Octo-ber #3: The Flapjack Octopus is often found at depths of 350 meters, though it’s possible that some live at 1500 meters! As a cirrate octopus, it lacks an ink sac.
Seeing how strong their venom is, I’m not too surprised they would have more agency over how it’s used, even if that just means swimming towards things specifically, just so they don’t waste the energy in making it (although there’s a good chance it’s a common trait including less potent species but)
Ant and bee queens hog so much attention away from termite queens that in video games sometimes they give the termite queen’s iconic giant wormy abdomen to ants or bees. Only termite moms have the humongous giant ass a hundred times bigger than their body!!
And unlike ants or bees who mate just once the termite queen has a little king who stays with her for life (decades!) to just keep mating.
Also I say this a lot but new people are awed every time so ants and bees are just variants on wasps but termites are a type of cockroach.
May comic! Happy mental health awareness month. 🐝 Comic brought to you by my constant worry that I don’t exist if I have nothing to show for myself.
Advice to my past self: Read about burnout. Stretch. Stand up. Get lunch. Ask for extensions. Get help. Sleep. Take time off if you need to, don’t ask. Take care of yourself.
This year my third book of comics was published by @abramsbooks. It’s an exploration of mindfulness, overthinking, and all the mental states in between. A big part of my creative process is locking myself in a quiet room to be alone with my thoughts, so this page is always relevant!
sobbing into my plate after overhearing a conversation between a mom and her tiny daughter in this shopping centre food court
this one buffet type restaurant is away from the main food court, on the upper floor of the shopping centre - nearly no one goes there, so even in the wild rush of pre-christmas shopping, it’s fairly quiet.
it’s a mother with a daughter, kindergarten age. they sit at the table next to me, each with their own plate, having a quiet conversation. the daughter eats very quickly, stuffing her mouth, you know how kids sometimes do. the mother tells her, very softly:
“remember what we talked about? you and your tummy are a team and you have to be a team player! let’s make sure you chew your food well so it has an easier job later, and has enough time to tell you once you’re full”
the child nods, very serious and focused, because she has a very Important Mission now after all. she begins eating slower, chewing well, and additionally taking some time to Ponder the food on the fork before chomping a bit of the many different dishes she picked small portions of.
“what is your favourite thing from your plate?” the mom asks, and the child points to something on the plate. “why? what’s the flavour?” the mom continues, and the daughter replies, taking the time to describe the flavour and the texture, even though she “doesn’t know what it is at all but it’s yummy” and the mother smiles and explains to her what that food is. I think it was mozzarella, in the form of those small balls that work well for salads and appetizers.
once the daughter’s plate is empty, she looks at it a bit puzzled.
“are you still hungry?” asks the mom and as the child nods, she says “let’s give it a moment so your tummy can catch up as well.” - a moment passes - “still hungry?”
the child nods enthusiastically. “alright, let’s walk over to the buffet and we’ll pick something more”
“can you bring?” the child asks and the mom just says, smiling:
“no, because you should choose what looks like it will make you not hungry anymore. also, walking a bit will help your tummy understand how much more food you two need to feel full so you’re no longer hungry but you’re also not too full so that you feel uncomfortable or nauseous” and they went to get more food.
it might not sound impressive or interesting, but she was so kind and patient, and the child was clearly happy and curious and receptive to the information she was learning about her own body and how food works. none of “you have to eat the whole plate” under the threat of some punishment, none of “that’s enough, you’ve had enough, you’re not hungry anymore” none of “you’ll eat what I picked out for you and that’s it, no discussion.” I don’t know. I hope they had a nice rest of the day
fellas I’m bored of ai and cryptocurrency can we create a new bleeding edge technology that’s supposed to disrupt the global economy or something. I think bitcoin was a pretty funny joke but now I’d like some new content
I really think they need to start teaching kids in schools that most blind people can see a little bit, most deaf people can hear a little bit, and most wheelchair users can walk a little bit. And they are still disabled.
I had a super vivid dream last night about the next Pokemon games - called “Arid” and “Frigid”. The concept was biodiversity between two extreme regions that allowed the same Pokemon to have not one but two very distinct regional variants in the same region - one cold, one hot. The gimmick was bringing back tri-battles, but the same Pokemon species would have 3 different typings of your standard triangular system -one weak, one strong (or closest possible). So like a fire Pokemon would have a water and grass variant, and a Fighting Pokemon could have Ice and Flying. The upper portion of the region was mountainous tundra with heavy water and snow motifs, and the south was a lush desert with beautiful floral cacti. In between was the common “flatlands” that would have your normal variant Pokemon.
Anyway I had the whole thing planned out from start to finish and the only detailed thing I can remember when I woke up is the stupid grass starter Dillerpillar
it’s a little sad that people expect songs to always reflect the lives of the lyricist and not a sign of the lyricist’s strong imagination.
you don’t know mitski. you don’t know hozier. kate bush did not witness a murder of a hammer horror star and take their role as the hunchback of notre dame (it would be fun if she did though)
i haven’t really listened or liked any t-swift song since she switched to pop (nothing against pop, judas by lady gaga 4ever) but I think the funniest thing she could do rn is write a vague song that sounds like she murdered someone and feels guilty, but doesn’t want people to know because she’s famous, and watch everyone go insane with theories
I have GREAT news for you about the song Out of the Woods by Taylor Swift
YOU LAUNCH FELICETTE?? YOU SEND HER INTO ORBIT LIKE THE SPUTNIK TO SWING AROUND THE WORLD??? HOW YOU DARE!! ONE THOUSAND LIGHTYEARS OF PRISON TO LES SCIENTIFIQUES!
imagine you’re a guard for your castle, and you see this lady calling for help and saying she’s the queen, so you bring her in and everyone watches as she fucking eats the babies in there and just goes, “yep. Sure. New queen.” Because she got them, along with you, all high on psychedelics. And then she transforms into a giant fucking blue creature and crawls away, never to be seen again.
Hey, so if you have Windows 11 installed and have been losing your mind over the fact that you can’t find your own files because Windows is now prioritizing internet search results first, you can fix it by following this guide:
As someone with over 900 GB of intentionally and properly named files on her computer (I do a lot of digital art and digital media work that requires high-volume files that function off of dependencies), this feature was making me furious. I followed the above instructions and can confirm that the method outlined solves the problem.
YES. YES!!! OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU TTHANK YOU YES YES YES IM SO HAPPY THANK YOU!!!!!
i hate you shein. i hate you wish. i hate you temu. i hate you aliexpress. i hate you fast fashion. i hate you consumerism. i hate you planned obsolescence. i hate you plastics.
I think it would be fun if there were more characters who are obviously self-centered and have a comically superfluously high opinion of themselves, but in a way that’s somehow just genuinely wholesome. Like they just genuinely think they are personally the best and brightest person alive, but the implied thought of everyone else being less and inferior doesn’t cross their mind. They’re too focused on personally being adorable to be worrying about other peoples’ business like that.
Like this character is introduced in such a ridiculously outlandish and flashy way that makes both the audience and the other characters assume this is one of those “why is this guy even popular at all” kind of Smarmy Supposedly Sexy Scumbag characters, but then it turns out that they’re just. Genuinely like that. Not a toxic and evil monster hiding behind a thin veneer of external charm, or a tragic wounded bird hiding their secret intense self-loathing under layers and layers of ironic bravado, but just wholeheartedly thinks they’re the best and charming without needing to put anybody else down.
And it turns out that is why everyone seems to like this buffoon - they’re just an absurd ray of pure fucking sunshine that warms and illuminates anyone their light lands on. Just going around like “I am the most brilliant and most clever around, how splendid are you to be my dearest friend” and legit mean it. This isn’t the “douchebag rival with an implausible fan club” that one would assume by first impression. This is a golden retriever that passes the Harkness test.
Guy On Bicycle gets so smeared he leaves his hat behind to escape!
All Victorian ADULTS. Awesome.
I love this so much. Someone slowed it down so it’s not the old-fashioned herky-jerky of old films, now someone colorized it…the past feels like the present because, well, people. Lookit them having fun! *beams at everyone*
