Today's Ozzy Trivia Comic

A quickie today: Todays, TrivQuiz has an Oz reference in one of the questions. (I knew it was Ozzy once I updated my FAQ about it not so long ago.)

A Recent Oz Comic

I've been out of town, and am only now catching up on my local newspaper. So when I saw this edition of Lola, I hemmed and hawed about whether or not I should include it here. Then I thought, I did the research (and even had others do the research on my behalf), so yes, this is indeed an Oz comic.

The Latest Oz Reading

Yes! At last! A post that isn't about a new comic strip! I am slowly getting out from under a pile of all kinds of stuff and catching up on others, such as my reading. I have a number of Oz and Oz-related books I've recently reread, so here are a few quick overviews:

• Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum. Yeah, this was not supposed to be the next volume of my reread of the entire Famous Forty (and related books). But with the book being the main theme of this year's OzCon International, and me scheduled to give a keynote speech on it, I figured I'd better jump ahead and tackle that. Since the original non-Oz version of the story was written around 1905, not long after The Marvelous Land of Oz, I figured I was justified anyway. I have always felt Rinkitink is an undersung Oz book, because it is one of Baum's most tightly plotted books, at least for nineteen chapters, and the development of the three main characters over the course of the book is a great added layer. I really enjoyed reading this again, and I found all kinds of extra bits that I'd never noticed before (or at least don't remember).
• The Curious Cruise of Captain Santa by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Another of our theme books, and one I needed to read for a panel. This is a fun little romp about Santa Claus sailing around the ocean finding new toys. It was aimed at younger readers than the Oz books, and it shows. Heck, it took me only an hour to read. It ended with the hint that there may be more adventures, and it's too bad she never wrote them.
• Captain Salt in Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Okay, no justification for reading this one out of order, except it was yet another theme book at the convention, and the other book that went with The Curious Cruise of Captain Santa on one panel. Like the previous book, this is basically an excuse to write about a trip at sea. Captain Samuel Salt, King Ato, and Roger the Read Bird (last seen in Pirates in Oz) are off to find new islands to become part of Oz. (Yeah, at one point Ozma apparently had dreams of empire. Some have said it was just an excuse to get Sammy out of Oz and Ozma's hair!) It's a pretty straightforward, episodic tale, but the throughline is Tazander Tazah, the young king of Ozamaland who was kidnapped, and found on one of the islands. He is suffering from, as Ato put it, "ingrowing Royalitis", acting high and mighty and treating his rescuers as his servants. It is Roger who is the main one to gently tamp that down and bring out his true nature, but Sammy and Ato also help to truly integrate him into the crew. Tandy's growth and development is not something seen in a lot of Thompson's books, and it gives Captain Salt in Oz a lot more depth than should be expected. This is one book I haven't read as much as some of the others, but I am certainly glad I got the chance to read it this time. (And it's far enough back in the series, by the time I get to it in the proper order, I will likely read it again!)
• Toto in Oz by Chris Dulabone. This is the twentieth anniversary edition of the first book Dulabone published, way back when his imprint was Buckethead Enterprises of Oz. I've been supporting Chris and his books from the very beginning, so it was a lot of fun to revisit this one again after so long. Fortunately, this edition has much better typesetting (if you've ever seen the first edition of this book, you'll completely understand why this is a good thing). Toto, not feeling appreciated and having no title, runs away from the Emerald City and, through a few misadventures, ends up as the leader of the small kingdom of Arfrica. He tries to do a good job and bring about reform, but he also finds it isn't as easy as it looks. Of course Dorothy ends up looking for him too. It all comes to a satisfying, if somewhat rushed, ending.
• And finally (for now), Visitors from Oz by Martin Gardner. I got interested in rereading this while reading A Bouquet for the Gardener on my last wave of reading. This is Gardner's only Oz novel, and it is certainly far from the best. But it is a lot of fun, particularly if you know about Martin Gardner, his place in Oz fandom, and his other interests. It acts as two books, with the first part being a typical journey by Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman through Oz. Along the way, they meet up with the Greek gods, take a side trip through Wonderland, and deal with a detective bear and a giant. But it's the second half where things get real different. The three of them have been requested to visit America by a movie mogul and Oz fan making a musical film version of The Emerald City of Oz, so that they can drum up interest and publicity. Naturally, the rival studio boss doesn't like it much, and uses nefarious means to deal with the Oz people. Of course, magic gets involved and things all turn out well in the end. Having Dorothy and friends in New York City is a different setting for an Oz book, and Gardner has some fun with it. From this author, one would also expect some mathematics, so naturally a Klein bottle is used to travel between Oz and Central Park. It is a fun little romp of a book, and I'm glad that Gardner was finally able to fulfill that old Oz fan saying, "Scratch an Oz fan, find an Oz book."

Okay, that's all the recent rereads. Soon, I hope to report on some stuff I've read for the very first time!

A New FAQ!

For the first time in I-don't-know-how-long, I've added a new question to my website's FAQ list. I finally received the answer to a question that's been bugging me for years (maybe decades!) but could never find a straight answer to. Well, I don't have to wonder any more. Go take a look to see just what has me so excited.

Oz in Jeopardy!

Yet another Oz clue, this time in the game for March 24, 2015. In fact, it was the very first clue revealed, for $400 in the category Dog Stars:

Alex, the defending champion, got in first and correctly responded, "Who is Toto?" However, he did not go on to win the game.

Today's Ozzish Comic

There's a mention of The Wizard of Oz in today's TrivQuiz, but I'm not sure if that's exactly right. I've tried doing some research into how the band Toto got it's name, and let's just say that it's contradictory, and therefore inconclusive. In other words, I'm not certain that the band was named for the dog.

Oz in Jeopardy!

Oz and related clues on Jeopardy! have been pretty scarce this season — until a few weeks ago, when it went crazy, with six clues over two weeks. So, I'm going to see if I can get caught up in time for the new year. I seem to be having some technical issues that may cause problems (or at least non-screengrabbed clues), however.

So, let's jump in with the game for December 9, the one that opened the floodgates. In the Jeopardy! round category You Probably Think This Song Is About You (which came after You're So Vague, of course), the $800 clue was about Peter Gabriel writing "In Your Eyes" about Rosanna Arquette. Then, for $1000:

Craig, the defending champion, rang in first and correctly responded, "What is Toto?" And since I have done this in the past whenever Toto songs come up: So Rosanna Arquette inspired not only two songs, but two consecutive Jeoprady! clues. Oh, and Craig went on to win the match and defend his title.

The next day, on the December 10th show, the second category in the Double Jeopardy! round was:

This was all about domed stadiums. I almost didn't include this one here, because it's a very slight Oz link, and the phrase "There's no place like home" predates The Movie. But the other Oz clues that week made me reconsider.

But we'll just have to leave that on a cliffhanger! More clues coming up later this week!

Oz in Jeopardy!

From the June 3 show, in the Jeopardy! round category Curtains, for $800:

Patti, the challenger in the middle, rang in first and correctly answered with, "What is The Wizard of Oz?" Sadly, she did not go on to win the game.

Oz in Jeopardy!

The catching up continues! On the May 13 game — the first semifinal match of this year's College Tournament — Oz appeared in an unusual place: The contestant interviews. In the middle was Daniel, a junior from Northwestern, and here's what he told Alex:

ALEX: This young man loves musical theater, but he discovered something interesting in late high school years. And what was that?
DANIEL: Well, I love musicals, like you said, I love being in them. But I'm what's known in the business as a triple threat. Can't sing, can't act, can't dance.
ALEX: Aha!
DANIEL: So, some roles I was cast in, in my school years, include Toto the dog in The Wizard of Oz, and the Magic Carpet in Disney's Aladdin.
ALEX: Pretty good credits.
DANIEL: Yeah, I mean...I knocked those roles right out of the ball park.
ALEX: Okay, good for you!

Hmm, didn't we learn on Jeopardy! once that Neil Patrick Harris also got his start in show biz playing Toto?

Oz in Jeopardy!

On last night's show — the six thousandth of the current revived version, I might add, so congratulations to Alex and all the nice folks at Sony for that — the categories in the Double Jeopardy! round all were named for Greek gods. One of them was Afro-Ditty, which was about songs having to do with Africa. And for $800 in that category:

Liz, the challenger at the right lectern, rang in first and correctly responded with, "What is Toto?" Sadly, by that point in the game, defending champion Sara had built up such a big lead that it would have been difficult (but not impossible) for Liz to catch her. And in case you were wondering about that song...

See Terry in action!

Just a reminder, TCM (for those of you fortunate enough to get TCM, which is the most awesome movie channel on cable) is showing The Wizard of Oz tonight, and as usual they're also showing a couple of their documentaries with it. But that's not the cool part! They're following it up with two more movies featuring the character with the most screen time in The Wizard of Oz. I'm talking about, of course, Toto. No, really, there's more Toto than Judy Garland. Toto was played by a female Cairn terrier named Terry (her trainer changed her name to Toto after her success in Oz), but that wasn't her only movie. She had a long, successful career in Hollywood, and so tonight, TCM salutes Terry by following Oz with two other features, Fury and George Washington Slept Here. The event even gets its own page on TCM's website, right here. That's a picture of Judy and Terry I don't recall seeing elsewhere before, I might add.) So check it out tonight, if you can.

And while I have everyone's attention here, may I make a suggestion to TCM? Hey, guys, you've had Oz movie nights in the past. One year, you had The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz, a bunch of the silent Oz movies, and the usual documentaries. I also see that you have a deal with Disney to show much of their older films, even as recent as Spirited Away. So, how about a double feature of The Wizard of Oz and Return to Oz (the 1985 version — although a showing of the 1964 animated TV special of the same name would also be pretty cool). And heck, while I'm dreaming, show the Off to See the Wizard TV show some time! That would be right up your alley, and we Oz fans could finally get to see the animated Oz introductions and bumpers.

Toto's first impression of Oz...

You know those silly LOLcats and their hijinks? Well, the canines are in on it, too. Check out ihasahotdog.com for one little version of Oz.