Muraleando

Here are few more examples of murals and sculptures in Muraleando in Cuba where trashed out areas have been transformed by public art.










Detail from bench:

Cuba highlights Part 1

I will sprinkle in a few images every day until I can capture a taste of our Snoopy Goes To Cuba tour. We were greeted at the humor publication Palante with an array of welcoming cartoons featuring Schulz characters.


One day we toured a community called Muraleando where they've cleaned up the streets and transformed the area with countless murals and sculptures. One could fill a book with the imagery.


Another day we sat down with Perfecto Romero to see his historic photos of Fidel, Che and Camilo Ceinfuegos from the time of the revolution.


Another day we visited the animation studio of Cuba. This mural contains a montage of their characters. The beauty and quality of their current projects was stunning.


We also toured the enormous cemetery in Havana where I found the tomb of Ibrahim Ferrer of Buena Vista Social Club fame.



Stay tuned for more postings.

More Cuba

Tom Richmond has done a masterful blog account of our Cuba trip. Have a look at http://www.tomrichmond.com/blog/2010/01/25/cartooning-adventures-in-cuba/

Thank you Jeannie!

What an amazing adventure. I'd say we crammed one month into a week as the Snoopy Goes To Cuba tour rolled through Havana. Our little squad of American cartoonists visited with Cuban counterparts at newspapers, animation studios and design schools. We dropped in at Hemingway's house but he wasn't home. We even looked for him at all his favorite bars in downtown Havana but he wasn't there either. The Cuban people couldn't have been sweeter, prompting my new expression: "You don't meet people in Cuba...you fall in love with them." The narrow streets of the city are filled with people (as opposed to cars), not to mention music and dancing. I have never felt so safe walking around in dark alleys at midnight. The poverty and deprivation are obvious everywhere but are not enough to dampen their spirits. These photos include Jeannie Schulz and me with old Havana in the background.

Cuba bound

I leave in the morning with Jeannie Schulz to join with four other American cartoonists in the SNOOPY GOES TO CUBA 2 TOUR. It is a sobering time with the catastrophe in neighboring Haiti. As if those folks don't have enough problems. Good grief!

Latest book

I just got a proof of the latest book I've illustrated and it looks great. It contains five poem/stories including the title story, the tale of a musical mouse.

So long Dan...

It's not every day you lose someone you spent twenty years in space with. That's Dan O'Bannon I'm glaring at in this scene from Dark Star. We were never close, even though we did share a very cozy control room on that space ship. Nevertheless, I was always impressed with his talents, which ran deep in a various directions. I remember reading an interview where he described watching an early screening of Dark Star in which the audience wasn't laughing. It upset him that they didn't realize it was a comedy so he set out to scare the crap out of them instead...and wrote Alien. That worked! I'm obviously glad that Dark Star came to find cult status over time. Dan's name should always be mentioned in the same breath as John Carpenter when Dark Star is mentioned. I have no doubt that when I die Dan will be waiting to torment me with a rubber chicken once again. He was that kind of guy.

The new Warren Peace

He's bigger. He's golden. That's what kibble and peroxide will do for you. This evening Warren makes his debut at the annual meeting of the SF Bay Area Puppeteers Guild. But first things first. He had to be vetted by the members of the local dog park.

The birth of Story Ball

I just invented a group story process at an event following a performance of Charlotte's Web. 109 kids threw a story ball around (actually a fluffy chicken)as I drew their unfolding sequel to the classic story that included baby spiders Dr. Phil and Lucy, as well as several weddings (both Wilbur and Templeton the rat got hitched). It was a busy 15 minutes after which I recounted the whole sordid affair to the delight of all. This bit of communal insanity was sponsored by the Charles M. Schulz Museum.

Dogercize

Just can't find the time to get to the gym? Just grab a thick rope and a couple of dogs for a workout. This picture was taken moments after the third dog on the rope got bored and wandered off. A great workout!

I was a real brick!

It's been almost 40 years since Chris Capen and I were whisked off to perform in Europe on scholarship by USC Theater. Our small company performed all over Germany as well as in Cambridge, England under the direction of the late, great professor John Blankenchip. Months later, upon our return to LA, Blankenchip dropped me off at my apartment with one of his typical compliments..."You were a real brick!" At his recent memorial at USC I saw Capen for the first time since then. What was he carrying in his shoulder bag? A brick! It turns out he salvaged it from the ruins of our long-demolished campus theater and just wanted to share the booty at this reunion of sorts. The irony almost knocked me over...like being hit in the head with a brick.

Custom dog designs

Here's another customized cartoon. This one celebrates Jasper, a lightening fast whippet and member of the local dog club.

Fight Club

Every morning at the dog park Rowdy and Taezar and Poppy and Misty mix it up, having a ball - dog wrestling. Recently I've immortalized them on t-shirts and other products in my online store. Now I need to track down David Fincher and make him an honorary member.

In training

I've decided it's time for a career change. I'm going all out, practicing to be a professional puppy wrestler. There's not a lot of money in it but it's hard to complain when you have a mouthful of fur.

Local politics

My editorial cartoons usually address national and international issues. This week though I learned of upcoming budget cuts here in Rohnert Park CA that will result in the permanent lock down of all public restrooms in our parks....leaving us with what option? UPDATE: THE CITY HAS REVERSED ITS POSITION AND IS KEEPING BATHROOMS OPEN.

Time to vote

The link below will take you the Union of Concerned Scientists web site where you can vote to select the cartoon for the coveted calendar cover position for 2010. This year's contest was restricted to previously UCS published cartoonists. We were given a list of topics from which to choose. As you can see I was taken by the issue of whistle blowing...a noble and dangerous practice.

http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/science_idol/2009-science-idol-finalists.html

Old dog tricks

I had the pleasure this morning of introducing my old friend Will, visiting from South Carolina, to my four-tennis-balls-at-a-time canine buddy Cassie. As you can see they got along great.

Pot of Gold

I took this picture a few years ago from my office in the back of the house. Some day I will go out the back gate and brave the cow pies to go find that pot of gold.

Reality show

It's been a while since I've done many political cartoons...but this ones been on my mind for a while. You can see more political cartoons at www.cartoonfreeamerica.com

Golden Retriever Monument

For those of you that don't hang around with golden retrievers regularly, take it from me - they have the habit of sitting on your foot, pinning you to the spot while they lean against you. There you are, totally immobilized and ready to pet, scratch and dote on them until such time as they feel fit to let you go. God help you if you're running late for a bus.

Someone at the dog park the other day asked what we should call a group of golden retrievers - given that we have a "murder of crows" and a "parliament of owls", etc. I suggested we call them a "lean of golden retrievers". The idea was well received.

I never knew...

I never knew my mother was a cartoonist. I just came across this cartoon that she did in 1995. Besides being right-on-the-mark funny, it has a lot of character somewhat in the style of Jules Feiffer. RIP mom. You really nailed me with that one.

Puppy love

My buddy Cassie (of the four-tennis-balls-in-the-mouth fame) is now a big sister with the arrival of KT (pronounced Katie). This totally adorable puff ball is not destined to be small for long. I almost think there should be a law against being this cute.

Latest edition

The tribute to Shirley and Jenny keeps rolling along with a new cartoon adorning a variety of products in my online store.

Shirley and Jenny

The story of Shirley and Jenny is a heartwarming tale of the reunion of two elephants at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. Unknown to anyone there initially, Shirley and Jenny had bonded 20 years earlier at a circus winter camp in Florida. Once reunited they became inseparable. When Jenny fell ill and lay dying many of the other elephants gathered around her. Shirley walked away. It was just too painful. When I heard the news I did the following cartoon for the Sanctuary. An elephant lover recently contacted me and requested I create some products featuring the cartoon...so I did. You can find them by clicking MY ONLINE STORE to the right, then clicking on ALL THINGS ELEPHANT.

Cartoon Safari Highlights

There were many special moments in this year's Cartoon Safari at the Charles M. Schulz Museum. One of them was a visit by Diana Arsenian and her daughter Micaela. Diana is a world-class Graphic Recorder. The kids got to experience their thoughts and feelings expressed collectively on a huge sheet of paper. A real treat. And that was just the beginning of the week.



Thanks to the ongoing Apollo X exhibit in the museum I wound up with a bunch of astronuts on my hands. No, I didn't misspell that. If you recall, the spacecrafts on the Apollo X mission were named Charlie Brown and Snoopy.





Later in the week we watched an episode of Buster & Me, starring my wife Robin Goodrow and her monkey persona, Vanilla. After the screening in the museum's theater we marched back to our classroom to find Vanilla the monkey waiting to greet us.

We found the fourth ball!

My new friend Cassie

It turns out my new friend Cassie is a famous dog. You've probably seen her on greeting cards sporting four tennis balls in her mouth. When I went to take my own photo today she had misplaced ball number four. Stay tuned. We're going to find that ball!

Spacing out

I got to hang out with an honest-to-god space walking astronaut yesterday at the Charles M. Schulz Museum. He was not familiar with the film DARK STAR so I was unable to lord over him with my vast deep space experience. Nevertheless it was great to meet Dan Tani and see his home movies from the orbiting space station where he lived for months. Note several bazillion Peanuts strips on the wall behind us.



I threw down the gauntlet when I got home by sending him the following picture of yours truly SURFING in deep space. Come on. Just try that sucker!

Uh luv ellay

One rainy night in Santa Monica I ducked into a pizza joint for a slice and ran into fellow actor John Ashton (Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run) who I hadn't seen in years. It turns out he was only in town for an audition, having moved to Fort Collins CO shortly after someone on the freeway in LA had pulled a gun on him. I did this cartoon to commemorate the move.

Take that Leno!

Now THIS is a chin:



I just found this photo of Percival C. Farnsworth, famed lecturer (and puppet). I created this lunatic for a film I created for IBM many years ago called CLEAR AS MUD. I stored the puppet in a friend's moldy barn for a long time. When I opened the trunk he had virtually disintegrated. In the world of pixels, however, he still lives.

Celtic nut

I thought Roosevelt T. Boa had shown us every yoga posture in the book, but oh no. Now he's into Celtic knots. We're talking about one talented snake here folks.

Latest trip to the moon

With niece Nina rolling into town with boyfriend Justin, fresh off the plane from vacationing in southeast Asia, it was time to hit the Charles Schulz Museum's Apollo 10 exhibit (commemorating lunar lander Snoopy and command module Charlie Brown) and do some of our own flying in their pint-sized simulator. Nina and I took the dual controls. Every time I told her to go left she went right. I was forced to slap her silly with my space glove. Fortunately she was wearing a helmet. These are just the sort of scenes that NASA never shows you. For good reason.

Sooper Puppy Online

Now you can see streaming video previews of all eleven Sooper Puppy programs for young children at www.empowerkids.com

There are five more films in the works to help young children in their recovery from molestaion.

There was a time when five Sooper Puppy films occupied half the slots on the top ten sellers list of the Simon & Schuster catalog. He's long overdue for a comeback.

Dark Star in 10 minutes

Some Brit has edited Dark Star down to 10 minutes with comical subtitling and voice over narrative. It's a hoot. Here's the link to YouTube for those of you who wonder what I look like with a lot of hair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0f7jA1l8gk

Another fairie sighting!

Look! Up in the sky! It's bird! It's a plane! No! It's my wife Robin!

Inaugural Ball

Robin and I had a great time at the Inaugural Ball. It was fun to meet Barack but boy is that guy skinny. Damn near paper thin. I hope the White House chef can fatten him up before a stiff wind blows him away. For me yesterday was the beginning of the new year. Happy New Year to all!

Sooper Puppy returns

"The pack is back" as I dust off the little miniatures I made years ago to sit on my desk as I wrote eleven Sooper Puppy films for kids in the mid to late 1980s. Now Sooper Puppy is preparing to star in five new short films for kids in order to facilitate trauma therapy. From left to right that's Big Jon (a gopher), Grandpaw, Baxter (AKA Sooper Puppy), Stoops and Grizzle in the background (the Garbage Can Gang) and Baxter's best friend Pickles on the right. When I cast puppeteer and friend Robin Goodrow as Pickles I had no idea that we would marry 15 years later. Thankfully we're both house broken.

Ho Ho Holy Mackerel

We haven't put up any Christmas lights yet this year because this house down the road has sucked all the electricity out of the grid. Fourteen years in the making all the characters climbing all over this property were hand painted by the owner. He either has a lot of spare time or drinks copious amounts of coffee. Happy Holidays!