Glory to Ukraine!

"Invaded Again," 5 /12 by 8 watercolor from 2014--See "Blood and Bars" below

I don't know why, but hundreds of Ukrainians have been clicking on this blog in the last month and week, more than readers in America.
For some reason in previous years, blog readers in Ukraine have consistently ranked about fourth or fifth as the blog's total audience, but these numbers have recently soared. More than 1,900 in the last 30 days, and almost 1,000 of those in the last week.
I'm wondering if these freedom-loving, often suppressed people are worried about their country's future in the Trump Ukraine scandal, and if his friendship with Russia's dictator Putin will bode more threats to their freedom.
It's nothing new for a country whose name can be roughly translated "borderlands," already invaded by Putin in the east, and remembering other despots from Stalin to Hitler and most recently Putin in 2014. (Russian readers of the blog rank second over the years behind the U.S., but only 257 in the last month.)
I blogged and painted about that when it happened. Since then, we have terrific new neighbors, across the back fence, Ukrainians Aleksandr and Iryna, also a watercolor artist. 
I've read that most Ukrainians are trying to ignore the Trump impeachment proceedings, wanting nothing to do with it. They need our and international support to fend off more Russian atrocities. 
Still they gather to remember the Maidan protests from Nov. 2013, which started peacefully, ending with 100 killed by riot police in Kiev's Maidan--Independence Square. 
You can read my previous articles on Ukraine in the three links below.
In the meantime, here's a salute to their citizens, who have lots of experience with dictators, and value their freedom.
I asked my neighbors how you said "Viva Ukraine!" in their language. Iryna responded with what translates to "Glory to Ukraine!" In their alphabet, it looks like this.

Слава Україні!

Here are my blog posts:

• Saluting Ukraine
• Invaded Again, Blood and Bars
• Flags of Invaded, Occupied and Free

 

Invaded again--blood and bars

Invaded again--5 1/2 by 8 1/2 watercolor, 140# d'Arches

The crisis in Ukraine and Crimea is nothing new...the strategic area has been invaded and occupied over and over, from the Turks, to the Russians, to the Nazis, to the Soviets, and now after a few years of independence, again the Russians
The Russians, with Putin pulling the same prevarications  Hitler did in Europe years ago (we've got to protect the ethnic Russians), are bullying their way back into Empire, and innocent, free people will suffer.
For some reason, this crisis is very personal to me. Thus today's painting. The blue and yellow of Ukraine's flag, being swallowed by tyranny's red flag, with bars looming.
I have readers of this blog in Ukraine, and wrote about them a year ago: The Ukraine.

Ukraine's flag was adopted in 1918 in its short lived Ukrainian People's Republic, following the Russian Revolution, but was later changed to red and red-blue flags as part of the USSR. It was officially restored in 1992 following independence, and flag day has been celebrated since 2004 on Aug. 23.

The colors symbolize the blue skies and golden wheat fields of the steppes, but the first representations of the colors for the Ukraine go back to pre-Christian times for ceremonies and represented fire and sky.
I remember growing up that one of my fellow high school students was a blond-haired girl who had Ukrainian royal blood. Her parents and grandmother had fled the Soviets.  That made the threat of communism very real to me.

Saluting Ukraine--fighting for survival

I painted this back in March, when Russia's dictator Putin invaded this peaceful land, annexing part of it. The struggle continues and innocent people are suffering. It symbolizes the Ukraine's flag, being invaded by blood and bars.

I reprint this to call attention to those brave people who so value freedom, trying, alone, to withstand the new Hitler. They serve as examples for us Americans who take our freedoms too much for granted, I think.
During the past week, there have been more readers of this blog from Ukraine than any other country, save the U.S.  Now I know the following term is also the name of one of Ukraine's political parties, but this is merely a salute to your dedication to 
"Freedom."
Свобода
Svoboda

Thank you.

"We will survive," Calm before Storm, and Ukraine's colors

"We Will Survive, dedicated to the Ukraine, 24 x 30 acrylic on canvas

 Finished. My largest painting, "Calm Before the Storm."

While it was in progress I noticed it featured the colors of Ukraine, battling the monstrous Russian invasion. 

So my title has changed, "We will Survive."

As most have on the Great Plains of America, through hardship, drought and violent weather. 

This will be available in two weeks at  my @InYourEyeStudio&Gallery and in time for the @Paseo Arts District  Arts Festival May 28-30.

Dedicated to the real patriots, not with words, but fighting with their lives in Ukraine. Death to tyrants, here and everywhere.

Which country is next?

Russian Rape of Ukraine, 5 x 7 watercolor

Eight years ago, March 5, 2014, I did this watercolor after the Russian Hitler invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea. Now it's the rest of the country. Remind you of someone back in 1939?

Which country is next? This is how WWII started. The rape of Ukraine shows history always repeats itself. Too bad the war criminal Putin hasn't been assassinated. Though his puppet pal tRump would be sad.

Flags, and stories of the invaded, occupied, free

 The world is full of countries that have been independent, occupied, and freed over the centuries. Among the readers of today's blogs are citizens of two of those countries, and I've experienced stories involving both--The Philippines and  Ukraine.
The Philippines have a long history and were colonized and settled by the Spanish, taken over by America, and occupied by the Japanese.

The flag is integral to that history. As a result of the Spanish American War, the country became a U.S. Territory  but the revolutionaries who had fought Spain under the flag, then declared war on America. Most hostilities ended in 1902, but some continued until 1913. In 1916 the U.S. passed the Philippine Autonomy Act, pledging independence. It was partially granted in 1935, but WWII interrupted, and Americans suffered more than 62,000 casualties and 13,000 deaths in the war against the Japanese. The Philippines were granted complete independence in 1946.
That history is vivid to me because years ago a friend of our newspaper was a doctor who had survived the Bataan Death March. His stories were chilling
The flag is different in that it twice as long as wide. The eight primary rays of the sun represent the first group of provinces to start the 1898 revolution against Spain. The three stars represent the country's three regions, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. White for equality and fraternity; blue for peace, truth and justice; red for patriotism and valor. The white and sun symbolize unity, freedom, peoples democracy and sovereignty. If the country is at war, the red stripe goes on top.

Ukraine's flag was adopted in 1918 in its short lived Ukrainian People's Republic, following the Russian Revolution, but was later changed to red and red-blue flags as part of the USSR. It was officially restored in 1992 following independence, and flag day has been celebrated since 2004 on Aug. 23.

The colors symbolize the blue skies and golden wheat fields of the steppes, but the first representations of the colors for the Ukraine go back to pre-Christian times for ceremonies and represented fire and sky.
I remember growing up that one of my fellow high school students was a blond-haired girl who had Ukrainian royal blood. Her parents and grandmother had fled the Soviets.  That made the threat of communism very real to me.

White unto Harvest the colors of Ukraine

Behold, the fields are white unto harvest, 12 x 12 acrylic 

“Behold, the fields are white unto harvest,” and then suddenly colors of freedom loving #Ukraine, blues and yellows only just happened. Life to freedom. Death to tyrants and their USA toadies.

Palette knives, on gallery wrapped canvas. Soon available at In Your Eye Studio and Gallery in Paseo Arts District

Who reads this blog, and why, around the world?

                 Who reads a blog like this? The evolution and progress of Coffee with Clark has  astounded me for four reasons.  
First, of the millions of blogs in the world, few continue as long as this one, now approaching four years with fairly regular postings.
Second, since it's not a "niche" blog, and doesn't have a huge official following, it still has attracted an international audience. I would love to know about the people, beyond the United States,  who read it in those 84 other countries on six of the seven continents around the world where my stats show they are. I wish my stats also showed where most of my readers were state-by-state, but so far that hasn't happened. Google stats do show me almost 65,000 hits and which posts are most popular, and a number of other things, but I'd like to know more.
Third, when I look back at my postings, I'm amazed at how much I've learned and how the blog has evolved over the years. I'm still learning--and have to since I teach a class "Blogging for Journalists" at UCO every semester. The pressure is on.  Of course my students often teach me as much as I do them. 
Fourth, the amount of new online resource material available on blogging, plus news stories and more about the impact of blogging continues to grow. One highlight of the past years was winning the "Best Writing" award in the state, my first year. Then they quit having the contest. 
I do know there will be more change in the future as the "blogosphere" continues to explode and change, almost every minute, much like our physical universe.  You need to read Technorati's "State of the Blogosphere" to put all this in perspective, and to see the multitude or blogs, and the world leaders. technorati.com  In the near future I hope, I'll be changing to Wordpress from Blogspot, but I'll continue a couple of other teaching blogs in Blogspot because it's easier to teach. If I could find my "niche," maybe I could make money at this, but I don't fit into niches very easily.
So here, from Google stats, are the countries where by readers come from, in no particular order, but I've arranged them by continents.

• Africa--Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, Gabon, South Africa, Mali, Morocco, 
• Asia--Japan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Korea, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Armenia 
• Caribbean and Central America--Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico
• Europe--Poland, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, UK, Spain, France, Italy, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Isle of Man, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Georgia, Turkey, Romania, Slovenia, Netherlands, Serbia, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovnia, Latvia, Greece, Hungary, Czech Republic, Norway, Estonia, Belgium, Macedonia(FYROM), Portugal, Estonia, Monaco
• Mideast--Saudia Arabia, UAE, Israel, Kuwait, Iran, Jordan, Qatar, Iraq, Cyprus  
• North America--US, Canada, Mexico
• South America--Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru
• Oceania--Australia, Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, New Zealand

For the record, most readers come from the United States. Here's the top ten countries for readers and the number of hits in the past four years. 

United States	41372
Germany	3062
Russia	2746
United Kingdom	1819
Ukraine	1361
France	878
India	556
Netherlands	529
Slovenia	422
Canada	415

The Russian bear awakens from hibernation

The bear has awakened from hibernation and is hungry.

Grizz is my totem, ursa horriblis, the dominant carnivore in the northern hemisphere. I think it is no accident that the bear is the symbol of Russia.

Recent actions by Russia, in the Ukraine, and now in Syria, and who knows where else, make us Americans uncomfortable. We may be the world's only "superpower," but we don't like, and fear, competition. 

I grew up in the Cold War, afraid of Russian ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) coming over the north pole. We even had evacuation plans, extra food ready to load,  and took part in exercises from Albuquerque...figuring we had 45 minutes before being hit to reach the Sandia Mountains. In high school speech class, my memorized oration was about "detente" and the fear of nuclear war. We feared the bear.

We feared the bear

I'm wondering why more people from Russia have clicked on this blog in the past few days than those from other countries, including America. 

Bears are confident, territorial, proud, and survivors. A mere eagle is not a  match, really more of a scavenger. What have we been able to do in the face of Russian "aggression" in Ukraine and Syria? Nothing, and that has nothing to do with politics. Short of war, sending American soldiers to die, we're powerless.

Any country that can lose 10 million people in a war, and still be a world power, has to be reckoned with, or at least respected. The crack "Red Army" defeated Hitler, and fell into decay. No longer. Grizz's claws are long. You can't outrun it. 

Americans forgot that when we "won" the Cold War. But the bear has only been hibernating.

State of the blog in pandemic--a record

Blog readership, at year's end, not recording 2009, 2010

"Lesson--the pandemic has been an impetus for my blog and my painting--and thus my survival."--Retrospective realization as I look back over, and evaluate, the year in my pandemic journal for today. 

At year's end, this blog, now going on 12 years, ties the most December  posts in its life--47--the most since the first year, 2009-- and it's third highest yearly posts--285, barely behind 2010 at 292. 

That's a turn around from last year, with its lowest point of 112 posts. In retrospect the revival is largely due to the pandemic that has enabled, inspired, driven me to paint and write more.

It began as a journalist/professor's blog in May 2009 with no idea how long it would live, and gradually changed through the years kept alive as I taught blogging at UCO. 

But as its changed with art, art has also helped rescue it. This December's postings, including this one, helped it tie 2009's December as an all-time monthly high.

 

Total posts this year, again thanks to watercolors, ranked it behind only the first two years. And my blog traffic reached more than 332,000, up 34,000 from this time last year--which is almost 3,000 visitors a month. 

Speaking of that, the most read blog posts go all the way back, but Blogger's "improved" stats make totals impossible. Most popular, with more than 4,500 readers--"Toasting the Passage of Time," December 27, 2009

 

Here are the facts for this year, and for the record.

Traffic, posting  facts--

• 332,000+ page views since May, 2009 
• Highest monthly 2020 traffic, June, 3,619
• Lowest 2020 monthly, January, 1715
• Lowest annual monthly traffic--May, 2018--638 
• Most 2020 monthly posts, this month, 47
• Fewest posts in a month this year--January, 8

Posts per year--

• 2020--285
• 2019--109
• 2018--149 
• 2017--158
• 2016--137
• 2015--136
• 2014--276
• 2013--252
• 2012--203
• 2011--134
• 2010--292
• 2009--339 (started in May)

2020 total page views by countries--

What I have failed to do this year is keep up with readers from new locations. I know it's probably the same, at about 153 or so around the world.

Top page hits this year--Changes from last year, China and Turkey dropped off the list, and Russia plunged from number two, though it is still second overall, Ukraine third, Germany and then China. (Why? )

United States Romania	19.9K  1.81K
Russia Germany	4K     924
Ukraine United Kingdom France Portugal Canada Other(?)	722     719     543     463     461 4.49K