Apologies to all you good people for the lack of substantial new content lately. Work at @Du4.llc has taken off in the past couple months, and a smattering of other esoteria has also begun vying for my time. Instead of whining about it though, I figured I’d post a quick update on what’s new in AWESOME-Land.

• I’m hard at work on what I’m publicly calling #TheBigBookThing on Twitter. It’s a novel-like narrative that addresses a lot of my investigations into posthumanity and transhumanism here on the blog, but its design for publication will be anything but traditional book. Speaking of which, I’m looking for creative app developers that are interested in pushing the boundaries of traditional narrative storytelling on tablet devices. If that’s you, please send me a note.
• My friend Matt Armstrong has just assumed the Executive Directorship of the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. If you’re in the DC area, I highly recommend you come by one of the public meetings of the commission to see what they’re up to and add your 2 cents.
• Moments Places International, a Fort Worth, Texas-based bed and breakfast company, just retained my services for some web redesign and social media work. I’m seeking feedback from anyone who wants to comment on what may make their site better seen and better found.
• I’m finally getting back into the music business. A couple friends and I have started up a new rock and roll project to gig in the DC / North Virginia area, so I’ve had my head down and my headphones on learning lyrics. Stay tuned to my Twitter feed and the hashtag #Facemelters for more updates on songs and forthcoming venues. Spoiler alert: there will be Oasis.
• I’ll be at Ignite DC #7 as a guest of the fine fellas at the White Canvas Group. Grab a ticket, come by, and say hi.
• A tremendous dick is finally out of the way, and we should all just move on.
• I highly encourage you to come to Realtime NY on June 6, the event formerly known as TWTRCON. The lads and lasses at Modern Media put on a GREAT show with lots of usable, valuable info.
• I’m still on the schedule to speak in London for the Information Operations Europe 2011 conference, travel arrangements allowing. Guess I should finish that slide deck.
• Please consider joining me for a great regional Sister Cities conference in Riverside, California, September 30 to October 1. If you can’t go, consider sponsoring a young professional or youth enthusiast who may be interested in contributing to citizen diplomacy efforts like Sister Cities.
• My Queen of Wifely AWESOMENESS and I are finally planning our honeymoon, a 2-week adventure from Florence, Italy through the South of France to Paris. Hotels, travel tips, and recommendations are always appreciated.
• More AWESOME travel coming up too to New Orleans, Fort Worth, Riverside, Houston, New York, the UK, and – with luck – a cross country road trip down memory lane to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where I spent four AWESOME years with my Dad before he died.
• Current obsessions: Mass Effect 2, L.A. Noire, Deadliest Catch on Netflix streaming, Breaking Bad on AMC, the Foo Fighters’ new album Wasting Light, Dark Horse Digital Comics, Scrabble for iPad, Animal Planet’s My Cat From Hell.

Depending on how the summer shapes up, there may very well may be some professional work changes to report. Despite my love of the freedom of independent consulting, Sean Connery said it best: “Never say never again.”

This is Must. Be. AWESOME!!! Dot com.

Image courtesy of The Comics Reporter

Crazy, out of control madness going on behind the scenes here at Must. Be. AWESOME!!! Central. I wanted to break radio silence though to share an exciting event for people in the Washington, DC area.

Darwyn Cooke will appear at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on Saturday, January 30, 2010, at 4PM. Cooke is by far the absolute BEST graphic artist working in the comics business today. Not only is his style reminiscent of the clean, inspired animation art of Bruce Timm, but his composition on the page changes the way you think about sequential art. He will be reading a few selections from his most recent work, an adaptation of Donald Westlake‘s “Parker” novel The Hunter (from which the panel to your left is taken; free preview at this link). If you’re at all into modern art, comics, or animation, Cooke is a great talent to experience. You’ll find his paw prints all over some of the most eponymous prodigious artistic endeavors of the past 20 years, to include Batman Beyond, Catwoman, and Jonah Hex.

Your Intrepid Host of AWESOME will be at the Smithsonian for said event, easily identifiable with the massive Absolute New Frontier hardcover weighing me down as I cravenly strive to persuade Darwyn to give me a personalized head sketch. Prepare for nerdgasm.

This is Must. Be. AWESOME!!! Dot com.

Cooke's seminal New Frontier from DC Comics. (Image courtesy of Geekshow Entertainment)