On the car radio
“Clouds” by Debussy
full moon lights the predawn
consciousness moves outward

Remembering the richly stained wood mantel
where bulging stockings hung Christmas morning.
Later, by the warm glow of the fireplace, watching
tightly rolled wrapping paper burning in colored hues.

At noon the sliding six foot wide wooden door
opened to the dining room where the good table,
lengthened by extensions, was covered by the best cloth
with the smaller, noisier, children’s table by its side.

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of steaming platters
pinching cousins and annoying the youngest aunt
trying to impress her boyfriend (new to the gathering)
brief silence, Grandpa says grace, joyous conversation

The endless happy hours in this space replaced
by a fraction of a second at cruise control
on the four lane highway now there –
the mantel dumped in a landfill
or an ornament for an
all electric home.

“Funerailles”
Liszt

By Lisa Cornwell
Associated Press

As a fine arts graduate student in the early 1980s, Carol Tyler felt she had to hide her interest in cartoon drawing from teachers. An art form associated with comic books and comic strips wasn’t considered college material.

Now a professional cartoonist and graphic novelist, Tyler began teaching the University of Cincinnati’s first comics art class last year.

Other colleges also have started such classes as critical and academic respect for comics has grown. Courses that began in 2005 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are starting to draw professional artists and public schoolteachers. Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y., will start its first course this spring.

Applications have increased by at least 50 percent at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vt., which was founded two years ago and won state approval this year for a master in fine arts degree

“Schools are now recognizing the creative and commercial value of comics,” Tyler said as she watched students outline their pencil drawings in ink, filling in sections with black or gray tones. “An interest in comics and cartooning doesn’t have to be a secret any more.”

Some students hope to learn skills useful for advertising, film, video game or illustration careers. Some just enjoy comics, and others want to produce comics or graphic novels…

Tyler’s students learn graphic design, composition, lettering, layout and how to draw figures that convey emotion. She also tries to show them how to organize their thoughts to deliver clear and concise ideas.

Story lines have included the impact of nannies on a student’s life and recollections of a colorful grandfather…

The number of freshmen in the cartooning major at the School of Visual Arts in New York more than doubled from 2002 to last year. The Savannah College of Art and Design offered comics art in 1992 as an elective to a handful of students. The school now has nearly 300 undergraduates and 50 graduate students pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sequential art, also known as comics art.

A lot of the credit goes to the emergence in the 1980s of graphic novels offering more complex and complete story lines for more mature audiences. They typically are more durably bound and longer than the floppy comic magazines that told the tales of Superman or the antics of small-town teenager Archie Andrews and friends…

But the young haven’t lost interest.

More high schools and even grade schools are seeking advice on ways to foster student interest in cartooning, said Michelle Ollie, managing director at the Vermont school. The center has had to add a second section to its pre-college workshops to accommodate demand.

The graphic novel’s increased critical acclaim and greater visibility in mainstream bookstores and libraries have contributed to the growing respect for comics art. Educators also cite the worldwide popularity and influence of Japanese comics known as manga - written for children and adults - and the transformation of graphic novels such as “Ghost World” into Hollywood films.

Schools have seen dramatic increases in the number of female students, attributed largely to manga and graphic novel themes that include romance, historical drama, autobiography, fantasy and mystery.

More schools also are studying comics as literature or creative writing in English departments. And although art educators and students say academic prejudice still exists, there are more academic conferences on comics, and libraries are increasingly carrying comic works…

Angry Hindu leaders from across Britain massed for an emergency meeting on Sunday following the putting to death of a cow at a temple outside London.

They were united in their condemnation of the ‘officious and self-righteous’ RSPCA, and the ‘unthinking complicity’ of Defra and the police.

Representing dozens of organisations and communities, they converged on the Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire and saw for themselves the spot where a temple cow was mercilessly given a fatal injection, despite all pleas and attempts at negotiation on religious grounds.

They were further incensed to learn that the cow’s medical care was being supervised by two veterinary surgeons, neither of whom insisted that the cow be killed, and neither of whom reported the animal as ‘suffering.’

The assembly of delegates expressed their outrage and frustration, considering the killing to be not only an entirely unnecessary waste of life, but also a symbolic attack on Hinduism itself, a religion of non-violence.

“Never before have I seen such anger and solidarity in our community,” said Arjan Vikaria of the Hindu Forum of Britain. “We want answers and retribution and we will not stop until we get them.”

Raj Joshi, vice-chairman of The Society of Black Lawyers, angrily commented: “This action is showing complete disregard for the sensitivities of the third largest religion in this country. It is astonishing that the authorities seem to have disregarded all customary tolerance and understanding, and certainly the relevant legislation, in carrying out this unwarranted and inhumane destruction of an animal.”

Research was presented on the previous conduct of the RSPCA, and the organisation’s sorry history of overly zealous ‘mercy killings’ was discussed. “We call upon Hindus throughout the country to withdraw their financial support from the RSPCA,” said one leader, “they are not morally fit to represent the compassionate nature of the British public.”

“We are very upset by the deceptive way in which this charity has behaved and presented the situation to the public,” said another, “they grossly exaggerated the physical deterioration of the cow, and have covered up the plain fact of the matter, which is that she was being very well cared for by a local, highly qualified vet and her carers.”

Head of the temple where the cow was killed, Gauri Das commented: “The RSPCA deceived us and are now attempting to deceive the public.  A charity organisation with no powers came uniformed into our temple and enforced the killing of Gangotri, a loved and cared for cow with no disease. Her only crime was that she couldn’t walk.”

Delegates formed a task force and will now demand both the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and Hilary Benn MP, Defra minister, to explain who gave the order to kill the cow, despite ministerial promises that no action would be taken because of the special circumstances. They also voted to register their protest in other ways and are considering prosecution of the RSPCA.

NOTES

RESOLUTION FROM NATIONAL MEETING OF HINDUS LEADERS:

“We the undersigned, condemn the murder of Gangotri which we as British
Hindus consider to be a fundamental assault on the principles of our faith.
British Hindus call on the Prime Minister to investigate the actions of the
Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Police, the RSPCA and DEFRA to account for
the murder of Gangotri.”

Sudarshan Bhatia – Hindu Forum of Europe

Arun Thakar

Umesh Chandrasana

Madhubhai Shastri – National Council of Hindu Temples

Arjun Vikaria

Kapil Dudakia – Hindu Forum of Britain

Anant Vyas – Hindu Council of the UK

Kishorbhai Ruparelia – Vishva Hindu Parishad

Pravinbhai Ruparelia – Hindu Swayam Sevak Sangha

Ananad Arya – Hindu Seva Sangha

Navinkrishna

Shailesh Govindia – I Foundation

C.B.Patel – Gujarat Samachar, Asian Voice newspapers

Prashant Popat – Indian Business Association

Wenda Shehata – Animal Sanctuary, East Sussex