Sep 15
On first glance, it’s pretty hard to tell which poster is of a real place, and which poster is fictional, yes? Brightly colored travel posters that look like silkscreens began in the 1930s, as part of a Works Administration Project (WPA) funded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, designed to give employment to otherwise unemployed artists. …
Sep 08
Fashion models of the 1960s were a special breed. They may not have been conventionally pretty, but they stood out as individuals in a way the models of the 1950s never did. Donyale Luna (left) and Benedetta Barzini (right) certainly did with their sculptural poise and elegance. Unfortunately Luna met a sad end in the …
Aug 25
Jadis’s sister and her rival for the throne of Charn was never given a name by Lewis. Some fanfic writers have given her one: Jerza, Jade, Cynara, Emeralas, Katilu. In the same spirit, here are are some randomgenned ones, sticking mostly to the Js, and those reminiscent of gems like Emeralas and Jade are. …
Jun 30
C. S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair featured the second most powerful villainess of the Narnia world: The Green Witch, known by her more popular title of The Lady of the Green Kirtle (a Medieval term for a woman’s petticoat/gown.) She works by subterfuge, can transform into a serpent, has a knowledge of hypnotism and magic …
Jun 09
Aslan, the lion deity of The Chronicles of Narnia, shows his importance by having A as the first letter of his name. In the English language, it’s the first letter of the alphabet. One language theory posits that modern humans, when they read written characters, use the same parts of the brain once used for …
Jun 02
One of the subjects I love randomgenning most are mythical creatures – demons, monsters, legendary beings, animals. These names are culled from my Twitter feed, from the years 2017 – 2020. Mythical Beings Satatareth, the Angel of Good Hygiene Gembilath, the Angel of Decay Hestothy, the Demon Queen of Depravity Levibed: A demon that …
May 12
As prevalent as druids are in fantasy literature and gaming, very little is known of them from the historical record. What we do know comes from the accounts of the Romans who colonized Europe and Britain. They were famously derisive of the native tribes, seeing them as little more than uncouth barbarians, and also had …
Apr 28
How merchandising has changed. The top view from the 1960s shows inefficient reach-in freezers that wasted energy and pink, pastel signage. Thirty years later, food display centered around kiosks, from which customers selected fresh-prepared offerings for dinner. (The pic is from the now-gone Seattle chain Larry’s Market.) With COVID-19, intimacies such as these are …
Apr 14
What would you call this little critter that looks to be part tiger, part squirrel, and part pussycat? I’m sure there are similar undiscovered species lurking somewhere on this earth or another. These names are culled from my Twitter feed, from the years 2017 – 2020. Imaginary Animals Mammalian predators Gray-marbled Tigral Bat-Eared Leopard …
Mar 24
Ursula K. LeGuin’s political science fiction novel The Dispossessed has as its subtitle “An Ambiguous Utopia.” But screw that. Isn’t this a whamdoodle of a cover? Twin worlds, close enough to touch, one lush and green, one red like Mars but cratered like the Moon, done up in a riotous rainbow of colors? (I’ll do …