Monthly Archives: August 2023

The Ozual Suspects

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Nathan

The Characters of Oz: Essays on Their Adaptation and Transformation, edited by Dina Schiff Massachi – This collection of essays by different authors, some of whom I know personally, discusses various Oz characters and how they’ve been used over time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Art, Book Reviews, Characters, Christianity, Eric Shanower, Feminism, Gender, Humor, L. Frank Baum, Live Shows, Magic, Magic Items, Muppets, Music, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Philosophy, Plays, Politics, Religion, Sexuality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Retirement or Resurrection

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Nathan

I finished the two books I bought at OzCon (the ones I hadn’t already read, that is). Since my last post here was book reviews, however, I’m bringing this post about the movies I watched the weekend before last out … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholicism, Christianity, Religion, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shine On, Golden Warrior

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Nathan

The Eyes of the Overworld, by Jack Vance – The first book in the Dying Earth series was a collection of short stories that take place on the same world but aren’t really related. While this one also started out … Continue reading →

Posted in Altaic, Book Reviews, Magic, Maps, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Oz, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Going on a Bear Hunt

Posted on August 18, 2023 by Nathan

There’s a game Beth had for the Atari 2600 called Crystal Castles, and I looked it up recently. Like many such games, it was originally an arcade cabinet, with the isometric graphics being a major part of its appeal. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Cartoons, Music, Television, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Magical Morality Tour

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Nathan

At a discussion of the supernatural in Oz at the last OzCon, it was pointed out that there usually isn’t a moral dimension to magic in Oz. As mentioned elsewhere, it can be used for good or evil, like many … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Fred Otto, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Monsters, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Annoyance Against the Machine

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Nathan

I’ve been meaning to write about a few things I’ve seen mentioned online recently, one of them being artificial intelligence. I guess my main thought is that the name sounds really generous for what’s really just pattern recognition, like someone … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Authors, Capitalism, Corporations, Current Events, Discworld, Economics, Health, Technology, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Give Yourself a Hand

Posted on August 13, 2023 by Nathan

It’s been a while since I’ve written about movies, as traveling hadn’t left us a lot of time to watch any of them. In this post, I’m looking at one movie we saw in the theater, and two others we … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Magic, Monsters, Tom Holt, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dogged Perseverance

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Nathan

Yankee in Oz, by Ruth Plumly Thompson – When I first joined the International Wizard of Oz Club, I was excited to learn that not only did they sell many of the official Oz books I hadn’t read yet, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Art, Book Reviews, Characters, Conspiracy Theories, Dick Martin, History, Humor, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Melody Grandy, Music, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Space Program | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ready, Setsuna, Go

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Nathan

I Am Setsuna – As someone who grew up with Super Nintendo role-playing games, I appreciate that there’s some effort to consciously imitate them in recent years. This game was released by Square Enix in 2016, with the Switch version … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, Magic, Monsters, Music, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uh-Oh, There’s That Bear Again

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Nathan

One subject I’d been meaning to address for a while but had forgotten about was Jambavan, the King of the Bears in Hindu mythology, who made a significant appearance in Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality. At least, he’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Chinese, Greek Mythology, Hinduism, Language, Mythology, Names, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment