Even though my last visit to the Richmond Night Market was underwhelming to say the least, I found my way back there because my in-laws were visiting and my sister-in-law was in a bargain-hunting mood. As we made our way from the parking lot to the market proper, little seven year old Eric was negotiating the parking buttresses when he lost his footing and hit the ground like – as Carl is fond of saying – a sack of potatoes. Everyone else ran to him as if he’d been tagged by some unseen sniper, while my initial reaction was to turn on my heels and loudly announce: “Geez, I think he’s been drinking again!” It wasn’t much of a spill and he’d hardly suffered more than a scuffed a knee, but the congregation of panicked adults was enough to convince him it was, perhaps, a bigger deal than he’d initially assumed so, of course, he started crying – which, naturally, only fueled their anxiety which, in turn, fueled his anxiety…
While the other adults fed his delusional injury – poking prodding, bending his knees – I wandered over to a little shop selling an impressive assortment of swords and daggers. When ninjas vacation in Vancouver, I suspect this is where they shop. I was looking over the steel dragon-topped walking sticks (After all, what self-respecting villain would be caught dead without one?) when an enthusiastic seller approached and pulled one of the walking sticks off the rack. “Say you’re walking down the street and somebody tries to mug you.” He twisted the handle and tugged, drawing the long blade concealed within – “You just pull this out, right?”
“And then what?”I couldn’t resist asking.
“And then they run away,”he replied without missing a beat.
“What if they don’t run away?”
“Trust me. When they see this, they’ll run.”
With all due respect to the kind sir at Blades R Us, I was not in a particularly trusting mood, especially when the worst case scenario would result in either: a) my beheading an erstwhile criminal and no doubt having to deal with the messy ramifications or b) my losing the weapon to the mugger and thereby being out a wallet, my pride, AND fifty dollars worth of hidden sword. I decided to pass and make my way to the food stalls.
A much better selection this time around. Terrific skewers, sticky rice, and tasty beef tendon. Even though the takoyaki stalls always seem to do brisk business, I’ve yet to figure out the draw of these octopus meat-studded semi-cooked batter balls. I much prefer the okinomiyaki (Japanese pizza) which is, thankfully, cooked through and chock ful o’ bacon, green onions, and soba noodles. As usual, I passed on the aptly-named “stinky tofu”, but did try my luck with the curried periwinkles (Snake eyes, you lose!).
Once I’d finished eating more than humanly possible (not once, but twice), I had no choice but to tag along for the shopping portion of the evening. Fortunately, I was prepared. In the time it took Fondy and her family to cover the market, I not only finished Frederik Pohl’s Gateway, but made some major headway on Terry Pratchett’s Equal Rites. Should be done today after which I’ll finally start on Scott Lynch’s latest – Red Seas Under Red Skies, the follow-up to the fantastic Lies of Locke Lamorra.
A quick Q&A –
Yasmin writes: “Thanks for the Lulu pictures. Are all the children playing nicely still?”
Answer: Up until Lulu tried to claim one of Jelly’s treats at which point all hell broke loose and the new puppy learned a very valuable lesson.
Ghost writes: “Ever read Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko?”
Answer: I picked up the DVD and watched it with David and Jane. We all loved it. I have yet to pick up the books – Day Watch and Night Watch. How’s the translation?
Teyla’s Angel writes: “Hi Joe, since you have all but confirmed that John’s doppelganger will be the father of Teyla’s baby, can you assure us that their relationship will become canon in season 4?”
Answer: I did what?
SueS writes: “Since Harmony is the final ep, is it being written as if there will be a season 5 – i.e. with a cliffhanger ending or will all the loose ends be tied up?”
Answer: Harmony is not the season finale. The season finale has yet to be broken. Also, the production order of the episodes does not reflect their air order.
PG15 writes: “Lord Joe of Mallozzi-on-Chocolate-Fountain…”
Answer: I warned you about eating that flocking!
Anonymous #1 writes: “My friend and I own a small candy business — primarily truffles. I just wanted to let you know that the current flavor in the test kitchen is a dark chocolate advocaat center with a marzipan coating. If it works, we’ll name it after you and I’ll send you a box!”
Answer: Dark chocolate, marzipan, and advokaat = my 3 favorite ingredients! No kidding. I look forward to hearing how the testing goes.
My Name Is Scott writes: “If you were to magically turn into a woman, what name would you choose for yourself?”
Answer: Probably Scott.
A woman named Scott…..only you could think of that. However, one time, one of my female friends named herself ‘Steve’.
I would like to know if you have had any of the candies from Punta Clara Kitchen in Point Clear, Alabama. If so, what do you think? If not, would you like some and where would I send it.
Lulu is adorable. 🙂
Hah hah hah. Ouch.
It’s the good kind of ouch.
Yes, there’s such a thing.
Hi Joe, it has been a while since I posted something to you 🙂
one little question, OK maybe a big question, How is everyone? (IE Rachel, Jason, David, Joe F, Yourself?) You are all in my prayers! Mostly Rachel though! OK so I stay in Teyla’s sock drawer every night but hey it is worth praying for the lady…. right?
Anyhow I hope everyone(and you) are doing well, I know I’m not… *sucks on burned right pointing finger*
~Teyilia, the kitty in Teylas socks.
Adding Sam to the cast is going to increase the technobabble quite a bit. Will we see more exploration and experimentation with the tech than we have in prev. seasons? I’m thinkin Trek level technobabble here.
Sorry if this has been asked and I missed it! I just found a link to this blog on a fansite.
I didn’t eat it! I just…sniffed it a bit; or at least, that’s what a lot of my forum buddies think I’ve been doing, and their words are gospel, oh yes.
Hopefully this hasn’t been answered before; what is your favorite piece of music composed by Joel so far (across both series)?
Nathan said…Removing key characters every once in a while adds life and vitality to a show, it also reflects real life
Thank you Nathan for putting so succinctly what a lot of people have been thinking for a long time.
A series like SGA has to have a certain dynamic; a state of flux must exist if it is to endure were others have fallen.
Characters are just that, characters and much as we love them or hate them personal assassination of the actors who play them is unfair.
Once again I must apologies if the above makes no sense as it is 3am in the UK
PS. Leave little Eric alone, think of the therapy bills!
Pauline
Heh. Scott for a girl. I will have to suggest that to my pregnant Aunt. So far she has dismissed my suggestions of:
Electro
Titan
Athena
Magnus (for a girl)
Jelly (for a boy)
Maximus
Amanda
Mysterio
I think maybe she just doesn’t like me very much. Do you have any other suggestions I should pass on to her? I’m sure she would appreciate it.
What ever happened to that cool alarm Atlantis had in season 1?
Wow there are some “unique” and “special” people out there in the fandom… I don’t know how you don’t lean toward the extreme side of sarcasm Joseph.
Oh, what was the name of that restaurant we went to in April ’06? Do you remember? I was telling someone about the food there and they wanted to try it but for the life of me I can’t remember the name of it.
Italian place, nearish to HMV, do you recall?
Nathan
Ahhhh, Lulu is becoming quite the little pinup girl!
I had no idea that they sold anything above 10 bucks at the night market.
I had no choice but to tag along for the shopping portion of the evening. Fortunately, I was prepared. In the time it took Fondy and her family to cover the market, I not only finished…
You read while you walk?
Hi again, Joe! 🙂
OK, next to my dogs, who truly are the cutest dogs in the world, Lulu is #3!!!
Yeah, a sword cane sounds good, but really, unless your name is Inigo Montoya* or Connor MacLeod, and going by your blogspot name, I’m guessing it isn’t, this cane which includes a sword isn’t worth the bother. Plus, there’s all of the cleanup after the Quickening, er, beheading.
Anonymous said…
A woman named Scott…..only you could think of that. However, one time, one of my female friends named herself ‘Steve’.
Uh, tell the lady I know whose family nicknamed her Scottie. I am an eddy, and I know a Phred, Bobby (busted, Cil!), Charlee and a Stevie too, all women.
Anyway, you’re right, Joe, about not making too much of a big deal about your nephew’s little fall. Make sure they’re OK, assure them they’re loved, and move on.
Have a lovely evening, or whatever day part it is.
Jill_Ion/eddy
*You killed my father. Prepare to die.
Ahhh, crying kids. Gotta love that.
So you’re a Raiders’ fan. I can’t say that I particularly like your team choice, but to each his own. I’d rather not say which team I like. When I do, I tend to get looks of unpleasant surprise…
Those ears!!!
I ironically decided to watch the movie of Night Watch tonight, so a good time to compare it to the book. I found they did a fairly good translation for the books, only a couple of errors hear and there. Also the grammar is a little off, BUT it’s an excellent read. The movie actually only covers the first third of the Night Watch novel. The second movie covers the remaining two parts of the first novel. There are two more books in the series, Dusk Watch and Final Watch, but I have yet to read them. There are some major differences between the novel and the book, defiantly something to check into. I very highly recommend the books.
Also, how is that you are able to read so fast? I’d love to be able to pick up a book and just read, without spending so much time doing it. Of course, I do enjoy it either way.
Have you ever read Michael Crichton’s “Next”? It’s definitely worth a read!
Lulu is absolutely adorable, especially the over-sized ears, just like a Corgi puppy. I’m betting this has been asked before, but will Daniel ever get the chance to go to Atlantis again? (Maybe in s5, if the show gets picked up?) It sure seems like he didn’t get to do much in Pegasus Project. Also, I’m guessing we get to learn what will become of Mitchell, Teal’c, and Daniel in the movies, seeing as Carter’s leaving for Atlantis. Close? Not even? Sigh.
Man, I can never see the word “okonomiyaki” without thinking of Ukyou from Ranma Nibun no Ichi … I’ve never actually *had* okonomiyaki, though ….
Many of the Tarts told me they loved Nightwatch, but I have yet to see it, alas. Now that you’ve reminded me, maybe I’ll hunt it down …
*waves*
Sorry, Joe, I couldn’t help myself, hehehe.
“Teyilia said…
Hi Joe, it has been a while since I posted something to you 🙂
one little question, OK maybe a big question, How is everyone? (IE Rachel, Jason, David, Joe F, Yourself?) You are all in my prayers! Mostly Rachel though! OK so I stay in Teyla’s sock drawer every night but hey it is worth praying for the lady…. right?
Anyhow I hope everyone(and you) are doing well, I know I’m not… *sucks on burned right pointing finger*
~Teyilia, the kitty in Teylas socks.”
*cough*
I don’t think PG15 is the only one to have eaten the flocking!
See what you’ve started, Joe? The fandom has become a flocking nuthouse! Actually Teylilia, I have to say, after this, I bet Joe can’t wait to see you when you turn up on the set for your bit part! (I did get that right didn’t I hon? In your LJ you said you might be sparring with Teyla?) 😀
*hugs Joe*
Good luck, Joe, I fear you may need it!
*giggles*
Oh and Lulu still looks so sweet with her big bat ears, do they stay like that or will she grow into them?
Any chance of seeing Jaime Ray Newman back on Atlantis this season?
Hi Joe,
Have you ever thought of writing a book yourself? You have a very interesting style of writing as well as a lot of book experience. Also any recommendations for someone who hasn’t read much of a variety of books?
I like your reaction to the the falling kid much better. People baby kids too much. Reminds me of the time when my cousin was like six or something and she fell while we were taking a walk on a trail. She started crying over a skinned knee. Of course, my whole family reacted like, “Dude, suck it up. Don’t be a pansy.” Or that time I was baby sitting four kids (the only time I ever did such a thing) and the two sisters were messing around with my treadmill. I warned them to be careful, but one of them hurt herself anyway. I got her a bandaid and continued what I was doing. Then her sister proceeded to do exactly the same thing and also got hurt. She got no sympathy from me and I had to work to try not to laugh in her face. After all, she just saw it happen to someone else. How stupid did she have to be. Guess that goes to show that, at least for some people, hearing something’s a bad idea doesn’t work and seeing someone else try it and regret it doesn’t work. They’ve just to go learn for themselves. Sure, I could have made the treadmill off-limits from the start, but what would they have learned?
It’s worse when its your own child whom you’ve painstakingly trained to overcome the baby-it-up syndrome is countermanded by grandparents and friends who see it fit to come along and release the baby Teddy Ruxpins, leaving your skillful parenting tactics in utter shambles.
*air*
I had an interesting dining experience today at a “Asian Fusion” restaurant called E&O Trading Company. (10 mi N of San Francisco) Although I much prefer the purely Japanese cuisine at Sapporo Ya in SF. But I highly recommend the Buckeye Roadhouse, a pricey Marin County favorite should you ever visit this super awesome region of California.
Good to know I’m not the only weirdo who takes pictures of her food. D=
I haven’t been lurking here or on GW for a while, but would I be right in suspecting the same small group with its nutbag leader is responsible for the Sheyla baby and Ronon/Keller scenario?
Joe, one of these people claims to have inside information. If this stuff turns out to be true, I think it’ll prove that.
This person has also had the nerve to brag about going into a competing ship thread to stir up the locals.
You realise that either of these scenarios would be a case of serious shark jumping, right?
AW! Lulu! man just LOOK at those ears. will they fit eventually?
My German Shephard had the biggest ears and paws and eventually the ears fit but the paws are still too big.
Would you mind dedicating a blog to my 12 year old daughter Katherine? she is quite bereft because her elder sister has just left home and moved 130 miles away with her Fiance and I KNOW it’ll give her a kick as she always ask me what Mr Mallozzi has had to say.
I should never read your blog at 1:30 in the morning, when I am dead tired and about to hit the sack for work in…oh…a few hours.
I just laughed so hard I woke up my poor husband. Eh. That’ll teach him for sleeping like a normal person.
I love the first pic there of Lulu. She adores the camera, you can tell.
Anyhow, thanks for the laugh, Joe. You never fail to dissapoint.
“Probably Scott.”
Priceless.
I take it you’re not a fan of children then? 🙂 Pauline is right, the therapy bills will be huge!
I was wondering if you knew whether Lorne’s ATA gene is natural or artificial?
Joe, I know that somewhere deep inside you lies someone who actually cares what happens to small children.
Somewhere. 🙂
I agree with you on the making a fuss thing. In my family, everyone yells out “Oopla!” (which sounds Greek, but is Swiss, actually) and moves on. If you’re really hurt, you can go ahead and cry and get some attention. But most kids bounce fairly well and will brush themselves off and get on with business.
I’m still trying to figure out how John became a doppleganger and fathered Teyla’s baby….
Poor Joe. You have the stalker of SG and Supernatural fandom on your doorstep now. You’ll never escape now.
Hiya Joe,
I see that you’re reading more Pratchett with enthusiasm! As a fan of the author myself, I quite like all his books.
Lulu looks like a little dog. She’s very petite looking and seems so well behaved!
So uh does Eric look at you like you’re some weird Uncle? I reckon you should have bought the sword… at least then you could put it in your office or something and show off!
I don’t think they sell swords in Markets here – for obvious bodily endangerment reasons.
Take care!
M
Knowing that you’re a fan of “Farscape,” what are some of your favorite episodes or moments from the series? Do you prefer the more dramatic moments or the more comedic ones? I actually just watched “Coup by Clam” where Ben Browder is dressed in drag, and I must say that he didn’t look too bad. Was there ever a moment where you thought about having Mitchell go incognito as a woman? What a special episode of SG-1 that would have been.
Lulu continues to be cute as a button. Hurrah for baby pictures! She seems to be very photogenic.
I have to say, I have never seen okinomiyaki on a menu before (then again, our Japanese down here in Texas is probably watered down a little). It sounds delicious though, and cheese free?
So sadly, are all your spammers done with you? I miss Ali and his Muslim/Argentinian scamming ways. Sadly, only tired girls seem to want to chat with me, which just doesn’t seem to have the same flair as stringing a scammer along.
Bonjour,
J’aimerais savoir si il y aura une concrétisation ship (John/Elizabeth, Teyla/Ronon, Teyla/John) ou non??
Vous avez également parler de quelque chose entre Ronon et Keller, est-ce que se seras réel??
merci de bien vouloir me répondre !:)
Hmmm….I guess you didn’t like the comment I made 2 days ago about de-aging a character…since it didn’t get posted. I will have to try another one of my brilliant ideas later….evil grin.
Do you ever read the reactions of the fans on the french websites or forums ?
By the way, I apologize for my terrible English in my few commentaries here.
Lemons, Joe. I’m just sayin’……
Hi, I haven’t read your blog in a few days, and I’m just catching up. (by the way, McKay should get kidney stones – it makes for some great comedic happenings – I have a feeling it hurts worse than an arrow in the gluteus maximus).
TMI illusion over with, I was wondering. You all have skirted the issue for three seasons now. Will we learn how the Wraith refer to one another? Do they have names – or are they more like a collective consciousness? I was re-watching Common Ground and realized the Wraith never answered Sheppard’s question about that.
Sheppard being the only military personnel from Earth on SGA-1, who is his 2IC?
Rule number one, unless copious amounts of blood are involved laugh at the little b…blighters.Kids always take their cue from adults faces and reactions I should know I had four of ’em and injuries varying from bumps and scrapes to broken arms and a tooth knocked out, one of the arm breaks was done in a bedroom tripping over a shoe on the way to the bathroom at 12.30am.
I think you might not like the takoyaki because you’ve never had one that was properly cooked? When Tony Bourdain went to Osaka he had some really good ones (or so he said). And do you know what region that version of okonomiyaki comes from? My mother and I did what I later called the Okonomiyaki Tour of Japan and I never saw one with soba in it. You can get a pretty decent premade mix from any Japanese market, too. Just remember to buy Bulldog sauce for the top!
For my (real) question: why do you think the Raiders are taking so long to sign JaMarcus Russell???
All my puppies had to learn that lesson about their mates and sharing (not!) goodies. Sad but necessary. You’re right, though: once the bedding is shared, she’s in the pack for life.
Good instincts about the walking stick thing at Blades R Us or whatever it was called.
EC
And I thought some of my ideas as to who the father of Teyla’s baby might be were wild! Shep’s Doppelganger???!!! As we know you will not tell us who the father is, would you please tell us in what episode we will find out whodunit?
Someone posted:
Mr Reed said…
Poor Joe. You have the stalker of SG and Supernatural fandom on your doorstep now. You’ll never escape now. –
Don’t know what all the stalker talk is about but thanks for mentioning Supernatural and using my name. It certainly allows me the opening to mention that I have more articles and interviews about the series upcoming.
I really like Supernatural a lot and have had the pleasure of doing some articles and interviews with the cast and crew of the series and it’s been really gratifying for me that the fans of the series have given them such a positive response.
So once again thanks for giving me the opportunity to mention that I have several more interviews coming up that I did while doing press coverage at Comic Con.
Heck might as well mention that I have articles on Eureka, Flash Gordon, Stargate movies, Pathology and a very exclusive interview with Amanda Tapping about her successful web series Sanctuary all coming up too.
Marla R Reed
“Jill_Ion said…
Farscapefan said…
Hi Joe,
I’ve been rewatching “Counterstrike” earlier today and have one question: who dr Phil is?
He is a guy who has an afternoon talk show, called the Dr. Phil Show.”
Thanks 🙂
Hello! I am new here so please don’t tie me to the sacrificial post and feed me to the wraith if i mess up here,lol.
I had a question for you that was originally directed to Damian Kindler and was curious to your response to it.
The Ancient machine found on Darakara that was modified to wipe out the Replicators was originally the machine that created life in the Milky Way. I was wondering if SGA would find this equivellent in the Pegagsus Galaxy in the near future.
I love your blog! very entertaining and I see now after viewing David Hewllet’s blog’s why you two get along so well. Too Cool!!
Ghost writes: “Ever read Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko?”
Answer: I picked up the DVD and watched it with David and Jane. We all loved it. I have yet to pick up the books – Day Watch and Night Watch. How’s the translation?
“ночной дозор” and “дневной дозор”
[nochnoi dozor and dnevnoi dozor]
Katja
Now that Matt Roush of TV Guide has done the first trashing of SciFi’s new “Flash Gordon”, what are your thoughts about SciFi giving SGA such a pathetic lead-in?
Oh shoot…um, ok, it seems that I wasn’t supposed to post that link I just sent you, so would you mind *please* deleting that comment before reading what’s in that link? Please? It’s really important that you DO NOT click that link. REALLY IMPORTANT.
Anonymous said:
[…] would I be right in suspecting the same small group with its nutbag leader is responsible for the Sheyla baby and Ronon/Keller scenario?
[…]
You realise that either of these scenarios would be a case of serious shark jumping, right?
Huh? How the Ronon/Keller scenario would be a case of shark jumping? Because you like Ronon paired with someone else? Then Ronon/any-other-character means the show jumped the shark because it would contradict your fave pairing? Because it’s not like we’ve seen them together, so nobody can say if they have or don’t have chemistry together…
Regarding John’s being the father of Teyla’s baby, I doubt this is the case, because Joe here said that they had initially thought about making Rodney a father, but then they decided to write Rachel’s pregnancy into the show, and they didn’t want to have two main characters facing parenthood in the same season. That pretty much means John can’t be the father, because then you’d have two main characters facing parenthood. Unless they’ve changed their opinion in the last few months…
I really don’t mind any pairing in canon. None of the main characters are in a relationship in canon so far (except Rodney, Joe confirmed Rodney was in a relationship with Katie Brown). All of rest (John, Elizabeth, Teyla, Ronon, etc) have a great chemistry as friends. I’m all for just friendship in canon, but if TPTB decided to ship any of these characters, why would some pairings mean the show is jumping the shark? Just because certain pairings are not the ones you prefer? As I said, I prefer just friendship, but if they go with pairings in canon, as long as the stories are interesting and they don’t become the focus of the show (as others said, it’s not a soap opera), I welcome any pairing.
Hi Joe,
I read that Martin said at Comic Con that there was a scene in Continuum where Daniel is walking down the street and sees Janet’s parents, but then Martin said he was only kidding. After reading some snippets from Amanda’s latest interview where she mentions Continuum, I have to ask – was Martin really kidding? You’ve seen Continuum Joe. Could you please give some hints. Was Martin really kidding, or was he kidding when he said he was kidding?
After what Amanda said happens to them in the movie, I can definitely see that happening.
anonymous said:
“Now that Matt Roush of TV Guide has done the first trashing of SciFi’s new “Flash Gordon”, what are your thoughts about SciFi giving SGA such a pathetic lead-in?”
Have you watched the show and agree that it’s pathetic? Or do you base your opinion on just what Mr. Roush said?
Because, considering that Mr. Roush never thought very highly about SG-1, and he only became interested in it when his beloved cast from Farscape went to SG-1… I wouldn’t say Flash Gordon is trash until I watched it myself…
FYI to the person who asked about Shephard – Shephard is not the only military rep from earth – Carter is military and she is a full bird Colonel.
Mr Reed said…
Poor Joe. You have the stalker of SG and Supernatural fandom on your doorstep now. You’ll never escape now.
Leah, are you impersonating your arch nemesis again?
Thanks Joe!!
hi, joe,
in reading the blog posts, the gene therapy thinger was brought up; will sam have this done too? if not, will it hinder her doing her job? what if a situation comes up that one of the gene therapy ppl aren’t around and sam ‘has’ to try to work the machine… please remember i don’t watch this yet, so if i’m not making sense, don’t laugh. :p
sally 🙂
Can we expect that you will make SG movies next year to be released in 2009 or will the MGM wait the success of AoT at spring?
Hi Joe! Just one question today.
Any plans for an ice planet for our Atlantis expedition members this year? Or any other really different sort of planet environment?
Joe, I always love the pictures you post. I was wondering what kind of camera do you use?
“I wouldn’t say Flash Gordon is trash until I watched it myself…”
There are now several reviews on “Flash” around the net, and none are very good. Quite similar to what Painkiller Jane got, and after seeing PKJ once, those negative reviews were rather kind.
I’ll watch SGA, but I’m not gonna sit through FG for it.
Do all asians eat Sticky Rice or is it more a Thai type of food..I love it eat it all the time