Comic Transcripts

Two kids, ALFY and BARBO, are chatting. Barbo is standing on a set of stilts. This is not relevant.

ALFY: You ever get this from your parents? “Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re perfectly normal…”

ALFY: I KNOW I am! Why are YOU bringing it up? What secret intel do YOU have about how I’m SUPPOSED to be feeling?

ALFY: Because I feel GREAT! Check your EXPECTATIONS!

BARBO: Grown-ups LIE to us, dude. Every other word my mom says is: “You’re great” – “We love you JUST the way you are” – “You’re the BEST YOU that you can be” – and so on.

BARBO: So I told her, “The person that I AM DOESN’T wear jackets, DOESN’T brush their teeth, and NEVER has to go to bed!”

A third child, CHARLEK, appears, holding a ball, which is also not relevant.

CHARLEK: Just last week, I was sick. My mom tried to give me MEDICINE. So I’m all “What was that BIG TALK about not wanting to CHANGE me?!”

BARBO: EXACTLY, dude!!

#1570; Of Integrity and Youth (Part 1) transcribed by in

Two kids, ALFY and BARBO, are chatting. Barbo is standing on a set of stilts. This is not relevant.

ALFY: You ever get this from your parents? "Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with you, you're perfectly normal..."

ALFY: I KNOW I am! Why are YOU bringing it up? What secret intel do YOU have about how I'm SUPPOSED to be feeling?

ALFY: Because I feel GREAT! Check your EXPECTATIONS!

BARBO: Grown-ups LIE to us, dude. Every other word my mom says is: "You're great" - "We love you JUST the way you are" - "You're the BEST YOU that you can be" - and so on.

BARBO: So I told her, "The person that I AM DOESN'T wear jackets, DOESN'T brush their teeth, and NEVER has to go to bed!"

A third child, CHARLEK, appears, holding a ball, which is also not relevant.

CHARLEK: Just last week, I was sick. My mom tried to give me MEDICINE. So I'm all "What was that BIG TALK about not wanting to CHANGE me?!"

BARBO: EXACTLY, dude!!

All this ''You really need to put shoes on or you'll be late for school'' talk sounds EXTREMELY critical of my well-known and long-established opinions of both school AND shoes!

#1570; Of Integrity and Youth (Part 1)

  — July 12th, 2025

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Applications open for Genius Northwest – an IRL gaming competition

May 8, 2026 by David Malki !

Last year, I participated in Genius Northwest, a gaming competition inspired by the Korean gameshow The Genius and its ilk.

It’s a reality show without the cameras — a 3-day, all-inclusive weekend retreat structured around a series of challenges and puzzles, in which personalities and dealmaking matter as much as playing games.

It’s truly a remarkable thing. I came in dead last in the competition, but I still had a great time participating.

The event is held annually in the Pacific Northwest (hence the name) and applications are now open to participate in the 2026 competition!

Learn more — and apply — at GeniusNW.com.


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