Almost 8 years ago to the day, I wrote about watching Japan play Australia in a World Cup group match, where they held a one goal lead for most of the match, only to concede 3 goals in the last 8 minutes.

Yesterday, Japan played their first group match again the Ivory Coast and while I wasn't able to watch the first half, I caught most of the second, and things seemed to be going well, with Japan having scored early in the game.

I was stuck at a bus station and was literally getting onto the bus when the Ivory Coast scored an equalizer. Nevertheless, I went to sleep on the bus assuring myself that it would end in a 1-1 draw, so I was somewhat miffed to find out this morning that we had, yet again, given away flurry of goals and thrown away the match

That night 8 years ago, I accidentally watched the game in a pub full of Aussies, and while there will be no chance of that happening again this time, June 24^th could be interesting, since Japan plays Colombia, and I will be in Colombia...

Excuse my language, but OMFG THIS IS FREAKING UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Bill Watterson, he of Calvin and Hobbes fame, the "Bigfoot of cartooning", quietly came out seclusion last week and drew a few panels of Pearls Before Swine, the well-known web-comic.

Stephan Pastis sets up the story like this:

He is legendary. He is reclusive. And like Bigfoot, there is really only one photo of him in existence.

Few in the cartooning world have ever spoken to him. Even fewer have ever met him.

In fact, legend has it that when Steven Spielberg called to see if he wanted to make a movie, Bill wouldn’t even take the call.

He then goes on to explain how he sent Bill an email:

[I] thanked him for all his great work and the influence he’d had on me. And never expected to get a reply.

And what do you know, he wrote back.

Let me tell you. Just getting an email from Bill Watterson is one of the most mind-blowing, surreal experiences I have ever had. Bill Watterson really exists? And he sends email? And he’s communicating with me?

But he was. And he had a great sense of humor about the strip I had done, and was very funny, and oh yeah...

...He had a comic strip idea he wanted to run by me.

Turns out, the idea was to guest-draw a few panels in Pearls Before Swine, that ran earlier this month:

I've written before about how much I like C&H (seriously, who doesn't?), so the thought that Bill has surfaced and is wielding a pen again is pretty awesome news!

Set my hair on fire, I surely would! Not that there's much left, I'd hardly miss it...