Monthly Archives: September 2015

The Royal Ships of Oz

While I don’t think shipping has ever been quite as common for Oz as for many other fandoms, it’s definitely been gaining prominence as of late. Not surprisingly, one of the main targets is the beautiful and powerful Ozma, who … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Chris Dulabone, Gina Wickwar, Jared Davis, Jeff Rester, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, March Laumer, Marcus Mebes, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Phyllis Ann Karr, Relationships, Ron Baxley Jr., Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Ship of Fools

I can’t say I’ve ever really had the urge to “ship” characters (meaning to favor two fictional characters hooking up for romance and/or sex) that a lot of fans have. People can get quite adamant about such things, to the … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Relationships, Rick Riordan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tonight I Am Going to Suck…Your Blood

I’d caught up on most of Christopher Moore’s back catalog except for his trilogy of vampire books: Bloodsucking Fiends, You Suck, and Bite Me, each subtitled A Love Story. I’m really not a big fan of vampire fiction, although that’s … Continue reading

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We Take You to Brooklyn

They Might Be Giants have been doing shows at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on the last Sunday of pretty much every month this year, often with special themes. Beth and I saw the shows where they played their first … Continue reading

Posted in Concerts, Music, They Might Be Giants | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t Sass the Bonsum

In J.B.S. Haldane’s My Friend Mr Leakey, the title character makes a reference to a creature from the folklore of Ghana and Togo: “And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to conjure up a devil before dinner, because tomorrow … Continue reading

Posted in African, Monsters, Mythology | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Where Science and Magic Meet

My Friend Mr Leakey, by J.B.S. Haldane – There was a chapter from this book in an anthology my grandmother had, and I saw several other mentions of it later on, but had a hard time actually finding it. I … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, Humor, Magic, Robert Rankin | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

I’m Ruler of This Moon, Boy

The second album credited to Frank Black and the Catholics, Pistolero from 1999, has never really been a favorite of mine. That said, it has some excellent songs. I tend to think of it as somewhat noisier and more chaotic … Continue reading

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Crack That Whip

One throwaway question from the last Republican presidential debate that’s been getting some attention is what woman the candidates would put on the ten-dollar bill. Seems like it would have been easy enough to answer, but some of them named … Continue reading

Posted in Gender, Humor, Relationships, Religion | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Good for What Ails Ya

I’ve read a good many fan-written Oz books, but there are still a few out there, mostly published by the authors themselves or small presses. Many of them are rather slight. I recently obtained two that I hadn’t yet read, … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Oz | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Defiling the Sanctuary

Illegal immigration continues to be one of the major issues discussed by the Republican presidential candidates, which just goes to show how eager their voter base is to stick it to people who aren’t affecting them in any way. It’s … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Current Events, Fox News, Judaism, Language, Politics, Prejudice, Religion, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment