Reykjavík Grapevine - 23.05.2014, Blaðsíða 4

Hey guys, good evening! May I bother
you for just a minute? I'm a brazilian au-
thor and I'm currently writing a novel
that takes place in Iceland. I've lived in
Iceland for 2 months a few years ago,
but by then I didn't know I was going to
need this information, so I wonder if you
could help me.
One of my characters NEEDS to be
called Helgi Ragnarsson. The thing is:
he "doesn't" have a father. His mother
didn't register him with a father. So what
I need to know is: If Helgi, the child of a
woman named Ragna, could be called
Helgi Ragnarsson, or if he would be
called Ragnasson. Because I believe that
a pregnant woman that doesn't know or
doesn't reveal the identity of the father
can obviously register her son to her
name, right? I'm very sorry to bother
you, but I couldn't find such information
anywhere. Thanks much for your time!
Hæ, Mario-
Our resident Icelandic language stu-
dent was thrilled to have the chance
to practice her declining skillz, par-
ticularly in the service of novelistic
accuracy.
You are right that it is possible for
an Icelandic woman to give her child
a matronymic using her own name,
instead of the traditional patronymic
with the father’s name. However, if
your character HAS to be called “Rag-
narsson,” we apologize, but you are
out of luck. “Ragnarsson,” is the pat-
ronymic that would be given to Helgi,
son of Ragnar—which is a man’s name.
For Helgi, son of Ragna (a woman’s
name), the correct matronymic would
be “Rögnuson.”
We hope this doesn’t botch your
plot too much—Icelandic grammar is a
bitch.
Morphologically,
The Grapevine
Hi,
I just found your webpage about situa-
tion in Iceland. It's very interesting.
So right now I am doing an Economics
final project about Iceland's joining EU
situation and effect of that decision on
Iceland's Stock market and Bond market.
I found that your website is pretty useful.
However, I wonder if you could possibly
point me to any useful resources? like
Authors of articles, Websites etc. (About
Iceland's stock market, Economy)
Thank you so much,
Poon P.
Hey Poon P,
We once ran an article about Iceland’s
stock market called “Where Is Ice-
land’s Stock Exchange Today?” (You
can find it here: http://www.grape-
vine.is/Features/ReadArticle/where-
is-icelands-stock-exchange-today (or
Google the title)). Unfortunately we’re
not sure where the stock market is
anymore, (or where Britney Spears is
for that matter!). We’re also not sure
what effect joining the EU would have
on our stock market (which probably
doesn’t have many listed companies),
but we are pretty sure that Iceland
won’t be joining that club (yeah, nope,
our current government doesn’t want
to).
Sorry we couldn’t be of more help, but
maybe one of our kind readers will be…
Mathematically,
The Grapevine
Gay frustration.
We all know that Iceland is one of the best places for being a gay.
I mean, you know, tolerance in Icelandic society and full rights.
So, can we (gays) be more happy? Of course we can.
I'm 23 yo polish man. I moved to Iceland almost one year
ago. I choose Reykjavik cuz I wanted to be there where my be-
loved music comes from.
Always I was like "ok, this is gay paradise, here is my music, this
is heaven". So I just moved here.
Since I live here, I especially did not care to participate in
the life of the homosexual community. I always preferred clubs
with good electronic music. Partying with commercial music
was not part of the game. So, I always skirted wide of the only
gay club in Reykjavik. I always chose Harlem, Kaffibarrin or
Dolly. Of course, these places are always well frequented by
groups of gay people.
What's the point?
I just got back from my 4 day stay in London. I realized this
huge gap between how gay life looks in London and in Reyk-
javik. Yes, the gap is very large. And I know that London is ten
times bigger than Reykjavik.
Here is just Kiki. There are hundreds of gay club and bars.
And yes, I know that Reykjavik is a very gay friendly and gay
guys can feel good in every place. But for God's sake, give us a
little intimacy. The fact that in this city there is only one gay bar
(which has always played the same commercial music) does not
mean that we all prefere music like this and that we all go there.
We have no other choice. Sometimes it is very nice to have some
fun amongst the gay community. but we need diversity. We
need different places and different pubs. WE NEED TECHNO!
Why in every European capitals are the people who know
how to organize a good event at least once a month? Better do a
good party once a month than just ANY every week.
Reykjavik is touted as a city created for gay people. As you
can see this is not true. Tourists leave this city disappointed be-
cause of the quality of gay life in the city. Time to change. Time
to show that we are not a boring city with a place for a boring
event. Time to show that we have a lot more to offer.
Time to change Reykjavik.
If here is a person who wants to try create some nice parties
or just person with nice ideas, let me know. I dont have a knowl-
edge about that but we can always try.
Andrei
(sorry for my english but still learning)
Dear Andrei-
You’re here, you’re queer, and you want techno! We hear
you, and we hope you and some like-minded party people
can start expanding Reykjavík’s gay (dance) scene. Be the
change you want to see!
In solidarity,
The Grapevine
Say your piece, voice your
opinion, send your letters to:
letters@grapevine.is
Sour
grapes
& stuff

MOST AWESOME LETTER
FREE GRAPEVINE TEE HEE HEE!
There's prize for all your MOST AWESOME LETTERS. And
it’s a scorcher! Whoever sends us THE MOST AWESOME
LETTER each issue will receive a cool new REYKJAVÍK
GRAPEVINE T-SHIRT, featuring the majestic G that adorns our cover.
So you should make sure to keep writing us fun and/or interesting letters
This Grapevine tee surely is the SHIZNIT (whatever that means)! It was designed by our very
own art director man, HÖRÐUR KRISTBJÖRNSSON, and it’s good for posing in front of a
mirror, impressing folks with your impeccable taste or picking up men or women of all ages
(no minors). DON’T PANIC if your letter wasn’t picked AWESOME LETTER. You can still get
a tee for a low, low price over our website, WWW.GRAPEVINE.IS
Now, if you're in the market for free goodies next month, write us some sort of letter. Give us
your worst: LETTERS@GRAPEVINE.IS
Most Awesome Letter of the Issue