About a month ago I did a video conference with a group of Iraqi cartoonists some of whom are in this CNN report. As you can see there is some great work being produced by these artists. But, as this video points out, there are difficult and dangerous challenges that confront my Iraqi cartooning colleagues.

One artist shared with me:

… In 2003 we were delighted to be rid of Saddam and hoped then to have the freedom to express our views in our cartoons. But now there are 300 political parties with 300 Saddams… our job today is much more complicated than ever.

I have always been a big fan of Baltimore’s fabulously fantastic arts center, The Creative Alliance. It is at once a great neighborhood community focal point, a city wide home for the artist community and a great venue for  a rich tapestry of sounds, sights and performance for the entire region.

On Monday November 8, I will be headlining a fundraising party for this amazing Arts institution. It is called “Art to Dine For”. These are always great fun. Please come along and say Hi while supporting a valuable Baltimore institution.

I will be the featured speaker at the 21st annual GBTC TechNite on Oct. 7 at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore. With over 800 attendees TechNite is the Greater Baltimore Region’s premiere night out to celebrate the business and technology community.

You can find more info HERE

I will be the guest speaker at the annual benefit fundraiser for “At Jacob’s Well” a very worthy charity dedicated to aiding the homeless community in Baltimore.  Here are the details:

When: Saturday, May 8, 2PM
Where: Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD
Details: $20. Admission includes Wine and Hors d’oeuvres. Silent auction to benefit the charity

If you cannot attend but want to help this very worthy group, please visit their website

Also, on Monday May 3, I will be a guest Washington’s NPR showcase station , WAMU (www.wamu.org,  88.5 FM), on the Kojo Nnamdi show. I will be on the 1-2PM slot as part of a discussion on Satire and Culture. Please tune in!

I just returned from Duke University and the Nasher Museum of Art where I participated in a panel discussion about Satire and New Media. The Nasher is featuring a very interesting Cartoon show called “Lines of Attack”. The show is an impressive  display of contemporary and historical artwork but with an interesting twist. The exhibition sets out to compare the cartoon commentaries of Daumier and his peers in 1830’s France with contemporary political cartoonists, illustrators and animators. Caricature portrayals of Dubya, Bill Clinton and their cronies stand opposite their nineteenth century French counterparts. It was a show worth visiting.

From March 12- 23rd I had the great pleasure to visit Amman, Jordan and Beirut, Lebanon as part of the Strategic Speakers initiative sponsored by the US Embassies in the region.  The purpose of my visit was to meet and talk with a wide array of citizen groups about issues surrounding freedom of expression and how cartoons and animation can promote social and political change.

It was an exhilarating and educational experience for me. I addressed students on six campuses, enjoyed panel discussions with cartoon and animator colleagues, met with local civic leaders and enjoyed exhibition openings in several venues.

I was left with a wide variety of impressions… I would like to share a few. Read more

I now have the link to the iTunes page for purchasing the new iKal iPhone app… only $.99 or £.59!

Click here to purchase!

Baltimore has put forward a strong bid to be one of the lucky cities chosen as a test ground for Google’s ultra-fast 1-gigabit per second broadband deployment. A grass root team of Charm city citizen’s have created a comprehensive application to Google for the project. I was asked to create a Baltimore-centric “Google Logo” for the project which you can see above.

I am delighted to announce The Economist 2010 wall Kalendar has been given some distinctions in the annual calendar of the year awards as given by the Calendar Marketing Association.

My Calendar was declared winner of the Gold Award in the Nation and World categories for Most Original Calendar 2010 ...and one of six finalists for CALENDAR of the YEAR! Way Cool!