Well, as predicted, my birthday dinner at Fuel was pretty incredible. Apparently, Chef Belcham and his crew were working on the special event meal preparation all day and, in the end, all of their hard work paid off. Well, at least it did for Fondy and I who enjoyed a fantastic nine-course dinner.
Now, whenever I do a write-up, I don’t usually mention the bread and butter service, but I have to make an exception here. We weren’t served just any bread and butter to kick things off. We were presented with in-house homemade rye bread, served oven warm, with regular butter AND goat butter. Goat butter! Fondy and I were a little leery – until we tried it. We were mightily impressed. It was remarkably light and notably sweeter than its traditional counterpart. A pleasant surprise.
We started with the soups, a pine mushroom broth with albacore tuna tartare for Fondy and a lentil soup with smoked chicken and bacon for myself. As someone who has often viewed lentils as a necessary evil, I have to admit they worked very well pureed to a velvety texture and married to sweet smokiness of the chicken and bacon. It was very good, but Fondy’s soup was the winner: clear, clean, and fairly bursting with the earthy flavor of matsutake.
Next came the salads – red kuri squash with pine nuts, wild greens, birch syrup, and cider vinegar for her and a matsutake salad with romaine and egg yolk emulsion for me. Both excellent.
The third course was seafood. Fondy enjoyed an ultra rare albacore served with pickled vegetables, coriander, and charred walla wallas that captured the texture and aroma of the many Vietnamese sandwiches we’ve enjoyed since moving to Vancouver. I had a plump, beautifully seared scallop.
We followed up with a foie gras course: a torchon for Fondy and a mousse for myself Both were terrific but I have to give the nod to Fondy’s mouth-meltingly good torchon.
Next up were the truffled dishes. I enjoyed an incredible black truffle risotto that I was prepared to crown dish of the night right then and there – until I sampled Fondy’s black truffle carbonara. The secret is out. Tom and Rob will be opening a second restaurant, Campganolo, in the coming months and if this dish was a sneek peak at the home made pasta they’ll be serving there, I guarantee it will prove immensely successful.
We were then presented with our sixth course: Scott Island ling cod with artichokes and breadcrumbs for the lady and a wild BC salmon served with chanterelles, flagolets, and carrots for the birthday boy. Fondy found her ling cod a little undercooked for her taste so I ended up pulling double duty and finishing both.
By this point, we were about ready for dessert. However, Chef Rob wasn’t. Our seventh course was a foie gras consomme-poached Polderside chicken breast with celeriac and celery branch. The chicken was incredibly tender, the foie gras consomme nothing short of unbelievable.
After alerting the kitchen staff to the fact that we were about to tap out, we were served our final savory course: a stuffed lamb neck with cucumber and yoghurt for me and beef cap served with corned tongue and brussel sprouts for Fondy. The lamb neck was all sorts of delicious while the beef cap was perhaps the most tender cut of beef I’ve ever had the pleasure of sampling. I say sampling because, even though she claimed she couldn’t eat another bite before the dish arrived, Fondy had absolutely no problem finishing it.
For dessert, two chocolate domes – Fondy’s, seemingly made to order, served with pain perdu and maple syrup while mine was served with pistachio ice cream and chocolate soil.
Thanks to Rob, Tom, and the rest of the gang at Fuel for a truly memorable birthday dinner.
And also thanks to Narelle who commemorated my special day with a blog post of her own titled “Joseph Mallozzi – This Is Your Blog’s Life” that traces this blog from its humble beginnings to its present high-flying success:
http://narellefromaus.blogspot.com/2008/10/joseph-mallozzi-this-is-your-blog-life.html
To those of you wondering what the hell Cookie Monster is doing responding to my spam emails, go here for a brief explanation, and many more missives from the likes of Cookie Monster, arch-villain Baron Destructo, and the opportunistic Aloysius P. Hazzencockle:
http://spambait.wordpress.com/category/introduction/
Finally, thanks to everyone who posted birthday wishes. I’ll be playing catch-up with the mailbag in the coming days. And working on the outline for the SGA movie (after a discussion with Paul today), continuing work on my super, secret project (now four whole pages and counting), booking my upcoming trips (L.A., Vegas, and Tokyo), coming up with a title for that horror pitch (still nothing), and getting started on the upcoming book of the month club selections: The Traveler (John Twelve Hawks), Acacia (David Anthony Durham), and Necroscope (Brian Lumley).
Speaking of which – hope you’ve all started reading!
happy birthday, a little late. but that’s better than never 😉
Dang those courses sounded delicious! The 6th dish sounded the most mouth watering. I’m a major salmon fan.
Hi Joe, your birthday feast sounds great. I celebrated your birthday by turning out a lot of unwanted items from the house and carting them off to the church for the Fair next month – and found myself ‘tagged’ as the co-ordinator for the plant stall!!
It’s raining today, so instead of going home and getting stuck into my garden, I shall call at the Danish cake shop, make some fudge (with some sort of alcohol) at home and then indulge myself in some SG-1 or SGA. Dad is cooking dinner, so a lazy day for me. He is making Lamb’s Fry Creole, and it is soooo good. 🙂 The Lamb’s Fry melts in the mouth.
How does NZ celebrate birthdays?? Well, birthday celebrations are as varied as the people celebrating!! Starting to think about my celebrations for next year. I wouldn’t bother but it’s a birthday with a 0 and I would rather plan my own :S
TTYL
Happy Birthday!
From the Schleichers
Outsiders looking good so far…I’ve been meaning to ask you a question for the last few weeks and keep forgetting…I noticed after a few epis this season you guys decided to ace the credit sequence at the beginning…I know that’s becoming a huge trend on tv…most of the shows I watched now only give the show title as a credit sequence and then the names after the commerical break…
Wondering why you guys decided to do the same?
oh, and happy birthday!!!!
That ‘Life of your blog’ link was brilliant! ^^
Im glad you had a good dinner XD
I would read (I usually spend hours searching bookshelves in bookstores looking for the perfect scifi/fantasy book) but I’m clawing my way through Dracula for one of my classes. I’m enjoying it, but it’s not necessarily a captivating read, if you know what I mean.
All the super-secretiveness of your super-secret project is making me super-curious.
Oh, the food looks delicious. It’s 9:30 PM where I am and I just sat down to a big bowl of popcorn. It can’t even compare to what you had, but the pictures and descriptions made me so hungry that I just really wanted something food-like.
I want to ask you questions but I can never think of any decent questions! It’s quite frustrating. I’ve started watching Atlantis thinking “Will there be something in it this week that I can ask him about?” but usually other people beat me to it. =(
A belated happy birthday to you.
Man! Goat butter! Gotta find me some of that! My housemate and I are crazy for goat milk products, and we haven’t seen any goat butter. This must be rectified!
Well there you go. Nice birthday! I bet you can cook too. Me, not so much. I put a bag of Indian somthin’ somethin’ in the microwave (It was spinach pablum with cubed cottage cheese thingies) to heat it up for two minutes. Well…didn’t it splat EVERYWHERE, because, I didn’t cut a hole in the bag. Hmmm. I’m just not a foodie. I can bake, sometimes, but I cannot cook. I also don’t really care much for food in general. Fine wine, a nice Sherry or a single malt Scotch aged smooth in an oak cask. Now you’re talkin’!
I am a beverage person, non alcoholic included: tea, coffee, milk, juice, fancy drinks….
Anyway, this isn’t why I wanted to post. I wanted to know, do you know the names of the actors/stuntmen who played the wraith hunters in Tracker? If not, how would I find out? The peeps and I at the WDC find one hunter particularly cute, and we’re wondering if this one is played by Brendan Penny. I don’t think so though.
WK
That food looks sensational. Cucumber is the new black. I’m a convert.
Glad to see the two of you got to have a lovely dinner out to mark the occasion. Very fitting for what sounds like a pretty hectic year so far.
Thanks for the blog entry mention. Hope you liked it! It was two frantic hours using the search function (useless for keywords such as Fuel!), 6 notepad files for cutting and pasting, 8 separate browser tabs, and my vague recollection of when I remember reading certain entries. I had to leave some out due to lack of time, and those damn adorable puppy pics kept on distracting me!
Hope you have an equally enjoyable night tonight.
Hey Joe!
Why, oh, why must I be hungry while I read your blog! Now, not only do I want to visit Fuel if I go to Vancouver, but I want to go there for my birthday. Nice dinner indeed. 😉
For your trip booking, I was told now is a great time to book for vacations. So you must be in luck. 🙂
Thanks as always!
– Enzo Aquarius
Hey Mr. Mallozzi,
Happy Birthday! Wow, I guess customer loyalty really does pay off. That is one beautiful looking feast in those pictures, and it sounds as if it tasted as good as it looked.
I suggest a one word title (without a “The”) for your horror script, something that hints at what the audience should expect without revealing the details. Like “Whispers”…:)
Are we to expect any Cookie/Baron movie reviews in the near future?
Tell McCullough that “Outsiders” was one of my favorites from S5. Dr. B was great, and his scenes with Mckay were, as usual, priceless. Two thumbs up!
Hi Joe,
You’re birthday dinner was fit for a king! Which you are, in every way that matters!
I do have to say that yesterday was the best day for me personally and I do have you to thank for that! I had the pleasure of reading through your previous posts for the last month or two (which I loved by the way-thankyou) and I discovered that Todd is in “Enemy At The Gate” and I think I died when I saw the photo’s! Luckily I came back to life and read through previous GateWorld posts and discovered that Todd’s in “Infection”! I died again (2 deaths in one day…is that a record?). Luckily there was a photo and that brought me back to the land of the living. Since I found out I’ve been finishing every sentence with “…and Todd’s in 2 more episodes!” ; ) Then lecturing any unfortunate soul who didn’t know what I was talking about to quickly go and start watching SGA from the first ep.
Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou!!! xxxxx
Words cannot express how happy this had made me!
…..given that I’m so deleriously happy right now I probably shouldn’t ask you about his starring role in the SGA movie…..but I will tomorrow ; )
Loved tonight’s episode ‘Outsiders’! With Beckett there it was like old times with the old team back together. I miss Beckett so much!
Congrats on a wonderful birthday dinner, Mr. M! You had my attention until the brussel sprouts, LOL.
I just wanna say you’ve corrupted me. 😛 One of my cats is THE biggest klutz on Earth. I’ve since nicknamed him Baron Destructo. 😛
Just watched Outsiders. SPOILERS….
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
It was okay – at least some of my lovely Wraith survived. But I am very disturbed by Carson – he’s not much of a healer anymore, is he? Cold-blooded, if you ask me. OH, right – he only heals humans – I suppose that’s like an American doctor in Iraq who only saves Americans, and not wounded Iraqis.
Carson has turned into a bringer of death. I knew this long before the episode (it was a give he’d have been treated with the hoffan drug), but to see him being so ruthless about it…well, I expect such behavior from Wraith, but not from self-righteous humans. 🙄
The villagers even killed their own – who said that those villagers were wrong (personally, I thought they were obnoxious, but who am I to judge)? God, the moral issues this episode raises…very disturbing.
It was wonderful seeing Tyler again…AND Brendan Penny! With Aaron doing his best Steve impersonation, it was like a lovely Wraith reunion…only one missing was Todd.
Food looks lovely, Joe – except the foie gras. Talk about torturing your food before you eat it – ever read how that stuff is made? Joe, sometimes I swear, the Wraith are more merciful than you are… 😉
das – with tongue firmly planted in cheek (the one on my face).
Dear Joe,
First of all, Happy belated birthday, sorry wasn’t checking your blog regularly due to the bloody midterms here at Mcgill U. I have a favor to ask of you can you please catch up with the episodes slash relationship with the poem you written earlier this year. Thanks.
Also, I was wondering if the Daganian LOST ZPM will ever surface up in the future episodes after outsiders, that is inquisition until the season finale.
Last question if I may sir, there is this very sick child who happens to be an avid Stargate Atlantis fan who is in the hospital. I was wondering, if possible, if you can dedicate a blog entry to him, it would mean a lot to him. The little fellows name is Zobby. I apreciate it a lot .
thanks in advance
Happy (Belated) BDay Joe!
I just spend some time on your spambait website and omg you are hilarious. I was almost starting to feel bad for those scammers… not.
Also…
I have a friend who has this burning question about the episode Ex Deus Machina. She was wondering if the title has a special meaning, since Ex Deus Machina doesn’t exist in Latin, whereas Deus Ex Machina does. I know that in general Latin word order doesn’t matter, but in this case it does she told me, since it’s ex+ablative? where the word in the abl. has to be next to the preposition. Or something. Anyway, so my question is why is the title of the episode Ex Deus Machina instead of Deus Ex Machina?
Thanks 🙂
Joe,
The food look delicious. I would have been scared to try the goat butter…but I’m glad you liked it. If I get the chance I will try it since you think it was delicious 🙂
So, I watched tonight’s epi and didn’t really enjoy it as much as I hoped. I love watching SGA and seeing my team so I’m not complaining…only issue I had with it was where was the team? I hated that they were separated most of the time and I really thought there would be more fighting.
You know what made up for all of that. CARSON!!!! yea!! I love him. I know I say it all the time but I can’t help it. I’ll never get tired of hearing him talk.
The scene with McKay and Carson in the Dart had me laughing! SHOVE OVER!! OMG, who wrote that scene?
Did anyone else think it was funny as hell or is it because I’m in love with Carson and was secretly wishing I was McKay?
That is all for now…see you at the next blog 🙂
Yet again you have managed to make me hungry in the middle of the night. Glad you had a great birthday dinner.
Wow, what a meal. I still wouldn’t eat that stuff, but some of it sounded pretty OK.
I nearly killed myself getting back in time for Outsiders, but I made it just in time. Dinner and movie night could only be tonight, so, I didn’t want to disappoint my friends, I went but picked the earliest movie showing which was Eagle Eye. It was pretty good. Our dinner included homemade rye bread as well and I really love it.
Outsiders was great. Comedy and intensity, love that combination. Thought my daughter was gonna hit me when I couldn’t stop laughing at the Rodney/Beckett scene in the dart.
To Candace: It wasn’t Joe who took out the opening, it was SCIFI.
Outsiders was great. I so did not expect how funny the Rodney/Carson seg would become. My sister laughed so hard she cried. And thanks to earlier blogs I was able to spot the pineapple (I’m sure I would never have found it otherwise).
Joe,
Loving The Traveler so far, so thanks for choosing it for this month since I wouldn’t have heard of it otherwise. Definitely my favorite so far. Looking forward to the discussion next week. Have to say that next week’s Inquisition didn’t seem to grab my attention when I first read the synopsis, but after Outsiders I have to say I feel that the premise now feels very strong. Watching the guy (sorry for vague pronouns here, just saw the episode and didn’t catch all the names) be used to lure the Wraith into the tunnels wasn’t too surprising, but the absolute lack of remorse on Shep’s face while the locals watched the explosion in dismay was stunning. I understand why he was chosen as bait, but at the same time I can’t help but wonder if John would have made the same decision five years earlier-regardless of the fact that McKay and Carson were taken. Since Atlantis carries so much of the burden for dealing with the Wraith, in terms of technology and fighting power, it’s definitely easy to think of these small groups of people throughout the galaxy as inconsequential or insignificant. And yes, I am aware that Atlantis’ battles are all for the greater good, but it’s also interesting to question Atlantis’ guilt for their suffering, albeit unintentional. Sure, Atlantis wasn’t responsible for the Hoffan Plague (think that’s how you spell it), but thinking about how many villages and towns were wiped out by the replicators last season is pretty significant. I’m assuming these are the sort of things that will be brought up in next week’s episode, and I think that it does bring up an interesting aspect to the past five years. Guess I’ll add to the list of people wishing you a belated happy birthday and thanks for a wonderful season so far.
Yay, a team ep! (Well, here and there, anyway.) Yay, Carson! Yay Carson/Rodney buddy-buddy moments! (And yay, no Keller, save for the mention of her at the end! I’m also happy Rodney seemed a bit interested in that girl in the beginning — it means he’s not tooootally stuck on Keller, and suggests that she hasn’t pursued her interest in him yet. *ducks tomatoes*)
Too bad for Carson that Alison hasn’t been teamed up with him ….
Really nice twist with the village councilman towards the end. Interesting moral implications/repercussions, too.
Also a nice twist with Carson and the drug. I mean, I had an inkling that that was what was going on when he confronted the commander, but I like how it played out/the explanation! 🙂
What happened to the plague-survivors? Did the Wraith kill them? Did they get set free at the end? Obviously they weren’t taken to the hive …. (Did I miss something?)
Was that Kenny, on the hive ship? Or was the actor playing another Wraith character? If it wasn’t Kenny, was this hive a member of Todd’s alliance?
Loved the Carson/Rodney bickering (and Rodney being abrasively supportive) as much as the Rodney/Daniel stuff, and almost as much as McShep! 🙂 On that note, loved that Sheppard told Rodney he was a good man, and Rodney telling him “Don’t forget about us.” I know how it was meant, but there’s plenty of play for we McSheppers to happily misconstrue that line. In fact since Rodney tried to deny being interested in anyone at the end, we can go ahead an misconstrue to our content with *that* bit as well.*evil grin*
Also love the “man from the funny stories” bit, and the looks on John & Rodney’s faces then. *Snicker*
Oh, and I did finally get the review of “The Lost Tribe” up, although y’all can prolly skip the end, if you’ve been reading my posts here of late. (Don’t worry, I give fair warning in the review on where you can stop. ;))
http://www.pinkraygun.com/2008/10/17/stargate-atlantis-the-lost-tribe/
Happy Belated Birthday J!
I’ve been busy lately, so I haven’t had the chance to read through the comments for the last few weeks, just your main entry – usually at 2am!
So. If you ever need extra $$, I suppose FUEL can hire you as their Front Man, huh? BTW, you’ve got Sprout[s] listed here… from that picture, only looking like one squished one there Joe… Is the other hiding…? And why the surprise about goat butter? Especially considering ALL of the other weird things you eat! Actually, I suspect goat butter has probably been around longer than cow butter. Shouldn’t be any stranger than goat cheese or even soymilk! Personally, I’d be more leery of the mushrooms – or more precisely, other people’s knowledge of picking the right ones! But that’s just me and my numerous food allergies talking…
Anyways, glad you had an enjoyable evening! And wish you many more!
Your blog entries make me want to make a trip to Canada just to go to Fuel! Out of curiousity, what is the average cost per person for a dinner at Fuel?
Hay Joe,
Sorry for being a day late but Happy Birthday!!!
Kevin
PG15 – Thanks! You were certainly mentioned as you are one of the elders of the blog… without actually being old.
WOW! I just found Fuel’s website and the prices are considerably lower than the equivalent here in New York! The menu is INCREDIBLE. Just wish it were located on the “other” coast…
Outsiders was good it really was so I wont complain hope you feel 27 cause I do
Joe – I am coming back, but in all seriousness this time.
Outsiders Spoilers:
I know next week’s episode may address this, but I am quite disturbed by some reactions over tonight’s episode. It makes me think that yet another line has been crossed, and it has nothing to do with Wraith, either.
Many fans are praising Sheppard for his actions (though some, like myself, are not). Now, I certainly can’t judge those rogue villagers, but in the end they were just doing what they thought was necessary to protect their families. They were acting out of irrational fear, not hate. Still, no matter how misguided they were, they didn’t deserve what happened to them. Sheppard didn’t kill them in self-defense, he lured them into a trap and murdered them. How was what he did different from a terrorist? He set those men up to die. I really, REALLY hope there was a good reason for this, because it was a very disturbing decision on his part, and more disturbing that fans are ‘patting’ him on the back for it.
It scares the crap out of me that people would think there is justification for setting people up and sending them blindly to their deaths like this. This was far different from allowing Wallace to decide for himself whether or not to sacrifice his life for ‘the greater good’. This was a flat-out execution. These are the sorts of godlike decisions I hate in sci fi, and – even with Alan’s pen in this one – I find this episode extremely disturbing, on so many levels. I sometimes wonder if you guys really think these things through.
On the bright side…it made the Wraith look like lovely innocent doves.
God, I love ’em.
das
To Narelle: thanks for a wonderful blog recounting the story of blogs Mallozzi. Loved the history lesson it provided from the days before I began reading the blog, and for the memories it stirred up after that point. Your labors do not go unappreciated.
Mr. M. very pleased to see that your Birthday dinner at Fuel went so well, but I fear you roused some homicidal feelings in me. Having suffered through undercooked baked chicken, overcooked green beans, and mashed potatoes from a box, your pictures of the course shad me drooling. Admittedly there were a few courses I might not normally consider trying, but your vivid desciptions had me thinking I could actually smell the delicious aromas.
Managed to catch the second showing of Outsiders, and what a pleasure it was. From Carson’s appearance, to the betrayals and scheming and scrambling to survive, to Rodney continuing to bond with Carson, the show had me wanting to squeel with delight. Only the need to maintain my reputation at work kept me from jumping up and down and yelling through most of the show. Mr.McCullough has managed to write yet another great story, one that hopefully addresses some of the concerns voiced here recently.
Only two questions for you Mr. M. First, how is the progress on the Secret Project, and when will the S. P. simply become the Project? If we have to wait till June to find out what it is, there is likely to be a blood pressure medication shortage throughout North America, as well as other points around the world. Thanks for your dedication to this site, and for putting up with persons like myself, who tend to go on and on and on….um,…. again, thanks and have a great weekend.
I didn’t realize that it was your birthday. Sorry, I should pay more attention. A very Happy Birthday Joe. My own blog will be dedicated to you as soon as I finish writing it. (I’m busy writing some fanfiction for Atlantis)
Wow, what a meal! I’m glad you had a great birthday dinner. It looks fabulous, but I couldn’t eat more than two of those courses (well, maybe three) and of course dessert, because everyone knows that you have a regular food stomach and separate dessert stomach which is why there is always room for dessert.
I just watched Outsiders and thought it was a pretty good episode with lots of well-developed Wraith and human characters and a decent story line. Beckett and McKay got some very entertaining scenes together – I especially enjoyed the dart scene.
However, there is something that is bothering me a bit about the Wraith in recent episodes: there seems to be inconsistent use of the Wraith’s telepathic abilities. They seem to be using it far less than in previous episodes. Is it just to make things more transparent for the audience? Or is there another reason?
Happy Late Birthday!
Outsiders…A very good episode. I don’t say great because the first half of the episode seemed to drag on, except for the great McKay/Beckett dialogue. The second half made the episode. Loved everything on the Wraith ship. My favorite exchange:
Beckett: “Maybe you need a key.”
Rodney: “It’s not a Volkswagon Carson!”
I couldn’t stop laughing at that. I was impressed with Carson, he really stepped up, even “enduring” a feeding to kill the Wraith Commander. However, he seemed to go from mild mannered doctor to super soldier rather quickly. About as quickly as all the Keller-haters are complaining that Keller “suddenly” became a kick-butting character. It seems a little hypocritical to me. He seemed very nervous in the cell, then suddenly he is saving McKay’s life and destroying all the research.
I thought that Sheppard was a little quick to kill the “bad guy” villagers with the C4. I know they wanted to give up the people that had been exposed to the drug, but there had to be a way to do it that didn’t kill non-wraith. It seems that could be brought up next week.
So all in all, a very good to great episode. It was a bit of a letdown after all the action of the previous few episodes, but still enjoyable.
Next week…Bring on Inquisition!!
P.S. …..Eight courses??!!! How did you make it back to the car after all of that? You are a stronger man that I am for that.
And I am reading – really! I’m working on “The Traveller”. But you’re driving me crazy by putting all of these first-of-a-trilogy books on the list. I finally got around to reading “Keeping It Real” and am dying to read the second and third because I have a lot of unanswered questions, but can’t because unlike *some* people, my reading time is pretty limited. And I haven’t had time to read the next “Black Company” book either. And “Acacia” is in the stack waiting for me to finish “Traveller” … ACK! Not enough hours in the day!
But to be honest, I am really enjoying the BoTM books. You have introduced me to some wonderful authors. I may grumble a bit, but I really am grateful. Thanks, Joe!
@narelle: Thanks for the delightful history of the blog! It was quite educational. I especially enjoyed your little link to Joe’s parenting tips.
Happy B-day
And I was just wondering, you don’t look like a big guy, do you have a black hole in your stomach?
Outsiders was a good sci fi ep. Although, while I was really excited to see the real team together again, I was disappointed to find that they mainly spent the time separated, darn it. And you guys had to throw in that last line, huh?
And what’s with Rodney getting kidnapped and beamed away again? 2 weeks in a row with that!
I truly liked the McKay/Carson moments but I am REALLY missing the McKay/Sheppard moments; they are the main reason I watch the show in the first place, and this season, aside from The Shrine, those moments are sorely lacking.
I was happy with where they went with Shep’s character, in that he made a difficult decision, one that had to be made. Just like in Miller’s Crossing, it adds a darkness and depth that I like to see.
And I know you don’t want to hear it, but a certain character romancing the boys wasn’t there at all – YAY!!!!!!!! That adds bonus points in my book.
I hope you had a wonderful birthday. Certainly seems like you had a wonderful birthday meal. So many of my favorites, that scallop is a thing of beauty. My mouth is watering at the risotto and salmon. But I think its the mention of homemade rye bread and goat butter that really has me envious. I adore good rye bread and I love goat cheese but have never had goat butter. Now I must search some out.
I have to say I Outsiders will not be one of my favorite episodes. The begining bothered me when Teyla did not sense the Wrath’s presence and I just could not get past it. I understand the necessity for certain plot devices, but this just disturbed me. Perhaps because of my lack of goat butter. Still it started me off in a grumpy mood more likely to look for defects than I usually am. Normally I am lost in the fantasy for the hour, but this jarred me back into reality and I found myself unable to enjoy the ride and instead I knew each turn before they came. Seems more loved it than not so I suppose I am just having an off week.
@ Narelle: “Elder” eh? I like that. I like that a lot. 😀
Glad you had a good time at Fuel, Joe! You deserve it.
Meanwhile…I’ve yet to watch First Contact, The Lost Tribe, and Outsiders.
Kids, stay out of school.
This post be containin’ some spoiled eggs.
Yar, this be a fine episode. Bonnie lads both Carson and Rodney be, and right good mateys as well.
Carson not be as ruthless as First Mate Das might first construe. His options were fairly limited. Wasn’t keen on helpin’ the wraith in their human killin’ ways but also his likings didn’t follow for the slaughterin’ of humans if he didn’t be helpin’ the wraith.
The Cap’n of the wraith ship didn’t do them no favors nor was he hospitable. Seemed like a logical course if’n it were a human ship holdin’ them captive who wanted to have their way with the rest of the human population. Seems to me that lad did the right thing by possibly sacrificing hisself for the good o’ the situation.
Sad way for the wraith bloke to die, but only way the plot coulda taken its journey along the trembling seas of story.
Yar, and this be Carson’s clone. Not happy tales has he had in the hands of a certain scurvy lubber of a Wraith called Michael. Only so much sympathy does I show for the tortured Michael afore his ruthless killing that would make any respectable person question his sanity worth the effort.
Yo ho ho and a culling of humans!
Well,
I haven’t been posting comments on your blog for the last weeks but I haven’t missed reading any of them.
I wanted to break my “vow of silence” for your birthday, but I kind of had a rough day that very day. I hate to tell you but on your birthday I got the results from an exam I wrote a few weeks back. I was a 100% sure I had covered way over 50% of the exam. But I failed. It’s not like this was an exam that important. There are 7 other exams I still need to pass. But I’m moving forward in small steps and missing one I should have managed was a hard blow.
But in the end I just wanted to wish you a belated happy birtday.
Outsiders – another great episode which, among, other things, depicted true human weaknesses.
Fuel dinner – looks spectacular. Was surprised there was no corn soup? No more corn available? Glad the meal was fit for a king – YOU!
Narelle – your blog entry – fabulous!!!
Hey is there anychance that we the fans may be privelidged to one of the sga team mebers dream? Like: Sheppard has a delerious dream about *insert attractive travelers captain*, and starts talking in his state. Then wakes up to find he’s actually in a fire-fight with someone, when ronon kicks him and he wakes up screaming?
Well, look at that. Cloney McFakebottom got a little badass. Loved the chance to see what McKay and Carson would do when the soldier types aren’t around to bust them out. Very nice, and the dart bit was classic.
Gotta say, I’m a little shocked that Shep would kill humans like that. I mean, totally understandable and probably their best, if not only, option at the time, but still, a bit surprising. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good surprising.
It was also nice that I got a sense of the various villagers being real people with histories and motivations. It’s so easy for such characters to be flat, but for some reason these came across as having more depth than others. I think it was the little reactions, like what looked like tears in the woman’s eyes when they’re first discussing giving up the other villagers, and the leader’s look when Shep told him he did a good job.
The end scene was cute, too. Hey, you know what would’a been hilarious? If fake Carson had suggested that they hang out by going fishing. I mean, it’s not like he would know the significance of that.
What are the chances of Carson being in the Atlantis movie?
Outsiders was an AMAZING episode, Joe! Give my congrats to Alan, should you see him, okay?
The Wraith Commander was excellent, and was that a certain Brendan Penny my eye caught in the forest? Darn, he was yummy again
Is Brendan Penny featured in any more upcoming episodes? And what about past ones? We (the WDC at GW) think that he was the third Wraith on board of the Daedy. Should you require multiple Wraith characters for the movie, please ask him for the movie, together with Tyler, should it be possible. D Same for the Commander, of course. You have some excellent Wraith actors around! Loved the Commander’s beard!
Only 9 courses, Joe? 🙂
Hope you’ll manage to get the extra calories off, again… 😛
Spikey
Sorry, Das.. but i’m gonna have to disagree with you on this one. I don’t see the problem with Sheppard’s plan, or decision to lure the ‘bad guys’ down into the Mine. He’s a soldier, not a Diplomat or Politician. And at the end of the day, that means him making some pretty harsh, split second decisions based on whatever circumstances he finds himself in. So, he successfully managed to save numerous others at the expense of a few men who were more than just a *little* morally retarded themselves. What’s wrong with that?
I’m sure it wasn’t a light decision on Sheppard’s part – he’s just not that type of guy – and i’m pretty sure he’ll have to deal with it in his own usually quiet way.
As for any lack of remorse (can’t remember who mentioned it).. Well, that’s not how I see it. Don’t forget that his military background is firmly entrenched back on Earth, where conflict is between race and culture, *not* species. As far as we’ve been led to believe, he’s fought other humans before, both on Earth and in Pegasus. That’s where he’s come from. That’s what he’s used to. Why is this any different? Why should he stop to ponder on the moral issues of killing a handful of humans, when the lives of countless others hang on his immediate actions?
Isn’t that his job? As a soldier and Commander, isn’t that what he’s paid to do? Do we expect some sort of ethical debate from our soldiers too, when they’re facing the Taliban or Al Quada in confrontational situations?
I thought the eppi was great and t’was a thrill to see the Team working together once again. As for them being split up.. well, I don’t think it’d have worked quite so well if they’d all been running around like headless chickens in the same spot. As with ‘Inferno’, they all worked together within the Team unit to save as many people as they could. And I think Alan pulled it off brilliantly with the storyline.
Kudos to cast and crew. There were some priceless moments between Beckett and Mckay, undoubtedly one of which was the dart sequence 😛
You’d think, with all my intellect and wisdom, I’d remember to eat before checking your blog today, but no!
The food looks gorgeous, as always! If I manage to get to come to Vancouver for a year of study, and I can drag one of my parents over to pay for a meal, then I will certainly be going to Fuel.
Glad you had a most superb Birthday meal =]
I shall be reading the previous posts on spambait this evening; if you hear raucous laughter echoing out around the world, that would be me.
Sparrow_Hawk:
‘However, there is something that is bothering me a bit about the Wraith in recent episodes: there seems to be inconsistent use of the Wraith’s telepathic abilities. They seem to be using it far less than in previous episodes. Is it just to make things more transparent for the audience? Or is there another reason?”
I’ve been noticing that as well, and you think it would’ve made a huge difference in how many wraith ships were destroyed by the Attaro device if they could simply communicate across the solar system. “The Twilight Bark” if you will. It would’ve also made a really awesome scene if after Todd stole the Daedalus in TLT, he had telepathic communications with other wraith hives in the system just as they entered hyperspace, just like in Revenge of the Sith when Yoda is connected with all the Jedi through the force as they’re killed…(choir music Joe, choir music!)
@das ~ I see how you feel that way, I do — you make very good points. But I looked at it this way, myself:
You remember the bit where Carosn said they might as well shoot the Balarins themselves, because it would be a kinder, quicker death? I think he had a good point, there. They rounded up the Balarin — innocent people who had committed no crime — up to allow *them* to be murdered (well, murdered from the humans point of view — yes, for the Wraith, it was survival), so they were, in essence, committing the murder themselves. They were *sacrificing* people for their own survival, as opposwed to actual self-defense. If the Balarins had been born members of that community, I don’t doubt that that group of humans would have found some other excuse to make it sound okay to let them die in the others’ stead. But even if they would, the situation’s not really different here.
While I don’t seer the Wraith as Nazis, in this instance you could equate the Wraith’s position as Nazi, and the people who rounded up the Balarins as Germans who revealed their Jewish neighbors. Those people decided the Jews were subhuman and therefore not worthy of defense. Thus those people who took the Balarins to the Wraith had sided *with* the Wraith in a war, instead of standing up to them and protecting their fellow humans. John dealt with them as he would any other enemy force.
I’m not saying it was an easy decision to make, or even an absolutely right one — I don’t think there *is* an absolutely right one in such a case — but that councilman had decided that that group of people had acted against the *community* (because whether that leader liked it or not, the concilmen, who were in charge, had decided to make the Balarins members of the community) and the orders they were given, and had a right to decide the actions were treasonous and act accordingly. If those people were going to work with the Wraith against their innocent neighbors, then I can see grounds for it being decided that they are now also the enemy and can suffer the same fate.
It would be the same if a terrorist told you to fork over your immigrant neighbors — you may not like that the immigrants are there or that they were given citizenship, but they *are* citizens, and if the President declares they have the same rights and protections as any other citizenry, then they do, whether you like it or not. And if you take those rights away at the behest of an enemy force, that’s treason — you’ve committed a crime, and your own rights then become forfiet. In a war, your allies have to know you have their back, rather than that you would put them in harns’ way to save your own skin; that’s why there is zero tolerance in most societies for treason.
Yeah remnants of Line in the Sand, but it was written by the same writer 🙂 But yeah a good episode, I didn’t see the fact that the village leader lied to the gun toting (or should I say completely Earth based shotgun toting…you’ve really got to start being a bit more creative with alien props more like you did in the first few seasons of SG-1. And most alien cultures are either primitive in terms of living in villages with bows and arrows, or 1930’s America. Hopefully that will be slightly more varied in Universe.). So that was a surprise. The leaders conscience will be fun now!
One of the best aspects of the episode was the back and forth between Beckett and McKay, very sharp the whole episode. This is how to properly use Beckett in a plot. I still say that in Whispers you should have been clearer that Beckett was going off world rather then back to Earth, as someone I was speaking to even today wondered when he moved back to the peg galaxy.
So yeah, good. Although I’m hoping to actually see Michael soon though… oh and Torren.
Also quick question are we going to see Kanaan any point soon?
I HIGHLY recommend Narelle from Aus’s blog post on Blogger that Joe’s mentions above “Joseph Mallozzi – This Is Your Blog’s Life”. What a fabulous stroll down memory lane! Not that reading past blog entries from here isn’t also entertaining, but Narelle succinctly summarizes some of the best highs and lows of Joe’s blog in a particularly clever way!
Thanks for the birthday food pics Joe, everything looks scrumptious! I cannot understand how anyone could survive eating a 9 course meal?! Wasn’t that painful? From a stomach distension point of view?
One question please about “Lost Tribe”. What happened to Caldwell after the Wraith retreated to their ship in the fighter bay? We see Woolsey on the bridge with other rescued bridge crew, but no Caldwell?
Seemed strange the captain of of the vessel isn’t there as the Daedelous begins to streak into the planet’s atmosphere with bits flying off her. No?
Happily looking forward to viewing the rest of Season 5, news of the Atlantis movie and YOUR plans to stay on to work on SGU!
Thanks for sharing with us Joe…
Carol Z
(2cats)
Hey Joe,
After the events of FC/TLT, a few nice questions were risen on GW concerning some technology used by the Wraith?
SPOILERS AHEAD. (just to make sure)
We know that the war with the Wraith ended when they developed cloning technology that gave them a very large advantage in battle. They established a large cloning facility which reproduced a few Warriors thousands of times over, pretty quickly, and thus one large batch resulting into over a hundred thousand drones in one go, if my math isn’t too much off.
Now, the Asgard mentioned they arrived there when the war was in full swing, I think? Or anyway, they thought the outcome would be different then it was, they were betting on the Ancients to win? We know that the Asgard are a very advanced civilisation, but they have one great weakness, they rely on cloning to stretch their existence…
We’ve also seen that cloning tech being performed on Jack in the episode Fragile Balance, they can clone a human, memories included, in not too much time. Just like Michael did with Carson.
Also, when you take into consideration other episodes, e.g. the ‘The Siege’ ones where the Asgard beams were easily blocked, this could be because it’s an upgrade from technology they’ve seen before… The question is: what technology is still their own (or stolen from a different race), and which things about the Asgard do they know?
If all that is true, then, had the Asgard not made their existence so dependent on cloning, so the tribe wouldn’t need to fly off into another galaxy to find a quiet spot to experiment on humans, for the purpose to stretch their own existence some more, the Wraith possibly hadn’t come across such knowledge about cloning, and therefore would have probably lost the war… And made sure the Ancients had no reason to flee the galaxy… Only to fall prey of an Ori plague, or what was that again?
And finally… The Wraith got their hands on three ZPMs during the war, with which they managed to clone those Warriors, and build all the required Supply Ships/Hive Ships/Cruisers/Darts to transport those Warriors to battle with… Todd said the Wraith managed to corner 3 Aurora class ships, and that’s where the power came from. I seem to recall, maybe from the episode ‘Rising’ (boy, that’s sooo long ago!) that 3 Ancient ships were sent out to the Wraith to enter negotiations for peace, but they never made it back? So, Todd’s three ships, and these three ships, three and the same ones?
So, basically what I’m asking for is:
1. Did the Wraith get their hands on Asgard cloning technology 10,000 years ago, and so this is how they managed to turn the tide of war in their favour?
2. Can we conclude that Michael is also over 10,000 years old?
3. Can the Wraith so easily block our Asgard beams because they are familiar with the technology (on top of their own high intelligence)?
4. Does Todd/Do the Wraith know that we fly with Asgard upgraded ships, and that the enemies they faced 10,000 years ago are also Asgards?
5. The Pegasus Asgards are directly responsible for the downfall of their allies, The Ancients? Although for that tribe ‘allies’ might be a stretch.
6. The three ships that went to negotiate for peace got cornered and de-ZPMed, delivering the power for the cloning facility.
Phew. I hope I’ll receive some answers for my effort. It took me darn long to formulate the post, as English isn’t my mother tongue! 🙂
Spikey
I will jump in on the belated birthday wishes as well. Since it IS a week long celebration I won’t feel too guilty.
I’m halfway through Travelers and I am definitely enjoying it. My psychic powers show me that there will be a very lively discussion on this one.
Enjoy the rest of the festivities Joe.
Hey Joe!
I knew Fuel would do you right. So glad you enjoyed such a fantastic meal. 9 courses? All I can say is WOW!
I guess you don’t need birthday cake with a meal like that.
Are you excited to try out Rob and Tom’s new restaurant?
I haven’t seen Atlantis yet. I have to wait until I get home to my DVR. Thankfully I remember to set it to record.
Allie (braced knee and crutches), Erin, and I will be flying home to Tampa tomorrow. Hopefully the rest of our stay here in San Diego will be injury free!
Trish 😀
This may seem like a weird question, but here goes: what do you do when you get unwanted/spam phone calls?
Loved ‘Outsiders’. *Loved* it! And, to be frank, I needed it. It was a relief to see that the show still works without Keller being thrown in left and right! And Carson…Carson…why on Earth did you write that guy out?!!? There are no words to convey how glad I was to see him! This episode showed me why I still bother watching SGA.
The moral problems of this ep have been brought up, and I agree. It’s really shaky moral ground, the ‘lanteans are operating here. And, yes, Sheppard is a soldier and is forced to make gruesome decisions, but I agree with whoever said it: he doesn’t really show any remorse or..well, anything, when he blows up the humans. And it’s not a ‘I’m-agonizing-over-this-decision-but-will-deal-with-the-guilt-later-when-I’m-alone’ – thing, either (at least not that I saw). JF has pulled that one before, and believably so; here Shep comes off as awfully coldblooded.
Also, it would have been lovely to see the others reaction to this decision. Ronon would support Shep with little hesitation, Teyla on the other hand…
But in the end, this lack of feeling didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the ep, simply because I stopped expecting human-like behaviour from these characters after Common Ground and the aftermath of that ep (or rather, lack thereof). Oh, they have their moments where I can believe that they are actual humans with actual feelings, but it’s not the norm, so…I just let my imagination kick in and pretend. Or I write fanfic to fill in the blanks ^^
Your menue looks…interesting? Well, as long as you like it it’s fine I guess. I wish bon appetit =D
~ Kirst
[B] Halo Luver [/B]: [QUOTE] “I’ve been noticing that as well, and you think it would’ve made a huge difference in how many wraith ships were destroyed by the Attaro device if they could simply communicate across the solar system. “The Twilight Bark” if you will. It would’ve also made a really awesome scene if after Todd stole the Daedalus in TLT, he had telepathic communications with other wraith hives in the system just as they entered hyperspace, just like in Revenge of the Sith when Yoda is connected with all the Jedi through the force as they’re killed…(choir music Joe, choir music!)”[/QUOTE]
Exactly! (and I love the ‘Twilight Bark’ analogy! 🙂 ).
(and how the heck do you get bold, italics, etc. on this darn blog?!)
I believe I am so starved for the old team-type episodes that, even though I have a few little criticisms, I will hold off, because I wish to celebrate the SGA that I have loved over the years.
I am so glad the Team is back together, I loved Carson back again, was incredibly glad there was no romance or shipping in the episode.
Rodney and Carson were a good team. Rodney was back to being brave again.
Loved Shep being all soldiery and was not at all uncomfortable with his plan – from a storytelling standpoint those villagers sealed their fate the moment they decided to betray their guests to the Wraith… and the Wraith would have killed them all anyway; since when have they held up a bargain with villagers anywhere?
In-laws are coming, don’t have much time…
Let me clarify – My problem with Carson is that he used his medical knowledge to kill. Enemy or not – Carson instigated an attack for the purpose of using his medical knowledge as a weapon. It was premeditated… it was murder. If a doctor injected a murderer with a lethal dose of morphine, telling him it was just a normal IV, it would be considered criminal. Shoot the Wraith in self-defense – FINE. But to use your medical expertise to kill is just disgusting, especially when you claim to be a doctor.
And Sheppard’s actions were criminal. He used civilians as expendable decoys, just to kill – what? About 10 Wraith? Didn’t Ronon take three times that many out all by his onesies in Sateda? I have had problems with things in the past (interference in Condemned that probably cost an entire civilization their lives, and meddling in Genii politics, to name just a couple), but I think this episode totally overstepped the lines, especially where Sheppard is concerned. What I see is a total ego trip going on – the Lanteans save a few, no matter the cost – both in lives, and in morality – just to prove they can.
In-laws just got here – you’re all saved by the proverbial bell…
das
Happy Birthday Joe!
I can’t understand how a human being can survive eating such a meal. Ah! I’ve found your secret! You’re not human! The way you eat (and remain slender), read and blog and work, you’ve got to be superhuman.
At the end of the lyrical description of your meal, I was expecting a garcon to offer you a “waffer thin mint” and take a dive out of the way over the foliage!
How did the europeans spend your birthday? Well, I don’t know about the other 400 millions, but this one spent it starting divorce proceedings against her husband!
Life sucks!
But I am glad to see it’s treating you well. It does my heart a whole lot of good to watch someone having a great time! Thanks for your blog. It keeps me going in the dark evenings.
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dearest Joe,
Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!!
I am SO sorry this is late! I have been a very bad Mallozzi minion lately and haven’t been participating as I normally do…*hangs head in shame*
I will understand if you don’t forgive me for missing your most reveredness’s birthday. *sniff…sniff*
Joe said:
OMGosh Narelle…that was a fantastic jog down the memory lane that is Joseph Mallozzi’s blog!
Narelle said:
I had forgotton about the phantasmagorical rescue of Joe that was cooked up when the blog was shut down! And, my role in it….LOL. Just fantastic!
Kimberly
aka Kimbers
aka Kdvb1
Just saw “Outsiders” and I really enjoyed it. It was hard to predict what would happen next in the ep. The guest actors did a great job of keeping us guessing about their ulterior motives, and it was nice to see some townies with edge. Guess the Pegasus folks are just human after all, warts and all. Loved the wonderful Rodney/Carson (Rorson? Carney?) moments, sniff! Can’t believe the show’s ending! The sets and costumes for the town and ship were nicely detailed, especially the mine. With all the different sets going on that it looked like one of the more expensive shoots. The ep had a High Noon/Magnificent Seven feel to it that is very thought provoking. This would be a good ep to show in an Ethics class.
Everything looks so yummy! Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures for the less fortunate. *g* I would give anything if we had a restaurant that’s the quality of Fuel in our area, but that’s one draw back to living in a small town. I’m really intrigued with your comments regarding the goat butter. I’ve been on the phone most of the morning trying to track some down, unfortunately to no avail. After doing a search on-line, I found several places that I can order it from – guess that’s what I’ll have to do.
Well….off to do some work outside. It’s simply gorgeous here today. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday, Joe.
dff
Unwanted spam phone calls? We always answer as “Taylor’s Mortuary and Takeaways.”
That usually stops that unwanted phone call dead as they try to figure out who in their right mind would buy a takeaway from people who also own a mortuary.
Our friends all know how weird we are and go with the flow… 😀
On a different subject, I am situated right under the approach path of the Cape Town International Airport. Luckily for me we only have an aeroplane overhead every 10 minutes (Heathrow this ain’t).
The reason why I mention this is because occasionally (like now) we have a clunker overhead.
A clunker originates from Darkest Africa and goes ‘roar, splutter, wheeeeeee (worn bearings) splutter clunk’. I hear one of those planes and all I can think of is what my granddad said, referring to the WWII flying bombs.
“If you hear it then it ain’t gonna do you any harm, It’s the one you don’t hear, where the engine has spluttered to a halt already and it’s on the way down that you have to worry about…”
Heeding his words, I hear the death rattle of a badly maintained plane and all I think is …”keep on going…” 🙄
Sparrow_Hawk:
You put a lower case b in the brackets instead of capital. I’m still not sure how to quote though…
@ Das: I’m not gonna get into a debate over what constitues right or wrong, mainly because we’ll all have our own personal differences and I respect yours just as much as my own 😛
That said.. :D… What Shep did was simply a tactic of survival. No different to the Wraith’s need to cull thousands of innocent men, women and children for survival’s sake. He made a strategic decision to save as many people as he could and yes.. by whatever means. And like it or not, that’s how a military mind will usually tick over.
Believe me, I don’t agree with alot of things, but with having members of my own family currently out in Afghanistan, I know they’re trained to think on their feet and with survival at the forefront of their minds. And I don’t ever envy *any* soldier the task of having to make snap decisions that could cost lives, be it fictional or in real life.
As for the ego of the ‘Lanteans.. well, yes. I agree that they’ve overstepped the mark in a number of areas, the episode with Carson’s experiment on Michael coming almost immediately to mind. I also distinctly remember Koyla asking Weir by what arrogance she presumed the Expedition members had any more right to the City of Atlantis, than say the Genii. And that’s a typical human quality that shows through not just in Atlantis, but in SG1’s dealings with the Tok’ra, Jaffa and Goauld.
Actually.. that shows some pretty fantastic writing too. Especially considering it’s being debated and scrutinised on ethical grounds 😛
Soo, uh.. I said no debating, right? Meh.. *rolls eyes at self* >_>
Anywhoos.. i’m not sure what’s worse, having family over or throwing moral issues across the board. But have fun and, uh.. don’t hit me too hard when you get back 😛
Happy Birthday Joe!!
Outsiders was a great ep. Loved seeing the McKay and Carson friendship being explored. The bickering was priceless. I thought it was so sweet that McKay came to drag Carson away from his work to hang out with him. It shows a great change in Rodney’s character. That he recognizes that there is more to life then his work. That friendships are important and that they need his attention as much as his research does.
I was going to type up a few thoughts on the ep but then Wolfem & Perragin beat me to it with their insightful posts.
I just have one comment. Carson did not commit premediated murder. Since Carson didn’t have a gun to shoot the wraith he used what he had at his disposal. His talents as a Doctor.
He was saving the lives of everyone on that planet and possibly every surviver of the hoffan plague. If I had to choose between saving the 1000’s of lives that the Wraith would kill or take life of one Wraith to save them all. I would do as Carson did. Beside the wraith was holding him hostage and would end killing him in the end anyways. I thought Carson’s actions were incredibly brave.
Those civilians betrayed their fellow citizens to a fate I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. They could have changed their minds at any time and agree to help Sheppard but choose again to sell out their fellow citizens to the Wraith. They suffered from the consequences of their actions.
Here I wasn’t going to make a big comment. ; )
@ Sparrow_hawk
For quotes put blockquote in brackets before and after text block you want to quote with a / slash before the sedond blockquote.
e.g. [blockquote] quote text block [/blockquote]
the about html example with the proper brackets is display below.
Hope this helps.
Hi Joe
Many Happy Returns and may the next year be all that you wish!
And can I just say thanks for the truly truly wonderful episode tonight! I’ve been one of Stargate’s harshest critics for the past couple of years, but this, this was fantastic from the word go. The Team, Beckett, a thrilling plot, double crosses and on and on, it had everything I wanted from Stargate and nothing I didn’t.
And I loved that there was a ‘dark’ side to it. I like that it wasn’t easy, and that there is a nasty price to pay even if it’s only to the characters own souls, that’s TV that’s worth watching.
So thanks, I never thought I’d enjoy Stargate so much again as I did watching Outsiders
Mr M
Hope you survive the overwhelming gourmet onslaught yesterday. Don’t know why other posters think that the meal is too big. Obviously it’s a birthday brash special that Chef B tailored to your appetite. Question is when did you appetite return. Really yummy dishes at Fuel. Will have to check the place out when I am in Vancouver.
Back to the subject of the Outsider episode. Think the plot is way too predictable. It’s an average episode for me. The implication of the modified Hoffan drug distributed by Michael is that every time a wraith feeds, it’s playing Russian roulette. Guess that meant some of the lower ranking wraiths have the dubious honor of being food tasters for the rest of the wraiths.
Question. If SGA is reinstated as a regular or mini series in the future if circumstances changes. Would a mostly new cast be workable with a few holdovers from the current lineup?
Outsiders was very enjoyable. And I finally got to watch all of Lost Tribe … staying away from spoilers was near impossible, but I mostly managed. Mostly. Excellent work by all involved, as usual. Thank you.
The dinner looks wonderful. Goat butter … I love good goat cheese, now I have to track down some butter. Might have to go to Salt Lake to an actual large whole foods place to find it. And the scallop … I am drooling; I love scallops and have usually had not so good ones, or worse, fake ones … but I’d consider trekking to Canada for one. Mmm. And the black truffle carbonara … oh yeah, that looks beyond yummy. ARGH! I was hungry before, now I am starving. I do have a turkey in the oven, but that won’t be done for hours. Looks like teriyaki-pineapple- green chile leftover pizza for me. No, really, when you can’t have tomatoes, the homemade pizzas get weird.
Happy Birthday Joe! Really enjoyed Outsiders. I thought it was a very entertaining episode. Loved the Carson/Rodney
banter and the TEAM work!!!
@ DEEINSOUTHAFRICA
Those WW2 flying bombs were V1 rockets – they had just enough fuel to get to England, when it ran out, they would just drop out of the sky!
Do you think that Elizabeth Weir will ever return in the movies, in any form?? It seemed that there could have been a chance in your version of season 6. . And please don’t not bring her back because of Torri Higginson’s reluctant attitude on returning. And I do believe Torri only didn’t return because she believe Weir kept getting de-humanized or something, I guess that’s off the subject. I am mereley an Elizabeth fan hoping for hope. I have been loving Atlantis lately, but have felt a hole the way Elizabeth was left. Sorry for kinda rambling!
Wow, what a dinner!! It all looks amazing. And they’re opening up a pasta restaurant? Sign me up!! (Whenever I get to Vancouver, that is.)
And I apologize for being late to the party but…Happy Birthday!!
@ the food pics..
I just ate my monitor.. tastes like..LCD
Great pics and a very deserving way to celebrate your birthday Joe!
Thanks so much for Outsiders! It’s always good to see Carson where he belongs, working with Sheppard and team. Great episode overall, with a moral dilemma that was nice and messy, some good team moments, some good action – what else could we ask for? Oh, right – Carson, and we got him too! Hurray!
Now what I need to know is, exactly how much chocolate will it take to get you to give Carson this good a story in the SGA movie? Inquiring minds need to know…
UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM fuel-errific dinner!!!!!!!
How is ‘The Physics of Superheros’ going???I bought it there last week (I still have to finish ‘The Gun Seller’ by Hugh Laurie)
Is it a good book to be able to pick up,put down and come back to??
Thanks!!!
T!!!
Hey Joe,
I thought Outsiders was a great episode. Interesting debate re Sheppard’s actions to save the villagers. His situation was: cut off from Atlantis with no prospect of back-up, outmanned and outgunned at the Stargate, facing an enemy that does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants and that has a track record of not honoring their promises, hence no guarantee that the Wraith weren’t just going to kill everyone anyway. He had limited options and made the hard decision to try and save at least some of the villagers. It was unlikely he was going to be able to save all of them with the limited manpower he had. I think 4+ years in the Pegasus Galaxy has taught him that conventions like Rules of Engagement and the Geneva Convention are just not practical when fighting an enemy like the Wraith, not if you want to have any chance of surviving. Following rules only gets you killed if your enemy doesn’t share your morality. (Didn’t Sheppard say in Poisoning the Well that if the Wraith had been at Geneva, they would have just eaten everyone?). Not to say that the decision and guilt won’t weight heavily on him – there were clearly things going through his mind when he pushed the button on the detonator – we may see more about this in Inquisition and maybe Remnants. In fact, I think that is one of the most interesting things about his character – that he finds himself doing things which I’m sure he would never have dreamed of back on Earth. The realities of Pegasus have changed all of them, and not all for the better.
And @Das (sorry couldn’t resist), your analogy of a doctor injecting a murderer with a lethal dose of morphine, telling him it was just a normal IV, hardly applies here. I would agree that it would be considered criminal if the murderer were a patient at the doctor’s mercy, but if the murderer were holding the doctor prisoner and threatening to kill him?? – I say go for it, defend yourself with any weapon at your disposal, which in Carson’s case was the Hoffan drug in his system. I don’t see that as being much different than walking in and shooting the Wraith with a gun, except that he had a better chance of pulling it off and saving both himself and McKay.
Anyway, a great team episode and some stimulating thought-provoking discussion – who could ask for more?
Jean
I watched Outsiders this afternoon and it was really great.
Well written episode, good character interaction and loads of shooting and killing of Wraith.
It seems that every time a village has somebody that would sell their sole to the devil that the person is male. Or am I just being cynical?
Hope your birthday week is working to your advantage – many presents and lots of nice chocolate.
🙂
Outsiders: Go Carson! He just walked right in there and faced down that Wraith. We were cheering.
The scene with he and McKay in the dart — that one had us laughing right out loud. “It’s not a Volkswagon!”
Thanks all, great job. As usual. 😀
wolfenm wrote in response to das:
Excellent points. (You too, das, but wolfenm wins the debate.) The only thing I disliked was Sheppard saying “Nice work”. He should’ve said “You did the right thing” or “Thank you” or something less pleased-sounding. In my opinion, of course.
Anne Teldy
e.g. [blockquote] quote text block [/blockquote]
Also remember to change the [] brackets to the symbols of grater than…. with lower case b and /b for the end of the sentence!
Here, I keep Anne’s explanation which she did better than me ….
Cheers
Patricia Lee
Sparrow_hawk wrote:
1. Remember to change square brackets [] to angle brackets >< when using these tags.
2. To make bold text use [b]text[/b]
3. To italicize text use [i]text[/i]
4. To indent quoted material use [blockquote]text[/blockquote]
5. To create a clickable link use [a href = “URL OF TARGET WEBSITE”]text you want clickable[/a]
6. At this time, I don’t think we are able to put images in our comments.
7. Here’s a list of Smilies Used on WordPress.
8. Here’s a list of HTML Tags Allowed on WordPress.
You can learn more about the basic tags at HTML Goodies: Basic HTML.
The tags may be used in combination. Here is how I coded your comment at the top of this message:
[b]Sparrow_hawk wrote:[/b]
[blockquote][i](and how the heck do you get bold, italics, etc. on this darn blog?!)[/i][/blockquote]
And remember: angle brackets > < not square ] [ !
Anne Teldy
Halo Luver, Montrealer, Patricia Lee and Anne Teldy
Thanks for the very helpful instructions!
Words to live by. 🙂 I’ll try to remember.
And now I must relinquish my computer to my daughter and the gaggle of teenage girls here for her “we didn’t want to go to the stinkin’ Homecoming Dance anyway” party.
I’ll try to weigh in on the Outsiders discussion tomorrow.
Sparrow_hawk
The salmon looks amazing… actually all your posts look out of this world….
Thank you for sharing with us..
Andy
http://www.recipebuddys.com
So a friend of mine and I were wondering..are we going to see Lorne in the movie? We love the character and definitely hope to see more of him in the future.