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Tag Archives: magic
Back in the High Life Again
Robert R. Pattrick’s Unexplored Territory in Oz was a seminal work in the field sometimes known as Ozian Research, which is basically research that treats the Oz books as true history rather than fiction. Not a very practical field of … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Characters, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, L. Frank Baum, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson
Tagged benny, bunnybury, captain fyter, chopfyt, cowardly lion, donkeys, dorothy gale, dunkiton, forever in oz, good witch of the north, grumpy, jikki, kiki aru, king gugu, law of association, law of similarity, loo the unicorn, magic, merry go round, merry go round in oz, professor wogglebug, queen zixi of ix, robert pattrick, the emerald city of oz, the giant horse of oz, the gnome king of oz, the magic of oz, the road to oz, tin woodman, unexplored territory in oz, wizard of oz, woot the wanderer, zim greenleaf
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Magical and Mechanical Modification
When discussing Oz and its motley assortment of characters who are alive despite not containing genetic material (at least as we know it), or as in the case of Tik-Tok NOT alive although they can perform pretty much all the … Continue reading
Posted in Cartoons, Characters, Futurama, Greek Mythology, Greek Philosophy, L. Frank Baum, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Philosophy, Television
Tagged bender bending rodriguez, calculon, captain fyter, cyborgs, dr. john zoidberg, hermes conrad, jack pumpkinhead, ku-klip, magic, paradox, philip j. fry, robot devil, robots, sawhorse, the tin woodman of oz, theseus, theseus' paradox, thomas hobbes, tik-tok, tin woodman, turanga leela
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The Language of Magic
When magic words appear in books and other media, they’re usually either total nonsense or based on some dead language, often Latin. The common term “abracadabra” is thought to be based on Aramaic, with the phrase “Avra Kadavrai” meaning “I … Continue reading
Posted in Harry Potter, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson
Tagged abracadbra, avada kedavra, earthsea, glinda of oz, hocus pocus, incantations, language, magic, queen zixi of ix, true names, ursula leguin
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Stereotype of the Stubborn Skeptic
I mentioned while talking about Once Upon a Time that the protagonist, Emma Swan, was yet another skeptic who wouldn’t believe what was in front of her face until something major happened. This is a pretty common trope, with the … Continue reading
Posted in Once Upon a Time, Philosophy, Religion, Television
Tagged agnosticism, atheism, belief, blind faith, faith, fantasy, leap of faith, magic, skepticism
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Wizardly Education in the Dark Ages
One of the most memorable parts of Disney’s animated version of The Sword in the Stone is the wizards’ duel between Merlin and Madam Mim. If you read The Once and Future King, however, you’ll find no hint of this … Continue reading
Posted in Arabian, British, Cartoons, Harry Potter, Mythology
Tagged arabian nights, blaise, bleise, disney, dom-daniel, galapas, king arthur, king uther pendragon, madame mim, magic, maugraby, merlin, robert de boron, satan, t.h. white, the once and future king, the sword in the stone, wizards, zatanai
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House of Smoke and Mirrors
One of the strangest and creepiest bits of an Oz book occurs in The Patchwork Girl of Oz, not too far into the story. Ojo, the Patchwork Girl, and the Glass Cat have left the Blue Forest to find an … Continue reading
Posted in Oz, Places
Tagged bungle the glass cat, button-bright, cap'n bill, dorothy gale, dr. pipt, emerald city, godron birrell, grimms' fairy tales, kalidahs, l. frank baum, magic, man-eating plants, ojo, ozma, patchwork girl, patrick maund, shaggy man, the baum bugle, the patchwork girl of oz, the scarecrow of oz, trot, victor columbia edison, wizard of oz, wolf at the door, yellow brick road
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Magic vs. Military
As a nation, Oz doesn’t have much of a military force. It’s often stated that the Soldier with Green Whiskers is Ozma’s entire army, although we’re never told for sure what happened to the other officers and privates mentioned in … Continue reading
