Yes, it’s thanks to the support of longtime regulars. But the contribution of surfers who stumbled upon us while looking for something else entirely shouldn’t be overlooked. And what were these unwitting visitors seeking? Well, a quick check of the Search Engine Terms for the past seven days reveals that some of the word searches that led these first-times to this blog included: “butterscotch liquor“, “funnel weaver spider mating“, “reconstitute dried cuttlefish“, and “alien hand of god”. Hopefully everyone found what they were looking for.
Well, I stopped by The Comic Shop this afternoon and went “all in”. And by “all in”, I mean ALL in. I picked up every new title in sight. I’ve got to say, nothing quite equals the burgeoning excitement of walking into a comic store. The clatter of the register. The flash of those glossy covers. The scent of nerds. Just browsing the racks takes me back to a youth spent reading The Mighty Avengers and The Uncanny X-Men, cradling each issue as I gingerly turned the pages, devouring the latest installments before carefully bagging and filing them away for future sale to some eccentric comic book collector looking to pay top dollar for Micronauts #1 and the severely underappreciated Shogun Warriors series. Anyway, each book has two issues to impress (Sometimes only one if the writing is that dire which, incidentally, one of last night‘s reads definitely was. The other scored a resounding meh.). If it doesn’t, I drop the title and move on. It’ll be interesting to chart the attrition rate is as it will be to see how all of your recommendations pan out.
A reminder that tomorrow we begin discussion on the first of April’ book of the month club selections – Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl?. Haven’t read it yet? Come on! I read it in one night! Author Brian Michael Bendis will be taking reader questions so move your asses!
Today’s pics: Brie drops by for a visit.
Mailbag:
Ytimyona writes: “What does XXX mean?”
Answer: What it means is that I’ve forgotten to replace this place holder with a proper link once I’d transferred my entry from Word to WordPress.
Jeff Ford writes: “Joe: This isn’t a superhero comic, but if you can get Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Kim Deitch, I think you’ll really appreciate the storytelling and, perhaps, the art work as well.”
Answer: Hmmm. No luck at my friendly neighborhood comic shop. Guess I‘ll try the unfriendly ones.
Jeff Ford also writes: “I see you’re writing a short story. I missed this development — have had my head in the sand lately. What’s it for?”
Answer: It’s for an upcoming anthology. Well, that’s the plan anyway. It’s been an admittedly torturous process, but one that has given me even more for respect for the work you do. It takes me, on average, about a month to write a Stargate script from concept to finished draft. To date, I’ve been working on this short story going on six months now. It‘s been grueling and, occasionally, extremely frustrating. Much of it, of course, could have to do with the fact that the story I want to tell is taking much longer than expected.
My Name Is Scott writes: “Hey, if you are interested in the volume 4 of Green Lantern, which is essentially Geoff Johns Wonderland, I have written a detailed-yet-brief catch-up on all you need to know about GL before jumping into volume 4…”
Answer: Thanks, but I think I’m just going to jump right in.
Whovian writes: “I am wondering, do your dogs ever spend time in John’s office?”
Answer: Nope. Whenever they come to work with me, I spend the entire day chasing after them. I’d rather have someone else chase after them – so they go to doggy daycare.
Daniel Willis writes: “Does anyone know how behind the mail bag is?”
Answer: Uh, what was the question?
Bridjess writes: “Is dandelion nice to eat? “
Answer: I don’t know about the flower, but my parents used to pick dandelion leaves and use them in salads. Good but a tad bitter.
Deni B. writes: “Re Joel again, does he give you (the collective “you”) various music choices for the show’s theme? Does he view an episode or scene and then add the music (and then, who decides if the music fits the writer’s intent)? Can you explain the process to me (and ignore my naivete in such matters)?”
Answer: Joel will have a preliminary conversation with Brad and Robert, then he’ll go off and come up with a piece of music that will reflect the mood and tone of the series. Brad and Robert will listen to it, provide notes, Joel will make some adjustments and then, when all have signed off, he brings in the orchestra to record. Individual episodes are either tracked (using our music library built by Joel) or scored (in which case Joel comes up with original music for the episode). The producers will give their music and sound notes during the Day 1 Mix, adjustments are made, we’ll sign off on the final mix and we’re good to go.
Michael A. Burstein writes: “Superman is spending the year off Earth and living on the planet New Krypton, in the comic book Superman: World of New Krypton. The books Action Comics and Superman are covering other characters taking over for Superman on Earth. James Robinson, who wrote the acclaimed Starman series in the 1990s, is writing some of these stories, so that’s worth picking up.”
Answer: I really enjoyed Robinson’s work on Starman. Will definitely check it out.
Michael A. Burstein also writes: “Booster Gold is a great series, especially if you’re into time travel stories. The premise is that he’s fixing time anomalies throughout DCU history.”
Answer: This one sounds particularly intriguing. Was only able to pick up issues 15 and 18. Will check out another comic book store for 16 and 17.
Dasndanger writes: “Another new book that’s just started up with Bendis on it (three issues in) is Dark Avengers, with Norman Osborn as leader of the team, as well as leading what used to be S.H.I.E.L.D., and is now H.A.M.M.E.R.”
Answer: Really? Is he the Lex Luthor of Marvel now?
Dasndanger also writes: “X-Force is a bloody mess, and I love it! A killer X-Men team, what more could you want?”
Answer: Sold!
Dasndanger also writes: “I see you have Amazing Spider-Man – not sure if you know what’s going on there – but the character has undergone a major retcon – and I am loving it! No Mary Jane dragging him down.”
Answer: Retconned as if they never got married? Or retconned as if they never hooked up? Or retconned as if there is MJ in Peter Parker’s universe?
Sprinkles writes: “Will MS be appearing in the Stargate Universe premier?”
Answer: Michael will have a cameo in the premiere.
Zoniduck writes: “Joe, I’m probably the 50th person to link you to this by now, but given the theme for today’s Cake Wrecks blog Sunday Sweets post…”
Answer: Love it! Wonder how they taste?
StellaByStargate writes: “On the Stargate DVDs each episode is divided into chapters for easy navigation. Each one of those chapters has a title. Are those titles created by you, the writers, as the episode is written, or are they done after-the-fact by someone putting together the DVDs?”
Answer: They’re added by whoever is printing the DVD’s.
Major D. Davis writes: “Is Andy Mikita directing Time?”
Answer: Time will be a Robert C. Cooper joint.
Vincenzo1992 a ecrit: “1) Quelle est ta meilleur recette de pancakes ?
2) Combien mesure Amanda Tapping ? et vous ?”
Reponses: 1) Je les fais avec des morceaux de chocolat.
2) Je mesure 5”10.
Translation: 1) I like to make pancakes with chocolate chips.
2) I’m 5”10
Quick, Joe…hop on over to cakewrecks.blogspot.com to see an amazing cake of the SG-1 style stargate.
Congratulations on the 3,000,000! What no prizes? Streamers? You just don’t care about us like you used to Joe.
Awwwww, sleepy Brie.
Wasn’t Uncanny X-Men a band?
Any more casing of your place of late?
Just some advice on Bow and Arrow vs Crossbow. While the bow and arrow takes a little longer to setup (as a young tacker it took leaning all my weight on Dad’s bow to bend to string), once done it’s much faster to reload than a crossbow. The older I get the stranger my childhood was.
Brie is just too adorable for words. Normally I don’t like adorable. But I’ll make an exception for Brie. Nice picture.
You’ve got me drooling over all those lovely comics. But I’m going to have to draw the line at picking up that habit again. I’m not the most fiscally responsible person in the world, but if I want my books and dvds to have a good home, I have to make sure at least some of my income goes to the basics of life. Still, I appreciate the tidbits folks offer here, to see how far behind I’ve fallen in my readings.
to anyone with friends or family over in Italy, I hope all is well with them. a 6.3 quake is not your everyday rattle-the-dishes tremblor. All the 24 hour news channels are running canned shows, so no way to see how bad things are. Funny how even in a day of instant communications there are situations when the information flow drags.
Bubba looks like a cat sitting up on the couch like that.
Man…with that haul, you are gonna be totally confused! 😆
As far as Spidey goes – retconned in that MJ made a deal with Mephisto to erase their marriage (and memory of) from reality in order to save Aunt May from dying (she was shot after the Civil War thing, partially due to the fact that Spider-Man revealed his true identity). She also made Mephisto promise to restore Spidey’s secret identity, and a few other things. I didn’t start reading until after all of that, but I believe in this new reality MJ and Peter had dated, but they never married, and are now leading seperate lives. I just think it’s a pretty decent, well-rounded book without all that sappy romantic stuff to weigh it down.
Now – arencha glad you asked?! 😀
Here – this’ll help you get ready for Wednesday (provided that’s when Canada gets their new books):
http://previewsworld.com/support/previews_docs/orderforms/upcomingreleases.pdf
das
Also sorry I didn’t put it in my original comment:
“Answer: Retconned as if they never got married? Or retconned as if they never hooked up? Or retconned as if there is MJ in Peter Parker’s universe?”
I think Dasndanger means ‘retcon’ as in the memory loss pill used in the BBC series Torchwood.
Hi Joe,
Its exciting to think that the Exec Producer of SGU and other SG series has responded to a question of mine… Even though it was “what question” 😀
My question is:
I live in Australia and I am currently studying Film and Television production. I am only in my first year of a two year course, but I would like to see if it would be possible to do work experience/volunteer work for SGU next year? I know I am rather early, but if it is possible, I would like to set a goal to save, so I can come over to Canada… At the time I would like to come, I would have to be 21 so I could rent a car… If not, is there anything offered for prospective screen production students etc. for the show?
I’m guessing they havent got you back for your April fools joke. I hope we’ll get to hear what it was; however disgusting, or bad it is!!!
Daniel Willis (from Aus!)
Oooo…I just noticed which Iron Fist you picked up – love that cover! Zircher shared it at the Benbo a while back:
http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showthread.php?p=5534990#post5534990
Good stuff!
das
Oh, stupid question…
How does the book discussion work – do we ask BMB questions now, or discuss it first…or what. I really haven’t paid much attention to the routine in the past… 😳 (And I sure hope I’m not the only one who read it, or we’re gonna be in a pickle.)
das
I would probably tune in to Universe if one or more of the Atlantis actors were to make a cameo appearance, so I bet quite a few SG1 fans are looking forward to SGU for those little glimpses you are promising!
Hi, Joe.
Saw ran across this tonight — Anime Evolution Convention in Vancouver, June 12-14. Alex Zahara is going to be a media guest! 🙂
http://www.animeevolution.com/?page_id=91
Loved the new video clip with scenes of SGU – SCI FI 2009-2010 at: http://video.scifi.com/player/?id=1077502
I have screen prints at: http://tinyurl.com/dgnz56
Best wishes!
So, guess the SGA movie really is on hold, 🙁
Sure hope the economy gets better soon. I am sad.
http://stargate-sg1-solutions.com/blog/2009/04/wright-and-cooper-spill-on-stargate/
3,000,000!!!! Congrats! That’s pretty special.
Is Brie an acting/modeling puppy or something? She’s so photogenic! And of course your puppies are just adorable! Especially Lulu! Thanks for the puppy pictures… as usual, you’ve made my day 😀
Brie is cute does LULU harass’s Brie like she does the other dogs???
Joe!!! I dont see the Flash you dont like Barry Allen????
Congrats on the 3,000,000 milestone. Yours is truly a fun blog to read.
I’m curious Joe if you read green lantern?
If not you should try the paperback “rebirth.” I started with that one and have been following the series ever since.
Gorgeous photos. Love Bubba posing. Brie is VERY photogenic, to whom does she belong? any video of her mingling with your crowd? How does Lulu like the competition? You really ought have a licence to have access to that much cuteness in one go. Thanks for sharing and give your guys an extra special fuss from us fannish types please(Jelly looks especially cute today!).
Answer: Michael will have a cameo in the premiere.
Thats great, thank you for answering.
Congrats! 3 mill. views, that’s quite a record.
but, but… …won’t there be something in for us? Like a contest? Neil Gaiman had one for 100.000 followers on twitter, and 3.000.000 is worth a lot more than 100.000, nah?
Prizes? Puppies? Jobs on SGU? No?
Oh, well. I’ll take the cute dog pics, then.
Hi, Joe!
At Atronic: Stargate SG-1 Casino Slot Machines!
http://www.atronic.com/Games/Linked_Gaming/Stargate
Vegas, I’m on my way! 🙂
Hey Joe, since you like comics have you heard of The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection and The DC Comics Super Hero Collection from Eaglemoss Publications? Both are collections for cast lead, hand painted figurines of the characters with a magazine detailing the history and relationships of the characters.
Hi Joe,
Stargate Universe is filming in HD, like Atlantis? Or in 35mm like the seasons 4 to 7 of sg1?
And about the Atlantis movie, it will be filming on HD or 35mm?
Joe: Good luck with the story. Yeah, it can get pretty grueling at times. Although to someone like me who writes short stories regularly, writing a script seems impossible.
Hi Joe,
this mornig I woke up and a thought came to my mind.
The wraith came into being because the iratus bug turned slowly into a more human form after feeding again and again on humans over thounsands of years. So I wondered now if that was an ongoing process. Whether the wraith are still becoming more and more humanlike by feeding on humans. If that were the case, the retro-virus Dr. Beckett came up with only accerlates something that would happen at one point anyway (although probably not in the foreseeable future). If that is the case, are the wraith aware of it?
Loong question, but it kept me awake until 10 min before the alarm went off 😉
Regarding Booster Gold: the first issues of the series were collected into a book, so you might want to check those out as well if you can. And Robinson’s been writing Superman stories for about a year or two now, and again, some of them have been collected.
I remember when the only way to read the older stories was to scour the back issue racks and hope. How times have changed.
Hi, Joe!
WOW!
2009 Leo Awards Nominations announced:
Stargate: Continuum – 11 Nominations!
Stargate Atlantis – 17 – SEVENTEEN – Nominations
Including:
Screenwriting (3) – Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie – ‘Remnants,” Brad Wright –
“The Shrine,” Alan McCullough – “The Queen”
TV series Sanctuary – 10 Nominations
http://www.leoawards.com/nominees_by_program_2009.html
Congratulations! Woo-hoo!
🙂
Sweet Micheal will be in the premier!
I have a question, what year does SGU take place? How close is it to the finale of SGA?
3 million views. WOW!!!!!! I can proudly say I contributed to those views. Also a Robert C Cooper joint. AMAZING. He is such a unique and talented director. So I have 2 questions
1. Will Andy be directing Life?
2. I just found out there will be gay characters on SGU. Will the fact that they are gay come up in the story often or will it be an every few episode occurrence.
Thanks so much!
Major D. Davis
Heya Joe. I’ve recently gotten my friends hooked on Atlantis, so we’ve been watching Season 1 and on straight through (…in less then a month). We’re just toward the end of Season 3 right now (they love it by the way) =). But question…we watched ‘Irresponsible’ with Lucius last night, and his ancient shield device seemed very strange compared to McKay’s back in the first season. How were the Genii able to dunk his head under water, whereas when McKay had the shield it wouldn’t allow him to even drink? And…I thought once the shield was activated it imprinted on the person who activated it…so how could Lucius get someone with the ancient gene to activate it, but then use it on himself, and have it work?
Just some randomness for you. Thanks =)
Hi again Mr M!
Greetings from a wet and windy Tipperary.
Many thanks (as always) for answering my question re: Mr Anderson’s Q and A (or lack thereof). I am delighted that he is to appear (however briefly) on the new SGU. A true gentleman to his finger tips, having met him in 2006, it was such an honour.
I’ve read some of the reports from the Vancouver Convention just past this weekend. Made me all misty eyed with nostalgia for last year. So, I am thinking, a few bake sales/shoe shines/ car washes and a permission slip from Her Royal Highness, and I may, just may, descend once more for the 2010 Con…. The Gods have yet to speak on same…
Am just finishing up “The Last Colony” which is terrific. Very strong story, as I’ve come to expect from Mr Scalzi…which reminds me…has he been in touch re: SGU work??
Finally, how is Fondy…it’s been ages since we’ve seen sight or sound of her?
Best to all
Shirt’n’Tie
PS: You’re six month dental check up is overdue….I’m just spreading the dental karma out-there for my Canadian colleagues, in the hopes it will return my way…and speed me to Vancouver!!!!!! (Tom Doughty and Chef Belcham need me!!)
Ha ha ha, scent of nerds, ha ha ha
Regarding Spider-Man:
For about ten years, Joe Straczynski was the main writer on Amazing Spider-Man, and he took the book in some fascinating directions. All of his stories have been collected in trade paperback, and I highly recommend them.
As for the retconning of the marriage to Mary Jane: in December of 2007, Joe Quesada (editor-in-chief at Marvel) decided that the stories of Peter Parker would work better if he was no longer married to Mary Jane. So Peter made a literal deal with the devil (Mephisto, in this case) to save his aunt May from a fatal bullet meant for him if Mephisto could wipe out the marriage from the beginning. Peter and MJ are not only married, but now it’s as if they were never married in the first place.
The decision engendered a lot of controversy in the comic-reading community. If you’re interested I blogged my own opinion at http://mabfan.livejournal.com/354060.html in which I actually discussed some of what the screenwriter William Goldman said about screenwriting. I also brought up the realities of TV storytelling, in that sometimes the writer has to bow to the needs of the network (just like Straczynski probably had to bow to Quesada’s opinion on the Peter Parker-Mary Jane marriage).
Anyway, I kept reading Spider-Man in 2008, but a lot of what I liked about the JMS run was no longer in the book, so I dropped it earlier this year. But I picked up issue #590, and found it interesting, so I might start picking it up again.
(One final note: Spider-Man revealed his secret identity during the Civil War series, but that was retconned too. People remember that he did reveal himself, but now no one remembers who he is.)
Hi Joe, so what’s with the “visiting”puppy? Spill the beans already, are you keeping her? She obviously has made herself right at home 🙂
By the way, very interesting stuff on Joel and the music. The whole process is fascinating to me. Does Joel bring the orchestra to Canada or is this done in the U.S.?
Elway’s doing ok this morning, although I think it’ll still be a long day because it usually takes 24 -36 hours for the episodes to be over. Hopefully he can go another 3 months after this. Got lucky with the “What the hell am I going to watch while I sit with the dog all day?” question – Atlantis is on all day on SciFi. As crappy days go, the day could have been much crappier with a BSG marathon 😉
@Das: Great link, sent it to all my friends and everybody has loved it. Thanks!
Joe congratulations to you and everyone at Stargate on the Leo nominations for Atlantis and Continuum. 28 nominations is awesome! But where were the Arc of Truth nominations? Did only one movie submitted for consideration?
Brie is just so cute. Too cute. May I steal her?
Hi Joe,
I know this is not going to be popular but ive just got to ask so here goes,
According to reports from solutions blog the SGA movie is on hold due to money concerns. If this is true how come the SG1 movie has been given the green light and from reports is due to start filming in the summer and SGU seems to have a very substantial budget. why then is SGA the only one affected?
I am trying really hard not to become jaded with all thats happened with the cancellation but its realy difficult when you are a fan of Atlantis and not of the other parts of the franchise and all you have to look forward to are the dvd’s and the promised movie (which I thought was part of the reason it was cancelled in the first place to guarantee the movie/s) and then you here news like this.
Sorry Sg1 never did it for me and nothing about Universe interests me either so Atlantis is it for me franchise wise and id just like to see some glimmer of hope that it has the faith of TPTB behind it as it doesnt feel that way for me personaly at the moment.
So it’s true that the Atlantis Movie has been put on shelf for now. That’s according to this article.
http://stargate-sg1-solutions.com/blog/2009/04/wright-and-cooper-spill-on-stargate/
I thought something was up but why is it that SG-1 always takes priority? I’m sure SGA would do just as well in the DVD sales.
One sad and upset SGA fan.
Hey Joe,
Brie is just adorable. I think if she visited with me she’d never leave. I just couldn’t allow it. 🙂 Just look at that face!
@DeniB: Aw! Thanks for being so understanding. Did you know that Michael Shanks will be at Dragon*Con this September? That’s just about nine hours away from you! Or a very quick one hour plane flight. Then we could BOTH kiss him. 😈 Ha ha ha! As for pictures… I didn’t get any. I have a camera curse at conventions. So this time around I brought my very good photographer husband (it’s a hobby of his). HE got the pictures for me. 😀
Trish
Hey Joe,
Gotta say I am beyond pissed about the SGA movie. I know it is not MGM’s or your fault but what the F***? I thought SGA proved itself by having one of it’s best seasons in performance since like Season 2? What else do the fans have to do to ensure this movie will be made? I think the economy thing is Bull! Why? Because GM who is hurting like hell still decided to go ahead with their Camaro production, why? Well like SGA it is a guranteed sale in so many ways. Is there any reassuring news you can give us, because folks on GateWorld and SCI FI.com are getting nervous. We feel we deserve better for our loyality. Heck, one of the reasons BW stressed for SGA ending now was because of the movie market.
Thanks and sorry for my assertiveness, just kinda upset now. This is nothing directed at you.
Best,
Squall78
Ya know – if money is an issue for the movie, I betcha you could get all the Atlantis fans to join together and finance it – I mean, if just 200,000 fans just sent in $5, you’d have a million bucks. Think of what you could make if we all sent in $50!
Of course, then we’d have to have a say in what happens to the characters… 😉
Ya know…I’m about thiiiiiis close to reading fan fic. You gotta save me, Joe! SAVE. ME! Save me from the slash and the ‘ships and the alternate SGA meets The Muppets realities!! Can’t you bribe somebody?? Or wear your mafioso getup and hunt these tricksters down, maybe threaten to break a kneecap or two if they don’t cough up the dough?? Come on! You’re Italian!! All you need is a black suit and sunglasses to instill the very fear of God into people!! It’s in your blood… you’re supposed to be able to do these things!!
*shakes head in dismay*
das
Oh and thanks for the doggy pics. They are so cute
Coucou Joseph!
Vous allez bien?
Ohh trop adorable ces photos!^^
Bravo pour tout vos visites, vous les méritez car votre blog est génial!!
Hummm des pancakes, je n’en ai jamais gouter je me demande si cela est meilleur que les crêpes?
Vous mesurez 5”10 O_O …et en cm sa fait combient?
Passez une bonne journée Bisou
hey joe congratualtions on getting 3 million views and it just came out that RDA and Michael Shanks will be on Universe and i remember a rumor where Robert Picardo might also guest star in the pilot so i was just wondering if Robert Picardo will guest star in the Universe Pilot or any other episode?
dandelion leaves from the wild would be more bitter than a proper organic grow (since you can flush the plant out a few weeks before harvest, that might resolve the taste issues), and the flowers are good for “dandelion” wine and tend to have a sweeter taste, though I’d suggest washing them good first… they taste fine I used to eat them lol. If there’s nothing else to eat, those are a great source of nutrition and might make eating bug guts more palettable.
And yes it licks disco biscuits that they have to put priority on an unproven concept show such as SGU versus a proven series such as stargate atlantis. I find it very distasteful that sci-fi fans always get stiffed when it comes to finding a show that they like. I sure wish sci-fi would get their act together. The ending of BSG was a total disappointment to me, I mean don’t get me wrong it was a bitter-sweet maybe somewhat happy ending, but it just seems like it was a quick 2 episode ending… it didn’t seem planned out even though I’m sure that certain aspects of it were, must’ve been a quick ditch.
Oh and a low budget series that wouldn’t need as much special effects should be in order. Perhaps you could tell a sci-fi story that takes things observed in the world today and weaves a story that takes an america that resembles pre-war germany (because it would seem to be that way now) forming an alliance with rich elitists and other governments to use today’s technology to create a new world order and a slave/wealthy chaste system as opposed to lower/middle/upper class (oh hold on… that seems to have already started happening…).
Sure the idea has been tried many times throughout history, but never before has it been so close to possible fruition than it ever was, and I think if they don’t want expensive special effects then they should stick with what is cheaper, actors and extras to do the leg-work of making something entertaining….
A little cgi and special effects can be nice, but it’d be even nicer if it were worked into a story in a subtle way instead of solely relying on it, as majority of sci-fi channel shows seem to do.
But either way the amount of money across the world that would go towards “stimulus” is almost enough to stimulate a big project such as something geared to “saving the world” or something to “enslave the world”, one or the other. So who’s getting most of that money?
Trust me — there’s an idea for a show hiding in all of that, paranoia if you choose to call it, but I’d rather call it a healthy distrust in a system that if it follows history will stab it’s people in the back just like every other system and nation has done throughout history, what really makes us think that what is around today will do any different that what has been done throughout all of history, time and time again. History was always destined to repeat itself, the only thing left for all of us idiots that are playing into this game is to figure out if we are ever going to get smart enough to choose our own destiny together, or let it be chosen for us by people that have no intention of looking out for our best interests.
You can take today’s events and turn them into what could play out in a tv series much faster….
Eventually when the budget goes up, could pull an all-out civil war, a fight for freedom.
But either way, the minute you begin to introduce space-ships and wormholes, replicators, and crazy stuff like that you are back on the cgi crutch and I’m thinking sci-fi needs some sort of material that gives them the ability to entertain and build a fan-base that doesn’t cost as much considering they are too damned cheap to appease atlantis fans.
You can attribute alex jone’s success with his films (lots of people watch them) because people do not trust their system anymore, and an actual tv series that plays on that would probably be a pretty cool mixture of the best you can find in sci-fi.
Congrats on your Leo nominations, buddy!
Check.
If you ever want to add a non-fiction book to your book club, I recommend The Code Book by Simon Singh. It’s about the ways people have encoded and hidden secret messages throughout history – Romans shaving their slaves’ heads and tattooing messages, the Enigma machine during WWII (serious drama around that), etc. I based a presentation on the Quantum Cryptography section and, believe it or not, it was easy to understand.
Another good non-fiction book is Story by Robert McKee (he’ll be in Vancouver in June). That would make for a lively discussion.
Looks like Bubba has staked out a great spot on the couch, lol. By the way did I miss something but whose dog is Brie? Pugs are cute when they are young, but then they get older and start looking tattered and haggard.
Joe, our congratulations to all of you on the Leo nominations! Way to go!
Congrats on the Leo Award nomination!
Ok just stop with the way to cute Brie pictures. She is soooo cute. Don’t you just want to keep her? Always a real pleasure to view your dogs. I love Bubba’s “hangout” spot choice. He is a very talented pug, good balance and all.
Mmm, MS, even in a cameo role, guarantees I’ll be watching the premier of SGU. I’m such a sucker for pretty men.
I think I’ll make chocolate chocolate chip waffles for supper. Can’t bake chocolate nummy noms without Black Cocoa!
Flashing gloss…scenting nerds…what more could you ask for?
Wish we were close to a store like that. *sigh*
How’s your pup’s tummy?
Although I do think DH deserves acolades for The Shrine, he just twittered that:
“A Leo nomination?! I’m not even eligible…I am SO disqualified!”
http://twitter.com/dhewlett
So who was the silly person who nominated him?
Thought I’d repeat the liberty I took yesterday so more could see it. Steve Eramo’s new blog features an interview with Joe Flanigan with pictures. Some insight of himself and his character John Sheppard from his perspective.
http://scifiandtvtalk.wordpress.com/
Drooling over the puppy pictures. Brie is really … awwwwww, so cute. Max had a different look about him in the photo – older, wiser, calm, and reflective.
Don’t think we ever saw a photo of Lulu being still and appearing to be napping. wow, what a difference.
In another life, I loved comics/graphic novels – Superman, Batman, etc., but my mother refused to buy or let me buy them. Amazing how kids manage to pool resources to share good reading. Of course this was when they were like 10 cents each…which is mind boggling as they have gone up in price. ooppss, just blew my age range.
I read the V for Vendetta graphic novel and it was great and also awkward having so many pictures; was not used to that. Enjoyed the story so much I had to get the movie with Natalie Portman and Hugh Weaving. Ohhh, his voice is sooo messmerizing; I loved it. Now, I will have to take another try at the comics; just for old times sake if nothing else. So many of the authors are fabulous so this genre does deserve a “second chance.”
I’m adding my congrats on your Leo nomination. The Stargate franchise is well represented in the nominees.
Although I got all excited because David Hewlett is a nominee for best lead performance for The Shrine – an award I think he definitely deserves. Then I saw him twitter that he’s not even eligible. I went back to the Leo Awards Web site to check out the rules, and it appears he’s right. You have to be “a Canadian citizen or have permanent residence status, and have maintained a residence in British Columbia for the 12 months preceding commencement of principal photography of the Program entered…” While he may have dual U.S./Canadian citizenship, I think his residence was actually in Washington State…. Bummer…
…and speaking of bummers, I’m also interested in hearing if you can shed any light on the SGA movie situation. On hold until Fall? On hold indefinitely? I’ll be VERY sad if it’s on hold indefinitely because, to my way of thinking, that would significantly decrease the chances that it will happen at all…(sigh)
Free Math Books mainly in PDF – 260 titles are downloadable from this URL. I do not know if the site has any restrictions regards where access comes from globally.
http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/mathematics.php
Sorry this is not exactly leisure reading for most of us and most definitely are not graphic novels. BUt they are useful for some and key word – free download.
The 2009 Leo Awards
Stargate: Continuum – 11 Nominations
Stargate Atlantis – 17 nominations
Sanctuary – 10 nominations
Way to go, Joe! :-)))))
Really LOVE the doggie photos….
Just a quick note on dandelions…my father-in-law makes dandelion wine. When I first started dating my husband, we picked bushels of dandelions for his dad. This was how I found out I am allergic to dandelions and daisies!
Brie is such a cutie!! Are you sure that you can’t keep her, Joe?
I’m thrilled that Michael will be in the premier. Even if it’s just a cameo. As a die-hard SG-1 fan, I tuned into the “Atlantis” premier because of Michael and Rick. The rest is history. Thank you for doing the same with “Universe”.
Congratulations on all of the Leo nominations. I’m glad that you guys are once again participating. Hope “Stargate” takes home alot of wins.
dff
@ Joe – Comic book writing has really changed – no more narrative (for the most part), no descriptions – much more is carried by the art, while stories are stretched out, and written in such a way so as to make a nice and tiddy TPB read of 4-8 issues. I know many people have complained about how a lot of books are written today – too fast a read, too slow an unfolding of the tale. Sometimes I see it – and on rare occasions it does bother me because I feel a bit ‘cheated’ getting several pages of not much happening – sometimes for an issue or two – then BAM! All hell breaks loose at the end. It’s one reason I’ve considered switching to TPBs for certain books since their stories read better all in one shot, than when they’re dragged out over 4-6 months.
That said, I’ve rarely been disappointed by one-shots. I find the stories are tighter, often packed with a good balance of story and action. But – ya know – it really all depends on what you’re into.
das
Wow! 3 Million big honkin’ posts! A small token of your GW fans’ appreciation (hey, you keep a few threads busy over there!):
http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost.php?p=10003808&postcount=9864
Have a great day!
Also, Joe, congrats on the Leo noms! And I see Chris was nominated for his performance in Sanctuary, which makes me beyond pleased! 😀
I’m not a fan of awards shows, but I still certainly wish everyone in the Stargate and Sanctuary families the best on their nominations!
das
I enjoyed reading your blog, and you’re right, pancakes are not pancakes without chocolate chips. I even put chocolate chips in my waffles when i make them.
I guess my only question for today would be:
What kind of person is Joe Flanigan? Is he approachable? Funny? Love to flirt? 😉
And congrats on your 3,000,000 views. Way to go!!!
Hey Mr. M,
Ditto!!! Congrats on the Leo Award nomination!
Just got back from Vancouver and a fun time was had by most! I enjoyed seeing everyone, especially Trish & Jeremy, Kim, Kat, & Kasandra!
Bumps to Jeremy for taking such great pictures! You rock buddy!
Hey Joe,
Trish would love it if you have dinner with her and Jeremy tonight! Give her a call?!? She is at the Hilton, Burnby!
Cheers
Patrica Lee
Hey Mr. M,
I forgot to ask… is Brie your new puppy or is she just visiting?
Cheers
I would be willing to send money to MGM. Great idea Das. I have also financially contributed to the “Save Jericho Again” commercials. But didn’t I read it took them a lot more than just a million dollars to make the previous SG movies?
If you’re looking to get into Booster Gold it would be a good idea to get into the collected volumes first. “52 Pick-Up” collects issues #1-6 and “Blue and Gold” (which is a direct continuation) has issues #0, 7-10 and 1,000,000. And no, those aren’t typos.
Also, if you’ve got a strong stomach, check out Transmetropolitan (first volume “Back on the Street”) was just re-released in trade in a new format. Its about renegade journalist Spider Jerusalem who lives in a corrupt city 300 years in the future and it is one of the most brilliant things you will ever read.
The current House of Mystery series (“Room and Boredom”, the first trade, is available for about $10) is also a good read.
BTW, saw some clips of SGU online at scifi.com which ran throughout their 2009/2010 “coming attractions” type commercial and loved what I saw. Very cool to see more of the cast “in action” as it were. Can’t wait for the premiere.
Congratulations on the 300,000! When I first started reading your blog (back over at blogspot) I remember being impressed by 20 comments to one of your posts. Now it’s well above and beyond that, and I think that is a testament to your writing, sense of humour and endless insights.
…or maybe the numbers are up because of the wonderful Baron Destructo.
Cheers,
Amz
Oops, there should have been an extra zero in my last comment. Sorry Joe!
Bonjour Joseph ! Merci des réponses !! Encore deux petite questions ^^
1) Quelle est votre niveau d’étude en français ?
2) Aimez vous les films français ? quelle est votre meilleur acteur français ?
Les films sont pas toujours bien sauf les cultes !
Merci a bientot
CONGRATS FOR THE LEO’s nods!!
Just returned from the totally awesome Creation Vancouver 2009 convention in Burnaby, BC. Tons of fun. Meet Joe F, Amanda T., Micheal S., Paul M. Among others. Great weekend.
While out and about this weekend, we ate at Horzions up on Burnaby Mountain and ABC Country Restaurant across from Bridge (love the SGU signs we saw). Have you eaten at either place and what did you think???
Joe, congratulations on reaching 3,000,000! Congratulations on the Leo nominations! Congratulations on finding another really cute dog!
@das: I’m glad you’re joining in this week! The way things usually work with the BotM posts:
– Monday night Joe posts his review.
– Any time after that we post our own comments and questions for the author.
– The deadline for posting questions is usually Wednesday, but Joe usually
nagsreminds us about it when he posts his counterpoints to our comments.– Sometime toward the end of the week Joe hosts the author’s answers and comments.
I hope that helps.
@narelle: Hey, did you ever get the third book in Justina Robson’s Quantum Gravity series?
Congratulations on the nomination! There should be chocolate and restaurant outings to celebrate!
Brie’s adorable, is she your new puppy? She seems much calmer than Lulu was when you got her.
It’s great news both RDA and MS are in the first episodes of SGU, can you tells us if any other SG1 or SGA actors are scheduled to appear?
Congratulations on your 3 000 000 views.
@ Sparrow_hawk – Thanks much! I’m going to try to join in…my brain is in a bit of a fog today, and my sinuses are bugging me…and I just wanna go to bed. 😛
I’m watching Princess Bride right now…I think I’ll just curl up with a kitty or three and drift off to sleep.
das
*sneaks in, head bowed*
Hullo Joe….long time, no see.
Many congratulations on the 3 mill – that’s astounding. Props to the crew for reading and to yourself for being so darned FANTASTIC that people get addicted.
I know I’ve been absent a LONG time but I’ve suddenly got time on my hands again and, believe it or not, the first thing I want to be doing is catching up with you. OK…joint first – I want to get back into writing again too.
Speaking of writing, I notice that you’re playing around with various writing ideas at the moment. Is there anything in particular right now that has you really excited? I mean that wake up at night and somehow your mind just jumps to that idea or project excited. Or even along the lines of Dan Shea can’t-stick-to-one-topic-or-stand-still excited (oh man, does he have ADOS or what!)
And I also wanna know – who is Brie? Coz she is absolutely ADORABLE! Like scoop her up, give her cuddles and see if you can sneak off with her in your bag cuteness! Makes me want a puppy so badly…
*glances round from overflow of squee-ishness and sags into puppy-eyed apologetics*
OK, you can scold me now for being a bad blog-reader.
Does it help if I say that I was in denial of my addiction the whole time? 😀
Dreams
@Karen – Flanigan is a lovely guy from what little I got to see of him on Saturday at the Hilton. He was great on stage and really approachable at the autograph table. He seemed a little surprised that I’d come all the way over from the UK just for the event and, dare I attribute expressions, even a little abashed that I told him it was worth every penny. I’d love to hear what JM has to say about him, however!
Man, I wish I could keep up with comics like I’d like to, but I just don’t have the time or money for it. So instead I often read comics that are several years old (hey, they’re new to me!), though I do try to keep up with the Buffy & Angel comics (the ones considered canon). I have them hold them for me at the store, so I only have to go in every several months or so. Last time I was in (the second time since they started holding them for me), I told the girl at the counter (who I’d probably met briefly, once, months before) that they had a folder for me. She looked at me and asked, “Are you Shawna?” I was like, “Yeah…” and she said, “Don’t worry, it freaks a lot of people out.” She also said that it’s easier to remember the women that come in, unsurprisingly.
So, if it takes you a month to write a teleplay, how long does it take you to write a screenplay (if you’ve written one)?
das —
You’re definitely right about the way comic writing has changed. It’s probably the main reason I don’t just pick up an issue of Spiderman or whatever, and haven’t for years (well, there’s been a couple scattered times). Going into it, I’m completely lost, and by the end I’m left with a feeling of, “Huh, well, okay, one interesting thing happened but it didn’t really do much and I’m even more confused than ever.” I usually go for either TPBs or mini-series. I feel much safer if an issue says “1 of 5” or something, like okay, I can handle this. And I know it won’t stretch on for eons with no end in sight. When I was a kid I used to have a subscription to one of the Spiderman comics, but eventually it became impossible to keep up with because it would be bringing in things from all these other comics that I didn’t read, so eventually I gave up.
But anyway, back to the writing style… Last year I bought an old Nightcrawler mini-series off ebay. Four issues, and it was this huge, sprawling epic sort of thing (also ridiculously silly, but that’s another matter entirely). Of course, comics from a couple decades ago seem to be longer, which allows for more story room and makes me feel like I’m getting more for my money.
And regarding the Spider-man retcon… Ugh. I generally dislike retcons, and this sounds like one of those. Not that I’m a huge shipper of those two, but it’s like Clark Kent and Lois Lane, or Scott Summers and Jean Grey. There are some couples who are just meant to be a couple, and any tampering with that irritates me as much as when they drastically change someone’s powers for no reason, or when they make ridiculous changes for the movie versions. (Speaking of which, I heard that in the Wolverine movie, Gambit is Wolverine’s brother and has the same healing factor. Which… I really have no words for. My co-worker was watching the leaked copy at work and she turned to me and went, “So, when did these guys become vampires?”)
Hey Joe,
Congrats on the Three MILLION views to your blog! I wish you Three BILLION more! 😀 Also congrats on all the Leo nominations!
Once again Brie is too adorable for words.
@DeniB: I hope Elway is doing better. I do understand how hard it can be to travel when you have pets. And mine are healthy. I can only imagine how hard it would be with a pet with special needs. Right now my two furry children are safe and sound at home. My mom drops Allie off to hang out with them a few times a day. Then my two non-furry children (Allie and Erin) are staying with my mom. Buh-lieve me, I don’t take it for granted that I’ve got a wonderful mom. My traveling would suck if I was worried about my kids. It’s a shame we live on the opposite coasts of Florida. I’m sure Allie would LOVE to watch Elway for you. Taking care of someone like that is so up her alley. She has a gift for those with special needs, regardless of species. 🙂 I wish you a great nights sleep tonight!
Trish
Congrats on the 3 mil mark Joe…. if only you got a nickel for each click….. hmmm
any developments for Project twilight??
Joe, did you catch tonight’s House? I’m really freaking bummed over here. I just hope this amounts to some really good character development for House somehow, because if it’s all just for a bit of shock value, I’m gonna be mad.
Hey joe! I have a quick question. I saw that Janelle Monae is appearing in an ep of Universe. Do you know which one it will be?
I have heard so much about there being a 3rd DVD movie is this true or Not? I love stargate all of them and i really hope this great adventure continues for years to come. I would love a chance to meet the Stargate Cast (my personal Favorite SG-1 including Reachard Dean Anderson
(Jack) Love you guys in the least possible gay way….. Keep up the great work. 🙂