Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.10.2009, Blaðsíða 50

18
the reykjavík grapevine
Issue 16 — 2009
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article | Souvenirs
Tacky, Awesome Crap
The best and the worst in Icelandic souvenirs
Souvenirs are an essential part of any
good (or bad) travelling experience. From
the smallest token taken from nature
(like that pebble in your pocket—or are
you just happy to see me?) to extravagant
spontaneous purchases, they seem to
be absolutely indispensable to a holiday.
At least that’s what the merchandisers
would have us think.
Iceland definitely doesn’t lack for its
share of gift shops, with all the usual sus-
pects found within them, but some items
offer a bit more punch while others are
downright baffling. Here are a few items
that will tickle you pink or blow your
mind with inanity. You be the judge.
geysir Mug
This delightfully phallic drinking re-
ceptacle is perfect for the most gutter-
minded traveller or lover of impractical
cup handles. I could barely fit three of
my little girl fingers through the handle,
making it fairly difficult to hold when
empty. Just imagine when full. Or with
fully-grown hands! For 1.590 ISK though,
it might be worth it, just to leave it on your
kitchen shelf and disturb your guests.
can of fresh Mountain air
Oh, a can of air for 990 ISK? Why, of
course I need that! That’s a great deal on
air. Usually the air I breathe costs noth-
ing. Clearly I’m getting ripped off. Wait
a minute… Seriously though. This pop-
top can claims to contain 240ml of fresh
mountain air, so presumably you would
peel back the lid and get a nice burst of
mountain freshness. Maybe it’s a gag and
there’s actually a fart inside. Actually, that
would be worth 990 ISK.
facepainting Kit
Who doesn’t love painting a flag on their
face? I could do it every day. With so many
countries with red, white and blue as of-
ficial colours, you can totally switch it
up depending on what team is playing.
(Unless Russia is playing France. Then
you’re fucked, sorry.) For 935 ISK, even I
couldn’t resist purchasing it and Icelandi-
cizing my face.
rocK cuBes
Ice cubes are wonderful in water, but who
wants their turpentine cocktail diluted
with pesky water? Not me! Lucky for all
us chick-drink drunks, there are Rocks
On Ice. Nine solid cubes made of pure
Icelandic Gabbro rock that chill to the
perfect temperature after 2-3 hours in the
freezer. They are also an ecological alter-
native to the water waste that goes into
the refilling of an ice tray. For 3,490 ISK,
this is a worthwhile investment to anyone
with a home bar.
angry love stuffed toys
Goddamnit, I wanna punch these in the
face. Look at that fucking seal cub (2.890
ISK). Don’t you just want to take it out on
the ice and club the shit out of it? And
that wolf (5.980 ISK)! Who does he think
he is? What is he gonna do, howl at the
moon or something? Fucking unbearably
cute, fake animals. Any rage therapist
would recommend spending the money
to regain control of your life. Don’t let the
cuteness take control.
Best t-shirt:
Whale of a tiMe in iceland
The person who designed this for chil-
dren clearly didn’t realise they were de-
signing a shirt for Death Cab For Cutie
circa 2005 fans. This shirt says two
words: Seth Cohen. Also available in blue
and yellow, for the ultimate emo nerd.
1.890 ISK.
Worst t-shirt:
ég tala eKKi íslensKu
Why would you be so proud of this? If you
are just here for a weekend, it’s totally un-
necessary, and if you’re here for a while,
you’re a jerk for not trying. You might as
well just buy a shirt with all the languages
you don’t speak, or a shirt saying you’re
mute. 2.800 ISK.
Laugavegur 23
Tel: 5526970
reBecca louder
reBecca louder
French humour has sometimes been
described as “not funny” or “weird”.
Lewis Trondheim is both French and
funny. He’s so prolific as a cartoonist
that it’s tempting to think he runs a
sweatshop with tubby little illustrators
that are fed with croissants and coffee
and can only go to the bathroom twice a
day. Instead of doing that, he has ganged
up with fine artists and writers such
as Joann Sfar and Kerascoet. Together
they are like a team of ninjas with
pens. Trondheim and friends have even
threatened to do at least 300 Dungeon
books.
The Dungeon series master the fine
art of being dark and silly at the same
time. The world of Dungeon is full of
dragons and birds, sorcery and weapons.
It’s a parody of the fantasy worlds similar
to Dungeons and Dragons, without
being too nerdy or inaccessible to those
who are unfamiliar with D&D. The
timeline of the series as a whole is a bit
complicated at first. Dungeon is divided
into 3 main series: Early Years, Zenith
and Twilight and in-between are sub-
series and all sorts of nonsense. The
series tell the story of the creation, glory
days and eventually the demise of the
Dungeon world. It seems difficult to sort
everything out, but the books are so well
written and illustrated that eventually
you won’t care about timelines—unless
you are anal-retentive—which won’t be
a problem either because information
about the timelines is plentiful.
There is nothing less disappointing
than Dungeon, except maybe other
books by Lewis Trondheim.
comix | Review
Dungeon (The Series)
created by lewis trondheim
& Joann sfar
art by Kerascoet et al.
hugleiKur dagsson
Buy the reviewed comix - and many
more - at Nexus, Hverfisgata.
Yeah!