Icelandic elf, or Michael Lewis, Vanity Fair writer in drag.
Just read the unfair article in Vanity Fair by the seeming fey Michael Lewis and wonder, “What the fuck was up her skirt?” I was just in Reykjavik this weekend and had a lovely time. The Iceland Design Center hosted a 3-day series of events call DesignMarch. It’s all about design…in March…get it? You march around town…and…see design. Anyhoo, there was a group of fantastic international design writers, editors and me invited by the government to explore their burgeoning creative industries ready to be discovered or rather, ready for their close-ups, me being Mr. DeMille. While is Iceland, I was told about the scathing article in Vanity Fair and read it straight away. This Michael Lewis guy is a total prick. First of all, I googled him only to find that he looks Icelandic, which contrary to his opinion is not mousy-haired and lumpy, but more lumbering and pasty…big guys that get limited sun exposure. I get why they are fair in Iceland, but Mikey, man up…go get some color in your cheeks.
Lewis drones on an on, man bashing throughout the article, blaming the men for all the ills of Iceland’s economic breakdown. Like they are unique to that scenario? Uh, correct me if I am wrong but isn’t George Bush a man? And aren’t all the CEOs with their hands out for bailout dosh…men? And what percentage of MEN work on Wall Street, a jillion? And let’s not forget the number of bankers that populate the field…shall we say…mostly men? At the risk of sounding like a militant lesbian, men in the financial workplace are egotistical assholes. And shame on you Graydon Carter that you would publish such a negative article about Iceland, at a time when it is struggling to get back on it’s feet. Clearly Hollywood has nothing to gain from Iceland so there’s no sucking up whatsoever. I am sure if Bryan Lourd or Tina Fey were Icelandic, that article would never see the light of day.
Please, sir, can I have more dosh.
En route to the airport we were invited to the President’s house for a reception, the Viking Obama. In his brief, lively speech, he welcomed us into his home noting that we were not frisked with metal detectors or passport checks at the door. He wanted us to know that there still exists a society based on trust and that message struck a chord with all of us. In the article, Lewis commented on that Icelandic people just thought they were “important” because they could see the Prime Minister whenever they wanted. Boy, did he miss the whole point. I thought of the amount of security surrounding Obama or Nicholas Sarkozy and wondered whose world is better or safer? Sure, their economy crashed, but it’s not like ours is all that and a bag of chips. Meanwhile, crash shmash, their tourism is up 30% and here we have Ian Schrager begging people to come and stay at the Gramercy Park Hotel, offering a 2-for-1 discount.
