DRAWING on OBSERVATIONS

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

For those who are worried about my sanity after the first two days of the convention, fear not. I eliminated the talking heads yesterday by watching the convention on C-Span… I enjoyed the unfiltered evening without screaming at the television, and I got a good night sleep… and oh yeah, our nation made history by nominating the first African-American as a Presidential Candidate.

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

While Hillary put on a public display of unity last night, behind the scenes, her minions were still picking at the wound. Case in point, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez; a staunch Clinton supporter during the primaries, Menendez was offered an olive branch by the Obama campaign but he declined the invitation to speak at the Convention….and I foolishly thought he was paid to represent me.

Last night the Democratic party kicked off its four day convention to nominate Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden to lead the party in this falls election and become the next president and vice president of our nation. The delegates were treated to a speech by Caroline Kennedy; a Ken Burns tribute film to the Lion of the Senate, Ted Kennedy; a speech by the 76 year old senator, who recently suffered from a malignant brain tumor but made the journey to Denver to endorse Barack Obama; what I thought was a great speech by Michelle Obama; and capped off by Michelle and Barack’s adorable girls teleconferencing with their daddy from Kansas City….. but I couldn’t help notice that there was a subtext to the proceedings… especially if you were watching CNN….Get over it already!

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Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

The 2008 Democratic National Convention starts today. Obama has already proven that he and his campaign have great stage craft and there should be a big bounce from the four day show…. but then again, this is the democratic party… factor in the protesters, demonstrators and team Clinton, and all bets are off.

Piggybacking off of Stephen Gardner’s Sketch of the Day postings of multiple versions of the same drawing I’m posting these doodles this morning. These are done very quickly (about a minute or two) so I … Continue Reading

Ball point pen on my email update

It’s official, Obama selected Joe Biden as his running mate. I’ve stated here that Senator Biden wouldn’t be my first choice… Time will tell if Joe can be a disciplined candidate and stay on message.

I got my first notice on my Blackberry, via email, at 9:56 am. I signed up for the text message, but the texting didn’t work as advertised and the media had the story well before me.

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

You here a lot about balancing the ticket, but maybe Obama would be wise to choose another youthful, ivy league educated candidate in Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint 

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones served the 11th district of Ohio since 1998. She was Ohio’s first Black congresswoman, the first black woman to serve on the powerful Ways and Mean Committee. She chaired the House Ethics Committee and was  a strong opponent of the War in Iraq. She suffered an aneurysm on Monday and passed away yesterday from complications of the brain hemorrhage . She was 58.

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

Biden’s undisciplined manner has made him a favorite among the media, who are always hungry for a quote, but I’ve always heard that the cardinal rule for picking a running mate is do no harm. Might a loose canon bring more harm than good?

Thoughts?

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

Pakistani President Musharraf announced his resignation yesterday. His party having lost an election, his popularity plummeting after declaring a state of emergency to eliminate his enemies and the prospect of loosing long time allies Bush and Cheney left him with no political options but to step down.

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

Could McCain break with the religious right by choosing Tom Ridge?

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

The president of Eastern Airlines Phil Bakes, announced yesterday that the airline has agreed to pay a $9.5 million fine for failing to comply with routine inspections of it’s fleet. After an investigation, the F.A.A. said it had found nearly 70 cases in which planes were operated in violation of Federal regulations, sometimes repeatedly. The fine is by far the largest ever imposed by the FAA. Bakes said that Eastern had agreed to the penalty because the prospects of litigation ”were clouding both Eastern’s outstanding safety record and Eastern’s substantial … Continue Reading

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

When I think of Julia Child, it’s hard not to think of Dan Aykroyd’s hilarious impression of the french chef fumbling with a knife and bleeding all over the kitchen. But in reality Julia Child was not only a great chef, author, and television star; records released today reveal that Child served as a US spy for the Office of Strategic Services (the OSS). Created by Franklin Roosevelt during World War ll, the OSS was an earlier version of the CIA

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint,

Yesterday Michael Phelps won his eleventh gold medal, becoming the greatest Olympian of all time. At twenty three years old, Phelps has won more gold medals than Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz or any athlete in Olympic history, and barring injury he’s almost certain to win more.

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint 

The curtain is iron, the stage is the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, the players are the invading Russian troops and their president, Dmitri Medvedev, but most believe that somewhere in the rafters, puppeteer Vladimir Putin is still pulling the strings.

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

Overcoming the humble start of being born in a tin shack in Tennessee, having his mom die and his dad run off when he was just a year old, being raised by his grandparents and picking cotton as a boy, Isaac Hayes would teach himself to play piano, organ and saxophone and go on to become a music icon. He won an Academy Award, Three Grammy Awards and became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died yesterday at age 65.

Also…While I was taking a long weekend at the beach with my family, my blog was highlighted by The Star Ledger staff reporter Kelly Heyboer. I have doodled over Kelly’s byline on a number of occasions and wanted to say thanks to Kelly and the entire staff of the Ledger for keeping New Jersey informed and providing me with daily inspiration and a fresh supply of newsprint.

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Ball poiunt pen on newsprint and paper napkin

Over the past few months I’ve been having a blast posting my daily doodles, these next few days however, will mark the first weekday without a new drawing. I’m headed to the beach for a long weekend, and even though I’ll do some drawing, I won’t have access to a scanner. Here is my version of the summer re-run…. a few of my favorite doodles over the past few months. Be back on Monday with an all new drawing!

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

Michel Martin has been a journalist for twenty five years covering major events in print and then as a correspondent for ABC News. She brings all of that experiance to her NPR Radio show, Tell Me More.

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

The Fed basically has one tool in the shed. If inflation is detected, they could increase interest rates and slow the economy. If a slowing economy is detected, they could lower interest rates and spur the economy. Since business is reluctant to raise prices during a slowing economy, inflation and a recession  are almost always mutually exclusive. But our government has thrown another variable into the mix; a huge debt and a falling dollar. Even if world prices stay the same, the shrinking buying power of the US dollar … Continue Reading

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

The simplest solution is the best.

Sometimes I callenge myself to draw a likeness with the the greatest economy of strokes. If the strokes are in the right place, nothing more is needed.

In politics, nothing ever seems as simple as, we need oil, we have oil within our borders, lets get the oil.

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

Growing up, I had a Great Uncle Nick who would captivate us with the tales of how he and his family escaped from Russia as a boy; Alexander Solzhenitsyn wasn’t as fortunate. Having survived eight years in a Russian gulag, his Nobel Prize winning books chronicle the horrors of Stalin’s slave labor camps. Solzhenitsyn died yesterday. He was 89.

Ball point pen on the morning newsprint

Some bloggers, armed with strong hit counts, have an over inflated view of their contribution to the public discourse and have developed an adversarial relationship with traditional media. I’m not in that camp. I’m a full time illustrator. I don’t have the time, nor the budget to track down a story. I have never filed a freedom of information request. I rely on traditional media to stay informed, not just as a blogger, but as a responsible citizen. Some may have noticed the Star-Ledger’s bylines peaking out … Continue Reading