The first time I saw the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile was while I was driving past the University Hospital in the U-District of Seattle. We were both driving in opposite directions at the time, and I was working, so I did not have an opportunity to take any photos.
Stockings hung by the makeshift chimney with care upon entering the mobile. Blurry because I only had my iPod to take photos, and I was in a hurry so I may not have focused right.
Imagine my surprise, when a couple of years later, I see the unusual vehicle in the Bothell parking lot! I immediately had to check it out. There were about two or three people standing outside the vehicle to answer questions and hand out little Oscar Meyer whistles.
Above: Oscar Meyer Weinermobile Whistle (Among my Fisher-Price Hallmark Ornaments, I think it fits well among them, don't you?)
I asked if I could take some photos, and I was told I could take as many as I would like. I asked if I could go inside, and was told to "Go right ahead!"
The vehicle I saw only sits about 6-8 people. It was roped off towards the back, so I could not go all the way to the front, but I could still see everything just fine. It was all decked out for the holidays, both inside and out, which made it even more special. I am so glad I got a chance to really see it!
Earlier, in month of November, I traveled over to my hometown to go see "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown." I have always wanted to see the musical since I first heard of it a few years ago. Apparently, this particular musical has been around since 1968, which I had not realized. I just happened to ask my friend Julie what has she has been doing for awhile, and she said she was playing piano for this musical, "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown."
I had missed an opportunity to see the production of the musical awhile back, when someone in my church had played Charlie Brown at a local high school here. I am sure he was perfect for the role, too. I really felt like I missed out, so I did not want to miss seeing the musical again, despite the fact that it was a long drive, I didn't know any of the students cast in the show.
My friend, who is an excellent pianist, said that the music was quite challenging to play. There are many different styles, and one song is particularly fast-paced.
The musical was real fun. Before the play, images of the Peanuts gang showed on a screen just above the stage.
The sets were beautifully done, and colorful. The costumes were great. I especially enjoyed the Snoopy costume. Normally, the play has a type of hood with ears for the Snoopy character, but since Snoopy was being played by a girl, she had her hair up into short pigtails, which actually looked more like dog ears. It made the costume more convincing, because it was part of the young actress herself, looking less like just a person in a dog costume.
The acting was very good, too. I really think all the students did well on that. My mom complained that the girl who played Lucy did not have black hair, but there was a disclaimer at the beginning of the program that the actors won't necessarily look like the original characters. I thought her acting skills held up to make her look like Lucy anyway.
The actress who played Sally seemed to steal the show. For one, she sounded just like the cartoon character does! She also had some of the best lines. It is truly unfortunate that I neglected to bring my camera with me. My other device that I often use as a back-up, is sadly not holding a charge well. Visually, I don't think the play could be much better. I have looked up other plays, and they do a good job, but this one really got my attention - with the bright colored sets, and the fun props.
My only small complaint of the entire show was that many of the singers performances sounded a bit flat. However, it was not enough to keep me from enjoying the musical. Overall, it was a good time.
The next day, I decided to look up the music online for "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." If you have Amazon Prime, you can listen to the "New Broadway Cast Recording 1999)" album for free. Kristen Chenoweth sings the part of Sally in it. She does a great job, along with the rest of the cast. It was enjoyable to listen to a different version of the play, while still visualizing the play I had seen already in my head. I am really glad I was able to see the play in person, first. There is a lot more to this musical than just music!
Once I returned home, I found out some more exciting news about the Peanuts gang. Peanuts is going to hit the movie theaters in 3D! I am really excited about this. Unfortunately, It is going to be a whole year before it comes out. Scheduled to hit theaters not this Christmas, but NEXT Christmas in the year of 2015. It is a long time from now, but I think it will be worth the wait.
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!
