Ace of Kittens had a farm, e-i-e-i-o...

[aceofkittens]

Waldo has peppered!

I'm so happy! They're so small and cute, these little green peppers. So adorable! And my potatoes are mighty. I don't think I've ever had potato plants this robust.



Waldo, July 2006


Waldo, August 2006


Potatoes, July 2006


Potatoes, August 2006

Yay, I'm a farmer!


Also, I finally saw Howl's Moving Castle, which is one of the only books by Diana Wynne Jones that I haven't read. The movie was great, right up until the end, when it stopped making sense.

Comments

[thimble-kiss.livejournal.com]

Waldo obviously loves you! What an impressive transformation -- you've taken such good care of him. And the potatoes, too! I'm sure they'll be scrumptious. :)

[aceofkittens.livejournal.com]

I just hope everyone survives my absence when I go on vacation next week! :)

[k2daisy.livejournal.com]

Wow, nicely grown, Farmer Ace!

Peppers and potatoes, two of my favorite foods!

[aceofkittens.livejournal.com]

Mine too! :) Mmm... what a yummy stew they will make. Or, some other crazy recipe!

[(Anonymous)]

Impressive garden. I never thought of growing potatoes in pots.

[8ofswords.livejournal.com]

The anonymous dork was me.

[aceofkittens.livejournal.com]

Hehehe... I've been growing potatoes in pots for years. Those potatoes are actually like, third or fourth generation plants. I haven't put anything new into those pots in a long time. :)

[erikred.livejournal.com]

Mmm, homegrown 'taters....

Yeah, Howl's was, um, interesting, and then, um, confusing. Not quite what I'd expected.

[aceofkittens.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess maybe reading the book wouldn't have made much of a difference. Weird film. Visually stunning, but... bizarre.

[foomf.livejournal.com]

Part of the problem there is that Miyazaki did not COMPLETELY discard the original story, and combined bits of another unrelated story into it.

He completely removed the recognition that the heroine was a sorceress in her own rights, but in a very subtle way: her hats were empowered with a magical life that would change things for the person who wore them. She would talk to the hats, imagining what they were like and how they would act. For instance, a rather mousy, frowsy green and brown hat, with some secretive stylistic additions in the way of a feather or two, was told, "You're a rather plain and mousy thing, but here, you've got hidden depths to attract the love of a worthy fellow."

It was purchased by a plain, quiet woman (librarian or governess or somesuch) who wore it in the presence of a Baron that was the current target of the Witch of the Wastes, and the Baron fell immediately in love with the woman; in revenge, the Witch of the Wastes put the curse on the heroine.

It was her talking to various lifeless things that were the remains of people cursed by the Witch or other enemies, that resulted in their being restored to themselves, and it was her telling Calcifer to live that allowed him to continue to exist on Earth without being bound to the soul of the magician (and consuming it like firewood.)

The Witch was after Calcifer (and therefore Howl) because she had also rescued a fallen star, and over the years been consumed so that she was soul-lessly evil; she was looking for mates so she could gut their souls and use them to feed her own dying fire-spirit. You can see bits of this remaining in the story.

Oh, and the door that opened into Howl's secret place? That opened into Brighton, where Howell's family lived.

So reading the book would have helped a couple of ways, but not necessarily by giving you insight into what Miyazaki was trying to say, rather, into what was originally there and had been mungled into something weird and incoherent.

[aceofkittens.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the comment. I'm definitely going to check the book out after I get back from Burning Man. I was so charmed by Dogsbody when I initially read it about 4 years ago, that I went through a phase of reading anything I could get my hands on by Diana Wynne Jones... but then I sort of stopped. Good reason to start again! :)

Thanks again for pointing out some stuff I'd never have known!

[aceofkittens.livejournal.com]

P.S. A snaaake... oh, it's big! :) Mushroom, mushroom!!!

[foomf.livejournal.com]

Heh!

Also, I forgot to include, Sophie (the heroine) in the book does not know until very near the end that she has any capacity for magic of her own. She's the oldest of three sisters, and (recognizing this would guarantee her a life of utter insignificance in the magical land she lives in) sets out to be happy being an ordinary person. Oh, and she has a stepmother, who defies the traditional role by loving all her children, Sophie included, equally and well.

Some people have trouble with Jones' books, because the relationships between her characters don't ring true to them, or because there are an awfully large number of children-types who are left to fend for themselves.

This reflects her own life - she and her sisters were war-era children in England and things were, well, not quite sane (http://www.leemac.freeserve.co.uk/autobiog.htm) in their household. That's her autobiography, by the way, and is just as fascinating as any of her books :)

[subtly-modded.livejournal.com]

wow, you totally turned Waldo around. poor guy was lookin' all yeller. nice!

[aceofkittens.livejournal.com]

I know! At one point, I wasn't sure he was going to make it... and look at him now. :) hopefully, the fruit (vegetables) of my and Waldo's labors will be tasty.

[saladbar.livejournal.com]

I saw that movie.