Viewing Life with New Eyes

This blog will serve multiple purposes. I will showcase music that I listen to regularly and/or music that impacts the roles of my life. I will also share my journey through my ancestry, as well as History and Mythology from the countries I am getting to know on my heritage journey. Finally I will sometimes post about my adventures in fatherhood and any other things I might find worthy. -ᚦᛟᚱᚨᛞᛟᛞᛁᚾᛋᛟᚾ-

[fjorn-the-skald]

No caption necessary except 😂

[thoradodinson]

The list

This is a record of all the valid book recommendations I received before, during and in the year after my 2012 quest. I chose one book for e

I’m going to add this to my rediscovered love of literature. Given the “commericalized” tests I’ve taken providing a look at the possible places my DNA is from around this big blue marble, adding some books from the world to my goal of reading more will be fun, educational and informative. I have already completed Afghanistan, so why stop there.

[thoradodinson]

Fatherhood is the best job I have ever had

Even though I’m not the best at it. I find myself easily angered or yelling about trivial things from time to time, then find myself reciting Fred Rogers or Daniel Tiger passages to calm me down. I am writing this just as a reminder to myself that I have a long journey ahead of me, but also to tell the story of what fatherhood is for me.

To be continued...

[thoradodinson]

“Let's lay it right on the line. Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. But, unlike a team of costumed super-villains, they can’t be halted with a punch in the snoot, or a zap from a ray gun. The only way to destroy them is to expose them — to reveal them for the insidious evils they really are. The bigot is an unreasoning hater — one who hates blindly, fanatically, indiscriminately. If his hang-up is black men, he hates ALL black men. If a redhead once offended him, he hates ALL redheads. If some foreigner beat him to a job, he’s down on ALL foreigners. He hates people he’s never seen — people he’s never known — with equal intensity — with equal venom.

“Now, we’re not trying to say it’s unreasonable for one human being to bug another. But, although anyone has the right to dislike another individual, it’s totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race — to despise an entire nation — to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill out hearts with tolerance. For then, and only then, will we be truly worthy of the concept that man was created in the image of God – a God who calls us ALL — His children.

“Pax et Justitia, Stan.”

Stan Lee

[thoradodinson]

The messages that he spread through his work will never be forgotten. Whether it was the X-Men, Black Panther or your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man the characters he helped create resonate with so many. He gave us all a place to retreat from this cruel world. He showed us that, despite our differences, we are very similar, we are important and we matter. Not many people have reached the amount of people he did with his work, and truthfully I don’t think anyone else will.

Excelsior indeed, and thank you.

[thoradodinson]

Recently I received updates to both my 23andMe and AncestryDNA results. The first three photos are 23andMe and the last two are AncestryDNA. There are more similarities, but also some disparities. For the most part both services conclude I am African (as I am an African-American male) with European Heritage. It is interesting that 23andMe also indicates some Austronesian, which I would have gotten from my mother as she had this area on her AncestryDNA test. The biggest change is that there are now breakdowns of the European heritage which previously was labeled as Scandinavian or broadly European. There remains some Scandinavian and broadly European within the results but one test decreased the percentage entirely while the other decreased and was changed to Sweden with regards to the Scandinavian. It appears now that most of my European DNA comes from Northwestern Europe (France/Germany included)/England/Ireland/Scotland/Wales and based on their algorithms would be more recent than my Scandinavian as previously reported by 6+ generations to now 3-5. While this is very commercial, and simply put I am the person that I am, I have been fortunate enough to obtain an extensive family history from my father’s side of the family as he passed away when I was 5. So, now I’m working on my mother’s side so I can pass this all along to future generations. Research is the best way to know where you come from, but having these commercial products is fascinating because while you certainly have no true ties to these places, buried deep inside you they still have an influence on who you are. Stay tuned for future updates.

-ᛏᛟ

[thoradodinson]

Words of K

While watching Puppy Dog Pals, I prematurely started singing the song for this episode. That did not sit well with K. She looks at me sternly and says “No dada, don’t sing. They are not singing yet so you are not allowed to sing.” I laugh and say okay. When the music starts for the song she says “Okay, now you can sing. Sing! Daddy, sing!”

I didn’t sing it all because I was laughing, and that definitely did not sit well with her 😂.

[viking-illustrator]

Detail from my Norse Cosmology scroll showing the organization of tge Realms in Yggdrasil. This is probably my favorite part of the whole piece.

[Above] Asgard, with a separation within it to represent Valhalla. Hugin and Munin are nearby, and Odin is hanging from a branch below.

Below that is Alfheim.

The central circle represents Midgard, and is encircled by a representation of Jormugandr.

Branching off Midgard on the top left and right is Muspelheim and Vanaheim, repectively.

Branching off Midgard on the bottom left and right are Jotunheim and Niflheim, respectively.

I placed these here as I viewed Niflheim and Muspelheim as opposites, and had similar views of Vanaheim—the home of the Vanir gods and goddesses—and Jotunheim.

In keeping with that theme of opposites, Svartalfheim—home of the Dark Elves—branches directly off the bottom of Midgard, opposing Alfheim—home of the Light Elves.

At the very bottom of Yggdrasil is Helheim, sometimes just called Hel.

The three gold stars represent the Norns, each accompanied by two runes that I viewed as being able to represent opposing ideas. This concept was meant to illustrate how the Norns carve runes into the roots of Yggdrasil that create changes within the nine realms—but particularly our home, Midgard. Because if this, the six runes seen with the Norns at the roots of Yggdrasil are also within the central circle of Midgard.

[thoradodinson]

Thoughts while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for lunch:

I wish they didn’t make Toodles anthropomorphic. As if Toodles wasn’t creepy enough summoning mouseketools from the netherworld, this creepy robotic voice makes it even worse...with those weird facial expressions.

[thoradodinson]

Breakfast conversation this morning

Me: Here you go sweetie. You can eat the eggs and bacon but the hash browns are still really hot.

K: Okay daddy. (Takes a bite of eggs) the eggs aren’t hot. (Picks up bacon) this isn’t hot either.

Me: I know, it’s good huh?

K: Yeah, but my brownie is way to hot. I can blow on it.

Me: 😂 okay

...never touched the “brownie” 😂😂😂

I love little interactions like this with my child. The evolution of not only a child’s language, but their understanding is remarkable. As I type this she is trying to do a head stand on the couch. Some experiences you just shouldn’t take for granted.

[thoradodinson]

Okay I was gone for a minute...but I’m back now.

I’ve been gone from here for a little over a month. The last posts I made were in September. I’ve been working a lot and have not had as much time to really do a lot of things outside of work and spending time with my family. I did receive some updates on my ancestry composition from both 23andMe and AncestryDNA. A lot of surprising changes, namely that my more recent ancestors were identified out from some of the more broad calculations that I was originally given, especially in Europe.

With Halloween just passed, and taking my child trick or treating, it really just makes you appreciate all the time you have with you loved ones. One thing I’ve been working on is a private Facebook group for parents, called The Progenitors Cooperative. I wanted to make a place where parents, male or female, biological or adoptive, traditional or non-traditional could all come together in a safe and positive environment. A lot of groups I’m in on Facebook have either started doing subscriptions or they were very divisive. So that’s another thing I’ve been working on while I was away.

I hope to make this a very important part of my life in the near future, but probably won’t kick it into high gear until the new year. I want to get a plan together of what I really want to do with this blog. Whether that is a rebranding or just reconfigurations of things. I want to share my experience and interactions with this world and my journey in fatherhood. I also want to share and learn things about the different areas of the world where scientifically and commercially I have discovered an ancestral connection. I want to be able to pass this knowledge on to my family and maybe, just maybe, have a legacy one day to pass on to my child(ren). I have also been toying with the idea of doing some original photographs on the blog as well, and maybe recounting some stories from my life. A huge inspiration for this comes from @wilwheaton.

The future is looking bright! Stay tuned...

[thoradodinson]

Day 30 - Post the last record I purchased - The Moana Soundtrack; what can I say I love this and could probably listen to it everyday.

[thoradodinson]

Day 29 - Post a Record that you don’t know why you keep...it will most likely never get played - I’ve played this once and have yet to feel the urge to listen to it again.

[thoradodinson]

Day 28 - Post the rarest/limited release in my collection - City and Colour, “The Hurry and the Harm” from 2014. A 500 copy limited release my brother-in-law got me this copy. 49/500 I think which is awesome. Thanks again man!

[thoradodinson]

Day 27 - Post a Record that is best listened to in the dark - Truthfully I can listen to this anytime, but it just produces this feeling when you listen to it in the dark (at least for me) that is difficult to explain.

[thoradodinson]

Day 26 - Post a Record that features my favorite cover art - This probably isn’t my all-time favorite but it is one of my current favorites. Whatever ridicule I may face, I don’t really care, but I’ve loved HIM since I was an emo kid in high school. I was fortunate enough to see them live twice before they lowered the final curtain and witnessed two of the best shows I’ve ever seen. That being said, something about the simplicity and eerie factor of this photo is why I love it so much. The little bit of research I did on it states that it is a photograph of a statue frontman Ville Valo purchased that was edited/photoshopped and silk-screened.

[thoradodinson]

Day 25 - Post a Record that has a great beard - I mean I wish I had that beard, but unfortunately my mustache doesn’t grow. If this isn’t a good, wholesome beard then I don’t know what is.