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Showing posts from March, 2022

we bid you take your place on the glorious megaramps of Sk8halla.

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  Given the Vikings' clever use of the metatarsal bones of horses or cattle to craft tie-on ice skates, we would imagine that if ball bearing trucks had been around they'd've figured out a way to darkslide an enemy's shieldwall or rail grind the gunwale of a foemen's longship. This isn't so far from the Gods of wintersport Ullr & Skaði  skiing, or possibly snowboarding, while bowhunting. [Olaus Magnus’ 1555 CE illustration of Holler (Ullr) on his magic rune inscribed water-crossing bone (skate).] And if we look at Njál's Saga 's Skarphéðinn's epic jump & superslide across the ice move to split Þráinn's skull as he glides by, one could easily see them adapting such worthy feats with wheels to Gleam The Axe. ["Viking Legend" skateboard by Cal 7, skating Viking illustration from Seembo, Viking Runes Deck from Zazzle.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of ...

who's your All-Daddy?

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  From his prominent Freyr-like girthy-tipped & gift-wrapped sword placement as painted by DC/Marvel artist Al Barrionuevo, the answer would be your All-Father Odin. Visual/verbal puns aside, if we examine the broad sexual spreadsheet of Odin, it seems that every by-blow he has turns out to be a divinity that appears to be a necessary product that fulfills a universal function. His sons Thor ,  Víðarr , Váli , & Bragi all play crucial roles in the Norse Lore, so it would seem that Odin's extramarital propensities only strengthen his & our position in the scheme of things. [oil, 2016 CE. And thanks to my workie, pundit, & comics superfan Zach Gotschalk for making the off-handed comment that inspired this NorsePlay entry.  (Side endorsement: Zach is an accomplished artist who explores architectural neo-futurism themes. It's like Jack Kirby's Asgarditecture meets Syd Mead's  Tron  &  Blade Runner  setting concept drawings. Hit hi...

Thor on your chalkboard.

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  This chalkboard depiction of Thor reminds one of the dynamic pastel drawings of the D'Aulaires . It seems to be an exact moment of the hammer being released from Thor's hand, his red hair static'd into spikes, the lightning speed of Mjölnir having instantaneously struck, and the giants, trolls , draugr , and other monsters being physically obliterated into shades of themselves, perhaps even those shades being drawn into the black magnetic iron singularity of the hammer itself to be mercilessly consumed. [a pinterest find from a random search, so if anyone knows who drew this, do tell so we can attribute it.] #    #    # 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 t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Mid...

Norse Wars: Luke Skywalker cuts off Grendel's arm.

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Luke cutting off the wampa's arm after reclaiming his lightsaber in the ice cave is much like a combination of Beowulf tearing off Grendel's arm in Heorot and killing Grendel's mother with the ancient magic  sword he retrieves in the monsters' cavernous grotto lair. We could also point out that Anakin & Luke both lose hands whilst fighting a Dark Side figure, sort of like Tyr's sacrifice of his hand to Fenrir , and that the name of ice planet Hoth appears to be linguistically derivative of Norse God Höðr as Høtherus, this latter name being Saxo Grammaticus' more heroic version of that figure in his Gesta Danorum: The History of the Danes . Does all this make the technologically scavenging Jawas & Ugnauts species of dwarves ? Is the blaster-wielding aggro Princess Leia in essence a  space-shieldmaiden ? Are nigh-invulnerable Krayt dragons really children of Níðhöggr? Would the Emperor's Crimson Guard be derived from Viking Varangians? Is Snoke'...