Books Norse mythology Tracing the Origins of Modern Fantasy in Five Classic Viking Tales If you’re a fan of stories about rings and riddles, elves and dragons, here’s where to start reading the sagas and tales that inspired Tolkien and many others… By Rowdy Geirsson | Published on July 11, 2024 Illustration by Arthur Rackham (from The Rhinegold & the Valkyrie, 1910) Comment 0 Share New Share Illustration by Arthur Rackham (from The Rhinegold & the Valkyrie, 1910) It’s commonly acknowledged that modern Western fantasy owes a lot to the myths and legendary stories of the Vikings and their forebears. From the iconic representations of elves and dwarves to the prevalence of magical swords and rings, Norse lore has provided a goldmine of inspiration for writers in the modern period. As most fantasy fans know, J.R.R. Tolkien pulled heavily (albeit not exclusively) from the Norse lore for his stories of Middle-earth—“Middle-earth” itself one of several possible translations for the human world found in the Norse myths. And given Tolkien’s importance and influence, it’s perhaps not surprising that his works set a tone for modern fantasy in general that remains relevant and palpable to this day. But what about the ancient stories themselves? While typically the domain of academics and more serious students and fans of specifically Norse lore, the myths and legendary sagas (a specific category of Norse sagas known as fornaldarsagor—literally, “stories of ancient times”) also offer quite a lot of entertainment value as well as educational value to more casual readers of modern fantasy. These are stories full of magic and monsters, evil-doers and heroes and heroines. Most were recorded in Iceland after the Viking Age but concern both historical and fictitious events that occurred prior to the Viking Age. These stories were predominately written in prose—they tend to read like a modern novel stripped of any superfluous, descriptive language all the way down to the bare bones of the narrative. The following selections are the best of the bunch to begin with for anyone who’s interested in exploring this fantastical world. The Eddas The Poetic Edda translated by Carolyne Larrington The Prose Edda translated by Anthony Faulkes (published simply as Edda) The Eddas are the main sources of Norse mythology. There are two: The Poetic Edda and The Prose Edda, and both were recorded in Iceland after the end of the Viking Age ( a third, parodic Edda also exists). While there are other sources of Norse mythology, the Eddas form the bulk of our knowledge on the subject and there is a fair amount of overlap. The Eddas are where you’ll find most of the familiar stories of Odin, Thor, Freyja, Loki, and all the other members of the Norse pantheon. The Eddas also set down many of the fantasy tropes with which we are so familiar: tall, noble, nearly god-like elves; metalworking dwarves who dwell below ground; mysterious, cloaked wanderers; extremely powerful magical weapons and artifacts; very large, highly intelligent eagles; and fateful battles-to-end-all-battles. As their names imply, The Poetic Edda was written in poetic verse (anonymously) and The Prose Edda was written in prose (by Snorri Sturluson). Consequently, The Prose Edda is the easier of the two to initially dive into, but The Poetic Edda is more ancient in its origins, in terms of its actual text, because many of its verses are thought to have originated in pre-literate Nordic society, surviving the passage of time till their recording in the 12th century. In both volumes, fantasy fans will find much that *rings* familiar… (terrible pun intended). The Saga of the Volsungs The Saga of the Volsungs translated by Jackson Crawford in The Saga of the Volsungs with The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok The Saga of the Volsungs is probably the most renowned of the legendary Norse sagas. It’s a multi-generational epic and elements of its narrative are also found in The Poetic Edda as well as other noteworthy, medieval texts such as the German Nibelungenlied. However, the story itself is rooted in a much older era that predates the Viking Age. In fact, the action takes place mostly in modern-day France and Germany rather than Scandinavia. But the characters—especially the star-crossed lovers of Sigurd and Brynhild—were renowned throughout the ancient Germanic world and consequently played a major role in Norse lore at the time of the Vikings. This is the story that served as the primary inspiration for Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle and one of the major inspirations for Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings; a critical sequence in its plot focuses on a particularly powerful, cursed ring. The Saga of the Volsungs also includes werewolves, supernatural swords, gold-hoarding dragons, talking birds, and a devastating, inevitable sense of fate. It’s an incredibly violent and brutal tale that eschews all prevailing modern sensibilities and sensitivities; today’s grimdark subgenre can eat its heart out (if you know, you know). Hrolf Kraki’s Saga Hrolf Kraki and His Champions translated by Jackson Crawford in Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes King Hrolf Kraki is often considered to be Scandinavia’s answer to King Arthur, and there are certainly some similarities. Like King Arthur, King Hrolf is a good and just king who leads an entourage of warriors who are also good and just, if not necessarily chivalric. Sometimes King Hrolf and his men go on adventures together; sometimes they go on adventures solo. As with the other tales on this list, the character of King Hrolf also appears in other sources, but his eponymous saga is the most fun. In it, readers will encounter two of the most legendary locales found in the whole Viking world—Lejre in Denmark and Uppsala in Sweden—as well as legendary figures with names like Svipdag, Thorir Hound’s Foot, Bodvar Bjarki, and a whole lot of berserkers. Hrolf Kraki’s Saga features mysterious elf women, characters who are half-human and half-animal, boar-trolls, shape-shifting warriors, armies risen from the dead, and recurring feats of witchcraft and wizardry learned in an era before such arcane skills were ever formalized and taught in certain renowned British educational institutions. The Saga of Hervor and Heidrek Hervor and Heidrek translated by Jackson Crawford in Two Sagas of Mythical Heroes As far as stories involving cursed weapons go, The Saga of Hervor and Heidrek is pretty tough to beat. Tyrfing was an amazing sword even before it was cursed: it was exceedingly sharp and shone like the rays of the sun. As you might expect, it was made by dwarves, one of whom was the original Dvalin. But the dwarves cursed the sword so that each time it is unsheathed it will kill someone and will eventually bring about three evil deeds. So, naturally, everyone wants this sword. The saga is another multi-generational affair and, like The Saga of the Volsungs, veers into territory involving epic battles with the Huns. The title characters are a mother and son duo, both of whom engage in some seriously violent conflicts. In addition to long-lasting weapon-magic, The Saga of Hervor and Heidrek also includes necromancy, gods walking among men, a very intense game of riddles, and a character who is probably the most badass shield-maiden of them all (sorry, Lagertha). Arrow-Odd’s Saga Arrow-Odd translated by Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards in Seven Viking Romances You know you’re in for a fun story when the titular character himself is named for his weapon of choice: dwarf-crafted magical arrows that work kind of like a boomerang, always returning safely to the archer. Arrow-Odd’s Saga follows the exploits of Arrow-Odd as he journeys around the world and into supernatural realms, vanquishing evil-doers and monsters, and crossing paths with some of the heroes also found in The Saga of Hervor and Heidrek (and he also appears as a side character in that saga, too). It’s all to avoid the fate of being killed by his own horse’s skull, as foretold by a seeress when he was just a young lad. Arrow-Odd’s Saga is a meandering, action-packed adventure story replete with witchcraft, sea monsters, giants, and an inescapable prophecy that predates the modern-day cliché by centuries. [end-mark] The post Tracing the Origins of Modern Fantasy in Five Classic Viking Tales appeared first on Reactor.

A song with a tender pro-life message has reached the top 5 on iTunes’ chart for country music less than three weeks after its release.  Eighteen-year-old Rachel Holt sings “I Was Gonna Be” from the perspective of an aborted child.  The chorus of the song—“All I wanted was a chance/To learn to love and laugh and dance/But I was gone before I arrived/Sent back to heaven on a starlight flight”—is paired with photos of baby bottles, baby shoes, and toys that hauntingly disappear in the music video.  The song leapfrogged over Zach Bryan’s “Pink Skies” and Luke Combs’ “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” on iTunes. Songwriter Chris Wallin—who has written hit songs for country music stars Trace Adkins, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, and others—said he wrote the song without thinking anyone would ever sing it. “I started writing this song for myself. I didn’t think anyone would have the courage to sing this,” Wallin told Breitbart News Daily in an interview on Sirius-XM’s Patriot conservative talk-show channel. Soon after they met and Holt heard Wallin’s song, she offered to sing it, he said. Wallin said he “wanted people to hear the voice of the voiceless,” writing the song because he “thought something had to be said.” When it came to finding a promotional sponsor for “I Was Gonna Be,” Wallin said that Baste Records, a Nashville, Tenn.-based label that describes itself as a “right-wing counterculture music company,” didn’t “leave one stone unturned when it came to calling up and talking to pro-life groups” to promote the song. When none of the pro-life groups would sponsor the song, the conservative Patriot Mobile wireless phone company stepped up, Wallin told Breitbart. Patriot Mobile CEO Glenn Story said in a news release that his company received a call about a pro-life song needing a promotional sponsor.  “It aligned perfectly with our beliefs about the sanctity of life,” said Story, whose company calls itself the “official song partner” of the record.  He also noted the song’s beauty, saying, “We need more conservative messaging in the arts as the music industry is a very important part of today’s culture war.”  Wallin, who doubles as the head of artists and repertoire for Baste Records, signed Holt to the Nashville label last year after discovering the Indiana native and her self-released debut album “Missin’ Home.”  “I Was Gonna Be” was released to streaming platforms, including Spotify and iHeartRadio, on June 21, just three days before the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.  The song continues to have a five-star rating in the iTunes Store. Baste Records posted on X last week that “I Was Gonna Be” reached No. 9 for Billboard’s “country digital sales,” No. 20 for “digital sales,” and No. 21 for “emerging artists.” ??? pic.twitter.com/bUUojV4QkQ— Baste Records (@basterecords) July 3, 2024 The post Pro-Life Song Propels Teen Up the iTunes Country Charts appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Alexander Soros, son of George Soros and chairman of the Open Society Foundations, is engaged to veteran Democratic operative Huma Abedin, according to his Instagram account. “This happened … we couldn’t be happier, more grateful, or more in love,” Soros wrote on social media on Tuesday alongside a picture of him proposing to Abedin. Soros proposed to Abedin in New York City in late May, with the couple later absconding to Italy to celebrate and only making their engagement public more than a month later, Vogue reported. George Soros handed over control of his $25 billion philanthropic empire to Alex in June 2023, with the younger Soros subsequently describing himself as “more political” than his father in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Abedin, meanwhile, is a close ally of Hillary Rodham Clinton, having served as Clinton’s deputy chief of staff during her time as secretary of state and working as the vice chair of the former first lady’s 2016 presidential campaign. “The House of Soros is passing on the title to the firstborn son. And now, that son is marrying a powerful duchess to shore up the family empire,” America 2100, a think tank run by a former chief of staff to Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote on X. “Every society has a ruling class.” One of the great lies of our time is that “meritocracy” replaced the Old World nobility. It didn’t.The House of Soros is passing on the title to the firstborn son. And now, that son is marrying a powerful duchess to shore up the family empire.Every society has a ruling class. pic.twitter.com/lxyM4EQztV— America 2100 (@America_2100) July 10, 2024 Soros and Abedin first met at a mutual friend’s birthday party last fall and bonded over their mutual interest in politics, according to Vogue. Since then the two have made a number of public appearances together, including at a White House state dinner and at the 2024 Met Gala. Now that he has control of the charitable network built by his father, the younger Soros plans to levy its resources to boost Democratic politicians and to expand access to abortion, he told The Wall Street Journal. One former Clinton aide told the New York Post that Soros and Abedin are a “classic Clinton World couple.” The marriage will be Soros’ first and Abedin’s second as the high-profile Democratic staffer was married to former Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. Abedin and Weiner divorced after he was caught sexting with an underage girl, according to CBS News. Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation The post Heir to George Soros’ Empire to Wed Ex-Hillary Clinton Aide Huma Abedin appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Tony Blair Institute’s Future of Britain Conference 2024 (co-organized with My Life My Say) seems to have gone out of its way to cover (with a positive spin) pretty much all the key contested by rights advocates’ plans and schemes, digital ID being inevitably among those. One of the panelists, former Indian Minister of State for Electronics, Information Technology, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar was there to praise a major set of goals aimed at ushering in digital ID and payments by the end of the decade. The “umbrella” for achieving that is what’s known as the digital public infrastructure (DPI) – a buzzword shared by the UN, the EU, the WEF, and Bill Gates’ Foundation. At the same time, Rajeev downplayed privacy fears associated with digital ID and revealed that his country was working with others to push the initiative. The host asserted that introducing digital identity is “so important for the transformation of a country” (he didn’t specify in which direction this transformation is supposed to go). But Chandrasekhar made sure to talk about the positives, such as that the system, Aadhaar, which at this time provides 1.2 billion Indians with digital identities, is helping improve on what was previously seen as his county’s “dysfunctional governance.” And he appears to suggest that the notion once in place in Asia – that this type of scheme is only good for countries like China but not democracies – is shifting. The perception (or fact-based belief) that aggressive digitization and privacy are ultimately incompatible is “a false binary,” he said. And despite the many instances of Aadhaar being the target of data breaches, hacks, and the ensuing concerns for the safety of the people’s personal data, Chandrasekhar sought to downplay these dangers – by citing which legislative tools are in place that are supposed to prevent them. Related: Rise in Stolen Singaporean ID Data Shows The Dangers of Digital ID The former government official said that in India privacy and data protection are fundamental and constitutional rights and that the country has a data protection law. And this, it appears, is Chandrasekhar’s argument that privacy and policies covered by the DPI and digital ID are actually safe. Chandrasekhar also notes that “if you go down and deep dig a little deep into this, you can figure out solutions that can both protect the individual’s rights to information privacy as well as grow an innovation ecosystem.” But he does reveal whether India, or others that he is aware of, are actually “digging a little deeper.” If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Privacy on the Line: Tony Blair Institute Champions Digital ID appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

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Lucky for us, the world is a dazzling display of colors. With so many animals relying on vision to perceive their environment, colors and patterns are a language used within and across species. But what about animals that hide underground, away from view? Why would they need a rainbow of colorful coverings?Evolutionary biologists, fascinated by these displays as much as the rest of us, have found theoretical and empirical explanations for the evolution of these traits. All colors started out as happy accidents. Chance mutations in the genes of individuals gave them unexpected advantages, allowing them to survive, reproduce, and pass on those mutations. The coats of some animals use "cryptic" colors that allow them to blend into their environment. Think tan-colored gazelles in the savannah, as well as dazzling mimetic chameleons. Being less visible to predators enhances chances of survival and of passing on their color. Other species don "conspicuous" colors that stand out from their background. Bright colors can be favored during sexual selection, or be alarming to potential predators, leading in both cases to the perseverance of these traits. There are 700 species of crayfish, the freshwater cousin of the lobster. While many of them evade predatory eyes with "cryptic" colors, a whooping 400 species are coated in blue, red, orange, or purple. The catch is that these brightly colored crustaceans predominantly live in muddy burrows and only come out at night. This led Zackary A. Graham and colleague Dylan J. Padilla Perez to wonder: why be so colorful if no-one will see it? There seemed to be no evolutionary advantage for this phenomenon: could this be an evolutionarily neutral trait? This brings us to one of science’s trickiest problems: proving the lack of evolutionary pressure for colorful carapaces. "Not every single trait that exists is adaptive," Graham told Science. "If we were perfectly adapted to our environment, we would never get infected, we would never get diseases, we would never die. But that’s not the way that evolution works."Armed with a phylogenetic tree and pictures of crayfish dutifully color-labeled by a group of Crayfish Biology students, they discovered that conspicuous colors had emerged more than 50 times. The evolution of these traits was also correlated with the evolution of burrowing behaviors.  An opposite hypothesis could emerge: the tan coloration of some open-water crayfish came about under evolutionary pressure to be more "cryptic", and blend in with the environment. They found that no conspicuously colored crayfish maintained their colors when evolving aquatic behaviors. Mutations that lead to conspicuous coloration in crayfish may be quite frequent. If no evolutionary pressure will stop them, these happy accidents will propagate through the population, coloring the crayfish for our eyes only. The study is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

While looking down at his home planet, astronaut Matthew Dominick spotted a flurry of colorful bursts of energy dancing in Earth’s upper atmosphere.The spectacular light show was photographed on June 3 as the International Space Station (ISS) cruised over thunderstorms off the coast of South Africa, according to NASA.Known as transient luminous events (TLE), they usually occur in the upper atmosphere when thunderstorm lightning is raging below. This particular image also shows a specific form of TLE known as red sprites, luminous red-orange flashes that occur at altitudes of 50 to 90 kilometers (31 to 56 miles).The red color is due to nitrogen in the atmosphere interacting with an electric charge, such as those present in lightning storms. When nitrogen meets the electric charge – boom! – it lets out a red glow in the form of plumes and spiny tendrils.A closer look of the red sprites seen above the South African thunderstorm.Image credit: NASA/Matthew DominickStudies have also indicated that sprites are associated with gravity waves, tiny ripples in the very fabric of spacetime created by violent cosmic events, although the nature of the link is not fully understood.Red sprites and other TLEs can occasionally be spotted from Earth’s surface under the right conditions, although they’re not always visible because they're so high up in Earth’s atmosphere. They’re best seen from high-altitude planes or, better still, an object in low-Earth orbit like the ISS. These events only last for a split second, so it's easier for astronauts to catch them on camera using long exposures.Earth isn’t the only planet that experiences sprites. Astronomers have also observed the lightning-like electrical outbursts on Jupiter. Here, the upper atmosphere of the planet is abundant in hydrogen, as opposed to nitrogen, so the sprites tend to appear blue rather than red.Scientists don’t fully how, when, and why sprites form on Earth. To find out, they might need your help. In 2022, NASA launched a citizen science project called Spritacular that asked the public to upload their images of sprites into an online database.“People capture wonderful images of sprites, but they’re shared sporadically over the internet and most of the scientific community is unaware of these captures,” Dr Burcu Kosar, a space physicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and Spritacular principal investigator, said in a statement at the time. “Spritacular will bridge this gap by creating the first crowdsourced database of sprites and other TLEs that is accessible and readily available for scientific research,” the scientist added.

Two NASA astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) have described the moment they realized that the spaceship that brought them there was faulty. The astronauts – Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore – departed for the ISS on June 5, the third and final test of Boeing's new Starliner capsule, and its first launch with a crew.“Launch was spectacular," Wilmore said on Wednesday, speaking live from the ISS. "I mean, truly amazing." While in space, but not yet docked with the ISS, the astronauts took over manual control for over an hour of flight demonstrations. Of these initial tests, Wilmore explained that the spaceship held "truly amazing" precision, adding that the spaceship "performed unbelievably well", at least at first. The problems began the following day, as the spacecraft was in its usual autonomous mode."And then we got into day 2. The start of day 2 was the same starting off, and then we did have some failures as we are all aware. We lost an RCS jet, then we lost another one. And then you could tell the thrust, the control, the capability was degraded. The handling qualities were not the same."The crew resumed manual control of the spacecraft for about an hour, having been granted permission by NASA, troubleshooting the problems from the ground."From that point on you could tell that the thrust was degraded," Wilmore added. "At the time we didn't know why."            The Starliner performed well during precise docking with the ISS, a task which leaves very little room for error, and the astronauts got into their new living quarters. Though their mission was only meant to last a week, they have been stranded on board the space station while NASA attempts to fix the problems – including a helium leak – which prevented them from returning on board Starliner in June.Fortunately, the astronauts do not appear to particularly mind their extended trip. This is perhaps unsurprising, given that they are zooming above the world on a space station."We are having a great time here on ISS," Williams said. "Butch and I have been up here before and it feels like coming back home. It feels good to float around, it feels good to be in space and work up here with the International Space Station team. So I'm not complaining, Butch is not complaining that we're here for a couple of extra weeks."NASA is hoping to get the crew home soon using the Starliner, but the next arrival of ISS crew in August is the hard deadline to avoid overcrowding.“Some of the data suggests optimistically, maybe it’s by the end of July, but we’ll just follow the data each step at a time,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, added during a press conference. For now, they remain stranded in space, and continue to assess their ride home.

Singapore is known internationally for its food – so far, for its ability to embrace cuisines from around the world and meld them into something uniquely and deliciously its own. But the next big thing on the Singaporean menu – or, to be more accurate, the next little thing on the menu – might get the city-state a slightly different reputation.It’s bugs.Specifically, 20 species of insect, which the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has approved for sale and consumption this week. “With immediate effect, SFA will allow the import of insects and insect products belonging to species that have been assessed to be of low regulatory concern,” the agency announced in a circular sent to food traders in the city-state.“These insects and insect products can be used for human consumption or as animal feed for food-producing animals,” they said.So which insects made the grade? The list comprises five species of cricket; three types of locust; grasshoppers; seven types of beetle larvae, including mealworms and giant rhino beetle larvae (google it if you want to lose your appetite); two types of moth larvae; silkworms, for when you’re feeling fancy; and, perhaps most surprisingly, honey bee larvae.For proponents of insectivorous diets, it’s welcome news. “It’s really amazing to see that they have such a big list of species now that are approved for human consumption,” Skye Blackburn, an Australian entomologist and food scientist who advocates for insect consumption, told The Guardian. “It’s really showing that Singapore is a little bit more open than we thought they were going to be to edible insects”. Eating bugs and beetles is far from a new idea. Not only is it common in more than 100 countries – with the most insect-hungry nations being Mexico, Thailand, and India – but some consider a global shift towards the practice as a potential solution to the looming climate apocalypse.  “Insects are an overlooked source of protein and a way to battle climate change,” reported the World Economic Forum in 2022. “Our consumption of animal protein is the source of greenhouses gas and climate change. [...] The consumption of insects can offset climate change in many ways.”Of course, for many of us – Singapore included – eating insects is currently more of a nasty surprise than a novelty. But the creepy-crawlies set to enter the gastronomic world will face regulations designed to guarantee their safety for consumers: for example, they may not be “harvested from the wild”, the SFA announced, with products requiring “documentary proof that insects are farmed in premises regulated by Competent Authority.”Other doubts about the six-legged smorgasbord may spring from the last inclusion on the list – aren’t honey bees, you know, kind of sacred at this point? But according to Blackburn, we shouldn’t worry unduly: while some cuisines do eat female bees, by far most of those used for food are males – drones.And it seems that eating those guys is kind of doing them a favor. “They remove the drone bees from the hives because that’s where the varroa mites live,” Blackburn explained. “So that’s why the drone bees are actually used as a source of food, because it is a byproduct of the hive.” That said, if you’re hoping to sample a delicious insect set menu, we’d probably advise avoiding the bees. Not for environmental reasons or anything. Just because, you know – bees are technically fish, not insects.