Reykjavík Grapevine - 29.08.2014, Blaðsíða 2

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 1 — 2011
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
Editor:
Anna Andersen / anna@grapevine.is
Journalist:
John Rogers / john@grapevine.is
Larissa Kyzer / larissa@grapevine.is
Journalist & Listings editor
Tómas Gabríel Benjamin / gabriel@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:
Bart Cameron
Lord Pusswhip
Árni Árnason
Elliot Brandsma
Davíð Roach
Beer
Dr. Gunni
Björn Teitsson
Arnaldur Elísabetar Finnsson
Nathan Hall
Kári Tulinius
Haukur Már Helgason
Óli Dóri
Paul Fontaine
Vera Illugadóttir

Editorial Interns:
Arnulfo Hermes / arnulfo@grapevine.is
Rebecca Scott Lord / rebecca@grapevine.is
Susanna Lam / susanna@grapevine.is
Tyler Clevenger / tyler@grapevine.is
Art Director:
Hörður Kristbjörnsson / hordur@dodlur.is
Layout:
Hrefna Sigurðardóttir
Photographers:
Alísa Kalyanova / www. alisakalyanova.com
Axel Sigurðarson / www.axelsig.com
Julia Staples / www.juliastaples.com
Magnús Andersen / www.magnusandersen.co
Matthew Eisman / www.mattheweisman.com
Sales Director:
Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / adalsteinn@grapevine.is
Helgi Þór Harðarson / helgi@grapevine.is
Óskar Freyr Pétursson / oskar@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 repro-
duced in whole or in part without the written permission of
the publishers. The Reykjavík Grapevine is distributed around
Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes,
Keflavík, 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’).
Cover photo by:
Oddur Sigurðsson
(www.oddrun.is)
Pictured:
Eruption at
Grímsvötn 1998
Editorial In Chief | Haukur S. Magnússon
The Reykjavík Grapevine’s First Ever Combination Editorial,
Album Review And Free Album Download
Here is a short editorial, inspired by the late,
great Bill Gates and his vision, which continues
to warm our hearts and our thighs through our
pockets, via sturdy, glowing Gorilla Glass:
Here’s to the volcanos. The eruptions. The shak-
ing moneymakers. The ones who remind the
world that, yes, Iceland exists. While some may
see them as extremely dangerous and not to be
trifled with, we see them as great, tremendous
opportunities for market expansion, advanced
brand awareness building and vast merchandiz-
ing profits.
Because the people who are arrogant enough
to shamelessly exploit potentially catastrophic
events, are the ones who make bank.
Here is a review of Pink Street Boys’ cassette-
exclusive release, which is called Trash From
The Boys:
Trash From The Boys is the best Icelandic album
I have heard in ages. It might be the best Icelan-
dic album ever made. That might well be. I don’t
know.
Like a 21st century version of a younger, an-
grier, hungrier, dirtier, perverser, more cynical,
more poisonus, more self-destructiverer version
of that band Singapore Sling (I really miss Singa-
pore Sling!), Pink Street Boys provide the perfect
and, frankly, much needed antidote to all that
hey! business that’s been contaminating our air-
waves of late.
Their music is neither wholesome nor pretty.
I haven’t been able to discern any lyrics, but I’m
fairly certain they’ll prove kind of dumb and ex-
citing. The band themselves don’t come off as
particularly handsome or smart. I’m not sure
they’re great at playing their instruments. I love
them. I love their album.
They’re just what Reykjavík needs.
Thank you, Pink Street Boys.

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13 — 2014
South Special Inside
On August 16, the Western media spotlight fell on Iceland
once again. As is usually the case when the outside world
likes to acknowledge our existence, an eruption was in-
volved. Or was there?
That day it became known that there had been a slow
and steady build-up of unusually strong seismic activity
at Bárðarbunga, Vatnajökull glacier’s highest peak. All
signs indicated that a subglacial volcano was about to
erupt.
International headlines ranged from modest
“Bardarbunga eruption sparks red travel alert,” to the
slightly more worrying “Eruption May Cause Monumen-
tal Flood,” to the cataclysmic “Icelandic volcano could
trigger Britain's coldest winter EVER this year.” Airlines
around the world went on high alert—Air Berlin went so
far as to cancel a flight to Iceland, lest their plane become
stranded. Plans changed. On Monday, Icelandic hardcore
band Icarus’ European tour was promptly cancelled
by their Swedish booking agency...
The ground kept shaking and up to a thousand
earthquakes went off in the area each day, with some
reaching five on the Richter scale. This indicates that
the magma underneath is expanding in new direc-
tions, ten kilometres beneath the surface, with an
estimated millions of cubic metres added to the un-
derground dike daily.
The area north of Bárðarbunga was evacuated,
PM Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlausson sat in crisis
meetings with the meteorological office, academics,
rescue and civil defence forces, and pretty much ev-
eryone prepared for the worst. The world watched in
anticipation.
Midday the following Saturday, scientists from
the Icelandic Meteorological Office announced that a
small subglacial eruption had commenced Northeast
of Bárðarbunga. The aviation code was escalated to
“red,” and the area a no-fly zone.
Another Icelandic volcano had gone off.
Jumping the gun
Later that same afternoon, geophysicist Magnús Tumi
Guðmundsson announced that earlier reports might
have been premature—an airplane survey had not re-
vealed an increased melting of the ice, which is one of the
principal indicators of an active subglacial eruption. The
earthquakes had been out in force, magma was detected
underground, and the other signs were all present—still,
the magma appeared not to have broken through to the
surface.
The state of emergency was eventually called off,
threat levels downgraded from “red” to “orange,” and
even the click-baitiest of headlines became more sub-
dued. Local farmers, such as Gunnar Björnsson from
Sandfell in Öxarfjörður, criticised authorities for having
gone too far with their evacuations, but Magnús Tumi
maintained that it is always better to err on the side of
caution where eruptions are concerned.
After a period of calm, the earthquakes resumed,
reaching a record high 5.7 on the Richter scale on August
26. The Icelandic Civil Protection Scientific Advisory
Board forecast three possible scenarios given the known
facts:
“The migration of magma could stop, attended by a
gradual reduction in seismic activity.”
“The dike could reach the surface of the crust, start-
ing an eruption. In this scenario, it is most likely that the
eruption would be near the northern tip of the dike. This
would most likely produce an effusive lava eruption with
limited explosive, ash-producing activity.”
“An alternate scenario would be the dike reaching
the surface where a significant part, or all, of the fissure
is beneath the glacier. This would most likely produce a
flood in Jökulsá á Fjöllum and perhaps explosive, ash-
producing activity.”
As we sent this issue off to print, increased seismic
activity in and around Bárðarbunga, as well as the Askja
caldera, had prompted authorities to call an urgent meet-
ing to assess the situation.
There was no eruption.
Yet.
Schrödinger’s
Volcano
Words by Tómas Gabríel Benjamin
Special Report