Category Archives: Science

The Secret Lives of Stars

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Nathan

It’s kind of an odd inspiration, I suppose, but I got an idea to write a post about star mythology from this tweet, for which I’m honestly not sure how serious the original posters were. There is some basis in … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Babylonian, Christianity, Greek Mythology, Judaism, Mythology, Religion, Science, Semitic | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When the World and I Were Young

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Nathan

Continuing on the theme of calendars from another recent post, I’ve done some investigation into different calculations of the age of the world. The Jewish calendar and the traditional Byzantine one both date from the Anno Mundi, or Year of … Continue reading →

Posted in African, Babylonian, Chinese, Christianity, Eastern Orthodox, Egyptian, Greek Philosophy, Hinduism, History, Judaism, Mathematics, Mayan, Mythology, Native American, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Semitic, Zoroastrianism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

As the Hours and the Days and the Weeks and the Months and the Years Go By

Posted on December 29, 2021 by Nathan

With this year soon coming to an end, I was thinking about whether there’s any connection between the number of days in a year and degrees in a circle, and apparently there is. Of course, a modern year doesn’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in African, Astronomy, Babylonian, Christmas, Easter, Egyptian, Greek Mythology, History, Holidays, Islam, Judaism, Mathematics, Mesopotamia, Mythology, New Year's Day, Norse, Religion, Roman, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Myriapod Mania

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Nathan

I played a little bit of Centipede at the Silverball Retro Arcade in Asbury Park this past weekend, and I remembered seeing something online about the manual for the Atari 2600 version having a crazy back story. The game, introduced in … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Animals, Biology, Comics, Donkey Kong, Magic, Mario, Monsters, Science, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Please Plesiosaur Me

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Nathan

In light of my recent post about dragons in the Mario series, which addresses the confusion between those and dinosaurs, I find it interesting that the franchise has two separate creatures based on the Loch Ness Monster. The first one, … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Biology, Evolution, Magic, Mario, Monsters, Names, Science, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Drainpipes and Dragons

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Nathan

Dragons are a mainstay of fantasy fiction, and of course have appeared in a number of video games. Even Metroid has them, and that series is more science fiction than fantasy. Dragons in the Super Mario universe in particular are … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Biology, Cartoons, Chinese, Final Fantasy, Japanese, Language, Magic, Mario, Metroid, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Science, Semitic, Television, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

More Moors

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Nathan

Into the Unknown – This is a 1981 Reader’s Digest book that Beth had as a kid, and liked looking at the pictures. There really are a lot of cool illustrations in here, including a hellmouth from the Hours of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Authors, Book Reviews, Conspiracy Theories, Lewis Carroll, Magic, Monsters, Relationships, Rick Riordan, Science, seanan mcguire, Technology, Wayward Children | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Leaving on an Ozoplane

Posted on January 12, 2021 by Nathan

Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz, by Ruth Plumly Thompson – I can’t remember for sure why I wanted to give this one a reread, but it had been a while since I’d looked at it. It’s the last Oz … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Book Reviews, Characters, Humor, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Relationships, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Science, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Know Those Words, But That Sign Makes No Sense

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Nathan

White Christmas – I guess this was the last of our Christmas viewing for the year, although it’s mostly not even about Christmas. It’s a sort of a spiritual follow-up to Holiday Inn, which I haven’t seen, but apparently has blackface … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Christmas, History, Holidays, Humor, Music, Prejudice, Relationships, Science, Television, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Too Much Malarkey

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Nathan

I watched the debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden last night, so I might as well comment on that and related political issues. Do people really change their minds about whom to vote for based on debates? It’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Conspiracy Theories, Corporations, Current Events, Economics, Environmentalism, Global Warming, Prejudice, Religion, Science, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment