] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JANUARY 1 - 2, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 16:06:55 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: that jolly Oz elf Sender: "J. L. Bell" On the origin of Santa's red and white suit, I found the source I'd paraphrased before. Frederick Allen's history of the Coca-Cola Company, SECRET FORMULA (Harper, 1994), states on page 8: "There was no popular version of Santa as a round, ruddy fellow in a white suit with fleecy white piping until [artist Haddon] Sundblum invented it in a series of Christmas ads for Coke." Sundblum's holiday ads started appearing in 1931. He also created the images of Aunt Jemima and the Quaker (as in oats). On the other hand, in his introduction to the Dover edition of Baum's LIFE & ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS (1976), Martin Gardner wrote: "[Thomas] Nast...replaced the fur [that Santa wore in 'The Night Before Christmas'] with a red satin suit trimmed with white ermine. The pointed hat, cow-hide boots and wide black belt were other Nast touches." So which authority is correct on Santa's clothing? Which artist deserves credit for our popular image of him? For answers I turned to E. Willis Jones's THE SANTA CLAUS BOOK (Walker, 1976). And, as often happens when one examines gradual change, the answers are "neither" and "both." Nast drew Santa for HARPER'S WEEKLY from 1863 to 1886. In these engravings Santa always wore a fur suit, usually with a wide belt, short fur boots, and a fur hat trimmed with holly. When Nast left the magazine, the publishing firm McLaughlin Bros. asked him to adapt his latest Santa art for a new book, SANTA CLAUS AND HIS WORKS, by George P. Webster. The McLaughlins were pioneering the use of color printing in children's books. Jones writes, "This posed a problem for the artist, because he had always thought of the Santas he drew in black ink as wearing a tannish fur suit, which certainly would not contribute to colorful illustrations. The simple solution was to make Santa's suit in a bright red, and to add a little contrast he trimmed it with white ermine fur" (p. 71). Nevertheless, Nast's first red-suited Santa is still a way from our modern image. He wears fur, not woven cloth. The garment's cut is like a set of pajamas with feet. The ermine trim is slight, running around his waist in place of a belt, and appears in some pictures only. Santa's hat has a small peak, and he wears fur shoes, not leather boots. In 1890 the McLaughlins published Nast's CHRISTMAS DRAWINGS FOR THE HUMAN RACE, which moved Santa further toward the image we know: he wears buckled shoes and a wide belt--but he's still in fur, and the ermine piping runs down the front of his coat only. Furthermore, Nast's red-suited Santa still wasn't the standard at the turn of this century. Other artists showed him dressed in different colors and styles. McLaughlin Bros. issued one edition of NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS in two states, one printing Santa's suit as green and one as brown. Maxfield Parrish's 1896 portrait of Santa shows two rows of big buttons on his chest. Mary Cowles Clark's illustrations for LIFE & ADVENTURES (1902) dress Claus alternately in green and red. DENSLOW'S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1902) depicts Santa in green with breeches and stockings, and his December 1904 comic page "Dorothy's Christmas Tree" shows the Tinman dressing up as Santa in a red coat with bristly brown trim. Neill's illustrations for ROAD (1909) don't include color, of course, but he drew Santa's suit with lots of fur piping and picked up the hat with holly sprigs from Nast (p. 243). After World War 1, the popular image of Santa settled down. A 1925 painting by N. C. Wyeth for COUNTRY GENTLEMAN called "Old Kris" showed a shifty-eyed, big-nosed gent in a red cloth coat and long pointed hat, both trimmed with white fur. There's even a jingle bell on the end of that hat. That's six years before Sundblum started painting Santa Claus for Coke. Jones does credit Sundblum with fixing the image of Santa in Americans' minds as a tall, jolly man, rather than a short, sometimes irascible elf. His book even uses a detail from one of those Coke ads for its front cover. So while we can say that Nast began the popular depiction of Santa in red and white, and Sundblum fixed his image for the latter two-thirds of this century, they worked on either end of a long evolutionary process involving many fine artists. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 16:52:45 -0500 (EST) From: Saroz Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 12-31-97 In a message dated 97-12-31 15:38:18 EST, you write: << Jellia: But can someone please explain to me again, slowly and carefully, preferably with diagrams, what Dorothy has to do with homosexuality?? >> I had a hard time figuring this out too, Dave, particurally when I saw a hand- blown glass ornament of Dorothy advertised in a catalog as "Dorothy, the quissential gay icon...she was around even before the ribbon!" My mother, however, suggested that it isn't really Dorothy, but _Judy Garland_ (who was somewhat suspected of being gay) they're using as an icon...and as a result their icon is her most famous role. Sarah ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 14:35:36 -0800 From: Bob Spark Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 12-31-97 Bear (and Dave), > Bob - Copies of LWS are readily available. If not locally > from Amazon. I can report success in my quest for LWS. Went to one Barns & Noble and two Borders to find it, but I now consider myself fully supplied (so far). Thanks, Bob Spark Bob Spark ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 20:46:45 -0500 From: "Melody G. Keller" Subject: Ozzy Digest, 12-31-97 Sender: "Melody G. Keller" Dave: >Jellia: But can someone please explain to me again, slowly and carefully, preferably with diagrams, what Dorothy has to do with homosexuality< The gay parade of "My Fellow Americans" was staged right here in good old Asheville, NC. And there was a big write-up in one of our local free papers about it. The parade featured guys dressed as MGM's Dorothy (as opposed to Dorothy of the book). As to the diagram, can't give you an exact one, except there seems to be an identification with famous, talented women who lived tragic lives & died tragic deaths. Judy Garland was one. Another gay guy I knew was fascinated with Sylvia Plath &, to a lesser degree, Patsy Cline. Patsy Cline was a singer who died young, & the poet Sylvia Plath suffered bouts of depression and finally took her own life. Jellia: Ouch! I'm glad things like that don't happen in Oz anymore. Ozma: And never will again, if I have anything to say about it. My subjects enjoy good mental as well as physical health. So there's a *vague* diagram for you. Anybody got one more exact? Melody Grandy ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 20:45:53 -0500 From: "Melody G. Keller" Subject: Ozzy Digest, 12-31-97 Sender: "Melody G. Keller" JL Bell: >Tip had no such responsibilities, of course, so it's hard to guess how he would have responded to them.< I imagine His Majesty Prince Tippetarius of Oz running out and climbing trees or skipping stones across the royal pond after a long, hard day of holding court. :-) Melody Grandy ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 18:18:09 -0800 From: Ken Cope Subject: Dorothy and the Drag Queens of Oz Jellia Jamb asks us all: > But can someone please explain to me again, slowly and carefully, > preferably with diagrams, what Dorothy has to do with homosexuality?? If this is a puzzlement to you, Jellia, I'd suggest dressing up in your best lettuce-accented pale green number, visit just about any gay bar in Garden Grove or West Hollywood or the Castro, and, by way of introduction, let everybody know you enjoy presenting online as a delightful little servant girl called Jellia Jamb, and that you're wondering if anybody can fill you in on all this about "friends of Dorothy." One short answer is that Oz is America's own best beloved fairyland. The next short answer is the cult of Judy Garland. Her Dorothy's alienation and quest for what lies beyond the rainbow had become anthematic among no small percentage of those among us most blithely condemned by the mainstream that needs some group to which they can feel superior, you blithe spirit, you. Judy Garland has inhabited many personae over her lifetime, and drag queens have impersonated all of them. Even her singing daughter has had to contend with this reality. Life IS a Cabaret, after all. The Stonewall riots (or was it the Cristopher Street riots? I'm blurry about this, and hope somebody else will be more precise) in New York came about when some homophobic men in blue decided it was time to crack down on gay bars on the wrong night. Their targets were mourning the death, on the day of her funeral, of Judy Garland. Those cops messed with the wrong crowd. The event became a catalyzing force in a movement for personal and political acceptance and power, a movement with powerful opposition. Many of the self-righteously opposed are not as secure in their gender roles as they profess to be. These people are afraid to heed the call of, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" How unimaginative and unobservant, to count only two genders, or to legislate that one should behave only as a boy or a girl "should" throughout one's entire life. Face it, Homosexuality is the last "group" that so many think should be "liquidated" and that includes the "liberal" view that they be educated and rehabilitated out of their "illness," just like we should have done with those pesky redskins (!). The rainbow has become a flag and an icon; the song, _Somewhere Over the Rainbow_, an anthem. To find acceptance in such a strange and colorful place, among such curious people, and to ultimately become secure in the person you always were has emboldened many to follow Dorothy down that yellow brick road. Or you can stay in Kansas, if you like. As time and culture changes, infinite diversity in infinite combinations will be celebrated more universally, if the trend continues, and is no mere trend. I hope I will not be judged an optimist in this respect. It should be noted, of course, that Oz has always been an integral part of the culture of Theatre and showbiz, in all of its permutations, this century. If you need me to explain to you in any great detail about those dreaded Thespians, and the things they do, and the costumes and makeup they wear, well. It isn't for the faint-hearted. You may or may not enjoy the Australian film _Priscilla, Queen of the Desert_. At least the giant slipper is silver. If you're looking for some more pictures, I was looking for a way to recommend a particular series of comic books to the list, and this happens to be one way to do so. Ahem: *** _The Sandman_ by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by many. Here is a URL for a fan site that contains the FAQ and the like: http://www.holycow.com/dreaming/ Some people say it's a series of graphic novels about the anthropomorphic personification of Dream, Morpheus the King of Dreams. I would recommend it over just about anything else in graphic novels these days; there is much meat for an Oz fan, and your literary horizon will be expanded. I particularly recommend _The Season of Mists_ in which Lucifer quits his job, boots everybody out of Hell, and hands Morpheus the key to "...the most desirable piece of psychic real estate in the whole order of created things..." The second (of 10) story arc of _The Sandman, _The Doll's House_, contains an incidental character named Hal, who dresses professionally in drag. In part 6, we are shown a dream of his, containing the fragment I'll recount. As Hal tries to slip back into the dream he was having, was it about Bette? Marilyn? Judy? We are shown 3 panels. One contains Dorothy, tugging at her cheeks like they were a mask. "Of course, this isn't my REAL face, Hal." The next panel shows Margaret Hamilton's witch face, revealed as the mask is removed by the wearer of the blue gingham dress and pigtails, "And THIS isn't my real face either." The last panel reveals Frank Morgan's Wizard, still in pigtails and gingham, holding two masks, "Hal, you'll have to HELP me. I'm running out of hands." I wouldn't want you to think that the series is "about" homosexuality. Everybody dreams, and in Gaiman's story, Morpheus is responsible for everybody's dreams, while being the hopelessly gothic tragic romantic (quite het apparently, for what it's worth, though he does appear as a cat when he visits Bast in her dreams, so who knows). The series is suggested for mature readers. I don't know what could possibly have prevented you from reading all of them, if you've read any one of them. At the least, you will find more than one Ozian making cameo appearances. Dr. Fredric Wertham and Rev. Donald Wildmon would not approve. *** As for Dorothy and the Drag Queens of Oz, Pop culture and its icons are used by many subcultures to help define and identify themselves, one to another. For instance, I was looking on the web for information about Thespians, so I looked up Blithe Spirit's author "Noel Coward" in Yahoo, and clicked the first URL that came up: http://members.aol.com/sirnoelcow/index.html As it loaded a .wav file popped up with Noel Coward's voice saying what sounded to me like the words "frightfully gay." Of course it is unwise these days, to leap to any conclusions about anybody, based just on things they say and books and authors they like, and quote. But the site contained a link to a very lavendar page with some great Tallulah stories, so I'm starting to get suspicious. I am always interested in another's point of view. --Ken Cope Ozcot Studios pinhead@ozcot.com-- Our first business will be to supervise the making of fables and legends, rejecting all which are unsatisfactory; and we shall induce nurses and mothers to tell their children only those which we have approved. --Plato "The Republic" ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1998 15:32:26 -0600 From: Tim Allison Subject: connection between Oz/Gay parade In West Hollywood there is a store called Surrender Dorothy, which sells a rather eclectic bunch of nostalgia and novelty items. I asked about the connection, and was told that first, Judy Garland has always been a favorite with female impersonators, and secondly, she has always been viewed empathically by many gay men. In other words, it is more Judy and the movie, not Baum and the book. You will notice it is ruby, not silver slippers Carol ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JANUARY 3, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1998 19:28:33 -0800 From: ozbot Subject: ozzy digest X-MSMail-Priority: Normal Hi, everybody! Long time no speaketh! I'm afraid I've been a lurker so long, not many of you probably remember me. Well, just remember I will be watching, and just one thing before I slip back into lurker mode Santa Clothes-- I happened to be going thru my Little Nemo collections (reprints of Winsor McKay's fantastically beautiful turnofthecentury newspaper comic strips (the full color kind that took up a whole newspaper page)) You can add Winsor McKay to an early "recognizable" Santa-- 1908 found McKay's Santa just as tall, plump, and RED (the only discrepancy would be a brown fur trim instead of white.) Earlier depictions were similar, but not quite consistent-- instead of a red coat it was a long red robe(1907) and just previous to that, green (also 1907.) The boots-the pointed hats, long white beard-- this is the CokeaCola Santa but three years early! Danny ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1998 22:38:50 -0500 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones Ruth: Caught me on a technicality :-) In other words, you can write about the GWN as the GWN, but not using the name "Tattypoo" or in her capacity as Queen Orin of the Ozure Isles. Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 11:16:44 -0800 From: "Stephen J. Teller" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 12-31-97 > > Steve Teller's comment about Neill's WONDER CITY manuscript caused me to > wonder: > < as in the printed version, and it did contain the youthening [of Jenny] > although not the "lobotomy." The Ozlection was not in the original.>> > > Earlier I wrote, "I looked in my copy to confirm that Neill did illustrate > the additions." But that was when I thought the house battle and Jenny's > age change were among them. Neill did *not* illustrate voters lining up for > the Ozlection, and he did *not* illustrate the removal of the wasp, snake, > and toad from Jenny's personality--and both subjects were quite > illustrable. (He didn't illustrate the Heelers, either, but they only > appear in darkness.) Jenny's expression on page 315 is a bit vacant (and I > don't like the way the Wizard is looking at her!), but that's not > necessarily lobotomized. In other words, Neill-the-illustrator didn't work > to support the editorial additions to Neill-the-writer's manuscript. That > undercuts their reliability as Oz-history. > > J. L. Bell While it is true that the scenes memtioned were not in the original MS and are not illustrated there are scenes that are illustrated that are not in the original MS. I will need to have a copy of the printed book before me but the scene of Jenny's arrival in the middle of Ozma's birthday party is not in the MS. I will have a fuller list of additions later today. Steve T. ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 14:11:20 -0400 From: jwkenne@ibm.net Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 12-29-97 RE: "The" illustrator As I remarked at the '96 Munchkin Con, I think for many of us "boomers", Copelman is "the" illustrator for "Wizard". The Urey illustrations, which R&L used for their first "Wizard", are not unlike Neill. c.f. the Urey "Tin Woodman". Dave wrote: >Since Books of Wonder has reprinted all the _Little Wizard Stories_ in >one volume, Not for the first time, I believe.... >Anyway, I >really didn't like what I saw as Thompson sentencing the Good Witch of >the North to "death" for not being young and beautiful. Hmmm.... I really saw it as making a virtue of necessity while disposing of a hopelessly loose loose end. (After so many years of invisibility, could the GWN have been brought back to literary life as though she'd been there all the time?) >Since Books of Wonder has reprinted all the _Little Wizard Stories_ in >one volume, Not for the first time, I believe.... // John W Kennedy ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 14:24:51 -0400 From: jwkenne@ibm.net Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-02-98 Melody G. Keller wrote: >As to the diagram, can't give you an exact one, >except there seems to be an identification with famous, talented women who >lived tragic lives & died tragic deaths. I think death is optional. I keep wondering why I haven't encountered a gay cult of Mira Furlan ("Delenn" from "Babylon 5"). Speaking of "Babylon 5", this would be a good time to point out to U.S. digesters that that series is starting this Sunday, January 4, on the TNT cable channel, with a new 2-hour prequel, a new re-edit of the original 2-hour pilot, and reruns of the first four years Monday-Friday, with the fifth and climactic year due to start in a few more weeks on Wednesday nights. While the vision of "Babylon 5" is rather too dark to be precisely "Ozzy", it is completely without rival as a successful creation of a secondary universe for television. // John W Kennedy ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 16:21:39 -0500 From: David Levitan Subject: Ozzy Digest I would like to purchase the BoW editions of the Wizard of Oz, Land of Oz, and Ozma of Oz. However, I know that the covers on them are not the originals. Does anybody know if they will have a reprint soon with the original covers? Thanks -- David Levitan wizardofoz@iname.com ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 12:43:10 -0500 From: Laura Subject: hi Dave - I am Rachel and my dad and I would like to get a copy of the script and all the lyrics to wizard of oz. we love wizard of oz and want to play act it. [Anyone who can help Rachel, please E-mail her privately. -- Dave] ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 15:42:45 -0800 From: "Stephen J. Teller" Subject: Wonder City Illos This is in response to J. L. Bell's comments in the 12/31 digest: I have now been tempted to do a more thorough examination of the WONDER CITY illustrations in relationship to the MS version of the book: Preliminary remarks: -The MS of WONDER CITY has typewritten pages numbered 1-106 preceeded by a title page, a dedication page, a letter to "Dear Girls and Boys" and a list of chapters. In the text the chapters do not have names but they are named on the LIST OF CHAPTERS page. Two chapters are missing in the MS: Chapter 6 ("New Friends") pp 20-23, which corresponds in pat to Chapter 14: "An Unexpected Visitor" of the published book, and Chapter 22 (the next-to-last Chapter "The shiftless god-father") pp 95-96. The beginning of the book is different, we are told much more about Jenny's childhood, and her receiving fairy gifts from Psychopompus (sic) occured years before her jump to Oz. There is no Ozma party, no rescue of a Munchkin boy, no ozcalator ride. Jenny lands in the Munchkin Country, discovers the Turn style, gets a young Munchkin to help her wheel it to the Emerald City and sets up shop. She makes Whistlebreeches for the boy. After the missing chapter 6 she starts growing younger. There is no Ozlection plot. At one point Scraps dashes into the shop and accidentally changes her patches for a boys swimming suit. Jenny, for no good reason goes on a rampage and releases many animals from the animal gardens. She gets to Jack Pumpkinhead's home a reconditioned Ozoplane, where he has a glee club of shoes. Jenny accidentally starts the Ozoplane with Jack, Scraps and herself aboard. They fly to a chocolate star where, after a battle they are imprisoned. Meanwhile Whistlebreeches' father helps stop the animal attack, the family run the style shop, and Numbernine (as he is sometimes called) searches for the Wizard to try to locate Jenny. Eventually using on Ozmic ray, he recovers the Ozoplane and its three inhabitants. Jenny, by growing younger, has lost her fairy gifts/powers. She has also become nicer and less spoiled. Everything ends happily. There is no removal of her bad temper, envy, and ambition. Examing the illustrations of the printed text of WONDER CITY in terms of the MS version, paying special attention to the style of Jenny's hair, I discovered that some of the illustrations indicate that the originally appeared elsewhere in the story. On page 33, we have a picture of Ozma meeting Jenny with the Wizard behind them, that supposedly takes place at Jenny's first arrival in Oz. However, Jenny's hair in this picture matches that in the pictures for the final Chapter in the book, especially the 2 page spread on [314-315]. This is when Jenny has reached her youngest age, about 11. The pictures of Jenny on pages 156, 160, 168 etc, while she is on the Ozoplane with Jack and Scraps and on the Chocolate Star sho her with a hair style that matches her appearance in Chapter 26 "Jenny's Last Flare-Up." There would be no reason for her to revert to that hair style after the Ozlection--but in MS her flare-up immediately preceeded the unexpected adventure. For what its worth, the chapter illustration for Chapter 4 shows a very similar hair style. I had long been puzzled by the 2 page spread on pp [176-177] because there is no textual equivalent for it. However in the MS pp 54-55 we have the following: "[Scraps] threw herself bodily against the nearest chocolate soldier. "He toppled sidewise throwing his neighbor off balance, who in turn bumped over the next and so on around the circle until every brave soldier was lair flat. . . . When she had them all flat she put her foot on the leader, and held him there." What I suspect this means is not the Neill did not support the changes made but that he had already drawn illustrations for the book and tried to salvage as many as possible. The pictures of Siko Pompus in chapter 1 and p. 283 are probably later drawings. Myu time is now up, perhaps more later Steve T. ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1998 20:04:55 -0800 From: Robert Schroeder Subject: re:"Friends of Dorothy" Jellia Jamb asks us all: > But can someone please explain to me again, slowly and carefully, > preferably with diagrams, what Dorothy has to do with homosexuality?? Ken Cope responded, in part: If this is a puzzlement to you, Jellia, I'd suggest dressing up in your best lettuce-accented pale green number, visit just about any gay bar in Garden Grove or West Hollywood or the Castro, and, by way of introduction, let everybody know you enjoy presenting online as a delightful little servant girl called Jellia Jamb, and that you're wondering if anybody can fill you in on all this about "friends of Dorothy." And I say: Ken! You did a wonderful job on explaining the connection between Dorothy and homosexuality. But it should be further refined to state "the connection between Dorothy and gay men". You were quite right on the connection between Judy Garland's death and the Stonewall Riots. Those riots took place on the evening following Judy's funeral. And everyone knows, well, except for the New York City Police, that you don't mess with a "queen" in grief. A couple of years ago, there was a movie (now out on video) called "Stonewall" which is a wonderful film, sort of historical fiction, on what was going on just prior to, and during the riots. Another way to look at this "connection" is that those gay men of the 1950's grew up with Judy as Dorothy, and during the times when it was quite dangerous to be openly gay, gay men would introduce themselves as a "friend of Dorothy". Hey, Christians drew fishes in the sand....gays have friends in the Emerald City. And Melody Keller....while you are right, gay men tend to identify with famous, talented women who lived tragic lives and died tragic deaths....well.....maybe..... I think we tend to identify with famous strong women with an attitude....Joan Crawford, Tallulah Bankhead, Bette Davis, Ruth Gordon, Shirley McClaine, Olympia Dukakus and now with Madonna and Patti LaBelle. But, again, Ken, I have never seen such an excellent piece on the connection....and I've done my share of research! Robert ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1998 22:19:48 -0500 From: "Gary S. Dollar" Subject: Little wizard stories Hi to all, and Happy Holidays, Anyone having trouble finding LW Stories should check www.interloc.com and they will find everythin from the Books of Wonder, Rand McNally's to an offering of a 2nd state, g+ (I have seen the book offered) original 1914 compilation. Hope this mankes it easier for somebody. ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 03 Jan 98 18:31:08 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things DO TIGGERS BOUNCE E-MAIL?: :) We have two Digest members at dtaditi@primenet.com, and mbarker@primenet.com Could someone E-mail them for me and tell them that their servers are bouncing the Digest? Apparently primenet.com maintains a "black list" of mailers of bulk E-mail and I'm on it, so it will not even deliver private non-bulk posts (or else I'd E-mail them myself). Thanks ahead! "G.W.N. MUST DIE!!"??: John W Kennedy wrote: >Hmmm.... I really saw it as making a virtue of necessity while disposing >of a hopelessly loose loose end. (After so many years of invisibility, >could the GWN have been brought back to literary life as though she'd been >there all the time?) No, but she could be "brought back to literary life" as though she'd been lost in another country for many years. Bringing back Locasta by my route is only as "heretical" as Melody's means of bringing back Tip. BCF: Just a reminder -- We start discussing _Tik-Tok_ a week from Monday, and then _Little Wizard_ will be next... -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JANUARY 4 - 6, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 22:01:55 -0500 From: Richard Bauman Subject: Today's Oz Growls Sender: Richard Bauman In case she hasn't mentioned it to you, our "Ozmama" has had some surgery and is recuperating. Send her some warm Ozzy wishes. No one is going to accuse her of "having a lot of gall" anymore. I had about decided to ask my sister and my daughter, both of whom are Lesbians, about the Dorothy/Judy/Gay issue. After Ken Cope's latest tour de force on the subject I don't think I need to bother. Regards, Bear (:<) ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 30 Dec 1997 07:35:49 -0800 From: Laurie Foster Julien Subject: Link alert and a Question Hello Dave, This is a heads up to let you know that I have linked to your Oz site from my Ozma page located at: http://www.aloha.net/~ozma/oz.htm I need advice in finding someone to appraise my "Ozma of OZ" book and a picture of Ozma and Dorothy. The book is a second printing from 1909 illustrated by John R. Neill and is in very good shape. The picture is signed but I cannot make out the initials. Dorothy has short blond hair and is sitting on a bench next to Ozma. Eureka is sitting on Dorothy's lap wearing a dark coat. Ozma is wearing a very flowing white dress with black trim with a very large collar. Ozma is also holding her ceptar. Does any of this sound familiar? I would sure like to know what these two items are worth. Any help you can give is greatly appreciated, Laurie *~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~* Laurie Foster Julien laurie.julien@accessone.com http://www.aloha.net/~ozma/princess "Everything always works out the way it is supposed to" [Please respond to Laurie privately -- Dave] ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 03 Jan 1998 14:19:27 -0500 (EST) From: HermBieber Subject: For Ozzy Digest Kingdom of the Absurd For the amusement of the seekers of Oz/Baum books, I cite below the most overpriced quote I have seen of late: ----------------------- << Author:BAUM, L. FRANK. DENSLOW. W.W.Title:Wizard of Oz. description: CHICAGO., REILLY & LEE., (1941).. HB.. THE COVER IS WORNNNNNNNN!!! LOOSE ENDPAPERS CAME UNGLUED & ARE**. ** WITH THE BOOK. WRITING ON ENDPAPERS WITH A LIGHT PENCIL. OWNERS NAME STAMPED IN. DIFFICULT TO KNOW - MY GUESS IS TITLE. PAGE IS MISSING. THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED "TO MY GOOD FRIENDS & COMRADE. MY WIFE. L.F.B." CONTENTS WHOLE, TIGHT & COMPLETE. LT. BLUE HC CLOTH. 4TO. 309pp.. Topic/Keywords: CHILD - OZ. Price: $340.00 Offered By: (Censored!) ------------------------ Remember: Do not go shopping without your copy of Bib Oz in hand. Carefully page all books of value (an otherwise fine book may have one page skillfully removed; one of the plates may have been replaced by a plate from a different book; etc. Do not be so eager as to pay ANY price. If you really want that overpriced book, make a counter offer and leave your address. With a little restraint, we can all help to hold prices down. Herm Bieber ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 03 Jan 1998 17:17:19 -0800 From: "Stephen J. Teller" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-03-97 > Dave wrote: > >Since Books of Wonder has reprinted all the _Little Wizard Stories_ in > >one volume, > > Not for the first time, I believe.... > > // John W Kennedy > The first time they were all in one volume was when Reilly & Britton first published them as the LITTLE WIZARD STORIES. In recent years there was a one volume edition from Schoeken Books with an introduction by Michael Patrick Hearn and a paperback version from NAL prior to the BoW edition. > > I would like to purchase the BoW editions of the Wizard of Oz, Land of > Oz, and Ozma of Oz. However, I know that the covers on them are not the > originals. Does anybody know if they will have a reprint soon with the > original covers? > Thanks > -- > David Levitan The Morrow/BoW editions of Wizard, Land, etc, do reproduce covers like the originals, but the dust jackets are different. The covers themselves look much like the originals (WWOO in in Buckram rather than cloth.) Steve T. ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 03 Jan 1998 18:43:12 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: Oz and evolution Sender: "J. L. Bell" To Ruth Berman: Your message about Santa and my second, both taking off from Martin Gardner's LIFE & ADVENTURES intro, crossed in the e-mail. Thanks for the thoughts. Your theory of why the questioner believed Santa was once officially green seems as good as any. To Danny (ozbot): Your post gave me an excuse to pull out my own copies of the LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND books. [To all: this is a *wonderful* six-volume set from Remco/Fantagraphics.] Indeed, McKay's 1908 Santa would be recognized by the most important contemporary judge--an 8-year-old in a department store. In addition to brown fur trim, that Santa does have dark pants, so that 8-year-old might ask why he doesn't look like all the others at the mall. I looked in Thompson's CURIOUS CRUISE OF CAPTAIN SANTA after my previous post. In that book Neill mostly dresses Saint Nick in a nautical outfit, but one early page indicates that by 1926 Neill, too, had assigned Santa a long, floppy pointed cap instead of the short one shown in ROAD. That, too, was pre-Coke ads. Sundblum's only innovation may be Santa's height. This investigation got me thinking about how evolutionary change has two stages: the creation of new ways of doing things, and the elimination of old ways. Nast created a new way of depicting Santa when he used red fur; other artists (e.g., Denslow, McKay) developed their own new ways; by about 1926 every way of drawing Santa but in red and white had been eliminated. I wonder if we see a similar process in drawings of the Tin Woodman. First, artists developed ways to show him. Denslow drew Nick with a skull-like head. In LAND, Neill gave Nick a cylindrical head with two side braces. McDougall's tin man in QUEER VISITORS was closer to Denslow's, and in OZMA and DOROTHY & THE WIZARD Neill followed Denslow, too. But in ROAD, it was back to the cylinder. The styles even coexisted in PATCHWORK GIRL: see pages 323-334. By TIN WOODMAN Neill seems to have eliminated every depiction but one: cylindrical head with no braces. And so it lasted through his tenure (though in OZOPLANING Nick got a flat top under his funnel instead of a rounded one). On LITTLE WIZARD, as well as the original (R&L) and current (BoW/Morrow) editions, Schocken issued one in 1985. Finally, a special thanks to Steve Teller for your thorough work with the WONDER CITY manuscript and art. Not only did you manage to keep track of Jenny Jump's hairstyles--a major feat in itself--but you linked them meaningfully to the creation of the book. I'm printing out that message to store with my copy of WONDER CITY. When will the BUGLE article follow? Also, having read your "plot summary" of Neill's manuscript (can we call it that when there's little that meets the definition of a plot?), I'm more willing to countenance the Ozlection as a beneficial addition than ever. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 03 Jan 1998 17:55:34 -0800 From: Bob Spark Subject: For Next Ozzie Digest Hi all! I have once again just finished watching "The Wizard of Oz in Concert" on the cable channel VH-1. Once again, I am impressed. The credits go by so fast that I can't pick out the leading players. Can anyone tell me who the very talented woman is who plays Dorothy? Also, who plays the scarecrow? Thanks, Bob Spark ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 00:47:28 -0500 From: International Wizard of Oz Club Subject: RE: Chris Straughn Chris, Now you've got my curiosity piqued. I don't ever recall a reference to "Dan-Rur," but I can tell you that Old Ozzish was never really developed or explored within the Oz books. At most, you may find vague references and single words in some of the Thompson books. I'm going to forward your note to the Ozzy Digest in hopes that the Oz Scholars who subscribe will be able to offer more detailed information. Sincerely, Jim Vander Noot Webmaster The International Wizard of Oz Club -----Original Message----- From: Christopher Straughn [SMTP:chrisas@elnet.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 1997 4:19 PM Subject: Chris Straughn Dear IWOC, I have been interested in Oz for most of my life and have been a member of the Club on and off. Recently when I was surfing the net for information on languages, I found the "I can eat glass" project. The project's goal was to see how many languages the phrase "I can eat glass; it does not hurt me." could be translated into. In the list of artificial languages, I found two languages that caught my eye: Dan-Rur and Old Ozzish. Apparently they were languages used in Oz and the (G)Nome Kingdoms at the time of Pastoria. Anyway, I was wondering if I could get information on those two languages. The URL for the Artificial Languages page of Project I can eat glass is http://hcs.harvard.edu/~igp/created.html . Could you please respond? Thanks, Chris Straughn Visit my homepage at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/1868 Bovoj estas viaj amikoj. ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 03 Jan 1998 09:09:44 -0800 (PST) From: "W. H. Baldwin" Subject: Digest Post X-MSMail-Priority: Normal This is not an Oz question, but as there seems to be a bit of a thematic lull right now, I wonder if one of the writers and grammarians present could answer a question for me. I've noticed a rash of hyphenmania -- not to mention an unconscionable coining of words -- the past few months which has annoyed me greatly. Two examples taken directly from mass-produced printings are "a finely-honed legend" and "newly-minted coin." Now I'm not an expert in English or anything else, but ISTR that long ago, in a galaxy... no, I mean in grammar school (what an apt description), one of the first things I learned was that an adverb modifies adjectives, verbs or other adverbs. Are not "finely" and "newly" adverbs? Is not one of their inherent abilities that of modifying adjectives without additional assistance? Would any native speaker of English ever confuse "finely" or "newly" with adjectives? Who ever heard of a finely legend or a newly coin? Are the hyphens necessary, or even desirable, or even correct? Is this affliction akin to that other affectation of the cognoscenti which causes them to use "I" when the correct choice would be "me"? I know that the rules of English sometime conceal little hidden byways that leap out and rend unwary passersby, so if anyone could offer me enlightenment, enlightenment, I wouldn't be a-fightin' it. W. Baldwin ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 00:27:00 +0000 (GMT) From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 12-24 thru 31-97 12/24: J.L.: > Have people written about Woot in the same numbers? He's also a Baum >hero, also granted a whole book, *and* he's still alive already and can >easily be made to wander into any adventure one might choose. Aside from Tyler's comment that Woot has only been PD for four years now (vs. nearly 20 for Tip), the very fact that Woot is alive and well at the end of TW makes him somewhat less intriguing to write about than Tip. (Woot is also much more like Betsy Bobbin - a child character who's along as an observer - than Tip, who's a more active character. But that's something we need to get into more when we get to discussing _Tin Woodman_ as BCF.) > Yes, Baum blamed whites for driving Indians to that state--but he didn't >allow the possibility that better treatment would improve them. He saw them >all as a body to be inferior from now on. Well, that's something like my (facetious, lest anyone doubt it) theory that the reason France caved so quickly in all their wars after 1815, unless they were stiffened by substantial allies on the front line early (and sometimes, as in WW II, when they were), was that most of the courageous French were killed during the Napoleonic Wars (and the earlier wars of the Revolutionary period), so that natural selection left France with few men who were willing to fight if it was dangerous. 12/27: Sarah: If you want to preserve the value of your cards as a collectible, don't open them. If you want to enjoy them, then do. It's up to you. It's like buying a book; if you want to maximize its future value, wrap it up (in non-tarnishing paper, maybe in non-destructive plastic) and don't ever open it. On the other hand, why bother to buy it if that's your approach? Scott H.: >David: I listen to Limbaugh, and believe what he says. Not that I >necessarily agree with his opinions, but I have not known him to lie. I have. Or at least, to make false statements. (One can say - as he often does - that _he_ didn't make up the false statements, which one can define as "lying" if one cares to. But repeating false statements of others without bothering to check them out is close enough to lying for my money, especially when all the false statements are adduced in support of his agenda.) It's generally agreed that Zeb Hugson's characterization of his relationship to Dorothy as "second cousin" isn't accurate. If it were, Uncle Henry and Aunt Em would have to be Dorothy's great-uncle and -aunt, and references elsewhere in the books make that unlikely. I've never heard of "dandy" being a euphemism for homosexual. A dandy is a male who takes great (usually unnecessarily great) care of his appearance. It's true that this is something that's more common among the gay community than elsewhere, but it's not confined there and if it's ever been used as a sly reference (like being a "friend of Dorothy" or a "confirmed bachelor") I'm not aware of it. 12/29: John K.: That was me, not J.L., who referred to the probable currency of "French kiss" and "Welsh rabbit". I realize that the latter is usually genteelized to "rarebit" when it appears on a menu, but it originated as "rabbit" and the "Welsh" has stuck with it, though the pejorative sense may have evaporated by now. Melody: Well, sure, I qualify for Mensa, too. I'd be surprised if there are very many people who are active on the Digest who don't. Even the Conservatives... ;-) >(At least the young guys in the Hite Report on Male Sexuality seemed >to have more ageist and look-ist problems than the older men who >responded-the older the respondent males were, the more they emphasized >love and caring over physical appearance. :-) When I was about 30 I had a good friend who was about 20 years older. I well remember his telling me, "One of the best things about getting older is that the young girls look every bit as good as they ever did, and the older women look a whole lot better!" He was right. 12/30: Short Digest; nothing to say about it. 12/31: Bear: Copies of LWS are readily available, but maybe not within a day or three. And I shall give a supercilious stare to those who think the short Digest of 12/30 was due to my absence. :-) J.L.: It's true that Dorothy was quite adept at deposing monarchs, but only when they deserved it. She took no action against the princess of the China Country, or Glinda, or the leader of the Wheelers, or Ozma. King Dox, even if he knew her history, would probably have no reason to worry (though the Queen of the Scoodlers would). What's a "Yankee swap?" Not a term I ever heard. (Back in my youth a "Yankee dime" was a kiss on the cheek, but that was in the South...) Dave: I don't think it's actually Dorothy who has anything much to do with homosexuality; it's Judy Garland, and the fact that Dorothy was her most famous role. But I could be wrong, and am most interested in being corrected if so. I'm off for Tennessee the morning of 12/2; probably won't be responding to Digests again until 12/5. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 01:19:52 +0000 (GMT) From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-02 & 03-98 Well, I'm back. Actually, I was back on 1/1 and responded to the Digests through the end of last year, but I'm having a problem with my comm program on the partition that I use for most of my computer work, so I couldn't send it before I had to go to Tennessee the next day. I finally gave up on that temporarily (I think I need to reinstall Eudora Light on that partition; something seems to have been corrupted) and booted on a different partition that seems to work. So if some of the comments in my first post in this digest seem a bit stale, blame it on that. For a bit of personal news first (nothing to do with Oz, but some of you at least have also expressed interest and sympathy) - we spent a week out in California where my wife was with her mother most of the time. (I couldn't because she has two cats that I'm violently allergic to.) Ellie is getting very weak and the morphine she needs to keep the pain of the cancer to a tolerable level has her mind pretty well shut down. Marcia will be going back in three weeks for another weekend with her, if she lasts that long; odds are less than even that she will. Then this past weekend I had to put my mother in a nursing home. Fortunately a slot opened up in a very nice one - her room is more reminiscent of a good-quality hotel room (albeit with a hospital bed) than the usual nursing home, and she doesn't seem to have resented the move nearly as much as I'd feared she would. So our holidays weren't particularly happy ones, but for the moment we're past the worst. In the near future my brother and I will have the monumental task of clearing out my mother's condo and getting it ready to sell, but since she owned it free and clear there's no great rush about it. And meanwhile life goes on for the rest of us... And now, back to Oz! 1/2: J.L.: Thanks for all the research on Santa's attire! Most interesting, and I hope that Dave saves it as one of the available files that people can download if they want to. Ken Cope: >The series [Sandman] is suggested for mature readers. I don't know >what could possibly have prevented you from reading all >of them, if you've read any one of them. At the least, >you will find more than one Ozian making cameo appearances. Well, I read one _Sandman_ book (don't remember which one; it was a SF Book Club selection 3-4 years ago), and didn't have any inclination to read another one. It wasn't bad, but I didn't care much for the art, and the story wasn't strong enough to make me want to read more despite that. This is, of course, a matter of personal taste. I beg that you not try to convince me that the artwork was superior; from an artist's point of view it might well be, but a great deal of acknowledged great art doesn't appeal to me. My loss, I'm sure, but life's too short for me to worry about it when there's so much around that I do enjoy. Noel Coward was certainly gay. It wasn't much of a secret even during his lifetime, but after his death it was freely acknowledged by several people who knew for sure. I'm a great admirer of the man and his work, and own and have read two or three biographies besides a couple of autobiographical books and his collected diaries. 1/3: John K.: The LWS have been published in one volume several times. The edition I have was published by Schocken about ten years ago. The BoW edition _is_ distinguished by their having redesigned the book to put each illustration opposite the text it illustrates, which didn't happen in any of the other editions (including the slim volumes that contained only one story each). Depending on how much of a purist you are, this may be considered a good thing or a bad thing. Enough for now. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 09:52:36 -0500 (EST) From: JOdel Subject: Ozzy Web Page I have been trying to reach the web page. Have you moved it to a different provider? I get the message that the URL is not found. I'm off to St. Frizz and MacWorld for the week, Thank you for postponing the Tik-Tok discussion until the 12th--although I doubt that MacWorld played a major part in your decision. ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 21:14:01 -0800 From: "W. R. Wright" Subject: Oz Digest To JLB, Danny and all the others who provided feedback on the Santa Claus question........thanks so much on the info you provided. Here is a bit more that I picked up off list. Bill in Ozlo "Saint" Nicholas and Odin The Oosthoeks Encyclopedia explains: "[St. Nicholas'] celebration in the household sprang from the church festivity (including surprises for the children) which in turn sprang from pre-Christian elements. Saint Nicholas, who rides on the rooftops, is the pagan god Wodan [Odin]. . . . Saint Nicholas was also the leader of the wild chase in which the souls of the dead visit the earth." Yes, the Teutons believed that Odin, or Wodan, their chief god, led the souls of the dead on a furious cross-country ride during the "twelve bad days" between Christmas and Epiphany (January 6). The resulting gale carried along the seeds of the produce of the fields, stimulating fertility. The apples, nuts, and other autumn produce given around "St. Nicholas Day"? These were symbols of fertility. Ancient people believed that they could appease their gods by giving them presents during the cold, dark winter days. This would result in increased fertility for man, animal, and soil. Odin was accompanied by his servant Eckhard, the forerunner of Black Peter, who also carried a rod. As recently as the Middle Ages, it was the popular belief that certain trees and plants could render humans fertile and that merely striking a woman with a branch of such a tree sufficed to make her pregnant. The book Feest-en Vierdagen in kerk en volksgebruik (Holidays and Celebrations in the Church and in Popular Customs) mentions a few other similarities between Odin and "Saint" Nicholas: "Wodan, too, filled the boots and wooden shoes placed by the chimney but with gold. For Wodan's steed, hay and straw were also placed in the wooden shoe. The last sheaf of the field was also for the horse." The book Sint Nicolaas, by B. S. P. van den Aardweg, points to a few other striking similarities: "St. Nicholas: a tall, powerful figure on a white horse. He has a long white beard, a crosier in his hand, and a miter on his head . . . with a wide, flowing bishop's cloak. "Wodan: a person of tall stature with a white beard. He wears a wide-brimmed hat pulled deeply over his eyes. In his hand he holds a magic spear. He is clad in a wide mantle and rides his loyal gray horse Sleipnir. "There are more of these apparent similarities: Wodan rode his gray horse through the air and shuddering people offered cakes with filling in addition to meat and produce of the fields. St. Nicholas rides on the rooftops and children prepare hay, carrots, and water for the horse. Gingersnaps and the rod were symbols of fertility long before the beginning of the St. Nicholas festivities." Dutch emigrants who settled in North America took the "Saint" Nicholas celebration with them. In time the name was corrupted to "Santa Claus." The stately bishop was transformed into a red-cheeked, obese fellow dressed in a bright-red suit. His bishop's miter was exchanged for an elf's hat and the white horse for a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Santa Claus, however, continued to be a gift bringer, although his visitation was shifted to Christmas Eve. In Protestant areas of Germany, the Catholic "Saint" Nicholas was replaced by the more neutral "Father Christmas." The pagan elements, however, remain clearly discernible to this day. Some claim that a saintly bishop of Myre by the name of Nicholas, who lived in the fourth century after Christ, was the first "St. Nicholas", and down through the dark Middle Ages he was considered the patron saint of pawnshops and beggars. He was depicted as a simple, pale and rather ascetic personage, until a cartoonist got hold of him in 1863 and dressed the "saint" up in gay togs. FATHER CHRISTMAS, ALIAS SANTA CLAUS Father Christmas has been described as "the most successful promotion story since Jesus Christ." But who was he? According to The Customs and Ceremonies of Britain, he has been "known as a vague personification of the [Christmas] season since at least the 15th century . . . and appears in approximately his modern garb in a woodcut of 1653: but 'Santa's' Christmas Eve visits, his habit of descending chimneys to fill stockings (or, more ambitiously, pillow cases) and his reindeer-drawn sleigh all derive from that melting pot of traditions, the USA. His character there was blended from European legends about the 4th-century St Nicholas of Myra (who saved three maidens from prostitution by a surreptitious midnight gift of dowry money, and who as Sinte Klaas filled the shoes of Dutch-American children on 6 December, his feast day); the German-American Krisskringle (who rewarded good and punished bad children); and Scandinavian or Russian tales about North-Pole-dwelling wizards. ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 15:48:11 -0600 (CST) From: Ruth Berman Subject: ozzy digest Danny Ozbot and J.L. Bell: Thanks for additional information on Santa Claus evolution. David Levitan: The Books of Wonder covers are the original covers, i.e., the covers on the first editions. (If you're familiar with a later edition that had a different cover, the BoW version may look different to you, but it's because the version you saw did not have the "original." Neill in some cases drew new covers for different editions.) Steve Teller: Thanks for the information on ms. vs. final version vs. illos of "Wonder City." If you want to expand on this information more another time, I'd certainly enjoy knowing more. Ruth Berman ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 16:04:12 -0800 From: Bob Spark Subject: Re: previous message in the "Ozzie Digest" Hi there, I believe that at some time back there was some information on what the various conditions of used books indicate. "VF", "Good", "Fine", etc. I have lost it and would like that information again, if someone wouldn't mind sending it to me. Also, I have forgotten who amongst us are used book dealers. Thanks, Bob Spark ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 05 Jan 98 21:14:23 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things No much in today's Digest I feel inclined to comment on -- Except that I'm currently reading _Mouse Under Glass_, a no-holds-barred book about the history of Disney animated features, the good, the bad, and the Xerox-processed. :) I'd love to share a lot of the revelations therein with the Digest, but since this is the Ozzy Digest not the Disney Digest, so I will restrain myself and mention that the book says that Prince John (from Disney's anthropmorphic animal version of _Robin Hood_) was developed with the Cowardly Lion in mind. -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JANUARY 7, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 06:11:38 -0800 From: Robert Schroeder Subject: Ozzy Digest..... Bob Spark: That was Jewel singing the role of Dorothy in "WOZ in Concert" and Jackson Browne played Scarecrow. Of all the characters. I thought Nathan Lane was best playing Lion...but of course, Lion is my second-favorite character. And thanks Bob in Ozlo for the Santa referances. I know I have a year to do it in, but my roommate is an avid collector of Santas, so it will be off to the bookstores to find these books for him for next Christmas! Robert "But on the other hand, you have different fingers." ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 17:02:10 +0000 (GMT) From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-06-97 Warren: I'm not a grammarian, and only a sort of writer manque (I've been published, but not extensively), but I have a lot of opinions about language so I'll take a stab at answering your question. Hyphens, like all punctuation and spelling, are questions of style rather than grammar, since their function is to facilitate the recording of speech (which is the fundamental form of language). As such, there's a good deal of arbitrariness in their use, and I've no idea what criteria various style manuals have for the use or non-use of hyphens in constructions like "newly-minted coin". However, most punctuation is designed to let the written word approximate the rhythms of speech. Hyphenating two words indicates that they're pronounced in more rapid succession than two separate words, but with more of a division than a single word. For example, reading "book keeper," "book-keeper," and "bookkeeper" aloud, aren't you aware of a progressive shortening of the interval between the words (and also a progressive shift of emphasis away from "keeper")? This difference is more obvious in longer constructions; compare the speed of saying the hyphenated group in "a never-to-be-forgotten moment" with the same words in "a moment never to be forgotten". I also find a subtle difference in emphasis between "a newly minted coin" and "a newly-minted coin"; the second puts more emphasis on the newness than the first does. This is entirely separate from the true grammatical question of when to use "I" or "me". Even more irritating to me is the misuse of "whom." It's one of those words that's almost obsolete in speech; when it's used (in speech or writing), it seems to me that it's used wrongly about as often as it's used in a technically correct sense. Like, "Whom shall I say is calling?" That one really grates on me, though "I don't know who you're talking about," doesn't bother me in the least. Many other interesting things in this Digest, but none that evoke comment. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 13:19:49 -0500 (EST) From: Mark Anthony Donajkowski Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-06-97 > ====================================================================== > Date: Sat, 03 Jan 1998 17:55:34 -0800 > From: Bob Spark > Subject: For Next Ozzie Digest > > Hi all! > I have once again just finished watching "The Wizard of Oz in > Concert" on the cable channel VH-1. Once again, I am impressed. The > credits go by so fast that I can't pick out the leading players. Can > anyone tell me who the very talented woman is who plays Dorothy? Also, > who plays the scarecrow? > Thanks, > Bob Spark bob i can help you on one of the the fine young talented lady is none other then the singer JEWEL who brought us the song who will save your soul very talented woman ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 15:24:25 -0500 From: Lisa Bompiani Subject: Ozzy Digest Hello! Wow, this break is flying by so quickly! I have to say (yes, I'm bragging) that my niece is beautiful and it broke my heart to watch her go back to NC; however, my bro, sis-in-law, and Caitlin will be moving back to the area in May, and I'll have plenty of time to spoil her then! ;-) I just returned from a two week extravaganza to Virginia and Delaware. I love the ocean, and at the Delaware beaches it was 75 degrees! Yer, after 7 1/2 hours in the car with a very unhappy cat, I was glad to kick back at the ol' computer and catch up on the Digests; however, I'm not sure I have much to say! :-) Spark: If I am recalling the same concert you watched, Jewel played Dorothy and Nipsy Russell (I think) played the Scarecrow. Anybody else? Thanks for the Santa stuff folks, I thought it was pretty interesting. hopefully, since I don't have classes, I'll actually be able to participate in Tik-Tok. Well, by for now, I'm going to sleep! Peace & Love, Bompi ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 13:27:55 -0800 From: Ken Cope Subject: Sandman, B5, Oz David, if you take a look at the art in Gaiman's current serial story, Stardust, and tell me you don't like the work of Charles Vess, I'm afraid there's no hope for you. The art in Glass Cat didn't hinder my enjoyment of your work (much), but I certainly didn't buy (and enjoy reading) my hard bound copy for its pictures. I oughtn't to try to tell anybody what one should or should not like where art, and particularly comic book art is concerned. Graphic Novels and sequential art is a burgeoning form finding its voice, and ever widening audience, only in the last decade or more. The Sandman is among the medium's finest moments, spanning something like 9 years of storytelling, spinning off more than one series that I collect. Like Babylon 5, while told serially, The Sandman is ultimately one story, with a beginning, middle and end that spans centuries, and dozens of lives. It's currently being reissued, on the stands finishing its second story arc by issue #16, so it's easy to find all of it in print. Though I have found more than one of the artists, whose experiments have extended the tale of the Sandman, to be nearly off-putting, the Universe of the Sandman is of a scale not often attempted in any medium. Some of the art is the best, some the worst. I'm certain no two people would agree on which artists those would be. The original arc that establishes the tale, Preludes and Nocturnes, has a quality that recalls the darkest of the EC comics, a sort of demented Jack Davis quality that isn't really characteristic of the series as a whole. It is not a tale of sweetness and light. Had I not started hosting a weekly Babylon 5 party in the middle of season 3, I would have retained my negative first impression from the two early episodes I watched. (My home theater is the magnet; 7 surround/AC3 speakers and a sub woofer. While I'm mostly considerate, my upstairs neighbors feebly seek revenge with occasional disco thump.) Sandman's author Neil Gaiman happens to have scripted an episode of the 5th season of B5. (Has anybody else besides JMS scripted an episode of B5 before?) JMS is such a fan, that a race of aliens, the Gaim (from Gaiman) owe their appearance to that of The Sandman when he's wearing his battle helm and wizard garb. Just as B5's creator JMS acknowledges his debt to past and present masters of Science Fiction, Gaiman owes much to the best fantasists. He has more than one advantage over the writers of Oz pastiche. In no way is Gaiman limiting himself to an audience of children, nor does he confine his sources to the creations of only one author. The 10 volumes collecting the 75 stories of the series' run contain introductions from Harlan Ellison, Jane Yolen, Stephen King, and Clive Barker, among others. Even Norman Mailer is a fan of the series. Where Baum created a Utopian Fairyland, Neil writes of Faerie; and Aasgard, Hades and the Silver City. Nary a drop of blood, venom nor vitreous humours are bowdlerized for the sake of pleasant dreams. Lord Morpheus crafts nightmares with as much care as he embroiders epiphanies. Loki and Puck work together as part of a plot to foil the Furies. Shakespeare performs his Midsummer Night's Dream, commissioned by Morpheus, for the court of Titania and horned Auberon. Perhaps the collection titled Fables and Reflections is among the better places to start. They're all self contained stories, though some are central to illuminating the character of Morpheus. The tales are of revolutionary France, Orpheus, the Emperor Norton, Caesar Augustus, a werewolf, some creation myths; even a tale of Bhagdad that makes Disney's Aladdin look like so much cheap, jingoistic Arab-bashing. Starting most anywhere else is walking into the middle of the movie. Speaking of walking into the middle of the movie, TNT is running B5 from season one, in order, weekdays at 7 eastern, 4 pm pacific, starting Monday of this week. I'm eagerly awaiting season 5, commencing the 21st of this month, though I am so disappointed that my evil cable provider (TCI) does not carry the multichannel audio, that I am considering a dish system. I've been looking for a way to drop TCI like a zombie-proffered Jack Chick pamphlet, for months now, and this may be just the excuse I was looking for. --Ken Cope Ozcot Studios pinhead@ozcot.com-- Our first business will be to supervise the making of fables and legends, rejecting all which are unsatisfactory; and we shall induce nurses and mothers to tell their children only those which we have approved. --Plato "The Republic" ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 20:23:38 -0500 From: Richard Bauman Subject: Today's Oz Growls Sender: Richard Bauman Warren, your lament about hyphens inspired me to offer some important but often forgotten rules of English, to help raise the quality of our "ecourse." Avoid alliteration. Always. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. Avoid cliches like the plague. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. Contractions aren't necessary. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. Don't be redundant: don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. Who needs rhetorical questions? Gee David, I wonder if making blanket denunciations without proof is a healthy approach to life and discourse? Welcome back. :) Dave >Prince John (from Disney's anthropmorphic animal version of _Robin Hood_) was developed with the Cowardly Lion in mind. The Disney Prince John reminds me of the Cowardly Lion about as much as Bill Clinton reminds me of George Washington. Regardez vous, Bear (:<) ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 17:31:37 -0800 From: Ken Cope Subject: a shrill, didactic voice in Oz Melody G. Keller wrote: >As to the diagram, can't give you an exact one, >except there seems to be an identification with famous, talented women who >lived tragic lives & died tragic deaths. It's so tempting to generalize and extrapolate from limited experience, but through no fault of your own might your experience be comparatively limited in Asheville, Melody, not that I know a thing about Asheville. For example (to generalize some more), large urban centers are a refuge from (stereotypically) small town attitudes towards those who are, shall we say, not normal. So, people in small (minded) towns tend to hide in the closet, or risk such persecution or run so afoul of the local arbiters of morality that suicide seems a most romantic and reasonable option. There is precious little community support in any but the larger cities that few fey folk stick around in the town they grow up in long enough to offset the cliches one would find attributed to them. I hope this becomes more and more a thing of the past. There is a pathology among those not so bright, who romanticise AIDS death among their elders to the extent that some seek it. It's obviously not the first time that death has been romanticized, look at the art of the Pre-Raphaelites. The internet enables communities to form independently of geographic proximity. Pretty subversive, eh? And now, a frank talk among princesses about death. >Jellia: Ouch! I'm glad things like that don't happen in Oz anymore. >Ozma: And never will again, if I have anything to say about it. My subjects >enjoy good mental as well as physical health. Jellia, I'm glad people don't die in Oz, unless executed with water, of course. And, we're all glad there is no HIV in Oz. The sooner people realize that it isn't just a gay problem, or an apocalyptic plague visited on bad people by a universe spanning deity intimately concerned with your sex life, the sooner there'll be sufficient funding for research to prevent AIDS-related deaths among those on the wrong side of the deadly desert. AND let's insure that discussion about condoms, sex education and gender roles occurs in time to save lives first; we'll worry about souls later. Infliction of ignorance on the young on religious grounds I consider to be culpable murder. The type of conservatism that prizes the luxury of innocence pays for it with death. And speaking of mental health, how are things in Rigamarole, Fuddlecumjig and Flutterbudget Center, Tippe-- Princess Ozma? Robert Schroeder wrote: >there was a movie (now out on video) called "Stonewall" which is a >wonderful film, sort of historical fiction, on what was going on just >prior to, and during the riots. I wanted to view it before commenting on it. Certainly worth the rental. (Thanks for the kind words, and answering Dave's direct question with something I'm glad to have learned.) It is more of a fictionalization than a documentary, but chillingly telling how recently such draconian laws were enforced, and so brutally by the slope-browed neanderthals in power (From Nixon to any of his petty stormtroopers, not that gaybashing was his invention, just his mindset and personal style of private gutter vocabulary). That full frontal nudity does not occur, while some crimson stained violence IS luridly portrayed shows how warped American audiences are. The Rush Limbaughs* and Pat Robertsons of the world, who wish to demean feminists and gay rights activists as shrill, with nothing to complain about, count on short memories and ignorance about how twisted and corrupt this nation was in the 60s. Of course, it can't happen here. These days, we're twisted and corrupt in quite different ways. ;) It does tend to sort of catalogue many "types" for purposes of drama, and does seem a bit manipulative to drive its dramatic climax home, but is far more tame than the average pg-13 or R rated trash action flick, and less toxic too. A film likely to be of more interest to listers here would be the documentary, The Celluloid Closet. The description by Norman Mailer of deciding to have Stephen Boyd play all his scenes with Charleton Heston in Ben Hur, as former teen lovers (not that unusual for the public mores of the era), "but whatever we do, we can't let Chuck know that's what we're doing!" makes the video worth owning. *attention dittoheads, this URL is for you: http://www.igc.org/fair/limbaugh-debates-reality.html David Hulan wrote: >Noel Coward was certainly gay. It wasn't much of a secret even during his >lifetime, but after his death it was freely acknowledged by several people >who knew for sure. I'm a great admirer of the man and his work, and own and >have read two or three biographies besides a couple of autobiographical >books and his collected diaries. Thanks for stating that explicitly for the sarcasm impaired. I'm a fan of his too. Eric Idle does a turn sending up one flavor of Noel Coward just before Mr. Creosote's entrance in M Python's The Meaning of Life. Here's for the day when the private matter of one's sexual proclivities will raise no more of an eyebrow than one's eye, hair or skin color, topics that may, some day, raise no more hackles than the mention of freckles. Fat chance, huh. Bear, it sounds like your relationship with your sister and daughter sounds much healthier than that of Newt Gingrich and his daughter. Thanks for the news about our Ozmama, we all wish her well. I had her travails in mind when I mentioned the need for proper sex-education in schools. I think I have enough gall for both of us, if you need any, Robin! Geeze, somebody help me offa this soapbox, willya? Here's to Little Wizard Stories, some of my favorites. --Ken Cope Ozcot Studios pinhead@ozcot.com-- Our first business will be to supervise the making of fables and legends, rejecting all which are unsatisfactory; and we shall induce nurses and mothers to tell their children only those which we have approved. --Plato "The Republic" ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 22:18:13 -0500 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones David: I suppose your conclusions regarding Woot can be summed up as saying that Woot is nothing spectacular. That is, he does not have as interesting a background as Tip, he does nothing of note and has no "excess baggage". Not that there's anything wrong with him, he just tended to fade into the woodwork. Kiki Aru may be more interesting to write about, but of course he's only been Public Domain for three years. Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 22:29:57 -0500 (EST) From: Ozmama Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-06-97 Surgery: Yeah, I had my gallbladder out the Monday befoe Xmas (and carpal tunnel surgery the Monday before Thanksgiving!) I'm fine, y'all. Just call me a cut up, I guess. ---------------- Hyphens: Yes, adverbs may modify adjectives (and verbs and other adverbs); they do not need hyphens when used to modify adjectives. ---------------- David: I'll say my prayers for your mother-in-law and for your own mom. How very sad for you all. ---------------- Bob: Herm Bieber and I are used book dealers specializing in Oz. If Herm hasn't already done so, I'll dig up a copy of the AABA's definitions of condition terms and send them along sometime soon. I'm in a time crunch. Sorry. Oh, one thing to always remember is that G (Good) means that the book is in average *used* condition and shows wear, although it is complete. --Robin ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 00:56:41 -0500 From: Lisa Bompiani Subject: ozzy digest It's me again, I thought I better correct myself before I got stomped :-) I have just been talking about _The Wiz_, in which Nipsey Russell starred. So, Spark, he wasn't in the concert as I said, but if it's the same one I'm thinking of recently, I think it was Jewel who played Dorothy. Did Natalie Cole play Glinda? P & L, Bompi ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 07:19:05 -0400 (EDT) From: earlabbe@juno.com (Earl C. Abbe) Subject: Martin Gardner Oz & Wonderland Book (Please forgive me if this is already well known information; I have been off-line for some time and am only up to the 11/18 Digest in my reading.) In the Lewis Carroll Society's Winter 1997 _Knight Letter_, Martin Gardner is quoted: "I have just finished writing a new Oz Book, currently being considered by St. Martin's Press. (My wife predicts a rejection). I mention it because I have placed Wonderland in Oz, and several chapters are devoted to Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Tin Woodman, taking a tour through Wonderland where they discover numerous errors in Alice's two out-of-body visits there." Gardner is, of course, the celebrated author of the two _Annotated Alices_ and so many Scientific American Mathematical Games columns. I think that anything he writes on an association of Oz with Wonderland will be of considerable interest. Let us hope that St. Martin makes the right decision. Earl Abbe ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 10:26:27 -0600 From: Gordon Birrell Subject: Ozzy Digest W. Baldwin: In response to your question about the proper use of hyphens, here is what Wilson Follett has to say in _Modern American Usage_: "The first and by far the greatest help to reading is the compulsory hyphening that makes a single adjective out of two words before a noun: eighteenth-century painting / fleet-footed Achilles / tumble-down shack / Morse-code noises / single-stick expert. Nothing gives away the incompetent amateur more quickly than the typescript that neglects this mark of punctuation or that employs it where it is not wanted. It is not wanted between an adverb and its adjective before a noun: a serenely unconscious man / a verbally inept proposal / a remarkably pretty girl. But when the adverb well is linked with a past participle, again only before the noun, the hyphen is required: a well-liked actor / a well-intentioned fool / a well-translated poem. The reason for hyphening emerges from these examples: it is to warn the reader that he must fuse two ideas before he can perceive how they apply to the subject. With the ordinary adverb this signal is conveyed by the form itself: serenely cannot modify a noun directly; rather, it falls forward on the adjective unconscious and the necessary fusion is accomplished. Well needs the hyphen to link it with a participle because neither is obviously adverb or adjective: we can say a well man, and we tend to think of liked, beaten, intentioned, protected primarily as verb forms. The full-fledged adjective (full here plays exactly the same role as well) arises only from the combination marked by hyphening. After frequent use the mark may disappear, but only by means of amalgamation into one word: thoroughbred, scapegrace, bluenosed, fatheaded, bittersweet, and so on." --Gordon Birrell ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 15:58:20 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-02-98 Ken: I don't remember an Oz reference in _Pricilla_, which my parents rented and like a lot more than I did. The other day I finally found a copy of Rankin Bass's _Return to Oz_, and one part I remember only upon seeing it again (last time I saw it I was nine) was Rusty singing "Sometimes I feel I'd like to be gay!" I remember laughing then, and I laughed this time, too. Perhaps my choice to make Tip dealt with his very nature as an extraneous character, as I often feel. Like people are only nice to me to be polite, not because they really care. None of my friends ever attempt to stay in contact me. You may have heard me reference my friend Katherine, who I have not heard from in a month but who I consider my best friend, and also whom I fell in love with, though, of course, she has a boyfriend. Once I told her (in e-mail,) that I feel like I'm an appendix to people's lives, that they can just drop off without any change. She never said anything about this. I don't know what's going on. I'm constantly alone, and my brother thinks I'm a fag, so why wouldn't I identify with a re-formed Tip as described by Jack Snow? Scott Happy birthday to me, 1-02-76... ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 07 Jan 98 16:57:17 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things MISCELLANIOUS: Thanks for the Rules of English, Bear! Jellia (picking up a small paperback book): What's this? Wogglebug: That is _The Rules of English Grammar and Spelling_. Jellia (picking up a volume the size of the unabriged dictionary): What's *this*? Wogglebug: That is _The Exceptions to the Rules of English Grammar and Spelling_. Interesting points about "doers" and "watchers". It reminds me of the sign on the wall of my 7th grade teacher's classroom: "There are three kinds of people: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened." You could probably classify Oz citizens in broad terms in this scheme: THOSE WHO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN: Ozma (under Baum and Hardenbrook), Dorothy, Scarecrow, Nick Chopper, Scraps, Tip, Glinda, the Wizard, the Shaggy Man, the Cowardly Lion, Ojo, Polychrome, the Adepts. THOSE WHO WATCH THINGS HAPPEN: Ozma (under Thompson and Neill), Betsey Bobbin, Woot, Toto (except in _Mimics_), the Wogglebug, Uncle Henry and Auntie Em, Bungle (except in his title book), the Hungry Tiger. THOSE WHO WONDER WHAT HAPPENED: Jack Pumpkinhead, Button-Bright. PRINCE JOHN: Bear wrote: >The Disney Prince John reminds me of the Cowardly Lion about as much as >Bill Clinton reminds me of George Washington. Well, it just said that they had the Cowardly Lion *in mind*...Nothing about their actually succeeding...Actually the CL could probably sue Disney for defamation of character. :) Speaking of which... ANOTHER OZZY-DISNEY REVELATION: I'm up to _Aladdin_ in _Mouse Under Glass_, and it gives this piece of trivia to which I can draw an Oz parallel...In the climatic scenes in which Jafar steals the lamp and uses his first wish to annex Agrabah, they were going to have Jafar wish, "I wish to be Sultan, to always be Sultan, and *to always have been Sultan*!" -- So then Aladdin would find himself in a nightmarish new world a' la Bedford Falls-transformed-into-Pottersville in which everyone is mean and unhappy, and only Al and the Flying Carpet would remember how things should really be. This idea was rejected as being "too weird", which is a pity IMHO because apart from being a potentially intriguing plot twist, I think the parallel of this scenario with _The Wishing Horse of Oz_ is uncanny. -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JANUARY 8 - 9, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 22:57:20 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: YANKEE swap IN OZ Sender: "J. L. Bell" David Hulan asked: <> Let's imagine that for her birthday Ozma, rather than having her friends go on dangerous quests seeking the perfect gift for a fairy who has everything, announces that the court will celebrate with a "Yankee swap." Everyone's very pleased, except Number Nine, who has to go home to his uncle because he's still under copyright protection. Each celebrity in Ozma's palace chooses and wraps a small present. Jellia collects all the goodies and puts them in a big pile on the throne room floor. The courtiers gather around with food and drink and wassailing (for those who don't eat or drink). Finally, it's time for the gift exchange. Ozma goes first because it's her birthday. She chooses a squash-shaped object wrapped rather clumsily in yellow paper. "Why, it's a squash!" she says after unwrapping it. "How lovely!" Jack Pumpkinhead watches with a big grin on his face. Scraps insists on choosing next. She picks a big package and tears open the paper to reveal...a big bottle of metal polish. "Polish?!" Scraps wails. "You can use it to polish your ears," says Dorothy. "Or, under the rules of a Yankee swap, you can trade it for my squash," Ozma says. "What good's a squash to me?" grouses Scraps. Trot peeks at Jack to see if he's insulted, but he still has a big grin on his face. The Shaggy Man comes next. He opens a packet of embroidered handkerchiefs. At this point, he has the choice of swapping them for the metal polish or the squash. "Don't you want this shiny polish?" the Patchwork Girl asks, but no, Shaggy's happy. Next, Uncle Henry unwraps a pair of golden scissors. He decides that he'll get more use from kerchiefs, and swaps with the Shaggy Man. The Scarecrow unwraps a quill pencil, and Trot a compass, and--but wait, Trot swaps the compass for the scissors because Cap'n Bill already has a compass and she can't imagine going anywhere without him. Meanwhile, Scraps is muttering rhymes to herself: "abolish... demolish..." Herby gets a hair ribbon, and Betsy a Game Boy she can play by herself on adventures, and Tik-Tok a box of chocolates, which he graciously trades with Betsy because he knows she almost never goes on adventures by herself. Then the Wizard unwraps a hair brush, which he swaps for the Game Boy, for the obvious reason and because he's eager to take the Game Boy apart. And so on through the court. Each celebrity, after opening a present, chooses whether or not to swap for any of the presents already opened. Presents that attract several people change hands often, while others remain with the people who opened and wanted them first. Finally, everyone in court has opened a present--but there's still one gift left. "Where's Button-Bright?" Dorothy asks. "He was jus' here," says Trot. "I've noticed that Button-Bright is often 'just here,'" says the Scarecrow. "But I know he was here. He brought a present--he wrapped up some licorice balls he found in his pocket." The Hungry Tiger starts to look queasy, but it's too late for him to swap--because it's past his turn, and because of the obvious reason. "I know," says Ozma, standing. "We'll save this last present for Button-Bright, unless someone wants to swap for it now." The Shaggy Man speaks up: "I b'lieve Button-Bright's the sort of lad who needs a good compass." So he swaps his compass for the unwrapped present, which turns out to be a sterling silver cow bell. Still standing, Ozma says, "Now, since I chose first, I can swap my squash for any other present--but I wouldn't dream of it." Everybody claps. The fairy princess, unable to bear the thought of anyone not being happy, adds, "Finally, any two of you can trade your presents if you both wish." Well, Uncle Henry has taken a liking to that cow bell, so he gives the handkerchiefs back to the Shaggy Man in exchange for it. Billina the Yellow Hen swaps a diamond-crusted nail file for a children's ABC book chosen by from a giant white rat who remains nameless. Meanwhile, Dorothy notices that the Patchwork Girl is off twirling in a corner. She dashes over. "Scraps, you can swap that polish for something diff'rent now." "I can?" The Patchwork Girl runs back and asks, "Does anyone want a bottle of metal polish?" No answer. She asks, louder, "Does anyone want a bottle of metal polish?" Still no answer. "DOES ANYONE WHO HAS NO HAIR BUT WHAT'S PAINTED ON HIS COPPER HEAD WANT TO TRADE A HAIRBRUSH FOR--" "Oh! Tik-Tok's run down!" says Betsy. She winds him up, and he quickly trades Scraps the brush for the polish. And that's the end of the Yankee swap. So everyone has a gift, more or less to his choosing, and everyone has the excitement of watching gifts unwrapped and traded. The "Yankee" part probably refers to the shrewd exchanges, but it may refer to the cost savings of such an event. And remember, in case you're ever in a Yankee swap: the person who unwraps second has the least choice. Mazel tov. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 23:05:24 -0500 (EST) From: "Aaron S. Adelman" Subject: They can also eat glass in Oz Someone asked about what Dan-Rur is (I don't remember who), having found reference to it on the "I can eat glass" pages, and I must take the blame for it. Working on the premise that nonhumans who develop societies independenly of humans are extremely likely to develop their own languages, I created a draft version of a language for the fairy species with one main goal: It should be intolerably difficult. As such, most of the basic vocabulary is computer-generated, and the grammar is a disaster area. If I get around to designing the writing system, it will have a syllabary and not an alphabet. This language, Dan-Rur (the Fairy Language), will probably show up in Lurline's Machine if I ever get enough time and regain the proper spirit of ozziness to get back to work on the project. So far, my submission to the "I can eat glass in Oz" is the longest text written so far in Dan-Rur. Also in (suspended) development: Old Ozzish (Human with significant non-human influence; multiple dialects; draft alphabet; one poem composed so far). Under consideration: Erb (at least 2 dialects), Dragon. More information on Old Ozzish and Dan-Rur is available to anyone who wants it on request. Aaron. Aaron Solomon (ben Saul Joseph) Adelman adelman@ymail.yu.edu The Antipolitical Martian Empire ====================================================================== Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 22:04:08 -0800 From: Ken Cope Subject: lonelyhearts in Oz When I saw the sequences in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, where high atop a bus in the middle of nowhere in the Australian outback, rides a drag queen on a giant silver high-heeled sandal, I couldn't help but think of Dorothy's silver slippers lost in the deadly desert, but somehow grown large in transit and ending up in the outback down under... As for "Rusty" singing he wishes he were gay... "H-huh. Huh-huh-huh-huh. Ow, quit it, Butthead..." Repeat after me. "Beavis and Butthead are not role models." Scott, it sounds to me like you're going through a perfectly normal process of teen angst, despair, alienation, and hormones. Are you really surprised when the object of your present infatuation, who already has a boyfriend, rejects you? Or is rejection what you're looking for? You ought to learn how to take a hint. Don't waste your time with those types of games. A lot of people really don't care; so what? You'll get over it, there isn't anything worthwhile you'll miss by avoiding hurtful people. You've got years ahead of you to learn what it means to be yourself, instead of somebody you think others want you to be. I spent a lot of time alone in high school, I read, I wrote, I drew, I painted, I had a very few close friends and have no idea where any of them are today-- If your brother thinks you're a fag, I'll thank you not to mention the names I'm sure he uses for women in general, and specifically women who object to his sexual advances, if he's like those who typically use the pejorative that way. You've got an opportunity to grow a brain and learn how to use it, which likely gives you a one-organ advantage over your brother from the sound of things. So stop using the language they're using to put you down, in some effort to fit in. It does you no credit. The way your brother is using the word fag has more to do with primate politics than anything else. I was called a hippie faggot because I was tall, skinny, wore long hair and didn't letter in sports or date-rape cheerleaders in Orange County during the heyday of the John Birch Society. (I was in high school 69-73) I got good grades without having to try very hard. It was obvious I wasn't one of them, and I wouldn't have it any other way. You'll get over it. Unless you just had your 37th birthday, I'm guessing you're still in HS. In which Jack Snow book was Tip re-formed? --Ken Cope Ozcot Studios pinhead@ozcot.com-- ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 01:37:06 -0600 From: "R. M. Atticus Gannaway" Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-07-97 SCOTT H.: >I don't know what's going on. I'm constantly alone, and my >brother thinks I'm a fag, so why wouldn't I identify with a re-formed Tip >as described by Jack Snow? first of all, I REALLY HATE THAT WORD. i KNOW you know to what word i'm referring. secondly, here's my opinion on the rest of it: people really don't like being around negative people. yes, i pick up a lot of negativity from your posts. i used to be a negative person, and i didn't have friends. i've changed now, and i do have friends. further, i don't let what other people think of me influence my self-esteem. i could give a damn what my reputation/public approval rating is. hey, there's a lot worse things than being called homosexual--for instance, being called HOMOPHOBIC. i don't wish to get ugly or to begin another futile debate as happened a number of months ago. i'll just assume that you're not so stupid as to use the F word again. we may just drop the subject. please don't disappoint me. atticus * * * "The crash of the whole solar and stellar systems could only kill you once." Visit my webpage at http://members.aol.com/atty993 ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 16:11:08 +0000 (GMT) From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-07-97 Ken Cope: >David, if you take a look at the art in Gaiman's current serial >story, Stardust, and tell me you don't like the work of Charles >Vess, I'm afraid there's no hope for you. The art in Glass Cat >didn't hinder my enjoyment of your work (much), but I certainly >didn't buy (and enjoy reading) my hard bound copy for its pictures. I can comment only on the art in the Sandman story that I read (the title of which I forget, and I didn't keep it so I can't look it up), and which I didn't like. I don't think it's valid to compare the effect of art on the enjoyment of a graphic novel to the effect of illustrations on the enjoyment of a text novel; it's pretty easy to ignore illustrations, but the art in a graphic novel carries a good deal of the story, and if it isn't appealing then the best script in the world is going to suffer badly for it. I don't say the Sandman stories aren't worth reading; they probably are. However, I don't have any urge to try to collect the lot of them and read them when I already have more books that I know I want to read and reread than I'll probably live long enough to get through, and that's not even considering all the new books that are going to be published as time goes by. I did love Gaiman's collaboration with Terry Pratchett, _Good Omens_, though. Bear: >Gee David, I wonder if making blanket denunciations without proof is a >healthy approach to life and discourse? Welcome back. :) Oh, probably. You seem to be healthy enough, if misguided, and you do it all the time. :-) Robin: Best wishes for quick healing. Earl: I hope Gardner's Oz book is published. He has a big enough name that I think he has a chance, and it might open up the market a little more for other writers as well. Gordon: Thanks for sharing the Official version on the use of hyphens. I disagree with Follett's rationale, but it amounts to pretty much the same thing that I said. Dave: Ozma sometimes makes things happen under Thompson, and frequently just watches things happen under Baum; I don't think their respective treatments of her are as different as you seem to. I think it's fair to say that by the time Thompson took over the series, Ozma had become so powerful that giving her a major role from the beginning of a story would result in there being no story. She pops in at the end of _Yellow Knight_ and _Ojo_ and settles everything in an instant, for instance. Baum didn't give her that much power until his last three books (and she didn't have occasion to use it in _Magic_). While she was still more of a princess than a magic worker, she could take a more active role (as in _Ozma_, _Emerald City_, and _Patchwork Girl_) without her intervention being essentially the end of the story. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 18:13:02 +0000 From: Scott Olsen Subject: Re: Ozzy Digests Re: Dave's reading _Mouse Under Glass_ Hey, I got that for Christmas too! And I also received a copy of Michael O. Reiley's _Oz and Beyond_, and have found it to be a truly fine book. I am very impressed with his notes, bibliography, and "works cited" section, which is a testament to the many fine individuals who have contributed to the knowledge of L. Frank Baum and Oz (some are even on the digest!) Re: Herm's posting of an unusual (to say the least) 1941 Reilly & Lee edition of _Wizard_ for $350.00: You're right, that price is terrible! Do you think they'd take $300.00? Re: Digest discussion awhile back about the best place to read: I'm surprised no one mentioned the one place where you can be alone: the bathroom. To Robin: Glad to hear you're feeling better. And to Robin (re: Limbaugh): I have nothing against legitimate political discussion or the exposure of true political wrongdoing, but most talk radio nowadays is the same ranting of the same conspiracy of the day, so it either turns me off or makes me laugh. I also find continued disrespect of our elected officals (of either party) which goes beyond the bounds of genuine, good satire (which itself appears to be a lost art) in poor taste. Sincerely, Scott Olsen ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 12:59:09 -0400 From: jwkenne@ibm.net Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-07-97 Ken Cope wrote: >(Has anybody >else besides JMS scripted an episode of B5 before?) In each of the first two seasons, Larry Ditillio, with the title of "Script Editor", contributed three, and several other writers, including Christy Marx, Peter David, David Gerrold, Dorothy C Fontana, and Katherine Drennan (Mrs. Straczynski) also did a script or two, mostly from premises by JMS. As the plot became more convoluted in the third season, he intentionally undertook to write all 22, but didn't intend to do it again. However, when the PTEN "network" was shot out from under him, and nobody knew whether the fourth season would be the last, he had to repeat the effort, in order to create a structure that would work whether there was a fifth season or not. // John W Kennedy ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 20:47:05 -0500 From: Richard Bauman Subject: Today's Oz Growls Sender: Richard Bauman Well this is the age of pressure groups. Dave, how about a letter(email) to St. Martins from the eminent producer of the Oz Digest encouraging them to publish Gardner's book? You could tell them your large readership is awaiting it with baited breath. Scott - Your latest post made me feel really sad for you. It was not something I can just scroll on by. I don't know where you are in your life journey other than that you are a young man. However, your state of mind somewhat reminded me of myself at a point in my life when I was sitting there trying to absorb the end of my first marriage. So I have a prescription for you, one that a friend gave me at that time in my life. Get up from that computer, go out into the world and throw yourself body and soul into some volunteer work. I did that, learned a lot about myself, did some useful work, helped others, regained my balance, met my second wife and lived fairly happily ever after. Regards, Bear (:<) ====================================================================== Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 21:27:52 -0500 From: Tyler Jones Subject: Oz Sender: Tyler Jones David: I've always been irritated by TV and movies when they use the phrase "you and I" incorrectly. For example, "This is a wonderful opportuniuty for you and I". They think they're being sophisticated, but it just ain't using grammar real good. :-) Bear: Here are some more rules. Do not use run-on sentences they can be confusing. About them sentence fragments. Eschew obfuscation. Always review your work to see if you any words out. Tyler Jones ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 09 Jan 98 12:00:57 (PST) From: Dave Hardenbrook Subject: Ozzy Things TO SCOTT O.: I agree with what you say about confusing intellegent satire with hate-mongering. Baum always did the first and not the second. BIRDS OF BAUMGEA: I just heard that there's a legendary bird featured in the _Arabian Nights_ known as the Orc...Any connection to our Ork? Another reminder: We start discussing _Tik-Tok of Oz_ on Monday... -- Dave ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JANUARY 10 - 12, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 12:20:44 -0600 From: Tim Allison Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-03-97 The Harold Washington Library in Chicago is having an Ozzy birthday Saturday Jan 10 at noon in the children's section Carol Mitchell ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 22:54:18 +0000 (GMT) From: David Hulan Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-09-97 J.L.: Thanks for the explanation of the Yankee swap. I'm familiar with the process (it's the one followed by the LASFS Gift Exchange, among others), but hadn't heard that term for it. Aaron: I assume you're probably the one who put the Old Ozzish into the "I can eat glass" board as well? As far as I recall the only actual reference to Old Ozzish in the FF is when Ozma tells the Wizard that "Oz" meant "great and good" in the old language. Otherwise we're left with a lot of other names whose meaning can be speculated on, and that's about it for anything canonical. Or am I forgetting something? Scott O.: >Re: Herm's posting of an unusual (to say the least) 1941 Reilly & Lee >edition of _Wizard_ for $350.00: > >You're right, that price is terrible! Do you think they'd take $300.00? Actually, I'd guess that a 1941 Reilly & Lee edition of _Wizard_ should be worth a whole bunch, since Reilly & Lee didn't publish _Wizard_ in 1941; it was still Bobbs-Merrill's property at that point. It'd have to be a True Rarity... >I'm surprised no one mentioned the one place where you can be alone: the >bathroom. That was a favorite place when I was younger and living with my parents. (Back in the days when our books were clay tablets. :-)) For a long time, though, I've had no need to be alone to read undisturbed; nowadays, of course, I'm home alone for 50 or so waking hours a week, but even when my wife's home as well she's usually busy reading herself and doesn't disturb me. Tyler: Agreed with your irritation at people who use "you and I" (or "[name] and I") as the object of a verb or preposition. I'm quite comfortable with "It's me"; to my mind "me" in English has for all practical purposes assumed the same role as "moi" in French - the first person pronoun for any use other than the immediate subject of a verb. If the pedants would simply recognize that that's the way people talk, and that "I" should only be used when it's followed by a verb that it's the subject of, there'd be a lot less of the irritating use of "I" where even pedants recognize it's inappropriate. Dave: I never heard of a bird called an Orc in the Arabian Nights. There's a Roc that plays a prominent role in one of the Sinbad stories. But I haven't read all thousand and one nights, so maybe there's an Orc there too. I'm reasonably sure, though, that if so it has no connection to our Ork. David Hulan ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 18:54:26 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: Oz '98 Sender: "J. L. Bell" I just opened my 1998 Oz Club Calendar, and recognized more names of list-members than faces of Oz characters. I was worried about my book memory until I saw Chris Dulabone's explanatory note on the back. Tyler Jones wrote: <> Hear, hear! My favorite counterexample, however, is "We Are the World," in which Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie write: "There's a choice we're making: / We're saving our own lives. / It's true we make a better day, / Just you and...me." Not only would "you and I" be assonant, but here it's correct, dammit! Hey, in this crazy world in which we live in... Dave Hardenbrook wrote: <> Ha ha! I do wish to point out that Toto races away from the storm cellar, attacks the Lion, and knocks over the screen that reveals the Wizard. Some of these actions are instinctual, some inadvertent, but all crucial to how things go down--because his actions prompt Dorothy to act. And Prof. Wogglebug has makes important suggestions as well as atrocious puns in LAND: mending the Sawhorse's leg, choosing a head for the flying machine. But he quickly reveals himself to be a *grown-up.* As soon as the professor gets his college, he's only interested in boring stuff like education pills, writing "The Royal Book of Oz," and pursuing his RUNAWAY vacation home. Thus, the Wogglebug can still set events in motion, but he's more often a mild antagonist to the child-hero. Finally, Dave, a gentle reminder when you date the next digest: we're into 1998. I know because I just got a new calendar. (And I spent all today at the office carefully watching to make sure I typed "8 January 1998" on my letters. Then I realized it's 9 January.) J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 19:58:44 -0500 (EST) From: ZMaund Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-09-97 Boy is this ever on topic! In a message to the Ozzy Digest dated 98-01-09 17:14:29 EST, Scott Olsen writes: > I also find continued disrespect of our elected officals (of either > party) which goes beyond the bounds of genuine, good satire (which itself > appears to be a lost art) in poor taste. Hmmmm... Lyndon Johnson as he sends the next troop transport out? John Adams as he signs the Alien and Sedition Acts? Clinton as he signs the Decency in Telecommunications Act? Spiro Agnew anytime at all? ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 19:17:15 -0800 From: Bob Spark Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-09-97 Digesters all, I just had to express my appreciation for the Digest of 1/9/98. An extremely well written, well thought out, witty, civilized discourse by all. I hope that the rest of the year continues in this same vein. Bob Spark ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 22:53:15 -0500 (EST) From: Ozmama Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-09-97 Scott H.: Happy belated 21st. birthday! (or is my math wrong?) Please avoid the word "fag." It's a loaded, offensive word, whether it's meant to be or not. I can tell from your post that you weren't aware that it was offensive in that context, but it was and always is...unless you're talking about a cigarette or something. Bear's idea of volunteer work is a good one. Or find a leisure learning class where they view and discuss films. In other words, get up and get moving in circles where you might just meet some good folks out there. Join a gym. Learn to work with stained glass. Join a community theater group. Get out there! ================== David: How are things on the mothers' front? ================== Jno Bell: Cute story! So that's what a Yankee Swap is! --Robin ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 23:53:53 -0500 From: "Melody G. Keller" Subject: Ozzy Digest, 01-09-97 Sender: "Melody G. Keller" Dave: >BIRDS OF BAUMGEA: I just heard that there's a legendary bird featured in the _Arabian Nights_ known as the Orc...Any connection to our Ork?< Are you sure that legendary bird wasn't the "roc"? My Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable says: Roc. In Arabian legend, a fabulous white bird of enormous size and such strength that it can "truss elephants in its talons", and carry them to its mountain nest, where it devours them. It is described in the Arabian Nights (Sinbad the Sailor). Ork: I may be big, but not that big! Besides, rocs have those ugly feathers... About Orc: Orc. A sea-monster fabled by ariosto, Drayton, Sylvester, etc. to devour men and women. The name was sometimes used for a whale. An island salt and bare, The haunt of seals, and orcs, and sea-mews clang. Milton: Paradise Lost. Orc: Those orcs give us orks a bad name... :-) David: Got a kick out of your older friends' observation on the benefits of growing older. My coworkers liked it, too. Melody Grandy ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 23:53:13 -0500 From: "Melody G. Keller" Subject: Ozzy Digest, 01-07-97 Sender: "Melody G. Keller" Ken Cope: >And speaking of mental health, how are things in Rigamarole, Fuddlecumjig and Flutterbudget Center, Tippe-- Princess Ozma? < Ozma: When we have *perfect* mental health in Oz, those places will no longer be necessary. :-) Tip: Did somebody say my name? Melody Grandy ====================================================================== Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 23:23:36 -0600 From: "Warren H. Baldwin" Subject: Ozzy Digest Jan. 7-9: Thanks, David, for your explanation on hyphen use. Your writing is cogent and to the point, as usual. As soon as you mentioned "style," my personal BIOS was flash-updated: "style=permissiveness," so I will no longer feel that inarticulate rage at the sight of an occasional empirical hyphen. I have nothing against hyphens, but I had thought there were more definite rules governing them. The rising gorge occasioned by them and by the use of "I, he, she" instead of "me, him, her" was not stimulated by the objects themselves, but by the users thereof, my rationale being: the country already has more groups fighting with other groups with less meaningful communication than ever before, so what purpose is served by impairing, by whim or by intent, the greatest advantage reconciliation has, a common language? At any rate, it's good to know that I'm not the only one who has noticed these things, or the only one who still cares -- albeit unprofessionally -- about language. Language=thought; imprecise language=muddled thinking. Thank you, too, Gordon. So there *are* some real rules about hyphens! I'm printing them out to have them at hand when a need for them arises. I'm even more impressed with the likening of the hyphen to a bridge connecting or fusing two ideas. That idea, I think, makes an excellent benchmark to measure against when trying to decide whether a hyphen can be used legimately in any particular situation. Bear, I'll try to use all your rules meticulously at all times, and I'll try to do so as well as you use them yourself! Tyler: more useful rules! At times I've suspected that obfuscation might also be a function of the size of the hearer's or reader's useful vocabulary, but I may be about that. W. Baldwin ====================================================================== Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 11:51:45 -0500 (EST) From: sahutchi@iupui.edu Subject: Re: Ozzy Digest, 01-07-97 I forgot to mention that January seventh is Queen Aubrey's birthday. She's 112, but looks not a day over seventeen. Scott ====================================================================== Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 22:38:03 -0500 From: "J. L. Bell" Subject: TIK-TOK OF OZ, pp. 1-12 Sender: "J. L. Bell" One benefit of these discussions is feeling spurred to read my Books of Wonder/Morrow Oz books. I grew up with "white cover" editions, which either dropped the color plates or converted them to line art. Seeing those illustrations in the text is thus in a small way a new reading experience. Every so often "white cover" editions make up somewhat for the loss of color. For TIK-TOK, I like the "white cover" better. It shows all our heroes (except Files) in a chariot whose wheel is the interlaced O and Z; on the back, Hank pulls the chariot. I recall reading that Neill originally drew this art for an advertisement or retail display. The original TIK-TOK cover was redrawn for page 2 of the "white cover" edition, with small changes: Tik-Tok lost his gun and gained the missing shadow of his hat, and the background and title were left out. The cross-hatching, line, eyes, and hands make me suspect this and other redrawings were the work of Dick Martin. Can anyone shed light on that conversion? Proceeding all the way to page 11, I admire Baum's alliterative chapter titles for TIK-TOK. The only big lapse is "Shaggy Seeks His Stray BROTHER." That could have been alliterative, too, if only Shaggy were seeking a sister. (In 1914 the terms "sib" and "sibling" still meant "relative" rather than "brother or sister.") Now, just as I approach TIK-TOK's actual story, I rear back to address the endpapers: the maps of Oz and surrounding countries. I hadn't noticed how in the Oz map the Yellow Brick Road is straight as an arrow and extends to the east/left into the Deadly Desert. Because that extension doesn't appear on the continent map, and because there's no sign of the branch Ojo took, I have to consider the road's rendering unreliable. More intriguing to me is how these 1914 maps show countries that didn't appear in Baum's stories until later. We know he'd already written of Pingaree, Rinkitink, and Boboland in his RINKTINK manuscript. And his note "To My Readers" shows he was at least planning SCARECROW, in which Jinxland and the Magic Waterfall appear. So do the appearance of the Yips, Skeezers, and Mount Munch indicate that Baum already had stories about them in mind as he guided Neill's cartography? A look ahead shows Baum's vision of these sites was (no big surprise) inconsistent. In TIN WOODMAN, Ku-Klip says Nimmie Ammee went to "live with some people she was acquainted with who had a house on Mount Munch" (p. 222). That house must be fairly low, given what MAGIC tells us about the mountain's steep slopes. Indeed, Munch is described on p. 261 of TIN WOODMAN, with no mention of its singular shape. In GLINDA, Baum has to account for the lack of Flatheads on the map by having Ozma say, "...on Professor Wogglebug's Map of the Land of Oz there is a place marked 'Skeezer [sic],' but what the Skeezers are like I do not know" (p. 18). (Ozma goes on to say, "The Skeezer Country is 'way at the upper edge of the Gillikin Country, with the sandy, impassable desert on one side and the mountains of Oogaboo on another side," which cuts out a lot of Winkie Country.) And, though Jinxland is on these maps, it's not across the desert from Mo. Indeed, Baum seems to have forgotten Mo and Yew entirely. Such discrepancies show that, rather than Baum shaping the map with ideas for future stories, Baum's future stories were inspired by the map. I presume that he and Neill filled blank regions with odd labels like "Yips" and geographical features like the waterfall to give Oz more verisimilitude. Later, Baum, seeking inspiration within his established framework, used those places in his books--again, because they were already mapped, giving Oz verisimilitude. Yet all these border areas turn out to be isolated and little known; the Hyups, the Yips, and so on are all tiny human communities cut off from the rest of Oz. Normally mapped features are those we know the *most* about, places *most* important to us. So, ironically, Baum created and revisited places like Jinxland to give verisimilitude to the maps of Oz, then undercut that verisimilitude when he chose to depict those places as isolated. J. L. Bell JnoLBell@compuserve.com ====================================================================== -- Dave ************************************************************ Dave Hardenbrook, E-Mail: DaveH47@delphi.com URL: http://people.delphi.com/DaveH47/ Computer Programmer, Honorary Citizen of the Land of Oz, and Editor of "The Ozzy Digest" (The _Wizard of Oz_ online fan club) "When we are young we read and believe The most Fantastic Things... When we grow older and wiser We learn, with perhaps a little regret, That these things can never be... WE ARE QUITE, QUITE *** WRONG ***!!!" -- Noel Coward, "Blithe Spirit" ************************************************************ ] c/ \ /___\ *** THE OZZY DIGEST, JANUARY 13-14, 1998 *** |@ @| | V | \\\ |\_/| | ;;; \-/ \ ;/ >< ] ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 13:23:21 +0200 (IST) From: Tzvi Harris Subject: Ozzy Digest Hi. I hope everyone enjoyed their vacations. It's snowing here in Israel. I've been living here for 15 years and this is only the second time I've seen a snow that stuck in most of the country. Tik-Tok In my edition of _Tik-Tok_ there is an illustration of Tik-Tok on roller skates on page 106. Does anyone know what the deal is with this illustration? I recently read _Merry Go Round_. I thought it was much better than RPTs' writing. Enjoyed it very much. Tzvi Harris Talmon Israel ====================================================================== Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 10:32:32 -0600 (CST) From: Ruth Berman Subject: ozzy digest Another bit of post-Nast pre-Sundholm Santa Clausing -- Neill also illustrated a "Night Before Christmas: (1908). The "Bugle" reprinted some of the illustrations as a cover back in 1985, and they show his choice of outfit for Santa then as blue robe with white trim. (He also drew Santa, as J.L. Bell mentioned, for Thompson's "Curious Cruise of Captain Santa." The IWWOC reprint has the interior illos in b&w, but the original edition had two-color printing, with the illustrations in black and red -- so, of course, Santa wore red there in the North Pole scenes. Incidentally, for those of you who don't have it, it's an enjoyable story, and still available from the IWWOC.) David Hulan: Nice analysis of the range of Ozma-plots. Yes, "it's me" is idiomatically much more comfortable -- as Peter discovered when Jack Pumpkinhead thought it was Cy at the door. Warren Baldwin: I keep getting startled by your W. Baldwin signature line -- reminds me of the villainous Thrush satrap Ward Baldwin (and his wife Irene) in David McDaniel's "Man from UNCLE" novels. They were based on a real couple, friends of his, and the names were their own choices (Irene for Irene Adler, as they were Sherlock Holmes fans; Baldwin because bald, Ward because Dean Warner Dickensheet's first, middle, and last names could all be translated as watchman, the last being Dutch for dike-guard). J.L. Bell: You're probably right that Dick Martin made the changes in art that was changed in the white cover editions. I don't recall direct comments to that effect, but he said somewhere that he worked on the white cover and amused himself by making the ampersand in Reilly & Lee different on each spine. Fred Meyer in one of his "Bugle" articles talked about the presence on the "Tik-Tok" maps of place-names Baum proceeded to introduce into the texts of the later books and wondered if he had the stories already in mind, or if looking at the names he'd put on the map helped him come up with the stories later -- he thought it was probably some of both. Your suggestion that Glinda's comment about not knowing what the Skeezers are like implies that "Skeezer" was a case of story-growing-out-of-map-name sounds plausible. I'm not sure that putting unknown places on the map necessarily undercuts plausibility in mapping. The Wogglebug seems like just the sort of person who would like to put unknown plac