A Few Thoughts

Well, it's been exactly one week since McDonalds began to sell "Wizard of Oz"/Madame Alexander toys in their Happy Meals.

Here's the score:
Everyone else: 1 or 2 to 4 sets
Me: 0

Why? Well, the biggest reason of all is that I'm currently out of a job, and thus need to save what money I do have.

Next reason, McDonalds, in my book, is EVIL! From having to wait 10 minutes for a Double Cheeseburger to being sent outside just for meeting some of my friends inside (+ we had Hardee's food) to unsucessfully trying to help my dad collect a complete set of the "Chronicles of Narnia" toys they sold in December '05, McDonalds and I have a history of not agreeing with each other. (Oh, and did I mention their burgers are really part soy, though advertised as 100% beef?)

Number three: if I got them, what would I do with them? I, for some reason, don't collect just for the sake of collecting, or because it's a rare item. (If it's an affordable rare item, then I might...) I've collected the Books of Wonder editions of Baum's books, as these are the most collectible editions in print, and I have a rather large collection of Oz DVDs and VHS tapes, but I actually read my books and watch my movies (every now and then). If I did get a whole set, I'd probably wind up giving them to my youngest sister and brothers.

And four, I'm not a huge fan of the MGM movie's portrayal of the characters. As mentioned before, I do like the MGM movie, but it's not the ULTIMATE OZ for me. And then mixing them with the Madame Alexander dolls works only for Dorothy and perhaps that munchkin, but on the others, it's a little unsettling.

So, with 1. no cash, 2. loathing of McDonald's, 3. no use for them, and 4. not even liking how they look, is it any wonder I'm not worried about not getting them?

(Although Laura Gjovaag's vivid and hilarious accounts of rounding up two sets in her blog have given me a chuckle.)

And while stalking a wild job, I've been keeping my eyes on the mailbox for a DVD of the 1974 stop-frame animation version of Alexander Volkov's Волшебнык Изумрудного Города (I love using those Cyrillic letters!), and Peter and the Magic Egg/Dorothy in the Land of Oz on DVD.