Like the origin and location of Camelot, the number and names of The Knights of the Round Table varied with who was telling the story. Some writers went with a dozen, others, a cast of hundreds. All of them came with their own extensive backstory, sometimes featuring each other as cousins, sons, lieges, or squires, …
Sometimes real world locations, built by human sweat with human dollars, can be as fantastic as any of those of fantasy. Take this pyramid at the river’s edge in Memphis, Tennessee, for example. Or these imaginary, yet plausible, places below. (I really beg for someone to name their Los Angeles coffeehouse The Wrecking Brew.) …
One of the things I’ve noticed about illustrations of dragons (and many imaginary creatures in general) is how closely they resemble dogs. The charming beast above is a sleepy German Shepard through and through, in spite of the wings, long tail, and feathered goat-featured face. This is not a criticism of the artist, mind you. …
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 …
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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …