Am I a hypocrite?
Apparently.
Am I for sale?
It would appear so.
As you may recall, I groused a while back about the new animated Disney movie, How to Train Your Dragon. Not merely because of the historically inaccurate horned helmets on the Viking characters, but because of my intense weariness with the innovation—which long since became a cliché—of the sympathetic, victimized dragon.
Guess what? One of our local IMAX theaters (the one at the Minnesota Zoo), has asked the Viking Age Club and Society to be there in costume for the opening, next Saturday. And I’ve agreed to participate.
My price? A free ticket to a movie I’m not even particularly interested in.
It’s for the good of the club, I tell myself. To raise our public visibility and attract new members.
So I’m taking a bullet (or, more authentically, an arrow) for the group.
I’m a hero.
That’s how I intend to look at it, anyway.
Now the only question is, why did they invite us for the 20th, when the official opening is a week later? Sneak preview?
I’ll keep you posted. As it is, we’re scheduled to be at the Great Clips IMAX Theater at the Minnesota Zoo from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., this Saturday.
For those of you in the area, who wish to come and rub it in.
Update: I just found out this is a special preview. My source wasn’t sure if it was open to the public or not. So if you come to mock me, you may not get in at all. Which only serves you right.
Are you guys going to gnaw on your shields and go bare sark, or will you instead discuss the latest weave out of Miklagaard?
Tunic envy. I’ve seen it before. So sad.
Mr. Walker:
Does the Viking Age Club and Society do kids’ birthday parties? For my personal safety, sign me “Anonymous.”
Will you be wearing your helmet with the yellow yarn braids hanging out of it?
(Actually, I know I can get away with this only because Lars needs an excuse to stop in Fargo on his way to the Höstfest. Besides, his sword is safely locked in the back of Mrs. Hermanson; they’d never let him bring it into the Iron Skillet.)
The Iron Skillet doesn’t allow personal weaponry? Do they provide plastic forks and knives? I think the owner needs to man-up.
I don’t know who Mrs. Hermanson is, but I wish she would show up and leave a comment so I wouldn’t be the only girl here.
Meg, Mrs. Hermanson is my car, and she’s happily illiterate. We do have other female commenters, though I don’t think we’ve heard from many of them lately.
Well, then, I guess we won’t be hearing from Mrs. Hermanson any time soon.
Hey, yo, Lars. My sister sent me this link, and we’re wonderin’ what you think of the costumage of the Viking Jarl Squad? They are so shiny.
Up Helly Aa. I’m familiar with it. I’m actually impressed with the squad costumes. They’re better than they used to be. They’ve left the wings on the Jarl’s helmet, but I salute the overall effort.
Meg, you’re not the only girl here.
According to the latest National Geographic, those Vikings were wimps: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100315-headless-vikings-england-execution-pit/
The evidence also showed that most of them were severely wounded before being captured. I have no doubt that they were only overcome after battling desperate odds.
My personal guess is that this execution was part of the only attempt at genocide we know of in England for that time period–Aethelred the Unrede’s attempt to kill all the Danes in England, in the early 11th Century.
What have you done to offend your female audience Lars?