Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 491

July 16, 2012: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Steel!

Making fun of dis movie be like taunting Grover’s cuzin Edwin, de one who eat candles and walks into walls.  Too easy.  And where de fun in dat?  Well, okay, still some fun – but well below average.

Monster have to admit, aktor Shaquille O’Neil be perfekt choice to play role of Steel.  Who better to play lamest superhero in comic book history den one of de worst “aktors” in movie history?

In Steel, Shaq play part of genius weapon designer John Henry Irons. Dis bear repeating.  SHAQ play part of a GENIUS.  He design weapons for army.  Anyway, movie begin wit one of his weapons test gone awry. Ceiling collapse, kill gabby senator and injure Shaq’s friend, Sparky, de girl wit de dog’s name.  All de fault of Evil Judd Nelson who try to act tough and get in Shaq’s face – tho dis very hard to do when guy you’re trying to stare down be two feet taller den you.

Shaq John Henry quits army and heads back home. Judd goes too.  To Bust a Move!  While Judd gets job wit arms dealer, Shaq visit his sassy grandma.

On ride-along wit his cop sister, Shaq stumble on bank robbery by gang using bazooka lasers.  Hey!  He recognize dose weapons!

Shaq report dis to his commanding officer – who not all dat interested, mirroring general attittod of audience watching dis sad piece of film making.  So, Shaq say “F him” and put together his own cliche team: wheelchair-bound Sparky, kid, and old man (who, at one point in movie, aktually use de line: “I’m getting too old for dis!”).  A-Teamesque building montage ensue.  Dey forge supersuit of steel (dat look suspishushly like hard plastic).  Armed wit giant hammer (Not for hitting bad guys.  It just a magnet of course!) Shaq John Henry Irons is Ironma Steel!

Uh, how much does dis ting weigh?

Gang chasing down other gang.  Bulletproof Steel show up (luckily, nobody smart enough to shoot him in de face) and give bad guys de old one two: 1) Stop car wit his sonic weapon and cause occupants to fly thru windshield.  2) Deliver cheesy line: ” “You should always buckle up.”  He den use electromagnetic lock to take everyone’s weapons.  Cops arrive.  Steel escapes by jumping between buildings.

Jumping between buildings?  Exacktly how much dat suit weigh?!

He lower himself down side of building and and end up in garbage container.  When Sparky contakt to ask him how he doing, he respond: “Just a little trashed”.  Ho ho ho.   Not only he be a genius; he be a comedy genius!

Bad guys triangoolate signal back to his home base.  Evil Judd Nelson frame Steel for bank heist.  He arrested!  But Sparky a computer tech expert (Naturally.  She a movie/television charakter in a wheelchair, duh!) and get him released.

Steel crash weapons auktion.  But evil Judd Nelson has Sparky hostage! Steel tell Judd NOT to use his hammer.  Whatever he do, don’t do it!  Don’t do it! Don’t flip de red switch!

If monster was Evil Judd Nelson, me would say “Okay” and shoot Steel in de face instead.  But monster not Evil Judd Nelson.  Me just movie reviewer wit average intelligence, not movie villain wit below average smarts.  Of course Evil Judd flip de red switch.  And electromagnetic lock cause hammer to fly back to Steel.  Ha-ha!  Who saw DAT coming?!

Everyone except Evil Judd Nelson.

Sparky have her wheelchair outfitted with machineguns.  She shoot up warehouse, den use rocket jets on wheelchair to get away in sequence dat is both surprising and weird and really stoopid.

Movie end wit big shootout and Evil Judd Nelson getting killed by lazer dat deflect off Steel’s, uh, steel outfit.

Counting Blue Chips, Kazaam, and now Steel, Shaq hitting 0.00% from de field.

Verdikt: Monster want to use Steel’s hammer to beat on whoever greenlit dis movie.

Rating: 1 chocolate chippee cookies.

July 22, 2012: Vote for The Greatest Season-ending Cliffhanger in Stargate History! The Evolution of Akemi at Starbucks! Back to the Kits Street Fest for Dinner!

A reminder to cast your vote for The Greatest Season-ending Cliffhanger in Stargate History for a chance to win a signed script and a nifty Stargate security badge -

Yes, winners will get their choice of security badge.

Head on over here, pick a cliffhanger, then leave a comment for a chance to win:

Take Our Poll

To whoever asked – yes, I’ll be continuing my trip down Atlantis memory lane, starting sometime in August to coincide with Gateworld’s Stargate: Atlantis season 3 rewatch. Speaking of Gateworld, head on over here (Atlantis Season Two Awards: Vote Now!) to vote for your favorites in the category of season 2′s: Best Episode, Best Sheppard Moment, Best McKay Moment, Best Weir Moment, Best Ronon Moment, Best Teyla Moment, Best Beckett Moment, Best Alien Race, Best Individual Individual Villain, Coolest Ancient Technology, Coolest Alien Technology, and Best Guest Star.

For some reason, Akemi’s name baffles most English speakers who seem incapable of pronouncing it correctly, often offering a variety of erroneous renditions: Acme, Kimmy, Akenny, Ankimo, etc.  Nowhere is this more frustrating than at Starbucks where the person at the counter not only mispronounces her name, but writes it down incorrectly as well.  But I’m pleased to report the Starbucks has gotten better.  Witness the evolution of the Akemi cappuccino…

A game effort and full marks for the smiley face. Sort of like A-Carl or A-Joe, it’s like she is one of numerous Kimmy’s in existence.

Aw, come on. You’re not even trying. Atmi? Really?

Ooooh. So close!

Finally! Success! It helps to be served by the Japanese counter person at the San Diego Airport Starbucks. The heart is greatly appreciated as well.

Lawren comes by today to discuss this season’s Fantasy Football League (my Snow Monkeys are defending champions, as if you didn’t know: December 27, 2011: Snow Monkeys are World Champions! Finally getting around to unwrapping those gifts!

And, tonight, I head out to dinner with my writing partner so that we can spin some new series ideas.  We’re heading down to L.A. the first week of August to pitch (is that NEXT week?!) and it would be nice to have something to talk about beside the weather.

Tomorrow, this blog resumes its originally scheduled programming when our Supermovie of the Week Club resumes with Cookie Monster’s review of Steel.

Tagged: cliffhangers, film & television, Gateworld, sci fi, sci fi television, science fiction, Science Fiction Television, SF, SF television, SG-1, SGA, SGU, Stargate, Stargate cliffhangers, Stargate contest, Stargate swag, Stargate Universe, Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: SG-1

July 21, 2012: What was the greatest season-ending cliffhanger in Stargate history?

“I am melty sleepy” – Akemiism.  Translation: I’m REALLY sleepy.

It was nice today, so we ended up checking out the local farmer’s market with Jelly.  On the way home, we happened to come across a street festival so we parked, hopped out, and too that in as well.

Seriously. It looks like they’re actually cooking the chili out part of a tank.

The lady pictured took a HUGE crepe.

What Vancouver street festival would be complete without the ubiquitous octopus ball stand?

The maple-bacon ice cream sandwich from Fable.

I know. She looks ridiculous. But given her hip problems, this is the only way she gets out to take in some of the sights the more mobile Bubba and Lulu get to check out.

On an unrelated note – ooooh, I feel a rant coming in.  Best to let it simmer for a couple of days and then really let loose, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.

So, like the title of this entry says: What was the greatest season-ending cliffhanger in Stargate history?

Within the Serpent’s Grasp: After being forced to kill Klorel/Skaara, SG-1 looks on helplessly as death gliders are launched toward Earth.

Out of Mind: The team is captured by Hathor who intends to implant one of them with a symbiote.

Nemesis: The replicator-infested Asgard ship is destroyed, but one replicator has survived – and has reached Earth.

Exodus: The team finds itself stranded, four million light years from home – with Apophis.

Camelot: The Ori kick ass, one of the Earth ships is destroyed, Carter is left floating in space while Vala, pregnant with the Orici, looks on helplessly.

The Siege II: Atlantis is about to fall to the wraith while Sheppard makes a suicide run against a enemy hive ship.

Allies: The wraith are headed to Earth – with Ronon and McKay in tow!

First Strike: Elizabeth and Ronon are injured, Atlantis is stranded in the middle of nowhere, and the zpm has only enough energy to power the city for twenty-four hours…

The Last Man: In an effort to locate a pregnant Teyla, kidnapped by Michael, Sheppard unwittingly leads a rescue team into a trap.  As the base collapses in on our heroes…

Incursion II: Scott and Greer are trapped outside the ship, Kiva, Telford and a pregnant T.J. are shot, the Lucian Alliance prepares to execute Young and the rest of the military personnel.

Gauntlet: The rest of the crew goes into stasis for what could be three to three hundred years, leaving a solitary Eli to figure out a means to save his own life.

Head on over and vote:

Take Our Poll

Polls close at midnight next Saturday (July 28th).  Leave a comment here or on the poll site for a chance to win signed scripts and one of these nifty Stargate security badges I picked up at Comic Con…just for you guys!

Tagged: Fable, Fable ice cream sandwich, farmers market, farmers markets, ice cream sandwich, Kitsilano street festival, science fiction, scifi television, SF television, SG-1, SGA, SGU, Stargate, Stargate Universe, Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: SG-1, street festival, street food, Vancouver

July 20, 2012: What was the greatest season-ending cliffhanger in Stargate history?

“I am melty sleepy” – Akemiism.  Translation: I’m REALLY sleepy.

It was nice today, so we ended up checking out the local farmer’s market with Jelly.  On the way home, we happened to come across a street festival so we parked, hopped out, and too that in as well.

Seriously. It looks like they’re actually cooking the chili out part of a tank.

The lady pictured took a HUGE crepe.

What Vancouver street festival would be complete without the ubiquitous octopus ball stand?

The maple-bacon ice cream sandwich from Fable.

I know. She looks ridiculous. But given her hip problems, this is the only way she gets out to take in some of the sights the more mobile Bubba and Lulu get to check out.

On an unrelated note – ooooh, I feel a rant coming in.  Best to let it simmer for a couple of days and then really let loose, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.

So, like the title of this entry says: What was the greatest season-ending cliffhanger in Stargate history?

Within the Serpent’s Grasp: After being forced to kill Klorel/Skaara, SG-1 looks on helplessly as death gliders are launched toward Earth.

Out of Mind: The team is captured by Hathor who intends to implant one of them with a symbiote.

Nemesis: The replicator-infested Asgard ship is destroyed, but one replicator has survived – and has reached Earth.

Exodus: The team finds itself stranded, four million light years from home – with Apophis.

Camelot: The Ori kick ass, one of the Earth ships is destroyed, Carter is left floating in space while Vala, pregnant with the Orici, looks on helplessly.

The Siege II: Atlantis is about to fall to the wraith while Sheppard makes a suicide run against a enemy hive ship.

Allies: The wraith are headed to Earth – with Ronon and McKay in tow!

First Strike: Keller and Ronon are injured, Atlantis is stranded in the middle of nowhere, and the zpm has only enough energy to power the city for twenty-four hours…

The Last Man: In an effort to locate a pregnant Teyla, kidnapped by Michael, Sheppard unwittingly leads a rescue team into a trap.  As the base collapses in on our heroes…

Incursion II: Scott and Greer are trapped outside the ship, Kiva, Telford and a pregnant T.J. are shot, the Lucian Alliance prepares to execute Young and the rest of the military personnel.

Gauntlet: The rest of the crew goes into stasis for what could be three to three hundred years, leaving a solitary Eli to figure out a means to save his own life.

Head on over and vote:

Take Our Poll

Polls close at midnight next Saturday (July 28th).  Leave a comment here or on the poll site for a chance to win signed scripts and one of these nifty Stargate security badges I picked up at Comic Con…just for you guys!

Tagged: Fable, Fable ice cream sandwich, farmers market, farmers markets, ice cream sandwich, Kitsilano street festival, science fiction, scifi television, SF television, SG-1, SGA, SGU, Stargate, Stargate Universe, Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: SG-1, street festival, street food, Vancouver

July 20, 2012: Doggly Matters!

I had a terrible 2011 in Toronto.  For many reasons.  One of the biggest was the cancer diagnosis for my pug, Maximus, and the subsequent attempts to treat the illness.  Once a week, Akemi and I would wake up at 7:00 a.m., bundle Max in the back of the car, and take the 90 minute drive to the Guelph Small Animal Clinic where my brave boy underwent radiation treatment and took his anti-cancer vaccines.  It was exhausting: the driving, the waiting, the daily medications, and the overall worrying, not just for him but for the other three dogs as well – Jelly, Bubba, and Lulu – who could surely sense something was up.

I remember stepping up to the clinic’s cashier one afternoon, disheartened and weary, reaching into my wallet for my credit card, and finding the above photograph.  Akemi had somehow slipped it in the previous night.  It’s a picture of my two eldest pugs, Maximus on the left and Jelly on the right.  Jelly had gone through a very rough time of her own the previous year when the effects of her hip dysplasia finally caught up with her.  Unable to stand, no longer capable of supporting herself on her rear legs, Jelly was in very bad shape.  But I refused to give up on her.  She had spinal surgery to correct a bulging disc, and then a series of stem cell transplants (via the folks at Vet Stem).  She battled back and finally regained use of her hindquarters. Wobbly and weak, but mobile nevertheless.  I was hoping Maximus could pull off a miracle of his own but, alas, it wasn’t to be.  My boy passed away in late January of this year and, as a tribute to him, he will forever grace the banner of this blog, overseeing these daily entries from up high.

As for that photo, it’s stayed in my wallet ever since.  Even when I travel and I empty my wallet of only the barest necessities, it remains.

Akemi has been incredibly patient and loving with the dogs, lending her unwavering support through the toughest of times.  Back in Toronto, while I went to work, and Bubba and Lulu spent their days at doggy daycare, Akemi would take of the older dogs back at the apartment, feeding them, taking them out, more often than not carrying them when they were too tired to walk.  Back in Vancouver now, she dotes on them.  Pretty amazing for someone who had never considered themselves a dog person – although, in all fairness, at one point, neither did I.

Akemi rewards Jelly for a job well done.

Jelly gets a solo walk that, due to the dysplasia, tends to last a half a block.  We go back home, harness the other dogs and, while I walk them, Akemi pushes Jelly along in her stroller so she can enjoy the afternoon as well.

Occasionally, Bubba will take a break as well.

Some dog-related links:

The Boycott Belfast facebook page is up and running, looking to hold Belfast City Council for their killing of Lennox the pitbull: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Belfast-until-it-frees-Lennox-and-addresses-its-BSL-failings/103153756437113

Closer to home, a German Shepherd found injured, lying in a Vancouver dumpster has died of his injuries.  Authorities are looking to question the dog’s owner who, so far, has not made himself available to police: Former owner of German shepherd found in dumpster comes forward

And another campaign to win the release of a dog who has been locked up for 15 months pending its day in court: http://www.facebook.com/ShadowVsRdco.  Outpouring of support for Shadow the dogwww.globaltvbc.comOutpouring of support for Shadow the dog

Here’s one with a happy ending!  Police Respond to Vicious Dog in Baltimore City

And another one: Stolen Basset Hounds Recovered After Five Years 

Finally, shocking news out of Colorado this morning.  Very, very sad.

Tagged: Dog news, french bulldog, french bulldogs, pug, pugs

July 19, 2012: The Comic Con/Vegas Post-Game Show!

No sooner do I return home than I am preparing for my next trip – this one to L.A. in a couple of weeks.  Tomorrow, Paul and I get on the phone with our agent to discuss the specifics: when we’re going, how long we’re staying, who we’ll be meeting while in town and, most importantly, what we’ll be pitching.

Our comic book series, Dark Matter, of course tops the list of what we want to go out with.  Then there’s Project A.F. that we’re working on in collaboration with Robert Cooper and Ivon Bartok (reason enough to schedule our trip to coincide with Rob’s upcoming visit).  And finally, there are about a half dozen series ideas we’ll get into tomorrow.  In the meantime, the horror script and one of our pilots should be going out as well.

So we’ve got things on the go and out there but it never hurts to have more material in the pipeline which is why I’m giving serious thought to writing another feature.  Like the horror script, it’s an idea I’ve been kicking around for years but have never had the opportunity to sit down and write.  Aside from fleshing out some ideas for the L.A. pitch trip, the trip itself, and the two series pilots we’re working on, my summer is shockingly free so August would be the time to get it done.  I won’t know if there’ll be anymore Dark Matter in comic book form until after the trade paperback release in October, but I am drawn to the idea of doing another comic book series.

Looking back over our recent trip, I have to admit I had a better time than expected at Comic Con.  Loved the energy of the place and the fantastic array of fans who took the time to create some truly remarkable costumes for the event.  My hosts at Dark Horse (Kari Yadro and co.) were wonderful and it was truly great to finally meet editor Lou Anders and artist John Picacio – and catch up with the lovely Marjorie M. Liu.  Lou is telling me Dragon Con is THE place to be in September.  If I’m not in Berlin for my friends’ wedding, I might consider it.

As for Vegas – hey, it’s always a good time, and made even better by Akemi who loves the strip.  She told me that, two and half years ago when she was living in Tokyo, she could never have imagined visiting Vegas or San Diego (where her parents spent their honeymoon, though probably not during Comic Con) – or even Canada for that matter.  Just goes to show – you never know what surprises life has in store!

A final batch of pics from Comic Con…

 

Pictured above, my Comic Con goodies including: a couple of dvd’s from the archives of Spike & Mike Festival of animation (compliments of Mike), a copy of the Futureshocks anthology edited by Lou Anders with cover art by John Picacio (compliments of Lou Anders), a copy of Hexed vol. 1 and the missing issues in my Avengers and Thunderbolts collection (compliments of my wallet).

Yesterday, I started Project Thunderbolts which will see me read the entire series from issue #1 to the present.  At five issues a night, I should be done in a little over a month.  Anyone familiar with the series?  Opinions?

Tagged: Comic Con, Las Vegas

July 18, 2012: Vegas Day #3!

Yesterday, we were up early so that we could do a little more strolling and try our luck against the scorching heat.

Akemi Presents…The Artwork!

We headed over to Caesar’s for another lunch at Joe’s Stone Crab.  We were a little early and Akemi needed to use the facilities.  I consulted the handy mall map and their directions to the restrooms led me here:

I wasn’t sure which was the Men’s and which one was the Women’s. I ended up using the one on the right.

Whenever we go out to dinner, Akemi is so hungry that she polishes off the bread basket and then complains about the fact that she’s too full to eat dinner. This morning, she made me promise to turn away the bread basket at our next meal. So I did – much to her displeasure. I reminded her that she’d told me to turn it away – but she didn’t want to hear it.

The stone crab!

Then, it was off to the Bellagio for dessert at Jean-Philippe Patisserie…

The Snickers Bar (left) and the Red Velvet Cupcake (right).

Trio: Creme brûlée, Peanut Butter pop, Rose-Raspberry Macaron.

Akemi works off lunch and dessert with her Xtreme Twirling routine:

We capped off our day with a great dinner at Michael Mina in the Bellagio.  Some of the highlights:

The Hors D’Oeuvres. From left to right: Foie Gras PB&J, Cured Salmon, Crab BLT, and the Steak Tartare. Three out of four were terrific. The BLT was a bit of a letdown.

The Foie Gras Forbidden Rice.

The Root Beer Float with sassafras ice cream and warn chocolate pecan cookies.

Special mention should also be made of the heavenly succotash and exceptional service.

Spoke to my agent today.  Looks like Paul and I are L.A.-bound in a couple of weeks.  Apparently, we’ve got shows to pitch!

Tagged: Joe's Stone Crab, Las Vegas, Michael Mina, travel

July 17, 2012: Vegas Day #3!

Yesterday, we were up early so that we could do a little more strolling and try our luck against the scorching heat.

Akemi Presents…The Artwork!

We headed over to Caesar’s for another lunch at Joe’s Stone Crab.  We were a little early and Akemi needed to use the facilities.  I consulted the handy mall map and their directions to the restrooms led me here:

I wasn’t sure which was the Men’s and which one was the Women’s. I ended up using the one on the right.

Whenever we go out to dinner, Akemi is so hungry that she polishes off the bread basket and then complains about the fact that she’s too full to eat dinner. This morning, she made me promise to turn away the bread basket at our next meal. So I did – much to her displeasure. I reminded her that she’d told me to turn it away – but she didn’t want to hear it.

The stone crab!

Then, it was off to the Bellagio for dessert at Jean-Philippe Patisserie…

The Snickers Bar (left) and the Red Velvet Cupcake (right).

Trio: Creme brûlée, Peanut Butter pop, Rose-Raspberry Macaron.

Akemi works off lunch and dessert with her Xtreme Twirling routine:

We capped off our day with a great dinner at Michael Mina in the Bellagio.  Some of the highlights:

The Hors D’Oeuvres. From left to right: Foie Gras PB&J, Cured Salmon, Crab BLT, and the Steak Tartare. Three out of four were terrific. The BLT was a bit of a letdown.

The Foie Gras Forbidden Rice.

The Root Beer Float with sassafras ice cream and warn chocolate pecan cookies.

Special mention should also be made of the heavenly succotash and exceptional service.

Spoke to my agent today.  Looks like Paul and I are L.A.-bound in a couple of weeks.  Apparently, we’ve got shows to pitch!

Tagged: Joe's Stone Crab, Las Vegas, Michael Mina, travel

July 17, 2012: Vegas Day #2: Mesa Grill! Serendipity! Jaleo!

This is the first and probably the last time I’ll be staying at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas.  In addition to the trifling annoyances (in-room safe not working, housekeeping skipping our room today, being told I could leave my valuables at the front desk only to be told by the front desk that I had to leave them with the Bell Captain only to be told by the Bell Captain that they had to be in an enclosed piece of luggage (forcing me to lug my laptop around with me all afternoon) only to later be told by someone else at the front desk that I could leave my valuables at the front desk, etc.)  is the one big annoyance of being charged for in-room wifi.  It feels so nickel and dime, well beneath a hotel of its supposed stature.  Next thing you know, one of maids is going to stop by to ask if I’d like to pitch in for fellow employee Anita’s going away party. Akemi, on the other hand, likes the Cosmo just fine.  She finds the bed incredibly comfy (I have to agree) and loves the patio…

Akemi says: “Come on out!”. I say: “No way.”

I’m not a patio (or standing on anything more than three feet off the ground) guy, so “nice patio” lines up in neither column so far as I’m concerned.

Today was our big walking day.  Lots of walking punctuated by excessive bursts of eating…

Akemi checks out the steampunk telescope – to get an unreal view of the ceiling.

Yet another BIG SHOE.

Oh that perverted penguin.

Akemi induces vomiting.

For lunch, we headed over to a place I mean to try out every time I’m in town.  This trip, we finally got there: Bobby’s Flay’s Mesa Grill in Caesar’s Palace.

We started off with a great corn soup, packed with a spicy wallop as advertised.

For her main, Akemi ordered a shrimp dish that came with a cilantro sauce.  I requested the cilantro sauce on the side because she isn’t a fan.   When the dish arrived, I couldn’t help but notice the shrimp were swimming in the cilantro sauce.  I asked the (different) waiter who served us: “Is that cilantro?”.  And he replied: “No cilantro.”

Hmmm.  Sure looks like cilantro to me.

Akemi took a bite.  As it turned out, either the waiter serving us desperately needed to brush up on the menu or the parsley on the plate was doing a bang-up imitation of cilantro.  Akemi resigned herself to eating it but I wouldn’t allow it.  I called over our original waiter and pointed out the cilantro.  He tried to sidestep the issue by saying he had served the “chili oil on the side” as I’d requested.  Even if that were true and I had asked for “chill oil” on the side (which I didn’t), the fact that the chill oil was also served IN the sauce as evidenced by the photograph makes his point moot.  He then suggested Akemi try the dish and if she still minded the cilantro, he would exchange it.  No pressure.  We asked to exchange it.  So he presented us with the menu.  Again, I had to point out there had been some sort of miscommunication.  We didn’t want another dish.  We wanted THAT dish with the cilantro sauce on the side.  Our waiter informed us this was impossible.  Somehow, between the time I placed the initial order and fifteen minutes later, it had become impossible.  So Akemi settled for a chopped salad.

I had the chile relleno.

We ended up trekking all the way over to the Wynn Hotel in search of a fantastic dessert place I swear I remember visiting once – only to come up empty.  We trekked all the way back and, by the time we were within visual range of our hotel, we were hot and exhausted.  So I suggested a little pick-me-up in the form of a sundae at Serendipity.

Akemi says: “Yeah. Whatever. Waterfall.”

Serendipity.

Snack time!

She had the frozen hot chocolate.  I did the amaretto-almond hot chocolate.  AND the carrot cake sundae with vanilla and butter-pecan ice cream.

Properly recharged, we had plenty of energy for what lay ahead: Dinner at Jaleo…

Pan de cristal con tomate: Toasted rustic bread brushed with fresh tomatoes, topped with anchovy.

The golden fried quail eggs atop a bed of Spanish ratatouille.  Akemi’s favorite.

Grilled squid with roasted artichokes in a squid ink sauce.

For dessert – a surprisingly great flan!

Akemi loved dinner and we would have gone back for a return visit – if not for the fact that we’d already booked Michael Mina at the Bellagio.

One more night and I’m Vancouver-bound!

Tagged: Cosmopolitan Hotel, Jaleo, Las Vegas, Mesa Grill, Serendipity

July 16, 2012: From Comic Con to Vegas!

Apologies to those tuning in for Cookie Monster’s review of the movie Steel, part of our ongoing Supermovie of the Week Club discussions.  Unfortunately, he called in sick this week. It may have been the movie, but given the fact that I snapped him partying in the streets of San Diego during the Comic Con -

This kid was all laughs until he realized Cookie Monster had lifted his allowance.

I suspect the culprit was more likely the beer and tequila shooters.

We’re in Vegas!  After a fabulous flight on Southwest Airlines (Honestly.  It was on time, smooth, and the cabin crew were courteous and professional.  The best part was the pre-boarding policy that required passengers to line up according to their assigned boarding number.  Genius.) we checked into our hotel.

The Starbucks in the San Diego airport finally succeeds where all other Starbucks have failed – in correctly guessing the spelling of Akemi’s name!

It’s my first time staying at The Cosmopolitan and, I have to say, I’m not loving it so far.  After some minor frustrations with the in-room safe, Akemi and I headed over to Joe’s Stone Crab for – what else? – stone crab.  And three kinds of pie: banana cream, key lime, and dulce de leche.  All winners.

Akemi in: “Decisions, Decision.”

On our way back to the hotel, we happened to pass by a sandwich place called “The Earl of Sandwich” which, of course, led me to tell Akemi about the Earl’s creation of the handy culinary treat – how he and his friends used to be served meat during their marathon card-playing sessions and he, tired of greasy fingers, suggested the meat be served between two slices of bread and, voila, the sandwich was born.

“He must be so rich,”Akemi marvelled.

“Well, no,”I said.  ”He lived three hundred years ago.”

“So his family is rich.”

“No, they’re not rich either.”

“Oh,”she said.  ”Is it a rights thing?”

I had to admit that, in away, it kind of was.

For dinner, we went to Scarpetta.  The Toronto location was only blocks away from the condo I was living in last year and it was one of my go-to restaurants whenever someone visited from out of town (ie. Alaina Huffman, Mike Dopud, Michael Shank, Erika Kennair).  There are two items on the menu that never fail to impress: the spaghetti with tomato and basil, and the coconut panna cotta. And, after tonight’s meal, their streak continues.

Squid ink taglioni with Alaskan King Crab.

Buffalo mozzarella and truffle agnolotti.

The spaghetti! Note: this is a half portion. I had to split with Akemi.

Some notable Vegas sights:

The lobby of the Bellagio

Nope, not a size 7.

Akemi hangs out with her favorite celebrity chef.

Akemi and her good buddy Pikachu. They’re both Japanese!

I’ve noticed that, o far, Vegas has few drunken zombies than San Diego, but a lot more drunken women in bikinis staggering about.

Tagged: Las Vegas