P-chan

I was reminded of this Sketchbook strip:

after having glanced at this video’s title:

Ooba’s Experiment in ‘Real Life’

Get Smarter…

×××Holic

I just noticed that this manga has ended (it ended in Feb’11) with the most open-ended end of any story I’ve had ever read, watched or heard including some of the Pakistani shows broadcast on Nepal’s only TV channel in the early 90s and that is saying something about the open-ended-ness of this manga!

So should you read it (or watch it as anime adaptations are also available)? Definitely, it is a nice story (obviously, I’d say that otherwise I’ve to admit I ‘wasted’ years reading this manga!) even with the open-ended end. Actually, now that I think about it, Stephen Fry’s Kingdom comes very close to such open-ended-ness but you can get over, “Who is Peter Kingdom?”, after a minute of the end of the last episode. However, you cannot get over, “What is Watanuki going to do now?” or “When is the right time for Doumeki to use the egg?” or “What the hell is that egg in the first place?”, even after months of reading the last chapter!

Nothing is a coincidence. It’s Hitsuzen! –Yuuko Ichihara

Sunset

Two of the Sunset photos I shot at West Meadow Beach were published.

There’s also a small poem about sunset on that page:

SUNSET
I wonder why when you say goodbye
beautiful colours paint the sky.
Shades of orange, yellow and pink too
all come out because of you.
And although I hate to see you go,
I really do enjoy the show.
I've seen you leave so many times
and still it's a favourite sight of mine.
There'll be no sadness, be no sorrow
because my sun, you'll come out tomorrow.
I won't feel hurt, I'll feel no pain
because on your way down, your colours will reign.
– Adoni Marcano

BTW, Who is Adoni Marcano?

Dreams

I thought I was the only one having weird dreams, like the one I had yesterday in which Prof. Siegel (finally?) bought an iPhone! Here’s a proof that others also have equally weird dreams:

Call Me…

So Sketchbook Vol7 Ch98 is dedicated to Minamo’s visit to the Art Club! Conspicuously missing characters are Natsumi, Hazuki (these two appeared in the last chapter, though), Kate, Asaka & President (what’s his name again? just kidding!) Ujou; considering that Tsukiyo makes an appearance:

The usual theme of her forget-ability is being exploited here but the beginning of this chapter has that theme applied to Minamo too! That sheds some new light on Juju’s character, which apparently even Nagisa was unaware of. As in the anime, Daichi questions his sister’s presence here too. RyouFuu combo take hold of ‘easily-scared-by-ghosts’ Kokage’s favourite place and even succeed in sneaking their own signature strip.

As you might have noticed by now, I’ve written the names of all the Art Club members except one. Yes, you guessed it… it’s the most important name but instead of me writing her name down, I’ll let her speak for herself:

Timing is Everything…

…or so they say! And most probably, they are right. It is also fair to say that my timing is pathetic (my mother is too ‘happy’ to confirm that) as seen in some of the events last year. I bring this subject up today because of the release of Sketchbook Vol7 Ch97 in which there are two jokes so deep that it took me considerable amount of time to understand them completely.

One of them is about “Timing” itself on P98 involving Minamo Negishi. Yes, you read that right! She ‘finally’ appears in the Manga after two years (as the author points out in Notes at the end of this chapter!) of her appearance in the Anime (Wiki, as of this post’s posting time, says she is original to the anime):

Another one is a (very deep) pun on P104 involving Kokage Kuga. Oh boy! She can be quite abstract, while using the same theme, in full contrast to Kate! Read the left one (Glasses) first:

 

Speaking of timing, I was photographing Sunset, day before yesterday and yesterday I went to

West Meadow Beach

Change(s)

It seems Sora is spending a lot of time with Kuga-Senpai!