Kindness Breeds Reform

Or

A better model for the current penal system

 

Our gang of travellers marches onwards, looking for all the ingredients needed for the antidote to the Liquid of Petrifaction . They found the Woozy who is now accompanying them as they were not able to pull his three hairs from his tail. The antidote said you must have three hairs from a Woozy’s tail, but did not tell you how to get the three hairs out of the tail.

the Shaggy Man

 

As they head towards the Emerald City Ojo tells the Shaggy man that he must look for a six-leaved clover and being a green object he will only find it in the Emerald City. The Shaggy Man warns Ojo that it is against the law to pick a six-leaved clover. He urges him to wait and get Ozma’s consent, but Ojo is so anxious to find the cure for Unc Nunkie that he disobeys and picks one and hides it in his basket. He feels the law is stupid and believes Ozma will not know.

 

But Ozma does find out by means of the magic picture and Ojo is arrested the moment they arrive at the gates by the Soldier with the Green Whiskers. He is whisked off to prison, with the Shaggy Man shaking his head in sorrow.

            Instead of entering the Emerald City as a respectable traveller who was entitled to welcome and hospitality, he was being brought in as a criminal, handcuffed and in a robe that told all he met of his deep disgrace.

             

         Ojo was by nature gentle and affectionate and if he had disobeyed the Law of Oz it was to restore his dear Unc Nunkie to life. His fault was more thoughtless than wicked, but that did not alter the fact that he had committed a fault. At first he had felt sorrow and remorse, but the more he thought about the unjust treatment he received--unjust merely because he considered it so--the more he resented his arrest, blaming Ozma for making foolish laws and punishing folks who broke them. Only a six-leaved clover! What harm could there be in picking it? Ojo began to think that Ozma must be a very bad and oppressive ruler for such a lovely fairyland.

 

        The little Munchkin boy was so busy thinking these things--which many guilty prisoners have thought before him--that he scarcely noticed all the splendour of the city streets. 

 He arrives at the prison where the jailer Tollydiggle removes his handcuffs. Ojo was astonished that he was not locked in in any way and when Tollydiggle went to prepare his dinner he made a point to stay put and not to explore. He did not want to betray her trust by looking like he was trying to escape.

           “Why is the prison so fine and why are you so kind to me?” he asked earnestly.

            Tollydiggle seemed surprised by the question, but she presently answered.

              “We consider a  prisoner unfortunate. He is unfortunate in two ways--because he has done something wrong and because he is deprived of his liberty. Therefore we should treat him kindly, because of his misfortune, for otherwise he would become hard and bitter and not be sorry he had done wrong. Ozma thinks that one who has committed a fault did so because he is not strong and brave; therefore she puts him in prison to make him strong and brave. When that is accomplished he is no longer a prisoner, but a good and loyal citizen and everyone is glad that he is now strong enough to risk doing wrong. You see, it si kindness that makes one strong and brave; and so we are kind to our prisoners.”

            Ojo thought this over very carefully. “I had an idea that prisoners were always treated harshly, to punish them.”

         “That would be dreadful!” cried Tollydiggle. “Isn’t one punished enough in knowing that he has done wrong? Don’t you wish, Ojo, with all your heart, that you had not been disobedient and broken the law?”

Ozma of Oz

 

Ojo is tried and goes before Ozma--who is not a cruel and heartless leader--but a kind and gentle Ruler. She explains that “I suppose a good many laws seem foolish to those people who don’t understand them, but no law is ever made without some purpose and that purpose is usually to protect all the people and guard their welfare.”

 

She goes on to explain that a six-leaved clover is an ingredient used in magic charms and transformations. That so many witches and wizards were using their powers for evil and not good that she forbade everyone except Glinda the Good and the Wizard (who will only use their magic to benefit the people and make them happy) from doing magic. The law was there to protect the people from committing evil--if they can’t get the ingredients, they can’t do black magic. Simple as that.

 

Ojo is truly repentant and is set free to continue his quest. Ozma will allow him to gather what he needs so that Dr Pipt can work the charm and then she will take his magic powers away.

 

I am always very moved by the passage about the role of the prison. As someone who is anti-death penalty I think it has something valuable to say. As Sister Helen Prejean says, “Everyone is worth more than the worst thing they ever did.” I definitely think people should be punished for their crimes, but our modern penal system breeds hatred and darkness. If any of these people are expected to get out and become a productive member of society then we need to change how prisons work. I am not saying they should be a joyride or a holiday camp, but humane treatment would be a start. So many prisoners are in solitary confinement which can have seriously damaging long term psychological effects. Prisoners need access to books, educational training (such as getting their GED) because low literacy rates and high  conviction rates go hand in hand. They need someone to help show them the goodness that is in them--perhaps long buried and forgotten. They need to be able to be helped to make restitution to those they have harmed.  

 

I am part of an organisation called LifeLines which writes to prisoners on death row in the United States. My pen friend and I have been writing for five years. This man is truly one of the dearest friends I have ever had--he is a candidate fro redemption and could very well, if released, become a productive member of society. However, I fear he may never have the chance.

 

Our overcrowded prisons in the UK and US tell us something different must be done. Kindness breeds reform.  Baum knew that back in 1913 when he wrote the book. Have we learned nothing since then?

 

 

           

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Or

All I ever needed to know about life I learned from Oz

 

I really did learn so many lessons from Oz--how to be brave, how to use the gifts you have (even when you don’t think you have them), how to be open and accepting to people/creatures who are quite different from yourself, how to go with the flow when the whole world around you is not as you expected, how you can be a princess in Oz but still have to do the washing up at home--just to name a few.   

 

But this is one of my favourite scenes in any Oz book--the chapter is called Scraps and the Scarecrow.

 

On their way to the Emerald City, our intrepid band of travellers, Ojo the Unlucky, Scraps the Patchwork Girl, Bungle the glass cat and their new friends the Woozy and the Shaggy Man , come face to face with the Scarecrow who is riding the Sawhorse (whom you’ll remember, oh best beloved, was brought to life using the Powder of Life). 

 

Upon seeing each other, the Scarecrow and the Patchwork Girl stared at each other in wonder and then asked their respective friends to tart them up a bit. OK, not the words Baum used, but that’s what happened.

 

            “Shags,” he whispered drawing the Shaggy man aside, “Pat me into shape, there’s a good fellow!”

 

 While his friend patted and punched the Scarecrow’s body, to smooth out the humps, Scraps turned to Ojo and whispered:

“Roll me out please; I’ve sagged down dreadfully from walking so much and men like to see a stately figure.”

 

She then fell upon the ground and the boy rolled her back and forth like a rolling pin, until the cotton had filled all the spaces in her patchwork covering and her body had lengthened to it’s fullest. Scraps and the Scarecrow both finished their hasty toilets at the same time, and again they faced each other.

 

The Shaggy Man introduced them where after they both bowed with much dignity. Here is a photo from the 1914 silent film version of The Patchwork Girl of this meeting.

from oz.wikia.com

              “Forgive me for staring so rudely,” said the Scarecrow, “but you are the most beautiful sight my eyes have ever beheld.”

            “That is a high compliment from one who is himself so beautiful,” murmured Scraps, casting down her suspender button eyes by lowering her head. “But, tell me, good sir, are you not a trifle lumpy?”

         “Yes of course. It’s my straw, you know. It bunches up sometimes , in spite of all my efforts to keep it even. Doesn’t your straw ever bunch?”

          “Oh I’m stuffed with cotton,” said Scraps. “It never bunches, but it is inclined to pack down and make me sag.”

          “But cotton is a high grade stuffing. I may say it is even more stylish, not to say aristocratic, than straw,” said the Scarecrow politely. “Still, it is but proper that one so entrancingly lovely should have the best stuffing there is going. I--er--I’m so glad I’ve met you Miss Scraps! Introduce us again, Shaggy!”

         “Once is enough,” replied the Shaggy Man, laughing at his friend’s enthusiasm. 

 

I love this exchange because two very unique creatures who are considered “queer” (to use Baum’s words) have found each other perfect. This is how I feel about the Amazing Spiderman. From the moment we first spoke at JD’s birthday party in February of 1989, I knew he was the one for me. It was completely clear on that first night after talking for hours that we were way too weird for anyone else.

 

So lesson number one--beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Or

There is someone out there for everyone

The Seemingly Impossible Task

Our story continues….


Poor Ojo

Ojo and Scraps decide they will seek out all the ingredients for the antidote to the Liquid of Petrifaction whilst Dr Pipt begins the six year task of making the new batch of the Powder of Life.  Scraps recites in verse form (Ojo gave her a good dose of poesy when he was adding her brains) what they must search for.

Here’s a job for a boy with brains:

A drop of oil form a live man’s veins;

A six leaved clover; three nice hairs

From a Woozy’s tail, the book declares

Are needed for the magic spell,

And water from a pitch dark well.

The yellow wing of butterfly

To find must Ojo also try,

And if he gets them without harm

Doc Pipt will make the magic charm;

But if her doesn’t get ‘em, Unc

Will always stand a marble chunk.

 

After this outburst Dr Pipt remarks, “Poor Margolotte must have given you the quality of poesy by mistake. And if that is true, I didn’t make a very good article when I prepared it or else you got an overdose or an underdose.”

the Glass cat

And so they set off, Ojo the Unlucky, Scraps the Patchwork Girl and Bungle the haughty glass cat with pink brains (“You can see ‘em work”)

the Woozy with three hairs in his tail

 

Throughout their journey they meet many wonderful, magical, mystical creatures such as the Woozy(something Baum does exceedingly well) and we learn many lessons along the way.

 

The three lessons I always take away with me from this book are:

1. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

2. Kindness breeds reform

3. There is no excuse for cruelty

 

Stay tuned for the lessons!

Crafts from the Crooked Magician, part two

Or

How to make a bottle of Liquid of Petrifaction

 

When everyone else was admiring the just finished powder of life, Ojo snuck in a few extra brains into the inanimate body of the Patchwork Girl. Then Margolotte went and added a few more, but Ojo was afraid to say anything for fear of getting into trouble.

 

Then when Dr Pipt was bringing Scraps the Patchwork. Girl to life, it went horribly wrong.

 

But suddenly the Patchwork Girl threw up one arm, which knocked the bottle of powder from the crooked man’s hand and sent it flying across the room. Unc Nunkie and Margolotte were so startled that they both leaped backwards and bumped together, and Unc’s head joggled the shelf above them and upset the Liquid of Petrifaction……They stood motionless and stiff as marble statues, in exactly the positions they were in when the Liquid struck them.  

 

 Well, Unc Nunkie and Dame Margolotte were turned into marble statues by the Liquid of Petrifaction and the rest of the powder of life sadly spilled on the Phonograph who from then onwards followed everyone round playing  records and dancing a jog. Most annoying.

 

 

The rest of the story is that seemingly impossible quest (stay tuned for more about that later) that Ojo the Unlucky must go on to find all the ingredients needed for the antidote to save Unc Nunkie from being a statue forever. 

 

More crafts! Hoorah!

 I decided to make a bottle of Liquid of Petrifaction.  I had a bottle that used to contain rose water that was just right for this craft, plus my standard technique of torn parchment paper and a sharpie.

 

However….upon looking back at my book I was astounded to see that the word was not petrification but petrifaction.  My mum *always* read it to me as petrification and I, myself, *always* saw it as petrification and only because I stopped to check the spelling did I notice. I looked it up and they both mean the same thing so decided to go with being inauthentic (I know, I know…Oz purists don’t kill me) because that is the word that was in my heart. 

 

I added a few illustrations of marble statues (one male, one female) and a warning which reads Caution: do not spill.

 

I decided to fill it with blue liquid as the book does not say what colour it is and they are in Munchkin country. This the faze where Baum was writing that *everything* n each country was that colour (Munchkin=blue, Winkie=yellow, Quadling=red, Gillikin=purple, Emerald City=green) . So far in the story there has been a mention of blue peas, sweet milk with a delicate blue tint, a blue pudding with blue plums and a blue log in the fireplace.

 

So that’s my Oz crafts for a while. Stay tuned for another Oz post soon about the impossible journey of Ojo the Unlucky!

Crafts from the Crooked Magician

Or

How to make your own powder of life!

 

The Patchwork Girl of Oz is hands down, my favourite of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. Not only is Scraps a most memorable character, but the plot is a cracking good one as well--the seemingly impossible quest. 

The story begins with Ojo the Unlucky and his monosyllabic uncle Unc Nunkie  called “The Silent One” visiting Dr Pipt, the Crooked magician, who is crooked in more ways than one. His is described by Baum like this:

 

He was really very crooked and Ojo wondered how he managed to do so many things with such a twisted body. When he sat down upon a crooked chair that had been made to fit him, one knee was under his chin and the other near the small of his back; but he was a cheerful man and his face bore a pleasant and agreeable expression.

 

He is also crooked in his dealings--magic is outlawed in Oz  and Dr Pipt knows this. Only Glinda the Good and the Wizard  are allowed. (The Wizard  was a humbug and at one point evil, but now is reformed and a proper magician). He makes an excuse that he is allowed to do it for himself or his household, but not for others or for a profession. Ozma puts a stop to this later.

 

He also previously had dealings with the old witch Mombi in The Marvellous Land of Oz. The Wizard (in his evil faze) kidnapped the Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz, and gave her to Mombi who turned Ozma in a boy called Tip and used him as a servant. She visited Dr Pipt and traded some of her magic for a sample of powder of life which was used to bring Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse to life. 

 

Enough of the plot for now. On with the crafts!

 

When we went on holiday to Chichester, we ate jam out of these adorable little jars and so I saved back a few after breakfast and washed them out. I wanted to make a tiny jar of my own powder of life. I used my standard technique of printing a design onto parchment paper, then tearing the edges. I used a brown sharpie to lightly stain the edges of the torn paper and then I used a mixture of watered down white glue to stick it on. I also found this great looking eye on the www.thegraphicsfairy.com --check them out for the best free vintage clip art. Take a squinty.

 

 

 

Wanna know how to use it?

 

1. Sprinkle a bit on the inanimate object you intend to bring to life.

2. Lift your left hand and point your little finger upwards and say Weaugh!

3. Lift your right hand and  point your thumb upwards and say Teaugh!

4. Lift both hands a with fingers and thumb spread out and say Peaugh!

 

Back to the story.

 

The Crooked magician had foolishly given Mombi the witch his last bit of the powder of life and so had to make another batch so his wife Margolotte could bring the servant girl to life that she had made out of a patchwork quilt.

 

Making the powder of life is a lot of trouble. Dr. Pipt  had to spend six years stirring 4 kettles simultaneously --two with his hands and two with his feet.

Note: not having several years to waste (not to mention not owning 4 kettles) I opted to fill my jar with bicarbonate of soda.

 

That’s all for today. Stay tuned for the next instalment of Crafts from the Crooked Magician!

Pizza’s the food that sure to please…

….these Ninja’s are into pepperoni and cheese. Sorry, obscure Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle reference there. That is from my one of favourite songs (no seriously) from the first Ninja Turtle film sung by Partners in Kryme.  I love the giving away of the whole plot in the song lyrics the way that Sid and Marty Kroft used to do (Puffinstuff, anyone?) but also the lovely moral and rather Quakerly message of:

 When you stand

For what you believe in

And find the strength to

do what’s right

That’s Turtle Power.

Have you heard they are remaking the Ninja Turtles but are making them be from outer space? That is so wrong! Everyone knows it was the radioactive ooze in the sewer!

 

But anyway.

 

This is just your regular old pizza.

Red sauce

Red onions

Peppers

Mushrooms

Olives

Sweet corn (it’s a British thing)

And vegan mozzarella! 

 

Hells yeah! I found this recipe over on http://vedgedout.com

Fresh Moxarella Cheese:

This cheese stays in a “melted” type form until baked, and then it forms a nice crust, like dairy cheese does. It’s not intended to be eaten plain (like real dairy fresh mozzarella can). It’s also fairly salty to make it stand out in your recipes, if you prefer less salt, please feel free to reduce to 1/2 teaspoon, or less, but the flavor won’t be as pronounced.

• 1/4 C. raw cashews (soaked in water for several hours and then drained IF you don’t have a high powered blender)
• 1 C. hot water
• 2 T. + 1 t. tapioca starch
• 1 T. extra virgin olive oil (optional)
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 t. sea salt
• 1 t. fresh lemon juice

Method: Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Pour into a small saucepan and cook, stirring constantly over medium high heat. After a couple of minutes the mixture will start to look weird, like it’s curdling or separating. This is totally normal, reduce heat to medium and KEEP stirring so you don’t burn the cheese to the bottom of the pot. Keep cooking and stirring til really thick (about 2-3 more minutes) and the mixture becomes like a cohesive mass of melted dairy cheese and stretches like in the photo below. Remove from heat and let cool a bit while you assemble the pizzas.

p.s. Moxarella stores well in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days and can be used to make excellent grilled cheese sandwiches, mac and cheese, etc….

 

 It looked simple enough and made enough for 2 meals. I cooked it ahead of time to save time, refrigerated it and then plopped it on the pizza straight from the fridge.

 

It was surprisingly good. It reminded me of those balls of mozzarella made from Buffalo’s milk--which is also a kind of British thing. It was kinda bland but salty  just like mozzarella cheese made from animal milk, but it also had a stretchy quality to it.  The stretch was the coolest bit!

 

I firmly believe that compassion tastes better and discovering a way to eat something that tastes good, but doesn’t cause harm or distress to an animal is a win-win situation in my book.

 

Dairy cows go through something awful--they are dosed up with hormones and anti-biotics to make them grow at an unnaturally accelerated rate and then give them drugs to combat the diseases they get from living in their own filth. Most dairy cows have severe mastitis (infection of the udders) with open sores that leak pus into the milk.

 

They are serially impregnated by artificial insemination and then once they give birth, the milk that is supposed to be there for their baby is used to feed human beings. Doesn’t it ever strike you as odd that you are drinking the breast milk of a cow? The breast milk of another species? Human milk is for humans until they are weaned, cow’s milk is for calves. 

 

But also their baby is taken away from them (imagine ladies if your newborn was taken away from you) and there are hundreds upon thousands of documented cases of mother cows  and their calves calling out in agony and anguish for DAYS after being separated.

 

Female calves are then raised up to be milkers like their mothers and males are turned into veal. If you find the veal industry abhorrent, you need to know that by purchasing dairy products you contribute to the veal industry.

 

Lastly, cows have a natural life span of about 25 years, but in the intensive farming industry that is the standard, they are slaughtered by the age of four to five. Still just babies themselves, really. 

 

I cannot put my appetite before my conscience. In fact, the thought of suffering makes me lose my appetite completely. Why? Because I care. People do. We care deeply and no one wants to see another creature suffer. We love our pets, we would do anything for them. So why are some animals for loving and some for eating and wearing? Why have we, as a society, decided that some animals are worth caring about and others are not? Shouldn’t all life be sacred? Or is it a case of All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others?

 

Disclaimer: no animals were harmed in the making of this delicious pizza.

Thai pizza

Ever since we discovered the quick and ridiculously easy vegan and gluten free pizza crust recipe from Including Cake’s blog we’ve been trying to have more pizza.  We were remembering one we used to like to eat at Schlotsky's Deli all those years ago. It was a pizza made with slices of chickens, but the idea came to adapt it because it was the sauce and the crispy veg we liked the best. .

 

Instead of  using meat (which obviously we would not do) or using fried tofu (which we use in a stir fry and has a lovely crispy coating) I decided to go all vegetables. In hindsight, I could have even put on more vegetables, but I didn’t want to risk making it soggy.

 

This pizza came together in a snap. We use this recipe for our crust 
http://www.includingcake.com/home/cludingcake.com/2013/01/speedy-chia-pizza-crust.html
  but use whatever your favourite one is or go for a pre-made crust to save even more time.

 

Thai Pizza

One crust, precooked according to directions. Ours has to cook a few minutes before you add the sauce and toppings.

 

For sauce use your favourite peanut sauce. I make my own using a recipe from one of our favourite cookbooks Vegan on the Cheap (or Cheap-ass Vegan as Spiderman calls it) but you could totally use premade sauce to make it go even faster.

 

 

For toppings I used:

Sugar snap peas, cut into thirds

Red pepper rings

3 thinly sliced button mushrooms

Matchstick cut carrot

A few spring onions (plus their green tops)

 

That’s it! Continue cooking the crust according to the directions.

 

I had planned to use snow peas which are flat instead of sugar snaps which are 3D, but you know what? Sugar snaps were on sale for £1 a bag  whereas snow peas were £1.70. Plus there were enough sugar snaps (as the pizza didn’t use that many) to be veg on the side for another meal later in the week. Bonus. 

 Try this one today.

 

Unless of course you have a peanut allergy, then don’t.

 

Obviously.