Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 523

November 4, 2011: The Great Vancouver Food Truck Tour #4!

"What are we going to watch?  The Walking Dead or the scary show?" – Akemi, last night as we were trying to decide between The Walking Dead and American Horror Story.  Ouch.

First, Washington's Tim Hightower. Now, Lulu.

Well, it looks like Lulu's football season is over.  We noticed her limping yesterday and brought her in to see the vet.  Following a thorough examination, he diagnosed a slight tear of her ACL.  Guess we're going to have to bench her and give Bubba the carries moving forward.

Today, we continued our tour of Vancouver's varied food trucks.  And by "we" I mean Akemi and me – and only because it wasn't raining otherwise it would have just been me.

First stop: Osa Tako Hero

Cha-daah! Serving battered octopus balls with a choice of toppings ranging from nori (seaweed) to maple syrup.

We went spicy sauce and shaved bonito flakes. Alright, a tad overdone, but I'm reserving full judgment until I sample the curry version.

It's not a real takoyaki experience until you sear the inside of your mouth on the molten hot batter!

Second stop: Bada Bing

Specializing in Philly cheesesteaks and poutine (serving up a version called "the animal" that looks all sorts of coronary inducing). I had the Philly cheesesteak and thought it alright. Didn't like the bread and found the meat a little bland.

Third stop: Off the Wagon

Serving up tasty taco variations. I went with the rotisserie pork and onions with habanero sauce. Our favorite food item of the day!

Fourth stop: Dim Sum Express

Serving up a wide variety of dim sum items including - pictured above - barbecued pork buns! Heavy on the bun and light on the pork which didn't really impress.

Hoping for a better turnout next week.  Who's in?!!

Today's entry is dedicated to blog regular Penny.

November 3, 2011: Dark Matter Preview! Reminiscing SG-1′s Tenth Season!

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DARK MATTER #1 (of 4)

Joseph Mallozzi (W), Paul Mullie (W), Garry Brown (A/Cover), and Ryan Hill (C).  Edited by Patrick Thorpe for DARK HORSE COMICS

A derelict ship floats in space, its troubled crew awakened from stasis with now memories of who they are or how they got onboard.  Their search for answers triggers the vessel's deadly security system: a relentless android bent on their destruction.  Facing threats at every turn, they have to work together to survive a voyage charged with vengeance, redemption, betrayals and hidden secrets best left unknown.

ON SALE JANUARY 11, 2012

The two page sneak peek of our SF comic book series, Dark Matter, is out in the November issue of Previews.  Head on down to your local comic shop to order!

Continuing my reminiscing on Stargate: SG-1′s tenth and final season…

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THE SHROUD (1014)

The original plan had been to have Daniel go darkside and play out his descent, turn, and ultimate redemption over the course of several episodes. In fact, in its original, multi-episode version, this story would have demonstrated a much, MUCH darker Daniel – but it was ultimately decided that making him too dark, regardless of the circumstances, would have damaged the characters so the decision was made to make his turn to the darkside a little more uncertain.  I don't know.  I've always wanted to explore the theme of redemption with these characters, push them to the line – and beyond – and then bring them back and have them suffer the consequences, because, in the end, its their emotional response to these consequences that creates drama and explores hitherto uncharted facets of their personalities.

The reveal of the pale, milk-eyed Daniel stands as one of the top ten Stargate tease outs ever.  Hmmm.  Now that I think of it, that could form the basis of a future top ten: My Top 10 Favorite Stargate Tease Outs!  File that one away for a future blog entry.

Anyway, a terrific Daniel Jackson episode that sees the return of Jack O'Neill and one final, glorious in-series reunion between the two best friends.

There's a scene in the episode in which Woolsey (played by the marvelous Robert Picardo) is telekinetically lifted off the ground. Director Andy Mikita dribbled apple juice down Bob's pant leg to suggest Woolsey was so frightened, he'd actually peed himself.  Alas, the urine didn't make the final cut.  Hmmm.  There's one of those lines you rarely see.

BOUNTY (1015)

The Stargate version of Grosse Pointe Blank sees Cameron Mitchell going back home for his high school reunion, unlikely date in tow (Vala, natch), and even unlikelier complication lurking in the shadows (an interstellar bounty hunter played with delightful swagger by Mike Dopud).  This episode was alot of fun (one of my favorites of the show's tenth season) and it wasn't just the Cam and Vala fish-out-of-water scenes.  Carter and her "hands on" demonstration at the conference and Daniel's run-in at the Museum of Antiquities all made for a fun and memorable episode.  In the latter scenario, Daniel is quietly studying away when a sexy young lady (later revealed to be an alien) comes on to him.  Daniel's is confoundingly uninterested suggesting he is either focused on his work, suspicious, or creeped out.  Or, perhaps, those Jack/Daniel slashers had it right all along!

This episode marked what I believe was the second in a long line of guest spots actor Mike Dopud has done for us, first as a Russian soldier in SG-1′s Full Alert, then as Bounty Hunter Ventrell in this episode, then as Kiryk the runner in SGA's Tracker, then as the Lucian Alliance member Varro in Stargate: Universe and, most recently, in an episode of The Transporter.  I've already told Mike that, if Dark Matter goes to series, I've already got a role in mind for him…

BAD GUYS  (1016)

Oof.  If Bounty was one of my favorite episodes to the show's final season, this one ranked down at the bottom.  Daniel just felt out of character in this one.  Still, the premise was interesting, a story that formed from an idea Brad once had for a tease: A museum tour on an alien world takes visitors by an ancient artifact, the Stargate, that suddenly comes alive, kawooshing, and introducing SG-1 to the shocked crowd.  I recall sitting in on the auditions for this one and having one of the actors for the role of the museum curator delivering his lines with a French accent.  What, exactly, an alien was doing with a French accent, I'm not sure.  But, then again, I'm not exactly sure why all the aliens SG-1 encountered spoke English.  Oh, right.  It was the communication nanites that "infect" all gate travelers, allowing them to understood and be understood in any off-world language.  Except goa'uld of course.

TALION (1017)

Ah, Damian and his affinity for cryptic titles (see Chimera and Ethon). For almost the entire duration of the production and post, I kept hearing "Italian" when someone said "Talion".  Anyway, bizarre title aside, I thought this was pretty strong episode, a dark examination of the Teal'c character and one of those of those instances where the show was fairly on point in exploring a contemporary and controversial subject matter in a scifi context.

The final showdown between Teal'c and Arkad is mighty gruesome – but nowhere near as gruesome as the director's cut that was so gory it had us wondering whether we'd been overworking Director Andy Mikita.

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November 2, 2011: Reminiscing on SG-1′s Tenth Season!

I'm past the halfway mark, reflecting back on SG-1′s tenth and final season…

THE QUEST II (1011)

My many years of playing Dungeons & Dragons finally paid off in this fantasy-themed two-parter.  And mom and dad thought I was wasting my time! Again, loved the double dose of villainy in this one with the indefatigable Adria in dogged pursuit while our team of heroes is saddled with the ever-entertaining Baal.  The production did a terrific job offering up various looks for various planets.  My favorite was the snow planet.  It was beautiful. And, in retrospect, a pain in the ass because the stuff they used for the falling snow ended up sticking to the bottom of my dress shoes and just wouldn't come off despite my best attempts.  In the end, I ended up having to throw the shoes away.

I recall that, in the first draft, it's Mitchell who races out to take on the dragon with the C4.  Exec. Producer Rob Cooper suggested giving the moment to Teal'c and the script was rewritten.  However, on the day, the scene was first up that morning and actor Chris Judge was still feeling the effects of a late night celebration.  Director Andy Mikita took great delight in running Chris through the sequence.  Several times.

Writing for the Baal character was a lot of fun because he was such an insufferable ass.  I remember writing his scenes with Carter and thinking that, if he'd copped that attitude with anyone else, they would have punched his lights out.  And then I thought – Why the hell not? Carter slugging Baal was my second favorite beat in the script.  My favorite?  Baal yelling: "I'll go get help!" and attempting to beat a hasty retreat before getting blasted.

LINE IN THE SAND (1012)

This episode stands out to me for the great one on one character sequences, Vala and Tomin, and Carter and Mitchell.  In the original pitch, Mitchell was going to be the injured party and Carter would have had to see to him while scrambling to save the day.  Ultimately, it was decided to switch things around since Mitchell had been injured at least twice in recent episodes.  Again, we made effective use of the village set that had been used in previous episodes (Morpheus comes to mind) and would be used on both Stargate: Atlantis and, one last time, in Ark of Truth. That enormous set was eventually struck and the stage (VFX Stage, we called it) became the home of the wraith hive ship set as well various other Atlantis- related locations (ie. the cafeteria balcony looking out on the water).

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN (1013)

I love AU (alternate universe) stories.  I love them so much that I had come up with an AU story late in the show's tenth season.  Titled Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, it saw the team jumping back and forth through time, influencing events and being influenced by past actions in a story both ambitious and, admittedly, fairly complex.  So complex, in fact, that I took the time to produce a detailed, color-coded outline clearly delineating the different time periods and alternate worlds.  Unfortunately, at about the same time I was working on my story, Robert and Alan had spun another AU story involving Carter. There wasn't room for two AU stories in the back half of season ten but I wasn't about to give up my story without a fight. Ultimately, it was a conversation with Exec. Producer Carl Binder that put things in perspective for me.  After I'd weighed the merits of both pitches, Carl threw me a look and said: "None of that matters.  You just do the better story."  And, in hindsight, this episode was the better story.

One of the things I love about AU stories is that they allow us to use our pre-established characters in slightly different roles.  Or, in some cases, in roles in which we aren't accustomed to seeing them.  This episode brought General Hammond and Major Lorne back to the SGC and offered up a more somber take on the Cam Mitchell character.  In this reality, Rodney McKay is a millionaire but still a jerk – who ends up doing the right thing.  And the President of the United States?  Why, none other than Hank Landry.  And in universe, fans of the franchise finally got what they'd been asking for: the existence of the Stargate program was finally made public.  With predictable results!  The decision to reveal the program to the public would have formed the core of the third SG-1 movie, Revolution.  After beating out the story with Brad Wright, Carl Binder got as far as completing a first draft before the project was shelved.

And only seven more episodes to go…

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November 1, 2011: My post-Halloween report! And an old SGA behind the scenes clip I discovered behind the radiator!

Last night's Halloween action shattered the previous year's record of FOUR tricker treaters with an astounding FIVE costumed kiddies paying us a visit! We had the lights on, giant plastic pumpkin out front, and modestly creepy decorations in view. Don't know what more I could have done. Akemi suggested I probably discouraged a few children by hiding under the porch steps and slashing at their little legs with an exacto knife, but I argue that being frightened is what it's all about. Certainly, a dangling rubber spider or front yard scarecrow aint gonna get the job done anymore. Kids are more sophisticated nowadays!

What about you guys?  Do anything special to terrify/annoy the tykes? Hand out fresh vegetables?  Toothbrushes?  Demand a trick before a treat and then immediately insist they take song requests starting with something from the Andrew Sisters?  For my part, I was going to give out ice cream, dropping a scoop in each bag with the advisement to "Hurry up and get home and eat it before it melts!" but, again, Akemi intervened.

Hey, check this clip out from the old days on Stargate: Atlantis, and a little episode called Tracker…

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October 31, 2011: Hmmm. This could take a while…

Granted, it's early, but Halloween is off to a quiet start.  Hopefully, we'll break last year's record of six kids!  I'm already eyeing that bag of mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Regardless, the day is off to a splendidly scarific start.  Apparently, Akemi threw a scare into poor Lawren, startling the hell out of him when he came home this afternoon.  She claims she'd heard him fiddling with the lock and was simply opening the door for him.  He insists she was waiting for him, standing there like Sadako from The Ring.  Awesome.  I heard him yell from upstairs in my bedroom.

Well, hmmm.  The fantasy novel is off to a slow start.  I set aside two hours today to writing and got all of a page done – approximately 500 words – that I'm going to have to rewrite tomorrow.  At this rate, I figure it'll take me a couple of years to actually complete it.  I suppose it should come as no surprise given that my one and only foray into prose fiction, the short story "Downfall" for the Lou Anders edited superhero-themed anthology Masked, took me approximately nine months to write.  Still, I'll persevere

About halfway through the many, many books I'm going to have to read in thoroughly researching this period piece I'd like to write.  I feel like I'm back in university.

Also reading for pleasure.  About halfway through The Secret History by Dona Tartt, a terrific novel gifted me by Rob's wife, Hilary.  It's a change of pace before I move on to the second book in the Belgariad series.  I really enjoyed the first book, Pawn of Prophecy.  An engaging adventure, interesting characters, and a wonderful sense of humor.  Finally, a fantasy series that has won me over.  It's been a while!

Dogs pics!  It's been a while…

See, this is why I have such a hard time being prolific. It's tough getting any writing done with a dog on your lap.

Lulu spooked out.

Maximus is almost back to his old self. A little lazier than his old lazy self, but that may just be the tramidol.

Bubba oblivious to the food on his face.

Jelly enjoys a stumble-about in the leaves.

Bubba soaks up the sun.

Lulu also enjoys the sun, squeezing in between the couch and the window so she can check out the outside happenings.

A post spa Jelly.

A rare shot of all four of them together, in this instant squeezed into the lone sunny spot in the room.

Post-spa Bubba ready for Halloween.

Lulu dares you to take her toy away. Go on. Try and take it.

Bubba turns in for the night.

Maximus turns in. Since his diagnosis, he prefers to sleep with a towel tucked under his chin.

But, since returning to Vancouver, Maximus has seemed much happier. And hungrier!

Maximus out and about.

A cozy Bubba.

Those mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are looking pretty good right about now…

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October 30, 2011: Sweet furry victory!!!

Yeaaaaah!!!  Can you believe it?!  My Snow Monkeys beat the top-ranked and undefeated team in fantasy football league.  By the narrowest margins mind you (one point something) but a win's a win.  Pending scoring adjustments.  For now, let's celebrate!

A little welcome back gift awaits Lawren compliments of Akemi.

Lawren keeps track of his team's play.

Jelly keeps track of Lawren keeping track of his team's play.

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Ivon's team, The Running Dead, is poised to claim a rare win and vault into playoff contention.

A day of highs and lows for Lawren. Lows = his team's play. Highs = the company, of course.

Ivon brought over dessert. I was initially dubious. As it turned out, the little lemon things weren't terrible.

I preferred Akemi's sweet potato cakes.

Not to be outdone, Lawren baked up some spookerific treats of his own.

For the third game of the triple-header Sunday, we headed over to Rob's place…

Rob, decked out in appropriate attire, mans the oven.

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Veal schnitzel sandwiches with cheese, spicy peppers, grilled onions, and parmesan sauce. I told Rob he should get his own food truck!

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While we were on the edge of our seats, watching the Snow Monkeys pull of an improbable win, Rob's kids were upstairs - totally oblivious - making what I assumed where celebratory cupcakes but turned out to be Halloween cupcakes. For tomorrow.

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I particularly like the detail on the severed finger.

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October 29, 2011: Things not Japanese! Or maybe they are!

There are times when I feel like I'm dating a Japanese version of Star Trek's Chekov.  Remember how the pesky navigator of the U.S.S. Enterprise would often claim that anything of any note originated in his homeland of Russia?  Quadroticale, scotch, the Cheshire Cat, the Garden of Eden!  In similar fashion, Akemi is constantly bringing up the Japanese origins of things that are clearly not Japanese.  This afternoon, for instant, she was singing "Saru, gorilla, chimpanjee! Saru, gorilla, chimpanjee!" to the tune of the River Kwai March.  I hummed a few bars and she threw me a shocked look and asked: "How do you know that song?!"  I informed him it was an old (movie) military tune.

"Japanese,"she said.

"No, not Japanese,"I said.

She stared blankly.  "Not Japanese?  But words are Japanese."  I had to break it to her that "saru (monkey), gorilla, chimpanjee (chimpanzee) were not, in fact, the lyrics.  In fact, to the best of my knowledge, the tune doesn't even have lyrics.  It's simply whistled.

She seemed dubious. Like last week when she was singing the Japanese version of Old McDonald: "Ichiro-san no oniwa de, Iya iya yo!" Which roughly translates to Mr. Ichiro (san)'s garden…I don't want to go!".  What, exactly, goes on in Mr. Ichiro's garden that so fills one with dread is perhaps best left unexplored.

Also, the hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus is a Japanese graduation day staple while Auld Lang Syne is reserved for major department stores that play the tune to let customers know they're closing up and it's time for them to go.

Hunh.

Tomorrow, my Snow Monkeys take on the undefeated I Have No Imagination in fantasy football league play.  The projections have them favored by some twenty points and it's going to be tough given that my RB2, Daniel Thomas, is out.  I'm considering starting Romo over Fitzpatrick.  What do you think?

Don't mess with the monkey!

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October 28, 2011: The Great Vancouver Food Truck Tour #3!

"Traffic blah blah blah.  Dishwasher blah blah blah.  Football blah blah blah.  Romo Romo Romo."

- Akemi's imitation of my conversation with friends – October 28, 2011

A great turnout today for round three of the ongoing Vancouver food truck tour.  Joining me on this incredibly rainy day: food truck roving regular Akemi, returning participant Ivon Bartok, and first time foodsters Jodi and Rob.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these eaters from the swift completion of their appointed meals

First stop: Soho Road Naan Kebab

This one came highly recommended - by a couple of fellow food truckers no less.

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We had a choice of three wraps: butter chicken, tandoori, and the veggie that would have been ideal for Ashleigh. Had she not bailed on us.

While we waited, we were served complimentary chai tea. A nice touch.

Butter Chicken Wrap. You know who would like this? Carl Binder. You know who liked this? Everyone! A terrific start to the eatathalon!

Second stop: Re-Up BBQ

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Two choices here: the pulled pork and the beef brisket. According to the fellow manning the truck, their meat is smoked at their Gastown (?) location, then delivered piping hot every morning.

Pulled Pork Sandwich. Pretty good. The pork, sweet and savory, nicely complimented by the coleslaw crunch. Hard to beat the pulled pork sandwich at the Memphis Barbecue House though.

Third stop: Finest at Sea

One of the more extensive food truck menus.

We grabbed our sandwiches, then ducked out of the rain, taking shelter under the covered iceless skating rink on Robson.

Flash seared albacore tuna filet with marinated seawee, wasabi mayo, and micro greens. Okay. Found it a little bland.

Curried B.C. halibut and eggplant served in a grilled naan with crispy coleslaw. This, on the other hand, was quite flavorful and all-around delicious. Akemi finished mine.

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Team Eat

Fourth stop: Bun Me Baguette

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A family-run food truck specializing in Vietnamese-style sandwiches featuring mom's secret chicken recipe. Choice of two sandwiches: lemongrass chicken and a tofu alternative that would have been perfect for Ashleigh. If she' hadn't blown us off.

Banh mi Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Sandwich. Terrific! We had ours with hot sauce and jalapenos. I was mightily impressed.

Team Eat!

 Last stop: Well, we WERE going to go to the Roaming Dragon food truck – but they didn't bother showing up at their appointed street corner.  So, instead, we walked the five blocks down to a waffle place – that no longer existed.  Then walked back the five blocks to my car and drove to a waffle place that does exist.  On west 2nd street: Patisserie LeBeau.

Holy smokes!  Where have you been all my Vancouver life?!  In addition to assorted desserts, LeBeau also offers up authentic Belgian waffles.  We sampled…

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The White Chocolate with Toasted Almond. COULDN'T - STOP - EATING! Loved the contrast of the crunchy outside with the soft waffle interior punctuated by the occasional unmelted pearl sugar nugget.

Milk Chocolate! Soooo good. As I said to Akemi, discovering this place is very dangerous...for our waistlines.

Rob's Special. Rob, who owns his own waffle makers, is obviously a seasoned pro - and he orders like one.

And so ended the third round of our ongoing Great Vancouver Food Truck Tour.

Possibly on the menu next Friday: takoyaki, shish kabob, Philly cheesesteaks, dim sum, and Pan-Asian favorites (provided Roaming Dragon does less roaming and actually shows up).

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October 27, 2011: Turning this blog over to a cookierrific guest blogger!

Since returning to Vancouver, I've been surprisingly busy – much busier than I expected.  In addition to reorganizing my library, filing eight months' worth of mail, and completing Akemi's sponsorship documents, I've been catching up on my reading and looking ahead to several projects (outlining and writing the novels, approvals on the Dark Matter comic book, finishing up a pilot script, plotting and writing a feature, researching and writing a historical mini-series).  And then, of course, there's this blog which takes up a surprising amount of my time given that I haven't missed a daily entry in almost five years.

Ultimately, something's gotta give – if only temporarily – and I'm afraid it's going to have to be this blog.

In order to relieve some of the pressure and free myself up to tackle the 101 other things I need to do, I've decided to hand things off to the occasional guest blogger.  But not just any guest blogger.  I want someone intelligent, well-spoken, armed with wit, clever ideas, and an ability to entertain.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find anyone that met the aforementioned criteria so I just settled for whoever had the time and was willing to do it for minimal compensation.

And so, today, I hand the reins over to a longtime friend of this blog: Cookie Monster…

Tanks to Joe for grate introduksun.  And box of Chips Ahoy!  Me very honored, but dis not first time here.  Some of monster's memmorable visits inklood:

Dis one: February 24, 2008: Baron Destructo and Cookie Monster's Oscar Picks

Dis one: February 9, 2008: Cookie Monster reviews There Will Be Blood, Baron Destructo reviews The Illusionist, while I consider two fan-Fueled feasts.

Dis one: February 6, 2008: Cookie Monster reviews Snakes on a Plane, Baron Destructo reviews No Country for Old Men

And correspondenz with spammers here: Cookie Monster – James Wiliams here: Cookie Monster – Jennifer here: Cookie Monster – John Max here: Cookie Monster – Lee Ann and here: Cookie Monster – Miss Florance Michael.

Today, me do review of first few episodes of Walking Dead.

(http://zombiemashup.com/2010/05/sesame-street-goes-under-quarantine/)

Backstory for dose not watch show: Zombees eat people like tasty double-chocolit cookies wit sugar sprinkles.  Nom nom nom!

Episode 1 (and 2) sinopsis: Group get stuk in traffik.  Zombees walk by.  Little gurl gets lost.  Dey look for her.

Two hour premiere move slower den zombee wit bum knee.  Group get stuk in traffik.  Dey put old hat man on lookout dooty.  Big misteak. Eyesight so bad he not notice HORDE of zombees sneaking up on him! WTF (What da Fudgee-O?)!  How dat possible?!!!  Anyway, dey hide under carz – ekcept one guy who decide to walk around, rub up against pointy car part, and cut hisself very bad. Bleeding!  But saved by rednek who hide him under dead(er) zombee (who hopefully not cross-contamunate guy's open wound but sssh sssh sssh).  Coast seem clear but I say to Oscar sitting beside me "Look out for zombee stragglerz!" Little gurl not look out and chased into woodz.  Sherriff go after her, save her, den lose her, den look for her, den go back, den talk, den talk some more, den look for her.  Meanwile, everybody else talk.  And talk some more.  For some reason, Sherriff say okay for son to go out in woodz and help.  Monster tink: "Hey, dangerous.  But mebbe fadder nose best." Fadder not nose best.  Boy shot looking at deer.  Oh boy.

Episode 3 sinopsis: Sherriff bring shot boy to farmhouse where doctor is.  Wait for operashun while others go get medikal equipment.  And wait.

Sherriff take boy to farmhouse.  Doctor sez good news: deer shot first, slow bullet down so not hurt boy more badly.  Doctor sez bad news: bullet stuck in boy and not go through.  Monster sez: can't have boat ways!  Slow bullet or fast bullet better?  Witch iz it?!  Meanwile, other group walk threw woods.  Blond wit terruble periferal vizion not notice walking beside strolling zombee and almost eaten.  Everybody go back to farmhouse and talk except guy wit fever and old hat man who stay behind. And talk.  Wife argue wit Sherriff best frend.  Want to keep relayshunship sekret, but monster wonder how everyone else not know?  If wife and Sherriff friend thot Sherriff dead, den why hid relayshunship before?  Anyway, find church.  Sherriff chat wit zombie Jesus.  Meanwile, Sherriff friend and kid-shooter get medikal supplies. Someting almost happen…den episode end.

Cookie Monster good at two tings: eating cookies and criticizing.  If you no can send cookies to monster, den send rekwests for stuff to review. Movie, teevee show or, best of both worlds: COOOOKIEEEEEES!

October 26, 2011: Vids! Pitches! Snow Monkeys! Dinner!

A few videos that caught my attention today.  First up – you've heard of shadow boxing?  How about shadow swordplay?  Very cool.

Next up is a trailer for a script – yes, a script! – that was just snapped up by Universal Pictures.  This was a first sale for writers Brandon Bestenheider & Allen Bey who co-wrote Grim Night.  It tells the horrific tale of one night every year in which humanity must defend itself from the ominous "Grim". Bestenheider and Bey helped the pitch along by investing a little time, money, and energy to put together this nifty/creepy teaser-trailer.

What's so brilliant about this game plan is that it satisfies the biggest network/studio concern at the script stage: how is THIS going to work?  I can't tell you how many times I've received script notes based on someone imagining the worst possible execution of an idea.  As Rob used to say: "You're imagining the bad version.  We'll do the good one."  And an effective teaser trailer goes a long way toward giving your audience a firm sense of what they can expect.  It's the sizzle.  Now, all you have to do is deliver a great steak!

Speaking of which – had lunch with Ivon today to discuss some of our series ideas.  We've got 3-4 terrific notions that need to be fleshed out and incorporated into a proper pitch package.  After that all we have to do is approach our potential partners, get them onboard, and it'll be smoooooooooooth sailing.

Hey, look at who I ran into the other day -

It's my buddy Mike, formerly of Stargate, presently of the R.I.P Stargate fantasy football league Tim's Dreamgirl who currently holds a record of 3-4 and is sitting one game out of the final playoff spot.  I like Mike and hope his team makes the playoffs.  But, I like my team, The Snow Monkeys, more and they face a huge challenge this weekend when they go up against the undefeated I have no imagination.  Despite the fact that it looks like Jahvid Best will be out for another week and that Peterson and Thomas are injured, I smell upset!

GO SNOW MONKEYS!!!

Tonight's dinner…

Brandy flambed spot prawn with crispy prawn roe.

Akemi's super dense, super rich chocolate souffle!

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