January 15, 2011: Pick my next read! Brunch at Refuel! More mailbag!

So I'm a little over halfway through Stephen King's The Stand (in retrospect, going with the expanded, uncut edition was a mistake) and I'm looking ahead to my next read. The candidates are :

The year's best science fiction and fantasy in one essential volume.

An annual commemoration, the Nebula Awards are presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America to those members whose imaginations refine and re-define the infinite storytelling possibilities found within the genre. The Nebula Awards Showcase represents the best of the best in fantasy in one indispensible collection.

 

In this neighborhood, make a wrong turn…

… and you're history.

Mickey Wade is a recently-unemployed journalist who lucked into a rent-free apartment—his sick grandfather's place. The only problem: it's in a lousy neighborhood—the one where Mickey grew up, in fact. The one he was so desperate to escape.

But now he's back. Dead broke. And just when he thinks he's reached rock bottom, Mickey wakes up in the past. Literally.

At first he thinks it's a dream. All of the stores he remembered from his childhood, the cars, the rumble of the elevated train. But as he digs deeper into the past, searching for answers about the grandfather he hardly knows, Mickey meets the twelve-year-old kid who lives in the apartment below.

The kid who will grow up to someday murder Mickey's father.

 

Once upon a time Jack set out to find his fortune in the big city. But the big city is Toy City, formerly known as Toy Town, and it has grown considerably since the good old days. It isn't all that jolly any more, and there is a serial killer loose on the streets who is slaughtering old, rich nursery rhyme characters one by one. Meanwhile, Private Eye Bill Winkie has gone missing, leaving behind his sidekick Eddie Bear of the Toy City Police to take care of things. Eddie may be a battered teddy with an identity crisis, but someone's got to stop the killer. Eddie and Jack team up to take down the killer, and along the way participate in heavy doses of bad behavior, car chases, and plenty of gratuitous sex and violence.

Thoughts?  Opinions?  Reviews?  Warnings?  Let's hear 'em!

Speaking of books, you have all of tonight and tomorrow to finish up January's book of the month club pick, The Iron Hunt.  Discussion begins on Monday!  Don't say I didn't warn ya!

Swung by Refuel today for lunch and enjoyed a terrific garlic risotto with tuna tartar and parsley puree -

And for dessert (after all, what would brunch be without dessert?), a brioche french toast with dark rum-soaked raisins and cream -

Mailbag:

jeffrey writes: "It really feels like you guys have never put the effort into continuing either SG-1 or SGA that you're putting into attempts to preserve SGU."

Answer: That's because SG-1 had a proper ending.  And even though the season five finale was not planned as a series ender, Enemy at the Gate does provide a certain closure to SGA.  Furthermore, at the time of the Atlantis cancellation, a movie was planned.

jeffrey also writes: "SGU is the lowest rated, worst received, most expensive, least profitable arm of the Stargate franchise…"

Answer: By that logic, Atlantis is responsible for doing irreparable harm to the franchise and causing its decline since, when SG-1 was cancelled, it was averaging a 2.0 while Atlantis's final season average was closer to a 1.5.  Had SGU not gone into production and Atlantis had ended with its fifth season, you would you have been so quick to pin it with the same "lowest rated, worst received, most expensive" argument?   Yeah, didn't think so.  By the way, "most expensive" is a bullshit argument given that production costs rise year to year.

PoorOldEdgarDerby writes: "I might've missed it, but what happened to your plans for a US road trip?"

Answer: Still in the early planning stages.

max writes: "I have been wonder for over 5 years why the Jaffa weapons (staff and the handheld zapper) werent used in the Atlantis series."

Answer: Staff weapons and zat guns are unwieldly.  I'd think military personnel would be more comfortable using weaponry they'd been trained to use.

TheSGC writes: "I don't know whether you've answered this before, but how to Goa'uld symbiotes enter the body? I have the neck and back of the throat down, but is there any other way for them to snake-head an unsuspecting human? Say, the bowels (what if there was a symbiote in the toilet, could it get up to your brain?) or something?"

Answer: Doubtful a symbiote could enter anywhere outside the aforementioned areas without doing some serious damage.

cherluvya writes: "but I really would like to know about the SEASON 2 DVDs????"

Answer: No idea.

Jason967060 writes: "You said in the past that if you were given only one more season to finish SGU's storyline that it could be done. I was wondering if it is possible that the storyline could be finished in a 2 hour Direct to DVD movie?"

Answer: We'd need more than one.

Chris writes: "What happens if a female on Destiny uses the stones to connect with a male on Earth?"

Answer: She'd find herself in a male body.

Merced writes: "Say everything goes well and we see SGU continue in any form – what would be the odds of getting to see Extinction and Revolution any time soon?"

Answer: Don't know.  As I said in yesterday's post – right now, our priority is SGU.

Joe Quanne writes: "In the season 2 episode "Visitation", the left behind crew from the planet return to Destiny in a perfect, like new shuttle. Those members of the crew start dying off over time like they did on the planet, however the shuttle remains in perfect condition. Why wouldn't the shuttle have gone through the same effects and broken down to its former state if the same "magic" for lack of a better word was used on it?"

Answer: What you deem "magic" was very advanced technology used to restore the shuttle and those left behind.  But, clearly, restoring a shuttle is a lot easier than restoring a sentient being.

Thornyrose writes: "And I REALLY hope you won't leave us dangling about matters ZPM. But if not in this blog, where might we expect to you to provide the answers?"

Answer: Probably post-SGU season two.

dave198421 writes: "When you do a blog is there a visitor counter on your page? Just thought would be interesting how many hits per day you get. I'm thinking quite a few thousand???"

Answer: Depends on the day.  Anywhere from 5 000 to 8 000.  The more popular posts average about 12 000.

Quade writes: "If I win the lotto, i will give it to you guys to make another season. Also give some to charity, is $40M enough?"

Answer: Yeah, $40 million would do.

Tenacious D writes: "As it is, you just gotta remember the old saying, "If it's not broken, don't fix it." Sure it may be enjoyable for some people, like you, and I respect that, however TPTB broke several principal Rules of Life when they went ahead with SGU."

Answer: Again, following Jeffrey's logic, you could argue that things were broken given that SG-1′s final season averaged a 2.0 while Atlantis's last season averaged a 1.5. Given that Atlantis was nearing its end, a new direction (rather than more of the same) was the right thing to do.  As everyone involved with the production will agree, better to have two years of a new show than one year of and old one.

Cotterpin writes: "Syfy has aired both Eureka and Warehouse 13 in the same time slot as SGU, with both shows receiving much, much higher ratings. Why?"

Answer: Because they were one-off specials.

sly writes: "If the Destiny's crew find a way to dial the address of earth through a sun (while recharging), will the flares of that sun will cause a time travel trip?"

Answer: Stay tuned.

Anne-Marie Sloan writes: "Hey have you every tried Five Guys Burgers? I did the other day and YUMMO."

Answer: Someone mentioned this place to me the other day.  I've got to check it out.

john writes: "you ruined the stargate!!!"

Answer: star8