Asgard

In Norse religion, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Enclosure of the Æsir") is one of the Nine Worlds and home to the Æsir tribe of gods. It is surrounded by an incomplete wall attributed to a Hrimthurs riding the stallion Svaðilfari, according to Gylfaginning. Odin and his wife, Frigg, are the rulers of Asgard.

One of Asgard's well known locations is Valhöll (Valhalla), in which Odin rules.

Attestations

The primary sources regarding Asgard come from the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Icelandic Snorri Sturluson, and the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from a basis of much older Skaldic poetry.

Poetic Edda

Völuspá, the first poem of the work, mentions many of the features and characters of Asgard portrayed by Snorri, such as Yggdrasil and Iðavöllr.

Prose Edda

The Prose Edda presents two views regarding Asgard.

Prologue

In the Prologue Snorri offers an euhemerized and Christian-influenced interpretation of the myths and tales of his forefathers. As-gard, he conjectures, is the home of the Æsir (singular Ás) in As-ia, making a folk etymological connection between the three "As-"; that is, the Æsir were "men of Asia", not gods, who moved from Asia to the north and some of which intermarried with the peoples already there. Snorri's interpretation of the 13th century foreshadows 20th-century views of Indo-European migration from the east.

Asgard (Stargate)

The Asgard are a highly advanced, fictional extraterrestrial race in the science fiction series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. They are first mentioned in the episode "Thor's Hammer", and first seen in "Thor's Chariot". In the series, the Asgard gave rise to Norse mythology on Earth, as well as accounts of the Roswell "Greys". Due to their technological Prowess, the Asgard are critical allies in Earth's fight against the Goa'uld, and later the Ori. The Asgard characters on the show are realized through a combination of puppets and computer-generated imagery.

Background

The episode "The Fifth Race" establishes that the Asgard inhabit the galaxy of Ida, and that they were once part of an alliance of four great races with the Ancients, Nox, and Furlings. In ancient times, the Asgard visited Earth, posing as the gods of Norse mythology. Norse legends tell of how they protected the humans against the "Ettins" (Goa'uld). The Asgard protect a number of planets in the Milky Way from Goa'uld attack under the Protected Planets Treaty. In the time of Stargate SG-1, the Asgard are a dying race. Having lost the capacity for sexual reproduction, they perpetuate themselves by transferring their minds into successive cloned bodies. Repeated generations of cloning has led to an irreversible degeneration of the Asgard genome. A 30,000-year-old Asgard ancestor is depicted in "Revelations", showing a more human-like appearance.

Places in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

This is a list of places featured in Douglas Adams's science fiction series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The series is set in a fictionalised version of the Milky Way galaxy and thus, while most locations are pure invention, many are based on "real world" settings such as Alpha Centauri, Barnard's Star and various versions of the Earth.

The Galaxy

"The Galaxy" is our home galaxy, the Milky Way, though it is referred to exclusively as "the Galaxy" in the series. Apart from a very brief moment during the first radio series, when the main characters were transported outside the galactic plane into a battle with Haggunenons, and a moment when one of Arthur's careless remarks is sent inadvertently through a wormhole into "a distant galaxy", the Galaxy provides the setting for the entire series. It is home to thousands of sentient races, some of whom have achieved interstellar capability, creating a vast network of trade, military and political links. To the technologically advanced inhabitants of the Galaxy, a small, insignificant world such as Earth is considered invariably primitive and backward. The Galaxy appears, at least nominally, to be a single state, with a unified government "run" by an appointed President. Its immensely powerful and monumentally callous civil service is run out of the Megabrantis Cluster, mainly by the Vogons.

Jeff Hanson

Jeff Hanson (March 3, 1978 – June 5, 2009) was a singer-songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist whose voice was described in a 2005 Paste review as an "angelic falsetto, a cross between Alison Krauss and Art Garfunkel that is often (understandably) mistaken for a female contralto."

Hanson's vocal style is sometimes compared to Elliott Smith's singing manner.

Early life

Hanson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In a lengthy interview for the now defunct daily online magazine Splendind he said:

He started learning guitar at the age of four years and was involved in musical theatre at 10, then shortly afterwards joined a boy's choir for 3 years. By the age of 13 formed the emo/indie rock band M.I.J. with bandmates Ryan Scheife (bass) and Mike Kennedy (drums). The band released a 7" on One Percent Records, an EP and a full album on Caulfield Records and remained active for seven years.

Career

He began a solo career in 2003 and was the first artist to be signed to Kill Rock Stars Records after sending in an unsolicited demo tape. He released three albums for the label, Son in 2003 and Jeff Hanson in 2005 recorded at Presto! Recording Studios with AJ Mogis and Mike Mogis. His third album titled Madam Owl was released on August 19, 2008.

SON-9

SON-9 (NATO reporting name Fire Can) is a type of Russian/Soviet fire director radar for 57 mm and 100 mm anti-aircraft guns.

It was widely employed during the Vietnam war.

See also

External links

SON-50

SON-50 (NATO reporting name Flap Wheel) is a type of Russian\Soviet fire director radar for 57 mm anti-aircraft guns.

It has been widely employed during the Vietnam war.

See also

External links

Thor (comics)

Thor, the god of Norse mythology, has appeared as a character in various comics over the years, appearing in series from a range of publishers.

Marvel Comics

Thor (often called The Mighty Thor) is a Marvel Comics superhero, based on the thunder god of Norse mythology. The superhero was created by editor Stan Lee and penciller Jack Kirby, who co-plotted, and scripter Larry Lieber, and first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (Aug. 1962).

On a mission from his father, Odin, Thor acts as a superhero while maintaining the secret identity of Dr. Donald Blake, an American physician with a partially disabled leg. Blake can transform by tapping his walking stick on the ground; the cane becomes the magical hammer Mjolnir and Blake transforms into Thor.

Thor, a founding member of the superhero group the Avengers, often battles his evil adoptive brother Loki, a Marvel character adapted from the Norse god of mischief. He is among Marvel's most powerful superheroes. Many recurring characters in his stories are based on Norse Mythology. Apart from this main superhero, Marvel features a number of characters based on him.