Last night, Fondy and I had dinner at Feenies. Not long after beating Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto in the infamous Battle Crab, chef Rob Feenie incorporated a couple of his winning creations into the standing menu. Alas, those selections are long gone, but many of Feenie’s favorites remain including his calamari sandwich, Feenie Burger and scrumptious but silly-sounding Feenie Weenie. There have also been some new additions to the menu since my last visit and so, rather than going with what I knew, I decided to gamble on the great unknowns. More specifically, in the case of my appetizer, a squash-stuffed ravioli with pine nut butter and just a hint of citrus. Tiny but tasty. Fondy adored both her Caesar salad appetizer and her pan-seared crispy-skinned trout dinner. I’d ordered the pork chop with potato gnocchi and rapini and was having second-thoughts about my choice as I awaited it’s arrival, wondering whether I should have gone with the chicken schnitzel instead. “What does the chef usually have when he eats here?”I asked our waitress between courses. “He has the schnitzel,”she informed me, causing me to question my decision all the more. But when my main course arrived, all those concerns were put to rest. The brined chop was tender through and through, the dish out and out delicious. “Next time he eats here, tell Rob to order the pork chop,”I advised our waitress.
Today, I celebrated the Summer heat wave by overindulging in a Ben Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Cookie Dough, Haagen-Dazs Dulce de Leche, Purely Decadent Peanut Butter Zig Zag ice cream sundae with melted Michel Cluizel milk chocolate hazelnut and Monde Chocolat white chocolate and almond bark bits. I think I may skip dinner tonight.
Hurray! I found a brand new scam letter sitting in my junk folder this morning. It starts:
“I know that this mail will come to you as surprise since we have not known or met before now, but please, I would like you to treat it like blood brother affair and with the urgency and secrecy it requires. I am Dr. Emound Daukuro, the past chairman of OPEC and the Head of Delegation of the World Bank in Middle East. I am the linkman between the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the World Bank in Middle East….”
And goes on to offer me a business proposal of a lifetime. I replied:
“I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to receive your email, Dr. Daukuro, as my standing physician has retired and I am in desperate need of a medical opinion. Over the course of the past few days, I have developed a rash over my nether regions. The rash is a pinkish-purple, I guess you’d call it mauve, prickly to the touch, and sort of looks like Alabama (although my next-door neighbor, Mrs. Ackerman, swears it resembles Idaho. I took an impromptu poll at work and these were the results: Alabama – 5, Georgia – 5, Iowa – 4, New Mexico – 3, Utah – 3, Indiana – 3, Nevada – 2, Illinois – 2, Minnesota – 1, Idaho – 0. This is just a preliminary sampling of my home office. I‘ll have more data available soon as my sales duties will require me to visit several more company branches over the course of the next few days).
I’m a little worried. In your professional medical opinion, what do you think it is? I’d be happy to send you a picture if you think it would help with the diagnosis.
Sincerely,
Doogie Chapadapalopolous”
Also, heard back from my old high school buddy David Kojo (see yesterday’s blog entry) who, perhaps assuming I had confused him with someone else, writes:
“How are you today? I am in receipt of your mail.
I will also like to introduce myself once more to you. I am a staff in charge of courier department in our Apex bank in Ghana…”
And proceeds to pitch me the same scam. I replied:
“It’s great to see you’ve done so well for yourself. Back in high school, you were never the sharpest knife in the drawer and I know that most of the teachers had written you off as a lost cause. What was it Principal Epstein used to call you? Dodo Kojo, dumb as dirt? Remember that year you failed gym class because you couldn’t understand the rules of soccer? You kept picking the ball up with your hands and throwing it into your own goal. Wasn’t that the same year the school started making you wear that helmet so that you wouldn’t hurt yourself? Are you still wearing the helmet? As a bike courier for your bank, I’m sure you must be.
Well, it’s great catching up and, again, I’m happy to hear you’re doing all right and especially surprised you’re able to string two sentences together. Not so bad for a former idiot. By the way, where is Ghana? Is it close to France?
Your former classmate,
M.C.”
Pics: The Feenie highlights, my recent book purchases, the dogs work on their tans.
Mailbag –
Shippychick writes: “I have to say this is the first entry of your blog I have read and it is hilarous! I love the show and will definately be back for more!”
Answer: Welcome aboard. Tell your friends and don’t forget to leave a dollar at the door.
Alipeeps writes: “I loved The Player of Games. It was the first of his Culture novels that I read and it utterly sucked me in and had me seeking out more of his books.”
Answer: It was a great book. I stayed up late last night to finish it.
Atlantisfannew1 a ecrit: “Je vient vous passez le coucou…”
Reponse: C’est quoi un coucou? Est-ce que c’est dangereux?
Bex writes: “…Do you have moments of this with writting/producing/show running/being all round god?”
Answer: Yup. At times it feels like you’re on a giant treadmill. Slow down even for a second and you’re screwed.
Mackenziesmomma writes: “Have you tried Theo Chocolates out of seattle?”
Answer: Yes. Their 3400 Phinney Chocolate Bread and Chocolate Dark Chocolate Bar is among my favorites.
Susan the Tartan Turtle writes: “ Are you not getting a male or female puppy?”
Answer: Sigh. Looks like we’ll be getting Lulu, the French Bulldog pup, in early August.
Yasmin writes: “Why the aversion to rose water?”
Answer: To be perfectly honest, the essence of rose water triggers my gag reflex.
Anonymous #1 writes: “1. Will Teyla be diving into her Athosian culture more in season 4? 2. Will she ever go to Earth? 3. Will Ronon ever be ready after his lady friend went boom?”
Answers: 1. Her Athosian roots will certainly become an issue in season four. 2. Possibly – but probably not in season four. 3. Ronon will open up a bit about his past this upcoming season.
Firefly 827347 writes: “How long does it take you to write up responses to your penpal emails?”
Answer: Not that long at all. Unlike a scene for a script, I can whip out one of these responses in one quick sitting.
PG15 writes: “How are you dealing with the unseasonable warmth of Vancouver lately?”
Answer: The pugs and I are only venturing out for 15-20 minutes at a time before retreating back to the air conditioned comforts of home.
Wynterblue writes: “What are the chances of Ben Browder showing up this season on Atlantis?”
Answer: Sorry, not this season.
Anonymous #2 writes: “So, why didn’t you advertise RDA’s guest spots in The Shroud and The Return?”
Answer: I’m not in charge of advertising the show on Sci Fi so I can’t answer that question.
Anonymous #2 also writes: “Further, why not have him guest a couple of times in season four??”
Answer: It’s always a pleasure to have Jack put in a guest appearance. On the other hand, we only have so much in our production budget.
Atlantisnewfan1 a ecrit: “Vous lisez mes commentaires?”
Reponse: Je lis tous les commentaires.
Mary writes: “I have just finished reading Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I was wondering whether you’d ever read it, and if so what you thought of it?”
Answer: I liked Ender’s Game a lot. I also enjoyed Speaker for the Dead which was very different.
Anonymous #3 writes: “Joe, if you have to ask viewers to give your show a chance because they’re pissed about the changes you’ve made (…) And you need to beg fans to get their family and friends to watch the final three episodes (as you did) to get a fifth season, you really don’t deserve it.”
Answer: Past experience has proven that making assumptions about episodes before they’ve even aired is, in the majority of cases, an overreaction. As for the latter part of your statement, this is a matter of personal interpretation. For instance, when I asked fans to get 1000 of their friends to tune in, I was being sarcastic and didn’t really intend for them to track down and convince 1000 people to start watching the show. Still, if a doofus such as yourself feels that this equates to begging, then I certainly respect your simpleton reasoning..
Anonymous #4 writes: “I was watching season 1 last night and I noticed one or two of the expedition wearing a green stripe. What does this indicate?”
Answer: They work in Atlantis’s Library Services Department.
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