I’m a restaurant owner’s dream. I arrive promptly for my reservation, eat my meal, and leave. Immediately. No sitting around after dinner, casually sipping my green tea, making idle chitchat while the famished looks of the looming diners-in-waiting go unheeded. I can usually be counted upon to be in and out within an hour and a half; two hours tops. I’m not a lingerer. In fact, next to kiwis, the Home Depot, and people who use the word “addicting”, there’s nothing I quite hate more than sitting at a table after a meal, killing time until an opportunity presents itself for a segued out (“And speaking of greenhouse gas emissions and the fact that time is running out on the environment – I think my parking meter is about to expire…”). Of course, it’s easy enough when you’re out at a restaurant; much harder to do when you’re attending a dinner party. Which is why, when it comes time for the customary post-dinner chat wind-down with no prospect of an early exit, I try to make the best of potentially dull situation by broaching bizarre, occasionally offensive, subject matter. At a recent dinner party, my topic of choice was: gruesome injuries.
I was genuinely surprised by the number of anecdotes my fellow diners offered up: “Hockey Leg Injury”, “Garage Door Crunch”, “Rug Hook in the Eye”. Some of the stories were more amusing than grisly – like the woman who’d gone sledding with her kids and ended up taking a hair-raising, out-of-control ride down an icy section of slope. Fearful of upending herself or sliding into the thicket of brush at the foot of the hill, she did a quick, anxious scan of her surroundings and spotted a salvatory hay bale. Relieved, she angled her sled directly into the bale which abruptly broke her speedy descent – and her back. As it turns out, hay bales freeze mighty solid in Winter.
My contribution was the trampoline mishap in my fourth grade gym class that resulted a broken arm. No, I wasn’t on the trampoline showing off. I was actually helping to set it up when a section sprang back onto my arm, snapping the bone in two places so that the palm of my hand was literally touching my forearm. After a seven hour wait in emergency (There’s never a good anesthesiologist around when you need one), my arm was finally re-set. Sort of. Two months later, x-rays revealed it had been “set wrong” so the arm had to be re-broken and re-set. The “re-breaking” process was a disquietingly brief and uncomplicated procedure that involved some hulking Neanderthal taking my wrist in his oversized mitts and squeezing until the bone fractured. In hindsight, a sedative would have been nice. Finally, after months of sporting an arm cast that necessitated my using a wire coat hanger to scratch my elbow, the doctor informed me that my wrist had finally healed and it was time to remove the cast. This, I was informed, would achieved with the help of what was effectively an automated pizza slicer. Perhaps sensing my leeriness, the doctor assured me that the slicer’s whirring blade only cut plaster, not skin, and proceeded to demonstrate by bringing the rotating edge close – but not quite touching – his skin. Weeks later, I was taking physical therapy for my recuperating wrist when I glanced over at a fellow patient and asked him about the stitches running up the side of his arm. “This?”he asked. “Oh, this happened while they were removing my cast.”
Bloodletting and compound fractures aside, Fondy and I enjoyed a terrific meal at one of Vancouver’s casual, cash-only Vietnamese eateries. Thai Son Restaurant, located on Main Street, is a great, inexpensive alternative to dress-up dine-outs. Fondy had her usual grilled beef ribs with the house special steamed vermicelli. I had the tasty grilled chicken and pork combo with shredded pork and egg on broken rice. I also ordered a side of something called “meat egg-pie” (or it may have been “egg meat-pie”) that was also equally great. Needless to say, we didn’t linger.
Mailbag –
Windshieldbug writes: “Doc Doom! Good one! Favorite here was always (Hank McCoy) Beast from X-Men.”
Answer: Funny you should mention Hank McCoy. Back when he was with The Avengers, he was my fave. Of course, that was back when he was his bouncing, bombastic self, prior to his more somber turn with the later X-Men.
Anonymous writes: “Joe, what does your magic 8-ball say about Chris Judge’s chances of guest starring on Atlantis in season four?”
Magic 8 Ball says: Outlook good.
Suz writes: “So if no-one ever dies in Sci Fi, what are the chances of us seeing Carson Beckett in s4, cos I’m really gonna miss him and it’s been said that there may be a way to bring him back!”
Magic 8 Ball says: “Reply hazy, try again. With a yes/no question”.
Marla writes: “Speaking of things that get cut out of episodes, imagine my disappointment upon finding out that the scene in Line In The Sand that I saw being filmed was not aired in the episode…”
Answer: Funny you should mention this as we were just discussing the deleted scenes today. I’m not sure which scene you’re referring to, but one of the scenes lost was right off the top, a walk and talk in which a worried Vala discusses Daniel’s absence and the effort to find him. Yep, sorry to say it was cut for time. Grouse away.
Anonymous #2 writes: “Oh wise and magic eight ball, oracle of things to come, will the Asgaard be seen in Atlantis’ season four?”
Answer: They will be making an appearance in the SG-1 season 10 finale, Unending.
Anonymous #3 writes: “ When does the weather gets better in Vancouver, so that you can feel like writing about ice cream again?”
Answer: Once June rolls around, I’ll be getting back to my ice-cream making after taking last Summer off.
Marla also writes: “Will our SG:A heroes still get to utilize the sets of SG-1 thanks to the Midway Station? Will we still get to see old friends like Dr. Lee, Siler, and Walter from time to time?”
Answer: The SG-1 sets will be available to us for a while. Whether we’ll be using them or not remains to be seen. As for the trio you mentioned, at least one of them will be putting in an appearance.
Melantha writes: “So I was watching that Stargate Saved My Life thing again (paying a bit more attention this time) and laughed when during your bit it displayed your name on screen as Jo Mazzolli. Good to see they did their research thoroughly.”
Answer: No mistake. That WAS Jo Mazzolli, the same guy who got infuriated all those cranky fans. People get us confused all the time.
Elodie writes: “Why there is no loveship between sam and rodney in SGA season 4? After all, they are like Daniel and Vala, I mean the “I love you, I love you not” thing. Will we see a more intimate relationship between Cam and Sam (…) for the tv movies or in the future? Will Daniel finally admit that he has feelings for Vala?
Answer: The “I love you, I love you not” thing you referred to has been decidedly one-sided. Regarding Cam and Sam – you’ll have to ask Rob and Brad who are writing the movies. And as for Daniel and Vala – time WILL tell.
Anonymous #3 writes: “What do you make of the whole ‘shrill and uninformed lemmings’ fan group that seems to have developed out of your comment?”
Answer: It makes me all misty knowing I’ve touched some many people and inspired them to be creative. And don’t forget the script elves.
Miss H writes: “By the way, the two parts of the negative in French surround the tensed verb. It’s “ce n’est pas” not “c’est ne pas”. In colloquial French, you can get away with “C’est pas”.”
Answer: My bad and thanks for the French lesson. Des fois, je suis tellement etourdi.
Hey Joe,
I just wanted to say that i like your blog. I also liked the one over at gateworld. from the pics and places that you have mentioned you have given me a good idea of someplaces that my fiancee and I can check out when we go to Vancouver for our honeymoon. I got one quick question, Does Martin Gero have a blog? If he doesn’t he should because he seems like a really cool guy (i never met him, but seeing him and hearing him the DVD’s)
Keep up the cool blog
BN
Oh I’m a lingerer. I love to sit and chat after dinner, unless there is an obvious wait on tables. But then again, I go with parties that tip well!
Lingering is fun because of all the stories you can hear around you. I’ve been one to tell my hockey and horse-riding injures. Although, the worst ever….repelling Aussie Style during Army ROTC. I was hooked up just fine but forgot how to brake…banged hard against a ledge before being in freefall. Yeah, thank got for belayers!
Tai food. Wow that sounds great! Oh thank you for inspiration for dinner tomorrow night. I think I’ll make Pad Thai or….treat my self to someone else making it!
*Squrrels off to find out about Hank McCoy with the Avengers!*
Fantastic news about Teal’c making it to Atlantis in season four! I’m so stoked. Now if you could just sneak in a Jack O’neill appearance or two things would be perfect.
How about a giant crossover two-parter for the midseason break? That would rock.
WOOT! Teal’c pwns teh noobs!
Joe, what is your favorite episode from season 10 that you wrote, what is your favorite episode overall, and which episode do you think is “the best”?
I’m an EMT, and, boy, I’ve got injury and illness stories that will make your hair fall out. But your arm story was pretty cool.
Also, yes or no: Will we see Carson Beckett in S4? Is he gone for good? (I hope not. He was a beloved character!)
Hi Joe,
If RDA is in the Movies what are the chances of Sam/Jack Ship? Thank You
Ahh the broked parts stories! (oooh the bad grammar! it burns us!) Fractured Collar Bone and left cheek bone two weeks before last Vancouver SG Con (worked it anyway, but Im crazy) the set tour rocked by the way, much fun.
Thai is one of my favoritest foods ever.
I have been stopping by here since the ‘small insane mob mentality critters’ thread, hit a high profile forum (you know…the lemming thing) must say you are hi-frelling-larious, keep it up!
Jack was great in Shroud. I so missed him. Please get him in the movies.
Have to disagree with Ses. I really hope we don’t see any ship in the movies (and would prefer not to see it in the rest of S10 either). I’d love if people would concentrate on developing their friendships instead of sticking romance in there when it’s not really necessary. They all work best as friends.
Speaking of which, Joe, you say time will tell on Daniel and Vala. Could you maybe give hope to this fan that they don’t actually end up together romantically? I don’t mind Daniel and Vala’s friendship but I hate the idea of a romance between them.
As a long-time SG1 fan I’ll raise my hand as one who would love to see some resolution to the Sam/Jack thing in the movies, just because it has gone on for sooooo long *begs* In addition to the great story and action, of course 😉
Speaking as a regular SGA viewer I’ve been reading the many and varied discussions at GW about the reduction in Weir’s role in Season 4. Is this related to comments I’ve heard that “there’ll be no ship in Season 4?” I guess I see the parallels from Sam/Jack to the Sheppard/Weir pairing, so do you guys get sick of having yet another pairing crop up in the SG universe that has such a mammoth devoted following in the audience or do you consider it just another element that inevitably emerges as part of storytelling process? 😉
G.
p.s. reading your blog always makes me hungry.
Lingerers arn’t the root of all evil for kitchens but they are for front of house. They people that really wind up the kitchen are the ones at the end of the night who can’t decide if they want dessert or not. And then they can’t decide what they want. And then I’ve missed my train home and the the front of house staff is avoiding me like the plague because I have a look of pure evil on my face. I keep wishing we could get people to order desserts as the order starters and mains so at least I’d know when that finicky cheese and biscuits was ordered.
Vietnamese food is my favorite kind of food, one that’s sadly lacking in the UK outside of The City. Everytime a new Thai place opens up and get hopefull it might be a vietnamese place.
So… do you think it’s worth having my nose rebroken, 16 years after I broke it when I was 3?
Hi Joe.I saw The Shroud.It was an amazing episode.I have a few questions about the Ori.Are they really gone or is there a chance we will see them?I think they’re the amazing villians and it would be a shame to kill them now.They would make a great appearance in the first film.
Have a nice day
David
Marla writes: “Speaking of things that get cut out of episodes, imagine my disappointment upon finding out that the scene in Line In The Sand that I saw being filmed was not aired in the episode…”
Answer: Funny you should mention this as we were just discussing the deleted scenes today. I’m not sure which scene you’re referring to, but one of the scenes lost was right off the top, a walk and talk in which a worried Vala discusses Daniel’s absence and the effort to find him. Yep, sorry to say it was cut for time. Grouse away.
That would be the one I saw filming. Only in the middle of the convo Vala and Mitchell are suppose to disappear into a beam of light and then reappear in some ruins. There was hand clapping from Mitchell involved and it was fun watching CB and BB trying to match their exact poses in the ‘beam in’ sequence for different camera angles.
Marla also writes: “Will our SG:A heroes still get to utilize the sets of SG-1 thanks to the Midway Station? Will we still get to see old friends like Dr. Lee, Siler, and Walter from time to time?”
No I didn’t. I think that was Malentha who asked that. But liked the answer:)
I’m taking the Magic 8 Ball’s advice so…
Will we see Carson Beckett in Season Four. Yes or No?
Thankies 🙂
Joe, I like your blog and I am glad that you answer to questions. But did you notice that many people are aganist SG1 actors in SGA? I am one of them and when I started to accept that we will have Carter, without Carson and Weir, now you are talking about others, too 🙁 Who will leave SGA next? Zelenka? Or Sheppard and McKay so they could make place for SG1 “stars”? I know, we still don´t know anything about S4…but I am really little worried here. I, as many others, don´ t want Atlantis: SG1 show 🙁
Like others above I’d like to know if there will be any Sam/Jack ship in the movies. Seeing as it has been carrying on for ages, some on-screen romantic interaction would be great, even if it’s just a few minutes in each movie. A resolution would be wonderful, thanks.
I also have one more question, have you guys considered producing a ‘deleted scenes/bloopers’ DVD? I know loads of fans who would love to buy it.
I just wanted to say The Shroud was fantastic! And your blog always makes me hungry.
There may be many people against SG-1 characters on SGA, but there are just as many for it. I know I am, and so is my family. We would love it if all of SG-1 showed up in a big two-parter. Jack, Tealc and Danny are the best guest stars you could nab. Even Vala woudl be a delight.
Marilyn
For the love of god, can we not turn the comments on this blog into another ship/anti-ship battleground and/or begging fest? Neither side has anything new to say, and it will only end badly.
Joe, you always mention food, but what about what goes with it… drinks… do you have any favorite? A good wine and even a good beer can improve your dining experience.