Tuesday Top Five: For Pete's Sake

Aug. 5th, 2025 11:00 pm
nevanna: (Default)
[personal profile] nevanna
I’ve been listening to The Big Orange Couch, a podcast that discusses 1990s Nickelodeon shows and is therefore nostalgic catnip for me personally. The hosts have readily acknowledged that one of their favorite shows was The Adventures of Pete and Pete, which was one of my favorites as well. For those of you who don’t remember, the show was about two brothers, both named Pete, having surreal adventures in a surreal suburban town. (I’ve seen Craig of the Creek described as a spiritual successor of sorts, and I kind of agree, although Pete and Pete was a lot less racially diverse.)

Big Orange Couch’s countdown of their top ten episodes inspired me to try and list my top five, although hosts Andrew and Joey ordered their choices by preference and I have, as always, listed mine in chronological order.

1. “What We Did On Our Summer Vacation”

The Petes try to befriend the local ice cream man, even when he dodges their efforts by fleeing across the country.

This early episode does a beautiful job of introducing viewers to the community of Wellsville, and is filmed in a way that perfectly captures a certain experience of summer. (The only sour note is a running joke about a background character’s weight.) If you were lucky enough to get your hands on the DVDs when they became available in the mid-2000s, “Summer Vacation” has a commentary track by the creators and director, who agree that one of the final lines – “Some things are meant to stay a mystery” – sums up the show.

Also, when I watched I Saw The TV Glow, which was undeniably influenced by Pete and Pete along with various other 1990s media, this was the episode that came to mind first.

2. “The Nightcrawlers”

Little Pete and his friends try to break a world record by staying up for eleven days.

This episode takes a childhood wish-fulfillment fantasy (never having to go to bed, even when a literal conspiracy of adults are trying to make you!) and runs with it, with plenty of bizarre moments along the way, including young Clem’s inexplicable facial hair and the poised-for-flight stance that Artie, The Strongest Man in the World, falls into during his “Super Sleep.” (Despite being Little Pete’s personal superhero, Artie doesn’t ever actually fly on the show that I can recall.) But the episode ends with a sweet conversation between Pete and his mother about compromise and the passage of time, and the ending lines are perfect.

3. “The Call”

Little Pete resolves to answer a pay phone that’s been ringing for twenty-seven years, as the ringing – and the fear surrounding it – start to affect his neighbors’ sanity.

Like “Summer Vacation,” this episode leans into the idiosyncrasies of Wellsville in a way that I really appreciate. It also carries an important message about how destructive fear of the unknown can be. I think that my only complaint is that while Big Pete’s narration lists the supposed “superpowers” of his brother’s friends, we never actually get to see any of those abilities in action, in this episode or any other.

4. “Yellow Fever”

Big Pete has to confront his hidden resentments while on a class trip, where everybody – including the bus driver – is acting even more strangely than usual.

The title of this episode is deeply unfortunate (it’s the name of the school bus that the kids are riding), and I’ve never cared much for Pete’s jealous pining over Ellen. On the other hand, the quirky supporting characters are a delight, especially the high-strung and lovelorn bus driver, Stu Benedict (“Excuse me, Farmer Extremely Unhelpful – you’re straw!”), and recurring antagonist Endless Mike is in fine Chaotic Evil form.

5. “Last Laugh”

On April Fool’s Day, Little Pete and his friends work together to disrupt their school’s “Up With Personal Hygiene!” assembly with an epic prank on their principal.

I’ve been very emphatic about my dislike of April Fool’s Day, but I’m still grateful that it inspired this episode, which – like many of Little Pete’s most memorable stories – centers around another childhood fantasy scenario: humiliating a tyrannical authority figure. The kids’ scheme has plenty of entertaining and dramatic twists and turns; Adam West plays Principal Schwinger with a perfect mixture of buffoonery and menace; and the Up With Personal Hygiene Singers are hilarious. My sister and I still quote “You don’t deserve the giant swab!” at each other to this day.

Did you watch Pete and Pete when it aired or in the years since then? Do you have any favorite episodes or moments?

Multifandom Icons

Jul. 31st, 2025 12:02 pm
linky: Majade holding up her hand with a ring. (Gotchard: Majade hand raise)
[personal profile] linky posting in [community profile] icons


Ten Multifandom icons. (Kamen Rider Gotchard, Chojin Sentai Jetman, Avataro Sentai Donbrothers, Queen Millennia, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Find them here at [community profile] chemyxstory

Wind Breaker

Jul. 30th, 2025 09:48 pm
bluapapilio: boufuurin from wind breaker (winbre boufuurin)
[personal profile] bluapapilio posting in [community profile] icons
  

🎐 x39 icons here!

Tuesday Top Five: Summer Bucket List

Jul. 29th, 2025 10:13 pm
nevanna: (Default)
[personal profile] nevanna
Here are some things that I want to do before the summer is over, most of which I have not done yet.

1. Spend some time on a beach

2. Have a picnic in a park

3. Bake a pie with fruit from a farmer’s market (or blueberries from my recent blueberry picking trip with my mom)

4. Attend at least one of the outdoor movie screenings in and around the Boston area

5. Visit the Somerville Flea

Perhaps some of my friends would like to do one or more of those things with me! (Even if you don't help me make the pie, you can still eat some of it.)

LB's Banned Books Sale

Jul. 27th, 2025 05:55 pm
nevanna: (Default)
[personal profile] nevanna
The recent wave of censorship affecting itch.io has consequently targeted my friends, the very talented [personal profile] lb_lee, and they're selling signed and decorated copies of their work. You can read more here about what happened and what they're offering. (Content warning for non-explicit talk of child abuse, which is the subject of the comic that got suspended.)

This rancid business is reminding me even more of Strikethrough (an mass deletion of LiveJournals in the 2000s, which affected communities of abuse survivors as well as fandom blogs) than it did already.

(I have edited this post to correct some previous misleading language, since another friend has reminded me that the directive to remove controversial material from platforms like itch.io comes from payment processors, not the platform itself.)

thoughts about accessible gardening?

Jul. 26th, 2025 05:26 pm
rafiwinters: (grow all the things!)
[personal profile] rafiwinters posting in [community profile] gardening
Hello lovely gardener friends. I have various physical limitations which frustrate me when trying to do traditional gardening--you know, in the ground, where you have to bend, kneel, squat, use heavy long-handled tools, etc. My wife and I managed a few tomato plants and one cucumber plant this year but I want to do more, yet to do it without hurting myself. So I'm doing research for next year. If it helps to know, I'm in New England in the U.S.

What are your favorite ways to make gardening easier on your body?

So far I've come across the following ideas: planter boxes on legs, and vertical gardening. Any further ideas are welcome, as are any elaborations on the raised boxes and the vertical gardening.

Mostly my interests are in growing vegetables, stawberries, and herbs. We get lots of sun in our yard.

Thanks!