Stories By Van

Fenrir (pronounced “FEN-rir;” Old Norse Fenrir , “He Who Dwells in the Marshes”) is the most infamous of the many wolves in Norse mythology. His importance for the pre-Christian Scandinavians is demonstrated by his being depicted on numerous surviving runestones, not to mention his ubiquity in Old Norse literary sources. He’s the son of the god Loki and the giantess Angrboda, which makes him the brother of the serpent Jormungand and the underworld goddess Hel. As is recounted more fully in the tale The Binding of Fenrir , the Aesir gods raised Fenrir themselves in order to keep him under their control and prevent him from wreaking havoc throughout the Nine Worlds. He grew at an astonishingly fast pace, however, and eventually the troubled gods decided to chain him up. Their first two attempts were unsuccessful; while the cunning gods convinced Fenrir that it was only a game, a test of his strength, he broke through the fetters easily. For their third attempt, the gods h...

Conformity involves changing your behaviors in order to "fit in" or "go along" with the people around you. In some cases, this social influence might involve agreeing with or acting like the majority of people in a specific group, or it might involve behaving in a particular way in order to be perceived as "normal" by the group. Definitions Psychologists have proposed a variety of definitions to encompass the social influence that conformity exerts. Essentially, conformity involves giving in to group pressure. Some other definitions include: "Conformity is the most general concept and refers to any change in behavior caused by another person or group; the individual acted in some way because of influence from others. Note that conformity is limited to changes in behavior caused by other people; it does not refer to effects of other people on internal concepts like attitudes or beliefs... Conformity encompasses compliance and obedience ...

A major tenet in existentialism is that people have the freedom to choose, and are therefore responsible for their decisions. This all sounds well and good, and many claim to believe it, until it is looked at in a deeper way. While this idiom is claimed true, people also believe others need to be forced to do what is right, even for him or herself. There are seatbelt laws and laws against jaywalking, both of which are meant to protect the individual (rather than to protect another party). Laws that protect others are necessary, but plenty of laws exist to protect an individual from his own poor decision-making. Beyond laws, many expect one to do what is right for another, even when it is the other’s choice not to. For example, at a university, many professors won’t allow laptops in the classroom. The reasoning is that laptops distract the student from their lesson. If they have their laptop they might be playing online games, Facebooking, or reading Psychology posts and n...

If you’re familiar with the psychological term “transference,” you probably associate it with a client in therapy transferring certain feelings onto their analyst. Yet, the meaning of transference is a bit broader and refers to a redirection of emotions, often that originate in childhood, onto someone in the present. As one article on MentalHelp.net put it, “Transference is a very fundamental process that human beings are constantly doing for better and for worse.” Because this is not a conscious process, it can be very hard to wrap our head around the fact that the projections or assumptions we make about others have a lot to do with something that isn’t even happening in the here and now. As human beings, we’re designed to believe our own perceptions. In our relationships with other people, we tend to always trust our own opinion or think we’re right. However, if we were to take into account that some of our emotional reactions are based more on what happened to us than wha...

Science fiction no more — in an article in Nature Biotechnology , scientists were able to show tiny autonomous bots have the potential to function as intelligent delivery vehicles to cure cancer in mice. These DNA nanorobots do so by seeking out and injecting cancerous tumors with drugs that can cut off their blood supply, shriveling them up and killing them. “Using tumor-bearing mouse models, we demonstrate that intravenously injected DNA nanorobots deliver thrombin specifically to tumor-associated blood vessels and induce intravascular thrombosis, resulting in tumor necrosis and inhibition of tumor growth,” the paper explains. DNA nanorobots are a somewhat new concept for drug delivery. They work by getting programmed DNA to fold into itself like origami and then deploying it like a tiny machine, ready for action. The scientists behind this study tested the delivery bots by injecting them into mice with human breast cancer tumors. Within 48 hours, the bots h...

Phillip Taylor Kramer - www.ultimateclassicrock.com On May 29, 1999, the remains of Philip Taylor Kramer were found. The one-time bassist for Iron Butterfly had been missing for four years, and to this day nobody knows exactly what happened to him. Kramer joined Iron Butterfly in 1974, long past their golden era, and helped them record the albums Scorching Beauty and Sun and Steel , both released in 1975. After leaving the band, he dropped the Phillip from his name, went back to college and earned a degree in aerospace engineering, which led to a stint working for the U.S. Department of Defense. In the '90s, Kramer created Total Multimedia Inc., a high-tech multimedia company that did pioneering work in video compression technology. Ultimately, his brief stint in Iron Butterfly was a mere footnote to his much more involved life's work. On Feb. 12, 1995, Kramer was due to pick up associate Greg Martini and Martini's wife from the airport in L.A., and take ...

Hey guys, sorry about all the death posts in the last few days (including this one), but it's just been on the mind recently, you know what I mean? Your birthday is your day. Even if you don't celebrate on the anniversary of your birth, people in your life will honor you on this day with gifts, song and special treatment. And in turn, you honor your loved ones on their birthdays too. But what about those who have passed away? No matter what, the date of your deceased loved one's birth will remind you of them. Past birthdays, parties, gifts and adventures are painful to recall in the aftermath of a special person's death. That's why some people choose to carry on the tradition of honoring the birthdays of a dead friend or relatives, even though the person of honor is missing from the festivities. Relationships Continue Long After Death Just because someone you love no longer walks on earth does not mean your relationship is over. Nor does it mean ...