Kamala Harris DNC Acceptance Speech 2024

So, I've never really heard Kamala Harris speak at length, besides congressional hearings & clips from the recent campaign speeches, but WOW. Her address was absolute . 

 

I've watched A LOT of political speeches over the years, & have become kind of jaded with the whole process. She is an amazing public speaker and is clearly a serious, empathetic, & intelligent person. You can't fake that, like Trump fakes every aspect of his being. He just sounds like an absolute fool compared to her. She rhetorically demolished the crooked, orange-faced clown. If he had any shame, he would just call it quits after that, but everyone knows he has no shame at all. He is also desperate to further the grift, & avoid criminal prosecution.

 

Even though I'm pretty cynical, I think that it does matter for the well-being of society who is in leadership positions. The question is- who would be a more competent & effective head of government out of 2 choices, and I'm thinking it might be the person who is NOT an idiotic, ego-maniacal asshole.

 

 

 

Poconos 2024

 Micarelli Family Nature Photo
Paul, Neonna, Paulie, Loretta

This summer, we had our annual family vacation in the Poconos, Pa. We have been going there to one lake house or another for many, many years. As a kid, it was my parents, my brothers, sister, & me going on vacation asva family. As we got older, spouses & kids have also joined in the week of vacation relaxation. My son Paulie has been there once before, and this was my 1 yr. old daughter Neonna's first big trip. 

It's a whole new dimension now, going on family trips as a dad. It is such an amazing and utterly exhausting experience. Despite Loretta & I never feeling like we are able to truly relax & unwind, it is still a lot of fun. It's great to see my kids playing with their cousins, and everyone still enjoying time together. This year was special because Neonna had just begun to walk! She was taking a few steps in the week before we left, & she really starting getting around while up in the mountains. My son also first started walking during a week in the Poconos, so I was joking that "it must be the high altitude!"

Anyway, we spend a few days hanging out by the lake, boating, swimming, and sitting by campfires. We took Paulie & Neonna's first real hike, seen above. It's nice to be in nature and forget about responsibilities (besides the kids) for a bit. I'm glad we are exposing my kids to the beauty of the natural world & giving them that appreciation. Here's the photo album from the trip, & I'll post some below:

Micarelli Pocono Vacation 2024

 

 

 

 

 

Neonna Loretta Micarelli's 1st Birthday!

 

My daughter Neonna Loretta Micarelli turned one year old, and we had a wonderful party with many family & friends to celebrate the milestone.

Photo Album:
Neonna Loretta Micarelli 1st Birthday

Neonna is my perfect little pumpkin! She is an absolute joy from the time she wakes up in the morning, with a big grin on her face. 😄  Her presence is a blessing, bringing a smiles to the faces of everyone she meets. She is already funny and cracks me up, without being able to talk. She is active and strong, like her big brother Paul Giuseppe. Loretta & I just look at her sweet face and cannot believe it. We are so happy to celebrate such a beautiful, wonderful spirit this & every day!

 

Unfortunately, on her birthday our usually happy & smiley little angel was not feeling well... teething & nap-deprived, in the brutal heat. The poor baby was miserable, would not sleep, & did not want to be put down. She still had a very special day, with many family & friends coming out to celebrate her first year of life. 

 

Paul (me) with Neonna, Paulie, & Loretta

 

As the day went on, she started feeling better, & I took her over to the kiddie pool and sprinkled her with water to cool her off. She finally started walking around and smiling again. Neonna has recently begun to walk, so she was getting around the party on her own two feet. Paulie was still relying on a walker on his 1st birthday (even if he did literally burn holes in his little Converse All Stars from scooting around on a concrete patio).

Although it was stressing us out not knowing how sick she was (because a baby can't tell you anything), parenting is always stressful. We were just deeply grateful that we were able to celebrate her turning one & to have her in our lives. I always knew I wanted to be a father, but it is completely overwhelming to really consider the awesome responsibility of raising a child. My wife and I started our family later in life, so we have the maturity to appreciate the wonder of manifesting a new human life into the world.

Neonna is such a pure & beautiful little soul. I hope & dream that she has a blessed life, full of happiness and fulfillment. I hope I'm around long enough to watch her & Paulie grow through the important stages of their lives and continue to enjoy their presence every day.

WEIRD

 

WEIRD
by The Monkey Buddha
w/ Stable Diffusion

I made this graphic in the same spirit as Shepard Fairey's Obama "HOPE" image- but twisted and unsettling- like Donald Trump's entire persona. If you stare at it long enough, you are guaranteed to lose your sanity. I thought of it while seeing online comments on the current "WEIRD" meme about Trump & the MAGA faithful. 

The idea behind the viral nature of the label is that nobody has really called out Trump & Co.'s bizarre-ness, which has been obvious to most people all along. However, Trump & his followers have tried to gaslight everyone into believing that they are the "normal" way of being, when they are, in fact, the ones out of step with the consensus reality of the majority of people. Being "weird" is not a bad thing in itself (As an artist & designer, I've embodied weirdness a lot in my life), but when the illusion of normality is used to subjugate others, it is a negative quality. The reality is that Trump is a conman, a serial liar, an asshole abusive narcissist, and yes, ...totally fucking WEIRD. The fact that other people are still supporting him politically & defending his insanity, however, is even WEIRDER. If it weren't for his wealthy background & notoriety, people would think this guy is just a strange but idiotic, nonsense-spewing jerk. 

Joe Biden was an effective President, but like I've posted before, his debate performance & public showing was a total disaster. Now that he has done the amazingly selfless thing & removed himself from the race, Kamala Harris has bust out of the gate and come out swinging, seriously bringing the fight to Trump & his campaign/legal fund. Now that Trump is the old & weak one, the flimsy public facade of Trump's normalcy is falling away. Everyone is seeing quite clearly how weird & totally unfit Trump and his people are for positions of power. 

Just today, Trump told the audience of the National Association of Black Journalists that "I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln." & regarding Kamala Harris, "Is she Indian or black? ...but she obviously doesn't because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she went -- she became a Black person." 

The fucking balls on the stupid sonuvabitch, I'll give him that... Absolute pure madness.

So, instead of trying to inspire people, this is meant to freak people out about the weirdness of Donald Trump's candidacy, & frankly his whole existence. 

______________________________

Since I made this graphic, the man who started the “MAGA is Weird” meme, Tim Walz, has been named the candidate for Vice-President. It’s an interesting phenomenon because the label frames Trump & his most faithful followers in a way that is difficult to argue against without sounding, well… weird.

Why? Because Trump & his people who have taken over the Republican party ARE totally weird. They always have been, but now the facade is falling away. The majority of Americans are seeing just how unfit such an ignorant, petty, narcissistic man is to lead really anything at all, no less the entire country, with all its complexities & nuance.

Being “weird” wouldn’t be a bad thing in itself- as an artist & designer, I've embodied weirdness a lot in my life! Trump’s brand of weirdness is dangerous, though, because he doesn’t care about anyone or anything in society, other than what directly benefits him. It takes superhuman levels of bending reality in your mind to imagine Trump & Co. as “normal” by any definition.

Any 1 or 2 of his most disturbingly weird qualities would have been enough to completely sink a candidate in the past. Donald Trump is a maelstrom of constant weird bullshit, but somehow people have bought into his twisted image & admired it. It’s all so WEIRD.

• Slathering on orange clown makeup, & styling your hair in the most ridiculous way possible - WEIRD.

• Cheating on your wife who just gave birth to your infant son, by paying a porn star for sex - WEIRD (& scummy).

• Hugging American flags & dead supporters’ work gear - WEIRD.

• Publicly expressing, on multiple occasions, your sexual interest in your own daughter - WEIRD.

• Hanging with Jeffery Epstein - WEIRD.

• Acting like you’re the face of “Law & Order,” when you’ve been indicted & convicted of numerous crimes WEIRD.

• Rage-posting ALL CAPS jingoistic word salads in the early hours of the morning - WEIRD.

• Shamelessly pandering to Christians, when you embody the 7 deadly sins, check all the boxes for the anti-Christ, and constantly break the 10 Commandments - WEIRD.

• Can’t laugh or relate to good-natured humor - WEIRD.

• Unable to operate outside a ‘zero-sum-game’ mentality. Everything is either “the best” or “terrible”, everyone is either “nasty” or wonderful,” depending on how they cater to your ego - WEIRD.

• Willing to tear down American democracy & institutions for your own personal benefit - WEIRD.

• Don’t give one single damn about lying continuously, even about things that can easily be fact-checked - WEIRD.


The list could go on, & on, & on…


Are Kamala Harris & Tim Walz (and really everyone) weird in their own ways? Sure, but when you don’t reek of insecurity from rampant egotism, you can have a laugh about it instead of trying to deny it. 

 Share it far & wide - spread the weirdness!!!