykjavík Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own, not the advertisers’). On the cover: Professor Goddur and Reykjavík Chieftain Jörmundur Ingi Photo: Baldur Kristjáns (www.baldurkristjans.is) Make up: Rakel Ásgeirsdóttir Props: Dagur Benedikt Reynisson Wardrobe: Hulda Halldóra Tryggvadóttir Special thanks to: Hjörtur Hjartarson, Snorri Björnsson, Hókus Pókus, the inhabitants of Óðinsgata 5 and Óðinsgata 8b, Armar Vinnulyftur, Daníel Gylfason, Sölmundur Ísak. And our wonderful cover stars. Editorial-in-chief | Haukur S. Magnússon Healing Hands In the above photograph, I am accompanied by one of my favourite people in the world, Dr. Haukur S. Mag- nússon, my paternal grandfather and my namesake (I had to make sure not to get a doctorate degree, so folks would be able to tell us apart). It was taken a couple of Christmases ago, in-between bouts of us eating, drinking and being merry. What a time we had. Dr. Haukur is 82 years old. He became a doctor in 1961, and spent the brunt of his career working as a General Practitioner, helping thousands of humans overcome illness and injury. A healing hand. His late wife, my beloved grandmother Erla, worked as a nurse her whole life, helping thousands of humans overcome illness and injury. A healing hand. And their daughter, my aunt Jónína, currently works as a nurse. Helping thousands of humans over- come illness and injury. A healing hand. --- Growing up, I would listen intently as they discussed their work. It fascinated me. It still does. Stories of Dr. Haukur’s early days serving as a GP in East Iceland, when he would hike through mountains of snow, dragging his medical kit behind him on a sleigh, re- sponding to medical emergencies in remote villages. My grandmother’s tales of purposing a soup ladle to spoon tapeworm out of patients’ stomachs. My aunt’s tales of Saturday night Emergency Room chaos. I developed a great respect for our medical profes- sionals as a child, and it has only grown in later years. --- My grandparents were of the generation that built up the healthcare system that we Icelanders have often prided ourselves of. They did unselfish, often thankless pioneer work for the benefit of their na- tion. I imagine they were optimistic as they witnessed various progresses in the field through the years, as we devised ways of curing once-deadly diseases and constructed an impressive healthcare network that spread around the island. My aunt Jónína has also spent her career as a nurse doing unselfish, often thankless work. The difference, perhaps, lies in the fact that she has been doing that work at a time when it seems like the healthcare sys- tem built by my grandparents’ generation had entered a period of slow but sure disintegration, as funding has stalled or been cut, as the infrastructure started slowly rotting due to lack of interest from the officials we elected to maintain it. My aunt, the nurse, has often felt pressed to work ludicrous amounts of overtime, not sleeping for days, because there simply aren’t enough nurses to go around. Because the pay isn’t attractive, because the working conditions can border on abhorrent. Because reasons. As journalist Gabríel Benjamín’s illuminating fea- ture reveals, Iceland’s healthcare system is teetering on the brink of tragedy after years of governmental neglect and austerity measures. While it paints a grim picture of the situation, some of the people he spoke to also provide a glimpse of hope that we may yet turn things around. This is heady, important stuff. Go read the feature. Assume a position. Demand action. 2 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 18 — 2014 TRACK OF THE ISSUE Reykjavík sextet Rökkurró have come back to Earth since their last album, ‘Í an- nan heim’ (“To Another World”) . Gone are the hushed vocals and guitars that gave that record its dreamy sheen, replaced now with a more polished and earthy pop sound, as may be heard in this issue’s free track, "Blue Skies." As well as the marked change in style, the band have flipped from the Icelandic language into English, suggesting they may have their eyes set on broader, more worldly horizons in the coming year. As such, they are among the nineteen hand- picked acts that will represent Iceland at Dutch music industry shindig Eurosonic in January, making a running start in 2015. "This song was fucking hard to make," says Rökkurró bass-man Árni Þór Árnason. "It was one of the first songs we wrote for 'Innra' but we kept going back and chang- ing it. It almost didn't make the album be- cause we couldn’t agree on what it should sound like. But just before we finished re- cording, we stripped it down to the bare essentials, ruffed it up a bit, and ended up with something everybody loved." ‘Innra’ is out now on 12 Tónar × 2014 December 5 - January 8 Issue 18 YOUR FREE COPY THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND C hristmas is upon is once again. While a lot of things might seem pretty wrong with the world right now, we feel the only sensible course of action is to just kinda let it all go for a moment, meet up with friends and family, and indulge in some good, old-fashioned Holiday indulgence. Eat, drink & be merry + Complete Reykjavík Listings Lots of cool events Get the FREE Grapevine appsAppy Hour and CravingAvailable on the App store and on Android Market. Comic | Hugleikur Dagsson Blue Skies Rökkuró Innra Download the FREE track at www.grapevine.is

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