] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 4, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] Hi all! I guess this is the longest gap between Ozzy Digests ever! I apologize to everyone, but other obligations have left me little time the past week to put the Digest together. But rest assured the Digest is still alive and well! -- Dave ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 18:59:19 -0500 (EST) From: Jeremy Steadman Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-27-98 > The Magic Picture isn't too much of a problem with most of the Oz plots, > since Ozma or someone would need to know to look for the hero's > difficulties before it would reveal any useful information. The Great Book > of Records is much more of a problem; I think by and large that one has to > assume that it has a rather oracular style (the only direct quotes from it > that I recall, in _Royal Book_ and _Kabumpo_, certainly indicate that) so > that it's only after the fact that Glinda would recognize what was meant. > Or, as in _Magical Mimics_, Glinda is away from it for some reason. Does the FF state explicitly that Glinda checks the GBR every day? If not, I'd think she might just not happen to read it one day, and so not see the key passage. Even if so, one could still write about a time she is too busy one day or has too much else to do to see a certain event, or that she's away during the important time. There are certainly some conventional ways of getting around it. > I got sick the > second day I was there and had to have surgery to remove my appendix last > Friday. I was released from the hospital in time to convalesce a little > before flying home to Maryland. I've been instructed not to lift more than > 10 pounds for a month, so poor Terry had to carry all the bags and the baby. > I had hoped to check out some of my favorite local bookstores (such as Moe's > in Berkeley) for Oz books, but had no such luck. Oh well, at least I'm > feeling better, albeit still sore. Ouch! I hope all continues to go well--that doesn't sound like it was much fun. > Action and non-Action: > It would probably not be a good thing if all literature was one or the > other. It's better that we have a wide spectrum. I agree. The current trend toward action-oriented fiction is hopefully only a trend. > I, too, was wondering what our Digest > authors will do now that Buckethead > is to be no more. I was/am anxiously > awaiting Seven Blue Mountains, book > two and the others also. I do hope Chris reconsiders! > > [Hmm. Dorothy is blown to Oz in gales. Betsy ends up bobbin' in the > > Nonestic. Trot trots through a tunnel. Bob flies up. Peter keeps petering > > in. Speedy travels speedily. Button-Bright comes to Mo via umbrella, which > > might well have a spokes-release button on it. Could their names be the > > secret to how these particular kids get to Oz? Naaaaah.] > I suppose it means I'll have to climb into a magical rabbit hutch. ;( And I have to think of a way to get there instead, man! > BUCKETHEAD: > David Hulan asked about the fate of mine and Melody's books now that > Buckethead has folded. I E-mailed him and asked him, and he wrote back > saying that "hopefully" he will still be able to publish _Locasta_. > I was hoping for something a little more definite than "hopefully". > It looks like I submit _Locasta_ to Books of Wonder. He did not comment > on Melody's book (if he thinks the only manuscript I care about is my > own, he is mistaken), but I gather the same "hopefully" applies to her... If "he" means Chris Dulabone, I'm glad! (Buckethead was the first, and it published _Ring_, so I feel what is perhaps unjustified loyalty to it. Especially when it hasn't published the sequel yet!) With lots of glitter and sequels, Jeremy Steadman, jsteadman@loki.berry.edu (kiex@aol.com during the summer and school vacations) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 "The man who thought his wife was a bicycle tire soon found he'd spoke too soon." ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 19:38:15 -0500 (EST) From: Toto Arf Subject: future Oz books (can be posted or paraphrased) Tyler Jones has mentioned to me that there have been some concerns about certain manuscripts that have been in the possession of the Buckethead backlog. I hope that these have by now been set to rest. I had explained this in a private e-mail, but I guess I should have said to tell the Digest... Books such as "Locasta" and the others are hopefully still going to be published under the new name, Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends. That is, if certain people get the rest of their illustrations to me during my lifetime (no pressure intended. There are a lot of illustrators I have in mind as I say this...). ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 22:45:49 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: Oz as tale-telling Sender: "J. L. Bell" Dave Hulan wrote: <> And that works fine as long as the hero is a newcomer. But if the hero is one of Ozma's palace friends, the historians have to come up with a reason she doesn't notice their departure and look for them in the Picture. Sometimes Ozma's busy with her own troubles. At other times characters avoid alerting her to their absence: Nick and the Scarecrow in TIN WOODMAN, Sir Hokus in YELLOW KNIGHT. And fetching presents for Ozma herself seems to keep her from peeking (MAGIC, MERRY-GO-ROUND). <> There's also a quotation in GLINDA, which sets Dorothy and Ozma off on their adventure. KABUMPO purports to add a feature that Baum never mentioned: that events which took place in Oz appear in red ink, like the words of Jesus in certain editions of the New Testament. Yes, the Book's spare and oblique reports are a good reason why Glinda doesn't fix *everything* that goes wrong in Oz, just some things. Another likely reason is that Glinda, for all her good intentions and ominous pronouncements, can't really keep track of everything the Book says. There's just too much data coming at her. Rather like modern American life. <> It's interesting that this convenient convention of fairies in Burzee came around the time that having a parent temporarily away on business would make sense to Snow's readers. Earlier generations of kids had known working parents to be away a long time, like Trot's father or Baum himself as a traveling salesman, but less often in one place for just a few days. On Nathan's <>, I have my own thoughts on how that book fits into Oz as history, and why it makes sense that its events don't make sense. I suspect most of it is a sailor's yarn, like Books VII-XII of THE ODYSSEY: fantastic adventures, fights, flights, maidens, monsters, enchantments, and a big fish getting away again and again. The episode of Bucky becoming the new Nome King with the help of a voice from on high is the most fantastic--and least credible--of all. This interpretation dismisses Neill's report that Number Nine observed Bucky and Davy throughout the book. The chance of that seems slim: not just because of Nine's workload, but because it requires him to just happen upon a boy who ends up reaching Oz when he's in the midst of the opening pie fight (not the first pie-throwing Neill had depicted, by the way). The lovely but out-of-place drawing on pp. 184-85 of LUCKY BUCKY somewhat reinforces my view. It, too, seems to be plucked from an earlier yarn to provide extra excitement. Speaking of Neill's odder two-page spreads, a coupla months ago Steve Teller gave us an interesting analysis of the links and disjunctions between WONDER CITY's art and original manuscript. I've been wondering if Neill originally drew the spread on pp. 134-35 for a different part of that book, or even a different book. It's supposed to depict the (off-stage) meeting of Jenny and the "firefly fairies" in the palace garden. Here's why I don't think it does: * That encounter is in the midst of the Heeler invasion, which Steve tells us was an editorial interpolation. * The Heeler episode occurs at night, but the drawing is not a night scene. * The little winged creatures show no links to fireflies. * The young woman doesn't display Jenny's striking eyebrows and long hair; she seems older. * There's little of the sort of cross-hatching so prominent in other WONDER CITY spreads. * Neill's signature is cut off at upper right, hinting that he originally drew this artwork for a wider space. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 02:03:00 -0500 (EST) From: JOdel Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-27-98 As a last comment (at least from me) regarding Tik-Tok, before we shut down this discussion. I would like to call people's attention to the situation at the end of chapter 23. I know that I will be refering to this situation in ldiscussions of later books, so I guess it makes sense to make a point of calling attention to it now, before we move on. Ruggedo has earlier been deposed and chased out of the Nome kingdom by a half dozen magic eggs sent through the tube by Tititi-Hoochoo. He ran off before he was even able to gather the cache of jewels that T-H declared that he might take when he left. Once he caught his breath, he went back to get his jewels and found the eggs standing guard at the entrance. Well he knows a back entrance into the great caveren and the metal forest, so he has a housewife sew pockets all over his suit and slips in the back way to gather up his consolation prize. He is discovered in the metal forest later, by the rescue party who are in search of Shaggy's brother. At this point, King Kaliko tells him to take his jewels and go. He does. Later he is discovered sitting and panting, in the midst of a trail of scattered jewels, with burst pockets from having overloaded himself with booty. When found, he makes a humble speech of repentance and his "conquerors" effectively forgive him his greediness. They then return to the main caverns of the Kingdom and he trails along after them. The eggs have disapeared and are no longer standing guard. They settle in to a festive dinner, while he hunkers down in a corner looking pitiful. Betsy takes pity on him and takes him some dinner. He makes another grand speech composed equally of hot air and humility about how power corrupts, and that as an ordinary Nome he should be able to live a blameless life. Kaliko gets suckered in and tells him that he can stay, as long as he behaves himself. (Shaggy and Betsy mistrust this "reform", but figure that they will be long gone before Ruggedo gets up to mischief, and if he does do so, it will be Kaliko's problem.) Our viewpoint characters leave the Nome kingdom shortly afterwards. At which point Ruggedo has been overcome, cast out of the kingdom, and within two days has wormed his way back in! Yes, that's right, at the end of Tik-Tok, Ruggedo is back/still in the Nome Kingdom and ready to kick up any kind of mischief of which he is capable. Remember this situation. I know I will be refering back to it later. I may not be the only one. ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 08:53:26 -0500 From: Richard Randolph Subject: Ozzy Digest 2-27-98 Scott O.: The photos you mentioned in the recently received Bugle rang a bell with me, also. I believe I saw them at the '96 Munchkin Convention in Ozma Baum Mantele's slide presentation, which I'm sure she repeated at the other regional conventions. Craig N.: Sorry to hear of your "non-vacation". What a bummer not to be able to enjoy the SF Bay area! And not fun for Terry, either.:( Barbara: Thanks for the charming review of the Plainsmen Players' Wizard of Oz. Reading your post made me wish I'd been there! Was it video taped, by any chance? Dick ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 13:14:04 -0800 From: "Stephen J. Teller" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-27-98 > From: Richard Randolph > I, too, was wondering what our Digest > authors will do now that Buckethead > is to be no more. I was/am anxiously > awaiting Seven Blue Mountains, book > two and the others also. > > Dick > Although Buckethead is no more, Chris Dulabone has not stopped planning to publish more Oz books. He is simply taking a new imprint: Cowardly Lion and Friends (or something like that). > > PAUL SOLMAN:. . . Hugh Rockoff has written an article > explaining Baum's story as an allegory about the great money > debate of the 1890's, with each character playing a distinct > historical part. Hexing William Jennings Bryan's > lion--William McKinley, the wicked witch of the West. He > came from Ohio. Sweet Dorothy stands for traditional > American values. Toto is the teetotaler, since the > prohibitionists were also pro silver. The decent scarecrow > is the farmer. > Should Littlefield sue Hugh Rockoff for plagarism? > From: Dave Hardenbrook > > BUCKETHEAD: > David Hulan asked about the fate of mine and Melody's books now that > Buckethead has folded. I E-mailed him and asked him, and he wrote back > saying that "hopefully" he will still be able to publish _Locasta_. > I was hoping for something a little more definite than "hopefully". > It looks like I submit _Locasta_ to Books of Wonder. He did not comment > on Melody's book (if he thinks the only manuscript I care about is my > own, he is mistaken), but I gather the same "hopefully" applies to her... Chris operates on a shoestring and never knows when he will be able to publish anything. If you want to see more books from him, send him money, buy his books, pray for his success. The digest has not heard from me lately. I have been in Chicago, Madison, St. Louis and Columbia, busy working on the text of the 1902/03 WIZARD OF OZ play. Dave, I don't know how to tell you this but right out. In the 1903 copyright copy of the text sent to the Library of Congress, the name of the Good Witch of the North is given as LOCUSTA--consistantly. She introduces herself to Dorothy that way, and when Dorothy calls on her, both in the Poppy Scene and at the very end of the play she calls "Locusta." I have so far discovered 68 musical selections that were used in WIZARD between 1902 and 1915." I will be leaving next Thursday for three weeks in London, seeing plays (hard work, but someone has to do it) so I imagine I will have a few digest waiting for me on my return. Steve T. ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 17:06:31 -0500 From: "Kenneth R. Shepherd" Subject: Ozzy Digest X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.71.1712.3 David Hulan: >Ken S.: >I'm sure your fiancee is a lovely lady, but as one who grew up with the >Tarzan books (as much as Oz) I can't help getting this certain >image from the name Kala... :-) Yes, that was the same image my brother came up with. I had to pull TARZAN OF THE APES off my shelf and check the reference. She was quite incensed when she found out.... Actually, she tells me that she once met Diane Fossey... Actually her name "Kala" is a shortened version of "Humsakala," which (I think) is Tamil in origin. Posted: ******WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR "GRAMPA" AHEAD******** Day 1 - Fumbo loses his head Day 2 - Grampa & Tatters start on expedition at 8 AM - meet Bill at evening, bandits at night - night in forest - "On the same bright morning that Grampa and Tatters started from Ragbad," Gorba kidnaps Pretty Good from Perhaps City - Prophecy of Abrog ("in four days a monster shall marry the Princess") - Percy Vere meets Dorothy - night in forest Day 3 - Grampa & Tatters escape robbers before dawn - meet Urtha in garden, leave garden at night- Dorothy & Percy breakfast in woodcutter's cottage, taken by washerwomen Day 4 - Grampa's party visits Fire Island & escapes through Blazes - night on lava island Day 5 - Grampa's party visits Iso Poso - flight to Oz - discover Fumbo's head - "The two days Grampa and his little party had been adventuring in the wizard's garden, on Fire Island and Isa Poso, Dorothy, Toto and the Forgetful Poet had spent as prisoners on Monday Mountain" - Dorothy, Toto & Percy escape washerwomen - the two parties meet - camp in field at night Day 6 - The party meets the Playfellows - Urtha escapes to Maybe Mountain - Urtha married to Tatters ("it was the fourth day mentioned in Abrog's prophecy"), disenchanted - marriage celebration in Ragbad late into night Day 7 - "Not until after the loud crows of Bill announced the rising of the sun did the party break up" Day 8 - "After luncheon the next day" Dorothy, Toto, Peer Haps & Percy return to their homes ****************END SPOILERS***************** ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 08:25:08 +0100 From: Bill Wright Subject: Oz Digest Received the following note from someone who was looking at my Oz Encyclopedia website. Does anyone on the digest have any idea where Baum came up with the Horner name? Could it have any relationship to the Horners mentioned in this email Bill in Ozlo > -----Original Message----- > From: Michael A Graham [SMTP:michaela.graham@sympatico.ca] > Sent: 1. mars 1998 16:48 > To: piglet@halcyon.com > Subject: Question? > > I was recently going thru an old scrapbook left to me by my > grandfather, > among its contents was an old menu dated March 6th, 1895. The menu was > for a diner and election of Master and Ward for the Worshipful Company > of Horners. Until I found your web site I had no idea what a Horner > was, > could you please comment. My grandfather was Arthur Shorter and he was > > the head chef for the Royal Family for many years. > Thank you for an interesting web site. > Michael Graham ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 13:25:36 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-27-98 J.L.: If Dorothy and Zeb are not related, that would make their marriage on _The Oz Kids_ not so bad. Dave: The M on Ozma's forehead was to represent the Melvins, the punk rock band that put out the album. I listened to some of the samples and found them mildly interesting. I know of only one store in town that carries the album, though. Well, Saturday I watched _Dark City_ by Alex Proyas, and found some interesting Oz references. I highly reccommend the film. Interestingly, Bruce Spence, Chris Lofven's surfie, plays the Stranger, Mr. Wall. Then I came home and read _Tamawaca Folks_. This was an excellent book, full of Baum's clever wit and plotting. This deserves to be filmed on location in Macatawa, as a period piece. It would look superfcially similar to Jeannot Szwarc's _Somewhere in Time_, although the romance plot is limited. _Daughters of Destiny_, which I read yesterday, is loaded with racial stereotyping, including a character called "David the Jew" who spoke with a really bad accent, and whose description reminded me of Stephen Teller. Sorry, Steve! It wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that good either, like a good author trying to write something that will appeal to the masses by giving it a soap opera feel. I'm surprised this was never made into a silent film, it probably would have done quite well. There is a French film called _Daughters of Destiny_, but it has nothing to do with it. If you want plot summaries, I'll provide them. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 12:49:16 -0500 From: "Melody G. Keller" Subject: Ozzy Digest, 02-16-98 Sender: "Melody G. Keller" Dave: >Camille then assumes her true form: An icky, slimy, blue-green blob with one eye on a stalk. But by this time Kryten has truly fallen in love with Camille, and he continues to love her, in spite of her looks: "You may be a slimy blue blob, but you're by far the most ravishingly lovely slimy blue blob I've ever met!" Melody, wouldn't Zim approve of a story like this? :)< He probably would. Glad Kryton didn't do the stereotypical "scream and run" sort of thing. :-) Melody Grandy ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 10:59:14 -0600 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-27-98 Back from 5 days in CA and only one Digest to respond to! Ruth: >David Hulan and Bob Spark: According to the Jack Speer/Dick Eney >"Fancyclopedia," the word "croggled" was coined by fan humorist Dean >Grennell. No date given, but he was most active in the 40's and 50's. I should have thought to check FANCY myself; I still have a copy. If Dean coined it I could ask him; I'm still in sporadic touch with him. Though whether I'd get an answer is something else; Dean's so deaf now that there's no point in a phone call, and I'm not sure if he has E-mail. Craig: That's not a very nice vacation. I had something similar happen to me on a vacation once (meaning I ended up in the hospital, though at least I didn't have to have surgery); it's very annoying. Hope the soreness goes away soon. Bob Spark: And the urban legend rolls on and on... David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:16:08 -0600 From: "R. M. Atticus Gannaway" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-27-98 KICKED THE BUCKET? >BUCKETHEAD: >David Hulan asked about the fate of mine and Melody's books now that >Buckethead has folded. I E-mailed him and asked him, and he wrote back >saying that "hopefully" he will still be able to publish _Locasta_. >I was hoping for something a little more definite than "hopefully". >It looks like I submit _Locasta_ to Books of Wonder. He did not comment >on Melody's book (if he thinks the only manuscript I care about is my >own, he is mistaken), but I gather the same "hopefully" applies to her... Egads. I should have seen this coming from a mile away, but Chris' announcement caught me rather unawares. For months now he's sounded very disillusioned; thus, I can't say it's completely unexpected. I plan to contact him about the situation, particularly since I'm at work on one last Oz book which he actually commissioned from me. That said, I think what he's done in the past 11 or 12 years on a tiny budget is truly amazing, as well as woefully underappreciated. No one else on Earth would have published me at age 11; I owe him my self-esteem as a writer and my incentive to do what all the adults around me deemed impossible or astonishing for a "mere child." Atticus * * * "The crash of the whole solar and stellar systems could only kill you once." Visit my webpage at http://members.aol.com/atty993 ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 18:55:46 -0600 From: "R. M. Atticus Gannaway" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-27-98 Clarification: Chris Dulabone will still publish Oz books, just not under Buckethead Enterprises of Oz and with far more delegation of duties. A. * * * "The crash of the whole solar and stellar systems could only kill you once." Visit my webpage at http://members.aol.com/atty993 ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 04 Mar 98 08:24:23 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things 17-YEAR LOCUSTA: Steve T. wrote: >Dave, I don't know how to tell you this but right >out. In the 1903 copyright copy of the text sent to the Library of >Congress, the name of the Good Witch of the North is given as >LOCUSTA--consistantly. She introduces herself to Dorothy that way, and >when Dorothy calls on her, both in the Poppy Scene and at the very end >of the play she calls "Locusta." You mean the name "Locasta" in the _Oz Scrapbook_ is a typo and I'm now faced with giving my heroine an even worse name than "Tattypoo" (What a difference one letter makes!)?? I need a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster... REPORTS OF BUCKETHEAD'S DEATH ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED: As Atticus and Chris himself point out, Buckethead is gone, but Chris will still be publishing books under his new company name, "Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends". Sorry for the confusion of some who might have thought Chris was gone for good. -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 5 - 6, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 14:23:21 -0500 From: Richard Randolph Subject: Ozzy Digest Some months back, someone mentioned on the Digest that they were looking for a Del Rey copy of The Magic of Oz. At that time, I had just purchased a copy at a Barnes & Noble store in my area, and I volunteered to look for another one for that person. At long last I have found another one, but, alas, cannot find the name or email address of the Digest member who was searching! Will that person please email me if you are still interested. Dick ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 19:10:20 -0500 (EST) From: Jeremy Steadman Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-04-98 A question to any or all: When exactly did Baum write _WWOZ_? I once remembered it being 1900, but the listing of Oz books that IWOZ sent me upon my first entrance to the club (a list of the Famous, er, 44, as IWOZ included its own books too) listed it as 1898. Yet the current IWOZ website says it is 1900. Can anyone help me here? > Well, Saturday I watched _Dark City_ by Alex Proyas, and found some > interesting Oz references. I highly reccommend the film. Interestingly, > Bruce Spence, Chris Lofven's surfie, plays the Stranger, Mr. Wall. Speaking of "The Stranger", there is a Doctor Who-rip-off film by that name in England. Just occurred to me it might be interesting to throw in... > Egads. I should have seen this coming from a mile away, but Chris' > announcement caught me rather unawares. For months now he's sounded very > disillusioned; thus, I can't say it's completely unexpected. I plan to > contact him about the situation, particularly since I'm at work on one last > Oz book which he actually commissioned from me. That said, I think what > he's done in the past 11 or 12 years on a tiny budget is truly amazing, as > well as woefully underappreciated. No one else on Earth would have > published me at age 11; I owe him my self-esteem as a writer and my > incentive to do what all the adults around me deemed impossible or > astonishing for a "mere child." Hear! Hear! > REPORTS OF BUCKETHEAD'S DEATH ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED: > As Atticus and Chris himself point out, Buckethead is gone, but Chris will > still be publishing books under his new company name, "Tails of the Cowardly > Lion and Friends". Sorry for the confusion of some who might have thought > Chris was gone for good. Whew! I was a bit worried there. Until next time, Jeremy Steadman, jsteadman@loki.berry.edu (kiex@aol.com during the summer and school vacations) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 "The man who thought his wife was a bicycle tire soon found he'd spoke too soon." ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 20:59:05 -0800 From: Nathan Mulac DeHoff Subject: Ozzy Digest On the Great Book of Records: An interesting observation is made by Ruggedo in _Magic_. He tells Kiki Aru that the book only records the actions of people, not of animals. In _Cowardly Lion_, this seems to be proven false, since Glinda sees an entry regarding the title character in the Book. Of course, AFAIK, Ruggedo does not actually see the Book until _Handy Mandy_, so he is probably basing his assumption on inaccurate information (probably given to him by an avian spy). Joyce: >Yes, that's right, at the end of Tik-Tok, Ruggedo is back/still in the >Nome Kingdom and ready to kick up any kind of mischief of which he is >capable. Remember this situation. I know I will be refering back to it >later. I may not be the only one. This is indeed an interesting point, especially since he is out of the Nome Kingdom in _Magic_, and with the jewels. Actually, I wrote a story about this point in Ruggedo's history. If anyone wants to read it, it is located at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/5447/elementa.html -- Nathan Mulac DeHoff vovat@geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/5447/ "All I know could be defaced by the facts in the life of Chess Piece Face." ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 18:55:13 -0600 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-04-98 Dave: You're forgiven, but don't let it happen again! :-) :-) :-) Jeremy: >Does the FF state explicitly that Glinda checks the GBR every day? >If not, I'd think she might just not happen to read it one day, and >so not see the key passage. Even if so, one could still write about >a time she is too busy one day or has too much else to do to >see a certain event, or that she's away during the important time. >There are certainly some conventional ways of getting around it. I'm almost sure that it does. Let me see if I can find the reference. Yup, in _Tik-Tok_, page 29: "The sorceress always reads her record book every day." But you're right that there are ways around it. Chris D.: Glad to hear that it's only the Buckethead name and not your publishing venture itself that's folding, and that other Oz books will eventually be forthcoming. J.L.: It's true that when it's one of Ozma's palace friends that's in trouble, the historian has to produce a reason why she doesn't just look in the Magic Picture and fix things. But I think they usually do this with a fair degree of plausibility. For one thing, few of the adventures last very long, and it's doubtful that Ozma checks on her absent friends unless they're gone for several days. We know most of them are inclined to go off to visit the Scarecrow or the Tin Woodman or Glinda or Professor Woggle-bug without bothering to tell Ozma about it. >There's also a quotation in GLINDA, which sets Dorothy and Ozma off on >their adventure. I'd forgotten that was a direct quote. But it's another one that's not terribly informative, although it's less cryptic than some of the ones in _Kabumpo_. >It's interesting that this convenient convention of fairies in Burzee came >around the time that having a parent temporarily away on business would >make sense to Snow's readers. Earlier generations of kids had known working >parents to be away a long time, like Trot's father or Baum himself as a >traveling salesman, but less often in one place for just a few days. Maybe. Although I don't think the business trip of a few days became that common until the '50s, when air travel became fairly routine; Snow was writing right at the end of WW II, when travel was still pretty strictly rationed for the general public. >On Nathan's <>, I have my >own thoughts on how that book fits into Oz as history, and why it makes >sense that its events don't make sense. I suspect most of it is a sailor's >yarn, like Books VII-XII of THE ODYSSEY: fantastic adventures, fights, >flights, maidens, monsters, enchantments, and a big fish getting away again >and again. The episode of Bucky becoming the new Nome King with the help of >a voice from on high is the most fantastic--and least credible--of all. > This interpretation dismisses Neill's report that Number Nine observed >Bucky and Davy throughout the book. The chance of that seems slim: not just >because of Nine's workload, but because it requires him to just happen upon >a boy who ends up reaching Oz when he's in the midst of the opening pie >fight (not the first pie-throwing Neill had depicted, by the way). Interesting theory, and certainly entirely plausible. > The lovely but out-of-place drawing on pp. 184-85 of LUCKY BUCKY somewhat >reinforces my view. It, too, seems to be plucked from an earlier yarn to >provide extra excitement. I know Ruth Berman has said that that drawing was almost certainly done several years before the writing of LB; Neill's eyesight had deteriorated enough by that time that he probably couldn't have done it that late. Most likely it wasn't even done for an Oz book. Joyce: True that Ruggedo is still in the Nome Kingdom at the end of _Tik-Tok_. The next time we see him mentioned by name, he's an exile again, at the beginning of _Magic_. But was he whispering in Kaliko's ear in _Rinkitink_? Or did you have something else in mind? Steve: >I will be leaving next Thursday for three weeks in London, seeing plays >(hard work, but someone has to do it) so I imagine I will have a few >digest waiting for me on my return. Sounds like life is tough. ;-) Ken S.: Thanks again for the chronology. Bill W.: I doubt if Baum got the Horner name from the Worshipful Community. "Horner" isn't a particularly unusual surname, any more than "Hopper" is; I think Baum was just being playful, using names of people he knew and giving them peculiar characteristics suggested by the name. Dave: I don't think you need to change your heroine's name. Hardly a man is now alive who saw the stage version of _Wizard_, and except for those of us on the Digest nobody knows that the _Oz Scrapbook_ had a typo. Just tell Steve to keep quiet about it until your book is published. Or there's always assassination... David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 22:42:16 -0500 From: Richard Bauman Subject: Today's Oz Growls Sender: Richard Bauman JOdel - Re Ruggedo. Apparently Baum subscribed to the current view that criminals with personality disorders can be reformed. Not! Dave - Hang in there with Locasta. Locusta sounds like a combination of "low" and "cuss." Not an attractive name at all. Briefly, Bear (:<) ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 19:16:47 -0800 From: ozbot Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-04-98 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal Probably Dave can answer this if any one can! Is Tattypoo Baum's name (and thus PD) for the Good Witch of the NOrth, or is that Thompsons' name? I prefer the name Locasta, FWIW. The reason I ask (plug alert! plug alert!) is that the new Wonderland comic that I am drawing has the Good Witch of the North in it and the writer had her referred to as Tattypoo. I told him I'd look into it (the comic is bi monthly and this issue is published in July.) Why is the Good Witch of the NOrth in Wonderland? Well, remember, this WOnderland comic is a spin off of the OZ comic (formerly of Caliber Comics' press) Also for those who didn't like the art of the original series (which, truth to be told, I am one of) the original artist will be a part of teh new OZ series, but will be redesigning the world and its characters when the miniseries (called Dark Oz) is turned into a regular series (called the Land of Oz) Thanks in advance! ozbot Danny Wall ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 05 Mar 1998 03:38:33 +0000 From: Scott Olsen Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-04-98 Re: J.L. Bell's: "Speaking of Neill's odder two-page spreads....I've been wondering if Neill originally drew the spread on pp. 134-35 for a different part of [Lucky Bucky], or even a different book. It's supposed to depict the (off-stage) meeting of Jenny and the "firefly fairies" in the palace garden..." There was a Bugle article awhile back that reported that this illustration was (and I'm working from memory here) circa 1914 or so and was published in (or intended for) an edition of "Boy's Life". In any event, it certainly is an odd drawing, for an even odder book! Sincerely, Scott Olsen ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 05 Mar 1998 09:28:24 -0800 From: "Stephen J. Teller" Subject: Ozzy Digest > > Speaking of Neill's odder two-page spreads, a coupla months ago Steve > Teller gave us an interesting analysis of the links and disjunctions > between WONDER CITY's art and original manuscript. I've been wondering if > Neill originally drew the spread on pp. 134-35 for a different part of that > book, or even a different book. > It's supposed to depict the (off-stage) meeting of Jenny and the "firefly > fairies" in the palace garden. Here's why I don't think it does: > * That encounter is in the midst of the Heeler invasion, which Steve tells > us was an editorial interpolation. > * The Heeler episode occurs at night, but the drawing is not a night scene. > * The little winged creatures show no links to fireflies. > * The young woman doesn't display Jenny's striking eyebrows and long hair; > she seems older. > * There's little of the sort of cross-hatching so prominent in other WONDER > CITY spreads. > * Neill's signature is cut off at upper right, hinting that he originally > drew this artwork for a wider space. > > J. L. Bell I will have to look into this after my return. > > Steve T. wrote: > >Dave, I don't know how to tell you this but right > >out. In the 1903 copyright copy of the text sent to the Library of > >Congress, the name of the Good Witch of the North is given as > >LOCUSTA--consistantly. She introduces herself to Dorothy that way, and > >when Dorothy calls on her, both in the Poppy Scene and at the very end > >of the play she calls "Locusta." > > You mean the name "Locasta" in the _Oz Scrapbook_ is a typo and I'm now > faced with giving my heroine an even worse name than "Tattypoo" (What a > difference one letter makes!)?? > > I need a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster... "Locusta" in the script became "Locasta" on the stage. Probably someone decided it sounded better. The script also refers to the Witch of the South "Galinda" or "Golinda". Big news on the theatrical front. There will be a production of the 1903 WIZARD OF OZ in Tarpon Springs, Florida on April 24 and 25. Except for a production by the Saint Louis Muni-Opera in the 1960's, this will be the first performances since about 1912. Anyone interested in more information should contact Constantine Grame" . This will be the last the digest will hear from me for over three weeks. In a few hours I will board a plane that will take me to London. (Actually I will change planes in St. Louis, but that's more complicated. Steve T. ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 05 Mar 1998 10:25:26 -0600 (CST) From: Ruth Berman Subject: ozzy digest J.L. Bell: Your list of reasons to think that the drawing of Jenny and the firefly fairies wasn't drawn originally for "Wonder City," could include another -- that the drawing stylistically just doesn't look like Neill's 40's work. It looks like something he would have done in the 20's and 30's. There are other elaborate drawings in his three Oz books that look like earlier work -- another example is the double-page spread in "Lucky Bucky" of the wood of witches and wizards. Articles on Neill in the "Bugle" have mentioned these evidently inserted drawings. I wonder if anyone has a theory on whether they were from one unpublished project (the stylistic similarities at least make them look as if they were from one project, not a scattering of projects), and, if so, what it might have been. Joyce Odell: It might make an interesting story for "Oziana" sometime if someone would like to write about how Ruggedo, after talking Kaliko into letting him stick around at the end of "Tik-Tok," nevertheless had gotten himself kicked out as of Kaliko's next appearance ("Magic"). Possibly for trying to get the throne back again, although something less obvious might be more interesting (trying to unionize the Nomes? back-seat driving Kaliko's decisions annoyingly? complaining about his lost love Polychrome not so much because he really regretted losing her but to irritate other Nomes with less prestigious stories of loves lost until they got irritated enough to drive him away to go in search of the rainbow, and what he found in the search?). Bill Wright: I shouldn't think it's likely that Baum had an organization (British?) of "Horners" in mind to come up with his "Patchwork Girl" Horners. He named the Horner leader Jak, after all, so he must have had Mother Goose's Little Jack H. in mind somewhere along the way, and most probably at the start. Ruth Berman ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 05 Mar 1998 20:28:40 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-04-98 > Does the FF state explicitly that Glinda checks the GBR every day? > If not, I'd think she might just not happen to read it one day, and > so not see the key passage. Even if so, one could still write about > a time she is too busy one day or has too much else to do to > see a certain event, or that she's away during the important time. > There are certainly some conventional ways of getting around it. It's hell for me to check all my e-mail, since I'm on so many listserv, and I get all those confirmations from the IMDb > > Action and non-Action: > > It would probably not be a good thing if all literature was one or the > > other. It's better that we have a wide spectrum. > > I agree. The current trend toward action-oriented fiction is > hopefully only a trend. _Tip of Oz_ is certainly non-action > And that works fine as long as the hero is a newcomer. But if the hero is > one of Ozma's palace friends, the historians have to come up with a reason > she doesn't notice their departure and look for them in the Picture. > Sometimes Ozma's busy with her own troubles. At other times characters > avoid alerting her to their absence: Nick and the Scarecrow in TIN WOODMAN, > Sir Hokus in YELLOW KNIGHT. And fetching presents for Ozma herself seems to > keep her from peeking (MAGIC, MERRY-GO-ROUND). My reasoning in _Tip_ was Ozma being busy with her owb troubles, and the fact that Tip told her not to watch him. > There's also a quotation in GLINDA, which sets Dorothy and Ozma off on > their adventure. KABUMPO purports to add a feature that Baum never > mentioned: that events which took place in Oz appear in red ink, like the > words of Jesus in certain editions of the New Testament. Biblical scholars are at work on a multicolored edition, based on whether or not the Church has been discovered to have put words in his mouth (black), if it is something which is in line with what he would have said (grey), if it was something likely to be His but not certain (pink), or His [in translation from Aramaic] (red). > Yes, the Book's spare and oblique reports are a good reason why Glinda > doesn't fix *everything* that goes wrong in Oz, just some things. Another > likely reason is that Glinda, for all her good intentions and ominous > pronouncements, can't really keep track of everything the Book says. > There's just too much data coming at her. Rather like modern American life. It's supposed to be everything in different colors, that's why stuff has already happed without anyone's knowledge in _Tip_. I believe Indianapolis Civic Theatre's production was taped, but I couldn't tell you how to get it, nor do I know how to reach Sarah to confirm. Does anyone know who the Hurrah Players in the Swann video were? > > > Should Littlefield sue Hugh Rockoff for plagarism? I should think so... and I want someone to confirm that this Littlefield is not the (or related to the) loving cup baby. > of the play she calls "Locusta." I have so far discovered 68 musical Well then, "Locasta" is definitely PD unless you copyright it... > I will be leaving next Thursday for three weeks in London, seeing plays > (hard work, but someone has to do it) so I imagine I will have a few > digest waiting for me on my return. Wish I could have your job... > > > > I was recently going thru an old scrapbook left to me by my > > grandfather, > > among its contents was an old menu dated March 6th, 1895. The menu was > > for a diner and election of Master and Ward for the Worshipful Company > > of Horners. Until I found your web site I had no idea what a Horner > > was, > > could you please comment. My grandfather was Arthur Shorter and he was > > > > the head chef for the Royal Family for many years. > > Thank you for an interesting web site. > > Michael Graham I thought the Horners seemed like early SF with their radium "mutations," apparently before they knew that cancer was basically the only thing radiactivity would do to humans. This sounds like the sort of cult that SF loves to play with... As I was telling Katherine today, I seriously need to reread _Tip of Oz_ and improve it. Perhaps when you get back, Steve, you can tell me if this is accurate. I think I needed to describe abstracts with more similes and metaphors, and get inside the characters as much imposssible without truly being an omniscient narrator, because, as presented, I could not be, logically. I really wanted to get into this more. As I said, I was really writing something for adults, which as an independent is more what I am going for. (BTW, this does not mean it contains objectionable material.) I've said all I really want to say about it. Like Katherine, I don't like rto discuss my writing too much, though I like to more than she does. Katherine doesn't like the stories she wrote that I think are just wonderful, and a lot of other people do, too. I suppose this is a common writer's deficiency. The writers I know who are proud of their work usually are only mediocre, something I'm usually afraid to tell them, though I occasionally allude to it when asked. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 06 Mar 1998 00:42:37 -0500 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones Dave: No problemo on the wait for the Digest. SInce I'm out of town for the weekend, this was the perfect date to get the thing out. For the record, this was a tie for longest wait for the Digest, with the one for Feb. 12-16. I know what you mean by other obligations. Certain projects have taken so much of my time, that all my Ozzy work has been on hold for months. Hopefully, I can forge ahead on all things (yeah, right). Jeremy: I seem to remember Baum saying that Glinda reads the GBR every day, but I doubt that even she could get a full detailed report every day on the actions of everybody in Fairyland or even Oz, let alone our world (assuming the GBR reaches here). Many people have suggested that the GBR at best gives tiny cryptic hints about important people and events. Still other people have mentioned that what the Book considers important and what WE consider important may not always match. Dave and Steve T: Yoicks. "Locusta" sounds too much like "Locutus", Captain Picard's Borg identity or the slang expression "crusty". Books from Chris: Yes, Chris and his publishing are still around, just under a new name. Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 06 Mar 98 09:26:21 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things BOOK OF RECORDS VERSION 5.25I: Nathan writes: >An interesting observation is made by Ruggedo in _Magic_. He tells Kiki >Aru that the book only records the actions of people, not of animals. In >_Cowardly Lion_, this seems to be proven false, since Glinda sees an >entry regarding the title character in the Book. Of course, AFAIK, >Ruggedo does not actually see the Book until _Handy Mandy_, so he is >probably basing his assumption on inaccurate information (probably given >to him by an avian spy). Or maybe sometime between _Magic_ and _C. Lion_, Glinda got a software upgrade... Glinda: I had a terrible dream last night...I dreamt that Bill Gates took over Smith&Tinker's, and that the subsequent version of the Book of Records had a bug in which it would only record the doings of people whose last names were "Dent", "Rimmer", "McMillian", "Lister", "Beeblebrox", or "Kochanski"! Ozma: Don't worry -- Bill Gates has about as much chance of my admitting him into Oz as Ruggedo has of becoming president of the "Better Business Bureau"! FYI: Because of the problems I had getting the Digests out this week, I have postponed our beginning our discussions of _Little Wizard Stories_ until next Monday (3/9). -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 7, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 06 Mar 1998 15:31:09 -0500 (EST) From: JOdel Subject: Ozzy whatever As to the Book of Records; Ruggedo's statement in Magic, that the book does not record the actions of animals, is not "simply" wrong, but it is wrong in context. It does not record the actions of _normal_ animals. Sentient animals, such as those in Oz, qualify as people, and their actions are recorded as such. One must remember that Ruggedo was not from Oz, and that while he had met a few talking Ozian animals before, most of the animals outside of Oz do not talk, and he has not considered that this makes a difference. Also, ILTT, the Book of Records is an ongoing work in progress. We do not know how long Glinda has had the Book, only that she had it by the time of the Wizard's abdication. In fact, given that at least one of the early references to it made the hyperbolic claim that if a child in America stamped its foot in anger, the act would be recorded, we can, if we take this as accurate reporting, easily recognize the origin of the magical principles upon which the Book is based, and when considering the many later references to the Book's cryptic comments and/or highly edited (beyond usefulness) content, deduce that Glinda has been attempting to fine-tune it into the most concise and useful form for some time now. (This could be the reason that the Book has proved no more useful in foiling plots at various times durring the events of the FF. At those particular times the "software" had been overcorrecting and the entries, if any, were not clearly relevant to the situation.) FWIW, I think there was a reference in one of the later FF thatGlinda has someone stationed at the Book at all times, and if something important appears, calls her at once. This adds the factor of the judgement of the monitor into account as well. Somehow, "Locusta" does not sound like any sort of name for a GOOD witch in what was originaly presented as an principly agrarian culture... ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 06 Mar 1998 21:48:59 +0100 From: Bill Wright Subject: RE: Ozzy Digest, 02-06-98 Ruth & others......thanks for the feedback on the Horner question. You are right, I suspect, that there is no connection with this Horner society. I'm still a bit curious to know what they were all about tho. Bill in Ozlo ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 06 Mar 1998 16:47:06 -0500 (EST) From: Jeremy Steadman Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-06-98 Writing in Red Ink: This reminds me of the copy of _Neverending Story_ I read wherein the "Real World" was in red and the "Fantasy World" in green, or something like that. Tyler: Do you have a website? If so, what is it? (Just curiosity, and a vain attempt to get a complete list of all Ozzy web pages out there.) In another vain (attempt), Jeremy Steadman, jsteadman@loki.berry.edu (kiex@aol.com during the summer and school vacations) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 "The man who thought his wife was a bicycle tire soon found he'd spoke too soon." ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 06 Mar 1998 17:50:58 -0500 (EST) From: Ozmama Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-06-98 Ruth:<> O.K., folks. There's a bunch of possibilities here. Someone go for it! --Robin ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 09:15:37 -0500 From: jwkenne@ibm.net Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-06-98 >When exactly did Baum write _WWOZ_? I once remembered it being 1900, >but the listing of Oz books that IWOZ sent me upon my first entrance >to the club (a list of the Famous, er, 44, as IWOZ included its own >books too) listed it as 1898. Yet the current IWOZ website says it >is 1900. Can anyone help me here? The copyright says "1900", but the book actually came out in time for the Xmas, 1899 season. As to when he _wrote_ it, I don't recall offhand, but 1898-1899 seems right. // John W Kennedy ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 12:58:20 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-06-98 Jeremy: There is also a film of the Camus novel _The Stranger_, which was made for either French or British television (I don't remember), but it's not available on videotape. The Strangers are what the humans call the aliens in _Dark City_, the few who know about them. I saw _All You Need Is Cash_ last night, and there is a creature in the "Yellow Submarine Sandwich" portion that looks exactly like the Hyp-o-gy-raf. In my group communications class, I read Ken Cope's assumption of me to be a hate monger while ignoring my protests and explaining what I meant constitutes "mind rape." Proud of yourself? Locusta's name sounds like a play on "elocution" to me... Danny: I still can't find _Dark Oz_, or "Straw and Sorcery" #3. I have only been able to get a few parts of the _Demonstorm_ crossover, including the _Oz_ special, the _Deadworld Special_, and the _Demonstorm_ special. I do have "Romance in Rags" and I think I have _Oz_ up to issue #20. What else am I missing. I for one, liked Bill Bryan's artwork, particularly his depiction of Scraps, as beautiful as the Scarecrow believes her to be... Does anyone know about the opera _Volshebnik Izumrudnogo Goroda_ by Viktor Lebedev. Unfortunately, it's at IU, non-circualting, and is only the score and lyrics. Katherine went down to IU to watch Fritz Lang's _Metropolis_, probably with the ulterior motive of seeing her boyfrined while she was there, unless she still has that writer's group down there. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 15:42:53 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: Oz art from the outside world Sender: "J. L. Bell" Thanks, Steve Teller, for looking into any tenuous link between the art on WONDER CITY, pp. 134-35, and Neill's original manuscript when you return. The early chapters (which in the 1/3/98 digest you reported as: <>) seem like the most likely place. But even more likely, for reasons I listed earlier, would be that this spread came from an earlier project. Scott Olsen, thank you for trying to recall, <> Your reply conflated my comments on two separate Neill spreads: * a "lovely but out-of-place drawing on pp. 184-85 of LUCKY BUCKY" * WONDER CITY's supposed image of "Jenny and the 'firefly fairies'" I presume the former was the BOY'S LIFE candidate because it has a higher measure of masculinity. Ruth Berman, you have an interesting idea that <>. You seem to have more drawings in the mind than those two--yet all the other double-page spreads in Neill's books are Oz-related. And you see more stylistic overlap between the two examples listed above than I; only one has a frame, for instance. Which other drawings would you include in this group? On Joyce Odell's portentous comment about Ruggedo's lingering in the Nome Kingdom, even the first time I read TIK-TOK I assumed that situation wouldn't last. We must remember who ordered Ruggedo into exile: the mighty, merciless Tititi-Hoochoo. Would the Great Jinjin let Kaliko give his predecessor shelter for long? J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 07 Mar 98 19:10:14 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things RED INK: Well, this is a non-Canonical authority of course so it may only apply to selected parallel universes near you, but the doings of Oz people are *not* written in red ink according to _Red Reera the Yookoohoo and the Enchanted Easter Eggs of Oz_, which includes an authentic page from the Book of Records. (One interesting entry on this page reads "Big Ben lost two seconds". So apparently the Book now records the doings of not only people and animals, but also of inanimate objects!) TYLER'S PAGE: Jeremy wrote: >Do you have a website? If so, what is it? Tyler is out of town, so I'll take the liberty of giving you his page: -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 8 - 9, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 19:23:15 -0800 From: Bob Spark Subject: MGM's "Wizard of OZ" errata (can "errata" be applied to movies?) I just came across a website having to do with movie mistakes.  It is http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/E_Sandys/homepage.htm The following is listed under "Wizard of OZ": Wizard of Oz During the sequence where Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, Dorothy's pigtails were first short (above her shoulders) and as the song progresses her hair gets longer (below her shoulders), then short, and then long again. When the witch scares the people in the town where Dorothy lands, she disappears into a cloud of smoke she creates. But you can clearly see her sneak down into a trap door below. In the beginning, when the twister is coming to Dorothy's house and she is trying to get in to the cellar, on the first shot, there are three metal buildings in the background. On the next shot the fields have been harvested and the buildings are gone. When the Wicked Witch first appears in the smoke, Dorothy has a lollipop in her hand. In the next shot, she doesn't have it anywhere near her. Several times you can see the wire that makes the Lion's Tail wag. During the Tin Man's dance, you can see a stagehand caught unaware as he dashes behind the chessy tree props as he tries to hide. The characters change places from one shot to another as the wizard gives the tin man his heart, etc. If you get one of the original copies of the movie, you can see a small figure behind the blue screen in the background climbing up something, then slip, and then swing across the background. Again it is quite small. It happens shortly after the wicked witch of the west throws a fireball at Dorothy and her pals. The album "Dark side of the moon" by Pink Floyd seems to be in sync with the Wizard of Oz if you start it right after the lion roars the second time. Example: the song "brain damage" starts right when you see the scarecrow the first time and the first line is "the lunatic is on the grass". When the wizard is getting ready to take of in the balloon, while most people watch Dorothy climb out of the basket and go after Toto, the Tin Man is unravelling the thing holding the hot air balloon down, then he "accidentally" lets go. Right - final comment, and no arguments, because I've had more mails saying this than anything else. The object in the background which some people think is someone hanging themself is in fact some kind of bird. Definitely. ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 23:46:33 -0500 (EST) From: Ozmama Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-07-98 In a message dated 98-03-07 22:55:43 EST, you write: << Ruth & others......thanks for the feedback on the Horner question. You are right, I suspect, that there is no connection with this Horner society. I'm still a bit curious to know what they were all about tho. Bill in Ozlo >> ------ Awwwwww. I wanna believe there's a connection! It would be so "Baumish." Scott H.<> ----- Good grief, are you gonna start that up all over again? I assume the snide "Proud of yourself?" line is addressed to Ken. Let's hope Ken just lets this one pass, since it doesn't deserve even this much of a response. Danny Wall (Ozbot), I need your e-mail address. I'm Ozmama@aol.com Please let me know what yours is. Sorry that I lost it when I switched accounts. (Oops. Now y'all know that I don't save the Digest, which undoubtedly has Danny's address in it.) --Robin ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 23:32:14 -0800 From: Ken Cope Subject: Upanishads and Oz dreams Among the better Oz dreams I've had, was last year about this time. I was in a library which was arrayed like a gallery. Every free standing book case was carved elaborately and angled out from the wall, with a widened base narrowing and slanting toward the wall and ceiling. The shelves were arranged to fit the size of the books exactly, so that some smaller books would fit their shelves snugly, while to the left of three small shelves, one large book would have its own compartment, to display its elaborate cover. I was marveling at the fact that this one was begemmed with cut and uncut stones, arranged in sinuous patterns. I awoke with a start and realized I had forgotten until *just then* about the San Francisco Antiquarian Book Fair. (I had seen an early edition of King Solommon's Mines which had been covered with gems at the last one, I told myself.) Spouse Gen and I dragged ourselves out of bed and found the place, running into Peter Glassman, Peter Hanff, and, wildly out of context, Eric Goldberg, the animator of Aladdin's Genie. One of the stalls contained the spitting image of the book seen in my dream, with many others. These were elaborately jewelled editions of The Koran. (What did that have to do with Persia and Genies, I'd like to know...) I turned a corner (where Nasrudin says the light is better), and found the book about which I had truly been dreaming, a very fine (as per Peter Hanff) first edition, first state of The Emerald City of Oz, the likes of which I had never seen, and which I now number among the treasures for which I am responsible. What does this have to do with the Upanishads? Or sacred cows? The Ozzy Digest lurker who has written his web page about Baum and Theosophy (and about which only he and I appear to have any interest) sent copies to me of the articles written by John Algeo, the president of the Thesophical Society, that documented Baum's membership in the Society. About the only notable aspect of the article was the recollection by Baum niece, Matilda Jewell Gage, that a book by Theosophical author Charles W. Leadbeater, _The Devachanic Plane_, was among her uncle's collection of books concerning Theosophy, occultism and eastern philosophies. Algeo quoted some more of Baum's writing in The Aberdeen Journal, augmenting Michael Patrick Hearn's quotes from same. MPH had only strongly suggested that Baum had at least spent much time exploring Theosophy. Algeo points out that while "It is not clear which theosophical teachings Baum "could not accept"; possibly that reservation means only that Baum did not consider every idea that had been advanced by individual theosophists to be theosophical-- a reservation that most of us would still want to make." Baum's writing in his newspaper, in response to being accused of being a Buddhist: "The Theosophists, in fact, are the dissatisfied of the world, the dissenters from all creeds. They owe their origins to the wise men of India, and are numerous, not only in the far famed mystic East, but in England, France, Germany and Russia. They admit the existence of a God--not necessarily a personal God. To them God is Nature and Nature God. We have mentioned their high morality; they are also quiet and unobtrusive, seeking no notoriety, yet daily growing so numerous that even in America they may be counted by thousands. But, despite this, if Christianity is Truth, as our education has taught us to believe, there can be no menace to it in Theosophy." Baum's statement characterizes Theosophy well, so far as I can make out, it is primarily a westernized Vedantism mixed with a lot of wishful thinking and imagination. The best books on Occultism and Astrology, the ones I've seen, are so many wood blocked, rough cut cuartos, props in a fantasy film, all Prospero's books... but from my auto-didacticism and personal library, feel that they owe their deepest debt to the Vedas and the Upanishads. The more familiarity you have with those ideas, the more easy it is to see them reflected in Xtianity, which is the wierdest religion I've ever heard of. The idea I can't swallow from Algeo, is his imprint of allegory on TWWOO-- get this, it's about reincarnation, with Oz representing Samsara, the seductive world of earthly beauty, which draws the soul to it in order to incarnate, when it should remain in the cold, grey absolute Truth of Undifferentiated Consciousness of Nirvana, i.e. Kansas. KANSAS? I want some of what he's been smoking. Sure, the Scarecrow is intellect, the Tin Man the Heart, and Lion is action or doing...and her silver slippers are her means to the home she had within all along, etc. etc. But unless only TWWOO is Baum's revealed truth, and all the others merely cynical cashing in on the franchise he'd indadvertently created, I can't buy any of the above for a second. To me, Kansas is a far more illusory place, reality veiled in ignorance and separation from the true nature of the divine self (if you will indulge me in the exposition of one of my oft-juggled world-views). Personally, I've never been able to feel that the no-place-like-home homily was anything other than a tacked- on lesson like some cheesy He-man cartoon, that may as well have been "be careful where you drop your house." Although 'There and Back Again worked well for Tolkien, neither Bilbo nor Dorothy managed to stay home for very long. That Baum incorporated notions of animism, undines, sylphs, spirits of Fire and Earth, and created something of originality that was partly drawn from familiarity with the world-explaining stories of others is hard to argue with. I think that his were the first books that felt to me like holding something truly magic in my hands. Since those, books purporting to contain Magic pale in comparison. (Though many of them are fine examples of the printer's art.) One of my dream sagas (about 15 years ago) contained the epic story of sneaking invisibly into the tower of the slumbering witch, who had trapped some of my friends in the form of illustrations in a small number of books. I had to get them with me out the window without awakening her-- Oops. Fortunately, my other magical allies across the river engaged the witch in a fireball and hand-zapping spree, and got me safely out of the tower, to a safe bank where we opened the books and released our friends from their er, uh, bindage. And that is why I practice and teach 3D character animation... Happy dreaming-- may the Oz in them manifest itself in your life. Sharp change of topic here... My spouse Genevieve just got famous, see the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/workshop/design/default.asp I mention it not only because I'm proud of her, but because it also contains an announcement (or promise) that only listers will recognize as Ozzy. --Ken Cope Ozcot Studios pinhead@ozcot.com http://www.ozcot.com "back in '64, before you were born people had no time for pouring scorn (or scoring porn) on dreams of love and peace no one was obese only tight trousers were worn... --The Rutles ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 13:00:27 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: alcott (fwd) Since there are so many Alcott fans on the Digest I thought I'd forward this. Scott ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 17:13:45 -0500 From: Kelly Kathryn Jones Subject: alcott saw this on my email today and thought it may interest alcott fans. kelly ____________________Forward Header_____________________ Subject: InteliHealth Connect for 3/6/98 Author: "InteliHealth Online" Date: 3/6/98 1:28 PM TODAY IN HEALTH HISTORY ____________________________________________________________ Little Nurses? Author Louisa May Alcott struggled for many years as a writer, pumping out romance-type fiction under pseudonyms along with other writings, but it was a book about her experiences as a nurse that brought her true fame. In 1862, during the Civil War, Alcott went to work as a nurse at the Union hospital at Georgetown in Washington, D.C. A year later, a collection of letters she wrote to her family during that time was published as "Hospital Sketches." The book brought her fame and $2,000, which she used to travel to Europe. When she returned, she began her most famous novel, "Little Women." Alcott died on this date in 1888. Copyright Inteli-Health, Inc., 1998. All rights reserved. ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 06:34:00 -0800 From: Bob Spark Subject: For the "Ozzie Digest": Camus' "The Stranger" Scott, Jeremy: There is also a film of the Camus novel _The Stranger_, which was made for either French or British television (I don't remember), but it's not available on videotape. The Strangers are what the humans call the aliens in _Dark City_, the few who know about them. "The Stranger" is less a novel than a monograph on existentialism. I will quote a review: Camus illustrates a life of a protocol existentialist. The book is not about individual events of the main character's life (e.g., his indifferent reactions to his mothers death; his senseless act of murder, etc.), rather, this book portrays a man living a life of emotional indifference to all life's events. However, he takes the responsibilities of all of his wrong doings, and he takes the rewards of his benevolent actions. More importantly, his was fully free. That is, he was truly the captain of his boat. No societal pressures altered any of his lifes' action. Bob Spark ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 09:37:06 -0800 From: ozbot Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-07-98 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal Ozzy comics--- Scott wrote: > Danny: I still can't find _Dark Oz_, or "Straw and Sorcery" #3. > I have only been able to get a few parts of the _Demonstorm_ crossover, > including the _Oz_ special, the _Deadworld Special_, and the _Demonstorm_ > special. I do have "Romance in Rags" and I think I have _Oz_ up to issue > #20. What else am I missing. Part of the problem may be the creators breaking away from Caliber comics to form their own imprint-- Arrow Comics. Unfortunately, there seems to be a problem with the distributor (who, in suspicious contrast to anti-trust laws, seems to be the only service in North America for such things). Diamond distrubutes Arrow's comics, but seems not to be giving them the same attention it would to a big and more established company (Sorry, ranting there.) In other words, please be sure to order advance copies (or REorder those already published) through your local comic store (ask for Diamond's Previews order form.) _Dark Oz_ issues 1 would be out last month, so try to reorder that (and you may need to reorder issue 2, which was already solicited.) In any case, you can try to order directly from Arrow's offices by calling 810-235-6338, or at least tell them your woes. (I would prefer you order and support your retailer) But anyway, Caliber publised _Oz_ through issue 20, Straw and Sorcery did have an issue 3, I believe, and teh Deamonstorm was teh company's (Caliber's) mega-comic crossover. For any back issues for these comics, again, consult your local comic company, or try an on-line comic store, such as www.milehighcomics.com or perhaps find retailers at www.comicbookresources.com Scott wrote again: >I for one, liked Bill Bryan's artwork, > particularly his depiction of Scraps, as beautiful as the Scarecrow > believes her to be... > Bryan's work definately fit the tone of the series, which was always darker than the books. Well, maybe not Snow's :) That, I believe, is what turned a lot of "Classic Oz" fans off. Tim Holtrop, who took over the art chores when Bryan did several _Oz_ mini series, lent a much more classic "superhero" flavor for the more adventuresome Oz issues, after the initial (and overly dark) threat of the Nome King was dealt with. Things get dark again, (duh) in _Dark Oz_, after which, the character and world designs change and the series becomes _Land of Oz_ IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT for OZ COMICS Remember the old Marvel comics' adaptations of _Wizard_ and _Land_? Well, I've been talking witht he editor in chief at Arrow, and it seems there is an openness to perhaps coming out with a _Classic Oz_ series (and less so, but still open) for a _Classic WOnderland_ series. These series would be aimed for younger readers (not the older kids/teens and adults that Dark Oz, etc is aimed for) and may follow in the "adaptation" route that Marvel did, or may include all new stories set in the "Classical" (non-Arrow) worlds. Please support Arrow Comics by picking up _Oz_ and my own _Wonderland_, and even support this decision with letters. I think this would be a great opportunity to continue to bring Oz to everyone. ozbot Danny Wall ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 13:24:06 -0500 (EST) From: Jeremy Steadman Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-07-98 > Jeremy: There is also a film of the Camus novel _The Stranger_, which was > made for either French or British television (I don't remember), but it's > not available on videotape. The Strangers are what the humans call the > aliens in _Dark City_, the few who know about them. I finally saw _DC_ yesterday afternoon! It certainly lived up to its repute as a "strange" film, but I thought it also had a far-reaching moral at the end. > Tyler is out of town, so I'll take the liberty of giving you his page: > Thank you. I'd thought that was what I had, but it certainly didn't work when I tried it yesterday . . . Until we meet again, Jeremy Steadman, jsteadman@loki.berry.edu (kiex@aol.com during the summer and school vacations) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 "The man who thought his wife was a bicycle tire soon found he'd spoke too soon." ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 12:39:31 -0800 (PST) From: Carol Silva Subject: Oz book order X-Originating-IP: [152.163.206.217] The Digests are sparse this weekend. This makes them all the more easy to respond to. I have to agree with those who stated that the Dulabone/Buckethead effort is not something to let die. I had a phone conversation with Dulabone yesterday. (Warning: Do not call this person unless you have a block of several free hours and a cheap long-distance service). He admits that Buckethead is never going to break even. But he was very excited about a new book entitled "Hurray for Oz" that he has just printed. He intends to offer copies for sale as soon as he gets his webpage re-edited. He also mentioned a new book by the man who wrote "The Healing Power of Oz" that he hopes to see sold at a California club event in a month or two (can anyone fill me in?). So I guess this means he is still offering Buckethead books. Maybe that letter he sent was a mere passing thought. I hope so. However, I find that I have a small problem ordering books from him. There are so many of them, I must order them a few at a time. I can't decide which to order first. "Pegasus in Oz" and "The Joust in Oz" are excellent stories which have inferior illustrations, while some of Marcus Mebes' stories have excellent illustrations with storylines I do not care for. All of these are a cut above what I have seen offered commercially (anyone want to buy a copy of "A Barnstormer in Oz" cheap?) My next order is going to be for "The Disenchanted Princess of the Seven Blue Mountains of Oz" and "Hurray for Oz" (Dulabone says the latter has not been advertised anywhere yet, but he is offering it to me autographed at $12.00. I get the impression he will not refuse money from anyone else who makes the same offer). Any ideas as to what I should order next time? Thank you very much. --Carol P. Silva (ozzy_rat@hotmail.com) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 08:42:00 -0500 From: International Wizard of Oz Club Subject: FW: VHS-video search Gili or any of you internationals - any thoughts on this? Please e-mail me at iwoc@neosoft.com Sincerely, Jim Vander Noot The International Wizard of Oz Club -----Original Message----- From: Joyce van Poeteren [SMTP:joyce@clic.nl] Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 1998 9:11 AM Subject: VHS-video search Dear Sirs, I'm in search of a VHS-tape on PAL-systeem of the Wizard of Os. Living in Amsterdam we have a different systeem then in the US. I know that during the last Xmas Season a Wizard of Oz special edition tape has been distributed through several large Bookstores en Record Shops. This contained the videotape and a the book. However, I was too late. Could you inform me how I can obtain this and what the costs would be. Would be very grateful for a reply. Kind regards, Joyce van Poeteren Bisschop Callierstraat 22 2014 XH Haarlem, The Netherlands email: joyce@clic.nl or poeteren@yahoo.com. ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 21:41:05 -0500 From: "Melody G. Keller" Subject: Ozzy Digest, 02-22-98 Sender: "Melody G. Keller" J.L. Bell: > If Baum added "Gale" to Dorothy's name to >memorialize this infant, wouldn't it have been cavalier to let that last name >appear first as the set-up for a cheap pun in the musical show (which >opened in Chicago, quite possibly with her parents in the audience)?< The cheap pun may possibly have been written in by someone else. Happens to scripts all the time. Melody Grandy ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 23:37:04 -0500 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones Jeremy: To the best of my knowledge, Baum wrote _Wizard_ in 1899. John Bell and David: IMHO, it is reasonable to assume that a major character would have to be missing for a week or more before Ozma gets concerned enough to look in the magic picture. Danny W: "Tattypoo" is a name invented by Thompson. Baum did not give the Good Witch of the North a name. Jeremy: My web site is http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tnj/homepage.htm as Dave has already so kindly mentioned :-) (thanks). I believe someone who is on the digest has something called an "Ozzy web ring" that links many of the Ozzy web sites. I haven't asked to join yet, though. Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 08:04:46 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: LIL WIZARD OF OZ, 1 of 8 Sender: "J. L. Bell" LITTLE WIZARD STORIES OF OZ was a "lost" book to me when I started reading the series. It's not included in WHO'S WHO or listed among the titles at the front of the "white cover" edition of ROAD, my two road maps. I saw references to LIL WIZARD in ANNOTATED WIZARD, but these were Baum's only published Oz tales that I didn't read until I was old enough to vote. With one exception. I read "The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman" when it was reprinted in CRICKET in the late 1970s. At the time, I recall, Michael Patrick Hearn was a contributing editor for that magazine. Hearn was no doubt also the impetus behind Schocken (the imprint that published his Critical Heritage WIZARD) reissuing LIL WIZARD in 1985. So I owe my first look at these stories to him--and to the realization of "The Baum Trust" that the tales' copyright was about to run out. The Books of Wonder/Morrow edition of 1994 boasts three more color illustrations than the Schocken reissue: the endpapers are in color instead of black and white, and there's a color frontispiece. Schocken prints Neill's story-opening art and initial letters in blue, however, and removes the "This Book Belongs to" drawing that Reilly & Britton lifted from POLICEMAN BLUEJAY and BoW reprints. Both editions seem to have been reset. The page breaks fall in different places, as do the illustrations. For that reason I won't quote page numbers when I comment on the stories. For the early tales I think Schocken did a better job arranging the art to follow the plot. The biggest advantage of the Schocken edition is Hearn's introduction. He discusses how the stories developed, quoting Baum's correspondence with Sumner Britton. The publisher's major concern, it appears, was that the tales not be too scary for young readers. He wanted to continue using "our slogan that 'no Baum story ever sent a child to bed to troubled dreams.'" It's ironic, then, that the LIL WIZARD STORIES are full of intense dangers. We see children (including Dorothy and Ozma) threatened with being eaten by a tiger, captured by a giant, enslaved, threatened with a cat-o'-nine-tails, pricked by moving thorn bushes, lost in the forest without food, and tied to a tree by squirrels. We see our non-human favorites from Oz broken in pieces, half-blinded, waterlogged, and hung from a tree by crows. More than enough nightmares! Hearn reports that Baum asked Britton if these stories should have a new artist: "Neill has not been giving satisfaction to my readers lately." I suspect Baum was upset by the lower sales of SEA FAIRIES and SKY ISLAND, and was looking for something to blame. On the question of the WIZARD's date, Denslow actually created a copyright page with an 1899 date. It's on page 6 of the BoW edition, opposite the contents. But Baum and Denslow didn't apply for copyright on what they were then calling THE LAND OF OZ until 18 January 1900. In February Geo. M. Hill advertised it to the industry as THE FAIRYLAND OF OZ. With its penultimate title, THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ, the book went to press in March. In an 8 April letter to his brother Harry Baum wrote, "It is now on press and will be ready soon after May 1st." The official publication date was planned for 15 May 1900, Baum's birthday. On 17 May Baum signed a sewn, unbound copy for his sister Mary. On 28 May he sent the first bound copy Hill had given him to Harry. By June the industry magazine was reporting that Hill had gone back to press for a second printing of 5,000. Nevertheless, the official publication was delayed--perhaps to due an illness of Baum's. Hill set a new date for 1 August, and displayed the book at the Chicago Book Fair in July. Baum sent two copies to the Library of Congress in September, but these were lost in the mail; a single new copy from the publisher didn't arrive in Washington until December. (Because the Library requires two copies to complete the copyright registration, that was not done until 1903.) Publishers' official publication dates are artificial choices, meant to cue periodicals when to run reviews. It's common for books to be available before those dates. In the case of WIZARD, Hill seems to have realized it had a hit on its hands and rescheduled official publication closer to the Christmas shopping season. The firm was announcing 25,000 copies in print by October, 55,000 by December, 90,000 by early 1901. These dates and figures are reported in ANNOTATED WIZARD, pp. 28-31. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 09:07:57 -0600 (CST) From: Ruth Berman Subject: ozzy digest A few comments on "The Little Wizard Stories" -- they have some amusing moments (especially Ruggedo and Kaliko interacting with Tik- Tok), but I don't care much for them overall. Too preachy and too sketchy (notice how many characters go un-named as a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, a baby, and the absence of names for the places). Neill's illustrations for it also look sketchy, perhaps done too hurriedly. I recall a "Bugle" article on Neill pointing out the double use of some illos (slightly modified) in "Patchwork Girl" and "Little Wizard." (And "Patchwork Girl" itself was re-using illos multiple times in the story evidently to make an inadequate number of illos go further). The article commented that it was hard to tell which book the re-used illos were done for originally. I'd suggest that at least the illo of Dorothy reading the "Look out for -- " sign must have been done for "Patchwork Girl" originally, as "Yoop" fits the width of the sign better than "Crinklink," which had to be squidged to fit in. A mailing of the Oz Research Group arrived a few days ago, and I was disappointed to find that the contribution I'd sent in for it wasn't there. At that point, thought to look again at the recent mailings, and discovered that my essay on Oz Rulers (the one I've been telling people here every so often they ought to read) hasn't been in, either. So -- apologies for asking people to read it there. (I suspect the problem is that Andrea Yussman has been coping with flood damage the past year.) Steve Teller (although it'll be a couple weeks before he's back Ozdigesting again): I think that the report that the St. Louis Municipal Opera Company put on Baum's "Wizard of Oz" in the 60's is mistaken. At least, I have a program of their 1962 production of the "Wizard," and what they did in that was not Baum's musical, but the standard Frank Gabrielson version of the 1939 MGM script. (They had Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch, too.) Joyce O'Dell: I'd make a guess that "Locusta" was not intended to suggest "locusts" as in "crop-eating bugs," but as in "attractive shade tree." Might also be some influence from "locus" (place) and the name "Augusta"? J.L. Bell: I'll have to check to see if there are more than the two examples that I remembered. (I'll see if I can track down what "Bugle" articles on Neill have said on the subject, too.) Ruth Berman ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 09 Mar 98 12:18:34 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things TO BOB SPARK & OTHERS: Could you please make sure your posts to the Digest are free of HTML formatting? This is a family and vanilla ASCII Digest. :) (It also freaks out the program that generates the Digest when it encounters HTML code.) I WON'T SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS: I certianly envy all you who have lots of Ozzy dreams...Almost all my dreams are _Red Dwarf_-related if anything. My Oz dreams are much nicer, but much rarer. ALCOTT: Funny you should mention Louisa May Alcott, Scott, when I've been reading a lot of her lately...I always think of Phebe from _Eight Cousins_/_Rose In Bloom_ in connection with Jellia. I wish just once though she could have let one of her heroines "have it all", if that was really what she believed in. (The only real "career woman" in her books -- Nan in _Jo's Boys_ -- never marries) And she just couldn't bring herself to make a hero of Dan (_Jo's Boys_ again), even though all the potential was there. I read one commentator who thought that Alcott was in love with Dan, and she got so scared of her feelings that she lashed out at the source of those feelings by making life revert to being utter hippikaloric for Dan and then killed him off a sad, lonely man on the very last page. Just a theory of course...Oh, well... GOOD WITCHES: As Tyler said, "Tattypoo" is Thompson's name and so is *not* PD. Some say that in mentioning Tattypoo's name in _Locasta_ I'm venturing at least into a grey area... -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 10 - 11, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 11:44:49 -0600 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-06 & 07-98 Two Digests to respond to because things have been very hectic here the past week. My wife has accepted an offer of a new job starting 3/30; she's turned in her resignation at her current job effective 3/11; and we're planning trips to Belgium (3/14-20) and Tennessee (3/26-28 for her, till 4/2 or 4/3 for me) in the immediate future. Getting ready for those transitions has kept me busy enough that though I've read the Digests I haven't had time to comment on them. I'll see if I can catch up today; at least they're both relatively short. And to add to the complications, we've had about 8 inches of snow today... (This after the mildest "meteorological winter" - December-February - since 1931-32 here in Chicago.) Jeremy: My copy of WWOZ is copyright 1899, but my understanding is that the book made its actual debut on bookstore shelves in March of 1900. Baum probably wrote it in 1898 or 1899. Danny: I think someone else already answered this, but "Tattypoo" is Thompson's name for the GWN, and it appeared for the first (and only, IIRC) time in _Giant Horse_, so it won't be PD until 2004. Ruth: Some interesting ideas for _Oziana_ stories. I'll have to think about this a bit... Scott H.: >Biblical scholars are at work on a multicolored edition, based on whether >or not the Church has been discovered to have put words in his mouth >(black), if it is something which is in line with what he would have said >(grey), if it was something likely to be His but not certain (pink), or >His [in translation from Aramaic] (red). Not exactly. The meaning of the colors is supposed to be: red - Jesus almost certainly said this, or something just like it; pink - Jesus might well have said this, but it's arguable; gray - Jesus probably didn't say this, but it's just possible; black - Jesus almost certainly didn't say this, because it's inconsistent with things he almost certainly did say. Dave: >Because of the problems I had getting the Digests out this week, I have >postponed our beginning our discussions of _Little Wizard Stories_ until >next Monday (3/9). I thought this was the day to start the LWS discussion anyhow. Joyce: I don't think we know that Glinda had the Great Book of Records " by the time of the Wizard's abdication." It's first mentioned in _Emerald City_ (as her "Magic Book"), and in fact it seems likely that she had only recently acquired it. In _Land_ she's dependent on what her spies had told her about the Wizard; surely, if she had the GBR at that point, she'd have used it instead of or in addition to. (Maybe the power of the Wicked Witches was enough to prevent the book from recording what had happened to Ozma, but the Wizard was a humbug and it would surely have recorded his doings.) J.L.: I assumed the situation at the end of _Tik-Tok_ wouldn't last the first time I read it, too - though this was probably made easier by the fact that I'd already read _Magic_ and _Kabumpo_ at that point... Dave: I don't think _Red Reera...etc._ is authoritative. The first edition of _The Princess Bride_ - now a cult classic, but one that was remaindered early (I picked up something like ten copies for a buck apiece) - used red ink for Goldman's "explanations" of the "cuts" he made in S. Morgenstern's (fictional) "original." David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 19:25:24 -0500 (EST) From: Ozmama Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-09-98 Ruth:<< Steve Teller (although it'll be a couple weeks before he's back Ozdigesting again): I think that the report that the St. Louis Municipal Opera Company put on Baum's "Wizard of Oz" in the 60's is mistaken. At least, I have a program of their 1962 production of the "Wizard," and what they did in that was not Baum's musical, but the standard Frank Gabrielson version of the 1939 MGM script. (They had Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch, too.)>> The first summer in St. Louis for me was 1963, so I don't know about the '62 Muni version; however, sometime after '68--I'm too lazy to go hunt up the program to check the year-- the Muni did do the MGM version with Maggie. I remember it well. Definitely MGM version. Went to that show with Jim Haff and Fred Meyer. Met Maggie for my very first time backstage. Exciting evening, but it was not Baum's *Wizard,* either. If anyone really needs to know if the Muni did produce a Baum version, it could be checked rather easily, since the Municipal Opera has complete records of its past shows. --Robin ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 20:51:56 -0500 (EST) From: Jeremy Steadman Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-09-98 Louisa May: Won't Steve T. be surprised when he's finally Alcott up with what he's missing! Until later, when I may have something more substantial to say, Jeremy Steadman, jsteadman@loki.berry.edu (kiex@aol.com during the summer and school vacations) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 "Whenever I try to recite Murphy's law, I get it all wrong." ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 07:04:45 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: LIL WIZARD OF OZ, 2 of 8 Sender: "J. L. Bell" "The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger" is haunted by the specter of death. Not the death the beasts promise to inflict on the first people they meet, but their own deaths. "I'm getting old, and it would please me to eat at least one fat baby before I die," says the Tiger. After tearing someone to pieces, the Lion says, he would "stalk away...before anyone could attack me or kill me." Was Baum carelessly forgetting that Ozians don't die? Most likely. But another interpretation of these fears begins with what the fat baby's mother tells the Lion and Tiger: "I do not think either of you have [sic] ever had an evil thought." Of course the animals have, but they didn't act on those thoughts. What would happen to the beasts if they killed people? In the same paragraph in which he speaks of dying, the Tiger says, "we will both run out of the city gates and gallop across the country and hide in the jungle." This departure is presaged by the animals' movement away from Ozma's throne: "Out of the palace they walked...they unlatched a gate..." For acting on their evil thoughts, the Lion and Tiger would be expelled from the Emerald City, as surely as Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden. Too strange a parallel? Let's examine Neill's drawing of the Hungry Tiger patting the weepy baby as the Cowardly Lion looks on. What do we see in the frame's upper right corner? A red fruit hanging from a tree--in western culture, an undeniable symbol of Eden's forbidden fruit. Applying a Biblical gloss to this story actually helps to explain the beasts' thoughts of death. When they think of succumbing to their temptations, the Lion and Tiger expect to die. But as they meet the fat baby, the forbidden fruit remains intact. The animals won't know evil. They'll stay immortal in paradise after all. From one shaky spirituality to another, I'll take up Ken Cope's plea for some response to David Parker's article on theosophy and Baum. Parker writes: <> [Then comes the passage Ken just quoted.] I wonder if the mysterious X.Y.Z. was not made up by Baum to create a chance to defend himself against what (he thought) people were saying about him. At this time, just before the PIONEER's failure, Baum had become somewhat unpopular in town, even picking a fight with the high school student body. This was the period when he made his ill-considered remarks about Indians. His work for the Republicans was coming back to hurt his business. He may have been on the defensive, and feeling defensive. <> Applewood, the same small Massachusetts press that publishes THE WIZARD OF OZ WADDLE BOOK, also publishes HOSPITAL SKETCHES. I bought my mother a copy last fall; she's a nurse and a Civil War buff. Ma reports that Alcott's entire experience in the military hospitals, and thus the foundation of her success as a writer, was based on just a few months of work. She had the talent to make those months vivid for her readers, and the speed to publish while the war was foremost on people's minds. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 09:47:29 -0600 (CST) From: Ruth Berman Subject: ozzy digest Melody Grandy: The "Gale" pun could have been added to the "Wizard" play by someone other than Baum, but it certainly fits in with Baum's Wogglebuggish love of puns. And if it had been added by someone else, then I doubt that the name "gale" would have been Baum's invention (or a reference to his Gage relatives), as the name is (I think) mentioned only in that one context of the pun. If added by Baum, the choice of a name similar to "Gage" could have been unconscious. (Or could have been entirely concidental, although the similarity of Dorothy Gage/Dorothy Gale seems too close for that to be likely.) For that matter, although J.L. Bell's suggestion that a name like the dead child's used as a silly pun might have been painful to the Gage family is plausible, I suppose it's at least possible that they found puns amusing enough themselves (or were enough aware of Baum's love of puns) to take the pun as affectionately meant. Robin Olderman: A second to your comments on unwisdom of "discussing" hate language again. J.L. Bell: So I checked, and I don't find any double-spread illos in Neill's Oz books (besides the two already mentioned, of the firefly fairies and the assembled wizards) that look like early work being inserted. I also don't find an article on Neill in the "Bugle" that expresses an opinion as to what project either of the two might have been intended for originally. The wizards illo was used as a "Bugle" cover back in 1980, at which time the table-of-contents note pointed out the likelihood that it had been drawn earlier and said it wasn't known what project it might have been meant for originally. Looking at the smaller illos, I started to wonder if the "Wonder City" illo of Number Nine's mother and the two Nomes (p. 206) might have been related to the firefly fairies. The modelling of the two Nomes is elaborate enough to look like something that Neill might have done earlier, although it doesn't stand out as definitely earlier in style the way those two double-spreads do. But: (a) the Nomes don't look much like Neill's usual Nomes (neither one has the top-pointed hairdo, for instance, as one of them does in the illo of the pair of them caught by the chimneys; (b) the woman isn't holding the eggs the text says she is bringing out; (c) the woman doesn't look old enough to be Number Nine's mother; and (d) she does look young enough to be the same woman (Jenny Jump, supposedly, but, as J.L. Bell pointed out, she looks a bit older than Jenny) in the center of the firefly fairies doublespread, and she is wearing what looks like the same outfit -- oddly shaped bonnet, billowing cape with wide pointed collar, etc. Ruth Berman ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 14:41:48 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-09-98 Ruth: Frank Gabrielson re-wrote the MGM script as a play? He wrote the Shirley Temple _Land_. The film of _The Stranger_ is by Luchino Visconti and Sergio Gobbi, and was made in 1967, a French/Italian/Algerian co-production. Marcello Mastroianni played Mersault. It seems there is a sadistic hostage film called _Surrender Dorothy_, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 14:51:42 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Ozzy Digest: Tamawaca Folks On the Xerox that I have from the Hope College Library, it says the following: John Estes Cooke was a pseudonym for Frank L. Baum, author of the _Wizard of Oz_. _Tamawaca_ is a _roman a clef_. Actual setting was Macatawa, Michigan, a resort on the south shore of Lake Michigan. the following identifications of the characters/seem probably accurate: Easton - Westerfeld; Harringford - Harrington; Vanderslop - Van der Sluis; Kerry - Dr. Perry; Diller - Miller; Wilder -Colby. We also know that Wright is Baum, but who are these people? I also could not find a character called Vanderslop, so I'm not certain what this means. But I have to return it today: it's overdue. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 17:13:09 -0500 (EST) From: "James R. Whitcomb" Subject: For Ozzy Digest Bob Spark: The word "errata" really isn't applicable to the scenes that you described in MGM's "The Wizard of Oz". I have always referred to these as "bloopers". The word "errata" is usually referred to as a list of errors [and their corrections] usually issued/published after the main work as been released. An errata is intended to be inserted inside the piece to alert readers of these errors/corrections. And, since this doesn't seem to work the same way with film, I would conclude that "bloopers" is a better term than "errata". Just my two cents worth! Jim Whitcomb. ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 00:15:34 -0500 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones Carol: If you like, you can visit my web page at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tnj/homepage.htm There are several reviews of some Buckthead books and you may be able to use this as a guide to decide which books to order. I would definitely recommend "The Disenchanted Princess of Oz" right off the bat. It is, IMHO, the best post-FF Oz book ever written. Granted, the price is steep but you really get your $$$$ worth. --Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 07:59:44 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: LIL WIZARD OF OZ, 3 of 8 Sender: "J. L. Bell" "Little Dorothy and Toto" in its original form made publisher Sumner Britton nervous, Michael Patrick Hearn reports in his introduction to the Schocken LIL WIZARD. Baum had ended this story with Toto killing Crinklink "on much the same order as a terrier would kill a rat." On the digest I recently wrote of how I preferred Toto as an infrequent talker, finding him thus to be just as intelligent as but distinct from Oz's many speaking animals. In this story Baum states flat out, "Toto could not talk...for he was just a common Kansas dog." Yet he hints that Toto knows more than he lets on: "he looked at the sign so seriously that Dorothy almost believed he could read it, and she knew quite well that Toto understood every word she said to him." And Baum makes clear that Toto can communicate to Dorothy: "'Bow-wow!' said Toto, and Dorothy knew that meant a promise." This story's outcome, in both original and published forms, depends on Toto being a "common Kansas dog." He *is* a terrier (and Crinklink is a rat)! Dorothy is too humane to seize the villain when he shrinks into bed, but "Toto had heard this conversation [with the enchanted buttons] and was not so particular about killing monsters." Dorothy's little dog combines being able to understand speech and acting like a true canine. Rescuing his mistress that way is far more interesting to me than his behavior after starting to speak. Baum rewrote the end of "Little Dorothy and Toto" in response to Britton's complaint that the original was "clearly away from your usual style of not doing any killing." In fact, Britton introduced the "little thought [to] suddenly have Crinklink grow larger again and appear in the person of the Little Wizard of Oz, who would laugh heartily at the joke perpetuated on little Dorothy." As if children like to have jokes pulled on them. As if children like to see lessons manufactured for them. As if children like to read about their world being controlled by adults. What Oz ending could be more annoying? This is as bad as if the Good Witch of the North hadn't told Dorothy the silver shoes could take her home because she had to learn that for herself. Gratifyingly, Baum knows Dorothy well enough to know that she wouldn't appreciate that sort of lesson: "You've given me a good scare, Wizard," she added, with dignity, "and p'raps I'll forgive you, by 'n' by; but just now I'm mad to think how easily you fooled me." The Wizard pulls the same magically-disguise-myself trick on Number Nine in WONDER CITY. It's no more charming there, but the boy doesn't talk back. Ruth Berman seems on target when she sees a sign that Neill lifted his "Crinklink" sign from PATCHWORK GIRL. That sign may well have been part of Baum's rewrite--when Dorothy disregards its warning, the Wizard has more of a lesson to teach. The picture of Dorothy bending to look at Crinklink probably went the other way, from this volume to PATCHWORK GIRL. Dorothy has no reason to bow on page 214 of that book, where the setting has been moved inside. This implies that Neill planned Dorothy's outfit (dress, polkadot sun hat) to appear in both volumes. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 10:08:41 -0500 (EST) From: "James R. Whitcomb" Subject: Ruby Slipper Fan Club oznews@i1.net, wizardoz@westol.com, tiktok@eskimo.com Hello "Oz" Friends: I received the email below from Steve Jarrett re: the creation of a "Ruby Slipper Fan Club". Steve is co-webmaster for the fantastic website "Judy Garland - The Live Performances". Steve and I have been emailing back and forth for quite some time so I thought I would pass this info along to other folks in the "Oz" community who might be interested in joining this club, especially those interested in the MGM film and/or the folklore of the Ruby Slippers. For those of you who have websites, you might want to add a link about this info to your links page. And, for no other reason, I recommend that you check-out Steve's site because he has created his very own pair of Ruby Slippers. And, they look terrific!!! Thanks! Jim Whitcomb of ... Jim's "Wizard of Oz" Website URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/6396/ >Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 21:38:37 -0500 >From: Steve >Subject: Ruby Slipper Fan Club >To: stacey@netcomuk.co.uk, Sommers1@aol.com, SgrBear25@aol.com, > SCOUTED@aol.com, pinkfoot@hotmail.com, RedHead621@aol.com, > randi@ntpage.com, Marthy581@aol.com, Leibo21@aol.com, JTRichSr@aol.com, > propst_je@mail.lrc.edu, whitcomb.1@osu.edu, hammer@netpath.net, > CCCSB@aol.com, ephemart@indy.net, asigethy@startec.net >Reply-to: rainbowz@delta.com >Organization: Judy Garland - The Live Performances! > >Hello everyone! > >If you're receiving this note, it's because we've talked slippers, Oz or >just talked in the last year and I thought you'd be interested in the >following. If you're not interested - sorry for the intrusion! > >Just a quick note for you to come to the website and check out the new >page.... It promises to be VERY interesting. Take a look sign up for >the Ruby Slipper mailing list - and if you have any questions - write me >a note and we'll see what we can do to answer your questions! > >The page is at: http://users.delta.com/rainbowz/rubyslipperfanclub/ > >There's not a lot there - but with more people joining the list - things >will liven up as the people do! > >Take care! >-- >Steve Jarrett - >------------------------------------- >Judy Garland - The Live Performances! >http://users.delta.com/rainbowz >Last updated: March 10, 1998 >------------------------------------- > > ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 11 Mar 98 13:36:57 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things "LITTLE DOROTHY AND TOTO": J.L. Bell wrote: >As if children like to have jokes pulled on them. As if children like to >see lessons manufactured for them... Apparently R&B (like so many other folks...anyone here ever read _Highlights_ magazine when they were kids?) think that kids (and grownups sometimes) have to be preached to. >This is as bad as if the Good Witch of the North hadn't told Dorothy the >silver shoes could take her home because she had to learn that for herself. Hmmm...Where have I heard this scenario before? :) >The Wizard pulls the same magically-disguise-myself trick on Number Nine in >WONDER CITY. It's no more charming there, but the boy doesn't talk back. Dorothy has spunk. >Ruth Berman seems on target when she sees a sign that Neill lifted his >"Crinklink" sign from PATCHWORK GIRL. I'm glad to know I wasn't seeing things. :) OZ REFERENCE?: Last night I was listening to the original radio version of _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_, and in one scene Arthur is wishing he could learn to repair spacecraft and Lintilla replies, "You could take some evening classes...I have a bottle here of little pink ones." I know the Oz books are virtually unknown outside the States ("Oz? You mean where the Kangaroos and Aboriginies live?"), but is there any chance at all that Douglas Adams was aware of the Wogglebug's Education Pills? -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 12 - 14, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 12:10:03 -0500 From: Richard Randolph Subject: Ozzy Digest 3-8/9-98 Carol S.- I agree with you and the others who were please to learn that "Buckethead" lives on, tho' under a new name. Chris D. has done a great service to Oz fans by keeping Oz alive and in print. The quality of books produced does vary in quality of both writing and illustrations, but there are some gems that are not to be missed. Melody Grandy's Seven Blue Mountains - Book 1 is the best of the Buckethead books I've read so far. I also liked Cory in Oz, by Allison McBain as well as The Crocheted Cat in Oz, by Hugh Pendexter III. Robin, David: Do either of you folks know if the '98 Oz calendar and '98 Oziana have been mailed yet? Dick ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 07:05:04 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: LIL WIZARD OF OZ, 4 of 8 Sender: "J. L. Bell" "Tik-Tok and the Nome King" is my favorite LIL WIZARD tale. I see Ruth Berman singles it out for faint praise as well, based on the characters. Baum picks three favorites, all true to what we know from the longer books: Ruggedo rash and reckless, Kaliko shrewd and secretive, Tik-Tok direct and determined. Tik-Tok is uncharacteristically impolitic, but that's the very reason for his visit to the Nomes. Since Roquat/Ruggedo (this seems to be in his nameless period) hates everything associated with Oz, there's a natural conflict; the story isn't moved by generic characters (a man, a crow). And the ending doesn't depend on the Wizard ex machina, like most of these stories. In fact, I theorize that the Wizard is inadvertently behind Tik-Tok's action (or the actions of his action) at the start. Smith & Tinker guaranteed the clockwork man would work for a thousand years. It therefore seems awfully early for "some of his parts [to be] wearing out." Baum tells us, "The skillful little Wizard of Oz had tinkered with Tik-Tok's thoughts without being able to get them properly regulated." The Wizard may have opened Tik-Tok out of curiosity and overconfidence, and then realized he was botching things. That would have voided the mechanical man's warranty (not that Smith & Tinker is in business any longer). In one elemental respect Tik-Tok is not the same mechanical man we've met. Kaliko refers to him as "a cast-iron person," and a Nome such as Kaliko would know his metals. Neill follows that lead by coloring Tik-Tok blue-gray instead of coppery. In ROAD Baum showed us Tik-Tok speaking after his thoughts ran down (one of my favorite moments in the Oz books). In this story Kaliko "wound up the motion machinery and the Clockwork Man walked up and down as naturally [that is, as artificially] as ever" *before* the Nome "wound up the thought works." If I were designing a mechanical man, I'd make him unable to move without thinking, for fear he might cause damage. I would make him able to speak without thinking, as a harmless signal to people to wind up his thoughts. Perhaps Smith & Tinker had a better design, or perhaps the Wizard or Kaliko didn't replace that regulator properly. Dave Hulan wrote: <> Glinda *tells* the Scarecrow and his party that she depends on spies. Whether she's revealing the truth or engaging in statesmanlike obfuscation depends on what we think of Glinda's capable of. The facts her "spies" have told her seem as elliptical and trivial as what her Book is later said to report. Ruth Berman wrote: <> Sharp eyes! Plus, one of those "gnomes" is wearing a kilt and dirk--one of those underground Highlanders, I guess. That makes the small possibility that the "firefly fairies" spread is related to Jenny's first adventures in the first draft even smaller--quite infinitesimal. In both pictures the caped young woman is beseeching the smaller, seemingly magical creatures. Presumably she's on a quest. Dave Hardenbrook wrote: <> I'm a big fan of these radio recordings, but I always linked this tossaway line from Lintilla to her crisis-inducer--she has artificial everything! The IWoOC has issued the "report" to Centennial manuscript submitters that we discussed in this digest a while back. My letter came from New York addressed to Jno. L. Bell, though I don't believe my submission stated my first name. Someone out there's putting two and two together! J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 11:33:56 -0500 (EST) From: Jeremy Steadman Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-11-98 Toto and speech: If Dorothy had heard him speak right off, she might flea in terrier! (Sorry, but I had to say that.) Douglas Adams and Oz: Of course he knew about the Wizard's education pills! Or, at least, it's more interesting to think he did . . . Until later, Jeremy Steadman, jsteadman@loki.berry.edu (kiex@aol.com during the summer and school vacations) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 "Whenever I try to recite Murphy's law, I get it all wrong." ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 20:37:03 -0500 From: Richard Bauman Subject: Hopefully Some Oz Growls? Sender: Richard Bauman The Digest lately has achieved the status of "watching ice melt." What's going on? Are we all hibernating this winter? I know I am. Maybe I need to shudder, make a political comment to stir things up. Nah..... Relax Robin. Hulan, are you moving from Chicago to Belgium? Can't your wife hold on to a job for six months? :) Tell her your retirement is supposed to be a time of peace and quiet. Speaking of quiet, when is the last time any of you enjoyed any. It seems like our society is dominated by noise for the last 20 years or so. Muzak in stores, elevators, bathrooms, etc. I just read that restaurant owners think diners like noise because it makes them feel that they are part of something! Arghhh. So they design restaurants to be noisy on purpose! TVs, radios, CD players, leaf blowers, power mowers, traffic, noise, noise noise.... Now I know why I sit in my fairly quiet house and look at my quiet screen and sigh happily. Oh, Oz. I think the fact that no one is discussing the "Little Wizard Stories of Oz" is because there isn't a whole lot to discuss. Sigh. OK. Go ahead. >>>>>---------( o o )-------> Piercingly, Bear P.S. For Laurie King fans. Sigh. I just heard her speak and she says her next "Mary Russell" book wont be out until 2001!!!!! She has changed publishers but this is ridiculous. The next will be a "large" book, probably titled "The Chameleon," if her editor gets her way. ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 07:27:42 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: LIL WIZARD OF OZ, 5 of 8 Sender: "J. L. Bell" "Ozma and the Little Wizard" takes us back to a time when aluminum could be treated as preciously as gold and silver. Unfortunately, it doesn't do much else. The magical battle between the Imps and the Wizard seesaws and builds to...nothing. We don't even see the moral payoff--the Wizard just tells Ozma that it will come about. (Of course, he was also confident his first three spells would reform the Imps.) I almost suspect Baum listed an "Ozma/Wizard" story in his LIL WIZARD scheme, but then discovered how much he needed Dorothy alongside those two to make such stories compelling. Minor observations: * The Wizard "mumbled a magic mutter" to dry his clothes. In "The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman," he is "obliged to mumble some magic words" to their boat. Mumbling seems key to his style of magic. * The Wizard wore another form of enchanted buttons in "Little Dorothy and Toto." * The Wizard threatens to make the impish pigs into "chops, sausages or roasts." No vegetarianism in this Oz! * Neill seems to like curlicues. That spiral shape appears in the Wizard's hair, the hair of the Ozian cottagers, the Imps' hair, and of course the pigs' tails. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 18:01:27 -0600 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-09 & 11-98 Things have continued very hectic, but I wanted to get a final message off to the Digest before leaving for Belgium tomorrow afternoon. I'll be back in a week, for a few days, before another week in Tennessee. After _that_ I should be around for a while... 3/9: Ken Cope: Since my information on Theosophy is based on comments by Martin Gardner and L. Sprague de Camp, neither of whom considered it anything but Mme. Blavatsky's attempt to make use of "there's a sucker born every minute," I've never taken it very seriously. And nothing you've said has changed my mind... Carol: If you thought _Pegasus in Oz_ was an excellent story, _Disenchanted Princess_ will knock your socks off. _Pegasus_ shows a lot of imagination, but it was very obviously written by someone of junior-high age, and the prose and continuity both show that. _Disenchanted Princess_ is professional-quality writing. Melody: > The cheap pun may possibly have been written in by someone else. >Happens to scripts all the time. And we know that much of the script of the stage _Wizard_ wasn't by Baum. On the other hand, Baum _did_ keep the surname of "Gale" for Dorothy in the rest of the books, which isn't true of a number of other names that were used in stage versions, so he might well have originated it. Probably, though, without thinking of the similarity of "Gale" and "Gage". J.L.: Thanks for the publishing info on _Wizard_. Ruth: I have to agree with you on the _Little Wizard Stories_. I reread the stories about ten days ago and already I can hardly remember them. (Can't remember "The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman" at all, and most of the others only sketchily.) "Dorothy and Toto" is the most memorable, but it isn't very. Baum seems to be writing down to his readers in these stories as he didn't (often) in his FF books. One of these stories - I believe "Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse" - was in the "library" of my 4th-grade class in Jacksonville, IL, back in 1946; that was when I was at the peak of my childhood enthusiasm for Oz (as contrasted to my much more avid adult enthusiasm for Oz that you can currently behold...), and I was very disappointed when I read it. >A mailing of the Oz Research Group arrived a few days ago, and I was >disappointed to find that the contribution I'd sent in for it wasn't there. >At that point, thought to look again at the recent mailings, and >discovered that my essay on Oz Rulers (the one I've been telling >people here every so often they ought to read) hasn't been in, either. >So -- apologies for asking people to read it there. (I suspect the >problem is that Andrea Yussman has been coping with flood damage >the past year.) Ah, so that's why I hadn't seen your essay on Oz Rulers. I thought I must have missed a mailing of the Research Group. Are you going to send it to Andrea again? If not, I'd like to get a copy at your convenience. 3/11: Ruth: Checking the illustration of the "Nomes" with "Number Nine's mother" vs. the double-page spread of "Jenny" with the firefly fairies, I think you're right that they're from the same (non-Oz) project. J.L.: I didn't get the impression that the Wizard was magically disguising himself in _Wonder City_, but that Number Nine just didn't know what the Wizard looked like. However, I haven't read that book terribly carefully (I dislike it a good deal), so I could be wrong. Dave: I didn't read _Highlights_ when I was a kid, but that's because when I was a kid the magazine was known as _Children's Activities_. (At least, I think it was just a change of name. Certainly _Highlights for Children_, when my younger cousins were getting it in my college years, looked like the same magazine _Children's Activities_ was when I was a grade-schooler.) I don't remember _Children's Activities_ being that preachy though - but the two main things I remember about the magazine were the regular stories about the Littlebits ("Papa Littlebit, and Mama Littlebit, and all the little Littlebits, and Squee, who was the littlest Littlebit of them all.") and the ads for "Kangaru Spring-shus", which were something like skates except instead of wheels they had a couple of heavy duty springs and a flat plate at the bottom, which in theory let you bound along in a most remarkable manner. I always wanted a pair, but only one person I knew ever had them, and they didn't seem to really work the way the ones did in the ads - which were half-page comic strips of kids doing Amazing Rescues etc. by virtue of their Kangaru Spring-shus. Any of you other Old Dudes remember that mag? And those ads? David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 09:02:35 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: LIL WIZARD OF OZ, 6 of 8 Sender: "J. L. Bell" "Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse" would be more satisfying to me if the Wizard didn't come to the heroes' rescue. I'd like to have seen Jack and the Sawhorse, so limited in their different ways, solve their dilemma by themselves. For instance, the Sawhorse could carry headless Jack and the children to a pumpkin patch and instruct the little ones in carving a new head--which, of course, would come out all googly-eyed. I know these are the LIL WIZARD stories, but in the best of them that "little, withered old man" is on the sideline. "Ozma made [Jack] a map" to the lost children, and, despite the Sawhorse's doubts, that chart takes him right to them. It even details the paths through the forest. How might Ozma know that much from the Magic Picture? And is this the first map of Oz we see mentioned in the books? (I know Baum had one created for his Radio Plays.) My favorite detail of this story is the opening artwork, showing Jack currycombing his hard-barked steed. I found the BAUM BUGLE with the mysterious "wizards" double-page spread on its cover: spring 1980. (That means it came out late 1981, no?) The note on the art says, alas, nothing that we don't already know: "Its style suggests that it was created some years earlier [than 1942] for a purpose now unknown." In the some-things-never-change department, this issue contains articles by Chesley R. Johnson and James E. Haff debating the most plausible explanation of inconsistencies in Baum's series. Sonia A. Brown theorizes that Australia inspired Oz, and perhaps even is Oz. But some-things-do: Michael O. Riley, then a mere graduate student, contributes a book review. And THE FORBIDDEN FOUNTAIN OF OZ is just off the press! J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 14 Mar 98 12:53:35 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things MELODY'S BOOK: Richard Randolph wrote: >Melody Grandy's Seven Blue Mountains - Book 1 is the >best of the Buckethead books I've read so far. Just for clarification: _Seven Blue Mountains of Oz Book 1_ and _Disenchanted Princess of Oz_ are one in the same. (BTW, is the expression "One in the same" or "One *and* the same"?? -- You're talking to someone who thought it was "With this ring I bewed"!) LITTLE WIZARD STORIES: J.L. Bell wrote: >The Wizard "mumbled a magic mutter" to dry his clothes. In "The Scarecrow >and the Tin Woodman," he is "obliged to mumble some magic words" to their >boat. Mumbling seems key to his style of magic. Well if he said them out loud someone might overhear and and steal his secrets! Bear wrote: >I think the fact that no one is discussing the "Little Wizard >Stories of Oz" is because there isn't a whole lot to discuss. Perhaps not...But i am glad to hear J.L. Bell's comments. I agree _Tik-Tok & Nome King_ is the best. _Scarecrow and Tin W._ is the worst. The others are not fantastic but I generally like them better than J.L. does. I agree though that the endings would be more satisfying than the "Wizard ex machina" approach, which is Thompsonesque. I admit that I never really thought much before about what a dirty trick it really is that the Wizard pulls on Dorothy. I always kind of saw it as a sort of parallel to the _Queeg_ episode of _Red Dwarf_, in which the onboard computer Holly pulls the "Jape of the Decade" by similarily assuming the disguise of a tyrannical ogre and sets the crew to work washing dishes and scrubbing floors. BTW, for you Dwarfers on the Digest, I am currently working on a _Red Dwarf_ page on my web site. One of the highlights will be a piece on parallels of _Red Dwarf_ with Oz. -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 15 - 16, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 16:49:05 -0500 From: Lisa Bompiani Subject: Ozzy Digest Hello, I'm glad to hear that everyone seems as out of whack busy as me. I've dropped out for quite a while due to another nasty lung infection, and have been continuing my grad work independent study wise so that I can still graduate in July. And, this cold weather doesn't help the breathing situation! :-) At any rate, I've been skimming the digests as often as possible, and am thankful for the great discussion even if I didn't participate. I saved them to my hard drive, and hopefully will eventually get around to reading them more thoroughly. Oh, BTW, I finally received all of my 1997 Bugles (wrong address) and offer kudos to all of you who wrote articles. I will be presenting that Heart of Darkness/Wizard of Oz paper at the Pennsylvania State Colleges and Universities Conference this weekend (3/20), so there is good news. I caught some flack in IUP's dept. b/c I am not presenting an Oz related paper at our conference the next weekend!! I have to keep them guessing, and show them I do read other literature! As for LWS, I couldn't help but giggle while reading "The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger." It appeared a very didactic tale about not trying to live up to one's name. The picture of the two struting off to find their prey with the red bows in their tale or mane didn't give the image of ferocity! Then again, it wasn't meant to do so, which is the point. Plus, Neil's drawing of the fat baby was more like a toddler, and definitely not fat. And, it has a rather adult-like face, which is a charcteristic that I noticed about earlier illustrations of children as a result of the ongoing research project about illustrations. Also, in working on that project, I noticed that Neill's faces for the female characters were very similar -- Dorothy, Betsy, Trot, etc. -- and if I cut around the face I could use the same one for each. The face of the baby reminded me of those other faces. Question: If the people of Oz are seldom naughty and very well behaved, what problems do they have? There's a moral to this tale for sure. J.L. Bell: > Was Baum carelessly forgetting that Ozians don't die? Most likely. Or, there's another reason why they couldn't carry out their evil thoughts. Death doesn't happen in Oz. > A red fruit hanging from a tree--in western culture, an undeniable symbol of Eden's forbidden fruit. I was thinking that the color red was very bright in these illustrations, and appeared much brighter than it does in other illustrations, especially p16 w/ the Tiger's tongue, p20 w/ the Tiger's mouth, the woman's dress, and p36 in the background. Oh, BTW, speaking of Ozzy references, I was watching _The Game_ the other night, and at one point Douglas said, "I'm pulling back the curtain, I want to be the Wizard." Until next time, and when does LWS end? Peace & Love, Bompi ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 20:56:10 -0500 (EST) From: "James R. Whitcomb" Subject: Oz original script I received this email from a visitor to my website. If anyone can help him out, please respond directly to him. Thanks! Jim Whitcomb of ... Jim's "Wizard of Oz" Website URL: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/6396/ >Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1998 00:29:14 -0500 >From: Robert Demarest >Subject: Oz original script >To: whitcomb.1@osu.edu > >I am a Florida Bookseller and have had for a number of years an original >script from the movie. It is copy 4X (Marked MGM property) and dated >10/10/38. Any idea who can tell me what it is worth? Thanks you. > >Robert Demarest >csn@cyberstreet.com > > > ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 18:34:25 -0800 From: Bob Spark Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-14-98 Dave Hardenbrook, If this comes in with HTML, deep-six the darned thing. I believe I've got this part of Netscape Communicator figured out. Bear, > Speaking of quiet, when is the last time any of you enjoyed > any. It seems like our society is dominated by noise for the > last 20 years or so. Muzak in stores, elevators, bathrooms, > etc. I just read that restaurant owners think diners like > noise because it makes them feel that they are part of > something! Arghhh. So they design restaurants to be noisy on > purpose! TVs, radios, CD players, leaf blowers, power > mowers, traffic, noise, noise noise.... Now I know why I > sit in my fairly quiet house and look at my quiet screen and > sigh happily. I read the same article with the same feeling of disbelief and distaste. I suppose that the receipts must justify this scurrilous attack on our peace of mind, but those particular establishments have lost my patronage. Probably this just demonstrates my approaching geezerhood. If you're looking for places amenable to introspection and psychological healing, You're living in the midst of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and the weather is great. Get out and walk around on some of the trails in the hills and on the coast. If you go during the week you can get as lost as you want. I firmly believe that there is some magic associated with some areas of the Golden Gate Recreational Area. Bob Spark ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 14 Mar 1998 19:32:26 -0800 From: Ken Cope Subject: Believing in Oz I'm not even attempting to purvey Theosophy. Not that it should make a heck of a lot of difference to ya, but I'm a fairly moderate skeptic, though not as much of a fundamentalist materialist as I consider Martin Gardner to be. I only have it on the slimmest of circumstantial evidence that you're not some construction in ascii by committee. I don't necessarily believe in you, I haven't decided yet whether or not you pass the Turing test. That people are too lazy to go to the trouble of creating a fictional online being is some of the best evidence I have that you're likely to exist. So I'll presume, for the sake of convenience, that you do. I wouldn't want to appear to be too skeptical. First of all, you should know that how you choose to respond to what others have told you about Theosophy isn't something I give a toss about one way or another. I'm merely reporting that from what I know about Theosophy (which is likely more than you've gotten strained through a Martin Gardner filter), Baum's writings echo a brand of world view that fits well with what used to be called Theosophy. That he claimed to be one, to the extent of carrying a membership card in the Chicago chapter, is fairly recent news to me, if of passing interest to only a few. Why should we care if Baum is or isn't a Theosophist? I believe it's important to pay attention to the world view of the creator of a world, particularly of a world that others want to perpetuate and extend out of fandom and the drives of commerce. If the author comes out and says that he believes that every facet of the universe is alive, and that consciousness permeates it, and that if there is a God, that it isn't necessarily a personal one, I can then look at Baum's Oz and look for any place those views are amplified or contradicted. Of course, in Baum's Oz, both occur, because he wasn't terribly consistent. I can see a lot of C. S. Lewis' Christianity reflected in Narnia. Aslan comes on like Jesus in a lion costume, talk about proselytizing, with all of his "daughters of Eve" and "sons of Adam." There is at least none of that in Baum, and it sticks out like a sore thumb when present in Oz pastiche. Oz written by Lewis would be a different place indeed. A church is mentioned by Baum only as the Cowardly Lion's tail smashes a steeple in the Dainty China country. Baum's wife, and Baum's mother-in-law indulged in various forms of divination, palmistry, (as in the Hoofist from Dunkiton) and seances. The hard line taken against the church and its oppression of women by Baum's mother in law led to her isolation from other suffragists, who did not think it politic to exclude women from their alliance, if they still professed Christianity. Whether or not Baum shared her beliefs, I don't know. Judging from her picture, I wouldn't want to argue with her. http://www.nyhistory.com/gagepage/ As The Oz Firesign Theatre have it in their 70's album, _Everything You Know, Is Wrong_, "There's a seeker born every minute, here in the New Age." Sadly, there is little that Martin Gardner or James Randi will be able to do to stem the tide of the pitiably credulous. Global Village Idiocy is on the rise. Obviously, people will believe anything, even the notion that the millions spent by Kenneth Starr has done anything positive beyond crippling the government and distracting it from doing anything, which is the only positive result I can see. People will go to extreme measures to reinforce their view of reality, usually a far more anecdotal view than anything actually observed or original. What we have of Oz comes from Baum, and from those who seek to evision what he described. Oz was not created in a vacuum. I am not one of those who propose that it is allegory for Baum's religious beliefs. I do think that understanding more of what he believed points to some of what may have inspired him, and may make it easier to find out where he's coming from, as it were, when any of us try to create anything purporting to be an authentic continuation or unfoldment of our favorite fantasy world. I don't know whether or not Theosophy was designed by Blavatsky and friends to dupe suckers, or win a bet, as was Scientology. Perhaps Baum found sympathetic and like minded people when he and his wife signed up in the Chicago chapter. I have attended a large number of varieties of tax-exempt mainstream and wacko religious centers in Southern California, and believe me, any random nutcase is far more entertaining than the vast majority of the mainstream religious, the wide eyed and white knuckled with rage at the notion that somebody, somewhere, is having a good time. I couldn't tell you what my spiritual beliefs are from one day to the next. The world changes its appearance based on what it is I pay attention to or ignore. As much as I try, I find it difficult to subscribe to the notion that the universe is as dry and mechanical as it appears to be to a fundamentalist materialist. A little magical thinking doesn't hurt, so long as you know you're excercising an imagination rather than your credulity. What magic does undeniably exist is found in stories well told. I want to know where the best story tellers learned their magic tricks, and where they might have found stories that may also inspire me. Whether or not you consider anecdotes to be evidence for the transcendent, I appreciate them as stories in themselves. I'm always ready to try on a pair of green spectacles, if it'll help me to see the Emerald City in a different light. Ken Cope Ozcot Studios pinhead@ozcot.com http://www.ozcot.com In Shangri-la...In Shangri-la...| "We're the leaders of tomorrow!" You can be whoever you are | "Yeah, but it's today!" In Shangri-la... --The Rutles| --The Firesign Theatre ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 09:06:14 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: LIL WIZARD OF OZ, 7 of 8 Sender: "J. L. Bell" "The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman" rests on a questionable premise: that these two gentlemen would like boating. The Scarecrow had bad experiences with rivers in WIZARD and LAND; he isn't too pleased with the river in PATCHWORK GIRL, either. Nick rusts easily. Yet off they go on the water. (They do the same in LUCKY BUCKY and OZMAPOLITAN, so perhaps boating is simply their choice of extreme sport. In the former, Nick's seams seem to have been sealed because he floats like a tin can instead of sinking.) In this story the Scarecrow even says, "My straw will not rust, and is easily replaced, if damaged, so I'm not afraid of the water." I can only take his heedlessness as a sign of deep affection for the Tin Woodman, whom he wants to rescue. The image of the straw man bobbing on the surface, unable to reach his friend, is actually rather amusing, but as our mothers always warned us, it's not so funny after someone loses an eye! The crows laughing at our heroes' injuries from high in a tree remind me of the squirrels in "Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse." Both flocks have a king to do most of the talking. But while the King of the Squirrels has a consistent grievance, the King Crow changes from friendly to hostile as the plot requires. The Scarecrow's vaunted brains are not much in evidence here. He makes a couple of foolish mistakes, perhaps indicating distress. The tools to rescue the Tin Woodman all seem to be at hand: a fishing hook, stout ropes, rigging with pulleys. If the Scarecrow is powerful enough to lift the anchor, he should be able to haul Nick back to the bank. But instead, the crows do the thinking for him. (Why would the Scarecrow's boat contain a fishing line? Presumably for his servants, who eat, or for the amusement of Winkie children. Or, for all we know about Ozian fauna, for the amusement of the fish themselves.) Once he and Nick are up a tree, the Scarecrow really has to think. But when he finally gets an idea, he "clapped his hands to his head, forgetting the anchor, which tumbled to the ground." And away they go! (Fortunately, all the Tin Woodman's worry about dents is for naught since he lands "on a pile of dead leaves"--lucky non-break.) A question for the engineers and other problem-solvers in the group: What might the Scarecrow's solution have been? He mustn't let go of the anchor. Nick is rusted. The two hang "not ten feet apart," but can't reach each other or the trunk. What did the Scarecrow think to do? Dave Hulan wrote: <> There are two Wizard masquerades in WONDER CITY, of different sorts; I had them melded in my memory. In Chapter 14 the Wizard shows up as a "street magician" visiting Jenny's shop while she and Nine are there. For this chapter Neill draws him with a ridiculously false moustache. (Ridiculous for America, that is; in Oz there are probably whole cities of 'em.) Neither child recognizes him, nor is there any unmasking later. Neill may have been inspired by the MGM movie of the previous year, in which the Wizard worked out in the City in a variety of facial hairs. In Chapter 23, Nine visits the Wizard's lab and finds a short, bald, ruddy man in a dressing gown, whom he takes to be a lunatic janitor. Later, when the Wizard arrives in his usual costume, the boy recognizes the Wizard as that man and feels foolish. The implication is that the Wizard didn't actively try to fool Nine, but didn't introduce himself when he had the chance, either. Nevertheless, the drawings of the "lunatic" in this chapter are clearly different from the Wizard we know and love. The Wizard is jowly and prosperously plump; the man with the broom sunken-cheeked and thin. (Only the endpapers' profiles make plausible that the "broom man" is simply the Wizard on a bad hair day.) We can't decide to trust the historian over the artist because they're supposed to be one AND the same. This may be another discrepancy between Neill's art and "Neill's" text for Steve Teller to investigate. Dave Hulan, I hope that report saves you the pain of rereading these parts of WONDER CITY. Chapter 23 is actually the longest in the book! THE NEW YORKER for this week, 16 March 1998, has an Oz-themed (movie) cartoon. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 10:57:41 -0500 (EST) From: Ozmama Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-14-98 In a message dated 98-03-15 04:52:02 EST, you write: << Robin, David: Do either of you folks know if the '98 Oz calendar and '98 Oziana have been mailed yet?>>Dick Ha! I haven't even received the stories that won at conventions last summer, but I'm assured that I'll have them very soon. I'll try like mad to have Oziana out by the June convention, but that'll be the soonest it'll see the light of day, Dick. Sorry. The calendar should be out. Dunno. *** <>Dick Thank you, dear man. *** <<(BTW, is the expression "One in the same" or "One *and* the same"?? -- You're talking to someone who thought it was "With this ring I bewed"!)>>Dave It's "one and the same," although I kinda like the other. Your with this ring I bewed" line is cute. I was just grading finals Friday. One of my kids, talking about the corruptions in the medieval church that inspire Chaucer's satire came up with this dilly: "The priests in those days often broke their vowels." Hey, he was close! --Robin ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 11:01:31 -0500 (EST) From: CrNoble Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-14-98 David Hulan: "Highlight" was my very first magazine subscription, though I remember nothing about it other than the name and a vague recollection of the rather bland cover art. Incidentally, my second magazine subscription was the "Baum Bugle." Unlike the former, I still have every issue except for two from the first year I received it, 1975. I was eight years old. Bear: Yes, you're right. The Ozzy Digest has been light and slow lately. I guess I'm part of the problem since I haven't contributed much. I've certainly been busy. Megan is 6 months old now. I'm still trying to catch up at work because of my appendicitis-induced absence. Part of the problem also is that I haven't read any of our Ozzy discussion books since Emerald City. I've been too busy reading "grown-up books" -- most recently "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson, "Angle of Repose" by Wallace Stegner, "The Brave Cowboy" by Edward Abbey, and now "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck. Incidentally, "The Grapes of Wrath" is absolutely fantastic. It was published in 1939 (the same year as "Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz") and won the Pulitzer Prize the following year. It falls in that surprisingly large category of "literary classics that I somehow never read even though I was an English major!" I consider myself quite well read, but the volume of worthwhile books is truly mind-boggling. Craig Noble ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 13:24:15 -0500 From: Michael Turniansky Subject: Oz: Baruch's honorable mention... Someday, Baruch will actually WIN that Emerald City Mirror contest, Junior division... In the meantime, here is his non-winning entry to the last contest, create a new Oz creature, which strangely enough, like two of the winning entries, was based on the Woozy. (I guess that's a popular creature). In Baruch's take, the Woozy is a "square cat", so the obvious enemy would be: > The Circle Dog is an enemy of the Woozy and hates Oz. He comes from the Winkie Country There is a picture that goes along with this, interested folks can find it at: http://www.bcpl.lib.md.us/~turnip/circle.html (since Dave can't take attachments) --Mike "Shaggy Man" Turniansky ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 13:52:10 -0500 (EST) From: BOZZYBEAR Subject: Munchkin Convention 98 Please be advised that current plans call for the Munchkin Convention to be held on July 31, Aug 1, and Aug 2 and NOT August 7-9 as reported in some publications. It will still be held at the Radisson hotel in Wilmington, Delaware. Hope to see many of you there. OZways Marck DeCourval ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 15:15:20 -0800 (PST) From: Carol Silva Subject: reply to Ozzy Digests Tyler Jones: Thanks for the link to your web page. It seems that Mr. Mebes had his critics. I am sorry if I spoke out of line before. I simply found some of the asides in *Skeezik & the Mys Tree of Oz* distracting from the main storyline. Maybe it's just my short attention span. But, had the asides been edited out prior to publication, I would probably be asking around for an uncut version. I can honestly say that I enjoyed his *The Haunted Castle of/in Oz* completely. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story is well told. I probably should not comment on how nice it was to see characters such as Button Bright and Betsy Bobbin again. I like Skeezik and the people from Meerth well enough, but 'tis nice to see some old friends still taking an active roll in today's Oz pastiches. David Hulan: Thank you for your comments as well. Agreed: *Pegasus in Oz* and its sequel *The Joust of Oz* are, indeed, imaginative. Perhaps it IS clear that Ms. Brzozowski is a young author. But by comparison to Donald Abbott, she is practically a Mark Twain. In Abbott's defense, I will add that he is far superior to MOST of BoW's authors. I found *The Magic Dishpan of Oz* a great disappointment after what I imagined a story with potential. *Christmas in Oz* was fluffy at best. *Masquerade* was almost as bad. I wish that BoW had gone ahead with its one-time arrangement to reissue *Laughing Dragons of Oz*. And I shall repeat my earlier comment that Abbott is BoW's best illustrator. He is at least as good as Mebes, though not as original. To Anyone Interested: I have just received a package from Dulabone/Lion/Buckethead. Last week, I had ordered 2 books. BOTH of them appear to be among Buckethead's best! One of them was the Digest-acclaimed *The Seven Blue Mountains of Oz Trilogy Part #1: A Disenchanted Princess of Oz (forgive me if I am misquoting the title--I think it was Mr. Hardenbrook who called me down on this before)*. I was a little surprised that this copy came from New Mexico (Dulabone had told me it would come from Carolina, I think). But it is autographed on its "Belongs to" page by Miss Grandy. I suspect she recently made a trip to New Mexico? ...It is a handsome book! Bravo to Miss Grandy and Mr. Dulabone on this one. I have not begun to read it yet (300 pages is a little bit intimidating). But I will state that this one is very, very beautiful. The illustrations are as good or better than any I've seen in years! Sadly, it doesn't honor us with Grandy's idea of the more familiar characters usually associated with Oz. I will comment again next weekend, if I am able to read it all. Also included in the package was *Hurray for Oz*. This is the first book offered by the so-called "Tails of the Cowardly Lion and His Friends." I see no reason to think of it as anything but a Buckethead book, despite Mr. Dulabone's arguments. It does have far superior illustrations to most, though. Still no Scarecrow, but a very interesting Tin Woodman and Glinda. The story is told in first person (Me and I rather than Her and She) from the viewpoint of the main character (a Dorothy wanabee named Kelly). This is done very effectively, and allows for some amusing topical humor when Kelly breaks character intentionally. The inside-illustrations are on a par with Grandy's, and the cover is very appropriate (multicolored confetti with a big HURRAY FOR OZ! in the middle). In my copy, Mr. Dulabone wrote: "To M'Lady Carol, our fellow hOztorian. Be Ye informed that ye be the very first to obtain a copy of this Missive from de Land o' Oz." He signed it with a small happy-face beside the signature. How many other copies did he sign exactly the same way, I wonder? In the "from the Lion's Den" (the new title for "From the Doghouse," which has changed in name only) in the back of the book, Dulabone actually did me a very nice favor. He promoted the Oz book I am working on with Mr. Robert Evans. I suppose that means I have to finish it now. Since the cat is already out of the bag, I will say that it is a sort-of sequel to *The Forest Monster of Oz,* a book that Dulabone co-wrote with Robert Evans a year or so ago (and which I consider one of the most meaningful). Evans is Master co-author! I am happy to have a partnership with him over this way-too-soon promoted book of ours. I think I should go and put some finishing touches on my half before I ship it off to Robert Evans. See you all next week! ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 21:05:16 -0500 From: Richard Bauman Subject: Today's Oz Growls Sender: Richard Bauman David - I subscribed to Children's Activities. Was there something about "acorn people?" Johnny Acorn? Everything else is lost in the mist of time. My collection went with a lot of other things when my parents cleaned out their house in Portland and sold or gave away a lot of our stuff without asking us about it, preperatory to retiring to Hemet, CA. Sigh. Something I remember better is the "Watchbird" series from Ladies Home Journal or Good Housekeeping. Things like "This is a Watchbird watching a Whiny, and this is a Watchbird watching you!" Remember those? Stick figure drawings. The kind of things mothers liked to show their kiddies in that era. My first wife actually had a pair of "Kangaru Spring-shus." And a pogo stick. I tried them both at her parents house at one time. The pogo stick gave you a lot more action. Dave, to keep my comment about Little Wizard Stories in perspective, I just finished Volume 2 of LOTR. LWS suffer a bit by comparison. I am really down today as one of my very best friends just suffered a brain aneurism and is in intensive care with undetermined prospects. Sadly, Bear (:() ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 21:21:29 -0500 From: Richard Randolph Subject: Ozzy Digest 3-14-98 A sure sign that Spring is just around the corner, Bear stirs from hibernation! How dull is the Digest without him! :) Re Little Wizard Stories; Some other examples of Neill's drawings not in sync with Baum's description. In Ozma & the Little Wizard, Baum describes the Imps ..."They had big round ears, flat noses.." while Neill's drawing shows them with small ears and long noses. When the Wizard turned the the Imps to doves, the birds pictured looked more like hawks! In Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse, the Sawhorse tells the children to "pick up the Pumpkinhead's body and set it on my saddle. Then mount behind it and hold on." In the picture, there is no saddle on the Sawhorse, and Jack is sitting behind the children. I recently ordered and received some "Ozianas" from the early '90's and was pleased to find stories by Ozzy Digesters, Gili Bar-Hillel, David Hulan,Jane Albright and Ruth Berman. And great illustrations by Ken Cope and Melody Grandy. Bravo! to you all! Dick ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 07:07:58 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: LIL WIZARD OF OZ, 8 of 8 Sender: "J. L. Bell" When I reread a Baum Oz book these days, I look for themes that link all or nearly all its episodes, such as good and bad rulers in TIK-TOK or the fragility of bodies in TIN WOODMAN. I tried to do the same for all six LIL WIZARD tales, and the best I can come up with is, "Don't leave home." The Emerald City is a pleasant place where even great carnivores are docile and everyone takes a nap in the afternoon ("The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger"). But outside the city it's dangerous, a lesson imparted explicitly ("Little Dorothy and Toto") and implicitly (all the rest). The Ozians meet trouble beside a lake, under the ground, in the mountains, in the forest, and on a river--in every form of Ozian wilderness besides a desert. In contrast to the Oz novels, no idyllic little villages await our favorites. Adventure in parts unknown never appears as fun, even for Dorothy. Nor does this collection have a stranger-comes-to-town or conflict-arises-at-home story. In their homes the characters are always safe, and they must always come home to be safe. Maybe that's a proper message for readers who are themselves young enough to take naps. But it's not as much fun as a real Oz adventure, which depends on both the dangers and rewards of travel. Dave Hulan wrote: <> I think that's true. In these stories Baum was intentionally writing for little kids, for marketing reasons. Most of Baum's earlier short stories--MOTHER GOOSE IN PROSE, MO, AMERICAN FAIRY TALES, QUEER VISITORS, etc.--were for age ranges around that of the Oz books, and by and large they work. But he may not have had as sure a touch when he aimed for younger readers. Among stories for tots (I haven't read FATHER GOOSE or the alphabet books), I think of DOT AND TOT and the TWINKLE AND CHUBBINS tales--all as sticky as half-eaten lollipops. All the LIL WIZARD STORIES pair two celebrities from the Emerald City or its environs, both of whom have been featured in at least two of the first six books. What other tales would we like to see? * "Professor Wogglebug and the Shaggy Man" * "General Jinjur and the Field Mice" * "Aunt Em and Billina" * "The Soldier with the Green Whiskers and the Guardian of the Gates" * combinations from the later books? J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 10:04:24 -0600 (CST) From: Ruth Berman Subject: ozzy digest J.L. Bell: I hadn't realized that Jack is currycombing the Sawhorse in that illo, so missed the humor in it. Thanks for pointing it out. Your discussion of the Lion/Tiger story has haunted by Death (with contrast to story of expulsion from Eden) is an interesting one. I don't think Baum was really being careless in the references to death in Oz -- he hadn't (IIRC) decided yet that people in Oz don't die. Dave Hardenbrook: "One and the same." I think you're probably right that the Wizard tends to mumble spells because he's worried about having them misappropriated if clearly audible. Doesn't really seem likely Douglas Adams in coming up with educational pills would have the Wogglebug in mind -- the idea seems like the sort of thing that different people would come up with independently, and there aren't many readers in Britain who know the Oz books. (Some, of course, but I don't know of any clear Oz references in Adams to make for a strong likelihood that he's one of them.) The MGM movie has come to be generally known in Britain (for instance, Terry Pratchett in the "Witches Abroad" novel in his Discworld series has a hilarious takeoff of the "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" scene), but even people who know the movie aren't particularly likely to know the books. David Hulan: It turns out I was wrong after all in thinking that Andrea Yussman hadn't included my Rulers essay with an Oz Research mailing. She sent out a mailing in April 1997, and it was in that (and I managed to file my copy of it separately from the other mailings, and couldn't find it when I was trying to check). But here's Bear commenting that the Ozzy Digests have been running short of late, so I'm just going to go ahead and rebroadcast the article here. (It's prettier on paper, with underlining for titles and italics for the spoiler alert, and columns, and such, but I didn't include any illos with it, and the Ozzy Digest readership is a lot larger than the Oz Research readership, and it's a topic that comes up here every so often anyhow, so -- ) **** START OF ARTICLE Those Elusive Rulers of Oz's Kingdoms by Ruth Berman The identities of the kings of the Munchkins, Gillikins, Winkies, and Quadlings have been puzzling Oz fans for a long time. Way back in December 1963, Fred M. Meyer ran the results of an "Oz Mysteries" poll in the "Baum Bugle," one of the mysteries being the question of the identities of the rulers of Oz who marched in the parade celebrating Ozma's birthday party in "The Road to Oz"; they were also mentioned in "Ozma of Oz", when the Munchkins' king greeted Ozma and her party on their return from Ev. The poll's general opinion was that the Munchkins' king had to be Cheeriobed, introduced by name as the lost Monarch of the Munchkins by Ruth Plumly Thompson in "The Giant Horse of Oz." ("spoiler" note: following material assumes knowledge of ending of "Giant Horse") The "Road" king couldn't have been Cheeriobed's father, because the older king was destroyed by Mombi on the day of Cheeriobed's marriage to Princess Orin -- which was three years before Mombi kidnapped Orin and turned her into the Witch of the North, which, in turn, was before Dorothy came to Oz in "The Wizard of Oz" and first met the Witch of the North. (Orin, in the 1928 "Giant Horse," described Mombi as having attacked her "about" 25 years ago, which fits well enough with events from the time of "Wizard" or a few years earlier.) It could have been some otherwise unknown Munchkin king, perhaps someone who had been selected by the Munchkins after the death of the Wicked Witch of the East, in the same way that the Winkies chose the Tin Woodman after the death of the Wicked Witch of the West. John R. Neill called the Scarecrow the ruler of the Munchkins in his Oz books, and perhaps Neill was assuming for symmetry's sake that the Munchkins would have chosen the Scarecrow. But the Scarecrow was separately mentioned in both "Ozma" and "Road" (part of the returning expedition, and marching elsewhere in the parade). so he couldn't have been the Munchkins' king then. Maybe Neill was assuming that Cheeriobed chose to retire some years after "Giant Horse," and the choice of the Scarecrow was made then. The Tin Woodman, by contrast, did not march in the "Road" parade unless he was, as one would expect, the unnamed king of the Winkies. A group of Winkies, including a tin band and some of the Tin Woodman's servants, marched further along in the parade, but the Tin Woodman was not described as being with them. If Cheeriobed met with Ozma in "Ozma" and "Road," however, there is a problem: after kidnapping Orin, Mombi sent the monster Quiberon to keep Cheeriobed and all his people trapped on the Ozure Isles, so how did Cheeriobed get out, and why didn't he ask for her help in getting rid of Quiberon and finding his wife if he did get out? (For that matter, what was Ozma doing entering the Munchkin Country, coming back from Ev? Did the magic carpet get lost in mid-desert and take them the long way round before striking Oz?) A possible solution to Cheeriobed's freedom of movement is that Quiberon did not arrive until several years after Mombi stole Orin. Creating such a monster must have demanded an extremely powerful spell. Perhaps Mombi used a slow-acting spell, one that would "grow" Quiberon over a long period of time, as if he were a Mangaboo ("Road") or a royal Rose ("Tiktok"). And perhaps creating a monster as large as Quiberon took up so much of Mombi's power that starting the spell left her weakened, and it was this weakness that made it possible for the newly bewitched Tattypoo to overcome Mombi and limit her power thereafter. And at that point, perhaps it was impatience with the length of time it was taking to grow Quiberon that sent Mombi off to the Crooked Magician ("Land"), thinking to use his Powder of Life to complete Quiberon, and thus set in motion the events that led to Ozma's restoration to the throne and Mombi's loss of the rest of her magic powers. (Incidentally, the Crooked Magician was Dr. Nikidik in "Land," and Dr. Pipt in "Patchwork Girl" -- I suspect his full name was Dr. Nikidik Pipt.) But the slow-acting spell continued to work in the years that followed Mombi's downfall, and eventually Quiberon ripened and flew off to the Ozure Isles, as programmed, arriving some time after the "Road" parade. And as to why Cheeriobed did not ask Ozma's help in finding Orin -- he did. But she was new to the throne and inexperienced, and finding lost people seems to be a difficult task, even for magic. In "Land" Glinda almost failed to find Ozma and Mombi, and it was by chance that Ozma's father was discovered, years later, in "Lost King." A clever enough spell can fool the Magic Picture (as happened with the Wizard's bag in "Shaggy Man"). The terms of Orin's amnesia and changed appearance may have baffled all attempts at finding her. Another oddity in the "Road" rulers is that most of the time, Glinda and the Good Witch of the North were spoken of as ruling the Quadlings and the Gillikens, but the two Good Witches appeared further along in the parade, marching arm-in-arm several spaces behind the four kings. Fred Meyer suggested (in the 1963 poll report) that Ozma had allowed each of the four territories to select a king, but that the Quadlings' king was so much less powerful than Glinda, that she was in practical (if not in parade) terms the ruler, and became the ruler in name soon after. The same suggestion would apply to the Gillikens. One of the poll respondents, Gary Bargar, suggested that the name of the Quadling king might have been Quad, assuming the country was named for an earlier dynasty and assuming the new king came from that dynasty. It might also be suggested that the Quadlings could have selected one or another of the local rulers who appeared in later books, such as King Fumbo of Ragbad ("Grandpa"), in the days before his own territory went to pieces, or Baron Belfaygor of Bourne ("Jack Pumpkinhead"), or the king of Red Top Mountain ("Ozoplaning"). The king of the Gillikens could have been any of several local Gilliken monarchs, but there is one obvious candidate: Orin's father, King Gil of Gilkenny. The name suggests that he came from a line of rulers of the Gillikens, and a member of the family of previous rulers would probably be a popular choice for the Gillikens. When Quiberon finally arrived and cut off Cheeriobed and the Ozure Isles from the rest of Oz, nobody seems to have noticed that the Ozure Islanders stopped visiting the mainland. Perhaps they had almost entirely stopped visiting anyway, because they and Cheeriobed, grieving over the loss of Orin, had gradually withdrawn more and more into retirement. Gil, too, must have been grieving -- and perhaps it was his grief that led him, too, to withdraw, and then to turn over his kingdom to the Good Witch of the North, ironically unaware of her true identity. (And perhaps Gil's retirement, in turn, made the Quadlings' king decide to retire and turn over the title to Glinda?) If these identifications are correct, there was a sad irony in the parade. Cheeriobed and Gil, if they had only known it, were only a few yards away from their lost Orin. If Gil was still alive when Orin was finally found, no doubt he was as delighted as Cheeriobed. If so, however, he evidently preferred retirement to ruling. He did not ask for his title back to replace the "lost" Good Witch of the North. Ozma appointed Joe King, instead. The history of the rulers of the kingdoms of Oz is elusive. The relationships between the four large kingdoms and their smaller sub-kingdoms, and between the foursome and the Emerald City, are complicated and have no doubt changed a good deal over time. For instance, the kingdom that once covered most of the southern Munchkin territory had shrunk into the tiny territory of Seebania ("Ojo"). But Baum gave a clear indication of the identity of the Winkies' king in "Road," and Thompson's seems to have intended Cheeriobed and Gil to be seen as the "Road" parade's Munchkin and Gilliken kings, and, as the opinion of a Royal Historian, her view carries weight. **** END OF ARTICLE ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 16 Mar 98 15:55:51 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things Thanks to you Ruth for the "Oz Rulers" article...May I add it to the file archive? I'm glad to see that it looks as though Buckethead is alive and well albeit under another name.... FWIW, I like Marcus Mebes' illios (though not as much as Melody Grandy's -- she's even better than Shanower IMHO), especially his Enya as Glinda which I follow suit with in my depictions. (Others in my "Illustration Cast": ABBA's Frida Lyngstad as Ozma; Tara Lipinski as Dorothy; Winona Ryder as Jellia; British 30's-50's actress Margaret Rutherford as Locasta; The three chess-playing Polgar sisters as the Adepts; Dinosaurologist Robert Bakker as the Shaggy Man; Oksana Baiul as Zixi; Nancy Kerrigan as the Queen of the Cloud Fairies; British actress/singer Elaine Paige as Lurline; and Former Congressman Robert K. Dornan as Ruggedo.) -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 17 - 21, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 22:38:49 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: Oz souffle Sender: "J. L. Bell" Bompi wrote: <> I, too, was struck by how prominent red was in Neill's art for "Cowardly Lion & Hungry Tiger," and (to a lesser extent) in other LIL WIZARD STORIES. I wondered if this was because he was consciously working in a brighter palate for younger children. But it could simply be Neill adding color to frames dominated by camouflage-colored carnivores. My mother keeps complaining that the fat baby being patted by the Tiger is a thalidomide child. (That may be the last time I loan her an Oz book she hadn't read before.) Ruth Berman wrote: <> Dorothy makes a remark about nobody dying in ROAD when she finds Jack's tombstones. Baum really doesn't go all out and say Ozians keep living after being torn to pieces until TIK-TOK, so these stories may fall during the idea's development. Bompi, note that the Tiger wanted to eat someone, and the Lion to tear someone apart--they don't speak explicitly of killing people, I think, only of dying and being killed. Robin Olderman wrote: <> Chaucer composed, after all, before the Great Vowel Shift. Ken Cope, please no gratuitous comments about contemporary politics. There are plenty of examples of mass delusion from the period in which the Oz books were written. And we must be fair. I've been remiss about seconding your wise remark weeks ago about the value of studying Baum's theosophical explorations: in trying to understand Oz as either literature or history, it's valuable to know what the author's world-view was. It's all very well to think in late 20th-century terms of wormholes and radium-induced mutations, but if Baum was thinking of vibrational planes and pleasant glow-in-the-dark paint (e.g., the Magic Picture being framed in radium in TIK-TOK) we have to see Oz first through his eyes. Marck DeCourval, thanks for the news about the Munchkin convention being on the first weekend of August. I'd been disappointed to see it overlapped with the reenactment of the taking of Fort Erie, Ontario, which I'd promised myself to visit this summer. Now I may be able to attend both! Ruth Berman, I look forward to reading your article on the morrow. Or does the old royal manse not appear? J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 23:45:08 -0500 (EST) From: Ozmama Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-16-98 Something I remember better is the "Watchbird" series from Ladies Home Journal or Good Housekeeping. Things like "This is a Watchbird watching a Whiny, and this is a Watchbird watching you!>>Bear I remember the watchbirds! (But I don't remember *Highlights) <> Bear LOL!!! And good luck to your friend with the aneurism. How awful! Ruth: Good ideas, as usual. Wish I had time to respond to them. --Robin ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 10:54:53 -0600 (CST) From: Ruth Berman Subject: ozzy digest St. Patrick's Day makes it a good day to wish green thoughts, or a visit to the Emerald City, to people. J.L. Bell: The Scarecrow's idea for getting himself and the Tin Woodman down from the tree -- I should think he might have actually planned to drop the anchor, except that then he dropped it before he was planning to. But if he'd dropped it at a moment when his intention was to drop it, perhaps he could have caught hold of the branch above him when he was pulled up, and stopped the Woodman's fall by hanging on to the branch while he worked himself along the branch to the trunk, and from there on down. Robin Oderman: Breaking vowels sounds like the start of the change from Chaucer's Middle English into Modern? Dave Hardenbrook: I'd be pleased to have you add the "Elusive Rulers" article to your file archive. Ruth Berman ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 19:28:44 -0500 From: jwkenne@ibm.net Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-16-98 Note to all: the '98 calendar _is_ out. We received it a few weeks ago. // John W Kennedy ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 20:43:05 -0500 (EST) From: Lisa Bompiani Subject: Ozzy Digest Post X-VMS-Cc: AKA LISA BOMPIANI Hello! I am at work on campus and decided to just send in part of my post from here rather than wait until I get home. Time management skills at work! I finished the LWS and found myself agreeing with a lot of J.L.'s comments. OH! I'm gald we're talking about the LWS, too. I've learned that discussing the literature that may not be considered wonderful or worth discussion can soemtimes be just as helpful and rewarding as discussing that that is wonderful and worth discussing. Anyway, here goes: Little Dorothy and Toto: p42 - About Toto and his inability to talk . . . could it just be the fact that once in Oz, "outsiders" do not acquire the traits of Ozians and Baum was just reminding readers of that fact? Or, since readers know dogs can't talk, and talking is viewed by many as a sign of intelligence, that Baum was using the fact that Dorothy can understand him, and knows that he understands her as a means to establishing Toto's smartness for later in the story? p49 - I found it odd that Dorothy fell for the Crinklekink's trick. She usually seems much keener and more cautious. However, as I found out, her anger at the end for being duped plays to this idea. p56 - I found it interesting that Dorothy's "punishment" was something she was a bit nervous about, or something all little girls can relate to. I'm already sensing a didactic tone to this story which is out of baum's character to be so upfront with his lessons, as J.L. mentioned (I think). Plus, as Dave said about being preached to, I definitely learn more from non-preaching situations. p59 - of course no killing, we're in Oz! Tik-Tok and the Nome King p66 - controlling thoughts is a bit scary . . . however, if "elastic and responsive" means an expanding of his outlooks, well, maybe that's okay. p69 - opposite illos. - this picture looks more like the Crinklkink description on p45 than the Crinklekink illos. p84 - The NOme King's speech here is almost as didactic as the Wizard's in "Little Dorothy," but there is a touch more humour here because of the nature of the King's character. Maybe this is what makes this story the most appealing. Ozma p89 - I think the only discontented person in Oz is Ozma. Geez! She is so concerned with the others' happiness. Think about the opening to "Cowardly Lion." p91 - I love the name play with the Imps! BTW, why does Ozma need the WIzard's help? Isn't she powerful enough to do it herself? Or is this just part of her ploy to ensure the Wizard's happiness? p109 - My, my! The Wizard sure seemed to gather his wits at the end after bumbling through the entire scenario! The explanation about buttons and such doesn't match his mistakes and helplessness throughout the story. J.L. - I'm not up on my history concerning these tales, but as you've noted, and I've started to note, there are quite a few parallels or repeated ideas. Was Baum experimenting with new ideas for full-length Oz tales, were these ideas that he had abandoned for full-lenght works, or did he just write these to satisfy his Oz audience of a younger age as the afterword states? Anybody? Jack Pumpkinhead p112 - Oh boy, this story echoes Hansel and Gretel? p120 - opposite illos. - I'm sorry, but I see Trot and Betsy tied to the tree, or is it the toddler from "Cowardly Lion?" In each of the following illos., the children look different, and I', not sure that I would put them all together in one story if they didn't have the same clothes on. p131 - sometimes they're going back to friends, but Jack says parents. . . p134 - I don't understand this last comment at all. Why would Baum end this story on such a negative sounding note? It's not consistent with the rest of the story at all. For that matter, I don't understand the motivation for the Sawhorse's question since the earlier talk of Jack carving his new heads didn't talk about brains. Was it simply a Scarecrowesque reference? Plus, why did the Wizard answer? Jack can talk . . . J.L. - it would be interesting to see charcters work things out for themselves, yes. It does tend to get annoying because they do work things out in the longer Oz texts. Could it just be Baum's limitations because of the length of a short story, so he skipped their working things out and assigned the Wizard the role of Mighty Mouse? Scarcrow & Tinman p142 - tie and anchor to his waist?! Where're the brains in that comment!? p144 - I'm sorry again, the cliche was too much; "you may lose an eye yourselves someday." I couldn't help but think of Ralphie in _A Christmas Story_: You'll shoot your eye out! p154 - Again, where's the Scarecrow's intelligence? Why not drop the anchor? . . . Geez. I couldn't help but giggle when he said soon after, "I'll do the thinking b/c my brains are the sharpest." p158 - opposite illos. - I thought the sail was purple? Plus, the Wizard mumbles here, too. And, since the boat had been anchored, how was it floating? Or did the Wizard fix that too? Overall, I agree that this was the worst and that Tik-Tok was the best. I kind of liked Ozma, too, for it's humor, even though the Wizard had an imposed solution. I think that the bits of humor in the stories is what makes them appealing, to me anyway. More later when I get home, Peace & Love, Bompi ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 22:37:36 -0500 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones Bear: True, the Digest has been slow lately, and I have not had reason to reply to much of it, but I intend to make some comments about _Scarecrow_ when it becomes the BCF soon. Carol: No problem with the info. I don't recall you speaking out of line, but there is no need to appologize for that :-) _Hurray for Oz!_ is out? Yikes! Off to my checkbook... ********** SLIGHT SPOILER FOR DISENCHANTED PRINCESS OF OZ ********** It is true that none of the standard characters apepar in this book (apart from a very brief fly-by by Glinda). However, the book does not suffer from this. There is nothing wrong with preferring stories featuring the old stand-bys, especially since we know them so well. I myself do not prefer a perfect balance of old versus new. I'm skewed a little bit in favor of the oldies as well, but I like to see completely new adventures every once in a while. ********** END OF SPOILER ********** John Bell: Here's some combos that might be interesting: Kabumpo and Nox Benny and Crunch Wag and the Bananny Goat Peter and Speedy Captain Salt and Realbad Jenny Jump and Handy Mandy Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 23:07:49 -0500 From: Lisa Bompiani Subject: Ozzy Digest Hello, I posted from campus earlier today, and decided to go ahead and post again in order to keep up with the Digest. :-) Dave: "One and the same" .... In reference to Highlights: I remember reading this magazine as a kid, too. One of the most didactic sections was the the episode about the two brothers " ? and Gallant." Of course, one was good, the other bad. Plus, there was the hidden picture puzzle and the crafts! J.L. : I find it interesting why in a good bit of fiction, especially that aimed at younger people, the animals always have a king, or some member of the group who functions as a leader. Is this in some way implying that we all have our place and function within society, reinforcing the notion of class and caste? After all, these were written during the early 1900's and the rise of Naturalism. Or is it simply a literary technique employed for the amusement of readers? Also, I was thinking as I read the stories that there seemed to be a very pointed moral to each story, ie: Don't walk out by yourself, beware the consequences of quick anger, etc., which is along the lines of your finding a common moral thread for them as a whole. Richard Randolph: I noticed those differences in Neill's drawings and text, too. Actually, I made note of the differnces. I think it was easier to pick up discrepancies in these stories b/c they're so short. ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 21:12:01 -0500 From: International Wizard of Oz Club Subject: FW: oz statues Ozzy Digest, Can anyone help this collector identify these figurines and find a source for completing the set? Sincerely, Jim Vander Noot Webmaster The International Wizard of Oz Club -----Original Message----- From: HOME4UTO [SMTP:HOME4UTO@aol.com] Sent: Sunday, March 08, 1998 6:28 PM Subject: Re: oz statues Thank you Jim for trying to help me out! They are about 4 inches high and made of porcilan. They sit on a dark brown pedistal with a little brass plate that says the wizzard of oz. It was made in Taiwan and the bottom is stamped the wizzard of oz Turner Ent. I contacted Turner ent. but to on avail. the faces on these figurines are such detail compared to a lot of my other wizzard of oz collectables. I hope this helps. I contacted that store in Las Vegas but they couldn't help me at all. Thank you, Barbara ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 19:14:36 +0100 From: Bill Wright Subject: Ozzy Digest I have received the following emails, that I'm posting on to the digest for those interested in responding. Bill in Ozlo --------------------- Greetings~ I have a 1st ed. Dorothy & The Wizard in Oz from 1908 and I was wondering if perhaps you held any information as to the rareness or auction price of the piece. Thank you for your assistance~ Wendy Bignami pacvibe@aol.com ----------------------------- I HAVE SEVERAL ORIGINAL BOOKS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SELL IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT. THEY ARE COLORFULY ILLUSTRATED. ARE THERE COLLECTORS WHO WOULD APPRECIATE THE BEAUTY OF THIS COLLECTION? IF INTERESTED PLEASE CONTACT ME BY E-MAIL jannette@arkansas.net THANKS, J. TAYLOR ------------------------------ ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 13:40:06 -0600 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-14 & 16-98 We had a highly enjoyable trip to Belgium (with a short excursion to Rotterdam as well). Ate great food; saw great art; relaxed a lot. Now, to comment on the two Digests that came in while I was gone (I assume there hasn't been one since 3/16? That's quite a while. If there've been others, could you please re-send them, Dave?): 3/14: Dick: Yes, the 1998 Oz Calendar has been mailed. I got mine a couple of months ago. If you ordered one and haven't gotten it yet, you should query the club. J.L.: Enjoyed your analysis of "Tik-Tok and the Nome King." You seem to have covered just about everything I might have had to say about it, and a good deal more besides. It's true that we only know that Glinda _says_ she got her information about the Wizard from spies, but would Glinda lie? I've generally considered that when either Glinda or Ozma makes a statement about a fact that she would know from personal knowledge, we can take that statement as being just as reliable as anything Baum (or other Royal Historian) states as Omniscient Author. I don't think either lady would lie or even attempt to mislead, or that either of them would make an erroneous statement because of a hazy memory (such as might be attributed to Dorothy or Shaggy or one of the other characters who wouldn't or couldn't lie). >The IWoOC has issued the "report" to Centennial manuscript submitters that >we discussed in this digest a while back. My letter came from New York >addressed to Jno. L. Bell, though I don't believe my submission stated my >first name. Someone out there's putting two and two together! I know Peter Hanff reads the Digest regularly; John Fricke has never posted on the Digest that I can recall, but he may read it as well. (I seem to remember he's a subscriber.) Baum doesn't seem to have implied vegetarianism in Oz, anyhow; it's true that Dorothy never eats meat in _Wizard_ (or at least someone has said this - I think Hearn in _Annotated Wizard_ - and I don't know of a counter-example), but meat is definitely eaten in some of the books. The dinner Tollydiggle gives Ojo has mutton-chops as its entree, for instance. We don't know if this meat is from animals that once lived or if it grew on trees, but it's meat. *******************Spoiler for LOST PRINCESS*************** The fact that Ozma could make Jack a map to where the children were located may be an indication that the Magic Picture has a zoom function, like my "Street Atlas USA" CD-ROM. I would think that it should. Though this would contradict the problem they have using it to find Ozma in _Lost Princess_ (after they recover it from Ugu); it would show nothing but dark if it were zoomed in close, inside the peach pit or even Button-Bright's pocket, but as it zoomed out it should show the outside of the pocket and then Button-Bright and then the whole group. Still, it may be that something in Ugu's spell that put Ozma in the peachpit in the first place prevents the Picture from showing her surroundings. *******************End spoiler************************** Bear: >Hulan, are you moving from Chicago to Belgium? Can't your wife hold on to >a job for six months? :) Tell her your retirement is supposed to be a >time of peace and quiet. No, we just took a few days' vacation in Belgium. It's the first time we've gone anywhere for fun since the fall of 1995, and the way things have been looking it may be the last chance for another couple of years, so we grabbed the opportunity while Marcia is between jobs. But her new job is in the Chicago area (working for a consulting firm, so the specific location where she works will change every few months). And she was in her previous job almost two years. >Speaking of quiet, when is the last time any of >you enjoyed any. It seems like our society is dominated by noise for the >last 20 years or so. Muzak in stores, elevators, bathrooms, etc. I just >read that restaurant owners think diners like noise because it makes them >feel that they are part of something! Arghhh. So they design restaurants >to be noisy on purpose! TVs, radios, CD players, leaf blowers, power >mowers, traffic, noise, noise noise.... Now I know why I sit in my fairly >quiet house and look at my quiet screen and sigh happily. I largely agree. Some sound is pleasant enough (I play classical or jazz music on my home stereo most evenings), but far too much of it comes across as noise to me. There are restaurant chains that I won't go to because they play loud rock music all the time, even though I like their food. For that matter, in Belgium they seem to have hit upon playing The Worst of American Music in a lot of restaurants - there are songs that I remember from the '40s and '50s, and that Marcia remembers from the '60s and '70s, and they're almost invariably from the bottom of the barrel even of the days when they were written. Too bad it'll be that long till the next Mary Russell book, but I'm not overly surprised. I found _The Moor_ to be distinctly less appealing than the first three books in the series; it just didn't seem to have the same imaginative invention as the earlier ones. If she needs to take another 2-3 years to gain inspiration I approve. 3/16: Bompi: Sorry your health hasn't been good this winter. Hope you're doing better now. At the time of LWS I don't think that Baum had ever said Oz people couldn't die. I believe that idea was first put forth in _Tik-Tok_. In _Emerald City_ he said that there was no illness in Oz, so no one died unless he met with an accident that prevented him from living - implying that accidents could kill Oz people (and presumably so could murder or suicide, not that anyone in Oz would have occasion for the latter). Ken Cope: Well said, and your attitude is near enough my own that I can't really find anything to take issue with. Except that I don't feel any necessity to dig into Theosophy myself to trace its influence in Baum; I'm interested in reading what other people - especially those who look at it from a literary, rather than Believer, point of view - have found out about such influences, but I'll let others do the research and be content with reading about their results. J.L.: The Tin Woodman doesn't actually float on water in _Lucky Bucky_; the "water" he falls into is dry and nothing sinks in it. Interesting idea for further pairings of characters from books. I'm a little skeptical about including Jinjur or Aunt Em; both are mentioned in more than one of the first six books, but each is only a featured player in one. Aunt Em is a motivating factor in several of the early books, but she has less than half a dozen lines before _Emerald City_. And Jinjur has a couple of lines in _Ozma_ and is otherwise absent between _Land_ and _Tin Woodman_. How about rearranging it into "Professor Woggle-bug and Billina" and "The Shaggy Man and the Field Mice"? I think the contrast between the Professor's pedantic bombast and Billina's down-to-earth practicality would be a great pairing, and since Shaggy is a wanderer he's likelier to have an adventure with the field mice than most of the other Ozites. Other plausible pairings from later books (let's confine it to Baum, though, and retain the restriction that the character must have been featured in more than one book): Cap'n Bill and Trot Betsy Bobbin and Hank Button-Bright and Polychrome The Glass Cat and the Woozy Button-Bright and Polychrome appeared in one of the first six books, but didn't make their second appearances until later. Craig: The old _Children's Activities_, which I think was the predecessor of _Highlights_, had the same cover art for every issue, IIRC - silhouettes of children engaged in various activities. I think they varied the color of the silhouettes from issue to issue, but that was the only difference. (But this is a memory from over 50 years back, so I don't vouch for its accuracy.) Marck: Thanks for the corrected date for the Munchkin Convention. My plans aren't firm yet, but I hope to attend this year. Carol: We'll have to agree to disagree about the relative quality of some of the newer Oz books, I guess. I'm not particularly fond of Abbott's books myself, but I think they're much better-written, if less imaginative, than _Pegasus in Oz_. And the same holds true for the rest of BoW's titles (except for a few that I think are also as imaginative). As for the artwork, Mebes is OK, and better than Denis MacFarlane or Campbell and Terry, but I don't think he's as good as George O'Connor and he's not even close to Eric Shanower. Bear: >David - I subscribed to Children's Activities. Was there something about >"acorn people?" Johnny Acorn? The Littlebits that I referred to in my previous post on _Children's Activities_ wore acorn caps as headgear, if memory serves; would that be what you're thinking of? >Something I remember better is the "Watchbird" series from Ladies Home >Journal or Good Housekeeping. Things like "This is a Watchbird watching a >Whiny, and this is a Watchbird watching you!" Remember those? Stick >figure drawings. The kind of things mothers liked to show their kiddies in >that era. Ah, yes, the Watchbirds. I'm pretty sure that was in _Ladies' Home Journal_. Cartoons by Munro Leaf. When I was in first or second grade I got a collection of Munro Leaf cartoons, _The Munro Leaf Fun Book_, that consisted of three sub-sections: "Manners Can Be Fun," "Grammar Can Be Fun," and "Safety Can Be Fun." They didn't include the watchbirds but were otherwise similar. _Good Housekeeping_, however, ran "Little Youmee," a comic strip about a cliff-dwelling Indian boy who had a dog named Guadapoochee. IIRC. That might have been _Cosmopolitan_ (back in its pre-sexy days), but I think it was GH. Sorry to hear about your friend's aneurysm. When you get to our age that sort of thing starts happening oftener and oftener, alas. Ruth: Thanks for the "Elusive Rulers" report. I believe I didn't get that mailing of the Research Group. One quibble: I think it's pretty clear that the Emperor of the Winkies who marched with the other three regional rulers in the "Road" parade is indeed the Tin Woodman. Surely, if he were marching elsewhere in the parade, he would have been mentioned the way all the other significant characters from the earlier books were. And the tin cornet band (playing "No Plate Like Tin") is said to belong to the Emperor of the Winkies, again implying that this refers to the Tin Woodman. It's more questionable whether the King of the Winkies referred to in _Ozma_ is also the Tin Woodman, since in that book Nick's function seems to be Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Oz. There isn't really any way to infer one way or the other whether Nick also remains ruler of the Winkies at that juncture (unless it says so somewhere that I've forgotten). Your justification of Cheeriobed as the Monarch of the Munchkins in the "Road" parade seems plausible. The only question I have is why Ozma, at least, didn't seem to recognize him as someone she'd met several times earlier in her reign. But maybe she did and Thompson just didn't mention it. Presumably Quiberon didn't arrive at Lake Orizon until after the events of _Scarecrow_, since the Ozure Islander girl knew of the presence of Trot in the Emerald City. I suppose word might also have been brought in by some of the birds, but if you assume that the islanders are that friendly with passing birds then you have to explain why Cheeriobed or one of his counselors didn't think to ask a bird to take a message to Ozma telling of their plight. Ozzy note from Belgium: The hotel where we stayed had a poster up advertising "De Tovenaar van Oz," a stage production to be presented in Antwerp June 15-16. (Couldn't stay that long, alas...) I assume this is a Dutch translation of the standard stage version of the movie; I know it features songs from the MGM musical (whether in English or Dutch I couldn't say). And the poster did credit Baum, even ahead of Arlen and Harburg. My Dutch is pretty rudimentary; I can usually get the sense of something written if I have decent context, but I don't get the details very well. (Belgium has three official languages - Dutch (or Flemish - different names for the same language, and in fact in both Belgium and the Netherlands they themselves call the language "Nederlands"; "Dutch" and "Flemish" are English names for it) in the north, French in the south, and German in the far east. Besides that, just about everyone under 50 in Flanders - the Dutch-speaking part - speaks excellent English as well. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 14:44:06 -0500 From: Richard Randolph Subject: Ozzy Digest (Dave: I believe I failed to put "Oz" in the subject box of my previous post, so I'll repeat it here.) I received Books of Wonder's latest flier yesterday, 3-20-98, and Peter G is now offering LFB's 10th Oz book, "Rinkitink in Oz", at $22.00, and RPT's 2nd, "Kabumpo in Oz" at $22.95. Bear: Sorry to hear of your friend's illness. Ruth: Thanks for posting your "Those Elusive Rulers . ." ! Dick ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 21 Mar 98 21:05:52 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things "OZ ON CHARON" UPDATE: I just found out that Carl Sagan's widow, Ann Druyan, has an E-mail... I'm going to E-mail her with our idea of honoring Oz on Charon. I'll let you all know what transpires... _LITTLE WIZ STORIES_ AND _HIGHLIGHTS_: Bompi wrote: >p89 - I think the only discontented person in Oz is Ozma. Geez! Well, she is a perfectionist I guess, much to her credit. :) >BTW, why does Ozma need the WIzard's help? Isn't she powerful enough to > do it herself? Probably not at this time -- She doesn't really start becoming powerful until after _Lost Princess_ (see David Hulan's "Ozma" essay)...Although I wouldn't entirely discount your idea that Ozma strives to make others (e.g. the Wizard) feel needed... >One of the most didactic sections was the the episode about the two brothers >" ? and Gallant." Goofus. I remember little else about _Highlights_ but remeber that. :) Actually, I think I remember more about _Cricket_ magazine...I always liked the insect characters (though I always wished they had one who was a praying mantis), and I actually submitted my first literary endevour to them (They didn't publish it -- They said it lacked a plot, which it did.) SOME MORE LWS THAT NEVER WERE BUT SHOULD BE IMHO: _Scraps and the Wogglebug_ _Jellia Jamb and Betsey Bobbin_ _Cayke and the Frogman_ _Sir Hokus and Kabumpo_ _Randy and Planetty_ _Audah and Aujah_ _Reera and Aurah_ _Files and Ozga_ _Polychrome and the Ork_ (Is there a prohibition on non-Ozites?) -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 22 - 26, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 10:46:44 -0500 From: Michael Turniansky Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-21-98 > > > In reference to Highlights: I remember reading this magazine as a kid, too. > One of the most didactic sections was the the episode about the two brothers > " ? and Gallant." Of course, one was good, the other bad. Plus, there was > the hidden picture puzzle and the crafts! > They were not brothers, they were friends, and often visited each other's house. As my brother recently characterized them in an e-mail to me (the mention on the Ozzy digest reminded me that I had recently read an issue of Highlights which had the origin story of "the Timbertoes", which I wrote to him about):> And, of course, my favorites were Goofus and Gallant. > "Goofus enjoys detonating thermonuclear devices in crowded downtown > shopping districts." > "Gallant always follows appropriate AEC guidelines when handling > fissionable materials." > > > *******************Spoiler for LOST PRINCESS*************** > The fact that Ozma could make Jack a map to where the children were located > may be an indication that the Magic Picture has a zoom function, like my > "Street Atlas USA" CD-ROM. I would think that it should. Though this would > contradict the problem they have using it to find Ozma in _Lost Princess_ > (after they recover it from Ugu); it would show nothing but dark if it were > zoomed in close, inside the peach pit or even Button-Bright's pocket, but > as it zoomed out it should show the outside of the pocket and then > Button-Bright and then the whole group. > *******************End spoiler************************** > But perhaps they didn't try it. They didn't assume the scale they were looking atwas in inches, not feet. >_Good Housekeeping_, however, ran "Little Youmee," a comic strip about a > cliff-dwelling Indian boy who had a dog named Guadapoochee. IIRC. That > might have been _Cosmopolitan_ (back in its pre-sexy days), but I think it > was GH. > Gaudapoochie? Sounds an awful lot lkike Rootie-Kazootie's dog, Gallapoochie... --Mike "Shaggy Man" Turniansky ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 18:34:35 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: Oz-suming the worst Sender: "J. L. Bell" On the gradual disappearance of death in Oz, here are three quotations, in chronological order of Baum's composition: ROAD, p. 172: "But I thought nobody ever died in Oz," she [Dorothy] said. "Nor do they; although if one is bad, he may be condemned and killed by the good citizens," he [the Tin Woodman] answered. EMERALD CITY, p. 30: No disease of any sort was ever known among the Ozites, and no one ever died unless he met with an accident that prevented him from living. LIL WIZARD, "Cowardly Lion & Hungry Tiger": The Tiger remained silent for several minutes, thinking deeply as he washed his face with his left [sinister] paw. Then he said: "I'm getting old, and it would please me to eat one fat baby before I die." Clearly, one of these things is not like the others. About "Jack Pumpkinhead & Sawhorse," Bompi wrote: <> The Wizard's remark about Jack's lack of wisdom is *thematically* consistent. This tale hinges on his other weaknesses: awkward fingers, fragile head. Even Ozma advises Jack to take the Sawhorse because "he is swift and intelligent and will help you." But I agree that the ending feels abrupt and even a bit rude. Baum was no doubt trying for a witty close; in these tales he managed that only in "Tik-Tok & Nome King." I thought of another explanation for the map to the lost children that Ozma gives Jack. Later in the story Baum tells us, "The [Cowardly] Lion knew the forest well and when he reached it he bounded straight through the tangled paths to where the Sawhorse was wandering." The Lion might have recognized from the Magic Picture where the children were and guided Ozma in drawing the map. Bompi wrote: <> Baum seems to have been able to create more satisfactory stories of this length as long as they were for slightly older readers (or, to put it another way, as long as he wasn't consciously aiming for an audience younger than his usual one). And there's quite enough filler in these tales for him to have made space for other endings. Sumner Britton seems to have wanted each of the LITTLE WIZARD STORIES to feature the little Wizard. At least he pointed to that as an additional reason to rewrite the end of "Lil Dorothy & Toto," according to Michael Patrick Hearn's introduction to the Schocken edition. Since he was already looking for a way to bring the Wizard on stage, Baum may have taken his arrival as an easy way to get characters out of their jams. Have the stories been collected in the order in which Baum wrote them? If so, it's notable that the last three are the ones in which the Wizard's actions save the day most peremptorily. In the first three (as Baum first wrote them), the little Wizard doesn't affect the denouement at all. Another reason for these stories to be below par: Baum's correspondence with Britton reveals, "in writing these stories I did not want...to use material that would be of value in my future Oz stories." There's one lost LIL WIZARD story. Britton was disappointed in Baum's original tale of "Scarecrow & Tin Woodman," one of the first drafted. Baum quickly wrote the one we know. Could the original have been worse? Or could Mr. Britton's tin ear for child-pleasing themes have caused Baum to junk an entertaining story? Bompi wrote: <> I think there are two reasons for creating a king over a group of animals or other hard-to-distinguish creatures (Rooks, Wheelers, Flying Monkeys): 1) The ruler speaks and decides for the rest, thus converting a crowd into a single character--much easier for an author to keep track of. 2) Seeing a ruler appeals to children's sense of order. It's not that all those children's authors wanted to bolster monarchism; rather, monarchism is fundamentally a childish system. Dave Hulan wrote: <> Baum certainly didn't, but more recent commentators have. In a digest last Thanksgiving Dave Hardenbrook reported: <> I haven't done a thorough survey, but it strikes me that Eric Shanower's stories are also herbivorous. I had those depictions in mind when I noted the Wizard's threat to butcher the Imps for pork chops. Dave Hulan wrote: <> Though Nick and the Scarecrow do benefit from their dry river (p. 264), earlier in the story Davy had sunk in Lake Quad (p. 231): Overboard went more than one hundred uncles, making a tremendous splash. Davy Jones disappeared. Being all good swimmers, the Uncles managed to reach land. Uncle Sam swam close to Bucky. Between them they held the Scarecrow high above the water and succeeded in landing him on shore with only one boot damp, which really was remarkable considering the nervous state the Emperor [of the Munchkins, as this book calls the Scarecrow] was in. Uncle Henry [not that one] and Uncle Joe, who were both strong swimmers, floated the Tin Woodman to safety between them. Later in that chapter we encounter the following contradiction in terms: "the half-drowned, soggy figure of an old witch" (p. 236). So once again we must take Neill's fish stories with a dose of sea-salt. Dave Hulan wrote: <> I agree that Ozma never would, but I'm not so sure about Glinda--not when it comes to a deception that she thinks will help Oz. In chapter 29 of EMERALD CITY Glinda goes on for over a page about how she can seal off Oz--an act that would profoundly affect everyone in that room, every Ozian, and such visitors as the Wise Donkey. Only after Dorothy signs on to the idea does Glinda reveal that *she's already done it*. At the beginning of TIK-TOK she exiles the Oogabooans without telling anyone, even Ozma--another concealment, though not a deception. When she reveals her Magic Book to Dorothy, Glinda says, "it told me you were all coming to my castle, and why" (EM CITY, p. 292). She has the same knowledge when the Scarecrow and his party come to her in LAND--the Scarecrow even states her reputation: "nothing that goes on in the Land of Oz escapes her notice" (p. 238). How does Glinda come by such knowledge without the Book? If she already has such knowledge, why would she feel the need for the Book, and why would she be unable to track Ugu or Wutz without it? On p. 242 of LAND the Sorceress tells the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and others, "I have in my library a book in which is inscribed every action of the Wizard while he was in our land of Oz--or, at least, every action that could be observed by my spies." I read that statement as allowing the possibility that Glinda caught herself revealing the existence of the Great Book of Records before she was comfortable telling others about it, and quickly invented a cover story. Why would Glinda feel the need to hide the Book? For the same reasons other upright national leaders have concealed the extent of their intelligence: the country's security is at stake. At that moment in LAND, war is about to break out. Oz is still a fractured land. The rightful ruler is lost, and one of the rival claimants stands before Glinda (though the Scarecrow says he'll be happy not to rule, he makes another bid for the crown on p. 258). Significantly, Glinda doesn't reveal the existence of the Book until *after* she has protected Oz from the outside world (or so she thinks--but that's another controversy). Once the country is safe, she no longer sees a need for a cover story. At least that's one plausible way of putting together what we know of Glinda. Lacking her magic white pearl, we can't know for sure. As I wrote before, how we read Glinda's remarks in these books depends on what we think she's capable of. Speaking of cover stories, in her "Elusive Rulers" essay Ruth Berman wrote: <> I theorize that Dr. Pipt used the name Nikidik when trading magic in the anarchic pre-Ozma Oz for the same reason that dealers at gun shows often use fake names. They're handing power to strangers, knowing little about those strangers but that they want power. (Why you'd arm someone if you don't even trust him or her with your real name is a mystery, but that's what some gun dealers do.) Calling himself Nikidik protected Pipt from Mombi later. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 17:54:55 -0600 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-21-98 J.L.: >I, too, was struck by how prominent red was in Neill's art for "Cowardly >Lion & Hungry Tiger," and (to a lesser extent) in other LIL WIZARD STORIES. >I wondered if this was because he was consciously working in a brighter >palate for younger children. But it could simply be Neill adding color to >frames dominated by camouflage-colored carnivores. Or it could be something the printer did; I know Neill didn't provide the color for any of the FF books he illustrated except for _DotWiz_ and _Emerald City_, and he probably didn't for LWS either. Tyler: >John Bell: >Here's some combos that might be interesting: >Kabumpo and Nox >Benny and Crunch >Wag and the Bananny Goat >Peter and Speedy >Captain Salt and Realbad >Jenny Jump and Handy Mandy I notice you're using post-Baum characters exclusively - and almost all Thompson, except for Jenny. (Actually, I think Number Nine might be a better match for Speedy than Peter - both of them having been wizard's assistants at one time or another.) Bompi: If Goofus and Gallant were in _Highlights_ then I'm sure it was the same as _Children's Activities_, only under a different name; they were in the latter as well. Weren't they sort of elf-like? I seem to remember that, but it was, as I've said, over 50 years ago so my memory isn't that clear. (I don't remember Goofus being so much bad as just thoughtless and careless, though.) >J.L. : I find it interesting why in a good bit of fiction, especially that >aimed at younger people, the animals always have a king, or some member of >the group who functions as a leader. Is this in some way implying that we >all have our place and function within society, reinforcing the notion of >class and caste? Just about any social animal - including humans - will have some member of any group who functions as a leader. The leader may be a king, or a president, or a mayor, or a coach, or just the alpha member of the group, and the leadership may be due to heredity, election, or superior strength and/or intelligence, but it's likely that without a leader a social grouping can't really work. (That's a backward inference from evolutionary theory; if leader-follower organization weren't advantageous to social animals, you'd expect that it wouldn't be so omnipresent.) This isn't the same thing as class or caste, since those are hereditary and leadership isn't particularly. (Of course, in a society with a strong class system it's much likelier that a member of a class that's "born to lead" will acquire the necessary skills than one from a class that's "born to follow," but lots of people born to the former class will not develop into leaders and some from the latter will.) Dave: >SOME MORE LWS THAT NEVER WERE BUT SHOULD BE IMHO: >_Scraps and the Wogglebug_ >_Jellia Jamb and Betsey Bobbin_ >_Cayke and the Frogman_ >_Sir Hokus and Kabumpo_ >_Randy and Planetty_ >_Audah and Aujah_ >_Reera and Aurah_ >_Files and Ozga_ >_Polychrome and the Ork_ (Is there a prohibition on non-Ozites?) Shouldn't be a prohibition on non-0zites, since the Nome King is featured in one of Baum's. I don't know about a title with _no_ Ozites, though. I like your pairings, though, all but Jellia and Betsy. Betsy just doesn't seem strong enough to make it a good match. I'd pair Jellia with someone like Jinjur or the Glass Cat or the Frogman. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 20:44:59 -0500 From: Lisa Bompiani Subject: Ozzy Digest Hello again. I got worried there for awhile . . . I thought maybe my server was erasing my digests before I read them! Hulan: Thanks for the health wish. I'm doing much better, but my lungs will love it when it's warmer. Running and being outside when it's cold makes it difficult. I am feeling much better, though. Sometimes I have to realize that my body cannot keep up with my mind or aspirations. Dave: Thanks. Goofus, how could I forget a name like that! Bet if it had been on Zoom I would have remembered! ;-) Well, I presented my _Heart of Darkness_/Oz paper at the conference this past weekend, and it went rather well. It continues to amaze me when people argue with me b/c they are confusing the book and the movie. Both have their merits, but some people get so adamant! More later, off to ponder Plato. Peace & Love, Bompi ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 08:55:19 +0300 (IDT) From: Tzvi Harris Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-21-98 Lisa According to Hearns' intro to LWS Baum also liked the name play. According to Hearn Baum reused variants of these names in a play "The Uplift of Lucifer". Regarding the reason Baum wrote these stories: (Again according to Hearn) They were part of an Oz promotion accompanying _Patchwork Girl_ which was the first Oz book Baum wrote after his attempt to discontinue the Oz series in 1910. I have to agree with those who wrote that there isn't much to comment on in these stories. I was left with the feeling that some of them ended in the middle of the story. I recall from one of the Oz books the Scarecrow getting wet and making a big deal out of it (being spread out to dry etc.). I tried to remember where this occurs, (_Tin Man_ ?) with no success. In LWS the Scarecrow comes out of the water uneffected. Tzvi Talmon Israel ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 22 Mar 1998 23:03:54 -0500 From: Richard Bauman Subject: TODAY'S OZ GROWLS Sender: Richard Bauman Robin - Translation please of "LOL." I always thought that meant "Little Old Lady." Obviously not to you. By the by, did you see the new Tolkein book? I am reading it now. It is titled, "ROVERANDOM." It is a children's book that was never published. It was written following the Hobbit but the publisher wanted a sequel, thus LOTR and not Roverandom so it has languished until now. David - I think most of "The Chameleon" is already written by Laurie King. It is the publisher that is going to slow this one down. By the way, I had the same feeling about "The Moor." She was really entranced with the history of the area and Baring-Gould who was a real person. I asked her about the use of "the Doyle pace," which I actually enjoy. She had never thought about it that way but agreed. We are used to a quicker pace in this age and that may have bothered some readers. Anyway, we can hope for the best for the next. Ah yes, Munro Leaf. I am awstruck that you can remember something like "Guadapoochee." That was one I never saw. Regards, Bear (:<) ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 09:50:22 -0600 (CST) From: Ruth Berman Subject: ozzy digest Bear, Robin Olderman, David Hulan: I remember the "Watchbirds," too. I didn't see them in magazine form, but we had a book collection of them. (In fact, one of my mother's letters, included in my book "Dear Poppa," has her writing to my father in 1945: "I read the Watch birds to Peter. Do you remember the Foodfusser? It goes 'This is a foodfusser who is much too old to be still sitting in a baby chair but it fussed about what it should eat so much that it doesn't eat anything new and it is so thin that it isn't strong enough to get up.' Peter thought about that for a while and then said, 'I'm not a food fusser. I can get up.'") J.L. Bell and David Hulan: Not a pairing, but I've sometimes thought it would be fun to write a story about Jinjur focusing on her as an artist (making the not-necessarily-warranted assumption that her ability to help the Scarecrow out by repainting his face when needed implies artistic ability). Dick Randolph: Nice to hear that I can expect a BoW flyer with new reprints shortly. I'd been thinking it was about time for that to be showing up soon (have some birthdays coming up of relatives with children of Ozzy ages, and has been thinking it was about time have some more available I could get as presents for them). Lisa Bompiani: Interesting question about the political implications of assuming that animals have kings. I suppose it might be argued that we don't find out enough about the animal societies to know what "kingship" implies. It might be (in spite of the Squirrel King's gold crown) that whichever animal undertakes to speak up when there's a problem to deal with is for the time being the "king," or it might be that "kings" are elected by group vote, or some other system different from a permanent class system. Presumably the continued references to "kings" could give child-readers the impression that societies "ought" be to monarchies, but presumably child-readers, too, can catch the egalitarian assumptions in stories where "kings" can be successfully opposed. (Then, too, there are stories like George MacDonald's "The Princess and the Goblin," where authors explicitly state that ALL people are of royal character -- or should be trying to be.) Ruth Berman ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 11:51:10 -0500 (EST) From: Jeremy Steadman Subject: Ozzy Digestion Problems? No more! Well, actually, I just got back from Spring Break, and that was why I've been suspiciously quiet lately. To catsup now, The 14th-- "Mumbling seems key to his style of magic.": Are you accusing the Wizard of Mumbo Jumbo? "One in the same": Dave, you must have Southern heritage somewhere. I will say no more about that for fear of offending someone. The 16th-- Dot & co & LWS Illos: Lisa, you mention that the faces of the children seem much like those of the fat babies. Perhaps this is how the Lion and Tiger see them--which implies that Dorothy & co had best watch their backs! ;-) Oz written by Lewis: . Until next time (when I'll go through the Digest of the 21st), Jeremy Steadman, jsteadman@loki.berry.edu (kiex@aol.com during the summer and school vacations) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 "Whenever I try to recite Murphy's law, I get it all wrong." ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 13:56:42 -0500 (EST) From: Jeremy Steadman Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-21-98 Vowel Trouble: Sounds like my family--we all have digestive problems . . . "I'll do the thinking since my brains are the sharpest": Now, if _I_ had made that comment, no one would have been surprised at all . . . Mary Russel's book: Personally, I never saw a moor I never saw the sea But know I how the heather looks And what a wave must be . . . (Dickinson) With that note, Jeremy Steadman, jsteadman@loki.berry.edu (kiex@aol.com during the summer and school vacations) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 "Whenever I try to recite Murphy's law, I get it all wrong." ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 01:00:26 -0500 (EST) From: Mark Anthony Donajkowski Subject: rolling stone oz The cast of SEINFELD will appear on an upcoming issue of ROLLING STONE dressed as characters from THE WIZARD OF OZ; Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Dorthy, Jerry as the Tin Man, Jason Alexander as the Cowardly Lion, and Michael Richards as the Scarecrow. ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 26 Mar 98 12:01:39 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things _WIZARD_ PLAY: Anyone catch the ads on American Movie Classics about the stage version of _Wizard of Oz_ ( MGM of course :| )...Bob Dorian is obviously proud to be in it but he doesn't say who *he* plays! (Mickey Rooney is the Wizard and Eartha Kitt is the WWW.) LWS THAT NEVER WERE: David H. wrote: >I like your pairings, though, all but Jellia and Betsy. Betsy just doesn't >seem strong enough to make it a good match. I'd pair Jellia with someone >like Jinjur or the Glass Cat or the Frogman. Of course, given the choice I would pair Jellia with Ozma or Dorothy, but they're both "taken"...Actually, I just realized that there's one well-known and powerful Ozite that no one has mentioned...So I now submit as a future LWS title: _*Glinda* and Jellia Jamb_! How do folks feel about moving on to _Scarecrow of Oz_ in two weeks? -- Dave ====================================================================== ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 27 - 29, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 20:38:05 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-21-98 I remember reading Highlights when I went to have my picture taken. not one of the most pleasant things.. my parents always bought the one I hated most! I remeber something Ozzy in one issue, but can't remmeber what. There was an issue of _Games_ around 1988 that had an Oz puzzle featuring Prof. Wogglebug. I xeroxed it, but don't remember where I put it. It had illustrated clichees on it's cover. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 21:20:52 -0500 From: Michael Turniansky Subject: Re: Ozzy foul play? > Mark Anthony Donajkowski SUPPOSEDLY wrote: > > > The cast of SEINFELD will appear on an upcoming issue > of ROLLING STONE dressed as characters from THE WIZARD > OF OZ; Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Dorthy, Jerry as the Tin Man, > Jason Alexander as the Cowardly Lion, and Michael Richards > as the Scarecrow. Alright, out with it! This is either a) a cut-and-paste job, or b) mark anthony has met with foul play! Yes, you nefarious fiend! You made one fatal mistake. Mr. Donajkowski never uses capitals and rarely punctuation. What have you done with the real Mark, you dastardly felon? --Mike "Shaggy Man" Turniansky ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 22:17:12 -0500 (EST) From: Jeremy Steadman Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest 3-26 I think I have a problem, since hitting "reply" gave me a "to" address of "#" and a subject address of "Re:" and no more. (Maybe that is right, I'm not sure. Retyped address and subj myself.) Action before discussion: I think if Gilnda is powerful enough to do what needed to be done, red tape shouldn't be allowed to get in her way. (In Oz, at least.) J.L. Bell: Or perhaps Dr Pipt Nikidik? ;-) On a light note, Jeremy Steadman, jsteadman@loki.berry.edu (kiex@aol.com during the summer and school vacations) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 "Whenever I try to recite Murphy's law, I get it all wrong." ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 22:23:43 -0500 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones More Ozzy Pairings (some Baum this time!) Cayke and Jellia Frogman and Wogglebug Shaggy and Cap'n Bill Pon and Ervic Jinjur and Reera Snip and Button-Bright Dave: _Scarecrow_ in two weeks is fine with me. Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 23:02:51 -0500 (EST) From: Ozmama Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-26-98 Vegetarianism in Oz: In _Lost Princess_, Baum mentions that the Lion goes off quietly on his own to eat, and that Dorothy has a mild concern about the bunnies, etc. John Bell wrote:<< On p. 242 of LAND the Sorceress tells the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and others, "I have in my library a book in which is inscribed every action of the Wizard while he was in our land of Oz--or, at least, every action that could be observed by my spies." I read that statement as allowing the possibility that Glinda caught herself revealing the existence of the Great Book of Records before she was comfortable telling others about it, and quickly invented a cover story.>> That's not the way I take this line at all. I think she simply recorded (or had recorded for her) all of the info her spies had gathered for her about the Wizard's activities. If she had meant the Book of Records, she could have had info about him recorded that had *not* been observed by her spies. Also, IIRC, the Book of Records has a disconcerting habit of erasing itself rather quickly, doesn't it? ---- Bear: LOL is computerese for Laughing Out Loud. ROF=Rolling On Floor. People combine these for ROFLOL. There's also ROFPIP (the last IP=in pants) and ROFLMAO (M=my, O=off). Colorful language, eh what?! Is _Roverandom_ any good? ---- Dave: I'm ready to move on to _Scarecrow_ ASAP. I really don't much like LWS. --Robin ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 08:04:19 +0000 From: Craig Noble Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-26-98 Bear - How fascinating... a new children's book by Tolkien. I will definitely have to buy it. Thanks for the tip! Dick Randolph - Ever since your post about the new BoW flier I've been waiting for it in the mail. (Actually I was beginning to wonder when it would come even before your message.) But I still haven't received it, and it's been a week now. How about you other folks? Incidentally, does anyone know if the reprint of Johnny Gruelle's _Magical Land of Noom_ is available yet? -- Craig Noble ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 12:36:48 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-26-98 Matthew Stone Related filmography pages: filmography only | sorted by ratings | merchandising | by genre Date of birth (location) 1971 Sometimes Credited As: Matt Stone Combined filmography 1.BASEketball (1998)[Actor] 2."South Park" (1997) TV Series[Actor (voice) .... Kyle Broslofski/Kenny McCormick/Pip/Jesus/Jimbo Marsh/Various others] [Composer] [Director] [Producer (executive)] 3.Orgazmo (1997)[Actor] [Producer] 4.Cannibal! The Musical (1996)[Producer] ... aka Alferd Packer: The Musical (1996) 5.Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995)[Producer (co-producer)] [Writer] 6.Spirit of Christmas, The (1995)[Actor (voice) .... Various] [Director] [Writer] 7.Dorothy Meets Ozma of Oz (1987) (V)[Actor (voice)] 8.Spirit of Christmas, The (????)[Writer] Dorothy Meets Ozma of Oz (1987) (V) USA 1987 Color Produced by: A-KOM Productions, Ltd. / Prairie Rose Productions / Lorimar Telepictures / Atlantic-Kushner-Locke, Inc. Language: English Genre/keyword: Adventure / Animation / fantasy / oz Runtime: USA:28 Directed by Myrna Bushman Joe Cisi Pierre DeCelles Georges Grammat Bill Knoll Chiou Wen Shian Lisa Wilson (III) Cast (in credits order) Michael Gross (I) .... Host Sandra J. Butcher (voice) Nancy Chance (voice) Jay David (voice) Hiromi Kawaye .... Dorothy (voice) Fredie Smootie (voice) Matthew Stone (voice) Debbie Lytton .... Vocal on "a special place" (voice) Written by L. Frank Baum (novel Ozma of Oz) Jim Carlson (I) Terrence McDonnell Music by Joel Hirschhorn (also song "A Special Place") Al Kasha (also song "A Special Place") Michael Lloyd (I) (also song "A Special Place") Produced by Thomas A. Bliss Diana Dru Botsford Tracie Graham Donald Kushner (executive) Peter Locke (IV) (executive) Other crew Diana Dru Botsford .... voice director Timothy Burgard .... storyboard artist (as Tim Burgard) James Carhart .... art director: live action Ron Carpenter Jr. .... production assistant Richie Chavez .... backgrounds Rick Crampton .... sound editor Gregg Davidson .... art consultant T.W. Davis .... sound re-recordist Philip J. Felix .... art director Alfred T. Ferrante .... foley mixer (as Al Ferrante) Carla Fredricks .... sound mixer Ellyn Friedman .... production supervisor Peter Glassman .... special thanks: Books of Wonder Kit Harper .... color stylist T.M. Kidd .... special thanks Brenda K. Kyle .... casting Ingeborg Larson .... sound editor Michael Lloyd (I) .... song arranger song producer Kitty Malone .... foley artist Jim Mitchell (II) .... character design Phil Norwood .... storyboard director Andrew Philipson .... backgrounds Nelson Shin .... production manager Ross Taylor .... foley artist Donald Towns .... backgrounds Merrily Weiss .... special thanks Mary Werwage .... production accountant It appears that Willard Carroll has a new film coming out this year, _Tom's Midnight Garden_, and _Dancing About Architecture_ following in 1999. After _The Runestone_, these ought to be really interesting. If you haven't seen _The Runestone_, especially if you're friends with Willard, shame on you, it's a great film. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 12:46:31 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-26-98 Early on, Baum referred to the Sawhorse as being not very intelligent, so he seems to be being inconsistent. Does no one have any answers about _Tamawaca Folks_ (I suppose I'll have to wait for Stephen to get back)? How about questions about _Daughters of Destiny_. I never did provide a plot summary. Is there interest, or would I be wasting my time? Scott ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 13:34:49 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 12-09-97 I found this on my CORD account; I don't know if I ever sent it... Scott Craig: I have all my Ozzy Digests save. Could you tell me the dates for Herm's book repair? Then I can forward them to you. Rich: According to A.S. Carptenter's Baum biography, Magic and Glinda were put in a safe-depoit box to possibly be published postnumously, though after TW he went back to these and began revising. Baum lived on a a large estate with several farms as a boy, and he was home-schooled, as wealthy people were. ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 15:11:28 -0800 From: Nathan Mulac DeHoff Subject: Ozzy Digest On Vegetarianism and Oz: Thompson didn't portray the Ozites as vegetarians, either. In fact, the people of Kimbaloo were quite willing to have a sentient goose slaughtered for their dinner. According to _Wishing Horse_, Pigasus was once captured by a farmer, who presumably wanted to make pork products out of him. I do not believe that it was specifically mentioned that this happened in Oz, however. It might have happened in Ev or elsewhere. In _Gnome King_, the Wizard eats chicken, which is interesting, when you consider the statements in _Emerald City_ to the effect that no Ozite would even consider eating chicken. Maybe there is a tree in the Emerald City that produces chicken (or a very similar kind of meat). In my own vision of Oz as is it today, most meats can now be grown on trees, so the slaughter of animals has become largely unnecessary. A wild animal (such as a Kalidah) would still be willing to eat a person or animal, however. The fact that they couldn't be killed wouldn't matter much, because, as Files said, "A hamburger-steak is a hamburger-steak, whether it is cooked or not." John Bell: >Later in that chapter we encounter the following contradiction in terms: >"the half-drowned, soggy figure of an old witch" (p. 236). So once again >we >must take Neill's fish stories with a dose of sea-salt. Well, you must remember that Mombi's speaking likeness was made of paint, and it was obviously not water-soluble paint, since that would have led to all of the Ozites' hard work on the castle walls being washed off during the next rainfall. Hence, the painted Mombi could withstand water, even though her natural form could not. Ruth: >Not a pairing, but I've sometimes thought it >would be fun to write a story about Jinjur focusing on her as an artist >(making the not-necessarily-warranted assumption that her ability to >help the Scarecrow out by repainting his face when needed implies >artistic ability). She also painted straw for the Scarecrow at one point, and it was realistic enough that it could actually be used to stuff him. This, combined with my comments about Mombi, raises the question of whether this was real straw or paint in the form of straw, however. -- Nathan Mulac DeHoff vovat@geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/5447/ "All I know could be defaced by the facts in the life of Chess Piece Face." ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 19:14:14 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: Oz controversies Sender: "J. L. Bell" Here's something the Scarecrow might have thought of to get himself and Nick Chopper gently down from the tree: 1) Secure the anchor in his hands to the line around his waist. 2) Untie the knot that binds him to that line. 3) Climb the rope to the branch overhead. 4) By resting on the branch, reduce the weight on his side of the line just enough that the Tin Woodman slides slowly toward the ground. Anchor + Scarecrow = Tin Woodman, so Anchor < Tin Woodman 5) If the Tin Woodman doesn't go all the way to the ground (with only one eye the Scarecrow might have difficulty perceiving the distance), let Nick dangle safely from the anchored rope. Fall to the ground, stand up, and go for help. Yet another "Scarecrow & Tin Woodman" mystery, however: after Nick falls into the river he continues to talk, and he can move enough to wrap the hook around his neck. Why doesn't he just stand up and walk to shore underwater? I guess he doesn't want to tread on any fish. I'm up for reading SCARECROW next month, but I see regrets over the horizon. I'm using these discussions as a chance to read my Books of Wonder/Morrow editions and see all the color plates in place for the first time. But if we reach LOST PRINCESS around late summer, we'll have gotten ahead of the reissues. 'Taint nothing I can do about that but toss out alternative topics to distract people: * Frank Kramer is a better Oz artist than Dick Martin. * Professor Wogglebug is secretly gay. * THE WIZARD OF OZ was written to forecast the election of 1912: Scarecrow = Wilson, Tin Woodman = Roosevelt, Cowardly Lion = Taft. * Glinda must actually be ugly if she's still single. + The only reason Ozma's palace isn't smothered with Billina's chicks is that the Hungry Tiger eats in his sleep. * How come in the book the Good Witch of the North doesn't just tell Dorothy her name is Glinda? * Randy is much too good for Planetty. Discuss amongst yourselves! J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 98 19:44:48 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things Happy Vangelis' Birthday! An off-topic birthday wish I know, but I *had* to say it! :) (Actually, I'm a little nervous because for the last few years massive disasters have hit me on the birthdays of musicians I like -- Last year "The Great Computer Breakdown" of my system happened on Enya's birthday. Wish me luck -- And a future lack of superstitious thinking!) BCF: Seeing that there's no objection -- We will start discussing _Scarecrow_ Monday, April 13. TOPICS OF DISCUSSION: J.L. Bell wrote: >* How come in the book the Good Witch of the North doesn't just tell >Dorothy her name is Glinda? Er..Em because Glinda isn't the Good Witch of the *North's* name?? >* Glinda must actually be ugly if she's still single. I'll have to ask Melody to ask Zim about this one... Other possible discussion points: -- The Tottenhots aren't a racial slur, but Dorothy is clearly stereotypical of White Midwesterners -- Smith & Tinker's is actually a Nonestican pseudonym for the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation -- _The Wonder City of Oz_ forcasts the election of 1996: Ozma = Clinton, Jenny = Dole, Number Nine = Gingrich, Chocolate soldiers = Paula Jones and Monica Lewinski, the Wogglebug = Sen. Thompson, etc. -- Toto communicates with Dorothy telepathically. -- If you play _Over the Rainbow_ backwards, it says "Mombi Lives!" in Old Ozzish. -- The female vocal parts of the score of the MGM _Wizard_ were plagerized from Enya. LATE-BREAKING NEWS! -- DOVER PUBLISHES _MAGIC OF OZ_!!!: Yes, it's true! I saw it at Borders today! A Dover paperback of _Magic of Oz_, printed on quality paper and *WITH COLOR PLATES*!!! What happened??? What miracle awakened Dover out of their "Printing Oz books is not profitable" slumber?? Is the Capitalistic System starting to work and Dover is trying to compete with Books of Wonder? Anyone know? (P.S. I also saw there a Dover reprint of Dick Martin's _Cut and Assemble the Emerald City_!!!) -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, DaveH47@delphi.com, http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ "I always feel that the chances of our ever finding out what *really* is going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say, 'Hang the sense of it, just keep yourself occupied'..." -- Slartibartfast, _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 30 - 31, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 22:27:20 -0500 (EST) From: Mark Anthony Donajkowski Subject: cameron on oz Cameron: Dazzled by 'Oz' HOLLYWOOD (Reuters) - Award-winning "Titanic" director James Cameron says his all time favorite movie is "Wizard of Oz." He told People magazine that, "To this day, I've never found a movie I like more than 'The Wizard of Oz'. I loved it when I was a kid, I loved it when I was a teenager, and I still love it." The Oscar-winning director says now he shares it with his 5-year-old daughter Josephine and "she loves it -- but probably not as much as me." ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 10:16:53 -0500 (EST) From: Mark Anthony Donajkowski Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-29-98 > From: Michael Turniansky > Alright, out with it! This is either a) a cut-and-paste job, or b) mark > anthony has met with foul play! Yes, you nefarious fiend! You made one fatal > mistake. Mr. Donajkowski never uses capitals and rarely punctuation. What > have > you done with the real Mark, you dastardly felon? --Mike "Shaggy > Man" > Turniansky cut and paste shaggy ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 10:20:25 -0500 (EST) From: Mark Anthony Donajkowski Subject: in other oz news oz turns up in the strangest places i got a cd rom called forbiddion subjects it has varous things on here from ufo files to stuff on the occult to stuff on wicca and pagainism to anarchy files etc etc and in a folder marked misc there was a bunch of ebooks or ezines as it was called and among them were some classics like tom sawyer john carter warlord of mars and 3 oz books marvlous land of oz wonderfull wizard of oz and wizard of oz yes i know the last 2 are really the same but tell them that anyway its great cause they copied them directly from the books unfortuntly you dont get the illistrations but it gives page numbers and breaks and tellss you where the illistrations went very very interesting i thouight ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 11:02:10 -0500 (EST) From: Jeremy Steadman Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-29-98 Scott H.: Illustrated cliches? Sounds intriguing ;-). Wizard action-recording book: I, too, took the statement to mean something entirely separate from the GBR. A mimi-GBR focusing only on the Wizard, perhaps, since Glinda knew (I suspect) from the beginning that he was a fraud. Vegetarianism in Oz: Sounds impressive, sup-plant-ing one's diet with that. Some would say, however, that all Oz's problems stem from that. Okay, I'll leaf it! Sorry, Jeremy Steadman, jsteadman@loki.berry.edu (kiex@aol.com during the summer and school vacations) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 "Whenever I try to recite Murphy's law, I get it all wrong." ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 11:02:59, -0500 From: NQAE93A@prodigy.com (MR ROBERT J COLLINGE) Subject: Ozzy Digest, 03-29-98 ******REMINDER********IT'S PARTY TIME!********* For all Oz fans in or around New England, the 1st Annual Oz Fiesta of New England will be taking place on Saturday, April, 18th at the Wallace Civic Center and Planetarium. There will be a lunch, quizzes, games, pictures with Toto, displays, Oz items for sale, The MGM movie on the Dome ceiling, and a talk by Dennis Anfuso, author of "The Winged Monkeys of Oz". Reservations for the lunch buffet should be in ASAP. E-mail me privately for more information. Thank You! Bob C. ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 12:40:10 -0800 From: Nathan Mulac DeHoff Subject: Ozzy Digest Robin: >Also, IIRC, the Book of Records has a disconcerting habit of erasing >itself rather quickly, doesn't it? I don't think that this was ever mentioned in the FF. It might have been in a post-FF book. There are also post-FF books that contradict this theory, however. For instance, in _Queen Ann_, Glinda and the Shaggy Man read entries in the Book from many years in the past. Scott: >Early on, Baum referred to the Sawhorse as being not very intelligent, >so he seems to be being inconsistent. In _Emerald City_, the Wizard mentions that he gave the Sawhorse sawdust brains. In response to the "alternative topics": >Professor Wogglebug is secretly gay. I doubt that he has any sexual relations at all, since he's the only highly magnified woggle-bug in the country. >Glinda must actually be ugly if she's still single. Isn't she married to Zim now? Besides, she has lived a long time. Maybe she had a husband in the past, who died or something. Come to think of it, though, maybe Glinda is using the same spell as Zixi. Have we ever actually seen Glinda's reflection? >The only reason Ozma's palace isn't smothered with Billina's chicks is >that the Hungry Tiger eats in his sleep. Some of Billina's offspring have probably left the Emerald City by now. >Randy is much too good for Planetty. Too young, too. At the beginning of the book, it is established that Randy is still a physical ten-year-old. MOPPeT is that Randy aged a few years after his marriage, so that it would be a less awkward relationship. Dave: >Yes, it's true! I saw it at Borders today! A Dover paperback of _Magic >of Oz_, printed on quality paper and *WITH COLOR PLATES*!!! Has Dover ever published this title in the past? It might have just been an old copy that was sitting in the stockroom or something. -- Nathan Mulac DeHoff vovat@geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/5447/ "All I know could be defaced by the facts in the life of Chess Piece Face." ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 13:38:02 -0500 From: Lisa Bompiani Subject: Ozzy Digest Hello, it's a gorgeous beautiful happy good day, and I have to stay inside and finish my 60 page literacy self-analysis. :-( Oh well, I have my fun-time 80s tunes playing, and I can play later! Dave Hulan: By the time Goofus and Gallant reached _Highlights_, they were boys, IIRC. Editor Dave? . . . And, I agree. They were more thoughtless and careless. I guess I was just summarizing very generally. Also, > This isn't the >same thing as class or caste, since those are hereditary and leadership >isn't particularly. (Of course, in a society with a strong class system >it's much likelier that a member of a class that's "born to lead" will >acquire the necessary skills than one from a class that's "born to follow," >but lots of people born to the former class will not develop into leaders >and some from the latter will.) > I think my connection to class and caste was somewhere along the lines of by tying the idea of leadership to animals, or nature, it made the idea of some animals being better/smarter/etc than otehrs seem inevitable and natural. For children, this could lead to false beliefs about power and ruling. You'll have to excuse me, sometimes I get a little out of control . . . Bear: Don't feel to out of sorts. To me, "LOL" means "lots o' luck." Ruth: >It might be (in spite of the Squirrel King's >gold crown) that whichever animal undertakes to speak up when >there's a problem to deal with is for the time being the "king," or it >might be that "kings" are elected by group vote, or some other system >different from a permanent class system. True, I guess, too, I was thinking of those stories in which animals seem to have a committee that meets to make decisions regarding the forest, jungle, etc. and there seems to be a representative animal from each area or species. It does seem to be soemthing more than just a motif. SCARECROW will be my birthday book! Well, I can buy it on my b-day to read the next week. Sounds good! More later. Peace & Love, Bompi ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 14:37:54 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-29-98 I found a copy of _The Wizard of Oz on Ive_ soundtrack yesterday, and I must say I was impressed by the new orchestrations. It has synths, but they don't dominate, and the score is upbeat without going into the pop/rock/soul of the _in Concert_ version. It doesn't credit the chorus, and most of the names ar spelled wrong. Bobby McFerrin makes all the characters sound different, but tough to keep straight, as a single person can only vary timbre so much... I haven't read _Scarecrow_ since grade 4 and need to re-read it, but I probably won't have time. One I definitely need to re-read is _Glinda_, as I seem to have forgotten much of it. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 15:07:14 -0800 From: Bob Spark Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-29-98 Hello there, I just finished reading a marvelous critique of MGM's "The Wizard of Oz" by Salman Rushdie, published by BFI Film Classics. It's titled (curiously enough) "The Wizard of Oz", and is witty and engaging with some extremely perceptive insights. Fascinating to view the film from the point of view of an Indian child. It's a slim volume, only 69 pages. The last 8 pages are taken up with a fantasy called "At The Auction of the Ruby Slippers" that would have been better omitted, but the first part is definitely worth the price of admission. Bob Spark ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 19:31:05 -0500 (EST) From: Ozmama Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-29-98 In a message dated 98-03-29 08:53:49 EST, you write: << Does no one have any answers about _Tamawaca Folks_ >>Scott H. I missed the questions, Scott. E-mail me with them, if you want to. I may (or may not) know the answers. Is Runestone out on video? + The only reason Ozma's palace isn't smothered with Billina's chicks is that the Hungry Tiger eats in his sleep.>>John Bell LOL! Lessee now.... How 'bout some leading questions, too, John? * Why do Dorothy, Trot, Betsy, and Ozma never grow up? * What do the Scarecrow and Scraps do all night when they're on an adventure together while they wait for the meat people to wake up? * How long is Gureeda s'posed to wait for Speedy to return, anyway? * Does Button Bright really get lost a lot, or is that just his excuse for escaping responsibility? * How could owning a dishpan influence the making of cookies? Are you s'posed to bake inside the dishpan? Ugh! * Why does Glinda wear that snood? She's the only adult female in the series who does so. Is this symbolic? Does it mean that the poor dear is repressed? --Robin ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1998 23:05:09 -0500 (EST) From: JOdel Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-29-98 As far as the Little Wizard Stories go, I'm with whoever who said he didn't like them. I can't say that I care much for them either. Each of them seems to have something in it which contradicts things said in the FF and some of the discontinuities are really jarring. ILTT that these are stories that Baum wrote during the 2-3 years that he had no contact with Dorothy. He made them up out of his own head without refering back and double-checking what had already been said about Oz and the Ozians. They just plain don't FEEL authentic. ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 01:33:26 -0800 From: glassman Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-29-98 There appears to be some confusion about Books of Wonder's mailings and our announcement of "Rinkitink in Oz" and "Kabumpo in Oz." These two books were offered in our general children's book newsletter which mailed in mid-March, as one or two digest members who receive the newsletter have mentioned. But most digest members buy only Oz from us and so only receive our Oz catalog - The Oz Collector. The next issue of The Oz Collector will mail in about a week or two and will feature "Rinkitink in Oz" and "Kabumpo in Oz," as well as "The Lavender Bear of Oz" and several other new Oz items. So for those of you on our Oz mailing list who haven't received a mailing yet - don't worry, you haven't missed anything and your issue is NOT lost in the mail! If you are not on our Oz mailing list, but would like to be, please call us toll-free at (800) 207-6968 and ask to be put on the list. Be sure to let the person you're speaking with that you'd like to receive the NEW issue of The Oz Collector which features "Rinkitink in Oz" or you'll only receive our introductory issue which does not include this title or "Kabumpo" (it won't until it's revised this summer). - Peter Glassman Books of Wonder ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 08:37:25 +0000 From: Craig Noble Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-29-98 Dave: I also saw Dover edition of _The Magic of Oz_ just the other day. It did occur to me that I had never seen it before, but I assumed that was just because I had missed it. Craig Noble ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 23:58:03 -0500 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones Robin: The archiving method of the Great Book remains a mystery. I can't remember any mention of keeping past data in the FF, although there are a number of theories in the pastiches. Some examples are that is has enough memory (or pages) for 100,000 years, that it erases itself every day, etc. Only Glinda knows for sure. Scott Hutchins: You did indeed send that message. Herm Bieber wrote a five part series on Book repair, which were posted to the Digest between Feb and May 1997. I mailed you them and Dave as well. He may have them archived. If not, I can send them to you again. This took place on Decemnber 10, 1997. John Bell: I won't touch any of your topics but one :-) I find Frank Kramer to be inferior to Dick Martin as an illustrator. Kramer does not do human faces well. Most of them are either profiles or drawn at a distance. The only complaint I have about Dick Martin is his tendency to have Dorothy look like a Barbie Doll. Dave: Dare we hope that this Dover edition heralds a brave new Oz revival where people actually speak of the Silver Shoes and the Glinda as the Good Witch of the South? :-) Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 31 Mar 98 10:29:05 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things GBR: Hmmm...I just always took it for granted that Glinda always hung on to the "back issues" of the Great Book(s) of Records... DOVER: Nathan wrote: >Has Dover ever published this title in the past? It might have just been >an old copy that was sitting in the stockroom or something. I'm 99% certain they haven't...They published the Oz books up through _Tik-Tok_, which they hearlded as "The Conclusion of the Oz Series" (This is what the satire/comedy troop The Capitol Steps refer to as "Telling it like Joe Isuzu")... But next time I'm at Borders, if the book is still there, I'll check the copyright date... COMMENTS FROM TYLER: >I won't touch any of your topics but one :-) I find Frank Kramer to be >inferior to Dick Martin as an illustrator. Kramer does not do human faces >well. Most of them are either profiles or drawn at a distance. The only >complaint I have about Dick Martin is his tendency to have Dorothy look >like a Barbie Doll. I agree with all the above except that Martin's Dorothy looks like a Barbie Doll...All the real "Barbie Dolls" IMHO are in post-war Disney animated features... >Dare we hope that this Dover edition heralds a brave new Oz revival where >people actually speak of the Silver Shoes and the Glinda as the Good Witch >of the South? :-) I thought that was what Books of Wonder's prints and reprints heralded... :) QUESTIONS FROM ROBIN: >* What do the Scarecrow and Scraps do all night when they're on an > adventure together while they wait for the meat people to wake up? Play scrabble?? >* How long is Gureeda s'posed to wait for Speedy to return, anyway? See Oziana 1996. * Why does Glinda wear that snood? She's the only adult female in the series who does so. Is this symbolic? Does it mean that the poor dear is repressed? No, she just saw how great Barbara Stanwyk looked in one in _The Lady Eve_. >* Why do Dorothy, Trot, Betsy, ... never grow up? They don't want to. >* Why do[es] ... Ozma never grow up? No comment. -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, DaveH47@delphi.com, http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Oscar: I *hate* little notes on my pillow! "We're all out of corn flakes. F.U." It took me three hours to realize that "F.U." is "Felix Unger"! -- From _The Odd Couple_ by Neil Simon