Tag Archives: immortals

She’s Come Undine

Posted on July 10, 2022 by Nathan

I keep forgetting to write something about the novella Undine, by German author Friedrich de la Motte Fouque, which I read on Gutenberg in a translation geared toward children. I’ve become somewhat fascinated with the influence of Paracelsus‘ concept of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Book Reviews, Catholicism, Celtic, Characters, Christianity, Fairy Tales, Final Fantasy, German, Greek Mythology, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Mana/Seiken Densetsu, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Relationships, Religion, They Might Be Giants, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Truth or Sand Witches

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Nathan

The 1975 Oziana is the last one with Gary Ralph as editor, and the majority of it consists of one story, but it’s a good one. “The Romance of the Silver Shoes,” by Laura Jane Musser – A longer tale … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Characters, Greek Mythology, Humor, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Poetry, Roman, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

All in How You Spell ‘Em

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Nathan

I saw something recently about the difference between the words “fairy” and “faerie.” Really, there’s no difference; the latter is just an archaic spelling. The word comes from the French for “fate,” and therefore “enchantment”; and was applied to many different … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, British, Celtic, Discworld, Etymology, Greek Mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Mythology, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Terry Pratchett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Falling for the Fairy Fellowship

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Nathan

I’ve mentioned the fairyland on the other side of the world from Oz a few times, but since I’m planning on writing some fiction that takes place there, I might as well detail what we know about it. It first … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Characters, Chinese, Greek Mythology, Greek Philosophy, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Melody Grandy, Monsters, Mythology, Onyx Madden/Jim Nitch, Oz, Oz Authors, Philosophy, Phyllis Ann Karr, Places, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why Won’t You Die?

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Nathan

It would become a thing in the Oz books that no one in that fairyland could die, but it wasn’t immediate. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz mentions the threat of death quite often, in fact. The first book to establish … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Characters, Eric Shanower, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, March Laumer, Monsters, Oz, Oz Authors, Phil Lewin, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

War Between the States of Being

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Nathan

Erica Olivera’s presentation on Theosophy and its influence on L. Frank Baum at the latest OzCon included some information on the four kingdoms, those of mineral, vegetable, animal, and human. The animal-vegetable-mineral division is part of general knowledge, as well … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy, Animals, Biology, Characters, Christianity, Evolution, Greek Philosophy, History, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Philosophy, Prejudice, Religion, Science, Snobbery, Theosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Makes a Fairy?

Posted on August 21, 2019 by Nathan

Happy birthday to Ozma, Fairy Ruler of the Land of Oz! I’ve looked before at how Ozma was basically retconned into being a fairy, but what exactly does that mean? A fairy, in L. Frank Baum’s mythology, can be basically … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ask the Flowers to Tell You

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Nathan

Yesterday was L. Frank Baum’s birthday, and Tuesdays are my designated days for writing about Oz, although it doesn’t always work out that way. Since I had something more pressing to write about yesterday, I’m going to look at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology, Holidays, L. Frank Baum, Magic, March Laumer, Melody Grandy, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Phyllis Ann Karr, Ray Powell, Roman, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Shanower on Santa

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Nathan

I bought a copy of L. Frank Baum’s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus with illustrations by Eric Shanower back in July, and I might as well take a closer look at it now. I re-read the story, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Book Reviews, Characters, Christmas, Eric Shanower, Holidays, L. Frank Baum, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Wanted Eternal Youth, But Not THAT Much Youth!

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Nathan

I remembered having read this Oz story before, but I forgot where I’d seen it. It’s an interesting take on the issue of aging in Oz, which I’ve tackled in the past without any definite conclusions. L. Frank Baum says … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Edward Einhorn, Jack Snow, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Phil Lewin, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments