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February 2017 Ramsay Newsletter AND... 3 Things for Canada!

1/30/2017

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The latest comic strip about life in my quiet Calgary neighbourhood appears here, against the backdrop of a rising tide of world events that I'm struggling to keep up with. When I started writing comics about Ramsay, I didn't imagine that politics - local, to say nothing of global - would really ever be a big part of the story. But once again, I'm finding the line between the events on my own street, and the events "out there" in what my dad used to call the Great World, to be indistinguishable. It's all part of the same story.

When I drew this comic a week or two ago, I decided to write about an initiative launched recently by our Mayor Naheed Nenshi as part of Canada's 150th anniversary celebration (otherwise known as our sesquicentennial). You can read about "3 Things for Canada" in the comic strip below (and click on the link to see the website for this project. This is something you'll want to be part of!).

But right now "3 Things for Canada" feels like a small contribution to make, to a country that needs much more. Last night,six people were killed in a terrorist attack at a mosque in Quebec City.

Just prior to this tragic event, I had been heartened to see Canada's politicians, almost without exception, asserting Canada's commitment to a diverse and inclusive society, one that welcomes refugees regardless of  faith or ethnicity, in contrast to Donald Trump's recent Executive Order. Here are just a couple of statements I was proud to see:

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017

I came to Alberta, Canada as a Refugee & was welcomed & cared for, I became a Citizen & I am now a Cabinet Minister #WelcomeToCanada #ableg https://t.co/Za0sFj1o3W

— Ricardo Miranda (@_RicardoYYC) January 29, 2017
Today, after the tragic events in Quebec, the work of Canada's leaders becomes even more difficult. And this brings me back to Mayor Nenshi, whose response to the Quebec shootings can be read in full here:

My heart doesn’t break because I am Muslim.
My heart breaks because I am human.

Today, it is easy to feel the darkness of the world.

I know that it can feel like the world is broken and that we are helpless to fix it. But we are not helpless.

Every single one of us can heal the world. It starts in our own communities and with our own hearts and hands. Every single one of us has the power to create the light we so desperately need in times like these.

And so it is our responsibility today to take action. Actions that not only heal our community, but make it stronger. Actions that, at their core, bring us together.

Meet and know all your neighbours, host a community pot luck, donate to organizations that support refugees and immigrants and our communities, volunteer for events to celebrate who we are as a diverse and multicultural and pluralistic nation.

And that brings us to 3 Things for Canada - three acts of service to our nation that can build bridges, heal,  celebrate, and reaffirm what it means to be a Canadian today. 

First, a little history about how this got started - with 3 Things for Calgary.
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Ramsay Newsletter Comic, February 2017

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That's really just the introduction. Next, I want to tell you about the first of my three things: the story I'm going to tell this week, as part of the community-building, healing, and learning that I want to contribute. Look out for that first chapter very soon! In the meantime, consider what you could share with our country: What are you passionate about? What can you do to help?

There couldn't be a better time for this project.
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December 2016 Ramsay comic strip, or Why We Need Neighbours

12/1/2016

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Hi Ramsay comic strip readers! Before I post this month's comic, here's a little bit about why I wrote it:

Over the past five years or so, I've been writing a comic strip that runs in my monthly community newsletter. This is just something I've done for fun, because I was inspired by the people, places and stories in my neighbourhood. It was a way to give back.
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One thing you find out really fast by getting involved in your neighbourhood, is that there are lots of different opinions about everything. I love how, despite this, people can co-exist peacefully and respectfully, right next door to each other.

I've been proud to be part of this group of diverse and respectful people. And so I've really tried to keep my own two cents out of the Ramsay newsletter comic. Far be it from me, to foist my opinion on the neighbours, in a volunteer-run publication that is meant to keep us connected! 


A couple of times, I couldn't resist raising issues that I felt were important, both to me personally, as well as to our community. Once, I wrote about how I couldn't find a house for sale that could accommodate a multigenerational living arrangement (this strip received more comments than any other I've written); and another time, I wrote about the importance of volunteering with our local School Council.

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I've written comics about politics here and there - my first foray into indie comics was a story about the effects of September 11th, 2001 on Canada, and my most recent politically-themed comic was "City Hall 101," a story about how everyday Calgary citizens can weigh in on issues that matter to them, at City Hall.
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But I've steered clear of politics in "Sam Hester's Ramsay." I've never wanted to use my little neighbourhood strip as my own political soapbox. The newsletter only circulates to about 1000 households, along with being posted to the Community Association website and my own blog. But if my comic is even a small part of the face Ramsay presents to the outside world, I want to make sure it's as inclusive, diverse and welcoming a face as I can help to make it.

That's still what I want. But this month, I had to write about my fear of what's happening in the United States as the world watches the unprecedented period of "transition" following Donald Trump's presidential victory on November 8th , 2016.
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Ultimately, whatever happens and whatever you believe, anything we will be able to do to keep the human race going, under any kind of political leadership, will be about sharing space with your neighbours. I'm hoping that's a message that can resonate with everyone!

I hope it might spark some conversations - maybe even motivate people to reach out, in their own networks, for answers to the questions they have. And if people think I'm absolutely wrong about my take on this - I hope those people will talk about it, think about it, do something about it, too! If neighbours are getting connected, my art is doing its job.

By the way, independent comics creators all over the world are using their medium to share stories about what's happening in America right now. Take a look at what Alison Bechdel is doing; Francoise Mouly and Nadja Spiegelman are putting together an important project too. (If you know about any other comics that are being written about this, I'd love to hear - especially if they're Canadian!)

"If you cannot be brave... be kind."

Let me leave you with this quote from American journalist for the Globe & Mail, Sarah Kendzior, who's provided a voice of reason throughout the entire American election campaign, and even more so in the past weeks now that she's really gaining an international audience (thank goodness). This quote is from an article she wrote on November 18th, 2016:

"You still have your freedom, so use it. There are many groups organizing for both resistance and subsistence, but we are heading into dark times, and you need to be your own light. Do not accept brutality and cruelty as normal even if it is sanctioned. Protect the vulnerable and encourage the afraid. If you are brave, stand up for others. If you cannot be brave – and it is often hard to be brave – be kind."

I have a few more thoughts about this, so look for another post very soon, with some ideas about what neighbours can do next. Until then: be kind, to yourself and to your neighbours, too.
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City Hall Comics!

9/2/2016

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I just talked with the Calgary Eyeopener about a little project I worked on earlier this year: "City Hall 101." I talked with Calgary Metro, too (here's a link to the article they wrote about this). So I guess I'd better post the comic here. Some of those creative folks at Calgary City Hall had the idea of using comics to draw people's attention to ways ordinary citizens can engage with what's going on. I love the fact that our script used the idea of people showing up to speak in support of a proposed change, rather than against it. People might not realize that that's an option! Anyway, here's the comic. The story isn't really that thrilling, but what IS thrilling to me is the growing interest in comics as a legit form of art and communication. Thanks City of Calgary for the opportunity!

You can also see the comic - a bit bigger, and along with all the relevant City Hall info - on the City of Calgary's website, here.
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And If you're really interested in hearing my 8 minutes on the CBC Eyeopener talking about this, here's the audio track. (If you're interested in hearing what I sound like at 6 AM after 4 hours of sleep and one big mug of coffee... you've come to the right place!)
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Sketchnotes from a talk by the Minister for the Status of Women

12/23/2014

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Kellie Leitch, Minister of Labour and Minister for the Status of Women, was in Calgary yesterday and I was fortunate enough to get to listen in on her conversation with some local business leaders. What a great opportunity to hear about ways in which Canadian women entrepreneurs (like... yours truly) can be provided with the resources they need. So of course I took notes.

It is a bit hard to make out the details in the image, so here's an experiment - I made the image into a "Prezi," which converts it into a format that allows you to zoom in really close. I've seen this technology before (and was interested to discover it comes from Hungary!), but this is my first attempt at using it. Let me know if this works (in case it doesn't, a plain old-fashioned version of the picture follows). It certainly seems like this would be handy when it comes to viewing complicated text-heavy graphic recording images just like the ones I'm always drawing!
Sketchnotes
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Carra4Ward9: that's a wrap

10/29/2013

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Thought I should just put in one last (hastily-scrawled) installment of my story about Gian-Carlo Carra's campaign for Calgary City Councillor:
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If Gian-Carlo ever gets tired of city politics, he could open a Mexican restaurant... yum!

I'm looking forward to the city council's new term in office. There should be lots of good stories - stay tuned!
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Carra4Ward9... the view from the nursery

10/20/2013

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Well, everyone, it's the night before Calgary's civic election and here I am posting a last-minute final installment of my "Carra Artist in Residence" comics. The idea was that I'd follow along with Gian-Carlo Carra's campaign to be re-elected as Calgary City Councillor in Ward 9, and draw some pictures about that. I did draw some comics about Gian-Carlo's campaign (which you can read here), but over the past month or so, I got busy with other things (as you will see below). So here's my summation of how the last few weeks of the Carra campaign - which, by all accounts, has been both busy and fun - has looked from my vantage point!
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And now, if you haven't already done so, go out and vote!
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Not informed enough to vote?

10/17/2013

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So, I've been a bit distracted over the past week or two by the arrival of this really great new baby in my household. But even throughout all this time, I can't help but be aware that there's a civic election happening pretty soon (October 21st). Since I was fortunate enough to get involved with this team of volunteers who created VoteKit - a local non-partisan initiative that is geared towards encouraging Calgarians to get out to the polls - I seem to have been hearing a lot of talk about why people don't vote.

There are lots of reasons people don't vote (including my own, which I wrote about in this comics post). But one reason that seems to keep coming up is that people don't feel they're informed enough. For example, a person might not vote for their city councillor because they don't feel they know enough about the candidates and wouldn't want to influence the outcome of the election with an uninformed contribution. (Well-intentioned, I guess, but sometimes it's still a good idea just to exercise your right to vote - you know, let the government know that we care about democracy!)

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Other non-voters are even less informed - for example, they don't know what a city councillor is or what a city councillor does. And I'm not just talking about new Canadians who are still getting the hang of this country's political system. I'm talking about Calgarians who grew up here, went to school, read the news... but still don't feel they're on solid ground when it comes to the nuts and bolts of a civic election.

And that's an awkward spot to be in. How can you ask without feeling silly? Shouldn't you just magically know this stuff?

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The answer is no. There's no "Civic Politics 101" that's mandatory for Calgarians of voting age to take at school somewhere (not that I know of, anyway). So don't feel silly!

Here is a little comic strip for folks who wish they had a better handle on the most basic stuff. Even with three more days until the election, it's never too late to learn!


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Consult the Municipal Government Act for a fuller description of what the mayor does - according to the MGA, the mayor really is the "CEO" - it just stands for "Chief Elected Official."

If you want to know more about what city councillors do, you can read this very straightforward (and rather fun to read) post about their job description, on the VoteKit site.
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Some links:

www.votekit.ca
www.calgary.ca
www.calgarydemocracy.ca


Some day when I have a lot of free time I'll figure out a way to insert hyperlinks right into the comic strip text. That would be so cool!
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VoteKit LIVE!

10/2/2013

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A little while ago, I found out about a Calgary volunteer initiative called VoteKit, which "strives to be a resource for clear, unbiased information about how to vote in the 2013 Calgary Municipal Election so that all eligible Calgarians can voice their opinions about who should represent them as their mayor, councillors and school trustees."

And here's what the group says about itself:

" We are a group of volunteers who have come together with the single goal of increasing voter turnout."

That's a goal I really like! So yesterday, I went to a very unique event called VoteKit LIVE, put together by these hardworking volunteers. Here's a comic strip I wrote about it.
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Find out more about VoteKit here.

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    sam hester

    I am a graphic recorder based in Calgary. I like local stories. I write comics when I have free time. And I leave eraser shavings everywhere I go.

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    contact me

    sam@the23rdstory.com
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    my website

    www.the23rdstory.com started as a blog and now includes some information about my graphic recording practice as well.

    I also have an (old) website which features a lot of my (old) work. Look out, it's a bit clunky and there are a lot of links that don't go anywhere, but there are still a few interesting things there:
    www.thedrawingbook.com


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    The 23rd Story: an indie comics creator's tales of life in Calgary

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