Tag Archives: afterlife

Cities of the Damned

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Nathan

The idea of the world of the dead as a physical place is fascinating to me, probably at least partially because I love maps. Whether people in ancient times who wrote about such things genuinely believed that the Underworld had … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Etymology, Final Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Language, Maps, Monsters, Mythology, Poetry, Religion, Roman, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Purple Horse, Pink Goat, Blue Woozy

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Nathan

Scan by Jared Davis The 1992 Oziana gives us a rather striking cover illustration, a picture by Eric Shanower of the Wicked Witch of the East as she realizes she’s about to be crushed by a house. “A Christmas Tree … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Art, Characters, Christmas, Comics, Eric Shanower, Holidays, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, March Laumer, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dark and Shuttered

Posted on July 6, 2022 by Nathan

This week, we’re taking a look at the 1991 Oziana. Well, what else did you expect after the 1990 issue? The cover by Chris Sterling shows the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman putting on a puppet show, with each one controlling a … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Art, Characters, Families, Fred Otto, Humor, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Poetry, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Forget That Girl

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Nathan

Today, I’d like to talk about Meng Po, a Chinese goddess who makes an appearance in Katie Zhao’s Fallen Hero. She’s a resident of Diyu, the underworld, which combines Taoist and Buddhist traditions. Meng Po makes a magic liquid that … Continue reading →

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Hell No, We Won’t Go!

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Nathan

Picture by Brandon Geurts I don’t believe in an afterlife, but I can see the appeal of it, because I’m kind of afraid of no longer existing. I think it’s what’s going to happen, and I won’t care afterwards, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Comics, Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology, Humor, Judaism, Mythology, Norse, Philosophy, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The World Es Mi Familia

Posted on June 13, 2019 by Nathan

Coco – SPOILERS! It seems like, whenever someone wants to make a movie about Mexican culture, they gravitate toward Dia de Muertos, which I guess makes sense. Although different in many ways, Fox’s The Book of Life had some similar … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartoons, Conspiracy Theories, Ethnicity, Families, Holidays, Music, Relationships, Revisiting Disney, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

You Can’t Bluff an Old Theologian

Posted on December 26, 2018 by Nathan

I don’t like to do two posts about the same basic thing in a row, but sometimes I do because of timing issues. In this case, these are more Christmas-themed television specials we saw, and I want to discuss them … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartoons, Christmas, Comics, Holidays, Humor, Philosophy, Religion, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Earth as It Is in Heaven

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Nathan

The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, by Jeff Sharlet – I think I first heard about the secretive fundamentalist Christian organization known as the Family or the Fellowship on Bill Maher years ago, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Capitalism, Christianity, Comics, Conspiracy Theories, Economics, Fundamentalism, Islam, Judaism, Music, Politics, Prejudice, Real Time with Bill Maher, Religion, Television, The Colbert Report, Zoroastrianism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hell-thy, Wealthy, and Dead

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Nathan

The expression “you can’t take it with you” apparently dates back to the first half of the nineteenth century, but the idea is older than that. Not all cultures have believed this, however. We know that the tombs of wealthy … Continue reading →

Posted in African, Authors, Buddhism, Chinese, Christianity, Egyptian, Greek Mythology, Mythology, Norse, Religion, Taoism, Tom Holt | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Prophets Have Fallen

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Nathan

Beth recently showed me this video of Pastor Steven Anderson insisting that Buddhists worship the dead corpse of Buddha. While this guy is particularly nutty, the argument that Jesus is still alive and Muhammad and Buddha (as well as Moses … Continue reading →

Posted in Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Religion, Zoroastrianism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments