Great... I have a cold.

Uh, I guess that's all I wanted to say.
I'm playing hooky and I guess I'm gonna go watch a movie and fall asleep in the chair while it's on. Yes!

Cripes! Autumn is officially here NEXT WEEK???

Yo!
A very quick howdy, mostly.
Well, I should be glad I scribbled something down in June, but still, how annoying.

Mostly, the one significant thing that's happened lately is that I finally got my big procrastinating, disorganized butt over to visit a couple friends that live in the area, Sue and Paul.

I know Sue since, uh, 1984? Is that right? We happened to be doing a musical together (IT'S A DOGS LIFE) and we both played both dogs in a gang of dogs.
Yes.
(To clarify, the whole cast was pretty much dogs).

Anyway, besides being quite an interesting indiviual, she's also done cool things, like, live in Turkey, which I always thought was cool.
She and Paul also have a great couple of boys, who I finally met in person, and they're quite wonderful and precocious. Like, they draw their own comics and make movies precocious.

So, basically, that's why I'm writing this today, to say how humbling it was to meet these two kids (ages 10 and 8, I think?), and to see that they are arguably more productive than me with regards to my pet enthusiasms, comics and film!

I SUCK!

Sue also hapens to be a fan, incredibly, of my little bit of prose writing (the "Femme Ferines," natch!) and she asked about how my re-writing plans and finishing that story were going and I informed her that that little bit of creative work has yet to take place, dammit. But she very kindly seemed genuinely interested in reading my progress on this story idea, so, I really should get back to it.

While it's been a awhile since I've made contact with Sue, in person, I seem to keep running into Paul every now and then. The last time we happened to meet while attending a Q & A visit by comics writer Harvey Pekar, courtesy of the local library's program to interets kids in reading comics and graphic novels. So, it was a very nice get-together with both of them at their home and I hope to stay better in touch with them, at least through the internet (Facebook).

Of course, Buffalo's Theater Season officially started last week so there's a billion things I want to see and have to figure out schedules and finances to do such things, by God!

Meanwhile, my idea for a blogger journal on comics. etc. that I talked about in June is still an idea I may get around to.
But, now I got to get my ass out the door and pick up our repaired Jeep.

Later.

Well... howdy!

Man... it's been awhile, hasn't it?
Sorry.

Well, trying my best to re-group here.
I seem to have a lot of ideas about various projects and how to follow through on them, but the jump from idea to action seems to be the problem! Heh heh! (he heh-ed nervously).

Right now, I'm just posting something to show I'm still alive and interested in maintaining this blog.
I haven't posted anything new on my various blogs and journals in at least sveeral months.
I also haven't done anything new creatively.
There's a single drawing I started some months ago that I've been working on fitfully, a "practice" portrait of Jheena the Jungle Fury, a masked wrestler comic book character I've been trying to develop. Part of these attempts at development is trying to standardize my ways of drawing her.
But, I can't seem to draw her definitively, yet.
Beyond the very first drawing I did of her that I simply whipped out at a work years ago (maybe seven years ago? Jeez...), since then, I've tried re-drawing her in various states of action or just a staid pose for reference purposes and I never seem pleased with my results 100%.
Grrrr.

But in the last year, I've come to know some local dudes, a writer (Tom Waters) and a cartoonist/aspiring comics mogul (Kyle Kaczmarczyk of Zombie Ink Comics). Both are fairly prolific and that's been kind of prodding me to get off the pot or shit, so to speak, drawing/writing-wise.
And MOST recently, like, this month, I 've discovered the newly self-published (mini)comics of Josh Tonn, another local cartoonist (who I haven't actually met) but he has a couple issues of his self-produced comics, Costumed Crimefighter Comics, available at Don's Atomic Comics which is where I picked them up... and which I found myself enjoying thoroughly!
It's a superhero parody and it's pretty freaking funny!

So, really, I have to get off my fat, whiney ass, if I want to make the transition from whiney-assed wannabe and mere patron of the local arts to actual comic book producing peer/colleague, etc.

I think I'm also going to start ANOTHER blog!
Actually, what I want to do is this: I seem to have a blog for various particular interests of mine: movies/movie-making, comics/art/comic book making, writing, etc.
But the journals/blogs that I have devoted to comics, etc., seem to be really accessible only to members of those same sites, namely Myspace or Deviant Art. But I'd like my posts to be more accessible, like if you google them, for instance, so I'm going to branch out to Blogger for my comics posts. I'm not going to delete or stop the other blogs I have going at the previous sites, I'll be just expanding the places where I do post my comic book musings-- which is something I sort of did already.
I started first with Myspace, then, when I joined DA, it seemed I was more comfortable blogging there because the whole site is more arts focused, but my plan was to still post at Myspace as well, because it existed... so, I thought I'd be just reaching other possible readers who weren't on DA as well. So, I just more or less duplicated the posts, you know?
But, I think going to Blogger will make it more search engine friendly, so to speak.
And, if I ever follow through on maintaining my own website and trying to develop a following of sorts for my own comics, etc., I think that's a necessary move.
Hence...

Alright.
I should go.
I have to continue cleaning my room so I can actually have a place TO draw.
Hey, maybe I should have a poll!

Who thinks I will ever actually produce my own comic book?
I have no idea how to do one of those damn poll things-- maybe if I figure it out, I'll amend this post later.
But for now, here's your choice of answers:

1. "Never-- you're all talk but nothing more than that. But, that's okay. You mean well, and you DO support other people who actually DO produce."

2. "Yes! I think you'll do it! And before the end of 2009!"

3. "I'll believe it when I see it, bub! But DEFINITELY not BEFORE 2010!"

4. "Not only do I think you'll produce a comic book, I think it will be by __________." (For those those psychics and, perhaps, bettors, out there)

So there.
Instant lamest poll ever!

Anyone who responds to this poll will receive a free copy of this comic book-to-be! If you said never and are right... uh... well, thanks for particpating!
If my first comic book does NOT have a Jheena the Jungle Fury story in it, then you will also receive the first comic book that does include her.
I mention that because Jheena seems like the most mainstream character I've come up with so far, so it seems cool to give out Jheena comics. But, it's quite possible that the first comic I "crank out" will be a weird one-shot story thing, either in the horror genre or the, uh, weirdness genre.
But if I DO finally publish something, then, crap! Chances are very good I'll actually make a Jungle Fury book!
So... there!

ANYONE who participates in the poll gets a free comic book (or two, as I said, depending on what I publish first) and this offer ends as soon as I publish this book. In other words, when I actually make this comic book, this offer ends.

Uh... so I'll get on that right now!

DD: If only I WERE a Mobster...

... uh, financially speaking, mind you.

So, about a week or so ago, this guy at work--uh, we'll call him Gears Dude or GD for short-- told me that he invited me on Myspace to join his "mob" in the online game Mobsters.
I'm like, "Okay..." but I was a little thrown because I really don't do any computer games or online games at all.
But, I could at least join up and support him by expanding his mob.

Well, since then... I've been playing the damn thing fairly regularly.
I don't know if it's just a Myspace thing/application or if there's other variations of Mobsters online, but it's been an interesting time waster.
And I guess it's a text game versus an actual, uh, what, role playing game? There's no character online, other than my name (which is il bovini fabbrica, and about the closest I could come (with my very limited, non-existent knowledge of Italian) to "cattleworks") so I'm not watching myself running around on-screen armed with a tommygun or AK-47 or whatever (actually, tommyguns aren't an "equipment" option, I guess that's too old school). The computer does most (well, all) of the work.
You pick a fight from a list of other mobsters online, pressing a button and then a couple seconds later, it tells you if you won or lost.
Which is fine by me.
Right now, I'm 26 - 46, wins/losses. Yeah. Luckily this is all virtual or else my "recruitment drive" would suck even more (and I'm being very sarcastic here-- I don't really enlist other people from Myspace friends list at all, even though the game is constantly suggesting/pushing that tactic. But, I only picked one or two people that i thought would even be halfway interested (and so far, no takers, so my mob has just GD and me, plus the "500" invisible, virtual mobsters that automatically come with your mob when you start).
But the thing I'm really getting into, and I don't know if this is a reflection of the current headlines regarding economic meltdown, etc., is that you can buy property and develop it, and you earn money.
Depending on the type of property you purchase, you get a certain amount of financial return, interest.
Currently, I seem to be making just under $2000 every 55 minutes-- yeah... if only.
And this goes on while you're offline as well.
So, it was really cool leaving the game yesterday with zero money (well, I keep all my money in the "bank" for safe keeping. Your money accrues ourtside of the bank. Uh, maybe when I go to the mattresses, I check underneath them first for any dough?).
Yeah, I'm a laff-riot.
Whatever.
So, yesterday my money was zero in the mystery virtual money area.
Today, I go online, and I'm to the good-- OVER $40,000.
Uh huh-- like, holy mamma mia, right?

Ooooh, I want that money!!!!

So, while I'm getting mildly massacred in various fights daily, I'm doing well financially.
And THAT'S all I really care about, baby!

*sigh*


However, in the real world:
Well, it looks like a significant event will be occurring in my life in the near future. Next week, as a matter of fact.
It looks like my dad is going to give me the money to buy an iMac, which I'll be setting up at his house.
Ostensibly, he'll be using it for very mundane purposes; specifically, to reformat all his various notebooks that are cataloging his hundreds of VHS tapes. Each of these tapes have several different programs he's taped off the TV and he has a listing of what they are and roughly how far in each tape each program is.
It's all in his handwriting and he wants to type it all out neatly.
This is something he's been talking about for a while.
He bought a computer several years ago, a PC, maybe over 10 years ago, but he never really followed through on it. And now, it doesn't seem to work, perhaps through years of disuse?
I dunno.

But, this may be the perfect stone that kills two birds.
He gets his computer to work on updating and converting his notebooks and I get my computer for art and movie applications. I'm probably getting the best out of this deal, totally exploiting my dad's finances, but it's with his blessing, so, I ain't friggin' complaining, by god!

So, barring any awful new turn of events, this should happen next week.
And then-- and THEN-- we'll see how long it takes for me to produce a short film.
Hopefully in time for the November meeting of the Buffalo Movie and Video Makers Club (BM-VM), which I believe is 11/9.

*deep, hopeful and excited breath*

Stay tuned!
And who knows, by next week, I may be able to afford a bulletproof Escalade! (I'm back to Mobsters! Come on! Try to keep up here!)

Okay, later.
I need to go to sleep before tonight's night shift.

PS: "DD" stands for Dear Diary, natch!

Dear Diary: Man, I'm just really out of it...

... or at least it seems that way judging by my blogging output.

All sorts of things are going on here.

The news in the last weeks of the economic meltdown nationally, and then internationally, has been in my head. Can't help but wonder what shoe is going to drop in my life because of all this crap.
Prior to the meltdown news, there were already rumblings at work that things weren't going well.
They aren't selling as many ads as they like, so that may affect us, like in terms of lay-offs.
Okay, actually, my boss said (more or less), that ads are down and the owners are going to be taking a much more hands on approach to things. The various managers of the departments are going to be giving a report of where they think they can save money and then they'll see what shakes out from those reports and recommendations.
Meanwhile, my boss intimated that if there was a layoff (or more), I wasn't going to be affected. For now (that's me saying THAT).

This info was passed on to me and a couple other employees because we were in my boss's office complaining about a particular situation and then he dropped this news on us. He said that if there were any layoffs (and specifically, I think he had one particular person in mind) it wouldn't affect us three.

But the bad news regarding the company's situation was news to me and sort of overshadowed the main reason why I went in to see him.
My reaction was this: prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

And then, a week or so later, the whole $700 billion crap hit the news and fans.

I had been idly thinking about getting another job already, like, for the last several months, primarily to escape my two overnight shifts a week. If I it weren't for those two days (well, nights, actually), I'd probably be more content to simply working there and trying to do my creative stuff on the side.
But, I didn't have any real options that I was considering in terms of other jobs.

Really, I'd like to do something with film and/or comics.
But, I'm not really prepared with either (in terms of a resume or portfolio), and even if I was, the job(s) I kept envisioning was purely an impractical fantasy, like self-publishing comics.

So, now what?

I don't know.

The good news is, I'm not laid off yet.

So, I think my current game plan is this: impractical fantasies be damned, I need to work on my resume/portfolio so I'm not starting from zero if the big layoff bomb drops on my head.
From an art standpoint it first means: get off my ass and draw a lot more. Like, at all.
So far, I'm still in the talk more and do (draw) less mode, when I should be in a draw more, talk less mode, obviously.

Regarding film(making): this year I've been elected to be the co-programming chair (along with Phil Utech) of this years's Buffalo Movie and Filmmakers Club (or BM-VM), which is in its 75th year. We meet once monthly, and Phil and I are in charge of coming up with the meeting's programming.
But along with these duties, I still occasionally help people out with their films, doing whatever they want me to.
But I haven't made my own film yet.
And I'm currently looking to finagle an iMac in order to enable myself to make some movies.
In order to do this, it looks like I'm content to exploit my retired 82 year-old father's finances. I won't go into the specifics, but that's basically the situation. Actually, more or less with his blessing. But still... I feel a little guilty spending his money.

However, if it means I actually start to make some damn movies, even short ones, instead of just whining about other people's films, then I really don't care.

Alright, this was just getting my toes back into the blogging water.
And, I think I'll be whining more often here, using this blog like a diary, ya lucky sucks. Whether that's good news or bad news for you "readers", I don't know (uh, althoguh I have a hunch).

Anyway, thanks for checking this out if there are any of you out there!
Later.

Weigh-in Monday, April 28

Another good weigh-in!

165.o lbs.!
That's another -1.5 lbs.

This week: 165.0
Last week: 166.5

I've started eating Oatmeal bread, which isn't bad. Since I'm not a fan of oatmeal, we're trying to figure out creative ways to beat the stuff into me. Hey, I like the cookies!

We also got some Quaker Oats Oat Squares, which is tasty, but has much more calories than the Doctor would like-- for her, mind you, because she finds the cereal itself tasty.

I'm also eating lots of pretzel rods to get me by on the road.
The sodium issue is starting to creep in, of course.

Weigh-in Monday, April 21

Oooh.
I'm bad.
I've actually been doing my weigh-ins, but I haven't posted.
So, uh, here's a bunch of catch-up posts. Sorry!

For April 21:

I lost 2 more pounds, improbably.

I'm at 166.5, down from 168.5.

Well, that's what happens when you make a point of watching what you eat and attempting to make some wiser choices rather than just saying, 'I don't give a damn" and eating vending machine food left and right and then, stopping at the nearby 7-11 after work and getting a 1 liter Diet Pepsi, a 'monster" cold cut sub and an eclair. And maybe one of their fried "tube food" dealies, too-- I forget what they're called. They're wrapped like tubes and have either chicken or beef or cheese or whatever in them.

So I cut the tasty-ish, greasy, tube dealies and delicious eclairs completely out of my diet. I still get a sandwich of some sort, especially after an all-nighter shift, but I've been getting either a tuna fish salad or turkey on "wheatberry" which is actually kind of interesting, texture-wise. They have some kind of nut in them, too, that's kind of fun to chew on when i get one between my teeth.

Plus, Cheerios.

Hoo hah! Or: A journey of a thousand miles begins with 1(.5) step(s), and that means YOU, fat ass!

Well, hopefully this will be an indicator of good things to come:
at today's weigh-in (in my bathroom) I was 168.5!
So, I lost 1.5 lbs. this week!
Yay, me!

Meanwhile, I actually ate two apples in one day yesterday. It's astonishing that I even ate one.
With Dr. Sugar Lips' able assistance, I dug up some dietary information off WebMD and learned that apples are pretty good in combating cholesterol as well.
We also went shopping yesterday and we bought ridiculous amounts of cereal. Although, the responsibility for oat, bran and miscellaneous fiber cravings are split between my wife and myself. I will say, I was originally content to just eat Cheerios for the rest of my life, but I guess I'm getting more "reckless" in my old age and trying new foods: I bought some Quaker Oats Oatmeal cereal.
I'm not at all thrilled about oatmeal, but perhaps in cereal form I'll embrace it more.
TRIVIA(L) NOTE: I don't like coffee, either. Although, I generally make it for my wife in the morning. But, I do like coffee ice cream.

I was depressed to learn that the difference between beef and chicken wasn't very much, at least, for my current needs. I've been eating primarily chicken for years, figuring it was healthier than beef. That, or turkey substitutes, but mostly I focus on chicken.
Well, this one article on dietary suggestions pretty much didn't draw any distinctions between cattle or poultry.
But it highly recommends tofu.

So, it looks like I'll be going more vegetarian as the days and weeks progress.

But, the biggest challenge for me is NOT eating certain items (like, snacking at work from the vending machine, as a for instance) AND increasing my vegetable and fruit intake.

Gah. Particularly to the latter. Although, during my overnight shifts, the former will muy gah, as well.

But, for now, I bask in my -1.5 lb glory!!

More to come.