The abbreviated form of a slogan, or tag line, that I came across on Facebook this morning, in what appeared to be a panel from a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon (see the Watterson signature), or could be an extract from such a panel with the tag line added (we live in a world that has both old Photoshop and new AI, so such things are trivially easy to arrange):
(#1) I had a thought of using this as a visual distillation of my attitude towards the current US government, but I wanted to get the credit right; that became a problem I haven’t yet solved
First note. Down the left side of #1 is a line that turns out to be, not an identifier, but an anti-identifier:
This isn’t happiness.com
It certainly isn’t. From that website:
happiness.com is a safe and supportive community to share tools, practices and experiences to empower everyone to live happy and fulfilled lives
Navigate the challenges of life with our conscious community.
Share your story and discover mutual support and compassion. Connect with others to combine wisdom to improve your growth, authenticity and happiness.
(and it’s free)
Second note. Several companies that sell t-shirts with this exact image identify it as a Peanuts strip. I see nothing suggesting that it’s a Charles Schulz drawing, but I could be proven wrong. Searching on (parts of) the slogan plus “Peanuts” just gets those t-shirts. But then searching on (parts of) the slogan plus “Calvin and Hobbes” gets nothing. And searching on (parts of) the slogan plus “cartoon” or “comic” gets the t-shirts again.
Third note. Searching on the whole slogan, or significant parts, gets links to people quoting the slogan, word for word, in bluesky postings, which suggests that the slogan is well-known but quite recent.
Fourth note. That last search also gets a link to a strange artwork said to be by one Judas Arrieta, offered for sale — list price $1,322.50 — by Art Toy Gama on the Storenvy site. The work and the p.r text:
(#2) A work of fugitive tag lines, expressions that sound like familiar sayings or quotations, but are just a bit off — with “I’m not in a bad mood, I’m just smart” right at the topHere you are, standing in front of a piece full of impossible colors and phrases that hit you where it matters. Because no, “I’m not in a bad mood. I’m just smart.” You just see the world differently. With another kind of sensitivity. Because yes, “I’m very sensitive, but my sensitivity isn’t unshakeable.” But your patience isn’t infinite. You’ve already learned that “Too much perfection is a mistake.” That the things that matter most have cracks, noise, contradiction. Like you. Like this piece. You don’t hang art to decorate. You hang it to remind yourself of what matters. Because yes, “Some things will never change.” And they still burn inside you.
Artwork Details: This artwork is part of the BUBBLE GUM SERIES, a vibrant collection by Judas Arrieta. • Dimensions: 77×57 cm / 30.3×22.4 inches. • Technique: Mixed media spraypaint, acrylic and water color & marker on paper …
About the Artist: Judas Arrieta is one of the most renowned Spanish artists of his generation. He grew up with the videos of Kung-fu and other Asian popular culture that are the main influences on his work, which is present in many Spanish public collections and has been exhibited widely in Europe and Asia. The artist lives and works in Beijing and Spain since 2005.
Basque Wikipedia says he was born in 1971 in Hondarribia, Spain (in the Basque country) and has photos of him (looking Basque and bearded) and examples of his work. (Arrieta is a common Basque surname.)
Se non è vero è ben trovato, as they say in Italy (roughly, “If it’s not true, it’s a good story”). Don’t know the equivalent in Spanish, Basque, or Mandarin. My current estimation — if you hang out with artists long enough, nothing will surprise you — is that it’s genuine, and therefore a delightful reward for my otherwise fruitless search for the roots of “I’m not in a bad mood, I’m just smart”.
And I thought this could be just a short snappy posting so that I could appropriate #1 for my own use. So go my days.
Eventually you’ll get to see my gigantic-cylinders posting, which started out, many hours ago, as two unrelated quickie postings, one about astonishing plants in the Gamble Garden in Palo Alto, the other about an exceptional gay porn actor in Spain in the Ass (I am not making this title up; I’ve even already posted about it), and then exploded into all sorts of stuff (I’ve been living with a tape measure on my work table, having to gauge the size of various things every so often. And I had to track down a ridiculous photo of the comic Jerry Lewis.).
