Category Archives: Language

I Found My Thrill on Oregon Hill

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Nathan

I haven’t been listening to music all that much recently. That’s not to say that I couldn’t, just that I usually find myself doing other things that are difficult to do at the same time. But anyway, here are some … Continue reading →

Posted in Albums, Camper Van Beethoven, Cartoons, Christmas, Concerts, Cracker, Holidays, Humor, Language, Music, Nellie McKay, Valentine's Day | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More Names, More Fun

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Nathan

After I shared my last post on Dragon Quest names on Discord, Arlen Pavka replied with a list of names from the mobile and Nintendo Switch versions of DQ2, which includes a few I hadn’t previously seen. I’ve written about … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthurian Legend, British, Buddhism, Cartoons, Christianity, Comics, Dragon Quest, Families, Final Fantasy, German, Germany, History, Language, Metroid, Mythology, Names, Norse, Religion, Star Wars, Television, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Troglodyte Tuesday

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Nathan

I mentioned in my review of Rick Riordan’s The Tower of Nero that I liked the way it portrayed the troglodytes, and since I don’t think I’ve done it before, I might as well take a look at the origins … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Authors, Cartoons, Dragon Quest, Games, Greek Mythology, Language, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Rick Riordan, Television, Trials of Apollo, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Give Me Back My Name

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Nathan

A subject I’ve sometimes seen come up on Dragon Quest fan communities is that of the names in DQ2. You give the hero, the Prince of Midenhall, whatever name you want, and that somehow determines the names of your companions, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthurian Legend, British, Buddhism, Comics, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Food, History, Holy Roman Empire, Language, Mythology, Names, Norse, Religion, United Kingdom, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

There Are Quangles in Your Wangles

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Nathan

For some reason, the name “Gramblamble Land” kept sticking in my head. Perhaps not surprisingly, it’s an Edward Lear reference, to “The History of the Seven Families of the Lake Pipple-Popple” (not to be confused with Dr. Pimple Popper), the … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Beatrix Potter, Edward Lear, Humor, Jasper Fforde, Language, Nursery Crime, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Big Big Whoredom

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Nathan

There often seems to be an undercurrent of fear of female sexuality in religion and mythology. It isn’t always that direct, and sometimes male sexuality isn’t viewed that positively either, but it’s pretty blatant sometimes. The idea of the whore … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Focus on the Foes, Gender, Health, History, Judaism, Language, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Persian, Religion, Roman Empire, Sexuality, They Might Be Giants, Video Games, Zoroastrianism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pulp Life

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Nathan

When looking for information on fiction involving underground worlds, I came across references to Richard Sharpe Shaver (hopefully nobody called him “Dick”), author and likely paranoid schizophrenic who wrote science fiction adjacent stories about ancient superhumans who lived underground. Ray … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Conspiracy Theories, Language, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Norse | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where the Worlds Have No Name

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Nathan

One night last week, I had a fitful sleep with a bunch of weird dreams. I remember one of them had me ranting about how J.R.R. Tolkien was never clear on whether Middle-Earth was his entire imaginary world or just … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Captain N: The Game Master, Cartoons, Chronicles of Narnia, Discworld, Dragon Quest, Dreams, Final Fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Language, Maps, March Laumer, Mario, Mythology, Names, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Television, Terry Pratchett, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Idris Lives

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Nathan

It’s a common theme in many mythologies to have a figure who is regarded as the inventor of writing, and often also a keeper of esoteric knowledge. Greek mythology had Hermes, the Egyptians had Thoth, Babylon had Nabu, and Judaism … Continue reading →

Posted in African, Arabian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek Mythology, Islam, Judaism, Language, Magic, Mathematics, Mythology, Names, Norse, Philosophy, Poetry, Religion, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sorting Out Sorcery

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Nathan

One running theme in Glinda of Oz is that there are several different types of magic in Oz, all of which have their specialties, but none of them can do everything. L. Frank Baum contrasts the fairy magic of Ozma … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy, Characters, Etymology, Games, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Politics, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Technology, Theosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment