I had once appeared for a job interview where the interviewer asked me, “So Ritesh, training & development!…was it by design or by accident?”  The interviewer was a typical corporate warrior, donning the badge of his many years of experience in the HR fraternity, proudly on his, may I add, puffed chest. He told me about himself, how many functions he handles and how he plans to change the course of the organization with his extraordinary leadership. With the restless energy that you quite often find in such corporate warriors, he shifted in his seat, head tilted back, trying to size me up. He was waiting for a response to the question he had posed to me.

I considered the question and contemplated on the best course of action. Should I tell him the truth or should I give him bulls**t about how much I love working with people and how I always had the passion to help people realize their potential. In the end, I thought, what the heck, let me tell the truth and I confessed it was purely by accident. I went on to add, however,  that having spent close to seven years in the profession, I have developed a passion for it and I cannot think of doing anything else now. You develop a passion for something only after you have done it for a while.

After about 45 minutes, as the interview drew to a close, he asked me whether I had any questions for him. He looked smugly at me, daring me to ask whatever I could. I ended up asking about the expectations from the role and success indicators, however the question that I really wanted to ask was,  “Has everything that you’ve done in life been done by design?” I’d be surprised if the honest answer to this question was ‘Yes’.

Yes, most of us plan and decide what we have to do in life when we are in college. Even I did. But how many of us work out the specifics and say that I will specialize in FMCG sales in tier two towns of India? My guess is not too many. As for me, my professional journey can  best be described by this poem written by Bill Watterson, creator of the utterly adorable comic strip, Calvin & Hobbes.

Intrepid Explorers

I made a big decision a little while ago.
I don’t remember what it was, which prob’ly goes to show
That many times a simple choice can prove to be essential
Even though it often might appear inconsequential.

I must have been distracted when I left my home because
Left or right I’m sure I went.(I wonder which it was!)
Anyway, I never veered: I walked in that direction
Utterly absorbed it seems, in quiet introspection.

For no reason I can think of, I’ve wandered far astray.
And that is how I got to where I find myself today.

A Nauseous Nocturne

Another night deprived of slumber,
Hours passing without number,
My eye trace ’round the room. I lay

Dripping sweat and now quite certain
That tonight the final curtain
Drops upon my life’s short precious play.

From the darkness, by the closet
Comes a noise, much like a faucet
Makes: a madd’ning drip-drip-dripping sound.

It seems some ill-proportioned beast,
Anticipating me deceased,
Is drooling poison puddles on the ground..

A can of mace, a forty-five,
Is all I’d need to stay alive,
But no weapon lies within my sight.

Oh my gosh! A shadow’s creeping,
Ominous and black, it’s seeping
Slowly ‘cross a moonlit square of light!

Suddenly a floorboard creak
Anounces the bloodsucking freak
Is here to steal my future years away!
A sulf’rous smell now fills the room
Heralding my imm’nent doom!
A fang gleams in the dark and murky gray!

Oh, blood-red eyes and tentacles!
Throbbing, pulsing ventricles!
Mucus-oozing porses and frightful claws!

Worse, in terms of outright scariness,
Are the suckers multifarious
That grab and force you in its mighty jaws!
This disgusting aberration
Of nature needs no motivation
To devour helpless children in their beds.
Relishing despairing moans,
It chews kids up and sucks their bones,
And disolves inside its mouth their li’l heads!

I know this ’cause I read it not
Two hours ago and then I got
The heebie-jeebies and these awful shakes.

My parents swore upon their honor
That I was safe, and not a goner.
I guess tomorrow they’ll see their sad mistakes.

In the morning, they’ll come in
And say, “What was that awful din
We heard last night? You kept us both from sleep!”

Only then will they surmise
The gruesomeness of my demise
And see that my remains are in a heap.

Dad will look at Mom and say,
“Too bad he had to go that way.”
And Mom will look at Dad and nod assent.

Mom will add, “Still, it’s fitting,
That as he was this world quiting,
He should leave another mess before he went.”

They may not miss me first, I know.
They will miss me later, though,
And perhaps admit that they were wrong.
As memories of me grow dim,
They’ll say, “We were too strict with him.
We should have listened to him all along.”

As speedily my end approaches,
I bid a final “buenas noches”
To my best friend in the world.

Gently snoring, whiskers seeming
To sniff at smells (he must be dreaming),
He lies snuggled in the blackets curled.

HEY! WAKE UP, YOU STUPID CRETIN!
YOU GONNA SLEEP WHILE I GET EATEN?!
Suddenly the monster knows I’m not alone!

There’s an animal in bed with me!
an awful beast he did not see!
The monster never would’ve come if he had know!

The monster, in his confernation,
Demonstrates defenestration,
And runs and runs and runs and runs away.

Rid of the pest,
I now can rest,
Thanks to my best friend, who saved the day.
©1989 Bill Watterson

This poem was written and illustrated by Watterson to be included in the front of The Essential Calvin and Hobbes. The illustrations, taking up 12 full pages, are wonderful. Watterson commented on this in the Tenth Anniversary Book: “I took advantage of the oppurtunity to paint all the illustrations in watercolor, which permitted various subtleties and effects I couldn’t get into the Sunday strips.”

WORD

sang-froid [Fr. sahN-fRwA] n.  coolness of mind; calmness; composure: They committed the robbery with complete sang-froid

BIRTHDAY

Andrew Carnegie (1835), Eddie Shore (1902), Joe DiMaggio (1914), Percy Sledge (1941), Ben Stein (1944), John Larroquette (1947), Amy Grant (1960), John F. Kennedy Jr. (1960), Mark Lanegan (1964), Christina Applegate (1971), Donovan McNabb (1976), Dolla (1987)

STANDPOINT

One of my greatest friends is Joe. I’ve mentioned him before. He’s someone special.

And he’s also kind of this blog’s watchdog. When I miss a day (or three), or post something subpar, Joe’s the first one to let me know, whether through a scathing comment on a particular post, a verbal tirade on GMail chat, or an obscenity-laden phone call. Most of these responses center on his annoyance with the fact I call this the daily euneJeune, and I’m not exactly stringent about the whole “daily” thing.

I love it. Because it comes from Joe and he’s one of the few people out there in the world who knows me very well, and wants to be my friend anyway.

Also, Joe and I have two things in common: (a) We’re able to drink more alcohol than any two people at any bar anywhere, and (b) We’re most likely the funniest people you’ll ever meet. And, no, the alcohol has nothing to do with why we think we’re a goddam riot. Although it doesn’t hurt.

In any case, Joe and I have this routine of exchanging late night texts, mainly because each of us know the other is most likely awake and not sober. 99% of the texts’ subject material has to do with movie quotes. And of that 99%, probably 98% deal directly with the obscure black comedy, Clifford, starring Charles Grodin and Martin Short.

As a tribute to my friend Joe, I offer the following video clip.

QUOTATION

I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart so long.  If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can play together all night. → Bill Watterson

TUNE

I’ve always loved the lyrics and music of Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” It came on yesterday at the perfect time. And, so, I now share it with you.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ As we all knew it would, Antarctica has declared war on New Zealand. Tired of living in the shadow of its more “tourist-friendly” neighbor, the frozen wasteland has launched hundreds of icebergs in a desperate attempt to get some headlines. Some experts are saying it’s not an attack at all and probably has something to do with global warming. Other experts are saying there’s too much ice in Antarctica and it’s natural to jettison some of the dead weight. The same experts also suggested people get off global warming’s back. However, all the experts agree the iceberg assault will have little effect on New Zealand, prompting a disheartened Antarctica to go back to the drawing board.

→ Finally, MTV makes a show I would actually watch  – about a squad of young Italian summertime renters at the Jersey shore – cleverly titled “Jersey Shore,” and wouldn’t you know it? There’s a group of Italian-Americans that wants to block it. Of course.

→ No new posts until Monday. What with the holiday and all. Also, be careful out there tonight. It’s the biggest bar night of the year. And drunk idiots make it suck pretty hard. Just take the following advice: Make sure to drive fast and take chances. OK. It’s not really advice.

As tirinhas de Calvin & Haroldo deixaram de ser produzidas em 1996, embora ainda sejam publicadas por aí. Eu, como sempre, só descobri/passei a adorar a dupla anos depois de sua prematura aposentadoria. “Prematura” por causa da pouca idade de Calvin, e não por preguiça ou desinteresse do autor; afinal, não deve ser fácil desenhar e escrever uma tira de quadrinhos diária por quase dez anos. Mas comigo é sempre assim: só descubro o bonde quando ele já passou, nunca consigo pegá-lo andando. (Principalmente quando o assunto é música; mas não é o caso deste post, então xapralá.)

Nunca mais haverá outra história de Calvin e Haroldo, nos quadrinhos ou em qualquer outra mídia. Isso porque Bill Watterson, o autor, jamais licenciou suas criações. Nada de brinquedos, filmes, camisetas ou desenhos animados. Muito menos Haroldos de pelúcia, para a infelicidade de muita gente. Uma atitude nobre, especialmente se levarmos em conta que o cara deixou de faturar algumas dezenas de milhões de dólares com isso.

Mesmo se houvesse outras histórias, nada mudaria. Calvin continuaria a ser criança, Haroldo continuaria a ser um tigre imaginário (?). Entretanto, sempre me pergunto o que aconteceria se o tempo passasse normalmente no universo dos quadrinhos. O principal objeto da minha curiosidade, sob esse aspecto, é  o envelhecimento de Calvin. Mais especificamente, se em algum momento Calvin se daria conta de que Haroldo é só um tigre de pelúcia.

Deve ser triste descobrir que seu melhor amigo é um brinquedo. Que todas as brincadeiras e aventuras que os dois viveram juntos foram fruto da imaginação. Que nada foi “real”. O coadjuvante mais carismático da história provavelmente seria abandonado em um baú de velharias, ou dado de presente a outra criança.

Ou não. Talvez Calvin fosse autista ou esquizofrênico (NADA CONTRA), e nunca se desse conta de tudo isso.

Enfim, nunca saberei. Nem você. Provavelmente, nem Bill Watterson.

E é melhor que seja assim.

‘Calvin and Hobbs’, the most syndicated comic strip of our generation has a very unique smart mouthed six-year-old with a very real  enemy. Moe is the resident bully at Calvin’s school and seems to target Calvin an awful lot. Writer and illustrator Bill Watterson described him as “every jerk I have ever known” and made this character fun by describing him as “the only 6-year-old boy who shaves”. Moe  frequently stops Calvin and takes his money or pounds on him. In this strip, he does both to have Calvin as his friend, which is pretty ironic,  coming from a bully. (Click to enlarge image below.)

Calvin even tries to reason with him on this but receives another beating for his trouble like in this strip. (Click to enlarge image below.)

Moe not very smart. Calvin, hilariously, at one point calls him “street-wise”, meaning, “he knows where he lives.” The illustrator emphasizes this by the unusual ‘crude lower-case’ font he uses for Moe’s part of the dialogue. At the same time, all of Calvin’s wit and intelligence are no match for the brute physical force that is Moe.

Watterson’s success in empathizing with every child who ever faced a bully makes me wonder if he might have experienced it himself. With introducing this one enemy in Calvin’s world who hurts him unprovoked, he shows how commonplace it is. That could be a great source of comfort for a child who feels marginalized by his classmates.

Calvin’s success in going on with his daily adventures despite the bully in his life can only prove to a child reader that being bullied is not his/her fault but more to do with shortfalls in the bully. In Moe’s case,  he doesn’t exhibit much in the way of intelligence and this is considered to be the reason why he bullies in the first place. Calvin’s retaliation through humour, not violence, humanizes Moe instead of drawing him up as an evil person to be physically harmed in return.  Moe is still a child, if a misguided one. If the previous entries from this week have shown us anything, it is that there is a lot of educating that kids still need if we are to combat bullying. The current decade of school shootings as a retaliation for bullying makes me wonder if we need more positive reinforcements of  ‘Calvin and Hobbs’ than we realize.

The finest thing an artist can do is to make me laugh out loud. It’s interesting how often the laughter is very close to tears.

This morning I learned, long after the rest of the world had cottoned onto it, that one of my favorite Truly Funny Writers, Terry Pratchett, has early onset Alzheimer’s Disease. This is grim news, and I have resolved to fight it with the best weapons at my disposal. For starters, I am going to spread a little funny around. My idea of funny anyway, which may not be yours. What’s funny depends on whose ox is slipping on the banana peel.

Two truly funny books:

• Terry Pratchett, Going Postal
• Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods

Two truly funny movies:

• Kenny, 2008
• Best in Show, 2000

Two truly funny songs:

• Louan Lechler, Singin’ in the Nude
• Tom T. Hall, Sneaky Snake

Two truly funny cartoonists:

• Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
• Richard Guindon, utterly unclassifiable

I dearly wish I could show you pictures of the funniest things I’ve ever seen, but I was far too busy laughing to document the events.  Still, you can probably imagine for yourself the Cowboy, with a small potato chip bag plastered over his entire face, trying to look innocent.  “What potato chip bag?”

Your turn.

“When it is darkest, men see the stars.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
- Oscar Wilde

Orion's Belt

I don’t think it’s coincidental that some of my favorite writers and thinkers have such poignant things to say about the stars. The thing I dislike most about living in the city is not being able to see the stars at night. They’re only a drive away, but it’s not the same as being able to turn off your porch light, step out your front door, and just fall under their spell.

Feeling insignificant is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Feeling your ego dissipate under the expanse of the universe is an irreplaceable experience. There have been times in my life where sitting under the stars was the only thing I could do to feel connected to this world at all. As unintuitive as that may seem.

It seems to me that to feel connected to others, you need to feel alone. It occurs to me sometimes that other people may find this thought to be highly pessimistic, but I don’t think the feeling of being alone is a negative or depressing at all.

In fact, I like the feeling.

It makes me appreciate the connections I am able to have with other people and their creative work.

As always, I find my sentiments have been already properly expressed by others. Another fact that makes me feel a beautiful wash of insignificance and much, much less alone.

“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I’ll bet they’d live a lot differently.”
- Bill Watterson (of Calvin and Hobbes)

Everything old is new again…isn’t that the way that the saying goes? We have a collection of the Calvin and Hobbes books on our bookshelf. They have been a part of our family right around the time we became a family or at least since we became a married couple. I always enjoyed the humor of  little Calvin and his all-knowing Hobbes.

One of my favorite pieces of furniture in our house is the bookcase in our living room. It is a simple, too small, crammed glass doored bookshelf. It holds memories and fantasies, love stories and breakups, horror and history all within its shelves. Nestled in there are the collection of Calvin and Hobbes books. Since we have had the boys, the books have come out many times. More often than not, a cycle will come where a boy will pull out one of the books and it will become attached to him for days, weeks even a month or two. They pour over the strips, laughing out loud to themselves, enjoying these comics, just as I did, well before they were even a desire, much less a reality.

Well, the books have made their way out of the bookshelf once again, now being enjoyed by my youngest son. He pulls the book out and sits and reads, laughing to himself and recounting for me, whenever I might be able to listen, about how funny this or that strip was and how he giggled at it.

Bill Watterson should enjoy knowing that his work, almost all of it penned well before they were even born, is entertaining a whole new generation of readers, my sons.

Antes de ler a matéria, só um adendo: quando começamos a escrever as matérias queríamos falar só de quadrinhos, mas depois reconhecemos a importância das charges, caricaturas, tiras e outras formas artísticas (por meio de imagens e desenhos) que também representam uma manifestação na luta pela liberdade de expressão ou crítica de comportamento social. Acabamos por decidir manter o nome HQ’s Libertárias apenas por uma condição de particularidade.

Grande Tiradas

Por Maurício Marttins

Ele é um menino de seis anos, ela é uma menina de sete anos. Calvin e Mafalda, dois personagens símbolo de contestação e humor em tiras de jornal.

Quando se lê uma tira de Calvin e Haroldo pela primeira vez é possível rir facilmente de suas invencionices e confusões, de suas preocupações de adulto e reações de criança, do tormento que esse garoto de seis anos é para seus pais e de seu tigre de pelúcia irônico e inteligente. O humor das tiras de Calvin é, quase sempre, sobre o comportamento de uma criança com o desejo de que tudo aconteça de acordo com sua vontade. Não raro são os momentos que suas atrapalhadas são motivos de gozação de Haroldo, seu tigre de pelúcia, que ganha vida na imaginação de Calvin.

O que torna essa tira interessante para milhões de pessoas em todo mundo é a habilidade que ela possui em exprimir verdades de maneira muito sutil. Ela expõe a natureza humana e todos os seus momentos mais mundanos de maneira que rimos de nossa própria estupidez e hipocrisia. Com as tiras de Calvin e Haroldo é possível lembrar da importância de pequenos momentos e, como disse certa vez seu próprio autor, “nos sentir encorajados a ser inocentes por um momento olhando o mundo da perspectiva de crianças e animais”.

O autor, Bill Watterson, parou de desenhar as tiras de Calvin e Haroldo em 1996. Foram um pouco mais de uma década desenhando o personagem diariamente. Em sua carta de despedida, Watterson comunicou a todos os editores, que publicavam as tiras de Calvin, seus mais sinceros agradecimentos, mas que estava ansioso para trabalhar em um ritmo mais reflexivo e com menos compromissos artísticos. Embora Watterson tenha abandonado a criação de seus personagens, eles ainda são publicados em muitos jornais pelo mundo, o jornal Estado de S. Paulo e o português O Público são alguns deles.

Os nomes de Calvin e Haroldo foram inspirados no teólogo John Calvin e no filósofo Thomas Hobbes. John Calvin, reformador religioso, acreditava na predestinação e na depravação total do homem, sendo o mesmo inclinado a praticar o mal para o seu próximo. Thomas Hobbes, inglês do século XVII, é autor da frase “o homem é o lobo do homem”, e tinha uma visão obscura da natureza humana. Para o autor, os dois nomes podem ser entendidos como uma piada para as pessoas que estudam ciência, política e filosofia. Ironicamente, Bill Watterson é formado em ciência política pela Kenyon College em Gambier, Ohio.

Calvin e Haroldo exploraram muitas questões pessoais, foram inquiridores e trouxeram beleza, inteligência e sofisticação para as tiras de jornal. Como o título do mais (nem tão) recente livro lançado dessa dupla pela editora Conrad, olhar as coisas da perspectiva de crianças e animais pode ser, sem dúvida, um mundo mágico.

Enquanto isso na Argentina…

Você é capaz de imaginar uma menina de sete anos cheia de preocupações sociais, interessada por política, direitos humanos e democracia? Tem mais, você consegue imaginar essa mesma menina contra as injustiças sociais, racismo, armas nucleares e sopa? Pois é, essa menina existe e vem de Buenos Aires, na Argentina. Ela já foi chamada de La Contestataria e se tornou símbolo de campanhas da Unicef em favor dos direitos da criança.

Essa menina se chama Mafalda e foi criada por Joaquín Salvador Lavado, o Quino, para uma campanha publicitária em 1963. O cliente, fábrica de eletrodomésticos de nome Mansfield, fez uma “simples” exigência para o artista: queria que seus personagens criados para a campanha começassem com a letra M. Quino, lembrando de um bebê chamado Mafalda no filme Dar Lãs Caras, acabou adotando o nome para seu personagem, pois o achou alegre. A campanha não se realiza e os produtos da Mansfield nunca foram lançados.

Dois anos depois, Quino foi procurado pelo semanário Primeira Plana que queria uma tira engraçada para a sua publicação. O autor resolveu utilizar Mafalda que teve sua estréia no dia 29 de setembro de 1964. No ano seguinte as tiras passaram a ser publicadas no jornal diário El Mundo. Quando o jornal fechou suas portas, em 1967, Mafalda já conquistava espaço e se transformava em grande sucesso pelo mundo.

Mafalda tinha um lado crítico muito inquiridor e tiradas incríveis para qualquer tipo de assunto, principalmente questões sociais. Possuía um globo doente em casa e ouvia constantemente notícias do jornal, sempre fazendo observações interessantes. Uma diferença de Mafalda para as outras tiras de criança é que seu personagem envelhecia ao longo do tempo.

Quino deixou de desenhar Mafalda em 1973, justificando o término das tiras por acreditar que estava começando a se repetir. Mafalda foi uma menina símbolo do inconformismo.

Links

Depósito do Calvin
Mafalda Online

Continua

Confira HQ’s Libertárias – Parte 1 – Parte 2 – Parte 3 – Parte 4 – Parte 5

Bill Watterson explains the economic crisis, courtesy of Calvin and Hobbes:

• Hulu’s going to start charging.
• Think we’d ever see this in the U.S.? "Rich Germans demand higher taxes."

Green

• Leaving computers on overnight costs $2.8 billion in the U.S. alone.

Miscellaneous

• Why you should care about net neutrality.
• Check out this remix of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” Thanks to Cassie for the link.

Wie de moderne wereld echt grondig wil begrijpen, hoeft volgens mij geen dikke traktaten van pompeuze filosofen te lezen — een stripalbum van Calvin and Hobbes is veel efficiënter én diepzinniger. Wat wil je, met hoofdpersonen die vernoemd zijn naar twee grote architecten van de moderniteit, iconen van respectievelijk een streng geestelijk determinisme en een streng materieel determinisme. Nou ja, ik zou eindeloos door kunnen zwammen over deze briljante strip van Bill Watterson, maar dan zit je alsnog een dik traktaat van een pompeuze filosoof te lezen. Laat ik me dus even beperken tot het stripje hierboven… (En vergeef mij de pompeuze woorden.)

Het is een op en top modern ritueel dat Calvin hier beschrijft; het volmaakte spiegelbeeld van een ritueel dat ook in bepaalde kloosterorden gebruikelijk is. Daar eet men in stilte een sobere maaltijd, terwijl een van de broeders of zusters voorleest uit de Bijbel of andere geestelijke lectuur. Wie het wel eens meegemaakt heeft, zal kunnen beamen hoezeer dit aanvankelijk wat ongemakkelijke gebruik op den duur maakt dat je je zowel lichamelijk als geestelijk gevoed en gesterkt voelt.

Het moderne ritueel dat Calvin in een ‘transcendente’ staat van ‘lager bewustzijn’ brengt, doet ook zoiets, maar dan omgekeerd. De maaltijd — drie kommen ‘chocolate frosted sugar bombs’ — is zo zoet en ongezond als de tekenfimpjes. Hij raakt leeg en verzwakt, hyperactief, overgestimuleerd. Ook weer naar lichaam en geest: hij zegt immers niet meer in staat te zijn “(to) sit still or even think straight”. Hij raakt kortom overvoerd met prikkels door deze geestelijke en lichamelijke fast food.

Het doel van het klassieke kloosterritueel lijkt mij het kalmeren van de zintuigen, het zo veel mogelijk afzien van prikkeling, om zo in een hogere staat van contemplatie te komen. Contemplatie, de open en ontvankelijke beschouwing, is volgens de christelijke traditie een derde belangrijke manier om de werkelijkheid te kennen; naast de rede en de zintuiglijke waarneming. Iedereen die denkt dat wij sinds de Verlichting een ruimere blik op de werkelijkheid hebben, heeft het mis: want sinds die tijd is de contemplatie juist langzaam maar zeker afgeschaft; de moderniteit meent aan de rede en aan de waarneming (in de wetenschappen: de logica en de empirie) genoeg te hebben, en heeft onze blik op de werkelijkheid daarmee een derde nauwer gemaakt.

Hoe onevenwichtig dit perspectief is, wordt volgens mij haarfijn duidelijk in het Calvin and Hobbes-stripje. Contemplatie is niet meer het object van de moderne rituelen; we zien nog slechts benepen rationalisme en, vooral, stimulering van de zintuigen in het ritueel. Het probleem van het moderne rationalisme toont zich al op het eerste plaatje: het leidt tot subjectivisme en functionalisme. “I think rituals are important”, zegt  Calvin. De rechtvaardiging van de rituelen schuilt slechts in de eigen subjectieve mening (“I think…”; het cartesiaanse cogito) en in de functie, het belang, het nut (“…are important”). Het subjectivisme wordt onderstreept in het volgende paneel. “My favorite ritual…”, mijn persoonlijke favoriete ritueel, mijn religietje, mijn hoogst individuele uiting van een hoogst individuele relatie met een hoogst individuele God, of hoe die entiteit ook heet in mijn hoogst individuele vocabulaire.

Spannender nog is hoe de functie van het ritueel vervolgens wordt omschreven; het doel is niet meer de contemplatie, of de overgave, het opgeven van het rationele ik en de doelmatigheid, niet eens de redelijkheid — nee, het doel is de onmiddellijke bevrediging, het stimuleren van de zinnen, de directe prikkeling of ervaring, het hedonisme.

Voordat ik nu blijf steken in de grootse abstracties van de cultuurpessimist, zal ik pogen het concreter te maken. Want dit gaat volgens mij over iets dat zo alomtegenwoordig is in onze samenleving dat we het gemakkelijk over het hoofd zien. Ik las in de Belgische krant De Morgen een artikel over een onderzoek waaruit blijkt dat rondstruinen op internet beter is dan lezen. In een test met senioren blijkt googelen betere hersengymnastiek te zijn dan een boek openslaan. De optimisten van de digitale revolutie zullen zich in de handen wrijven: ha, zie je nou wel, het is zelfs hartstikke goed voor je!

Ik blijf echter met een wrange nasmaak zitten die ik dankzij het Calvin and Hobbes-stripje iets beter begrijp. Want wat maakt dat de onderzoekers het ene moderne ritueel (internetten) boven het andere (lezen) verkiezen? Wat is het doel, het object van dit ritueel? Dat de hersenen geprikkeld worden. That’s it. Prikkeling, stimulering, en dat alles gesanctioneerd vanuit de alomtegenwoordige angst om de geestelijke gezondheid te verliezen, om dement te worden. Om diezelfde reden geven we massaal klauwen met geld uit aan idiote ‘Brain Age’-spelletjes,  en andere ‘geheugentraining’.

Wij zijn een prikkelbare soort geworden; hoogst eenzijdig gericht op ons lichaam en onze zintuigen. Alle moderne rituelen zijn slechts daarop gericht. Wij lezen niet meer om ons te verheffen, om iets te leren, om geestelijk gevoed te worden; nee, wij lezen slechts nog als wetenschappers ons zeggen dat het goed voor onze gezondheid is, als we er Alzheimer mee kunnen bestrijden. En als Google ons daar meer bij helpt dan Gogol, dan wisselen we de een toch gewoon voor de ander in en gaan we lekker dingen zoeken op het internet — niet omdat we iets willen vinden, maar omdat al die prikkels onze hersenen zo lekker stimuleren.

Waarom? Waarom toch? Waarom die ongezonde gezondheidscultus? Waarom die neurotische fixatie op de neurologie? Waarom telt alleen de met hersenscans meetbare prikkeling van de zinnen nog? En waarom worden deze waarom-vragen zo weinig gesteld? Omdat we ons collectief bevinden in het lagere bewustzijnsniveau van Calvin, daarom.

“I think the best comics (like the best novels, paintings, etc.) are personal, idiosyncratic works that reflect a unique and honest sensibility. To attract and keep an audience, art must entertain, but the significance of any art lies in its ability to express truths – to reveal and help us understand our world. Comic strips, in their own humble way, are capable of doing this.”

Bill Watterson, pg 207, The Calvin and Hobbes 10th Anniversary Book, Andrews and McMeel, A Universal Press Syndicate Company

© 1995 Bill Watterson, ISBN 0-8362-0440-9

I hope it’s understood that any noted medium can be replaced by the word “storytelling”.

Calvin and Hobbes, come back! We miss you. Uploaded by andymangold.com.

Calvin and Hobbes ran daily for fourteen years. It was syndicated in more than 2,400 newspapers. It sold more than 30 million anthology books. And now that it and The Far Side are gone, the comics just aren’t the same.

Calvin was a little firecracker, and Hobbes was his stuffed animal/pet tiger who usually provided the voice of reason. Sometimes we saw Calvin as “Stupendous Man” or “Spaceman Spiff.” His favorite cereal was Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs. And his snowmen creations were the stuff of true genius.

Uploaded by geocities.com/malimodeinblack.

The strip was created by Bill Watterson, a man I frankly don’t understand. He tried repeatedly to get a comic strip idea accepted by a syndicate, clearly a commercial objective. Then when C&H became a smash hit, he was suddenly above commercialization. Here’s the high-minded crapola he put out when he quit the strip: “My interests have shifted however, and I believe I’ve done what I can do within the constraints of daily deadlines and small panels. I am eager to work at a more thoughtful pace, with fewer artistic compromises.” Poor little rich kid, can’t handle deadlines and small panels, despite desperately wanting them and being wildly rewarded for them.

Anyway, Watterson’s self-idolization doesn’t detract from his genius. Calvin and Hobbes is one of the cultural highlights of the 20th century, and you can count the comic strips that deserve that honor on one hand.

I’ve been pretty damn tired/productive lately.

None of it, however, will you see anytime soon.

Instead, I’m going to post some speeches by Bill Watterson.

One is a speech he gave to the graduating class at Kenyon College way back in 1990, and the other a speech he gave at Ohio State University in 1989.  The Ohio State speech became known as The Cheapening of Comics, and is my particular favorite since I first read it years ago.

I think the best way to know what an artist thinks of himself is actually through what he says, not what he makes.  I’m sure most people will disagree with that, but the way I see it, a good artist/writer can write just about any kind of story with any kind of meaning/purpose.  It takes a rare kind of bastard to be able to repeatedly SAY things you don’t actually mean or believe in.

And especially in Bill Watterson’s case, who pretty much went into exile after he ended Calvin and Hobbes.  To my knowledge, he hasn’t given so much as a telephone interview since then.

Anyway, I’ll post two today, and at the very least, I’d encourage you to read The Cheapening of Comics, because it applies just as much to comic books as it does comic strips, which is what he was focused on.

If I put up enough various interviews and speeches, I might make a whole new page for them.

The Cheapening of Comics, 1989, Bill Watterson Speech.

Kenyon College, 1990, Bill Watterson Speech.

Gostava de ter sido eu, mas foi Joel Allen Schroeder e outros antigos alunos da escola de cinema e televisão da University of Southern California a ter a ideia de fazer um documentário sobre o retirado e saudoso Calvin & Hobbes. Mas Dear Mr. Watterson não vai ser a história da fantástica e viciante bd (uf!), mas sobre a influência que ela teve nos seus leitores ao nível mundial. O anúncio está aqui e a dica agradece-se ali.

Este cómic solo estuvo presente en la prensa durante algo más de diez años (18 de Noviembre de 1985 hasta 31 diciembre de 1995), pero aun así es una de las series más importantes de estos últimos años, y un referente para muchos creadores de cómics posteriores.
Era distribuida por el “Universal Press Syndicate” como tira diaria y página dominical, pero debido a la fama que fue cogiendo esta junto su creador Bill Watterson, pudo ir disponiendo progresivamente de más espacio para sus historias.

Calvin y Hobbes es una serie basada en las trifulcas caseras, sociales, intelectuales e incluso filosóficas protagonizadas por Calvin, un niño de seis años, y Hobbes, su tigre de peluche que cobra vida a nuestros ojos y ante los de Calvin cuando nadie más esta molestando. A parte de estos dos personajes, el autor se vale de pocos más para completar el reparto que le sirve de manera tan eficaz para reflexionar críticamente sobre las convenciones sociales y culturales de su tiempo.
Personajes secundarios: los padres de Calvin, típicos de clase media americana que se preocupan por la supervivencia diaria y por la transmisión de unos valores que contradicen muchas veces a los hechos; Susie Derkins, compañera de clase y juegos de Calvin; Moe, el típico niño gamberro
que siempre esta molestándolo; Rosalyn, niñera oficial de Calvin y Hobbes a la que temen profundamente y de la que intentan escapar continuamente; Miss Wormwood, la maestra de la escuela ya cercana a la jubilación, ya cansada de la falta de atención de Calvin y de sus incesantes
excusas por no estudiar.

Es una serie muy ligera y fácil de leer, en la que el lector se introduce rápidamente en el mundo de Calvin mediante unos ligeros datos como antecedentes. No es necesario haber leído toda la historia para comprenderla a la perfección y sentirse inexplicablemente enganchado a su trama.
La gran genialidad de este cómic es que aún siendo pensado para adultos, hasta los niños lo entienden; es decir, que los temas que se tratan pueden ser muy profundos, tratando muchas veces temas sociales, políticos, filosóficos, etc que no pueden ser entendidos por cualquier niño,
pero que sin embargo en boca de Calvin, desde su punto de visto de niño de seis años, resultan tan frescos y atrayentes que son aptos para cualquier público.

Al describir al contemporáneo Calvin y Hobbes, quien siendo una obra maestra contemporánea del Comic le debe mucho a Little Nemo la primera obra maestra absoluta de los cómics de un genio como Winsor McCay al que básicamente le debemos desde los comics tal y como son ahora, hasta los dibujos animados de Disney y todas las evoluciones posteriores.
En resumidas cuentas es un tebeo para adultos con el que los niños se pueden identificar plenamente. Para adultos, porque en Calvin y Hobbes lo más habitual es que los diálogos contengan, más allá del chiste, una reflexión aguda e incluso una carga crítica notable; sin embargo, también se caracteriza por un completo conocimiento del carácter infantil (transmitiendo al lector el gozo sublime de la gamberrada y la fantasía a través de los ojos del pequeño protagonista) así como por un nivel
artístico realmente espectacular. Además, es una de esas escasísimas series capaz de unir los criterios no sólo de toda la familia sino de todos los lectores que sean lo suficientemente inteligentes como para acercarse a ella.

Finalmente, solo me queda hacer referencia a la increíble capacidad del autor de con trazos sencillo y color solo en escasas tiras es capaz de plasmar una gran cantidad de expresiones, sentimientos, movimientos, etc. Personalmente los personajes me parecen de lo más carismáticos y los
secundarios sabes sacarle el máximo partido posible a sus situaciones y ocurrencias.

Algunas de las tiras que están realizadas a color son de una riqueza gráfica excepcional, donde el cómic no pierde su personalidad esencial y sin embargo gana fuerza expresiva y estética.

Bibliografía:
“El nuevo Calvin y Hobbes Clásico” 6. tercera edición. Bill Watterson
“Del tebeo al manga: Una historia de los cómics” 2. Tiras de humor crítico para adultos.
Calvin y Hobbes en Guía del cómic.
Varios artículos sobre Calvin y Hobbes y su relación con la cultura del siglo XX
Manuel Barrero: CALVIN & HOBBES, o como leer tebeos de…(que no para) niños y disfrutar como un ídem.
Jordi Pérez: Lo ví, lo leí, y caí en sus garras.
Sitio oficial de Calvin y Hobbes

Ayer descubría gracias al gran Alvaro Pons un proyecto de documental sobre el gran Bill Watterson.Ha pasado ya una vida desde que descubrí a Calvin & Hobbes. Yo era un jovencisimo -si ya sé que no soy tan mayor pero es que ha pasado media vida- estudiante de arquitectura (las vueltas que da la vida diría alguno) y entre los entretenimientos que hacían más ligera la vida por aquel entonces estaban estas historietas. Me las iba pasando segun las devoraba mi gran amigo, compañero de carrera y piso Alex.

Con él también disfrute de “dragoi bola” -me hubiera sido imposible por mi mismo resisitir los ritmos propios de estas series de animación manga-, “los pilares de la tierra” de Follet y tantas historias y tan importantes.

El formato con el que conocí a estos personajes era el habitual en aquellos tiempos. Un tercio de din-a4 encolado, de la misma manera que llegamos a Mafalda. Más tarde descubría las ediciones de los USA que el mismo amigo me regalo y como eran las ediciones que el autor diseñaba y el maltrato editorial.

Pasó el tiempo y vino la reedición de todas las tiras de C&H por ediciones B por el año 2003. Diez volumenes cuidadados y recogiendo todas las tiras publicadas de C&H. (existe otra edición más actual en tres lujosos tomos) Todas, porque esta aventura y estos personajes tuvieron diez años de vida. Watterson decidió dejar de dibujar a estos maravillosos personajes en el año 1995. La dignidad que destila el autor con esta decisión sumada a su prohibición expresa al desarrollo de cualquier mercado con sus personajes son dos rasgos que hacen aun más importante al autor y su obra para las hordas de seguidores/as.

Es de esos comics que disfrutas en contenido y forma. El trazo, uso de blanco y negro, las acuarelas, expresiones, disposiciones de las viñetas,… Sus muñecos de nieve, batallas espaciales, incursiones con dinosaurios, venta de limonada,… Calvin es altavoz de las ideas más profundas del autor. El comic de nuevo como plataforma privilegiada para trasladar ideas de grandisimo calado en planos como el politico y el humano. Posicionamientos constantes ante su realidad. Esta tira la utilizamos desde varias plataformas antimilitaristas y surge en plena guerra fria con la escalada armamentística impulsada por Reagan. A mi me parece sutil y terrible.

Si aun no conoceis a estos personajes no teneis ninguna excusa, corred y haceros con alguno de sus albumes. Es un privilegio volver a ellos de vez en cuando. Buen provecho.

 Solo unas líneas del autor de la obra a modo de despedida:

Desde que terminé Calvin y Hobbes he intentado aprender pintura y algo de música. No tenía experiencia previa en ninguno de los dos campos y hay días en los que me pregunto qué me hizo cambiar el éxito y el reconocimiento públicos en el campo de los cómics por la torpeza y la ignorancia en los otros. En los días buenos disfruto enfrentándome a nuevos retos y encontrando nuevas sorpresas. Pero mis nuevos intereses sólo han agudizado mi amor por los cómics. Nadie duda la versatilidad de los cómics y de su habilidad para presentar ideas complejas de una forma accesible, artística y entretenida. Porque, a pesar de su aparente simplicidad, las posibilidades expresivas de los cómics rivalizan con cualquier otra forma artística. Cinco años después de Calvin y Hobbes, los cómics me siguen gustando más que nunca.

Bill Watterson. Verano de 2001

Critiques LIVRES

Au bonheur des dames (Émile Zola)
Germinal (Émile Zola)
L’Homme vert (Kinglsey Amis)
Souvenirs (Nikita Khrouchtchev)
La Ferme des animaux (George Orwell)

Critiques BD

Spirou, journal d’un ingénu (Émile Bravo)
Calvin et Hobbes en couleurs ! (Bill Watterson)
Cryozone (Édition intégrale) (Thierry Cailleteau & Denis Bajram)
Un zoo en hiver (Jirô Taniguchi)
J’ai tué Adolf Hitler (Jason)

Calvin and Hobbes (Calvin e Haroldo no Brasil) é uma série de tirinhas criada, escrita e ilustrada pelo autor norte-americano Bill Watterson e publicada em mais de 2000 jornais do mundo inteiro. Eu adoooooooro os dois, fãzão mesmo… alucinado!!!!

Uma ótima semana para todos!!

“Às vezes eu acho que o sinal mais evidente de que existe vida inteligente em algum lugar do universo, é o de que ninguém até agora tentou entrar em contato conosco.” Calvin e Haroldo.

(Click to enlarge)

Nagkekwentuhan kami ng isang kaibigan ko tungkol sa mga koleksyon namin ng mga comics (oo, MEJO geek ako) nang mapadpad ang usapan sa Calvin and Hobbes. Napatingin kami sa bawat isa (not in a romantic way) at nagtanong — nasaan na si Bill Watterson ngayon?

Para sa mga hindi nakaka-kilala, si Bill ang nagbigay buhay sa isa sa pinaka-malikhaing comic strip na nabasa ko: Calvin and Hobbes. Ang strip na ito ay puro tungkol sa mga kalokohan ni Calvin, isang limang taong gulang na batang lalake na may imaginary friend, si Hobbes, na isang tiger.

Si Hobbes, habang hindi naglalakad sa imahinasyon ni Calvin, ay isang ordinaryong tiger stuffed toy. Sa imaginary friend pa lang, masasabi mo nang kakaiba mag-isip si Calvin. Kaya niyang mag-imbento ng “Transmogrifier machine” na pwedeng kang i-transform sa kahit anong gusto mo sa isang pihit lang ng makina. Palagi siyang nasa space bilang si Spaceman Spiff at kinakalaban ang mga alien na kamukha ng teacher niya. Paminsan-minsan ay isa siyang dinosaur. At kaya rin niyang mag-isip ng politika dahil gusto niyang patalsikin ang tatay niya bilang ama ng pamilya — through solo protest.

Wild, di ba?

Hindi ko lang alam kung bakit sampung taon lang kinaya ni Bill na maglabas ng mga kalokohan nila Calvin. Malamang hindi na niya masikmura ang mga editors niya at hindi na siya pinapansin sa advocacy niya na dapat ituring ang newspaper strips bilang isang art form, at huwag balewalain lang. Pero sa palagay ko, nakatulong ang biglaan niyang pagkawala sa pag-sikat ng kanyang comic strip.

Sobrang hirap ngayon makahanap ng mga orihinal na merchandise ng Calvin and Hobbes. Malamang, kasi isang t-shirt, lunch box, at mga lumang kalendaryo lang naman ang pinayagan ni Bill na i-produce ng mga tao. Natatakot siguro siya nun na lamunin na lang bigla ng sistema ang mga karakter niya, at tuluyang mawala ang “magic” sa kanila.

Ewan. Basta, hanggang sa ngayon e naiinis ako kapag may nakikita akong sasakyan na may sticker ni Calvin sa may gas tank. Siya yung batang umiihi na nakalingon sa likod at may malaking ngisi sa mukha. Isa ‘yung paglalapastangan sa lahat ng ipinaglaban ni Bill (talagang first name basis e, sa mundo ko kasi, close kami).