After years of living on the streets, James gets the keys to his own apartment the day after he turns 50. Photo by Michelle Gabel.

A few weeks ago I asked my homeless friend James what he thought about his upcoming 50th birthday.

“It’s just another day,” he said as he sorted returnable bottles and cans before taking them to the redemption center. “Just another day.”

James couldn’t have been more wrong. He turned 50 today; tomorrow he gets the keys to his own apartment. If there’s a better birthday present, I’d like to see it.

Thanks to the efforts of a variety of people who know and admire him, James is finally off the streets — where he’s been for more than half his life.

Today, James’ friends and supporters helped him celebrate his 50th and the beginning of a new chapter. The mayor of Syracuse, Stephanie Miner, attended…

Where are the snows of yesteryear?  Where are the ethics of yesteryear? Where are the politicians of yesteryear?

Where is the dignity of FDR?

Where is the straight-forwardness of Truman?

Where is the intelligence of JFK?

Where is the charisma of Reagan?

(I’m giving both sides a voice).

What we seem to have now is  Who is King of the Hill?  Who can pee further? Whose are largest? little boy games.  And at the head of the slide on the playground is Billionaire Bully, the Ugly American. self-appointed emperor with no clothes.

Where is the common sense, let’s speak  rationally, let’s negotiate, let’s listen to the people and find ways to better the situation without resorting to mud pies, insults, and temper tantrums?

This our country and human beings at stake, not the playthings of Congress and all politicians.

If you are like me you love your coffee. For me I have a cup of coffee in my hand until around noon everyday. But what if you wanted add Cannabis to your coffee; how would you do that?

First you are going to make cannabis heavy cream and it is easy to make as well.

What you need:

1 cup heavy cream
4 grams of ground cannabis

Step 1 Decarb cannabis (240F one hour).

Step 2 Bring cream to boil and add cannabis.

Step 3 Reduce to simmer after cannabis is added. Stir often for 1 hour.

Step 4 Strain through cheese cloth into a jar.

Refrigerate cream and it is good till expiration date on carton of your cream.

Add 1-2 Tablespoons to your coffee
(I also add a little bit of regular creamer as well)

2 cups over the course of an hour with 1 tablespoon of…

Alleged, dead, drone

What?

I don’t know if they would go that far to get rid of the Grannies … Sure hope not

Alleged, dead, drone … Dead by drone … Dead by drone … Dead by drone

Stop it George … That is a depressing mantra …

Besides a more likely scenario is dead by neglect.

Yes George, I know what you mean … Me? You really want to know? Well … Since you ask … Well George … It’s like this … No salary for … Well let’s just say a very long time and … Yes I do realize there are those worse off and by the way …that extra fat around my middle … No it is not epicurean in origin … More like macaronian I’d say.

What do I do now? I tried to save a bit for emergencies and to give my grandkids a graduation…

Nothing says summer like an heirloom tomato pie! I made two tomato pies today and since this recipe is frequently requested I decided to draw it.

I am going to take u thru it as the recipe evolved.

The pie fresh out of the oven. Lots of yellows, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cad red light, green apatite and dark neutrals.

The ink sketch. I usually pencil in a recipe to be sure I don’t run out of room for anything. Then I ink it.

I laid in a yellow wash first. And dropped bits of yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cad red light, green apatite and dark neutrals while the pie was still wet.

Line green background added and more dark neutral around for the pies edge inside the crust.

I added the cad red line because as usual I smeared the bottom edge into the white…

It’s that time of year again: entries are open for the sixth Observer/Comica/Cape graphic short story competition.

I’ll post my completed entry after the closing date, but for now here are some pictures showing work in progress.

Gwen, her husband Phil, and their granddaughter Maya came into the city for some catching up, sketching and lunch. The plan was to walk down Nassau Street but we were all a bit taken aback by how ordinary it has become. While Gwen, Phil and Maya went into TJ Max’s (see what I mean by ordinary?) for some emergency sneakers, Benedicte, Shirley and I spotted an interesting sculpture in a space walled in by a variety of buildings.

The large sculpture is “Group Of Four Trees” created by Jean Dubuffet and I deemed it too complex to attempt so I concentrated on the older buildings just beyond it to the right. That’s what I’m drawing in the photo below but both Benedicte and Gwen were braver and did their versions. Benedicte even managed to also get the buildings in.

iPad; New Trent Arcadia stylus.
Apps Used: Sketch Club and ArtRage

Here we go. Final version. Mugs upcoming.

A bill that would allow children with certain debilitating conditions to take marijuana oil while attending school has been passed by the New Jersey legislature and is headed to the desk of Gov. Christie.Only children who had been issued marijuana identification cards by the state Health Department would be eligible for the treatment. The Senate granted final approval Monday after the Assembly voted in favor of an identical bill.“We’re talking about some of the state’s most severely disabled students, some of whom suffer life-threatening seizures, and medical marijuana is the only thing that has helped ease their condition,” said Assembly Majority Leader Louis D. Greenwald (D., Camden), who sponsored the bill with Pamela Lampitt (D., Camden). In recent months, parents of students who suffer from seizure disorders have appealed school policies that prohibit the use of marijuana on school grounds even by children with marijuana IDs, according to…

This ‘Community Build’ house will soon be home to three men from the Rescue Mission of Greater Syracuse.

The “Community Build” project in Syracuse to house three formerly homeless men is nearing completion.

Two months ago, a group of us from Upstate Medical University spent a day volunteering at the property, which was in pretty sad shape.

We went back Friday to do more work, and the house is looking more like a home. The three men are slated to move in by the end of July.

It’s an exciting transformation to behold. On our first visit in April, I wondered why anyone would bother to try to save the house from demolition.

Assorted volunteer groups have been helping contractors in many phases of the project. I’ll post another update this summer when the work is done.

Main room, with stairs leading to three bedrooms.

A view from the…