Today was the closest I ever came to killing a man. And I deeply regret I didn’t.

Casey has the details on her hand on how she was punched in the face by a complete jackass. Yes she slapped him. That in no way justifies the hit he gave her.

And me? I keep reeling with what I did … and what I didn’t do it.

My first notice of anything amiss was hearing Casey loudly question someone behavior. I took a quick look. A stocky, dull looking brute was her target. Wasn’t worried. Everyone knows Casey is a firecracker who can more than take care of herself.

I saw the guy comment, and Casey staring in anger. I started to turn away … when she let fly a beautiful slap that would make any Golden Age starlet proud.

I started heading over there to insert myself … and that’s when he exploded.

I was ins shock, and next thing I knew I was in between him and Casey, yelling at him “You don’t hit girls, asshole. You don’t hit girls.”

He began swearing in Arabic and saying it was none of my business. Note: I am half Lebanese, so I am certainly familiar with the swear words. And he represented many things I hate about the culture. Stylishly dressed men, who walk through life thinking they are better then everyone else, especially women.

And yet I was at the loss of what to do. Do I start wailing on him? Give him a chance to make reprimands before I start wailing on him? All I kept thinking was go for the throat, hard fast.

I turned to Casey to make sure she was okay.

She raised her face screaming at the guy to get out.

He scurried away. I started to head out the door to follow. To do what, I don’t know. Have words, have blows, track him. But the soft wailing of Casey drew me back.

Right now, my primary concern is Casey. Icing her face, helping her relax. But threads run through my mind. Outside of slow, slow deaths for the bastard, I wonder why I didn’t just let him have it.

Casey says she is glad I didn’t, that I am too much of a gentlemen to do it, and its what she loves about me. She also says she thinks I would just have my ass kicked, which hurts to hear, and I don’t completely agree with (he had mass, but I am not a Neanderthal and think evolution will win out). But she says its more to do with the fact that he had no honor, and would stop himself like she knows I would.
Some Dark Knight.

I am not all torn up about this. But it’s making me think of taking up a martial art again, if only to be the sidekick to my ass-kicking girlfriend.

It seems that at some point every online personality goes vegan. I did it last year though it was not a decision I made lightly; the thought was running in my mind for a few months as a solution to my ballooning weight, having gained 20lbs in a year. Only thing stopping me were my friends and family laughing at the idea that carnivorous Rudy Jahchan could survive a week going vegan.

But then I was lucky to have the brilliant, vegan, (and sexy) Sean Bonner visit us. With his encouragement, inspirational links he provided on others who had done it, and his accompaniment on a grocery shopping makeover experience, I was on my way.

I didn’t document my experience like Vu Bui is doing (slap my own wrist) but I can tell you what worked.

1. Weight Loss – Over the 4 months I was vegan, I lost over 15lbs, without hitting the gym. And I know why it worked for me. Veganism forced me to know exactly what I was eating, preventing me from the excuses I usually make ( “Of course I can have a Wendy’s quadruple; beef and cheese are protein.”)
2. Shopping & Eating out classy – Living in a metropolitan city like Montreal is a blessing for food choices. At the grocery store there is a rack of tofu options, with local success Commensal providing a wealth of ready made meals. And I lurve Yves tofu-dogs and other options. Likewise, Montreal’s many restaurants have vegan options, and I highly recommend Chu-Chai for a complete vegan menu that even non-vegans will enjoy. And thank Zod for asian foods; I did not have to abandon my favorite restaurant Le Taj.
3. Being honest why you are doing it – Like in my case, it was purely for (again) weight loss. I didn’t do in protest of the meat or dairy industries, or to help the environment. Closest cause I had was acting a bit of a futurist and live more plant based as I do think green-lifestyles will be something we all adopt.

Most importantly, I did not crack once during that entire time, something former vegan fans could not even claim!

So why did I stop? Well …

1. Don’t Go It Alone – At least not if you’re living intimately with somebody. My partner was very supportive at first. But meal planning became difficult, as my taste palette was wider then hers. The crisis point though was that she hated when I made a “bad” food choice. Not “bad” as in breaking veganism but bad as in …
2. Vegan doesn’t mean Healthy/Eating out sloppy – Due to time or trying to please my partner I would grab some fast food at McDonald’s … and discover the only choice for me were the fries. And no matter how you spin it, that is not a good choice. But I would eat it, making the same excuses like I use to (“Well it IS vegan …”) This introduced stress nutritionally and into my relationship (on top of the many other stresses that were already there).
3. Too much weight loss – I was happy when I hit 185lbs. Ecstatic when I hit 180lbs. And proud when I crossed back into 170s. Then started getting really worried at 172lbs. At 6 foot 1 inch I only have so much mass to lose. Granted, a personal crisis during that time period didn’t help. But the same way I (personally) needed a big change to stop the weight gain I needed another change to focus on the next step: maintaining and toning up.

So what am I doing now? Eating more balanced, frequent, smaller meals. In the last month (and through the Holidays no less!) I have maintained my weight in the range of 173 to 175 lbs. I’ve gone back to the gym and regularly swimming. And when the option exists, choose the lighter vegan choice.

Should you go vegan? That’s for you to decide. But I do encourage you to try it out, and don’t take the fact that I stopped to mean it doesn’t work or can’t be done.

‘Tis the season and all that for New Year’s Resolutions and there is no better way of making yourself accountable for them than by making them public. This post already fulfills …

Resolution #1.) Produce Daily – which means a daily blog entry, a daily self-portrait, and hopefully a daily photograph. I started this site late last year … and then sort of left it hanging. Which is really stupid, considering the number of things I have to talk about.

I’ll need to be organized to handle the new volume of data, so …

Resolution #2.) Get things done 4 hours a week - Last year I picked up David Allen’s Getting Things Done and Timothy Feriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek and made a half-assed to do both. I believe it can be accomplished with GTD as a pipeline and 4h as the prioritizer. Starting this weekend inbox goes to zero, replies will be automated, and I will focus on accomplishing things.

Thing like …

Resolution #3.) Sharing more - namely information on how I do things. This idea has driven me back to the video-blogging discussion group, coding for the community, and planning a making of series for Galacticast. Quiet to those who say it’s the same thing as #1.

One thing I will share is how I am performing …

Resolution #4.) Get fit – and by that I mean toned. This resolution is well on its way; so far I am my keeping weight under 175lbs through decreased my portions and eating regularly. Starting tomorrow, a daily swim and walking to work in the middle of a Montreal winter; nothing reflects UV better then snow. Weights every other day, hi-reps. And of course, twittering fitness and meal status.

All of this in hopes I can do a “Will Smith Mandatory Workout Scene” when I do …

Resolution #5.) Appear in a Movie – Technically I did this last year, in my “brother” Matt Campagna’s movie Six Reasons Why. But I want to do more walk-ons, act as an extra, or a screaming part if I can swing it, for shows, movies, or people I love. How will I do it? Not a damn clue, but I plan to make a list and post it soon, so any help would be appreciated.

Not worried if I don’t make it though, as I am also planning for …

Resolution #6.) Make a Movie – that I will appear in, though I am primarily writing and co-directing. This is the only non-seekrit fact of the seekrit project I’ve been planning for the last month. The goal is to have a draft script, pitch, and more to shop around when I head to LA early February.

That trip’s other goal is …

Resolution #7.) Enjoy Friends – Getting so wrapped up in Galacticast has not left me time to enjoy the great people I know outside of media production. Recent events confirmed just how wonderful and caring they all are. And not just in Los Angeles but in San Francisco, Arizona, Minnesota, Michigan, Boston, New York, and more. And, of course, right here in Montreal.

Not to put down Galacticast use in making new friends, which is where we have …

Resolution #8.) Open Galacticast – to more then just comments. A site redesign is on the agenda, but I want to see how much I can make it a fan-dom project. Galacticast has some really great fans and friends, and its time to let them play in the sandbox. This also ties into Resolution #2; I can teach techniques like green-screen lighting, have people shoot themselves on one in described angles, and composition them all in post, using spinxpress to shuttle the files around. More thought and people’s input is required as it’s not very clear now but I am using the next two weeks to define it, like solving a puzzle.

Which leads to …

Resolution #9.) Solve the damn Rubik’s Cube – ‘Nuff said!

Happy New Year!

Hello again, interweb. We’ve already have had many conversations you and I, through Galacticast, or Twitter, or Facebook. But let’s start another one right here. One about me and the world I live in.

For those who don’t me, I’m Rudy Jahchan, co-creator and executive producer of popular internet shows GALACTICAST, A COMICBOOK ORANGE, and KITKAST. Writing, directing, editing, special effecting on a weekly basis out of my apartment with nothing but the rocketboom kit; a digital camera, a green construction, a few lights, and two computers.

But that’s not all. I am an avid coder, extending WordPress to deliver the content in the way I want, using the killer services of blip.tv, flickr, and feedburner. Oh, and all of this while holding down a day job directing software development.

Yes, I am the Cylon God.

Actually, I am simply the man behind the scenes of some interesting projects. But recent events have made me decide its time to step out of the shadows.

That’s a lie. Recent events have actually made me decide its time to change my life.

So I want to document those changes, and the glorious successes they will assuredly bring. Not just as a promotional tool, or as scrapbook to look back on decades (centuries?) from now, but as a way to return to doing what I love to do; share and learn awesome things.

What’s next? Galacticast will finish Season 2.0 with a couple more episodes until X-Mas, and start planning Season 3.0. I have a seekrit project in ze werks, and hopefully things will move fast enough I can tell you about it without jinxing it. I am hitting the gym again, to tone up. And more.

Hope you stick around.

P.S. - Big thanks to Lan Bui for my awesome new headshot I am using across all of my sites. The man and his brother Vu are talented lense masters. Reach out and say hi.