Finvarra - The Battle of Evermore

Thanks to Songhenge I came across the amazing band Finvarra. Just listen to their beautiful cover of Led Zeppelin’s The Battle of Evermore!

Here’s also an interview with the band (in Dutch):

Check out their website for some more great Celtic music.

Short Story "A Fair Trade" to be Published!

I got the good news that my flash fiction “A Fair Trade”* (set in my home city) will be published by Every Day Fiction sometime during the next two months! *Does happy dance* Check out their website for some more short fiction.

"Jozi Skyline" by Lotus Head

* A standalone piece. Probably. Supposed to be. But they sometimes take on a life of their own. 

I Have Actually Been Productive

Or, Why I have been MIA for 3 weeks

The short answer is working and studying. Luckily my tooth has been fixed (and I got an appointment with my own dentist and not the one I visited on The Saturday of Pain). I hold that my dentist is The Greatest Dentist in the World. He can do a root canal painlessly and you can immediately go back to work because you’re not writhing in pain.

At work we’re on double deadlines; so everyone in the company is on an adrenaline-filled rush to get everything finished before Christmas. My own adrenaline rush includes finishing my dissertation. This is the last push to submitting it in February next year; so I’ve placed all hobbies* on the back burner for now. This means almost no creative writing, crocheting, etc. But I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about upcoming study leave!

I am still of the opinion that watching the new Thor movie will count as “part of my studies” (as it contains elements of Norse mythology**). Now I must just find the time…

Poster from Comingsoon.net

* Not including reading…

** My research is about the use of Norse mythology in Afrikaans and Dutch texts. 

Why I have been completely unproductive*

Or, Proof That 2013 is an Unlucky Year
No, not because I have been taking these. I wish I could take these. I. Really. Do. So, instead of tweeting every few minutes that I'm still on the couch wishing I could leave my head somewhere until it stops hurting, I decided to rather stay away from social media for a few days.
At least I can see the dentist tomorrow... And I hope I don't have the song from Little Shop of Horrors stuck in my head. Again.

O, if only! But, at least, I have antibiotics and pain killers...

* This only includes my studies and creative writing, though...

Ageless Words Friday: The Battle of Maldon – with Lego!

I’ll admit I love stop-motion Lego films – especially those made by Brotherhood Workshop – so I was thrilled when I came across a short film about the Battle of Maldon made by DTGProductions, using the Anglo-Saxon poem and with Old English subtitles. If you haven’t visited Unlocked Wordhoard (theblog of Dr. Richard Scott Nokes) do so immediately after watching the film.

Without further ado, please enjoy The Battle of Maldon. For my other post relating to this battle; click on the links below the video.

Ageless Words Friday: The Battle of Maldon in Anglo-Saxon poetry

And for more Vikings and Saxons – The Battleof Stamford Bridge 

“Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað.”