Saturday, December 31, 2011

Farscape’s John Crichton and Aeryn Sun


I made this illustration as a holiday gift for a friend of mine in the UK. She is a fellow fan of the science fiction television series Farscape. Farscape ran for 4 seasons on the SyFy channel from 1999-2003. I discovered the series recently on Netflix and became an instant fan.  The love story between the two main characters, John Crichton (Ben Browder) and Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black) is what really makes the show outstanding. I call it a love that transcends space and time. I became infatuated with the series and think that Farscape has to be one of the best science fiction shows ever created. All four seasons were released on Blu Ray this past November so I highly recommend checking it out. My hope is that a Farscape movie will be made someday but only if it stars Ben Browder and Claudia Black of course. Well I guess this is my last blog post for the year 2011. I want to wish all my blog readers a very safe and Happy New Year! See you next year.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Kim Jong Il's son Kim Jong Un


Kim Jong Il's successor, Kim Jong Un officially took over for his father today when North Korea's power brokers publicly declared Kim Jong Un the country's "supreme leader." The event took place at an enormous public memorial for Kim Jong Il, securing the family's power hold for another generation.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes In Ten Days: Dan Siegel


Day ten and the final day in my Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes in Ten Days series is former legal adviser to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, Dan Siegel. Mayor Jean Quan authorized the raid on the Occupy Oakland camp on November 14th. This was the raid where 24 year old Iraq War veteran, Scott Olsen was critically injured with a scull fracture. After the raid on the Occupy Oakland protest, Siegel effectively resigned as legal adviser to the mayor out of frustration and in support of the occupy movement. Shortly after the raid Siegel left this tweet: "No longer Mayor Quan's legal advisor. Resigned at 2 am. Support Occupy Oakland, not the 1% and its government facilitators."  Here Siegel talked with Rachel Maddow about his decision to resign and his belief that Mayor Jean Quan was pushed into going against her principles to authorize the raid.

That concludes the series. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it. I would like to give a big thank you to Author and Blogger for The Nation, Greg Mitchell, Mother Jones' publisher, Steve Katz and Boston Review magazine for sharing my artwork 

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes In Ten Days: Susie Cagle


Day nine in my Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes in Ten Days series is journalist and cartoonist Susie Cagle. Cagle was tear-gassed and arrested during the Occupy Oakland protests while covering the event. I was on twitter following live updates of the Occupy Oakland protests when I heard of Cagle’s arrest as it happened. Cagle’s Dad, political cartoonist for MSNBC, Daryl Cagle posted this shocking video of Susie being tear-gassed on his website. Here Cagle talked with ABC7 News about her arrest by Oakland police. I really wanted to include Cagle because she is a fellow artist and as an artist I think her participation in the movement matters enormously.  In a way I feel like every artist should be involved in the occupy movement in some form although sadly, many of the artists that I know of have remained silent on the issue for the most part. For more info and to view some of Cagle’s illustrations from the scene, her blog “This Is What Concerns Me” can be followed here.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes In Ten Days: Celeste Langan


Day five in my Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes in Ten Days series is University of California Berkeley English professor, Celeste Langan. Langan was arrested during a protest on the UCB campus in November. In this video of the clash with police posted on youtube you can see Langan peacefully holding out her arms to police offering to be arrested. The police then grab her by the hair and aggressively pull her to the ground. It’s disturbing and heartbreaking to watch. If any of my college professors would have stood up like that they would have truly been my hero for life. Another video shows the police in riot gear hitting UCB students with their batons. I really wanted to include Langan not only because she was arrested but also because, like most of these incidents, it was largely ignored by the media. Here on her blog Langan describes how and why she got arrested.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes In Ten Days: Scott Campbell


Day four in my Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes in Ten Days series is amateur videographer Scott Campbell. Campbell was hit with a rubber bullet by police during the Occupy Oakland protests while recording Oakland police lined up in their riot gear. In this video that Campbell took of the incident you can see that he was fired at without warning and he wasn’t doing anything that would justify being shot at by Oakland police. Campbell later posted a gruesome twitpic of his injury. Here Campbell talked with Keith Olbermann about the unprovoked attack. When Olbermann asked if Oakland police gave him any notice before they fired Campbell replied, “What you see in the video is exactly what happened.”

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes In Ten Days: Ray Lewis


Day three in my Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes in Ten Days series is retired Philadelphia police Captain Ray Lewis. On November 17th Lewis changed the game and decided to willingly be arrested in solidarity during the Occupy Wall Street “Day of Action” in New York. As a former officer, Lewis offers an invaluable perspective from the side of the police. Here Lewis talks on the panel with Chris Hayes about his experience of being arrested by the NYPD and his unique position as both an occupier and a retired officer.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Ten Occupy Wall Street Heroes In Ten Days


I’m starting a new series and this time I’m paying tribute to outstanding heroes of the Occupy Wall Street movement. I will post one OWS hero a day for ten days. To be clear this is not a “top ten list” this is simply ten exceptional people in no particular order who I think deserve recognition for their contribution to the movement. I want to pay tribute to these heroes of Occupy Wall Street and remind everyone that their efforts are not forgotten and were not in vain.
To start the most obvious choice is 24 year old Iraq war veteran and Occupy Oakland protester, Scott Olsen. Olsen was reportedly working during the day and attending the Occupy Oakland protests at night. On October 25th Olsen was hospitalized with a skull fracture after being hit in the head with a tear gas canister by Oakland police. In this video that surfaced on youtube you can see Olsen moments before being hit by the tear gas canister. Another video featured here on the morning show Up with Chris Hayes, clearly shows an Oakland police officer throwing another projectile into the crowd that rushed to Olsen’s aid after he was injured. More recently Olsen talked with political commentator, Ed Schultz about his ordeal. During the interview with Schultz it became clear that Olsen’s speech has been compromised as a result of his injuries. Because of his veteran status and his injuries Olsen has become a symbol of solidarity for occupiers everywhere and these kinds of clashes with police have only served to propel the movement further.