Monthly Archives: June 2012

The Crow and the Cup

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Nathan

Since I mentioned the constellation Corvus in a recent post, I might as well say a little more about the mythology surrounding this constellation. If you recall, Corvus is also the main villain of Dragon Quest IX, as the Celestrians … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Babylonian, Dragon Quest, Greek Mythology, Mythology, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Young Frankenfood

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Nathan

I don’t know a whole lot about genetically modified food, but I can’t say as I’m opposed to the idea in general. Sure, people say that eating it could turn you into a slug, but that’s ridiculous. The formula to … Continue reading →

Posted in Corporations, Food, Health, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Ain’t No Party Like an Atari Party

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Nathan

Today is the fortieth anniversary of Atari, which ties in nicely with the fact that I’m now reading a book about the history of video games. Founded by Nolan Bushnell and named after a term from the game Go roughly … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nature Is Satan’s Church

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Nathan

Beth, in her quest to watch the most disturbing movies, recently had me watch Lars von Trier’s Antichrist and Melancholia. I’m not sure I’d place either of these in the horrifically disturbing category, despite some very difficult to watch scenes … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Catholicism, Christianity, Religion, Science, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Plight of the Private Citizen

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Nathan

Thinking back to my earlier post about fictional societies that value reason above all things, I realized that there’s one Oz character for whom the same thing is true. This is Tititi-Hoochoo, the Great Jinjin and Private Citizen of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, L. Frank Baum, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Phyllis Ann Karr | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Road to Utgard

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Nathan

One of the better known stories from Norse mythology, or at least one of the ones I’ve come across most often, is that of Thor and Loki’s visit to the giants. There doesn’t appear to be much reason why they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Mythology, Norse | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Looking Sideways at the Girl Anachronism

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Nathan

As a fan of Amanda Palmer, I’ve noticed that it’s pretty much impossible for someone to mention her without getting a million negative comments about how she’s racist, transphobic, ableist (I didn’t even know that was a word before this), … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Awards and Accolades

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Nathan

I’ve been nominated by Sixpuns for the Versatile Blogger Award. Here are the rules: If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger award. Thank the person who gave you this award. That’s common courtesy. Include a link to … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards | 2 Comments

Lands of Logic

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Nathan

We all know that Gulliver’s Travels is both an adventure story and a satire, but one thing that seems to confuse critics is how much we’re supposed to read into Gulliver’s worship of the Houyhnhnms. The Houyhnhnms are sentient horses … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Jonathan Swift, Star Trek | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Name’s Mario. MARIO Mario.

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Nathan

In the earlier days of my Mario fandom, I’d occasionally hear someone suggest that the references to “Mario Bros.” mean “Mario” is their last name. I never bought into that at the time; there’s really no reason they couldn’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in Greek Mythology, Kid Icarus, Mario, Mythology, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Television, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments