By – ahem – general request, I’ve uploaded the “Anatomy of a hug” cartoon from last week to my little Cafepress shop.

For those who are wondering why you can find only one single cartoon there: Cafepress makes you pay for a store with multiple designs in it, and I wanted to find out first if that is worth it by starting out small. Up until now, I’ve sold 2 (two) tees, and one of those apparantly was by mistake. QED…

I know there’s always some discussion about the quality, level of service and pricing of Cafepress. All I can say is that a) I’ve never used them so I wouldn’t know about that, but b) CP and I aren’t married, so if you know of a better alternative (with international shipment), please do let me know.

Now, go buy buy buy

Check this out:

Those are my February site stats. Yes, I broke another record, clearing the 50K mark just like that. Yeay! BTW for those who were wondering, I’ve checked it and yes, RSS feeds are included in this number.

Now I know that there are lies, damned lies and statistics, and a lot of traffic comes from Stumbling-upon passers by etc… But it’s still a nice indication, no?

For anyone in or around Belgium: 50K… that’s pretty much the audience at Rock Werchter

Last week my visitor’s count picked up speed again. After the huge surge at the end of last year, things got back to normal for a while, with a fairly steady average of just over 1000 visitors a day. Guess on which specific day I recently nearly reached 4000?

A few reminders: if you have a Facebook account, check out this group. 60 members and counting… Another fun place to check out (pun!) is the Happysad T-shirt store.

I’ll be at a conference in Barelona on 6th and 7th of March. Together with my boss, but I’m sure I’ll manage to escape for a few hours on Thursday night. If anyone would like to meet up, send me a mail: kartoen (at) gmail (dot) com.

Making music since the early eighties, but a recent discovery for me: Biosphere from Norway. Great stuff, but only if you’re into very dark soundscapes. I know I am.

That’s all folks!

I just felt like writing a bit on this lazy Sunday afternoon, before I get started on another batch of Happysad cartoons. So here goes.

So I went to Dublin last week. Interesting experience. Of course I visited the Old Jameson Distillery and learned a lot. Did you know there is such a thing as Jameson flavoured mustard? No kidding. Marmelade too. Hey guys, how about some whiskey flavoured sandwich spread? Breakfast cereals?

Speaking about Dublin, here’s a hilarious must-read about why my date with Sue had to be postponed (indefinitely?).

With Sue missing in action, I had to have dinner on my own on Sunday. Luckily I discovered there is a Wagamama in Dublin. I love Wagamama! You never feel alone there. Interesting moment too: there was this pretty girl sitting at the next row of tables. Well, “girl”… I should say woman, because she was about my age and I’m not getting any younger either. Anyway. Not having anything better to do, I glanced in her direction a few times. Maybe it was just wishful thinking but I had the impression she sometimes glanced back. I finished my yaki udon, paid the bill, got up and threw her one last look, just to make sure. She looked back. Somehow I managed not to shy away immediately, as I usually do. We were still making eye contact. She gave me this wonderful Mona Lisa smile. Then I left.

I will never see her again, but that was a real fascinating 0,2173 seconds long moment. Now I just have to learn to do that stuff when I’m not abroad. It was also too difficult to capture it in a Happysad cartoon, that why I’m telling it here.

In other news, if you have a Facebook account, you may be happy to know that someone started a group for Happysad cartoon fans. Thank you, Tom Hughes!

I like the new Miss Kittin album, Batbox.

And finally, I’m planning to buy a new computer this year. I’ve decided not to bother with the whole Vista mess that comes with a new pc, so I’m switching to Mac. Not right away though, I have to save up a bit more. Feel free to make your contribution to my new toy, using the Paypal donate button. It’s that yellow box in the upper right corner that’s all covered in dust and cobwebs.

Now back to work…

This is one last appeal to anyone who’s in or near Dublin, Ireland coming Sunday and wants to keep me company there! Make yourself known in the comment box or send me an e-mail at kartoen [at] gmail dot com.

In the meanwhile, I’ve booked a spot on the guided tour through (Oh glory of glories, oh heavenly testament to the eternal majesty of God’s creation…) the Jameson whiskey distillery at 4PM!

If I’m not back by 9, avenge my death.