Hanging Like a Space Man

“Imagination has brought mankind through the Dark Ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities. So I believe that dreams - day dreams, you know, with your eyes wide open and your brain-machinery whizzing - are likely to lead to the betterment of the world. The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to create, to invent, and therefore to foster civilization.”

~ L. Frank Baum

(I found this guy hanging out in Salt Lake City last Saturday after seeing the Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy concert at Abravanal Hall.  The music was so good.

No one's inside, it's an art piece of sorts, lining the street with other random figures.

This space man is cool nontheless.

When I was younger I used to imagine what it must be like to float in space, right outside the space station or doing a space walk.  The views must be incredible staring down at the Earth.  Can you imagine?  The silence.  How surreal it must be.)

Where's the Good Witch of the North?

(Public Domain)

Next week, on March 8th, Disney's latest Movie, Oz The Great and Powerful, comes to theaters.  Being the huge L. Frank Baum fan that I am, and having grown up enchanted by the 1939 version, I've been looking forward to this.   I've read some of Baum's other works, so I thought I'd finally give the Wizard of Oz series a try.  Granted, this latest movie serves as a prequel and goes outside of what Baum original wrote; I wanted to experience Oz the way it was first imagined.

I'm not far into the story, only the fifth chapter, and I already feel as if my Oz World has been shattered.  Not in a bad way, but in a, "Wow, they seriously changed some things" sort of way.  Glinda The Good Witch, enchanting in technicolor pink, greats Dorothy when she literally falls into Oz.  That image will forever be in my mind, and Glinda standing on the yellow brink road while giving Dorothy advice is iconic.  But that's not in the book.

In the book it is the nameless Good Witch of the North, though Baum later named her Locasta in a 1902 stage musical, who greats the mistaken "sorceress" Dorothy.  The good witch of the north is described as a "little old women."  Nothing glamorous in that.  But with all movies, characters are typically eliminated or combined, as was the case here.  Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, was named the Good Witch of the North in the Judy Garland version.  Though why she couldn't just keep the South title is beyond me.  

(Good Witch of the North as pictured in Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Public Domain)

Then I realized something, I believe this character was once again eliminated from the new Disney version.  In the trailers they keep showing Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams.  A little Old Women wouldn't fit in very well next to them.

Sarah

American Fairy Tales by L. Frank Baum

(Public Domain)

When you hear the name L. Frank Baum you will probably think of The Wizard of Oz, but you are probably not aware that he wrote some other fun tales for the young.

One day I was searching for something new to read in the public domain, and stumbled upon the American Fairy Tales.  There are American Fairy Tales!?  I was curious and intrigued.  On gutenburg.org, a site that houses free public domain ebooks, I downloaded the fairy tales, and soon I was whisked away in sheer delight.      

The style of Baum's writing feels quite modern, even though these stories are over 100 years old.  (They were written in 1901.)  He wrote the 12 fantasy stories after his great success with the Wizard of Oz.  The tales are fun and imaginative, and it only makes me admire L. Frank Baum all the more.

I really enjoyed "The Capture of Father Time," a story about a boy out in the west who is throwing a rope and captures Time, which causes him to freeze time in the process.  "The Queen of Quok," about a boy who suddenly finds himself a King and needs to marry, so he finds a genie in his bed that helps him solve his problem.  And "The Glass Dog."  The Glass Dog is my absolute favorite!  If you're going to read one of the fairy tales You Must read this one.  'Nuff said.  I don't want to spoil it, but it is thoroughly amusing!  At least my brothers and I think so.

You can download the stories for free at gutenburg.org and at google books.

Apparently Mr. Baum also wrote the novel The Master Key, also in 1901, that is fabulous.  I haven't read it, but it's at the top of my list.

Happy reading:0)
Sarah