bluephobos.com

 

 

My daddy named me Obiajulu. The name comes from the Ibo ethnic group in Nigeria. By the way, my father’s name is Daniel. He must not have taken into account the difficulties many Americans have when pronouncing a native name. I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve heard, “What the hell? What kind of name is this?” granted the name of the speaker might be Dequanasia, Tayquan or Shasqueela. To make it easier for them I said, “Just call me Obi.”



Over time, people kept asking me for the meaning of my birth name. It means my heart is comforted. The usual response was in the ballpark of “Oh, that’s beautiful. You should use the whole thing.” I thought, “What for? You’re just going to me for the...

 

A modest and humble man, Tom Myers shared his life experience without anyreservation. His legacy is the documentation of the Korean War, 1950s, to the ever-changing plateaus of Sacramento.  A career of over 50 years, time has marked his work in historic measure; one that reads three quarters of a million photographs.

Tom Myers was born and raised in Chicago.  At age 17 he quit high school and joined the Merchant Marines in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the Second World War.  He recalled traveling to England on a ship with 5000 tons bombs and ammunition.  A week after his initial sail, the ship Tom sailed on hit a terrible storm.  Steering the ship became difficult for the Able Seaman, and Mr. Myers was summoned by...

 

Elizabeth Gilkison’s accolades reads like the resume of an old art master.  Although a few years ago she carried the title teenager, this young prodigy started making her mark on the art world at age five.  Elizabeth’s mother recalled taking Elizabeth’s work to an elementary school teacher.  After observing the artworks, the teacher told Elizabeth’s mother to have her meet this talented 6th grade student.  One can imagine the teacher’s astonishment when she was told that it was a five-year-old girl who did the artworks.

At 10 years old, she knew she wanted to be an animator.  Her break would come in high school, and so did the awards.   High School had an animation program with lots of...