Sharon's health (Stan's Facebook updates)

[Steve Hubbell]

16 hours ago
Because of Sharon's recent health set back, I've had to cancel my appearance at Big Wow Comicfest in San Jose next weekend. I was really looking forward to it, too. There is a great line up of guests, panels and activities. Frank Cho will be finishing a beautiful painting of Emma Frost on stage, and even Sergio will be at the con.

www.bigwowcomicfest.com

[Steve Hubbell]

8 hours ago
Sharon is back in Emergency.

2 hours ago
Doctors suspect Sharon had a Vasovagal episode, or loss of consciousness caused by some trigger, in her case, physical exertion. She was out for about 4 minutes, but fortunately we were at the hospital for a doctor appointment when it happened. They issued a Code Blue, and everyone came running. We spent the day at Emergency, and has been transferred to Observation. Hopefully, she will be discharged tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers and kind thoughts.

[Steve Hubbell]

17 hours ago
Sharon will stay in the hospital one more night so they can continue to monitor her. Hopefully, she will be discharged tomorrow.

[Steve Hubbell]

9 hours ago
Sharon's home! Happy Mothers' Day!

[Steve Hubbell]

9 hours ago


Lettering Groo.

5 hours ago



I was talking won ton with a friend the other day and, you all know how easily swayed I am, so I made duck won ton for dinner. I got the duck at the Chinese deli. I realize I haven't posted food photos for awhile.



I made chicken curry last night.

4 hours ago
Is that shibazuke on the plate with it?

3 hours ago
It is shiso eggplant pickles.

[ultraman]

why is it everything stan makes to eat looks so damn good!!?!??!?! should be a chef...maybe in another life.

[Steve Hubbell]

8 hours ago
As usual, Tom Luth did a great job on Senso #3 cover colors!

9 hours ago


Just a quick preview of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo SENSO #3, coming soon from Dark Horse.

5 hours ago
I did not notice it before, Tom Luth, but I really like the way you handled the martian ray blast.

8 minutes ago
I just had a conversation with Editor Diana about the "N" and "M" sounds in Japanese. It is more a sound between the two, more like a nasal grunt. Basically, "N" and "M" is the same sound and is written with the same Japanese character. However, particular spellings have become the norm in the US. "Yojimbo" is sometimes, though rarely, spelled "yojinbo". "Gundam" is the norm, as in Mobile Suit Gundam, though "gundan" can also be correct, as in "Kage no Gundan" (live action TV series). Both the "N" and "M" in Gundam is spelled using the same Japanese character and should be pronounced the same. Then I realized that this is one of those Japanese words that is continuously mispronounced by Americans--"gun-dam" as opposed to the Japanese "goon-dam". Or the Americanized "sho-gun" instead of "sho-goon" or "pan-ko" instead of "pahn-ko". And don't even get me started on Godziila/Gojira.

Stupid Americans.

5 minutes ago
I was with you until the "Stupid Americans" part.

2 minutes ago
It was a joke, of course, as I am an American. Third generation.

[Steve Hubbell]

Old joke...

What is someone called who who can speak three or more languages? Multilingual
What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual
What do you call people who speak a single language? American

[Steve Hubbell]

1 hour ago

I sent the first half of lettered Groo pages to Sergio on Monday. I sent the rest this morning. He will be at the Big Wow Convention in San Jose this weekend, no doubt working on this issue.



It is a privilege to be able to work on his pages. That is what Sergio keeps telling me.

35 Minutes ago
That's interesting, the way it's half drawn. Does he wait for you to letter the panel, then fill in the rest?

15 Minutes ago
Matt--when I receive the art, it is roughed in with blue pencil as with the figures in the background. Some figures or panels may be tightened with graphite and a few panels may be partially inked like this one is. It all depends on Sergio's mood or he may do some inking if he has a long phone call.

15 Minutes ago
That raises an interesting question about your own lettering. Do you letter over your pencils or do you finish the panels and then finish the lettering?

10 Minutes ago
For my process, I rough out the pages, do the lettering, tighten up the pencils, then ink it.

[Steve Hubbell]

1 hour ago

Here are a couple of panels from the issue of Groo I just finished lettering and sent off to the Maestro. He will be at the Big Wow Convention in San Jose this weekend, no doubt he will be working on these pages.
These show some of his creative process.

29 minutes ago
Thanks for sharing! Stan, do you usually letter in between Sergio's inking? Here it looks like he has inked the foreground before the lettering...

28 minutes ago
My question too, something I would never have thought of. Do you finish the balloons, or is that Sergio?

20 Minutes ago
When I receive the art the pages are roughed in with blue pencil as with the background characters in the two panels. Some elements may be tightened with graphite, and some panels may be partially inked. It all depends upon Sergio's mood or he may do some inking if he is on a long phone call. Some borders may be inked in, others may just be blue penciled. I just do the lettering, and Sergio draws in the borders and word balloons. I charge a much lower fee when I letter Groo because there is less for me to do as a letterer. Usually, the letterer is also responsible for borders and balloons.

[Steve Hubbell]

11 hours ago



Blueberries are on sale, so, of course, it is blueberry muffin time! As usual, I think I put in too many blueberries. It's really good, though.

[Steve Hubbell]

10 hours ago
I love blueberry season. I made blueberry bread this morning. I started with a standard recipe and added a LOT of berries and sour cream. I had to adjust the recipe, and I hope it tastes good. It looks good.



9 hours ago
It tastes great. It's a little soggy at the bottom because of all the berries, but I can live with that.



4 hours ago
Here is the recipe I started with. I made some adjustments when I doubled the amount to blueberries, added about a half cup of sour cream (for moisture), and added lemon zest. I increased the amount of flour and baking powder to compensate. http://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/blueberry-loaf/

Blueberry Loaf
READY IN ABOUT 1¼ hrs



Ingredients:

Original recipe makes 1 loaf
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries
Check All Add to Shopping List

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a loaf pan.

2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract into flour mixture until batter is just blended. Gently fold blueberries into batter; pour into prepared loaf pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes.[/list]

PREP - 10 mins
COOK - 1 hr
READY IN - 1 hr 10 mins

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/blueberry-loaf/

[Steve Hubbell]

7 hours ago
Pot roast tonight with potato salad (because white potatoes are on sale at Sprouts, along with more blueberries! No, I did not use blueberries in this recipe. They are just on sale.

There is an Italian restaurant in San Diego known for a steak with a blueberry sauce

I do have a bottle of blueberry chipotle barbecue sauce that Chris Sparks sent me. I bet it would be good on the roast. Thanks for reminding me, David.

[Angilasman]

And don't even get me started on Godzilla/Gojira.

Stupid Americans.

I know this is a joke, but I'd like to point out that 'Godzilla' is Toho's official romanization, not something cooked up by American producers. When Toho began offering the '54 movie to English speaking distributors the title was listed as 'Godzilla.'

I like how they handle it in the new movie: Watanabe's character says 'Gojira,' American general starts saying 'Godzilla' immediately afterward.

[Steve Hubbell]

May 26

Thank you for all your birthday wishes! I had a fairly good day. I got some inking done. I hope to finish the UY: Senso 6 issue mini-series this week. Hannah baked me some macarons. I usually get them when I am in France. It is very difficult to find them here.

Sharon has been having good days and bad. This is not a good time for her. Her hearing is getting worse. We are hoping it is an ear infection and it will get better, and not brain tumor related. She is also in pain, mainly headaches, and that is caused by the tumor. With her bad eyesight, her inability to talk because of her tracheotomy tube, and her increasing deafness, communication is getting more difficult. Her spirits are remarkably bright, considering. She is an inspiration.


Here are my macarons.

May 26
Acknowledging that Sharon's senses are challenged at the moment, is there any form of entertainment that she is able to enjoy? Would she be able to hear an audio book, for instance? Just wondering.

May 26
Wendy, she used to listen to audio books after she could no longer see the big screen TV. She cannot follow novels because she has memory issues, so I bought her a bunch of children's books on CDs--Winnie the Pooh, My Father's Dragon (one of my favorites as a kid), Mary Poppins. I figures these are familiar enough so she can keep up with the story line. However, now she is unable to hear them clearly enough.

May 27
Happy Birthday, and those are perfect macarons. I hope that Sharon enjoys them.

May 27
Nancy, unfortunately Sharon cannot have them. Nothing goes through her mouth, not even water. She has a liquid diet through a g-tube directly into her stomach. Even most of her medications are ground up into a fine powder, mixed with apple sauce and water, and administered through the tube. Other meds are given as a mist or injected.

23 hours ago



The two Grandpa's — with Stan Sakai in Pasadena, CA.

22 hours ago
Great meeting you in person, Kevin!