Monthly Archives: April 2016

Aren’t You a Little Leonine for a Winkie Guard?

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Nathan

Okay, here’s a question about the MGM Wizard of Oz that I actually haven’t seen discussed before. When the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion are trying to infiltrate the Wicked Witch of the West’s castle to rescue Dorothy, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Final Fantasy, Humor, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Star Wars, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where Virtue Is Victorious

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Nathan

When looking at a Tor article about mapping fantasy lands, which I previously looked at here, I noticed that the description for post-Wizard Oz gave it a Virtue level of two, defined as “Overriding harmony in world, active championing of … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Cartoons, Chronicles of Narnia, Fairy Tales, Harry Potter, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Star Trek, Star Wars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Jezebel of the Ba’al

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Nathan

Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible’s Harlot Queen, by Lesley Hazleton – This book examines the reputation of one of the most infamous figures in the Bible, the wife of King Ahab of Israel and daughter of the King … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Feminism, History, Judaism, Middle East, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Letting the New Year In

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Nathan

Perhaps it would have been more appropriate to have written about this post’s subject last month, but it makes more sense to me to cover her now instead of waiting until next March. Anna Perenna was the Roman goddess of … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Mythology, New Year's Day, Poetry, Roman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

No Place in the Processional and No Seat in the Convention Hall

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Nathan

They Might Be Giants, Phone Power – TMBG have always been a prolific band, and not everything they do fits all that well onto their albums. Sometimes this doesn’t stop them from including these songs on the albums anyway, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Albums, Music, They Might Be Giants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nonsense That Makes Sense

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Nathan

This Tor article presented the idea of mapping fantasy lands along two axes, nonsense vs. logic and virtue vs. wickedness. Obviously there’s a lot of opinion involved here, but the first thing I thought was kind of weird was Neverland … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia, Discworld, Douglas Adams, Dreams, Fairy Tales, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Humor, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

If I Only Had a Brain Surgeon

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Nathan

Although I don’t think he’s licensed, the Wizard of Oz seems to have an urge to mess around with brains. This is mostly, but not entirely, with artificial constructs. One of the first things we see him doing is giving … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Eric Shanower, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Reading About Adventures, Rather Than Having Them

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Nathan

Wish You Were Here, by Tom Holt – Somewhat unusually for a Holt book, this one is set in America, specifically Lake Chicopee in Iowa. (There’s a lake of that name is Massachusetts, but not really in Iowa, as far … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, Greek Mythology, Humor, Mythology, Religion, Roman, Tom Holt | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Foul Temptress! I’ll Bet She Thinks Ziggy’s Gotten Too Preachy, Too!

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Nathan

Something I’ve come across several times is that of Christians, usually of the strict fundamentalist variety, insisting that they’re surrounded by temptation. I’m not saying temptation isn’t a real thing, but painting it as some kind Satanic conspiracy against the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Conspiracy Theories, Fundamentalism, Religion, Sexuality, Snobbery, Urban Legends | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Give Me Your Tyred, Your Punic

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Nathan

Carthage is remembered these days as the main enemy of the ever-expanding Romans in the third and second centuries BC. The two burgeoning empires fought the three Punic Wars, the second of which was when Hannibal launched his unsuccessful campaign … Continue reading →

Posted in Greek Mythology, History, Middle East, Mythology, Roman, Roman Empire, Semitic | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments