Awaken the Senses and Your Wild Mind: A Writing Workshop for the Italian Burning Experience 2026
“The Man” to be burned at the Italian Burning Man Experience
I am currently in northern Tuscany, Italy, drinking a delicious Negroni and listening to a fabulous DJ– who I think is from Italy, maybe Milan, but could be from just about anywhere in the world… because the Italian Burning Experience attracts people from all over the world, people with many talents. Last year I fell in love with a DJ from Vienna– and then I was able to go to Vienna and hear her– and attend Pride there!
If you have been to Burning Man, or a Burning Man regional burn, the equivalent of Italian Burning Experience isn’t Burning Man but a Burning Man theme camp –the best theme camp you can imagine. It’s so good that you don’t venture too far away because the camp has it all–amazing people, live music, excellent food, fantastic bartenders, top notch workshops, showers, Wifi, and more at a remote, beautiful location. Read more…
MMIW
May is the month for awareness for Mission and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives, and today May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2-Spirit people (MMIWG2S).
We wear red to honor them and make them visible, to remember them and miss them.
Observed on May 5, this day calls attention to an ongoing crisis and reflects the work of Ethnic Studies to center Indigenous histories, voices, and resistance. Indigenous women, girls, and 2-Spirit people experience disproportionately high rates of violence, including cases of disappearance and murder that often go underreported.
Ventura artist and author Weshoyot Alvitre, author and illustrator of the children’s book Brave, composed the following
short illustrated story “to dress in red”–
World Semi-Colon Day 2026
A week ago Wednesday I was on a private art tour in the hills above Santa Barbara where the landscape was studded with art including a few choice pieces of punctuation including a very large, 6′ tall semi-colon. “The semi-colon is dead,” Read more…
Taxed Out on Tax Day… and A Poem
Author Talks: I Hope You Know How F*n Cool You Are
Tony Fletcher’s books
Fletcher’s Dear Boys
Tony has spoken to students at Ventura College several times in person (and once via ZOOM) during Earth Day one year and during the Diversity in Culture Festival other years.
vote for Gwendolyn Alley
Once again I’m honored to be nominated for a Wine Travel Award as a Wine and Food Influencer in “The Brightest Journey” category— and I’m asking for your vote! Five finalists advance to judging — and how I get there is by your votes! It’s easy! All you have to do is click this link and vote for me.
Why vote for me? I started Art Predator as a print journalist, moved it to WordPress and now —
Practice
Love at dawn at Burning Man in 2014 phot by Gwendolyn Alley
In advance of Valentine’s Day, we did some fun writing activities in my college composition classes at Ventura College, and I shared some of my writing and my writing process as well. Since the students this week were writing about the writing process and writing practice, it was particularly appropriate. Below is one of the poems I shared from a class publication of many years ago which I hope will inspire them for the class publication we will do at the end of the semester. Here’s a link to my poem “kisses” also; I had students close their eyes and I put a chocolate kiss in their hands! They then used their sense to explore this “kiss” and later I shared my poem which you can also find below.
Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Black History Month: Watch Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” + toast with Black Girl Magic
Becoming Michelle Obama
It’s the 100th anniversary of Black History Month this year!
While there’s hundreds of ways to celebrate, watching Becoming, the documentary about Michelle Obama’s life based on her autobiography, is a great way to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Black History Month. In 1926, 100 years ago, Black History Month began as “Negro History Week” and 50 years later, became Black History Month in 1976. February was chosen in part because of Douglass Day, held on Feb. 14 to honor the chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass. Read more here.
“If we can open up a little bit more to each other, and share our stories, that’s what breaks down barriers,” Ms Obama says in the documentary; watch the trailer here.
Black History Month
Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Nova-ember!
Nova pneumonia
Happy Thanksgiving! I have lots to be grateful for, including Nova’s pneumonia recovery! It’s slow, but steady, and she’s strong girl with a sweet soul. It was great to get her back home again and out of the hospital! Read more…
Nova Has Pneumonia: can you help?
Nova
Nova –my recent rescue — was to be killed in San Bernardino, basically because she had mange, a non-contagious treatable stress related illness. All For Love Animal Rescue saved her, but as she had been exposed to pneumonia from a dog that died, I was asked to foster Nova (read more here). Once AFLAR volunteer Nick gave her a bath to remove the crusty mange, and treated her with hemp oil, she smelled sweet, and she was so much more comfortable. She is such a snuggler! Such a loving sweet soul and a great girl!
Nova
We went out for brief walks between rainstorms, and when the weather cleared up on Friday, we hiked at the Ventura Botanical Gardens. Saturday she had a big adventure, and she was full of life.
Sadly, Sunday we woke to find a very sick dog.
art predator 