Inspired by a recent post at Bleed Cubbie Blue — essentially comparing last night's Cubs game to "Calvinball" — we got to thinking about "Calvin and Hobbes, specifically "Calvinball." This item may be wholly inappropriate, off-topic, apropos of nothing ... but we don't care. It's about something pure and whimsical and good, and, well, we just sometimes don't get that feeling a lot around here, doing things like surfing Barry Bonds' Web site.

After a decade-long absence, "Calvin & Hobbes" is back for a limited run at a newspaper near you. In case you're wondering why you've never seen a talking Hobbes stuffed tiger at Toys R Us, or a Calvin Burger King toy, it's because creator BillWatterson believes such merchandising detracts from the purity of his profession. We're sorry Terrell Owens had to read that part.

By the way, if you've ever wanted to learn the rules of Calvinball, here they are.

Calvinball! [Bleed Cubbie Blue]
Calvinball Official Rules [Bartel.org]