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Inequality and the California Drought

A while ago, I was given an assignment to create an illustration for a national conference addressing economic inequality in the U.S. I saw it as a great opportunity, since it's a vitally important topic and one which I have very strongly feelings about. I was given the main thesis along with some thoughtful initial direction, and and I presented several rough concepts for consideration.

After a number of back and forth iterations, the one that was ultimately decided upon was a simple allegorical image depicting ladders and star-bearing trees as a metaphor for inequality. The thinking was to present the subject as being more about inequality of opportunity and not so much about class conflict. Due to exclusive copyright issues, I'm unable to show the final image, but one of my initial rough sketches, which I used as inspiration for this image, was seen as putting too much emphasis on the "99% vs. the 1%" for this particular assignment.

Now, given the recent headlines about California's mega-drought, it's taken on a more literal meaning. Gov. Jerry Brown's conservation and rationing measures are already being criticized for giving unfair breaks to big business and the oil industry in particular, whose fracking technology uses tremendous amounts of water for an already controversial process. Solutions for now involve conservation and shared sacrifice, and praying for rain. In the long term, growing and engineering crops that require less water, and improved desalination and groundwater drilling techniques may help. Given the fact that nearly half of the nation's produce is grown in California, it's a problem that will eventually affect nearly everyone in the U.S., most of all those who can least afford it.

Pangolin and Armadillo- my soon-to-be-written children's book

Lately, I've been exploring the idea of authoring and illustrating a children's book. So far, I have the main characters, Pangolin and Armadillo, and I'm working on building a story around them. That's the easy part, right?

I only recently learned what a pangolin is. For others unfamiliar with the critters, they’re small to medium sized mammals native to the tropics of Africa and Asia and are noted for their scale-covered bodies and anteater-like tongues. Unfortunately, they’re also quite tasty (according to the locals) and are in danger of being hunted to extinction.

Meanwhile, separated by a vast ocean, the armadillo makes it’s home anywhere from South America to the south-central United States. Though they share some similar characteristics, most notably the body armor and the ability to curl up into a hard-shelled ball, they’re actually fairly distant relatives.

My story will detail the gripping adventures and unusual circumstances leading up to the chance meeting between the exotic Pangolin and a travel-wary Armadillo. Romance and hijinx ensue. Look for it at your neighborhood (or online virtual) bookstore once I get around to writing/illustrating it and find someone to publish it. Then of course there’s the film rights and the plush toy royalties to haggle out. So much to do!

The Polar Vortex: Grilling Weather in Chicago

"While I relish our warm months, winter forms our character and brings out our best." ~former U.S. House Rep.Tom Allen, Maine

"Winter is not a season,it's an occupation." ~Sinclair Lewis

With all due respect to former Rep. Allen (quoted above), while I agree that winter DOES form our character, whether it brings out our best is debatable, if driving etiquette is any indicator.

With all of February still ahead of us, The Chicago Tribune is already editorializing on this season being possibly 'The Worst Winter Ever'™. Not even halfway into into this winter of 2014 and it's already shaping up to be one of the coldest on record in a city known for its fierce winters. At Lincoln Park Zoo, even the polar bears huddled inside to avoid the sub-zero temperatures of the past few weeks.

The polar vortex has brought us a 1-2 punch of near record snow, arctic temperatures, and fodder for climate change deniers' bogus arguments. Funny how an obscure meteorological term around since at least 1950 can so quickly become part of our daily conversation.

Through all of this, Chicagoans have a tough reputation as winter spartans to uphold. So even though our home team may be absent from this year's Superbowl, let's fire up those grills for a weekend barbecue and show that Chicagoans won't let winter get us down. Just be sure to keep that shovel handy for the 6-8 more inches of predicted snowfall. (UGH!)