And what of the oceans, rivers and lakes of Earth? Seagoing vessels can be as large as small cities or nearly as tiny as a person. Plenty of stories have been told of adventures on or under the water. Which … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 15: Out to Sea
Outer space is inhospitable, but a good starship or space station can offer some relatively comfortable breathing room for the telling of off-world human stories. What is your favorite ship or station in science fiction? Bonus: Separate from its origin … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 14: In Space
Maybe the most famous utopian setting is the future imagined by Star Trek. Humanity united, no longer using money, exploring the stars in (generally) altruistic pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Sci-fi utopias can be tricky, because sometimes there’s more than … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 13: Utopian Futures
Tomorrow we’ll consider Utopias, but today the topic is yes, the dystopian setting. Depictions of dystopias have shown up in media for many decades, but the word arguably rose in vernacular usage with the wave of YA books and book … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 12: Dystopian Futures
Top tier antagonists in cinema (and beyond) tend to have a flair for the dramatic, a case of synergy between medium and content. Whether it’s room to house an army or a giant machine, a premium on hiding from the … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 11: Villains’ Lairs
Play an out-of-tune piano, tilt back the head of a statue or slide the right volume out of a bookcase and you may gain entrance to the Batcave, or some other hidden space within an eccentric billionaire’s mansion. There are … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 10: Secret Places
Big things are cool. Also they often have some sort of attached cultural significance in the world of the story, as well as potentially lots of interior space for scenes to take place in. Maybe closer to the psychological core … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 9: Gigantic Structures
As a companion to yesterday’s theme, today is about recent history, loosely defined as from the Industrial Revolution up to now. The defining feature of these recent centuries is probably the massive wave of technological advancement that among other things, … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 8: Modern Historical Settings
Many films, shows, books and games have been set in historical times and places. Sometimes accurately, many times not. Nonetheless, the opportunity to live in the past for an hour is one of the great features of historical fiction. Today … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 7: Olde Historical Settings
Movie magic can work wonders in spinning the image of a small community full of charming idiosyncrasy. The sort of place where everyone knows everyone else by name. Of course, such places don’t always take the form of a paradise. … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 6: Small Towns & Villages
School is a natural incubator for interesting stories. Be it the not-by-choice peer groups of primary and secondary school classes, or the unique combination of freedom and resources of university education, the social dynamics offer many angles. The buildings or … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 5: Schools
There’s nothing quite like a food- or beverage-serving establishment when it comes to places for characters to hang out. Friends connecting after work, a couple on a date, meticulous loners who know what they want in a breakfast. Just about … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 4: Restaurants
Places of work have a storied history in television. Hospitals, police stations, offices of various kinds. This broad type of setting has long been the domain of dramas and procedurals, and especially since the original version of The Office, of … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 3: TV Workplaces
Today we shift from movies to TV, and keep thinking about living spaces. As television more commonly focuses on the inside of a house or apartment/flat—especially spaces like living rooms and kitchens—than on the exterior architecture, the main prompt will … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 2: TV Homes
Happy New Year! Welcome to the 30 Day Challenge for January, which will focus on various settings that play host to stories. This will include sets, locations, buildings and other types of environments, any scope from a scene to a … Continue reading 30 Day Fictional Settings Challenge, Day 1: Movie Houses
Just Jar. We’ve only got one Jar here tonight. Continue reading Single Jar Night Thread (12/29)
The Abalone is a marine gastropod mollusc. They are consumed as a delicacy and the interior layer of their shells is the often iridescent material nacre, used as mother-of-pearl in decorative inlays and the like. Rather fascinating creatures beyond the … Continue reading The Abalone Shell Day Thread (12/28)
The wind blows across Disqus, revealing ancient comments, and new discussions… Continue reading Crystalline Emergency Day Thread ( 12/20)
There are three types of Puffin, and the Tufted is among them. They typically sport bold colors including yellowish tufts extending from the area behind their eyes, though interestingly they lose this feature along with most of their coloring during … Continue reading Day Thread of the Tufted Puffins (12/19)
Enjoy delicious night.s Continue reading Random Ramen Night Thread (12/16)
I first heard Gordon Lightfoot’s “Song for a Winter’s Night” as covered by fellow Canadian Sarah McLachlan. While Sarah’s version is lovely, angelic and lightly choral, there’s something about the original. Even with its energetic pace, I think that it … Continue reading Song for a Winter’s Night Thread (12/10)
