straight outta Shetland.

In Orkneyinga: The Saga of the Earls of Orkney there's total guff being spoken about Shetlanders (and pretty much everyone else who isn't Orcadian, really). A long time ago, the wee archipelago of Shetland was colonized by Vikings, used as a launching point for their raids, and then was a longtime property of Norway. So I've been watching my Tucson pals DJ on Twitch, and while seeking other content have pleasantly stumbled into the NorsePlay storytelling stream of Shetland comedienne Marjolein Robertson, who is relating the Eddic tales in her own earnest & winning way.

[so I keep linking this other more appropriate photo, but its unlinked like six times, so dubble f' it, I'm posting this more inappropriate photo which is sooooo epic the internet is too scared of to even touch much less move.]


Marjolein's pretty much a current cultural ambassador for her northern homeland. We think her accent is to die for, and her expressive dialect makes listening to her so fun-fun. Plus her from-the-hip riffing off a chatbox comment I made during her Idunn & the Apples of Immortality episode is pretty much a third of the reason we're featuring her NorsePlay-worthy storytime. We also share a mutual squee during an ask me anything over our shared fondness for The Almighty Johnsons, and she fields my lingual question about the lost tongue of Norn in a if-I-lived-a-different-life in a most wistful way. Go give her renditions of the Norse Lore a listen.

 Addenda from 7/6/2020: Marjolein featured an artful postcard I sent her (it hearkens to the shuddersome skinless pony story she told) during her 100th stream, which is usually now visible as a blue rectangle on the wall behind her. And I sooo blush from across the Atlantic at her so hard she could probably see it like a strange western dawn from Shetland. Glad you like it, Miss Robertson.
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Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires' Norse Gods and Giants at age seven. Since then he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the Map of Midgard project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay. If you have employment/opportunities in investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer, do contact him.

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