Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 438

January 17, 2014: Stargate Universe 2.0 – The Japanese Girlfriend Edition!

The suspense is unbearable!

Akemi and I have reached the halfway mark of Stargate: Universe’s second season. On re-watching these ten episodes, I’ve discovered a new appreciation for the series. The show really started to hit its stride in season two and it’s a damn shame it came to such a premature end.

But, really, who cares what I think?  This is  Stargate Universe 2.- – The Japanese Girlfriend Edition!  What did Akemi think?

INTERVENTION

“Do you remember what happened in the last episode?”I asked Akemi as we sat down to watch the season premiere.  After all, it had been almost two weeks since we screened the season one finale.

“Yes,”she said.  ”Everybody die.”

Close, but not quite.  And it didn’t take long for her to get caught up (Thank you, previously-on) and into the suspenseful season premiere.

Most of this episode’s high points were character-related.  She was thrilled to see Toby (Peter) who has come over to watch football on occasion, and of course Mike Dopud who we’ve gone out to dinner with several times.  And, as always, she likes Jamil – even though I have to point out that Jamil is the actor’s name while the name of the character he portrays is Sgt. Greer.

As for the low points, she wonders what took a topside Scott and Greer so long to figure out they should retreat to the underside of the ship to avoid the radiation: “But they’re stupid.  They should have hide under ship sooner.  Why scientist guy make them run?”  Nevertheless: “Still, it was fun.”

She also bumped on Scott and Greer’s shooting prowess – and the enemies’ lack thereof: “Jamil and handsome guy shoot very well but bad guys not so good.  Why?”

“Better training,”I offered.

She threw me a look, brow furrowed, not buying it: “You sure?”

Although saddened by the loss of T.J.’s baby, she was philosophical: “If baby is on the ship then different kind of tension.  Scary things happen – but with baby. Problem, I think, from Walking Dead experience.”

Overall, though, a most enjoyable outing for her: “Time to sleep but I want to watch one more episode.”

AFTERMATH

An even darker episode sees the crew lose one of its own.  A very sad episode so far as Akemi was concerned.  Still, there were bright spots in the darkness.  She loved the discovery of the bridge which she found very cool.  And she also marvelled over Haig Sutherland’s final turn as Sgt. Riley: “He didn’t blink at all.  How did he do that? His eyes must be super dry!”

She continues to have a love/hate relationship with Rush: “I didn’t like the fact science guy decided to stop [drop out of FTL].  It was dangerous and he kind of knew it.  He killed the skinny guy.”  And then, after a brief consideration: “Actually, writer killed him.”

AWAKENING

And the Destiny suffers another loss in this episode, losing Colonel Telford – or, as Akemi refers to him, Chef due to his frequent Food Network appearances.  Her reaction?  Kind of surprising given her initial dislike of the character.  I imagine he’s rehabilitated himself in her eyes following the reveal that he was a victim of brainwashing all along: “Of course I feel sorry for Chef.”

Overall, it was an emotional roller coaster ride: “Scary at first.  But very sad.  Again. I don’t like sad episodes.  But I liked the alien.  Very cute.”

And, specifically with regard to said alien: “How did you do alien?  Model?  Why didn’t you ask me?  Big head and small legs.  Perfect.”  Okay, maybe next scifi series.

PATHOGEN

Another Binder-san episode with a action, suspense, and a great emotional core. This one elicited a range of responses:

“I like geek people because always nice.”  Here, presumably, a reference to Eli.

“Eli brinkles a lot.”  Akemism for “blink”.

She found the scene where Greer and Simeon face off in the corridor, with its discordant background music, unbearable: “Didn’t like Jamil and Jerk Guy facing each other and peeeeeee sound.”

BUT, she loved the part where Eli’s mother visits Destiny and finally learns the truth about her son: “Favorite part was when mother came to the ship.  She was happy; I was happy.”

Other observations: “Scientist guy not nice.  Just use everyone.  Not nice.”

“I’m surprised Chloe has diary like I have.”  At which point she pulled our her diary, packed full of equally weird doodles.  [Note to self: Am I dating an alien?]

CLOVERDALE

Mixed feelings on this episode which she equated to: “Watching old t.v. show.”

As usual, she loved Greer’s heroics, his willingness to risk all for his friend.  On the other hand, she was less enamored of the wedding sequence which she found “chotto cheesy”.

She also bumped on the 11th hour turn: “Can I ask question?  How can they give blood if not the same blood type?”

“Maybe they were,”I said.

“And magically the same blood type?”  She wasn’t buying it.

She did, however, think Chloe looked gorgeous on her wedding day and loved her dress.

TRIAL AND ERROR

Although she liked this one, she was confused by the whole simulation explanation. Instead, she focused on the character moments, particularly the ones involving Eli and his new love interest, Ginn.  She adored Greer’s big brother approach (“I’m going to take my time.” being her favorite line), but had some reservations about Eli’s shifting allegiance: “I was sad the fact geek boy turn for new girl so quickly.  He liked Chloe!”  Still, she wished the new couple all the best: “Now geek boy doesn’t care about Chloe anymore.  Geek love.  Hope they do well.”

Other observations: “I liked the part where Scott punches old Young’s face.”

On Rush: “He wash his hair?”

And: “I like Jamil all the time.”  No kidding!

THE GREATER GOOD

A suspenseful episode, much of it that went completely over her head: “The part scientist talk about mission blah blah blah I couldn’t understand.  Less than two percent.”

Still: “I liked it but I thought Colonel Young kill scientist.”

MALICE

Another Robert Cooper extravaganza, this one with a Western twist.  And another very sad episode: “A lot of people passed away.”  Including Ginn: “Why Robert Cooper hate geek love?”

She loved the pyrotechnics (“I liked a lot of bombs going off.”) but didn’t like her favorite getting injured (“Didn’t like that Jamil was shot.”)

VISITATION

She was intrigued throughout this episode but was left disappointed by the conclusion.  As the end credits rolled: “That’s it?  What is that ending?  What’s that? Continued next episode?  That’s it?  So many mystery!”

While she liked Greer’s honest conversation with Chloe (“I liked the fact Jamil is very sad and say sorry to Chloe.  Jamil is nice guy, ne?”), she didn’t like the fact we were offered no answers regarding the mysterious reappearance of the new and improved shuttle and former crew members: “Why alien do that?”  Off my shrug: “You should know because you’re writer.”  True.

I explained that the aliens took pity on the recently deceased and reanimated them, returning them to their home (Destiny).  Unfortunately, despite their advanced technology, the resurrections were short-lived.  The bodies broke down and the people died all over again.  I figured that would satisfy her.  Instead, I got: “Are you sure?  Is it answer?  But you didn’t say that during episode and you’re telling me now.  Why didn’t you tell everybody?  Everybody so sad.”  Beat.  ”And what happened to baby by the way?”

“It was a dream created by the ship.”

Met with a dissatisfied: “Hunh.”

Interestingly, two of her biggest objections were with regard to the Peter character played by our friend Toby Slezak.  ”Why Toby has such small part?  And why his name Peter?”  In fact, for some strange reason, she got really hung up on the name Peter: “Nice to see Toby, but his role is so small and his name is Peter.  Why Peter? I hope I not offend every Peter in the world but Peter chotto…He doesn’t look like a Peter.”

RESURGENCE

Ah, by this point, she’d become a savvy viewer.  When the crew identifies one of the crippled ships as similar to the one Rush and Young visited episodes earlier: “Where’s Chef?”she wanted to know.

When Chef, aka Telford finally showed up, she felt vindicated – then somewhat saddened by the fact his new alien allies pulled a precautionary double-cross.  Sympathetically: “Chef manipulated by bad guys and now he’s manipulated by aliens.”  Poor, dumb, trusting Chef.

She loved the action, was on the edge of her seat for the Chloe scenes and, in particular, the race from the derelict ship back to the shuttle: “Jamil, Scott and curly hair drunken guy [here, no doubt, a reference to Brody's still] running back to ship. Most exciting part.”

She did take issue with one seemingly inconsequential element in this episode: “I thought Patrick had too much tan.  Only he has nice tan.  What happened, he went to Vegas?”

But when we cut to the end credits, she was absolutely beside herself, insisting we roll right into the next episode.  But it was late.

Here’s hoping she’s as equally enthusiastic about our Stargate Atlantis re-watch!

Tagged: SGU, Stargate, Stargate Universe

January 16, 2014: An All Food Post!

They just don’t make ‘em like they used to.  Pictured above, Frosted Ribbon Loaf – layers of ham and egg nestled under a cream cheese frosting.   Yum!  I’m thinking of making it for this weekend’s football Sunday festivities.  I was inspired, not solely by the horrific picture, or the prospect of a ham and egg and cream cheese flavor combo, but the many other similarly dated yet no less interesting dishes that made this list:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/truly-upsetting-vintage-recipes

Which came my way compliments of my friend, and fellow football enthusiast, Ivon Bartok, who no doubt had his heart set on the Ham and Bananas Hollandaise.

Just like mom used to make!

But what would football Sunday be without a grand dessert (provided you don’t count the cream cheese frosting on the ham and egg loaf as dessert)?  I was going to pick up some cream puffs, but changed my mind after reading about this far manlier option:

Spice base filled with tangy baked blue cheesecake mousse, topped with a hot sauce buttercream and crispy chicken sprinkles.

Buffalo Wings? Whiskey? Vancouver company making ‘manly …

Why have cupcakes when you can have mancakes?  Am I right?  (ManCakes Bakery)

Also, these -

Just in case.  Available in a six-pack of flavors including lemon mascarpone to creamy pistachio and cherry meringue.  (Soirette Macarons and Tea – Buy Online).  Thanks to gforce for the tip.

So, yesterday, my friend Martin alerted me to this chocolate scam: http://gizmodo.com/science-finally-gives-us-a-way-to-authenticate-premium-1502035564

And today, I came across this article about oyster scams: http://www.yahoo.com/food/oyster-fraud-the-restaurant-industrys-dirty-little-72450900944.html

What’s next?  Phoney pho?  Fake foie gras?  Counterfeit cronuts?!!

One more congratulations!  This one goes to out to former Stargate VFX Supervisor Mark Savela for HIS Canadian Screen Award nomination  in the Best Visual Effects category for the Angry Birds episode of Primeval: New World!

January 15, 2014: Shit my Japanese girlfriend says!

Akemi made banana bread last night.  I had it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I was three bites in when I noticed it was possessed of a unique flavor that I couldn’t quite identify.  I asked Akemi if she had changed up the recipe.  In fact, she had:

“I used gremolata oil,”she informed me, referring to the infused oil we had picked up from The Vancouver Olive Oil Company before the holidays.

“Gremolata oil?”  I put my spoon down.  ”Why would you use gremolata oil?”

“For the orange flavor,”she said.

“There’s no orange in gremolata.  It’s made with parsley, mint, garlic, and anchovies.”

“You said it’s orange flavor,”she insisted.  ”Like the alcohol your mother drinks.”

It took me a couple of seconds before it twigged.  ”You mean Grand Marnier?”

“Grand Marnier!”she wailed, double punching her thighs and doing a little bob before throwing me an accusatory look.  Invariably when these misunderstandings occur, I am somehow at fault.  Like that time she went shopping for seafood without success because no one at the St. Lawrence Market had “social crabs”.  Or would own up to the fact.  I tried to correct her but she insisted I’d never said soft-shell crabs but used the term “social crabs” all along – and I’m sure we can all agree these are two completely different things.

Other times, she contends that I’m the one who has misunderstood – like the day I caught her singing Karma Chameleon and corrected her lyrics.

“No,”I said.  ”It’s karma karma karma karma karma chameleon.”

“Not come on come on come on come on come on comedian?”

“No.”

“What karma chameleon mean?”

I shrugged.  I hadn’t a clue.  That was enough for her.  At least HER version made sense!

Hey, our friend Marty G. forwarded me the following link today:

http://gizmodo.com/science-finally-gives-us-a-way-to-authenticate-premium-1502035564

I’ve already sent away for the home kit.

Finally, congratulations to Lawren Bancroft-Wilson and his team for their Canadian Screen Award nomination in the Best Visual Effects category for the Angry Birds episode of Primeval: New World.

PBMom writes: “Cool news about Echoes and Carl Binder and Rob Cooper: http://www.bellmediapr.ca/Network/Bell-Media/Press/Bell-Media-Announces-29-Drama-Projects-in-Development.”

And, yes, congratulations to Carl Binder and Robert Cooper as well.

Tagged: Japanese girlfriend, language, learning English, Shit my Japanese Girlfriend Says

January 14, 2014: News of note!

I was in L.A. last summer and was leaving a restaurant with my friend and former Stargate cohort Marty G. when  I asked him if he was going to catch a cab back to his place.  He threw me a look that seemed to say: “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!” and informed me that he was going to make use of something called Uber.  I told him I’d never heard of Uber which elicited a look that seemed to say: “That last thing you said is now the SECOND craziest thing I’ve ever heard because this one is now in first place!”.  He explained that Uber is an app that allows you to instantly connect with drivers.  Instead of waiting forever for a taxi, you simply tap a button and the closest Uber-approved driver will be there within minutes.  And that’s what it was – literally – minutes, from the second Martin tapped SEND to the second a car pulled up and whisked him away.  Fantastic, I thought – and then thought nothing more of it until I came across this article today:

Uber claims its cars attacked by cab drivers in France

Apparently, cab drivers in France aren’t taking kindly to Uber moving into their territory.  And cab drivers in Los Angeles aren’t fond of the popular app either: last summer

What’s the problem?  Well, bottom line: the service is too damn convenient.  Crazy as it sounds, customers actually prefer the convenience of getting somewhere quickly without having to wait around.  And, as a result, established taxi companies are losing business.  What to do?

Well, the obvious answer would be for the taxi companies to move past their antiquated systems and catch up with the current trends.  Incorporate similar technology into their dispatch structure that would allow cabs to reach customers just as quickly.

Or, they can take Vancouver’s lead, a city notorious for its shitty taxi service.  Here, the taxi mafia is so strong that the merest whiff of putting more cabs on the street is met with protests forceful enough to send the current Mayor ducking for cover.  So what happened when Uber attempted to enter the market here?  Why, the city – in the interest of all Vancouverites – responded by setting regulations in place that, in their mind, “levelled the playing field”.  And by “levelled the playing field”, I mean required a minimum wait period between the time a call is made and driver can pick up a  customer, and forced Uber drivers to charge limo price minimums of $75 a trip regardless of how far the customer was going.

Uber town-car service shut down in Vancouver by B.C. Passenger …

Ah, good old Vancouver, always looking out for its citizens.

Speaking of catching up with current trends, there was this article over on deadline.com:

TCA: Lost Ad Revenue Biggest Challenge To TV, Says FX Networks Chief John Landgraf

Here’s the problem: People are not watching television like they used to.  More and more people are downloading, waiting to watch their favorite shows, and skipping commercials when they do.  As a result, broadcasters must find alternate ways of monetizing their product.

Wait.  What’s this you say?  This has actually been an issue for well over twelve years now?  That even earlier, everyone – especially consumers – warned that this was the way things were headed.  And this is suddenly news?!

Yes, please work on finding alternate revenue streams.  Also, go ahead and sell that Betamax stock.

Well, hey, check it out.  It’s the cover to our friend (editor extraordinaire) Lou Anders’ upcoming book:

It hits the shelves in August.  A possible Book of the Month Club pick?

Congratulations to Alex Levine who has been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award in the category of Best Writing in a Dramatic Series for Orphan Black – Unconscious Selection.  It’s hard to believe that only nine years ago, he was an up-and-coming-writer working as a script coordinator on Stargate: Atlantis, cutting his teeth on a season 5 clip show and trapping the feral cats that inevitably wandered into our offices over hiatus.

Some writerly advice.  From the gang at cracked.com?! The 5 Best Pieces of Writing Advice I Didn’t Get in School

Before you start work on that novel, you may want to read this: Software Accurately Predicts Books’ Popularity By Analyzing Their Sentences | Popular Science

Be not ashamed!  Great article by Kameron Hurley for you scifi enthusiasts: Making Excuses for Science Fiction

January 13, 2014: Trust me when I say that dogs prefer shopping over sitting and waiting! Our Book of the Month Club pick!

I was downtown today.  I dropped off Akemi, who was meeting a friend for lunch, and was on my way back from purchasing my 2014 cologne (I change it every year – and location.  John Varvatos Vintage is Tokyo, Aramis’ Tuscany Montreal, and the sickening scent of Jean-Paul Hevin’s Le Beau Male will always remind me of that year in Toronto.  2014 is the year of Wood cologne by Dsquared2 that Akemi says smells like cucumber, but likes all the same because cucumber was her go-to snack growing up.  Wait.  I was talking about something else before this parenthetical tangent. What was it?  Oh, yeah!) when I happened upon a tiny french bulldog tied up outside a craft shop.  Even though its owner was nowhere in sight, the little gal seemed certain she was due to return any second, eyes fixed expectantly on the shop’s entrance, barely able to sit still she was so excited.  I watched as a couple stopped to say hello and snap her picture, then another couple, then a Japanese student carrying a faux pink purse who stopped to pet her, started to leave, thought better of it and returned, pet her some more, started to leave again, returned again, and pet her some more, scanning the area for the dog’s owner before finally moving on.  I approached and the dog was super friendly, up on her hind legs, batting me with her front paw, rubbing her forehead into my leg.  It had been fifteen minutes since I’d happened upon the poor pooch – and still, no sign of the owner.  Not cool.  I won’t even leave my dogs unattended in a locked car, or in my backyard despite the fact that it is fenced in, so the prospect of someone leaving their dog unattended on a downtown sidewalk annoyed me greatly.  I retreated up the sidewalk where I could keep my eye on things and patiently awaited the owner.  Fifteen minutes turned into twenty minutes.  Then twenty-five.  Then thirty!  And, all the while, the dog waited, perking up every time someone stepped out of the shop.  Finally, by noon, I had to retreat to a quieter area, across the street, so I could call in to a scheduled conference call – and keep an eye on the dog.  Ideally, I’d be sitting back in my nice, quiet car discussing the state of certain projects but, instead, I was out on the street, dog-sitting.  Eventually, partway through my call, and well over thirty minutes since I first noticed the dog, the owner finally walked out of the shop, claimed her, and left.  If I wasn’t still on the conference call, I would have dashed across the street and said something.  Given the number of dogs that go missing, even from the presumably safe confines of their front yards, you would think people would be a little more careful about leaving theirs unattended.  I think that, in the future, I’m going to carry around some pre-made messages I can affix to a dog’s collar for situations like the one I just described where I can’t stick around to reprimand.  It’ll say: “In the time you were away shopping, I could have stolen your dog.  Think about that the next time you choose to leave it unattended.”

On a brighter note, the polls have closed in the voting for the upcoming Book of the Month Club selection and the winner is…

And it wasn’t even close.  My vote actually went to Snowblind that came in a distant third.  Anyway, our winner…

TERMS OF ENLISTMENT By Marko Kloos

The book will be released January 28th but sources (you know who you are, eager readers) have already picked up digital versions for their kindle – and the early reviews have been strongly positive.

So, to give your slower readers time to prep, our Book of the Month Club discussion on Terms of Enlistment will convene Monday, March 3rd!

In that time, I will undertake to read all seven books in contention for our new and improved BotMC discussion and let you know if we, in my humble opinion, made the right choice.

Tagged: Book of the Month Club, books & literature, Dogs, Mark Kloos, Terms of Enlistment

January 12, 2014: Pitiful football! Glorious wings, truffles, and macarons! Gearing up for the Hot Chocolate Festival!

While I spent the weekend watching four disappointingly mediocre football games, Akemi put her time to far better use by expanding her two-day truffle output.  On Saturday, it was Bourbon and Tennessee Honey Whiskey truffles.  This morning, she woke up early and added Bourbon Vanilla, Orange-Cointreau, and Almond to her line-up.  She served them along with a side of dark chocolate ganache macarons…

Even though she was disappointed with the results (it was her first time baking them in the new oven), I thought they passed the all-important taste test.

Equally delicious was today’s main course, compliments of Chef Robert Cooper…

If he had told me the secret ingredient was cocaine, my reaction would have probably been something like: “Yeah, okay.  That makes sense.”

In addition to tempering, cooling, mixing, baking, and rolling, Akemi also took the time to produce this handy chart:

Which essentially breaks down our game plan heading into the upcoming 2014 Hot Chocolate Festival.  It runs January 18th through February 14th at 20 different locations featuring 60+ different hot chocolate flavors for everyone from the purists (Thierry’s 68% Ampamakia dark served with a dark chocolate dipped marshmallow) to the adventurous (Cocoa Nymph’s 64% dark chocolate with parmesan and nutmeg!).  Details here:

http://www.cityfood.com/hotchocolate/coming-soon-

Who’s in?

Back at it tomorrow!  I hit the 30 page mark of the horror script yesterday and spent much of last night lying wide awake in bed because I was breaking down the next twelve scenes in head – then spent more of the night lying wide awake in bed, creeped out by what I’d come up with.

January 11, 2014: Oh, come on!

Hey, anyone happen to be following this story?

Christie Bridge Traffic Scandal Probed by US Prosecutors (3)

In a nutshell: “The Bergen Record newspaper published on Wednesday this week emails indicating that high-placed figures within the Christie administration ordered those closures after Ft. Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich declined to endorse the incumbent governor during last year’s election. Traffic on and around the world’s busiest bridge was brought to a standstill as a result of those manufactured traffic jams, and authorities now say one person may have died because emergency personnel couldn’t reach her in time due to the delays.” (FBI and US attorney to probe bridge scandal looming over 2016 …).

Outrageous.  Not the fact that a politician is using underhanded tactics against another politician (that’s business as usual as far as I’m concerned), but the fact that he does so with absolutely no regard for the average citizens, many of who may well have voted for him!

Christie’s Traffic Jam May Have Cost Millions

Okay, okay.  Innocent until proven guilty, right?  Governor Christie denies any knowledge of the political payback scheme…even though a number of his top aides are implicated.  So, in effect, he’s saying he’s not a petty, vindictive bully; simply a complete dolt who was out of the loop.  He was out of the loop when his aides decided to shut down the bridge to inconvenience a political opponent.  And he remained out of the loop, completely clueless while, over the course of the four day closure, others complained the closures were politically motivated.  Let’s get this straight…

The closures inconvenienced people for days.  His political opponents were pointing their fingers at his office, insisting the closures were politically motivated.  If you were Governor Christie and were actually oblivious to what YOUR people were doing, wouldn’t you ask one of them if there was any truth to the charges?  Are we to assume that, as some point, he did ask – and they all lied to him?  Realistically, why the hell would they lie , keeping their boss out of the dark while they CONTINUED to keep the lanes loses for an additional three days?  Are we really expected to believe they “went rogue”?  That they took these actions on his behalf, didn’t tell him, and then lied to him when he asked about it and continued merrily on their way?  Or maybe he never bothered asking?  He just wasn’t the least bit curious?

And, oh my, it gets worse…

Bridge Scandal Papers Point to Cover-Up by Chris Christie Allies …

Cover-up of New Jersey bridge scandal: Gov. Christie implicated?

Christie hit with lawsuit as US bridge scandal deepens

Governor Christie has taken swift action to make things right save his political career: “On Thursday, Christie moved to contain the damage from the scandal, firing his deputy chief of staff, cutting ties to one of his chief political advisers and apologizing for the traffic jams. Two Christie appointees at the Port Authority resigned last month as the scandal unfolded.” (New documents show worries about bad publicity in NJ traffic-jam …).

On an unrelated note, I’ve severely reprimanded my dogs after discovering they took it upon themselves to order the NFL Package via my satellite provider.  I sincerely apologize for their behavior and would like my $200 back.

January 10, 2014: Truffles! Dogs! Books!

Bourbon truffles

Today, Akemi combined my love of booze, chocolates, and not actually doing anything to come up with the above-pictured bourbon truffles.  And then, as if that wasn’t enough (and it really wasn’t), she came up with these:

Tennessee Honey Whisky truffles

Yep.  For those who prefer the lighter touch, check out these Tennessee Honey Whisky truffles.  Well, check out with your eyes – unless you happen to be in the neighborhood.  But trust me (and why wouldn’t you?), they were delicious.

In addition to eating chocolates today, I also got some work done on my various projects.  Yes, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as finishing a script.  No, wait.  I think there IS something more satisfying.  What was it?  What was it?  Oh, yeah!  Selling a script and having it green lit!

The worst thing about this business is all the waiting.  And it’s not just my impatient self complaining.  Even my dogs are getting fed up.  Don’t believe me?

Jelly = sustained disbelief

Bubba = fed up and weary

Lulu = outraged!

I keep telling them: Don’t be so pessimistic.  Things will all work out.

But, just in case they don’t, I’m preparing to do a lot of reading this year…

Don’t forget to cast your vote for our next Book of the Month Club pick!  Polls close Sunday night!

Take Our Poll

Finally, we’ve got a big playoff football weekend ahead of us, have we not?  Who do you all like?  As much as I would love to see the Saints advance, their absolutely terrible performance the last time they played Seattle doesn’t give me much hope.  In the other NFC match-up, everybody is talking up the 49ers, but I’m going with the Carolina Panthers, a team that has gotten consistently better as the season has progressed.  Over in the AFC, as much as I’d like to see the Chargers pull off another upset in Denver, I can’t see it happening against a focused Denver team.  And, over in New England, Tom Brady has MacGyvered his team a #2 seed with a bunch of second rate receivers, guts, and elastic bands.  The Colts are more than capable of pulling off the upset, but I’m wary of betting against coach Belichick with the extra week to prepare.

Tagged: Bourbon truffles

January 9, 2014: Hot chocolate! Ice cream! And books!

It’s that time of year again!  Time for Vancouver annual Hot Chocolate Festival! From January 18th to February 14th, 24 local participants will be offering over 60 flavors.  At roughly two hot chocolates a day, I think that’s eminently doable.  Last year, Akemi and I managed to sample about half the hot chocolates being offered and, this year, we plant to do even better.  Yes, we’ll be like athletes, pacing ourselves, giving a 110% in the face of adversity except that, instead of running a marathon, we’ll be downing liquid chocolate.

There were some great offerings last year:

Last years winner in my mind (and mouth and stomach): The Jasmine dark chocolate at Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France.

February 17, 2013: The Hot Chocolate Festival Wrap-up! And the Winners are…!

And I’m eager to get started.  I’ve started my training by consuming a quarter bar of dark chocolate every day leading up to kick-off.  Wish me luck!

Perfect timing too as, today, I received a clean bill of health from my doctor.  Well, more or less.  Essentially, he didn’t find anything wrong with me and that’s good enough for me.

A couple of days ago, my sister sent me the following link:

The 10 Most Expensive Pints of Ice Cream

Yep, mighty expensive.  And, in some cases, kind of intriguing as well.  Double vanilla with cashew brittle?  Whiskey eggnog?  Sea salt caramel?  Hmmm.

You folks strike me as worldly in the ways of ice cream.  Ever sampled any of the mentioned brands?  Are they worth their premium price tag?  Or are we sticking with Breyers?

Did you cast your vote for our upcoming Book of the Month Club?  What do you mean you don’t have time to read?  Make the time!  I certainly will.  In fact, I’m going to read all seven contenders in the running for our next BOTMC.  They are…

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P.S. FINALLY started reading Joe Abercrombie’s Red Country yesterday.  Fabulous! A wicked mix of action, adventure, dark humor, and unforgettable characters.  A very hard book to put down.

Tagged: Chocolate, Hot Chocolate, Hot Chocolate Festival, ice cream, Joe Abercrombie, premium ice cream, Red Country, Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival

January 8, 2014: Project-hopping! Jelly and me hanging in there! Did you vote for our Book of the Month Club?!

I woke up this morning to find the above-pictured oranges sitting on my kitchen counter, and Paul’s pass on our latest script sitting in my inbox.  I looked it over, made a few changes, and then sent the script wide – and, in this particular case, “wide” refers to the 3-5 individuals involved in this development process.  Word is they want all the materials in by early February so that they’ll have plenty of time to review them prior to a decision in March.  Will we finally get that elusive series order?   Well, I feel very good about this project – but, in all fairness, I felt pretty good about Dark Matter which was in the same position last year only to ultimately lose out to another property by the very slimmest of margins.  My writing partner, like a spurned lover, refuses to get his hopes up, maintaining an emotional distance as if the project were a relative going in for risky life-saving surgery.

Speaking of Dark Matter, I’m trying to arrange a conference call with my partners to discuss where things stand.  When last er spoke, we had a modest budget in place that, while impressive to the uninitiated, isn’t really quite enough to make a good ship-based series.  I’ve been running comparison budgets with my savvy friend and former colleague, Lawren Bancroft-Wilson, and it would seem we’ll need an additional 15-20% to do it properly.  I don’t suppose any of you happened to have any lottery winnings you’re looking to invest?  If so, let me know!

Having completed a first draft of that southern gothic pilot with Tara, I’m taking some time of from the script so that I can return to it, fresh, in about a week.  I’ve always found that when you’re writing, it’s very easy to get attached to what you’ve put down on the page so a little time away allows you to come back to it with a more open mind.  Meanwhile, I’m about 23 pages into the horror script.  Ideally, I’d love to hit the 30 page mark before my partner on this one, Alex Levine, frees up his busy schedule.  So far, so creepy!

Took my old gal Jelly (she’ll be 15 next month!) in to see the vet today.  Over the past couple of days, she’s been doing a lot of panting and crying, especially in the middle of the night.  She checked out okay, no obvious health issues, so I’m going to have to keep an eye on her.  And be prepared to wake up A LOT in the wee hours of the morning.

Today was Jelly and tomorrow it’s my turn to go visit the doctor to check out yet another in a long line of mystery ailments.  They’re racking up.  No sooner did I make an appointment to ask an opinion on one issue than another unrelated issue cropped up.  Akemi joked it was because I’m getting old.  The kidder!

A couple of purchases today…

This handsome statue in preparation for my future supervillain-themed office.  How’s that for optimism?

Yes, I have heard of kindle.  And, yes, I still prefer real books.  The only problem is all the late-night Stargate: Universe-watching with Akemi has eaten into my reading time so I need to free up an after-dinnner/pre-workout block just to play catch-up.

Hey, speaking of reading, don’t forget to vote for our upcoming Book of the Month Club selection.  Your choices…

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Our discussion will begin a month after the polls close – or, a month after the winning book is actually released, whichever comes last.

Tagged: Dark Matter, film & television