Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.02.2006, Side 4

SOUR GRAPES
Complaints, criticism, suggestions, praise, money, anything at all: Contact letters@grapevine.is or send
your mail to: The Reykjavík Grapevine, Faxagata 2, Faxaskála við Faxaport, 101 Reykjavík.
Dear Grapevine,
500 Million ISK is a Small Price to
Pay
While I must admit that much of the
graffiti (tagging) in Reykjavik looks
more like vandalism than art, there
are much more serious art crimes
being committed here that, if left
unpunished, could cost this country
severe and lasting damage. Take, for
example, Svala. What would it cost
to eradicate her music from this is-
land? 500 Million ISK? No problem.
I’d pay it myself if I could. I’d pay
double. Let’s take up a collection.
Sure, we could build schools and
improve healthcare with that kind of
cash, but schools and healthcare will
just have to wait until more pressing
issues are addressed. Like Islenski
Bachelorinn.
Think of the damage that show
caused to thousands of innocent
people.
Think of how those hot pot
scenes marred the visual landscape.
Have you ever seen anything more
offensive and/or “dirty?” I don’t
know about you, but one more rose
ceremony and I might have gone to
the harbour to take a long walk off
a short pier. When considering the
long term affects of a single episode
of that show, the bad graffiti in this
town looks like a symphony of Mon-
ets.
So, to the nameless official(s)
in charge of the War on Graffiti,
my advice is this...pick your battles.
Fighting a war on graffiti will likely
be futile, costly, and wont win you
many friends. But put our money
where Svala’s mouth is, and a coun-
try will unite before you. Besides,
graffiti doesn’t really hurt anyone,
and the simple fact that it actually
exists in Iceland is exactly why it
should stay. Reykjavik is an inter-
national city and changing fast—for
the better—graffiti and all. (If by
chance you take this advice, would
it be too much to ask to get rid of
those clowns on Innlit / Útlit? Or at
least have them replaced with hosts
who actually know something about
design?)
And to the editor, it would help
your paper’s credibility if, in an
article about graffiti, the writer didn’t
admit to not visiting art galleries. I
know that graffiti is “guerilla” and
all, but some knowledge of Reykja-
vik’s contemporary art scene could
have potentially fostered a more co-
gent critique of the proposed “war.”
The way I see it, Birkir’s editorial,
full of weak arguments and even a
Kevin Bacon reference, ultimately
did a disservice to the very people he
attempted to defend.
J. Nebolini
Íslenski Bachelorinn, Svala and
Innlit/ Útlit—tough targets there, Mr.
Nebolini. I notice you had no comment
about the low standard of the graf-
fiti in this country. I love bubble letter
initials and all, but this stuff has all
the wit, wisdom and effort of public
urination—something else that is big
here. The thing about television shows
and music is that usually you can choose
not to have it on your private property,
whereas the new wave of graffiti goes
on your wall whether you want it or
not.
Oh, you want me to defend or explain
the Grapevine or graffiti here. The
Grapevine is never as incoherent as
your letter, and we’re rarely as grouchy.
Svala has decent tone and was an excel-
lent cover model on our Christmas issue,
and you need to ease up on quoting
single words for emphasis. It’s kind of
“eighth grade.” Turn off your TV and
read a book, or go out and draw your
initials, I hear it’s the big thing.
Dear Bart,
I found “The Grapevine” once when
Net surfing and fell in love with it.
Wonderful design and impossible to
stop reading the good texts. Con-
gratulations.
I signed the “Grapevine Mail-
ing list” and I was thinking right
now about the cold winter there in
Iceland. You can imagine how sunny
it is in my country now and maybe
my letters could warm the Icelandic
people season!!!!
I would love to exchange let-
ters with the Icelandic people and
exchange information, friendliness
and culture. I am male, 43 years old,
a chemical engineer, and available to
write to any Icelander, from any city,
any age, any gender due to my great
interest for your country. I am read-
ing Laxness “Independent People”
and trying to get closer to Icelandic
culture and people.
If you think it is possible to
invite Icelandic people to exchange
letters and receive some warm wind
when opening the envelopes, please
furnish my postal address:
Mr. Emmanuel W. Martins
Rua Lagoa Santa, 41 apt. 202
Carlos Prates
Belo Horizonte - MG
30710-090
BRAZIL
Thank you for reading my e-mail,
Bart.
Hope you all in “Grapevine” have a
wonderful new year.
Sincerely,
Emmanuel W. Martins
Brazil
There you have it, folks. I’m furnishing
the address, but I take no responsibility
beyond that.
Hi Bart,
Handsome yet slightly inaccurate
Stephen Taylor-Matthews here.
I would like to point out to Mr
Sigvaldi Eggertsson, who comment-
ed on my last piece entitled “more
reproduction needed in Iceland”
that my facts actually came from
the official United Nations human
development reports, which were
published this year and you can find
all these figures on their website.
The UN is the official source which
government’s use. I would like to
point out that maybe Mr Eggertsson
shouldn’t believe everything he reads
on the CIA website, they are well
known to get their facts wrong, just
ask the people of Iraq, who coinci-
dentally have a death rate of 5.49.
If anyone - especially nice looking
ladies - would like to discuss these
matters further I can be found at the
Kafe Baren on most nights, look for
the slightly misinformed looking
guy.
Happy Xmas Grapevine team.
I think you severely misspelled Kaf-
fibarinn. Man, you need a fact-checker.
Unless you were joking, but then it
should be Kafe Barren. But then, you
have mentioned you’re handsome. And
looking for the ladies. Curse you and
your charming ways. I’ve forgotten the
initial concern. Take me away, you rake
you. Oh crap, I’m a man. And you’ve
just indicated that you’re extremely
heterosexual. The world is unfair.
Dear Grapevine.
For years, I have read your news-
paper as I’ve found your articles
and point of view interesting. Until
now, I suppose. I still find your
articles and point of view inter-
esting, but today I came across a
notice [Grapevine, issue 16] to us
‘native readers’, asking us to stop
steal your newspaper from the
foreigners as it was not meant for us,
and therefore not ours to have. The
paparazzi photos and the celebrity
gossip you rightfully claim not to
print, do not interest me. But that
obviously doesn’t matter, if I was
a real Icelander I’d be lying about
the previous statement, and even if
I was just faking my nationality, I
could easily avoid reading the gossip
columns in Icelandic newspapers and
magazines. After all, I don’t have to
read through the whole column to
find out what it is about.
Occasionally, I have sent the
Grapevine to foreign friends abroad,
and I was wondering if that was also
to be considered a theft since they
are not visitors in Iceland at the time
of the printing. I shall try to avoid
such behaviour in the near future.
I truly apologize for having stolen
your paper through the years, it
has the word ‘free’ printed on the
cover and I naïvely thought that ap-
plied to us all.
I realize to a point that this
notice might have been a joke on
your behalf, but I am really hurt (I
don’t enjoy being accused of theft of
something that is stated as ‘free’) and
rather insulted (for the same reason).
I suggest you add ‘for non-natives
only’ on the front page.
Sincerely,
Gréta Hauksdóttir
Thief!
WULFFMORGENTHALER
see more at www.wulffmorgenthaler.com