The Dumbing of Age Book 7 Kickstarter has funded! Thanks, everyone! And we’re just a few dollars away from unlocking Dina and Carla magnets as of this writing…
HATLESS DINA and DOUBLE BIRDS CARLA magnets are now unlocked!
Discussion (151) ¬
[ Comments RSS ]
Loading ...
Dorothy’s the only actual adult in the whole comic
Not lately, she isn’t.
Lots of adults go around stressing about their issues and then overworking themselves into an early grave.
Well, if we are gonna go that right, lots of adults like to fuck around and shirk their responsibilities, so by that logic Wally is extremely adult like
You either die an adult, or live long enough to become a child.
Ouch for Asma and maybe 1/3 of the parents
To be fair, Walky did talk about adulty people he knew – nobody truly knows Asma.
Parents of unusual adultness? I don’t believe they exist.
Leslie is an adu… never mind.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/04-the-do-list/apples/
But she’s a kick-ass Beckymom
That just proves Leslie’s got a case of the early-thirties: you’re cognizant that you should be a more responsible adult, but you still fall into your old college-age habits because they’re easy and comforting, and that doesn’t really seem like it was 10+ years ago anyway.
Walky and Jason gonna do a math
Just one? Won’t the rest of Jason’s maths feel left out?
Walky will be too busy making fun of Jason’s British-ness to do more than one.
This shall be the title of the next Slipshine! – “Walky And Jason Do A Math” xD
We’ll get to see exactly when you add Walky and Jason, exactly how well the result functions. 🙂
“Walky And Jason *Perform* A Math” – let’s be correct here!! 🙂
Coming soon to Slipshine: Walky Performs a Polynomial.
In which he appeals to a higher power.
What an ab-surd idea!
+○○
Imagine the numbers!
These puns are too good for me to function.
Damn, I’m only familiar with basic mathematics, so I’ve not got much to add…
Reading this pun thread caused some of my brain cells to be subtracted.
The puns are multiplying…and this is a source of great division amongst us.
We all know this classic feel
I mean, the title text isn’t wrong…
Indeed! Most days I just straighten it a bit so it doesn’t look like a rat’s nest, but you’ll never see my bed in a “hotel ready” condition. 😛
I make my bed, honestly I do, however the dog has other ideas.
*plays Darryl Hall And John Oates’ “Adult Education” on the hacked Muzak*
“Oh yeah, oh yeah!”
Walky: Approaching a nobel goal in the most stupid way imaginable.
But I very reluctantly have to admit – I look forward to see how Jason structure a lesson in being adult.
Walky wants to win a Nobel Prize? For McNugget eating?
This alt text speaks to me on a spiritual level.
And yet, it is true on a very physical level.
*gasp* girls?! oh no! 😛
Considering the trouble Jason already got himself into, keeping him away from the girls seems like a good idea.
You don’t have to make perfect hospital corners, just lay all the sheets flat so tonight-you doesn’t have to deal with a mangled lump when all they want is to sleep.
Wait, this was supposed to be under someone else’s “I never make the bed” comment. Not sure why it’s here, sorry!
Hell, before you get out of bed, you can just wave your arms and legs around to straighten things out again, and then you barely have to do anything once you’ve slid out.
Or you can kick them all back so the bed can air out a bit, and then (in theory) flip them up again to tidy it up.
Or you can be like me, flip it back to air out, and then leave it flipped back, because who the fuck cares, I’m not gonna be bringing some stranger into my bedroom, my husband doesn’t make the bed anyways either.
It gets made when the sheets get changed, and typically that is right before I climb in anyways, so whatever.
I want Jason to suggest this is like Pygmallion.
I then want Walky to ask what this has to do with a pig that can change colors.
No, no, that the Pig Out Of Space.
No, that’a Pigs in Spaaaace.
Sequel: Deep Space Swine
The slurry must flow …
I’d love to see Walky start into “My Fair Lady” with all the accents, simply because he thinks every Briton loves it. Just another part of his Anglo-American friendship tour.
I’d settle for him calling Jason “Henry Higgins”.
I was gonna say that Jason doesn’t seem to be that great at adulting, but then I was like, who am I to judge.
I fucking suck at being an adult. I can’t even tie a bowtie.
I’m inclined to agree with Sarah Andersen: adulthood is a myth.
As someone who is rounding the half century mark later this year, I can confirm: “Adulthood” is a lot of overgrown kids faking it.
Only three years behind you, and yuuuuup.
Being an adult is dealing with stuff you don’t wanna (like taxes and paying bills) because you hafta; but aside from learning to not ignore stuff that needs to be done because there isn’t anyone else who is gonna do it for you, and it needs to be done, there really isn’t any difference between an adult and a teen, except being better at faking it. And that’s just down to experience, and learning what you can’t really put off or everything gets worse (like paying bills, car repairs, etc).
Also I guess growing out of stupid shit like “Girls have cooties,” Walky.
Yeah, same. Mine’s a clip-on.
Can we talk about how wonderful the next book title is?
Meh, I was holding out for ‘I’m Just Here For The Iguana’
Also, Hatless Dina is SEKSIEST MAGNET EVAR
The iguana doesn’t even appear yet in book 7!
That would just make it even more awesome.
Unfortunately they don’t teach you how to adult in school.
To paraphrase Calvin’s dad: you’re not supposed to find out until it’s too late.
So Dorothy is still his ‘girlfriend’ then, despite their intended break?
Break broke when they hooked up again.
THE PAUSE WAS A LIEEEEEEE
I like how he takes offense at “Second”.
“I’m going to compliment you, but in doing so I’m going to neg you…I’m just being honest.”
I had mostly female friends through middle school because toxic masculinity.
Walky wanting to learn to adult is quite an interesting development.
Yeah, where did that come from? Did his rekindling with Dorothy encourage him to seek some self-improvement?
Maybe all the changes in the past weeks have made him realize he needs to mature.
People he cares about have needed him and he hasn’t felt like he could do much.
They’ve also been in trouble and haven’t talked to him about it.
It’s his own fault. His behavior makes him an unlikely choice to confide in, but that probably makes him feel worse when the shit hits the fan.
I don’t make my bed when I get up for the same reason that I don’t tie my shoes after I take them off.
I don’t untie my shoes to take them off in the first place, lol
My shoes don’t have ties. I win.
Shoes?
Feet?
So I never read It’s Walky, how does this compare to their relationship in that?
Not… that different, actually.
Yeah Jason and Walky are pretty much identical. The only others I can I say that for are Ethan and Amber, and Joe and Dan. Everyone else has a little something extra going on.
Walky’s actually more mature here than he was there.
Make a man, out of youuuuuuuuuuu…🎶
Mysterious as the dark side of the mooooooon
I’m sure you could easily find someone more adult-y than Jason.
He can talk to Galasso! Wouldn’t that be a fun learning experience.
there’s leslie.
Leslie is a girl.
She’s also being Becky’s Lesbian mentor. I’m not sure she has time to be Walky’s Adulting mentor as well.
As Leslie points out, she’s not any better at this than Becky.
With the big deal about adulting in this strip(and the comments) I kind of expected the title to be ‘Adult’ or something 😛
New ship?
New?
Studies have shown it’s actually healthier not to make your bed – doing so basically traps all the moisture plus bacteria from your sweat…
My temperature drops at night so I don’t noticeably, unless I’m feverish, but my husband is a hot water bottle. As well as this leading to the standing joke that I couldn’t leave him for at least 6 months of the year as I would freeze to death, this does mean that his half of the mattress is sometimes damp to touch with his sweat (autocorrect wanted to change damp to swamp – but that would be hyperbole)…
As a kid, I always made my bed. As an adult, I only do it if there is a chance that someone might see it during the day. It’s unnecessary and actually unhygienic.
Awww, this reminds me of Platinum Grit 🙁 (Taken from us too soon).
Okay – I officially have no idea how to “adult.” I am 31 years old, have a Ph.D. and a full-time teaching job, a long-term partner, an apartment, ALL THE BILLS, and STILL do not feel like an adult.
I NEVER make the bed; I am actually realizing now that I need to change the sheets (after about 3 months) and I haven’t done any laundry in about 2 months (I wash things in the sink). Our Roomba is broken so I haven’t vacuumed in about 2 weeks. It’s a good day when I take out the trash and the recycling.
Is that adulting? I have no clue. By the same token, my partner and I both have full-time jobs that pay the bills and the rent. My sister (who is about 5 years younger than me and who has a husband and a daughter) constantly says she doesn’t feel like she’s a “real adult” or that her husband isn’t “acting like an adult.” I’m not sure what that even means anymore. Granted, when she was about my sister’s age, my mom (and my dad) bought a house. But they got it cheaply because it was a “fixer-upper” – there was a family of mices living in the oven (NOT MAKING THIS UP) and they had to tear up the floor in the dining room because the previous owners let their dogs and cats use it as a bathroom.
I’m kind of rambling – but I feel like many people around my age (millennials, as much as I hate that word) worry about whether or not they are really “adults.” What are we trying to prove? I’m well aware that I’m never going to be able to afford the split-level house in the suburbs with the white picket fence and 2.5 kids and a dog and a car. But I DON’T WANT THAT. (Nor can I medically have it, as far as children are concerned…)
I think maybe we need to revisit the definition of “adult.”
the whole idea of “adulting” is kinda nonsense anyways. “adulting” is just making it up as you go along.
I think you’re right. It’s compelling to imagine that our parents had things figured out better than we do – but they probably didn’t. (My mom has openly admitted that.) I am CERTAINLY a master of “making it up as I go along” – that is basically how I got my apartment and my current job! 😊
Honestly, I hope not. I don’t trust myself so just go and work with what happens along the way, I have to make plans and plans incase those don’t work. I hate improvising.
It’s a good trait to have, though, being able to just make stuff up as you go.
We’re all Indiana Jones? Cool!
I was told, (and always believed) that the Art of Adulting was thinking how one’s stupid was going to affect others Before one stupided. In Sum: The ability to say “No” to one’s self, -not just to deny yourself something– but in order to avoid inflicting your stupid onto others without their consent.
Don’t know if it’ll help but I found Jordan Peterson to be very good at helping me sort some stuff out: https://www.youtube.com/user/JordanPetersonVideos/videos
That guy…is reported to give some really poor advice about women, trans people, different races, etc.
Oh, yeah. He came up elsewhere earlier today.
He may have some good ideas in some fields, I don’t know, but he’s all in on the “left is radical and dangerous”, anti-SJW, scary cultural Marxism, anti-identity politics crap.
Maybe not alt-right himself, but a lot of that crowd loves him.
I think a lot of people’s perception of “being an adult” is actually being a parent. You have to provide, be responsible, be able to teach and raise your children, there are a lot of expectations…
I think parenting really pushes you into it in a way little else does. You can’t let things slide because the kids are completely dependent on you.
Assuming you’re a halfway decent functional human being anyway.
I think that’s probably about right. I’m a generation older than you and I’m still faking it.
I suspect most generations are and were the same way. Millennials are taking the heat now, because they’re in the right age and the older generations are looking at them thinking “we weren’t like that, were we?”
Look back a generation and they were complaining about the “slackers”. Go back further and look at the freakout about the boomer kids.
There are actually trends and differences – generations have different influences and patterns, but a whole of it is just “kids these days!”
On the upside, you can look forward to complaining about how the next generation is ruining everything. 🙂
Should Jason be worried by Walky’s words? Well, no. I think being told that you’re around 0.9 to 1.0 Dorothys in terms of maturity is something of a compliment! 😀
Slowly but imperceptibly, DoA came down with the other Questionable Content contagion, starting at Walky’s social circle.
At least Walky can, maybe?, see its an issue and is hopefully trying to rectify the issue.
I’m not saying its bad to have to female friends but its not good to have only female friends
Why not?
I’d say because there are things about men that only men can understand and therefore can support better, just like there are things about women only women can understand
If any example was needed as to why only having female friends is not the best you just need to look at Marten at QC, that guy needs some men friends, not just acquaintances
Next Walky needs to have a look as to why he only seems to have female friends and how many of those people he calls friends are actually friends
Like if he and Dorothy broke up how many friends would he then have
Also Walkys view of what being a “man” means is seriously flawed so having some, any, male friends might actually help him in that respect in that he can see how other men act
Its good to have friends, its good to have female friends, its best to have a wide range of friends so you get exposed to different views and ideas
If he broke up with Dorothy, the only one who would leave his circle besides her would be Joyce. And even she’s not a given.
Dorothy doesn’t seem to have anymore friends than he does so she’s not taking any friends away with her, unless you count Sierra.
Yeah Joyce probably wouldn’t ditch him but then hes not starting with a large circle to begin with
Point is Walky needs some friends, especially some male friends
Meh. I’m not at all sure “Guys need male friends for male things” really holds any water. Or vice versa, for that matter.
I could see an argument that everyone could benefit from diverse friends – of many genders and backgrounds, but I’m not buying that there are men things that only men understand.
As for his flawed view of being a “man”, in my experience, female friends are a better route out of that than male ones.
Of course there are things only a man can understand. Can a women understand prostate cancer or impotence? Of course not, they can sympathise but they can’t understand it, much like a man can sympathise with a women about giving birth but can’t truly understand it.
At the moment Walky thinks of himself as a man, he is quite clearly not. However if he were to hang around with Danny, Joe and Jacob (not sure how that’d work) he’d get a better idea of becoming a man, better than what Joyce, Billie and Dorothy can teach him.
unless they’re trans.
although I’m not sure I agree that they can’t *understand*. if you can’t have the experience, you’ll be lacking some amount of knowledge, but humans don’t always have to directly experience things to understand them. you can learn a lot from listening to other people’s stories. “understanding” isn’t usually defined as “having absolutely perfect and complete knowledge of”. maybe “grok” would be a better word there 🙂
Walky obviously has some pretty odd ideas of what being a man means, he also has no male friends and, judging by his reaction in panel three, even he realises this is not optimal.
What I’m saying is that in learning to be a man, a boy will learn better through other men*, not women. Women can of course teach a man to be a better person (Joyce and Joe)
I get that some people get their knickers in a twist at the idea of praising men (because if you praise men you must therefore be denigrating women) but I’m not saying anything negative about women
*Good men obviously, not bad examples of manhood
I’m not surprised that’s what you *intended* to say, it’s just not what you were actually saying.
as for “if you praise men you must therefore be denigrating women”, that’s fucking bullshit and you’re being an asshole now so fuck off.
“as for “if you praise men you must therefore be denigrating women”, that’s fucking bullshit and you’re being an asshole now so fuck off.”
Sorry that comment wasn’t directed at you personally but more directed at some posters on here
It seems strange to me that a comment like men are better than women at teaching boys to be men can be so contentious, I’d have thought that its pretty self-evident
Hell, I don’t even know what “teaching boys to be men” means. I have a feeling there’s a ton of unexamined gender role assumptions in pretty much any use of that phrase.
First we’d have to figure out how a “man” is different than a “person” and which aspects of that only a “man” can be or teach. Which frankly, sounds like crap to me.
As for “impotence or prostate cancer”, I’d rather go to a doctor, even a female doctor, than some random male friend who probably hasn’t dealt with either. Not like Walky’s dealing with some specifically male physical disease anyway.
Its not like fathers sit their boys down and say “son this lesson one in being a man”, at least i hope not. Its more like leading by example, ie Walkys dad appears to have done nothing with Walky
It was only an example but of course you’d go to a doctor to get treated but i’m not talking about treatment, I’m talking about how it feels to experience it and while i haven’t done a survey I feel pretty confident in saying impotence is something that can cause a lot of worry to guys
Certainly there are many cultures around the world that actively taught boys to become men. I’m not saying everything they did was right but the underlying idea of teaching boys to be good men is not a bad one
Children certainly learn from their parents and I agree that neither of Walky’s have done a great job. Par for the course here – with a few notable exceptions.
There have been plenty of such cultures, but what they were doing was enforcing their ideas of gender roles. I suspect it rather sucked for those who didn’t fit those roles well. That’s those “unexamined gender role assumptions”: that there are specific ways to be a “good man” that are different from the ways to be a “good woman”.
It probably did for the minority but it probably worked well for the majority. If you look at the males in this cast how many would you say have it reasonably together and how many need help
“It seems strange to me that a comment like men are better than women at teaching boys to be men can be so contentious, I’d have thought that its pretty self-evident”
See, I’d have thought it’s pretty close to meaningless.
Why?
Honestly, I feel like thejeff has explained it pretty well. It only means anything if you accept a lot of things about gender, gender roles, and learning that I frankly do not believe. It may also be that some of the people disagreeing with you also hold different sets of beliefs, if you’re actually wondering why people think what you’re saying is “contentious.”
Now, I think good, supportive male friendships are a good thing. I do not think however, they are a necessary thing, or a bad thing to be lacking if one is otherwise satisfied with their relationships in general.
I guess the issue is then how many people still accept things about gender and gender roles in general and I’d guess more do than don’t
Walky definitely holds to that so he’d probably appreciate some mentoring, in fact I wouldn’t be at all surprised if hes not just looking for help with math but help in other areas
1) Why does Marten from QC need male friends in particular? I mean having friends is nice and all that, but as a reader of that comic I don’t feel that there really is a problem with the mostly female friends.
2) Marten actually has a male friend: Pintsize. (Nobody said anything about a *human* friend)
I have a BA and have been literally called out for being as Adulty as Walky.
Wait.
He lives on Res and not at home.
WALKY IS DOING BETTER THAN ME.
SHIT.
Living at home is not really a sign of a wo/manchild these days, apartments are expensive.
Just with mental health stuff and other things it feels like it still is? Idk
(Sees the magnet ad, stating that the “third bird” is unavailable)
Can’t unthink image….
*cuts doorway in chest*
*vital organs fall out*
*dies*
Jesus Christ Walky you sound like you’re 12.
Well emotionally he probably is 12
That sounds about the point at which Walky’s emotional development was stunted by Linda’s favouritism, yes.
So asking is parents is not an option, then?
Linda and Charles Walkerton…? Nah, Henry is about as hands-off as you can get and I don’t think Linda is capable of perceiving and treating either Walky or Sal in anything resembling a realistic manner.
Linda is a smart lady despite her faults. She could help him, but the moment he lost interest she wouldn’t push.
Adulthood is overrated Walky. I’m six decades out and I just sleep under an afghan. Once in a while when I get up I throw it out flat but that’s as bed-making as I get.
Making your bed may actually be bad for both your health and your bed’s health.
https://goo.gl/vNfnFw
Walky reminds me of how delayed I feel in maturity despite my age.
It bothers me that the author doesn’t capitalise I in the floating comments
I have friends
I definitely have friends
Friends, friends
Friendly friends
TIME TO MEET MY FRIENDS
https://youtu.be/N__AkJriaN4
Somehow, Jason points a good one in this strip: Walky hasn’t really dropped his goofy persona (his “armor” when doesn’t know how to deal with things) to other people than Amber/AG or Dorothy. Hence, he has “friends” but not really friends that would trust on him serious matters, or know how to really help him out of knowing him better. But he’s learning, there are things that really matter to him now: he doesn’t want to let down Dorothy, both for himself and her. I hope he strives forward, he is smart enough to understand, prompting him to move his own arse to at least try to make things “right”.
Billie trusts him for serious matters…kinda sorta maybe.
She went to join him in bed when she needed comfort. She didn’t go to Sal or Joyce, both of whom would probably have been better to talk to, but she chose him just to be near her. And we can’t say it was out of habit unless it was one that stopped years ago because it freaked Walky out.
And he’s her emergency contact, though that’s not saying much if she had to choose when she first arrived.
Yeah Billie…shes a bit of user towards Walky. Hopefully her arc will make her be a better friend.
1. That Dina magnet is cute af
2. The word “adulty” made me flash back to that episode “Alone” from Moral Orel
That is the darkest episode of Moral Orel. And I still don’t know the evil plans of Ms. Censordoll.
Better not let the Becky magnet see that Dina magnet.
Dina and Carla are two of my favorite women characters in this story. Also, Walky isn’t wrong about Dorothy’s bed.
You could say that say that Walky was the Fresh Prince of IU …
I really like how Walky’s mouth and eyes are both going their own directions in panel three, like they don’t want to be there for the big reveal, “My friends are mostly girls”.
Made beds trap bacteria and spread illness. The adult thing to do is to not make your bed.
every time i this comic makes me think “ooh progress” the other half of my brain retreats into itself in abject panic because something’s inevitably gonna go wrong
Walky… Sometimes I wonder how much better off you would be if I could just tape your mouth shut whenever you’re around anyone that you aren’t currently dating.
WAIT! … if it’s only in magnet form is Hat-less Dina canon? 🙂