] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JUNE 30 - JULY 1, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 21:04:00 -0700 From: Barbara Johnson Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 06-29-98 Feminism and Oz: I'm probably wrong, but I recall reading somewhere (probably not on the Digest) that _Land_ aside, Baum actually had feminist leanings. Did I dream this? L. Frank Baum absolutely, positively had feminist leanings.. I am fortunate enough to have received a Humanities Council grant to read and report on Baum's Aberdeen newspaper.. The Saturday Evening Pioneer.. and will be making a full report at the L. Frank Baum/Oz Festival in August here in Aberdeen. To wet your whistle... Baum advocated women lawyers.. and journalists.. said they would do a better job then men... He also covered women's suffrage issues very completely as his mother in law.. Matilda J. Gage was very active in the Woman's movement of the 19th century. Today I was reading in Baum's paper of the first meeting of the more liberal group Matilda founded after her split with the mainstream group of the day... fascinating... both men and women officers of the new group.... but.. women held the top positions.. I'll try to keep this list posted on the feminist writings.. as well as anything else anyone might be interested in as my study progresses. I am reading every issue completely... from Cover to cover... Most are running about 8 pages... and are chock full of very, very interesting material. Barbara Johnson -- Barbara Johnson, Ph.D. barbarajohnson@midco.net 511 South Arch Street Aberdeen, South Dakota 605-229-5988 ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 02:22:24 +0000 From: Scott Olsen Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 06-29-98 Ruth Berman: I can think of no one else more deserving of receiving the L. Frank Baum Memorial Award. Congratulations, Scott Olsen ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 22:32:13 -0400 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones MGM: I have also heard that it's coming out on the big screen. This will either settle the myth of the hanging man once and for all or spread it even more than it already is. John Bell: I take that you mean Dorothy returning to Oz from elsewhere by natural means. _Road_: I'd consider the Sand Boat to be natural. At least, it was propelled by wind and Shaggy steered it. Johnny Dooit may have used magic to build it. Are you differentiating between Ozzy magic and magic in general? That's the only other non-magical means I can think of that Dorothy used to return to Oz. Magic permeates the Oz books, and very little is done without it, especially the Magic Belt and/or the Wizard's black bag. Jeremy: You did not dream. Baum was very sensitive to women's rights. Scott: It's amazing to think that there are some people who deny even the physical existence of Jesus. There's a ton of evidence (not even counting the bible). The same goes for Buddha, although I can't see anybody denying his existence either. Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 23:09:27 -0400 (EDT) From: Ozmama@aol.com Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 06-29-98 John: Dorothy returns to Oz from Hollywood by using Wish Way sand, doesn't she? (L.King) Mind is blocked. That's all that pops in right now. After she lives in Oz, there's no logical reason for her to return in any nonmagical way, actually, unless she's gone without any magic or for such a short time that no one's missed her. David: <> Oh. Uh, o.k. Scott:<> Fred has mentioned to me that he thinks Melody is a good writer. I can not imagine his putting her writing skills down, and I doubt seriously that he did so. As for the other, he's a purist, that's all. Oh, and the Getty Museum is in the L.A. area, right on a cliff overlooking the beach. --Robin, who's leaving for the Winkie coast this Wednesday!!! Oregon first, for spending time with family, then slowly down to Monterey with stops at Crater Lake, the redwoods, Ashland's Shakespeare Festival, and who knows what else. Hey, I'm ready for adventure! ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 22:33:29 +0000 From: Christopher Straughn Subject: Ozzy Artist Comments: Authenticated sender is Does anyone know if Dick Martin is still alive? I seem to remember hearing that he was dead at one time and alive at a later time. If he's still alive, he'd definitely be my top choice for the Centennial Book Contest. If not, I'd like to see Kramer (if he's alive). I disliked Kramer's 1st Oz book, but in the second one he really found his own style. I've really got to catch up with who's dead and who's alive. Chris Straughn Bonan Tagon! ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 08:25:56 +0000 From: Craig Noble Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 06-29-98 Atticus and the rest of y'all: I want confirm that I too still exist, albeit as a lurker lately. Craig Noble ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 08:45:23 -0500 (EST) From: better living through chemistry Subject: RE: Ozzy Digest, 06-29-98 Thanks for the tips about L.A. I had a *wonderful* trip and enjoyed visiting the area. I saw several Oz books on bookstore shelves, but prices were amazing. Cheers, Scott ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 10:32:33 -0500 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 06-29-98 J.l.: >Not a trivia question, but a topic the digest's experts can help me with: >WIZARD is the only Baum book in which Dorothy arrives in Oz without any >help from magic originating within that country. (In two books she arrives >on Ozma's carpet; in three Ozma is using the Magic Belt.) How many other >books meet that criterion? > In ROYAL BOOK Dorothy returns via a Silver Island umbrella, right? And in >WISHING HORSE, Bitty Bit's tower brings her back. What else? Let's see. In KABUMPO she returns by Glegg's Oz magic; in LOST KING by the magic sand from Wish Way in Oz; in OZOPLANING by the Wizard's Ozoplane (and some of his kit bag of magic); ah! in MAGICAL MIMICS she returns via Ozana's swans, who weren't Oz magic. I think those are the only times she left Oz after Baum's books. (I assume we're only talking the FF here?) >In dating MERRY GO ROUND we also have to consider Robin S. Brown's >time-frame. He comes from an America with Cub Scouts, rocket-car rides, >model airplanes, and foster families. I don't know just how early rocket-car rides were around, but the other aspects all certainly date back at least to the 1930s, and I'd be rather surprised if rocket-car rides weren't as well. (I know they were by the mid-'40s, and I don't think they were building new rides during the war.) So while MGR is probably later than most of the Thompson books, it's not necessarily later than all of them, or any of the Neill or subsequent ones. > Indeed, the treatment of orphans in the Oz books nicely tracks American >social policy. In 1900 Dorothy was shown as having been sent to distant >relatives; in 1923 Bobby is in an orphanage; and in 1963 Robin is with a >foster family. [And in Dave Hulan's GLASS CAT, the orphans are back with >distant relatives.] An uncle and aunt aren't what I'd call "distant" relatives; they're as close as you can get genetically other than parents and siblings (and children, but we're talking about guardians of orphans). Speedy also lives with his uncle, and Peter with his grandfather (equivalent closeness of relationship). Jenny Jump is apparently an orphan who lives alone (though she's a teen-ager when she's still in the US), and Bucky is on his uncle's tugboat and seems to live with him, though it's never explicit that he's an orphan. He never mentions missing his parents, anyhow. So living with relatives who aren't parents seems to be the usual practice for orphans throughout the Oz series, with Bobby and Robin being exceptions. (And, of course, it's been the usual practice in this country throughout history; orphanages and foster families have been for orphans who don't have relatives able and willing to take them in.) >[One odd bit of aging: Chick the Cherub is clearly said to have grown >up to (wo)manhood at the end of JOHN DOUGH yet is as young as ever in >ROAD.] Fluff's growing up and marrying is also mentioned at the end of ZIXI, but in ROAD she's still a child, FWIW. Dick: >I rather thought Percy to be her best character! I think Percy in _Hidden Valley_ is a character most people either like or dislike a lot; he's hard to be neutral about. I disliked him, myself. He's much more palatable in _Wicked Witch_ and the short story in one of the _Oz Story Magazines_. Scott H.: >I was looking on Alta Vista for stuff on _Zardoz_ and found an essay >claiming that millions of people have an imaginary friend--Jesus. He >denies that there ever was a historical figure whose teachings gave rise >to Christianity. No one forces you to belive in the ressurection, but if >you don't believe Jesus ever existed, you're really demonstrating your own >ignorance for history. The existence of Abraham is debated by historians, >but I don't believe the existence of Jesus has any debate among them. _Au contraire_. It's undoubtedly a minority viewpoint, but there are scholars who seriously question the existence of Jesus, at least as anything resembling the character depicted in the Gospels. There were undoubtedly plenty of people named "Yehoshuah" living in Palestine in the early first century - it's a common Hebrew name - and one or more of them might well have been the leader of a group of dissident Jews. But there's no contemporary documentation of such a person surviving, only the words of people writing a generation later who are already part of an organized religious sect. The rapid growth of that sect leads to a strong inference that the person it centers around was indeed a real and highly charismatic person, which is why denying it is a minority viewpoint, but the direct evidence isn't conclusive. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 10:24:33 -0700 (PDT) From: VoVat Quetzalcoatlus Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 06-29-98 X-Originating-IP: [144.80.160.65] J.L. Bell: >Not a trivia question, but a topic the digest's experts can help me >with: >WIZARD is the only Baum book in which Dorothy arrives in Oz without >any >help from magic originating within that country. (In two books she >arrives >on Ozma's carpet; in three Ozma is using the Magic Belt.) How many >other >books meet that criterion? > In ROYAL BOOK Dorothy returns via a Silver Island umbrella, right? >And in >WISHING HORSE, Bitty Bit's tower brings her back. What else? Well, the Magic Belt didn't originate in Oz, and there's really no indication that the tornado didn't originate there. (According to one of my stories, its originated in Ev.) With that aside, though, Ruggedo carries the palace (with Dorothy in it) to Ev and back in _Kabumpo_. He uses magic originating in Oz to get to his enormous size, though, so that might not count. She rides on Umbrella Island in _Speedy_, and that flies in and out of the Ozian boundaries. In _Ozoplaning_, Dorothy rides part of the way down to Oz on the flying sticks, which were (presumably) made in Stratovania, but she also has some help from the Wizard's magic. The Mimics carry her to Mount Illuso in _Magical Mimics_, and one of Ozana's swans takes her back home. Jeremy: >I'm probably wrong, but I recall reading somewhere (probably not on >the >Digest) that _Land_ aside, Baum actually had feminist leanings. Did >I dream >this? No, I think you're right. Even _Land_ didn't really mock feminism in and of itself. The subjects of its ridicule were women who favored a complete reversal of gender roles. Note that, although Jinjur is overthrown, Oz does end up with a female ruler. Nathan Mulac DeHoff ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 13:24:24 -0400 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: history of Oz Sender: "J. L. Bell" Thanks to all who told me about how Fred Meyer's getting around these days. I'm sorry he won't be at the Munchkin Convention. I might--dare I say it?--write him an actual letter. Robin Olderman, we may indeed have met in Cherry Hill years ago. I was then a teenager. Fortunately, I got over it. Ken Cope wrote: <> Thanks for clarifying this, Ken. It strikes me that Baum's fairyland went the other way: power came *into* the hands of women, producing a golden reign of peace. In the land created by Matilda Gage's son-in-law, indeed, "never was justice more perfect, never civilization higher than under the Matriarchate." However, the *prehistory* of Oz seems to be one of chaos and danger, in which women surpassed men in causing harm. The Wicked Witches of the East and West, Mombi, and Blinkie aren't just women who upset men by being independent; the books reveal them (to varying degrees) as heartless exploiters. In Baum's saga, the humbug male sorcerer, though sacrificing a baby girl on the altar of his own needs, actually helped matters by creating a sanctuary from such predators. Was Baum saying that even matriarchs can benefit from having an old showman around? Among the tricks the Wizard used to maintain his power was to dress up as a lovely, crowned, winged (therefore magical) woman--a foreshadowing of the legitimate rulers who would ultimately succeed him and perhaps a sign that Ozians valued that image more than that of a patriarch. WIZARD never shows him putting on the attributes of the traditional warrior-king: height, strength, weaponry, slain beasts, etc. Jeremy Steadman wrote: <> By the standards of his time, Baum was a feminist; he saw no reason to keep the vote from people because of their sex. He was ahead of his time (and perhaps ours) in writing matter-of-factly about a female U.S. president. What strikes me about your comment, however, is the implication that LAND is anti-feminist. Jinjur's army is a lampoon of the suffragists, but it seems like an affectionate lampoon. Yes, all the girls want to do is eat chocolate and collect jewels, and they're stampeded by mice. But that army is defeated only by another all-female army; it's maturity rather than gender which matters. Jinjur, Mombi, Glinda, and the Queen of the Field Mice are all more effective warriors than the male group we follow through the book, and much more so than the Guardian or the Gates and the Soldier with the Green Whiskers, who underestimate Jinjur's troops precisely because they're pretty girls. Baum does show the men and women of the Emerald City as glad to go back to the traditional division of chores [in which the men do...?]. He also gives one man that wonderful line about how to keep up with all their tasks the women must be made of cast-iron. Dave Hulan wrote: <> This is how Glinda's surveillance of the Wizard worked out: she knew the man had visited Mombi, but she had no idea why. Other times, it seems, Glinda and Ozma can discern or deduce motives from what they see in their Book and Picture: Ann Soforth's intentions, for instance. Finishing Melody Grandy's DISENCHANTED PRINCESS last night, I saw that the Valley of Voe from DOROTHY & WIZARD provides a different take on the dangers of surveillance: the Dama Solution. Everyone--hunters and hunted--becomes invisible; thus everyone's sure of not being watched. As David Brin's TRANSPARENT SOCIETY points out repeatedly [but in non-Oz terms], that's even more of a fantasy today than a Magic Picture. Thanks for recommending T.L. Sherred's "E for Effort"--sounds nifty. And a short story I can definitely fit in. Dick Randolph quoted the OZ SCRAPBOOK on Percy: <> I agree. Spots is quite flat once he's away from his tormentors. Unlike the Cowardly Lion and Hungry Tiger, he has nothing more to wish for, and thus shows no more personality than the Horse of a Different Color. Percy, on the other hand, is a rounded character, demanding yet dependable, quick-witted and quirky. He can carry a book, as WICKED WITCH (once titled PERCY IN OZ) demonstrated. Percy and Tik-Tok were the Oz characters whose dialogue I enjoyed reading aloud. (My mother, however, had the same reaction Robin Olderman did.) Nathan DeHoff wrote: <> Yes, thank you. Perhaps because these books sit next to each other, I keep writing one title while thinking of the other. I recently received the Club edition of [let's see now] WISHING HORSE, to supplement my late-model R&L copy, and saw the color plate of Shoofenwaller peering in the magic telescope for the first time in 20 years. Dave Hulan wrote: <> I was thinking of how Rug advises Kiki on how to use the magic word with all the passion of an interior decorator working on an unlimited budget ["And we'll add a touch of wild ass!"]. Jeremy Steadman wrote: <> No, but social-studies teachers have long used historical novels for the middle grades. The study of history is a fun, fascinating game of connect-the-dots, and one needs background to play well. Fiction can present some useful facts in a compelling way; can foreground the experiences of children, who are usually left out of historical accounts; and can impart what it's like to live in a different environment. That's why Esther Forbes's Newbery-winning JOHNNY TREMAIN is in every bookstore, while her Pulitzer-winning biography PAUL REVERE AND THE WORLD HE LIVED IN isn't. There are drawbacks to this approach, of course. If there's no clear distinction made or grasped between fiction and non-fiction, novels distort a reader's sense of history. (As an analogy, think of how Littlefield wrote that one *can* read WIZARD as an awkward Populist allegory and folks muddled that into Baum's true motive for writing.) Historical novelists always get some things dead wrong, even with the best research, because they must state details which historians can hedge on. Dave Hulan wrote: <> Writers and publishers target girls with books about history (and horses) because girls are responding to those books and boys aren't. They target boys with books about sports and with non-fiction because boys respond to those. (Both sexes are reading horror, sci-fi, and mystery, and some fantasy series grab both.) I do hold out hope that good stories in print and other media will trigger some mysterious alchemical shift in children's tastes. But it will be a sea-change that leaves publishers scrambling to keep up, like manufacturers of raccoon hats in 1955. Peter Glassman has told me how he thinks Oz stories should be ahistorical and timeless--no obvious contemporary slang, for instance. Eric Shanower seems to come at the same goal from the other side when he dresses Baum's heroines in modern clothing (even Button-Bright gets an updated outfit). Thus, their young readers aren't bothered with hints that these kids aren't just like them. But I had no problem reading about the old-fashioned qualities of Dorothy and Peter (nor the even older-fashioned qualities of Inga and Mandy). Oz has changed to reflect the times: Jenny Jump's arrival clearly helped to modernize the Emerald City (though some may dislike the results). I'm intrigued at the notion of 1990s American children visiting an Oz where their most important compatriots are still thinking in pre-WW1 terms. (Having Button-Bright wonder about karate lessons, as you do in GLASS CAT, is that sort of time-play.) Scott Hutchins wrote: <> I dimly recall reading about a [German?] historian who argued that it's conceivable Jesus never existed because most evidence for his life comes from members of his early cult (obviously biased), some of whom who never even claim to have met him in person, and from historians writing about his followers, such as Tacitus. It was an interesting notion, but the preponderance of evidence is, even this historian seemed to acknowledge, that a Jewish man named Jesus did start a religious movement in Palestine. And the rest is history. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 10:36:49 -0500 From: Bea & Herschel Premack Subject: Aberdeen Festival X-MSMail-Priority: Normal The program for the Chautauqua portion of our Festival is now pretty well set and want to share it with you. It will be booked as "In Baum's Victorian Parlor" or some such yet to be decided and will be in a big tent in the park. Our speakers will be: Nancy Koupal: Director of Publications, SD Historical Society and editor & annotator of "Our Landlady" Dr. Mark West: Prof of English, Univ of No Carolina-Charlotte Frank Pommersheim: School of Law, Univ of SD Dr. Barbara Johnson: instructor American Lit and journalism background Billie Smith: publisher of the Aberdeen American News The Saturday program includes: Welcome by L Frank Baum (local actor and playwright Rod Evans will reenact the character then serve as emcee) West: "Visions of Home and the Role of Native American Legend in Baum's work" Koupal: "The Duel on Main Street: Baum's Battle on Main Street: An Episode in Personal Mythmaking" Panel discussion moderated by Smith Pommersheim: The political and judicial history of Baum's time, focusing on Indian Treaty matters. Johnson: "LFB Newspaper editor--the Man in the Middle"....a closer look at the newspaper and his editorials Program also includes performance by Native American Dancer Stephanie Bare Red Elk, music by our local Barbershop Chorus Sunday program: in a lighter mode West: "Visions of Home" connecting Baums work to his Dakota experiences "The Musical Times of L Frank Baum": Lecture and performance by a Victorian singing quartet Kevin Locke: Native American Hoop Dancer and flutist Performance of Oz Medley by Show Choir from Sioux Falls SD City Band Concert featuring music of Baum's time Obviously, our program reflects our title: L Frank Baum Oz Festival---the Dakota Heritage. We are encouraging research on the newspapers. Our intention is to have the University video the programs and run them on their TV channel, then keep copies for circulation in our libraries. Bea ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 11:27:43 -0400 From: David Levitan Subject: Ozzy Digest To: Dave Hardenbrook I was able to take out the Del Ray version of "Grampa in Oz". There are two maps in the front of the book (one of Oz and the other of the countries surrounding Oz). Can I scan these and use them on my web site? Are they still protected by copyright? Thanks -- David Levitan wizardofoz@iname.com ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 12:22:59 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Oz play (fwd) To: DaveH47@delphi.com I currently have this from the library. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 10:09:38 -0500 (EST) From: "Dorothy L. Webb" To: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Oz play (fwd) The play I mentioned was "Scraps, The Ragtime Girl of Oz" adapted by V.Glasgow Koste and is handled by Dramatic Publishing. DW On Mon, 29 Jun 1998 sahutchi@iupui.edu wrote: > Can you enlighten me a bit, as I don't remember the details. > > Scott > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 12:16:36 -0500 (EST) > From: sahutchi@iupui.edu > To: DaveH47@delphi.com > Subject: Oz play > > > Yesterday, Dr. Webb discussed aplay which I did not hear the title of, but > the stage set was composed entirely of prisms and had a Hopper and a > journey through Oz. When we went doen to a prop room, I saw a box marked > "The Woozy," and it said in parentheses "from Scratch." I don't know if > this was the name of the play or if it meant it had been scratch-built. > There was also a box marked with things like "plant monster" and > "Cinderella costume." I don't know if this had to do with a PG adaptation > or LSoH, or what, though. Perhaps I should ask her. > > BTW: If you want the special edition DVD of LSoH, featuring Frank Oz's > director's cut, it has been pulled and is already a collector's item > because a BW work print was used accidentally. This features the black > comic ending which, you guessed it, test audiences hated. > > Scott > > ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 12:40:39 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Pop/Rock New Releases (fwd)Ozzy Digest To: DaveH47@delphi.com There is something Ozzy on here besides Australia, Gary Young, or Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons... and I don't mean Ozzy Osborne.... Scott ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 12:11:13 GMT From: Greg Lawrence To: GMW Pop/rock Releases Mail List Subject: Pop/Rock New Releases POP/ROCK NEW RELEASES July 1st, 1998 Greg's Music World New Releases email is to keep you posted in your area of musical interest. If you don't want to receive any more issues, simply reply with "unsubscribe" in the first line of the body text. Your address and credit card info is held by us so you can order by email if you wish. BTW, when checking our catalogue don't forget the prices are in $A and include Australian sales tax which overseas customers do not pay. Take 55% to get the approximate price in $US and 32.5% to get the price in pounds sterling. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------- FREE POST, FREE CALL IN AUSTRALIA Australian customers can now phone us toll free on 1800 882 883. Another plus for our Australian customers is that all album orders over $20.00 are mailed free to Australian addresses. OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN Just released is "Back With A Heart," Olivia's first new album in four years. The CD costs $US16.40 or equivalent for overseas customers plus $US2.80 for shipping. The cost for Australian customers is $29.95 post free. You can see all Olivia's recordings we have available, and the tracks, at: http://www.musicworld.com.au/cgi-bin/search.pl?string=Newton-john,+Olivia NATALIE IMBRUGLIA This is undoubtedly the surprise debut album of 1998. Natalie's "Left Of The Middle" has now sold over 3 million copies worldwide. It had an incredible top ten debut in both the US and the UK. There have also been two top ten Australian singles with "Torn" and"Big Mistake." The album is platinum in Australia. The album is being re-issued with a new album cover and a different sequencing of the tracks. The CD costs $US16.40 or equivalent for overseas customers plus $US2.80 for shipping. The cost for Australian customers is $29.95 post free. MIDNIGHT OIL The new album "Redneck Wonderland" is to be released next Monday. The CD costs $US16.40 or equivalent for overseas customers plus $US2.80 for shipping. The cost for Australian customers is $29.95 post free. You can check all the Oils albums and tracks here: http://www.musicworld.com.au/cgi-bin/search.pl?string=Midnight+Oil HOODOO GURUS The latest Hoodoo Gurus albums "Armchair Gurus" and "Electric Chair" have been available as a double CD but next Monday will be released singly, each at the lower price of $US10.90 plus $US2.80 for shipping. For Australian customers the price is $A19.95 plus shipping $A2.95. We still have a few of the double CDs left but they will not be available much longer. The double album costs $US16.40 or equivalent for overseas customers plus $US4.80 for shipping. The cost for Australian customers is $29.95 post free. You can see the listing of all The Hoodoo Gurus albums and tracks at: http://www.musicworld.com.au/cgi-bin/search.pl?string=Hoodoo+Gurus LISA MAXWELL Having written and recorded with some of Australia's finest artists, including the Wendy Matthews band and the John Farnham band, here is Lisa's debut album "Wish". It's a stunning mix of funk, dance, soul and r'n'b. The CD costs $US16.40 or equivalent for overseas customers plus $US2.80 for shipping. The cost for Australian customers is $29.95 post free. MENTAL AS ANYTHING The Mentals have a new album "Garage" coming out at the end of August. If that's too long to wait, the first single "Just My Luck" (a four tracker) was released this week. This was written and is sung by Martin Plaza. It is the 33rd single from the band. It costs $US4.40 for overseas customers and $A7.95 for Australian customers. You can check all the Mental's CDs at: http://www.musicworld.com.au/cgi-bin/search.pl?string=Mental+As+Anything ROSE TATTOO "Nice Boys Don't Play Rock'n'roll" is a 1992 album re-released at a lower price. Cost is $US12.10 plus $2.80 shipping for overseas customers and $A21.95 post free for Australian customers. Check all available Rose Tattoo's recordings here: http://www.musicworld.com.au/cgi-bin/search.pl?string=Rose+Tattoo "SEACHANGE" This is the music from the top rating Australian TV show. The commentary title track was written by Richard Pleasance and performed by Wendy Morrison. Other artists include Paul Kelly, Christine Anu, Dave Hole, Lisa Miller, Bondi Cigars, Daddy Cool, The Backsliders and Mental As Anything. The CD costs $US16.40 or equivalent for overseas customers plus $US2.80 for shipping. The cost for Australian customers is $29.95 post free. GREAT COMPILATIONS "The Mushroom Story Vol 1 - The Hits Of The Seventies" is out now. This is the first of a series of five 40 track double CD compilations to mark Mushroom Records' 25th Anniversary. All tracks have been digitally remastered and all have been picked because of commercial success and/or overall significance to the label. This album costs $US16.40 or equivalent for overseas customers plus $US4.80 for shipping. The cost for Australian customers is $29.95 post free. Here are the artists and tracks: Goodbye Lollipop - Madder Lake Steel Guitar - Ray Brown 12lb. Toothbrush - Madder Lake I Remember When I Was Young - Taylor Most People I Know (Think That - Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs Way Out West - Dingoes, The Out Of The Blue - Mackenzie Theory I'm Gonna Miss You Babe - Chain Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs Riddle, The - Sid Rumpo Buster Brown - Buster Brown Boy On The Run - Dingoes, The Living In The 70's - Skyhooks Lady Montego - Ayers Rock Horror Movie - Skyhooks Give Me A Home Among The Gum T - Captain Rock I Wish There Was A Way - Phil Manning Ego Is Not A Dirty Word - Skyhooks Australia - Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band On The Prowl - Ol' 55 All My Friends Are Getting Mar - Skyhooks Looking For An Echo - Ol'55 My Little Girl - T.M.G. Every Little Bit Hurts - Shirley Mighty Rock - Stars Temptation's 'bout To Get Me - Geoff Duff Don't Fall In Love - Ferrets, The Baked Beans - Mother Goose My Mistake - Split Enz Suburban Boy - Dave Warner Women In Uniform - Skyhooks Who Listens To The Radio - Sports, The I See Red - Split Enz Don't Throw Stones - Sports, The How Long - Scandal Hit And Run - Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons He's My Number One - Christie Allen Confrontation - Aliens, The Shape I'm In - Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons Hush - Russell Morris "Great Aussie Rock" is a 1975 compilation featuring the pick of the Mushroom label bands at the time. Now at a really low price of $US5.50 plus $2.80 shipping for overseas customers and $A9.95 plus $A2.95 shipping for Australian customers. Here are the tracks: Smut - Skyhooks Lady Montego - Ayers Rock Booze Blues - Madder Lake We'll Never Do The Same Again - Matt Taylor Way Out West - Dingoes, The Winter - Greg Sneddon Johnny B Goode - Coloured Balls Something To Say - Buster Brown I'm Gonna Miss You Babe - Chain Riddle, The - Sid Rumpo Love Is The Mender - Phil Manning Going Back Home - Aztecs, The "Nightmoves was a TV show in the late 70s and early 80s. Two live shows were recorded in The Palais Theatre in Melbourne. Here on CD for the first time is the result of the first show held in September 1977. Called "Nightmovin' Live," it's only the price of an EP! - $US5.50 plus $2.80 shipping for overseas customers and $A9.95 plus $A2.95 shipping for Australian customers. Here are the tracks: Chattanooga Choo Choo - Mother Goose Great Balls Of Fire - Mother Goose Your Song - Mother Goose Winning Hand - Stars Red Neck Boogie - Stars I'll Be Creepin' - Stars My Old Dog - Ferrets, The Just Like The Stars - Ferrets, The Lies - Ferrets, The Blacktown Boogie - Dragon White Light White Heat - Dragon Who The Cap Fit - Billy T. I Am What You Are - Billy T. Snowball King - Kevin Borich She's A Lover - Kevin Borich Going Downtown - Kevin Borich "Nightmoves Concert# 2" is the is the second show held in July 1978. Price is the same as "Nightmovin' Live." The tracks are: Somewhere In Sydney - Skyhooks Bbbbboogie - Skyhooks Boys (What Did The Detective S - Sports Wedding Ring - Sports Last Night In The City - Daniel Love's A Fire - Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons Dancing Shoes - Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons It's Alright - Jam, The "The Mushroom Evolution Concert" is a selection of rock music preformed before 100,000 people on January 31 and February 1, 1982 to celebrate Mushroom Records 10th anniversary. Originally a three record set, the tracks have been remastered and are on a two CD set for the first time, and at a low price for a double CD. The cost is $US16.40 or equivalent for overseas customers plus $US4.80 for shipping. The cost for Australian customers is $A19.95 plus $A4.30 for shipping. Here are the tracks: She Took My Heart - Billy Miller Nice Legs, Shame About The Face - Dave And The Derros Other Places - Meo 245 Love Comes, Love Goes - Mike Rudd I'll Be Gone - Mike Rudd Counting The Beat - Swingers, The Don't Let Go - Kevin Borich Can't Help It - Kevin Borich Trouble In My Brain - Sunnyboys Birthday - Sunnyboys Hand Me Down - Paul Kelly Billy Baxter - Paul Kelly Love And Devotion - Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons You Don't Know - Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons Happy Birthday Ibm - Models Local And/Or General - Models Yes Indeed - Gary Young In The Heat Of The Night - Russell Morris Roar Of The Wild Torpedoes, Th - Russell Morris Goodbye Lollipop - Madder Lake Song For Little Ernest - Madder Lake 12lb. Toothbrush - Madder Lake How Come - Sports, The Stop The Baby Talking - Sports, The Black And Blue - Chain Dust My Blues - Chain Blow In D - Chain My Arse Is Black With Bourke S - Chain I Remember When I Was Young - Chain C'mon Lets Do It - Fives, The On The Prowl - Fives, The Goodnight Sweetheart - Fives, The Sitting In Limbo - Renee Geyer Say I Love You - Renee Geyer Heading In The Right Direction - Renee Geyer Stand By Me - Jam, The Johnny B. Goode - Jam, The EARLY SINGLE RE-RELEASES "Hungry Town" was originally released by Big Pig on a double vinyl 12 inch set as the band's debut release. It was so popular it was included on their first album "Bonk." The Saints first real hit "Just Like Fire Would" from 1986 also became the biggest hit of their career. Another in this series is The Sports "Who Listens To The Radio" which was the single taken from their 1978 "Don't Throw Stones" album - their most successful. Jimmy Barnes "Working Class Man" is another of the Mushroom single re-releases. This single, lifted from the album of the same name, was released in November 1985 and immediately went Top 5. It became Jimmy's signature tune. This release is the remastered version. Also included is "No Second Prize". The Choirboys "Run To Paradise" is their 1987 hit single re-issued as part of Mushroom Records 25th Anniversary.There are three other tracks. Dynamics Hepnotics "Soul Kind Of Feeling" is their 1984 hit single. There are two other tracks. All these re-issued singles have the artwork from the original covers. They each cost $US4.40 for overseas customers and $A7.95 for Australian customers. Cheers Greg =================================== Greg's Music World Point your browser to http://www.musicworld.com.au/ Your Australian music store =================================== ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 98 11:52:04 (PDT) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things OZZY ARTIST: >Does anyone know if Dick Martin is still alive? I seem to remember >hearing that he was dead at one time and alive at a later time. If >he's still alive, he'd definitely be my top choice for the Centennial >Book Contest. I think he would be good, but I'm pretty sure he's in Oz now... >If not, I'd like to see Kramer (if he's alive). I'm afraid I just don't agree...I agree his _Shaggy Man_ illios are much better than _Mimics_, but I just don't care for his style...My vote is for Melody Grandy. Shanower's work may be more detailed and spectacular, but for me it somehow lacks the Ozzy whimsicalness of Melody's work. OZMA FOR PRESIDENT!: J. L. Bell wrote: >In the land created by Matilda Gage's son-in-law, indeed, >"never was justice more perfect, never civilization higher than under the >Matriarchate." I know this isn't Ozzy, but do you all think that the world would be better if it were run by women? I've often thought so, but my mom isn't so sure... She wisely points out that people are people and no group is all good or all bad...I think the world would be better if you could guarantee that the women in power were really women and not females who got to where they are by emulating machismo-ness (if that makes sense). >However, the *prehistory* of Oz seems to be one of chaos and danger, in >which women surpassed men in causing harm. The Wicked Witches of the East >and West, Mombi, and Blinkie aren't just women who upset men by being >independent; the books reveal them (to varying degrees) as heartless >exploiters. Somehow, I've never quite been able to regard wicked witches as "women". FAQ: I'm just letting everyone know that I've made one more update to the Ozzy Digest FAQ, changing all the references to "Buckethead" to "Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends", and updating the E-mail and web links accordingly. I'm also contemplating discarding the vanilla text version of the Digest and just distrubuting the HTML version because It's getting so difficult for me to maintain both...It's sooooo time-consuming! How do others feel about it? BTW, I'm still in the market for a program (preferably shareware or freeware) that can convert HTML to and from other formats like Word, Works, WordPerfect, WordPad, RTF, etc. if anyone can point me in the right direction...*Please*???!!! -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave **************************************************************************** Dave Hardenbrook, DaveH47@delphi.com, http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ "I like to define humor as the affectionate communication of insight." -- Leo Rosten, introduction to _Oh K*A*P*L*A*N, My K*A*P*L*A*N_ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JULY 2, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 12:38:19 -0700 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Non-Ozzy request: Do we have any Digesters from the Bluegrass State? (That's Kentucky for all you Yankees) I need some information Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 17:13:05 -0400 (EDT) From: Kiex@aol.com Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 06-29-98 Speaking of the Magic Picture: What was the origin of the Picture? I'm sure I knew at one point, but I can't put my (mental) finger on it now... Hmmm: We now have two David L.'s on the Digest. (I guess it's time to use full names when addressing them...) Atticus: <> You're using needle and thread? That was weak, but then, so am I . . . Jeremy Steadman http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 17:45:24 -0400 (EDT) From: Kiex@aol.com Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-01-98 Dr. Johnson: You have validated my belief that once in awhile, I remember something correctly. (Well, actually I didn't believe that before today, but I guess it's time to start.) Having been brought up in a distinctly feminist-leaning household myself, I too have natural tendencies in that direction. _Wizard_ Rerelease: Is it being touched up too, or just repackaged? Robin: Well that settles the question as to whether you'll be at home this weekend, Oregon... A new discussion question that just occurred to me: What Oz character would be the best President for the U.S.? (As if any of them would want to leave Oz--but assuming they did...) The natural choice, of course, would be Ozma or, more so, Glinda, but beyond them? Certainly not the Wizard, that's for sure! "_Land_ aside..." When I said that, I meant that apart from the ridicule inherent in the depiction of Jinjur's army (not the book in itself, which obviously chooses a female leader over a male), Baum's Oz books, and Baum in general, supported women's rights, etc. <> Yes, I would have said, but reading further I conceed, true. (Well, actually I can name some groups that I consider(ed) all bad, that's not the point.) On a lighter note, Bye! Jeremy Steadman ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 17:33:26 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 06-29-98 > John W. Kennedy quoted: > > >http://www.nyhistory.com/gagepage/ > > >The downfall of womankind in the West corresponded to the rise in > > >Christianity, Gage believed. A political overthrow created the > > >Patriarchate, and the Church had been the major institution to > > >maintain it, she contended. > > FWIW, many feminists still subscribe to that theory; we don't blame the > entire patriarchy on the rise of Christianity, but we do note that the > organized > Church did away with the equal rise of women who, originally,were allowed to > move up in the ranks of Church hierarchy right along with the men. At least > Oz shows no real gender bias. Jesus Christ, of course, had nothing to do with this. His attitude toward women bears no resemblance toward the patriarchal dominance of the church. I have a friend who did some research and found that Constantine expurgated/altered parts of the Bible where Jesus put Mary Magdalene (who was not a prostitute--that's the Church's construction. There is no scriptural or historical evidence that she was a prostitute. There is a prostitute in gospel named Mary, and Magdala was known for its prostitutes, but to say Mary Magdalene was a prostitute is a jump to a conclusion which is likely incorrect, but was done to enforce patriarchy). > real world, so we might consider its views as his most realistic and least > wishful. Of course, it wasn't just surveillance aids Rob didn't trust > people with--it's all the high-tech electro-goodies. like that awesome stun gun! > > A coupla clarifications: > In discussing whether Baum's characters from outside Oz aged and died, I > don't mean to dismiss Thompson's writing. I addressed our evidence of what > Baum had in mind. Indeed I'd like to think that humans in the borderlands > live long; that gives me hope that the golden reign of King Bud still goes > on. [One odd bit of aging: Chick the Cherub is clearly said to have grown > up to (wo)manhood at the end of JOHN DOUGH yet is as young as ever in > ROAD.] In _Nikidik in Oz_, Bud is an old man (set in 1991-1995), and is addressed as Timothy. Fluff married into a kingdom where people stay eternally young, which makes relations with her younger brother very interesting. Aging and death certainly occur in Noland, and that's straight out of Baum. > > Feminism and Oz: > I'm probably wrong, but I recall reading somewhere (probably not on the > Digest) that _Land_ aside, Baum actually had feminist leanings. Did I dream > this? Baum and Matilda Gage actually thought very much alike in many way, despite _Dreamer_. > Perhaps the Picture has a feature that stops it from showing Ozma things > that are too private, or that she does not want to see (sort of like a > magical V-chip). Yes, we know Ozma's not interested in seeing the actress who played her in RTO become a porno star. :< > > I don't think WHO'S WHO is authoritative, though it's "good" apocrypha as > opposed to books by modern authors (including myself) who've gotten > published but don't have any real cachet at all as Royal Historians of Oz. > (And much as I like Gina Wickwar, having met her at Ozmopolitan a week or > two ago, I can't really consider her work as even "good" apocrypha whatever > title the IWOC conveys on her.) After hearing her chapter, I though her work seemd more Thomsonian than Baumian, as most apocryphal works seem to be. I thought the club wanted works that were more Baumian. > > This is probably true, but I don't think this has anything much to do with > historical dramas' being inherently alien to boys' minds. When I was 8-12 > or so, most of my friends and I delighted in playing at cowboys, Robin > Hood, Three Musketeers, etc. I don't think that the boys of today are > evolutionarily different; it's just that they don't have the examples we > had then to base our play on. If there were another series of Western, or > medieval, stories that were aimed at young males I'm pretty sure you'd see > an almost instant revival of young male interest in such stories. The > reason such stories appeal primarily to girls these days is that the > writers have targeted girls. _Toy Story_ rather accurately represents the generational shift from Westerns to space fantasy (not necessarily SF, more like Sci-Fi). About Ron Baxley, whom I've never been able to communicate with over e-mail (even though I have tried and an e-mail from Peter Hanff shows that he has tried). I see he made a good many mistakes in the Bugle. First, he was very careless in reporting my Oz filmography. Not only did he go for the obvious and incorrect interpretation of _Pumpkinhead_ (which does not bear the slightest reference to Jack, and which in the climax bore stylistic resemblance to Murch's Nome King as it gained human features with each kill), but he credited the director (the famous SFX artist Stan Winston) as "Stan Hutchin." Then for _Thelma & Louise_ (which to be consistent, should have had an ampersand) he says the Oz comment is from thelma to Louise, when the filmography clearly states that this is J.D. (the Brad Pitt character) speaking to Thelma. He also assumes details that I did not specify because I was not aware of them, but not in enough detail to suggest he knows what was being referred to. For his article on _Oz_, he neglects to say that the "two others" are Trot and Betsy, that the sevy clothing they wear on the cover of #17 is similar, however extremely modest on the interiors. He also sites Bill bryan as the artist, when, in fact, for issues #16-20 he was replaced with another artist. Bryan's version of Scraps has a much more innocent appearance, more beautiful than Neill's or the new artist's (whose name I can't remember). Although Bryan's Ozma is a young adult, her appearance and crown is consistent with the books. He also repeatedly misspells Mombi's name to be consistent with the back cover advertisement. The "e" was a typographical error not used in the lettering of the book. Unfortunately, though I have all 20 issues, and the specials, and every part of _Daemonstorm_ except the Kilroy special and #2, I have not had time to read them past number #16. I also have _Dark Oz_ #2, which states repeatedly the Gilikins are in the west. Perhaps he is going by the old mirror map where the westernmost (in fact the easternmost) tip of Oz is in the Gilikin country. There I accidentally put a pluf for my Oz book not yet published. He is sure to attack the adult themes in it as well. One scene occurs in a bar (though only adults are drinking), and was based on an incident in high school when Noah Butler and Shannon Scott (now Porter) walked into a bar with a Coca-Cola sign on the fron by mistake. Since the setting was the utopic community of New Harmony, I thought the brief anecdote could be expanded in Oz. Also, there are very slight hints at sexuality, as it is quite obvious that Tip believes the teenage ruler Aubrey has done things she shouldn't with her boyfriend, Tarkalus. The current is there, although its most explicit reference is Aubrey mentioning reading trashy novels in school to stay awake, to which Tip replies "ahnd ahm shor you really unahstahnd them tou," imitating Shwarzennegger, or rather, Britain Durham, in a reference to the Sugar and Spice film. And of course, the violence is comparable to that of WWoO. To Baxley, I'm sure I have utterly profaned Oz, even though it seems, overall (with these as exceptions) very true to Baum's conception of Oz, certainly more os than Thompson's, and definitely not, from what I know of them, to Neill's. No sagging rainbows as in Ginny's or John's, etc. Of course mine is inconsistent with the hidden prince because I have Polychrome's father as the anthropomorphic spirit/king of the rainbow, in much the sense as the wood nymphs are humanoid, etc. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 15:43:30 -0700 From: Bob Spark Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-01-98 Dave Hardenbrook, Two things: > I'm also contemplating discarding the vanilla text version > of the Digest and just distrubuting the HTML version because > It's getting so difficult for me to maintain both. I'm not enough of a computer adept to understand the implications of such a change. How would this affect me? > I know this isn't Ozzy, but do you all think that the world > would be better if it were run by women? I've often thought > so, but my mom isn't so sure... I'm not sure that one can generalize about the relative efficacy of male or female leadership. Personally, I have always believed that the ideal situation would be a benevolent dictatorship with me as said benevolent dictator. Bob Spark ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 17:21:56 -0500 From: Bea & Herschel Premack Subject: Ozzy Digest X-MSMail-Priority: Normal Can anyone tell me if a Merry Go Round is mentioned in any of the original 14 Oz books. There is one in Dot and Tot in Merryland. While I'm questioning, are there any clowns in the original 14? I have not yet read them all. I keep getting side tracked by his other books and stories Thanks, Bea ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 17:53:20 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-01-98 Tyler: The person who wrote that was arguing that since the assyrians had a very similar myth (which I heard at church a number of weeks ago) about Inanna and her son, which abstracted sounded exactly like the Christ story, that Jesus must have been mythical as well. The guest speaker's point was that the ressurrection story was such a powerful Truth that it had to have preceded Jesus, occuring in myth before it became a reality, as Christians believe it. Nate: According to Volkov, the tornado was summoned by Gingemma. J.L.: Of course there was never a Jewish man *named* Jesus. Rather, he was named Yeshua ben Yoseph. Jesus was a translation into Greek. Really, I didn't think people's names were supposed to be translated. :) Dave: I don't think a society run by women would be any better or worse than one run by men. It would be just as bad, but for different reasons. To quote Reverend Richard C. Everts: "We don't want women to become more like men because that doesn't work. We also don't want men to become like women, because that doesn't work either." His point was the merger of the masculine and feminine sides of each person have to be brought into balance to get anything done properly. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 19:11:43 -0400 (EDT) From: Ozisus@aol.com Subject: Rob's Oz on-line The Rob Roy McVeigh Oz collection catalog is on-line now, if you hadn't already heard. Jane http://www.pacificbook.com/current.html ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 21:59:05 -0400 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones Chris Straugh: Sadly, Dick Martin has left us. However, he would have been a very good choice for writing any Oz book. --Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 22:40:59 -0400 From: Ted Nesi Subject: Role! Hi all! I had to mention this to you guys...I got the Cowardly Lion role in a production of "The Wiz"! :) I'm very excited. It's a fun role. Does anyone know of any sites online about "Wiz"? (BTW, I know how different the movie is from the Broadway play [which is what we're doing]!) Ted -- *********************************************************** * TED'S LUCILLE BALL PAGE ~ TED'S MUPPET PAGE * * CLASSIC TELEVISION ~ THE UNOFFICIAL "WIZARD OF OZ" PAGE * * http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/6066/ * *********************************************************** ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 00:15:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Ozmama@aol.com Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-01-98 Does anyone know if Dick Martin is still alive? >> Unfortunately, Dick died several years ago. Tyler: Yes, the sandboat is essentially non-magic, but Johnny Dooit is magical in nature (comes when called, etc.) and Ozma is the one who set the trip in motion in the first place, IIRC. John Bell: Robin Olderman, we may indeed have met in Cherry Hill years ago. I was then a teenager.>> I think I went to all of the cons at Cherry Hill, so we probably met at one point or another. Btw, y'all, I'm at my brother's in Oregon right now, and will not get back to a computer until Sunday night. (We're going to the beach for the weekend.) The Portland area is SO beautiful! This could be a part of Oz. Hey, the Emerald City is only a copula miles away.... -- Robin ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 02 Jul 98 12:06:43 (PDT) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things OZMA FOR PRESIDENT II: I agree with Jeremy that Glinda would make a good president...Ozma would too, provided it was the Ozma of my books...The canonical Ozma has too many disquieting flaws, as David Hulan's "Are You A Good Ruler Or a Bad Ruler?" essay shows... Of course in any case both Ozma and Glinda are utterly unelectable...They are too honest, sweet, kind-hearted, etc. and I'm sure would be unwilling to play the dirty games of politics. THELMA AND LOUISE IN OZ: I remember Brad Pitt's line: "I am Oz the great and powerful"...Pretty ironic given that J.D. turns out to be such phony too...(Although J.D. is such a vile little shnook that even Ruggedo would turn away in distain.) FAQ: >Dave Hardenbrook, > Two things: >> I'm also contemplating discarding the vanilla text version >> of the Digest and just distrubuting the HTML version because >> It's getting so difficult for me to maintain both. > I'm not enough of a computer adept to understand the implications >of such a change. How would this affect me? You would only be able to read the FAQ in a web browser. -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave **************************************************************************** Dave Hardenbrook, DaveH47@delphi.com, http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ "I like to define humor as the affectionate communication of insight." -- Leo Rosten, introduction to _Oh K*A*P*L*A*N, My K*A*P*L*A*N_ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JULY 3, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 15:52:24 -0700 From: "Stephen J. Teller" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-02-98 > Speaking of the Magic Picture: > What was the origin of the Picture? I'm sure I knew at one point, but I > can't put my (mental) finger on it now... > > Jeremy Steadman There is no orthodox authority for this but I always suspect that the King of the Fairy Beavers (in JOHN DOUGH) gave it to Ozma. >>(And much as I like Gina Wickwar, having met her at Ozmopolitan a week or >>two ago, I can't really consider her work as even "good" apocrypha whatever >>title the IWOC conveys on her.) > > After hearing her chapter, I though her work seemd more Thomsonian than > Baumian, as most apocryphal works seem to be. I thought the club wanted > works that were more Baumian It would be unfair to judge a book by a single chapter, and the bit of HIDDEN PRINCE Gina read at Ozmapolitan is not really representative of the book as a whole. > Can anyone tell me if a Merry Go Round is mentioned in any of the original > 14 Oz books. There is one in Dot and Tot in Merryland. > While I'm questioning, are there any clowns in the original 14? I have > not yet read them all. I keep getting side tracked by his other books and > stories > Thanks, Bea There is Mister Joker the clown in the Dainty China Country Chapter of WONDERFUL WIZARD. PS The Aberdeen Festival this year looks super--I wish I could make it. I hope some digesters do. > > J.L.: Of course there was never a Jewish man *named* Jesus. Rather, he > was named Yeshua ben Yoseph. Jesus was a translation into Greek. Really, > I didn't think people's names were supposed to be translated. :) > > Scott > We usually translate people's names. Otherwise we would Moishe and Yitzak instead of Moses and Isaac and Publius Ovidius Naso instead of Ovid. > ====================================================================== > Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 19:11:43 -0400 (EDT) > From: Ozisus@aol.com > Subject: Rob's Oz on-line > > The Rob Roy McVeigh Oz collection catalog is on-line now, if you hadn't > already heard. Jane > > http://www.pacificbook.com/current.html Now I want to go to San Francisco! Steve T. ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 17:36:34 -0400 (EDT) From: Kiex@aol.com Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-02-98 Bob: > I'm not sure that one can generalize about the relative efficacy of > male or female leadership. Personally, I have always believed that the > ideal situation would be a benevolent dictatorship with me as said > benevolent dictator. There's that oft-repeated theme in Bob's postings. How benevolent could a person like this be? (Just kidding, Bob. I really know very little about you.) Dave: You appeared to cut certain portions out of my posting yesterday. Why? I knew I was boring, but still ...I assume something went wrong with my transmission. (Of the email, I mean! I didn't notice anything like that anywhere else in the Digest...) Until next time, Jeremy Steadman ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 18:04:07 -0400 (EDT) From: Ozmama@aol.com Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-02-98 >_Wizard_ Rerelease: >Is it being touched up too, or just repackaged? I don't know, but I'd sure like to find out! Someone remind me to ask John Fricke about this if we don't find out soon from another source. Or, someone else who knows John could e-mail him and ask. ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 19:08:57 -0400 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: getting to Oz the hard way Sender: "J. L. Bell" Thanks to Tyler Jones, Robin Olderman, Dave Hulan, and Nathan DeHoff for swiftly answering my question on how Dorothy returns to Oz without Oz magic. The vehicles seem to be two umbrellas (one Silver Island parasol, one Umbrella Island island), one castle, and one swan. Tyler replied <> That wasn't my question, but it had been my starting point. When I was younger, I thought how *lucky* Dorothy was to repeatedly be taken to Oz by natural disasters. But only the "cyclone" took her to Oz. The storm at sea got her as far as a lockup in Langwidere's castle, and the earthquake left her in an underground tomb. Then Ozma's magic kicked in. Further, Dorothy joins Ozma's legation because the Scarecrow recognizes her from WIZARD; she's spirited out of the cave because of the deal she made with Ozma in OZMA. Luck played a role [what if Ozma had reached Ev a day later? what if Jim had taken the other tunnel?], but neither luck nor natural disasters got her all the way to Oz. Dorothy's later arrivals all derive from what she accomplished on earlier trips. I was wondering if Baum's successors held to the same pattern. Thompson seems more lax about it, as she always was with the Deadly Desert/Barrier of Invisibility. In a side point, Tyler argues that the Sand Boat traveled naturally, though Johnny Dooit was summoned by magic and seemed to build it with magic. I count Dorothy's journey in ROAD as dependent on magic deriving from Oz because the Magic Belt started her off. The American who reaches Oz most often in Baum's books with no deliberate help from within the country is Button-Bright--which figures! Nathan wrote <> in Oz. There's no indication Kaliko hasn't had a sex-change operation, either! But extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof, as a certain non-historian used to say. About dating MERRY GO ROUND Dave Hulan wrote: <> I expect some version was, yes. Young Boy Scouts were called cubs as early as 1934, though when that got capitalized (as Robin says it) I don't know. My point was that in dating Oz events we have to look for clues about the outside world as well as clues about Oz. Otherwise, we fall into the Snow paradox: trying to date television sets before 1921. Dave Hulan wrote: <> Baum makes clear in WIZARD's first chapter that Dorothy came to the prairie from somewhere else; her personality was a disruption for Aunt Em. So *geographically* these relatives were distant--not as remote as your family in GLASS CAT, but enough for Baum to make a point of it. I agree that American social workers have always preferred to take orphans to nearby relatives who can care for them. Since Thompson says nothing about Speedy and Peter having to adjust, I was assuming those boys were in that situation. What Neill says about his Americans is as jumbled as most everything else in his books, so I can't list Jenny and Bucky in any column. [I even have doubts that Bucky's really named "Jones"!] The term "foster home" dates from 1886, according to Merriam-Webster's. But, the OED reports, originally "foster-brother" or "foster-sister" meant an unrelated child who'd suckled at the same breasts. David Levitan: <> Those are still protected, as the copyright notices on each map and the book's copyright page indicate. But try contacting the Int'l Wizard of Oz Club for permission to post them--if you promise a link and a copyright/permission line, you may get approval. The maps originally published in TIK-TOK are now in the public domain, and you'd own the copyright on any images you create yourself--if you've got a good graphic program, you could create versions of those maps that read the right way around! Dave Hardenbrook wrote: <> I don't know if my vanilla e-mail reader can decipher a mint-chocolate-chip marked-up message. I've had trouble with HTMLoaded posts in the past. But it's your party. Why don't you try a test run? Dave Hardenbrook: <> Listen to your mother. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 17:30:44 -0700 (PDT) From: VoVat Quetzalcoatlus Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-02-98 X-Originating-IP: [144.80.160.65] Jeremy: >Speaking of the Magic Picture: >What was the origin of the Picture? I'm sure I knew at one point, >but I can't >put my (mental) finger on it now... I don't think it was ever explicitly stated in the FF, although I believe that Snow hinted that it was Ozma's own creation. In Onyx Madden's _Mysterious Chronicles_, it is a gift from Tititi-Hoochoo. In Fred Otto's _Lost Emeralds_, Ozma finds it in the Amber City. >What Oz character would be the best President for the U.S.? (As if >any of >them would want to leave Oz--but assuming they did...) The natural >choice, of >course, would be Ozma or, more so, Glinda, but beyond them? >Certainly not the >Wizard, that's for sure! The Wizard might be the most likely to win an American election, though. Scott: >In _Nikidik in Oz_, Bud is an old man (set in 1991-1995), and is >addressed >as Timothy. Fluff married into a kingdom where people stay eternally >young, which makes relations with her younger brother very >interesting. In my short story "Return to Boboland," Fluff marries Prince Bobo. That story takes place soon after _Rinkitink_. I believe that David Hulan was once planning a story with the same union. >After hearing her chapter, I though her work seemd more Thomsonian >than >Baumian, as most apocryphal works seem to be. Thompson's view of Oz is a bit less limited than Baum's, so apocryphal writers probably find it easier to work with. I think the view of Oz that I take in my stories generally tends to be a bit more Thompsonian than Baumian. Bea: >Can anyone tell me if a Merry Go Round is mentioned in any of the >original >14 Oz books. There is one in Dot and Tot in Merryland. >While I'm questioning, are there any clowns in the original 14? I >have >not yet read them all. I don't think that either one is mentioned in the Baum 14. Thompson's books contain both, though. Nathan Mulac DeHoff ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 09:14:27 -0500 From: Bea & Herschel Premack Subject: Ozzy Digest X-MSMail-Priority: Normal I recently came across an exhibit called "Science of Oz" so got their touring information. It was created by Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC. "The movie classic, The Wizard of Oz, is the basic for this engaging, interactive science and technology exhibit. Visitors will experience phenomena and scenes from the movie, setting the stage for learning about physical sciences, life sciences and biological sciences. Targeted for a family audience, this exhibit will take you on an educational and entertaining journey to the Land of Oz" For those of you who are lucky enough to live in or near the following cities, here is their itinerary: It is currently in W Hartford, CT.-- Oct to Dec '98 at Omaha Children's Museum. In '99 it will be in Chattanooga, Tn,-- Hampton, Va--Winston-Salem, NC. In 2000 at Little Rock, St. Louis and one slot still available. In 2001 at San Jose, Ca----Sausalito, Ca In 2002 in St Paul and San Antonio. I do have more specifics if anyone is interested. Bea ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 13:32:10 -0400 From: Michael Turniansky Subject: Ozus Kristos and Pirates of Penzoz... Well, I have seen my 6 year old play pirates with a neighbor, so I guess not *all* "historical" play is lost on boys these days. Scott asserts: > J.L.: Of course there was never a Jewish man *named* Jesus. Rather, he > was named Yeshua ben Yoseph. Jesus was a translation into Greek. Really, > I didn't think people's names were supposed to be translated. :) Actually, there is no hard evidence of what Jesus' real name might have been (as indeed, it's hard to know if he existed at all, as has been said.) Yeshua is the name claimed by so-called "Hebrew Xtians" or "Messianic (or Completed) Jews" but there is no historic evidence of this. Yeshu is another one claimed by traditional Jews, but it is just as probable that his name was the very common "Yehoshua" (Joshua). As for "translating" names, transliteration is a more accurate term, and it has to be done because not all phonemes or phoneme combinations (or inherent rules for word construction) that exist in one language that exist in another. Some things have to give. In Greek, there was no "Y" consonant like the Hebrew yod, so iota was subsituted. Names couldn't end in vowels, so an sigma was tacked on (or maybe that one happened in the translation to Latin? Didn't we have this discussion before?). Similarly there was no "sh" sound like the Hebrew Shin so sigma was substituted. Yehoshua or Yeshua => Iesus => Jesus when further translated into King James' English, since English didn't like that vowel cluster at the beginning. Same way Yeshaya => Isaias => Isaiah Similar things happen all the time. That's why Beijing became Peking, Guangdong became Canton, Livorno became Leghorn, (all into English) and Merry Xmas => Meli kalakemaki (I think I spelled that right) in Hawaiian. --Mike "Shaggy Man" Turniansky ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 13:27:15 -0500 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-01 & 02-98 7/1: J.L.: >This is how Glinda's surveillance of the Wizard worked out: she knew the >man had visited Mombi, but she had no idea why. Other times, it seems, >Glinda and Ozma can discern or deduce motives from what they see in their >Book and Picture: Ann Soforth's intentions, for instance. I think that when Glinda and/or Ozma is said to discern motives, it's because the people they've been observing in the picture or reading about in the book have expressed those motives overtly. The Magic Picture never seems to give any insight into the private thoughts of the observed, and I don't recall an instance of the Book of Records doing so, though I'm less sure about that. Certainly Ann Soforth, the example you give, was telling all her subjects about her plans for conquering Oz, so the GBR wouldn't need to read thoughts to know her intentions. > Thanks for recommending T.L. Sherred's "E for Effort"--sounds nifty. And >a short story I can definitely fit in. "E for Effort" first appeared in 1948 or thereabouts, but it's been anthologized many times and shouldn't be hard to find. There was a collection of Sherred's stories - he wasn't prolific - published back in the '70s sometime; I think the title was FIRST PERSON PECULIAR. All of them are excellent. >Writers and publishers target girls with books about history (and horses) >because girls are responding to those books and boys aren't. They target >boys with books about sports and with non-fiction because boys respond to >those. This may be true, but I still say that there's nothing inherent in males that rejects Westerns; when I was a lad most Westerns, both books and movies (we didn't have TV then), were aimed at boys and were extremely popular. I can't think of anything that's happened in the ensuing 50 years that would change that, if someone were to start aiming Westerns at boys. (Granted, horses - as opposed to stories where horses are simply a means of transportation - seem to be mostly a Girl Thing.) David L.: I haven't seen the Del Rey _Grampa_ so I don't know which maps of Oz they use. If they're the original maps from the 1st edition of _Tik-Tok_ then they're probably PD, but if they're the IWOC maps they're under copyright, and so are most other updates. I'd be very careful if I were you. Scott H.: I hope there wasn't anything of Oz interest in that long ad from Greg's Music Shop, because after I didn't see anything in the first screen or two I scrolled past the rest of it unread. Dave: I doubt if the world would be a better place if it were run by women, for the simple reason that regardless of sex, the world is going to be run by people who want to run the world, and that's pretty much the same type regardless of physique. 7/2: Tyler: Depends on what you mean by "from the Bluegrass State." I was born there and went to high school there, and still visit friends there occasionally, but I don't live there currently and haven't for 44 years. What kind of information are you looking for? Jeremy: I don't believe that the origin of the Magic Picture was ever given in a canonical Oz book. "Onyx Madden" (Jim Nitch) gave an origin in _The Mysterious Chronicles of Oz_; I believe it was a coronation gift from Tititi-hoochoo, but I don't remember for sure. (It was a gift from some magic-worker outside of Oz, I'm almost certain.) I don't think any Oz character would make a particularly good president of the US. The Wizard, as we see him in _Lost Princess_ and _Magic_ (but _not_ as we see him in _Wizard_ or _DotWiz_) is probably the closest. Scott H.: Aging and death certainly occur in Noland, but whether they occur at the same rate as in America isn't clear. I agree that _Hidden Prince_ sounded more Thompsonian than Baumian, but that's not too surprising when you remember that the final judge was McGraw; her own Oz books are more Thompsonian than Baumian. And she once stated that _Grampa in Oz_ was her favorite Oz book, with _Cowardly Lion_ a close second. Bea: There's a china clown in the Dainty China Country in _Wizard_. That's the only clown I can remember in the Baum books. And I don't recall a merry-go-round at all, though I think the music played by the mechanical dragons in Thi in _Lost Princess_ reminded the children of carousel music. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 03 Jul 98 13:58:23 (PDT) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things OHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! A couple of Digests ago I wrote: "I'm also contemplating discarding the vanilla text version of the Digest and just distrubuting the HTML version..." The Digest *FAQ* I meant to say! The *Digest* is, always was, and always will be plain text! It's only the *FAQ* that I'm thinking of having only an HTML version of, and that's what I meant to ask you all about! Sorry for the confusion! Ozma: Careful, Dave! That sort of omission of one little word is one way wars get started! -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave **************************************************************************** Dave Hardenbrook, DaveH47@delphi.com, http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ "I like to define humor as the affectionate communication of insight." -- Leo Rosten, introduction to _Oh K*A*P*L*A*N, My K*A*P*L*A*N_ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JULY 4 - 6, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 04 Jul 1998 09:49:42 -0400 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: presidents and/or clowns in Oz Sender: "J. L. Bell" Jeremy Steadman asked: <> I theorize the Picture was a coronation gift/resource sent to Ozma by Queen Lurline. Baum frequently refers to it as one of the most magical things in Oz, which implies a very high-powered source. Jeremy Steadman wrote: <> Must this President have been born in the U.S.? Is Ozma old enough? Would Ozians be able to use magic powers while in office, or rely simply on the personality we see in the books? In any event, I nominate Nick Chopper: an indefatigable public servant with proven popularity and leadership ability, whom we can trust for benevolent programs, military leadership when needed, polished diplomatic skills, judicial experience, little need for Secret Service protection, and an ability to talk sensitively to both the environmental movement and the timber industry. Of course, sometimes he comes off as a bit oily. Bea Premack asked: <> In addition to Mr. Joker, in MAGIC Loo the Unicorn is transformed into a man and starts cutting capers "like a clown." Neill's illustration of that man is quite clownish, though it doesn't accord with Baum's text in other ways. Probably the most appropriate clown for an Oz festival would be a white-face Scarecrow, like David Stone. Congratulations, Ted Nesi, on preparing to play the Cowardly Lion in THE WIZ! Scott Hutchins posted a correction to a listing in the latest BAUM BUGLE, which inserted his surname (mostly) in place of Stan Winston's. I'd wondered about that overlap. Thanks, Scott. All in all, I was disappointed in the latest BAUM BUGLE, especially the lead article. It seemed to show all the well-considered organization of a term paper due 24 April and started 23 April. Mike Turniansky wrote: <> I have noticed a surprising resurgence of pirates in books, both fiction and non-fiction (histories and dress-up books). Hollywood is passing this trend by after the disaster of Renny Harlin's CUTTHROAT ISLAND. One unfortunate way to interest boys in historical stories has always been to include weapons (six-shooters, muskets, cannons, broadswords, etc.). Dave Hulan wrote: <> I agree there's nothing inherent in young males' choices--it's a matter of today's culture, deeper than mere fads but not as deep as biology. Even horses can appeal to boys again, if the Black Stallion, Flicka, and other stories of the past are good indications. But culture takes time to change, and it replicates itself. You and I have talked about kids' current habit of wearing baseball caps backwards. I was at a Red Sox game last night [second time in two days they scored 15 runs, keeping them at a better record than the leaders of the AL Central and West--and they're still many games behind the Yankees!]. My friend pointed out there are now little kids who have grown up without knowing the way baseball caps were designed to be worn! Dave Hardenbrook, thanks for the clarification about the Ozzy Digest FAQ. Why don't you archive the latest non-HTML version, with a warning to readers that it's out of date but better than nothing? J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 04 Jul 1998 10:56:40 -0400 (EDT) From: Orange5193@aol.com Subject: Oz Digest Posting J. L. Bell states << The American who reaches Oz most often in Baum's books with no deliberate help from within the country is Button-Bright--which figures! >> Exactly! It's a trade off- you have to be lost before Oz can be found. >What Oz character would be the best President for the U.S.? (As if >any of >them would want to leave Oz--but assuming they did...) The natural >choice, of >course, would be Ozma or, more so, Glinda, but beyond them? The Nature of Politics is this: You want Ozma, you'll take Glinda, you settle for O. Z. Diggs and hope he doesn't turn out to be Ruggedo. I'm assuming the inclusion of the music store catalogue was a mistake (Oz, Australian music, I can see how it happens). Let's just hope we're not invaded with Ozzy Osbourne postings :) For those who missed David Maxine's presentation on period 1903 Wizard of Oz recordings, he'll be repeating it at the Winkie convention. This time, I'm told, there might be a little something extra. Be there- I will, sorta. James Doyle ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 04 Jul 1998 10:04:24 -0700 From: Peter Hanff Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-03-98 Hi Dave, Just wanted to alert the Ozzy Digest readers who will be in San Francisco area on July 12-13 that Pacific Book Auction is holding a special preview of the Rob Roy MacVeigh Collection on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. A number of us attending the Winkie Convention, which ends with lunch on July 12th, plan to take advantage of the Sunday preview. We also will have dinner together at Wu Kong, a remarkably good, Shanghai-cuisine restaurant (only the second one to open in San Francisco), in the Rincon Center, about a block south of the foot of Market Street near the San Francisco Ferry Building. I will do a head count at the Winkie Convention on Friday evening and call in to reserve tables. Any Digesters who would like to join us should let me know before July 8 (I drive down to Pacific Grove on July 9). Peter ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 04 Jul 1998 16:47:01 -0500 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-03-98 Steve: >We usually translate people's names. Otherwise we would Moishe and >Yitzak instead of Moses and Isaac and Publius Ovidius Naso instead of >Ovid. At least, we do from pre-modern times. But unless an English version of a name is established (like Ghent, for instance - which is Gent in Flemish and Gand in French, the two local languages), modern practice is to represent it as closely as English spelling allows. E.g., Yitzhak Shamir, not Isaac; Vasili Stalin (Josef's son), not Basil. J.L.: >Thanks to Tyler Jones, Robin Olderman, Dave Hulan, and Nathan DeHoff for >swiftly answering my question on how Dorothy returns to Oz without Oz >magic. The vehicles seem to be two umbrellas (one Silver Island parasol, >one Umbrella Island island), one castle, and one swan. Dorothy returns to Oz on Ruggedo's head in _Kabumpo_, but the ultimate cause is Glegg's mixed magic - specifically, the Triple Trick Tea - without which Rug wouldn't have gone back to Oz. I consider this a case of Oz magic causing the return. > I was wondering if Baum's successors held to the same pattern. Thompson >seems more lax about it, as she always was with the Deadly Desert/Barrier >of Invisibility. As we've discussed, Baum himself seems to have forgotten about the Barrier of Invisibility by the time of _Rinkitink_ at least, so I don't think you can blame Thompson for ignoring it. >I count Dorothy's journey in ROAD as dependent on magic deriving >from Oz because the Magic Belt started her off. True, but it didn't get her to Oz. Most of the journeys we've been discussing didn't get Dorothy off the Ozian continent; the only time she left fairylands after _Emerald City_ was the brief trip in _Lost King_. I thought your question was aimed at how she got across the Deadly Desert into Oz proper, not how she got to fairyland. By that standard she got to fairyland via typhoon in _Ozma_ and earthquake in _DotWiz_, though it took Oz magic to get her all the way to Oz. Or do you just mean that Oz magic has to be involved at some stage of the journey, early or late? >The American who reaches Oz >most often in Baum's books with no deliberate help from within the country >is Button-Bright--which figures! Since only three Americans reach Oz more than once in Baum's books (unless you count Toto) that's not that high a distinction - especially since Button-Bright only does it twice. Well, I guess Shaggy does as well, if you count his expedition out to find his brother. But only three characters make it all the way from America to Oz more than once. I see, you meant "distant" geographically rather than genetically. I'm not all that sure that Dorothy came to the prairie from somewhere more distant than, say, the nearest small city, though. Clearly Aunt Em wasn't used to her before she came to live with them, or Dorothy's laughter wouldn't have upset her, so she wasn't from the next farm over or anything like that. But I doubt if she came all the way from, say, Chicago, either. And of course, Barry and Becky's uncle and aunt in _Glass Cat_ were more distant in terms of miles than Aunt Em and Uncle Henry probably were from Dorothy, but in terms of travel time they were closer than someplace 50 miles from E and H's farm would have been in 1900, if the farm wasn't close to a railroad (and the statement about how hard it was to get lumber for the farmhouse implies that it wasn't). Nathan: >I believe that David Hulan >was once planning a story with the same union. [Fluff and Bobo] I was - and I started to use it in the serial I'm currently writing for the _Mirror_. But Marcia (my First Reader) thought that explaining it slowed down the story, so that unless I planned to make it an important plot point I should eliminate it. I didn't, so I did. But I may yet write that story... David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 4 Jul 1998 19:38:59, -0500 From: NQAE93A@prodigy.com (MR ROBERT J COLLINGE) Subject: Ozzy Digest I had the pleasure of going to a children's production of "The Wizard of Oz" this morning in Ogunquit, Maine. It was put on by a professional touring group called "The Gingerbread Kids and Jack". The play itself was very good. It had nothing to do with the MGM movie, and actually followed the book very closely. However, it was still a musical. They had written a brand new score and songs for the entire show. People, including my wife, who were looking for "Over the Rainbow" and "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" were very disappointed. The songs were very clever though. The costumes were very similar to the book. Dorothy was a short little redhead with a fantastic voice. The group is based in NYC but does national tours. Thank you all for the congratulations on my winning entry in the Emerald City Mirror for the Royal Club of Oz. I hope to publish a book soon. Bob C. ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 04 Jul 1998 20:17:42 -0400 From: Richard Bauman Subject: TODAY'S OZ GROWLS Sender: Richard Bauman NATHAN - >The Wizard might be the most likely to win an American election, though. I think one already did! Bea - "Science of Oz" Yes, please give us the details, though I will have to wait until 2001. Happy Firecrackerless Fourth Everyone, Bear (:<) ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 05 Jul 1998 20:50:15 -0400 From: Jill Moore Subject: [Fwd: A Special 4th of July Announcement!] Hi Everybody! Hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July Holiday!!! In celebration of our nations birthday, and the upcoming Wizard of Oz Anniversary, I would like to share with you a great new Wizard of Oz Page (well, not totally new, but totally revamped with online ordering of great merchandise!). BEYOND THE RAINBOW is a great company to do business with, as I have many times. I highly recommend this shop, and know that all my Oz friends will too. Have a great time shopping!!! Your friend in Oz ~~~~~ Jill Message-ID: <359DC693.21AE3F29@i1.net> Date: Sat, 04 Jul 1998 01:07:15 -0500 From: Elaine Willingham Tah Dah! At last, it is our pleasure to announce that our permanent Web site is completed. We welcome you to visit as often as you like. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please tell your Internet Oz friends about the site and continue to send in Oz news tips, please feel free to post timely Oz News right onto our Message Board. We would like to send a special thank you to Peter Theodore, our Web master who has done a magnificent job. Now, without further delay, enjoy your first visit to the site, and have a wonderful and safe 4th of July! Elaine & Tina http://www.beyondtherainbow2oz.com Again, Happy 4th! Anyone who recieves this message has contacted Beyond the Rainbow at some point in time. If you wish to be removed from our email address list, simply email us. ====================================================================== -- Dave **************************************************************************** Dave Hardenbrook, DaveH47@delphi.com, http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ "I like to define humor as the affectionate communication of insight." -- Leo Rosten, introduction to _Oh K*A*P*L*A*N, My K*A*P*L*A*N_ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JULY 7 - 8, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 18:56:12 -0500 From: Justin McIntosh Subject: Oz I have a wizard of oz life-size stand-up for sale that someone might want to buy! It's a great item for your collection and if you'd like a picture of it, please e-mail me at mcintosh@ecsis.net and I will send one to you. I am a big Wizard Of Oz collector and have many items in my collection but this is one that has just become something in the way and I would like to see some Wiz fan out there have it! I am currently asking about $180.00 but I might go lower. Hope to hear from some Wiz fan out there! Justin McIntosh ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 21:01:16 -0400 (EDT) From: "James R. Whitcomb" Subject: For Ozzy Digest Hello Everyone: I just wanted to let everyone know that Elaine Willingham of "Beyond the Rainbow" debuted her newly designed website this past weekend. I hope folks will check it out as it's very nice and has lots of Ozzy information and collectibles for sale. For those of you who don't know, Elaine used to issue a newsletter called "Beyond the Rainbow Collector's Exchange". The URL for Elaine's website is: http://www.beyondtherainbow2oz.com/ Jim Whitcomb. ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 21:21:51 -0400 (EDT) From: Ozisus@aol.com Subject: Oz 2000, interested? Since so many of you Oz Digesters are interested in the people, places and happenings of the Land of Oz, I wanted to let you know that Barbara Koelle will be organizing a series of Life in the Land of Oz presentations (Individuals? Panels? Debates? -- anything is possible) for the International Wizard of Oz Club's Centennial Conference. If you'd be interested in presenting, write to Barbara at 244 Haverford Ave Swarthmore, PA 19081. Give her an overview of your proposed presentation -- it will be her job to juggle and fit together the options that come her way. I'll be including contact information in the autumn issue of The Oz Observer, distributed it at the Ozmopolitan convention, and posting it on the IWOC web site shortly. I just think some "prime candidates" for the Life in the Land of Oz track are active or lurking on this Digestm and, since Barbara is not a part of the wired community, you may need to seek her out to join the party as a presenter. FYI, other educational tracks include the Life and Work of L. Frank Baum (Chair: Nancy Tystad Koupal), Literary Criticism/Comparative Literature (Chair: Angelica Carpenter), Oz on Stage and Screen (Chair: David Maxine), and Oz Collecting (Chair: Robin McMaster). I'll be juggling any wildcard ideas that don't fit neatly into one of those five categories myself. Each chair will be looking for a full roster of programing to provide convention attendees with a menu of Ozzy choices during the four-day event. And fear not, Eric Gjovaag is pulling together fun stuff for those not interested in learning one thing -- just want to have fun? Head to Eric! Lynn Beltz is coordinating a kids' program and John Neel will organize a Baum Shelter program for the non-Oz fan family members we drag along with us. Lots more info to follow. Just wanted to get you all thinking about the kinds of things you'd like to add to Oz 2000. (Indiana University campus, Bloomington, Ind., July 20-23, 2000) Jane Albright ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 22:38:33 -0400 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones Vote for me, and I'll... I'd cast my vote for Cap'n Bill. He doesn't do much in the series, but he betrays a quiet wisdom and determination that serve this country well. Other positions: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Frogman Secretary of State: Glinda Sec'y of Defense: Jinjur Attorney General: Wogglebug Chairman of the Fed: Dad (of Uptown in _Hungry Tiger_) Book: The only time I can recall the Book of Records editorializing is in describing the impending war between the Skeezers and the Flatheads in _Glinda_. It only predicted general trouble and suffering, though. I can't remember any instance when it actually went into the thoughts of someone, although it may have happened somewhere in Apocrypha. As time goes by (in and out of the FF), magical items seem to grow more and more powerful. If this hasn't happened yet, I predict it will soon. David H: I had meant people who currently live there, preferable Louisville. I need info on a political contest. I suppose I could just break down and call their elections office. Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 22:48:55 -0400 (EDT) From: Orange5193@aol.com Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-06-98 I stand corrected- David Maxine's Winkie Con presentation will be something entirely different, and not a repeat of his period Oz recordings talk. James Doyle ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 07 Jul 1998 10:16:36 -0500 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-06-98 J.L.: >Probably the most appropriate clown for an Oz festival would be a >white-face Scarecrow, like David Stone. You're mixing names; the stage Scarecrow was Fred Stone, with David Montgomery as the Tin Woodman. (As half a dozen other Digest folk will no doubt tell you.) >My friend >pointed out there are now little kids who have grown up without knowing the >way baseball caps were designed to be worn! That seems fairly unlikely, unless the kid has never actually seen baseball played with proper equipment. The reversed cap is the way it's worn these days when not playing, but the players still quite sensibly wear the cap with the bill forward so it can serve its intended purpose of shading the eyes. (Catchers excepted, of course.) David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 07 Jul 1998 19:14:48 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-03-98 David Levitan: The Haff/Martin Oz map is at http://www.munchkinland.com/map.html. Actually it isn't, but the component states are. David: There was something related to "Over the Rainbow" in the Greg's Music World Mailing (plus Gary Young and Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons). Gary Young is the drummer for that band (which performs off-screen in Chris Lofven's _Oz_) and he wrote Dorothy's song "Our Warm Tender Love." I wonder if I'm the only Oz writer whose works are more Baumian than Thompsonian (aside from in the canon--Jack Snow). I write my Oz books in the naturalistic manner of Baum, and I tend to work with things I'm familiar with and have lived through and distort them to fantastic purposes, as Baum did. Thus, mine have a tendency to be a bit darker, and thus, likely less popular (though few have actually read them). BTW: Would this be a violation of a copyright on a Neill book? Tip: She had a girl lobotomized.. just for being ANNOYING! Scott ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 07 Jul 1998 19:36:44 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-06-98 I'm surprised the fact that Johnny Dooit has a major role in _Oz_, and the fact that the Munchkins and the others come across as individuals in a group rather than interchangeables. I have all ten issues of _Oz Squad_, but have only had time to read the first three (because it took forever to find #4 and there was a change of artists with issue #5 which made the story seem tough to reconcile with what came before (though I hadnb't tried). I'm sure no one wants to read an article about that, though, even though it became far less offensive after the first issue (to the extent they no longer found a need to put "suggested for mature readers" as a warning on the cover. James: The Australian music catalog was not a mistake. Speaking of "E for Effort" has anyone read _Gadsby_ by Ernest Vincent Wright? If I had time to read for pleasure I'd get it through interlibrary loan. It was not Wright's only book (infamous for lacking "e"s), but it was his last, as he died the day after it was published. The brief excerpt I read seemed more like poetry than prose, due to the formal constraints of limited vocabulary. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 08 Jul 1998 02:20:53 -0400 (EDT) From: Ozmama@aol.com Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-03-98 To: DaveH47@delphi.com Steve, quoting Scott:>>>(And much as I like Gina Wickwar, having met her at Ozmopolitan a week or >>>two ago, I can't really consider her work as even "good" apocrypha whatever >>>title the IWOC conveys on her.) If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. Remember that line? It's still excellent advice. While it's true that Gina's style is somewhat Thompsonian, her Oz is clearly Oz as we know it. Many of the Mss received were, to put it mildly, extremely personalized in their view of Oz. Others were Baumian, all right, but the authors had trouble with things like the flow of language and turned in stuff that would need major rewriting before it could be accepted. There is nothing in _Hidden Prince_, IIRC, that contradicts Baum, and even though the style is not his, the content is true to Baum's Oz. ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 08 Jul 98 23:20:04 (PDT) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things DIGEST PROBLEMS: Jeremy wrote: >You appeared to cut certain portions out of my posting yesterday. When this happens, I immediately think that there's a bug in my Digest generating program...I'll look into the matter and re-post anything that got inadvertently deleted... VIDEO SEARCH: As many of you know, I have been searching in vain for the Minneapolis Children's Theatre Production of _The Land Of Oz_, and today at www.reel.com I found a listing for a video called "Marvelous Land Of Oz", made in 1982. Is this the right one? (No details are given.) FOR OZ/RED DWARF FANS ONLY!: :) Scott wrote: >David Levitan: The Haff/Martin Oz map is at >http://www.munchkinland.com/map.html. I was looking at the descriptions of the Oz Kids videos, and couldn't help noticing the apparent resemblance of _Virtual Oz_ (at least the description) to _Better Than Life_. I've always thought that an Ozzy version of _Back to Reality_ -- in which Dorothy has a nightmare that Oz *is* just a dream (like in MGM) -- would be interesting...Ruggedo aquires a magic hallucinogenic spell to cast on the Ozites... Voice: For the last 99 years, you have been playing the Total Emersion Video game, "THE WIZARD OF OZ"... Dorothy: You mean -- This is Kansas? -- And we've just had a dream?? -- And I'm *not* a Princess of Oz?? Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke: And we're just farmhands, not a scarecrow, tin man or lion??? Professor Marvel: And Glinda didn't train me in magic???? Andy: (To Hickory) Did you marry Nimee Amee? Hickory: Was I supposed to? Andy: *Supposed to*?? That's the object of the game for the Tin Man, you twonk! You get separated to begin with and basically it's a love story across time, space, Oz, and Nonestica. Geez! No wonder you only scored 4 percent! (Or something like that.) :) POLTICS IN OZ: Okay Tyler, I'll go along... :) Here's my Ozzy cabinet: President: Ozma Vice President: Jack Pumpkinhead (Brains may spoil without affecting job performance) Chief of Staff: Jellia Jamb Secretary of State: Dorothy (Has been abroad many times) Secretary of Defense (of Oz): Glinda (But she'd make magic, not war) Secretary of Labor: Uncle Henry Secretary of Education: Wogglebug Secretary of Agriculture: Zim Secretary of Energy: Scraps (She has a lot of it!) Secretary of HUD: Reera (No one sees her for four years!) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs: Omby Amby National Security Advisor: The Wizard (Works very closely with the Secretary of Defense) Domestic Policy advisor: Betsey Bobbin (For no particular reason) Scientific Advisor: Shaggy Man Minister for Administrative Affairs: Miss Cuttenclip (She could handle all that paper-shuffling!) Minister of Industry: Nick Chopper Minister of Health: Herby Minister of (Magical) Technology: Aurah EPA director: Audah NEA director: Aujah FBI director: Jinjur CIA director: The Scarecrow (Then the government for once *would* have "intellegence"!) Speaker of the House: Frogman (Has to do quite a lot speaking) Senate Pres. Pro Tem.: Pastoria (Has to be someone old enough to remember King Arthur) Chair, House Ways and Means Committee: Head Wheeler (A real wheeler-dealer) Chair, House Committee on Aging: Locasta Chair, House Committee on Children, Youth and Families: Auntie Em Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee: Orin (They wouldn't even have to change the nameplate if the Munchkin county in which the Ozure Islands reside was nicknamed "Hatch"!) :) -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave **************************************************************************** Dave Hardenbrook, DaveH47@delphi.com, http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ "I like to define humor as the affectionate communication of insight." -- Leo Rosten, introduction to _Oh K*A*P*L*A*N, My K*A*P*L*A*N_ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JULY 9 - 11, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 08 Jul 1998 12:00:16 -0400 From: Michael Turniansky Subject: ozkids Don't know nothing much about them, but when to the webpage that Scott suggested: got one thing to say to their creators: get a clue! Boris and Bela cannot be "identical twins" *sigh* --Mike "Shaggy Man" Turniansky ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 08 Jul 1998 10:57:08 -0500 From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-08-98 Jane: I'll certainly volunteer to do something for Barbara's track at the Centennial Conference. I need to write her anyhow (if for no other reason, she has my ZIP code wrong and everything she sends me is delayed because it goes via Henley, MO, wherever that is), so I'll mention a couple of topics I might present, and a willingness to debate or be on a panel about almost anything. Tyler: >I'd cast my vote for Cap'n Bill. He doesn't do much in the series, but he >betrays a quiet wisdom and determination that serve this country well. Good thought. And he even has the advantage of being constitutionally eligible for the office, which most of the others who've been mentioned aren't. Lee Jenkins is on-line, used to subscribe to the Digest and may still, and lives across the river from Louisville and is probably familiar with what's going on there politically. Unfortunately, I know she changed ISPs recently and so I don't know her E-mail address any more. And I don't know if she has time or inclination to respond to questions about local politics. Scott H.: >I wonder if I'm the only Oz writer whose works are more Baumian than >Thompsonian (aside from in the canon--Jack Snow). It depends, surely, on how you define "Baumian" vs. "Thompsonian." I consider my Oz writing more Baumian than Thompsonian, but that's based on my personal perception of the differences between the two, and someone else might disagree. As someone who has read your Oz writing might disagree with your self-characterization. (The only thing of yours I remember having read was "Giraffic Park," and it didn't strike me as Baumian or Thompsonian either one. But I know that was relatively early work and probably not representative.) David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 08 Jul 1998 13:09:01 -0400 (EDT) From: RickEditor@aol.com Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-06-98 You might want to start an OZ Irony Dept. and kick it off with this: I live in the Philadelphia house in which Ruth Plumly Thompson penned her 19 Oz books, and I'm keeping the Oz tradition going: I got a new heart! The successful transplant was last Sept. 10 and I'm doing fine. Now all I need is courage and a brain! I still remember fondly being a guest a few years back at the convention honoring Ruth's 100th birthday! Rick Selvin ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 08 Jul 1998 12:55:38 -0700 (PDT) From: VoVat Quetzalcoatlus Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-08-98 X-Originating-IP: [144.80.160.62] Scott: >BTW: Would this be a violation of a copyright on a Neill book? > >Tip: She had a girl lobotomized.. just for being ANNOYING! I don't think so, as long as you don't specifically mention Jenny Jump or the events in _Wonder City_. I don't know much about copyright law, though. Briefly, Nathan Mulac DeHoff ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 08 Jul 1998 18:01:56 -0400 (EDT) From: Mark Anthony Donajkowski Subject: oz news REUNITED: Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, for a Christmas theatrical release of the 1939 movie classic "The Wizard of Oz" (in much the same manner "Gone With the Wind" has just reopened). In preparation, the Turner Classic Movies Music/Rhino Movie Music soundracks partnership will release "The Story & Songs From 'The Wizard Of Oz,'" a new, nearly-78-minute audio CD, in stereo, on Sept. 1. ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 08 Jul 1998 17:04:08 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 07-08-98 Robin: I'm not the one who said I couldn't consider _The Hidden Prince of Oz_ good apocrypha. I just said it sounds more Thompsonian than Baumian. Somebody else had the line about "`good` apocrypha," definitely not me. I would have to read the whole thing before I would even think of saying something like that. I think Steve garbled his quotes a bit. Dave: The production was called _L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz_, and it was made in 1991. The box says (c) 1991 Child Vision (C) 1982 MCA Videocassette Inc. This is it. I would definitely not get the cheapskate EP recording because the Children's Theatre Company uses a black box stage, and dark colors tend to look particularly fuzzy with a lot of red and blue spotting in the EP mode. I don't know who released the EP version, as I've never seen it for sale. I never buy EP tapes unless (as it is unfortunately the case with the Oz Kids videos) something has never been released in SP mode. Since they have it for rent, yopu might not want to worry about the $33.99 price, though you'll probably want to buy it after you see it. Tyler: Wasn't Dad the king of Down Town?! Dave: I take it _Better Than Life_ is a _Red Dwarf_ episode. I say this because I don't know who Andy is. The 1989 Ozian had a story called _There's no Place Like Oz_, which was just like the story you describe. I think it was by david Maxine. The illustrartions were by Eric Shanower, who parodies the film's final image (and inserts Ozma). The other night I had an odd dream of an OzCon late night party. The odd thing was that Neve Campbell was there and they kept showing _Perfect Strangers_ on a couple of TVs. I don't know why I'd dream of having a conversation with Neve Campbell since I don't follow her films or TV series. Maybe I'm psychically aware that she is an Oz fan, as I already Bronson Pinchot is... Scott ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 08 Jul 1998 20:41:47 -0400 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: rules of Baum's Oz Sender: "J. L. Bell" Thanks, Dave Hulan, for sorting out Fred Stone's name properly. About Button-Bright's fortune in getting to Oz, James Doyle wrote: <> Excellent point. Even when Dorothy is under Ozma's watchful eye (ROAD), she doesn't know ezackly where she is. Button-Bright takes the next step: much of the time he doesn't much care where he is! About classifying Dorothy's travels to Oz, Dave Hulan asked: <> Yes, I meant that if *any* leg of Dorothy's journey involved magic deliberately worked from within Oz or by Ozians, then that trip ultimately stemmed from her initial visit to Oz. And therefore other Americans wouldn't have the same chance of succeeding on such a journey. That may mean there may be caves, islands, and dungeons across the Nonestic region where missing Americans languish, having been transported to a fairyland by natural disaster but not having the connections to get further. Betsy Bobbin was rescued from such a fate--but only because she was with the Shaggy Man. Fortunately, Trot's books tell us Americans can visit fairylands and make it to safety without Ozian intervention. JOHN DOUGH says the same thing (as might the TWINKLE AND CHUBBINS books, but I can't stomach them long enough to find out). JOHN DOUGH and SKY ISLAND are also the only Baum novels that come to my mind in which magic is worked by mortals in America, not by fairies and/or from fairyland. Magic being unknown here, of course, in both those books people discover its power accidentally. Baum's Oz novels, in contrast, say that magical things (the Silver Shoes, the Magic Belt) can't work or necessarily even exist outside Oz. As I type, I'm struck by the parallels between John Dough and Benny, the Public Benefactor, in Thompson's GIANT HORSE. Both are artificial men brought to life in an American city by a shopkeeper working magic unawares. Both men are well-dressed, naive, formal, and very strong. Both briefly astonish their home towns before stumbling onto an explosion that propels them through the air to fairyland. We know Thompson reviewed WIZARD before writing GIANT HORSE--she not only borrowed the Good Witch of the North but reverted to the original alignment of East and West. I wonder if she'd read JOHN DOUGH as well. Dave Hulan wrote: <> True, but the real distance was cultural. I should have been clear that in looking at Dorothy, Bobby, and Robin, I was examining the orphans in Oz books whose authors made a point of their adjustment. Dorothy is obviously happier than the two boys, but none of these three seem to have made the seemingly seamless "Ma's dead, where's my baseball glove?" transition of Speedy and Peter. Scott Hutchins asked: <> I think this line on its own falls under fair-use guidelines. You're not mentioning a Neill character by name, you're interpreting rather than retelling Neill's (or his R&L editor's) episode, the original episode is a short piece of a long work, your line is an even shorter piece in a (presumably) long work, and you could even argue that you're parodying the original. All of those factors make this sidelong allusion to *that woman* more allowable. But there are few hard and fast rules about fair use. Scott Hutchins wrote: <> Dennis Anfuso (THE WINGED MONKEYS OF OZ) is a Baum purist: no Thompson or later characters, strict adherence to the details Baum described (a blue Woozy, for instance), taking Baum's unanswered questions as his starting points, even including characters based on Baum, Neill, and Denslow. Like Dennis, several folks write Oz stories to explain the prehistory or hidden history of Oz: Hugh Poindexter, Onyx Madden, et al. Ironically this shows both an attachment to Baum's vision--setting stories in his time, attending to the details he left us--and a very non-Baumian concern with consistency and tying off loose ends. I can't speak to writing I haven't seen, of course (save to say I don't recall Baum using the term "lobotomized"), but the qualities you mention don't strike me as what distinguish Baum's Oz tales from his successors'. How can we say events in Thompson's or Neill's books aren't based on what they experienced or knew? Is it just because Baum's life has been studied more closely that we see parallels between it and his books? How do other folks define "Baumian" and "Thompsonian"? Taking Baum's Oz stories as the norm, I see Thompson's Oz deviating from that through: * more concern with marriages, both as the culmination of plots and as a threat to the happy status quo in the Emerald City * more concern with restoring traditional father-mother-children families * more concern with becoming or restoring royalty as the end of the protagonists' journeys; fewer examples and less inquiry about different forms of governance * expansion of the boundaries of Oz's spell, so that outside Oz animals speak, people live forever, and Americans work magic * fewer interesting non-magical Oz folk encountered on journeys, more unusual races of people * more breathless action, without the rests Baum inserts in his compositions (or the anticlimactic pageants he drags us through) * less variation in the personalities of villains * more emphasis on athletic males, less respect for girls' strength * more horses Of course, Baum himself had different modes. After finishing Melody Grandy's DISENCHANTED PRINCESS, I wrestled with why I thought the book wasn't particularly Ozzy. It shows great imagination, intriguing characters, knowledgeable links to the Oz series, plus her lovely art. Finally I realized that to me the saga felt very "Moey." Like Baum's MO, it's a series of short adventures rather than a single journey or conflict culminating in a return or restoration for the protagonist. As in Mo, characters call on much more fantastic powers than the heroes in the Oz stories, where the most strongest magic is kept to the end. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 08 Jul 1998 17:48:47 -0400 From: Ted Nesi Subject: From PEOPLE Online Daily... Judy List , Jim Johnson This is from today's PEOPLE Online Daily: "REUNITED: Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, for a Christmas theatrical release of the 1939 movie classic "The Wizard of Oz" (in much the same manner "Gone with the Wind" has just reopened). In preparation, the Turner Classic Movies/Rhino Movie Music soundtracks partnership will release "The Story & Songs From 'The Wizard of Oz'," a new, nearly-78 minute audio CD, in stereo, on Sept. 1." I guess it's official! Ted -- *********************************************************** * TED'S LUCILLE BALL PAGE ~ TED'S MUPPET PAGE * * CLASSIC TELEVISION ~ THE UNOFFICIAL "WIZARD OF OZ" PAGE * * http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/6066/ * *********************************************************** ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 17:55:42 -0400 (EDT) From: Kiex@aol.com Subject: Re: Ozzy Digests past I've been elsewise occupied recently (and ill for a few days) and so must catch up on past Digests I've missed. the 3rd-- re the Magic Picture: Doesn't it allow the watcher to hear sounds of the viewed scene too? (I seem to remember that, but could be wrong.) Dave: Ah, that makes more sense (re keeping the Digest in the original form--you had said you were considering distributing it in HTML, but realized you meant the FAQ). That'll teach you to get your FAQs straight! The 6th-- Ozians for President: Why not the Scarecrow, for that matter? He seems very sensible about most things. The Difference of the Sexes: I think more males enjoy depictions of violence more than most females, judging by what I've seen during my life. (which is why female batterers get off more often) Until next time, Jeremy Steadman http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dimension/9619 ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 11 Jul 98 21:09:30 (PDT) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things OZ AUTHORSHIP: I'm afraid my writing is neither Baumian or Thompsonian...It's Hardenbrookian. RED DWARF: Scott wrote: >Dave: I take it _Better Than Life_ is a _Red Dwarf_ episode. _Better Than Life_ is both a _Red Dwarf_ episode and a _Red Dwarf_ novel, which expands and fleshes out the corresponding TV episode. _Back to Reality_ is the episode featuring Andy, who "de-briefs" the Dwarfers after they "return" from four years playing the virtual reality game "Red Dwarf"...But it was all a hallucination -- _Red Dwarf_ is the reality, and Andy never existed except in the Dwarfers' minds. Whether he ever returns to plague Dorothy, et. al. remains to be seen... WINKIE CONVENTION: This is probably the last Digest until after the Winkie Convention. I wanted to make this announcement before but didn't have the chance... If anyone is reading this who is going to be at the Convention, be sure to stop at the Oz Research Table to see my two contributions: _Red Dwarf in Oz_, and my essay, "Can Ozma Have It All?" (Both of these are also downloadable from my web page.) -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave **************************************************************************** Dave Hardenbrook, DaveH47@delphi.com, http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ "I like to define humor as the affectionate communication of insight." -- Leo Rosten, introduction to _Oh K*A*P*L*A*N, My K*A*P*L*A*N_ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JULY 12 - 14, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 11:16:17 -0500 From: David Hulan Subject: Winkies of Oz I got back from the 1998 Winkie Conference last night, and herewith a report: One of the great pleasures was the opportunity of talking at some length with three active Digest members I'd never met before: Barb DeJohn, Atticus Gannaway, and Ken Cope. Barb and her husband Mark (a non-Oz fan, but a nice guy who indulged Barb's interest with good cheer) arrived in time for the Thursday night pre-conference dinner and party, so I met her first. She's every bit as personable as you'd expect from her Digest contributions (which haven't, alas, been as frequent lately as they once were), as well as being a Very Pretty Lady indeed. She's also knowledgeable enough about Oz that she won the adult quiz. Atticus is a very articulate and interesting young guy who was one of my co-judges (the third being Karyl Carlson, co-author of _Queen Ann of Oz_) for the research table entries. I also spent quite a while talking to him at the Saturday night/Sunday morning party, which I left at 3 AM while it was still going fairly strong. And Ken was also a good converstionalist, who very much looks the part of an artist and whose wife Genevieve is another Very Pretty Lady. Other people familiar to the Digest (at least, to those of us who've been around a while) who were present included Lynn Beltz, Herm Beiber, Chris Dulabone, Eric Gjovaag, Peter Hanff, Joel Harris, Estelle and Rebecca Klein, Patrick Maund, and Liz Schaible. Missing, unfortunately, was Robin Olderman, who had been looking forward to the convention greatly but who was stricken with a bad case of sciatica (bad enough to require hospitalization) on the way to her brother's home in Portland, from which she'd planned to drive down to Asilomar. This was the sadder because she was this year's recipient of the Winkie Award for distinguished service to the Winkies, and wasn't able to be present to receive it in person. The pre-conference dinner was a great success, with a fabulous meal at a Caribbean-style restaurant in Pacific Grove quite near the Butterfly Grove Inn where most people who came early were staying. I highly recommend the pre-conference to anyone attending Winkies who isn't on a shoestring budget and can fit in the extra day; the group is much smaller than the main conference, which gives more chance to socialize with the other