Today marks the 70th anniversary of the opening of America’s favorite movie, The Wizard Of Oz. I remember it like it was yesterday. No, wait, I don’t remember it at all, as it would be another 18 years before I would be born.

But it seems like I’ve seen it at least once a year for my entire life, and every time I watch it I see something new. I think the most memorable viewing was on a Christmas night back in the ’80s with Rosemary Storm from my old madrigal group (where are you, Rosemary?) at the Stanford Theater in downtown Palo Alto CA. Not only was it the first time I’d seen it on the big screen, but there was a huge Wurlitzer organ in the orchestra pit, and the organist was playing songs from the soundtrack.  When it was time for the film to unreel, he threw a switch on his console, and he and the organ began to descend into the pit, and all the while he was playing ‘Off To See The Wizard’ – magic!

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Back in June I posted my ponderings regarding the arrest and conviction of Laura Ling and Euna Lee by the North Korean government. As predicted, they were both pardoned and released last week, ostensibly through the ‘heroic’ efforts of former president Bill Clinton, and there was much rejoicing throughout the land.

I direct your attention to an article published over the weekend in the London Daily Mail in which the behind-the-scenes machinations are exposed, along with the real motivations behind the behavior that got these women arrested in the first place. It’s a story of a younger sister intent on stepping out from behind her more famous sibling, of jumping back and forth across the N. Korean border in a childish dare. It was said that the women were in more danger being alone on a plane with bad boy Clinton than they were of ever seeing the inside of a prison camp.

I found it a very interesting read – see the link below.

In peril in Pyongyang? Those girls were in greater danger sharing a plane with Bill Clinton | Mail Online.