Your Honest Opinion Wanted!

Today, I uploaded a test version of the opening title for my Baum/Oz documentary series to YouTube. Here it is, embedded in the blog.



So... what do you think? Is it good? Does it need more work? Please let me know your opinions and comments and suggestions.

BAM! Idea!

Okay, so I was looking at the Daily Ozmapolitan, when I found this page:

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/13287243/detail.html

It is an article about Roger S. Baum, who now resides in Springfield, Missouri, the city where I live.

Did this article make me proud of a new resident of Springfield? (That's funny. I thought he lived in Branson... Oh, wait. That's a tourist attraction.) No! In fact, I got a little annoyed. The article was horribly written (it was a transcript of a video embedded in the page, and it doesn't sound any better, either) and had some innaccuracies. Roger S. Baum setting the record straight? That is funny!

I will let you know now that I have met Mr. Baum TWICE, but was not impressed with meeting him either time. I have a photo of him and me somewhere... Maybe someday, if I can find it, I'll post it.

"Baum said his great grandfather failed at running a chain of movie theaters," the article reads. No, that was not movie theaters, Rog. Those were opera houses his father gave him. AND there was also the Castorine company, Baum's Bazaar and the newspaper in Aberdeen, and he didn't do too well with selling crockery, either.

"The story Baum remembers about the Tin Man was the character was based on a figure the author once made in Kansas out things like cans and a kettle." Um, Roger, that didn't happen in Kansas...

When I talked to Roger, he didn't seem to know much about his great-grandfather, not even when my father brought up the silent films. He did mention how valuable his great-grandfather and great-grandmother's autographs were, not surprising, as Maud was not the famous one.

Maybe Roger is more knowledgeable than I'm giving him credit for, but to me, it's never seemed like it... and he's a Baum, and I'm a Davis who's been studying Baum and the Oz Legacy for about seven years, having learned from folks who've studied Baum's life much longer, like Micheal Patrick Hearn, Eric Gjovaag, Angelica Shirley Carpenter and Jean Shirley, Katherine Rogers, John Fricke, Ruth Berman, and all the other wonderful folk, most of whom are connected with the International Wizard of Oz Club.

So now I'm figuring, if I know so much, why not do something with it? (Well, there is the Dorothy & Ozma Productions website, but I'm thinking of something else.)

So, I came up with the idea of doing a series of short video documentaries on Baum and the Oz Legacy to be posted on YouTube.

Sound good?

Maybe I could do one about the fans and include some footage of a certain Springfieldian kid when he was about 8 sing "We're Off To See The Wizard."

Oz characters with Night Vision

They expected to reach some other house before it grew dark, but the twilight was brief and Ojo soon began to fear they had made a mistake in leaving the woodchopper.

"I can scarcely see the path," he said at last.
"Can you see it, Scraps?"

"No," replied the Patchwork Girl, who was holding fast to the boy's arm so he could guide her.

"I can see," declared the Glass Cat. "My eyes are better than yours, and my pink brains—"

"Never mind your pink brains, please," said Ojo hastily; "just run ahead and show us the way. Wait a minute and I'll tie a string to you; for then you can lead us."

--The Patchwork Girl of Oz

Wow! The Glass Cat can see in the dark! But was Bungle the first Oz character with night vision?

After an hour or so the light faded away, and they found themselves stumbling along in the darkness. Dorothy could not see at all, but Toto could, for some dogs see very well in the dark; and the Scarecrow declared he could see as well as by day. So she took hold of his arm and managed to get along fairly well.

"If you see any house, or any place where we can pass the night," she said, "you must tell me; for it is very uncomfortable walking in the dark."

Soon after the Scarecrow stopped.

"I see a little cottage at the right of us," he said, "built of logs and branches. Shall we go there?"

--The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

So, wait a minute, how can these two see in the dark? I believe it is because they do not have natural eyes. Our eyes see by detecting light and the way it reflects from different objects. However, the Scarecrow's eyes are painted, and the Glass Cat's eyes are glass. (Although it is a long-thought of idea that cats can see in the dark.) They can use these to see because their eyes are enchanted to see. So, wouldn't some other characters be able to see in the dark? Here's a list of the characters from Baum's books who would...

• The Scarecrow
• The Tin Woodman
• Jack Pumpkinhead
• The Sawhorse
• The Gump (NOTE: Stuffed animal skins usually use glass eyes, so he would have night vision, although in The Marvelous Land of Oz he can't stop in the dark, but this could be because he does not know what Glinda's palace looks like. However, shouldn't the Scarecrow or Tin Woodman have known?)
• Tik-tok
• The Wooden Gargoyles (Although they live in a land with no night.)
• The Scoodlers
• The Cuttenclips
• Bungle the Glass Cat
• Scraps the Patchwork Girl
• Captain Fyter

Interesting, no? Nine characters and three people groups who could see in the dark!

Wow.

I really need more ideas for blog entries...

I hate to do it...

I have decided to let advertising appear on my blog. They say I can earn a bit of money that way, and, although I finally have a job, I am currently in need of a slightly bigger cash flow to pay a few debts. (As I've said, I don't live in Oz...)

They also say the advertising will be related to the blog, so I hope (though there's not much) that some of you can find useful items because of it.

If it doesn't work out, I'll see if I can remove the ads.

Oh, and the ads will only help if they're clicked on. (So if you got some spare time...) I'll see how much it's worth, and if it's worth it, I might use the money I get from them for Oz merchandise or something after I pay off those bills.

I really hate to do this...

Episode 21 reviewed

Okay, here's my review for "Returning to Oz" episode 21.

This is one of the best episodes, if not the best, that Aaron Pacentine has put together. Not because I'm on it, but because the many people Aaron interview in this one 64 minute episode are able to present a well-rounded scope on Oz in general. (Though not too much about the books is spoken, or Wicked.)

After regular introductions, Aaron announces that this is Travis Black's first episode. In fact, you may notice that Aaron even mentions that this is episode 18, though you believed it was 21. No, you haven't been lied to, this is the 21st episode. Aaron used the unreleased version of episode 18 to "frame" this one.

Producer Aaron Schultz takes time to talk about Emma Ridley, the actress who so beautifully played Ozma in Disney's Return to Oz. Some of this information is also on Aaron Schultz's website: WaltDisneysReturnToOz.com. I'd suggest reading it as well as listening to this part.

Then we Ease On Down The Road to Yours Truly, who pauses and says "um" a LOT near the beginning. Later on, I get over it. I should sound better in any possible future episodes that I may appear in. We'll see.

Anyhoo, Aaron and Jared Davis (me) talk about a variety of subjects, including the two most Popular Oz movies of all time, their scores, the Dorothy & Ozma Productions website, the Oz screenplays that I'm working on with Sam Antony Milazzo (though I didn't mention him, sorry, Sam!), the title Return to Oz had in Italy, the movie The Tramps & The Wizard of Oroz from Brazil, and the Russian Adventures in the Emerald City series.

Next we move on to Derrick Davis (as far as I know, no relation, though I wouldn't mind), who has many comments on Disney's Return to Oz.

Travis Black closes the show with his story of actually seeing a pair of Ruby Slippers used in MGM's The Wizard of Oz.

Enjoyable music is used to transition between the interviews.

All in all, a very solid episode, well worth the time it takes to download it... except now, you don't have to do that anymore! Episode 21 is hosted in eight parts on ZShare.net, and when you click on the link to a certain episode, it will open a page where the file will actually play, thanks to Flash technology. You can also follow links to download each part. (Note: on the final downloading page for each part, Internet Explorer 7 will block the download, but right-click on the "please click here to start it now" link and selecting "Save Target As..." will let you download it.) It has also been announced that all future episode will be released this way.

While using the new feature to listen to each part may be preferable to some, I reccomend downloading them, so you can play all eight parts without having to load the next part.

So what are you waiting for? Go listen to (or download) it!

"Returning to Oz" 21 released + more

I got a call from Aaron Pacentine today. "Returning to Oz" episode 21 has been released. If you haven't been paying attention, I'm on this episode, but so are a lot of other folks! It's over an hour long (64 minutes), and it's divided into eight parts. I'm listening to it right now, so I'll probably won't be able to post up a review until tomorrow. (I have a job now.)

A new change is that Aaron is now using ZShare to host the files. As a webmaster, I understand why someone would do that: eventually your own website begins to run out of space, and you have a lot more content you want to share. This means that downloading it will not be quite as easy as the previous episodes. So don't right-click to save the files. Click on the link, and here you can listen to the part of the show, or you can click on "Download This File" link, and follow it again. Note: Internet Explorer 7 will block the download, but you can right-click the "Click here is the download doesn't work" link and save from there. (Technical support!)

Another bit of news from Aaron is that there will be a new Oz Panel CD soon, this time completely focusing on Disney's Return to Oz, and someone who was involved with the production will be there to give input. Aaron has asked that I not reveal who, so that should keep you watching for updates. This will be the third Oz Panel CD. While it remains to be seen if this will be the best panel CD yet, Aaron assures me that it will be better than the second CD featuring Aaron, Celia Foster, and Zach Allen.

So, go ahead and download this episode! Put it on your iPod, or your mp3 player, or burn it to CD, or just listen on your computer. http://www.videosforfamily.com/returntoozshow.htm

There's Good News

There's one bad thing about home Internet access: eventually, it gets dull. Like today, I've probably checked the IWOC message board 20 times. (Nothing new since yesterday, except for a bit of spam a moderator deleted... good work!)

Not too long ago, I got an e-mail from Hungry Tiger Press, which was really nothing special, I'm just on their mailing list, mentioning new titles that will be printed soon: The Wonderland of Oz adaptations of The Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, and the next installment in the Pawprint Series: The Flying Girl & Her Chum, the second and last of the Flying Girl books. (I'm kind of glad they're printing the last one first, I've already read the first one.)

However, Eric Gjovaag mentioned on his blog that he spoke to David Maxine, who runs HTP, and said that he got a scoop on new releases and that Oz fans should save their pennies.

Looking at Eric's bookshop page, I discovered this list of upcoming Hungry Tiger Press books:

• John Dough and the Cherub by L. Frank Baum
  
• King Kojo by Ruth Plumly Thompson
  
• Sam Steele's Adventures: The Amazing Bubble Car by L. Frank Baum
  
• The Flying Girl by L. Frank Baum
  
• The Flying Girl and her Chum by L. Frank Baum
  
• Phoebe Daring by L. Frank Baum

I'll be looking forward to the Baum books. As for Thompson, I'm just finally getting into her Oz books, so I'll have to wait on that one.

Another page I keep checking on? Aaron Pacentine's "Returning to Oz." Episode 21 should be released soon, and I'm looking forward to hearing it for the parts that I appear on, and (especially) the parts I didn't appear on.

Oh, and I set up a MySpace profile for Dorothy and Ozma Productions last night. I'll approve friend requests from all Oz fans. I've also sent out 17 friend requests, so some of you may have one. Here's the URL: http://www.myspace.com/dorothyozma.

(Now to get some links in this thing.)

What Came In The Mail Today

Today, I got a copy of "The Oz Scrapbook" by David L. Greene and Dick Martin. It's not the first time I've held this book, as my library has a copy I've checked out a couple of times. However, this copy is a lot nicer, as it had the dust jacket, and all of the pages are here, though some are torn. (Yeah, you wouldn't think the library would keep damaged books in circulation.)

The book is not of much interest to a fan of the MGM movie, as it speaks very little of it. In fact, there are only two pictures for it: Judy Garland with Maud Baum and a first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and a publicity photo of Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Terry (Toto), Judy Garland, Frank Morgan and Ray Bolger in their Oz costumes in front of a giant-size edition of The Wizard of Oz featuring a painting of the film stars on the front cover. (There were at least two publicity photos of the cast with this book, one had them arm in arm, except Terry, standing in front of the book. The other had them with the book open, and looking as if they were about to walk inside. The picture in The Oz Scrapbook is the former.) Nor will this book especially appeal to casual fans of the books. No, this book is best suited for collectors and people who are interested in Oz history as it developed through the years.

Some of the information is dated: it states that only Baum's original 14 novels are in print. This was true... in 1977 when this book was published. Today, all of the Famous 40 are in print, except for some of Ruth Plumly Thompson's books. It also states that the only other Oz stories outside of the 40 were Thompson's books printed by the International Wizard of Oz Club (I love those people!), and the club's magazine Oziana. Apparently from this, we get the little-realized idea that the creation of original Oz books by fans began in last 30 years. (I would be interested in discovering what the very first one was.)

The book is divided into seven sections:

1. The Man Who Discovered Oz, all about L. Frank Baum and how his wonderful creation began.
2. Later Explorers of Oz, about the later Royal Historians from Thompson to the McGraws.
3. The Iconography of Oz, about illustrators and illustrations in Oz books throughout the years.
4. Oz on Stage and Screen, pretty obvious, but the last item mentioned is the play The Wiz. (The movie was likely in pre-production by the time this book went to press.)
5. Ozian Artifacts, about Oz merchandise, from items for the original stage production of The Wizard of Oz in 1902 and 1903 (I would explain why two dates are given, but I'd reccomend you research this yourself. I might mention it in a later blog, if I ever get a good reason.) to items for the Off to See the Wizard television series to Aurora Plastic's "Oz-kins" (anybody have any pics?) to stained-glass windows. The last item mentioned is the first pair of Ruby Slippers worn by Judy Garland to be auctioned for $15,000 in 1970.

• The Oz Canon actually covers the whole bibliography for the book, from the Famous 40, to the additional Oz books of Baum (note Jean Kellogg's The Visitors from Oz), Denslow, Neill, Thompson, Jack Snow, and Frank Joslyn Baum; to other "factual" books about the Oz creators and the Land itself.
• Last of all is a page of Acknowledgements.

One of the big reasons I wanted this book was because of it's pictures of the "What Did the Woggle-Bug Say?" buttons. I was delighted to find both versions on the dustjacket. (I would love to someday own these. I also wish someone could make reproductions.) There is also bits of rarely seen Oz/Oz-related artwork by Oz artists, such as the rarely seen dustjacket for Father Goose: His Book (when will someone do a good reprint?) and promotional art for Fairylogue and Radio-Plays.

A great addition to my Oz collection. If it's a good one for you (unless you already know), I hope this entry has made you consider it.

Sorry...

I want to apologize if my last two posts were "un-Ozzy." I'm still living in the real world, and sometimes it gets you down, and I've unwisely let it get into my online Oz life. (I made a harsh comment on Eric Gjovaag's blog about people not using their brains, like I wasn't at the time, and Eric used his and removed it, for one.)

SO... I'm just apologizing, and hopefully things will get brighter soon.

I'm also currently reading Kabumpo in Oz, and so far, it's pretty good! I might actually become fond of some of Thompson's Oz works.

A Step Towards Dominating The Internet

"Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha..."

Okay, I'm having a bit of fun here, but it turns out that if you search "Jared Davis" and "Oz" on Google, I'm on most of the results on the first page!

How many people out there are named Jared Davis? There's one who lives in Omaha (the hometown of Oscar Diggs), the search uncovered some styrofoam sculptures of Oz characters because the blog mainly looked at work by an artist with my name, there's a glass blower, and I'm none of these people. (Let's look to the local phone book for how many are listed there... zero... not even me, because, at the time, I just had a cell phone.)