Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.09.2010, Side 2

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 15 — 2010
Editorial | Haukur S. Magnússon
The Reykjavík GRapevine
Hafnarstræti 15, 101 Reykjavík
www.grapevine.is
grapevine@grapevine.is
Published by Fröken ehf.
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Member of the Icelandic Travel Industry Association
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Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 25.000 copies.
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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 part without
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+
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND
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OMG!
Strætó is finally
stepping into
the 21st century
Glitnir CEO Lárus
Welding made over
$3.000 per day in 2009
LOL!
London's Mayor
vs. Reykjavík's
ROFL!
RIFF promises
plenty of fun times
BRB
Watching whales,
rowing boats
WTF!
IN THE ISSUE Issue 15 • 2010 • September 24 - October 7 COMPLETE CITY LISTINGS - INSIDE!
T
On the cover:
Steingrímur J. Sigfússon
Photo:
Baldur Kristjáns
www.baldurkristjans.is
Assistance: Gísli Kr. Hauksson
Behind the scenes footage on
www.grapevine.is
Mayor's Address | Jón Gnarr
Comic | Hugleikur Dagsson
Welcome To Reykjavík
The odds of you being in Reykjavík are not great.
The greatest part of mankind is elsewhere. It is sci-
entifically proven. When I was little, I would often
ask myself why I had been born in Reykjavík. Is it
a coincidence where one is born? Is it subject to
some universal law? Did I exist in any form before
I was born? Did I have anything to do with where
I was born? Why did Eva Braun and Adolf Hitler
not bear any children? Did they not try to? Can it
be that no child wanted them as parents? I don’t
know, but I do not believe in coincidence. I do not
believe that God plays dice, especially not when
human lives are concerned. These thoughts inevi-
tably lead one to consider Schrödinger's cat. He is
probably one of the most famous cats in the world
(maybe after Ninja Cat). Still no one knows what
it was called? What was Schrödinger's cat called?
Abracadabra? I don’t remember. Let’s call it Phoe-
nix. That is a common name for cats. Phoenix was
of the nature that it both existed and not. There-
fore, it always existed, and even if Schrödinger
killed his cat in a rather tasteless manner, it is still
alive at Schrödinger's house, while Schrödinger
himself has been dead for a long time:

Does this mean that I always existed, or that
I never existed and do therefore not exist now?
That can’t be! It would mean that all our existence
was unreal and only existed in our own imagina-
tion. If I do not exist, then neither do you. I have
a hard time believing that. The facts speak for
themselves. If I am not real, then how could I f ly to
Finland, send myself a post card with a picture of
Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland, f ly back
home and welcome the mailman that brought me
the card? I don’t know. I am one of many Iceland-
ers that believe in elves and trolls. I mainly believe
in Moomin elves. It is more of a certainty than a
belief. I have seen them and touched them. I know
they exist. I have been to Moominworld in Naan-
tali, Finland. I have evidence; photographs, video
recordings and witnesses. I had a good talk with
Moomin Papa. He told me that life in Moominval-
ley was much better after Finland joined the EU.
He encouraged us Icelanders to join the EU. He
also said that the Moomins had always existed,
long before Tove Jansson “invented” them. The
Moomins are eternal, at least in books.
I hope these thoughts shed some light on the
history of Reykjavík and its culture. I hope you en-
joy your time in Reykjavík, that you go swimming
a lot and tell all your friends how fun Reykjavík is,
and how everyone is always happy there and that
you will never forget your hotel, Suðurlandsbraut
and the eternally young cat Phoenix
Jón Gnarr, Mayor of Reykjavík
Hi. I’m back from vacation. It was alright. I read a
lot of books. Drank a lot of beer. Took in some sun.
Went to the beach a couple times, actually. That
was nice. Wish we had beaches like that over here.
Oh yes, I did a little dance, made a little love,
got down tonight. Boy was it relaxing! As I boarded
the plane back home I felt like a fresh, new human
being, all ready to take on the world with the sun
in my eyes and a smile on my face.
Then the stewardess passed around the latest
copies of Fréttablaðið and Morgunblaðið, Iceland’s
two daily newspapers.
Ugh. I sank further into my chair with every
turn of the page. I tensed up. My skin turned pale
and clammy. I started shaking uncontrollably as I
envisioned of the environment I was returning to.
I cried a little inside.
Folks, what are we doing? Seriously! What the
hell are we trying accomplish here? This is not
how an enlightened and reasonable society oper-
ates. This is not how we run a discourse. This is
not how we solve any problems!
It feels like we are all stuck in some sort of
horrible Twilight Zone-type area where we are
doomed do just cover our ears and scream as loud
as we can in one another’s faces while completely
ignoring the each other, the outside world and ev-
ery attempt at a valid argument.
What are we protecting? Who are we protect-
ing?
What are we doing?
I don’t understand.
And I am having some serious doubts whether
I have the stomach to partake much longer.
Wish I Was Still On Vacation :(
Haukur’s 31st editorial
T
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2010
B
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petting zoo
da
lv
eg
ur
da
lv
eg
ur

4

smáratorg
laugar dalur
swimming poolsuðurlandsbraut
álfheimar
campi
ng
are
a
smáralind
shopping centre
we serve you all day 11-22