*I’M STILL ALIVE….

pardon the absence, folks…but like most folks..i needed to take in all the post-election stuff, filter out the krappe, and really try to figure out where folks like myself need to go from here.

first, the bright side of the election:

*our esteemed president will continue to provide plenty of material for this cartoonist and many others for years to come

*my latest book, “red, white, black and blue”, will still be valid for the next four years..

*if we didn’t bomb afghanistan and iraq, i probably wouldn’t be able to pick them out on a world map..i expect to learn where a coupla more countries are…thank you, mr. bush!! you really are the “edjamacation president”

the bad stuff doesn’t really need to be mentioned..everyone knows it exists..it’s just a matter of whether one cares or not…and i don’t think a lot of folks will care about it unless there’s a draft..a real chance that their lives will be directly affected.

*THANK YOU, SALT LAKE CITY!!

i’ve been really busy over the past few weeks…one of the things i did was a lecture on diversity at westminster college in salt lake city, ut.

the first thing i did when i got to campus was look for black folks. i couldn’t even find any at the basketball practice in the gym!! i checked the cafeteria and the maintenance crew. lots of brown folk..but no blacks.

salt lake is an interesting place. everyone is aware of the mormons and all. but not many are aware of this thing they have there called “sauce”…it’s a combination of ketchup and mayonnaise. they have it everywhere. they put it on sandwiches and french fries..they use it instead of baby powder. frightening, really.

anyhoo..the talk went really well. the 280 seat auditorium was full(with about 5 black folks)…due to the great coverage in the local press AND the fact that the salt lake city weekly, the city’s alternative voice, has been running “the k chronicles” for years.

some folks laffed. some folks left (after i showed my “smoking crack with gog” strip). i signed lots of books and then a couple of the black folks and a navajo deejay took me out fer some gumbo at a local new orleans themed bar. good stuff!!

thanks to everyone..’specially jeff, for bringing me out there.

are you a college student or administrator? BRING ME TO YOUR SCHOOL!! ask me how at keef@kchronicles.com

*EMAILS OF THE WEEK!! (concerning my red sox/sacrificed kitty strip)

1.Your cartoon of Nov. 3rd, depicting you gleefully shoving a cat into an oven as a “sacrifice” for a baseball victory, was stupid, inhumane, and an invitation to kids to try the same thing. Thanks a lot- we don’t have enough mindless cruelty in this world, so you have to supply some more! I’m not a cat lover, but you don’t have to be one to be disgusted by this. Where are your brains, you asshole???

2.Hello,

I was outraged and offended by your cartoon published in the Nov. 3 — Nov. 9 issue of Pacific Sun. You seem to believe that your description of an act of terrible cruelty towards a cat is funny. I disagree. In fact, such act would be punishable under California law. At any rate, depicting such act was totally unnecessary and in bad taste.

In my mind all kinds of exploitation, contempt, disrespect and discrimination are interconnected. They may be directed against a race, a gender, or against animals, but it is all the same. I understand that you are of African ancestry. I think you would be outraged if someone joked about “lynching a nigger” and take it personally. In the same way I am personally insulted by your insensitive joke about baking a cat alive.

3.Hi Keef,

My cat Bucky and I are NOT amused. Please don’t joke about drowning cats in dishwashers. There is MORE than enough REAL animal abuse out there!

Glad you were happy with the Red Sox win. Wish there was ANOTHER win we could celebrate.

(my only disappointment with the strip is the reader above thought it was a dishwasher..-k)

(#4 was written by the person who wrote #1..good stuff!!-k)

4.Please forgive my angry email from yesterday. I still think your Nov. 3 cartoon was somewhat ill-advised, but I’m sure you didn’t intend to incite any cat-roasting urges. After working so hard to try to restore some sanity to the government, and failing, I went a bit nuts myself for a couple of days. If any stupid, cruel kids out there want to try roasting a cat, well, my guess is that their parents voted for Bush…..

*LAST MARGINAL PROPHETS SHOW OF THE YEAR..

..happened last night with two bands: Abandon Theory and Tragedy Andy. they kicked ass. we kicked ass. wish somebody was there to see it.

but we sold an exorbitant amount of merch for such a small crowd …thanks!!

*BOSTON/NEW YORK DATES

tell all yer friends in boss-town and nyc that i’m coming in for the weekend. keep in mind that I WILL HAVE BOOKS AT ZEITGEIST, so if you miss the million year picnic signing earlier in the day, you can still get the goods later…

that’s it for now…