Calvin & Hobbes 'finally' get a movie, It's not clinically an official project, and it is just a documentary, but this is as official as its going to get. You see, if you didn't already know this, Creator Bill Watterson has never allowed his comic to be commercialized. This is why you don't see Calvin&Hobbes mugs, duvet covers and T-shirts, or feature length animated films. Sure, some fans have printed their own variety of C&H merchandise, but its never been requisitioned for mass production - he felt that taking this route would cheapen his comic. "Watterson is known for his views on licensing and Syndication" - Wikipedia. The Calvin and Hobbes cartoon ran for ten years from 1985 to 31 Dec 1995. The comic only came to my attention a couple of years later, but still, I've been a fan since the Spice Girls still had chart toppers. And, as you may well have noticed whilst perusing this website, my 'fandom' remains steadfast, actually its stronger than ever, because as you will know, or soon find out, this comic is timeless. From myself: Thank you Mr. Watterson. Your genius is much appreciated! Here's the trailer for Documentary "Dear Mr. Watterson": Bill Watterson's note to his fans on ending the publication: Dear Reader: Bill Watterson quotes: I liked things better when I didn't understand them. I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night. That's the whole problem with science. You've got a bunch of empiricists trying to describe things of unimaginable wonder.
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I recommend this book to you as it was recommended to me, and then the same guy (Shout-out to Jonathan Strysko) who did the recommending, then gave me the book a few days later just before attending another friend's wedding. In a way, it kind of found me at just the right moment (not between weddings, but in my writing). This also happens to be the first book I've actually read from start to finish in quite a while. I've started a few novels but haven't gotten round to finishing them (one by Roald Dahl - for those tracking me on Goodreads) - this is what happens when you read for the sake of reading, as apposed to reading what you need or really want to read in that moment (one novel I started but haven't finished, is the latest in the Myron Bolitar crime series 'Live Wire' by Harlen Coben - and that was a book I was looking forward to , but somehow, my heart and mind was in search of something else - although I will definitely get back to savoring that one - and then, out of nowhere, came this book by Donald Miller, an author I admittedly didn't know much about). I've never done a review for a book before so I'll hijack the format we use at In The Kan for films (its more fun that way); to read it, just click the read more tab at the bottom of this post (I only display what I think people actually want to see - and I for one, am not a fan of reading book reviews, I'm more of an impulsive and instinctual reader, whatever that is...) so let me rather add Miller's Author's Note which got me (recommendations and gifts by friends aside) intrigued enough to turn the page. Author's Note: (A Million miles in a Thousand Years) If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn't cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn't tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the movie you'd seen.The truth is, you wouldn't remember that movie a week later, except you'd feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of movie about a guy who wants a Volvo. So, here's why this book appealed to me . You see, within this journey of writing a book, I've learned quite a lot and, as I've said to many folks, "I wrote a book, and then, during the process of editing and rewriting, I learned how to actually write a book". There are actually courses and textbooks to creative writing and story construction (one course is even mentioned in A Million miles) that I didn't know about, so effectively I skipped all the boring stuff about developing plot and subplot and constructing a protagonist etc... most of that came naturally (although I did need some refining), what I really needed to learn, was why I wrote this book in the first place, and how I can now make it better. I wont go too far into the details, but suffice is to say that after writing my first manuscript, I, like so many others who have done so, thought I was THE BOMB... as it turned out, my boom wasn't that spectacular (more of a PUFF really, I mean I knew it was only a first draft, but it was my first, first draft, EVER - and for a moment there, I could kind of live in that spotlight that only I could see). And then I learned that that was actually normal. It has been said by someone famous, that a 1st draft is simply a blank formless lump of clay, and that from then on, the writer chips and chisels away with subsequent drafts and rewrites to reveal the actual story, buried in there somewhere. And, it's been within this stage where the REAL questions started to come up, about my story, my main character and his conflict, his life and those around him... and by extension, those questions sort of crept up on me and my life, and this career of writing I've chosen, one that hasn't produced much as of yet, that anyone can see anyway... So yeah, in this journey I've needed, and received, many nudges in the right direction, from professionals, professors, journalists and perfect strangers (some of whom have become friends).
It's been frustrating, but I anticipate, as I near the completion of my 3rd (and a half) draft, that when this book (prior to all the others I will write, and after I acquire a Literary Agent)) eventually gets published that the main sensation I'll feel, the one that will be most prevalent, is Relief! Did you scream randomly at some party "WE ARE STILL HERE!!!" in ref to Apocalypse Fail? (2013/01/01) May you have a wonderful 2013 and beyond. Be blessed, smile, love, laugh and stay true to yourself, seeking God in everything you do! Thanks all for visiting - I'll take a bow for all the great things I'm still going to do... ;)
Fuzz Therapy What is it about fur and humanity, whether live or dead… not to get on anyone’s wrong side here, let’s just stick to the living. So fur then; to be more specific, let me lay the scene… There you are, sitting on your couch in the middle of the day when SUDDENLY, an urge emerges from within – an urge to rub some fur. And what do you know, most of us tend to have a four legged fury animal close by to satisfy said urge. There’s nothing kinky about it, just the pure pleasure of rubbing a shaggy coat, feeling the texture between your fingers… I believe it’s a primal urge, one that spawns from the cavemen era when most wore the fur of their kill, or loincloth on some parts, which may or may not have sported some fur at one time. Wearing the hides of dead animals has caused some controversy in last two decades, which only underlines man’s insatiable need to be close it – so strong that it’s lasted aeons. Perhaps it’s because we’re mammals and inherently have hair, or fur, some more than others; so it’s already part of us on more than just the surface. All in all though, we just tend every now and then to crave something furry, maybe women can identify to this more than most. For guys, well maybe it’s that secret will to be wild every so often, or at least feel wild, to let things go a bit (many guys who go to university tend to let their hair, on their head as well as their face, grow. Whether it’s because of the new found freedom of school yard rules and regulations or just that there’s been many late night’s burning the midnight oil, and there hasn’t been any time to shave… Either way, the fur will emerge. In any case, moving on from the origins of it all I find myself, on quite a regular basis, just wanting to give my dogs a good ‘ol rubbing… but I do believe that there’s something therapeutic to it, the simplicity in the act, the beauty of life, and even loyalty – this elementary and primal act that just so happens to demonstrate, illustrate and engage the all-encompassing phenomena that is the greatest thing and simultaneously the greatest mystery of our lives – Love. So, whether you’re cuddling up in your favorite furry blanket on the couch, rubbing the stubble on your chin (or legs – ladies), welcoming back your gruff man from his latest camping trip (or general household manly endeavor) or staring into the big doe eyes of your four legged friend; there is an undeniable attraction to it. Sometimes it’s just common neglect, other times extreme effort to grow some fuzz, but whatever the cause or significance, there’s no denying the variety of responses it elicits in so many differing forms in our daily lives. |
[Banner illustration by Joel Kanar]
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