“The first thing to do is look at the chocolate,”advised Pierre. “Study its appearance.” Everyone unwrapped and carefully scrutinized their squares. The woman to my right gaped as though she’d just borne witness to some astounding magic trick. Hey, that’s not a chocolate! That’s my card, the Ace of Clubs! “Now, break the chocolate.” Pierre demonstrated. “A good chocolate will snap.” Snaps all around. “Now, put it in your mouth.” I was already there, having skipped chocolate-tasting steps #1 through #5 and gone straight to steps #6 and #7, chew and swallow. “What do you taste? Licorice? Green olives?” Nods and murmurs of assent from the gathering.
“Woodiness?”someone piped up.
“That’s licorice,”Pierre set them straight. And then, without missing a beat: “Apricots? Currants?” My unrefined palate tasted chocolate mostly. Well, chocolate and an underlying sharpness that may have been currants but could just as easily have been the tiny corner of foil wrap I’d unwittingly ingested.
It was a little after noon and I was at Monde Chocolat on Burrard. The shop was hosting Pierre Cluizel, son of Michel Cluizel & operations manager of the Michel Cluizel company, who was in town to promote the high-end chocolate line. Of course being the chocolate veteran I am, I already knew Cluizel from A to V (A for their Los Ancones plantation in Saint Domingue and V for their Vila Gracinda plantation on the island of Sao Tome), and Fondy in particular is more than familiar with their Grand Lait 45%, her very favorite milk chocolate bar. Still, Monde Chocolat co-founders and owners Karlo and Fabiana were kind enough to invite me and a dozen other lucky regulars for this early afternoon chocolate tasting.
“How would you approach tasting if you were pairing chocolate with wine, cognac, or porto?”asked one eager beaver. Then, another participant inquired about the conching process. As Pierre fielded their queries, my inner voices kept screaming: “Come one! Come on! Let’s get back to the tasting!”
And eventually, we did, making our way through each of the squares in our complimentary chocolate kit. This one redolent with caramel aromas. That one possessed of herbaceous notes. That other one boasting a subtle spiciness and the flavor of green bananas. I took time off from my chocolate appreciation to take pics of the gathering. Across the room, some unidentified young woman was snapping photos of her own a with much, MUCH better camera – one of those fancy ones with the removable lens! As she lined up her next shot, I sidestepped clear. “Sorry.” I felt the need to apologize. “I’m notoriously un-photogenic.” She smiled sympathetically. I redirected my attention back to the chocolate lesson. From the corner of my eye, I caught her lining me up and snapping a pic. She checked the result and frowned, lined me up and tried again.
The demonstration wrapped and, while everyone else worked the room, I redirected my attention back to my chocolate kit and its remaining contents in a bid to further educate myself on its tastes and textures (a.k.a. tide myself over as it was well past lunch and I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast). As I polished off my complimentary snack box, the mystery photographer stepped up and snapped another photo of me. “I taste licorice and green olives,”I expounded, “with just a hint of the migrant farm worker who was murdered and buried near the cocoa plant where the beans were harvested.”
She nodded, casting her mind back to the chocolate’s multi-layered essence. “I think his name was Manny…Manuel…”
“I’m getting more of a knifing undertone than bullet notes.”
“Yeah, sort of one of these,”she concurred, shanking me in the gut with her invisible shiv.
She introduced herself as Mackenzie and it turned out she wasn’t there to snap photos for her own blog after all. She was documenting the event for her mother, Hodie, who is a partner in the chocolate shop. Over the course of our ensuing conversation, I learned that she not only dabbled in photography but acting, prawn fishing, and zip-line operation as well. Just the thought of the latter – screaming down an angled cable hundreds of feet above a forest canopy – was enough to make me shudder. “No way,“I confided. “I don’t even like it when someone I know is on a balcony.”
“You’re afraid of heights.”
“It’s a medical condition,”I explained and then, glancing down at the time on my blackberry realized I had twenty minutes to get downtown. I excused myself. “I’ve got a meeting with my accountant and then another meeting with my financial advisor.”
Mackenzie threw me a sideways glance. “Are you going in for a root canal too?”
“Actually, my dentist appointment is next week.” And with that, I was out the door.
About an hour later, once my sit-down with my accountant wrapped, I walked up the street to Japa Dog, Vancouver’s one-of-a-kind Japanese hot dog stand. In addition to the standard fare (turkey, bratwursts, and jalapeno and cheese smokies), Japa Dog offers some unique menu items like the Terimayo (an all beef smothered in Japanese mayo, nori, teriyaki sauce, and fried onions) and the Oroshi (a bratwurst laden with special soy sauce, green onions, and daikon). Its tiny set-up is plastered with photos of celebrities enjoying their Japa Dog dogs. “Hey!”I was tempted to say. “I’ll have what Ice Cube had.” But instead, I went with the latest addition to the menu: the Kurobuta (Japanese black hog) dog smothered in grilled red onions, wasabi mayo, and hot sauce. Wow! Totemo Oishikatta!
I returned home to various household chores and a veritable ant invasion. Apparently taking advantage of Fondy’s absence, they’ve elected to bivouac in the front room. “I had the same problem,”my mother revealed when I spoke with her tonight.
“What did you do?”I asked.
“Put down the cucumber skin. The ants don’t like.”
So I put down the cucumber skin. I can’t be sure whether the ants liked it or not, but I do know that one of my pugs certainly did. Five minutes after carefully lining the perimeter of the back porch, I stepped outside in time to catch Bubba snapping up the last of the thinly sliced English cukes. If he could speak, I knew exactly what he would have said: Slightly herbaceous with earthy notes and an undercurrent of formicidae.
Our continuing discussion of The Etched City –
Thornyrose writes: “The Authorities probably saw it as a way of ensuring Horn Fan’s destruction, given the three to one odds they were granted. And I attributed the victory of the Horn Fan less to supernatural explanations than the simple fact that every man on that side knew that they were dead men anyways, and they fought accordingly.”
Answer: Maybe, but I found it odd that given the nature of the battle, the Society of the Horn Fan suffered no significant injuries. This would seem to suggest more than sheer luck was at play.
Aqualegia writes: “Thoughts on The Etched City: I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the book where they were escaping, it was a rollicking adventure. Unfortunately it went downhill from there. Once they were in the city it was hard going, and not very interesting. The final straw as far as I was concerned was when the religion/religious discussion got to be the main focus of the story….”
Answer: I’ll admit that the story slowed down for me too at this point but then quickly picked up with the developments in the Horn Fan camp. With the introduction of Elm’s son, events took an even darker turn and I fairly sailed through the rest of the book.
Finally – Heard from Janina who wanted to express her appreciation for all of the great feedback on her appearance here. She asked me to pass along the following links if you’d like to keep up to date on with her and her ongoing projects…
http://www.janinaz.deviantart.com
http://www.twitter.com/janinaz
http://www.msdewey.com
http://www.janinagavankar.com
The mailbag:
SG1Fan writes: “On various places on the web, a few people have claimed to be involved in Stargate behind the scenes in some form or another, and have mentioned a number of times that the fans shouldn’t be looking at Continuum’s success (which it will have I am sure!) to bring about a third, or even more movies…but in fact, an eleventh season.”
Answer: People who are making such claims have no idea what they’re talking about and I seriously doubt they are in any way involved in the show’s production. As much as I would love to see an 11th season for SG-1, it aint gonna happen.
Sarah writes: “In a recently published interview with yourself and Mr. Bob Picardo, Bob was quoted as stating in reference to Kanan: “…Teyla’s husband–the father of her child…” Can you let us know if this is a major spoiler or just a slip of the tongue error?”
Answer: Slip of the tongue. Teyla is not married.
Narelle from Aus writes: “Do you have wine preference to go with all of this food?”
Answer: Believe it or not, I’m not much of a wine drinker.
RangerOne writes: “Do the people who do the commentaries get paid to do them?”
Answer: Those who take part in the commentaries do so on a voluntary basis. They do not get paid. As much as the production would love the secure the participation of the various actors, producers, and directors, it comes down to availability. The commentaries are done in Vancouver during the show’s production and it’s often very difficult for an actor to find the time to do them. As for what is discussed – it all depends. The directors will discuss the technical aspects while the producers will probably discuss both the story and production aspects. We try to cover a variety of topics. What you find boring, others fans may find interesting – and vice-versa.
Big J writes: “When Ronon was introduced to Stargate Atlantis, he remarked that he couldn’t be fed upon. The new info (a teaser for the episode) says that Ronon is fed upon and given life over and over as torture. How can this be possible?”
Answer: Ronon never said he couldn’t be fed upon. He told his story to Teyla and we witnessed a flashback in which the wraith was about to feed on Ronon then stopped, reconsidered, and made him a runner. We discussed this scene with the writer, Rob Cooper, two years ago and, in his mind, the wraith didn’t stop because he was unable to feed. He stopped because he was so impressed with Ronon’s defiance that he realized he would make for great sport – and thus made him a runner.
Cheeky Lil Devil writes: “Thanks for keeping us up to date, I just hope, you know that Remnants will be everything we hope it is, because you know what the whumpers are like. You know especially how much we adore the character development. So any news on what the network said about some of the scenes?”
Answer: Well – y’know – we’re still on hiatus and I – well, y’know – just got the script in a little while ago so I expect notes – y’know – hopefully sometime before we start shooting.
Jm writes: “I was wondering how you felt about that juxtaposed to the success of shows such as “Lost” where the audience inherently *doesn’t* get it, especially on an episode to episode basis?”
Answer: Lost is heavily serialized. At the heart of its premise is an intriguing mystery that is explored and revealed over time. It’s a completely different show.
Shadow Step writes: “Well, needless to say I disagree – there are always rules and limits, they can just be harder to see sometimes. If you have a transporter which can beam the heroes to safety – is easier to write a “good” story with it working or would it be easier if one was to contrive a malfunction?”
Answer: I don’t think you can make the same comparison with time travel. You need to be consistent with what you can and cannot do. Simply saying “Hey, anything can happen” and then writing a story that suits your needs, creating contrivances to patch up spotty logic is, in my opinion, lazy writing.
Joe, a quick question that came up on Jinxworld. As a sci fi writer, perhaps you could give us some insights…
Someone asked why the human populations of planets in science fiction stories tend to be mono-cultural, with little or no diversity as seen on earth. Someone else took this a step further, and pointed out that planets in sci fi also tend to have just one type of ecosystem and climate, which I noticed as a watched The Seer today, and mention was made that the planet – not just a portion of it – was a “forested planet, misty, with ancient ruins’.
Some have said it’s a lack of imagination on the writer’s part, or just sheer laziness. Others feel it’s more about keeping things simple for the audience. But I’d prefer to hear an explanation from someone actually in the business.
Please shed some light on this. Why is there little or no diversity on sci fi planets, both in the human populations, and in the environmental conditions of the planet itself?
Thankies.
das
I just saw the season four deleted scenes and I couldn’t be happier. Thank you so much for including these in the DVD! Some of the scenes showed exactly what I thought was missing in some of the episodes. Other scenes showed some nice character moments. Either way, it was great getting to see them. 🙂
Will Sheppard be turned into another alien any time soon?
Sue
Hi Joe. My mother swears that the generous application of talcum powder around the house will halt any ant invasion. I won’t tell her about the cucumber remedy. She’ll probably do that too, then next time I visit there’ll be powder coated cucumber skins everywhere..
Hey Joe, got back from our big adventure in the big city, mostly unscathed even.
Mackenzie was a trooper who went through her MRI with pose, grace, and only slight insistence to get the heck out of there. No results yet, that has to wait until the 22nd when we re-explore the big city for a foray into Neurology.
Glad to see chocolate pics made me grin a little! Now I’m off to bed!
Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents and ask that you utilize Kavan Smith’s Character, Major Lorne, as much as possible as you beginning shooting the back half of season 5. I know it is not always possible to include him in episodes but I wanted to let you know that I enjoy his character, especially his dry wit and sarcastic nature with McKay.
Thanks,
Another good remedy for ants is to use peppermint oil. This would help solve the problem of pugs eating up the cucumber skins!
My tricks for dealing with ants – especially if one has pets (somehow my cat wouldn’t eat the ants, solving the problem in one go) is to clean well (particularly if there is an ant trail) and put out cotton balls soaked in either peppermint or wintergreen oil (non-toxic to animals).
Of course if it’s a room that you can keep the dogs out of, regular pesticide works too.
I’m surprised to hear you have an ant problem all the way up there. Being from the northwest, I’m unused to the ant situation down in SoCal, so they’ve been driving me nuts. I even had to blog about my hatred for the little bug(ger)s. I also did some online research about how to take care of them. It’s said that corn meal will kill them if they eat it. I put some around the house, but they don’t appear to be going for it. Baby powder is also supposed to kill them, so I sprinkled some around inside by where they might get in. I’ve heard mint also deters them, but I think it’s not safe for cats (not sure about dogs). Regular pepper also seems to be something they don’t like, and will avoid. But mostly I’ve just had to make sure that there’s not any amount of food left out anywhere ever…which is kind of a hassle, but I haven’t noticed any invasions the past few days.
I fear I lack the palate to properly appreciate so many fine chocolates, but I certainly wouldn’t lack the willingness to scarf down the maximum amount in the shortest possible time. They did look lovely. Though it seems a bit odd to have the oriental hot dog concoction after indulging in sampling so many flavors.
Another remedy is coffee grounds (used), around the edge of the house. It worked for me last year, though I was also utilizing more conventional chemical weaponry on their major points of (detected) ingress. And the flower gardens seemed to like the extra nourishment. I’ve had to hack out a couple of would-be trees that popped up this spring. Well, time to pack the computer away and head northbound, where a number of us will be thrilled by the likes of David and Katie Hewlett, Jewel Staite, and some other guy from an old 1960s tv show, not to mention the iconic Mr. Malcolm McDowell. I hope you enjoy the rest of the hiatus, and as always, thank you for your time on providing us with your insights, teasers, and culunary education.
In Carter’s office in season 4 she has pictures in her office, who are they pictures of?
Joe said:
Do you want to be? I know that at least Das, Dovil and I could help you with that…
It’s always tricky finding solutions to issues like ants without poisoning your animals.
My dogs do their best to poison themselves on their own. Ralph ate a foot long Toblerone just before Christmas, he stole my Chocolate Brownie from my desk on Monday, has taken to drinking my coffee when I’m not around and need I mention what happens to a dog when they eat four corn cobs? It means a big operation for Ralph and we become fiscally lacking.
Hope you have some of your tasting box left and you can’t taste any “hint of tradesman sock” or “fur of the pug”.
I use baking soda against ants and I searched for a site where you can find more tips:
http://www.lassentech.com/eipest.html
This is completely off any topic, but I have a question that has been bugging me for decades about how scifi shows limit battle sequences in space.
Space is a void, and it should allow for movement in any direction at any speed. Why are ship to ship fights always in forward motion, like aerial dogfights or ships at sea?
I’ve always wanted to see space ships that could utilize thrusters of some type that would allow for movement up or down and/or side to side as easily as they do forward, or even backwards at speed. It could add a whole new dimension to space battles. Or is there something I’m missing?
@anne teldy – got it 🙂
Hey Joe.
I bought S4 of Atlantis today from Wal-Mart. When I walked in, they had a huge Stargate display, with every season and this BIG poser of Atlantis. I just mumbled to myself how I’d like it, and the manager happened to hear me. He peeled the poster off the display and sent me home with it! I am now the proud owner of a 4 foor by 2.5 foot SGA s4 poster.
No question today.
Thanks Joe.
@dasNdanger
My thought was always that it is just easier to treat a planet as a smaller place than it actually is to keep the plot going.
One of my favorite moments in Star Trek was in Enterprise. The bad guy crash landed on a planet. The Enterprise also had to send people down to the planet to get some crystals so they could randomly fluctuate something with the tachyon emitter, generating a subspace pulse that would transform the whosiwhatsis.
One of the characters said, “But you can’t go down to the planet! Evil Bad Guy is down there!”
The captain said, “So land 3,000 miles away.” and they moved on. I thought that was wonderful as Star Trek had degenerated into very lazy writing.
I have to pipe up in agreement with the talcum powder advocates! Works like a charm, because the ants won’t walk across it – in fact, a thick line of blackboard chalk works too… and you could play hopscotch 😉
coucou Joseph!!
Miame!! sa l’air trés bon!! Je n’ai jamais manger de Hot dogs de ma vie, et je voudrais bien…!
Ourtch moi aussi j’ai rendez vous au dentiste la semaine prochaine…..!!!
Question:
1)suivez vous le Tour de france?
Ps: H-2 avant la grande nouvelle, je reviendrais.
Thanks for answering my question some days ago. 🙂
I’m still impressed that you write your blog every day. Are there days when you don’t like to write? And if so, what is your motivation to do it anyway? That you are a disciplined person? The fans/readers?
What things do you prefer to write and what gives you the most problems? For example emotions, action, funny things, a consecutive storyline, romance, dialogue…
And for the DVD commentaries: I’ve noticed the longer a show runs the less actor’s commentaries are produced. It’s a pity because I like the various insights about a show from different people depending on their working area.
I’m still waiting for my Season 4 DVD box – it’s a long way from America to Germany 😉
Hello again Mr M!
Wow, that chocolate tasting looks good! Is that on Burrard St, near Don Francesco’s? I think I passed it when I was there in April.
WRT: Ms MacKenzie, I thought she looked like one of Major Anne Teldy’s Team in Whispers??? Can she handle a P90?
Finally, when is Mr McCullough dropping by for the guest blog? I have been skimming through SG1 seasons looing at his work…also have a question about Dedalus Variations!
Regards to all, (ingredients ready for your Mum’s cake…tackling same this weekend) Best of luck at the dentist next week!
S’n’T
Along the lines of the baking soda solution is toothpaste. I suspect it’s the same trick at work there. Ants are a nightmare!
And that chocolate tasting sounded divine! But I think I preferred the chocolate story-telling you did with the photographer. Perhaps a new service for Monde to offer?
Yéééé!!!! j’ai mon bep!!!!!!! Youpi^^!!!!
Voici mes notes:
PRATIQUE PROFESSIONNELLE ♣ 53.00 /80.0 VIE SOCIALE ET PROFESSIONNELLE ♣16.00 /20.0
TEC:ACTIVITES PROF. DOSSIER ♣14.00 /20.0
EPREUVE JURIDIQUE ECONOMIQUE ♣09.00 /20.0
FRANCAIS ♣12.00 /20.0
MATHEMATIQUES ♣05.50 /20.0
HISTOIRE – GEOGRAPHIE ♣16.50 /20.0
LANGUE VIVANTE ETRANGERE : ANGLAIS ♣09.50 /20.0
EDUCATION PHYSIQUE ET SPORTIVE : ♣15.00/20.0
DESSIN/ ♣16.00 /20.0
HUm…j’avoue que les math ce n’est pas du tous sa -_-”
Mais je suis super contente qu”en même!!
I might be MIA this weekend. I’m leaving for Shore Leave in forty minutes! Thank goodness I packed last night.
Everyone try to behave while I’m gone! 😉
See you later!
Trish 😀
Joe,
I love the pictures of the food that you post on your blog. I’ve lost 102 lbs (46 kilos) to date and I live vicariously through your eating adventures. I’m not being snarky about this. I really do like the places you go to. And I like your commentaries. It gives me great recipe ideas. Also, it’s very helpful to me when I go to a restaurant or find a new one. I plan to visit Vancouver one of these days and appreciate the restaurant commentaries especially.
Would you ever consider working the death of Don Davis into atlantis?
You torture me so with the chocolate tastings! Having just been slaving away in the garden all morning, I could do with a cocoa, sugar and endorphin induced high.
I’ve never heard of the cucumber solution to an ant invasion. I’ll try and remember that. Although, I’m not sure whether we’d have the same problem with the cat (who is aptly named Spot – I was unimaginative as a child).
Having not seen Continuum, I don’t know whether the following question is pointless, however, I was listening to a mp3 file of an interview with Cliff Simon last night, and was wondering if there were any plans to bring Ba’al into the storyline of Stargate at any point in the future?
Also, Sky One has finally worked its way back round to the beginning of Season 1 of SG-1, and I was able to watch the first two episodes the other day. Unfortunately, my Mum sat through it constantly calling time outs where I had to pause the episode so I could explain the “plot holes” she had noticed. Even though I know you were not involved with the earlier seasons, in general, how do you deal with continuity of story lines and how technology is supposed to work?
Okay, done asking questions now =D
mmmm, I think I would have gone for the Terimayo with Japanese Seaweed. I truley wish take outs/pubs/resturants in British cities had this kind of variety in their cuizine, I guess were just to set in our ways to venture much further than Steak and Ale pie 🙂
Just a question from a multi-whumper 🙂 Will Daniel and/or McKay receive any Whumpage in the two parter?
Many thanks
Sprinkles
ants = boric acid
Das: Why is there little or no diversity on sci fi planets, both in the human populations, and in the environmental conditions of the planet itself?
Just my 2 shekels, in my experience I’ve seen & read about a ton of diversity on both space faring & non-space faring planets. Keeping to Stargate: I thought Langara, for ex, was very diverse both geographic & human. One of my very fave planets was Hebridan, technically advanced & diverse people, only saw the city but certainly didn’t think the whole planet was a city (like Coruscant). We only saw a bit of Abydos each time- but I didn’t think the whole planet was “Dune”. Same for Chulak, etc.
If I were cataloging planets, I would also tend to remember them according to the piece that I saw, especially if arriving by gate and not ship, ie didn’t see the whole thing from orbit. Since many planets have turned out very similar geographically, that’s why I never had a problem with the SGC’s system of naming. JMO.
Paloosa: I’ve always wanted to see space ships that could utilize thrusters of some type that would allow for movement up or down and/or side to side as easily as they do forward, or even backwards at speed.
A lot of dinar today! I’ve seen it many times, a lot in Star Trek. One of my fave scenes is in Star Trek: Wrath of Khan.
Last night we finished Doctor Who 2008 because I wanted to get over the usual unutterable grief before beginning SGA s5. Tennant 3 was a BRILLIANT year, hope you get a chance to see it. I’d recommend reviewing Genesis of the Daleks before the end episodes and speaking of, this guy is absolutely my fave Doc since Tom Baker, and I think it’s because DT’s performance/ personality resembles his.
DD
Hi Joe, I guess I just needed to keep reading the blog. You’ve given me some good choices for food. I’m looking forward to my trip to Montreal. Good music and good food. Can’t wait.
I’ve noticed that a few people talk about whumpers and shippers. Can you please tell me what they mean? Thanks.
Three DVDs down and two to go, some (very late?) feedback on Season 4 from my 19-year-old son and me:
Dr Weir: Great improvement in writing for Dr Weir than in previous seasons! To quote my son, “She no longer makes stupid decisions based on who annoyed her most recently.”
Dr Keller: Nothing against the actress but my son in particular finds her too young for the position she holds (my son’s perspective in this is of someone who hopes to study postgrad medicine). He points out that she is of the age when she should be just about completing her medical training and his immediate reaction on watching her operate in “Adrfit” was “no way could she have seen enough operations to be able to carry this out!”. If Dr Keller had been a junior doctor instead of a senior one, she would probably have worked better, at least for us.
Sam Carter: Great addition to the team. Hammond’s influence is clearly evident in her decision making processes: she learned about command from one of the best!
And a general thought about Ronon: I have seen in previous posts that viewers have presented the perspective that the Wraith were unable to feed off Ronon in the scene recalled in, I think, “Runner”, while you have said no, it wasn’t unable, it was chose not to (because he saw his defiance). I find this interesting as when I watch this I also interpret it as unable rather than unwilling, as does my son …. his quote while watching “Be All My Sins Remembered” when they arrive on the hive ship and are confronted by Wraith was “Just watch them try to feed off Ronon!”
By the way, we refer to the two types of Wraith as “Bugs” and “Fish”. How do you distinguish between them?
The directors will discuss the technical aspects while the producers will probably discuss both the story and production aspects. We try to cover a variety of topics. What you find boring, others fans may find interesting – and vice-versa.
Most of the DVD commentary interests me, particularly the technical chit-chat about how only a single light illuminated a scene and so forth. On the other hand, during a really emotional scene, I find it jarring when the commentators fail to make note of the heart-wrenching thing going on on screen. It’s like seeing someone you love crying their eyes out and turning to someone else to ask, “Do you prefer stripes over polka dots?”
By the way–about Woolsey? Excellent, excellent choice! Weir was okay, Carter was fine, but Woolsey–I hope that now we get to see the fur and feathers fly! A power struggle should feel like a struggle and with Woolsey in command we may yet get to see that struggle, as well as growth in Woolsey’s character. He may become a bit softer or become even more of a hardnose. Either way, RP has tremendous range, so I’m very psyched about S5 for the Woolsey stuff alone.
*covers eyes to avoid looking at those chocolates. I’m already hungry!*
Well, it figures. I posted about the lack of s5 promotion at MGM’s site and a few hours later they updated the site adding the 5×01 trailer and episodic stills. 😉 Still waiting for the close ups on Joe Flanigan and Jason Momoa, though 😛
I just checked SciFi Wire and they have the Top Ten SF&F DVD sales list today:
2. Stargate Atlantis Season Four
3. Stargate Continuum
http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/
Source: Amazon.com top-selling genre DVDs, 7/7/08
Congratulations!
I forgot to say that I loved the s4 DVD extras, especially the bloopers and deleted scenes. Those are my top favorite extras this time. The Mission Directives were great too.
I was also pleased with the number of pics in the Photo Gallery of each disc.
I’m glad some of the deleted scenes didn’t make the final cut (I won’t say which ones because they could be other fans’ favorite parts and I don’t want to cause trouble).
There are some scenes that I would have LOVED LOVED LOVED to see them in the actual episode:
– the scene from Miller’s Crossing, with John and Ronon coming into Rodney’s quarters (and Carson’s turtles)
– the scene with John and Caldwell in the Daedalus’ mess hall from The Kindred I
Those two are my top favorite deleted scenes.
Maybe you and MGM could put clips of deleted scenes and bloopers from seasons 1-3 at their site? *hint, hint*
Joe,
Thanks, once more, for maintaining this blog. Mine has become so woefully un-maintained that I’m finding it difficult to become motivated – even though I have my vacation to write about.
Random curiosity: Do you like caramel?
By the way, I was re-watching “Sunday” with my darling daughter – who is trying to get caught up with all the previous seasons before the new season starts (she just started watching the series this past spring) – and I caught something I hadn’t before. I still can’t watch the episode without a constant feeling of dread, but it was relieved a bit when Radek Zelenka told Carson that he’d won “Dr. Mallozzi’s Anime collection”. I had to stop it, rewind and watch again to be sure I’d heard right. I wasn’t aware of your blog at that time, so I couldn’t have appreciated that line in previous viewing as I did this time. Cute. Have any of the other writers, producers or crewmembers shown up in name like that?
Thanks, again. Have a wonderful day!
MA
Any of the chocolates stand out at the taste testing?
And are there any parts of the Stargate New Year’s Day poem that can be disregarded now because those particular storylines were shelved?
My Season 4 DVDs arrived, and it was lovely to lounge on the sofa with my remote and some blackberry wine watching all the special features. I love my job, but sometimes after I spend several days being lied to, it’s nice to watch some fun unreality.
Tomorrow is FRIDAY!! I need to buy more wine to go with the sofa-lounging and Atlantis! What do think would go best with the episode, red or white? Or fruit? That blackberry is pretty darned good.
Are we related? We share the same first initial and last name…..as does my sister….honest….am not some crazed fan. Born on East coast; been on West coast long time. Did not know how to get in touch with you any other way. You have my email. Please drop a line so we can compare family trees.
I come to this site with SAG questions percolating in my head but by the time I’ve ogled the foodie pictures and start reading Joe’s latest culinary escapade all I can think about is the f-word, food food and more food, yum! It doesn’t help that I read the JM blog just before lunch. Thank god I brought my 85% Lindt chocolate with me. It ain’t gourmet but it does snap and it hits the spot, and the 1 carb per square ratio can’t be beat. It’s hardcore chocolate, not for the faint of heart but it’s as low cal as chocolate can get. Oh and I loved the hotdog pics — are there stands like that in the U.S. or is this just a Vancouver thing?
…just posted a quick food review on my blog for a place in Maine that I visited on my trip. Check it out if you like.
…running off to work…
See if you’ll put on your Ann Landers cape for this. I and I guess many of your readers love to read your restaurant reviews. I was recently on a trip and was recommended to go to this one eatery. Wife, daughter and I are treated well and tried the house specialties. Problem was we we’re incredibly disappointed with the meal. Portion size (to small), taste combinations (not exciting enough or too overboard) and food temp and the overall cost, $25.00 for 4 fried shrimp breaded with planko crumbs.
Since you’ve recommended places to eat and probably have taken recommendations how do you politely tell the person it was less than favorable. You don’t want to hurt their feelings, but you want them to watch their recommendations in the future but not stop because someone might like that place.
I’ve enjoyed your blog and your insights into behind the scenes of SGA. Actually, I’ve only recently started watching SGA (I just started the third season on dvd). I’m excited about seeing Bob Picardo (I was a huge fan of his on Star Trek). (Actually, I’m sorry to admit it, but I started watching after I found out that Weir was gone… I didn’t like the character, she was well acted, well written, it was a personality conflict).
I had two questions –
1. Which character or set of characters is the most fun to write dialogue for? Or are there particular moments you look forward to putting in (I always enjoy a good McKay/Sheppard verbal spar)?
2. You said you’re not much of a wine drinker (too bad, I love a red wine with a hint of dirty feet) – do you have a preferred “adult” beverage that you like to enjoy? Are you a beer drinker? Tea? Soda?
Okay and one more –
What DOES a hog dog taste like?
Hey Joe!
Wow, the next best thing to wine tasting…chocolate tasting! Usually when one thinks of chocolate, all they think of are chocolate bars, milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark and semi-sweet, but it is absolutely amazing what flavours a little square of chocolate can hold and release. Your tasting experience is especially notable of that, and makes me curious to see about trying chocolate tasting myself.
Those Japa dogs look neat as well. How did your Black Hog Dog taste?
Even with all of the hot dog vendors in Toronto, I’ve never seen something like that. Although, those vendors are supposed to be expanding their menus (though towards healthier options), I should still keep my eye out more for new things. 😛
Thanks as always!
– Enzo Aquarius
I love chocolate, but I am not sure about those different flavored ones. When I eat chocolate, I don’t want to be tasting a banana. As you know though, my palette is definately not of high standards (lol). Maybe someday after reading and seeing it over and over I may get the courage. Although, I am set in my ways.
Finally! I’m back. And what is it with ants huh? I was out the front with the strimmer on Tuesday and I ended up with ants up the inside of my trousers biting the crap outta me!
Then as if that weren’t enough I’ve discovered rather painfully that I have adhesions in my bowel due to an operation I had when I was a baby, this is going to give me problems from hereon in apparently so its off to see specialists and get poked and prodded all ends from sunday oh joy!
on a lighter note:
Thanks for the comment on my daughter’s wedding Joe, you really made my day.
HAAA!
Pas déjà!
Ouf!
Yé!
Youpie!
Soupir!
Paix!
Joie!
Bonheur!
Délices!
Félicitée!
Enfin!
Ah TAH Boy!
Ti gui doo ly ly
Yep!
Oh boy!
Ostindebeu!!!
Extase!
…enfin on a pu regardé nos 7 premiers épisodes de la saison 4 d’Atlantis. Peitite révision.
Adrift
Excellent, ça fait drôle de voir Amanda et Bill Dow est toujours aussi truculent dans son interprétation. Effets spéciaux améliorés, on voit que vous avez du budget; dénouement intéressant.
Lifeline
On voit le talent de Torri ressortir et on ne peut que regretter que son personnage ait été trop linéaire pour faire voir son talent d’actrice. Faiblesse dans le scénario, on aurait aimé mieux ressentir la tristesse et tout l’effroi que provoque chez ses coéquipiers son sacrifice lequel est très intense : condamnée à devenir un réplicateur, un peu faible de ce point de vue.
Reunion
pas le meilleur épisode de Jason Momoa; l’acteur paraît avoir eu de la difficulté à entrer dans son personnage sauf à la fin du combat où il tue deux de ses compatriotees. Par contre ça fait du bien de savoir que les Wraith auront un ennemi capable de leur chauffer les fesses, on en redemande!
Doppleganger
un scénario classique de la sci-fict traité correctement sans plus. Cauchemard de Rodney amusant, rythme un peu lent bref un épisode honnête sans plus.
Travelers
Ce peuple qui voyage pour échapper aux Wraight, très bonne idée; Larrin crédible, bouge bien, impose le respect; Joe et Jill interprètent bien leur personnage de sorte qu’on croit à leur attraction mutuelle malgré les circonstances; Larrin très belle, sexée etc mais ne remplacera jamais Vala dans mon coeur de qui son personnage est sans doute inspiré; le parallèle avec Prometheus unbound est indéniable.
Tabula Rasa
Excellent divertissement bien mené; scénario tordu à souhait. C’est encore une surprise de voir Sam à Atlantis, on ne s’habitue pas; mais la surprise fait toujours plaisir; David Hewlett nous a habitué à un niveau de jeu plus élevé mais on est content pour lui, enfin une blonde qui lui va bien.
Missing
avec tous les commentaires négatifs lus par-ci par-là je craignais le pire. Mais non, j’ai beaucoup aimé, bonne histoire, belle rencontre entre Tayla et Keller. Jewell donne beaucoup de crédibilité à son personnage, rend bien sa lutte contre ses peurs etc. excellent; les dialogues font bien resortir toute l’ambivalence de la situation pour Keller. Rachel vraiment intense dans son rôle de combattante invincible en colère face à la disparition de ses proches; très belles chorégraphie de combat. On a aimé.
Encore encore encore
Ciao
Mmmmmmmmm chocolate………:)
We, too, have had a recent ant invasion. Swarms of tiny, very intent black ones on the kitchen floor, not the usual and occasional large brownish ants that will casually wander in under the back door on a hot day. When we went out to buy some ant traps, all the stores were sold out — customers and store workers who heard our wails of dismay felt the need to stop and share their own ant-problem stories. The bees may be disappearing, but it seems everyone is being overrun by ants!
I’ve got a Chocolove 65% cocoa content bar that I’m going to snap and taste-test now that you’ve shown us the right way to do it.
Were you disappointed in the serious lack of chemistry between Teyla and Kannan….Or was that planned?
Will we find out what that substance was that Michael injected into Teyla in the kindred?
Are we going to see more background on Teyla this season,you know, about her past….Maybe some much needed development?
I know you originally planned on a darker side to Teyla in S4 but because of sircumstances you had to change it slightly….Are you planning on exploring her darker side this season?
Thank you!
Okay, I can finally enjoy the pics, and the blog entry…very enjoyable!
I LOL @: “My unrefined palate tasted chocolate mostly. Well, chocolate and an underlying sharpness that may have been currants but could just as easily have been the tiny corner of foil wrap I’d unwittingly ingested.”
That’s hilarious! Though I can sometimes taste the subtleties in chocolate, it’s much like wine to me – I know I like it, I like certain underlying flavors, but I do NOT over-think the experience. Many things in life are best enjoyed that way. 😉
Ants. My mother is having a terrible problem with ants. I’ll share some of these remedies with her. Right now she has something smeared around that I swear is poisonous, and it looks like butter. One of these days I’m gonna take a taste, and die.
@ Narelle & Joe – This is my best advice regarding wine: Go to a good restaurant that offers wine pairings with each course – this way you get to understand how wine actually enhances the flavors of the food. I remember the first time I did this, about 20+ years ago at Renault Winery in Jersey, and I was amazed at how the right wine just makes the flavors of the food *pop*. I remember the first thing I had – a pasta appetizer with rosemary – it’s the rosemary I remember – with the wine, it was as if I was REALLY tasting rosemary for the very first time, it was amazing! Have a good restaurant show you the ropes, then experiment from there.
@ GenericWhiteGuy – It does make sense to ‘condense’ the planet, leaving out non-essential details to keep the story moving, but I must admit that even before this discussion came up elsewhere, it is something that has bugged me ever since I started watching sci fi back in the 70s.
@ drldeboer – Your experience with the genre is definitely different from mine. Of course, I don’t read sci fi, and I believe the discussion (on the other forum) is based on television and movie sci fi, so perhaps there is a difference between the two.
It just seems (to me) that sci fi tv/movies rely on generalizations, such as the desert planet in Star Wars. It’s rarely described as a ‘desert region’ – but usually a ‘desert planet’, an ‘ice planet’, a ‘tropical planet’ – just generalizations, without room for diversity. Is it dummying down the story for the audience? Same with populations. Star Trek did – on occasion – suggest that there were at least TWO different cultures on a planet, but for the most part, the Klingons were all the same, the Vulcans all the same, etc. – little diversity on planets, though great diversity in the universe overall.
I actually did use Stargate as an example of diversity in sci fi, because we have seen *some* multi-cultural societies (though not sure I can really count The Game, since there was outside influence). And Atlantis was on a planet that had both seas (and sea creatures) and landmasses. But much of the sci fi I’ve seen allows little room for diversity in culture and enviroment on the planets.
RE: Ronon. Answer: “…He stopped because he was so impressed with Ronon’s defiance that he realized he would make for great sport – and thus made him a runner.”
Yeah, that’s exactly what I thought. Not sure if I read Cooper’s comments in passing (or saw something here), but for a while now this is how I’ve imagined it to be. Ronon is just so defiant, the Wraith is all like, “Whoa! We got ourselves a real badass here! Better stop and go tell ‘Her Highness’ before she slaps me upside the head and makes me give it all back. Dammit.”
I don’t know why, but I find the Wraith’s irritability rather…endearing. They’re just so pissed off at everything…kinda like me during tourist season… 😛
das
1)Will any of the team discover that their full destiny is greater than they ever imagined?
2)Does Teyla’s newfound motherhood begin to effect her while in the battlefield?
3)Does Sheppard continue to show more emotion this coming year?
I knew I was forgetting to mention the other scene I would’ve LOVED to see making the final cut. The one from Miller’s Crossing, with John and Ronon talking about Battlestar Gallactica. Hilarious. 😀 Loved this deleted scene too.
Mmmm, chocolate tasting … what?
If the Japa-Dog stand doesn’t inspire me to take advantage of the invites to crash on Vancouver burners’ couches, I don’t know what will. Sadly, I let my passport lapse and have to get a new one. The good news is that I went and did passport photos today. The bad news … yes, I went and did passport photos today. Sigh. I was a lot cuter 21 years ago. Blond, slim, tanned and young. Now I just look like a drunken deranged cat lady who makes poor choices in hair color. Sigh.
Hello Joe! I hope you’re well?
I read an interview with you recently, um, YOU KNOW the one 😉 Sorry 😳
Well, you’ve said that the fan response so far to S and R has been mainly very positive – my longwinded review will come after the eppie has aired on SciFi, and let me tell you, it’s so positive you’ll be reaching for the pepto bismal!
So, I was wondering if you’ve seen the critics reviews? I’ve been reading them avidly, and I find myself being very happy at what I’ve been reading, and agreeing too with what’s being said 🙂
It appears, as far as the vast majority of online critics are concerned, that S and R is a VERY big hit. That makes me very happy for some strange reason! 🙂
I’ll go away now, and watch S and R again. Hmmm, this would be viewing number, er, 33 😳
Sorry for posting so many comments today 😛
I listened to the audio commentary from This Mortal Coil today, and you said that as you were recording that commentary, Universe was at the pre-pilot stage and the idea was using the Blade set for Universe, and you didn’t know what that meant for Atlantis.
If someone is thinking about using these sets for the new show, it doesn’t sound very promising for possible Atlantis’ future seasons… considering that that set has always been important in Atlantis and it’s were many of the scenes in the show are filmed… Any updates on this?
The Skypig said:
I wholehearteadly agree.
For example, and I say this with all due respect to the people who made the commentary for Miller’s Crossing, 99% of the angsty scene between John and Rodney was spent with the people commenting on the awful painting in the room. Such a rich character moment, with Rodney asking John to let the Wraith feed on him to save her sister, and all the people making the audio commentary can talk about is about how they disliked the painting behind? Very dissapointing, IMO.
What is Project Twilight?
Any info or hints you can reveal?
Please?
Bonne nuit Joseph!
a demain =)
▒▒▒♥•>:)
Hi Joe:
“Front Room?” Joe, you are SUCH a Canadian! 🙂
Two important questions for you today:
1) Why does cob salad not have any cobs (as in corn) in it?
2) I am in Toronto at the Polaris convention. Cliff Simon and Rachel Luttrell are going to be here. Shall I tell them you said ‘hi’?
Patricia (AG)
My best advice regarding wine: if you run out head straight for the bathroom cabinet. Expired medications, nail polish remover, aerosal cans…the party never has to end. At least right up to the point that the ambulance is called.
“I taste licorice and green olives,”I expounded, “with just a hint of the migrant farm worker who was murdered and buried near the cocoa plant where the beans were harvested.”
Heh!
Hi joe, I know its been a while, and I feel like a bad fan, but I was out of town, and then I had my big essay exam to study for (on which I managed a B!) and now I’m leaving town again to camp on Treasure Island. Thats right, the REAL tressure Island from the book. And I’m going sky diving on wednesday. Wish me luck!
Just a quick question, a friend of mine went to Canada with her son and they went to see some park that was supposed to be awesomely beautiful, and when she returned to Northern California she told me that she hadn’t realized she already lived in the most beautiful place possible. (Being behind the redwood curtain and such.) And I want to know, what do YOU think is more beautiful? The redwoods, or a national park in Canada (I’m not sure which one, I am assuming close to vancouver cause thats where she stayed.)
Oh! And there is this great new book I found called A Dirty Job. You should check it out, its pretty good.
Hey Joe
Found a bootleg copy of 0501 Search And Rescue the other day. It wasn’t very good quality having been improply resized but watchable if you don’t mind everyone being really tall and skinny. Not to worry, It was removed pretty Quickly and I havn’t posted a single spoiler anywhere. And I wanted too sooo bad…
If the actors go on strike will Joe Flanigan’s hair be able to continue in its current role or is it also contracted to the Guild?
If it isn’t, do you feel this will be a good chance for it to branch out from its supporting role into a more substantial part?
@das – I love those nights. I struggle to get through 2 courses normally, but with the wine pairing it adds so much to the food and I quite happily stay there for 3.
Maybe my taste buds are deaf and wine is the hearing aid.
Well, after being in transit for a couple of days I think I managed to unfortunately miss the deadline for questiosn to K.J. Bishop. I might throw a few in at the end of this comment anyway, just in case.
After reading other peoples thoughts I wanted to make a few comments of my own. Firstly on the relationship between Beth and Gwynn, after reading Joe and Thornyrose’s comments, I was reminded a little of Basil and Dorian Gray in The Picture of Dorian Gray, because like Basil, Beth takes a lot from Gwynn in her art. Having made that connection, I can’t help but think about the implications of Beth’s art on Gwynn’s life. He seemed quite vain at times (certainly in her eyes), and several of their fights were based around art that he did not like, found disturbing etc. But still he wanted to be with her.
Joe mentioned that he saw Beth as almost “vampiric”, but I sort of think Gwynn needed Beth more than she needed him. Once he had settled in Ashamoil, Gwynn was always looking for something, and when he found Beth he thought it was her he was looking for. Beth, on the other hand, I saw as someone extending an invitation (through the etching), but I think she was looking for herself, and had to explore Gwynn before she could figure it out (that whole reincarnation-type thing). Either way, their relationship was very interesting, and at times I think Beth’s art was as important to it as they themselves were.
Joe, your comments on my comment about sedentary life and how Gwynn and Raule adapted to the city made me re-evaluate what I’d said. I guess neither of them were content, they were both looking for more, but they stayed around the city even though they’d pretty much been travelling their whole lives. That suggests to me that on some level they found the convenience o sedentary life far more appealing than travel, even though at different times both of them recall that life and think it was easier in some ways.
On the setting, I thought it was a world that may have had technology which backfired and created a sort of post-apocalyptic world. Something about the tone of the book made me think it was a run-down world, where some of the deserts may have formed due to radiation from centuries before. It could have been that they just hadn’t developed as much technologically, but I personally read it as being more of the former.
Now, just in case there is a chance my questions will get to K.J. Bishop (slim as it may be), here are a few.
When/where did you intend the setting of the book to be? Was it a post-apocalyptic world or a pre-technological one?
A lot of books which include a journey start in a city, town etc, and then go into the physical journey. But with The Etched City you started with the physical journey and then looked at city life. It seemed to emphasise the psychological journeys of the characters in the city, but I wanted to ask: why did you structure the story like that?
Were there any myths and historical events/places that influenced the world you created in The Etched City?
Thanks,
Amz
Arctic Goddess said:
“Front Room?” Joe, you are SUCH a Canadian!
Hey, that isn’t just a Canadian thing. My Georgia(USA)-peach mother called our “formal” living room the “front room”. We kept the piano and the antique furniture in there, TV and comfy sofas in the “living room”.
Mr. Mallozzi, the Director of Quality Assurance for Stargate Worlds has recently implied that they are making Stargate Worlds, not Stargate the series. They also expressed a nonchalant attitude towards the desire for Stargate canon. This is puzzling to me because it was rumored that MGM has deemed Stargate Worlds as canon. What are your opinions on this? And, if you are not the person to go to, then would you pass this on to Brad Wright or Robert Cooper, or whoever is the right person. Thanks.
I’m SHOCKED you skipped steps #1 through #5… NO WAY!!.. LOL
Hey how’s the new blackberry working out?? I could have gotton it for you cheaper then you prob paid for it but no worries let me know if I can be of any more assistance 🙂
No time, at the moment, to read all of the other suggestions re the ant issue but from my own experience you need to put out cornmeal in a thin line around the place. The ants will eat it and take it home to the nest. They can’t digest it, however, and it will take out most of them and can cause the remainder (if any) to relocate out of the area.
Oh, and the Japa Dog is now another reason I wanna move to Vancouver!
Wow, more chocolate,,reminds me of Willie Wonka and the tasting of the wall paper,snozzberry,,hah ha well ok, maybe not as cool as the chocolate..no offense..
chocolate and hot dogs,, I like pizza and ice cream for my combo meal.
email from Amazon, my S4 is on its way, so close for Continuum,,cant wait, and a little more than 24 hours here for S5,,,Bring It On!!
I live in Florida, we have some nice fire ants here, they hurt when they bite, outside critters for the most part.. good luck with the ants. 😉
Afternoon, Mr M:
I sympathize with your ant invasion. I keep telling my cats they need to earn their keep and eat the ants, but they just ignore me.
I’ve had the best luck with plain old houseold cleansers like “409” or “Fantastic”. It seems to kill them on contact, with no smell or poison, and the cleanser eliminates the ant trail that subsequent ants follow.
If you can find where they’re coming in, which is often a tiny pin-prick sized hole along baseboard, I’ve heard blocking it with vaseline or any other gooey substance does the trick.
I’m off home from work, hoping madly that Amazon has come through and delivered my season 4 dvds — new season tomorrow YAY! Can’t wait!!!!
@ Narelle – 😆 @ “Maybe my taste buds are deaf and wine is the hearing aid.”
Right now, wine is my pacifier. Been a hectic day, stayed too long at the office trying to get billing done (which is never done, so who am I fooling?), and then had to run to the grocery store, so just now – at 9 pm – sitting down to eat a can of spicy hot Hormel chili (doctored up with fresh lime juice, diced onion and tomatoes, and pepper jack cheese….yeah, it’s still canned chili 😛 ). Then hubby just called from work and proceeded to inform me that my dad (also my boss) chewed him a new a-hole this morning because he wouldn’t drop everything he’s doing (like, getting ready for work) to drive dear ol’ dad 45 miles up the road to pick up a new truck, and then called my husband an ‘enabler’ because he wants to spend time with me. 😕 Yeah. Dad’s a control freak. Lucky me.
So – now I’m enjoying this blog, sipping a cheapy Zinfandel (Dancing Bull, to be exact) with my cheapy, doctored up canned chili – and I’m eyeing up the brand spankin’ new bar of Dagoba Xocolatl chocolate I just picked up for dessert.
I hope I pop like a tick.
.:)
das
Hi Joe,
I was just talking to the exterminator for work about 2 weeks ago since we’ve been having some ant problems at the restaurant I work at and his advice was sprinkle some Equal brand sugar substitute around the affected area and the little buggers will be dead in 24 hrs.
Yes, it worked and we haven’t seen any ants since.
And people ingest that stuff willingly…..
Man, I wish Chocolate didn’t give me headaches…
I had a dream last night about the combination of Stargate Atlantis and Bones, with Washington being destroyed by a nuclear bomb…
Have you ever been working way too much on a story that you end up having a CRRAAAZZYY dream about it??…
NZJ
In my search for information on a new project I am undertaking I unearthed, unfortunately Season 5 Episode 1 of SG Atlantis. No, I didn’t download it. Nope, I don’t want to see it until it airs but yep, I was disheartened that it’s “out there”.
Seems to me that someone has it in for SGA …… again … this year and that truly disappoints me. This character (the one who obviously leaked it) should be strung up. grrrrrrrrrrr
I saw a picture of a hotdog. It reminds me that hotdogs belongs to the top 5 cancer causing foods. *sigh! I’d love to it hotdogs.:)
http://www.foodista.com/