Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 556

December 11, 2010: Tokyo Day #5! Tofuro! Star Bar! Pizza Salvatore Cuomo! Akihabara!

Last night was one of those reservationless evenings designed to allow us to play things by ear, get some local input on our eating schedule.  And so it was that, following a recommendation from the hotel concierge, we found ourselves at Tofuro izakaya.  Now, the first thing that struck us was the ancient Chinese prison-like cells, I mean dining rooms.  We were told to take off our shoes (no doubt to make it tougher for us to make a break for it) when the time came, then seated in a tiny room after which the (cell) door slid shut behind us.  I half-expected a group of waiters to come rushing and beat the soles of our feet.

Sorry. They won't let you out until you've finished your veggies.

The second thing to strike us was the size of menu offering everything from Chinese dumplings to hot dog salads. Hell, there were so many dishes that they needed THREE menus to cover them all. 

We sat there for some fifteen minutes, wondering where the hell our waiter had gotten to, when we noticed a lone button on the wall. We hesitated to push it. Sure, it could have summoned our waiter. On the other hand, it could have set off the fire alarm. Eventually, Ivon pressed it. Coincidentally, or not, the waiter showed up soon after.

Tasty flash-fried tuna.

Glutinous rice pumpkin skewers. Ivon was pleasantly suprised by these goopy offerings.

We had various skewers, some fried squid paste, and I got Ivon to sample grilld beed tongue for the first time.  All in all, an interesting meal but not a place I'd pencil in for a return visit.

So far in Tokyo, we've hit our share of lame bars: Peters in The Peninsula (tries so hard to be hip it's kind of embarrassing), and the Old Imperial at the Imperial Hotel (smoky as hell, the seats and tables are so small you'd think the lounge had been designed for hard-drinking children).  But, last night, we found ourselves at a bar that instantly became our new Tokyo watering hole.  Tiny and unpretentious, Star Bar is owned and operated by bartender extraordinaire Kishi Hisashi who prepares every cocktail in the house with deft but easy-going precision.  Each drink commands his full attention and it's a marvel to watch the man work – deftly icing, stirring, shaking, and pouring his creations, then serving them up just so.  Ivon had a couple of Whiskey Sours while I started with a Gin Gimlet, then followed with a Sidecar.  The Moscow Mules he served up in copper cups to the couple beside us looked great, definitely something I'll order on our next visit.

I was seated at the bar in front of THE wall of scotch.

Gin Gimlet

Sidecar

In addition to being a master mixologist, Kishi-san is an expert ice carver. Check out the ice cube in the glass - a perfect fit.

The man himself - Kishi Hisashi

After drinks, we took a stroll through Ginza -

This city out-Christmases Vancouver by miles.

 I woke up the next day feeling refreshed and ready to hit the streets.  Ivon, marginally less so given he was still smarting from the previous day's massage.  Apparently, that seventy year old masseuse may have looked weak, but she worked him over like stubborn pizza dough.

Hey, speaking of pizza, we finally checked out that pizzeria Akemi has been raving about since arriving in Vancouver.  Apparently, Vancouver pizza is crap and doesn't hold a candle to Pizza Salvatore Cuomo.  So, we went there for lunch and you know what?  Akemi's right.  Vancouver pizza doesn't even come close.  The pizza is fresh, tasty, perfectly cooked, and inexpensive.

Ivon's Capriccsiosa with mushrooms, tomato, prosciutto, and mozarella.

My Porcini and Rucola

 

Uni Spaghettini - the sea urchin was sweet and creamy, the pasta cooked al dente.

From there, it was off to Akihabara (Electric Town).  It was a full sensory overload of garish signage, flashing neon, people shouting, car exhaust, and the smell of the nearby river. 

One of the huge electronic stores with some eight floors packed full of everything from cellphones to t.v.'s. Sadly, I couldn't find the robot section. What self-respecting Japanese electronics store doesn't have a robot section?

Akemi's favorite doughunut shop: NY's famed Dougnut Plant. We had three - the chocolate blackout, the salty caramel, and the green tea - all good but not great.

Chocolate Blackout!

Buy!Buy!Buy! Consumerism at its gaudiest and I refuse to be a part of it.

Except to buy an awesome Vash the Stampede/Trigun t-shirt and this NERV iPhone case.

Akihabara is teeming with maids.

Akihabara is teeming with maids.

And interesting fashion. Moments later, two middle-aged dudes strolled by, hand in hand, dressed as schoolgirls. Sorry I didn't have my camera out for that one. Actually, in retrospect, not so sorry. Shudder.

What adorable toys!

We stopped by one of those noisy pachinko parlors where Ivon tried his hand at the game.  But first, he had to learn the easy to follow rules…

 With the rules clear in his hand, Ivon threw his money away put his money in the machine and away he went…

As far as I can tell you feed those little silver ball bearings through the machine while intermittently hitting that rotating thing on the right.  Some balls will slip through to the next level but most won't.  You take those remaining surviving balls and feed them through again, repeating the process until you're out of ball bearings.  Then you go home.

We headed back to the hotel for some much-needed R&R and psyched ourselves up for a sushi feast at Sawada.

Finally, the Jelly update: She's doing well, taking little steps, but still needs to be supported.  She's very quiet in her cage, enjoys snuggling with her stuffies, but always perks up whenever someone visits. The staff have fallen in love with her.

Tagged: Akihabara, Kishi Hisashi, Star Bar, Tofuro

December 10, 2010: Tokyo Trip Day #4! Butagumi pork-out! Omotesando dessert run! Izakaya Tofuro!

My feet hurt.  I figured this trip would be a great opportunity to break in those new shoes but, instead, they seem to be breaking me.  We've been doing a fair amount of walking these past couple of days and if it weren't for the endless array of desserts that have given me the much-needed energy boosts I required to complete these seemingly endless strolls, I don't know what I'd do.  Probably do less walking for one.

Yesterday, we had lunch at Butagumi, a tiny refurbished house turned tonkatsu restaurant serving up the most unbelievable array of crispy-fried pork goodness.  The great thing about traveling with a friend is that it allows you to rely on one another's strengths and weaknesses to get around.  I, for instance, lend my experience and expertise on the city's food, subway system, and strict rules and regulations ranging from not eating in public to not sleeping on the subway platforms.  Ivon, on the other hand, can actually read a map.  And so, it was mainly thanks to Ivon that we finally arrived at our lunch destination in Nishi Azabu.

It was cool outside but inside was a pleasant tropical temperature.  Pleasant when you initially walked in to the place, then really freakin' hot as the meal progressed.  Since we wanted to sample a variety of porkly offerings, we decided to go with the Butagumi-Zen platter comprised of five kinds of pork, three sirloins and two filets (Iwachuu, Ryuuka-ton from Okinawa, Imobuta from Chiba, Eishow-ton which hails from China and is 80% fat, and the grand-daddy of pork – Iberico from Spain).  To further hedge our bets, we also ordered a katsu curry of Matsuzaka pork from Mie.

Matsuzaka pork

Butagumi-Zen sampler platter.

 A good time and a great meal. I very much enjoyed sampling the various offerings and sussing out their porkly nuances.  For his part, Ivon enjoyed the meal as well but wished at least some of the variations had been grilled rather than deep-fried.  But then, that's tonkatsu.

Afterwards, we took a walk up to Roppongi station where we caught the metro to Omotesando…

I wish to hire this dog to investigate a case on my behalf.

As far as great pants go, this pair stood out on Day #3.

More awesome architecture.

More low-grade bad vacation karma. Ivon loses his passmo and must buy a new one in order to ride the subway.

We stop by Pierre Herme for some of a plate of my favorite macarons (and a couple of other desserts). They were, as always, terrific - in stark contrast to the dry, chewy macarons I picked up the previous night at the Shiseido Buildling. Awful.

This one's for Akemi. Her favorite dessert: the Isphahan.

After dessert, we crossed the street to sample more dessert - the popular Tomonama Doughnut.

Ivon marveled at closely they resembled their lurid plastic display counterparts. I took a bite of one and discovered it was partially frozen. Ivon claimed it was their way of dissuading consumers from eating on the go, ensuring they would have to return home and eat the doughnuts once they'd thoroughly thawed. I did upon my return to my hotel room. I was less than impressed. These doughnuts were the biggest disappointment since my failed marriage.

Tokyo out-Christmases Vancouver. And it aint even close.

Platform for Women Only subway car. To be fair, the gropers get their own car too.

An awesome assortment of Jean-Paul Hevin chocolate macarons. My midnight snack.

Next blog entry: Prison-style izakaya!  Star Bar!  Electric Town!

Tagged: Butagumi, Tofuro

December 9, 2010: Tokyo Trip Day #3 – Jelly Update! Ivon is finally reunited with a long lost love! Roppongi! Birdland!

Jelly's doctor emailed me this morning to tell me that the surgery went like clockwork and the disc came away nicely.  My gal is waking up and, hopefully, on the road to a speedy recovery.

Jelly appreciates your support.

Last night, the airport called to inform Ivon his luggage had finally completed its long and eventful journey from Canada and would be delivered asap.  Ivon was elated and, despite being exhausted, stayed up for the much-anticipated reunion. That never came.  Apparently, he eventually dozed off and what followed was a fitful night's rest disturbed by beer and sake-induced nightmares of his luggage almost but not quite ever reaching home. Then, this morning he finally got the call from the front desk.  They were sending someone up with the luggage!  An exhausted Ivon waited impatiently for that knock on the door and, when it finally came, it was with a sense of enormous relief that he answered.  "Hello,"said the smiling bellhop.  "I am here to pick up your bags!"

Anyhoo, Ivon got it all sorted out and, I'm happy to report, now has a smile on his face and clean underwear under his pants.

First up, some pics from our visit to Roppongi yesterday afternoon…

My favorite: the Roppongi Hills spider. Run! Ruuuuuuun!

So if the American astronauts get dehydrated ice cream on their space flights, what do the Korean and Japanese astronauts get? Why, dehydrated kimchee, ebi gratin, and takoyaki of course.

And space curry, natch.

Tokyo skyline.

And some of my favorite buildings -

What's the deal with the roof lawn?

And other sights…

Heli-pad?

A gaggle of geishas.

Ivon's $12 strawberries. And, yes, they were 12 times better than their sour, unripened North American counterparts. Still, I wish Ivon would've sprung for that $210 mango instead.

Whenever I'm looking for something fun to do, I always make it a point to check out the latest issue of Badd Times.

So, last night, Ivon and I hit Birdland, apparently THE place for grilled chicken in Tokyo.  Finding our way around has been a bit of a challenge so far, and the search for Birdland was no exception.  Fortunately, unlike a few of the other places, this one actually had an address.  It was located in the basement floor of an office building in Ginza. 

Vinegared chicken skin. Let's call this one an acquired taste.

Jellied chicken gizzard. This one I quite liked. The jellying process softened the gizzard's more pronounced flavor.

Chicken breast with basil. "Hey, is it supposed to be raw?"asked Ivon. Considering there are places in Tokyo that serve chicken sashimi, I assured him we'd be okay. He elected to hold off passing judgment until the morning.

Chicken livers. Like the gizzards, surprisingly and pleasantly subtle in flavor.

Chicken thigh with tongue-numbing sansho.

The maitaki mushrooms were a nice change of pace.

Grilled cheese, yakitori style. Loved it!

The place was considerably smaller than I'd imagined and, while very good, probably not somewhere I'd go back to anytime soon.  I'd certainly recommend it as far as yakitori joints go.  Still, I went in expecting a raucous feast and went away a tad underwhelmed.

Today = Butagumi (tonkatsu) for lunch, an Omotesando stroll, strange doughnuts, enough dessert to kill a lesser man, and dinner at Tofuro (izakaya).  Full report tomorrow.  With pics!

Tagged: Birdland, Roppongi

December 9, 2010: Tokyo Trip Day #2 – Jelly Update! Ivon is finally reunited with a long lost love! Roppongi! Birdland!

Jelly's doctor emailed me this morning to tell me that the surgery went like clockwork and the disc came away nicely.  My gal is waking up and, hopefully, on the road to a speedy recovery.

Jelly appreciates your support.

Last night, the airport called to inform Ivon his luggage had finally completed its long and eventful journey from Canada and would be delivered asap.  Ivon was elated and, despite being exhausted, stayed up for the much-anticipated reunion. That never came.  Apparently, he eventually dozed off and what followed was a fitful night's rest disturbed by beer and sake-induced nightmares of his luggage almost but not quite ever reaching home. Then, this morning he finally got the call from the front desk.  They were sending someone up with the luggage!  An exhausted Ivon waited impatiently for that knock on the door and, when it finally came, it was with a sense of enormous relief that he answered.  "Hello,"said the smiling bellhop.  "I am here to pick up your bags!"

Anyhoo, Ivon got it all sorted out and, I'm happy to report, now has a smile on his face and clean underwear under his pants.

First up, some pics from our visit to Roppongi yesterday afternoon…

My favorite: the Roppongi Hills spider. Run! Ruuuuuuun!

So if the American astronauts get dehydrated ice cream on their space flights, what do the Korean and Japanese astronauts get? Why, dehydrated kimchee, ebi gratin, and takoyaki of course.

And space curry, natch.

Tokyo skyline.

And some of my favorite buildings -

What's the deal with the roof lawn?

And other sights…

Heli-pad?

A gaggle of geishas.

Ivon's $12 strawberries. And, yes, they were 12 times better than their sour, unripened North American counterparts. Still, I wish Ivon would've sprung for that $210 mango instead.

Whenever I'm looking for something fun to do, I always make it a point to check out the latest issue of Badd Times.

So, last night, Ivon and I hit Birdland, apparently THE place for grilled chicken in Tokyo.  Finding our way around has been a bit of a challenge so far, and the search for Birdland was no exception.  Fortunately, unlike a few of the other places, this one actually had an address.  It was located in the basement floor of an office building in Ginza. 

Vinegared chicken skin. Let's call this one an acquired taste.

Jellied chicken gizzard. This one I quite liked. The jellying process softened the gizzard's more pronounced flavor.

Chicken breast with basil. "Hey, is it supposed to be raw?"asked Ivon. Considering there are places in Tokyo that serve chicken sashimi, I assured him we'd be okay. He elected to hold off passing judgment until the morning.

Chicken livers. Like the gizzards, surprisingly and pleasantly subtle in flavor.

Chicken thigh with tongue-numbing sansho.

The maitaki mushrooms were a nice change of pace.

Grilled cheese, yakitori style. Loved it!

The place was considerably smaller than I'd imagined and, while very good, probably not somewhere I'd go back to anytime soon.  I'd certainly recommend it as far as yakitori joints go.  Still, I went in expecting a raucous feast and went away a tad underwhelmed.

Today = Butagumi (tonkatsu) for lunch, an Omotesando stroll, strange doughnuts, enough dessert to kill a lesser man, and dinner at Tofuro (izakaya).  Full report tomorrow.  With pics!

Tagged: Birdland, Roppongi

December 8, 2010: Tokyo Travel Day #2 – Sushi Breakfast! Roppongi! Desserts! And lots of walking!

The great thing about traveling from west to east is that the jet lag actually works in your favor.  You're exhausted by 10:00 p.m. but up and ready to go by 6:00 a.m.  Or, in Ivon's case this morning, 5:00 a.m.  As an added bonus, he didn't need to waste time deciding what to wear because, as documented in yesterday's blog, thanks to Air Canada he's in Tokyo with only the clothes on his back. 

Ivon last night

Ivon this morning.

 Ivon decided this trip was going to be all about the waking, so we took the twenty minute stroll from our hotel to the Tsukiji fish market where we enjoyed a sushi breakfast comprised of an unbelievable tuna platter, some sea eel and tamago.

Breakfast!

 Afterwhich we did the walking tour of Ginza.

Two larger than life icons: Godzilla and Ivon R. Bartok

What an awesome name for a casino/game center

No one does fake plastic food like the Japanese. Look at the size of that schnitzel!

We stopped by a subway station and got our passmo's. Now we can get lost on the Hibiya line too.

While waiting for the Gap to open so that Ivon could buy new clothes, we stopped off for tea and desserts at a cafe with a tree on a table.

My second Mont Blanc in as many days. The Japanese are all about the chestnut desserts.

Ivon heads back after returning to the cafe to pick up the backpack he forgot. Man, I'm amazed he actually survived his last vacation.

We stopped by Akemi's old workplace, the Pierre Marcolini Cafe, where I caught up with the gals and Moro-san, who was enjoying her day off, left a message for me in the form of a welcome back coaster…

My second dessert of the day: The seasonal Honey Nut Parfait

We returned to the hotel for an hour where I experienced all sorts of computer-related issues.  First off, I was unable to use my skype mobile because, for some reason, it tells me that my iPhone isn't connected to the internet even though its connected to my computer that IS connected to the internet.  Is there some sort of setting I've failed to switch on/off?  I eventually settled for a computer skype session with Akemi and, after several failed attempts to connect (my contact list kept informing me that she was off-line, even though she wasn't, and that I was off-line, even though I wasn't) finally succeeded – although, again for reasons unknown, the audio wasn't working.  I could hear skype dial, hear the messages being received, but couldn't hear Akemi.  And she couldn't hear me – until she donned earphones.  What gives?  I blame this new Sony Vaio travel computer I picked up that, it turns out, is about half as slow as the six year old version it replaced.  Serves me right for buying a PC.  Never.  Ever.  Again.

We met up again and hit Roppongi in atypical fashion, skipping the bars in favor of the Mori Art Museum where we checked out the planetarium, the sky view, a Japanese blond, and an awesome exhibit of the works of Odani Motohiko that proved infinitely impressive, mesmerizing, and, at times, deeply unsettling. 

We then headed over to Midtown where we sampled some twelve dollars strawberries (video to follow).  Ivon's resolve gradually faded and, before long, we were avoiding the stairs in favor of the nice, lazy escalator ride down to the subway platform.

Back at the hotel and getting ready to head out.  Tonight, we eat the shit out of Birdland!

Jelly heads into surgery tomorrow morning.  My poor gal.

Today's blog entry is dedicated to MightyStarGazer.

Tagged: Tokyo

December 7, 2010: Tokyo, here we come! (minus Ivon's belongings)

One of the great things about traveling east is that the time shift doesn't play havoc with your sleeping patterns. Not really. The first few days after you're arrival, you're in bed by 10:00 p.m. and up at a refreshing 6:00 to 7:00 a.m.-ish, ready for a full day of activities and, first and foremost, breakfast sushi at Tsukiji. The first night can be a bit of a killer though.

Ivon and I flew out at 2:00 p.m. PST and arrived a little after midnight that same day – which, it turns out, is a little after 5:00 p.m. the following day. The flight was fairly non-eventful although a mild sense of panic did set it at one point when, following a touch of turbulence, the pilot informed the cabin: "Ladies and gentlemen, it seems we're experiecing a little trouble…" OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! "…the inflight entertainment system." OH. Oh. Never mind then. Apparently, one of the servers was experiencing a problem, freezing up under the demand of so many passengers trying to view The Expendables and Dinner for Shmucks. Fortunately, my program choices were significantly less popular, so I had no trouble getting through My Dog Tulip an animated feature based on the book by J.R. Ackerly. "Unable to love each other, the English turn naturally to dogs." is the quote that opens this wry, sweet, and ultimately very touching tale of an man and his devoted but troublesome Alsatian. Just what I needed. I also watched Catfish, a surprisingly good documentary that tracks a New York photographer's burgeoning online relationship with a mystery gal from Michigan, and the bizarre developments that come when the veil of online anonymity is pulled away.

The in-flight meal was unremarkable.  The fish was bland, the chicken microwaved to a scorching hot, while the chocolate molten lava cake was decidedly dormant.  We finally arrived at Narita airport and, as we disembarked and headed for the baggage claim, I noticed someone standing off to the side with an "Ivon Bartok" sign.  "The lucky bastard,"I thought, assuming the hotel had sent a limo to pick him up.  I was wondering why the hell he was receiving preferential treatment when the sign-holder informed us that Ivon's luggage hadn't made the flight and would, instead, be joining him at a later date.  Maybe tomorrow.  Maybe the day after.  How the hell Air Canada screwed up is beyond me.  Considering they already knew he wasn't getting his luggage before we even hit the baggage claim, my guess is they loaded up the cargo hold in Vancouver, waved goodbye as the plane flew off, then turned around to head back inside and noticed the lone suitcase with the "Property of Ivon Bartok" tag lying on the tarmac behind them.  Oopsy.  Better get on the phone to Narita.

Is anyone that surprised?  Ivon's bad vacation mojo strikes again!

 

 After the long shuttle ride from the airport to The Imperial Hotel, we checked in, then had steak and sake at the hotel's teppanyaki restaurant, Kamon.

Afterwhich we went out for a stroll, promptly got lost, and spent the next half hour wandering around Ginza trying to find our way back.

Tomorrow: sushi breakfast at Tsukiji Market, dinner at Birdland, and Ivon goes shopping for a new wardrobe.

December 6, 2010: Travel Day!

I'm Tokyo-bound today.  But here's a little something to tide you (actually, me) over as I leave the pooches behind for a while.

Jelly goes to town on her mallard…

The always cool Maximus. If some ever casts for a salty pirate dog, I think he'd be perfect…

And an interview with yours truly over at Steve Eramo's site: http://scifiandtvtalk.typepad.com/scifiandtvtalk/2010/12/stargate-universe-writers-room-joe-mallozzi.html

Okay, I'm just going to enjoy myself.  Next year, everything changes!

See you all in Tokyo!

December 5, 2010: Preparing for departure!

I phoned my mother tonight to say goodbye as I'm off to Tokyo for two weeks.  I'd love to say I was expecting a "Have a nice time!" or "Enjoy yourself!" or even a "Have fun but be careful!" but I got pretty much what I expected.  A few seconds of ominous silent contemplation after reminding her of my trip and then: "Are your affairs in order?".   While I'd love nothing better than to head east confident in the orderliness of my affairs, the sad truth is my affairs are decidedly DISordered.  I'm still transferring documents to my new travel laptop, downloading books to my new kindle, prepping, packing, and, most importantly, making sure Christine, the dog-sitter, knows everything she needs to know before I leave. And, when it comes to my dogs, she needs to know a lot.  An excerpt from my Instruction Rundown…

"1. When you wake up, take them out back to do their business otherwise Lulu will go downstairs and poop. Check anyway. She probably already has. If so, there's some Peroxide in the kitchen for disinfecting.  By the way, Jelly has bad hips and will need to be carried down.  Maximus's excuse is that he's fat.  He'll occasionally be freaked out by the stairs and need to be carried as well.

2. Breakfast!  Bubba gets 3 ½ pucks of raw food.  Maximus gets 3.  Jelly gets 2.  Lulu gets a handful of dry kibble and 1/3 of a can of wet food.  The extra raw food is in the freezer in the garage.

3. All of the pugs get a sprinkling of Recovery SA with their morning meals.  For Jelly, I tend to alternate between the Recovery and a crushed half-pill of Gyco-Flex.  Jelly also gets 2 tablets of Gabapentin breakfast and dinner, and one tablet of Zeniquin each morning.  Also a squirt of Omega 3 oils each meal – but I don't think she likes it so feel free to discontinue.  Everyday, Jelly also gets a dose of metacam with her breakfast (8 kg), kept in the left hand drawer of the refrigerator.  Jelly is also supposed to get 2.5 ml of Amantadine daily but, at this point, she's eating more meds than actual food so I'd suggest holding off on the Amantadine for now.

4. Morning and night, the pugs get a dose of tacrolimus for their eyes, while Lulu gets her eyedrops.  Jelly also gets her ears cleaned with a special ear-cleaning solution nightly  Afterwards, I give them all a treat/kibble.

5. As I said, unlike the other three, Jelly and Maximus can't manage the stairs and will need to be carried up an down.  Jelly and Maximus can't really manage to get up on the couches or beds – so if you're inclined to have company, you'll have to help them up and off as well.  At night, it might be best to leave them in the kitchen to sleep.

6. Never leave the dogs outside unattended! People in Vancouver have had their dogs snatched out of their yards by dog thieves. Also, coyotes have been known to dig under or jump fences for a quick snack.

7. Always make sure the dogs follow you in when you go out with them. Maximus tends to lag and eat mud and, because he is dark, tends to blend in at night. Plus, none of them will come when they're called. In fact, they're wanderers so make sure all four are inside whenever you: 1) go out, 2) come in, 3) go to bed.

8. The dogs are allowed in the front yard, but you're better off taking them to the back because they're easily distracted and will bark at any passing dog, person or suspicious-looking bicycle left unattended.

9. The doggies are needy and don't like being left alone for more than about 3 hours at a time. Much longer than that and they will take it out on any available footwear or anything they can get their paws on.

10. Don't leave food lying around the couch area.  Bubba can and will reach anything edible left on the coffee table, side tables, or kitchen table.

11. Jelly's surgery is scheduled for Wednesday morning.  Her surgeon is Dr. Sharp.  Jelly shouldn't have any breakfast on the day of the surgery, but water is okay.  Please drop her off in the early morning (they said between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 or even earlier if you want to get an early start on your day).  I've set aside some things for Jelly to help her through the recovery period: one blanket, one musical duck, one pink flamingo (slightly chewed), one clean black sock, and one t-shirt (for snuggling purposes)."

As if I didn't have enough to worry about, now it looks like Maximus is coming down with an eye infection.  I'll have to swing by the vet's tomorrow and pick him up some ointment to add to the pharmaceutical cavalcade.

Off to finish my prep!

 

December 4, 2010: Tokyo Prep! Resurgence! Mailbag!

Two days to my Tokyo departure and I already have the nagging notion I've forgotten something.  I'm sure I'll realize what it is once I get to Japan.

Hey, thanks for the input on Resurgence, the first part of the big mid-season two-parter.  I had a somewhat easier time writing this one than Awakening (#214).  Anyway, some random thoughts on the episode -

I particularly enjoyed this one because it allowed for opportunities for humor.  When Volker says "Are you kidding?  That's exactly how you judge a neighborhood.", he's actually channeling yours truly.  I'm really enjoying writing for some of the supporting players (specifically, the geek squad of Brody, Park, and Volker) and they really shined in this episode.  More terrific little moments for them to come in the back half (see #216, The Hunt).

Paul complained it was too subtle, but did anyone else catch the the 2001 reference in Eli's "big black monolith orbiting a planet" line?

We've established a burgeoning friendship between Wray and Eli (Faith, Pathogen), so I figured Wray would be the best person to approach Eli about his recent loss.  It was an issue that needed to be addressed, one that would, no doubt, deeply affect someone like Eli.  I thought it was particularly interesting to imagine the scenario he refers to, his whole world being distilled down to less than a hundred people in a confined space, and how any change in said scenario would be greatly magnified.  In retrospect, even though he avoids talking about his true feelings, Eli demonstrates incredible emotional strength in the face of tragedy.

Scott is his own worst enemy, something we came to learn in Cloverdale, and as much as he may want to do the right thing, his own subconscious may betray him – as is this case here where he outwardly insists he'll support Chloe only to have her point out that he's already started pulling away from her.  When the time comes to make the hard decision, will he be able to step up and be honest with both her and himself?

Loved exploiting the interplay between these two very different characters, the uptight Brody and the calm and collected Greer.  Love the look on Brody's face when Greer throws him the ominous "Too quiet" line.

Also, love the obvious chemistry between Varro and T.J.  As much as I love Young as a character, I think he's bad for her.  But, of course, Everett disagrees – which will make for some interesting dramatic developments later this season.

"Either that or pie's done.  Nope.  Simulation."  Seriously, love the plethora of dings, bleeps, beeps, and whistles that pepper SF shows.

This onscreen battle sequence was incredibly tricky to pull off, but the boys in playback did an amazing job creating a simulation that helped tell the story.  Some (aka my writing partner Paul) didn't think it could be done!

Awesome space battle courtesy Mark Savela and his uber-talented VFX team.

I was toying with various ultimately unsatisfactory scenarios for how Destiny manages to shake the drones, but it was only after exchanging emails with our Creative Consultant, John Scalzi, that the solution presented itself.  I wrote John: "I was sitting at my desk agonizing over my latest Stargate outline when it suddenly hit me.  Hey, why don't I share the love and have John agonize over it as well. [I explain the premise].  Thoughts?  And, no we can't have space dolphins magically appear and surround Destiny.  I already pitched that out and, for some reason, Brad wasn't enthused.  I think maybe Battlestar already did it."  To which John replied: "First, this show's bias against space dolphins SICKENS me and always has.  [...]   But I did think of something along that might work for your purposes; Destiny, as you know, has the singular ability to dive into a star. Why not have it attacked and then take refuge inside the local star?"  I imagined the cool visual of those pursuing drones flaming out and was immediately sold.

Rush's Darth Vader speech to Eli.  Things come to a bit of an emotional head for Eli here and he receives a boost from, of all people, Rush.  What's Rush's game?  Clearly, he needs Eli to be on his game and he sees a lot of exploitable potential in the boy – yet the advice he offers Eli is as much an insight into his character as Eli's.  When he says "I'm sure you were so blinded by rage you imagined getting revenge on the man who killed her, besting the bully on his terms.  But even if you had, it wouldn't have changed a damn thing.  You'd wake up every morning and she'd still be dead.", he's not only dousing Eli with cold reality, but offering a glimpse into his own vulnerabilities.  It wouldn't have changed a damn thing and he should know because he did best the bully and it didn't change a damn thing.  I love writing Rush when he's indirect, unfathomable in his motivations.  Is he motivated by empathy here or is his motivation self-serving?  Check out a parallel bridge scene in episode #214, The Hunt, and get back to me.

Chloe's lightning quick and painful looking take-down of the Corporal Baras courtesy of James "Bam Bam" Bamford.

Today's blog entry is dedicated to PBMom's Patrick!

Mailbag:

Deni writes: "Please, please, please let us know as soon as you can when she's out of surgery."

Answer: She goes in at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday morning which will around 1:00 a.m. in Tokyo.  It'll be a sleepless night and I'm sure I'll be awake bright and early for the update. As soon as I hear, I'll definitely post the mini update.

Sparrow_hawk writes: "Hey! Reading Maus at a time like this? What are you thinking?! Find yourself some lighter reading!"

Answer: Finished up last night and am switching gears to lighter zombie fare: the latest volume of The Walking Dead.

Chy Clayton writes: "Instead I would like to thank you for electronically visiting my house every day and sharing a bit of yourself."

Answer: My pleasure.  For my future visits, you might want to consider leaving out some milk and cookies.  Oh, and keeping that back door unlocked.

Lewis writes: "1) Have you heard through the grapevine if a Season 2.0 dvd is going to be released like 1.0 was released during last year's mid season hiatus?"

Answer: Hey, Lewis.  Sorry, I haven't heard anything about the timing of the season 2.0 release.

"2) The other night I was eating chili and came across a Tostitos Scoops chip that was a spot on replica of the Destiny. Unfortunately I was hungry, so after taking a moment to marvel at the likeness I ended up eating the chip. My question is, if I ever come across another Destiny-like chip should I…"

Answer: Create a shrine and charge fans 50 cents a head to visit.

EllieV writes: "Have you not considered delaying your trip to take care of Jelly?"

Answer: Yes, I considered it, but my flight and hotel are non-refundable.  Still, if I was traveling alone I'd be more likely to consider it, but I'll be going with Ivon who would be flying solo if I bailed.  In the end, the fact that my dog-sitter Christine will be taking care of her made the decision somewhat easier.  It's unlikely I would have gone ahead with the early surgery if I would have had to board Jelly at the vet clinic for two weeks.

Zac writes: "Is destiny capable of entering the atmosphere of life supporting planets and landing?"

Answer: Probably – although we've yet to see it do so.

Sean D. writes: "What's the most number of pages that you've ever written?"

Answer: One of several 120 page feature scripts.

Shawna writes: "I notice from your 'currently reading' list that you seem to read a lot of stand-alone novels. How much do you read books that are part of a series of some kind?"

Answer: I try to mix things up.  I have read several excellent series (Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, David Anthony Durham's Acacia trilogy, George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series) but do tend to prefer my stand-alones.

Chev writes: "Who is looking after the dogs while you're away or are they going to a kennel?"

Answer: My regular dog-sitter, Christine, will be staying at the house with the dogs.  Akemi, who will be in Vancouver while I'm in Tokyo, will only be a short bus ride away.

maggiemayday writes: "How did your kitchen chairs lose their backs? You're not a lean-backer are you?"

Answer: Apparently so.

Roger Hagensen writes: "Besides, three vets suggested surgery right?, and one even suggested it ASAP."

Answer: Actually, two suggested surgery ASAP.

"If you are still in doubt, what would you have written for a similar scenario on the Destiny?"

Answer: Well, from a dramatic standpoint, I'd have had the character opt for surgery.  Funny you should mention this because Carl was faced with a similar creative decision in Hope, episode #214.

DP writes: "Anyone else got a vanilla ice cream recipe for Joe?"

Answer: Yeah, I got one.

KEK writes: "The 2.0 in-house trailer was brilliant. Should we expect one for 2.5?"

Anwer: Probably not.  Sorry.

Etagrats writes: "It's seems that destiny had originally 3 Shuttles based on the picture bellow! Although the crew only found two of them, So will we ever know what happen to the missing one if no, have you some theory about that ?"

Answer: My guess is it was probably damaged, disabled, and lost during an attack.

Mercy writes: "Are we ever going to meet aliens that are actually human or decendants of humans from Earth?"

Answer: Oooh, there would have to be a damn good reason for why we'd encounter humans this far out.  Yep.  A damn good SF reason…

Brian M. White writes: "How's Jelly today?"

Answer: The same.  She's in obvious pain, having trouble getting around, but is extremely happy to a) eat and b) sit on my lap and snooze away.  Thanks for asking.

 

December 3, 2010: Yet another one of those days…

While Wednesday may have delivered death by a thousand cuts (and four needles), today was more of a death by a couple of gouging slashes and a very deep stab.  It would seem everything is going sideways.  Given my recent bad luck, I suppose I should consider myself fortunate that I don't have any scheduled medical visits lined up.  It also leads me to wonder how my rolling momentum of misfortunes will react with Ivon's notoriously heinous vacation mojo.  I'm kind of hoping that basic math prevails and negative times negatives equals positive (- x – = +).  Of course, you could argue that it's more of a negative plus negative equals negative predicament (- + – = -), but best not to dwell.  And keep positive. Literally. I figure the fact that Ivon already experienced an earthquake on his last trip makes it highly unlikely we'll be experiencing one while in Japan.  Law of averages and all.  I mean, come on, I'm sure fate can be a little more creative than that.  On the other hand, all that saber rattling by the global family version of the oafish cousin with the suspect hygiene (North Korea) does give me pause.

Yes, I'm a little bummed – and I'm sure watching The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (a brilliant but deeply depressing movie) and reading Maus: A Survivor's Tale hasn't exactly gone a long way toward lifting my spirits.  I really need this Tokyo trip and, while I'd love to say I'm looking forward to going, the truth is a big part of me isn't.  After receiving yet another second opinion (I suppose that, technically, you'd call it a fifth opinion), I've decided not to wait.  I've gone ahead and scheduled Jelly to undergo surgery on Wednesday.  My dogsitter, Christine, who is nothing short of amazing, helped put my mind at ease.  Somewhat.  She'll drop off Jelly on Wednesday, then pick her up on the weekend and help her through the early recuperation process. She's been through something very similar with her last dog and is confident I'm making the right choice.  Me, I'm not so sure and while I would prefer to wait the two weeks until my return, all the physical symptoms suggest that if I don't act now, it may well be too late by the time I get back.  Between her recent stem cell treatment, vet visits, MRI, and upcoming surgery, I'll have spent more on my gal than my last trip to Tokyo.  But, at twelve years, we've been together longer than any of my past relationships so, really, I owe it to her.

Still, my time in Tokyo won't be quite as joyous as past travels – at least not until I'm reassured that the surgery went well and Jelly is on the mend – which probably won't be until next weekend.  I'll be hitting the sake hard.  Good thing I have a capable wingman/someone-to-carry-me-back-to-the-hotel-if-I-pass-out in Ivon.

Anyway, thanks to all you regulars, semi-regulars, and long-time readers/first-time contributors for the well-wishes and helpful links, from those whose kind and supportive words are on full display in the comment section, to those who, for reasons unknown, ended up in my spam folder.  Fortunately, I was able to wade in and save some of the more complimentary and encouraging posts and thought I'd spotlight them here.  Thanks again…

Kate writes: "Wow! Nice article. I like it."

Answer: Thank you, Kate.  Your kind words are much appreciated.

Joshua Heglin writes: "I wouldn't think I have ever seen a new site using this type of lots of remarks in it!"

Answer: Yes, Joshua, there are a lot of remarks in it.  And that's mainly due to the support of people like you.

Remanufactured Ink writes: "i like to search the internet for new kitchen gadgets to add to my kitchen"

Answer: As do I, Remanufactured Ink.  I feel like we were separated at birth.

Restaurant Coupons writes: "The quality of your article is very good. Nice reading, informative, and thought provoking."

Answer: Thanks, Restaurant Coupons.  I try to mix it up, providing entries that are alternately informative, thought provoking, and baffling.

Carpet Shampooer writes: "there are bargain dvd players that are sold in our area. i think they are generic low cost dvd player"

Answer: Thanks for the tip, Carpet Shampooer.  I'll be sure to keep that in mind.

Shower Screen writes: "actually i like women wedding singers comapared to male wedding singers, the female voice is awesome _"

Answer: Hey, Shower Screen, I agree.  The female voice IS awesome.

melissagibso writes: "May i sex dating with you?"

Answer: Hi, melissa.  The number you provided erroneously connects to a 1-800 service that charges $5.95/minute per call.  Double-check and please re-post.  Thanks.

osmanli iksiri writes: "People with hypothyroidism often gain weight and have difficulty losing weight despite a normal diet. This can be frustrating. Fortunately with successful treatment of hypothyroidism weight loss can become successful and permanent. Long term weight loss for thyroid disease patients is something that patients can realize with the help of their doctors or healthcare practitioner.as"

Answer: Thanks for this hopeful post, osmanli!

Premature Ejaculation Treatment writes: "lithium ion laptop batteries are very good specially those 6 cell battery array"

Answer: Hey, I think I went to high school with your sister.  Small world!

Again, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to post.