While mostly a bummer year, for the reasons everyone is aware of, there were openings. After a several months long spiral downward which began after say mid-March I was able to stop skidding for a split second and take a personal survey. Was able to stop plummeting is a great achievement in any scenario. Other highlights:

produced and directed first half of Sister/Brother - after a long spell between features I was able to finally summon the internal fortitude and a meager amount of capital to get my 2nd feature underway. The 2nd half of the shoot was disrupted by pandemic and presently tbd.
wrote/shot/edited new webseries, working title Man of La Mansion. 8 episodes about a well to do housebound suburban man who makes the grave error in turning to screenwriting to be the corrective to his mid-life crisis. About to send to festivals. More on this to come.
wrote second season of Microaggressions. Used the same premise, several individuals in a municipal government circling around a shared event, but different from season one. presently seeking funding.
finally cut a reel together. here it is:

4. finished script for short film The Refrigerator, about a salesman carrying on a relationship through texting with his sentient modern icebox. will try to make it this year.

5. started new feature screenplay. can’t give any details b/c it’s still cooking. written with some flexibility to either be a big budget spec that I can sell to studios and let some hot shot direct (note: how/why does this fantasy persist?) or that I can make myself with an austere budget (the more probable of the two).

6. started new sci-fi project screenplay, might be feature or series. currently following to see where it goes. can’t say more than that yet. but I like it a lot so far.

7. worked on a couple stop motion projects with the kids this year. Here’s one: The Orb, episode 1

8. personal highlights: 15 year anniversary of transsphenoidal surgery, craniotomy, proton beam radiation, living in a hotel in Boston for 2 months, 20 year wedding anniversary, started running again, honing focus, attempting to be more thorough with photography and image-making, attempting to tourniquet squeeze myself away from social media. And so forth.

9. wrote and recorded album, Rivers of Blood, under my alias Captain Chili.

if i only had something to say I could tell them * now it's time to end this conversation * do you have a city-issued cellphone? * i have foreknowledge of your future and all the dumbshit mistakes you're gonna make * coupon attached * you're never done with the one who got away * another morning, another warning * a semi-major social influencer reached out to me * keep holding on * the streets are all empty* i feel i might be moderately ill so if i fall call the keeper at the station * welcome all to this weekend's exciting screenwriting fun * please just stay tonight * hey, where'd you go? into the ether or somewhere near? * it was good for awhile but now it's black and vile * the end is now beginning * one voice says 'don't stop!', the other voice says 'you failed' thanks for listening

for 2021, I remain optimistic about the future and about humanity (note: not really, but that’s a better thing to say out loud). And I made a deal with myself to stop being so negative about everything all the time. TBD.

Year in Review

2020 in 9 photos

the fall 2020