Driving northbound on I-5, on my way home from my mom-in-law's, i saw a HUGE bald-eagle just 20 yards off the side of the road, munching on what seemed to be a small lamb. (Deductive reasoning supports this in that this field was in fact, teeming with sheep.) This bird was so big, he must have stood 3' to 4' tall. Wow...

Meanwhile,

• Discovered yet ANOTHER beautiful artsy-fartsy magazine, called Amelia's Magazine. Luscious, tempting production values, great art, and a mind-bending cover and wild comic by UK-based, Brit-pop artist, JIm The Illustrator.

• Martin Ontiveros NEWS:

Group show, Free to a Good Home. Martin writes, "Based on a lot of people's love for kittens and cats, and the fact that there's tons who need help... this show will display great art, and we'll also have cats and kittens in house that you can adopt! Kitten Rescue.org will have a section closed off and maybe you'll go home with a new friend."

Free to a Good Home at GR2, February 17 - March 14. Reception: Saturday, February 17

GR2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
gr2.net
(310) 445 - 9276

Giant Robot is proud to present Free to a Good Home, a group show at GR2 that will benefit Kitten Rescue, a Los Angeles-based organization that saves kittens and cats from the high-kill shelter system and fosters them until they can find the right homes. Paintings, illustrations, photography, and other pieces will be inspired by-but not limited to-cats. Artists include: Andrice Arp, Robert Bellm, Jeffrey Brown, Martin Cendreda, Austin English, Evah Fan, Susie Ghahremani, Leif Goldberg, Katherine Guillen, Myleen Hollero, Jordin Isip, kozyndan, Le Merde, Justin "Scrappers" Morrison, Munkao, Saelee Oh, Martin Ontiveros, John Pham, Pryor Praczukowski, Aaron Renier, Albert Reyes, Zach Rossman, Brian Rush, Jay Ryan, Souther Salazar, Jeana Sohn, Deth P. Sun, Daria Tessler, Marci Washington, Steve Weissman, Andrew Jeffrey Wright.

"Ten percent of art sales from the show will go toward Kitten Rescue."

Bat-Cat, 5x7 inches, acrylic and ink on board

"Next is Elevation, Limited Addiction Gallery's inaugural show starring everyone on the frickin' map. Opens tomorrow night from 7 to 11pm, 825 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 303-893-4234. Go to www.limitedaddictiongallery.com and see the whole show online."

Gruesome-Groovy, 8X10 inches, acrylic and ink on board. $500

"I have some new prints I'm about to produce. Booskula is 5 colors, apprx. 9X12 inches in size, silkscreened at home by yours truly and comes in Lime, Creamsicle or Blueberry. Of course the colors may vary some since you're lookin' at a computer simulation of the colorways, but it'll be more or less the same. $30 a pop, pick your flavor (and I can work out a discount if you want more than one flavor or all three). If interested, please contact me directly and say 'HEY! I wanna get one!'."

"Last up is my own show at Super 7 in SF. It doesn't open until March 10th, and I will likely be emailing all ya'll about it again soon, but I thought I'd mention it now anyway. Rainbows In The Dark it's called. I'm shooting for at least 20-21 smaller pieces for this show, so it's somewhat affordable. Somewhat. However may I make, it's gonna kick some ass. If you're in the area, please come! March 10th, 7 to 9pm at Super 7, 1628 Post St, San Francisco, CA 415-409-4700."

• Meanwhile, keeping the ass-kicking art train rolling, here's two recent pieces by the always-amazing Ulana Zahajkewycz.

• This weekend while at mom's place, i also read R. Kikuo Johnson's debut graphic novel, Night Fisher, published by Fantagraphics. I'd read and heard some mixed reviews, and was really looking forward to reading this, especially after reading his interview in The Comics Journal months ago. After all, he was taught (in part) by David Mazzucchelli at SVA in New York. Indeed, i do see shades of Mazzucchelli, and also Paul Pope and David Lapham. Needless to say, i was floored by this book. There is a sense of naturalism in both story, storytelling, and dialog that i just did not expect. The subject matter (a realistic, almost mundane plot, gathering personal momentum as it moves forward) was deftly handled, and offered a narrative that you find often in independent film, yet is sadly still lacking in comics. RKJ is one to watch, and i for one can't wait for his next book. Kudos.

• Took a break to watch the new episode on Frontline, the second in a series called News War; superb news journalism looking into government and its difficult relationship with the media, limits of journalistic freedom and its obligations in judicial matters, etc. Compelling programming, if you're at all into learning more about our civil obligation to knowing what's going on in our country and our world … besides that Britney shaved her freaking head. You know, free speech, civil liberties, protection of privacy, and similar silly ideas that directly affect our lives.

Best of all, this second episode casts light on the little-known jailing of blogger Josh Wolf, for his refusal to turn over home-made video-tape to the FBI. This story is mightily important, and the interview is spectacular.

I've long been a fan of Frontline, and can't recommend this program enough.