there's our catastrophe

re: neo-pagans whining about the avengers

buttsetcetera:

CAN I JUST SAY that as an authentic norwegian not only do i not care about comic book characters based on the ~gods of my ancestors~, but that if there is one thing regarding norse mythology that’s likely to get me to raise a bit of an eyebrow and put on my true norwegian grumpyface, it’s fucking american neo-pagans who ~practice asatru~ and bang on and on about the norse gods like it’s not just fucking embarrassing for them to claim some kind of connection with a religion that’s been dead for nearly a thousand years.

i mean listen, i won’t pretend these people don’t exist in scandinavia, because they do, and trust me, i am embarrassed, it is embarrassing, but jesus christ, can you people just not? 

because all i see whenever people who are not scandinavian - that is, from actual scandinavia as opposed to ~scandinavian-americans~ - get super into some aspect or other of their ~scandinavian heritage~ - and especially åsatru - is a bunch of creepy white people revelling in their particular brand of super extreme whiteness because they’re convinced it makes them super special. and it creeps me the fuck out. stop trying to base your identity on your own misunderstood ideas about your ~viking heritage~! it’s embarrassing! no one cares! go away!

and i mean, it really doesn’t help that white supremacists are all over åsatru like a goddamn rash, and while i’m sure it sucks to have your particular kind of neo-paganism be so strongly associated with neo nazis when you’re not a neo nazi or white supremacist yourself, i would be a lot more sympathetic towards the plight of misunderstood åsatru neo-pagans if their very existence didn’t creep me out as much as it does. 

IN SUMMARY i literally cannot believe that there are apparently people on tumblr crying cultural appropriation and misrepresentation of their religion because of the goddamn avengers, and also åsatru is a ludicrous excuse for a religion and if you consider yourself to be of this faith then you probably suck. 

I have thought long and hard about this issue and have come to the conclusion that white people who are super into their scandinavian heritage are, on average, about two drinks away from outright neo-nazism

(via buttsetcetera-deactivated201212)

origin of the name “bluetooth”

Harald Blåtand was King of Denmark from approximately A.D. 940 to 985. During his reign King Harald is reported to have united Denmark and Norway and to have brought Christianity to Scandinavia. Apparently “Blåtand” translates, at least loosely, to “Blue Tooth.” The origins of this name are uncertain, although it was relatively common during this time for kings to have a distinguishing name. (Some histories say that the name is attributed to Harald’s dark complexion; some accounts even indicate that King Harald was known for teeth of a bluish hue resulting from his fondness for blueberries, although this is probably folklore.) For a technology with its origins in Scandinavia, it seemed appropriate to the SIG founders to name the organization that was intended to unify multinational companies after a Scandinavian king who united countries. Thus was born the Bluetooth name, which initially was an unofficial code name for the project but today has become the trademark name of the technology and the SIG. 

source. 

file under: shit I did not know.