Although I haven’t posted anything here in over a month, it’s been a very busy month for me behind the scenes.

I’m working on a new weekly series for mental_floss that has yet to make it’s debut, though I already have five articles in the can waiting to be published.  At this point it will probably drop in June, but it’s hard to say.  I’ll be sure to update here once it’s underway.

I’ve also been working on a few side projects as well that haven’t yet seen the light of day.

One is a series of drawings in my weird, geometric, symmetrical style that pays homage to Pac-Man.  I’m hoping that will be finished up fairly soon and I can show it off to the world.

I’m also still working on The Dim, a web series that a friend and I have been pounding away at for almost a year now.  We’ve hired a director – Brant Hadfield – but life has kept getting in the way for us to move forward.  Steve, the producer (and old friend) got a new job that he had to focus on, and then shortly after had a new baby.  Our search for a shoot location has been long and difficult, but I think we finally have a spot that will work.  Brant is a pretty hard-working guy, so he’s been out of town on shoots quite a bit.  I’ve had the occasional obstacle pop up (craft shows, craft shows/comic book conventions, illnesses, deaths in the family, mental_floss assignments), that have prevented me from putting my all into The Dim lately, too.  Right now we’re down to the script and hashing out what needs to be done to get it to a shoot stage.  Once we feel confident we know where we’re going, we can start thinking production, with a shoot now schedule for September (it was originally for late May).  Anyway, I hope things go smoothly from here on out, as I’m ready to see the fruits of our labor.

I’m also starting up a new podcast over at Bubble Pipe Network centered around a new/old hobby of mine.  I’m calling it Rob’s Retro Record Reviews, and I’ll be presenting the audio from some old records I had in my collection from my childhood, as well as a few new acquisitions from eBay and Discogs.  But unlike a lot of vinyl fans, I don’t collect The Beatles or The Who or anything, you know, that might actually be worth some money someday.  No, I collect old books-on-record starring Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, and every kid’s favorite hero, Kojak.  You remember what I mean – the records that say, “When you hear this sound…beeeep…turn the page.”  It’s been a blast to reconnect with some of the records I already had sitting in my parents’ storage closet, as well as pick up new ones I never heard before.  Best of all, unlike The Beatles or The Who, these albums are generally really cheap; generally between $3-$6, and that often includes shipping.  I’m not sure when the podcast will launch – I still have to make up a logo and record the first episode – but it should be a lot of fun.

As you can see, I’ve been off the radar for a while, but that doesn’t mean I’m sitting around twiddling my thumbs.  I hope I’ll have some official updates soon, so keep checking back and you won’t miss a thing.