Please note caveat: this story has a sad ending. My heart is heavy as I write it. But because people at DKOS have been so supportive and interested, I want to update you fellow bird lovers on the gosling saga.

Musical artists have been stirred by the Obama muse this year. There is little doubt, our culture is now relishing a robust passion for artistic expression.  I bumped into an innovative video by TI$A, a new find for me.  It voices part of that vast artistic spectrum inspired and mobilized for Obama.

Many fine Illustrators are well established as political artists. I featured Nick Dewar today, whose art is not all political, though it's all fantastic.  But craftspeople doing political art?  Yes, and the medium is, ready? Seeds!

Always scouting for art, I poked around for some political art and found multimedia variety: Music, illustration, and crafts. All art with a pointed statement.

More after jump.

Ok, it's Saturday. Time for a relaxing nature story. We're lucky here. No flooding. We feel for anyone suffering from extreme weather patterns.

Extreme patterns! Something strange must have caused the Canada geese parents to hatch eggs in the desert.

The parents were probably just in survival mode when they abandoned their babies. The desert is not a good habitat for them.  But seeing these little guys peeping desperately in the sage, we couldn't just leave them to die in the cold mountain night or be easy dinner for foxy.  So here they are, growing and thriving.  It's truly amazing, how strong the will to live can be.

While I am, like many, grieving the loss of Tim Russert today, I respectfully want to pay tribute to another fallen contributer to our world: Cornell Capa, a remarkable photojournalist whose camera became a riveting eye on moments we cherish years later. Mr. Capa was 90, and passed away in May, 2008.

Saturday, glad for a distraction from  the rules committee stress,  I posted a diary about the two adult Canada geese who somehow ended up prancing around a desert hillside with newly hatched goslings. We've never seen geese hang around in the desert. So we figured they were distressed by some developer changing their pond or river habitat, wherever that may have been. That happens a lot around here.

The poor geese tried hard to protect their tiny hatchlings, but the harsh landscape offered unfriendly odds.  Plus, even though we filled a wading pool for them, the desert here is inhospitable to water birds.

This is the strangest thing! I still can't believe I saw what I saw. Last night at a favored ranch out of town, about  time to enjoy a lovely dessert, we heard geese honking. In the high mountain desert! I didn't have my camera, darn it. BUT it was such a rare and wild situation, I posted the scene in a collage showing desert geese and more detailed story. Thanks for taking a look. I know, the collage is goofy. But it shows you what happened.

(See UPDATE June 2, 2008 Canada geese gosling story (for bird lovers))

For the art fans here, I'm always scanning for art and artists, especially those whose work reflects the human condition, cultural conscience, and soulful reflections invoked in viewers. This slide show features all drawings. The interpretive  qualities will probably move you.

In memory of losses we share, we hold hope for a revolving spark of new life.  The new season or generation reflects that every species is part of an intricate, complex ecosystem.

The bird watching diary this weekend inspired me so much, I did an illustration. As a bird watcher, I celebrate new life every spring as nests miraculously take form, cradling the newest little ones for another cycle of life.  

Artistic freedom probably is an especially sizzling art world topic during an election year. I found a fascinating story about a Miami muralist, Serge Touisant, hired to do something beautifying a city underpass. The mural was well executed, professional, and promptly doomed by local authorities.

I tried to research whether this has been diaried. Kept getting a Error Server message. I'm sure since Harry Shearer has won a 2008 Webby and the site MYDAMNCHANNEL.com is very well designed and entertaining, a lot of you know of him. But I just found it, watched the vid, liked it, wanted to make sure others enjoyed too. I scout for art. I love art. I share art.

The moving beauty of a photographer's invitation can change the way we think.  Interpretation is often left spaciously available for the viewer. This is the power of artful picture-taking. I saw some amazing photos at a couple of sites and wanted to share them with you.

When people experience trauma, one of the most effective techniques used in therapy is art. As part of a diverse cluster of cultures, artists can often best articulate our inner waves of dread or hope in action. Just 'being heard', feeling represented, can be a relief from overwhelming powerlessness when things go 'bad' around us.

I'm not an expert on music or film, though I respond to the best stuff with palpable chills, and appreciate the genius behind great work. I'm not an expert on visual art, either (though I have a degree in it). But I have been thinking a lot lately about trauma witnessed in my country  during my lifetime, and about how making art can be surprisingly cathartic, inspiring and liberating.

I want to promote art and artists who have something transformative to say. Many of you already know about these artists,  but in case you haven't had a chance to peruse the various works listed in this blog post, you may enjoy checking them out.

UPDATE: ANOTHER AMAZING SLIDE SHOW AT NYT: Robert Rauschenberg, who just passed away.

I'm an Obama mama. My mama is an Obama mama. I designed a graphic for my mom, and put it on a T shirt and mug. I know, it's kind of late for Mother's Day, but I'm always behind the clock, it seems.
That's why, even though it's late, I am sharing the design so that YOUR Obama mom can be wished a Happy Mother's Day if you want to copy and paste the graphic at link.

Very simply, Obama is battling negative, deceptive Clinton ads and could put your donations to good use.
Please forgive me if you already know, but the deadline tonight at midnight points to April financial reporting of vital interest to SDs and media. The total revenue counted tonight can be persuasive. And we can push the positives.

Many of us watched the interview. Prior to it, some voiced a wish for Rev. Wright to become more invisible. But he presented himself, nevertheless.
And his voice was reasoned. Calm. Moyers, as usual,  rounded the story with background and deeper exploration of the problems Wright unintentionally caused for Obama.

Though cable news broadcasted the upcoming Moyers program, the weekend cycle doesn't seem to be reviewing the event. There may be small mention. But as some have posted, cable news has been disparaging and lazily superficial. Besides writing to the new organizations with pleas for more decent coverage, what to do?  

Ok, I'm a professional, I admit. I train people to stay calm and to think rationally when they are jumping out of their skin.

This is an admittedly personal diary. Call it a need to share with a few friends who could be as excited as I am, spinning on pins and needles, sighing, reading poll after poll, reminding myself to breathe,  praying, sending links and emails to the undecided.

I've been trying to understand why the Clintons resort to deception antics so highly scrutinized by the media.
I mean, it's one thing to lie to some of the people. But nowadays, more people read. The lies are more transparent. We have access to fact checkers. The MSM picks up on every ratings-guaranteed tidbit,  and rehashes it from all angles. So, I keep wondering about the Clinton spin that just doesn't seem to fool as many people as it did before, and I keep asking why they persist. Don't they realize that they are being found out? Do they ever do research on line? Or are they consciously betting on a less savvy  base than Obama's more educated constituency?

Part of my quandary is personal. I voted for Bill. I backed him even when he was labeled 'Slick Willy'. My bent is progressive.  So I voted for Bill, and hoped for a successor named Al Gore. The environment is my thing. It seemed to make sense.  But in the last year, I realize I was duped by the Clinton's M.O. = manipulation.  Yes, slick manipulation.

So I started thinking about Hillary, in particular. I'd love to see good women rule the world, along side good men. But I prefer a healthy leader. And if the only woman running is unhealthy, I can't vote for her.

Just a quick note: I (like many) have been hoping Obama would address the motives and character behind the attacks from HRC.
Briefly, I was happy to see in the Rocky Mountain News the quote below.
Please forgive if this has been highlighted here already. I looked, didn't find it, thought it was important.