Sagas of Icelanders

Words of the High One

Swany — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:21:27 +0000

For these things give thanks at nightfall:
The day gone, a guttered torch,
A sword tested, the troth of a maid,
Ice crossed, ale drunk.

Hew wood in wind-time,
in fine weather sail,
Tell in the night-time tales to house-girls,
For too many eyes are open by day:
From a ship expect speed, from a shield, cover,
Keenness from a sword,
but a kiss from a girl.

Drink ale by the hearth, over ice glide,
Buy a stained sword, buy a starving mare
To fatten at home: and fatten the watch-dog.

Trust not an acre early sown,
Nor praise a son too soon:
Weather rules the acre, wit the son,
Both are exposed to peril,

A snapping bow, a burning flame,
A grinning wolf, a grunting boar,
A raucous crow, a rootless tree,
A breaking wave, a boiling kettle,
A flying arrow, an ebbing tide,
A coiled adder, the ice of a night,
A bride’s bed talk, a broad sword,
A bear’s play, a prince’ s children,
A witch’ s welcome, the wit of a slave,
A sick calf, a corpse still fresh,
A brother’s killer encountered upon
The highway, a house half-burned,
A racing stallion who has wrenched a leg,
Are never safe: let no man trust them.

Le Corbeau et le Renard

Swany — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:13:49 +0000

Maître Corbeau, sur un arbre perché,
Tenait en son bec un fromage.
Maître Renard, par l’odeur alléché,
Lui tint à peu près ce langage :
« Et Bonjour, Monsieur du Corbeau.
Que vous êtes joli ! que vous me semblez beau !
Sans mentir, si votre ramage,
Se rapporte à votre plumage,
Vous êtes le Phénix des hôtes de ces bois. »
A ces mots, le corbeau ne se sent pas de joie ;
Et pour montrer sa belle voix,
Il ouvre un large bec, laisse tomber sa proie.
Le renard s’en saisit, et dit : « Mon bon Monsieur,
Apprenez que tout flatteur
Vit aux dépens de celui qui l’écoute.
Cette leçon vaut bien un fromage, sans doute. »
Le corbeau, honteux et confus,
Jura, mais un peu tard, qu’on ne l’y prendrait plus.

The Milky Way over Devil’s Tower

Swany — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:55:10 +0000

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Whatever became of Froggy the Gremlin

Swany — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:09:49 +0000

Andy Devine

Swany — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:16:30 +0000

Hobo

Swany — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:23:28 +0000

World Wide Words: Hobo: Concerto for hobo and violence

Warning Signs – a set on Flickr

Swany — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:17:21 +0000

Warning Signs – a set on Flickr

Treaty 6

Swany — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:53:44 +0000

Alberta Online Encyclopedia : “Can we stop the power of the white man from spreading over the land like the grasshoppers that cloud the sky and then fall to consume every blade of grass and every leaf on the trees in their path? I think not. Before this happens let us ponder carefully our choice of roads.”

— Plains Cree Chief Ahtahkakoop (Star Blanket), as quoted by interpreter Peter Erasmus at the Treaty 6 negotiations at Fort Carleton in 1876

A True Image from False Kiva

Swany — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:43:19 +0000

Astronomy Picture of the Day: Far in the distance is part of the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, taken with a long duration exposure. Much closer, the planet Jupiter is visible as the bright point just to band’s left. Closer still are picturesque buttes and mesas of the Canyonlands National Park in Utah, USA, lit by a crescent moon. In the foreground is a cave housing a stone circle of unknown origin named False Kiva. The cave was briefly lit by flashlight during the long exposure. Astrophotographer Wally Pacholka.

B.C. sees spike in Sasquatch sightings

Swany — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:36:00 +0000

National Post: “Tales of a giant, hairy ape-like creature tramping through the woods are running wild in a northern interior B.C. town after a rash of sasquatch sightings.

There have been three reported sightings in the area within a month, said Brian Vike, the Houston, B.C.-based director of HBCC UFO Research. ‘To be honest with you, I don’t know what to make of all this,’ said Mr. Vike. ‘I know with UFOs we’re doing well in B.C., but I don’t know with the sasquatch. I’m just trying to figure it out.’

One of the sightings was reported by Houston resident Delores Harrie, who was at home on July 28 just after 6 p.m., when her two dogs began barking furiously. She saw the doorknob rattle, and when she went outside to investigate, she saw a shaggy creature running across the tree line into the bushes.

‘It was huge – about seven to eight feet tall – and hairy,’ said Ms. Harrie, 45. ‘He had long hair, shaggy… in a pine-beetle colour, totally covered.’ ‘I couldn’t believe how fast he moved,’ she added. ‘I can’t see it being a grizzly. They run but they don’t run on two legs. I know it’s not a moose either.’

Ms. Harrie, who was ‘freaked out’ about the encounter, said she’s trying to be open-minded about what she saw. ‘There are so many things out there. I think it would be a little crazy to think we’re the only ones here.’”