#u-pick

Hello, anime fans. I am Gabriel Ramos, DJ and broadcaster for Toon Time Theater on Twitch, Facebook, Kick and Trovo. As you see, Sega and Nickelodeon Productions haven't released reveal trailers for the Ninja Turtles being in Sonic Racing Crossworlds yet. Sonic Racing Crossworlds came out, but I finished the T3 run of SONIC X last September. I have something to ask you all: What cartoon do you want to see me add to Toon Time Theater before ROOSTER FIGHTER comes out? You have until Friday afternoon, January 2, at 3:00 / 2:00 c/p to cast your votes. When the poll period ends, I will review the poll's results and reveal the final broadcast times for that weekend.

• The Apothecary Diaries Season 2

• ONE PUNCH MAN Seasons 2 & 3

• Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works: The Series

• Hell's Paradise Season 2

• To Be Hero

• Dealing With the Mikadono Sisters Is a Breeze

• CASSHERN SINS

• AIR (2005) reruns

• Ao Ashi

• Girly Air Force

Time Parked Here

📍 Ouimet Farms Adventure ⧉ / Vankleek Hill Tulip Field ⧉, Vankleek Hill, Ontario

The old truck, long retired from its chores, sits at ease now surrounded by tulips. Its flaking paint and weathered curves feel like the land reclaiming a part of its own story. Behind it, rain drapes the horizon like theater curtains — setting the stage for a moment that feels both timeless and transient. I came across this scene at the Vankleek Hill Tulip Field at Ouimet Farms, a colorful U-Pick spot in eastern Ontario.

Something I’ve been thinking about lately, and one of the things I miss most about cartoons and kid programming in the ‘90s, is the hosts that presented them. Whether it was a show with multiple segments, or a several hour marathon of some kind, something about characters talking to you and telling you what was coming up next made your viewing experience feel like an event, something special, something that you, yourself, were involved in and participating in, and not just passively consuming.

This is something that’s been missing for a long time, and something that’s much, much harder to do in the streaming era. Sure, we can still watch Tiny Toons on DVD, and “binge watch”, as we call it these days, an entire season of our favorite shows. But there’s less of sense of interaction, however artificial it may have been, and less of a sense of the shows being specifically selected for the audience in that particular moment in time. There were also programs like Nick in the Afternoon (with its U-Pick gimmick) and JBVO, where you could actually directly influence what you watched. You do, of course, have the freedom to watch whatever you want if you subscribe to the right streaming services, but to me, it was the characters that made all the difference.

It sorta gave the illusion that these characters were alive, at least on some other plane of existence. It also has a similar appeal as old school variety shows like Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson, or even Vaudeville and circuses.

FORAGING LESSONS

This year I want to learn more about edible weeds, funghi and foraging.

Today I spent some time at a friend’s rural property doing a self harvest to get the ball rolling. I collected cumquats, lemons and blackberries from some weedy thickets along a fence line.

Things I learnt:

- U-pick or foraging takes time. It’s not an easy way to get a huge feed quickly.

- Correct protective clothing, cutting tools, collection and basic first aid equipment are required. Thorns and scratches are inevitable.

- I have a whole new respect for the members of traditional cultures who bore the ‘gatherer’ role within the tribe. Gathering takes time and skill to collect enough to sustain people.