Today, for a little break, I looked at the Calvin and Hobbes 10th Anniversary Book, where Bill Watterson reflects on cartooning in general and various particulars of Calvin and Hobbes. He talked a lot about the reactions he got from different strips, and the ways he let various messages -- political commentary, his frustration with they syndicate, criticisms of the pretentious art world, philosophical musings -- come through in the strip.

Then I picked up the book I had been reading on how past human land alterations affect modern ecosystems. And it seemed rather pointless. Not because it wasn't as fun as reading C&H, or because the information wasn't as useful. But just because it won't get to more than the handful of academic types who research cultural ecology.

I think that's what frustrates me the most about academic research (which is where I'm headed for at least a few more years) and keeps drawing me to the media, even a limited circulation medium like this blog. Knowledge seems pointless if you can't share it with anyone. But at the same time, the public media, even at its best, can't handle subtelty. How do you draw a comic strip about the importance of reforming land tenure systems in order to establish sustainable agricultural practices in Uzbekistan?