Tales of Two Cities

Exclusively for Those Who Need an Emily Fix

This picture is from a series of Emily performing an incredibly difficult magic trick with the aid of her trusty assistant. You can see all ten pictures taken by her father here.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow ...

The first time I saw Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz was in the 1940s.  I was excited about its being in color (something special in those days) and was very disappointed when it began in sepia.  Then - what a magical moment it was - Dorothy opened a door and found herself in the full-color land of Oz.

The transition has been made even better in the newly published digital transfer made from restored film and available on DVD in a three-disc collector's edition.  (If you have broadband Internet access, click here for the Warner Brothers site.)  It is a feast for the eyes. The scenes in Kansas are in rich sepia and the Technicolor© is vibrant without being over saturated.  None of which makes me like the movie's ending any better.  I believed that there really was an Oz and the idea that Dorothy's adventure was only a dream diminished the magic for me. Well, maybe not entirely. Sometimes, even today, part of me believes that there is a somewhere over the rainbow.

Speaking of Oz, we recently saw Wicked on Broadway.  What a fabulous extravaganza of song, dance and special effects it was, all enacted on an amazing set.  Based on a book of the same name, the musical is the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.  The tale has a decidedly modern, tongue-in-cheek twist.  Think Glinda as Valley Girl and the Wicked Witch as a misunderstood do-gooder demonized by those in power. As Kermit the frog sang: It isn't easy to bein' green.