1.
My post today will be more spare than usual as my friend Kim flew me to Northern California this past week to install a mosaic backsplash that we had been scheming on for a couple years. She owns two of my other pieces as well. I had finished the work at home last fall and my Yountville buds, Michael and Kathy, had delivered the work in person in November after a driving trip to Tucson. Kim had it stored in her garage until I could find the time to fly out and install it.
Thus, she picked me up in Sacramento at noon on Tuesday, drove the hour and a half to her home nestled in the Sierra Nevada rolling hills, and I installed the work mid-afternoon. After a few setbacks and such (always something), we then drank northern Cal red wine with a nice meal that she prepared. Then on Wednesday morning after coffee I grouted the piece in place putting the finishing touches on it.
Then M & K, not to be left out of the fun, made the drive to Grass Valley and brought lunch. They have come by their Aussies from Kim for several years as she is the founder of NorCal Aussie Rescue.
And, since the job was wrapped up, we decided that I’d stay that night with them, along with their two Aussies, back in Yountville. More wine and good food was had at the R+D Restaurant with a walk in the rain.
More doggie walks Thursday morning and back to Sacramento to head home. The views flying into LA for my connecting flight were pretty spectacular.
2.
For Gawd sake, Oklahoma. State Sen. Nathan Dahm (R - Broken Arrow), he who has in the past, according to Charlie Pierce, filed bills a) that would have declared June 14 to be "President Trump Day" in Oklahoma; b) that would have penalized the enforcement of federal gun laws in Oklahoma, c) that would make illegal "transporting" January 6 defendants into or through Oklahoma, and d) that would have laid criminal charges on doctors who perform abortions, has now put forth a bill that would require anyone who works for a media outlet would need to submit to criminal background checks and quarterly drug tests.
The bill would also require them to file for a license from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, obtain $1 million in liability insurance, and attend an eight-hour “propaganda-free” safety training developed by PragerU.
The license for individual journalists would cost $290 every five years. Media outlets would also need to pay $250,000 for a license every year and obtain $50 million in liability insurance. That applies to national and local outlets alike.
Those outlets would also be required to provide the following disclaimer before each story, or throughout any video: “WARNING: THIS ENTITY IS KNOWN TO PROVIDE PROPAGANDA. CONSUMING PROPAGANDA MAY BE DETRIMENTAL TO YOUR HEALTH AND HEALTH OF THE REPUBLIC.”
Just one more of many reasons to vote these turds out of office.
3.
And crazy-ass times in Iowa as Erin Reed reports in her Substack “Erin In the Morning” that a bill that would remove transgender individuals from the state’s Civil Rights Act was defeated after several hundred people showed up to express solidarity with transgender people for the hearing. Representative Sami Scheetz, the subcommittee's sole Democratic member, emphasized the need for Iowa to be welcoming if it wants to "convince young people to stay here and raise families." Despite only one Democrat on the committee of three, the committee voted down the bill. Hey, does showing up and making your voice heard work? Sometimes it really does.
BUUUUUTTTT, she then reported on Thursday that their governor, Kim Reynolds, submitted House Study Bill 649, a bill with sweeping provisions targeting the transgender community. The bill would end all legal recognition of transgender people, mandating that "sex" refers to someone’s assigned sex at birth in all Iowa code. It also would spell out new requirements for gender marker changes in official documents. If Iowa passes this bill, it could become the third state to target the driver's licenses of transgender adults, and the first state that would require both markers on a single ID card for those who seek to update their licenses. It’s becoming more difficult to keep up with these wacko Republicans who relish bending the Constitution to their own liking.
4.
There’s a rumor that I’ll be playing a bit of accordion at the Untitled Gallery on Saturday night for the closing of the Small Works show starting about 5:30. You may not want to miss the 6pm announcement of the People’s Choice Award and, of course, lots of fabulous art to view.
And now…