Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf

We posted last June on young artist Olivia Bouler's inspiring project to save birds on the Gulf Coast during & in the aftermath of the BP oil spill disaster. On the year anniversary, much remains to be done; frankly, things are just a mess. Read about Olivia's new book here. Starting today, read the Audubon Society's one-year update on conditions in the Gulf. You can sign a petition there to urge Congress to act on Gulf Restoration now.

ciao-meow/GG Central

(image via Barnes & Noble)

Olivia's Help the Gulf Wildlife Project

From the National Audubon Society's blog The Perch (by Julie Leibach)

After hearing about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, 11-year-old (as of this Friday) Olivia Bouler was devastated—and determined to act. She and her parents brainstormed ways to help, and it dawned on her: “I have a little artistic talent,” she says modestly. So she began sending original bird illustrations to donors who contribute to oil spill relief efforts.(rest of article)

Please help Olivia & the National Audubon Society help the birds of the Gulf. Go here to see more of Olivia's paintings . What wonderful girl (& talented artist).

GG & her editor

[Plover, tern by Olivia Bouler. Brown pelican, by Olivia Bouler. The original is hanging in the National Audubon Society's headquarters in New York City. All rights reserved.]

Tales of the Islander

A Prairie Home Companion on 22 May 2010. As she sang, we bet we were not alone in thinking of the ongoing BP-Gulf disaster. The David Byrne-directed video is terrific & interspersed with more Anderson images & information about him, a true eccentric & treasure.

We hope you will visit your favorite music site & download Caroline's music. Here's her website; the songs change two at a time so you can sample them. If you need further recommendation, GG is a huge fan & cat-gallops to the source upon hearing the opening of Tales of the Islander. (She really does.)

ciao-sniff-meow/GG's editor

(Horn Island by Walter Anderson via Smithsonian American Art Museum; roseate spoonbills in flight by Kerri Oddeni via From the Bay to the Bayou; Caroline Herring by Jeffrey Fasano (on CH website)

Hurricane Gustav

Keep track via NOAA's Hurricane Center & National Geographic News. Make sure you check on friends & family, neighbors & strangers. No matter what happens, people & animals will need help.

Maria Caterina di Perugia's breaking news photos of Obama party

GG Central's Maria Caterina di Perugia took these cellphone pix at a speechwatching party in Northern Virginia. They're fuzzy but hey, it was breaking news. We're all so excited!

We'll try not to be catty about McCain's Veep Choice (I know!) but it does lend itself to cheap satire...not that GG Central is above such. We're waiting for professionals (Jon Stewart, et al) to handle this, for now. Tina Fey & her take on the bizarre choice should be priceless; watch SNL's first show of the season on 13 September. We can hardly wait.

Please keep the good folks in New Orleans & the Gulf Coast in your thoughts as Hurricane Gustav heads towards land. GG & her editor are so worried about everyone, including one of our very best friends, Pansy W. of Lake Charles, Louisiana. More as we know more.

Ciao-meow, bisou, baci!
xoxo, GG