17 November 22

 On 18 November 1985 the world welcomed a boy and his tiger, Calvin and Hobbes. (I'm celebrating one day early because I have another special occasion tomorrow.) My tie is actually bootleg merchandise, because Bill Watterson has never licensed his wonderful characters to be used on any commercial products. But this item was picked up from a used clothing store and given to me, so no one has profited from my possession.

18 November 21

It's time for my annual celebration of Calvin and Hobbes®, along with my campaign for awareness of "bootleg" (unauthorized) celebrity merchandise. Today marks the 36th anniversary of the first Calvin and Hobbes comic! My tie features the stars strolling atop a park bench. But the image is not by Bill Watterson, and he never licenses the use of his characters for anyone else's profit. I still like the tie (which was found for me at a used clothing store) and my books of Calvin-and-Hobbes comics (which are completely legitimate!).

18 November 20

 Today (18 November) marks the 35th anniversary of the first Calvin and Hobbes® cartoon! My tie shows the two of them strolling atop a park bench. This tie is actually "bootleg merchandise," because Bill Watterson has never licensed his characters for any commercial use beyond his own published books and one calendar. I keep it in my collection, wearing it on C&H special occasions, because (1) I like it a lot, (2) it was given to me after purchase in a thrift store (so no profit to the copyright violators), and (3) it gives me a chance to remark about the significance of intellectual property rights! In the photo I'm holding Book 1 of "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes."

18 November 19

The Calvin and Hobbes® comic strip debuted on this date in 1985. My tie is very special because it is bootleg merchandise! It was found for me by Ben and Amanda three years ago, and nothing they paid at the used clothing emporium went back to the evil person who produced the tie. Anything that is sold bearing the images of Calvin and Hobbes violates Bill Watterson's copyright/trademark because he has never licensed any commercial use of his characters beyond the official books and one calendar (for a nonprofit radio station). I enjoy wearing this tie "ironically"because it gives me the opportunity to preach about intellectual property rights (as I did in my Beginning Ethics class today).

8 November 18

I'm attending the 2018 conference for the National Collegiate Honors Council, this year in Boston, MA. The conference theme is "Learning to Transgress," which means simply that we often learn best when we start by "breaking the rules." My tie for today actually should not exist, because Bill Watterson has never allowed his Calvin and Hobbes® characters to appear on merchandise (except for the official book collections). Everything else is "bootleg." I welcome the chance to wear this tie because it is an amusing way to start conversations about intellectual property rights, and to celebrate Calvin and Hobbes!

6 July 17

Yesterday was Bill Watterson's 59th birthday. The chronicler of Calvin and Hobbes® produced fabulous humor from 1985 to 1995. My tie with an image of Calvin and Hobbes striding atop a park bench is actually "bootleg merchandise," because Bill Watterson has always refused commercial licensing for his characters except for the official books and a single museum calendar. If you see me today you can enjoy the tie, but for my blog I'm hiding it with a volume from my (fully-legitimate) set of "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes."

16 November 16

Today I'm celebrating the creation of Calvin and Hobbes®, which first appeared on 18 November 1985. That's 31 years of knowing "There's Treasure Everywhere!" Bill Watterson drew the comic for (only) ten years but the "history" of Calvin and Hobbes continues growing with every smile about the boy and his tiger. My tie has an image of Calvin and Hobbes -- balance-walking atop a park bench -- but out of deference to Bill Watterson's wishes I am not revealing that image here. Watterson has permitted only a few uses of his wonderful characters outside the official comics and published books; as explained in Wikipedia, he has consistently "refused to merchandise his creations on the grounds that displaying Calvin and Hobbes images on commercially sold mugs, stickers, and T-shirts would devalue the characters and their personalities." So my tie is actually "bootleg merchandise," but I'm wearing it for my own private enjoyment and for smiles from people I meet in person. For my public blog I'm hiding the image behind my boxed set of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes! The comic strip is still republished every day; here's a link to yesterday's story: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2016/11/15.