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We all think about those negative influences that we would all like to forget; yet we often neglect to acknowledge those positive warriors who quietly and compassionately help us shoulder dark toxic angst, while nurturing us back to the light of healthy joy.  This 2024 January post is to celebrate one of the positive life warrior-healers that I cherish. If you have one of these people in your life, did you stop and give God thanks for them? (If you don't have one, prayerfully your life will soon be blessed. If you do and you didn't offer thanks yet---how about doing it now?) In the traditional Black American community, we have a custom known as "Give them their flowers (while they yet live)." Selfless fabulous people have invested quality time and positivity into my life. This first post is a huge thank you/shout out and a huge Kuumba bouquet of red fragrant roses to my community minded sistah-- professor Starla Lewis! Professor Starla Lewis at the 2024 San Diego S

 She now has housing!!!!! Abstract Afrofuturist painter: Picassa   Picassa: Summer 2014 Photo by Delores Fisher one of my favorite photos of her Ten years ago, early morning strolls along San Diego pier exposed an often shadow-population of the un-housed who slept while others sat awake to watch over them and to chase away predatory night dwellers who slept during the day so they could prey on the weak after midnight while seeming to casually wander the pier and San Diego's downtown city streets. For the vulnerable on side streets nights were and still are very long all year.                  Sidewalk tent community Photo by Delores Fisher, blogger 2023 Picassa and I met one early fairly sunny San Diego California morning while I was taking a stroll to clear my mind about a recent 2014 blog post. I felt as if something was shifting. I felt unsettled as I walked near the now defunct Anthony's Fish Grotto. A chestnut brown face was looking up at me. She smiled. Spread out in fro

Maggie is a photographer with an extraordinary eye for details, colors, shadows, and wonder. She is approximately thirty years old and optimistic about America, its future, its healing, its complex cultural contradictions, and its often ignored people-unifying characteristics as a nation.  Maggie is also homeless in San Diego, has been for the several years I've known her. Although she does create surrealistic phantasms, her photographer's gaze is often realistic, with a dash of humor, irony, and impressions that reflect a phrase I recently coined in 2023 for her work and similar works by homeless artists:  " the satirical homeless gaze."                      Image reproduced with Maggie's permission:   She also uses her creative eye to design patterned hats out of yarn. She is looking for a possible concession spot in a small boutique, once she has a collection of hats to sells.She sells a few on the daily in the winter, but it's not much money. She gets by w

 Yes, I used the term homeless in the title as opposed to other more PC terms.  After reading various articles and blogs, including an enlightening reminder by Joe Omundson at  https://medium.com/ecofrugality/stop-confusing-homeless-and-houseless-39b055d29ea3  , the terms homeless and living on the streets seem to be labels these musicians and artists I will write about this summer prefer.                   Glen Pops Freeman photo by Delores Fisher They have shared their stories about COVID 19, feeling invisible, how they spend their daily lives, the precious flow time spent on the streets, maintaining hope while facing pandemic dynamics, a humbling experience they are allowing me to share with you.                                                     I've written about gen eral  homelessness in San Diego California from different socio-political perspectives over the years in various blog posts(for a recent [for a recent post, see https://carpenoctum2.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-unh

Delores Fisher at San Diego Who Con 2021 (Photo permission by photographer) Convention season is starting here in San Diego California. Downtown stores, restaurants, art galleries, and conference rooms will serve thousands of in-person conventioneers this summer! Add to that the ZOOM workshops, breakout sessions, podcasts and webinars, and it almost seems ai if business is back to pre-COVID heights. ALMOST....but-we'll talk about that at a later date. One of the smaller conventions that has returned to in-person attendance and continues to expand is the San Diego Dr. Who Convention.   San Diego Who Con is really fun and informative for fans of hard science presentations as well as the soft and speculative. Anything that has to do with dimensional explorations, robots, and time travel for an Afrofuturist like me, has got to be fun. San Diego Who Con 2022 photo by delores fisher Of course, I still have Dalek issues and wow, this display really sent me thinking about future convention

Hey everybody! Catching up on posting. Thinking about adding an appearance update page. I am working on several projects and scheduled in-person guest appearances. So, perhaps the update page will keep you more in the know about various upcoming or already occurred bookings and events.                                       Delores Fisher Blogger/Poet San Diego State University has many award winning student organizations in a lot of majors! These student organizations are not only becoming more well known locally, regionally, and nationally in their specific fields for research and innovations, but also for their global humanitarian commitment to nurture positive change. SDSU's Black Student Sciences Organization is one of these groups, young scholars dedicated to increase knowledge as they link to humanity. Thank you to Dr. Estralita Martin and previous BSSO presidents for inviting me to participate in their annual Hope For Haiti Benefits. And, a special thank you to BSSO presiden