Reykjavík Grapevine - 04.07.2008, Blaðsíða 2

2 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 09—2008
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Vesturgata 5, 101 Reykjavík
www.grapevine.is
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Publisher:
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Assistant Editor:
Steinunn Jakobsdóttir / steinunn@grapevine.is
Contributing Writers:
Haukur Magnússon / haukur@grapevine.is
Ian Watson / www.ianwatson.org
Páll Hilmarsson / pallih@gmail.com
Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir / vala@grapevine.is
Ben H. Murray
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Oddur Sturluson
Sigurður Kjartan Kristinsson
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gulli@grapevine.is
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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 reproduced in whole or in
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Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 30.000 copies.
FREE
GOT
BALLS?
Iceland's female football
team sets goals,
and achieves them.
Issue No 9 – 2008
YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL
AND ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND
COMPLETE CITY LISTINGS – INSIDE!
COVER PHOTO BY
GAS
ON COVER:
Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir
Although Euro 2008 is behind us, Grapevine’s
mind is still on football. It’s hard to let go of the
excitement, arguments and all the ups and downs
that are integral parts of big sport contests. Unfor-
tunately, my German champs failed to finish the
job, but I’m slowly coming around. What’s speed-
ing up the recovery are the new idols I found to
support: Icelandic female football players.
On the cover this issue is national team player
Margrét Lára Viðarsdóttir, the queen of football
in Iceland and beyond. Sportsman of the Year in
2007, a record-breaking striker and a role model
for the young generation of footballers, she is
getting close to securing Iceland a ticket to the
European Cup in Finland next year. With a stag-
gering 7-0 victory against Greece last month, the
team only has one game to go to qualify for the
big fight. What’s more, they only need a draw
against France in September so the chances are
getting pretty good. Qualifying for the finals will
be a first time ever for an Icelandic football team.
That’s huge! So while our economy is going down
the drains, we have at least one thing to be super
proud of. Our team is awesome and they deserve
all the support they can get.
But there’s more to live than football I’ve been
told. In this issue we discover many critical
things, in particular that July is a good month to
flee Reykjavík. While August is the capital’s fun-
season, there are loads of entertaining festivals
across the country in the coming weeks, featuring
art, music and a whole lot of partying. To name
just a few; there is Eistnaflug for the hardcore
rockers, Bræðslan for pop-fans, LungA for the
arty-crowd and the Kimi ring-road concert-tour
for all you frisky music lovers who want to travel
the country and celebrate the glory of summer.
For those stuck in the capital this month, there’s
always Austurvöllur.
Steinunn Jakobsdóttir
Opinion
06 THERE’S A WHOLE LOT Of BuMPING GOING ONAn opinion by Alexandra Hertell
08 TIPS fROM THE AuSSIE NOW CALLING ICELAND “HOME”An opinion by Iris Goemans
Articles
06 EVERYONE’S INVITED! Gunnar Tynes and company want YOU to take a hike and strum a chord or two
08 ICELAND: HOME Of THE PER CAPITA RECORD (Also: home to the most expensive Big Mac in the world.)
10 ICELANDIC SkATEBOARD DESIGN Way cooler than aluminium production
12 EquAL OPPORTuNITIES Iceland’s women draw attention as they move closer to Euro 2009
14 THE ARTISTS HAVE COME HOME TO ROOST A 10-year reunion of three artists at Kling&Bang Gallery
16 THE AMBASSADOR Grapevine makes an investigative report on Icelandic prejudices against Americans
18 DEAfENING SILENCE Nature Concerts at Laugardalur
22 CONSERVATION VOLuNTEERSA different experience of Iceland’s nature
24 CD REVIEWS Benni Hemm Hemm / Grjóthrun
24 CONCERT REVIEW Singapore Sling
25 CD REVIEWS Sigur Rós / Hraun
25 CONCERT REVIEW Benni Hemm Hemm
26 fRENCH fRIES AND RELIGIOuS SYMBOLS Namita Kapoor exhibits a fusion of Western and Asian cultures
28 A COSY COLONIAL STORE Hemmi and Valdi want your whole family there
Feature
16 THE SWEATY MuSICAL ARMPIT Interview with Mammút and Slugs
Destinations
30 fIVE DAYS IN THE WEST fjORDS Exploring fishing villages in the far northwest
32 GETTING HORNY WITH THE COD Sea angling in Faxaflói
33 fjORD ExPLORERS Kayaking in Hvalfjörður
32 SuMMER fESTIVALS IN THE COuNTRYSIDE
EDITORIALTABLE Of CONTENTS MASTHEAD
THE COVER