In Kievan Rus

Fun fact to know and share: The Russian state was the creation of a Swedish Viking upper class ruling over a feudal population of Slavs. Check it out on the Wiki: Kievan Rus.

Here's some OG Rus graffiti in the Hagia Sophia -  then, an awesome church in the Roman Empire.  You might know them as "The Byzantium Empire". It was just old Rome, really. But by the 9th century CE, they were using Kievan Rus Viking bodyguards. Another fun fact! Rome finally fell in the year 1453, if you reckon the fall of Constantinople as the end of the Roman Empire. Columbus "discovered" America in 1492 for reference. The same year Spain finally pushed Islam from Iberia. Fascinating stuff.

Oh, yeah, other Vikings (Danish, Norwegian) also helped create the modern states of France and England.

Makes you think, about Vikings, you know?

How to: Owl Art

As you can see, it's quite simple. Most people can't draw detailed, beautiful owls because they don't start with the circles. Pre-circles are the key to all realistic portrayals of owls in ink or paint. Or so I've heard on the Internet.

How to make an IKEA owl. Only 3 tools needed! Setup time in minutes (thousands of them)!

Thor's Day

This is like the 6th appearance of Big G in the Marvel Universe, and boy was it exciting. Check it out! Galactus.

But this is all about Thor, God of Thunder. Introduced in comic form here:

Look how weak and scrawny he is! Speaks of the changes over time, yeah? Thor's a God of course - but as everyone knows, just a mythical one. So why not make him a super hero in your fictional universe?

No, this is not Thor smashing up a church. But being a Viking God, you'd think he would. A lot. But that would never be allowed in the comics, or any public fiction. While you can tell the tales of Asgard, you could never depict Jesus in such a manner. The Gods Hercules and Ares get the same treatment, though they're nowhere near as popular as Thor. I first learned about Norse mythology reading Thor comics as a wee lad and for that, I give thanks - they were serious reading, with big words and cool concepts (Ragnarok) and I would encourage every child to read comic books. At least the ones from the 60's and 70's. The comic books these days... I don't know. Lots of boobs.

Many super heroes have entered our cultural mythology, with Superman chief among them. These are our true new Gods, and they are way cooler than Jesus, who, like Thor, is just another God, and all a God is a mythical super hero. Let us learn from their tales of battle and betrayal, and go forth and spread the good word!

Also too, as long as were pointing out mythological influences:

It would be an awesome project to try and get some super crazy religious Fundie nuts all upset about the "pagan" origin of the names of our days. That's blasphemy, right? Why can't we have proper Christian named days? Jesusday being the day Football is played, amen. And then when all the days of the week were changed and we've entered a Religious Police State, you can say, "Yeah, that was me."

Space Vikings

These cool DIY dudes in Denmark got together and said to themselves, collectively, "Why don't we build a Submarine?". So they did, as you see above. A cute little one! But big enough...

Here's the same sub, in service to this same gang of Danish dudes who are now working on a rocket to take a Dane into space. Space, the Final Frontier.

Pretty shot. Here's their web site: Copenhagen Suborbitals. This is a very promising, though profound, movement. I mean, really, a DIY gang putting a man into Space? It's crazy! And awesome. Their launch failed on their first attempt last year, but they gave it another go recently, and success! Unmanned first launch:

Where we go from here - a rocket in every driveway? Widespread missile attacks? Who knows. But it will be exciting regardless. Inevitably, though, over the Millennia, there is only one way for this to evolve:

 Guard your Space treasures well, future folk.

Would have been a Viking

But now just a nerd, and FSM bless him. An able example of how culture shapes us - 600 years or so ago this giant happy Norwegian nerd would no doubt have been a pillaging Viking, hell bent on burning and raping and some of that old time destruction, like his Fathers before him.

Progress, you see? We're slowly becoming a more peaceful species. But there's gonna be some bumps in the road along the way.