Now there's a odd title....
The Royal Liaison of Oz found himself attending a Moody Blues concert in Indianapolis last night and had an amazing time. This is the 10th time I have seen this fine group and is my 150th concert overall.
While sitting in the lawn waiting for the show, I found myself discussing stuff with several fine folks sitting next to me. Like myself, they had attended the Moody Blues show in Noblesville, Indiana back in '95 and recalled vividly the vicious storm that blew through halfway through the show, resulting in a tornado nearby and an amazing show following the storm 20 minutes later. The gentleman mentioned that they were lucky not to have ended up in Oz after that experience. That of course led to an extended conversation regarding Magician of Oz and my experiences writing about the Land of Oz.
No sooner had that conversation concluded when the show began. The band performed at White River State Park, which is an outdoor venue. With a beautiful waxing moon overhead, the Moody Blues played a wonderful 2 hour set, including a fabulous (as always) rendition of "Nights in White Satin", including the lovely poem at the end.
"Breathe deep the gathering gloom..." is a classic line from that ending but what really was amazing was when Graham Edge (the drummer) spoke the following line while pointing up at the moon; "Cold-hearted orb that rules the night. Removes the colors from our sight. Red is gray and yellow white, but we decide which is right... and which is an illusion."
Prophetic words from a fine artist. How true were his words about our decisions regarding visions of truth and illusion and the choices we make.
So often I am criticized for my belief in Oz and our role in that magical land. Kids today look to the world around us and confront reality in all its cruelty. Yet, when it comes to Oz and all it represents, they more often than not choose to suspend the reality of now and here in favor of Oz. Like kids of old, in the days of Baum, they seek out hope and promise in the pages and reality of a world not quite normal. They seek out the truths, the friendships, the values inherent in Glinda's Red Brick Palace, or Nick Chopper's Place, in the Council of Trees or the vision of Polychrome and her new friend, Oz the Magnificent.
Since the release of Magician of Oz on the Summer Solstice, I have come to understand the wisdom of our youth and their desire to dream of other lands and better times. They know not the elements of grammar and context. They care not for nitpicking and harping over trivial matters from books of old. For them, Potato Soup is more than just a meal. It is a way of seeing that which is familiar and warm in their hearts. They don't care if the Wizard is around or not. For them, truth, honesty, loyalty and friendship are values that they long for and accept willingly, irregardless of who teaches the lesson or who learns said lesson.
Today's child is far more wise the we are and the future seems to be in fine hands.
The wisdom of Princess Ozma exceeds that which we can fathom and I am humbled by her choice of gifts and Royal Liaisons.
Vita est Bonus!
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
The 70th Anniversary of MGM's The Wizard of Oz
It was a mere 70 years ago today, August 25, 1939 when MGM released its newest and most sensational movie; The Wizard of Oz.
Much hype and hoopla surrounded the premier and from the moment the MGM lion roared, audiences were captivated by the magical land of Oz written about only 39 years before by the celebrated children's author, Lyman Frank Baum.
Since that time, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has taken on many forms and incantations.
Rather than expand on Baum's contributions to children's literature or various facts and lore surrounding the movie, I would choose to focus on how MGM's The Wizard of Oz affected my life and eventually lead to my becoming the Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma and writing Magician of Oz; the first of a three volume story about a young magician named Jamie Diggs and his adventures at home in Indiana and abroad in the Land of Oz.
It should be noted that although MGM's The Wizard of Oz was released in theaters on this date in 1939, it didn't hit the television machine until 1956, then began its incredible yearly showing in 1959, the year before I was born. Therefore, there has never been a year where I did not know of The Wizard of Oz in movie form. While I'm certain that I watched the movie as an infant, my earliest memories of Oz are of my parents reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; by L. Frank Baum (1900) to me as a young child.
I recall my father acting out the scenes while my mother would do the sound effects. One particular scene that often frightened me was when the Tin Woodman took up his sharp axe against the Fighting Trees of the Great Forest of the Quadling Country. Of course he defeated them easily, but my parents made it into quite the horrific scene of carnage and much spilling of sap. In MGM's The Wizard of Oz, I would always get a bit scared when Dorothy and the Scarecrow encountered the animated Apple Trees of the Great Forest. Even to this very day, I sometimes wonder when I walk about in the woods near our home if the trees are watching me, waiting for the right moment to attack and conquer.
Of course now, as a father of five children and grandfather of ten, it is now my job to entertain the kids. With my own children, I would emulate my parents to such a degree that my mom once came in on one of my reading performances and was momentarily stunned at the resemblance between our readings. And much like myself, the battle of the fighting trees was one of the highlights of the show and I made it nearly as violent as my parents did. I also liked doing odd voices for some of the characters and my grandkids find my Yoda voice to be the perfect choice for the voice of the Nome King.
As I have grown older and somewhat wiser (and that is a bit subjective), I have found the the Land of Oz has begun to play a growing role in my life. Every semester, I finish up my lab course in Weather & Climate by doing the Dark Side of Oz thing for my students. We examine the weather in Kansas, including the tornado and the weather in Oz. They get a big kick out of it and I find its a nice way to end what I hope has been a fun class for them.
Over the last 2 years, I have found that Oz has taken over in a number of ways, including my work on fulfilling Princess Ozma's command to spread the word of Oz and tell the story of Jamie Diggs through the story of Magician of Oz. As a result, I have immersed myself in the world of publishing and marketing of the printed word.
Early on in the process, I made a choice to go with the option of self-publishing my work as opposed to the traditional publishing process. This choice was made easier by the cowardice of traditional publishing firms and literary agents who are quite afraid to take an occasional chance on new authors. In addition, today's economic climate has driven the traditional publishing process into near bankruptcy as new methods and processes take over. New authors are finding new avenues for their work and the Internet machine has supplanted the role of news media in the print and broadcast format in promoting their work.
Now, as I look forward to volumes two and three; Shadow Demon of Oz and Family of Oz and their eventual release into the Great Outside, I wonder what will become of MGM's The Wizard of Oz over the next 70 years. How will it evolve into our culture beyond what it has already done? What will my great grandchildren think of the Wizard, Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, Tinman and the Cowardly Lion?
Will they feel as we do today about this wonderful classic? Will they experience it in ways we can not yet predict or even imagine? Will the timeless words of Lyman Frank Baum still resonate with the children of the future?
So many questions and no answers... at least not yet!
Long Live Oz!!!
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma
Much hype and hoopla surrounded the premier and from the moment the MGM lion roared, audiences were captivated by the magical land of Oz written about only 39 years before by the celebrated children's author, Lyman Frank Baum.
Since that time, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has taken on many forms and incantations.
Rather than expand on Baum's contributions to children's literature or various facts and lore surrounding the movie, I would choose to focus on how MGM's The Wizard of Oz affected my life and eventually lead to my becoming the Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma and writing Magician of Oz; the first of a three volume story about a young magician named Jamie Diggs and his adventures at home in Indiana and abroad in the Land of Oz.
It should be noted that although MGM's The Wizard of Oz was released in theaters on this date in 1939, it didn't hit the television machine until 1956, then began its incredible yearly showing in 1959, the year before I was born. Therefore, there has never been a year where I did not know of The Wizard of Oz in movie form. While I'm certain that I watched the movie as an infant, my earliest memories of Oz are of my parents reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; by L. Frank Baum (1900) to me as a young child.
I recall my father acting out the scenes while my mother would do the sound effects. One particular scene that often frightened me was when the Tin Woodman took up his sharp axe against the Fighting Trees of the Great Forest of the Quadling Country. Of course he defeated them easily, but my parents made it into quite the horrific scene of carnage and much spilling of sap. In MGM's The Wizard of Oz, I would always get a bit scared when Dorothy and the Scarecrow encountered the animated Apple Trees of the Great Forest. Even to this very day, I sometimes wonder when I walk about in the woods near our home if the trees are watching me, waiting for the right moment to attack and conquer.
Of course now, as a father of five children and grandfather of ten, it is now my job to entertain the kids. With my own children, I would emulate my parents to such a degree that my mom once came in on one of my reading performances and was momentarily stunned at the resemblance between our readings. And much like myself, the battle of the fighting trees was one of the highlights of the show and I made it nearly as violent as my parents did. I also liked doing odd voices for some of the characters and my grandkids find my Yoda voice to be the perfect choice for the voice of the Nome King.
As I have grown older and somewhat wiser (and that is a bit subjective), I have found the the Land of Oz has begun to play a growing role in my life. Every semester, I finish up my lab course in Weather & Climate by doing the Dark Side of Oz thing for my students. We examine the weather in Kansas, including the tornado and the weather in Oz. They get a big kick out of it and I find its a nice way to end what I hope has been a fun class for them.
Over the last 2 years, I have found that Oz has taken over in a number of ways, including my work on fulfilling Princess Ozma's command to spread the word of Oz and tell the story of Jamie Diggs through the story of Magician of Oz. As a result, I have immersed myself in the world of publishing and marketing of the printed word.
Early on in the process, I made a choice to go with the option of self-publishing my work as opposed to the traditional publishing process. This choice was made easier by the cowardice of traditional publishing firms and literary agents who are quite afraid to take an occasional chance on new authors. In addition, today's economic climate has driven the traditional publishing process into near bankruptcy as new methods and processes take over. New authors are finding new avenues for their work and the Internet machine has supplanted the role of news media in the print and broadcast format in promoting their work.
Now, as I look forward to volumes two and three; Shadow Demon of Oz and Family of Oz and their eventual release into the Great Outside, I wonder what will become of MGM's The Wizard of Oz over the next 70 years. How will it evolve into our culture beyond what it has already done? What will my great grandchildren think of the Wizard, Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, Tinman and the Cowardly Lion?
Will they feel as we do today about this wonderful classic? Will they experience it in ways we can not yet predict or even imagine? Will the timeless words of Lyman Frank Baum still resonate with the children of the future?
So many questions and no answers... at least not yet!
Long Live Oz!!!
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma
Friday, August 21, 2009
Gauisus Natalis Princess Ozma!!!
Today, August 21, 2009 is Princess Ozma's birthday and is one of only five holidays celebrated in Oz. The other four are the Vernal and Autumnal Equinox, Summer and Winter Solstice. Magician of Oz loves the Summer Solstice best of all!
According to some, Princess Ozma is well over one hundred years old while others claim she is only one hundred years old. This is due to the Royal Historian's acknowledgment of her birthday in Road to Oz (1909) such that there are some who say that since she was in Oz prior to Road to Oz, she must be more than one hundred years old while others claim that she is only one hundred years old due to it only being mentioned in 1909.
Hmmm. What a quandary!
I tried asking her once and... well, let's just say that you should never ask a lady her age!
Anyway, the first appearance of the crescent Moon following New Moon coincides with sunset on the eve of Her Majesty's birthday.
As such, being the astronomer I am, I have tried to establish a new record for the earliest sighting of the very thin crescent Moon following the New Moon in honor of Princess Ozma's day of celebration and as my gift to her!
Lunar orbital geometry allows for the possibility of approaching the 15.5 hour record mark for the earliest sighting this particular lunar cycle.
I have tried this 14 times before over the last 25 years but have yet to break the record.
It's harder than you think....
Tonight was no different but I did get within 8 minutes of the record. That is the closest I have ever got, by well over 15 minutes!!!
Life is good and so is Oz
Why do you ask?
Why not?
... Because!
Gauisus Natalis Princess Ozma!!!
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma
According to some, Princess Ozma is well over one hundred years old while others claim she is only one hundred years old. This is due to the Royal Historian's acknowledgment of her birthday in Road to Oz (1909) such that there are some who say that since she was in Oz prior to Road to Oz, she must be more than one hundred years old while others claim that she is only one hundred years old due to it only being mentioned in 1909.
Hmmm. What a quandary!
I tried asking her once and... well, let's just say that you should never ask a lady her age!
Anyway, the first appearance of the crescent Moon following New Moon coincides with sunset on the eve of Her Majesty's birthday.
As such, being the astronomer I am, I have tried to establish a new record for the earliest sighting of the very thin crescent Moon following the New Moon in honor of Princess Ozma's day of celebration and as my gift to her!
Lunar orbital geometry allows for the possibility of approaching the 15.5 hour record mark for the earliest sighting this particular lunar cycle.
I have tried this 14 times before over the last 25 years but have yet to break the record.
It's harder than you think....
Tonight was no different but I did get within 8 minutes of the record. That is the closest I have ever got, by well over 15 minutes!!!
Life is good and so is Oz
Why do you ask?
Why not?
... Because!
Gauisus Natalis Princess Ozma!!!
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Newest Citizen of Oz!
The Mrs. and Magician of Oz are extremely proud to announce the arrival of our newest grandchild (#12), Ivy Jade. One more and we'll have a bakers' dozen!
At 3.3735 kilos (7 pounds, 7 ounces), 55.88 centimeters (22 inches) long, she is cute as a button (of course!) and ready for Love!!! BTW, the lovely woman holding the amazing bundle of Joy is the Mrs. (Amanda), creator of the legendary Potato Soup as read about in Magician of Oz.
We have but one question for all of you reading this. As this is our first grandchild since my return from Oz, we are trying to determine if she is a Munchkin, a Quadling, a Winkie or a Gillikin. Or perhaps she is a citizen of Emerald City...?
Is there a sign or some sort of mark we could look for to help us decide which country of Oz she comes from?
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma
magicianofoz (Twitter id)
At 3.3735 kilos (7 pounds, 7 ounces), 55.88 centimeters (22 inches) long, she is cute as a button (of course!) and ready for Love!!! BTW, the lovely woman holding the amazing bundle of Joy is the Mrs. (Amanda), creator of the legendary Potato Soup as read about in Magician of Oz.
We have but one question for all of you reading this. As this is our first grandchild since my return from Oz, we are trying to determine if she is a Munchkin, a Quadling, a Winkie or a Gillikin. Or perhaps she is a citizen of Emerald City...?
Is there a sign or some sort of mark we could look for to help us decide which country of Oz she comes from?
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma
magicianofoz (Twitter id)
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The Diggs Family Car
I was browsing the Internet Machine today and ran across an old film about the Chevy Corvair. This happens to be the family car of the Diggs family featured in Magician of Oz.
I was very pleased and now I share it with you. It's about 6 1/3 minutes long and well worth the watch. Its amazing how different we thought back then. I love the music! Just click on The Old Family Corvair!
The Old Family Corvair!
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma
magicianofoz (Twitter id)
I was very pleased and now I share it with you. It's about 6 1/3 minutes long and well worth the watch. Its amazing how different we thought back then. I love the music! Just click on The Old Family Corvair!
The Old Family Corvair!
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma
magicianofoz (Twitter id)
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