Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.08.2012, Page 2

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12 — 2012
Editorial | Anna Andersen Music | Free

SPORTSHIPSTERS TRAVEL MUSIC HATE
× 2012 × August 10 - 23Issue 12
YOUR FREE COPY THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND
+ Complete Reykjavík Listings - Lots of cool events
The debate
rages on!
We caught
OLYMPIC FEVER!
This is a cover of a handicapped dude caught in the middle of a city of stairs. Where does he go? What will he do?
Finally, a list of
pools and hotpots!
Japandroids, Sigur
Rós, Innipúkinn...
Not everyone
<3s Iceland!
SCHEDULE
EXCERPTS INSIDE
Ever wonder why downtown Reykjavík is peculiarly devoid of wheelchairs? In a place where stairs
are basically ubiquitous, it should come as no surprise. But, in a country touted as being socially
progressive, why have authorities seemingly forgotten the wheelchair-using segment of the
population? Journalists Byron Wilkes and Cory Weinberg look at the legal and cultural realities of
an Icelander's life on wheels. Page 26.
Reykjavík:
City Of Stairs
It's raining, you've stubbed your toe, lost a sum of
krónur in some sort of demeaning fashion and you're
just a little bit moody. It's time to listen to Sudden
Weather Change.
This isn’t meant to be a negative introduction to the
world of Sudden Weather Change. This band is deli-
ciously dark and extremely dense-sounding, with a glo-
rious combination of melodious vocals and thick, heavy
guitars that seem to physically drag you into some sort
of intricate, shadowy world.
SWC have been around since 2006, and most of
them study or have studied visual arts together—their
combined artistic prowess is very much palpable in
both their music and album art. Guitarist/singer Loji
even made a documentary about a year in the band’s
life, which you may soon view at Bíó Paradís.
Download their track “Weak Design” at www.grape-
vine.is and check out the rest of new album, ‘Sculpture,’
at gogoyoko.com. And refrain from missing their album
release party at Faktorý on September 8. See y’all there!
Weak Design
Sudden Weather Change
Download the FREE track at www.grapevine.is
TRACK OF
THE ISSUE
Download your
free track at
grapevine.is
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
Managing Editor:
Anna Andersen / anna@grapevine.is
Journalist:
Mark O' Brien / mark@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:
Paul Fontaine
Ragnar Egilsson
Kári Tulinius
Melkorka Licea
Guðni Rúnar
Valur Gunnarsson
Dan Warry-Smith
Álfrún Gisladóttir
Sarah Pepin
Neil Holdsworth
Laura Studarus
Clyde Bradford
Óli Dóri
Bob Cluness
Editorial intErns:
Byron Wilkes / byron@grapevine.is
Eli Petzold / eli@grapevine.is
Cory Weinberg / cory@grapevine.is
Emily Babb / emily@grapevine.is
Photo intErn:
Juli Vol / juli@grapevine.is
Journalist
Mark O'Brien / mark@grapevine.is
on-linE nEWs Editor
Paul Fontaine / paul@grapevine.is
art dirECtor:
Hörður Kristbjörnsson / hoddi@grapevine.is
dEsign:
Páll Hilmarsson / pallih@kaninka.net
PhotograPhEr:
Alísa Kalyanova / www. alisakalyanova.com
MusiC ManagEr:
Bob Cluness / bob@grapevine.is
salEs dirECtor:
Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / adalsteinn@grapevine.is
Helgi Þór Harðarson / helgi@grapevine.is
distribution ManagEr:
distribution@grapevine.is
ProofrEadEr:
Jim Rice
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 reproduced in
whole or in part without the written permission of the publish-
ers. The Reykjavík Grapevine is distributed around Reykjavík,
Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes, Kef lavík,
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’).
Handball, Trampolines, GDP And
Wheelchairs Anna’s 12th Editorial
Cover by: Döðlur
Cover illustration by: Hrefna
Sigurðardóttir
Last Wednesday was a sad, sad day in Iceland.
Our esteemed handball team lost to Hungary in
the quarterfinals during second overtime. This re-
quired us to rewrite four articles in this issue as
we rushed to print, which just goes to show how
excited and confident people were about taking
home Iceland’s fifth ever Olympic medal. Alas it
didn’t pan out.
I’ll admit that I wasn’t nearly as upset as my fel-
low countrymen were when it was over, but then
I grew up in Southern California where handball
was just something that you played in elementary
school—a playground game that involved bounc-
ing a ball against wall, with moves called “babies”
and “waterfalls.”
At least we’re good at something though, and
at least that something is a bit cooler sounding
than trampoline, which became an Olympic sport
in 2000. Just imagine if we were all rallying behind
Iceland’s trampoline stars, and if the president had
told TIME magazine last week that our country had
bounced back from the financial crisis and that the
art of trampoline had something to do with it.
People are always eager to ask about the Ice-
landic economy when I go back to the States and
I’m never really sure what to tell them. Of course
there are all kinds of numbers to cite—unemploy-
ment, inflation, GDP, etc.—but since I moved here
in 2009, changes in these num-
bers have never really trans-
lated to changes in day-to-
day life for me.
It’s easy to overlook
things that don’t directly im-
pact our lives. Most of us, for
instance, probably don’t think about
the fact that there are many people who can’t play
handball or trampoline—let alone walk—and they
at least deserve to live in a city that is accessible
to them. The country is rebuilding, though. And as
it rebuilds, its citizens must think about this.
As Cory Weinberg and Byron Wilkes point out
in this issue’s feature “You Can’t Always Go Down-
town,” Reykjavík isn’t exactly the most accessible
of cities. Ponder this: were an alien anthropologist
were to visit us, he or she would probably deduce,
based on the signs on bathroom doors and park-
ing spaces, that we are a population consisting
of three types: men, women and the wheelchair-
bound—the latter being genderless.
For that segment of our population, it will be a
fine, fine day when, for instance, wheelchair ac-
cessible bathrooms aren’t located at the top of
a long flight of stairs and soap dispensers aren’t
placed out of reach. Read more on page 26.
Trivia question: Which pair of countries do not both have non-heterosexist laws, granting marriage and adoption rights to all
sexualities? A. Belgium and the Netherlands / B. Sweden and South Africa / C. Iceland and Spain /D. Norway and the UK /
E. Sweden and Canada. Turn to page xxxxxxxxx for the answer!
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THOSE
CRAZY ICELANDIC LETTERS YO?
We thought we’d explain. We’re ripping the idea off from
the Icelandair magazine. Go read that magazine if you
can. It’s free.
We like spelling things using Icelandic letters like
‘æ’ and ‘þ’ and also those crazy accents over the vowels.
Like Icelandair’s inflight magazine—IcelandairInfo—says,
the Icelandic language can use accents on all of the vow-
els, making them look all unique, like this: á, é, í, ó, ú,
ö, ý (the accent also changes the pronounciation of the
letters. The á in “kjáni” sounds quite different from the a
in “asni”, for instance). We also have an additional three
letters. As IcealandairInfo notes:
æ (often written as ae) is pronounced like the i in tide.
ð (often written as d) is pronounced like the th in
there
þ (often written as th) is pronounced like the th in
think”
HERE IS YOUR KREISÍ ÆCELANDIC FRASE FOR
ÞIS ISSUE!
“Afsakið fröken, gætuð þér leiðbeint mér að næsta
hraðbanka?”
(aaafs-aah-keed froek-aen, gaetuth thayer laydbaint
mayer ath naesta hraeth-bouwn-ka?”)
Pardon me miss, could you direct me to the nearest ATM
machine?
fontana.is
Your
element
• Steam rooms
• Thermal baths
• Sauna
Laugarvatn Fontana is composed of a series of interconnected outdoor mineral baths and steam rooms,
built over natural hot spring that Icelanders have used for bathing since year 1929.
The ideal stop between Thingvellir and Geysir
– daily tours by Reykjavik Excursions
Welcome to a true, authentic Icelandic experience!
Open daily
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ÍA