#Nordic Components

[officialrailscales]

Two-tone setup with Sniper Grey & Black HTP Solo’s

QTR Stop | Carbon Black

HTP Solo’s | Black | Honeycomb Texture | 1-Slot

HTP Solo’s | Sniper Grey | Honeycomb Texture | 1.5-Slot

HTP Solo’s | Black | Honeycomb Texture | 1-Slot

HTP Solo’s | Sniper Grey | Honeycomb Texture | 1.5-Slot

CSMR Button | Carbon Black | Apex Style

- RS

[seektronics]

Today's delivery:NRF52832-QFAA

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[semimediapress]

NXP and leading semiconductor players form company for RISC-V

August 7, 2023 /SemiMedia/ — NXP Semiconductor announced that it has joined forces with Robert Bosch GmbH, Infineon Technologies AG, Nordic Semiconductor and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to invest in a company aimed at advancing the adoption of RISC-V globally by enabling next-generation hardware development. Formed in Germany, this company will aim to accelerate the commercialization of future…

[skarsjoy]

NEW portraits and interview from British GQ

Alexander Skarsgård on his “emotional support” tuxedo at the Met Gala 2024

“Going to these types of events is quite stressful”

By Daisy Jones, 7 May 2024

For Alexander Skarsgård, prep for the Met Gala 2024 starts weeks beforehand. Not physically – that doesn’t take long at all – but mentally. “I ask my family to, every time they see me, call out ‘Alex! Alex! Over here!’ to get ready for the press line. And throw out a lot of questions, like ‘Alex! Alex! What are you wearing? You look amazing!’” he says in his Nordic meets American twang, amusement dancing down the phone line.

He’s joking of course. But he’s also not. Events like the Met Gala can be “quite stressful” and “intense”, says Skarsgård. There’s a lot of adrenaline. Flashing lights. Faces in every direction. So on the day of, he likes to keep things comparatively quiet: staying inside, reading a book, mooching around in silence until it’s time to get ready. After the Met Gala, to decompress, he does exactly the same thing. “It’s a lot of fun, you meet a lot of friends, a lot of people you've met throughout the years and haven’t seen in a while. But again, you’re drained. Being in a quiet hotel room on my own is quite nice a few hours beforehand and I feel the same way after.”

We’re speaking a couple of hours before the big event, and although he says that red carpets like this can be stressful, he sounds relatively relaxed, joking and laughing often (although he is an actor, so). He hasn’t gotten dressed yet – he’ll be wearing a custom double-breasted wool suit by Calvin Klein, a brand he’s worked with for over a decade – with his hair styled in the way he usually wears it (no product, no shampoo for a day or two). “Because my hair’s very straight, I look like a Monchhichi doll when I wash my hair,” he says.

It was the timelessness of the tuxedo that spoke to him. After all, The Garden of Time (1962) by J.G. Ballard – this year's dress code – is all about the inevitable march of time, and trying to hold onto it for as long as possible. “I wanted to go for something timeless but also in my mind a throwback to James Cagney; that kind of double-breasted Hollywood look from the 1930s and 1940s. But then obviously, from Calvin Klein, it’s a slimmer silhouette with some classical components in terms of the rich wool fabric and the cut of it; the little details that I thought were really interesting.”

Did he have any other ideas ahead of the night before he landed on this one? “I felt like there are so many ways to go,” he says, that amusement creeping back into his voice. “You could go in a stone suit, because the couple obviously turned into stone at the end of the story. But we had to scrap that idea because moving in stone pants would be pretty difficult. Another version would be to go completely naked, I’m sure someone will do that on the red carpet. Because the exhibition involves a lot of very old, very fragile pieces that can’t be worn so that’s an interesting way to interpret it.” In the end, the tuxedo seemed the least extreme. “It helps to wear something that you’re very comfortable in. An emotional support outfit.”

His own style has always been understated and classic – and he doesn't like to buy an entirely new tux every time he attends a red carpet, never to wear it again. “The Met Gala is fun because it’s the only time of the year in which I have several fittings and wear something that’s tailor-made to me,” he says. “Normally, I have a couple of suits, one being my Calvin Klein suit from 10 years ago. I usually wear that to events. I don’t want [the situation to be that] every time you’re on the red carpet, you have to wear something new and then never wear it again. I think we consume enough in our society, that’s not something I’d want to promote or endorse.”

Despite the fact his own style is mostly understated, his favourite clothing item isn't understated at all. And he's wearing them right now: his Infinity Pool shorts, merch based on the Brandon Cronenberg film he appeared in last year. It's an insane film, one in which he plays a complicated, wildly hedonistic novelist. “They did some rare limited edition clothing and they gave me a pair of shorts and I love them. I wear them all the time. I have mixed feelings because it says ‘Infinity Pool’ all over my ass and the front is a profile of my face in neon as it's being scanned. It feels very narcissistic to walk around with a pair of shorts with the name of a movie you're in on your ass, and the front is your own face, but fortunately you can't really tell.”

Skarsgård won't be partying into the night post Met Gala. Sure, he'll go to a few post-gala events, but he needs to get some sleep. He'll be flying to Toronto first thing in the morning, where he's filming The Murderbot Diaries, a new sci-fi action comedy series with Apple TV+. “I play an android who has hacked his system so he’s got – or it’s got – free will, and it’s talking about going on these crazy adventures, but instead it’s watching soap operas,” he says.

“It’s been a blast for the last couple of months. I’m sure I’ll be tired going to Toronto tomorrow, but I am looking forward to it.”

[h3lfaerie]

I just made the coolest addition to the World-building in PoA.

If you recall, in Chapter 9, we established that iron is highly harmful to the Fae; a trait found both in Celtic and in Nordic Folklore.

Now as you may know, iron is the fourth most abundant element, by mass, in the Earth's crust. The core of the Earth is thought to be largely composed of iron with nickel and sulfur. But aside from iron ore, the element is also naturally found in abundance of foods like molasses and seafood.

It is also found in the blood.

So.

Yours truly did a little research.

The red colour of human blood is due to the red blood cells containing haemoglobin, a protein containing iron, so we can presume that blood without haemoglobin is not that bright (I know this firsthand, I'm anaemic). But if we take all red cells out of the blood then the remaining fluid is called plasma.

And you know what colour plasma is?

Yellowish or golden.

It's because of the presence of bilirubin in that, which is a breakdown product of iron containing the heme part of haemoglobin.

There are also other iron-containing proteins like transferrin and vitamin-A derivatives like carotenoids, that contribute their part in imparting the same colour. 

But again, having iron subunits in the blood wouldn't make sense for the Fae seeing as iron can kill them, therefore we can assume that their blood does not contain any traces of that element. No part of their body would.

So, we do a second wipe down.

If we were to remove every single possible iron subunit from the blood, it still leaves other pigments like the carotenoids, but no hemoglobin, no bilirubin, and no urobilinogen, which are all components that give blood its colour. As they are derivative from red blood cells, we can presume that they were never present to begin with in species like the Fae.

The remaining plasma would be mostly composed of water and other proteins, which are typically colorless or very pale. A faint golden hue would still be present due to the small amount of pigment remaining, but overall we are left with a pretty much translucent colour.

Now add some lore-typical whimsy. Say "magic in the blood", which I can colour however I please.

And the Fae bleed gold.

Incandescent, fucking gold.

And it makes sense.

The groundwork was already there with the base plasma fluid being yellow and/or golden, but I've essentially stripped it down to a colorless ichor by removing every single ferrous component. Which means I can then build up the fluid with whatever properties I please.

And I'm choosing an obnoxious glittery gold. Because duh.

It's Faeries.

If that ain't the coolest thing I've added to the lore so far, I don't know what is.

P.S. I recommend watching this scene from Gods of Egypt for a visual of what gold blood would look like. Obviously spoiler warning for the movie, and it is a fight scene, therefore injury, hence blood.

P.S. (2) Sett, a.k.a. the villain in this movie, is played by Gerard Butler, a.k.a. Stoick the Vast.

P.S. (3) I am actually so giddy over this. I made gold blood make sense.

[chrismien]

Let's explore the negative association of milk in Tamriel's Nordic culture.

So, basically, from the dialogue and other sources, we know that drinking milk within Nord cultures is associated with a number of negative perceptions, such as:

Milk is for children.

Milk is associated with weakness.

Milk is not a manly beverage.

This is evidenced by the lines from numerous NPCs in Skyrim.

If you have a disposition of -1 or lower with an NPC, they may say to you: "What do you want, milk drinker?"

There is also the Taunting Adventurer NPC in Skyrim, who is a randomly encountered warrior in the wilderness or in an inn. He says: "What's a milk drinker like you doing out here? Go home to your mother."

But it is worth noting that some Nords such as Rigurt the Brash from ESO oppose the concept behind the insult saying: "Milk-drinker. Why did that become such a terrible Nord insult, I wonder. Milk is good for you! I love the stuff! Not as much as I love mead, but it's a close second. Maybe third."

With that, it is reasonable to assume that some Nords avoid drinking milk to prevent being perceived as a cry-baby or a weakling by other Nords, and potentially even by themselves.

As we know, even in real life, milk is important for bone growth. When we delve into medical aspects, calcium is an essential extracellular cation required for muscles to surpass the action potential threshold, enabling contractions and therefore movement.

Skyrim, the homeland of the Nords, also experiences limited sunlight in certain regions. UV radiation from the sun is essential for the activation of Vitamin D from cholecalciferol to calcitriol. This fat-soluble vitamin is crucial for maintaining bone strength and a healthy immune system.

Basically, calcium is important for nerve conduction, blood clotting, muscle contractions, immune functions, and healthy bones.

But how would a race centered around strength and possessing a strong warrior culture maintain their constitution?

Skyrim is abundant with cheese, which is directly made from milk and is also rich in calcium. Digesting cheese breaks it down into its components, facilitating the absorption of calcium into the body.

There is also a thriving fishing culture in Riften and Windhelm. Access to the Sea of Ghosts allows access to marine resources like fish and shellfish which could act as substitutes for calcium sources.

I understand that it's a fantasy world, but creating a believable fantasy world can indeed enhance the enjoyment of the experience. By grounding elements of the world in reality, it becomes more relatable and allows us to better connect with the characters and settings.

We can now conclude that Nords are able to maintain their warrior culture despite the cultural bias against milk, which is essential for numerous bodily functions.

[shsl-box-worshipper]

So, I was rewatching the first How To Train Your Dragon movie and my mind immediately drifted to Code Lyoko (cuz of course it does), which led me to think of an interesting AU.

Code Lyoko, but set in a modern day How To Train Your Dragon setting. (Click the read more for more information about the AU cuz ohhhh boi, I infodumped hard)

Dragons are a world-wide species of animals that have learned to mostly (keyword: mostly) co-exist with humans thanks to the efforts of various cultures around the world thousands of years ago and modern preservation efforts.

Nowadays, they are viewed the same way as hawks, horses, and other useful pets: Popular and useful, but can be hard to train and can even be deadly.

Various characters in Code Lyoko actually have dragons as pets, most notably Odd since Kiwi is a Terrible Terror in this AU (And yes, it is even more of a pain for Ulrich to deal with).

Dragons, similarly to dogs and cats, aren't allowed at Kadic, but Kadic does have some dragon-related classes, a specific area on campus for them (since its kind of hard to separate tamed dragons from their owners), and some dragon lessons are integrated into otherwise normal classes.

Plot-wise, Franz, Anthea, and Aelita all had dragons. Anthea's was taken when she was kidnapped, and Aelita's got virtualized onto Lyoko along with her and Franz (there's a specific chamber in the scanner room specifically for dragons because Franz knew Aelita wouldn't leave her dragon behind no matter how hard he tried to convince her otherwise).

Franz's dragon, a battered-looking Night Fury whom he rescued from Project Carthage and who he named Odin, was instructed to stand guard of the Supercomputer and by extension, the factory as a whole.

One of the main difficulties Jeremie had to face while getting into the Factory to look for scrap initially was trying to avoid and hide from this lumbering, giant Night Fury that is the sole reason behind the Factory's ghost stories and that he had NO IDEA ABOUT.

When Jeremie finally turns on the supercomputer, he is greeted not only by an amnesiac pink-haired elf lady but is also met with a much younger and more spotted Night Fury, that wears armor that looks like if a cross between a viking and a knight, and is ALSO an amnesiac (I imagine that Lyoko will create virtual forms of any kind of creature that has some sort of consciousness, not just humans. Since dragons in the How To Train Your Dragon franchise are shown to be somewhat intelligent, I imagine that they could have more thorough and cohesive Lyoko forms than those of like, a fly).

Jeremie initially calls the Night Fury 'Spot' (Because it's covered in white patches compared to Franz's Night Fury, which just has a white patch on it's belly), but Aelita gets both her name and the name of the Night Fury back during the end of XANA Awakens, where it's revealed to be Tannlos (The Norwegian translation of Toothless, since the story of Hiccup and Toothless is considered a Nordic legend in the modern day and, like in canon, Franz liked reading Norse myths and legends to Aelita when she was a kid).

Tannlos, similarly to Aelita, lacks some of the necessary components needed to devirtualize or have any attacks (Yes, his breath weapon is gone on Lyoko and he can't even use it in the real world).

He's also really small, just large enough to have Aelita on his back and run with her, but too small to properly fly with her (he can still fly just fine tho without the extra weight).

As such, he mainly just acts as a method of ground transportation for Aelita and as a scout on Lyoko.

On that note, I guess I should talk about the other characters.

I've already talked about Odd having a Terrible Terror as a pet. He similarly tries to keep hidden from Jim, though it fails much more since a Terrible Terror is higher maintenance than a dog.

Ulrich's dad works as an executive at a company that researches dragons to develop various kinds of tech and his mom used to be a trainer in her youth. Since his family has to work with them frequently, Ulrich knows some basic techniques on dealing with dragons, despite his (initial) dislike of them.

Jeremie, conversely, has no skills regarding them, and his family doesn't own any, in fact. His survival against the Factory Night Fury is based on his own ingenuity, intelligence, and the basic tips he haggled out of Ulrich. He eventually manages to bond with the Factory Night Fury during XANA Awakens and it helps defend the factory against XANA attacks.

Yumi's family doesn't have any dragons and the Ishiyamas have a strict no pets rule along with that. However, Yumi is friends with a Monstrous Nightmare that lives in the woods, who she named Ryoji so that Yumi can talk about her openly in front of her parents. Yumi even lets Hiroki play with her since she effectively has tamed the dragon, despite not owning it legally.

A lot more of this AU has to deal with worldbuilding and how a modern society with actual dragons would work, as well as how dragons could both work with and against XANA's attacks. But I don't know if anyone is interested in this kind of stuff.

[usafphantom2]

NATO’s E-3 Sentry AWACS are Now Operating from Norway’s Rygge Air Base

The AWACS, described as NATO’s ‘eyes in the skies’, usually employed Ørland as forward base, however this time it was decided to deploy the aircraft to Rygge, with at least two E-3s already operating from there.

Parth Satam

A NATO E-3 Sentry AWACS arrives at Norway’s Rygge Air Station in connection with Nordic Response 2024. (Image credit: Onar Dignes Ase/Forsvaret)

The Norwegian military announced last week that its Rygge air base, in the southern part of the country, will begin frequently hosting NATO’s E-3 Sentry AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft. This is owing to the unavailability of the runway at Ørland in western Norway, which led to Rygge being chosen, the statement from the Norwegian Armed Forces said on Aug. 22, 2024.

Interestingly, the notice came a day prior to the threat alert at the NATO air base in Geilenkirchen, in far-western Germany, on Aug. 23, which saw personnel being evacuated until the alert was deactivated. The base is home to the NAEW&CF (NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force) E-3A Component.

Subsequent reports by German media said that the alert was owing to indications of “preparatory actions for a likely Russian act of sabotage,” although a NATO spokesperson later denied. “The word Russia was never mentioned,” said the spokesperson to Reuters. “We talked about a threat caused by drones.”

E-3s from the NAEW&CF had already operated from Rygge during the Nordic Response 2024 exercise, held from Feb. 26 to Mar. 15. Flight tracking data three days after the announcement, on Aug. 25, also showed an E-3 Sentry (callsign NATO40) operating between Rygge and Denmark over the North Sea. Again on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29, two E-3s (callsigns NATO01 and NATO06) were circling the length from northern Norway over the Norwegian Sea to northern Germany in two separate routes, operating from Rygge.

Nordic Response was the name given to the Norwegian military’s annual Cold Response series of maneuvers, after it was expanded to include Finland and Sweden, following their accession to NATO. Nordic Response itself was a part of the broader Steadfast Defender exercise.

‘E-3s to become a Common Sight at Rygge’

According to the statement by the Norwegian Armed Forces, “Several aircraft of the type E-3A AWACS will operate from Rygge air station in the coming weeks.” Usually, the AWACS are “periodically stationed at Ørland air station, as a forward base for NATO.” The decision to relocate them to Rygge is owing to unavailability of the runway at Ørland for AWACS operations, said the press release without providing details.

“From their main base in Germany, the E-3 aircraft “are regularly seen over and in Norway for shorter missions, where they exercise and train together with allied and Norwegian military forces.” Ørland Air Station meanwhile is the RNoAF’s (Royal Norwegian Air Force) main F-35 base, which is expected to receive all its Lightning IIs by 2025.

Another shot of the E-3 Sentry AWACS at Rygge during Nordic Response 2024. (Image credit: Onar Dignes Ase/Forsvaret).

“Our role is to facilitate and support AWACS operations from Rygge air station. We are well prepared for the mission, and look forward to receiving both aircraft, personnel and equipment,” said Colonel Thomas Orud Harlem, commander of 134 Air Wing, in the press release. The Wing has a helicopter unit that operates the Bell 412, besides being home to Air Force Training and Air Force Operations Inspectorates.

Nordic Response 2024

As mentioned before, NATO E-3As last operated from Rygge during the Nordic Response exercise between February and March this year. NATO said that at Rygge, during the drills, the participating countries operated two E-3A AWACS planes.

“The E-3A aircraft is often referred to as NATO’s ‘eyes in the skies’,” noted NATO’s press release. “This is due to its capability to detect air and sea movements hundreds of kilometers away. This data is shared with NATO commanders to provide them with a shared understanding of activities that take place in areas of particular concern.”

This year’s expanded version of the exercise saw the participation of over 20,000 soldiers from 13 allied nations. Of these, approximately 10,000 exercised on land and were the most visible during the exercise. The participating countries included Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

More than 100 fighter jets, transport aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, as well as allied CH-53 Super Stallion, EH-101 Merlin, AH-1 Cobra helicopters and V-22 Osprey tiltrotor participated. Nordic Response was also closely integrated with the British-led naval exercise Joint Warrior, which took place in the sea between Scotland, Norway, and Iceland in late February.

E-3 Sentry AWACS is NATO’s key asset

“The strategic role of the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force cannot be overstated,” said ​​Air Commodore Andrew Turk, NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander. “We can showcase this in a large-scale, multi-domain scenario like Exercise Nordic Response 24, showing our determined ambition to dominate the airspace and defend the Alliance.”

The importance of such assets was also stated by Norway with the announcement of the deployment to Rygge. “The aircraft operates as a command and control unit in the air, has unique characteristics and can detect both sea, land and air movements from far away,” said the statement. “Together with other sources of information, they form a comprehensive aerial view for decision-makers.”

Nordic Response also came at a time when “for the first time, NATO is setting new defence plans into reality proving their executability and NATO’s warfighting transformation,” said an official statement. The transformation also includes the renewal of the AWACS fleet, which will be replaced by the newer E-7 Wedgetail.

Last year NATO decided to replace its fleet of 14 E-3A AWACS with six new E-7A, with the first one expected to be delivered by 2031. The Wedgetail will be part of the Alliance Future Surveillance and Control system of systems capability, which will also include space and maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with the already operational RQ-4 Alliance Ground Surveillance.

About Parth Satam

Parth Satam's career spans a decade and a half between two dailies and two defense publications. He believes war, as a human activity, has causes and results that go far beyond which missile and jet flies the fastest. He therefore loves analyzing military affairs at their intersection with foreign policy, economics, technology, society and history. The body of his work spans the entire breadth from defense aerospace, tactics, military doctrine and theory, personnel issues, West Asian, Eurasian affairs, the energy sector and Space.

@The Aviationist.com

[snowberry-crostata]

I've been spending some time cleaning up and organizing this Imperial Library post about TES conlangs for my own personal use. The amount of love and labor that must have gone into creating the post is astounding, but sadly it looks like the author hasn't logged on in over a year and from their comments they were mostly focused on developing the Elven languages, leaving Nordic sadly unfinished. Now that I've got all their components organized and searchable, I think I'm going to try and continue fleshing it out bit by bit to use in my stories.

Speaking of stories I ended up back on one of my favorite Wikipedia pages today, which is this list of ways that different cultures start and end fairytales, fables, and folk stories. It got me thinking about oral traditions among the Nords and what their story starters and endings would be like. So to practice with the conlang, I decided to tweak some from the Wikipedia list and translate them into Nordic. They're not necessarily word-for-word translations, and I had to invent quite a few verbs and a handful of nouns that weren't in the original post, but I had a lot of fun translating these!

Story Starters:

Listen! Bryla!

Once there was a story… Aan tid valvi tal…

In ancient days… I ald dalgar…

Once there lived a king/queen… Ont fjørvi rik/rika…

In some kingdom, in some land, there lived… I kongerike, i land, fjørvi…

Once there was a truly great friendship… Aan tid valvi thrud sinid...

Back when dragons sang to the skies… Eer herr draker hjoldvir vid va himmlar…

Once there was and once there wasn’t. In long-distant days of yore, when whales roamed the skies, when giants sailed the seas, when Kyne breathed on the mountain, there lived… Ont valvi o ont ejvalvi. I kryssig dalgarva, herr hvalar gandravi va himmlar, herr myrvagandar kjølvi va hafar, herr Kyne vindvir va fjell, fjørvi…

Beyond nine mountains, beyond nine rivers, beyond nine holds, there was… Brir ni fjelle, brir ni stradar, brir ni holdar, valvi…

I remember something my father told me, and that is this:... Ek damvir aanding meja fathir talvir mej, o a vorar her:...

And the endings:

And my tale went from mountain to mountain and I remained with the Companions. O meja tal gangvi fram fjell vid fjell o ek sarvir opp va rolfar.

So at last the tale is finished. Alleid sindi va tal sladvir.

And they lived happily and had many children. O jo veli fjørvi o fyltvi hyra barnar. 

And they lived happily until they died. O jo veli fjørvi ere jo offravi. 

And for three days they ate and drank and reveled. O fram thri dagar jo matvi o vatravi o lofravi.

And they met at last in the Hall of Shor. O jo sindi finnvi i Sovngarde.

Their grief was ended and they met joyfully. Jora bør sladvir o jo veli fjaldvi.

My tale has finished, it has gone home. Meja tal sladvir, a gangvir heim.

And they have happiness and wealth to this day. O jo fjørvi velle o hyra goll vid her dag. 

This is the end; run away with it. Her vora va slad; rurar brir opp a. 

If you don’t believe it, find out for yourself. Ef ek ej radvar a, finna ser a. 

And I was there too, and drank mead and beer. O ek valvir ott, o vatravir honnung o bjor.

The tale has come to its end, but the story remains. Va tal famvir vid ara slad, ak va tal sarar.

[harlequin-hangout]

Here’s an updated post!! @vbecker10 gave me the idea to make thin dividers as well, so here’s a new completed set for @michelleleewise!!

Loki Laufeyson: The main theme composed of Loki’s colors, the green and gold background is overlayed by several different components. First, a trifold silhouette of Loki’s infamous helmet. Flanking the helmets on either side are Clematis flowers, which represents (among other things) wisdom and mischief. Finally, each end is finished with Loki’s intertwining snakes insignia sourced from Norse Mythology.

Jotun!Loki: With the blue and red imitating the stark contrast between Jotun (Jötunn) eyes and skin (inspiration on color choice taken from the What If . . . ? Series, we see the same helmet silhouette overlaid. On each side, a combination of the runes that make the name “Loki” (pictured at either end) combined to make a singular piece.

Vampire!Loki: With Burgundy and Black creating a very gothic Aesthetic, the Bat takes center stage. A set of vampire fangs pull the look from gothic to vampiric. On either side, however, sit an overlay of Nordic runes in black and gold that would spell “Vampire” if left separate. The helmet profile finishes the ends, a tribute to the God the dividers were designed for.

I do not give permission for anyone except @michelleleewise to use these dividers. They are hers and hers alone. If you would like your own or have ideas for free use dividers, please send me an ask

[fictionfromafar]

Murder Under the Midnight Sun By Stella Blómkvist

Murder Under the Midnight Sun

Stella Blómkvist

Translated by Quentin Bates

Corylus Books

Publication Date: 3 May 2024

Corylus Books have shown their commitment to bringing to an English audience the work of the mysterious author of Icelandic lawyer Stella Blómkvist with the publication last year of Murder At The Residence. Following quickly afterwards Murder Under the Midnight Son offers another compelling and multidimensional story. Whether you have read the earlier novel or not will in no way impact your enjoyment of this story and I must admit I have not investigated if these were originally consecutive stories in their original language.

After an initial meeting, the premise of Blómkvist's most next assignment is to solve the mystery of the fate of a young Scottish woman, who disappeared nearly a decade earlier. In a sparsely populated country like Iceland, the possible locations a body could be left are almost endless, yet the family seek closure.

Meanwhile a journalist friend of her's has excitedly told her about revelations that will not only create huge headlines in his newspaper but will also form the basis of a forthcoming expose book. However when his intent appears to be revealed, his predicament will also take some of Blómkvist's attention.

There are more components to the book. Intriguingly, there is a strong historical context to this story, particularly in respect of Iceland's role in the cold war, but also to the countries involvement following the more recent breakup of Yugoslavia. An additional layer of mystery is added when Blómkvist makes a gruesome discovery within a glacier which later appears to have a very distant origin. Given this book is just over two hundred pages long, a lot is packed into a relatively small number of pages.

There are several surprises ahead which I certainly did not guess. Personally I do feel that some elements of the story are more effective than others. Stella Blómkvist is shown to be self determined and headstrong in all aspects of her life and while this makes her a fascinating lead character for a crime novel, I did find that a particular personal relationship she developed appeared to me a little less plausible, particularly given the ethics the lawyers have to work to. Something supposedly spontaneous could also be viewed as exploitative. It will be interesting to see if this is a theme that endures in more of the author's novels and if our protagonist actually has some characteristics of the anti-hero.

These comments not withstanding, there is much more for the reader to get their teeth into with this book. While originally written 14 years ago, there is a timeliness which keeps the themes within the story very relevant. The distinctive touches featured in the narrative give the book quite a unique outlook which provided a welcome sidestep to some of the more downbeat viewpoints often featured in the Nordic subgenre. The story combines the isolation of the outdoors with the urban environment of Reykjavik, thus offering effective contrasts. The intertwined mysteries gradually unravel in a way which effectively keeps the readers' attention. If you've not yet picked up on Stella Stella Blómkvist, now is certainly the time to do so.

The blurb:

Murder Under the Midnight Sun by Stella Blómkvist What does a woman do when her husband's charged with the frenzied killing of her father and her best friend? She calls in Stella Blómkvist to investigate - however unwelcome the truth could turn out to be. Smart, ruthless and with a flexible moral code all of her own, razor-tongued lawyer Stella Blómkvist is also dealing with a desperate deathbed request to track down a young woman who vanished a decade ago. It looks like a dead end, but she agrees to pick up the stone-cold trail - and she never gives up, even if the police did a long time ago. Then there's the mystery behind the arm that emerges from an ice cap, with a mysterious ruby ring on one frozen finger? How does this connect to another unexplained disappearance, and why were the police at the time so keen to write it off as a tragic accident? Brutal present-day crimes have their roots in the past that some people would prefer to stay forgotten. As Stella pieces together the fragments, is she getting too close to the truth and making herself a target for ruthless men determined to conceal secret sins?

Stella Blómkvist has been a bestselling series in Iceland since the first book appeared in the 1990s and has attracted an international audience since the TV series starring Heiða Reed aired. The books have been published under a pseudonym that still hasn’t been cracked. The question of Stella Blómkvist’s identity is one that crops up regularly, but it looks like it’s going to remain a mystery…

Quentin Bates has personal and professional roots in Iceland that go very deep. He is an author of series of nine crime novels and novellas featuring the Reykjavik detective Gunnhildur (Gunna) Gísladóttir. In addition to his own fiction, he has translated many works of Iceland’s coolest writers into English, including books by Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Guðlaugur Arason, Einar Kárason, Óskar Guðmundsson, Sólveig Pálsdóttir, Jónína Leosdottir and Ragnar Jónasson. Quentin was instrumental in launching Iceland Noir in 2013, the crime fiction festival in Reykjavik.

Paperback and eBook publication date: 3rd May 2024ISBN: 978-1-7392989-4-4 Price 9.99 (3.59 Kindle edition)https://corylusbooks.com/ Twitter: @CorylusB @graskeggur https://www.facebook.com/CorylusBookshttps://www.facebook.com/graskeggur https://www.facebook.com/stella.blomkvist

Many thanks to Corylus Books for an advance copy of this book and to Ewa Sherman for inclusion in the blog tour. Please check out the other reviews of this book as shown on the above tour poster.

[smythologies]

Adaptability of Mythology

When I took my first dedicated mythology class, my professor would talk a great deal about the “adaptability” of mythological practices and cultures, and how they grew and changed over time. At first, I didn’t really know what he was saying or really believed him, but then I started looking deeper and realized the truth behind what he said.

Take our media. Our books, movies, video games, etc., that are based in mythology. They’re filled with the romanticism and mystique of superheroes and caped crusaders. You can see it in their actions, in their mannerisms, in their personalities and backstories and, most of all, their powers. It’s not immediately visible, but once you see it, it’s hard to unsee.

For example, take the Rick Riordan books. In Greco-Roman or Nordic myth, demigods never really had special powers. In fact, most demigods in Nordic myth didn’t really have any powers, while in Greco-Roman myths, the powers of demigods and heroes tended to just be superhuman characteristics like speed, strength, intellect, etc., and almost never really relating to the domain of the demigod’s divine parents. Of course, in both Greco-Roman and Nordic myths there were exceptions, but the general case was as I described above.

But in Rick Riordan’s books, as well as other media, they all have powers based off the domain of the divine parent. When you consider superheroes, doing this actually makes a lot of sense. See, arguably, the biggest part of superheroes are their powers and mystique, and more specifically, the “genetic” component of that. Powers and mystique are passed down through generations, like Superman and his sons, or Batman and his Robins. The same thing happens with these books and media based of mythology, in which the powers and mystique of the specific gods are being passed down to their children in this way, giving them specific powers based off their divine ancestor.  

You may wonder why superheroes, but I feel the answer becomes apparent when you look at the history of the West. After WWI, superheroes became incredibly popular. They were used a lot during the Great Depression, they were used as a recruitment tactic by the US and Allied Forces during WWII, they were used after WWII as a method to show just how amazing capitalist countries were, etc.

Even in more modern times, superheroes have still played a big role, despite people who read comics being called “nerds” and ridiculed for a good 20+ years, from the 80s onwards. They’ve just become a huge part of our culture, no matter what anyone says, for better or for worse. Hell, even kids who have never once picked up a comic-book obsess over superheroes like Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, etc. Thus, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that we choose to reshape mythology in this way.

Sorry for the long-winded and maybe difficult to understand rant, just thought it’s really interesting. Have a great day y’all!

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[changelingsandothernonsense]

Choose Violence asks! Pick the most inflammatory ones you can find on the list and answer them. If Danger!Josh has an unpopular opinion on specific things mentioned therein, he can share them too.

Oh yes! Let's get riekling over here! This includes ART! Under the cut for length. I'm mostly just gushing about a Danger!Josh HC that I have. :3 You know the one ;)

7. What character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

So I have two of these, the first one being Cicero and the second being Miraak. Prior to seeing any discourse I either gave zero shits or just didn't care for them (based off of Cicero, I can't handle his voice, it's so grating and hurts my ears.) But I didn't think that much about either of them until I started actually participating in the fandom (in my own way, I don't really contribute outside of personal conversations and any of the art I produce...which has nothing to do with either of those characters...except my one joke about Miraak as a Shoggoth being sexy).

I had no idea that it was immoral or moral to dislike either character and I'm sorry but Cicero makes me think of smelly ham water (as someone who is very mentally ill from trauma I also find him a bit insulting.) and Miraak is a missed opportunity that has been pulled in so many directions that I just can't. I won't.

18. It's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

Teldryn Sero! Blade for hire, best swordsman in all Morrowind and absolute goddamn Dwemer-loving dorkface! Yes, you heard me! That guy is astounded by those ruins! I present to you his vanilla dialogue when you encounter a Dwemer ruin: "The dwarves were a clever race. I wonder what happened to them?"

And his Markarth line:

"Can you imagine what Markarth must have looked like when the dwarves were living here? I can't even begin to imagine." It's there hidden amongst all that dramatic cynicism, sarcastic bravado and slight "Dunmer are better than you" attitude. This guy is a nerd for anything Dwemer! I never see anyone point this out though. I think it's a missed opportunity for character-building. His tone, still sarcastic as ever (because he is dripping in it) does change to one of awe. The only other thing he gets this way about are the Telvanni mushroom Tels. So he seems to appreciate grand architecture (though not Nordic or Imperial styles interestingly enough), it would explain why every town you walk into in Skyrim elicits a bitch-a-thon from him. He hates everything because it looks unimpressive to him. Blacklight must be as grand as Markarth is intended to be in the lore. Since he compares that city to everything. I have my own thoughts on what it looks like too ;) Guess who else is a dork for ancient shit? Me! So naturally I grabbed onto these lines and ran with them. I HC his interest in Dwemer is a full-on obsession. He wants to go to that museum, he wants to go dungeon diving with you and he insists on dumping as many dwemer nick-nacks into his pack as he can. He also does this with knives lol.

I also HC him as the Nerevarine, so on top of that I have him swiping that Dwemer Coherer back from Divayth Fyr as payback for not actually curing his corprus. Now what on earth is a coherer? An electrical component formerly used to detect radio waves. It consists of a tube containing loosely packed metal particles. They were used to pick up and measure radiowaves. And so Dwifi was born! Danger!Josh wants to reverse-engineer that shit! And I ran with that and created this <3

My baby bird fiddling with that damn machine part!

[clatterbane]

More shitty snack porn from earlier! When I was getting ready to fix supper, in fact.

Here, we've got some haphazardly broken -off fragments of one of the big unwieldy half-rounds of crispbread, and the obligary round of hushållsost to shave slices off.

Novel element of the day: some squeezy tube cheesy in a flavor neither of us had tried before. There are a lot to choose from, including various limited time versions. And I've enjoyed most of the ones that I've tried.

This looks like a pretty average display. The tubs at the bottom are of some of the same cheese spreads. "Soft cheese" may qualify as its own Nordic food group, which is fine by me.

At any rate, the verdict on this flavor variation? It was decidedly NOT "Flamin' Hot!", and didn't particularly make me think of sriracha either. "Strong" (a direct translation of the Swedish for "hot") was maybe overstating it a tad, which was not a huge surprise. This does have a little bit of mostly cayenne kick, and a pretty well rounded flavor including a hint of garlic.

Very pleasant component for a not-quite cheese and crackers snack. At least 7.5/10, would definitely buy another tube. I may try squeezing some on tortilla chips later.

[council-of-beetroot]

What kind of content would you like to see in the next HWS chapters?

Ideally having the next chapter consist of entirely of Lithuania or Poland in any shape or form whether historical Hetalia or nothing but suggestive images of Tolys I'd be over the moon with joy. Alas, this is unlikely. Not to beat a dead horse but as someone who can't stand the micronations if we are getting new characters can they at least be like legitimate countries? I don't really keep up with the manga admittedly as much as i should i really just skim through the parts without my faves like whatever the last chapter was with the Nordics I can't be bothered to read.

Really they should just give me ability to write for the Hetalia manga and make Lietalia happen. For real though as someone whose style of writing is short fast paced humour I think it would be extremely cool to have that visual component to work with that manga provides.