December 21, 2019 - January 1, 2020
Saturday, December 21, 2:52 pm
I'm just going to start this post.
I have 11 days until January 1, 2020.
There's no way in hell I'm going to make 50,000 words of my blog posting goal.
Right now, I'm at 8,847 words (that's 5 posts). That means 41,153 more words to go.
Or, mathematically-speaking: 3,742 words/day to accomplish 50,000. No way in hell. It would be amazing if I could do 1,000 words/day.
However, another related blogging goal is to write 6 blog posts for each of my three main blogs. As of right now, I have ONE post for my writing blog; FIVE for my art/comics blog; and ZERO for my film blog. Speaking practically, this second goal is far more attainable.
The third goal is to simply beat my output from last year. I didn't do 50,000 words in 2018, but I did a respectable 29,185 words. So, if I could do 30,000 words, that would be quite alright. That would be 21,153 words to go, and 1,923 words a day. Still a sizable challenge, but much more reasonable. that's not not too far off from 1,667 words/day, which is what you'd have to average to pull off a standard 50,000 words in a 30 days.
Okay, enough theory. I have to crap, then do some cleaning.
UGH.
Focus, focus, focus..!
3:18 pm
My wife's working on the Christmas cards. I'm trying to do some cleaning prior to our finally hanging up some Christmas decorations, etc.
Tonight, Beaver Alley Studios is premiering their fourth film, A CHRISTMAS MONSTROSITY at the Screening Room at 9:45 pm. I actually did the poster/DVD art. Well, more or less. I explain it all here.
Anyway, I'm cleaning the litter boxes downstairs here. And I have this annoying headache. Maybe because I'm trying to cut back on drinking Diet Pepsi? Dammit.
I'd also like to clean off my bed and sleep there tonight instead of on the couch. I don't actually mind sleeping on the couch, but I SHOULD sleep in my own bed. Dammit.
3:54 pm
Man, I'm fucking pathetic. Every time I finish a drawing, it's a Christmas miracle. Every time I clean the litter boxes, it's a Christmas miracle.
Well, on the bright side (and by this broad definition of "a Christmas miracle")... it's been a pretty miraculous week, then.
Sunday, December 22, 2:03 am
It's late, I'm tired, I've spent the last 45-60 minutes or so just surfing the net but not really doing anything.
Around 12:45 am I came home from the A CHRISTMAS MONSTROSITY premiere. I'm glad I was able to motivate my butt to get out of the house and go over to the Screening Room.
Now I'm trying to figure out what I want to do. Go to bed? Stay up a little while longer? But, if I do stay up, what for? Not to just make love to the internet. I should either write some more here or do something else, maybe watch a movie or something? Hmmm...
Well, at the very least, I'm eating some leftover pizza from the BM-VM Holiday party, by God!
10:10 am
Wow, I really went to bed late last night.
I got around to watching another episode of MINDHUNTER again. I was watching that pretty steadily and then, well, I just got distracted with other stuff.
Anyway, I'm up, I just fed the cats, and now, breakfast for me...
11:32 am
Well, I have to be at work at 3:30 this afternoon.
After finishing the poster for A CHRISTMAS MONSTROSITY, now I want to get back to the idea I was obsessing about when I should have been working on the poster instead: that goofy, conceptually amorphous sci-fi comic with the female heroine, Stellara Ultranova. Of course, now that I'm done with the poster and have time to work on the sci-fi comic, I'm sure I'll have no interest in actually working on the sci-fi comic, because that's how irritatingly predictable my "motivation" operates.
Actually, from now until Christmas, I need to focus on Christmas. Like, getting whatever last minute gifts I have to get, cleaning up the house, and decorating. So, today, I have to clean.
But once Dec. 26 comes around, I'm going to try and throw together a short comic idea I have for the sci-fi comic. I'm thinking that the comic itself may be a sort of anthology of short stories set in the future that all happen to star Stellara (Ha! That sounds funny!) as the main protagonist, along with her supporting cast/friends. That's the idea I'm going with now. Also, I DO have to finish coloring the CHRISTMAS MONSTROSITY poster, too. I can't put that off indefinitely.
Although, and probably even more urgently then my desire to try out this sci-fi idea, the next thing I should be working on is my Apple Corps Comics (ACC) idea. At the beginning of the year, I was hoping to work on my ACC idea throughout 2019, and I figured if I did a page a week, it was going to take me until January 2020 to finish. Of course, I've done no real work on the story except for:
1. Coming up with a very basic concept - a grotesque parody of the Italian giallo;
2. Using the story as an unofficial introduction to my TABLE SCRAPS comic idea (a pseudo-funny animal comic).
So, obviously, my ACC story will move to 2020, now. What else is new? I'll try to write an actual outline for the story in January. Pam (my fellow - and only other - Apple Corps member) and I will have another Apple Corps meeting sometime that month and I'll use that meeting as an incentive to plan out my progress on the comic for the rest of the year.
Alright, time to clean the house, dammit.
1:17 pm
I'm still cleaning the house, dammit!, but I'm stealing a few minutes in my basement lair to write this.
So far, I've:
- Vacuumed the living room, the kitchen and the stairs to the upper hall.
- Shook out the living room rugs.
- Shook out the rugs, mats in both bathrooms and also the kitchen, then stuck them in the washer.
- Folded the laundry that's been in the dryer.
Alright, gotta get back at it...
1:32 pm
Oops, hang on:
- Put the washed mats and rugs from the washer into the dryer.
- Put a load of underwear in the washer.
Strap yourself in for... EXCITEMENT!
Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve, duh!), 8:30 pm
8 DAYS UNTIL 2020!
Okay, so I worked from 12:30 until close today (6:15 pm). And man, I'm shot.
I've been home for about an hour and I still haven't changed into my house clothes.
And I still have to wrap Amy's presents.
I guess I'll just work through the night, at least for a little while until I seem to be actually doing something...
First, I'm gonna change out of my work clothes, by God.
And then eat something.
10:44 pm
OMG, I'm tired.
So:
- I wrapped a couple presents for my sister-in-law.
- I folded the laundry.
Wednesday, December 25, CHRISTMAS DAY (aren't you even paying attention..?), 9:00 am
Holy crap. I'm even more tired.
Well, probably because I stayed up all night - well, I didn't stay awake ALL through the night but it felt like it... I actually fell asleep for an hour or two after wrapping some gifts while watching THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW before waking up around 4:00 or so and then I continued wrapping Amy's gifts and putting some more ornaments on our tree. Oh, yeah, did I neglect to mention..? We put our little artificial tree up yesterday before I went to work. So, we're going to finish decorating it this morning, but I put a bunch of ornaments on it around 6-6:30 am after I finally finished wrapping. I started decorating last night before I started wrapping presents, etc.
Friday, December 27, 2:45 am
5 DAY UNTIL 2020!
Ugh, I should go to bed.
I worked today and man, by the end of the day, I was really watching the clock. I was more than ready to go home. Probably still tired from Christmas when I pretty much stayed up all night wrapping presents and decorating the tree. Plus, I think my body is thinking of getting sick again. This morning before work, I "expelled" this disgusting, thick snot that I usually associate with when I have a cold. I was glad only that I got it out of my system. But, I don't know if I'm going to stave it off or not from being a full-blown cold. We'll see tomorrow.
Luckily, I have tomorrow off, so I'm going to try and sleep in.
Speaking of which, I should really go to bed.
Meanwhile, I STILL have 21,153 words to go if I want to make 30,000 words by New Year's Day, which averages out to 4,231 words/day.
NO WAY IN HELL THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN.
Well, we'll see...
Alright, I got snot running down my face.
Time to go beddy-bye.
10:05 am
Ugh.
Well, I'm awake. I woke up around 9:25.
I have a slight headache.
I'm also feeling a little cold. I can't tell if it's because I had the heat off while I slept or I'm slightly chilled from within, a symptom of my being sick (to whatever degree I'm sick).
12:05 pm
I fed the cats and had breakfast. Amy made breakfast burritos. She cooked up some scrambled "eggs" in one skillet and some "meat" crumbles in another pan. We had two large tortillas left and we each made a burrito. While she ate and read in the library, I ate in the TV room and put on The Criterion Collection's MULTIPLE MANIACS, written, directed, filmed and edited by John Waters. I specifically chose this film because I need to write a review for A CHRISTMAS MONSTROSITY, and elements of the film made me think of Waters' earlier films, so I decided to go all out and check out one of his films to put me in a reviewing mood. This was the only early Waters film I had in my DVD library, but then for Christmas, I got some more DVDs, including POLYESTER. Oh, I also have SERIAL MOM. I don't think I have any others. I'll have to check at some point.
12:40 pm
So, this blog of mine - this blog here, A Rambling Wastrel, I - is supposed to be a repository for my writing, like, essays, editorials, etc. (as opposed to film reviews which I have at this blog for film related matters) or even posts about writing. Writing or related miscellany. I guess this post is such miscellany. I'm mostly trying to get through the day here and occasionally jotting down some of my day and some of my thoughts helps me organize my thinking. Blog posts like this are probably the closest I'll get to tweeting regularly. Maybe. Well, just less succinctly. Um... maybe blog posts like this are probably the closest I'll get to... blogging.
Anyway, my mind was wandering and I was thinking about a variety of things related to local filmmaking (aka WNY filmmaking).
One of the things I started thinking about was what sort of topics I wanted to focus on at my film blog and I found I actually started such a topic back in January. The only thing I wrote was this:
1. Netflix Connection
2. WNY filmmakers
3. BM-VM
4. My own filmmaking efforts
5. Films I own
6. Films so bad they're... what?
Here's an ambitious venture with regards to number 2: committing myself to writing profiles about local filmmakers and also their films. Try to establish a document or documentation, like a history, maybe. Also, possibly, it could be a way of making some money if I publish them as books, inspired by the likes of BFI classics, kinda-sorta. Of course, that's assuming anybody else would be even interested in buying such books, hahaha! Well, first things first: first, create the product; then second, promote the product.
Saturday, December 28, 7:37 am
4 DAYS UNTIL 2020!
Oh, man. I'm not getting anything done. Being sick isn't helping. Nuts.
I'm still working my way through MULTIPLE MANIACS.
But we're leaving in less than two hours for Pennsylvania to visit friends and we'll back tomorrow.
I have to get ready for that.
Ugh.
Monday, December 30, 3:28 am
2 DAYS UNTIL 2020!
What the hell! I wrote a few sentences yesterday but of course, my wi-fi was iffy and it didn't save it. Grrr!
Whatever... I should really go to bed now and get a couple hours of sleep before going to work at 7:30.
I fell asleep earlier and had a weird dream that I don't remember and then woke up because Amy called out to me saying she was going to bed. Then I watched the rest of this documentary on Netflix called IRON FISTS AND KUNG FU KICKS which I thought was pretty interesting in terms of its chronology culturally showing the history of kung fu films and how the west picked up on it and how it influenced hip hop culture in the States and parkour in France. Also, I'll have to go back to it and take lots of notes on the various iconic kung fu films and start watching those.
I also finished watching MULTIPLE MANIACS, which was tough because I was tired and I kept falling asleep at the end and having to replay the last section. But I finally got through it. I started re-watching it with John Waters' commentary and I'll want to return to that because what he has to say is interesting. Although, you can hear the genuine sadness in his voice as he talks about how nothing is shocking anymore.
But, I really HAVE to go to bed.
Work will be miserable and I'll probably have some sort of "relapse" if the weather is going to be as bad as they predict it will be: lots of cold rain. Ugh...
Later!
January 1, 2020 1:16 am
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Okay, so no way in hell did I make my 50,000 word challenge, let alone my 30,000 word challenge.
Hell, I don't think I did 10,000 words, although, right now, I'm cheating, so maybe I'll make the latter.
At least there's a "precedent" (for my cheating) -- I'm extending my deadline until midnight tonight EST. I also cheated by "publishing" a handful of unfinished blog posts yesterday just so I could say I posted so many times on my blogs in 2019. I titled them "(works in progress)" intending to amend them, but I'll try to do so today to make it count for my 50,000 word challenge. But, we'll see about that...
Speaking of which, let me try to wrap this meandering post up to start...
2:39 am
Well, mostly I edited it. I didn't really add to much, just tried to clarify what I actually wrote before, the usual.
So, I'm going to bed.
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