May 8, 2013: Dog rescue? Ask Altaïr! And a mailbag!

I was out walking my pug, Bubba, this afternoon and we were about three blocks from home when I heard the telltale jingle-jangle of a dog collar approaching from behind.  I glanced back, across the street, at a little white dog scampering up the sidewalk headed in our direction and then, from the corner of my eye, caught the truck barreling toward us. I estimated that, at their current rate of speed, dog and truck would meet smackdab in the middle of the intersection.  I scanned the surroundings.  No owner – no anyone else – in sight.  Just the dog, trotting along, oblivious to the looming danger, and that truck on a collision course.  Doing my best traffic cop, I stepped off the sidewalk, well clear of the truck’s trajectory, raised my hand and waved.  The dog hopped off the curb.  The driver noticed me, presumably saw the dog, and hit the brakes.  The truck stopped short, feet from the do who continued along, right past it, and over to Bubba – who, of course, freaked out and snapped at him.

The little guy was incredibly laid back and, as the truck motored off, took a seat beside me.  I checked his tags, found a name (Barker) and a number which I called.  I asked the fellow who answered the phone whether he had a little white dog.  In fact, he did.  I told him what had happened.  He seemed unperturbed, as though this wasn’t Barker’s first jailbreak.  As it turned out, we were kitty corner from his house. “The big blue one,”he informed me.  ”Just bring him back to the girls.”

So I did, scooping him up under one arm, crossing the street, walking up to the front door and ringing the doorbell.  A young girl, late teens or early twenties, answered the door.  She was on her cell phone.  I explained the situation: her loose dog, the truck, catastrophe averted. She stared back at me quizzically.  Was it something I’d said? Something whoever she was chatting with on the phone had said?  A second, older woman, maybe in her early thirties, peeked out from around the corner and threw me a “Dude, what are you doing with my dog?” look.  I explained the situation for the third time, handed them their dog and, while the older woman mumbled a thanks and the younger girl resumed her cell phone conversation, Bubba and I headed back up the walk and home.

Weird.  While happy to have saved Barker’s life, I couldn’t help but feel as though they suspected me of having taken him in the first place.

Oh, for those of you wondering, Bubba is feeling much better.  The bandage is off and he’s lost the cone – along with his nail…

To those wondering – no, I didn’t buy two bottles of scotch just so I could torture Akemi.  They’re actually for me.  Something about watching Boardwalk Empire makes me want to drink whisky…

As I mentioned in yesterday’s entry, my old high school buddy, Cas Anvar (), in is in town shooting a movie.  His credits include Argo, Diana (in which he plays the part of Dodi opposite Naomi Watts as Princess Diana), and, various gaming roles (Halo 4, Call of Duty Black Ops 2, Star Wars Clone Wars), most notably Altaïr from the Assassin’s Creed video game series.  Hell, just last night, he was showing off his custom made retractable wrist blade.  When was the last time YOU had a house guest show you that?

Anyway, even if you’re not a gamer, you may recognize him -

As Sayid’s brother in Lost.

As Gentleman Starkey in the Neverland miniseries.

Or getting punched by Jake Gyllenhaal in Source code. That’ll teach him not to finish the last of the craft service donuts.

Anyway, since he’s somewhat accessible (whenever he’s not working, all I have to do is walk down the hall and kick in the door of the guest room), I thought it might be fun to do a Q&A.  So if you’ve got some questions for Cas, be they Assassin’s Creed-related or otherwise, post them over the next couple of days.

I’ve got a Puerco Pibil roasting in the oven.  Damn, it smells good!

Mailbag:

PBMom writes: “If you want a great character to model off of, watch Alphas and Gary if you are looking for higher end of the spectrum. If you ever wanted to come down and do some on-site research, I know Patrick’s school would welcome you with open arms. Of course, CARD in Los Angeles is excellent too and I know that Lou Diamond Phillips is on the board of directors so he’s got connections.”

Answer: Thanks for the tip.  I’d like to get a heavy amount of research in before sitting down to write the pilot.

Jesse writes: “Has there been any decision on the stack of blueprints? I’d be willing to digitize them, photo, scan, cad format… so that they can be shared with those that would like to have a set.”

Answer: Sorry, yes, decision has been made.  I just need to get my act – and all those blueprints together – and head down to my local Kinkos to have them scanned and digitized after which I’ll be giving them away to interested Stargate fans.

C.S. writes: “Have you ever considered starting a kickstarter for an Atlantis movie?”

Answer: This was already discussed in a previous entry (March 14, 2013: Veronica Mars fans are finally getting their movie! So when are Stargate fans getting THEIR movie?).  I’ll have more to say about kickstarter on an unrelated-to-Stargate note as part of tomorrow’s blog entry.

Deni writes: “Wasn’t it puerco pibil day?”

Answer: Today is puerco pibil day!  I moved the recipe showdown to Thursdays.  Tune in tomorrow for my take on Das’s recipe.

Tagged: Altair, Assassin's Creed, Cas Anvar