By Mark Kaufman
We just signed a lease for a new office space, so after 15 years in Seattle’s Pioneer Square we are packing up and moving to a lovely spot in West Seattle on March 1. We have been in our current office for close to 5 years, and we are now in the process of getting rid all of the junk we have accumulated in that time. I’ll post a these nuggets of awesomeness when we get a good find. Like these fine examples.

By Mark Kaufman
You know when you post away on yer blogs every day and your not quite sure if anyone ever reads or takes a gander at what you so wittily typed up and sent out into the wild blue yonder? Of course you do. It's always nice for someone to add a comment or just drop a line and start a conversation, it gives you the will to keep on keepin' on as it were. Well, I got a very nice email from one Drew Pocza the other day, and it made my day. Drew is a very talented illustrator, and quite a nice fella. Why don't you head on over to his site at pocza.com and take a peek, or better yet add a nice comment to his blog. And keep those cards and e-mails coming!

By Mark Kaufman
Anyone remotely familiar with American corporate history is well aware that The Haloid Company of which I speak is actually Xerox. One of the great corporate names has a new logo. I am not sure why they changed what I thought was one of the great corporate logos to something resembling Xbox or the X-Men, or some hi-tech start-up from the late 90s, but there you have it. I assume that there will be some crap about moving beyond "copiers" into digital services and products, but I for one don't think this logo does anything to propel that notion or to foster a “new” brand.

By Mark Kaufman
Here is a nice bit of Italian graffiti. Graffiti is everywhere in Rome and Naples, and most of it kicks it supa dupa old skool. Like NYC back in the 80s. Therefore most of it is pretty lousy and for the most part it says nasty things about the rival soccer team, But I liked this. Several people have asked, so we have posted a bunch of photos from our trip to Italy. Please click here to see what we were up to. This is only 10% of the shots we took, even so it may take a few seconds to load up. More to come.

By Mark Kaufman

By Mark Kaufman
Here’s a spot I did a short while back for a disturbing story about HIV vaccine trials that were abruptly halted. The data showed that patients in the trial actually became more vulnerable to the HIV virus. A sad story all around.

By Mark Kaufman
I just returned from a month in Italy, and one of the absolute wonders of the world that I saw on my trip was Luca Signorelli’s frescoes in the chapel of S. Brizio, in Orvieto. Breathtaking. The section of the anti-christ, mesmerizing. But not as mind-blowing as Mike Huckabee’s statement that we should “amend the constitution to God’s standards”.  That can only mean one thing, that Mike Huckabee is the anti-christ. Since an antichrist can be opposed to Christ by striving to be in the place of Christ, this can be the only explanation as to why Aw Shucks Huckabee would say something so profoundly insane.

By Mark Kaufman
Here’s an American Affairs Desk comic that ran while I was on vacation. Just in case the Veep dropped dead while I was away from my drawing table, I provided an alternate version with a different intro. I do believe Ayn Rand’s fist is one of my better ideas. I may expand on that in the future.

By Mark Kaufman

I will be uploading some snaps from our Roman holiday in the coming days, I know you can't friggin' wait, in the meantime I’m posting some of the American Affairs Desk comics that ran in December while I was traipsing about Italy. This one brings back ghosts of Christmas past. Click here for a countdown until W heads back to Crawford. Until then, God bless us, every one.

I am back from my Roman holiday. Here is a shot of Jacki and I on New Year’s Eve in Rome. it was crazier than Times Square, with fireworks, and punks lighting M-80s left and right, spumante and wine bottles aplenty. A big explosion had my ears ringing for a few hours. Our trip to Italy was absolutely amazing, great art, great food and wine, and great weather. Not enough to get a tan, but I am pale, rested and ready to roll. Wishing everyone a belated Happy New Year.

Mark Kaufman