EL NINO--WHEN THE WEATHER GOES WACKY! Look for my El Nino book on Amazon

El Nino is coming! You can learn more about this powerful weather phenomenon and how it may affect you in my book El Nino: Stormy Weatherfor People and Wildlife.  You can find the ebook on Amazon and read it for free if you subscribe to KindleUnlimited or you can download it for $5.99. Used copies of the hardback, paperback and audio versions are also available at Amazon.

Drought in Southeast Asia, brutal storms in Australia, and spring-like temperatures in the northeastern United States--all of these seemingly unrelated events are caused by El Nino. Disrupting weather all over the globe every three to seven years, El Nino is second only to the change of the seasons in its influence on the climate.
El Nino is the name given to the unusual increase in ocean temperatures along the Peruvian and Ecuadorian coasts that is part of a larger pattern of changes in wind and weather throughout the Pacific region and beyond. With El Nino come violent storms and upsets in the global food chain that dramatically affect both humans and wildlife.
With the use of photographs, charts and maps, this updated edition of El Nino: Stormy Weather for People and Wildlife makes clear how this remarkable weather pattern is formed, how scientists track it, what its effects are, and why following its path is of such importance.

El Nino: Stormy Weather for People and Wildlife was originally published by Clarion Books in 1998.

DAVID HOCKNEY 1937-2026, IN MEMORIAM

David Hockney Portraits at LACMA, 2018

I think I've found something that I could go on with forever, because people are fascinating, they're mysterious really." David Hockney

David Hockney, one of the 20th and 21st centuries great painters, passed away this week at the age of 88.  He will be greatly missed. He is one of the contemporary artists that I most admire. In his memory, I am reposting my article about his exhibit at LACMA in 2018. 

Entrance to the exhibit with photo of Hockney at work in his studio

If you haven't seen the David Hockney show at LACMA, 82 Portraits and 1 Still Life, I highly recommend it. I went to see it on Sunday. At age 80, David Hockney is still going strong. The portraits are stunning and the red walls of the gallery are a perfect foil for the green and blue background of the paintings.

Julie Green

As I walked around I noticed a woman leading a tour. Then I looked at her dress and realized she was Julie Green, one of the people in the portraits!

Architect Frank Gehry

There are portraits of his studio assistants, massage therapist, housekeeper and cook. Others depict Hockney’s siblings, the children and grandchildren of his friends, and art dealers and prominent cultural figures in Los Angeles. All of the paintings are labeled with the sitter's name and dates of sitting.
Organized by the Royal Academy in conjunction with LACMA, the exhibition opened in London in 2016, then traveled to Venice, Italy; Bilboa, Spain; and Melbourne, Australia. The only U.S. stop is L.A., the city where the portraits were painted and where most of his subjects live.

The 83 paintings line the walls of two large galleries.

The series began in 2013 after David Hockney moved to Los Angeles from his home and studio in rural England.

Each person came to Hockney’s studio for two or three days and sat in the same chair on a small platform while Hockney painted. All of the figures are full length and the canvas size is the same for each portrait. The backgrounds are simple–flat color and just a suggestion of shadow on the floor. What comes across in each painting is the distinct personality of the sitter.

The one still life was painted on a day when one of his subjects had to postpone her session. So Hockney set up a bench with pieces of fruit in the same spot in his studio and painted it instead.   


David Hockney: 82 Portraits and 1 Still-life

Los Angeles County Museum of Aart
April 15, 2018–July 29, 2018

Review in the LA Times by Barbara Isenberg

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: On the Shelf at LAPL

In the Social Science/Philosophy Department of LAPL with my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL.

A week ago I was at the Los Angeles Public Library in downtown Los Angeles and I went searching for my book SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL: Growing Up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota. I knew it was in the collection, but I wanted to see it for myself. After riding down three escalators from the main library floor to the Social Science/Philosophy Department, I found it shelved with other books about the history of settlement houses and the social settlement movement (360.61). 

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL is the thin blue book, 6th from the left.

SETTLEMENT HOUSE GIRL, (360.61A752), was on the top shelf, a few books after several about Jane Addams, the founder of Hull House in Chicago. Down three shelves I found books about Lillian Wald, founder of Henry Street Settlement in New York City. It was a good thing that my husband Art was with me to pull my book off the shelf, because I could barely reach it. It was gratifying to hold it in my hand and know that anyone coming to the library to learn about settlement houses or about my childhood living in one, will be able to find my book. I hope they are tall!

PRESENTATION OF THE FOCAL AWARD for SIMONE written by Viet Thanh Nguyen, illustrated by Minnie Phan

FOCAL Award Presentation at the Los Angeles Public Library to Viet Thanh Nguyen and Minnie Phan

On Saturday, May 30th, friends, family, and members of FOCAL (Friends of Children and Libraries) gathered at the Mark Taper Auditorium of the LAPL Central Library for the annual FOCAL Award presentation, this year to Viet Thanh Nguyen (author) and Minnie Phan (illustrator) for their book Simone, a picture book about a young girl and her mother whose home is threatened by wildfire. 

In the tradition of the award, the author and the illustrator were presented with a puppet of the main character of the book. A third identical puppet will go on display in the children's room of the library, joining puppets from previous years. The puppets were created by Jesse Kingsley and Moira MacDonald.  

Jesse Kingsley and the three Simone puppets.

The program was introduced by Marilyn Robertson, FOCAL President. After a presentation by Viet and Minnie about how they came to write and illustrate. the essay contest winners were introduced by Sandy Schuckett. 

Sandy Schuckett, Chair of the Judging Panel for the student essays.

The three students read their excellent essays to the audience. They wrote about how they responded to the book, a favorite part or character, and why they would like to meet the author. Then there was a question and answer session with the audience, hosted by Dewi Reyes, Chair of Social Media. (See first photo.) Then we all enjoyed delicious Vietnamese sweets in the library patio.

I have been a member of FOCAL for many years. In order to be awarded the FOCAL book award, the book must be of the highest literary and artistic quality, and must have California content. I know how hard it is to choose a winner–I served on the committee for four years. This year’s choice is excellent and a fitting book to celebrate.

Note: In the past, the FOCAL award ceremony has been held in the fall. However, beginning with this year, the FOCAL Board has decided to hold the ceremony in the spring, giving teachers and students more time to read the book and for the students to write their essays.