Category Archives: Science

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Wisp

Posted on March 25, 2020 by

The term “Will o’ the Wisp” refers to a sort of light that appears over swamps and marshes, caused by photon emissions from gases. Or at least that’s the scientific explanation. There’s a lot of folklore devoted to these weird … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Crossing, Animals, Authors, British, Christianity, Dragon Quest, Etymology, Fairy Tales, Final Fantasy, German, J.R.R. Tolkien, Japanese, Lewis Carroll, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Plays, Poetry, Religion, Science, Scottish, South American, Video Games, William Shakespeare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Feeding the Meter

Posted on January 26, 2020 by

It seems like Americans really hate the metric system. Metric really makes more sense in a lot of ways, being based on decimal measurements. On the other hand, it is true that we get a general sense of what feet, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, History, Language, Mathematics, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Foresight Is 2020

Posted on January 5, 2020 by

2020 always just sounded so far in the future when I was a kid. Really, even 2000 still had a bit of awe-inspiring mysticism about it, but I remember most of my childhood interest in a science fiction sort of … Continue reading →

Posted in Capitalism, Cartoons, Climate, Corporations, Economics, Global Warming, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Science, Technology, Television, The Jetsons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

War Between the States of Being

Posted on August 28, 2019 by

Erica Olivera’s presentation on Theosophy and its influence on L. Frank Baum at the latest OzCon included some information on the four kingdoms, those of mineral, vegetable, animal, and human. The animal-vegetable-mineral division is part of general knowledge, as well … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy, Animals, Biology, Characters, Christianity, Evolution, Greek Philosophy, History, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Philosophy, Prejudice, Religion, Science, Snobbery, Theosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Skeptic Tank

Posted on July 20, 2019 by

The Apple Dumpling Gang – It seems like I saw advertisements for this one on a bunch of other Disney videos when I was a kid, but I never saw the movie itself. There was also this Paul F. Tompkins … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Magic, Relationships, Revisiting Disney, Science, Television, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Magical Arts and Sciences

Posted on June 23, 2019 by

I’ve been thinking a bit recently about magic and science in fiction. I’m not saying anything at all new when I point out that a lot of what’s considered science fiction contains very little science. Sometimes it just seems to … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, Chronicles of Narnia, Comics, Discworld, Fundamentalism, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, madeleine l'engle, Magic, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Star Trek, Technology, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hello to Bygone Ages

Posted on January 20, 2019 by

Looking at Robert E. Howard’s essay on his imaginary Hyborian Age got me to thinking about a few different issues in fantasy fiction that deals with lost civilizations. The essay tells of a succession of great empires contrasted with barbarians, … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Christianity, Discworld, Evolution, History, Humor, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Maps, Monsters, Mystery Cults, Mythology, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Persian, Prejudice, Religion, Roman, Science, Terry Pratchett, Theosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment