Monthly Archives: July 2013

I Will Watch My Shadow Grow

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Nathan

A post I saw on Tumblr made me think a post about Shadow from Final Fantasy VI might be an interesting task to take on. On the face of it, he’s a pretty archetypal character: a brooding ninja who dresses … Continue reading →

Posted in Final Fantasy, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

No One in Oz Looks His Age

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Nathan

Determining anyone’s age in Oz can be a difficult matter, as people don’t age unless they want to. (Actually, that was Ruth Plumly Thompson’s idea; L. Frank Baum stated in The Tin Woodman of Oz that even babies don’t age … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Eric Shanower, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Me Tarzan, You Jane

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Nathan

Tarzan – The ape-man is one of the most prominent characters of twentieth-century fiction, dating back to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes in 1912. There were actually a lot of Tarzan books, but I’ve only ever read the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartoons, Revisiting Disney, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Give Me That Old Norse Religion

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Nathan

While polytheistic religion is a definite minority nowadays, you can probably find groups and individuals worshipping any god or group of gods if you look hard enough. Worship of the old Norse pantheon is known as Asatru, or worship of … Continue reading →

Posted in Mythology, Norse, Prejudice, Religion, Wicca | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Rest of the Snorri

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Nathan

Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths, by Nancy Marie Brown – Much of what we know about old Norse mythology comes from Snorri Sturluson, a thirteenth-century Icelandic poet and chieftain. Sure, there are earlier references … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Mythology, Norse | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

They Put a Microchip in My Place

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Nathan

I made a quick comment on self checkouts recently, which resulted in a debate on Facebook. I’m really not that opposed to self checkout in particular, aside from the fact that they rarely seem to work correctly, but it’s more … Continue reading →

Posted in Capitalism, Cartoons, Corporations, Economics, Politics, Television, The Jetsons | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fight It Out!

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Nathan

My post last week about wandering monsters in video role-playing games got me thinking about some of the strange aspects of battle mode in general. When you run into monsters, the screen tends to fade out and send you into … Continue reading →

Posted in Board Games, Chess, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Games, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Twinking with Tom

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Nathan

The outcry regarding Andrew Garfield’s comment that he’d be interested in seeing Spider-Man with a boyfriend made me think of some comments I saw back on the old Ozzy Digest, which I think actually predated my joining the mailing list. … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Eric Shanower, Jack Snow, Oz, Oz Authors | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

When You’re a Superhero, It Don’t Matter If You’re Black or White

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Nathan

This post on Tumblr, about the racism thrown at Donald Glover when he wanted to audition for the role of Spider-Man, made me think of a topic I’d been wanting to discuss. Whenever a non-white actor plays a character traditionally … Continue reading →

Posted in Comics, Harry Potter, Mythology, Norse, Prejudice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Little Maiden of the Sea

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Nathan

Ponyo – Originally known in Japanese as Gake no ue no Ponyo (literally “Ponyo on the Cliff”), this was a 2009 release from Studio Ghibli. Partially inspired by The Little Mermaid (both the original Andersen story and the Disney film), … Continue reading →

Posted in Fairy Tales, Mythology, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment