The world’s worst Viking-themed blog just received a fiery Surt-like death-blow and is now resurrected! In other words, Scandinavian Aggression has just undergone a major overhaul and is now equipped with actual, honest-to-Odin, up-to-date digital technology. Compared to the previous incarnation that relied on twelve-year old technology, I think this […]
“Hrafninn flýgur” Screening
For a month starting November 15th, the classic Icelandic film Hrafninn flýgur (When the Raven Flies) will be available to rent through the Scandinavian Cultural Center in Massachusetts. This is special screening because it features a new high definition digital transfer. And as an added bonus, my brother-in-arms, Matt Smith, […]
Leif Eriksson’s Quaint New England Inn
Last year I added a couple of posts to this floundering website about the everlasting heritage and influence of Norumbega in the state of Maine. The words “heritage” and “influence” are exaggerations, but there are a handful of fun landmarks and establishments in Vacationland that pay homage to the fabled […]
How to Drink Ale and Glare About Fiercely
”At the worst, the game will soon be played, and others will stand where we have stood, and strive where we have striven, and fail as we have failed, and so on, till man has worked out his doom, and the Gods cease from their wrath, or Ragnarök come upon […]
The Gods of Sweden’s Nationalmuseum
The Big 3 abide in a courtyard near the entrance to the Nationalmuseum in central Stockholm. There, Odin, Thor, and Balder are carved in stone, and look very, very austere. They also look more Roman than Norse, with their togo-like attire barely covering their impeccable bodies of Italian Carrara marble, […]
Keep On Rockin’ in the Norse World
It’s plague season, so I entertained myself by jumping on the ol’ Bookshop bandwagon. By which I mean: I created a list of obscure Norse-inspired books on the site, which is still only in beta-mode. It serves as a nice counterpoint to Amazon, though, because a portion of proceeds go […]
Norumbegan Takeover at Idle Hands
CANCELLED!!!!! You only need one guess as to the reason why. When/if this is rescheduled, the update will be posted here. Until then, tusen tack och lycka till. On March 29th, Matt Smith and I will be commiserating, consuming beer, and listening to ambient Norse music at Idle Hands Craft […]
The Art of Vikings, Metal, and Viking Metal
One of the great things about the internet, besides the ability to waste time by blabbering and shouting into its gaping abyss, is the ability to descend into its gaping abyss, doing nothing, except perhaps discovering badass things that you might have never otherwise ever encountered. And it was on […]
Gustaf Tenggren’s Tomtar and Troll
Poor old Gustaf Tenggren, he just doesn’t get the credit that he deserves for his tomtar and troll work. John Bauer usually receives all the glory, and it’s much deserved, but he wasn’t the only one working with these Nordic gnomes and trolls and deep, dark woods. And in case […]
Native Norse American Hard Cider
And the journey deep into the darkest…depths of Norumbega continues, with alcoholic apple-based beverages! What could be more enticing than that? As my previous post so ineloquently explained, the myth, the legend, and the glory of Norumbega lives on in scattered locations and shape-shifting forms in the wilds of the […]
Heroes of Norse Proliferation: Jackson Crawford
Lo there! Spring is finally back in the dark gray Norumbegan air and that can only mean one thing: that I don’t know what that one thing is, and so rather than trying to find out, I am instead updating this pathetic, little excuse of a blog. But it’s not […]
How to Dally with Whores and Lose Kingdoms
“The sea was dark like iron, flecked with white horses, and with a livid band of light in the far distance. There was a biting wind blew from the north-east. ‘Wither shall we sail now?’ asked Biorn, ‘if we be not to be drowned?’ Styrbiorn answered and said, ‘We will […]
Bifrost Doth Beckon
Bifrost works in mysterious ways. Sometimes it reveals itself after a rain shower, leading to a place where gold may be plundered and leprechauns captured to be sold into slavery. Other times it takes the form of a stone cold rainbow bridge. But perhaps best of all is when it […]
Norumbega Blót
In the shadow of Leif Eriksson’s Tower at Norumbega, Vinland Lo there did we honor the Leif the Lucky at the sacred site of his Vinland colony! Indeed, a make-shift blót was recently held to honor the colonizer of Norumbega with mead and metal along the banks of the not-so-swiftly […]
‘Tis the Season for Classic American Paintings of Pagan Finnish Santa Look-Alikes
THE MAGICIAN AND THE MAID OF BEAUTY“High in the sky he saw a rainbow, and on it the Maid of Beauty.” (Wainamoinen returns home on a sledge from his exile in the icy wastes of Pohyola and attempts—extremely unsuccessfully—to flirt with the most attractive woman alive in the sky.) Normally […]