Category Archives: Mario

What Is a Neighbor?

The Ogress and the Orphans, by Kelly Barnhill – This is a children’s fantasy that seems very relevant to recent events, and it looks like that was done on purpose. The villain is a very Trumpish sort in many respects. … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, Book Reviews, Comics, Current Events, Edward Einhorn, Eric Shanower, Greek Mythology, Jasper Fforde, Magic, Mario, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Plays, Politics, Prejudice, Relationships, Rick Riordan, Thursday Next, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Tis the Voice of the Plumber

After the trailer for the new Super Mario Bros. Movie dropped, there were a lot of takes on Mario’s voice, as performed by Chris Pratt. I don’t really know that we get enough of it to judge it. It seems like … Continue reading

Posted in Advertising, Cartoons, Donkey Kong, Food, Humor, Language, Mario, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Stay Out of the Deep End

I’m going to guess you want more fish-people, but I’ll admit I’m very bad at predicting what other people want. So let’s just say I want to write more about fish-people. I often go to TV Tropes to see examples … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Australian, Babylonian, Breath of Fire, Cartoons, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Games, Greek Mythology, Health, Humor, Japanese, Language, Magic, Mana/Seiken Densetsu, Mario, Monsters, Mythology, Pacific, Relationships, Sexuality, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How We Lost the Forest

I’d been thinking about the Lost Woods in the Zelda series, probably largely because Beth recently played A Link Between Worlds. Since it’s a handheld game, I wasn’t able to watch her play it, which is something I miss doing. … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Cartoons, Characters, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, Dreams, Final Fantasy, John R. Neill, Language, Lewis Carroll, Magic, Mario, Music, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sparrowhawk, Shabba Doo, and Shang-Chi

Tales from Earthsea – The directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki’s son Goro, it’s a loose adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea series, mostly The Farthest Shore and Tehanu. From what I’ve read, LeGuin didn’t really care for the finished product. … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Cartoons, Chinese, Comics, Families, Frank Black/Black Francis, Japanese, Magic, Mario, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Prejudice, Relationships, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Television, Ursula K. LeGuin, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Winners and Choosers

After looking at the notion of people chosen by the gods, I became curious as to how the concept of a specific person being the Chosen One originated. It’s a pretty common trope in fantasy, someone being prophesied to save the world … Continue reading

Posted in Arthurian Legend, Authors, Babylonian, British, Captain N: The Game Master, Cartoons, Characters, Christianity, Discworld, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Futurama, Greek Mythology, Harry Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, Magic, Mario, Mythology, Oz, Philosophy, Religion, Semitic, Star Wars, Television, Terry Pratchett, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Intergalactic, Planetary, Planetary, Intergalactic

Next on my list of video games I haven’t played but watched playthroughs of to see what went on in them, it’s the Super Mario Galaxy games. They definitely look good, like how the Lumas resemble cuddly stuffed animals. Mario in … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Cartoons, Comics, Donkey Kong, Magic, Mario, Monsters, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Technology, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Everyone’s Your Friend in Mushroom City

I watched a playthrough of part of Mario Party Advance for research purposes. It sounds silly saying that, even if it’s technically true; it’s not like I’m writing a scholarly study on Mario. But I was interested in what it added … Continue reading

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

Right Off the Bat

When I played the first Dragon Quest, then called Dragon Warrior, I had a strategy guide from Nintendo Power that described Drakees as flying baby dragons.  This was interesting to me, as it gave a bit of a hint into … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Dragon Quest, Dreams, Etymology, L. Frank Baum, Mario, Mega Man, Monsters, Onyx Madden/Jim Nitch, Oz, Oz Authors, Pokémon, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Right City, Wrong World

One interesting aspect to Philip Jose Farmer’s A Barnstormer in Oz is his indication that the human inhabitants of Oz are descended from people who arrived there from our world, mostly Goths but also Celts and Native Americans. This sort … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Cartoons, Characters, Chronicles of Narnia, Donkey Kong, L. Frank Baum, Language, Mario, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Prejudice, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Television, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment