====================================================================== ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, MARCH 24 - APRIL 2, 2000 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 15:18:01 -0700 charset="iso-8859-1" Joe B: In fact, the Scarecrow and Scraps DID get married in the non-FF _The Patchwork Bride of Oz_. There seems to have been no reaction against it anywhere in the Ozzy community, perhaps because the two seemed to fall for each other right from the start, so it was more or less ingrained in us. Betsy (may not be a Digest member): I think that the movie first debuted on TV on CBS in 1956, but I'm not really sure. Ken Shepherd: Thanks for your latest contribution to the Chronicles of the FF. I can get off my fat Hippikaloric, I may collate all of them and post them to my website. Tyler Jones ====================================================================== From: "Jeremy Steadman" Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 19:33:15 EST Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-23-2000 (Dave, just print this if you think An Ozian Marriage: SCRAPS: I love snuggling up to you in the dark, Scarie. Your insides are all warm and comfy-- SCARECROW: (Walking into the room) Are you talking to the mattress again, Scrappie? Ozzily yours, Jeremy Steadman, Royal Historian of Oz kivel99@planetall.com http://www.geocities.com/kivel99/ ICQ# 19222665, AOL Inst Mssgr name kiex or kiex2 "A good example of a parasite? Hmmm, let me think... How about the Eiffel tower?" ====================================================================== From: SeraMary@aol.com Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 00:32:56 EST Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-23-2000 In a message dated 3/23/00 4:53:07 PM Eastern Standard Time, OzDigest@mindspring.com writes: << Do you know when the Wizard of Oz first appeared on network television?? >> 1956 ====================================================================== From: "ruth berman" Subject: tigers in oz Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 10:22:08 -0600 boundary="----=_NextPart_000_000D_01BF957A.CF28CE90" ====================================================================== From: Tigerbooks@aol.com Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 14:11:03 EST Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-23-2000 In a message dated 3/23/00 1:53:07 PM Pacific Standard Time, OzDigest@mindspring.com writes: > Could somone explain how Judy Garland became a "gay icon" of sorts No, no one can explain this. Eric Shanower ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 17:25:19 -0600 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-14 thru 23-2000 My wife started a new job on Monday 3/20, having quit her old one 3/10, and in between we took a short driving vacation visiting friends mostly in upstate New York. And when I got back I had a lot of catching up to do on a lot of things, so I'm four Digests behind. Sigh. Well, on to it... 3/14: Since I didn't read _John Dough_ as a child I don't know whether I'd have identified with Chick or not. I obviously didn't when I first read it at the age of about 30. > Any science-fiction scholars want to comment on when the notion of >parallel dimensions/universes/Earths became popular in that genre? Folks >write of "wormholes" and the like as if they've been shown to exist, but >really they've just become familiar to us from various fictional uses. I'm not exactly a science fiction scholar, but I've read a great deal of it over the past 50+ years, and I can comment on your question though not authoritatively. There are really two different kinds of parallel worlds, and their history is considerably different. There's the alternate-history science fictional world (which may or may not be accessible from this one) - a world where something happened to change history at some past point, and the resulting world is thus different from ours in some contingent manner. I don't know what the first example of this is, but I know of examples that date back to around 1910, and it was certainly widespread by 1940. This, however, is not the subset that Oz would belong to if that's where Oz belongs. Oz falls into the class of parallel worlds that are accessible from our world, but are "beyond the fields we know" - which we find in folklore back into medieval times at least, probably farther. Places where physical laws are different (viz. the slowing of time in Faerie realms in Celtic legends), where magical beings exist, and so on. As I have said before and say again, I do not believe that Oz is physically accessible from our world except through magical intervention, which may take the form of "gates" or may involve more specific spells. I prefer to call this a parallel world - something on a different vibrational plane but occupying the same space as our Earth, maybe, but that's only a possible explanation - but if you want to say that it's on our world that's fine as long as you acknowledge that one could traverse the entire surface of the Earth on the ground (following, say, an Archimedian spiral with a pitch of 100 miles to make this practicable; the Ozian "continent" is certainly big enough that it wouldn't be missed with that kind of search) and never end up in Oz. Gehan: >Well, for example, the entire story on Peter saving Oz from the Nome King >was supposed to have been in the papers(in Philadelphia) and the word would >have spread all around. And if Speedy's uncle is to famous, how come none of >us have ever heard of him? Plus, the Shaggy Man seems to know quite a bit of >magic-workers and appears to know quite a bit anbout magic, despite living >in a 'humdrum' world. These, and many other incidents in the FF books prove >that there has to be some kind of secondary-world which is rather 'magical', >even though the parrerel-earthers may still call it 'humdrum'. Possibly the "evening paper" with the headline about Peter was a local suburban paper with very small circulation. And how many scientists and inventors of the Thirties have any of us heard of? Sure, everyone has heard of Einstein, and the more knowledgeable probably have heard of Bohr and Heisenberg and Fermi and Dirac and a few others, but with a few rare exceptions who invent something everyone uses (like Edison or Bell or Morse or Marconi) scientists and inventors aren't widely known outside scientific circles. How many people on the Digest know who Lee De Forest was? However, I'll admit that the behavior of Speedy's uncle's rocket ship seems to imply that Speedy is coming from an America where the laws of physics are different from ours. In our world, assuming that he could somehow turn the rocket around (which is pretty unlikely the way it's described), the result would be a sizable crater and a thin layer of Speedy distributed over its interior. Rich: Interesting comments on _Hungry Tiger_. I think it's valid to assume that the rubies were indeed trying to make connections with Reddy, either by bringing themselves to him or him to them. This is a fairly common element in fantasy; a notable example is the One Ring in Tolkien, which is always trying to get back to Sauron. I remember when I first read the book as a kid I liked the fact that Betsy had a starring role, though upon later rereadings as an adult I still find her less interesting than Dorothy or Trot (or Peg Amy or Polychrome or Jellia or Jenny Jump, to name a few other young female leads in various books). She really doesn't do much but go along for the ride - as she did in _Tik-Tok_. I rate this book around the middle of Thompson's oeuvre; not as good as most of her later books (_Ojo_ through _Silver Princess_, except for maybe _Captain Salt_) but better than any of the earlier ones except for _Lost King_ and _Yellow Knight_. I don't know that I buy your social-role argument as to why Chick is probably a girl. After all, the child is an incubator baby, who apparently hadn't had much if any contact with other children. So there wouldn't be the same incentive to resent being thought a girl if "he" was a boy that would be the case for a boy raised normally. Dave: >Scott's sig says: > >"Who's John Adams?" --Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., at Monticello, > >after failing to recognize busts of other founding fathers. > >People, I'm not going to engage in censorship, but I'd really prefer it >if there were no political statements on the Digest ( unless they're >pro-Ozma :) ). Especially since this one is obviously a blatant lie (not accusing Scott personally; I'm sure he read it somewhere) - unless it refers to a visit Al made in the '50s when he was in elementary school. 3/16: Nathan: _Land_ does refer to the Soldier with the Green Whiskers as being "very tall," though of course that might just be with respect to other Ozites. If most Ozites are 3'6", a 4'2" person might be considered "very tall." John K.: >> Any science-fiction scholars want to comment on when the notion of >> parallel dimensions/universes/Earths became popular in that genre? >50's or so. Some roots in the 40's. De Camp's classic "The Wheels of If," which clearly deals with parallel worlds (of the alternate-history type) that can be visited from one another, dates to the early '40s. (I have four or five copies of it, including the original _Unknown_ where it first appeared, but they're all two floors down from where I am and I'm lazy. I think it was '41, but it could have been a year either way.) L. Ron Hubbard's _Slaves of Sleep_, which deals with a parallel world more like Oz would be, is from 1939. A. Merritt's _The Ship of Ishtar_ is another one like that and dates to around 1930, I believe. (Again, I'd have to go to the basement to find out for sure.) You're right, though, that the idea got a lot more popular in the '50s, probably influenced by H. Beam Piper's very popular "Paratime" series. 3/19: Jeremy: >But that's no reason to publish / distribute their work sans approval! I >know how I'd feel if someone distributed copies of my book so that others >could read it without purchasing it. There must be a better way. Well, there are two ways of looking at that. I mean, apparently somebody made a photocopy of my book and gave it to Chris Dulabone (although judging by his review of it, I wonder if it was a copy of some other book that had the title page of my book attached; I don't expect everyone to like _Glass Cat_, but his comments on it didn't seem to have any relation to the story). I didn't particularly like that, but I didn't get steamed about it. It's not really very different from loaning a copy of the book to someone else to read, and I assume you agree that that's fair. And I'm not sure how different posting a copy on the Web is from putting a copy in a public library, other than of course making it a lot easier to access. But where do you draw the line? There are a lot of shades of gray involved here. I'm not going to do such a thing myself, but I guess I don't feel the same kind of moral outrage about it that some people seem to. Tyler: I see you saw the same similarity between the Rash Rubies and the One Ring that I did. I'd forgotten that when I was commenting to Rich. 3/23: J.L.: >I like this idea, but I also recall that (according to TIN WOODMAN) the >Wicked Witch of the East owned meat glue which restored Ku-Klip's finger as >good as new. That implies (though only implies) that an ordinary injury was >as bloodless as Nick Chopper's magical amputations. There might be such an implication, but detached fingers (and other members) can now be reattached surgically (if not, probably, quite "as good as new") even in our world, and we know those aren't bloodless. So Ku-Klip's severed finger might not have been bloodless, either. It's true Baum doesn't describe any blood when the Tin Woodman decapitates the wildcat or the wolves, but I suspect that was just because he was writing for children. > 2) We face the question of why Lurline allows Oz to be threatened >and Ozians to suffer from bad people. She's presumably even more powerful >than Glinda and Ozma, after all. Then we're left with either the >Panglossian belief that all's for the best in the best of all possible >Ozzes, or a Kushneresque formulation that Lurline wants to prevent all bad >things from happening to good Ozians but isn't powerful enough to do that. Well, a whole lot of people seem to be able to reconcile the same things with a belief in an omnipotent and loving God. Can't see why we should expect more from Lurline. Ken S.: Thanks for the chronology. John K.: >Henry VI, Part 1. Hey, she _must_ have been a witch; she defeated >English armies, and everybody knows one Englishman is worth a dozen >dirty Froggies in the first place. Not to mention that she was a >_girl_.... She mostly defeated English armies _because_ she was a girl, and thus wasn't bound by the ridiculous medieval French sense of "Honor." Small English armies defeated much larger French ones at Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt because the French nobles felt obligated to attack a static English position, and the English had developed defensive tactics that made them essentially invincible when they were dug in. Joan's genius was in realizing this and making her army wait to attack until the English had to move - at which point they were vulnerable. Michael: >Tik-Tok >DOES need someone to keep him wound up. How perfect it would be if he had a >mechanical spouse. They could alway make sure to wind each other (and being >machines, would never forget to do so, as long as their thinking works were >wound, something that Dorothy seems to forget, left to her own devices...) Of course, we have to postulate that the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics aren't operative in Oz for this to work, since having two clockwork beings who could wind each other up and do anything else would violate them both. But then, it's pretty clear that the laws of physics are different in Oz. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2000 21:47:48 -0600 Subject: Oz memorial parks From: "David Godwin" It has been fairly well established that there was death in Oz before Ozma came to the throne - the Tin Woodman's parents, the various creatures slain by our heros in the course of their journeys (wildcat, kalidahs, wolves, crows, bees, and, of course, one accidental beetle), the wicked witches, and so on. It's also been more or less established that there are no churches in Oz, with the exception of one in the china country (which may have been merely ornamental, given the nature of the place) - at least, none that any of the Royal Historians consider worthy of mention. But what about graveyards? If there are no churches, then there are no church graveyards, of course, but they had to put the dead people somewhere, if not the dead animals. So why are no old cemeteries ever mentioned in any Oz book? Was everyone cremated? Did they have a universal practice of casting dead bodies into the deadly desert to be consumed by the devouring sands (assuming the desert was always as lethal as it is described in later Baum books)? Did people in Oz dissolve into nothing - or melt - when they died? Any ideas? Aside from that, here's a strange curiosity: I recently ordered a copy of the Oz Kids videotape, Who Stole Santa?, from amazon.com. It arrived last week and I put it on to play. Even though all the labels said "Who Stole Santa," there was nothing on the tape but a poor EPS copy of _Total Recall_ with Schwarzenegger and Stone! Is this an omen of something? Not exactly suitable for young children, so one wonders if someone in the factory was playing a little prank. Well, I e-mailed amazon.com and they replied within 12 hours even though it was the weekend and said they were sending out a replacement immediately by 2nd day air, and to send the bad one back when I got the new one, which would contain a postage-paid label. I just have to say that it is really refreshing to deal with a company like that after years of fighting book clubs and credit card companies. - David G. ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2000 21:20:44 -0600 Subject: Oz collectibles From: "David Godwin" I am not much into Oz (or any other) collectibles - it strikes me as a good way to (a) go mad, (b) go broke - not to mention (c) exponentially adding to one's clutter. There is such an awful lot of good stuff out there. *However*, I do have a few things, such as the figurine of the Munchkin coroner, which somehow strikes me as "cool." Anyway, the reason I bring this up is just to advise any Digest members in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota who are interested in such stuff that it might be worth your while to trek out to Apple Valley and check out Granny Smith's Attic, an antique and miscellaneous junk store. They have an amazing array of Wizard of Oz stuff, almost all of it from the MGM movie, but it's a lot more than anyone might expect of such an emporium, and it's scattered in odd places all over the building. The prices are slightly higher than I've seen on the net, but they do have some items I've not seen anywhere else and the higher price might be worth it to save the ordering and shipping time from an out-of-town supplier. (By "higher," I mean like 5 percent.) Check it out. - David G. ====================================================================== From: Dougwmson@aol.com Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2000 22:10:25 EST Subject: Fwd: Ozzy Digest, 02-28-2000 MAYBE THIS WILL GO THRU THIS TIME. DOUG From: Dougwmson@aol.com Full-name: Dougwmson Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 18:46:12 EST Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-28-2000 To Dave, From: Doug At least the "witch of Endor" has a name regardless of her abilities, magic or otherwise. The other replies and references, which I enjoyed, only referred to generic witches, and none with proper names. They need to go back to the history books and find out which witch, (no pun intended), magic or otherwise, first had a name. Another subject: (probably controversial) In the book by LFB, (not an OZ book but close), one of the principles was Chick the Cherub. Was he a boy or a girl? I believe they had contest at the time of publishing the book, to see what the readers thought. I do not believe it was resolved. Since I am currently reading the book again, for the umteenth time, and since "Stan" referred to him/her, in the current Baum Bugle Kin Interview, It brought this comment to mind. My own opinion is that Chick is thought of as a "boy" by male readers and as a "girl" by female readers. This demonstrates the great ability of LFB to create illusions. I do not think LFB suggested any connotation of homosexuality. I would hope this will bring some responses and keep the Ozzy Digest pot boiling. ====================================================================== From: Dougwmson@aol.com Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 13:17:07 EST Subject: Fwd: Ozzy Digest, 02-28-2000 HERE THE THE LAST MSG I SENT. IT PERTAINS TO PREVIOUS COMMENT AND TO THE GINGERBREAD MAN BOOK. DID YOU GET IT? DID YOU GET ANY INTERESTING RESPONSES? DOUG From: Dougwmson@aol.com Full-name: Dougwmson Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 18:46:12 EST Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 02-28-2000 To Dave, From: Doug At least the "witch of Endor" has a name regardless of her abilities, magic or otherwise. The other replies and references, which I enjoyed, only referred to generic witches, and none with proper names. They need to go back to the history books and find out which witch, (no pun intended), magic or otherwise, first had a name. Another subject: (probably controversial) In the book by LFB, (not an OZ book but close), one of the principles was Chick the Cherub. Was he a boy or a girl? I believe they had contest at the time of publishing the book, to see what the readers thought. I do not believe it was resolved. Since I am currently reading the book again, for the umteenth time, and since "Stan" referred to him/her, in the current Baum Bugle Kin Interview, It brought this comment to mind. My own opinion is that Chick is thought of as a "boy" by male readers and as a "girl" by female readers. This demonstrates the great ability of LFB to create illusions. I do not think LFB suggested any connotation of homosexuality. I would hope this will bring some responses and keep the Ozzy Digest pot boiling. ====================================================================== From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Cc: sahutchi@iupui.edu Errors-To: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: IMDb: Age Isn't Everything (1992) X-IMDB-SPTF-Sender: sahutchi@iupui.edu X-IMDB-SPTF-Sender-IP: 134.68.163.192 X-IMDB-SPTF-Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 02:20:39 +0000 (UTC) X-IMDB-SPTF-Recipient: OzDigest@mindspring.com Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 18:20:39 -0800 An Internet Movie Database (www.IMDb.com) page has been sent to you by: sahutchi@iupui.edu. Comment from the sender: Why does this look like _Queen Zixi of Ix_, if only a little bit? Thought you'd be interested in this info at IMDb.com. Enjoy! =============================================================== Age Isn't Everything (1992) Directed by Douglas Katz Genre: Comedy / Drama User Rating: 4.3/10 (6 votes) Plot Outline: 1 Credited cast overview: Robert Cicchini Dee Hoty Rita Karin Rita Moreno .... Rita Robert Prosky .... Grandpa Irving Jonathan Silverman .... Seymour Paul Sorvino .... Max Brian A. Williams Also Known As: Life in the Food Chain (1992) Runtime: USA 90 Country: USA Color: Color Certification: USA:R =============================================================== To view the complete page online or view any of the 750,000 plus filmographies and 200,000 plus movie titles, please visit: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0103629 ================================================================== Copyright Internet Movie Database (IMDb) 2000 ================================================================== The sender chose to send you a page from our website in the belief that you would be interested in its content. If you believe that this message was sent to you maliciously, forward this message to "send-abuse@imdb.com" You have not been placed on a mailing list due to this message. ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 01:32:17 -0500 (EST) From: "Mark Donajkowski" Subject: OZ BOOKS OF ALL KINDS Amber Flute of Oz by Abbott, Donald/ Abbo Section: Childrens Middle Readers-A to Z In Stock: 2 at 9.95 (NEW, TRADE PAPER, Burnside) Title Giant Garden of Oz Author Shanower, Eric Subject JUVENILES_FICTION Subject FANTASTIC FICTION Publication Date 19930700 Publisher Books of Wonder ISBN 0929605225 Pagination 188 Title Glass Cat of Oz Author Hulan, David Author O'Connor, George Subject JUVENILES_FICTION Subject CATS_FICTION Publication Date 19951200 Publisher Books of Wonder ISBN 0929605454 Pagination 144 Title How the Wizard Came to Oz Author Abbott, Donald Subject JUVENILES_FICTION Subject FANTASTIC FICTION Publication Date 19911100 Publisher Books of Wonder ISBN 0929605152 Pagination 120 Title How the Wizard Saved Oz Author Abbott, Donald Subject JUVENILES_FICTION Subject MAGIC_FICTION Publication Date 19961100 Publisher Books of Wonder ISBN 0929605586 Pagination 112 Title L. Frank Baum: Royal Historian of Oz Author Carpenter, Angelica S. Subject BAUM, L. FRANK (LYMAN FRANK), 1856-1919 Subject AUTHORS, AMERICAN Publication Date 19930600 Publisher Lerner Publishing Group, The ISBN 0822596172 Title Lavender Bear of Oz Author Campbell, Bill Author Terry, Irwin Subject BEARS_FICTION Subject FANTASTIC FICTION Publication Date 19980000 Publisher Books of Wonder ISBN 0929605772 Pagination 160 ISBN 0486407357 Title Little Wizard of Oz Activity Book Short title LITTLE WIZARD OF OZ ACTIVITY Author Fremont, Victoria Joint Author Stewart, Pat Publisher Dover Publications Publication Date August 1999 Subject Children's fiction Pages 00064 Language English Title Magic Chest of Oz Author Abbott, Donald Subject JUVENILES_FICTION Subject FANTASTIC FICTION Publication Date 19930500 Publisher Books of Wonder ISBN 0929605209 Pagination 119 Title Masquerade in Oz Author Campbell, Bill Author Terry, Irwin Subject JUVENILES_FICTION Subject FANTASTIC FICTION Publication Date 19950100 Publisher Books of Wonder ISBN 0929605330 Pagination 125 Title Nome King's Shadow in Oz Author Abbott, Donald Author Sprague, Gilbert M. Subject JUVENILES_FICTION Subject KINGS AND RULERS_FICTION Publication Date 19920600 Publisher Books of Wonder ISBN 0929605187 Pagination 120 Review: L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) was a complex visionary who created a distinctly American form of mythology an enduring and unforgettable other-world that continues to influence American culture and literature. Riley (Castleton State Coll.) here examines Baum's life and richly creative imagination. Evaluating Baum's writing career within the context of his childhood and adult experiences, he amply explores his literary links to such notables as J.R.R. Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, George MacDonald, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this comprehensive account, he also reviews previous studies of Baum's work and chronologically details significant historical and cultural influences. A literary history examining a rich and varied past, this is a most readable guide to that land over the rainbow, firmly establishing Baum's importance to the history of American children's literature and to the fantasy/folklore tradition. It will inspire renewed appreciation for a great writer's magical vision. Richard K. Burns, MSIS, Hatboro, Pa. Review: Baum created Oz in 1900 and wrote 14 Oz novels but sometimes had a less cohesive and consistent idea of Oz than his devoted fans, who faithfully welded together the scraps of information scattered throughout the books. Riley, though a professor of children's literature, is for the most part simply an academically grounded fan. Unlike such critics as Roger Sale (Fairy Tales and After), who saw Baum's faults as clearly as his achievements, Riley sanctifies Baum's (1856-1919) artistic and personal life. Born to a happy and eventually wealthy Syracuse, N.Y., family, Baum grew up with ambitions for a life in theater. Except for the huge success of a stage musical based on (and quite different from) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Baum's show-business aspirations all ended disastrously. His identity as creator and sustainer of Oz was thrust upon him through economic desperation and reader demand. Riley reads Baum's many other, non-Ozian stories and novels as "drawn together into a single Other-world" with the Oz books, which really just means that Baum's creations are characteristically Baumian. He demonstrates how Baum expanded, distorted and changed Oz through both intention and carelessness, as when, in the fifth book in the series, he "banished natural death from Oz... Oz has become more than a haven from danger; it has become a haven from death itself." But rather than explore the meaning of this shift, Riley simply details the inconsistencies it creates in earlier books. (July) Review from Choice, Feb. '98: Although about a third of this volume consists of plot summaries, Riley comments on every change Baum made to Oz and its surrounding countries. However, Riley's commentary does not prove that Baum possessed 'a more consistent and disciplined imagination than is generally recognized.' Rather, it clearly shows that Baum was a sloppy writer and a financial opportunist. Furthermore, Riley complicates the question of Baum's greatness by admitting that the most successful presentations of Oz are in books without good plots and characterization. Although it fails in its stated aims and lacks critical depth, this volume does succeed as a study of Baum's literary imagination and, because of its extensive plot summaries, as an introduction to his fantasy works. General, undergraduate, and graduate collections. Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company. -- R. E. Jones Review from Library Journal, June 15 '97: Evaluating Baum's writing career within the context of his childhood and adult experiences, [Riley] amply explores his literary links to such notables as J.R.R. Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, George MacDonald, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this comprehensive account, he also reviews previous studies of Baum's work and chronologically details significant historical and cultural influences. A literary history examining a rich and varied past, this is a most readable guide to that land over the rainbow, firmly establishing Baum's importance to the history of American children's literature and to the fantasy/folklore tradition. It will inspire renewed appreciation for a great writer's magical vision. Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company. -- Richard K. Burns : This is a study of the author of The Wizard of Oz (1900) and his oeuvre. Riley seeks to "show how Baum's life and changing vision of America shaped his fantasy world in each of his Oz books." (Choice) Bibliography. Index. Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company. Title Oz & Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum Author Riley, Michael O. LCCN 97-000276 Subject BAUM, L. FRANK (LYMAN FRANK), 1856-1919 Publication Date 19981000 Publisher University Press of Kansas ISBN 0700609334 Pagination 302 Title Speckled Rose of Oz Author Abbott, Donald Subject JUVENILES_FICTION Subject FANTASTIC FICTION Publication Date 19951000 Publisher Books of Wonder ISBN 0929605438 Pagination 104 Index Author hennessy b g Title The once upon a time map book Author B.G. Hennessy ; illustrated by Peter Joyce Author Joyce, Peter1937 LCCN 98-072608 Subject Fairy tales -- Maps. Subject Barrie, J. M. Subject James Matthew , -- 1860-1937. Subject Peter Pan. -- Maps. Subject Baum, L. Frank Subject Lyman Frank , -- 1856-1919. Subject Wizard of Oz. -- Maps. Subject Carroll, Lewis, -- 1832-1898. Subject Alice's adventures in Wonderland. -- Maps. Year 1999 Published in Massachusetts Illustrations Maps Publisher Cambridge, MA :Candlewick Press,c1999. Physical 1 v. unpaged :col. ill., col. folded maps ;30 cm. ISBN 0763600768 : Fuller form of name Barbara G. Edition statement 1st ed. Publisher's Note: Joey green takes a new look at "The Wizard of Oz". And he doesn't just see a classic movie--he sees "spiritual guidance." This is a witty, whimsical, and surprisingly insightful introduction to Eastern philosophy. This book draws upon the symbolism of good and wicked witches, ruby slippers, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, to find, at a deeper level, ten spiritual lessons that are at the very heart of Zen consciousness. Index Author green joey Title The zen of Oz :ten spiritual lessons from over the rainboow Author Joey Green ; illustrations by Cathy Pavia ; calligraphy by Sumi Nishikawa LCCN 98-036394 Subject Baum, L. Frank Subject Lyman Frank , -- 1856-1919. Subject Wizard of Oz. Subject Children's stories, American -- History and criticism. Subject Fantasy fiction, American -- History and criticism. Subject Baum, L. Frank Subject Lyman Frank , -- 1856-1919 -- Religion. Subject Spiritual life -- Zen Buddhism. Subject Oz Imaginary place Year 1998 Published in California Illustrations Yes Publisher Los Angeles, Calif. :Renaissance Books ;[New York] :Distributed by St. Martin's Press,c1998. Physical 140 p. :col. ill. ;20 cm. ISBN 1580630200 alk. paper Edition statement 1st ed. Review: In time for the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Wizard of Oz, popular mathematician, pseudo-science debunker, professional literary eccentric and first chairman of the International Wizard of Oz Club Gardner (Classic Brainteasers; The Annotated Casey at the Bat) has cooked up this rather disenchanted bagatelle, mixing fin de (this) sicle satire with references to several childhood classics. As one would expect from the world's premier math puzzle expert, the book contains a little math puzzle. Dorothy, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man want to return to earth for a visit, but how can they get through the fourth dimension that separates Oz from earth? They do find an answer that is topologically sound, although not exactly easy to understand, and arrive back on the planet in time for 1998, where a good movie producer has summoned Dorothy to earth as part of a publicity stunt for a production of one of the Oz books. Another, evil movie magnate has other plans. Unfortunately, the magic of the Oz books doesn't survive arch references to Mayor Giuliani and TV newscasts. Although Gardner's introductory remarks about Oz are inspiring, this sequel (like the Scarecrow after his encounter with the Wicked Witch of the West) is just too disjointed to work. Color illustrations and spot art by Ted Enik. (Oct.) Publisher's Note: Dorothy and friends return to New York City, on the eve of the 100th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz. Ever since The Wizard of Oz was first published in 1900, Dorothy and her companions have captured the imaginations of Americans, both young and old. Generations of readers raised on L. Frank Baum's incredible Oz books, and on books by his worthy successors, will be amazed and entranced by Martin Gardner's exciting account of further adventures of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman in United States. Indeed, by placing the story in Manhattan of the late 1990s, with cameo appearances by Rudy Giuliani, Oprah Winfrey, and Geraldo Rivera, Gardner has for the first time ingeniously adapted Baum's immortal characters to an American setting. While a century's worth of readers has enjoyed the Oz series, it is not generally known that in Baum's fifth Oz book, Ozma teleported Dorothy and her uncle permanently to Oz. Nor is it known that Glinda moved Oz to a parallel world. In Gardner's wild novel, Dorothy and her faithful friends visit several towns in Oz--including Wonderland, a new Mount Olympus, and Ballville--before they arrive in New York's Central Park by way of a mathematical curiosity called a Klein Bottle.The purpose of their visit to Earth is to publicize a new musical film about Oz. But plans go awry when two evil mobsters, hired by a wicked rival movie producer, try to kill Dorothy and her companions. In their desperate attempts to flee these villains, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman find themselves in a series of precarious predicaments across New York City. Combining vivid suspense with a host of mathematical riddles and technological pyrotechnics, Martin Gardner has created a new fable in the finest traditions of L. Frank Baum that celebrates the power of imagination and the lure of an ageless heroine named Dorothy at the turn of a new century.A jewel of a story, Visitors From Oz will bedazzle children and adults alike for decades to come. Index Author gardner martin Title Visitors from Oz :the wild adventures of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman Author Martin Gardner Author Baum, L. Frank Lyman Frank 1856-1919Wizard of Oz LCCN 98-021114 //r98 Subject Kidnapping -- New York State -- New York -- Fiction. Subject Oz Imaginary place -- Fiction. Subject New York N.Y. -- Fiction. Year 1998 Published in New York State Illustrations Yes Publisher New York :St. Martin's Press,c1998. Physical xvi, 189 p. :ill. some col. ;25 cm. ISBN 031219353X Geographic area New York General note Col. maps on endpapers. General note Sequel to: The wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Review: "I fell quickly and totally under the spell of this remarkable, wry, and fully realized story....Elphaba--the Wicked Witch of the West--is as scary as ever, but this time in a different way; She's undeniably human. She's us." -- Wally Lamb Review: "A glorious frolic, a feast of language, a study of good and evil, and a massive history of the fabulous land of Oz." -- Jane Langton Review from Press Materials: "Funny and serious, pulsing with imaginative energy and encompassing political thriller and moral reflection, this is truly a fabulous novel." -- Jill P. Walsh Review from Press Materials: "Starting with the 'Wizard of Oz' material, Gregory Maguire has added greater depths and different facets, creating something altogether different and unique. It's a magnificent work, a genuine tour de force." -- Lloyd Alexander Review from Los Angeles Times Book Review, 10/29/1996: "Would that all books with this much innate consumer appeal were also this good. And vice versa." -- Robert Rodi Review from Kirkus Reviews, 08/15/1996: "[The heroine's] journey...is a captivating, funny, and perceptive look at destiny, personal responsibility, and the not-always-clashing beliefs of faith and magic." Review from Publishers Weekly, 08/21/1995: Born with green skin and huge teeth, like a dragon, the free-spirited Elphaba grows up to be an anti-totalitarian agitator, an animal-rights activist, a nun, then a nurse who tends the dying and, ultimately, the headstrong Wicked Witch of the West in the land of Oz. Maguire's strange and imaginative postmodernist fable uses L. Frank Baum's Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a springboard to create a tense realm inhabited by humans, talking animals (a rhino librarian, a goat physician), Munchkinlanders, dwarves and various tribes. The Wizard of Oz, emperor of this dystopian dictatorship, promotes Industrial Modern architecture and restricts animals' right to freedom of travel; his holy book is an ancient manuscript of magic that was clairvoyantly located by Madam Blavatsky 40 years earlier. Much of the narrative concerns Elphaba's troubled youth (she is raised by a giddy alcoholic mother and a hermitlike minister father who transmits to her his habits of loathing and self-hatred) and with her student years. Dorothy appears only near novel's end, as her house crash-lands on Elphaba's sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, in an accident that sets Elphaba on the trail of the girl from Kansas as well as the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman and the Lion and her fabulous new shoes. Maguire combines puckish humor and bracing pessimism in this fantastical meditation on good and evil, God and free will, which should, despite being far removed in spirit from the Baum books, captivate devotees of fantasy. 50,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; first serial to Word; author tour. (Oct.) Review from School Library Journal, 05/01/1996: YA Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, has gotten a bum rap. Her mother is embarrassed and repulsed by her bright-green baby with shark's teeth and an aversion to water. At college, the coed experiences disapproval and rejection by her roommate, Glinda, a silly girl interested only in clothes, money, and popularity. Elphaba is a serious and inquisitive student. When she learns that the Wizard of Oz is politically corrupt and causing economic ruin, Elphaba finds a sense of purpose to her life to stop him and to restore harmony and prosperity to the land. A Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, and an unknown species called a "Dorothy" appear in very small roles... The story presents Elphaba in a sympathetic and empathetic manner-readers will want her to triumph! The conclusion, however, is the same as L. Frank Baum's. The book has both idealism and cynicism in its discussion of social, religious, educational, and political issues present in Oz, and, more pointedly, present in our day and time. The idealism is whimsical and engaging; the cynicism is biting. Sometimes the earthy language seems appropriate and adds to the sense of place; sometimes the four-letter words and sexual explicitness distract from the charm of the tale. The multiple threads to the plot proceed unevenly, so that the pace of the story jumps rather than moves steadily forward. Wicked is not an easy rereading of The Wizard of Oz. It is for good readers who like satire, and love exceedingly imaginative and clever fantasy. Judy Sokoll, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Synopsis: A take-off on "The Wizard of Oz," "Wicked" describes the attempt of a witch named Elphaba to live forthrightly in a totalitarian Oz. Index Author maguire gregory Title Wicked :the life and times of the wicked witch of the West : a novel Author Gregory Maguire ; illustrations by Douglas Smith LCCN wln98-674117 Subject Oz Imaginary place -- Fiction. Year 1996 Published in New York State Illustrations Yes Target audience General Publisher New York :ReganBooks,1996. Physical 406 p. :ill. ;21 cm. ISBN 0060987103 Edition statement 1st HarperPerennial ed. ====================================================================== From: "Nathan Mulac DeHoff" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 03-23-2000 Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 15:22:33 GMT J. L. Bell: >David Hulan wrote: ><it was non-fatal (ditto for Capt. Fyter's sword somewhat later).>> > >I like this idea, but I also recall that (according to TIN WOODMAN) the >Wicked Witch of the East owned meat glue which restored Ku-Klip's finger as >good as new. That implies (though only implies) that an ordinary injury was >as bloodless as Nick Chopper's magical amputations. > Either that, or the Wicked Witch enchanted Ku-Klip's tools the >same >way in order to cause him an injury which she'd then cure, cementing his >loyalty to her. But in that case, why wouldn't he recognize this cut as >different from all others he'd suffered in his working life? Also note another case of a bloodless cut: the half-lion in _Cowardly Lion_. There's no indication that this lion is bleeding at all, even though it specifies that it only has half a heart, and it's quite unlikely that the WWE had enchanted Tazzywaller's scimitar (not that such an enchantment would have been impossible, but Tazzy probably would have wondered at how neat his cut had been). This was after the enchantment, of course (the whole lion-hunting thing was started after Ozma's proclamation that no Mudger could leave the country), but there's no indication that the enchantment stopped cuts from bleeding. Ken Shepherd: >******WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR "HUNGRY TIGER" AHEAD******** > >Day 1 - Betsy's birthday In _Masquerade_, a book published by Books of Wonder/Emerald City Press, Betsy states that her birthday is on Halloween. While this is non-canonical, and might not be accepted by everyone, accepting it would mean that this story took place from 31 October to 5 November (which would mean that Reddy was restored to the throne on Guy Fawkes Day, right?). Darth-Bane: >So what's everyone's take on Scarecrow having a wife? It's kind of >strange. He and Scraps hardly ever seem to be together or in any way >behave as if they're married. Did the effects of the Love Magnet simply >wear off leaving them wondering what they did? As far as I know, the marriage was only mentioned in the non-canonical _Patchwork Bride_, and a lot of Oz authors probably don't accept it. If I were to write an Oz book featuring the Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl, I probably wouldn't make them husband and wife. Even if they ARE married, though, it wouldn't necessarily change they way they acted. Incidentally, would the Love Magnet even work on Scraps and the Scarecrow? In _Tik-Tok_, it is indicated that the Magnet won't affect the Roses because they have no hearts, and, technically, neither do the Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl. They do, however, have emotions, which might be what the Love Magnet REALLY affects. ON DEATH AND DYING IN OZ: In both _Purple Prince_ and _Ojo_, someone gives a monster what would typically be a fatal blow, but it's mentioned that the monster is only stunned, not dead. There are other characters, however, who are able to move around quite well after what would normally be a fatal wound, without the period of being stunned. The headless Fumbo of _Grampa_ and the half-lion of _Cowardly Lion_ come to mind. Is it only giant monsters with long, silly names that are stunned when wounded? In Mo, wild beasts can die, even though most animals can't, but no such rule seems to pertain to Oz. Nathan ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 11:47:17 -0600 From: "R. M. Atticus Gannaway" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest The following appeared, I believe, in _The New York Times_ and contains an Oz reference. Forgive me if it's already been discussed. Atticus ******************* October 22, 1999 Is Harry Potter Evil? By JUDY BLUME I happened to be in London last summer on the very day "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," the third book in the wildly popular series by J. K. Rowling, was published. I couldn't believe my good fortune. I rushed to the bookstore to buy a copy, knowing this simple act would put me up there with the best grandmas in the world. The book was still months away from publication in the United States, and I have an 8-year-old grandson who is a big Harry Potter fan. It's a good thing when children enjoy books, isn't it? Most of us think so. But like many children's books these days, the Harry Potter series has recently come under fire. In Minnesota, Michigan, New York, California and South Carolina, parents who feel the books promote interest in the occult have called for their removal from classrooms and school libraries. I knew this was coming. The only surprise is that it took so long -- as long as it took for the zealots who claim they're protecting children from evil (and evil can be found lurking everywhere these days) to discover that children actually like these books. If children are excited about a book, it must be suspect. I'm not exactly unfamiliar with this line of thinking, having had various books of mine banned from schools over the last 20 years. In my books, it's reality that's seen as corrupting. With Harry Potter, the perceived danger is fantasy. After all, Harry and his classmates attend the celebrated Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. According to certain adults, these stories teach witchcraft, sorcery and satanism. But hey, if it's not one "ism," it's another. I mean Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" has been targeted by censors for promoting New Ageism, and Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" for promoting racism. Gee, where does that leave the kids? The real danger is not in the books, but in laughing off those who would ban them. The protests against Harry Potter follow a tradition that has been growing since the early 1980's and often leaves school principals trembling with fear that is then passed down to teachers and librarians. What began with the religious right has spread to the politically correct. (Remember the uproar in Brooklyn last year when a teacher was criticized for reading a book entitled "Nappy Hair" to her class?) And now the gate is open so wide that some parents believe they have the right to demand immediate removal of any book for any reason from school or classroom libraries. The list of gifted teachers and librarians who find their jobs in jeopardy for defending their students' right to read, to imagine, to question, grows every year. My grandson was bewildered when I tried to explain why some adults don't want their children reading about Harry Potter. "But that doesn't make any sense!" he said. J. K. Rowling is on a book tour in America right now. She's probably befuddled by the brouhaha, too. After all, she was just trying to tell a good story. My husband and I like to reminisce about how, when we were 9, we read straight through L. Frank Baum's Oz series, books filled with wizards and witches. And you know what those subversive tales taught us? That we loved to read! In those days I used to dream of flying. I may have been small and powerless in real life, but in my imagination I was able to soar. At the rate we're going, I can imagine next year's headline: " 'Goodnight Moon' Banned for Encouraging Children to Communicate With Furniture." And we all know where that can lead, don't we? Judy Blume is the author of 22 books, including "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret," and the editor of "Places I Never Meant To Be: Original Stories by Censored Writers." * * * "She reads at such a pace," she complained, "and when I asked her *where* she had learnt to read so quickly she replied, 'On the screens at Cinemas.'" My website: http://members.aol.com/atty993 ====================================================================== From: "Oldham Linda (K1-Gl/MFE1)" Subject: murals Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2000 10:30:35 -0500 charset="iso-8859-1" I am attempting to paint a Wizard of Oz scene on my daughters wall and heard that I could get a stencil with paint by number mural of a scene from the Oz story. Do you have any information on anything like this? A wall stencil, iron on pattern, paint by number something to get a scene on the wall? Thanks in advance for your help lo linda.oldham@bosch-brakes.com ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 02 Apr 00 15:53:43 (PDT) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things TO ATTICUS: Thanks for posting that Judy Blume article... I'm glad to see she's familiar to the Oz books. She of course has in the past also been a "banned author". -- Dave ====================================================================== ====================================================================== ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, APRIL 3 - 6, 2000 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2000 10:53:58 -0400 From: "John W. Kennedy" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-02-2000 Tyler Jones wrote: > In fact, the Scarecrow and Scraps DID get married in the non-FF _The > Patchwork Bride of Oz_. And elsewhere, such as a play titled (I think) "A Wedding in Oz" presented in S. Hadley, MA, some years ago. Eric Shanower wrote: > OzDigest@mindspring.com writes: >> Could somone explain how Judy Garland became a "gay icon" of sorts > No, no one can explain this. (sigh!) Lord knows I've tried to understand the "diva" phenomenon (from the outside), but all my guesses to date have stumbled over the fact that Mira Furlan doesn't seem to be a member of the club, even among "Babylon 5" fans. Unless one of the requirements is having made appearances in male attire, this being waived for Bette Midler because of her early work in unmistakably gay venues.... David Hulan wrote: > How many people on the Digest know who Lee De Forest was? I certainly do, but many believe _his_ reputation is overrated as it is.... But I believe the newspaper coverage of Goddard is regarded, in hindsight, as laughably slight, and who could possibly be more on point (re: Speedy's uncle) than he? > Interesting comments on _Hungry Tiger_. I think it's valid to assume that > the rubies were indeed trying to make connections with Reddy, either by > bringing themselves to him or him to them. This is a fairly common element > in fantasy; a notable example is the One Ring in Tolkien, which is always > trying to get back to Sauron. Or Sean O'Lochlain's bag, which arrives in his prison cell a few hours after he does, through a chain of bystanders seeing it, thinking, "Gee, that doesn't belong there, I'll just take it with me," and then forgetting it. -- -John W. Kennedy -rri0189@ibm.net Compact is becoming contract Man only earns and pays. -- Charles Williams ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 11:15:16 -0500 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-02-2000 Jeremy: Amusing comment on the Scraps-Scarecrow marriage. (Of course, we're told that Scraps can see perfectly well in the dark, but let that pass...) Ruth: Wonder what you had to say about tigers in Oz. All I got was your header. Hope you're in a position to re-send it. David G.: >It's also been more or less established that there are no churches in >Oz, with the exception of one in the china country (which may have been >merely ornamental, given the nature of the place) - at least, none that any >of the Royal Historians consider worthy of mention. Thompson mentions Mandy hearing church bells as she passed over the Munchkin Country in _Handy Mandy_. Interesting question, though, about graveyards. Of course, none of the Royal Historians may have mentioned them because they were unimportant to the plot and maybe not considered suitable for discussion in children's books. There's no mention of toilets (or outhouses if Oz was that low-tech, but that seems unlikely), either, but presumably there must have been occasions for Ozites to use them. Doug: I can remember commenting on the post of yours that you repeated twice in this Digest, so it must have gone through before. Something must have happened to your copy of the Digest containing it. Nathan: >Also note another case of a bloodless cut: the half-lion in _Cowardly Lion_. > There's no indication that this lion is bleeding at all, even though it >specifies that it only has half a heart, and it's quite unlikely that the >WWE had enchanted Tazzywaller's scimitar (not that such an enchantment would >have been impossible, but Tazzy probably would have wondered at how neat his >cut had been). This was after the enchantment, of course (the whole >lion-hunting thing was started after Ozma's proclamation that no Mudger >could leave the country), but there's no indication that the enchantment >stopped cuts from bleeding. No, but I have no recollection of anyone in any of the post-Ozma books bleeding, either, do you? (Of course, I don't recall anyone's being cut on-stage, either, so perhaps it's just a case of the subject never having come up.) >Is it only giant monsters with >long, silly names that are stunned when wounded? Again, there's a lack of data. We don't know if the half-lion was stunned for a while after it was hacked in two, and Fumbo does seem to have been out of commission once he lost his head, even though his body was still capable of movement. Atticus: Thanks for posting the NY TIMES article by Blume. David Hulan ====================================================================== From: "ruth berman" Subject: hungry tigers in oz Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 13:09:06 -0500 boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0011_01BF9D6D.CAB55220" ====================================================================== Received: (from ben.lindsey@juno.com) by m1.boston.juno.com (queuemail) id E4RJVJJH; Mon, 03 Apr 2000 14:36:17 EDT Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 02:20:23 -0400 Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-02-2000 X-Juno-Att: 0 X-Juno-RefParts: 0 From: Ben A Lindsey Regarding the first name of witches: Disney had a witch named "Witch Hazel". Don't be afraid to try. Remember amateurs built the Ark & professionals built the Titanic. Uncle Ben ====================================================================== From: "Nathan Mulac DeHoff" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-02-2000 Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2000 15:23:22 GMT David Hulan: >I'm not exactly a science fiction scholar, but I've read a great deal of it >over the past 50+ years, and I can comment on your question though not >authoritatively. There are really two different kinds of parallel worlds, >and their history is considerably different. There's the alternate-history >science fictional world (which may or may not be accessible from this one) >- a world where something happened to change history at some past point, >and the resulting world is thus different from ours in some contingent >manner. I don't know what the first example of this is, but I know of >examples that date back to around 1910, and it was certainly widespread by >1940. This, however, is not the subset that Oz would belong to if that's >where Oz belongs. Oz falls into the class of parallel worlds that are >accessible from our world, but are "beyond the fields we know" - which we >find in folklore back into medieval times at least, probably farther. >Places where physical laws are different (viz. the slowing of time in >Faerie realms in Celtic legends), where magical beings exist, and so on. I might add worlds that resemble ours in many ways (similar geography and history, for instance), but differ in more ways than just the events that occur. I can't really think of any good examples from literature at the moment, but I'm sure there are some. I suppose this would be most like the former kind of world, but it could also have elements of the second. (Say, for instance, a world where the continents and such were in the same places, but the dominant life forms were anthropomorphic stalks of broccoli who lived in giant greenhouses.) David Hulan: >It's also been more or less established that there are no churches in >Oz, with the exception of one in the china country (which may have been >merely ornamental, given the nature of the place) - at least, none that any >of the Royal Historians consider worthy of mention. I believe churches are mentioned in both _Ojo_ and _Handy Mandy_, although no one actually goes into one in either one of these books. >But what about graveyards? If there are no churches, then there are no >church graveyards, of course, but they had to put the dead people >somewhere, >if not the dead animals. In _Silver Princess_, Kabumpo decides that Gaper's Gulch couldn't be a graveyard, since no one dies in Oz. He doesn't seem to consider the fact that they did at one point. (Actually, I don't think any of Thompson's books mention that people could die in Oz at one point, but some elements in them seem to indicate that the no-death rule had not been in effect forever.) Nathan ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ====================================================================== From: Tigerbooks@aol.com Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2000 17:26:19 EDT Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-02-2000 Hi-- Just a quick posting to let people know that the Hungry Tiger Press website is up and running. www.hungrytigerpress.com Come for a visit! It is still very much a work in progress. But you can read a bit about the next and FINAL issue of Oz-story. I am also pleased to be able to announce that it will contain a brand new full length Oz book by Eloise Jarvis McGraw THE RUNDELSTONE OF OZ There is also some information on the website about the forthcoming Libretto and vocal score of the 1903 WIZARD OF OZ musical being restored by Fellow Digester James Doyle and myself. Incidentally, the background music playing on the homepage is the "Transformation Theme" from the 1903 Oz musical--courtesy of James. If any of the fellow Digesters with webpages would like to link to us Please do--as soon as we have our "more about Oz" page set up we will reciprocate. David Maxine ====================================================================== From: DJWMS3@aol.com Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2000 23:24:03 EDT Subject: TONED & TINTED WIZARD I might be able to provide a reason why the sepia tone section was omitted from several of the releases of the Wizard film. We see many silent films in B&W today, but this is not the original print. Most were toned or tinted. This was a chemical means of adding color to a film. In Kenton's The General night shots were blue, day time shot were yellowish, etc. In many early there might be shot 2 or 3 color Technicolor. However when sound came along the tinted & toned prints raised heck with the optical sound track, as the "color" was over the entire film and not just on the picture area. So the process was dropped. So you see most silent films in "Living Black and White" I would guess that the tinted versions we see now are printed on color stock. I have a question. At a WorldCon held long ago there was a panel on authors pen names, with the good Dr. A leading the list. Many beginning authors used different pen name for what they were writing such as mysteries, Historical fiction, romance, nonfiction, etc. At the end there was mention of pen names used by some beginning authors, who did X rated novels. It was mentioned that Classic Comics & Fairy Tales were used to supply the plot for these "night stand readers". Not even Baum's Wizard was spared. Has anyone seemed this supposedly X rated Wizard? David Williams ====================================================================== ====================================================================== ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, APRIL 7 - 15, 2000 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 18:36:53 -0400 (EDT) From: "Mark Donajkowski" Subject: gotta go here trust me just go here and click on the wizard of oz link lol http://www.quinnarama.com/ ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 23:49:43 -0400 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: casting away allusions charset=ISO-8859-1 Here's an interesting sentence from Nathaniel Hawthorne's sketch "Old News," part 1, first published in 1835: "The first pages of most of these old papers are as soporific as a bed of poppies." In 1893, Alice Morse Earle quoted this metaphor in CUSTOMS AND FASHIONS IN OLD NEW ENGLAND [264]. She was also discussing colonial printing, but aside from that context she didn't allude explicitly to Hawthorne; that implies her educated turn-of-the-century readers should have been familiar with the phrase. I suspect "as soporific as a bed of poppies" inspired Baum's Poppy Field. He certainly seems to have expected his readers to accept a bed of poppies as soporific: "Now it is well known that when there are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps on and on forever." Michael Patrick Hearn didn't quote Hawthorne in the first edition of ANNOTATED WIZARD, and I suppose it's too late for the upcoming second. Tyler Jones wrote: <> Dennis Anfuso, author of THE WINGED MONKEYS OF OZ, objects to PATCHWORK BRIDE not because of the wedding per se but because its plot (in his eyes, at least) revolves around Scraps's search for a wedding dress--as if a woman who states, "I hate dignity," would demand such a gown, or a woman whose dress IS her body could afford to change. David Hulan, my question on when "the notion of parallel dimensions/universes/Earths became popular" in science fiction was an inquiry about terminology above all. The notion of a world similar to but in significant ways unlike ours is indeed as old as the first fiction. What I was interested in is when authors' language took a turn toward "dimensions," "parallel universes," "wormholes," and similar cosmological terms. Authors have often set their fantastic societies at the edge of the world their contemporaries knew: beyond the Pillars of Hercules, for instance. As knowledge expanded, so did the distance to those places. Thomas More and Jonathan Swift described fantastic societies in previously undiscovered parts of Earth. Cyrano de Bergerac and others told stories about the Moon and planets. Baum wrote around the same time that Arthur Conan Doyle described a "Lost World" in South America, and before James Hilton located Shangri-La in the Himalayas. His BOY FORTUNE HUNTERS books also centered on undiscovered lands full of precious metals or stones. Audiences were evidently still willing to accept unknown areas of this planet. That wasn't the only option open to Baum, of course. From spiritualism he was familiar with the language of "vibrational planes," though I'm not sure whether that referred to a truly separate world or an invisible overlay of this one. (The latter would fit with what Polychrome hints at in ROAD.) Baum might also have set Oz on another planet, as a promotional issue of OZMAPOLITAN suggested; Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. G. Wells were exploring that idea at the time. By the middle of the 20th century, people had explored enough of Earth's surface that the American public seems to have stopped accepting the notion of unguarded and unknown civilizations on this planet. That may have been why Thompson became less consistent in how she brought people from America to the Nonestic region--not just from the Atlantic (PIRATES), but through the crust of the Earth (GIANT HORSE). Even a Baum purist like Snow turned to new technology to transport Twink and Tom to fairyland. At the same time, science was expanding the edges of the world we knew. Astronomy and space travel opened the doors to notions of civilizations in distant galaxies and parallel solar systems. Particle physics and cosmology encouraged questioning about other dimensions and entirely separate universes. And today computer science is letting us play with the notion of cultures created within machines or networks of them. Thus, even casual science-fiction fans know concepts like "wormhole" and "cyberpunk." I have difficulty applying terms like "wormhole" back to Oz, however. In the first place, such relatively recent concepts are entirely removed from Baum's thinking and therefore from what he wanted his readers to understand about his stories. If Baum and his audience were familiar with similar ideas, such as in spiritualism, it seems more appropriate for us to research and use the concepts and terminology of that time. My second objection is that "wormholes" and similar notions are convenient conjectures, no more proven than Baum's mermaids and sorceress's spell of invisibility and therefore no stronger as explanations of how Oz might remain an "undiscovered country." David Hulan wrote: <> I know, hence my reference to Kushner, author of WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE. But I think people might benefit from questioning that reconciliation, at least to the point of examining their assumptions, whether about Lurline or about God. David Godwin wrote: <> I hadn't considered this before, although the parallel question--where do Ozians put all the babies they might be making?--came up in my mind long ago. The sign on the Deadly Desert in ROAD states, "the Deadly Sands will Turn Any Living Flesh to Dust in an instant." That can be read to imply the sands would have no magical effect on dead flesh. Or perhaps the desert's effect on dead flesh wouldn't matter to anyone able to read the sign. [Not that I fully trust that sign to begin with, but that's another topic.] Perhaps Oz simply never developed the fetishes about preserving bodies that many other cultures have. If the people created no monuments, temples, or designated resting-places of the dead, once bodies naturally decomposed or entered the food cycle in another way, the evidence of death itself would disappear. From lack of use, even elaborate rituals might be forgotten as completely as Kiki Aru's name. David Godwin wrote: <> Probably those book clubs and credit card companies had the strategy to make money from your purchases. Amazon's success seems to be based on collecting customers and publicity, losing money on product while gaining it on stock. With that approach, a new book and postage for you is a small price to pay for its Wall Street valuation. Is everyone ready for the HUNGRY TIGER discussion, or are most of us agreed that it's in fact begun? I'm roarin' to go. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== From: Ozmama@aol.com Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2000 23:39:07 EDT Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-06-2000 John:<< Or Sean O'Lochlain's bag, which arrives in his prison cell a few hours after he does, through a chain of bystanders seeing it, thinking, "Gee, that doesn't belong there, I'll just take it with me," and then forgetting it. >> Oh, aaarghh! I have the feeling that I "should" recognize that name, but I don't. Who's Sean O'Lochlain, John? David Hulan:<> At least two writers have seen fit to make an Oz-potty connection. Remember Farmer's all-too-graphic description in _Barnstormer..._? More fun, I think, is the Heinlein treatment, when Glinda creates one for Dora. (I think it's Dora, unless I've misremembered the name of the ship???) Ruth, what's happening with your Hungry Tiger commentary? It came through (again) with no content, just header stuff. I'd like to read what you wrote! _Oziana_ '99 is finally at the printers. If anyone has anything to submit for the 2000 issue, please do so now. It should be in the printer's hands by early June, and I'm working on it now. It will be a huge relief to be back on schedule.... POLL/ARCHIVE QUERY: Did anyone archive the results of the _Digest_ poll I took several years ago? We're doing an "Ozzy Feud" at the Centennial Convention, and the results of our poll would be useful to us. I'm sure I have the thing on a Mac disk somewhere, but I haven't used a Mac in a coupla years and no longer have access to one. Thanks. --Robin ====================================================================== From: SeraMary@aol.com Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2000 01:55:42 EDT Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-06-2000 Are there any OZ books BETWEEN the years 1996-2000 ? and Are they available to the public ? PLUS, WHAT ARE THE NAMES OF THE BOOKS? LISA :) ====================================================================== From: SeraMary@aol.com Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2000 01:56:41 EDT Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-06-2000 ARE THERE ANY NEW MOVIES THIS YEAR ? BECAUSE 2000 MAKES WOZ 100 YEARS OLD ! Lisa ====================================================================== From: "Nathan Mulac DeHoff" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-06-2000 Date: Sun, 09 Apr 2000 20:24:12 GMT David Hulan: >No, but I have no recollection of anyone in any of the post-Ozma books >bleeding, either, do you? (Of course, I don't recall anyone's being cut >on-stage, either, so perhaps it's just a case of the subject never having >come up.) I think Jim the Cab-Horse bleeds when he is attacked by an invisible bear, but that doesn't happen in Oz. Also, the Shaggy Man bleeds when he pulls one of Chiss's quills out of his leg. For some reason I thought the Combinoceros of _Purple Prince_ bled when hit with Randy's sword point, but I must have imagined that, because I can't find it in the text. >Again, there's a lack of data. We don't know if the half-lion was stunned >for a while after it was hacked in two, and Fumbo does seem to have been >out of commission once he lost his head, even though his body was still >capable of movement. Well, both of these characters could move around, although they might not have been able to put any thought into it (not that a headless body can really think, anyway). Nathan ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ====================================================================== Received: from du44147.str.ptd.net (HELO cheerful.com) (204.186.44.147) by mail.ptd.net with SMTP; 10 Apr 2000 18:40:34 -0000 Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 14:37:42 -0400 From: "Lisa M. Mastroberte" Subject: Churches in Oz??? Churches in Oz ... hmm. There are instances in the books that they are mentioned ... but since Oz is the child oriented fairy land ... I doubt that Baum would make mention of them in use. GRAVEYARDS IN OZ? Catchy title. I should write a short story on that. >Has anyone seemed this supposedly X rated Wizard? I don't WANT to know. Later, --Lisa -- "Every man is the painter and sculptor of his own life." - S. John Chrysostom (+407) ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 14:46:23 -0400 From: "Lisa M. Mastroberte" Subject: Color in Silent Films >Most were toned or tinted. >This was a chemical means of adding color to a film. In Kenton's The >General >night shots were blue, day time shot were yellowish, etc. In many early >there might be shot 2 or 3 color Technicolor. Many of the higher budget silents were tinted for different colors. Also the different colors meant certain things, like if it was a horror movie, the horror shots were be tinted green. Of course, this was not in all of them, but many. Technicolor during the 20s wasn't a big business, and they could only produce two colors, and their blue looked more like a green and their red looked more like orange. Full color scenes were oftentimes hand-painted ... a *very* tedious process. You can see one of Edisons early moving pictures at http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/Theater/mar200.htm ... "Annabelle Dances her Serpentine Dance." Hand-painted, too. :) David Maxine: Love the website! Very nice color sceme. I'll link it to my Oz website as soon as I get around to it. --Lisa -- "Every man is the painter and sculptor of his own life." - S. John Chrysostom (+407) ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 13:00:13 -0400 From: Michael Turniansky Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-06-2000 > Nathan: > (Say, > for instance, a world where the continents and such were in the same places, > but the dominant life forms were anthropomorphic stalks of broccoli who > lived in giant greenhouses.) "Now, Floret, if you don't eat up all your people, there's no dessert for you!" --Mike "Shaggy Man" Turniansky ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 15:00:00 -0500 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-06-2000 Ben: >Regarding the first name of witches: Disney had a witch named "Witch >Hazel". There was a named witch in the Little Lulu comics, too, though I don't recall her name offhand. >Don't be afraid to try. Remember amateurs built the Ark & professionals >built the Titanic. Of course, the Ark story is highly improbable on the face of it, but let's say that God passed a bunch of miracles to let all those animals survive forty days on a vessel that size - even so, all the Ark had to do was float. And there wasn't anything particularly wrong with the way the Titanic was built; it was handled poorly. Nathan: >I might add worlds that resemble ours in many ways (similar geography and >history, for instance), but differ in more ways than just the events that >occur. I can't really think of any good examples from literature at the >moment, but I'm sure there are some. I suppose this would be most like the >former kind of world, but it could also have elements of the second. (Say, >for instance, a world where the continents and such were in the same places, >but the dominant life forms were anthropomorphic stalks of broccoli who >lived in giant greenhouses.) I could cite quite a few fantasy novels that fit that description, primarily in including working magic as a feature of the world - I'm working on a novel with that premise myself. But no science fiction of that sort comes to mind. I wouldn't be surprised if some existed, but I don't recall any offhand. And it was David Godwin, not I, who made the remarks about churches and graveyards in Oz that you cite. David W.: >Has anyone seemed this supposedly X rated Wizard? I haven't seen it, but I've heard of an X-rated Oz book titled _Sex Fiends of Oz_. Don't know if this is the one you heard of. I think Hank Stine wrote it, but that's a misty memory and I could easily be wrong. David Hulan ====================================================================== From: "Jeremy Steadman" Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 15:20:07 EST Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-06-2000 Outhouses in Oz: I hear music, strange things are happening--sounds as if we're entering The Toilet Zone! Seriously, perhaps no one needs one in Oz--just as no one dies, no one needs to get rid of waste in that way, but it magically disappears. As was said, we're never told they _are_ present, after all. Bloodless cuts: If only my encounter with the meat slicer a few years back had been bloodless . . . Technology experts who send viruses that show pictures of lumberjacks are known as hacks. (As are those who cough too much--butI get sick of hearing about them.) Until another Ozzy day, Jeremy Steadman, Royal Historian of Oz kivel99@planetall.com http://www.geocities.com/kivel99/ ICQ# 19222665, AOL Inst Mssgr name kiex or kiex2 "A good example of a parasite? Hmmm, let me think... How about the Eiffel tower?" ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 14 Apr 00 20:27:11 (PDT) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things HUNGRY TIGER: I think it's safe to say that the discussion has begun. :) BAD PUN DU JOUR: "Take a trip to the Land of Oscar." -- Announcer on "Turner Classic Movies" during their "31 Days of Oscar Festival" (During which _The Wizard of Oz_ was *not* shown.) -- Dave ====================================================================== ====================================================================== ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, APRIL 15 - 23, 2000 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== From: "Jeremy Steadman" Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2000 18:54:13 EST Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-15-2000 Where do people go when they die?: Hmm. Ozites who died, in the days when they did . . . I like the idea of "dissolving" more than anything else--perhaps not "into nothing", as J.L. Bell suggested, but at least into something not recognizable as a person, or animal, or plant, or whatever. Perhaps each dead Ozite becomes a flower or something, or one stone of the YBR, or something like that. The Deadly Desert and its Effects: Yes, it turns people and animals and plants into dust, or sand, or whatever. But I agree with Mr. Bell, zombies who tread on it would be able to survive. Which leads to some interesting plot ideas . . . HUNGRY TIGER DISCUSSION: Yes, it's time to see everyone's true stripes . . . David Hulan: "I haven't seen it, but I've heard of an X-rated Oz book titled _Sex Fiends of Oz_. Don't know if this is the one you heard of. I think Hank Stine wrote it, but that's a misty memory and I could easily be wrong." Would that be, a _steamy_ memory? Until the next Ozzy time, Jeremy Steadman, Royal Historian of Oz kivel99@planetall.com http://www.geocities.com/kivel99/ ICQ# 19222665, AOL Inst Mssgr name kiex or kiex2 "counterfeiter, n.: Another word for a kitchen salesperson." ====================================================================== From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 09:22:40 -0700 charset="iso-8859-1" Lisa (SeraMary): There are a few Oz books with dates of occurence between 1996 and 2000. Chris Dulabone has a large amount on backlog, so I'm not sure how many of them have actually been published. You can visit his website at http://members.aol.com/LionCoward/home.html and see if any are there. March Laumer wrote a story several years ago taking place in 1999. I forgot what it was called, though. Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 19:18:55 -0400 (EDT) From: "Mark Donajkowski" Subject: ruby slippers for sale 'Wizard of Oz' slippers for sale NEW YORK (AP) - If you want to own a pair of ruby red slippers from the "The Wizard of Oz," don't bother clicking your heels together - just plunk down a lot of cash. A pristine pair of size 6B ruby slippers made for Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" is set to be auctioned off at a Christie's East sale of Hollywood and television memorabilia, auction house officials said. Collectors estimate the pair could sell for $750,000. Also included in the May 24 auction are the Cowardly Lion's "Oz" costume, a Rolls-Royce from the James Bond classic "Goldfinger" and Christopher Reeve's Superman capes and body stockings. The Lion getup, worn by Bert Lahr in the 1939 family classic, could fetch $600,000, collectors said. The Roll-Royce, a 12-cylinder, dual-ignition 1937 Phantom 111, probably could be driven home for about $200,000. Costumes worn by Reeve in 1978's "Superman" and the 1980 follow-up, "Superman II," are expected to sell for about $40,000 each. Television memorabilia up for sale include the black wool yachting cap worn by Alan Hale, as the Skipper, in "Gilligan's Island" (estimate $10,000) and a cigarette lighter inscribed with a love note that Lucille Ball gave to Desi Arnaz ($1,000). Christie's declined to place official sale estimates on the "Oz" treasures. "Props from that period are very rare," Christie's pop art specialist Sarah Hodgson told the Daily News. Christie's sold a pair of the "Oz" slippers in 1988 for $150,000, then a record. They were among seven or eight pairs worn by Miss Garland while filming the 1939 MGM classic. ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 20:34:01 -0400 From: "John W. Kennedy" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-15-2000 David Hulan wrote: > There was a named witch in the Little Lulu comics, too, though I don't > recall her name offhand. Witch Hazel (and her niece, Little Itch). Strictly speaking, these were tertiary-universe characters, living only in stories Lulu made up. > And there wasn't anything particularly wrong with the way the > Titanic was built; it was handled poorly. Hmmm.... I'd say having inadequate lifeboats and "watertight compartments" that connected were fairly wrong. -- -John W. Kennedy -rri0189@ibm.net Compact is becoming contract Man only earns and pays. -- Charles Williams ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 18:24:48 -0500 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 04-15-2000 J.L.: I don't know any reason to believe that Hawthorne was the inspiration for Baum's poppy field. The soporific properties of poppy juice (laudanum) had been well-known for centuries by then (I think it was used in Classical times; certainly by Elizabethan), and the extension of that to a belief that simply being in a poppy bed could also cause sleep is unlikely to have been original with Hawthorne. I imagine that both Hawthorne and Baum (and Earle) were simply referring to a widespread folk belief, without any direct connection from one to another. >David Hulan, my question on when "the notion of parallel >dimensions/universes/Earths became popular" in science fiction was an >inquiry about terminology above all.The notion of a world similar to but >in significant ways unlike ours is indeed as old as the first fiction. What >I was interested in is when authors' language took a turn toward >"dimensions," "parallel universes," "wormholes," and similar cosmological >terms. OK, if that's what you meant...I assumed that when you referred to the "notion" that you meant the idea, not the term. "Wormholes," of course, is quite modern, since that's a term that arose during fairly recent cosmological speculations, probably no earlier than the '70s; it's also a term that I've never used with regard to Oz. "Dimensions" - probably around a hundred years ago; Abbott's classic _Flatland_ certainly used the term, whether he originated the idea or not. "Parallel universe" - at a guess, mid-Thirties, but I'd have to do a fair amount of research to verify that. By the mid-Forties I'm confident I could find the term used. Fantastic societies like Utopia, Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Erewhon, etc. that are set in unexplored parts of our own world aren't really the same thing. While the societies, and sometimes the inhabitants, aren't like any we know, the overall natural laws of our world seem to apply in those cases (at least to the extent that the author could be presumed familiar with the natural laws of our world - the cube-square law, for instance, makes Brogdingnag physically impossible, but Swift probably never heard of the cube-square law). However, this is really all beside the point. Yes, from an Oz-as-literature POV the development of the ideas about where Oz might be can be traced much as you have here. It's fairly clear that in the first two books Baum thought of Oz as being somewhere in North America, probably in the Nevada desert that was largely unexplored at the time. In _Ozma_, he moved it to the Pacific, probably the South Pacific, and the rest of his books don't give any real clue as to where he thought it was. Thompson and the other later authors don't seem to have any concrete idea where Oz is. I think they most likely think of it as being off somewhere magical and not anywhere otherwise connected with our world, but accessible from our world in a variety of ways when convenient for the purposes of the story. But from an Oz-as-history POV, it's clear that Oz is accessible from any known starting point on our world only by magical means. Whether you say that it's physically on our world but that some kind of magical barrier prevents anyone from ever visiting it except by random or deliberate acts of magic, or say that it's not really on our world but accessible through magical or dimensional gates or a change in vibrational mode or whatever is something we've no way of determining, since there's no way to tell whether one or the other is true based on the only information we have. It's like asking whether the evidence we have for a several-billion-year-old Earth is true or whether God created the Earth 6000 or so years ago as if it were several billion years old. There's no possible way to test which theory is true, because everything would be exactly the same today whichever one was. Since the name of Kushner was unfamiliar to me (though I've heard of the book _When Bad Things Happen to Good People_) I wasn't sure what you meant, though I had a pretty good idea. Robin: I'm aware that Farmer and Heinlein mentioned bodily wastes in Oz, but I was referring to the Famous Forty. When my brother read the MS of _Glass Cat_ one of his comments was "Don't these people ever have to go to the head?" But I didn't include any such references (and I doubt Peter would have let them stay in if I had). I look forward to the next two _Ozianas_. One of these days I really need to write another Oz short story for you, but I haven't been much inspired toward fiction lately. I don't think I have an archive of the poll you took several years ago, but if nobody else has one and you can find the Mac disk it was on you can send it to me and I can translate it from Mac to PC and send it back to you. (Just let me know what software you have for reading it - if it's a version of MS Word then no problem; if it's something else I can still probably come up with something.) Lisa: >Are there any OZ books BETWEEN the years >1996-2000 ? and Are they available to the public ? PLUS, WHAT ARE THE NAMES >OF THE BOOKS? Depends on what you mean - there are pastiches of various sorts, but not "canonical" books. The only one published by a big commercial press that I know of is _Visitors from Oz_, by Martin Gardner. Emerald City Press is a small commercial press and has published several books in that interval: _Christmas in Oz_, by Robin Hess; _How the Wizard Saved Oz_ and _The Amber Flute of Oz_ by Donald Abbott; and _The Lavender Bear of Oz_, by William Campbell and Irwin Terry are four I remember for sure, and there might be another one or two I've forgotten. Try a Web search on Books of Wonder (I forget their URL, though you might find it in Dave's FAQ if you've got his Web site marked) for more information. Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends, which is non-professional but has published some excellent (and some awful) books, has also published several books in that interval, but I've no idea about titles and I don't remember their URL either. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 09:28:28 -0400 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: HUNGRY TIGER impressions charset=ISO-8859-1 Just as GRAMPA is in many ways a polished retelling of KABUMPO, HUNGRY TIGER seems like an improvement on COWARDLY LION. As in that earlier book, Thompson opens her story with an ill-tempered, ill-behaved tyrant inspired by her images of Muslim societies, then an evil-minded advisor suggesting the title feline is the solution to that ruler's problem. Both COWARDLY LION and HUNGRY TIGER show the title character sneaking out of the Emerald City to do something carnivorous that he knows Ozma would disapprove of, and both animals end up being carried around roughly by giants. That belittling experience seems to be part of their punishment for transgressive thoughts. For young readers, they get to see these nice/scary characters cut down to a sympathetic size. Rich Morrissey wrote: <> I don't think the pinkness has a Quadling link. I think Thompson chose it to reflect the usual color of a rash (on light-skinned people, at least). She reports the Rashes are "always breaking out in spots" [21], and mentions a "spotted turban" and "a few speckled bears" [22]. The Hungry Tiger doesn't know where Rash is, but knows it's a "measly little kingdom" [40-1]! I'm not sure the Oz Club map shows Rash where Thompson meant it to be. She was using the TIK-TOK map, which of course makes every east/west direction suspicious. (This book also shows signs Thompson reread TIK-TOK for notes on Betsy's earlier adventure and speech pattern.) Rash is specified to be "in the southwestern country of Ev" [21]. Haff and Martin chose to place it at the southernmost part of the eastern end, but it might belong in the easternmost part of the southern end. On the TIK-TOK map the Nome Kingdom is shown as next to Ev, not below it. If Thompson saw them as separate, Ev's southern end is off Oz's Oogaboo corner. If she saw the Nomes and neighboring creatures as living under Ev, the southern end of the surface country might be across from the Yips. The other adventures seem to take place in that region. Down Town is near the "Southern end" of the Nome Kingdom [135]. Atmos Fere and Ozma stumble into the "great rolling country of the east" [204]--probably a version of the rolling land Guph passed over in EMERALD CITY, which showed up on the TIK-TOK map below and to the right of the Nome Kingdom as "Ripple Land." Near the book's end, the whole party heads "east" (for which we must read "laterally"), not south, toward the Deadly Desert and find Rash [244-5]. This being a Thompson book, of course, nothing's that consistent. Most confusing to me is how Betsy and Carter end up in the middle of a large desert--nothing in sight but sand [63]. They head "toward the south," seemingly aiming for the Emerald City [64]. They reach the Quick Sand, however, Carter then "bringing the cart about" [66]. Betsy finds the quick sandals, and those start to carry Carter along--not toward the north, where he'd been pointed, but again heading "for the quick sand," which must be south [68]. Then they pass over "the edge of the Deadly Desert" and on to Rash [68-9]. Rich Morrissey wrote: <> Good questions. Reading this episode after I saw your query, I came up with the opposite idea. The flora and fauna of the area were gigantic naturally, and some ordinary people with big ambitions developed the Big Wigs as a way to live safely and comfortably in that environment. Since the town may be near the Nomes, Phanfasms, Growleywogs, and so on, living large could have other protective benefits. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 15:26:30 -0500 Subject: FW: Oz/Baum at Midway Books From: "David Godwin" From: "ruth berman" To: Subject: Oz/Baum at Midway Books Date: Fri, Apr 21, 2000, 10:45 AM Hi, David - I was at Midway Books (1579 University Ave, St Paul MN 55104; phone 651-644-7605) Thursday and thought I would alert you that they have some dozen Oz and Baum books (mostly editions early enough to have color plates) in. The selection includes Baum's "Santa Claus" and "Sky Fairies" (latish editions, but early enough for color plates) and Thompson's "Hungry Tiger" and "Lost King" (likewise color plates). They tend to be pricey ($75 marked as the price on both SC and SF), but clean copies in good condition. Currently I don't seem to be able to send stuff to the Oz Digest (I think that this is a problem with a difference of email registration on my new computer, and that Dave Hardenbrook will be able to fix it once he sees my email alerting him to the problem), so maybe you will forward this message to the Digest in case any of the others would like to get in touch with Midway to ask about these. (Note: most of the lot is on the rare/illustrated set of shelves, a couple more -- the two Thompsons, I think -- are in a locked case, and in addition some Books of Wonder reprints are in the regular Children's section.) Ruth Berman ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 01:00:34 -0400 (EDT) From: "Mark Donajkowski" Subject: government puts on a oz exhibit 02:41 AM ET 04/21/00 'Wizard of Oz' Gets Special Exhibit By CARL HARTMAN= Associated Press Writer= WASHINGTON (AP) _ A hundred years after its publication, that very American fantasy _ ``The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' _ is being celebrated by the Library of Congress. L. Frank Baum opened his fairy tale in a Kansas twister. Among the principal characters were a scarecrow from a Midwestern cornfield and a tin woodsman whose mechanisms recall traditional Yankee ingenuity. Hero Dorothy insists on how much she loves her Kansas home and wants to get back to it. The Wizard himself hails from Omaha. The small ``Oz'' show opening today is part of an elaborate celebration of the library's own 200th birthday on Monday. Just twice as old as Dorothy, it's now the world's largest collection of books _ more than 27 million. Library officials did not know how many millions of copies of ``Oz'' have been sold or how many translations exist. Known translations include Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Polish and even Latin. Baum produced his best seller in 1900 and copies went to the library, as U.S. copyright law requires. A successful musical soon followed, with a shapely young woman in tights and big hair replacing little Dorothy. In the original book, she's likely about 10 years old, exhibit director Martha Hopkins said. A poster advertising the musical appears in the library's exhibit, along with games, dolls, film clips, costumes and other memorabilia based on the story. Many remember Dorothy as a 16-year-old Judy Garland in the 1939 film, where the silver shoes of the book are replaced by the famous ruby slippers. Hopkins pointed out the line in the original shooting script that still mentions the silver shoes. She doesn't know when the change occurred or why. ``Better for Technicolor,'' she suggested. Novelist Salman Rushdie, who had a now-abandoned death edict placed against him by Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini for his book ``Satanic Verses,'' said ``Oz'' inspired his first story. After seeing the film in Bombay when he was 10, he wrote about a little boy's bizarre adventures, including an encounter with a talking pianola. In 1992, he wrote a 70-page essay on the book, in which he reported a pair of ruby slippers found in the MGM Studios basement sold at a 1970 auction for $15,000. ___ ``The Wizard of Oz: An American Fairy Tale'' will be on view through Sept. 23. Admission is free. ======================================================================