Monthly Archives: January 2015

I Still Love the Old World

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Nathan

One thing that interested me when reading the Conan stories was Robert Howard’s idea of the Hyborian Age, a mythical era in the distant past when the Eurasian continent was physically different but still generally recognizable, and its people ancestors … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Cartoons, Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology, History, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Maps, Mythology, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Philosophy, Places, Religion, Technology, Television, The Flintstones, Theosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Power Pig

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Nathan

While I generally think of pigs as fairly gentle domestic animals, they apparently can be quite dangerous, particularly when they’re the wild variety that you don’t see all that often in my neck of the woods. There are several Greek … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Authors, Greek Mythology, Monsters, Mythology, Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Team Coco

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Nathan

The Complete Chronicles of Conan, by Robert E. Howard – While I’d obviously heard of the famous barbarian hero before, I’ve never seen any of the movies or anything, and I really wanted to explore the original source first. I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Mythology, Prejudice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Brainwashing Your Sins Away

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Nathan

Kidnapped for Christ – We watched this documentary last night mostly because Beth was struck by the title while browsing the premium channel listings. The cable package we got allows us to get those channels for a limited period of … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Education, Fundamentalism, Prejudice, Religion, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ready, Abel, and Willing to Dai

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Nathan

While the Dragon Quest series is only moderately popular here in the United States, it’s huge in Japan, so it’s not too surprising that there would be spin-offs. Occasionally there are official translations of these as well, but most of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartoons, Comics, Dragon Quest, Monsters, Television, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Way to Way-Up

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Nathan

Ruth Plumly Thompson’s two stories about the Kingdom of Way-Up are not explicitly linked to Oz, but as she wrote them not long after retiring as Royal Historian of Oz, it’s not surprising there are some definite similarities. Way-Up is … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Chris Dulabone, Fairy Tales, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Duck, Duck, Mouse

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Nathan

Mickey Mouse Outwits the Phantom Blot and Lost in Lands of Long Ago, by Floyd Gottfredson – These are the fifth and sixth volumes of Fantagraphics’ reprints of the classic Mickey strips. I still haven’t read the third and fourth, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartoons, Comics, Popeye | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Carter Center

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Nathan

John Carter – Originally called John Carter of Mars, and that’s still the title that appears at the end of the film, but apparently a focus group or something decided it would get more of an audience if they left … Continue reading →

Posted in Star Wars, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unraveling Ixchel

Posted on January 24, 2015 by Nathan

It’s pretty easy to do basic research on Greco-Roman mythology, for which we have many ancient sources, and some of the basics are more or less ingrained into modern culture. This gets a little trickier when you get into cultures … Continue reading →

Posted in Mayan, Mythology, Native American | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Everybody Thinks and Acts the Same, That’s Why I Live in El Cerrito

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Nathan

Here are two reviews of albums I received as Christmas presents. Enjoy! She & Him, Classics – Every album by this group has included a few covers, but this one is all standards. I can’t say I recognize most of … Continue reading →

Posted in Albums, Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker, Music, She and Him | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment