***

He knows.

He has always known.

Actual quote:

"I don't want some animation studio giving Hobbes an actor's voice, and I don't want some greeting card company using Calvin to wish people a happy anniversary, and I don't want the issue of Hobbes's reality settled by a doll manufacturer. When everything fun and magical is turned into something for sale, the strip's world is diminished. 'Calvin and Hobbes' was designed to be a comic strip and that's all I want it to be. It's the one place where everything works the way I intend it to"

This was in the 1990's, pre-AI, pre- Chris Pratt, pre- Cinematic Universes, and if he was opposed to it then, he sure as hell wouldn't be okay with it now.

🥲🥲🥲

I've never done this before, and i hate doing it, but at this point i have to, so here goes.

long story short, i just got smacked with a €900 bill which i absolutely cannot foot on the fly on top of everything else i've got going on. if i've been slowly drowning these past few years (and faster these past few months), this is the equivalent of getting bashed on the head with a rock, so i'm coping marvellously as one might imagine.

anyway! i activated discount codes on all my comms and ko-fi shop until June 30th, and my INPRNT is open as always, so if there is anything you would fancy having, it would help me out tremendously. i do have to say that i will be slower on comm completion at the moment due to various status effects on my me (i extended the timeline from two weeks to three months to be on the safe side), but i always get there in the end. if you'd rather just slide a couple bucks my way instead, i certainly won't object either. it might be just a little bit of relief, but a little bit of relief feels like a lot, so. thank you.

if my art or writing or animatics have ever improved your day, if you'd like to keep seeing more of my stuff, this is how you could help. i mean it not in a 'give me money or i'll hold my posts hostage' way, but rather in an uh, i kind of can't think about doing anything creative when i'm trying not to have a public breakdown several times a day. so yeah. thank you again. please know that i appreciate it all a ton. and sorry for asking.

here's some of my more recent comms too; thank you for reading and enjoy the pretty pictures

Doch as an adverb

In this function, doch can mean anyway, nevertheless, regardless, nonetheless, although, still, yet, though, but, after all.

Sie ist dann doch gekommen. (She came after all.)

Das war spät, doch nicht zu spät, hoffe ich. (That was late, but not too late, I hope.)

Freundlich, doch bestimmt, verweigerte er der Gruppe den Eintritt. – (Politely but firmly, he denied the group entry.)

Doch as a response particle

In this function, doch expresses a contradiction when answering yes/no questions that contain a negation, affirming the fact negated in the question. This is the amazing function of doch most commonly referred to when mentioning it in a blog post, being the third German response particle besides yes and no.

„Du willst ihn aber nicht heiraten?“ – „Doch.“ ("But you don't want to marry him?" – "Yes, I do.")

„Hast du sie nicht angerufen?“ – „Doch!“ ("Didn't you call her?" – "Yes!")

"Das hast du wohl nicht gedacht, dass das funktioniert, oder?“ – „Doch!“ ("You probably didn't think that would work, did you?" – "Oh, yes, I did!")

„Es ist nicht zu spät, oder?“ – „Doch!“ ("It’s not too late, is it?" – "Yes, it is!")

„Ist keiner zu Hause?“ – „Doch!“ ("Is no one home?" – "Yes, there is!")

Doch as a modal particle

Here it becomes even more complicated because in this function, doch can have three distinct meanings that—depending on the context—partially contradict each other.

1. Doch as an emphasizing or intensifying particle

Firstly, doch may emphasize and intensify—for example, a fact, a question, or a request.

Ich würde ja gerne kommen, aber ich habe doch eine Verabredung. (I’d love to come, but unfortunately I already have an appointment.)

Nun ist es aber doch ganz schön spät geworden. (It has turned out to be quite late after all.)

Du hast doch gefragt, oder? (But you did ask, didn't you? [said in a slightly exasperated tone])

Komm doch mal her, mein Freund! Was ist das hier? (Come here a moment, my friend! What is this? [said in a stern voice])

2. Doch as a softening particle

Secondly, doch may soften the tone and make it friendlier—for example, turning a command into a wish or a suggestion.

Lieber Frühling, komm doch bald herbei! (Dear Spring, please come soon!)

Bring doch gleich etwas zu trinken mit! (Why not bring something to drink while you're at it? [Side note: the particle gleich is translated as "while you're at it" here, implying that the person talked to has gotten up to fetch something else.])

Schlag doch zu! [ironisch] (Go ahead, take a swing! [ironic])

Mach doch was du willst! (Do what you want! [I'm tired of arguing with you.])

3. Doch as a reminder of a known fact

Thirdly, doch can express that what is being stated is known or indisputable. In this sense, it is used almost exclusively in written language—and only very rarely in colloquial speech—specifically and obligatorily in causal clauses with verb-first word order.

Er hat sie sehnsüchtig angesehen, liebte er sie doch. (He gazed at her longingly, for he loved her.)

Danach zog sie aufs Land, wollte sie doch dem Lärm der Stadt entkommen. (After that, she moved to the countryside, wanting to escape the noise of the city. [Doch is not translated here; in this piece of literature, it should have been made sufficiently clear beforehand that she loathed city life.])

And it's that thing where you mentally place yourself as the second, auxiliary party to someone else that you consider to be "In Charge" of whatever space or occupation or responsibility you are assigned to

And when you are IN that mindset, it *feels* like you're being responsible. It *feels* like you're being respectful, and helpful, and contributing to the load.

But what you don't SEE- because it *feels* like deference- is that the other person who you're seeing as The Authority you report to- by being assigned that role, has also been assigned the invisible load of BEING YOUR MANAGER.

This is by FAR most commonly seen in husband-and-wife relationships, where the man says, "just tell me what I can do to HELP- you don't have to do it all by yourself, but it's like you won't even tell me when you NEED help. You just do everything and then get mad at me for not doing it first. I can help clean. I can help with the kids. I can help"

But I also see it- and am guilty myself of doing it- at work, at school, in public- that mental, "this is THEIR space, and i will be respectful and helpful to THEM"- without realizing that subservience in this manner isn't actually a good thing. That it actually shifts the burden of responsibility to the other person. That aspect was totally invisible to me.

I didn't understand that when I was told, "if you see something that needs to be done, just DO it", or, "take the initiative", what they ACTUALLY meant was, "I am not above you", or "you have equal say in what kind of environment you want to live or work in", or "I do not want full control over what happens here, I do not want to order you around, I do not want to be in charge, what I WANT is to co-command WITH you"

Being in The Assigned Authority position NOW, that is all so much clearer.

I am the senior member of my team at work, and now, every time I train a newbie, every time I finish catching them up to speed and giving them a list of everything that needs to be done, my next big hurdle seems to always be, "now take pride in the space when I'm not around". "Now don't assume I'll tell you when something is due or what orders to plan things in".

Now, having been on both sides of the struggle, I can appreciate the sticking points here

TO THE PERSON "IN CHARGE": The person deferring to you doesn't understand the invisible labor you're doing. They genuinely believe you know more, you WANT more, you see things they don't, and that they are being respectful and good by staying out of your way and waiting on your orders. THAT is the bit that's not clicking.

TO THE PERSON "WANTING TO HELP": "Help" implies that you are providing assistance to a problem that belongs to somebody else. Stop thinking like that. Understand that the problem belongs to BOTH of you equally, and consider what kind of shared space you BOTH want. What is your SHARED GOAL? Not THEIR goal, but a goal that belongs to you too. Own your space.

This is not a Commander-Lieutenant problem. This is a Partnership problem.

Typically Officers, Managers, and Team Leads get *paid* a whole lot more to specifically take ownership of their space. The buck ($$$) stops there, at the top, with the people who get paid to command the ship.

I use to get paid to be the Captain. Sure I wanted things to be equitable in my office, under my command, and I treated my Soldiers as equals.

Which in hind sight I realized was a fucked up thing to do. Since it wasn't their job, they didn't get paid to do it, and it wasn't their responsibility. It was mine.

You can't just subvert a hierarchy by pretending its not there. That just makes you a shitty abusive boss. But you're still the boss.

Fortunately I eventually realized that no one was making me be the boss but myself. So I quit.

Now I make minimum wage and I have a manager that tells me what to do. I don't really need her to, I'm smart enough to figure it out without her direction. But I don't get paid to think.

I didn't think to mention this because I'm *not* anybody boss- when I train new people, it's to work WITH me. The wage will be the same. I've refused promotion because it's more trouble to manage people than the money would be worth to me.

But your theoretical wife ISN'T receiving extra benefits for managing the housework. Your theoretical roommate ISN'T getting a discount on the rent for reminding you there's laundry in the washer.

Zoos don’t look like this anymore.

They look like this:

Good zoos do not keep their animals in “tiny spaces” with no enrichment.  I’m not pro-roadside zoo.  I’m pro-accredited zoo.  Zoos are incredibly important for conservation and education.

Are Zoos Necessary?

The Importance of Zoos: Resource Post

Why Zoos and Aquariums Matter: Assessing the Impact of a Visit to a Zoo or Aquarium

Why I Want to be a Keeper

Except the sea lions are blind. One was found as an adult after suffering a gun shot wound to the face that destroyed his eyes. The other was found as an adolescent, weak and starving because it had been blinded and unable to hunt. So they were rescued and introduced and the zoo built them a nice pool where they can swim and sunbathe and people toss them fish. It’s not the biggest exhibit, or the fanciest. But it’s a home for them, where they’re safe and well fed. Sea lions aren’t the most romantic of animals, but they’re a part of SF culture and a lot of us have a soft spot for the loud, bulbous things. And because of zoos, these two get to live long, happy lives.

They also do work with camel populations because the local human population use the camels for food sources the zoos help monitor the camels health.

Another zoo, I want to say it’s the Oregon zoo but don’t quote me on that, is helping female inmates. The zoo works with the female prisons by encouraging the inmates to assist in the breeding and raising of endangered species of butterflies. They plant the specific plants that the butterflies and catapillars need, raise them, and release them. These inmates get noted in any scientific journals that get published. They are giving these inmates a sense of accomplishment and validation.

Zoos not only save species but bring together and assist communities in an effort to save the environment. Zoos, good zoos, are essential to the future and I will fight anyone who tries to say otherwise.

Fully accredited zoos are a major source of conservation funding worldwide. They take in and provide safety for injured animals. Other animals are removed from roadside zoos or even where they were kept as pets and therefore are far too people-oriented for any other life.

Fully accredited zoos are absolutely essential in breeding and husbandry of endangered species. They sometimes provide individuals of varied genetics either for release into the wild or to breed to release their offspring into the wild. They keep METICULOUS records which are incredibly important in tracking genetic diversity of small populations, which are particularly prone to inbreeding depression and other negative consequences of genetic drift.

Fully accredited zoos care about the health of the whole animal and will bend over backwards to provide the best enrichment they can with their resources. Great example: Philadelphia Zoo is city-locked and cannot expand its footprint. So they have made what are essentially giant hamster tunnels that go over the visitor footpaths. They will put novel scents or toys in there and (please someone correct me on this if I am wrong) rotate which group of big cats has access to it at any time so that when one group gets access it smells like other cats and that provides new things to explore and interact with. They have also done these tunnels for small primates.

If you want a great look at the power of zoos and what it is really like behind the scenes, all the ups and downs, check out “The Zoo” which is a reality TV show about the Bronx Zoo in NYC (similar land issues as Philly Zoo) or “Secrets of the Zoo” which is a similar show filmed at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and their wild animal park The Wilds. I know people who work at these zoos and who are on these shows and they aren’t making up how much care and dedication they put into their work.