Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 409
September 8, 2014
September 8, 2014: News of note!
As it turns out, it wasn’t Prince Albert Victor or Queen Victoria’s obstetrician or author Lewis Caroll. It was…some crazy guy:
His parents aren’t kicking him out of the house! And the poor kid’s only 29!
Bananas prevent strokes! Eat more bananas!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-133083/How-banana-day-strokes-bay.html
Apple cider vinegar helps you lose weight and ward of heart disease! Drink more apple cider vinegar!
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-health-benefits-of-apple-cider-vinegar.html
Eating chocolate may help ease cramping associated with peripheral artery disease! Eat more chocolate!
http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2014/09/can-dark-chocolate-help-ease-your-pain-from-pad-2/
Chocolate may contain lead and cadmium! Don’t eat anymore chocolate!
Chocolate help guard against heart attacks and strokes! Eat more chocolate!
Socks can lead to tummy upset! Don’t eat socks!
September 7, 2014
September 7, 2014: The Lodger!
Pictured above – Petunia, our lodger, who has been with us since Friday but went home tonight. She’s been a wonderful guest, very polite with the other dogs and has only had two accidents. Having an extra dog does make a world of difference, however, especially at night. And even on a king-size bed. I got squeezed out at one point and had to retreat to the guest room. About an hour later, Akemi had to join me. So WE had to make do with the smaller bed while they enjoyed the sprawling spaciousness of the master bed.
A sad start to the Fantasy Football season for my Snow Monkeys who are about to go 0-1. Fortunately, after a year in which I cared A LOT and spent most of my free time researching and managing my team only to NOT make the playoffs, I’ve decided to adopt a new approach this year and NOT care so much. So, not caring. So much. But still caring a little. :(
© Takero Kawabata
Holy Smokes! Less than three days before I board a flight for Tokyo! And less than a month before I move to Toronto! Who’s helping me pack?
Today’s entry is dedicated to birthday gal and blog regular Jennifer Draves.
September 6, 2014
September 5, 2014
September 5, 2014: Miscellaneous photos!
Yep. Just as the title implies. Miscellaneous photos of miscellaneous things…
Drove by this car emblazoned with an unfortunate company name. Sure, P.O.S. can stand for Point of Sale. Or Positively Outstanding Service. But, if you happen to spend any time on the internet, another turn of phrase will probably come to mind.
Not a vehicle you want to rear-end. I’m not sure what 100 curries of Iridium 192 is, but I’m guessing I wouldn’t want it on my lap.
Two of Akemi’s recent prized purchases. I’m actually afraid to use them for fear of chipping one of those bat ears.
We parked behind these guys the other day and, when I approached to feed the meter, they went completely nuts with excitement at the prospect of us going over to say hi. Which we did of course.
When we were in Yaletown, this little guy chased Akemi down so that she could give him some much-needed attention. Look at him, so comfy!
Jelly is all better now and doesn’t need the diapers – but I’m going to miss those sassy shorts.
Akemi and her boyfriend.
My girlfriend.
Lulu prefers to play the field over being tied down.
September 4, 2014
September 4, 2014: The Game Plan!
Today, I completed a first draft of episode #12 in which the various arcs we develop over the course of the show’s first season converge in a story about identity, loyalty, and friendship, culminating in a shocking conclusion that sets the stage for an even more shocking finale. It joins my first draft of episode #9, on a virtual shelf, until the intervening bunch of scripts get done. Paul is halfway thought #5 while Rob and Trevor have started work on scripts for episodes #7 and #8 respectively. Ideally, I’ll have a bunch of first drafts to review by the time I come back from Japan on September 21st.
Yes, I’m off to Japan next week for 10 glorious days of cultural enlightenment and eating my face off. Before then, however, there’s plenty to do. Tomorrow, a conversation with our VFX guys, Mark Savela and Lawren Bancroft-Wilson, to discuss the first four episodes. Next week, Tuesday, another conference call with our Line Producer and Production Designer – also about episodes #1-4, and ship and space station designs. And I’m hoping we’ll have our first three directors slotted before I leave.
When I get back from Japan, I’ll have roughly two weeks to do my passes on episodes #5-8 before I head to Toronto for our first official week of prep: more meetings in which we’ll discuss key crew members and casting.
At present, the plan is to head to Toronto for that week of meetings during which I’ll stock our new Toronto place with everything we’ll need: dog mats, dog beds, kitchen gadgets, pillows, toiletries, and a big-ass winter coat. Then, I go back to Vancouver to pick up my dogs – and girlfriend – and make the final move. Since we’ll no longer have access to a handy backyard, I’m going to also have to buy a doggy stroller to make life a lot easier for Jelly – and Akemi. On top of all that, I’m going to have to find an animal clinic where Jelly can continue her accupuncture treatments:
Is it helping her? Well, tough to say. Between the accupuncture, Metacam, painkillers, pulsed electro-magnetic dog bed, and joint pills, SOMETHING is working.
September 3, 2014
September 3, 2014: Crackle Creme!
The other day, Akemi and I happened across a small dessert shop in Vancouver’s Strathcona district. It’s called Crackle Creme and it specializes in creme brûlée – oh, and waffles. Real Belgian waffles with pearl sugar, not those other ones!
The place is a one-man show run by Daniel Wong and, what he lacks in restaurant experience he more than makes up for in passion and sheer enthusiasm. On the afternoon we checked out his place, there were 12 different varieties of creme brûlée available. Since it was our first visit, I decided to go simple – straight vanilla bean creme brûlée.
Daniel Wong = proprietor, creme brûlée master.
Layering on a fine crackle.
The brûlée was perfect – neither eggy nor overly sweet with a nice thin caramelized sugar covering.
Check out the vanilla beans.
As if often the case when I can’t decide between two desserts, I get both. And so, in addition to the brûlée, I also ordered a Liege waffle with “adult nutella” (Pssst. The secret ingredient is booze!).
Studded with pearl sugar that he imports for his waffles.
Golden crisp with a nice chewy center.
Topped with the adult nutella.
A terrific waffle – which I thought could have been even slightly more so with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. But I’m no waffle purist.
Check it out the next time you’re in town.
Crackle Creme
Opens Wednesdays to Sundays, 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
245 Union Street (Vancouver, BC)
Tagged: Crackle Creme, creme brûlée, creme brûlée Vancouver
September 2, 2014
September 2, 2012: Draft Day! Snow Monkeys on the clock!
As it turns out, today was Draft Day for my fantasy football league! Following a season in which I dedicated most, if not ALL of my free time to researching the NFL, only to miss the playoffs, I decided to take a more laid-back approach to the process this year. I waited until the last moment, browsed some online articles, printed up some “expert” cheat sheets, and then discarded everything in favor of a “gut” approach on draft day. So, how’d I do?
Well, not bad. Not bad at all.
Also, not particularly good. Not particularly good AT ALL…
Prepping!
I got the fourth overall pick and decided to choose the Bears’ Matt Forte over Green Bay’s Eddie Lacy on the assumption that the Packers have always been a past first, second, and third team – and why would that suddenly change?
My strategy was to pick up another RB or a high-end WR in the second round but when I saw Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers sitting there (see above), I had to pick him up.
To compliment Rodgers, I picked up his #1 WR, Randall Cobb – unwittingly putting myself in a very bad position in week 9 when all three of my picks-so-far are on a bye.
In round 4, I selected former Viking RB Toby Gerhart who finally gets his chance to step out of Adrian Peterson’s shadow and into the limelight…in Jacksonville. The Jaguars can’t really throw the ball, so I’m assuming Gerhart will see a lot of touches.
With my fifth pick, I went with the 49ers Michael Crabtree, back from an injury-plagued season to reassume the mantle of San Francisco’s #1 receiver.
Round 6, I got New Orleans receiver Marques Colston. Very happy with this one. I expect he’ll see a bunch of targets this season with his ankle fully healed.
In round 7, I gambled on Bills RB Fred Jackson who has shown no signs of slowing down.
Then in round 8, I saw Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams sitting there, so I grabbed him. Not many lead RB’s left on the board at this point, so I was glad to get him.
I’m not convinced I made the right choice in round 9, choosing former Seahawk Golden Tate, but I figured he’s speedy and looking to impress on a team that likes to throw the ball A LOT in Detroit. Megatron should draw all the double and triple teams, allowing Tate to get some looks. Will he be able to step up is the question.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Former fantasy beast Darren McFadden was just sitting, waiting for someone to pick him up in round 10, so I did. He’s been dinged up quite a bit over the past couple of seasons and even though MJD is now in Oakland, McFadden should see plenty of touches on a team that will have to rely on the run when their passing game comes up short. Which should be most of the time.
I reached a little and took Cecil Shorts in round 11. No, the Jaguars can’t really throw the ball but when they did, last year, the speedy wide-receiving duo of Shorts and Blackmon got all the looks. And with Blackmon now gone – the NFL and Jacksonville front office tired of his off-the-field antics – that leaves Shorts to hopefully pick up the slack.
By the time round 12 came around, the herd had been thinned. I picked up former Packer great (and present Viking mediocre) Greg Jennings who showed a spark of promise last season. Maybe if the Vikes can sort out their QB issues, Jennings could well pan out nicely.
And another gamble in round 13 with former Panther WR Steve Smith who now finds himself in Baltimore. He’s a scrappy player. I love his attitude.
This late in the draft, I shifted my sights to landing a defense. I don’t really subscribe to the “Draft a Top D school” of thought simply because the top D’s change every year. Instead, I decided to plug-and-play, choosing a different defense each week based on their match-ups. I’d been eyeing the Bears D which will hosting the Bills and their anemic passing attack – but somebody nabbed them. And so, I had to settle for the Steel Curtain, hoping the Pittsburgh D can have a field day with Cleveland’s equally shaky passing game – and suspect running game.
With my second to last pick, I finally got around to picking up a TE. The drop-off from first tier Jimmy Graham to the second tier likes of Gronk and Julius Thomas is debatable. But there’s no debating the drop off from that second tier to the sizeable crowd who make up the third tier. In the words of the Gilligan’s Island theme song: “…and all the rest!”. I picked up Travis Kelce because I figured he’d probably be very involved in a KC passing game led by short play dump-off master Alex Smith.
And so, in the final round, I got around to picking up a kicker. Kickers are always a crap shoot. If you pick a kicker on a high scoring team, you’re often saddled with a guy who kicks nothing but extra points. On the other hand, if you pick a kicker from a team with a weak offense assuming they’ll have to settle for field goals when they can’t punch it into the end zone, you’ll be disappointed with a guy who rarely gets a shot because his team is never in field goal range. And so, with my last pick, I took veteran Adam Vinatieri because I’m backing on QB Andrew Luck getting the Colts inside their opponents 2o plenty of times – only to come up short because their running game is mediocre at best.
Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the 2014 soon-to-be-champions SNOW MONKEYS…
And these are the results of a computer analysis of today’s draft. I figure if I replace all of my starters with all of my bench players, I’d take over the No. 1 ranking:
So, how’d everyone do on THEIR drafts?
Tagged: fantasy football
September 1, 2014
September 1, 2014: Talking to Strangers!
“Never in my life have I seen someone so chitchat with cashier staff.”
- Akemi today on my propensity for engaging retail staff in conversation.
It happens a lot at Whole Foods whenever the cashier gives us the option of getting ten cents off our total or making a contribution to charity (for bringing in our own reusable shopping bag because Akemi always remembers). I always go with the donation and am invariably offered three possible charities.
“Who’s winning?”I always ask. Not that I’m really curious because I already know the answer. The animal charity is winning. It’s always winning. And any charity to do with cycling is always losing. It should come as absolutely no surprise that people love puppies and kittens, and despise cyclists. Giving money to support cycling projects is akin to donating the money to juvenile offenders or telemarketing companies – except that juvenile offenders and telemarketing companies don’t occasionally veer into your lane, block you from making right turns, or sail through red lights assuming you’ll stop.
And it’s not just retail staff. I’ll talk to anyone: fellow customers, taxi drivers, those people standing in line to use the bathroom.
“I thought he was your Stargate friend.”
She makes this assumption a lot. I’ll talk to someone for a little while and then, as my conversation partner heads off, she’ll ask: “Who was that?”
And I’ll often shrug and say: “I dunno.” Or, maybe, “Phil” or “Tom” or “Henrietta” if the person offered their name AND I happen to still remember it seconds later (an admittedly rare occurrence).
I suppose that, in Japan, social interaction with strangers is considered unusual, if not frowned upon – although, from my limited experience, Japanese retail staff are surprisingly receptive to the odd (in both senses of the word) attempt to engage them in conversation, possibly due to a number of reasons: professional courtesy, genuine delight, or sheer terror. I can’t wait to continue this social experiment when I hit Tokyo and Osaka late next week. And I’m sure Akemi will be thrilled.
Am I unique? What say you? Do you ignore that age-old advice and actually “talk to strangers”?
August 31, 2014
August 31, 2014: Another rainy day, another rainy food festival!
This time, it was Taiwan Fest where Akemi and I enjoyed grilled spicy squid, even spicier lamb skewers, and more inclement weather!
This time, we came prepared.
More or less.
We arrived early to beat the line-ups.
There were about a half dozen different stands offering about a half dozen different food items.
The giant steamed barbecued pork buns weren’t bad…but you had to go through A LOT of dough to get to that pork.
Want a bite?
Hot dogs and chicken nuggets – just like your Taiwanese mother used to make ‘em!
Akemi can’t wait to get her hands on those chicken nuggets.
Festival revellers!
The game plan: 1. Order 2. Retreat across the street to seek shelter under the store awnings and await our orders. 3. Pick up orders. 4. Retreats back across the street to eat.
Manning the squid grill.
Akemi keeping her spirits up…
What’s in the mystery box?
Right on the first guess! Goopy oyster omelet!
Delicious Taiwanese sausages: sweet, savory, and fatty.
Master Chef!
The lamb skewers were practically dipped in the cumin and chill. Not for the weak of heart. Or stomach.
No food festivals tomorrow. It’s Draft Day! Time to set aside my script and start some intensive fantasy football research!
Tagged: Taiwan Fest, Taiwan Festival
August 30, 2014
August 30, 2014: BBQstorm! Then, rainstorm!
Akemi and I were in Vancouver’s Gastown area today and happened to come across a BBQ Festival featuring pit and grill offerings from about a dozen local eateries. Also coleslaw. And rain. Lots of rain…
Hey, what this? BBQ! The damp calm before the storm.
An alright rib with some too creamy coleslaw. Not pictured (because the photo came out fuzzy) is the accompanying pork jowl chill. Tasty!
Deacon’s Corner serves up damn fine wings. But some underdone potato salad.
Railtown Cafe’s melt-in-your-mouth brisket, delicious jalapeño corn bread and cole slaw were my highlight of the day.
Have to check this place out.
Akemi’s favorite – by far the most tender ribs of the day = The Blarneystone’s maple glazed ribs.
Souther Comfort Jerk Wings from the Hastings Warehouse.
Bubba awaits his cut.
Served with a cool cucumber yogurt!
Bubba and Six Eyes try to stay out of the rain.
But not doing a very good job of it.
BTW – Vancouver does a TERRIBLE job of getting the word out about these types of events. I can only assume their thinking is: “More for us!”
P.S. Head on over here (https://www.facebook.com/groups/332854913534175/) to participate in an online auction in support of a service dog for blog regular Bethany Draves. Among the items up for grabs is a copy of Ripple Effect, signed and lovingly annotated by yours truly.
Tagged: BBQ, BBQ Festival Gastown
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