Tag Archives: the life and adventures of santa claus

She’s Come Undine

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

Threadneedle, Frost, Brown, and Smith, Limited

The 1987 Oziana contains four stories, one much shorter than the others, all of which are of the sort that complement the main series. The front cover shows Melody Grandy’s illustration of Robin Olderman’s idea for the Quadling flag. A note … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Board Games, Characters, Dice, Dick Martin, Eric Shanower, Fred Otto, Games, Humor, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Maps, Melody Grandy, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Pachisi, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Conquest by Computer

The 1986 Oziana is the first issue I ever read, even though it was around 1993 when I did so. I just started out by ordering the earliest one the Oz Club was offering at the time. The cover here … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Characters, Christmas, Games, Holidays, Humor, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Melody Grandy, Nursery Rhymes, Oz, Oz Authors, Phyllis Ann Karr, Relationships, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Golden Ozianaversary

The 2021 issue of Oziana, the fiftieth anniversary edition of the publication, has been released, and I’m in it quite a bit. I’m flattered, but I kind of wonder if my stuff wouldn’t have been better off spaced out somewhat. … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Chris Dulabone, Christmas, Easter, Eric Shanower, Holidays, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Marcus Mebes, Marin Elizabeth Xiques, Oz, Oz Authors, Relationships, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Falling for the Fairy Fellowship

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

What Makes a Fairy?

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

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

Gnomic Utterances

I recently read Ruth Berman’s Dunkiton Pamphlet on Gnome Matters, including a history of gnomes, touching on their use in the Oz books. I’ve written about this topic before, like how the name might well have originated with Paracelsus, who … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Dulabone, Eric Shanower, Fairy Tales, German, Gina Wickwar, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Melody Grandy, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Phil Lewin, Plays, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Shanower on Santa

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

Christmas, Toys, and Oz

I might do a re-read of The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus this year, seeing as how I have the new edition with Eric Shanower’s illustrations. I guess it depends on how soon I finish the library books I … Continue reading

Posted in Bill Campbell and Irwin Terry, Characters, Christmas, Eric Shanower, Holidays, Jack Snow, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Toys | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments