FREE Issue No 14 – 2008 www.grapevine.is SHIT HAPPENS! (Not) dealing with the aftermath of Chicken Street + Björk sets things straight Staðarskáli: Kiss it Goodbye Chris Paine And The Revenge Of The Electric Car The Golden Greek Arrives YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL Introducing: The Beer Patrol AND ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND COMPLETE CITY LISTINGS – INSIDE! 2 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 14—2008 TABlE Of CONTENTS EDITORIAl MASTHEAD Iceland is a peace-loving country. Perhaps that The Reykjavík Grapevine is why it was so easy to sell the nation the idea Vesturgata 5, 101 Reykjavík Articles of a peacekeeping force, which in reality turned www.grapevine.is out to be a paramilitary organisation that was al- [email protected] Chickenshit happens! most strictly deployed on military-related mission www.myspace.com/reykjavikgrapevine 06 Looking back at the attack in Chicken Street in hostile environments. Humanitarian missions? Published by Fröken ehf. Not so much. Start YOuR Engines The ICRU has been a matter of much de- Editorial: 08 Iceland is going green and there’s no looking back. bate since it was first conceived in 2001. When +354 540 3600 / [email protected] members of the Unit were attacked and wounded Advertising: IT’S Electric when guarding their misguided commander on a +354 540 3605 / [email protected] 08 Interview with Chris Paine, director of the film Who Killed the Electric Car personal errand to shop for carpets in a hostile en- Publisher: vironment, it fuelled much speculation as to what +354 540 3601 / [email protected] WorlD Class is truE TO their name our role was in peacekeeping missions around the 10 Discovering the biggest luxury gym in Iceland world. Was it really our place, as an unarmed na- Publisher: tion, to supply NATO with paramilitary units? Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson More Monsters and Mythical Beings When a new Minister took over the Ministry [email protected] 10 Confront the Útburður for Foreign Affairs, she made it one of her first tasks Editor: on the job to announce that Icelandic peacekeep- Sveinn Birkir Björnsson / [email protected] Predator for President ing forces would from now one be strictly civilian. Assistant Editor: 12 Which action stars should run for office? This issue we taka look at the brief and somewhat Haukur S. Magnússon / [email protected] violent history of the Icelandic paramilitary. Contributing Writers: uS Citizens: Here’S How YOu Vote We also check in with Björk and poke her Páll Hilmarsson / [email protected] 12 All you need to know about overseas voting a bit on her reasons for her recent statements re- Valur Gunnarsson / www.myspace.com/valurgunnarsson garding sexism in the music industry. We preview Ben H. Murray / [email protected] The GOlden Greek the upcoming conference on sustainable driving, Editorial Interns: 14 Costa-Gavras elaborates on the staggering power of film talk to Academy Awards winner Costa-Gavras Marcus Walsh / [email protected] who will visit the Reykjavík International Film Fes- Florian Zühlke / [email protected] Icelandic tattoo diva tival and examine the increasing homogenisation Sigurður Kjartan Kristinsson / [email protected] 34 Tattoo artist Jón Páll shares a few thoughts. of the Icelandic road shop. So, lots of cool stuff to Stevie Ward / [email protected] keep you entertained. James Crugnale / [email protected] Discover Langspil Design: 35 Traditional Icelandic instrument Jóhannes Kjartansson / www.joi.is Photographer: french sex symbol stuns reykjavik Gunnlaugur Arnar Sigurðsson (GAS) 36 Sebastian Tellier reviewed. [email protected] Marketing Director: Broads and BAlloons Jón Trausti Sigurðarson / [email protected] 37 Mammút awakes of its exhaustive coma with dignity Sales Director: Aðalsteinn Jörundsson / [email protected] The Birth Of the New Icelandic Product Distribution: 38 Designers make their mark on food Vigdís Jónsdóttir / [email protected] Proofreader: SExism and Sloppy jOurnalism Jim Rice 39 Björk shares a few well chosen words with the music press THE COVER Press releases: Waking Up in Wonderland [email protected] 40 The Grapevine visits the Electric Picnic Music Festival Submissions inquiries: [email protected] The traditional form does not appeal TO me FREE Subscription inquiries: An interview with novelist Jón Kalman Stefánsson +354 540 3605 / [email protected] 41 I s s u e N o 1 4 – 2 0 0 8 www.grapevine.is General inquiries: [email protected] Features The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18 times a year by Fröken ltd. Monthly from November through The Inevitability Of Homogenisation April, and fortnightly from May til October. Nothing Staðarskáli makes way for yet another shrimp-dog stand in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in 16 SHIT HAPPENS! (Not) dealing with the aftermath of Chicken Street part without the written permission of the publishers. Although the magazine has endeavoured to ensure that + B j ö r k sets things straight Staðarskáli: Kiss it Goodbye Chris Paine And The Revenge Of The Electric Car all information inside the magazine is correct, prices The Golden Greek Arrives YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO LIFE, TRAVEL Introducing: The Beer Patrol AND ENTERTAINMENT IN ICELAND Destinations COMPLETE CITY LISTINGS – INSIDE! and details may be subject to change. The Reykjavík Grapevine is distributed around Reykjavík, Akureyri, ON the Puffin trail in Vestmannaeyjar Egilsstaðir, Selfoss, Keflavík, Ísafjörður and at key loca- 42 Watch your step PHOTOGRAPHY tions along road #1, and all major tourist attractions GAS and tourist information centres in the country. NATIONAl MuSEuM Of ICElAND MODEl 44 Viking swords and more Nami You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored. THANKS (No articles in the Reykjavík Grapevine are Witch MuseuM in Strandir Hotel Saga pay-for articles. The opinions expressed are the 44 Wicked witchcraft writers’ own, not the advertisers’). Printed by Landsprent ehf. in 30.000 copies. COMIC STRIP BY LÓA HJÁLMTÝSDÓTTIR HARALDUR ÖRN ÓLAFSSON A MOUNTAIN GUIDE AND A LAWYER. HIS ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE: SOUTH POLE 1998 NORTH POLE 2000 SEVEN SUMMITS 2001-2002 = ADVENTURE GRAND SLAM RECORD 2002. 3 LAYER JACKET: STEINAR CM-007 3 LAYER PANTS: BERGUR CM-005 FLEECE NECKWARMER: RUT CM-307 DRESS CODE ICELAND WOOLEN TOP: GUNNAR CM-909 WOOLEN PANTS: LANGBRÓK CM-916 CINTAMANI AUSTURHRAUN 3, 210 GARÐABÆ, TEL: 533 3800 - CINTAMANI CENTER LAUGAVEGI 11, 101 REYKJAVIK, TEL: 517 8088 - WWW.CINTAMANI.IS 4 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 14—2008 lETTERS Sour Grapes Say YouR pIece, voIce YouR opInIon, SenD YouR Letters To [email protected] oR TexT +354 893 9589 Hi Grapevine, Walsh’s review of that Slugs show. We article was somewhat pessimistic over In Icelandic elections, what role do en- will make sure to stifle our reviewers’ at- the chances of such major even happen- dorsements play? I'm not talking about tempts at critical thought in the future. It ing in the city. When Athens hosted the party-endorsements, but endorsements was about damn time, too. 2004 Summer Olympic Games, Greece from unions or well-known individuals Now do us a favour: The next time you was one of the smallest countries in or clubs. It irritates me that the police read the Grapevine, make sure you aren’t population (est. 11 million) to host such union issues endorsements in my state a star-struck, self-righteous, cock-gob- an event. The International Olympic [here in the usa], and then candidate X bling groupie motherfucker. K? Committee seemed to prefer cities and says 'Police Endorsed.' I'd like the police countries several million in population to stay out of my elections, thank you. Hey, in order to secure the success and profit- Where can I find out how this gets done seems like these (excuse moi le mot) ability of such behemoth event. On the over there? touristic magazines always had to come contrary the Winter Olympic Games are Thanks, Gavin Sullivan with bad lay out, screeming out it was a smaller in scale (although in the last 10 AFS student in Iceland – 1982 free magazine. Happy to see your maga- years the organizing cities have tried to zine stands out between them, adding elaborate their Olympic festivities). Well Gavin, class to the content with a great typog- Maybe Reykjavik needs to rethink their Some unions have historical ties with raphy job. Can't wait to get my hands on strategy in bidding for an Olympic event. political parties and candidates are fre- one. Even if the organizing committee can quently voted for on the basis of those secure funds to host the summer games, ties, i.e. the workers union, but I don’t re- Hat tip to your designer(s). one major factor is the weather. Yes, call an incident where a union (especially Wim Reykjavik is beautiful with clean air to the police union) has come out to directly breath and less traffic than other major endorse a candidate or a party directly in Dear Wim, European capital cities. But the summer recent years. The ties are more historical Thank you for your comments on Gun- is still cold for most tourists standards. and social I’d think. But, political endorse- nar Þorvaldsson’s excellent design skills. Even at 15-20 degrees Celsius, it's still ments here in Iceland often come in the To our great regret, Gunnar has left the considered spring weather. form of financial contributions, and all Grapevine for greener pastures. We al- Which brings us to the Winter Olympics things considered, I’d rather have those ready miss him, and will certainly have suggestion. Reykjavik has the weather, upon the table. Or preferably, not at all. a rough time keeping up the impossibly mountains and snow to host the winter high standards he set. But we will try our games.