As 2010 starts I have been plugging away as usual – Doing a lot of writing, finishing some projects, starting others, abandoning some of them (hopefully temporarily) etc. I have been plugging the Bud Fallbrook cartoon that I launched on Blunt Farce and I have been angling to get on some new stages to tell my comedy and punk-rock stories. As I said, just moving along, pushing the ball a few yards downfield and basically just doing what we all should be doing, that is: Creating more stuff and not asking for or waiting for permission… just doing it.

I’m not going to pretend this makes me unique. Every week I get emails and IMs from my talented and creative friends linking me to THEIR latest written and/or videotaped works. I am always inspired by this. It is further proof that the old way of doing things is dead. Sure, we all want to get paid (or paid more) for the things we create,  but we no longer have to wait for someone else to grant us a platform… We can (and must) create it for ourselves.  So please, feast your eyes/ears on some of the great stuff I’ve been WATCHING lately…. Work from my creative friends as they flex their artistic wings and search out their audience or demographic niche or whatever they’re calling it these days.

The WISE GUYS… Character comedy and NFL insights.

The Stalker Chronicles – Sweet Sinister Surrealism.

A little bit of everything from the CacklePops -

Super Duper Character comedy from The Karen Show -

That is just some of it.  There is more to come. I still enjoy watching TV but I can’t remember the last time I channel-searched my cable looking for something capital-N “New”   …. it is all on the web now, wating to be discovered… and as soon as I get a web-enabled TV, it’ll be even easier to watch.

Today marks the two-year anniversary of ASK A PUNK. I’m pretty proud of that. Any writer will tell you that it is important to have deadlines, even, or possibly especially, the self-imposed kind. Keeping my weekly Wednesday AAP posting deadline has been a point of pride for me. In this week’s special ‘anniversary’ post, I don’t answer any reader questions, but I do spend some time thanking my readers and crunching the numbers.

This time of year, Los Angeles always feels like a semi-deserted college town. The good news is that the traffic is almost tolerable and the freeways move at nearly freeway speed for most of the day. This is nice… but  a bit  dull.

I’m taking advantage of this lull and wrapping up the odd year of 2009 by trying to finish up some creative projects, while starting up some new ones that’ll carry me into the new year.

Of course 2009 wouldn’t be the ball-busting year it was if it didn’t try to get in a few more jabs… so in the past two weeks I have had to deal with both car repairs and computer repairs… two things that are always very frustrating (oh, and expensive.) but we soldier on. More details to come of course.

Meanwhile, another new picture for the “Tom” files.

Planet O’Connor continues to spin through the cosmos. It has been a busy and productive month even though there has been little fundamental or profound change. Thanks to the help of some key friends, my script “Rock Hard, Big Dick’s” is finally “getting read” by some people who might actually matter…all while it is simultaneously winding its way through a couple more screenwriting contests… but there won’t be any news on the contest results until well into the new year.

This past month has also found me happily collaborating with some creative pals on various projects (large and small) of theirs… which always makes me feel useful and also more connected to the creative realms.

I have also been working on new stories and material for ‘live’ shows and am hoping I’ll get invited to do another ‘Sit n Spin’ show in 2010, while also getting onto a couple of new stages. …as always it is all about saying “yes” to whatever the universe might put in front of you and always being open and ready for whatever bits of enlightenment might come next. Sounds a bit corny, I know…. but that doesn’t make it any less true. Also coming soon: I am gathering data for the upcoming (in early January) “2nd anniversary post” for ASK A PUNK….

… so now you know why I haven’t posted anything new to PlanetOC this month. I’ve been busy hammering out 50,000+ words and am glad to say that after three years of trying, I have finally completed the annual “National Novel Writing Month” challenge. What was the secret this year? Even more important than having more time to work on it, I was working from an outline. An outline people! Outlines work. Outlines keep your fingers moving… and they’re not written in stone either. You CAN detour away from your outline if the spirit moves you, but on those days when the spirit isn’t saying jacksh*t to ya, your outline is your one true & trusted friend. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

In addition to that little project I have also spent the month (re)polishing one of my feature comedy scripts for closer scrutiny by various “people.” I’ve also started work on a new podcasting project with a friend (still in the planning stages, no actual launch yet.)  I have been working away at the ‘Go Animate‘ stuff too, and of course I have also been meeting my weekly Ask A Punk and LA Cartoon deadlines (…sorry for all the self-referencing links.) I even helped edit some video projects for a friend. I don’t mean to sound smug about any of this, but I do admit to feeling a bit proud. We have to keep those internal & creative gears turning people !!