Category Archives: Maps

It’s a Small Video World After All

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Nathan

One thing you might have noticed about video games that ostensibly show the entire world is that these worlds are really small. That’s not too surprising, especially in earlier games with limited space, but it still raises some questions. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Breath of Fire, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, Food, Maps, Mario, Monsters, Politics, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Let Sleeping Lines Ley

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Nathan

Something I’ve seen mention of occasionally but didn’t really know a lot about was the concept of ley lines, which are basically invisible lines that connect significant places. Alfred Watkins, a businessman who dabbled in antiquity, came up with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Celtic, Conspiracy Theories, Final Fantasy, History, J.R.R. Tolkien, Language, Magic, Maps, Mythology, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Map Attack

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Nathan

On the map of the countries surrounding Oz from the Tik-Tok of Oz endpapers, L. Frank Baum included places from his non-Oz fantasies, including the as-yet-unpublished King Rinkitink that would become Rinkitink in Oz two years later. Most of these had already … Continue reading →

Posted in Dick Martin, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Maps, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It Makes Me Wonder

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Nathan

Stairway to Oz, by Robin Hess – The author once again returns to the Nome Kingdom, an intended invasion of Oz, and transportation gates. It starts with a boy named Ryan Westerly visiting his parents in Colorado, who turn out to … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Characters, Dick Martin, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Maps, Melody Grandy, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Baum’s Diamond Swan Song

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Nathan

In the past three years, I’d gotten into the habit of rereading the main Oz book of focus before OzCon, which was canceled this year. I still intended to read Glinda of Oz, but I’d been putting it off because … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Book Reviews, Characters, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Maps, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dragon vs. Dragon

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Nathan

Since I enjoyed my playthrough of Breath of Fire 2, I decided to go back (figuratively, that is), and give the first one a try. I finished it yesterday, and it wasn’t really that difficult. I did use a walkthrough … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Breath of Fire, Dreams, Economics, Magic, Maps, Mega Man, Monsters, Names, Street Fighter, Technology, Uncategorized, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The King Is a Drip!

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Nathan

It’s March 10, which means that it’s Mario (MAR10) Day, at least in this country. I guess elsewhere it’s Iomar Day. I write a lot about the Mario universe anyway, of course. I’m really not that good at the games, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartoons, Comics, Humor, Magic, Maps, Mario, Monsters, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Television, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Prester Change-O

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Nathan

I’d seen mentions of Prester John, but I wasn’t really sure who he was. I’ve since found out he was a mythical Christian king in or near India whom the European Church saw as a potential ally against the Muslims … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholicism, Christianity, Comics, Crusades, History, Islam, Maps, Middle Ages, Monsters, Mythology, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sticker Fun

Posted on February 22, 2020 by Nathan

I finished Paper Mario: Sticker Star last weekend, and I’m only just writing about it now. It’s fairly slight, especially for a role-playing game, but still pretty fun. I wrote earlier about how you can only make moves by using … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Magic, Maps, Mario, Monsters, Poetry, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment