Apologies for the late reply...

I have been so busy working on art the past few years, I have truly let this poor blog slide into Internet oblivion. Don't think it hasn't weighed heavily on my brain cells, dear readers. It has haunted me vaguely for a long while now. All my energies are pouring out in the art world here for the most part, and also here, due to political unrest in the U.S. And in this blog here.

Just on a whim, between bouts of anxiety over COVID-19, otherwise known as the Coronavirus—not the flu—stay informed! I happened to check out my "comments pending" page herein. And guess what? There were a lot (for me) of comments pending. I'm so sorry I let your comments pend for so long! Yeesh, truly this was a lapse in attention on my part.

My excuse is that for a very long time, there were no comments pending, except for the occasional spam-bot urging me to begin a lucrative business venture, and so I just gave up on ever receiving any comments. Sad! But I'm energized now. Your three years (!) worth of commentary has given me LIFE and for that I thank you, commenters. You are golden, and reading through all your thoughts has made today a lovely one.

Writers who gave up on publishing for filthy lucre (that would be me) and stuck to blogging for a long time, tend to write in a vacuum and although I happily would continue writing in a vacuum 'til the end of time, I dove back into the visual-making world and that takes a lot of time to figure out and master. I will be writing here again because I promised a Part 2 of my trip to eastern Canada and I never delivered and I so want to finish that because I really loved eastern Canada and I want other people to experience that part of the world. I mean, it took me decades to get there, which is crazy. It's far, but not THAT far. I mean, it's not like Antarctica. Anyway, that's on my list of THINGS TO DO.

Meanwhile, enjoy the day. Wash your hands. Avoid large crowds for the moment (subject to change), and make sure you're registered to vote and you know where and how to vote in your state (for U.S. voters—but good advice for any democracy). It's vitally important to get ethical and hard-working government in place on the Federal AND local levels, so jump in there, members of the Republic and make it a Democracy of the People once more. Love to you all. I'll be back.

Li'l comic I threw together recently, just for fun.

Political Monsters Coloring Pages

Oh, I've been so busy this year, drawing and painting and sculpting. Something happened when I turned 50--like an LED bulb went *blink, blink, blink, ON!* and I realized it was time to get back to art. The thing about art is that it's very time-consuming, and therefore the writing has lagged a lot. Sorry!

Not that huge droves of readers were waiting breathlessly for my every thought, but I do feel some obligation to post here at least once in a while. It's just that social media has taken over on that front, in tiny chunks of words as in: *hit send* and wait for responses to trickle in (if at all--as in life, I'm not exactly super-popular).

I tend to put the art on my art site here, and/or Instagram here. But today: Crossover art! Throughout the Brent Kavanaugh hearings and debacle, I comforted myself by doing quick sketches of the disgusting trash people on the 115th Senate Majority Judicial Committe with Sharpie pens on a stack of colored paper. I use these whenever I tweet to any of these guys. In time, other members of this Nation's GOP-majority administration were added. They were quick--some are better likenesses than others, but I didn't care--I just wanted to get their essence.

And here they are--so many of them--and I haven't even finished yet. I'm working on a series of Emotional Support Animals and that's proved a more satisfying and pleasant endeavor. But I'll be adding more of these monsters, once I can stomach looking at their likenesses for a few moments at a time.

Print and color, or use as snail-mail stationery to write to your Trump-supporting friends, if you have any left. Or paste them around town as political commentary. Or share on social media for and make a visual statement. It's a free Nation and they're copyright-free!

President* Donald J. Trump

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

Son-in-law Jared Kushner

First Daughter Ivanka Trump

FLOTUS*

Senator Lindsey Graham

Vice-President* Mike Pence

Senator Orrin Hatch

White House Press Secretary Sara Huckabee Sanders

Senator Susan Collins

Senator Ted Cruz

Senator Ben Sasse

Senator Chuck Grassley

Eric and Don Jr. Trump

Former Senator Jeff Flake

Senator Joe Manchin

Senator John Cornyn

Senator Joni Ernst

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen

Families Belong Together March - Concord, California

The U.S. immigration policy of family separation, instigated by Jeff Sessions and Donald J. Trump, is egregious, horrifying and evil. Tearing families apart at the southern U.S. border as punishment for attempting to immigrate, and many of these families are trying to immigrate here legally due to deadly violence at home, is fascism, pure and simple. And that is not the law. Neither is the mass incarceration of children, who are being held in detention centers without parental contact. That is racist, sociopathic cruelty.

Tonight we held a small rally and march organized through Families Belong Together at Todos Santos Plaza in Concord, California. I grew up in Concord, by way of San Francisco. Concord used to be majority white. It's not any more. It's ground zero for immigration policies, especially due to recent activities by the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department, who are cooperating with ICE through a loophole in California's sanctuary state status.

Some photos from tonight's lovely march and rally. Below the photos is an excellent list of actions you can do TODAY to end family separation in the U.S.

What can we do? Here's a good list from Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin's Resistance Live. We need you! Let's work together to end family separation policy forever.

• Families Belong Together is a site for protest, organizing and resources.
  
• The RAICES Family Reunification and Bond Fund is raising money to support families seeking reunification and in need of bond money. Donate here.
  
• The Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen Texas, is on the front lines for post-court support and is seeking donations for families once released. They need diapers, Pedialyte (flavored only), feminine hygiene products, and other items listed here:

1. Toiletries for men and women (deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, etc)
2. Shoes (sandals, tennis shoes, loafers, etc) for men, women, children and infants of all sizes
3. Clothes (pants, t-shirts, blouses, underclothing, etc) for children and adults of all sizes
4. Baby supplies for toddlers (Pampers, baby wipes, baby bottles, etc.)
5. Sealed snack food (granola bars, chips, peanut butter & cheese crackers, etc)
6. Gift cards to purchase food items
7. Phone cards
8. Plastic bags for families to pack sandwiches, snacks, and water for their trip.
9. There is an Amazon Wish List as well as a donation mailing address here.

• CALL THE HILL RIGHT NOW and demand the passage of the Joint House/Senate Bill known as the Keep Families Together Act. Call as many people as you can whether they represent you or not. The main number for the Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121. You can also send five free faxes a day to Reps and Senators (any of them who have a fax line--I'm sending faxes to the majority of the GOP every day this week) by using FaxZero. Here's all the GOP Senators who are currently doing nothing to end this travesty. The text of the Keep Families Together Act is here.

March For Our Lives 2018 - Walnut Creek, represent

It's been noted that the SF Chronicle has failed to report that an estimated 8,000 people marched in Walnut Creek, California for #MarchForOurLives on March 24, 2018. So I will be a citizen reporter and document the event here. March For Our Lives Walnut Creek was organized by a small group of high school students and co-sponsored by Book Clubs 4 Change—it was the students' first time putting together a political march and they did a fantastic job. From their Facebook event page:

Enough is enough. We march to support the students of Stoneman Douglas High School and the National #MarchForOurLives movement. We march for common sense changes that will make student lives and safety a priority and for an end to the epidemic of mass school shootings. The time is now. 

My sign is in the public domain if you want to use it

There were volunteer signups, a donation site, sign-making parties, porta-potties , registration and pre-registration for voters, ages 16 and up, and many great speakers before the march, including local students and Congressman Mark DeSaulnier,

Thank you for marching or marching in spirit, everyone. Make sure you're registered to vote and that you vote in EVERY ELECTION from now on, whatever your political affiliation. Sixty percent of Americans, which includes gun owners, favor stricter gun policy from the Federal government. If we all vote, we outnumber NRA-backed political candidates overwhelmingly. Use your power and vote them out. Make this nation a safer, healthier, less deadly place for children, for everyone.

Women's March 2018 Oakland - we came, we marched, we had clever signs

It was a good Women's March, the massive sequel to last year's worldwide record-breaking demonstration. I hope we can do it again, but in celebration of a better government going forward. Here's to hope. Some photos and video and many good vibes to follow. Thank you, peaceful protesters. Now call and write your Members of Congress and tell them to impeach and/or 25th Amendment the obstruction-of-justice-in-chief and here's to the FBI's quest to oust the criminally corrupt from our Federal government.

The combined creative energy of this group could light up the Eastern Seaboard

Occupella sings "Bella Ciao" - an Italian anti-fascist protest song from the 1940s.




Here they come! Thousands marched through downtown Oakland on January 20th, 2018. The #Resistance is marching right into the halls of Congress - be sure to register to vote and vote for and support all the incredible candidates now running for office in the U.S.