We’re just mere hours away from the start of Ragnarok, the Viking Apocalypse, a series of events, natural disasters, and battles that lead to the end of the world. The wolf Fenrir, Loki’s son, will also break out of his prison and there will be an epic battle fought by Norse gods like Odin, Thor, Loki, Týr, Freyr, and Heimdallr. The Earth will split open and the beings of the underworld will be unleashed.

In Norse mythology, most of the major gods die in the final battle, and those who do survive will see the world begin anew and become repopulated.

In honor of this impending cataclysm, thousands of Viking warriors and spectators are descending upon the city of York in the United Kingdom for the Jorvik Viking Festival.

The $10 t-shirt deal of the day over at RIPT Apparel today is called “Olde Odin Pale Ale” by Heartjack.

The shirt went on sale at RIPT today, Sunday, October 6, 2013, at midnight CST, and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it will not be sold on the site anymore.

The t-shirt is available in men’s (through 3XL), women’s, and youth sizes for $10 each. Kids sizes are $10 (Girls, Toddlers, and Onesies); Hoodies for $38 (in Men/Unisex sizes). See images on product page for shirt colors. You can also get the design on coasters for $25; iphone (4/4s & 5) cases for $18; prints 18″x24″ for $20 and 24″x32″ for $40; and headphones for $40.

Are you excited for the release of Marvel Studios’ Thor on Friday, but you don’t know your Baldr from your Bilfrost? Well, the good folks at Geeks of Doom have got you covered!

Marvel Comics delved deep into traditional Norse mythology to create the backdrop for Thor, pulling gods, monsters, giants, and exotic locations to populate their modern take on the old legend. Few people realize this, but Norse Mythology is the manliest thing to ever exist; even manlier then an Ultimate Klingon Fighting League. We’re talking Dungeons & Dragons on steroids. We’re talking honey mead-swilling, giant axe-swinging, buxom maiden-screwing, giant troll-wrestling hurricane of 100 percent, grade-A he-beef. Why do you think Power Metal loves it so much?

In honor of Thor, Geeks of Doom jumps two skullcrushing boots first into the world of Viking gods. So grab a stein of mead, a side of boar, and enjoy Geeks of Doom’s NORSE MYTHOLOGY A-Z (Or At Least Y Anyway).

In honor of Leif Erikson Day today, which observes the Viking explorer’s achievement of being the first to bring over Europeans to North America (and also commemorates the first immigrants to come to the United States from Norway in 1825), I thought I’d bring your attention to Neil Gaiman‘s latest U.S. release Odd and the Frost Giants, a cute little tale inspired by traditional Norse mythology.

Right now, HarperCollins has posted the first chapter of the book online for free, so which I suggest you take advantage of that by checking out the widget here below.

The novel contains illustrations by Brett Helquist, best known for this artwork in the Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events books. There’s also the Audio CD.

Both of these are going right on my Wish List for sure (for those of you wondering what I want for my upcoming birthday, there you go). I’ve been wanting to get my hands on this story since I heard about it early last year when Gaiman offered it up for World Book Day 2009 in the UK and Ireland. And I’ve been meaning to post about the book’s release in the U.S. for a few days now, but never got around to it. Me thinks today’s a more appropriate day for it anyhow.

Enjoy the first chapter for now!