I haven’t posted anything in a long time. And the reason is very simple – I haven’t had the time. In the beginning of September I visited my brother in Scotland again. This time I really enjoyed the trip and got to see more of Edinburgh. I just relaxed and had a great time there. But when I got back I suddenly had so much to do – my every day job which in recent months has become more intense and has caused more stress, then my Monday videos and also the promotion for Metal-Rules.com. In addition I’ve had some personal problems too. And the culmination point of all this stress and work was when I collapsed in our local supermarket on October 28th.

I have to start by saying that I am not an epileptic. I’ve never had an epileptic seizure in my life. This was the first time. I do have migraine headaches but no seizures have ever come up. On the day I collapsed I was in the supermarket (luckily with my mother) and I was looking at something when all of a sudden I felt really weird, unrealistic, I couldn’t decide if I should put the thing back where it belongs or hold it in my hand. Then I felt really sick, I turned around to tell it to my mother and that’s the last thing I remember. The next I remember is me going to have a CT scan of my head. My mother later explained that I had a seizure and she had called an ambulance and I was taken into emergency room. The following week I all sorts of tests were done including EEG and sleep-EEG. My neurologist said that I had had a tonic-clonic epileptic seizure. The seizures are divided into two phases, the tonic phase and the clonic phase, hence the name of the seizure, though a tonic–clonic seizure will often be preceded by an aura. Aura – the person may feel a sense of strong deja vu, lightheadedness and/or dizziness, unusual (and possibly inappropriate) emotions, intense feelings of discomfort or foreboding, altered vision and hearing. Sometimes, the person will lose complete awareness and start making odd or pointless repetitive movements (such as picking at clothes or lip smacking) towards the end of the aura, at which point the seizure has progressed to become a complex partial seizure. Tonic phase – the person will quickly lose consciousness, and the skeletal muscles will suddenly tense, often causing the extremities to be pulled towards the body or rigidly pushed away from it, which will cause the person to fall if standing. The tonic phase is usually the shortest part of the seizure, usually lasting only a few seconds. The person may also express vocalizations like a loud moan or scream during the tonic stage, due to air forcefully expelled from the lungs. Clonic phase – the person’s muscles will start to contract and relax rapidly, causing convulsions. These may range from exaggerated twitches of the limbs to violent shaking or vibrating of the stiffened extremities. The person may roll and stretch as the seizure spreads. The eyes typically roll back or close and the tongue often suffers bruising sustained by strong jaw contractions. Due to physical and nervous exhaustion, postictal sleep invariably follows a tonic–clonic seizure. Confusion and complete amnesia upon regaining consciousness is usually experienced and slowly wears off as the person becomes gradually aware that a seizure occurred. Sometimes people that experience having a tonic-clonic seizure for the first time become sick, such as experiencing lightheaded feelings, vomiting, nervousness and other non-life-threatening symptoms.

The neurologist said that I may not have epilepsy and may not have another seizure again but then again this seizure happened all of a sudden/out of the blue and said that if certain conditions in my life would be the same as on that day then I will probably will get another seizure. So I guess it means that overall I need to take things easier. I need to do things slower, calm down, reduce the stress factors in my life and not to take everything so seriously and start growing a thicker skin.  Otherwise I would get another seizure and could say like the French singer Dalida in her song “Je suis malade” (“I am sick”).

I’ve been back from Scotland for almost a week now but I haven’t had the time to respond to emails, Youtube comments or just any other such thing. I was exhausted when I got back and mentally I arrived back in Estonia only today which is Saturday. This time being in Scotland wasn’t all fun and games so to say, it was tiring and emotionally hard for me. You can read about my previous trip to Scotland here. So here’s what happened to me in Scotland in the shortest possible version I can write.

Firstly, this time we chose to fly with Ryanair. And I have to admit I had my doubts because I hadn’t flied with cheap airlines before. I’ve always used some other companies but this time I chose Ryanair because it was the only way I could get a direct flight to Edinburgh. And I must say it wasn’t a bad experience at all. We had booked priority boarding which meant we could choose better seats and sit all together. The service was good and we got there on time. The only thing that was a bit weird was that all of us had a headache because of the flying. And not just only flying there but also during flying back to home also. I don’t know what caused it but it was the only negative thing.

When we arrived in Edinburgh we had to take a bus to the city center and then go to the train station to catch a train to Dundee. That all went really smoothly and after 1,5h we arrived in Dundee. For the first couple of days we had booked a hotel to live in because my brother first had to get the keys to his apartment and we had to tidy the apartment and then we could “move in” there. So the hotel we had booked was called Craigtay Hotel and it was located quite far from the city center and the train station. We took a taxi. And I’m glad we did that because the taxi driver was so friendly, welcomed us to Dundee and later when we had a problem with the hotel he came to the rescue. So a big thank you to the Dundee taxi driver who drove the three of us to Cragtay Hotel. When we finally reached the hotel we bumped into our first problem. We had notified the hotel that we will be arriving quite late but when we rang the doorbell nobody answered. Then we rang again and again and then knocked on the door and nothing. Nobody answered. The friendly taxi driver saw it and as I said, came to the rescue. He knew the phone number of the hotel and just called the staff there and notified them that they actually have visitors outside their hotel who would like to get in. Then finally the hotel door opened and we got in.

Getting into this hotel was the first problem but I must admit that the hotel itself was a problem in general. It was one of the worst hotels I’ve been in. It’s location was pretty far from the city center, at a first glance one wouldn’t see that building as a hotel, then there wasn’t an elevator there, only stairs. Then the key of our room was bent and the door didn’t open correctly, the floors were squeaky - every time you walked around the room it made the squeaky sound. The bathroom of the hotel was horrible. And then the breakfast serving. The following morning we had a meeting with the real estate agent through whom we rented my brother’s apartment but the service in the hotel was just so slow that I thought we have to skip breakfast in order not to be late for the meeting. And there weren’t many people there in hotel (the hotel had only like 16 or 17 rooms) and every morning when we were having breakfast there were maybe 2 or 3 people with us there. The food itself was good. But when we thought that the man serving us breakfast that morning was slow we were so wrong. The two following mornings we were serviced by two different women working there and the women were even slower that the man, I thought we would never get our breakfast. And then when we were checking out from the hotel the same woman who was serving us breakfast was in the reception desk and when we gave her the key she started asking money from us. I was surprised and asked for what it was. She said it was the hotel bill. I was stunned because our travel agent had booked the hotel and we had already paid for the hotel so  now it seemed we have to pay for the second time. Luckily some older woman came and explained to the younger woman that the bill has been paid and said to us that everything is ok. I was just speechless. In retrospect I can say that this hotel was exactly like the British comedy “Fawlty Towers” only without Mr.Fawlty. But everything else in the hotel was similar to that TV-show.

But I have to bring out that the letting agency (real estate agency) through which we got the apartment was really professional. My brother rented or as the British say let the apartment through Hamish Robbie Lettings and we got the keys from Mr. Hamish Robbie himself. He was really friendly and a true professional. So this was definitely a positive experience. The apartment at first surprised me a bit because it needed more cleaning and tidying up than I had imagined but after all the cleaning had been done I could say that it’s a nice place located in a nice surrounding. But all the cleaning we did, my God, I think I’ve never done so much cleaning on one day. We started from the kitchen (windows, floors, walls and all other stuff) and ended in the corridor of the whole house. I was drop-dead tired when we finally finished. But the end result wasn’t bad at all

And then another problem came when we went to the bank to set put an account for my brother. I think I’ve never been so pissed about a bank before than I was there. The bank was called Royal Bank Of Scotland. And before I explain what the problem was I must explain how it is in Estonia to get a bank account. In Estonia when you want to open a debit card bank account you go to the bank, take a number, talk to a customer service person and get everything set up. And then the customer service person tells you than within 5 days you can come to bank again to collect your card and you automatically have internet banking. Easy to do. But in Scotland with the Royal Bank of Scotland….. It was just plain bureaucracy. When you went into the bank first you had to stop at the reception desk and had to explain what you want to do there in the bank. Then we were directed to a customer servant and he looked through our tenancy papers and said it wasn’t enough that we had to get some paper from the university to confirm that my brother is a student there and to confirm his Dundee address. He then booked us an appointment with an adviser.  We got the letter from the university and then had the meeting with the adviser. She looked through the papers again, my brother filled out some form and and she went to copy the papers. When she came back she said that my brother can’t open an account because he can’t prove that he lives in his current Dundee address. For evidence we had the tenancy agreement/contract, the first rent paid by cheque  and the university letter confirming him living on his current address. But no, it didn’t suit the Royal Bank Of Scotland. We left there feeling quite hopeless. I was actually pissed off. What the fuck? The bank account was so important to us because all the other contracts (internet, phone etc) depended on my brother having a Scottish bank account. The following morning I marched into the bank and informed some guy in the reception desk that the adviser had made a mistake and the mistake needs to be corrected. The man looked surprised and went looking for the adviser to whom we had a meeting with the previous day. The man then returned with an excuse from the adviser and said that he would deal with us instead. I guess the woman who had advised us the day before got scared of me. Yeah, I’m definitely a person to be afraid of Anyways, we started to explain everything from the beginning to the man and it turned out that he understood things better since he was himself actually an adviser specially for students who come and want to open an account there. He looked through the papers and said that the tenancy agreement verifies that my brother lives on his current address and everything should be fine. But advised us to go back to the university and let them re-do the letter that confirms that my brother has been accepted because letter started with “To whom it may concern….” but they needed it to be directed to them “To Royal Bank Of Scotland”. Ridiculous but we still did it. And then the man-adviser said that the account would be active in 24h and my brother would receive the debit card via regular mail within 3-5 days. We were happy that finally things were done with the bank. We left Scotland but my brother still hadn’t received his card. It arrived to him finally this week (exactly 5 days later) and at first it wasn’t the card, it was the codes card which one needs to log into their account. The real card arrived a day later. And the internet banking didn’t come right away, like after the account was active. My brother had to register himself online to start the internet banking. And this week when he wanted to do just that it was revealed that he needs some kind of activation code which is coming in another regular mail. So it seems that he still can’t use the bank account correctly and for example can’t transfer money from his Estonian account to his Scottish account which was the primary goal of opening the account in the Scottish bank.  I myself have an account in Estonia in a Swedish bank and as I explained the opening of an account in that bank is very easy. And that bank I’m in, the Scandinavian bank, is one of the safest banks in Europe (excluding Swiss banks). And I’m about 95% sure it’s more safe than the Royal Bank Of Scotland so all the hassle and the bureaucracy  was pointless and just a waste of time. In a long time I haven’t been so pissed about something than I was about this bank. What made me angry was the fact that everything could have been made easier and faster and in the end we had all the right documents with us – the advisers just couldn’t read them right. It was just sick. I really felt that we were being treated as second class citizens and that is something I absolutely cannot tolerate. I guess that’s why I, who normally am the quite one and say to others to calm down, was so “fired up” that I just marched in and demanded my rights. I guess it was rude but I couldn’t see another way. So yeah, my personal experience with the Royal Bank Of Scotland was extremely bad and I really felt like the bank treated us like we were second class citizens. It’s funny – usually banks compete with each other over clients because they want the money coming into their bank but it seems that the Royal Bank of Scotland doesn’t want money

After the “battle” in the bank I was emotionally so drained. I drank a double espresso and I still felt tired. Then there were some minor other problems but they are not worth mentioning here. Then a fun fact when we were buying house hold things – in Scotland it’s forbidden for someone under 21 years of age to buy sharp knives. And when we took a taxi from the apartment to get to the train station the taxi company asked when our train is leaving and where are we going (with the train). I was like wtf? Why is this even important to them?

In the end my brother settled in the apartment nicely and we got some things done but all the things I was hoping to be done during the week I was there couldn’t be made because of the bank. This made the leaving even harder for me. I went along to help him settle and help with all the contracts and documents and almost all of the contracts he has to do by himself because I had to be back in Estonia. As I said I left with a very heavy heart. But it seems that my brother is coping really well and at the moment things are starting to resolve. But since the week in Scotland was exhausting physically and emotionally for me I felt like an even bigger burden had been put on me. Maybe I feel better when I visit my brother again in the beginning of September. And maybe then the “burden” will disappear.

End note: I want to emphasize that the people in Dundee in general were friendly and not everything was bad and negative. And the city itself is still beautiful and worth a visit

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve made a more personal blog post. But this time I want to write on more personal matters. I wrote about my brother’s leaving in this post.  The date of his departure to Scotland has come  – he will leave for Scotland next Saturday. I’m going to help him move there and therefore there will be no “Heavy News” for the week of August 1 and August 8. I feel bad for canceling the news but as I have always emphasized - my family comes first.

For the past year I’ve been living with the idea of my brother moving to another country and now it’s finally here and I can’t believe it’s really happening. At the moment I’ve been occupied with work and preparations for his leave and I am going with him to be there for one week. But when it comes to the moment of me stepping onto an airplane in Scotland and flying back to Estonia – leaving my little brother there all alone…. Then I’ll truly “come undone”. But I guess it’s one of those things that has to happen and has to be lived through.

Lately I’ve been quite busy also. Μy day-job has been demanding and I want to make the news better also. But I guess all the stress and hassle has been taking a toll on my health – about a month ago I was so sick (migraines, eye infection etc). Now I’m taking things bit easier and trying to find some quality time for myself also. What made me really happy in the past few weeks was this – I can work for Μetal-Rules.com as marketing and propaganda/media person. I am so happy about it and really motivated to do this job. I love Μetal-Rules and it’s a honor to work for them. And if by any chance EvilG is reading this – thank you so much for accepting me It seems that I currently have almost 3 jobs – my “real” day job, my news and also Μetal-Rules.com. I guess it’s enough for me at the moment

So next Saturday I’m heading off to Scotland, Dundee. And if there any Scottish people watching my news that by chance live in Dundee and see me there or in Edinburgh and recognize me then don’t  be shy – come and say hello I’d be happy to meet my viewers in real life also.

I like making lists because they help me stay organized. So here is a little selection of different kind of lists I’ve made.

Rules I live by:

• Don’t do others what you wouldn’t want to be done to you
• Consider others feeling and emotions
• Try to be a better person each day
• Try to leave a mark in this world
• Try to help people when they want help
• Don’t force yourself onto others – if they want, they contact you, if not move on.
• Firstly try to deal with problems yourself, then turn to other.
• Have self-respect and don’t do things just because they are done by others
• Respect and love your friends and family
• Family always comes first
• Don’t lose hope because that would be the end of everything

10 things I wish for:

• Happiness and health for my family
• Emotionally fulfilling job
• To find love
• To explore the world more
• To buy a big house
• To have kids someday
• To leave my mark in this world
• To meet my musical heroes and inspirations
• To write a book
• To direct a short movie/music video

my weird habits:

• Drinking tea every evening
• Walking quite slowly – I like to embrace my surrounding not just pace through it
• Sleeping long in the morning (if I can)
• Cutting my finger nails short (I hate it when they are too long) – I guess I could never have those fake nails because I really hate it when my nails are so long.
• I always have some chewing gum or Mynthon with me
• Before traveling I must have a “to-do” list
• I always have some headache pills with me because I often get headaches
• When I must study for something or do some hard mental work I drink extra cups of coffee to go “hyper”
• When I drink coffee I drink it slowly to really capture the taste
• I like to have all my CD-s in alphabetical order
• All my files in computer are foldered under headings, sub-headings etc
• I like looking at old family photos from time to time to remind all the fun times
• When it’s raining outside I like to stay in, drink hot coffee and just feel cozy.
• When I’m walking alone on the street I always have my iPod with my headphones on

my faults:

• too shy
• over-thinking everything
• afraid to try new things
• worry about small things
• too lazy sometimes
• can be stubborn at times
• don’t trust people easily
• may forgive but I’ll never forget
• too serious at times
• can talk too much or too little
• can’t handle criticism well
• need too much time to decide
• too pessimistic

favorite smells:

• clean cut grass
• just printed books
• menthol
• the smell of nail polish
• air after it had rained
• the smell of sauna or a camp-fire
• coffee
• smell of the daffodils
• freshly cut wood

turn ons:

• intelligence
• honesty
• loyalty
• witty
• loves music
• loves children
• eyes
• charisma
• confidence
• power
• can make me laugh
• bold
• loves to have fun but at the same time is serious
• experienced in life
• plays a musical instrument
• drives a motorcycle
• wears leather
• has a good fragrance on

worst injures to date and how they came to be:

• In the first grade I and some older boy bumped into each other – we were playing hide and seek and he was taller than I. His teeth were literally in my head. He broke a tooth and I had head wound that needed stitches.
• I broke my hand while running around the house.
• I hurt my ribs when I was at an amusement park trying to drive a mini car. My ribs were hurting after it for almost 4 month.
• In kindergarten I fell off from a sliding toy and broke a bone.
• In a festival some drunk guy threw a plastic bottle and I got hit in the head. I had a head wound and it was stitched together.

I believe:

• in karma
• in fate
• in reincarnation
• in ghosts (not the way they are shown in the movies but some spirits)
• in goodness of people
• in the healing power of music
• in love at first sight
• that in some other parallel universe fairy-tales do come true
• that there is life in the universe besides Earth
• that in life there should be balance (yin and yang)

most memorable vacations:

• Monaco
  • The night sights of Monaco
  • Visiting the marine museum
  • visiting the palace of the prince of Monaco
  • being in the beach
  • visiting a certain small shop
• Italy
  • visiting Vatican and the Vatican museum
  • St.Peter’s church
  • ancient Rome ruins
  • city of Pompeii
  • visiting and climbing the Mount Vesuvius
  • Southern part of Italy
  • Very beautiful and special hotel in the mountains
  • The island of Capri
  • meeting local people
• France
  • Paris
    • Visiting the Louvre
    • Eiffel Tower
    • Arc de Triumph
    • Moulin Rouge
    • walking around the Champs Elysee
    • eating out in restaurants
    • visiting the graves of famous people
    • visiting different parts of the city
    • meeting local people
  • Southern-France
    • Nice
    • Cannes
    • being in the beach
    • living the Mediterranean lifestyle
    • magnificent views

I finally finished reading Dan Brown’s latest book “The Lost Symbol” which actually was published already in 2009. I wanted to read this book for so long but every time something intervened. But now I finally finished reading it. I loved the book. I’ve read all of Dan Brown books but not in the order they were released. I first heard about the author Dan Brown through my literature teacher. She advised our class to read “The Da Vinci Code”. At first I had my prejudices but when I was done reading 30 pages from the book I was totally hooked. Dan Brown writes so well that the pages “fly” when you’re reading. I really liked that his book combined a thriller storyline with history, symbology and mythology. Then I read his previous books “Angels And Demons”, “Deception Point” and “Digital Fortress”. And I absolutely loved them.

The main character in “The Lost Symbol” is again symbologist Robert Langdon. The plot revolves around the Freemasons and finding their treasure (the lost symbol) in order to save a man’s life. I didn’t know much about the Freemasons and that’s why it was really interesting for me to read about them. I also didn’t know anything about noetic science but thanks to this book I have a quite clear picture of what kind of questions they are trying to answer. And I don’t know if it’s because lately I’ve been watching only crime related TV-shows and films or something else but in the end I guessed who the main bad guy really was. As I said I really liked the book but I do think that the last 2 chapters in the book could have not been there. If the story had ended with the finding of the lost symbol then it would have been the perfect ending. But the 2 chapters discussing the importance of the treasure to me at least were pretty pointless. maybe it’s because I’m not a religious person and I do not quite agree with the author on the importance of the “lost symbol”. I don’t know. But I am really looking forward to seeing the film version of it. I know that Tom Hanks will once again play Robert Langdon – he fits really well in this role. And I think that the movies about “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons” were really good. I also visited Dan Brown’s official website and it’s so cool – one can find extra information about each of his books and in addition to that there are cool code breaking tests there also. And about the last book one can try to identify certain symbols. Here is the link to the site - http://www.thelostsymbol.com/symbolquest/index.php.

I think Dan Brown is a brilliant writer and I look forward to reading more of his books. And I do hope that he keeps the character Robert Langdon – because he is awesome

I am usually a very open person and can easily start a positive relationship with people. But there are some people that even I can’t like and that absolutely and totally irritate me.

• People who assume that because I’m friendly towards them I am flirting. I am NOT flirting. I simply am friendly to everyone and I do smile almost to every person I’m talking to. That does NOT mean flirting. That means I am an open and friendly person.
• Snake people aka “the-people-who-talk-trash-behind-your-back” – I can honestly say that I hate that kind of people. Lying, sneaking around, talking about others behind their backs, making up stories etc – I dislike it strongly.
• Too whiny and overly criticizing people – they bring so much negativity with them that after talking with them I start seeing the negative side in everything and I don’t like it.
• Bossy people – “do this”, “do that”, “you’re doing it wrong” – I can’t stand that I’m constantly told what I must do. I am an adult and most of the time I know what I am doing or why I am doing it. I don’t need constant guiding. Besides, if I need help I’ll ask for it.
• People who ALWAYS play by the rules – I have nothing against the rules/laws (call it what you want) but sometimes you have to take into account the “human factor” and bend the rules a bit. Doing everything by the rules in my opinion is not the best thing one can do.
• People who are convinced that every single idea coming from them is the absolute truth. There is no absolute truth and closing your eyes and saying “Only I am right” is stupid and immature.

These are some types of people I dislike. And when I dislike a person I simply try to ignore them. I don’t say anything bad to them, I don’t bash them or say mean things to them. I simply cut them off my life because life is too short to live with people who make you sad, mad or just plain miserable.

Well, I just got back from watching the movie “Thor” and I really liked it. This made me once again to think about Norse mythology. I thinks it’s so versatile and full of interesting characters. The second reason I like the band Amon Amarth (the first is of course the music) so much is that the lyrics are about Norse mythology. And that’s why I decided to write about it.

One of the central ideas in Norse mythology is Yggdrasil – The Tree Of Life. In the midst of Asgard, where the gods dwelt, was Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil was the tree of life. It was an eternal green Ash tree, its branches stretched out over the worlds. It was under this tree the gods held their meetings and held court. Yggdrasil had three roots.

The first root of Yggdrasil went to Asgard, the home of the gods. By this root was a well named Urd’s Well. This was where the gods held daily assemblies. It was at Urd’s Well the three Norns lived. Their names were Urd (fate), Skuld (present) and Verdani (future). The three Norns were the goddesses of fate. They spent much of their time spinning the threads of life, deciding the fate of every human and every god. Whenever a child was born, the Norns spun the fate of the child in their threads. Every morning the three Norns would start the day by placing a rooster at the top of the tree. The crow of the rooster would work as a wake-up call for all humans and gods. Every day the Norns would also fetch water from Urd’s Well and pour it over Yggdrasil. The water from the well was of vital importance to keep the tree green and healthy. In Viking times it was quite common to serve a woman who had just given birth to a child some porridge. They called this porridge: Norn-porridge. The Vikings believed the Norns were nearby whenever a child was born. The porridge was considered an offering to the Norns. They hoped the porridge would please the Norns and secure good health for mother and child.

The Second Root of Yggdrasil: Mimir’s Well. The second root went to Jotunheim, land of the giants and trolls. By this root was Mimir’s Well. Mimir was the wisest of all living beings. Odin sacrificed an eye for the rare privilege to have a drink from this well, thus gaining its wisdom. That is how Odin became the one-eyed god. In Norse mythology there is also another older family of gods. They were called the Vanir. The Vanir had a reputation of being masters of sorcery. The Aesir and the Vanir had been at war with each other. To end the fighting, the two branches of gods decided to exchange hostages. The Aesir sent Honir and Mimir to the Vanir. In exchange the Vanir gave Njord and the twins, Frey and Freyja to the Aesir. The Vanir made Honir their chief. As time passed they grew quite upset with Honir. It seemed he could not make a decision on his own, but relied on Mimir to provide the answers. In a rage the Vanir beheaded Mimir and sent his head rolling into Asgard. Odin was devastated. He took the head of Mimir and anointed it with special herbs. He also recited spells. Miraculously the head of Mimir was restored back to life and became the talking head. Odin kept the head. He would consult the head of Mimir whenever a difficult problem arose.

The Third Root of Yggradsil. The third root went to Niflheim. This was the place where Hel ruled her gruesome Underworld. Hel was the daughter of the despiteful Loki. Anyone who died of old age or disease was sent to Hel. It was a dark and gloomy place. Nidhogg gnawed on this root. Nidhogg was also known to suck the blood out of the dead bodies. The well by this root was named Hvergelmir.

Norse mythology had 9 worlds. These were: Asgard, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, Niflheim, Alfheim, Svartalheim, Nidarvellir, Midgard, Muspelheim. As said before Asgard was the home of Gods. Vanheim was the home of the Vanir gods. The Vanir gods are an old branch of gods. The word “heim” means home. The Vanir were masters of sorcery and magic. They are also widely recognized for their talent to predict the future. Jotunheim was the home of the Jotuns, the giants. They were the sworn enemies of the Aesir. They lived in the mountains. Niflheim was the dark land of mist and cold. It was in the far north. This was the lowest of all the nine worlds. The home of the dead was in Niflheim. It was ruled by Hel. It was a gloomy and pitiful place. All humans who died of old age or illness were sent to live in Hel in their afterlife. Alfheim was the home of the light elves. Their home was right by Asgard in the heaven. They were beautiful and auspicious creatures. They were considered the “guardian angels” in Norse Mythology. Svartalheim was the home of the dark elves. They lived under the ground. They were hideous and could be a great nuisance to the humans. The dark elves were nothing but trouble. Many believed dark elves were also responsible for nightmares. These dark elves were called mare. A mare would sit on a sleeping person’s chest and whisper bad dreams to haunt the poor soul. A mare could also haunt animals, especially horses. Nidarvellir was the home of the dwarfs. They lived under rocks, in caves and underground. They were masters of craftsmanship. The gods of Aesir received many fabulous gifts from the dwarfs; the magical ring, Thor’s hammer, and the amazing ship are some examples of their outstanding talent of craftsmanship. Midgard was the home of the humans. It was mostly populated by the Sons of Heimdall. The humans were constantly exposed to the gods, goddesses and creatures from the other worlds in Norse Mythology. It was Odin and his two brothers who had created the humans. A rainbow bridge called Bifrost connected Midgard and Asgard. The gods frequently travelled across Bifrost. Muspelheim was the land of fire. It was ruled by the giant Surt. He was a sworn enemy of the Aesir. It was located in the far south. It was the first land of existence. Surt will ride out with his flaming sward at Ragnarok, the end of the world. Surt will kill Freyr and set fire to Asgard, turning the home of the gods into an inferno.

Odin was the chief god. He was the most powerful god in Asgard. Odin was the grandson of the very first Aesir, Buri. He was the son of Bor and Bestla. Bestla was a Jotun woman. Odin was married to Frigg. Together they had the sons Balder and Hod. He also had children with other women. Odin and Fjorgyn had a son named Thor. Odin and Grid had a son named Vidar. Thor was the strongest god in Asgard. Vidar was the second strongest god. Fjorgyn and Grid were both Jotun women.

Thor was the son of Odin (the chief god) and Fjorgyn (Earth). Thor was the strongest of all the gods. Thor had red hair and a beard. He was known to be ill tempered. Thor was the thunder god. He ruled the storms. Thor rode above the clouds in a chariot pulled by two goats. The names of the two goats were Tooth-grinder and Tooth-gnashed. Whenever Thor rode in his chariot people could hear the noise from the wheels and saw the strong sparks the wheels sent out as they speed across the sky. Others said the mighty sparks (the lightning) came from his hammer. The humans called this thunder and lightning. Thor has given his name to Thursday.

Loki was the son of the giants Farbauti (father) and Laufey (mother). He was not an Aesir but lived in Asgard with the Aesir. Odin had taken him in and made Loki his blood brother. Loki was described as being quite handsome.

There are many other characters in Norse mythology but the list would be too long to write it all down here. But Odin, Thor and Loki are three most well-known gods. I’ve always thought the Vikings were awesome and I think Norse mythology is even more awesome. It’s a pity that old Scandinavians were forced to accept Christianity as the new faith.

But definitely go see “Thor”. I liked it because it was different – the plot moved between modern day and Asgard and it gives a short glimpse into the Norse mythology. Sir Anthony Hopkins as Odin had a minor role but he played it so well. Thor was played by an Australian actor Chris Hemsworth – he played his role well also and looked good also But what I liked the most was the character Loki – he was a villain but yet there was still something good in him (kind of like Darth Vader), overall it was a very multifaceted character and I so loved how Tom Hiddleston played the part. And although Chris Hemsworth showed off his well trained body there was something about Tom Hiddelston that made me say – I like him, a lot I know that some people have criticized the film for being too far from the truth. I say – if you want only the true facts, see a documentary. I’ve watched documentaries about Vikings and Norse mythology and I’ve found them to be really good. “Thor” is a movie not a documentary, so naturally it has a storyline that is not only pure facts and figures. So, definitely go see the film

Well, since my birthday is coming up on 28th I thought about writing about astrological signs and how they are interpreted. By astrology I’m a Taurus and here’s some information about a Taurus woman:

The Taurus woman is feminine, soft and highly diplomatic. She has a lyrical speaking voice that soothes and comforts you, and she could even have a talented singing voice (Barbara Streisand is a Taurus). Ruled by Venus, Taurus is a sign which adores the arts–from music to painting–and will enthusiastically go to any cultural event her lover suggests. Outwardly, the Taurus woman may appear relaxed and inactive, then all of a sudden she can shudder and a great eruption takes place. The normal somewhat placid and caring nature of the Taurus girl should never be taken for granted. While she is in every way, a very loyal and resolute individual, she should never be deceived or betrayed. Taurus is the personification of Mother Earth and a Taurus woman’s feelings are, like the richness of the earth’s bounty, buried deep within her philosophical sensitivity.

Taurus is a child of Venus, the goddess of love. Therefore the Taurus woman is very romantic and, once she has given her heart she does so with the thought of “forever” in mind. Since the Bull is earthy by temperament the sign of Taurus is one of the most sexual of all the signs. Gaining the love of a Taurus woman might take quite a time, however, once accomplished, the Taurus woman will return your efforts with both loyalty and devotion and, she will remain a steadfast partner through out the most difficult of life circumstances you may encounter. The Taurus woman does need constant proof of love and affection and, she expects evidence of such through flowers, special gifts and a profusion of physical attention and affection.

She loves animals and likes to surround by animals. Love is in her head, but Freedom is in her soul. She has her own idea about love and afraid to show her true feeling for fear of rejection. She is not the type to talk about love, but she sure has a strange way to show it. She is not good in showing when she is in love, but if she loves you she will be honest to you than any other women.

A Taurus woman wants a real man, who can make her proud of himself as much as she is proud of herself. However, if he fails in his role, she will take the control in her own hands. Neither will she act like a mewing kitten, nor like a roaring lioness. She is independent and has a mind of her own, but she does not want to dominate in the relationship. Taurean women do not see social status while making their friends. They want to be friends with people who do not hide their true nature and come across as they really are.

Their friends may be a little weird, but they will not be phonies or hypocrites. A Taurus girl doesn’t fight with people she dislikes, she simply ignores them and becomes indifferent to their presence. However, she will be loyal to her true friends and they will remain with her throughout her life. In return, she will expect them to stand by her when she needs them. A Taurean woman also gets jealous, but only if you exceed the limits of casual flirtation. Everything has a limit and this also does. It’s better not to provoke her anger or you will be very sorry.

She is brainy, but not too much interested in intellectual subjects. She is practical in her thinking and does not feel the need to indulge in mental gymnastics. She is balanced in her approach and you will hardly see her in a restless disposition. A Taurean girl hates anything artificial, be the flowers in her vase or the friends in her life. She has to feel the fragrance of real roses and the presence of real people. The beauty of Mother Nature especially pleases her.

This is the general description. But surprisingly enough most of this fits my personality. I know other Taureans who have said that this does not apply to them but it does apply to me. Which is weird because to be honest I can’t really believe that star signs can tell much about people’s personality and the way they behave. When I read daily/weekly horoscopes it’s always full of crap and none of them has become true. But the general description is true. So I guess it’s like with the prophecies – one can read them but must not take them very seriously.

And talking about my birthday, such people as Jessica Alba, Penelope Cruz, Nancy Lee Grahn, Jey Leno, Ann-Margret, Saddam Hussein, Harper Lee, Oscar Schindler, James Monroe, Daisy Berkowitz, Jacques Dutronc, Jorge Garcia, Paul Guilfoyle, Carolyn Jones and Terry Pratchett are also born on April 28.

Just about a month ago I started the “30 Day Song Challenge” on Facebook. This challenge is that you post a song about a certain subject/matter every day on Facebook. So I thought I’d put all the 30 songs together here with links too.

• Day 1 - Your favorite song – Nightwish-”Beauty Of The Beast” – I can’t really explain why. I like many Nightwish songs but this song has epic music and great lyrics.
• Day 2 - Your least favorite song – Günther-”Ding Dong Song”-  I know Günther is doing a parody. But I still hate this song.
• Day 3 - A song that makes you happy - W.A.S.P – “I Wanna Be Somebody”
• Day 4 - A song that makes you sad - metallica – Fade To Black
• Day 5 - A song that reminds you of someone – The Cult – “Painted on my heart”
• Day 6 – A song that reminds you of somewhere – Yann Tiersen – La Valse d’Amelie
  
• Day 7 - A song that that reminds you of a certain event – Moonspell – “Full Moon Madness”
• Day 8 - A song you know all the words to – Arch Enemy – “Revolution Begins” – This was actually a random choice because usually I know all the words to the songs I like to listen to. During day 8 I was listening to Arch Enemy, so that’s why the choice.
• Day 9 - A song you can dance to – Danzig – “She Rides”
• Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep – Nightwish-”Sleeping Sun” – it’s a very soothing and beautiful song.
• Day 11 – A song from your favorite band – Rammstein-”Sonne” – Rammstein is one of my many favorite bands.
• Day 12 – A song from a band you dislike (hate) – Tarja Turunen-”Until My Last Breath” – I liked Tarja when she was in Nightwish. I think she has an amazing voice and she is probably one of the best Finnish singers. BUT I am not a fan of her solo career.
• Day 13 – A song that is your guilty pleasure – Laura Braningan- “Self Control” - I have this weird “attraction” to 80′s songs. There is something in their melody/sound…… that catches my attention.
• Day 14 - A song that no would expect you to love – Satyricon-”I Got Erection” – I think some people would assume that because of the lyrics I wouldn’t listen to this song. But I think this song is a great Turbonegro cover and I like it.
• Day 15 – A song that describes you – Ensiferum – “Lady In Black” – this was a tough one. But this song was the first that came to my mind.
• Day 16 - A song you used to love but now hate – Bullet For My Valentine-”Tears Don’t Fall” – I discovered Bullet For My Valentine when they were warming up for Metallica in 2006. I used to listen to this song a lot but now I don’t like it that much anymore.
• Day 17 – A song that you often hear on the radio – Queen -”Show Must Go On” - I don’t actually listen to a lot of radio. For news I have the internet and evening news reports on TV and for music I have my records and iPod.
• Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio – Dimmu Borgir – “The Serpentine Offering” – probably never going to happen but still….
• Day 19 – A song from your favorite album – Amon Amarth-”Guardians of Asgaard” from the album “Twilight Of The Thunder God”. This was again a random choice because in reality I have so many favorite albums.
• Day 20 – A song you listen to when you’re angry – Children Of Bodom-”In Your Face”
• Day 21 - A song you listen to when you’re happy – Metallica-”Whiskey In The Jar”
• Day 22 - A song you listen to when you’re sad – Swallow The Sun-”Don’t Fall Asleep”
• Day 23- A song you want yo be played at your wedding - Scorpions-”You And I” – it’s just a beautiful ballad and I like it very much.
• Day 24 - A song you want to be played at your funeral – Hans Zimmer – Gladiator main theme
• Day 25 - A song that makes you laugh - Children Of Bodom-”Oops! I Did It Again” – it’s not like “ha-ha-ha funny” but it’s funny to hear Alexi Laiho sing a Britney Spears song.
• Day 27 – A song you wish you could play on an instrument – Nightwish – “Ever Dream” on piano - I skipped day 26 because in reality I can’t play anything on any instrument.
• Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty – Michael Jackson – “Earth Song” – in my everyday life I’m not an environmental activist but this song always makes me think that I should do more, contribute more to saving/keeping our planet.
• Day 29 - A song from you childhood – Terminaator – “Juulikuu Lumi” – The song in English would be “The Snow In July” and you can find the English lyrics to this song here – “The Snow In July”. When this song came out I was probably 8 years old. And I still think it’s a good Estonian rock song.
• Day 30 – Your favorite song at this time last year – Type O Negative -  “Black No 1″ – Just before Peter Steel’s death I started listening to Type O Negative more and even wishing they would do a gig in Estonia again. And then Peter Steele died and I listened to even more Type O Negative. So, here’s to you Peter

So this was my 30 day song challenge. I advise others to do it also – it really makes you think through what different songs mean to you and what song would be good for different occasions

This is exactly how I felt in the beginning of this week. I had a terrible headache, vertigo and the overall feeling was really bad. At one point I really thought I will die. But then I got the right medicine and thought to myself “I’m gonna die another day”. The reason why I was so sick is actually simple – I had a migraine. And yes – a migraine can cause all the symptoms I had. But what is a migraine?

Well, a migraine is a very painful type of headache. People who get migraines often describe the pain as pulsing or throbbing in one area of the head. During migraines, people are very sensitive to light and sound. They may also become nauseated and vomit. Migraine is three times more common in women than in men. Some people can tell when they are about to have a migraine because they see flashing lights or zigzag lines or they temporarily lose their vision.

Usually migraines have 4 stages:

1. The prodrome, which occurs hours or days before the headache – Prodromal symptoms occur in 40–60% of those with migraines. This phase may consist of altered mood, irritability, depression or euphoria, fatigue, yawning, excessive sleepiness, craving for certain food (e.g chocolate), stiff muscles (especially in the neck), hot ears, constipation or diarrhea, increased urination, and other visceral symptoms.

2. The aura, which immediately precedes the headache – For the 20–30% of migraine sufferers who experience migraine with aura, this aura comprises focal neurological phenomena that precede or accompany the attack. They appear gradually over 5 to 20 minutes and generally last fewer than 60 minutes. The headache phase of the migraine attack usually begins within 60 minutes of the end of the aura phase, but it is sometimes delayed up to several hours, and it can be missing entirely. Visual aura is the most common of the neurological events and can occur without any headache. There is a disturbance of vision consisting often of unformed flashes of white and/or black or rarely of multicolored lights or formations of dazzling zigzag lines. There is actually a Youtube video in which migraine aura is simulated – you can find the link here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLJ00o-vmh0

3. The pain phase, also known as headache phase – The typical migraine headache is unilateral, throbbing, and moderate to severe and can be aggravated by physical activity. The pain peaks and then subsides and usually lasts 4 to 72 hours in adults and 1 to 48 hours in children. The frequency of attacks is extremely variable, from a few in a lifetime to several a week, and the average sufferer experiences one to three headaches a month. The head pain varies greatly in intensity.The pain of migraine is invariably accompanied by other features. Nausea occurs in almost 90 percent of patients, and vomiting occurs in about one third of patients. Many patients experience sensory hyper excitability manifested by photophobia, phonophobia and osmophobia, and seek a dark and quiet room. Blurred vision, delirium, nasal stuffiness, diarrhea, tinnitus, polyria or sweating may be noted during the headache phase. Vertigo may be experienced; a variation of the typical migraine, called vestibular migraine , has also been described.

4. The postdrome – The effects of migraine may persist for some days after the main headache has ended. Many sufferers report a sore feeling in the area where the migraine was, and some report impaired thinking for a few days after the headache has passed. The patient may feel tired or “hungover” and have head pain, cognitive difficulties, gastrointestinal symptoms, mood changes, and weakness.

Many things can trigger a migraine. These include

• Anxiety
• Stress
• Lack of food or sleep
• Exposure to light
• Hormonal changes (in women)

So, it’s actually a very serious disease (if I can call it that way). I had migraine headaches when I was in my teenager years. Then they stopped. I still had headaches but nothing a serious as migraines. Recently migraines have been coming back. But I labeled those headaches similar to migraine, not an actual migraine. But this time I went through all the four stages of a migraine and had almost all the symptoms. And it was a a truly bad experience. I’m trying to find out what triggered such a big migraine and trying to avoid the trigger because I DO NOT want to go through this again. I really thought I was dying. When I got better I started to do some research on the migraine subject and found out some fun facts also. For example famous people like Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Ulysses S.Grant, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Virginia Woolf, Cervantes, Lewis Carroll, Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche, Elvis Presley, Elisabeth Taylor and Lisa Kudrow also suffered from migraines. So, I at least I’m not alone with such a problem.