I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, part of the reason I haven’t done much writing, and much updating of this blog, is that I wanted to get 100 books read this year, and I’ve done it. I actually think I’ve read more than that, but this is all I’ve recorded, and I’m really happy with the effort. I think it will be a few years until I can do anything like this again.

I averaged over 82 pages a night (and that doesn’t count the 30 odd comics that arrive each month) and each book averaged 288 pages. So they weren’t all massive Stephen King tomes, but they weren’t small insignificant things either. I can’t believe I kept all those stats. I am a total nerd.

Was it good? Yes. Would I have read that many without the challenge? Yes. An I a nerd for keeping all the stats? Absolutely.

Next year I’ll try to get into more writing. And finish making my guitar… so many things to do, so little time. So much of it wasted with statistics!

If you’re in the southern hemisphere then spring is finally here. If you’re up north then it’s fall.

Most importantly though TV is back today! All the good stuff returns. No more only watching Weeds each week, now we have hours and hours of all original TV goodness coming our way.

Tonight for me -
Gossip Girl (shut up, I’m a sucker for this kind of crap)
One Tree Hill (see above)
Prison Break (although I should hurry up and finish last season. I have it all here somewhere…)

It’s all on people.

With Weeds back on TV my appetite for great shows has once again begun to grow. I hate this time of year when we’re all waiting for something decent.

I’ve been scouring the internet the last few days looking for when my shows are going to be returning, and below are a list of the dates. There are a few new shows on here, but if you’re looking forward to The Unit returning look no further.

September
? Secret Diary of a Call Girl
1 Gossip Girl
1 One Tree Hill
1 Prison Break
2 90210 - NEW
8 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
9 Priviledged - NEW
9 Fringe - NEW
22 Heroes
24 Pushing Daisies
25 My Name Is Earl
28 American Dad
28 Desperate Housewives
28 Dexter
28 Californication
28 Family Guy
28 The Unit
29 Chuck

October
1 Dirty Sexy Money
1 South Park
17Crash - NEW
30 30 Rock

There are also a few shows I’m waiting on but don’t know when they begin.
Battlestar Galactica
Cleveland Show - NEW
Damages
Dollhouse - NEW
Friday Night Lights
Futurama
Lost
Nip/Tuck
Scrubs
24

Dirt - Cancelled
So there you have it… Hopefully we’ll get a full season this time around.

It was on the bubble for a while, but has been renewed for next season. About time!

I had a pretty good record this year for shows I like being renewed. All the new shows I bothered with have been renewed. Californication, Gossip Girl, Chuck etc. I actually don’t think any of my shows that I keep up with haven’t been renewed. Beats last year when I lost quite a lot.

Jericho is the only show that may count as being cancelled this year, however since I haven’t even finished season 1 yet I’m going to ignore it.

Each month is worse than the last, so what should i do this month? Why keep makign goals of course.

1/ Finish Writing Comic - I just want to knock this over. I have it outlined. I just need to get in and do it.

2/ Read 5 Books - Onhly 5? Well, yeah. I’m usually way ahead, but if I start writing it will drop right down and this way it’s still possible.

3/ Journal Daily - So this is there every month. And I usually do pretty well with it.

4/ Blog Regularly - When I’m writing this is easy. I need to get writing then the blogging will come.

5/ Work on novel - I have a lot of ideas for the novel floaring around, so I just need to spend some time focusing.

So what am I going to do this month to make myself achieve more of these goals? I’m going to go to bed earlier. Sleep better. Exercise more. Work only at work and not in all my free time at home, and eat healthier. At least I’ll feel better, even if I don’t get more done.

What a train wreck! This month was a shocker. A comination of too much work, and too much tiredness didn’t go well for me.

1/ Finish writing comic - I didn’t even think about it.

2/ Read 5 Books - This I did, and in the first few days. I made it through 20 books this month.

3/ Journal Daily - I’m slightly behind. I was away for a week and the routine broke, but I’m back into it now.

4/ Blog Regularly - I didn’t get it done at all, as you can see. Oops.

5/ Work on Novel - I have been thinking about this. I’ve got a stack of ideas coalescing in my mind.

Next month, will it go better? It can’t go much worse.

I don’t know how some people do it. So many different things on their plates, and they seem to cope. Whether the product ends up any good is a different thing.

I mentioned Rob Thomas was revamping Beverly Hills, 90210 (which I will watch, I have faith in Thomas) but he’s also revamping his failed series Cupid and ‘Americanising’ a New Zealand show called Outrageous Fortune which is a drama about a family of blue-collar criminals.

Not bad luck for someone who had his show cancelled last year after only just scraping through renewal the previous two seasons. It was a great show though. RIP Veronica Mars.

90210
Meet the Mills, the three-generational Beverly Hills clan at the center of the contemporary “Beverly Hills, 90210″ spinoff. Like the original “90210,” the spinoff revolves around a family with two teen kids the same age — a boy and a girl — who recently moved from the Midwest to Beverly Hills. But this time, the dad, Harry Mills, is a Beverly Hills High alum who moved after graduation and settled in East St. Louis. He is forced to come back when his 1970s movie star mother’s alcohol problem gets out of control. Joining him are his wife, Celia, a former Olympic medalist; biological daughter Annie; and adopted son Dixon.

The A Team is in active delelopment as a feature film! Real original stuff. A group of Iraqi Vets is wanted by the U.S Military for a crime they *gasp* didn’t commit! Their adventures have them running from the law while helping the innocents. That’s not the only update though. There’s a modern twist involving oil tycoons and lasers. Awesome. It should be out June 12, 2009. Directed by John Singleton (Shaft remake) and starring Woody Harrelson and Ice Cube. Should be a lot of fun.

A Dune feature is also in ‘active development’ I haven’t read it yet but my brother in law loves it. Maybe I should give it a shot. But isn’t it a trilogy of long books? I hope they don’t screw it up too bad.

Based on the novel “Dune” by Frank Herbert. The troubles begin when stewardship of Arrakis is transferred by the Emperor from the Harkonnen Noble House to House Atreides. The Harkonnens don’t want to give up their privilege, though, and through sabotage and treachery they cast young Duke Paul Atreides out into the planet’s harsh environment to die. There he falls in with the Fremen, a tribe of desert dwellers who become the basis of the army with which he will reclaim what’s rightfully his. Paul Atreides, though, is far more than just a usurped duke. He might be the end product of a very long-term genetic experiment designed to breed a super human; he might be a messiah. His struggle is at the center of a nexus of powerful people and events, and the repercussions will be felt throughout the Imperium.

Thanks to thefutoncritic.com.

XIII was a great comic (the bits I’ve read anyway, hurry up DB and finish releasing them. The game was a lot of fun, and now a TV mini series on NBC. This’ll be great.

XIII - “XIII” is a high-stakes cat-and-mouse thriller starring Val Kilmer (”The Doors”) and Stephen Dorff (”World Trade Center”). This adrenaline-charged miniseries begins dramatically as the first female U.S. President is shot dead by a sniper during her Veteran’s Day speech. Three months later, a wounded man is found tattered in a forest with no memory of his identity. The only clue is a tattoo on his neck, “XIII.” Could his lightning-fast reflexes and killer instincts betray him as the presidential assassin that the U.S. is desperately searching for? Submerged in a far-reaching conspiracy, which threatens to overthrow the entire government, XIII’s identity becomes the key to unraveling a complex and dangerous secret that will shock and excite. From the first bullet, this gripping action-thriller will leave audiences gasping for more. “XIII” is produced by Prodigy Pictures and Cipango.

This also could be interesting. I’ll see how the reviews are closer to the time.

KINGS — “Kings” is an inspiring exploration of the timeless David vs. Goliath struggle. The show is set in a modern metropolis under siege where the fighting has gone on for too long and cost far too many lives. When David Shepherd (Christopher Egan, “Resident Evil: Extinction”), a brave young soldier, rescues the king’s (Golden Globe winner Ian McShane, “Deadwood”) son from enemy territory, he sets events in motion that will finally bring peace. Suddenly, David is thrust into the limelight, earning the affections of women — including the king’s daughter. When he’s promoted to captain, he becomes the reluctant poster boy for hope. But for David, the line between his allies and enemies will blur as the power players in the kingdom go to great lengths to see him fall. From the director (Francis Lawrence) of the blockbuster movie “I Am Legend” comes the ultimate story of David vs. Goliath, and there’s no telling who will win. Sebastian Stan (”Gossip Girl”) also stars. “Kings” is a production of Universal Media Studios; Michael Green (NBC’s “Heroes”) is the executive producer. Francis Lawrence (”I Am Legend”) is the director and executive producer and Erwin Stoff (”I Am Legend”) also is executive producer.

I don’t normally share things like this, and I never email things out, but this just made me laugh, and looks like a lot of fun.

Writing things like this, just like any story, requires the idea. Just one good idea. It’s not easy.

I’m well ahead in my reading goals for this month. Just beginning Day 3 and I’ve already finished 3 books. Granted, one was a small sales book, but the others were bigger. A lot bigger. I just stay up too late reading I guess. I need to start getting up earlier and doing more writing.