Comic Book Day

So I might have already broken a New Year's Resolution.

I might not blog 5 days this week and I blame this entirely on my comic book obsession hobby.

I order all my comics online (and I save about 35-43%) and to save even more money, I have them all shipped to me in one easy end-of-month package. And today was the happiest day of the month, it is Comic Book Day. And I almost didn't want to blog forgot.

But I have a good excuse. My all-time favorite X-Man has returned from the dead. I think I will tweak my New Year's Resolutions and say Comic Book Day is also an official Blogging Holiday.

2011 Resolutions

YAY! 2011!

I am so glad to see some of my fellow bloggers come back to their blog and I am also glad to see that some of them has used the opportunity to blog to come up with some goals and resolutions. Reading them has motivated me.

I really like the way my cousin Jeremy posted his so I am going to steal it.

I RESOLVE...

• to take the time to write more. I have three unfinished novels that are just sitting around. I also have a children's story that is just sitting in my filing cabinet. My goal is to finish at least two of them and continue the third. I will also so another round of NaNoWriMo this November and I will need to figure out what I should write. And I will participate in another round of Script Frenzy this April. I am not sure what I will do for that competition. I might continue my comic book or try something completely different like a TV episode or a musical.  And this blog will continue 5 days a week.          

                               I RESOLVE...                                 

• to take the time to read more. I really liked reading a novel/book once a month last year and I think I would like to continue that resolution for this year too. One thing I have learned by blogging daily is that I can do anything daily if I just put my mind to it. If I can blog daily, I can read something daily. So I resolve to read my scriptures daily. I also resolve to read the Ensign (a church magazine) from cover to cover every month. I also resolve to read a good book once a quarter. I have a bunch waiting.

I RESOLVE...  

• to take care of myself. I am no spring chicken and I need to watch what I do (and what I don't do) to my body. So yeah, the ugly E-word. Exercise. I have been a slacker the last month and I need to get going again. I resolve to exercise 5 days a week if possible. I have some fun walking programs that I can do (and will do!) during the cold winter months and then get back into running when the weather gets a bit warmer. And speaking of running, I also will run my first 5K race this year. I will run the Top of Utah 5K on September 17th. I will have all spring and summer to train so I have no excuse not to make it. I will also watch what I eat and try to slim down my portions.

I RESOLVE...  

• to pick up a pen and draw. I want to draw and I want to be creative. Last year I wanted to reactivate my Queen blog (Sheer Art Attack) and post some art based on Queen songs. I was going to do it once a month and I think that may have been too lofty a goal. So I will see if I can do something quarterly.

I RESOLVE...  

• to continue to the play the bass guitar. But instead of just playing it by ear, I may borrow some books from the library and really teach myself how to play. And to also continue to sing with the choir and look for some other opportunities to use these talents.

I RESOLVE...  

• I have some other things that I want to do this year but they are private or they are too mundane and boring to list them here.

That should keep my plenty busy for this new year. I will blog monthly how I am doing. I am not a huge fan of such disclosure but I think that really helped me accomplish these goals last year. I also want to wish all my fellow bloggers that have also blogged about some resolutions and goals the best and that I will do my best in supporting them.

C'mon 2011... Make My Year!

HAPPY 2011!

I hope everyone has a better, a more successful and healthy year. I am looking forward to this year and making new resolutions. Looking back at 2010, I can say that I had somewhat a successful year and I owe it to this blog. Who would have thought that writing this blog would have made me a better person?

I have some new resolutions that I want to complete this year. But I am not ready to share them just yet. Sometime this week I will blog about it. I recommend this to my fellow bloggers. Knowing that there are people who read this blog, I feel that I HAVE to walk that aisle and get in the ring. It felt that I should be accountable for what I blog about. It is also good to review what you have done and make some tweaks.

All I know for now is that this blog will stay around and will stay current. At least 5 days a week.

And I will have more pictures too.

Last Days of August

Day 308

September already? Wasn't it just June something?

I officially have only one more "Last Days" column even though I will write one in November to cover October. Time is certainly flying by. I love the autumn and I am looking forward to some cooler weather along with the leaves turning color.

WRITING:

I have not written anything but I have started to brainstorm my new novel. I changed the main character and I think I want to try a new writing style. I usually write 3rd person perspective and I think I want to try 1st person perspective this time. I still have a long ways to go and my goal for this new month is to brainstorm some more and plot a few points. I already know how the story ends, I just need to figure out how I am going to get there. I am also thinking of revisiting my Mission Journal and correcting some writing mistakes.

READING:

I took last month off from reading since I was ahead for the year. I have a few books I want to read and my copy of The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore should come in the mail next week.

Alan Moore has written some of my favorite comics like V for Vendetta, Captain Britain, Swamp Thing and Watchmen.

I also have a list of autobiographies that I want to read so I have some books to conquer!

EXERCISE AND EATING RIGHT:

I still have the same struggles. I don't think I eat what I should and I think I eat way too much. But I am eating better than I was a year ago. I am still exercising, I am running every other day (except Sundays) and I work out on my Total Gym the other days. I feel better and I think I look better. This is definitely the longest I have been exercising, I don't think I have done something like this since high school.

OTHER STUFF:

I have been playing the bass guitar almost daily and I am really starting to pick it up. I don't know how to read music and I don't know what notes I am hitting on the bass but my ear is picking up the notes and telling my fingers what I should hit on the bass. My fingers are not as sore as they used to be and I can play at least 15 songs on the bass.

Not a bad month. I have some goals that should be easy to accomplish.

The Last Days of July

Day 274

It is hard to believe that it is August 1st already, that is eight months into the new year! That means I only have about 4 months left on the blog which is even harder to believe.


It also means that it is time to be accountable for the resolutions that I made in the New Year. I was doing these columns every two weeks but I like the monthly format better. Now I just have to remember what I did last month. :)

WRITING:

I'll be honest, I have not done any writing this last month aside from my blog. I have revisited my earliest attempt at a novel that I did a few years ago but I have not done any revisions or even plotting. That really needs to change since November's NaNoWrMo is coming up and will be here quicker than I think. I have to decide if I want to go into my horror novel or continue with my early Powergate novel. Either way, I need to start outlining it out.

READING:

Last month I was struggling, now I am far ahead of schedule with no signs of stopping. I finished "Sex, drugs, and cocoa puffs : a low culture manifesto" by Chuck Klosterman and thought that was a fun read. He and I think alike on some topics, we both watched The Real World (and his chapter devoted to that was fascinating) and we both thought Billy Joel's album, the Nylon Curtain was his best work. His chapters on Saved by the Bell and breakfast cereals were pretty funny. I might check out a few more of his books.

I also read Conversations with Tom Petty, which I found very fascinating. It gave an in depth look at Petty's career and also spent a great deal of time on his songs.

I also read The Final Season by former New York Jets head coach Bill Parcell. That was fun to read as well since it took me back to one of the more interesting seasons of the New York Jets.

I am now close to finishing another book, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions Of A B-Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell. I saw this at the library and I had to read it. I have always wanted to read it and it is just as fun as you would think it would be. I'll do a Book Review column for that when I am done with the book here in a week or so.

I have a few books waiting in the wings that I am excited to read. I still have Driven: An Autobiography by Larry H Miller (former owner of the Utah Jazz and major Utah business owner). And I also want to track down Wishful Drinking (Carrie Fisher's memoirs) and Lips Unsealed (Belinda Carlisle's memoirs).

So I think I am on my way to completing this goal with ease by the end of the year.

EXERCISE AND EATING RIGHT:

This is probably the most steady exercising I have ever had. When I look back the last eight months I can say that I have exercised at least 3 times each week. I am still running (and it is getting easier, I can see the improvements) and I do try to lift some weights as well. I try to run when I can but that depends on how hot it is. If it is too hot, I work out on my Total Gym. I still have not lost any more weight but I do look a lot more tone. I am trying to eat better but I have not been very anal. Kristy and I started to get our Bountiful Baskets and so I feel like I am eating a heck of a lot more fruit and veggies. I feel healthier and I guess that is the most important thing.

OTHER STUFF:

I have not done any major art but I am doodling more. Heh, that sounds kinda strange. I am playing my bass guitar pretty regularly now. I keep it by my computer, I know that if I put it away, I will never play it. So I am keeping it out and I am trying to play for at least fifteen minutes (a few songs) a day.
So not too bad. I have to tighten the screws on a few goals and work on them and then I think I am set!

Day 200!

Day 200

I am a little bummed. I should be celebrating my 200th Blog post but instead I am bummed out.

On the 14th and 28th day of each month I account for my goals and if you haven't noticed it is the 19th today and I still have not posted my Day(s) of Reckoning for May yet. And that is why I am bummed.

So now that it is close to the halfway point of this year I thought it would be good to see where I am at in relation to my goals. 

WRITING

1) Finish and publish my novel "The Vessel"

Not good. I have completed the novel but I am nowhere near being able to get it published. And to make matters even worse, that special code that NaNoWrMo provided to get my novel published has expired. So even if I was done I still failed at completing this goal and that is why I am feeling a little bummed.

But there is still a silver lining. I wrote a book. A complete book from start to finish and it was over 65,000 words. How many people have done that? It was still a great experience and I appreciate all those that helped me with this. I will still finish it up and get it ready to publish.

2) Plot my novel for next November's NaNoWrMo

I have not even started with this yet but I do have some story ideas. I think the one I would like to work on is tentatively called "Blood Mine" and it deals with vampires during the old west. And it is not nice or romantic. It plays more on themes of religion and horror. Nice mix right? Right now this takes priority for my writing goal.

3) Try ScriptFrenzy

CONQUERED! I participated in this and wrote a comic book script titled "Alpha Flight: Dark Reign" and I am pretty happy with it.

4) Update my Banshee Blog

I have updated it but not monthly. But I still have updated it. I do plan on doing some updates.

READING

1) Read a novel once a month

WINNER! So far at least. I should be finishing up my 5th novel this month and I am actually starting my 6th one instead. I have read "Beat the Reaper", "Crooked Little Vein", "Veeps", "Bret Hart: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling" and "Comic Creators on Spider-Man" and I am starting "Shogun".

ART

1) Work on Queen art for blog

Nothing. I have done some art but nothing for my other blog. We'll see how the rest of the year goes.

EATING RIGHT/EXERCISE

1) Exercise daily except for weekends

2) Watch what I eat

I have been exercising a lot more than I did before I made this goal. And I think I look slimmer and a lot more tone. I have only missed a handful of days so success! Eating right I am still struggling with but I am a lot more careful with what I eat and how much I eat. So I still have some work but I think I am heading in the right direction.

OTHER GOALS

1) Practice my bass guitar

2) Learn Greek

I have not played my bass in awhile but last weekend I got the bug to do something musically creative. My cousin is in a band and I was on his Facebook page and listening to the music and it really motivated me to try my hand and do something musically. So I will practice my bass and maybe try to write some songs and I will probably join my church choir since I like to sing.

I still would like to learn Greek and I am proud to say that I know what "CTR" is in Greek. I wear a Greek CTR (Choose the Right) ring on my pinkie to remind me how I should live my life but I never knew what the Greek alphabet was. Now I know, it is Delta, Tau, Sigma. So I am learning Greek!

I guess I shouldn't be too bummed. I completed more than I thought I did and I still have 6 months to get the rest done.

I Just Doodled

Day 138
I totally forgot to post this yesterday. Who is this guy you ask? He is my favorite comic book character. He is the Irish X-Man named Banshee. He doesn't really wear that hat, I Photoshopped that on him. I don't really know why I like him. I think he has interesting powers and I like the glider things under his arms. Perhaps the reason why I like him is because I don't see him enough. He is definitely not the most popular X-Men member and doesn't appear very often. He is one of the few members of the X-Men that has not had his own series or one-shot. But I like him and have liked him since an early age.

This is a drawing I did back in 1985-86. I was just getting into reading comics and getting into drawing them. I still like to draw even though I do not spend enough time doing so. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to draw more and I plan on spending an hour a week (while watching Lost) drawing.

Here is what I did last Tuesday night. In the top corner in the left side is a rough attempt at the cover for my novel. And the rest are just doodles. I tried to draw a newer version of Banshee (lower left; the guy with no head) but got bored of it and didn't finish it.

I'll post some more stuff next week.

February Day(s) of Reckoning

Day 106

By the way, before I forget. I blognapped Kristy's blog today. She must have forgotten that I helped her set up her blog so I know her password. You can see it here: 365daysofKristy

I know I say this every time this column comes up and I will probably keep saying it but I cannot believe that it has been two weeks already!

So how am I doing?


WRITING:

I am losing it. I am losing focus and I have slacked off writing and editing. I did e-mail a few folks the first half of my novel for them to edit and I am hoping that pushes me forward. I am getting real close to the end though and that makes me happy. And I just edited one of my favorite parts of my novel yesterday. When I look at the big picture and see how much I have accomplished and what I have left, I am satisfied with how much I have done. I only have 17,359 words left of my novel to edit. I have written so far on my second draft 73,173 words! All I have to do in addition to finishing is to write a small conclusion to another chapter I added. And then go through whatever edits I have that my friends have for me and I am done!

READING:

Good news/bad news here. The next book that has been recommended by my friend Steve is 'Then We Came to the End' by Joshua Ferris. I picked this up at the library and I got through the first four chapters but then I had to renew it at the library. And someone had placed a hold on it so I don't have it anymore. ARGH! The book was a little difficult to get into but the further I got the better it became. I liked it because it reminded me of WestHost. Every character that book had there was someone at my old work like them. And the chair... ...Tom's chair was (so far) my favorite part. Maybe one day I will write a book about my time at WestHost.

So until I get that book back, I will have to concentrate on finishing Veeps before the month ends.

Exercise and Eating Right
I skipped yesterday. Kristy and Logan had the day off from school and I don't like to do the Wii Fit with them around. Aside from that, I have done pretty decent. I am down a few more pounds and I am closer to my goal. I also have noticed that I look much better. I still have the ol' love handles but my chest, shoulders and arms have improved. Yes, I am an Adonis.

As far as my other goals have gone, I have not had any time yet. The novel is my focus for now. We'll see how I am in another 14 days.

Day(s) of Reckoning

Day 75

We love the Simpsons here at the Platis household. We have a ton of Simpsons games and one of them is the Simpsons Game of Life. It is not the same Game of Life that I remember playing as a child. Now instead of the Day of Reckoning they call it retirement. That certainly takes the edge off of it. I prefer Day of Reckoning which is why I have named this column that.

It has been two weeks since I have unveiled my New Year's Resolutions. So now it is time for some accountability. On the 14th and 28th of every month I plan on blogging about how I am doing. The good thing about doing this is that I don't have to come up with 2 blogs a month. The bad thing is that not only will it bore some to tears but it will also show how lazy I am. Hopefully that will not be the case.

So without further ado...

WRITING:

I have worked on my novel these last two weeks and I think I have made a nice bit of progress. I have a brand new beginning all written out which I am pretty satisfied with. This will introduce the main character in a much better way and also makes the impact of the first cliffhanger all more important. I have also started to edit my novel and I have got a good chunk of it started. It has been pretty interesting considering this is the first time I have read it. I am pretty happy with the progress of this goal. My other writing goals I have not started but that was to be expected. I only have a few months to knock this one out of the park.

READING:

I actually accomplished a goal by reading a new novel this month and I finished it way ahead of schedule. I read 'Beat the Reaper' by Josh Bazell. It was a fairly quick read, it was very easy to get through and flowed very well. And the more you read, the more interesting and hard to put down it got.

THE GOOD: Very quick and highly interesting. I thought it had two things that made it an excellent read. The footnotes were highly interesting with some neat facts, stuff I never knew. The book also peeled back the main character's past in an interesting way. One chapter dealt with the now and the author would reveal some tidbits and then the next chapter was in the past. So you can learn how events actually came to be.
THE BAD: I was not a huge fan of the ending. It was definitely exciting but it seemed to quick and some of the actions of the main character were almost too unbelievable. But that didn't take away from my enjoyment.

For those that like a step on the wild side, you should read this book. It does have quite a bit of colorful language and had some disturbing things so be forewarned.

The next book that has been recommended by my friend Steve is 'Then We Came to the End' by Joshua Ferris. I might pick up this book at the library and get a head start.

ART:
Nothing down with art although I did do some doodling of potential cover art for my novel. When I get a collection of them I will try to scan them in and post them.

EXERCISE AND EATING RIGHT
I have exercised for two weeks straight and I do feel like my body is responding. Sadly, I am not eating so great yet. I have loads of Christmas candy that needs to go. So the plan is to eat it all up so I don't have anymore left. Yeah, I know, doesn't totally feel like a solid plan. I was happy the first day I started, I was on the Wii Fit Plus and weighed myself. I was only a pound more than I thought, which was good considering I was eating like a pig over the holidays. I do the Wii Fit every other day and when the next time came, I was up three pounds! D'OH! So now instead of 7 pounds, I have to lose 10 now. But I have lost some since then so at least I am heading in the right direction.

As far as my other goals have gone, I have not had any time yet. The novel is my focus for now. We'll see how I am in another 14 days.

New Year's Resolutions Part III

Day 65

This will be the last of my New Year's Resolutions, I really don't want to bite off more than I can chew.

Speaking of chewing, I am proud to report that instead of eating my usual handful of Mint Truffle and Cherry Cordial Hershey Kisses, I ate oatmeal and a banana. And that was after my first day on the Wii Fit Plus. I will not share my weight here but I was happy that I was only a couple of ounces from what I was months ago. I didn't gain as much weight as I thought I did during the holiday stuff-your-face season.

And now as I writing my blog, I am not drinking my usual soda, I am drinking some Crystal Light instead.

Speaking of keeping New Year's Resolutions, I have written a new beginning to my novel that is over 11,000 words.

Anyway, I will quit tooting my own horn. The plan is to list my status of these goals at least every two weeks. So I will wait to brag until then.

These last few resolutions are really just stuff that I would like to attempt and not necessarily complete. Meaning I want to get a start on these sometime this year.


Learn Greek. I think it would be fun to know and learn another language and with my Greek heritage I think this should be the one. Not sure how I will accomplish this one but an attempt will be made.

Practice my bass. Kristy got me a bass guitar a couple of years ago for Christmas (it actually was my bro-in-law Steve's guitar) and I have played with it but I have not made an actual attempt to learn the bass. That will change sometime this year.

Design the cover to my novel. For fun, I would like to design the logo and the art for my novel. I would eventually like to complete this but as long as I get a start on it this year, I will be satisfied.

I have some other goals but they are too boring and mundane to share here.

New Year's Resolutions Part II

Day 63

I have a couple more New Year's Resolutions that I want to share. Unfortunately these are nowhere near as fun as the ones I listed earlier. I am only talking of one in particular that I am not looking forward to starting at all.

So let's start with the fun one first.

ART
I rarely pick up a pen to draw anymore and that depresses me. Last year I had a stretch of time where I participated in completing a drawing a week but unfortunately I lost interest and time and I stopped doing it. What I liked about doing it was I felt challenged and it made me think creatively which is something I want to do more of. So I am going to try to complete an art project, at least once a month. I have the tools, I just have to get off my butt (this will be a recurring theme) and do it.


Last year I developed a blog (which is deactivated) called Sheer Art Attack. (a play on Queen's Sheer Heart Attack album) It was a bi-weekly art celebration of the songs of Queen! Every two weeks a new song is chosen and posted every Monday and then participants/followers are invited during the 2 week period to illustrate their own interpretation of the song chosen. I had this idea in high school and I did some basic doodles of Queen songs but that is about as far as I have got. This quote really got me wanting to do it.

"That's what the song is about, though I'd prefer people to put their interpretation upon it - to read into it what they like."
-Freddie Mercury

So instead of doing that blog (which I may reactivate when I get some art projects stocked up) I am going to work on a monthly project based on a Queen song of my choice and post it to this blog. I may wait until my novel is completed before I start that project.

So now it comes to the least favorite part of my New Year's Resolutions but one that I am looking forward to having completed. I am now at that age where I have to be more careful with my body. I cannot just eat whatever I want. Yes, my doctor has told me to eat more fiber and to watch my cholesterol. Last summer I took part of a Nutrition study (which I will blog about sometime) which is to lower my high cholesterol. So it has come to this...

EATING RIGHT AND EXERCISING

I love sweets. I love chocolate. I love soda. But there is no freaking way I am giving those up. But from now on, I am going to watch how much I consume of this stuff. I am going to be more disciplined. I'm going to eat more healthy and eat more fruits and veggies. That part is the easiest part.


I didn't believe that this could actually work me out but it does get you pretty sore and does tone your muscles pretty good. I just have to get it out and use it.

I also need to get off my duff and exercise. When the weather gets nicer, walking and running will be something I will try to do daily. While it is cold, I will work on my Total Gym and the Wii Fit Plus I got for Christmas. I will alternate what I do daily and take the weekends off. My goal is to lose 7 total pounds and hopefully by my birthday in June. It will be hard work but worth it.

I have some other goals/resolutions that I will share next time on the blog. The biggest reason why I am going public with these is because I want to actually do them this time. And by using this blog, I can be held accountable for my actions. I plan on updating the blog at least weekly about how I am doing on these goals. Some are more important than others and some I might not start for months but I want to see how I am doing.

New Year's Resolutions Part I

Day 60

Every year I make New Year's Resolutions and every year I forget them and I get just plain lazy and I don't accomplish them. And every year I claim that 'this year will be different' and we know how that ends.


But this year WILL be different because I am going to use this blog as a way to motivate and more importantly, hold myself responsible and accountable for these New Year's Resolutions. Over the next few days I will cover all that I want to change. For this column, I am going to concentrate on how I am going to challenge myself when it comes to my hobbies. As you already know, I like to read and write and this is what I am going to blog about today.

WRITING


1) Last November I participated in the NaNoWriMo event and finished my novel well over 50,000 words. Because I passed that mark, I was given a special coupon code to use to get my book published in book form and to help me market my book. But I only have six months to use this coupon code. So my first New Year's Resolution is to finish my novel. I recently started writing a new beginning to the book that I need to complete. I have another chapter based on the Deacon character that I need to write and then I need to rewrite and edit. To assist me I am giving this book to my sister and my cousin Jeremy to assist in editing. I don't have a lot of time left to accomplish this so I need to get cracking on it. The plan is to at least spend an hour on it a day.

2) While I am editing my novel I am also going to plot out my next book for next November's NaNoWriMo competition. I can do this when I am bored of my novel.

3) There is another writing competition called Script Frenzy that I might try as well. Basically it is the same things as NaNoWriMo except this time you develop a script. You get to choose whether to write a screenplay, stage play, TV script, or comic book script and you get to choose whether to write with a partner or on your own.
This starts in April.

4) And of course I will continue to write this blog. That should be an easy one. I also want to keep updating my other geeky blog, The Banshee Blog at least monthly.

READING

I love comics and I will continue to read them, I really don't need a New Year's Resolution to do this. But for this year I want to do something a little different.

5) I don't read books/novels as much as I should and this is what I am going to change. With the help of my friends from the Bad Genious Board I am going to try to read a book/novel every month. And I will post a review of the book on this blog too.


I already have January's book lined up. My friend Jon recommended 'Beat the Reaper' by Josh Bazell. A couple of other books I have planned to read is Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis and Bret Hart's autobiography Hitman.

Later this week I will go over some other New Year's Resolutions. Some other hobbies and the dreaded EXERCISE resolution will make his dreaded appearance.