Awash in Resolutions, 2011 Edition

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The Japanese Macaque, or snow monkey when they don't want to be constantly teased about their name, are enjoying a nice dip in the sauna, so what better time to officially re-launch the 2011 Edition of Geek Monkey?  To be fair, there's still a bit of tweaking to be done: adding links and changing the back ground to something other than "forest wallpaper that was popular back in 2001" but on the whole I'm satisfied with the basic look of the thing, and it's high time to get writing again anyway.

Which begs the question, "Writing about what?"  

Good question.  

The name Geek Monkey, for better or worse, implies a certain type of content that, while dear to me, doesn't quite capture everything I want to cover.  Sure, I want to talk about the movies, books, comics, video games and other assorted nerd ephemera that catches the macaroni curls of my brain (and let's not use this as a chance to argue geek vs. nerd; I'm probably both, and at 38 don't really care about the distinction), but I also want to capture those moments in time that affect me as a husband, a father, and a human being.  A weblog in 2011 seems to be no longer in style, an out-of-date digital soapbox millions write to an audience of themselves.  If that's the case so be it - I've made my peace with talking to an empty space years ago.

That being said, I want to try and find some kind of balance this year, both in my writing and in my life.  With that spirit in mind, my New year's Resolutions for 2011, complete with some concrete, measurable goals: 

  1. Seriously get back in shape - The goal is to be at least 25 pounds lighter that I am currently am this time next year, plus all medical tests in the normal range.
  2. Return to daily meditation - Sit zazen for 30 minutes a day
  3. Write more - Average 5-6 entries a month here at Geek Monkey, potentially more when combined with the film criticism I write over at Celluloid Moon (which I also need to step up on)
  4. Read more - The second half of 2010 was a colossal bomb when it came to reading.  So I want to pick the pace back up and do at least 3 books a month, or 36 books this year.  This will coincide with the "Write more" resolution, since I plan to record each book I read this year, both here and, where applicable, over at Un:Bound.
  5. Grow a beard - Hey, what can I tell you?  I've grown many a Van Dyke (I will argue the difference between a Van Dyke and a goatee), but have never manage the elusive full beard.  With the rapid loss of hair on my head, I figure now's as good a time as any to try it.  Photographic evidence to follow.
  6. Publish some fiction -  Even if it's only to this blog, I want to have some fiction writing on the web available for anyone who cares to read it.
  7. De-clutter - I have way too much crap in the house.  I buy too many CDs, DVD, Blu-rays, and books when I haven't read, watched, or listened to what I already own.  So the goal is to cut back what I'm buying and get rid of the stuff I don't need.  I'll have to come back with a more concrete way of measuring this.
  8. Get the damn lawn GREEN - I mean it - my lawn looked like like the aftermath of trench warfare last year, a bigger embarrassment when you look at my neighbors' all who have perfectly manicured, lush green lawns.  This is the year I take care of that.  Photographic evidence to follow.
  9. Take more pictures - I love taking pictures, and I don't do it often enough.  We'll fix that this year, and post them here.
  10. Kid #2 - This is the last year we're going to try for a second child.  Neither of us want too large a gap between Jack and kid #2, and the medical risks for my wife are already large enough without getting into the age thing.  But we both agreed we would try our hardest (he he, "hard") to make it happen this year, so we'll see.

That's it.  Have a great 2011 and we'll see you soon!