Adventures in Agapeland: The Music Machine, chapters one through four

Because this is the kind of thing I do, I bought the book of The Music Machine on eBay. I mentioned before that I encountered it once, but that was at least ten years ago, so while I basically remembered the plot, I didn't really know the specifics. So here it is, The Music Machine by Samuel Wright, fifteen chapters, 142 pages, one illustration per chapter.

Chapter One - The Forest
The whole thing begins as a story-within-a-story as Stevie and Nancy implore their grandfather to tell them a story. So he pulls a book off the shelf and starts reading them a story about themselves. In this story, Stevie and Nancy are sitting on a hill, making up stories, when Nancy decides she wants to explore the nearby woods, so they both roll down the hill and end up not in Wiley Woods but someplace else entirely. This place is described in tons of detail, which is fine and all, but I know they're in Agapeland (and the kids at home do, too, since they specifically asked for a story about Agapeland), so I'd rather Mr. Wright cut to the chase. Anyway, Nancy wants to explore, but Stevie would rather stay where they are than get lost, but he goes along eventually. And they encounter birds and butterflies, but nobody else, and Stevie starts to hear music that Nancy can't, although she does hear it eventually. While they follow the music, Nancy concludes that the forest is enchanted, which is something she'll bring up about just about everything she encounters throughout the book, so I'm just mentioning it now. Finally they reach a clearing, which Nancy insists is a Royal Meadow, and they see something that they have no clue what it is. They don't get to find out, either, because we go straight to

Chapter Two - Mr. Pimms

In an entirely different forest, late in the afternoon, a bunch of short, ugly figures are sitting by a fire. Then a dapper young man in a top hat comes out of the woods and starts yelling at them for making a fire while the sun is still out. They are Boogwart, Snard, and Growdy, three Pudgians, and he is Mr. Pimms of the chapter title, apparently a human. The point of this chapter is to introduce this crew, since they will soon be setting the plot in motion. The Pudgians are not very smart and rather uncouth, but Mr. Pimms is by all appearances a gentleman, even dressed in an ascot, with a prized ring that he wears under his gloves. Which is what you would do if you wore gloves all the time, but I never thought about it before. He also has a pet rat named Oswald.
Their meeting is to discuss how to pull off a vaguely referred to "plan," which Mr. Pimms masterminded. He plies them with flattery, and the drink doesn't hurt, either. The chapter ends with them vaguely finalizing their plans, and going their separate ways.

Chapter Three - The Music Machine

I'd really rather not get back to the kids, but the story has to proceed, and it really can't until they find out what that thing they saw in the first chapter is, so here we are, back with Stevie and Nancy as they try to figure out just what this treasure chest with a smoke stack, buttons, and levers is all about. Nancy thinks it must make candy and Stevie gets mad her, convinced this is a machine for SCIENCE! And then Nancy starts pushing all the buttons but nothing happens, so Stevie's all "I will solve this with SCIENCE!" but he doesn't do any better than she did. Nothing they do works, and it's starting to get dark. So Stevie's all "I wanted to stay where we were, and now we're lost in an enchanted forest," to Nancy, and then they hear something coming, and it takes forever to get there. Long enough for Nancy to freak out three times and for them to hide behind the chest. And something touches Stevie's head...

Chapter Four - A Pleasant Surprise

The kids freak for another two paragraphs before finally they turn around see Mr. Conductor, who, like on the album, introduces himself at The Conductor. Also like on the album, he already knows Stevie and Nancy, and so they press him for answers about where they are and how they got there. He answers the obvious one (they're in Agapeland) but never actually tells them how they got there. Stevie's more interested in how they'll get back, but Mr. Conductor assures them that they'll go home when the time is right and nobody will ever know they were gone. How very C.S. Lewis. After finding out that Mr. Conductor (along with "many interesting people") lives in the forest, Nancy gets it in her head that he's some kind of prince, and Stevie finally connects that the thing that touched his head at the end of the last chapter is the same stick Mr. Conductor is holding. Mr. Conductor explains that it's a baton that he uses to conduct music, and the kids remember what lead to this whole encounter: the music they heard in the forest. So finally Mr. Conductor tells them that the contraptions is the Music Machine and it was what made the music they heard.
The narrator explains how the Music Machine is what brings life to Agapeland, and that without it, the land would die, but it's okay because nothing's ever happened to it. *cough cough* foreshadowing *cough cough* And Mr. Conductor tells them how to use the Music Machine, and to demonstrate he sticks an antique musical note (made out of what? It isn't specified) in the machine, and it makes the usual noises before playing its theme song. Mr. Conductor conducts during the song, but since it's a machine, does that really do any good? Also, the lyrics are part of the text. This happens anytime a song is mentioned, with the copyright information appearing at the bottom of the page.
After the song, Mr. Conductor invites the kids to put something in, but all they have is a piece of string, but Mr. Conductor puts it in anyway, all smug, and the String Song from the album plays. When the string comes out, Stevie puts it back in his pocket, thinking it might be useful someday. Foreshadowing? (I don't remember. Sorry.) So they spend the rest of the day putting things in the Music Machine, but eventually it gets dark. Mr. Conductor tells them he has a place for them to sleep, but first he has to polish the entire Music Machine, since Stevie and Nancy got their fingerprints all over it. While he does this, there's more foreshadowy talk about how important the Music Machine is, and Mr. Conductor tells them about an upcoming festival (in the season of Dosca *_*) where they get Sacred Writings that go in the Music Machine and create the music for another year. These documents MUST be put in by the seventh day of the festival, or else. Also, the documents come from Majesty, the king (and apparently creator) of all Agapeland.
Then there's a lot of going through Agapeland description that I'm skipping before they get to a clearing where Mr. Conductor has the kids plant a seed. He pours some water of the seed and BLAMMO! It grows into a huge tree with a house inside. Inside the house is their dinner, and while they eat Mr. Conductor warns them about that other place, the Anti-Agapeland, called Aire (Kingdom of the Air, eh? I'm not sure if that's clever or just blatant.) Then he tucks the kids into bed, promising to show them more of Agapeland tomorrow. But the narrator warns us that evil is afoot...

And that's about all I can take right now. I'll get the next few chapters up in a couple of days.

Disney Fairies Manga!?

During my trip a couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to get to a Japanese bookstore, and by sheer chance I peek at the children's book section. And what did I find there? Disney. Fairies. Manga. There were two volumes, based on the books "Vidia and the Fairy Crown" and "The Trouble with Tink" and I bought them both. They generally follow the plot of the books, but there are some differences. For one thing, "Vidia and the Fairy Crown" is listed as the first volume, and it has a scene at the beginning where Vidia gets the invitation and and crumples it up, calling it "trivial." And "The Trouble with Tink" includes a flashback for Tink of when Wendy came to Neverland.
Here are some scans I made. Some of them didn't come out very well, though. The artist has an interesting style (I'm not sure what her last name is, but her first name is Haruhi), and she tends to give the fairies fangs. Which makes an odd sort of sense, actually, but it's not the first thing I would have thought of.


Vidia and the Missing Royal Crown. (Vidia to Kieta Oukan)
The back cover
Inside Pic of Vidia (color)
Inside Pic of fairies swinging (color)
Vidia's page of exposition; she spies Tink and Rani (2 pages)
Tink gets mad at Vidia, Vidia says she's not coming to the party (2 pages)
Vidia gives her famous line about the crown
Florian shares her news about the missing crown
Depressed Vidia after the meeting
Prilla in front of Vidia (Very cute)
Prilla wants to help Vidia
Vidia accepts Prilla's help (sort of)
Upon realizing that nobody saw Aiden, Vidia takes off!
Everyone in shock after Aiden uses his drill (panel)
Vidia and Twire
Lympia remembers she never took the velvet bag out of the carrier
Prilla helps herself to a cupcake, Vidia questions Nora
Looking at the fake crowns (panel)
Dupe explains about the fake crowns
Vidia refuses to help
Vidia says the poem super quiet
Vidia has the real crown!
At the hearing
Everyone realizes that they were wrong about Vidia (2 pages)
Vidia smiles her 'thank you' to Prilla (2 pages)
Profiles of the fairies in the story (2 pages)
Four panel comics (2 pages, translated)
More four panel comics (2 pages, translated)

It's kind of odd, but when I read the books, I hear Vidia as sounding like an accentless Eva Gabor (it's all the "darlings" she throws around), but when I read the manga, she sounds like a combination of Chieko Honda and Kaori Mizuhashi.

Tinkerbell's Secret (Tinkaa*Beru no Himitsu)
Back cover
Inside pic of Tink (color)
Portrait of fairies with Queen Clarion (color)
Terence comes to visit Tink at work (2 pages)
Tink gets excited about the game of Tag
Terence tells Tink he's glad she came...but she's gone
Violet shows up for her pot (cropped)
Dulcie
Dulcie promises Strawberry Pie
Vidia's page of exposition
Prilla waves to Tink (panel)
Rani makes a huge fountain (particularly bad scan, panel)
Dinner with the Pots and Pans fairies (2 pages)
Flashback of Peter Pan and Wendy (2 pages)
Tink and Mother Dove (panel)
Peter and Terence (panel)
Tink says goodbye to Peter
Bonus comics (2 pages, translated)

About the bonus comics, I translated the title as "Small and Cute Fairy Diary," but the first word is actually more like "Tiny."
Of course, after I got all this scanned and edited, I found out that Tokyopop is releasing the manga this August. orz

Moomin Comics

As promised, here are a few of the strips from the first two volumes of the Moomin comics:

This is the one I described in the earlier post, except I forgot that Sniff was the one peddling the elixir, not Moomin.


I kind of want to make a Pirates of the Caribbean reference, but I can't make it come out right. The pirates go one about the rum for a few more strips, if that tells you anything.


I just like the middle panel.

I also particularly like the little turn of phrases that occur from time to time, such as rich Aunt Jane describing herself as a "millionairess." And when questioned on her crush on Mr. Brisk, the Mymble responds, "He's a he-man...but I don't think he sees me as a she-miss."

You had to be there

Ah man, today's Dominic Deegan so makes me want to make an "Option Side" joke, but the only people who would get it are people who went to a KND board I don't go to any more. But I can't not make it, so I'm posting it here anyway. Thus, my commentary on this strip is "They should have known better than to go to the Option Side."

I guess I really should explain that. You see, on that board there was thread for adding your own captions to screenshots from the show, and a running joke started about a resort with a "Clothing Optional" side, which quickly got shortened to Option Side. This was apparently the only reason these characters went to the resort ^_~. And there you have it.

Also, I'm saddened that The Committee Song from Babar the Movie is only available in French and Finnish on Youtube. The comments on today's Skin Horse make me want to post the opening lyrics over there, but I can't remember them. If only I still had my old computer...I had all the lyrics written down there.

What I'm Reading - Moomin Comics!

There are Moomintroll comics! And you can get them in hardcover (if you're like me, they're at your local library)!
I don't know why I'm so excited about this. I mean, growing up, I only read one of the books (Finn Family Moomintroll), and I never saw the cartoons or anything. But from what I've read, the comics are very charming, with an interesting sense of humor. I'll scan a couple to show you what I mean when I have a chance, but I wanted to get this post out sooner rather than later.
I do end up sitting on a lot of posts because I want to add images, and I usually have to do some editing (especially with the screenshots).

What I Read - Tales of the City

I just finished Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin today, after renewing it twice. It was originally a newspaper serial in the 70's, so all the chapters are pretty short, like two and a half pages each. I decided to read it when I heard the guys from Avenue Q are making it into a musical; I'd never even heard of it before then.
That said, this book is VERY Seventies. Which is maybe why I had a hard time slogging through it, despite the short chapters. Still, I may have only been able to read it in bits and spurts, but I'm sure others wouldn't have this problem. The story is written in an interesting way, with characters weaving in and out of the story and the other characters' lives on a whim. This makes for great interconnectivity revelations, but occasionally left me thinking, "Who's this character again? Do I know them?" I mean, it's a little meaningless to have a chapter end with one character accusing the other with "I know about you and Lexy!" if you can't recall who Lexy is. And I can't blame that one on my on-and-off reading of the book, since I read the chapter where that character was introduced just one day before I read the chapter with the accusation.
Mainly, though, I could see exactly why someone (multiple someones, even) would think that this could be a musical. The characters are both recognizable and yet slightly larger than life. And again, all the drama that goes with the interconnectivity makes for great theater, musical or otherwise. In fact, it's already been a miniseries.

Sushi Pack - So Says Who and Darkness and Spice

It's about time, right? Yeah, things have been crazy around here lately, but now I bring you the eps I've been promising for, what, a month? Yeah. First, an episode of pure Tako/Maguro shipping glee ^_^



So Says Who?
This ep starts right in the middle of the mission, with Tako and Maguro arguing as they hurtle through space in a box attached to an asteroid. Obviously some kind of sinister plot, but how did they get here from there, Mr. Shepard? Each accuses the other of causing the mess they're in, so maybe it's time for a flashback...
Earlier in the day, Maguro discovered Apex (a returning villian who actual appeared before?! No way! He was in World's Tastiest Heroes, by the way) was on the loose, thanks to her new crime detection software. Meanwhile, Tako discovered their rented DVDs were overdue! Ignoring him, Maguro issued orders like a pro, ready to pounce on Apex before he managed to commit any crimes.
Wait! Tako interrupts Maguro's flashback to correct her: it all started when the crime detection device he rigged up detected Apex, no thanks to Maguro's dedication to her star charts, which told her to reorganize her sock drawer, even though she doesn't wear socks. Tako organized the Pack and got ready to roll!
This time Maguro objects to Tako's characterization of her, but Tako points out that it doesn't matter, since they're stuck in space and all. If only they could signal the others back on Earth...
Which is just what the rest of the Pack is trying to do. Ben suggests activating the tracking devices, but since Tako and Maguro are outside of the 25,000 mile range, it's no good. Maguro predicts their imminent doom down to the second, and Tako once again tells her that if she'd followed his orders, they wouldn't need to know how soon they would meet their doom. Maguro insists that her orders were the ones to be followed, so Tako flashes back again...
Tako, Ikura, and Wasabi ran into Apex in a dark alley, and after a few quick quips, they attacked! In the end, Apex was nowhere to be found, but the alley was now very colorful. Who should happen to show up at that point in time but the mayor! Fortunately, he liked it, and took Tako back to City Hall to give him an award. Despite this high point, Maguro points out that Tako let Apex get away. Tako isn't phased by her accusations, but there's little they can do at that moment, anyway.
Back on Earth, Kani backtracks Tako and Maguro all the way to City Hall, and Ben goes to check with the Mayor for the real deal. On the asteriod, Maguro remembers finding residue from Apex's spaceship on the sidewalk (at night? I thought this all happened during the day), and using said residue to pinpoint his current location. She and Kani ran to the same alley that Tako had been in before, still very colorful. Ikura and Wasabi ran into her there, asking for leadership, but before she could give them any, the mayor showed up again. This time he pitched a fit about the mess, and took Maguro to City Hall to get cleaning supplies. The others continued to pursue Apex on Maguro's order.
But that's all either of them can remember. Once they got to City Hall, everything became a blur, and somehow they ended up on the asteroid. By that time, Kani's figured out that Tako and Maguro are in space, and Wharf City is going to be hit by an asteroid in just three minutes, according to Sophia Tucker, Roving Reporter. Tako and Maguro argue semantics, and Maguro tries to meditate. Down on the ground, the rest of the Pack turned the City Hall flag pole into an electromagnet, making a forcefield that can alter the asteroid's course(!), sending it to Wharf City's local hot springs and camping ground (closed for the season). Still, Ben panics about the asteroid's estimated level of devastation, but Kani reassures him that the asteroid will actually hit a geyser which just happens to erupt every 27 days at 11:07 on the dot, which apparently is right now. Sure enough, the geyser goes off, the asteroid hits it, and no devastation occurs.
The box holding Tako and Maguro goes flying off the asteroid and lands in front of the rest of the Pack; Wasabi does a happy dance. Kani gets them out right quick, and Tako and Maguro wonder just what happened, really? Ben checks the script and lets them know that they were both right and both wrong. Here's what really went down:
Apparently, Apex was planning revenge on the Sushi Pack. Kani discovered he was back in town with the Crime Detector that she made (that makes the most sense, really). Once they split up, Apex disguised himself as the Mayor (the real mayor being on vacation during all this) and shot Tako and Maguro into space. But he didn't plan on them hitting the asteroid, sending it off course, and sending them to their almost doom (which probably would have been all right with him, too). Maguro hypthesizes that the crash affected their memories, which is why there flashbacks were all messed up (if amusing). Tako adds that the crash was no excuse for how they treated each other, and goes on a quick spiel about respecting each other, even when they don't see eye-to-eye. Wasabi, meanwhile, agrees with him just a little too much, as if saying, "Yes! This is an aesop I can get behind 100 percent!!" Ending with the following quip:

Maguro: Tako, I like the way you think!
Tako: Me, too!

Ah yes, there's the narcissist we all know and love. But that doesn't hide the fact that Apex got away, as Wasabi points out. But Kani had one more trick up her sleeve: she managed to divert a stream of water from the geyser to Apex's exact location, thoroughly annoying him, and upping his danger of rusting. And that's that.

This episode is a lot of fun to watch, but not as much fun to summarize, really. There's a lot of back and forth between the dialogue on Earth and on the asteroid that I'm not doing justice to here, and the banter between Tako and Maguro has to be seen for yourself.


Darkness and Spice
Now this ep was fun to watch and fun to summarize. It's the first to focus on Uni, which is odd, but then again, as we learned in this episode, so is he. It turns out that he's the Sushi Pack's worst foe not because he's seemingly invincible, as his profile claims, but because he is certifiably insane (which is saying something on this show)!

Things start out quickly, with the mayor briefing the Pack on their latest mission. He tries to illustrate it with a photo, but produces one of himself instead of their intended target, Uni. What I love about this part is that the mayor makes it clear in no uncertain terms just how insane Uni is. The sea urchin, working alone for a change, has been robbing amusement parks, or more specifically, the guests inside, taking all the change he can find. Tako and the mayor narrow down the possible locations for his next heist to Looneyland.
Later, as the Pack preps for the mission, Wasabi reveals that he is deathly afraid of the dark, and he hugs a salt shaker to show his resolve to not go to Looneyland at night. Ikura gets the truth out of him: he's really afraid of the Headless Horseradish, a spectre that comes out at night and eats mustard ("Trippy," comments Ikura). Ikura isn't very sympathetic, but Tako uses calming words and nicknames ("Come on, Wasab," he says), and Maguro tries using dramatic poses to coax Wasabi into going, but this only results in him hugging the napkin canister and crying harder. Ben comes to the rescue and tells Wasabi about his *cough cough* "friend" who got freaked out after watching a movie called Vampire Bus and developed a fear of buses. So Ben rode the bus with his *cough cough* friend, and everything was okay after that. Moral: having someone to rely on makes facing your fears easier. Ikura apologizes and promises to smack up any horseradish they encounter, making Wasabi giggle.
By the time they hit the amusement park, it's already dark, even though the park's probably been open for hours. Wasabi is still pretty spooked, so Tako recommends focusing on the job at hand and watching out for Uni. Little do they know, Uni is right under their noses, masquerading as some dude's pocket. With change in hand, he shapshifts back into himself and takes it to his hideaway, where he outlines his plan to nobody: he'll use the change to play the carnival games and win enough stuffed animals to make a stuffed army, with himself as Colonel! Why not just steal the stuffed animals, we don't know. Maybe he likes the thrill of the games?
Uni continues his crime spree, morphing into roller coaster cars and snack stand counters, even a cash register drawer. With his constant shifting, the Pack can't get a handle on him. Ikura takes off on his own to try and do something, and Tako sends Kani to go after him. Kani refuses, calling Ikura "a cement-headed salmon." Lover's quarrel? Maguro goes instead, chastising Kani. Perhaps she knows what's going on? Meanwhile, Tako, Kani, and Wasabi heed the call of a recently robbed fairgoer, and chase after Uni. Tako proposes they split up, him and Wasabi in the back and Kani in the front, until Wasabi points out that the back is probably darker, so he goes with Kani instead.
On their own, Kani tells Wasabi a tale from her pre-sushi days, all about how she used to be afraid of oven mitts (which she calls oven mittens here) and how she had to face that fear, and thus Wasabi should face his, too. Wasabi, naturally, does not want to do this, but Kani forces him to go in a haunted house with her.
Meanwhile, Uni spots the Ferris Wheel and sees an easy way to get a lot of change fast, enough to promote himself to General. Although this is not how Ferris Wheels work in real life, Uni pushes a lever that makes it goes super-fast! (Now, I've operated a Ferris Wheel, so I can tell you, those things are not built for speed. At all.) Ikura and Maguro spy the wheel activity and split up: Maguro will try and help the people on the ride and Ikura will get the others so they can take down Uni once and for all. Back with the others, Wasabi is more scared than ever after his haunted house experience, and Tako chews out Kani for her lack of judgment. He extends this chewing out to blabbing to Ikura once he shows up, leaving Kani to stew on what she views as an unfair accusation.
Back at the Ferris Wheel, Uni revels in the change raining down on him and reveals more of his plan: with the stuffed animals he'll win from the carnival, he'll liberate more stuffed animals from all the toy stores in Wharf City! But for what purpose? We never actually find out. I guess when you're as deranged as Uni, you don't really need a reason. With the whole Pack assembled, Tako goes to try and slow down the Ferris Wheel while the other distract Uni. Maguro tries to reassure Wasabi with a stupid analogy about coins and fear, but it doesn't work. Kani tells the others that she'll take care of Wasabi; Maguro is skeptical, but what choice do they have?
Tako goes straight to the wheel's middle to slow it down, and Maguro and Ikura charge Uni. But Uni transforms into a screen and bounces back their attack, and Tako loses his grip on the wheel. While all that is going on, Kani apologizes to Wasabi for trying to cure him of his fear against his will, and goes on about fear for a little bit. The main point being that action is better than doing nothing. She even starts to tear up and apologizes again, but there's no time for that now! The rest of the Pack need help! She starts to go and asks Wasabi if he'll be okay by himself, but he decides to come with her and help.
They charge at Uni, but he turns into a bellows and blows them away, straight into the Ferris Wheel's main power. All the lights turn off, and Wasabi cowers in fear (I can attest to this, when the Ferris Wheel lights turn off for the night, it gets really dark, really fast). Kani tells him its okay, and goes after Uni again. This time he turns into a pincher himself and goes after Kani, crowing about how he'll soon be Admiral Uni, in charge of all stuffed animals. Since Kani hasn't been privy to his plans, this basically comes out of the blue, and she comments on the appropriateness of his chosen venue (called, after all, Looneyland). But he gets a grip on her and flips her out of the way. Wasabi freaks out, allowing Uni to sneak up on him and, shifting into a slingshot, fling him away. Landing in some kind of hole, Wasabi's flame lights up the night, giving him new resolve (why didn't he do that earlier? I mean, when you've got a flame on your head, why fear the dark?), and he helps Kani out of the hole she landed in, while filling her in on his plan of attack.
This time around, Wasabi attacks the coins directly, heating them up so Uni can't hold onto them. Meanwhile, Kani fiddles around with the Ferris Wheel controls until the ride comes to a stop, and Wasabi makes a fiery cage for Uni. The others show up (where were they, come to think of it?) and congratulate Wasabi and (at Wasabi's insistance) Kani. Kani assumes that her story helped Wasabi, but Tako bursts in with "Here's a story I never get tired of: We Are the Sushi Pack!" No, really. Just that fast and abrupt. They do the signature end of episode catchphrase and bam, the episode is over.

Okay, if Fat Wasabi is the cutest Wasabi, then Scared Wasabi is the second cutest, for real.
And all the Kani/Wasabi interaction was too cute, too. It's too bad Tako spent most of his time with Kani and Wasabi being mad, or it would have been a perfect triad of cuteness ^_^