Reykjavík Grapevine - 23.07.2004, Blaðsíða 4

Hi Valur! i really enjoyed all yr articles in latest Grape-
Vine :) I can assure you that we always destroyed our
own instruments so the bit about me attacking Danny or
his guitars is bullshit.
I witnessed Pete Townshend & Jimi Hendrix destroy
their instruments when I was a teenager & me & my
friends had fun doing the same & i did it on stage
with Utangarðsmenn at Kopavogs Bio at one of our
1st concerts It was not premeditated but it was quite a
ORGASM :) I have a new single coming out within
days with THE VIKINGHILLBILLY APOCALYPSE
REVUE called 3 SHOTS :) I will get you a copy soon as
i get some :) Poor Bart Cameron....he couldn´t get me to
shut up & he couldn´t get Siguros to say anything.....ah
the life as a reporter :)
INFINITE ROCKIN BLESSINGS , Michael Pollock
Of course, I wasn´t there at the time, but I have heard more
than a few times stories of Utangarðsmenn fighting on stage.
One of the reasons given is that Danny was a guitar collector
and you were into smashing guitars, which caused some fric-
tion. I don´t know if this is true, but as the legend grows, it’s
hard to tell truth from fiction. We´ll keep on trying, even if
printing the fiction may be tempting from time to time.
Dear Grapevine.
I want to applaud Grapevine. It is the only paper pub-
lished in Iceland that I read with interest, you have fresh
voices and great humour. You also seem to have stirred
up a wasp nest of Nazi´s and racists all over Scandinavia,
well done! Probably better to have them out in the open
than hiding in the shadows, at least you have exposed
the myth that all Icelanders are fair, open minded and
without prejudice. I think in general we tend to believe
this myth.
H.H.
Grapevine, here to stir up wasp nests of Nazis.
Robert Jackson is a despicable lier (sic). I did meet him at
the American embassy, and I did tease him about the left
leanings of Grapevine. At the same time I told him that I
enjoyed reading it very much, because of your beautifully
written tongue-in-cheek approach to life. My teasing
him was also tongue-in-cheek. I NEVER said that you
were communists because you put a black woman in the
national costume. Actually I think it was a rather cute
idea, and such a statement is utterly alien to everything
I believe in. I still think Grapevine is a rather cute paper.
I regret, however, that you should have in your ranks a
man, whose journalistic integrity is clearly from the gut-
ter. Best wishes. Óli Tynes
Thank you Óli. We think you´re cute too.
Dear editors of Grapevine,
Since no-one seems to be answering your enquiery
about letters from Greenpeace I want to tell you of my
thoughts on the matter. I received one of these multi-
copied letters as well as my daughter, telling me how
some person would like to come to Iceland, but can’t
because of our whaling, blah blah whaling is a bad thing
and so on. Why should I care if someone with pink
glasses on the world view doesn´t want to come here?
The letter is very polite in a brainwashing way, most
likely written by someone with physical education.
But who gave them permission to find my name and ad-
dress in the first place and put me on a mailing list? No
thank you, I don’t want anything to do with Greenpeace.
I think this an invasion on my home and privacy. I am
not grateful at all.
Halldóra Jónsdóttir
Anyone else?
I was downtown protesting today. It was quite an experi-
ence since - as you probably know - protesting is not one
of the strong sides of the Icelanders. Not this kind of
protesting at least. There was ambiance, there was feel-
ing, there was anger... you name it...it was very rare.
Being a tourist guide in Iceland is the most rewarding
and appreciative occupation I have ever had. I am of the
opinion that people who chose to visit Iceland are very
special and decidedly interesting. The others go some-
where else. And I am eternally indebted to those people
for allowing me to look at my environment, which I
always thought was quite ordinary, through their amazed
eyes and listen to Iceland’s history with their interested
ears. What a revelation it has been!
However, my proud and fierce heart skips a beat when
someone starts asking about what’s going on in Icelandic
politics today. I quickly put on my noncommittal, neutral
mask and try to hang on to it for dear life. A simple ac-
count of the latest events including the president’s refusal
to validate the Media Bill, the upcoming referendum
- the first in Iceland’s 60 years history as a Republic - and
the new Media Bill which prevents the referendum... all
this leaves our foreign guests absolutely stunned. They
thought they were visiting a democratic republic, not - as
one of them remarked - “...a third world dictatorship”.
Further probing into the actions of the Icelandic govern-
ment are now inevitable, my neutral mask still in place
and simple facts quoted. The dam at Kárahnjúkar laying
waste to a large part of the unspoilt nature my guests so
admire. The arbitrary decision to support the invasion of
Iraq against the will of 80% of the nation... etc. etc.
“Doesn’t the public protest?” Yes. “Don’t your ministers
resign from office when the majority of the voters object
to their actions?” No. “Why not?”
Now that’s a good question!
At this point the love and pride for my country is badly
damaged and I desperately try to change the subject. But
it takes quite a while to repair the atmosphere and make
people recover from the shock of realising they are visit-
ing a dictatorial country, not a democratic one.
Lára Hanna Einarsdóttir
For pointers on how to throw a protest, see the article Apathy
is a Myth by Paul in issue 3.
WULFFMORGENTHALER
see more at www.wulffmorgenthaler.com
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