You don’t want to be the person who denies Trump his Arch, do you?
Oh, hang on there, this is supposed to be the 4th of July, and a rather special edition of it as I’m given to understand.
Or it is just another very sad Trump rally? Oh, right, that’s it, a nightmare.
And so the nightmare rages on.
The firm hired to stage the Great American State Fair is Event Strategies Inc., the same event planning company that managed the January 6, 2021 rally on the Ellipse. The events were funded, in part, through a $68 million federal funding package—much of which is being directed through a nonprofit group called Freedom 250.
Event Strategies Inc. has deep ties to President Trump and is organizing some of the biggest events in Washington this weekend, including the Great American State Fair and the record-breaking fireworks display planned for Saturday. Those events will be funded, in part, by $68 million in taxpayer money.
Happy 4th of July! Just in case I don’t see you before all the festivities. Let me say a few things about this very traditional and time-honored holiday. It is a time to reflect upon a country asserting its independence. The United States of America. There were no guarantees that a call for freedom would be met. The Founding Fathers, and a scrappy former collection of colonies, with powerful words for guidance, would take a great leap of faith. This 250th birthday will come and go all too quick. Not too worry. There’s never a wrong time for Americans to study their past, learn from it and move forward. There will be pushback of all kinds, some petty and some deadly, but we just keep moving forward. We move forward and we plan, we protest, we organize, we call out, we cheer, we jest, we do what we need to do to form a more perfect union.
Apparently, someone could really use a nap. Surly Sammy Owl is not taking the news about the outspoken Scott Pelley well at all. For those who have not been keeping up, here’s a bit of news for you: CBS News-Paramount-Skydance fired venerated journalist Scott Pelley and, well, let the news item speak for itself, this from NBC News:
CBS News fires ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent Scott Pelley after clash with new producer
CBS News fired veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday, a day after he confronted the show’s new executive producer at a heated staff meeting.
“Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you,” “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton said in a letter addressed to Pelley, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News.
“I therefore write on behalf of CBS News, Inc. to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated for cause effective immediately,” Bilton added.
In a written statement, Pelley expressed “gratitude for the men and women of CBS News who encouraged and enriched my work, very often at the risk of their own lives. I pray for a day when those people and their ideals are honored again —a day when sanity, competence, and courage return.”
Pelley’s exit deepens the turmoil at “60 Minutes,” the leading newsmagazine on American television. In recent months, “60 Minutes” employees have clashed with CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss over the show’s editorial direction under its new corporate owner, Paramount Skydance, the media company run by technology scion David Ellison.
The NO KINGS protest demonstrates People Power works. Freedom of expression is powerful. You don’t have to agree with everything but the voices from a turnout of 7 million, the biggest one-day demonstration in fifty years can’t be dismissed. And so it goes. This is a process. The American experiment is a process.
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In case you wonder what the protesting is all about: Here is an excerpt from The Intercept 10/19/2025 Jessica Washington
For the last month, the Trump administration has kept Chicago under siege. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested a 15-year-old U.S. citizen earlier this week after unleashing tear gas into a crowded residential neighborhood. Earlier in October, masked federal agents raided a five-story apartment building in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Chicago and zip-tied naked children as they dragged their parents away.
I have an event coming up at San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum, 781 Beach Street, on Sunday, August 24th, 2-4pm to talk about my graphic narrative, George’s Run: A Writer’s Journey Through The Twilight Zone, published by Rutgers University Press. It would be so great to have you there if possible.
If you are a science fiction fan, or love various forms of related genres, this is for you. Science fiction acts as a convenient umbrella but, if I was asked to dig deeper in my description, it would be Dark Fantasy. My book is about a group of writers who, individually and in their combined efforts, basically invented a lot of the pop culture we take for granted today. Specifically, I’m talking about the writers behind the original Twilight Zone and Star Trek.
We’ll have a slide show lecture format where I’ll share as much as I can about how I went about creating my book. George Clayton Johnson is our guide, one of the last writers from that 1950s-70s era of golden age television writing. I got to know George pretty well and our friendship led to my book. We’ll have plenty of time for a Q&A as well as overall discussion. I’ll take my cue from the audience. I’m happy to do demonstrations of my art style and chat about making comics too. Feel free to draw or write along the way, and we can share results after we’ve had time to discuss. Hey, this is as open-ended as you like. We might even have some snacks. Seriously, comment here or get a hold of me via email and I’ll consider any ideas.
One step at a time. First, let’s plan on meeting up at the Cartoon Art Museum on August 24th.
I have grown quite curious, and sympathetic, to the comings and goings of Waymo cars. This is a discussion we are all gradually, yet steadily, beginning to share as Waymo becomes better known. If you’ve never heard of Waymo, I can appreciate that. And, if you’re hip to it, please stick around as well. I’ll share with you what I’ve experienced firsthand. In fact, you can view a YouTube video I did all about it here:
So, how many Waymos does it take to start a movement? I asked Google and, since it should know, especially since it runs Waymo, it states: “As of October 2024, Waymo operates around 300 driverless cars in San Francisco. This is part of a national fleet of about 700 driverless cars.” That seems like a fair amount! The rest of “the fleet” of robotaxis is in Austin, Phoenix and Los Angeles (with more cities emerging, like Atlanta). Nice start, don’t you think? Waymo was so special, only a few months ago, that you needed to be on a waiting list to get access to the app. On a visit to San Fran in November, it was no big deal for me to get the app and hop into a Waymo. As of this writing, the big thing right now is people posting their first Waymo rider experience. That is not going to end anytime soon. People’s reaction to Waymo appears to run the gamut from all-in early adopter to cautious newcomer.
I have to admit that Waymo, or any extended thoughts on self-driving cars, was not on my radar before my visit to San Francisco last November (just prior to the election of you-know-who). Waymo was way in the back of my mind, along with a million other bits of news items and random factoids. And, then, suddenly, I find myself loading up a new app and hopping into the future. I had recently read Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, the now-classic 2012 novel that plays with the tension and intermingling of bookish old hippie culture and nervy high tech in San Francisco. The night before, I had gone to a reading at the epicenter of the old guard counterculture, City Lights Bookstore. The moment I was finally inside, I felt a sense of relief and resolution: I had waited a certain amount of time; I had figured out a new app; I was already in the throes of being driven without anyone behind the wheel when it steadily became a new normal. Here I was, this bookish neo-hippie inside this futuristic vehicle (a taxi with a robot for a driver!) but I wasn’t quaking in my sandals!
In fact, there is more of a process in breaking in a new human driver interaction than there is in letting a machine do the work. And that, in a nutshell, is the essential difference; the crossing of a threshold done with each new innovation: letting go and letting the machine do the work!
Did the machine do as good as job as I would like? Well, a driverless car will inevitably be a better driver, overall, than I could ever hope to be what with the help of sensors, radar and cameras. A machine never gets tired or distracted. That said, a machine does not have the human touch, that common sense that tells a human driver what to do in a human moment. Anyway, while I was on this recent trip, I used a Waymo on three separate rides. I noticed that the Waymo does not truly know how to improvise. It will not do well with more obscure pickup spots, but neither will a human driver. A Waymo may opt to pick you up at an alternate location for no good reason, at least not for your benefit, and the same can be said for a human driver. A Waymo may pull over to the curb, again for no clear reason, at least not for your benefit, and so too a human. All that said, I never felt unsafe in a Waymo. We still have a long road ahead for Waymo but, overall, I remain optimistic. And, heck, I don’t always like to make small talk and the Waymo is more than cool with that.
Clem, our trusty man-about-town, seeks a tasty treat. Let’s follow along as our favored flaneur negotiates his way to America’s favorite, the humble yet mighty & hearty beef patty. Where’s the beef? Well, it’s been here all along! Ah, always remember my dear sweet friend, that what matters most is the journey and not the destination. Until again, maintain your courage (thinking about Dan Rather right now), you never know when you’ll need it next. Back to the subject at hand, nowadays, a simple fast food transaction can escalate into an existential crisis.
Just a barefoot artist in search of the meaning of life.
Here is a follow-up on a 5-page comic that will appear in the first full-length issue of Pop Culture Super-Sleuth, which will debut at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. I will post more as time allows and when it makes sense. In fact, I really should do more of these work-in-progress posts.
Page from “Henry Meets Griffy,” original ink on bristol.
Here’s the first page to a comic I did based upon an in-person interview I did with the legendary underground comix artist Bill Griffith. We hear a lot about comics journalism and it got me thinking that I need to share more of my deliberate form of “comics journalism,” when you go that extra mile (many miles, in fact) to document a moment in words and pictures. It’s not easy and it can drive you a little batty. But, if you’re in the right zone, things will bubble up to the surface that you might not have noticed before. You can’t force the process if you want the best results, especially with a more contemplative visual essay. Things will emerge when they’re good and ready to emerge with something that has logged some time and distance. Sure, you can create something quick right on the spot too. There’s a time and place for both approaches.
A full page of comics.
I will post more as this all comes together. It’s a process, as my loyal readers appreciate. The originals are mostly inked and now I’m considering what other tweaks I might do and what may happen when I scan this and add color.
Here are a couple of process samples of a painting I’m working on. The idea is of a lone figure running away. She is a looming figure. The landscape is desolate and foreboding. Will she make it to her destination? Ideas come to us when we least expect it. I love the figure in all its aspects. Whenever possible, I will draw from life. I’ve been a model too and having that experience, I think, helps to elevate the work. After a certain point, you have developed so much muscle memory of drawing that you often will simply draw from memory and that results in some of the most spontaneous and authentic work.
With that in mind, I’m always open to commissions and have work for sale, either originals or prints. Just contact me for details. You can contact me here. And you can see some more of what I do here. I’m still considering what to sell and what not to sell. This project I’m showing you now will eventually be turned into a print. I will be busy next year, and the following years, with more comics and art conventions in the works. I will definitely be selling comics as well as prints at these events, etc. It just seemed a good time to post something about this activity and get the ball rolling some more. I continue to write, draw comics and make paintings!
