Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 473
January 7, 2013
January 7, 2013: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Spiderman 3!
As rule of thumb, you know you in for crappy viewing experience when SUPERHERO movie you watching kick off wit MUSIKAL NUMBER. Let just say dat, after sitting thru rest of dis film, monster wasn’t any Less Miserables. Whew! Dis movie be messier den Snuffalufagus eating Cantonese chow mein. It meander and hopscotch from one coincidence or contrivance to de next as it desperately search for a plot dat never materialize.
Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson in love! Peter decide he going to ask her to marry him – but he too cheap to buy a ring so he con Aunt May into giving him her old engagement ring. Yep, tings looking pretty sweet for our tightwad hero until -
Just hanging around.
He get attacked by his old friend Harry Osborne who want revenge on Spiderman for killing his father! Dey fight. Harry seriously injured and – develop CONVENIENT amnesia, putting de brakes on dis partikular storyline. We’ll get back to Harry later. Meanwhile -
Like father like son.
Convikt Flint Marko escape from police by hopping a fence and ending up – oops – smackdab in middle of a science experiment on demolecularization. Evidently, dese scientists are “book smart” not “security and safety” smart. Flint Marko demolecularized and turned into…Sandman! He visit his sick kid, vowing to make enough money to help her. Uh, hold dat thought. We get back to him later. Meanwhile -
Mr. Sandman, lend me your comb, da-da-da-dum…
A meteor just happen to COINCIDENTALLY land near Peter and MJ out on a date. A creepy black alien tingie hitch a ride on Peter’s bike and hang around his apartment. But we’ll get back to dat later. Meanwhile -
V
City honor Spiderman wit outdoor fest. Spidey swing in and kiss Gwen Stacey, seksy blond who, COINCIDENTALLY, Spiderman saved and COINCIDENTALLY also be Peter Parker’s lab partner. She also, COINCIDENTALLY, happen to be dating Eddie Brock who happens to be rival freelance photographer at de Daily Bugle. Dat enuf coincidences for you? No? Good. Plenty more where dose came from.
Peter take MJ out for dinner where he plan to propose to her wit second-hand ring, but plans fall thru becuz MJ mad at Peter for being a complete douchebag kissing Gwen Stacey. Peter upset – and even more upset when police reveal dat Flint Marko de real killer of his Uncle Ben!
Huh?! Apparently, producers feel not quite enough going on in dis movie so dey have to create forced “Oh, by de way, let’s retread dat whole revenge for Uncle Ben ting dat worked so well in de first movie” sub-sub-sub plot.
Putting capper on Peter’s bad day, he infekted by black alien creepy-crawly symbiote dat cause him to act crankier, dance around, and sport silly hairstyle.
Harry’s memories come back to him – CONVENIENTLY after movie has had chance to set up its half-dozen other half-ass storylines – and he blackmail MJ into breaking up wit Peter. Monster not really sure how it be possible to threaten her since her boyfriend…BE FRIGGING SPIDERMAN!!!! Peter, under influence of symbiote’s dance fever infektion, show up at bar where MJ works and dance up a storm, securing prize for Most Bewilderingly Stupid Scene in Spiderman Film History.
Eddie Brock, meanwhile, upset at being fired from De Daily Bugle and blaming Peter Parker, goes to some empty church in middle of night. But not just any empty church and not just any night. He just happen to be at de exact same church at de exact same time dat, COINCIDENTALLY!!!!, Spiderman choose to divest himself of alien symbiote. Symbiote drop off Peter and onto Eddie Brock who be transformed into…Venom!
Venom and Sandman kidnap MJ, den team up against Spiderman. But Spiderman helped by most unlikely ally…Harry “New Green Goblin” Osborne (in one of the movie’s few inspired moments)!
[Addendum: Monster almost forget reason for Harry's turnaround. In one of movie's most implausible moments - and dat's saying someting! - Harry's butler - who we've never seen before - tells him dat COINCIDENTALLY he was dere on de night his father was killed - untrue if first movie is to be believed - and saw everyting. Spiderman not responsible for death of Norman Osborne after all. Dis 11th hour "Oh, by the way!" moment go beyond CONVENIENT into INSULTINGLY STOOPID territory. Hoo boy.]
Venom/Brock obliterated wit pumpkin bomb while Sandman say he sorry and drift away, leaving his “sick kid” storyline unfinished. A mortally wounded Harry forgive Peter and die.
Movie conclude wit Harry’s solemn funeral. And more singing and dancing!
Verdikt: It be a movie about Peter Parker’s love for Mary-Jane. No! It be a movie about Harry Osborne getting revenge for his dad. No! It be about de Sandman misguided attempts to help his daughter. No! It be about Peter/Spiderman getting revenge for Uncle Ben! No! It be about de dark side in all of us. No! It be about an evil alien symbiote wit de power to corrupt. No! It be about all of dese tings! And none of dese tings! On bright side, Sandman effekts pretty cool and monster like Spiderman/Green Goblin team up dat end movie.
Rating: 5 chocolate chippee cookies.
Tagged: comic book movies, Comic Books, Comics, Cookie Monster film reviews, Cookie Monster movie reviews, Cookie Monster reviews Spiderman 3, Sandman, Spiderman, Spiderman 3, superhero movies, superheroes, Venom 
January 6, 2013
January 6, 2013: The Ominous Rule of 3!
Yesterday, I averted disaster not once but twice.
In the first instant, I decided to make myself some steelcut Irish oatmeal. I always follow the same procedure – cook them on high until they come to a furious boil, then turn the heat down to medium for another couple of minutes before turning it all the way down to minimum for the final five. I set the pot on the stove and headed into the next room to check my email and update my blog comments. At which point Jelly waddled into the room and barked up a storm, her way of saying “Walk me!”. And so, I put on my coat, picked her up, and headed outside. Because of her hip dysplasia, it takes Jelly a while to complete even the shortest of strolls – ten minutes from my front walk to the end of the block. Then, another ten minutes up the opposite side of the street and back. We had just reached the corner, the halfway point of our walk, when a certain uneasiness crept up on me, a simmering sense of foreboding fueled by a suspicion that I’d forgotten something. Something very important. But what? What? And then it hit me. The oatmeal on the stove! Holy shit! I scooped up Jelly and charged back up the block as fast as I could, tearing up the walk and onto the porch, scrambling with the house keys, unlocking the door and rushing inside, images of my kitchen engulfed in flames alive in my mind. I raced into the kitchen to find – the pot sitting quietly on the burner. I’d forgotten to turn the stove on.
Twenty minutes, I was out walking Bubba and Lulu when we happened to cross paths with an elderly lady walking her dog. Of course, the mere sight of another dog is enough to set Bubba and Lulu off. They started barking. Her dog started barking back. I reined in my dogs. She tried to rein in her dog, tripped and stumbled, almost losing her grip on the leash. I tugged on my leashes, backing up, swung around to head off – and turned right into a sprawling curbside tree. I felt the branch, sharp and solid, glance off my left eyelid and bounce painfully off my nose. I blinked and, as my eyesight adjusted, blurred then sharp, I realized how close I had come to impaling my eyeball. A quarter of an inch lower and I’d be sporting a rugged-looking eyepatch today.
Like speech gags and celebrity deaths, bad luck comes in three’s. I know this for a fact because I’ve fallen victim to the Rule of 3. I remember…
I was in fourth grade grade gym class and our phys ed teacher called on the students to help set up the trampoline. I was a little wary of the damn thing because, only days earlier, I’d avoided serious injury after attempting a flip – and landing squarely on my head (#1!). That’s all I could think of us as we rolled out the apparatus and proceeded to unlock it. Distracted as I was, I didn’t even realize my hands were resting on a metal roller until the connecting bar touched down on my fingers. I pulled them away in the nick of time as – snap! – it locked into place. One of my classmates, Steve Robertson, marveled at my luck. ”You almost got your fingers massacred!”he said as we opened the trampoline. ”Almost!”, I remember thinking (#2). At which point the spring-loaded section we were trying to snap into place sprang back and landed my left arm, snapping it in two places. Like kindling. The palm of my hand was flat against my wrist (And that was #3!). I cringe even now thinking about it.
If those Final Destination movies taught me anything, it’s that disaster, twice averted, only sets you up for a third strike. However, if you manage to survive that third attempt by the Fates, then simple superstitious logic dictates that you’re home free.
I just need to survive that third attempt.
As a result, I spent most of yesterday and today indoors, double-checking my dumbbells before my workouts, cautiously sniffing my food before I eat it, bringing my old swim googles out of storage – just in case.
See you tomorrow.
I hope!
January 5, 2013
January 5, 2013: Resuming our trip down Stargate: Atlantis memory lane with seasons 5′s Search and Rescue! A slew of behind-the-scenes pics and vids!
SEARCH AND RESCUE
(501)
When production resumed on Stargate: Atlantis’s fifth season, little did we realize at the time that it would be our final year. We were coming off a terrific fourth season and had some great scripts on deck and some big ideas for what lay ahead. Samantha Carter was on her way out and a new Commander was on his way in. And this time, there would be no discussion over potential candidates. There was only one. I picked up the phone and called Robert Picardo, told him we’d love to make Richard Woolsey a regular. I pitched him what we had in mind, a move that would complete Woolsey’s transformation from pencil-pushing pain-in-the-ass to surprising and lovable friend and ally. Bob loved the idea, welcomed the opportunity and his deal was closed that day. It was tough to say goodbye to Amanda, but we were happy that she would be leaving for a passion project, the first season of Sanctuary, in which she would be producing and starring (and, eventually, directing as well over the show’s five year run).
The change in command was not the only development in this final season. Teyla would finally give birth, the Michael storyline would be concluded, Elizabeth Weir would make a (sort of) return, while the introduction of a powerful new enemy would complicate matters for our intrepid expedition.
But first things first. We had a story to conclude, some trapped team members to rescue and, of course, a baby to deliver…
VFX Supervisor Mark Savela at the Search and Rescue concept meeting.
The show’s visual effects were second to none, thanks to the work of Mark Savela and his crew.
Art Department package for the episode. The Construction Department had their work cut out for them on this one.
The former village set is transformed into a ruined facility on what we used to call The FX Stage.
That’s a load-bearing ladder!
A relaxed Jason Momoa returns from hiatus sans dreads. It would be a couple of episodes before we could write them out so we had to wig him to start the season. The wig, by the way, was made of his own hair.
One easy to handle baby for the birthing season.
Don’t forget the umbilical cord!
Inside Michael’s hive ship.
An Alien-esque feel.
The wraith tech was always very organic-looking.
Wraith tablet.
Michael (Connor Trineer) at the controls.
An Andy Mikita joint.
A visit to the wraith OB/GYN.
Kanaan, Teyla’s baby daddy, relaxes between takes.
Martin Christopher (aka Major Marks) checks out the craft service offerings.
Amanda Tapping and Mitch Pileggi.
Stand-ins (or, more appropriately in this case, sit-ins) aboard the Daedalus.
And…Action!
Preparing to send out the MALP.
Special Features Producer Ivon Bartok at work.
David Hewlett and Kavan Smith take a break from the dust and debris.
Major Lorne looking the worse for wear.
Exhausting work. McKay’s jacket gets a workout.
The ruined facility.
The jumper. Stage 2.
And a few behind the scenes vids…
Wraith tech:
On the hive ship:
Search a rescue rehearsal:
And the scene:
Tagged: science fiction, Science Fiction Television, scifi, scifi television, Search and Rescue, SF, SF television, SGA, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis season 5, Stargate: Atlantis
January 5, 2012: Resuming our trip down Stargate: Atlantis memory lane with seasons 5′s Search and Rescue! A slew of behind-the-scenes pics and vids!
SEARCH AND RESCUE
(501)
When production resumed on Stargate: Atlantis’s fifth season, little did we realize at the time that it would be our final year. We were coming off a terrific fourth season and had some great scripts on deck and some big ideas for what lay ahead. Samantha Cater was on her way out and a new Commander was on his way in. And this time, there would be no discussion over potential candidates. There was only one. I picked up the phone and called Robert Picardo, told him we’d love to make Richard Woolsey a regular. I pitched him what we had in mind, a move that would complete Woolsey’s transformation from pencil-pushing pain-in-the-ass to surprising and lovable friend and ally. Bob loved the idea, welcomed the opportunity and his deal was closed that day. It was tough to say goodbye to Amanda, but we were happy that she would be leaving for a passion project, the first season of Sanctuary, in which she would be producing and starring (and, eventually, directing as well over the show’s five year run).
The change in command was not the only development in this final season. Teyla would finally give birth, the Michael storyline would be concluded, Elizabeth Weir would make a (sort of) return, while the introduction of a powerful new enemy would complicate matters for our intrepid expedition.
But first things first. We had a story to conclude, some trapped team members to rescue and, of course, a baby to deliver…
VFX Supervisor Mark Savela at the Search and Rescue concept meeting.
The show’s visual effects were second to none, thanks to the work of Mark Savela and his crew.
Art Department package for the episode. The Construction Department had their work cut out for them on this one.
The former village set is transformed into a ruined facility on what we used to call The FX Stage.
That’s a load-bearing ladder!
A relaxed Jason Momoa returns from hiatus sans dreads. It would be a couple of episodes before we could write them out so we had to wig him to start the season. The wig, by the way, was made of his own hair.
One easy to handle baby for the birthing season.
Don’t forget the umbilical cord!
Inside Michael’s hive ship.
An Alien-esque feel.
The wraith tech was always very organic-looking.
Wraith tablet.
Michael (Connor Trineer) at the controls.
An Andy Mikita joint.
A visit to the wraith OB/GYN.
Kanaan, Teyla’s baby daddy, relaxes between takes.
Martin Christopher (aka Major Marks) checks out the craft service offerings.
Amanda Tapping and Mitch Pileggi.
Stand-ins (or, more appropriately in this case, sit-ins) aboard the Daedalus.
And…Action!
Preparing to send out the MALP.
Special Features Producer Ivon Bartok at work.
David Hewlett and Kavan Smith take a break from the dust and debris.
Major Lorne looking the worse for wear.
Exhausting work. McKay’s jacket gets a workout.
The ruined facility.
The jumper. Stage 2.
And a few behind the scenes vids…
Wraith tech:
On the hive ship:
Search a rescue rehearsal:
And the scene:
Tagged: science fiction, Science Fiction Television, scifi, scifi television, Search and Rescue, SF, SF television, SGA, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis season 5, Stargate: Atlantis
January 4, 2013
January 4, 2013: Montreal’s culinary highlights and lowlights!
As much as I love being on east coast time here on the west coast, I find something weird and just plain wrong about getting up before the sun has risen. It strikes me as inherently unnatural, like fluorescent green pistachio ice cream or the tuck rule in football. I mean, there’s “early” and then there’s just “silly early”. For instance, this morning, I woke up “silly early”, but stayed in bed until “early” (the dogs were unusually cuddlesome) and THEN got up. And I still found time to get a whole bunch of errands done today.
Akemi proved equally productive ahead of her planned four day trek to Yellowknife with friends to watch the Northern Lights. She thinks it’s downright un-Canadian of me not to join her but, hey, last time I checked the temperature there was a not-so-balmy -26 degrees celsius (about -15 fahrenheit). Apparently, boiling water tossed into the air comes down as snow. No, thanks. Fortunately, Akemi prepared for the brutal cold with a dry run that saw her visit Montreal woefully under-dressed for the winter weather there:
Note the rain boots – perfect for rainy days. Terrible for walking on icy sidewalks and keeping your feet warm.
Speaking of Montreal – while in town, in addition to some terrific home cooking (compliments of mom, natch), I also enjoyed some great restaurant meals as well. Today, I’d like to offer up the culinary highlights (and lowlights) of my holiday grazing in la belle province…
RESTAURANT LALOUX (Restaurant Laloux – Bistro)
Highlight: The 40 day aged Ematimi farm beef prime rib served with vegetables and sauce forestiere.
The menu states it’s “for two” but it could have served four. And it was even better the next day, cool and thinly sliced.
Lowlight: My sister talked up the desserts, but we were disappointed to learn the former pastry chef had left since the last time Andria visited. The sweet selection was fine, but nothing really stood out – with the exception of the after-meal, bite-size caneles that proved magnificent.
PETINOS – WEST ISLAND (Restaurant dejeuner diner | Petinos | Montreal | Terrebonne …)
Highlight: I’m not a huge fan of breakfast places, but I did appreciate Petino’s banana-nutella pancakes:
Lowlight: Their smoothies – artifical-looking and tasting. Terrible.
AU PIED DE COCHON (Au Pied de Cochon)
Highlight: Well, damn, pretty much the entire dinner. I’ve never had a bad meal here. The tarragon bison tongue is always great as are the desserts (maple milkshake and sugar pie!). I suppose if I had to choose one stand-out dish, it would have to be the headcheese. Like I said a couple of entries back, don’t let the name fool you. There’s no actual cheese in it – just head mostly:
Lowlight: Nothing we ate and more what we didn’t. They ran out of the stuffed trotters (my sister’s favorite) and have since taken the pouding chomeur off the menu. Boo! BOO!
WISUSHI (WiSushi)
Highlight: Having spent plenty of time in Japan and lived the past 13 years of my life in Vancouver, I don’t have very high expectations for Montreal sushi and so I can’t say I was disappointed. I suppose if I had to choose a highlight, I’d go with the kamikaze roll, ubiquitous in Montreal but unheard anywhere else I’ve traveled.
Lowlight: I wasn’t blown away by the sushi but, on the other hand, wasn’t enormously disappointed either.
DA EMMA
Highlight: Great atmosphere in this dark, moody, cave-like setting that was once home to Montreal’s first women’s prison. The service was the highlight. As far as dishes, I’d say the lamb – but, in all fairness, it’s a menu item I enjoyed on my last visit here.
Lowlight: The neon green pistachio ice cream.
GRAZIELLA (Restaurant Graziella)
Highlight: Appetizers and mains were all, in a word, fantastic. If I had to choose one dish…maybe the wild mushroom risotto.
Lowlight: The service was great – up until the neighboring table was seated and instantly commanded all of our waitress’s attention. It took us 20 minutes to get dessert menus, then another 20 to be served. As for the desserts – well, they were very pretty to look at.
KAM FUNG – WEST ISLAND (Welcome to Restaurant La Maison KamFung)
Highlight: I know you think I’m saying this just to be controversial but, seriously, the chicken feet were outstanding.
Lowlight: The siu long bao were too big and devoid of their trademark searing broth.
MAIKO SUSHI (Maiko Sushi Dollard-Des-Ormeaux)
Highlight: Again, I’m prepared to be underwhelmed by Montreal sushi and, in this case, was somewhat pleasantly surprised. The top roll? Oh, let’s go with the crispy tempura bits-laden kamikaze again.
Lowlight: Nothing comes to mind.
RESTAURANT PM (Prete-a-Manger)
Highlight: My sister is a regular and pretty much all of the dishes she recommended were great. My favorite, however was the hot pot chicken with ginger and mushrooms. It positively sang!
Lowlight: Akemi and I didn’t fare so well with our orders. I didn’t love the peanut butter dumplings while the mapo tofu lacked the spicy pepper punch packed by Akemi’s take on the dish.
MOM’S PLACE
Highlight: Plenty of terrific plates from mom’s kitchen – eggplant parmesan, fried peppers, fried eggplant, her trademark friendship cake…but my favorite has to be her rabbit. I don’t make it myself and have given up on ordering it when I go out because its invariably dry and nowhere close to mom’s version -
Honorable mention for Akemi’s highlight,the roasted chestnuts -
Lowlight: None. (Hey, I’ve got to go back next Christmas!)
Tagged: Montreal restaurants 
January 4, 2012: Montreal’s culinary highlights and lowlights!
As much as I love being on east coast time here on the west coast, I find something weird and just plain wrong about getting up before the sun has risen. It strikes me as inherently unnatural, like fluorescent green pistachio ice cream or the tuck rule in football. I mean, there’s “early” and then there’s just “silly early”. For instance, this morning, I woke up “silly early”, but stayed in bed until “early” (the dogs were unusually cuddlesome) and THEN got up. And I still found time to get a whole bunch of errands done today.
Akemi proved equally productive ahead of her planned four day trek to Yellowknife with friends to watch the Northern Lights. She thinks it’s downright un-Canadian of me not to join her but, hey, last time I checked the temperature there was a not-so-balmy -26 degrees celsius (about -15 fahrenheit). Apparently, boiling water tossed into the air comes down as snow. No, thanks. Fortunately, Akemi prepared for the brutal cold with a dry run that saw her visit Montreal woefully under-dressed for the winter weather there:
Note the rain boots – perfect for rainy days. Terrible for walking on icy sidewalks and keeping your feet warm.
Speaking of Montreal – while in town, in addition to some terrific home cooking (compliments of mom, natch), I also enjoyed some great restaurant meals as well. Today, I’d like to offer up the culinary highlights (and lowlights) of my holiday grazing in la belle province…
RESTAURANT LALOUX (Restaurant Laloux – Bistro)
Highlight: The 40 day aged Ematimi farm beef prime rib served with vegetables and sauce forestiere.
The menu states it’s “for two” but it could have served four. And it was even better the next day, cool and thinly sliced.
Lowlight: My sister talked up the desserts, but we were disappointed to learn the former pastry chef had left since the last time Andria visited. The sweet selection was fine, but nothing really stood out – with the exception of the after-meal, bite-size caneles that proved magnificent.
PETINOS – WEST ISLAND (Restaurant dejeuner diner | Petinos | Montreal | Terrebonne …)
Highlight: I’m not a huge fan of breakfast places, but I did appreciate Petino’s banana-nutella pancakes:
Lowlight: Their smoothies – artifical-looking and tasting. Terrible.
AU PIED DE COCHON (Au Pied de Cochon)
Highlight: Well, damn, pretty much the entire dinner. I’ve never had a bad meal here. The tarragon bison tongue is always great as are the desserts (maple milkshake and sugar pie!). I suppose if I had to choose one stand-out dish, it would have to be the headcheese. Like I said a couple of entries back, don’t let the name fool you. There’s no actual cheese in it – just head mostly:
Lowlight: Nothing we ate and more what we didn’t. They ran out of the stuffed trotters (my sister’s favorite) and have since taken the pouding chomeur off the menu. Boo! BOO!
WISUSHI (WiSushi)
Highlight: Having spent plenty of time in Japan and lived the past 13 years of my life in Vancouver, I don’t have very high expectations for Montreal sushi and so I can’t say I was disappointed. I suppose if I had to choose a highlight, I’d go with the kamikaze roll, ubiquitous in Montreal but unheard anywhere else I’ve traveled.
Lowlight: I wasn’t blown away by the sushi but, on the other hand, wasn’t enormously disappointed either.
DA EMMA
Highlight: Great atmosphere in this dark, moody, cave-like setting that was once home to Montreal’s first women’s prison. The service was the highlight. As far as dishes, I’d say the lamb – but, in all fairness, it’s a menu item I enjoyed on my last visit here.
Lowlight: The neon green pistachio ice cream.
GRAZIELLA (Restaurant Graziella)
Highlight: Appetizers and mains were all, in a word, fantastic. If I had to choose one dish…maybe the wild mushroom risotto.
Lowlight: The service was great – up until the neighboring table was seated and instantly commanded all of our waitress’s attention. It took us 20 minutes to get dessert menus, then another 20 to be served. As for the desserts – well, they were very pretty to look at.
KAM FUNG – WEST ISLAND (Welcome to Restaurant La Maison KamFung)
Highlight: I know you think I’m saying this just to be controversial but, seriously, the chicken feet were outstanding.
Lowlight: The siu long bao were too big and devoid of their trademark searing broth.
MAIKO SUSHI (Maiko Sushi Dollard-Des-Ormeaux)
Highlight: Again, I’m prepared to be underwhelmed by Montreal sushi and, in this case, was somewhat pleasantly surprised. The top roll? Oh, let’s go with the crispy tempura bits-laden kamikaze again.
Lowlight: Nothing comes to mind.
RESTAURANT PM (Prete-a-Manger)
Highlight: My sister is a regular and pretty much all of the dishes she recommended were great. My favorite, however was the hot pot chicken with ginger and mushrooms. It positively sang!
Lowlight: Akemi and I didn’t fare so well with our orders. I didn’t love the peanut butter dumplings while the mapo tofu lacked the spicy pepper punch packed by Akemi’s take on the dish.
MOM’S PLACE
Highlight: Plenty of terrific plates from mom’s kitchen – eggplant parmesan, fried peppers, fried eggplant, her trademark friendship cake…but my favorite has to be her rabbit. I don’t make it myself and have given up on ordering it when I go out because its invariably dry and nowhere close to mom’s version -
Honorable mention for Akemi’s highlight,the roasted chestnuts -
Lowlight: None. (Hey, I’ve got to go back next Christmas!)
Tagged: Montreal restaurants
January 3, 2013
January 3, 2013: Home, dogs, aches and pains, and our 2012 Blogging Year in Review! Revealing…our top five most active commenters!
We’re back in comparatively balmy Vancouver (it’s a positively tropical -5 degrees celsius/23 fahrenheit) and I just got through unpacking. I’m exhausted and nursing a wicked headache that I roughly equate to the feeling of having the sudden expansion of your brain rudely checked by your skullcap. Also, my left eye hurts. Could this be the mythic “migraine”, the neurological disorder that has afflicted my mother these oh so many years? Or was I right the first time and has my brain tripled in size? It seems that, lately, my complaint of the most minor ailment will send Akemi into an anxiety-fueled tizzy, culminating in her insistence I go back to the doctor and get checked out immediately. That pain in my shoulder could be a silent heart attack! The ache in my legs a blood clot! And the headache, of course, could be anything from diabetes to an impending stroke! So, I’ve got a choice: make that appointment with my family doctor or just ignore it – in which case a simple headache will be the least of my problems once Akemi gets through with me. Yep, I guess I’ll make that appointment.
Lulu makes short work of Akemi’s Christmas slippers.
Check it out. Akemi’s new duck slippers didn’t even last their first night back. More like an hour – which is how long it took Akemi and I to pop out and grab dinner before returning home to discover the damage our frenchie, Lulu, had wrought.
It wasn’t all bad news however. We arrived home during doggy dinner time and Akemi was positively thrilled by the fact that her boy, Bubba, actually stopped eating to trot over and greet her. This is a pug who LOVES his food. But one who clearly LOVES Akemi even more!
Bubba = momma’s boy.
Hey, I received my 2012 Year in Blogging review from wordpress. Some interesting insights into this blog. For example…
My Top 5 Most Viewed Entries in 2012:
5) September 30, 2008: An AU Season 6! In which I discuss the stories we were considering developing for Atlantis’s sixth season.
4) August 15, 2010: MY Top 10 Favorite Stargate Episodes Self-explanatory.
2) June 12, 2010: Actress Julia Benson Answers Your Questions! Even more popular!
1) May 12, 2011: Stargate: Universe, Beyond Season 2! What Might Have Been! In which I discuss some of the ideas we were considering for Universe’s third season.
On the one hand, this demonstrates the strength of some of these past entries which obviously continue to resonate with fandom. On the other hand, this demonstrates I need to up my blogging game. Not one entry from 2012 cracked the top five!
For what it’s worth, my busiest day in 2012 was this entry: Q&A Tonight!. A simple Q&A. I guess I should consider doing these more often.
And now let’s give it up for the Top 5 Most Active Commenters on this blog in 2012:
5 
Deni 324 COMMENTS
4 
DP 438 COMMENTS
3 
Tam Dixon 471 COMMENTS
2 
Ponytail 480 COMMENTS
1 
dasndanger 576 COMMENTS
You five have been almost as busy as I have on this blog! Thanks for staying active and, just to show my appreciation, I’m going to send you a little something.
As for the rest of you slackers, 2013 is a new year. Start our commenting!
January 3, 2012: Home, dogs, aches and pains, and our 2012 Blogging Year in Review! Revealing…our top five most active commenters!
We’re back in comparatively balmy Vancouver (it’s a positively tropical -5 degrees celsius/23 fahrenheit) and I just got through unpacking. I’m exhausted and nursing a wicked headache that I roughly equate to the feeling of having the sudden expansion of your brain rudely checked by your skullcap. Also, my left eye hurts. Could this be the mythic “migraine”, the neurological disorder that has afflicted my mother these oh so many years? Or was I right the first time and has my brain tripled in size? It seems that, lately, my complaint of the most minor ailment will send Akemi into an anxiety-fueled tizzy, culminating in her insistence I go back to the doctor and get checked out immediately. That pain in my shoulder could be a silent heart attack! The ache in my legs a blood clot! And the headache, of course, could be anything from diabetes to an impending stroke! So, I’ve got a choice: make that appointment with my family doctor or just ignore it – in which case a simple headache will be the least of my problems once Akemi gets through with me. Yep, I guess I’ll make that appointment.
Lulu makes short work of Akemi’s Christmas slippers.
Check it out. Akemi’s new duck slippers didn’t even last their first night back. More like an hour – which is how long it took Akemi and I to pop out and grab dinner before returning home to discover the damage our frenchie, Lulu, had wrought.
It wasn’t all bad news however. We arrived home during doggy dinner time and Akemi was positively thrilled by the fact that her boy, Bubba, actually stopped eating to trot over and greet her. This is a pug who LOVES his food. But one who clearly LOVES Akemi even more!
Bubba = momma’s boy.
Hey, I received my 2012 Year in Blogging review from wordpress. Some interesting insights into this blog. For example…
My Top 5 Most Viewed Entries in 2012:
5) September 30, 2008: An AU Season 6! In which I discuss the stories we were considering developing for Atlantis’s sixth season.
4) August 15, 2010: MY Top 10 Favorite Stargate Episodes Self-explanatory.
2) June 12, 2010: Actress Julia Benson Answers Your Questions! Even more popular!
1) May 12, 2011: Stargate: Universe, Beyond Season 2! What Might Have Been! In which I discuss some of the ideas we were considering for Universe’s third season.
On the one hand, this demonstrates the strength of some of these past entries which obviously continue to resonate with fandom. On the other hand, this demonstrates I need to up my blogging game. Not one entry from 2012 cracked the top five!
For what it’s worth, my busiest day in 2012 was this entry: Q&A Tonight!. A simple Q&A. I guess I should consider doing these more often.
And now let’s give it up for the Top 5 Most Active Commenters on this blog in 2012:
5 Deni 324 COMMENTS
4 DP 438 COMMENTS
3 Tam Dixon 471 COMMENTS
2 Ponytail 480 COMMENTS
1 dasndanger 576 COMMENTS
You five have been almost as busy as I have on this blog! Thanks for staying active and, just to show my appreciation, I’m going to send you a little something.
As for the rest of you slackers, 2013 is a new year. Start our commenting!
January 2, 2013
January 2, 2013: Catching up! Blog Talk Radio interview – Part II!
Whenever I pay a return visit to my hometown of Montreal, I always find time to catch up with old friends. Last week, it was my former co-worker Anne-Marie and the former host of our weekly Hong Kong Movie Nite, Supa-Nige. This week, I managed to connect with a few more familiar faces in advance of tomorrow’s departure.
Battling over the leftovers.
My oldest friend (and I mean “oldest” in terms of length of our friendship as well as the fact that he possesses the sense of humor of somebody’s grandfather), Lawrence, joined us for sushi the other night. Aka “Buddy” also brought along his lovely wife, Mel (aka Budette). They’re back in Montreal after spending three years in London. Surprisingly, they returned with no trace of an accent, or affinity for bowlers and umbrellas, but have admitted to lingering Coronation Street habit.
Just the sake, please.
Another old high school friend, Nigel, put it an appearance with his wife – but only long enough to have a little sake before moving on to the next party. They made the trip from Columbus, Ohio, home of James Thurber and purportedly not-so-good sushi restaurants.
Today, we braved the cold to visit another old friend Montreal’s greatest comic book store: 1 000 000 Comix!
Akemi enjoys the crisp Montreal air.
I’ll do an Uncanny X-Force. And make it a double.
Alex and I also go way back. He’s largely responsible for a crawlspace packed with comics, toys, and supervillain statues. The sole proprietor of my favorite comic store in Montreal, he is also a lead organizer of the Montreal and Ottawa Comic Cons.
Dealer’s choice.
Rob, a 1 000 000 Comix mainstay, is a voracious reader. ”What do you read?”I asked him. ”Everything,”was his response. Well, I figured he was the expert so I picked up a few titles on his recommendation: the trippy looking Mind the Gap, Revival (which he described as The Waking Dead), and Driver for the Dead which looks a lot like The Transporter (The film series of course. What else would I be talking about?) with a supernatural twist.
Akemi, regretting those rain boots.
And then we were off, braving the elements once again to head down to the Eaton Center where we met up with another former co-worker and freelance writer, Gerard.
aka Gerry
We had a lot of catching up to do but, unfortunately, not all that much time to do it in. Gerry and I have a lot in common, particularly with regard to our personal lives over the past – oh, four years or so – and it was nice to get another perspective on things. He’s artistic, soft-spoken, thoughtful – and terribly out of place in Montreal. The guy belongs in Vancouver.
Well, that’s it for Montreal. One final dinner at home with mom, sis, and Akemi tonight, an early breakfast tomorrow and then we’re off – back to the dogs, the rain, and those two very important scripts…
What are you up to tonight? Have plans? Well, break ‘em. And tune into Blog Talk Radio for the second part of my Stargate: Universe discussion with Barbara Barnettt. I’ll be answering questions on SGU and Stargate in general so, if you’d like to chat, tune in (9:00 p.m. Eastern, 8:00 p.m. Central, and 6:00 p.m. Pacific) and call: (718) 305-6982. Let’s Talk Stargate Universe Season 2 w/Joe Mallozzi ].
January 2, 2012: Catching up! Blog Talk Radio interview – Part II!
Whenever I pay a return visit to my hometown of Montreal, I always find time to catch up with old friends. Last week, it was my former co-worker Anne-Marie and the former host of our weekly Hong Kong Movie Nite, Supa-Nige. This week, I managed to connect with a few more familiar faces in advance of tomorrow’s departure.
Battling over the leftovers.
My oldest friend (and I mean “oldest” in terms of length of our friendship as well as the fact that he possesses the sense of humor of somebody’s grandfather), Lawrence, joined us for sushi the other night. Aka “Buddy” also brought along his lovely wife, Mel (aka Budette). They’re back in Montreal after spending three years in London. Surprisingly, they returned with no trace of an accent, or affinity for bowlers and umbrellas, but have admitted to lingering Coronation Street habit.
Just the sake, please.
Another old high school friend, Nigel, put it an appearance with his wife – but only long enough to have a little sake before moving on to the next party. They made the trip from Columbus, Ohio, home of James Thurber and purportedly not-so-good sushi restaurants.
Today, we braved the cold to visit another old friend Montreal’s greatest comic book store: 1 000 000 Comix!
Akemi enjoys the crisp Montreal air.
I’ll do an Uncanny X-Force. And make it a double.
Alex and I also go way back. He’s largely responsible for a crawlspace packed with comics, toys, and supervillain statues. The sole proprietor of my favorite comic store in Montreal, he is also a lead organizer of the Montreal and Ottawa Comic Cons.
Dealer’s choice.
Rob, a 1 000 000 Comix mainstay, is a voracious reader. ”What do you read?”I asked him. ”Everything,”was his response. Well, I figured he was the expert so I picked up a few titles on his recommendation: the trippy looking Mind the Gap, Revival (which he described as The Waking Dead), and Driver for the Dead which looks a lot like The Transporter (The film series of course. What else would I be talking about?) with a supernatural twist.
Akemi, regretting those rain boots.
And then we were off, braving the elements once again to head down to the Eaton Center where we met up with another former co-worker and freelance writer, Gerard.
aka Gerry
We had a lot of catching up to do but, unfortunately, not all that much time to do it in. Gerry and I have a lot in common, particularly with regard to our personal lives over the past – oh, four years or so – and it was nice to get another perspective on things. He’s artistic, soft-spoken, thoughtful – and terribly out of place in Montreal. The guy belongs in Vancouver.
Well, that’s it for Montreal. One final dinner at home with mom, sis, and Akemi tonight, an early breakfast tomorrow and then we’re off – back to the dogs, the rain, and those two very important scripts…
What are you up to tonight? Have plans? Well, break ‘em. And tune into Blog Talk Radio for the second part of my Stargate: Universe discussion with Barbara Barnettt. I’ll be answering questions on SGU and Stargate in general so, if you’d like to chat, tune in (9:00 p.m. Eastern, 8:00 p.m. Central, and 6:00 p.m. Pacific) and call: (718) 305-6982. Let’s Talk Stargate Universe Season 2 w/Joe Mallozzi ].
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