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Beth is getting bigger by the day. They say the baby is gaining an ounce a day at this point. She’s feeling pretty good, besides getting punched and kicked all day. Every once in a while they are so big that she’ll shout out–strong little kid in there.

A good friend of mine, Retsu Takahashi is an artist. He graduated from New York’s School of Visual Arts last year–he’s an Illustrator. Seeing Retsu go to NY to pursue his dream of art school was bittersweet for us in Ballard who didn’t want to see him go. Much time was spent with Retsu in the kitchen or at a restaurant table–Retsu loves food more than the average bear. So when we comissioned him to do a piece for us, it made sense to put it in the kitchen. He painted Phases of Citrus for us.

Retsu designed the piece to fit our kitchen. He came out for a brief stay when his fiance Fiona was in town for a conference. Here is the installed piece.

In preparation for the arrival of Malcolm, we’ve been working on the upstairs. Other than lots of painting and new carpets, we re-jiggered two closets. The hall closet was modified to have a big sliding door. The bedroom closet was converted to a walk-in closet. This was the coolest part of the remodel. It’s a bit like a bank vault now…

So we couldn’t help but go to war with a country that has no military, has no ties to 9/11, and in a way that ticks off 90% of the population of the world. So thw question is: Are the actions of the United States the grasping beginings of a new world empire or the rigor mortis of a dying state? I personally don’t know, but I’m starting to get worried about the second scenario. Either way, I have to say something about it, so I went to a rally in downtown Seattle to show my opposition to the war. A few thousand people were there–all was peaceful. The daytime picture is from the student walk-out that happened earlier in the day.

While I was in Oakland, we stumbled into an art show. We weren’t looking for an art show, but happened upon one put on by Milton Bowens, an African-American painter from Oakland. It was the most amazing art show I have been to in a long time. He leans toward direct communication with his art–much of his canvases are covered with written words. His communication is about the history of the black man in America, a history he was inspired to paint about after 9/11. It was refreshing to see a insightful journey through America’s less than proud history was inspired by the same events that have brought us jingoistic short sightedness. I would have loved to walk away with many of his works, but they were priced outside my art budget. One of his most powerful works, Strange Fruit, reminds us that America is hurtling into the future without fully resolving it’s past. No wonder we are doomed to make the same mistakes all over again.

Here is Malcolm’s second set of ultrasounds. He’s 6 months old.

Ultrasound is amazing stuff. You can see the features of the face, bones of the spine, and fingers. All via sound through the abdomen. Amazing.

14 x 22 weather-proof Ballard Chooses Peace signs are available!

Get yours today at Great Harvest Bakery in Ballard.

We’ve printed 300 of them in the first run. They cost $3.

The Ballard image is available below with some others I created. I wanted to add some of my ideas to the effort, and make them available in easily printed forms. Each image has a link to a PDF which can be printed anywhere you have access to a color printer. Take them and get them out there! Email me if you have any questions.
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What the hell am I supposed to do? America is out of control in the world. This war is only a symptom of huge problems with my country. Where do you start when trying to make a difference? I attached a “No Iraq War” sign to my bike the other day and started riding it more. Could I do anything more inconsequential? So many people go through life without doing anything about what’s going on. Maybe my speaking out in a small way will get one person to think about it.

I got yelled at today while riding my bike. “Fuck you!”, a 25 year old guy yelled at me out the window of his SUV. Does he have a brother in the military? Does he listen to Rush Limbaugh? Does he just yell at people to let off steam? Either way, he’s pissed at me for doing this.

I went to the peace vigil in Ballard yesterday. Most cars waved or honked. Not like waving for Nader two years ago. There still are a few flipped birds–I guess they feel we’re traitors.