Freydís Eiríksdóttir

| January 24, 2011

Of the known Icelandic sagas, both Grænlendinga Saga (The Saga of the Greenlanders) and Eiríks Saga Rauða (The Saga of Eirik the Red) speak of the discovery of Vinland – what we call North America – by the Vikings. They also make mention of Freydís Eiríksdóttir.  Freydís was the daughter of Eirik the Red and, […]

A Call to Arms

| November 20, 2010

“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” ~ Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon, 1942 ~ If you follow me here, then you know I regularly encounter subject matter that’s too big for one article to hold. Well, I’m at […]

Lest We Forget – A Parting Shot

| November 11, 2010

Quite a while ago I mastered singing the song titled The Green Fields of France. It’s been recorded by many, but my favourite arrangement is this one by The Fureys. Not only do I enjoy the arrangement and the voice of the man singing it, but there’s one line in particular that always held a […]

Lest We Forget – Poland 1939

| November 11, 2010

Peace, n. In international affairs, a period of cheating between two periods of fighting. ~ Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary As a student of military history I have long been aware of the German shenanigans with respect to Poland that finally dragged British Prime Minister Nevil Chamberlain kicking and screaming into a declaration of war […]

Lest We Forget – Family Ties

| November 11, 2010

“I will not stand for trivializing the sacrifices made by those who fought and often died or worse so I can sit hear speaking the truth as I see it, and to my mind the title of “Hero” is thrown around entirely too easily these days. There are times and situations in history that few […]

Dark Sentiments – Day 30

| October 30, 2010

WARNING: Links contained in this article will take you to EXTREMELY ADULT websites that may be disturbing to some readers. The taking captive of another human being for the purpose of doing with them anything your little heart desires is a recurring theme in history. Torture, running the full gamut from titillation to full on […]

Dark Sentiments – Day 29

Guest Post by Mrs. LFM

| October 29, 2010

Mrs. LFM here this evening. My Mate has granted me the honour of doing a guest post to share my love of dark entertainment. I was introduced to dark stories at a very early age. I thrived on them. Happy endings were for wussies, I liked ’em bleak and dreary. My initiation into that world […]

Dark Sentiments – Day 27

| October 27, 2010

Some sentiments are dark because they come of ignorance which is the darkest sentiment of all. Remember the words spoken to Ebenezer Scrooge by the Ghost of Christmas Present when the spirit exposed the two wretched, grasping urchins huddled beneath his robes, “This boy is Ignorance, this girl is Want. Beware them both, and all […]

Dark Sentiments – Day 26

| October 26, 2010

The darkest sentiments don’t come from the realm of the supernatural, the outer limits, or the twilight zone. They spring from the human mind where all things truly diabolical are born. Today I’m presenting a short film titled Neighbours by Norman McLaren that was produced by the National Film Board of Canada in 1952. The […]

Dark Sentiments – Day 21

| October 21, 2010

I broached the subject of the Wendigo on Dark Sentiments – Day 17, and though that article provided an introduction to the nasty thing, what I wrote that day was intended as an introduction to a tale supplied by the good James A. Keating. But the Wendigo is deserving of deeper exploration, particularly because a […]