Wandering Artist's Journal

Jane Grossenbacher's memorial was yesterday. Jane was the most life-affirming person I've known. She hated "killing time" - playing cards fell into that category, as far as Jane was concerned. One of the last things she told us was "The only good thing about dying now, is I don't have to learn digital photography." Her ashes will be buried in a secret place near Taos. I didn't stay for the meal after the service, because I was too sad to talk (or eat.) But I'll never forget her. Jane's web site Jane's last show More photos on Flickr Jane's big printmaking party Jane's Obit Jane's Guest Book

The painting, "Hope" by victorian artist George Frederic Watts , is apparently the inspiration for Jeremiah Wright's sermon on "The Audacity of Hope", which inspired Barack Obama. From the Christian Science Monitor : Entitled "Hope," the canvas hanging inside London's Guildhall Art Gallery as part of an exhibition by Victorian painter George Frederic Watts might appear unremarkable to some. In drab browns and grays on a blue background, it depicts a young blindfolded woman strumming on the last unbroken string of a harp, her ear to the instrument. Obama's controversial former pastor Jeremiah Wright invoked the image as a symbol of inspiration during a sermon in Chicago 20 years ago. The harpist, he preached, "is sitting there in rags ... her clothes are tattered as though she had been a victim of Hiroshima… [yet] the woman had the audacity to hope." ...

When I first moved to Delaware in the early 60s, it felt like we had landed in a dark and malevolent place. Schools, parks, restrooms, movie theaters, and other public places were segregated. Corporal punishment was celebrated: teachers mounted wooden paddles above their desks and the town green had a whipping post. Once, after a weekend cross-burning, I asked one of the participants why they'd done it and the guy dissolved in laughter, saying " it was just a joke." Even at 12 years old, I had lived in many culturally divergent places. Like most military kids, I had learned that the local residents in every new place believed that their customs and traditions were the best, if not only, way to live. We had learned to go with the flow and keep our judgments to ourselves, but usually the matters in question involved clothing, food, or language. This time it meant swimming in a stew of fear and hate that was so omnipresent it was invisible to long-time residents. Legal in...

The lines weren't bad first thing this morning, in the Outer Sunset District - 15 or 20 minutes. On our way to the polls, we saw a good omen: And SFist had a sample of real positive thinking - what if we changed Bush Street to:

The divisive GOP rhetoric we've been hearing lately is hardly new. But with each passing year, the "real" America of GOP mythmaking bears less and less resemblance to the America most Americans live in. About 80% of Americans live in metropolitan areas, not small towns. A third of us are ethnic and racial minorities, but that's changing: Already, nearly 45% of children under 5 are minorities. Although 88% of us believe in God, 70% think that religions other than our own are equally valid routes to truth. And while 59% of us think that wearing an American flag pin is a decent way to show patriotism, even more of us (66%) think that protesting U.S. policies we oppose is a good way to show patriotism. These days, more than half of us say we prefer the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Given this, why do McCain, Palin and their team keep pushing the message that the America where most of the electorate lives isn't "real"? (from Rosa Brooks at the L.A...

For The Record, Mrs. McCain*... The non-partisan group Disabled American Veterans gives John McCain a 20 percent rating for his voting record on veterans' issues. (It gives Barack Obama an 80 percent rating.) The non-partisan group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gives McCain a "D" grade for his voting record on issues such as additional funding for combat body armor, and additional funding for post-traumatic stress disorder and other medical treatment. (Obama earned a B +.) "It ruffles our feathers when someone claims that Barack Obama doesn't support the troops, because the Obamas have gone out of their way to understand the military, its families, and its veterans," Stephanie Himel-Nelson, deputy director of outreach for Blue Star Families for Obama, told OffTheBus. "In fact, Michelle Obama has adopted military families as one of her causes." * At a rally in Bethlehem, Pa. last week, Cindy McCain spoke about having two sons ser...

Greg Palast and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. believe that the 2008 elections have already been stolen. What's an American to do given these circumstances? They suggest: "Steal it back" . More at truthout .