iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I have a lifelong love of stickers. I also have a lifelong inability to actually deploy stickers on stuff. So, congratulate me on decorating my laptop some!

A Mac Neo with 6 stickers. Among them I Poop on Racists featuring a small birb, a speech balloon thatsays Look At the Stars, and a raccoon riding a Canada goose that reads Giddy Up Sparkle Farts, There's Chaos to Spread.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Goodnight, friends. We can do hard things, especially when we do them together. I love you.

A quote from Adrienne Maree Brown: Things até not getting worse, they are getting uncovered. We must hold each other tight as we continue to pull back the veil.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

My mom Jean would be 96 today. I'm taking a personal day and going antiquing in her honor and memory. There will be a celebratory hamburger and milkshake too. She was far from perfect or easy, but she was the best mom for me. I love you, Mom.

My mom at about age 10 (c. 1940) hanging upside down on monkey bars. Her hair is dangling wildly. She is wearing white shoes with heels and a one-piece romper.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Goodnight, friends. This 17th-century capybara joins me in wishing you a peaceful night. Capy says not to forget the bananas. Those are essential to peaceful niggts. I love you.

"Capivard, ou cochon d’Eau au Pied d’un Bananier,” in François Froger, Relation d’un voyage fait en 1695, 1696, et 1697 aux côtes d’Afrique (Paris, 1698)

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I love rocketship panels like this one from Exciting Comics #1 (1940).

A purple blobular rocket ship with red-orange exhausts speeds through the atmosphere toward a rocky outcropping. A moon watches over it. From Exciting Comics #1 (1940)

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Anthologies are nearly always uneven, but an exception is @appalachiacomics.bsky.social Islands in the Sky, where each contribution belongs and uses the medium of comics effectively. Give it a read and learn more about the impacts of Hurricane Helene in western NC. Cc. @andrewaydin.bsky.social

A tub tray with snacks (hard cider, apples, candied pecans, mortadella) and a copy of the anthology comic Islands in the Sky.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I felt cute today so I made my beloved take a photo of me.

Carol - a middle-aged white woman with short blonde-grey hair and frameless glasses - stands in a messy yard. She is wearing a red / rose striped top and brown pants.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Goodnight, friends. Catman and I wish you blissful, contented rest. I love you.

A closeup of a brown and white tabby cat's head, curled against a human harm.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Please enjoy my blurry photo of the barred owl hanging out in our yard today. It's only visible through our screened back door.

A barred owl sits on a branch in scrubby brush in my backyard.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

If you see this, post your favorite Disney character.

Herbie the Love Bug, a 1963 white VW Beetle with blue and red stripés and the number 53 painted on it.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Could I interest you in some queer (not so sub) subtext in a 1940 comic?

Two panels from Fantastic Comics #12 (1940) in which Flip Falcon notices a "queer" disturbance right before being called by Major Dykes.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Goodnight, friends. It's one of those days when everything feels like a lot. I'm really glad you're here. I love you.

From Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad, the 2 characters sit on a hill. The text reads, "Toad sat and did nothing. Frog sat with him"

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The hawk / crow beef has resumed in our yard.

A juvenile Cooper's hawk sits on a redbud branch. A crow is partially visible to its top right. More crows are nearby.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Home. (Also, the tub isn't dirty; that's just a weird camera distortion.)

A bathtub tray with a metal cup reading "The Comics Studies Society" (swag from our inaugural conference in 2018) and a metal box filled with apple slices, candied pecans, and pretzel sticks.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I cannot say enough good things about this book, even though I alternated among rage, sorrow, and hope as I read it. If you have any interest in K-12 education - including school libraries - read this book. Cc. @thenewpress.bsky.social @suegranzella.bsky.social

The cover of "Pushed to the Esge: Teachers' Stories from the Culture Wars" by Sue Granzella (New Press 2026)

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Goodnight, friends. May we all rest as soundly as my handsome Catman. I love you.

Catman, a brown and white tabby, is curled in a ball, partially covered by a grey fleece blanket.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Bad photo, but please enjoy these two crow siblings. They're part of a family of 6 who visit us daily. The one on the left is on a shepherd's hook, which they all enjoy taking turns on. It makes a satisying bounce when they come and go The other is atop our dragon Puff, playing with his glass eyes.

A grainy photo of two crows in my yard. One is sitting atop a shepherds hook, the other on the snout of a metal dragon.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I made a second attempt at my haiku comic about encountering swallowtail butterflies massing in the Smoky Mountains. I shortened the text and scaled everything up, moving from a basic 4-panel grid to this. Not perfect, but I'm proud of what I did! cc. @davidlasky.bsky.social

A 5-panel haiku comic done in watercolor and ink. It is impressionistic, using simple shapes and colors to represent the environment. The text reads, "Sun-dapple swallowtail spiral creekside."

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Goodnight, friends. I've got the windows open so the cicadas can serenade me to sleep. With any luck, I'll soon be as peacefully asleep as my cat husband is in this photo. I love you.

Catman, a brown and white tabby, is curled up asleep on a couch pillow

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

It's only taken 19 years, but we finally have a proper pole and flag at home. Both are from @flagsforgood.com

The "For All" flag from Flags for Good mounted on one of their poles.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Goodnight, friends. I saw this image & quote on LinkedIn and found it to be a good reminder for me. Maybe it's something you need to hear right now too. I love you.

An image from @positivelypresent reads, "We're all just figuring it out as we go. Anything you're supposed to do has been made up by you or someone else."

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I'm enjoying my favorite late-summer lunch: cottage cheese and 'maters.

A bowl of cottage cheese mixed with ripe, juicy tomatoes, and topped with a bit of salt and pepper.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I don't even know what to do with this exposition. #comics

The "Danny in Wonderland" story in Pep Comics 17 (1941) opens with this note: "Danny in the last episode succeeded in rescuing some bad little boys and girls from the island of Playland where they were about to be turned into jackasses. Now they are on a sailboat, homeward bound."

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

This comic book about inflation from 1951 seems to have predicted the current US economy.

A panel from "Inflation Is Your Fight!" shows a window of a grocery store. Several prices are displayed: Hamburger $15.00, Butter $18.50, Soda, $3.00". A man with a gun is holding up another man. The victim says, "Look, I just spent my last cent - " The robber says, "Who wants money? Hand over that grub, make it quick!"

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Goodnight, friends. This week has been sooo long already but I've got so much more I need to do. *sigh* How are things with you? I love you.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

He looks like a Tawny frogmouth. Except that's insulting to this species.

A tawny frogmouth in rehab with its mouth wide open.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Goodnight, friends. I present to you my clean, organized desk in my home office. It's the last time it will look this neat until August 2027. I love you.

An early 20th c wooden library table in front of a large window. There is a bunch of computer stuff on the table and various pieces of art nearby. This table had a cameo in the made-for-tv movie A Girl Named Sooner, where it appeared as the home desk of Richard Crenna's character.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Juvenile squirrel took shelter in a raised corner of our house, under the eaves while this big storm went through (sorry, no photo of the wee one). Thankfully the tornados stayed away from here.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Goodnight, friends. As ever, this Cookie is worn out in the best of ways after time with the grandkiddos. Creek time, snuggles, swim class, sushi train, a pretend flight to visit the zoo, and more. I'll sleep well tonight! I love you.

A sweet white and black cat looking a bit derby. This is Clover, one of our grandkiidos' cats

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Goodnight, friends. I spent several hours today playing in a creek with my grandkiddos and looking for cool rocks. It was a great way to spend one of the last days of my summer. I hope your day brought you some joy as well. I love you.

I'm holding a tiny rock with a bit of fossilized coral (I think). OC.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Goodnight, friends. I'll leave you tonight with this picture of one of the crow friends my beloved has been befriending this summer. I was sitting in my office at home this afternoon when this one alighted in the redbud outside my window. Sleep well. I love you.

A young crow sits on a branch of a redbud tree in filtered sunlight, its beak slightly open. OC.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Today's haiku comic is one I've re-done. The first 2x I used colored pencil; this time, watercolor and merged what I liked from the previous attempts.

A 4 panel comic in watercolor. Panel 1 depicts clouds and a stormy sky. Panel 2 is silent and shows rain. Panel 3 shows a cluster of brown pine needles. Panel 4 backs out to show brilliant moss with pine needles. The text reads, "summer solstice rain / / last year's pine needles lie damp / amid verdant moss"

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Goodnight, friends. My beloved and I went for a drive amid the corn fields today. The borders and ditches teemed with Little Yellows (Pyrisitia lisa), flitting among the chicory, Queen Anne's Lace, and compass plants. There is beauty to be found. I love you.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Goodnight, friends. I'm sleepy, so I'll leave you with another image from our too-short visit to the Kankakee Sands Preserve in Indiana. I love you.

A view from the Bison Observation Area at Kankakee Sands in Indiana. Dadly, no bison were visible. OC.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

After a bit more than a month, we got to pick up our car with its new engine today! We had some adventures along the way. I highly recommend the Kankakee Sands preserve in Indiana: beautiful!

Near the birding area at Kankakee Sands in Indiana.

Chicago dogs and garlic butter fries at Corky's Dogg House in Cedar Lake, Indiana.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

For this week's haiku comic, I took a different approach: spare and high contrast. My goal is to create a negative so I can attempt to print it as a cyanotype. I also want to clean up the blacks and some spots where my hand twitched. Make art even if it seems you don't know what you're doing!

A black and white 4-panel comic done in ink. It shows a single image stretched across the panels: a pawpaw branch with leaves and a cluster of fruits (appearing in the lower right panel) beneath a full moon. The text reads: "Pawpaws grow heavy / beneath the late summer moon / They have yet to fall." It's titled "Patience" and signed by me on August 1, 2026.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

This afternoon in the backyard: more crow and hawk disputes, wrens happily gobbling dried mealworms, a monarch napping on a dead echinacea, a hummi gbird on the clothesline, and a hungry bun bun.

A young wild rabbit in a patch of clover. OC.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

The wrens have been alerting for a couple of hours, as this juvenile Cooper's hawk looks for a snack in our yard. The crow bros have chased it away once already and are trying again.

A standoff between a crow and a hawk in one of our redbud trees.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

My haiku comic for this week: an abstract piece. I used some 70-yo watercolor pencils (my mom's), trying wet-on-wet, etc. The colors & shapes are intended to evoke the subject. The memory: a trip c. 1980 to the Smokies with my parents, where we encountered a cloud of swallowtails. It was magical.

A 4-panel abstract haiku comic. Panels 1 and 4 are comprised of arcing curves in yellows and grays with bits of blue and red-orange. Panels 2 and 3 are horizontal overlapping ovals in greens, blues, grays, and yellows. The text reads: "swallowtails spiral / swirl in sun-dappled light / creekside memory."

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Going through some digital files this morning and came across this 1897 ad I saved for boner pills. You're welcome.

An ad from the Corydon (Indiana) Gazette in 1897 for Lincoln Sexual Pills. "A wonderful medicine for general debility. A certain cure for impotency, lost powers and lost manhood. Strengthens and ENLARGES WEAK ORGANS. Try a box and notice the good results in a short time. Six bottles guaranteed to cure. / L.A. Riely, Agent."

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Goodnight, friends. There's a lot of bullshit in this world. There's also a lot of amazing, beautiful, and good humans. Including you. I love you.

A image from @effinbirds showing an ornate bird with text that reads, "We are blessed to have so much different bullshit to choose from"

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Drop an album that was important to you when you were nineteen. Also, I couldn't pick just one, so here are 3.

The cover of the album Disintegration by The Cure

The cover of the eponymous Indigo Girls album

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Making my first ever batch of Ballymaloe tomato relish (a fancier sort of ketchup). I can buy the jarred stuff in town, but we got an abundance of tomatoes in last week's CSA share, so...we'll see!

A pot on the stove with tomatoes, apple, onions, raisins, sugar, apple cider vinegar, salt & pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and ground ginger.

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Dr. Carol Tilley 🏳️‍🌈 @anuncivilphd.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Goodnight, friends. You are enough. I love you.

A round sticker with a blue butterfly. It reads, Never give up on what you are inside. It is from The Victory Garden of Tomorrow online shop.

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