The skinny.

As I sit down to write a new post I realize there's a question that I've been getting a lot these days concerning the new blog. "So, Mateo, what's the skinny?" America wants the inside scoop on all things TMC. Well here it is folks; the straight dope:

Let me start by catching you up just a bit. I recently left Hollywood, California where I worked as a Page at a major television studio and was pursuing a career in screenwriting. I loved L.A., but gas prices were rising, the economy was crashing, money was dwindling and my career was at a standstill. I moved to Tokyo, Japan for 3 and a half months with the intention of teaching English and doing independent mission work. Towards the end of my stay I started to run into Visa trouble at about the same time I began to realize how much I missed writing and the Industry. Sure one can write in Japan, but I felt so disconnected from the writing and creative community that I wanted to be a part of. I made a quick decision to return to the States and take up residence in a small, but comfortable, modular home that my parents owned on top of a mountain in the back woods of North Carolina.

My first day on the property I was chased up a tree by a full grown, American black bear. I realized immediately that I was officially back in the country of my birth and life would continue as it always had; quite unpredictably. I'm once again pursuing a career as a writer and filmmaker albeit in a slightly different location and environment than before. The new location and the journey I took to get here has spawned a new intensity, focus and clarity in my endeavors.

I'm hoping to use The Mateo Chronicles to offer a glimpse into my life as a writer/filmmaker. It's been an interesting journey so far, and I look forward to recording and sharing it as it continues. This will also be a place for me to comment on literature, writing, film, TV, music, pop culture, etc. Occasionally, I'll post updates on my work and projects as they develop, and I'll also use this as a place to simply write creatively and hopefully entertain in the process. Please feel free to comment, join the discussion, ask questions, critique, make suggestions, sing praises, throw confetti, and contact me as we go.

"I'm really excited about this!" you say.

To which I respond:

"Hell, we haven't even started yet."

My Commitment to You

Dear (Reader): [Insert your name in parentheses]

The relationship between an author and a reader is just that, a relationship. And as many of my ex-girlfriends and old flings will be quick to tell you, you can't have relationship without commitment. So as the author of this blog, this is my commitment to you, (the reader). [You can once again insert your name in the parentheses if you'd like.]

1. I will honor and cherish you all of our days together. (Without you, after all, I'm just a lone voice crying in the wilderness.)

2. I will be faithful to you in sickness and in health. (I will not allow this blog to become a forgotten and abandoned domain while I catch up on House reruns, tend to my ever growing stacks of books, movies, and magazines, and watch old Japanese music videos on YouTube.)

3. I will post at least once a week. (Can I get a 3-day window on top of that?...seriously.)

4. If I go more than 10 days without a post then I am in some kind of trouble. (We need to elect someone who will come check on me should this ever happen. Preferably someone with wilderness skills. I've most likely broken my leg somewhere out on my property and can't get home or a large rock has fallen on me and I can't seem to cut my arm off in order to free myself. In either case I'm quite possibly being eaten alive by wild coyotes. Whoever is elected to come check on me, please hurry the hell up.)

5. If it's been 15 days without a post, then I am dead. (I'm comin' home, Blue!)

This, faithful reader, is my commitment to you.*

*All commitments are subject to change based on, but not limited to, apathy, procrastination, laziness, distraction, bi-polar depressive states, travel, kidnapping, Ultimate Fighter marathons, writer's block, family emergencies, and natural catastrophes.

Hello America.

As you can see from the first post, people all across America have really been buzzing about "The Mateo Chronicles". It's all still a little surreal at the moment and it's certainly a humbling experience. How do you follow up all the hype and feverish anticipation? My late Uncle Artie use to say: "Kid. When the world's at your doorstep and they're demanding peaches, look 'em straight in the eye and ask 'em where they bought their knickers at." Those mysterious, bourbon scented words elude me to this day, but I feel like they're somehow applicable. I guess I just want to thank everyone for being a part of this and would like to say that I'm excited about what's to come. Stick with me and I think we're going to have a lot of fun together...and for the sake of Uncle Artie, I have to ask, "Where'd you get your knickers at?"

Commencing countdown, engines on.

Fill your pockets with protein pills folks because The Mateo Chronicles blog is getting ready to launch. What are people saying about it?

"If it's anything like his Twitter page, it will be at the top of my daily to do list." -Wendy L., Michigan

"Witty, clever, good-looking, insightful...he's everything my girlfriend wishes I could be." -Mark T., Kansas

"He signed my boarding pass once in Phoenix. Stand-up guy. I don't do 'blogs', but this is one I'll have to follow." - Phil C., New Mexico

"The online community just got a little more exciting!" - Janet K., Wisconsin

"Good news Bloggers! There's a reason to live again." - Bay City Bloggers Online Magazine

So be sure to follow the blog that everyone's buzzing about. In the words of Kimberly H. of Colorado it's, "splendiferous! absolutely freakin' splendiferous!"