Those mutant cats: get the facts before it’s too late! (and other updates)

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, and plenty has changed, so I want to fill you in on what’s happened with some of the people and things I wrote about earlier.

• Remember the Ashera, that expensive custom-bred cat I gabbed about on Giannii’s audio blog? The company never got back to me about what happens to the cats that don’t turn out the way they want them for sale. I’d still like to know whether I can adopt a rejected Ashera. Poor little guys!

• Jamie Boudreau has left Vessel in Seattle, and is now out on his own, bartending ritzy private parties until he finds the right fit with another bar. You can follow his exploits, or hire him (for the right price) through his blog. I have yet to find my new favorite Seattle bar.

• Brendan McGinley and Hannibal Goes to Rome did not win the Zudacomics competition, but Brendan has plenty of other projects in the works. Volume 2 of his DOSE!, a collection of comedy shorts by several talented creators, including Hannibal artist Mauro Vargas, recently debuted at MOCCA in New York City. Find out more about Brendan and his work at IndelibleComics.com.

• Beloved cartoonist Ape Lad had two of his drawings selected in the New Yorker contest I wrote about. His ongoing series, The Laugh-out-Loud Cats, continues to make me laugh out loud. See the winners here – Ape Lad’s are #2 and #18.

• For better or worse, I have not been following Sloan on tour this week. Instead, I was in my hometown of Seattle, meeting up with some fantastic old and new friends, and attending BarCamp Seattle and Thingamajiggr. I met Qais from Ectoplasmosis, sharp-witted Twitter aiders-and-abetters Moltz, Fedge and Sourjayne, the fierce Tara Brown, noted uber-geek Tantek Çelik, and that goddamned troublemaker Sean Bonner. As for Sloan, I’ve been enjoying their new record tremendously, and someday I’ll make it to one of their shows.

• Look for my next piece for Geek Monthly later this summer. I’ll fill in the details when I can.

• Remember when I said I was going to write a series of 8 Lies You Can Tell Yourself to Make Things More Interesting? I guess I lied. If you’re actually still interested, drop me a comment and I’ll see if I can come up with something.