Very Secret Monster Things

Please check out the good trouble I am now stirrin' up now at The Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice!

2020-08-04T09:15:00.003-04:00

Please check out good trouble I am now stirrin' up aqui~

The Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice

https://www.rustincenter.org

Social Justice Activist of the Year, baby!

2017-07-01T01:23:00.000-04:00

Dear wonderful friends & familia-

It is with great honor & respect & even some humility that I share with you that I have been named the NEA's 2017

Social Justice Activist of the Year

Words cannot begin to express the pride & the inspiration I feel from receiving this extraordinary distinction (& as most of you know, I am rarely at a loss for words; usually I have a veritable plethora & then some!).

That this group of teachers, students & union members believe in me & in the things that I do; that so many people across the country voted to bestow upon me this such very prestigious award; that so many folks, so many of you- my friends, my family, my colleagues, my union, absolute strangers- believe in me & what I have accomplished (& furthermore, what I can continue to achieve!) is staggering to me. Truly.

But I fully realize that this is not only a validation & a benediction of what I have done but indeed a call to arms for what I will do.

I promise to move this forward with the love, respect & strength of character it deserves & demands.

Heart & mind both full yet wide open, eyes clear, & as always my friends, boots on the ground...

If so inclined you can read my remarks given at the
NEA Conference on Racial & Social Justice...

Thank you. I cannot express what this means to me and the gratitude I feel for the respect and love being shown in its giving.
Social Justice Activism is in my blood and imprinted on my soul. I was named for a Kennedy and a King. I marched on DC in the womb and I’ve followed the path ever since. Boots always on the ground.
I am twelve and my parents tell me that my beloved Uncle Les is gay. He couldn’t come out until now because his father, my Poppy, wouldn’t have understood. Now sadly my Poppy is dead but my Uncle can finally be who he has always been.
Thirty-five years later, I meet Vincent V., a student who because of his otherness is bullied to the extent that he must be home-schooled. I become his advocate and his family’s partner in a difficult legal battle with his district, resulting in that district paying for Vincent to attend our school. Safe at our school, Vincent flourishes: finally able to realize who he is & who she has always been. Vincent becomes Vee, now Vita, our school’s first transgender student and she allows me the honor of helping her with that transition. Vee’s bravery and self-realization is a gift to our entire school and our greater community and to me personally: a concrete example of the power of outreach, an abstract made very real. A life saved; a life realized.
An extraordinary story indeed but not uncommon in schools that allow Gay Straight Alliances to exist. The very existence of GSAs save lives every day, both literally and figuratively. By simply existing, these groups make kids feel safer, more accepted and indeed more loved. Sometimes, oft-times, this is what allows some students to get up in the morning, traverse those very intimidating hallways & make it through their sometimes, oft-times, very difficult days. GSA’s are not just for LGBTQI kids either, they are in no way exclusionary, hence the word straight in the very name of the group. It’s a safe space for all kids to listen to and to learn from each other, lend a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on.
Being in a GSA keeps kids off the streets, out of the hospitals, away from the jails, safe from their own hands and even moreso, the hands of others. I forged the first middle school GSA in New Jersey and it has since inspired similar groups across our state, indeed across the country. GSAs are love and love is contagious. They are a wonderful and inspiring microcosm of community-building: kids reaching out to other kids, creating relationships and forming identities through conversation, mutual understanding, and respect. Simply hearing and seeing each other and simply being heard and being seen, for some of them, for the very first time…
That’s how we learn, we grow, we understand – It is indeed Social Justice. We can’t do it without each other, hence the “social” part.
Empathy for others, a deeper understanding of our brothers and sisters of every color, gender (or lack thereof), religion (or lack thereof), national origin, or physical or mental disability allows us a wonderful and unique window to the world around us and the heart that beats within us all.
Listen.
Listen to your students. Listen to your colleagues. Listen to your friends, your family, your community.
Listen to those you love and those you hate.
Listen to a stranger. And then…
Be a voice for the voiceless. A friend to the friendless.
Love and respect all, and if you can’t do that, you have the include them anyway. Any movement that is not all-inclusive is not a movement at all. In fact it is a step backward; and we have surely taken too many of those recently.
We need to teach in the classroom, inspire in the hallways and be a force in our communities.
It may not seem like it, but these are our times. We will persevere, we will rise up, we will come out the other side – stronger, faster, better, with more folks on our side and at our backs.
Hold hands, lock arms, heads up, eyes clear, hearts full and minds wide open…
Boots on the ground.
Now and always

Please vote for me as NEA Social Justice Activist of the Year

2017-04-25T02:30:00.000-04:00

Voting is indeed now over.
Watch this space for announcement of results...

I have received the extraordinary honor
of being named a finalist for the

NEA Social Justice Activist

of the Year Award

This is a national distinction & I am named one of seven finalists for this privilege.

If so inclined, please go here to learn more~

socialjusticeindeed.blogspot.com

& then vote here por favor~

¡Muchas gracias!

Deep cuts- rarities, outtakes & b-sides

2017-04-07T01:11:00.000-04:00

Few weeks back, I shared the A-Sides, a collection of my "top five" works past & present (to inspire the future). Now, as promised (&/or threatened), here I throw down the flipsides to those trax: the lesser-known but sometimes funkier b-sides.

Most of these cuts are vinyl only...

First up is a really deep cut, way back from my college daze when I did a different weekly strip in all three of the newspapers @ Rutgers. In the alternative paper, "The Medium", I drew my fave, "Fallin' Asleep", a collection of self-important navel-gazin' that one can only get away with in college. Some of 'em actually hold up tho', like this piece right here:

Next track is a funky one indeed. Done fer a comic book website contest I didn't win, I still dig it the most- a mash-up of Marvel & DC; a team-up in an alternate universe's Harlem, wherein two of the comix biggest contributions to the Blaxploitation era do their thang outside the Apollo with electrifyin' results indeed:

Here is a detail from a piece titled "Great Minds Think Alike", another work of charity to support a cause with which my lovely bride was involved: It was an animal rights group that was trying to stop the inhumane & even more sadly unnecessary deer culling in Princeton. The sexiest lawyer ever represented them pro-bono as legal counsel & I contributed this to raise money for their efforts. You can peep the full piece here, but here's that detail I promised lo so many words ago:

Here's la familia Seda-Schreiber hangin' on "Sesame Street" back in the day:

& then my quick sketch in tribute to Mr. Jim Henson upon his passing from felt to dirt:

My lovely bride asked me to include two mas:

First up, this seasonal missive from the year we found out she was with child (hopefully mine, but the blonde hair & blue eyes did indeed make it somewhat suspicious- callin' Maury Povich!). I've laid down holiday ink for the past 30 some odd years & this is not particularly a fave of mine honestly altho' I appreciate the sentiment & I think the drawing expresses it nicely. I do like the stork's Rudolph nose & oh-so-feathery-feathers but I don't think our as-of-then-yet-to-be-born son looks so safe being upside-down & all (& even moreso he looks kinda' larva-esque rather than simply bundled up...)

& my best girl really digs this piece, Moose & Goose (a romance), & the story goes a lil' somethin' like this:

So I am quite often asked, both virtually & corporeally, to draw something for someone. Usually I politely demur, citing my current penchant for donating my art to charity or supporting political causes, but the chef in my school's cafeteria came to me in such a sweet & earnest manner, I could not resist slinging some ink his way. He told me a tale of his first anniversary with his lovely bride & how they call each other "moose & goose" & this just tumbled outta' me...

& of course, no post is complete without a lil' Vonnegut...

nuff said.

The A-Sides

2017-03-27T01:11:00.000-04:00

"It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you,

Without a strong rhyme to step to..."

So ends the summer of my discontent.

It's been a rough while indeed, life had its ugly way with me & without goin' into unnecessary (& unpleasant) detail, let's leave it at that & get to the good stuff.

I have felt not like myself for a hot minute & now I feel finally reinvigorated, rejuvenated & indeed re-inspired (sic?). In light of that, I have decided to kickstart my ass back into the proverbial artistic saddle by postin' my "top five" (with thanks & apologies to Mr. Nick Hornby) favorite pieces I've done thru the years; to clean out the virtual closet as it were to hopefully make room for some new stuff which I will hit y'all up with as soon as the inspiration flows from my inky fingers.

So without further ado & just a bit o' context,

here are some works past & present to inspire the future...

We begin our archival journey in November 2008, Obama won his first term & my lovely bride danced in Brooklyn to celebrate. "Baby Got Hope" was featured in the wonderful book, "Design For Obama", & is pretty much the impetus for this here website~

Piece 2 (Woo-hoo!), really goin' far in the WayBack Machine, but Satchmo needs no introduction...

A bridge too far:

Kevin needs some context methinks: Part of a much larger installation called "Positivity", a collection of quotes I culled from folks who were HIV positive to allow for hope in a time of seeming hopelessness-

& we end the greatest hits (& misses) with the mackdaddy his own self, "Obama Said Knock You Out": quite a viral sensation, Tweeted out by none other than LL Cool J on election nite & becoming one of the biggest retweets of the evening (what the kids would call "viral"?) as well as in physical poster form traversing its way from New York to Cali & from Mexico to Japan & many points in between...

Probably my real fave of all, not just 'cause of the hype (don't believe it, man!), but I feel it is truly the most successful piece I've done, artistically, technically, philosophically, politically, & spiritually~

Next episode:

Deep Cuts: the B-Sides, Rarites & Outtakes,

then on to the new grooves!

Konnichiwa!

2017-03-21T11:11:00.000-04:00

Can't believe I never posted this, but it's been ten years since I had the extraordinary honor of being named a Fulbright Scholar & traveling to Japan as a guest of the Japanese government. To share my experiences I created a series of paintings collectively titled "Windows on Japan".

You can クリック to see the whole series, but here is a small sampling~

Happy Prez. Weekend!

2017-02-17T14:30:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day throwback for y'all...

2017-02-14T01:11:00.000-05:00

Okay, kids, although I am now oh-so-happily married to an incredibly beautiful woman (hey, babygirl!), I was once a miserable lonely bastard who hated Valentine's Day with a passion. I still refuse to celebrate it as it is indeed a corporate maunfactured buncha' malarkey (still love u, crazygirl!), but now at least I'm not a grumpy assh*le all day. But for those of you who still are (& I support you wholeheartedly!), here's your very righteous justification, straight from my 20-some-odd-years-ago collegiate misanthropic self...

Enjoy~

click to embiggen...

Batman speaks truth to power...

2017-01-28T02:30:00.000-05:00

There's at least one law-&-order-touting, sociopathic billionaire who doesn't spew "alternative facts"~

Women's March on Washington.

2017-01-21T14:30:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Obama!

2017-01-19T02:30:00.000-05:00

Words (&/or images) cannot express the

respect & gratitude for

what you have done...

Happy new year to all my friends & familia

2017-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

You are far
but I wish that you were near...

Merry Princemas, everyone...

2016-12-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

& to all a funky nite.

Oh, & by the way, not to be frontin', that is not our tree.

We actually forewent a tree this year & I did this instead fer my lovely bride:

Vonnegut Kindness for the Holidaze...

2016-12-19T02:30:00.000-05:00

Please feel free to save, send, print, & otherwise share in any way you'd like in the spirit of the season as it were...

You can peep even more holiday frivolity of season's past by clickin' here

Kenneth Cole sez I'm a Courageous Cat!

2016-11-13T02:30:00.000-05:00

Well, this was an unexpected surprise & indeed a delightful way to start my weekend~

Kenneth Cole, beautiful clothing designer & more importantly, strong social activist, just celebrated a few folks whom he thought were making important & special contributions to the field of education in his COURAGEOUS CLASS SPOTLIGHT.

Proud to say I was one of those he chose to honor

in this extraordinary campaign.

Please do not feel obliged but if so inclined...

COURAGEOUS CLASS SPOTLIGHT:

BACK-TO-SCHOOL EDITION

Double-shot to go low & then go high...

2016-11-12T02:30:00.000-05:00

We have lots of work to do.

Here's two tunes to start us off-

one for wallowin'; the next to pick up, dust off &

move it forward...

Nina has "Trouble in Mind" (as we all do right about now...)
If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element

Lizzo then sez "Walk yer fine ass out the door!" (or as my lovely bride thinks, "Walk yer fat ass..." which I think is delightful indeed.)
If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element

Hope these at least help you get through the day...

Mourning in America

2016-11-09T02:30:00.000-05:00

Makin' herstory...

2016-11-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everybodeeeeeeeee!

2016-10-14T00:34:00.000-04:00

happy birthday grover

Brian Ferry, singer of songs & checker of scarfs.

2016-09-20T01:11:00.000-04:00

A gift for the fair Kate upon the occasion of her 50th.

Quick story~

Brian Ferry, of Roxy Music fame & the man to whose voice many of us of a certain age lost our virginity, walked into the SFMoMA wherein Kate works & wanted to check his scarf.

I commemorated this momentous event in inky grandeur for my dear & wonderful friend.

GOAT- in & out of the ring...

2016-06-03T00:34:00.000-04:00

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."

Prince is dead. Long live the Funk.

2016-04-21T13:11:00.000-04:00

I just want your extra time...

I once was blind, but now...

2016-04-04T01:23:00.000-04:00

Colorblindness is really a misnomer; it is more akin to color-confused. Whereas your spectrum is quite vast & includes a veritable plethora of color, those of us who are genetically-deficient have a much smaller range & therefore colors get smashed up together, confused with others, & many unseen at all.

I am colorblind, one of the most severe degrees of such. It is bothersome at times, disappointing at others, but as with any handicap (& I even hesitate to use that word as comparatively it is a non-issue), one learns to adjust & compensate for such. I also like the fact that I “inherited” from my Poppy, my mom’s dad, who left much too early in my life & sharing this genetic trait is at least something by which I can feel closer to him.

But being colorblind does affect me every day- the loss of a beautiful sunset, inability to decipher a traffic lite, seeing lots of green skin on folks I know are not Martians… unsure if I’m wearin’ a pink shirt. Being an artist (albeit one who predominantly works in black & white), an art teacher & just a lover of looking & seeing & really absorbing this wonderfully vibrant world around us makes it even more distressing at times.

This wonderful company EnChroma has changed all that with their incredible &, I dare say, inspiring sunglasses that promise “color for the colorblind”, & y’know what, they actually deliver on said promise in a big way.

Just back from Méjico where I sported these EnChroma Commander CX-14 sunglasses that profess (& do indeed deliver on that promise!) to allow the colorblind to see color.

These are amazing, wonderful, & truly awe-inspiring & you can see my reaction to wearing them in the video...

(Lo siento for wind noise- tried to fix to no avail.

Keep watching, it does improve later in video.)

& as an extry bonus, here is some comix I doodled way-back in college about bein’ colorblind…

Enjoy:

Vonnegut redux...

2016-01-14T14:30:00.000-05:00

For the last two years, the wonderful charity Eden Autism Services has asked me to contribute a piece of art for their Gala Auction. The theme this year is "Some Kind of Wonderful: A Celebration of Extraordinary Lives."
I thought to meself who was more extraordinary than Mr. Kurt Vonnegut...

Hope it garners them some big bucks indeed!

If so inclined, you can read more of my thoughts on Mr. Vonnegut here.

& next year, Eden folks, I want two tix to your glam event so I can bring my best girl!

The State of the Union is...

2016-01-12T13:11:00.000-05:00

KICK ASS!