he was a good bartender, could cook up a great breakfast, and i enjoyed our conversations, not to mention seeing him play blues with his band there at the tavern a couple times. when i took this picture, i was working on a collection of portraits for a project i was trying to get off the ground, and he was gracious enough to let me take this photo one day in the bar. after i took the photo, i gave him an enlarged copy for his own use, and had mostly forgotten about the photo. at the time, i had no idea he would only be with us a few months longer.

the memorial today was held at the tavern, and i was able to meet some of his friends and family. there were lots of memories shared, the food was good, and some of his band mates played a blues tribute set. when i arrived, i was pleasantly surprised to see that they had framed the photo print i had given him, and used it as the cover image for a CD of his music. many people commented on the photo, and i think it connected with many of us because that’s how we remember him - always with a friendly look, and usually sitting at the end of the bar on his usual perch.

anyhow, i was also very happy to see a very crowded bar at the memorial today.
KC will definitely be missed.
-h

after meeting up at pioneer square at 9am, a full breakfast was served, with fruit, bagels, donuts from krispy kreme, coffee, and so on… there were educational displays set up, live music, a kids play area, and all kinds of representatives from oregon politics, including sen. ron wyden, mayor-elect sam adams, senate candidate jeff merkley, and many more! right before the 10am start time, CAP director michael kaplan invited those affected by HIV/AIDS to come forward, and over 60 people came forward and we all shared in a moment of silence. it was a very moving display, especially seeing the bravery of those fighting against the disease and how much support there was.

throughout the walk, there were volunteers all along the route cheering us on, a drum troop, and even a group of cheerleaders from a local school! it was a great time, and i’m happy to have been a part of the walk. check out more of my cameraphone pictures below - click the thumbnails to see the full sizes! -h

tonight, i’ve begun work on bringing white shirt, philosopher - the comic strip i originally launched late last year - back to life. for those who don’t remember, the original series focused on a character named white shirt, with modern philosophy and characteristics, but placed back in old testament biblical times - more specifically right after moses announces the 10 commandments. sort of. actually, it more or less explores what would happen if moses brought the 10 commandments down from the mountain in current times… exploring mankind’s reactions and attitudes to the new laws.

anyhow, last fall i produced 32 of these strips, almost all of which i think turned out very well and am pretty proud of. i’ve thought often of reviving the strip and turning it into a short book project, for release online and as a paperback, and now i’m finally moving forward with that. the goal now is to get somewhere between 60-100 of these finished, enough to be able to put a small compilation together and market it online and in local bookstores.

tonight i’ve written 9 brand new strips, bringing the total count to 41, picking up the story a year later after white shirt’s TV show(which was about to launch at the end of the previous 32 strips) has finished shooting its first season and he has gained a certain celebrity status in the evangelical world. new characters timmy the cameraman and tammy the personal assistant are introduced, and new storylines and situations are being introduced.

once i finish writing for the book, i’m going to re-launch the series online, releasing the book at the same time i start putting them online, maybe 1 or 2 strips a week so as to give more of an incentive to buy the book - no waiting for X amount of weeks to get the whole story.

for now, click the thumbnail below to see one of the older strips… new ones are coming soon. hopefully even within the next couple weeks. -h

[small pics below... click the images for the bigger versions.]

if you’re ever in the area, make sure to check it out… especially don’t miss the solomon wine company’s tasting room. i especially liked their rosado, carnivale, and genie wines, plus they have a couple of top-notch port wines as well. other wineries there have some great wines as well (like todd taylor’s primitivo) but solomon’s wines really wowed me.

-h