May you rest in peace, Dear Sweet Lion of the Senate

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." - Ted Kennedy

Senator Ted Kennedy one year ago tonight at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO. May you rest peacefully in heaven, and may we continue your good legacy. Thank you for all you have done.

Dear Sir,

I'm borrowing the idea for this post from my BFF, but in our usual division of love and labor, she focused on the writing and I focused on the images. In this case, I'm just loving the slide show of portraits of Obama made by students of the 826 Valencia program. You can check out the letters that they wrote to Obama here too - complete with a list of food one students thinks he should be eating to "fatten up".

Photograph Your Polling Place!

(Photograph by Isaac Brekken for The New York Times)

Want to participate in the election in an artful way? Take a picture!

A picture speaks a 1,000 words, it records history and it can serve as evidence if needed. Why is this important? Because in the past voter suppression, polling place disarray and election fraud have severely impacted the outcomes of elections (just think back to 2000 for a recent example.) This year, you can help by doing what you've probably a lot of anyway, taking a picture!

Here's a few ways you can do it:
New York Times Polling Place Photo Project
YouTube Video Your Vote Project

Video Your Vote

Video Your Vote! Team up with YouTube and PBS to document voting on and before Election Day. Film the energy and excitement, as well as any problems you or others encounter. Make sure to upload your videos here and they could be aired on PBS on Election Night!

For more information about Video the Vote, click here: http://www.youtube.com/videoyourvote

Electoral Patchwork

Chris Harris is a writer for television. Stephanie Chen is a graphic designer.
NYT.com, 10/25/08

Party in Chicago

Yup, I'm going to Chicago for Election Night. Sounds like it's going to be quite the party...or pain.

Yes We Can, share images

Thought I'd pass on a great election related art project. It's called "Design for Obama" and was created by two RISD students. It's a artist collaboration project which embraces grassroots organizing allowing designers to upload posters for others to download, print and distribute as they see fit. It was influenced by Shephard Fairey (also from RISD) and I think really captures the creative spirit that has flourished in this election cycle.

http://www.designforobama.org/

They also have a great list of other on- and off-line art projects going on around the election, including a fun one for the kiddies, Yes We Carve.

Enjoy!