Announcements

Three quick announcements, folks!

The first is that the Vanier Artisans will be having a spring show here in Ottawa on Sunday, June 8th at the Vanier Community Services Centre at 270 Marier Avenue. The poster by yours truly is at the end of this post and the Facebook page just went up, too! I’ll be there along with a number of terrific artists! One of the things I really like about the Vanier Artisans is that a wide range of styles are represented. Knitted items, food items, painted items, soaps, photography, and comic books and graphic novels (me). In other words, there’s something for everyone. It is well worth your time, so if you have a chance, please check it out!

The second announcement has to do with MailChimp. I had mentioned that I’ve not been a particular fan of their service, especially when I compare it to the “good ol’ days” of FeedBurner. Coincidentally, MailChimp has taken the interesting decision to make their service, at least for people like me, measurably worse. The screencap below has all the details.

What does this mean for you? Well, for regular visitors of this site along with folks that are using RSS to subscribe to my periodic updates, not a thing. For those of you who have subscribed via email, there is a big change. Sadly, as of June 1st, that option is now over. That means that you’ll no longer be receiving updates via email from me. There are a few options going forward.

1) Switch from email updates to RSS. I’m a big believer in RSS. For most people, it is quick and easy to use and is a snap to set-up. You just need a RSS Reader (aka a “News Aggregator”) and these can be installed on pretty much any internet-enabled device (desktop computers, cell phones, tablets, you name it). The one I use is BetterBird, a much improved version of Mozilla’s Thunderbird (or as the BetterBird project notes, it’s a “fine-tuned version”) and is tremendous. There are a lot of other options out there, though. Some for free, some not. Wired did a good summary but a simple search using Google or DuckDuckGo or whatnot will turn many up. You may need to experiment, but it’s well-worth your time.

2) If you truly hate this idea and would prefer to keep receiving periodic emails from me, drop me an email (media@vonallan.com). I’m going to put together an HTML email mailer that will be similar to what you were already receiving. So if RSS isn’t an option for you for whatever reason, we can still do email, just not the way you’ve been receiving it via MailChimp or FeedBurner.

The third announcement is that the new Bill and Butch short story is finished (pencils, inks, colours, lettering, you name it!). I just need to do some proofing/edits and then it will debut right here, hopefully before June 1st so that MailChimp can send out one last email.

That’s it right now! I hope to see you on June 8th!