In last week's El Ciudadano, edition 31, page 5, No Sólo Cisnes returned to print after an edition hiatus (my previous electronic submission was muddled in delivery and never received) with Juan Pablo shocking his mother in deliquent acts of spray painting activist messages on the side of an old building. The words that "Life is not for sale" is accompanied by Juan Pablo's characteristic "It is not a Game."

In response to his mother's horror at her deliquent son's actions, Juan Pablo delivers his first monologue: "No, Mother, I'm an activist and I'm frustrated with the system. I look into my future and what is there? The government sells the natural environment to trans-national corporations, destroys the world of the subsistence farmers and fisherman, and abandons the students while it lets grow the division between the rich and poor. The revolution is already before us! If I do not fight now for my future, there will not be any future left to fight for."

The other swans listen in, admiting that their youngest member in fact has a point, Don Oscar tearing up as he remembers his own first act of civil disobedience, remarking at the quickening pace with which the younger generations now grow up. Stay tuned.

Posted on Saturday 23 of December, 2006 [21:16:21 UTC]

The mail communication is a little slow here in Chile sometimes... I just found out that my book Robby the Lion Doesn't Eat Meat was reviewed by Ellyn Wexler October 4, 2006 (printed November 29 2006) in The Montgomery County Gazette (Dandy Lions: Kids get the lion's share in new books)! Below are the excerpts of the review with regards to Robby the Lion. Enjoy!

"Lions loom large in new books two county authors have written for very young children. D.C.’s Magination Press published ‘‘Lions Aren’t Scared of Shots: A Story for Children About Visiting the Doctor” by pediatrician Howard J. Bennett of Bethesda, and Rockville-bred Carol Bushar wrote, illustrated and self-published ‘‘Robby the Lion Doesn’t Eat Meat.”

Carnivore no more

In ‘‘Robby the Lion,” Carol Bushar seeks to teach young children that being true to yourself may be difficult and frightening – but can result in self-satisfaction as well as approval from others. The lifelong Rockville resident and Rockville High School alumna, who now lives in Chile, says the story comes out of her own experience.

‘‘The story gleans a lot of inspiration from my life, which has generally followed an unconventional path by the standards of my family,” Bushar says. ‘‘I wanted to focus not only on the acceptance and love that I have received from my family and friends for my life decisions, but also to acknowledge that those changes were hard for all of us.”

While Robby chose to be a vegetarian amid a committed carnivorous culture, Bushar opted to become a vegetarian, too — and also, nearly two years ago, to move to the southern coast of Chile and pursue her ‘‘childhood dream of writing and illustrating books.” Her Chinese American family encouraged pursuing the arts — in this case, writing and drawing — only as a hobby. She complied by earning a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Maryland, then a dual master’s degree in urban planning and public administration from the University of Washington. But the office setting for her ‘‘promising future” with the federal government failed to ‘‘satisfy my desire to help people and make a difference.” While acknowledging that her ‘‘chances of ‘success’ at writing and publishing my own books are slim,” she says, ‘‘I can’t think of a time in my professional life where I have been happier.” And despite their beliefs and fears, she adds, her family ‘‘were and continue to be very supportive.”

Bushar says she was compelled to write the book: ‘‘The actual story ... just jumped into my head one morning and wouldn’t leave me alone until I had written it down and began sketching out the illustrations.”

Bushar is working on translating ‘‘Robby” into Spanish, which she also expects to publish through the print on demand publisher Lulu, as well as ‘‘a short novel for young readers ... about two ducks and two penguins that go for an adventure in a fishing boat” and ‘‘another picture book, a sequel to ‘Robby the Lion’ that features his little sister Ann.”

Yet another lion book? Young readers who have learned to love the king — or queen — of the beasts will no doubt subscribe to ‘‘the more lion books, the merrier.”"

Posted on Sunday 03 of December, 2006 [03:34:09 UTC]

My 9th comic for El Ciudadano (edition 38, page 5) was requested in color, but for some reason printed in gray scale. At least it is available in color here, as it should be seen. Indeed, who wouldn't want to save an environment like this where even folks with regular jobs can still afford to live on the coast with unobstructed views of the sunset, collecting abundant shellfish to feed their families when the tide is low?

Posted on Thursday 16 of November, 2006 [01:10:12 UTC]

The above No Sólo Cisnes comic is my 8th in a series for El Ciudadano published last week (page 5, edition 37) in time for Chile's National March for the Environment October 28. The comic features the swans reading a poster advertising the coming march and Don Oscar suggests the swans participate to send the message that Validivia's newly named Region of the Rivers will not tolerate contamination. His friend laments that he has heard that the plight of the black-neck swans is a dead issue and suggests it best if they learn to eat other foods not dependent on the river, such as french fries. The other swans frown and remind that Life is Worth More, while Juan Pablo hugs his mother saying that she does not seem like a dead issue to him.

Yesterday, we participated in the National March for the Environment from Valdivia with a small, but dedicated group of local activists in the pouring down rain and strong winds of a very rainy Spring. It was a good chance to reunite with friends and to chant in the streets, encouraging participation in the environmentally-charged public opinion poll for Valdivia's budding citizen movement. But hopefully the next march will be a little drier and have a better turn-out. :) In either case, a true testiment to the fact that the plight of the black-neck swans and the negative side-effects of pollution are certainly not dead issues.

Posted on Sunday 29 of October, 2006 [18:49:57 UTC]

The above comic is my 7th in a series published last week in El Ciudadano (Edition 36, page 5), featuring a title for the first time: No Sólo Cisnes (Not Just Swans). The title refers to the fact that the environmental issues and pollution in Chile do not just affect black-neck swans, but that the negative impacts of corporate and government negligence also affect the livelihoods and health of area citizens. Additionally, the comic transends other political issues related directly and indirectly to the environmental concerns of the swans; the swans themselves not just swans, but anthropomorphic in nature with very citizen-oriented concerns.

In the above comic, the swans celebrate their new arrival to Santiago (via the new national distribution of El Ciudadano) and find themselves among a large protest of fellow citizens each with their own banners calling for: a Citizen-Oriented Government, a reorganization of National Education Policy (LOCE), Clean Air, the Legalization of Marijuana for personal growth and consumption, Education for Everyone regardless of class, and the Legalization of Love, equity for same-sex partnerships. The swans carry their own banner: Let's Care for the South! The variety and competition for political attention has Don Oscar worried, suggesting that they form a coalition to add weight to their cause.

Meanwhile, Juan Pablo frolicks among the crowds, returning with a rainbow flag, his mother asking where he got it. He replies, "Over there with the happy couples. Beautiful isn't it?" Stay tuned.

Posted on Monday 16 of October, 2006 [00:04:04 UTC]