The art exhibition "Heart to Heart"  by Hollywood animator Rich Wilke was featured this month in Santa Barbara. Wilke, an opinionated and expressive  artist has done notable work  in  Netflix's "F is for Family,"  "Curious George" and other series and movies. Wilke  wanted to show through his  artwork and statements how the push and pull of love shapes the way people and people with animals interact for Valentine's Day. He recently painted 100 portraits of  Ukrainian children of war and told their stories for charity in another exhibition that has been featured in local and national institutions and regional shows.

Burt Horowitz demonstrates his symbolic textured clay artwork on women's disempowerment,  provoking thought, conversation and emotion.Horowitz, makes a difference for others as a public speaker, artist and through charitable work.His recent exhibition in Santa Barbara, California featured a purse with an Iranian textured scarf, that is symbolic of the disenfranchisement of women in Iran.Many Iranian  educated and career-oriented women  are not allowed to work due to the suppressive religious laws of the Iranian government against such practices.His art work has also been featured in Eyes of War and Eyes of Hope about the Ukrainian Conflict.

The  Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program allows people with non-visible disabilities to access the support they need  more readily in airports. 1.3 billion people globally are estimated to live with disabilities. Examples of non-visible disabilities include those with neurological, cognitive, mental health and other physical conditions.The  sign on bracelets and lanyards given out for free, prompt trained airport staff that these passengers need more time or assistance navigating through the ticket line, security, through  the terminals, in bathrooms and at boarding.This program is being used in Santa Barbara, Seattle, Portland and Denver airports.

Stem cell experiments from the Mayo Clinic (USA),  will be launched into space at the end of the month by NASA. They  will be headed to the International Space Station.These experiments will  help to determine how mesenchymal stem (bone marrow)  cells react to  zero gravity. Adult stem cells will also be part of this experiment for healing and potential growth factorization.The relevance of this experiment is that astronauts suffer bone depletion in space while being off the planet for long periods.Scientists hope to learn how this bone depletion occurs so that they can work on solutions.

The Annual Humor Conference will take place this year in downtown Denver, Colorado (April 2024). This is no joke.The  hu