Some exciting things have been happening the past few months. I started to grow some flowers in April. Bill Watterson collaborated with Stephan Pastis in June for one week on his comic strip, "Pearls Before Swine." Sailor Moon has been redone into a new series, and is available to watch online on Hulu. The Wonder Years has finally come out on DVD!
Back in April, my mom gave me some seedlings that came in three Easter egg shaped planters. On the bottom, it said what each plant would grow into.Three eggs that contained soil, and different seeds per egg: impatiens, marigold, and a snapdragon.
Being the brown thumb that I am, I was a little nervous about starting the flowers, and at first, I did not know how to start them, because the directions were not visible. Each egg was wrapped tightly in plastic. After a few weeks, I decided to tear off the plastic, and figure the thing out. There were some real basic instructions, folded on a little circular foldout on the bottom. I followed what few instructions there were, and hoped for the best.
After maybe a week, some little sprouts came out of each eggshell. I kept religiously watering them, with just a bit of water each day. I was worried when I had a long weekend and I was going to head out of town. I watered them pretty thoroughly, but worried that they would die by the time I got back. When I got home, each plant appeared wilted, but not dead. I then gave them more water, and they sprung back to life. I have continued to take care of them, and they have done so well, that I have had to re-pot them twice already. Every day I look at them, wondering if I am doing okay. It is pretty exciting every time I see growth or a little progress in each one.
The snapdragon is the most difficult one because it grows tall, without enough support to hold itself up. I had to use a couple of chopsticks to keep it standing and healthy. The marigold is doing well, it has some definite buds starting to form. The impatiens are growing extremely fast, and has no sign of flowers whatsoever. It seems like it needs re-potting again, but I have already re-potted it twice, so I don't really want to. I hope my stubbornness does not cause my plant trouble. I really enjoy looking at them every day.
It had been a tremendously rough few weeks, ending with a trip to the hospital, when a friend sent me a link to an article Stephan Pastis wrote. In the article, Pastis wrote that Bill Watterson had secretly been collaborating with him, on a week-long "Pearls Before Swine" feature. Bill Watterson did not want his name revealed before the strip had fully run.
"Pearls Before Swine" by Stephan Pastis, and "The Norm" by Michael Jantze, were the two main comic strips I started reading avidly after Bill Watterson retired from "Calvin & Hobbes," so to hear the news of a Pastis/Watterson collaboration was a real treat for me. I looked at each panel in marvel, just thinking how great it was to see Bill Watterson's artwork again. Watterson worked in a slightly different style, making it less obvious to the readers that it was indeed his work. It was interesting what some of the comments below had to say about the strip that week, before knowing about Watterson's involvement in the strip. Some comments thought that Stephan Pastis' drawing had improved, and they liked the change. Some hated the fact that it changed at all, and why was he trying to ruin the original strip? Some guessed that it was Watterson that worked on the strip. Some pointed out why they thought it was Watterson. Others said that if Watterson did do work on the strip, his art skills had gone way down. When it was discovered he had drawn the strip, there were a few "told you so's," and more positive remarks.
Bill Watterson's artwork has remained great. If he wanted to draw Calvin & Hobbes again, in the same style and quality again, he could. I personally really liked the style Bill Watterson chose for the collaboration, but I also like the simplistic stick-figure type style that Stephan Pastis uses as well. Something about them are so endearing. Watterson's current artwork seemed to be influenced by some of his past favorite comics, like Pogo, and more obviously Archie. He also had his own style wrapped in the mix. It was really great to see the comics and read the article on how it came to be. The news really made my day.
I was a little nervous when I heard they were remaking Sailor Moon. Being a huge fan of the original series, including both Japanese and English dubbed versions, and the books, I wondered how the new series would hold up. The answer is - very well so far. Every other week a new episode of "Sailor Moon Crystal" is released on Hulu. The artwork is great. It is closer to the style of the manga series, which makes it stand out from other anime shows. It is interesting how sometimes the story-line is exactly the same, and sometimes it is completely different than the original television series. I believe it is probably closer to the manga, but since it has been so long since I have read them, I am not completely sure on that. The new series seems more grown-up. I have been watching the new series with the same excitement I used to have for the old series. At first, I was not sure what I thought of the new intro music of the new series, but now I find it quite catchy, almost as much as the old series. The Sailor Moon Crystal series has released 6 episodes so far. Hulu also has the original Japanese version for viewing as well. It is very exciting to see Sailor Moon making a comeback.
After decades of waiting, my absolute favorite T.V. show of all time, has finally come out on DVD. The reason it has taken so long, is because the original series had a ton of great music from the 60's and 70's era. Many of the songs had copyright restrictions. Somehow, they have managed to get most of the original music (300 songs) on the DVDs, including the original theme song, "With a Little Help From My Friends" as sung by Joe Cocker. Netflix and Amazon were both allowing streaming of the show at an earlier date, but the theme song, at that time, was replaced by a song in a country twang that did not suit the series at all. The original song has made it back for the DVDs.
It is evident that the producers of the DVDs, tried their best to match music that would fit the episodes almost as well, to replace the songs they could not obtain the rights to. Because I am such a big fan of the series, I have noticed some of the music changes so far (such as the theme song from "Romeo & Juliet" - it was changed to something that could have come from the same movie from the same orchestra). Even though the changes seem pretty obvious to me, I honestly don't think the average watcher (or even a casual fan), would really notice a difference.
The Wonder Years mainly focuses on a boy, coming of age in the late 60's to early 70's, and his relationship with his friends and parents during that time. The show is timeless, because the challenges, the complexity, and the humor of the show is still very relatable, even in this generation. The series had an excellent cast, and many guest appearances by people who have become famous since the time they went on the show. The original cast members have all moved on, and have continued to be successful in their current careers.
I was so excited when I saw that my DVDs arrived on Wednesday, just a few days before my upcoming birthday (October 11). Excellent timing. It almost seemed like The Wonder Years planned it, just for me! Even if that isn't the case, I am truly grateful. It is a great birthday present for myself. Thank you, Wonder Years!
Back in April, my mom gave me some seedlings that came in three Easter egg shaped planters. On the bottom, it said what each plant would grow into.Three eggs that contained soil, and different seeds per egg: impatiens, marigold, and a snapdragon.
Being the brown thumb that I am, I was a little nervous about starting the flowers, and at first, I did not know how to start them, because the directions were not visible. Each egg was wrapped tightly in plastic. After a few weeks, I decided to tear off the plastic, and figure the thing out. There were some real basic instructions, folded on a little circular foldout on the bottom. I followed what few instructions there were, and hoped for the best.
After maybe a week, some little sprouts came out of each eggshell. I kept religiously watering them, with just a bit of water each day. I was worried when I had a long weekend and I was going to head out of town. I watered them pretty thoroughly, but worried that they would die by the time I got back. When I got home, each plant appeared wilted, but not dead. I then gave them more water, and they sprung back to life. I have continued to take care of them, and they have done so well, that I have had to re-pot them twice already. Every day I look at them, wondering if I am doing okay. It is pretty exciting every time I see growth or a little progress in each one.
The snapdragon is the most difficult one because it grows tall, without enough support to hold itself up. I had to use a couple of chopsticks to keep it standing and healthy. The marigold is doing well, it has some definite buds starting to form. The impatiens are growing extremely fast, and has no sign of flowers whatsoever. It seems like it needs re-potting again, but I have already re-potted it twice, so I don't really want to. I hope my stubbornness does not cause my plant trouble. I really enjoy looking at them every day.
***************************
It had been a tremendously rough few weeks, ending with a trip to the hospital, when a friend sent me a link to an article Stephan Pastis wrote. In the article, Pastis wrote that Bill Watterson had secretly been collaborating with him, on a week-long "Pearls Before Swine" feature. Bill Watterson did not want his name revealed before the strip had fully run.
"Pearls Before Swine" by Stephan Pastis, and "The Norm" by Michael Jantze, were the two main comic strips I started reading avidly after Bill Watterson retired from "Calvin & Hobbes," so to hear the news of a Pastis/Watterson collaboration was a real treat for me. I looked at each panel in marvel, just thinking how great it was to see Bill Watterson's artwork again. Watterson worked in a slightly different style, making it less obvious to the readers that it was indeed his work. It was interesting what some of the comments below had to say about the strip that week, before knowing about Watterson's involvement in the strip. Some comments thought that Stephan Pastis' drawing had improved, and they liked the change. Some hated the fact that it changed at all, and why was he trying to ruin the original strip? Some guessed that it was Watterson that worked on the strip. Some pointed out why they thought it was Watterson. Others said that if Watterson did do work on the strip, his art skills had gone way down. When it was discovered he had drawn the strip, there were a few "told you so's," and more positive remarks.
Bill Watterson's artwork has remained great. If he wanted to draw Calvin & Hobbes again, in the same style and quality again, he could. I personally really liked the style Bill Watterson chose for the collaboration, but I also like the simplistic stick-figure type style that Stephan Pastis uses as well. Something about them are so endearing. Watterson's current artwork seemed to be influenced by some of his past favorite comics, like Pogo, and more obviously Archie. He also had his own style wrapped in the mix. It was really great to see the comics and read the article on how it came to be. The news really made my day.
I was a little nervous when I heard they were remaking Sailor Moon. Being a huge fan of the original series, including both Japanese and English dubbed versions, and the books, I wondered how the new series would hold up. The answer is - very well so far. Every other week a new episode of "Sailor Moon Crystal" is released on Hulu. The artwork is great. It is closer to the style of the manga series, which makes it stand out from other anime shows. It is interesting how sometimes the story-line is exactly the same, and sometimes it is completely different than the original television series. I believe it is probably closer to the manga, but since it has been so long since I have read them, I am not completely sure on that. The new series seems more grown-up. I have been watching the new series with the same excitement I used to have for the old series. At first, I was not sure what I thought of the new intro music of the new series, but now I find it quite catchy, almost as much as the old series. The Sailor Moon Crystal series has released 6 episodes so far. Hulu also has the original Japanese version for viewing as well. It is very exciting to see Sailor Moon making a comeback.
After decades of waiting, my absolute favorite T.V. show of all time, has finally come out on DVD. The reason it has taken so long, is because the original series had a ton of great music from the 60's and 70's era. Many of the songs had copyright restrictions. Somehow, they have managed to get most of the original music (300 songs) on the DVDs, including the original theme song, "With a Little Help From My Friends" as sung by Joe Cocker. Netflix and Amazon were both allowing streaming of the show at an earlier date, but the theme song, at that time, was replaced by a song in a country twang that did not suit the series at all. The original song has made it back for the DVDs.
It is evident that the producers of the DVDs, tried their best to match music that would fit the episodes almost as well, to replace the songs they could not obtain the rights to. Because I am such a big fan of the series, I have noticed some of the music changes so far (such as the theme song from "Romeo & Juliet" - it was changed to something that could have come from the same movie from the same orchestra). Even though the changes seem pretty obvious to me, I honestly don't think the average watcher (or even a casual fan), would really notice a difference.
The Wonder Years mainly focuses on a boy, coming of age in the late 60's to early 70's, and his relationship with his friends and parents during that time. The show is timeless, because the challenges, the complexity, and the humor of the show is still very relatable, even in this generation. The series had an excellent cast, and many guest appearances by people who have become famous since the time they went on the show. The original cast members have all moved on, and have continued to be successful in their current careers.
I was so excited when I saw that my DVDs arrived on Wednesday, just a few days before my upcoming birthday (October 11). Excellent timing. It almost seemed like The Wonder Years planned it, just for me! Even if that isn't the case, I am truly grateful. It is a great birthday present for myself. Thank you, Wonder Years!
