At today’s Althing I’m taking a break from things Nordic in order to talk about other random goodness. But, like the legend of Asmund Frægdegjaevar that I’ve been pimping the last couple of months, today’s subject does include a warrior.

Sort of.

Maybe he’s more of lovable loser. He’s definitely a hero. His name? Skip. Skip Lipman. And he’s the real-life star of a docudrama called Darkon.

Don’t get me wrong, Skip isn’t heroic in the soldier/cop/firefighter sense — but I think you’ll agree that in the arena of the human condition, he’s got all the right stuff: he’s true to himself, he’s true to his family and friends, and he’s got the balls to scorn societal convention with every turn of his foam-padded sword.

See, Skip is what’s known as a live-action role-playing gamer. Yep. Along with hundreds of other folks in Maryland, Skip dresses up as a warrior — specifically a Roman centurion, I believe — in order to wage feudal war against other groups/countries in the Darkon Wargaming Club.

If you’re unfamiliar with such organizations, consider the sorts of exhibitors you might see at a Renaissance festival. If you’ve ever wondered how deeply those personas carryover into people’s personal lives, I think Darkon might give you some insight. Here’s a movie trailer — the first guy you see is our man Skip Lipman:

I can’t recommend this film highly enough. I DARE you not to pull for Skip — both on the battlefield, and off! Rent or buy Darkon the movie without delay.

Special thanks to Philip Martin for recommending Darkon for a slot at the Tuesday Althing. Also thanks to Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer for directing this bit of genius!

And to you, good reader, thanks for stopping by.

Today we reach the end of the Asmund Frægdegjaevar legend via the 13th and last song off the album by the Norwegian band Lumsk. This is supposed to be a happy song, but to me it sounds kind of sad. But keep listening beyond the organ/singing and you’ll soon feel downright jiggy — Lumsk gives us a cool bonus with a fiddles-only version of the most excellent I lytinne tva.

So, back to today’s tune: Der e ingi dag’e, which the album liner notes explain:

Asmund returns
The King and queen are looking out on the fjord as Asmund returns with their precious daughter Ermelin.

Listen:

So that’s it. Thanks for listening these past weeks. Did you buy this album yet?

I hope you’ll stop by next week, when I’ll start earning my keep around here again!

Only two songs left to play from the awesome album Asmund Frægdegjaevar by the Norwegian band Lumsk. Here’s track 12 — a tune called Kampen mot bergetrolli — and here’s what it’s about, from the liner notes:

The battle against the mountain trolls
Asmund slays all of the trolls and sets off from Trollebotten with all the gold and silver he can find. The magical horse takes [him and Ermelin] across the sea as if the water was made of solid earth.

Witness:

Thanks for stopping by! See ya Tuesday for the last song on this album, and of course for the conclusion to this highly truncated telling of the Asmund Frægdegjaevar legend.

Here’s track 11 from the album Asmund Frægdegjaevar by the Norwegian band Lumsk. It’s a long but good song. Here’s what it’s about, from the liner notes:

The magical horse
[Asmund] wonders how much gold the horse would want for helping him across the fjord. The horse replies that he must sacrifice his right hand (lay down his sword). Asmund confers with his God and agrees upon this term if both Ermelin and himself are taken safely across. He tells Ermelin to gather gold in a box, while he swings his sword one last time.

Behold:

Thanks for stopping by! See ya Tuesday.

Here’s track 10 from the awesome album Asmund Frægdegjaevar by the Norwegian band Lumsk. This one’s an instrumental, but here’s the portion of the Asmund story that this song represents. From the liner notes:

In the far north of Trollebotten
Asmund finds his way out of the mountain-realm, but his ship is gone, and so are his brothers. He heads back into Trollebotten where he meets a magical horse.

Listen:

Thanks for stopping by! See ya Tuesday.

Here’s track 9 from the album Asmund Frægdegjaevar by the Norwegian band Lumsk. It’s the first song I ever heard from this album and I still love it! I posted the video on this blog before, but now that I own the album I actually (kinda) know what it’s about. And so will you. The name of the song is I lytinne tva. From the liner notes:

Cut in half
Asmund fights the Troll-mother. She claims that she is stronger than him by far, since she has been fighting Christian men before. Asmund wounds her in the gut and she tells him that the only way of saving her soul is to chop her in half and walk in between the two parts. He replies that he will cut her in half, but only the devil himself would walk in between them. As she is dying she swears that Asmund will not make it out of Trollebotten alive.

Behold:

Thanks for stopping by. See ya Tuesday!

Head’s up, yo! Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is alive and well and, well, we’ve published our second issue. I co-own and help edit this mutha. Check out some cool adventure fantasy — stories and poems — here:

http://www.heroicfantasyquarterly.com/

Thanks for stopping by. See ya Tuesday!

After failing to post in the last two weeks, I’m happy to be back on track with the Tuesday Althing. Today, the continuation of the album Asmund Frægdegjaevar by the Norwegian band Lumsk. I couldn’t find the 7th track on YouTube, so I’ll just post the lyrics to that and then get on with the lyrics and tuneage for the 8th track.

From the liner notes, here’s what Skomegyvri is about:

The troll-mother
Skomegyvri comes charging in asking who this little worm stealing her daughter is. Asmund proudly presents himself as Asmund Frægdegjaevar (Frægd: bold, honourable). She tells him that no one is bolder than Thor — the thunder god. Asmund asks her where she has got hold of the broad, massive belt she is wearing.

Well said Skomegyvri, well said. No one is bolder than Thor! Ahem.

The next song on the album is called Olaf’s belti. Yep:

Olaf’s belt
Skomegyveri tells him [Asmund] that she had tried to kill King Olaf when he was on his crusade two years ago. He had struck her over the head with such force that her wounds had still not healed properly.

The King cast fire, holy-water and glowing ashes upon her, and she knew she was not welcome in this world. She flicked open the King’s belt and took it with her as she sunk into the earth.

Listen:

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to come back next Tuesday when I’ll post one of the best songs on this album — a song I’ve posted before on Storm of the North blog. But this time we’ll be able to tell just what the heck it’s about!

Welcome to another Tuesday Althing! The subject of today’s Scandinavian interest is the continuation of  the album Asmund Frægdegjaevar by the Norwegian band Lumsk. And lucky you! It’s two-for-Tuesday here at Storm of the North blog; I’m queuing up a pair of Lumsk tunes today — tracks 5 and 6 from the aforementioned album.

First up, Har som spunnid gull. From the liner notes:

Hair like spun gold
While Asmund is asleep Princess Ermelin enters the hall. She is beautiful, her hair looks like it has been spun out of gold and her eyelashes of soft silk. Asumnd wakes up, leaps down from the bed and embraces her.

Dig it:

Sounded gold and silky to me. But much like real life, beauty and tranquil moments are fleeting. Here’s track 6 — Slepp meg — which sounds troubling even to non-Norwegian speaking folks like me. From the liner notes:

Let go of me
Ermelin is under the spell of the Troll-mother, and she has made her believe that she is her daughter. “Let go of me Asmund, or I will call my mother!” Asmund tries to tell her that she is the King’s daughter, but the Princess insists that her mother will crush him if she sees them together.

Check it out:

Thanks for stopping by. See ya Tuesday!

As promised, here’s the fourth track from the album Asmund Frægdegjaevar by the Norwegian band Lumsk. My apologies — there’s in fact no real video, but I don’t think you’ll miss it because this song kicks ASS! From the liner notes, here’s what I trollehender is about:

In the realm of the trolls
Asmund enters the first hall which is dripping with blood and squirming with serpents. In the second hall he spots a large cauldron, and the third hall has beds made with silk sheets. Asmund falls asleep on one of the beds.

Witness:

Thanks for stopping by. See ya Tuesday!