First off, thanks to everyone who has offered up suggestions on how to deal with my tech problem (see last issue, ed.). Tomorrow, I’ll see if I can export a copy of my blog to via a (hopefully) faster computer at the office. To be honest, the situation isn’t as dire as it seems. I write out my entries before transferring them to wordpress, so I have them all backed up as documents. I’ve also backed up all my media files (pics and video) as well. I have a back up blog that was last updated winter of 2008 in addition to the countless live journal sites out there that have published my entries over the past coupe of years. So, yes, I’m covered. Still, it would be nice.

Was in the office today. Gave Carl notes on his first draft of Pain. Doesn’t look like he’ll need to do much in the way of a rewrite. Meanwhile, I anxiously await Brad’s pass on Sabotage as that preps next week with the lovable Peter DeLuise at the directing helm. Next week is also when Rob Cooper starts directing Human (formerly Lucid – I know, I can’t let it go). I’m going to go over both of my scripts and – provided on how things go – try to get them in tomorrow so he’ll have the weekend to read them rather than having to read them on set. The latter would be terrible as I’m sure he’ll be so engrossed and eager to finish reading that he’ll no doubt hold up production just to see “how it all turns out”. And I, of course, would feel terribly guilty. So, tonight, I start my first pass on my drafts.

Late this afternoon, we watched the Final Mix of the two-part premiere with the VFX Finals. “Pretty good,”said Brad on the final fade. “No,”Carl was quick to correct him. “Great.” “Yeah,”Brad agreed. “It WAS pretty good.” “No,”Carl repeated himself, more emphatically this time. “Great!”. And I’d have to agree with Carl. As I was watching, all I could think was how good this would look on the big screen. And then I remembered – Hey, we’ll be doing a big screen cast and crew screening prior to the premiere so we will get to see it on the big screen! It will truly be awesome!

Speaking of the premiere – I leave you today with some pics from those first couple of weeks of shooting…and the mailbag…

Director Andy Mikita calls the shots.
Director Andy Mikita calls the shots.

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Extra action.
Extra action.

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RebeccaH writes: “My question is, if you’ve been using Times New Roman all along (which is my favored font), shouldn’t that be the standard by which you measure your script pages, regardless of whether someone else is using a different font?”

Answer: That was the case with SG-1 and Atlantis. But new series = new font. At the end of the day, so long as we’re consistent throughout the production, we could be using Hermetica Indentured Serf Gothic Extra Bold and it wouldn’t really matter.

Cheryl Gunter writes: “My daughter spent 2 years writing a book.
Someone broke into our house and stole her laptop. You guessed it…no backup…there went the book. Gone forever.”

Answer: I feel horribly for your daughter. I have a fear of something similar happening to me – losing a document either to theft or a system crash. I make it a point to always back-up my data on an external hard drive and also email myself the documents just to be on the safe side. My sympathies.

Psychotic_Carp writes: “You might want to try to backup your blog with another browser, if your on safari try firefox or opera.”

Answer: Tried ‘em. No go.

Eric.Stewart writes: “I’ve heard that there is apparently a standard in term of the font you can use to write a script, and that all scripts are supposed to be written in the same font style and size.”

Answer: Yep. Courier is the industry standard. If you’re writing a spec script, that’s the font you should be using. That said, if a production wants to use an alternate font, there’s no logical reason why they shouldn’t so long as this is accepted as the norm for all internally produced scripts.

Eric.Stewart also writes: “I’ve also heard that this standard helps to evaluate the time length of a script. i.e 1 page of a script is supposed to be equivalent to 1 minute of on screen movie time, so that a 52 pages script would be equivalent to 52 minutes of “on screen time.”

Answer: Yes, more or less, 1 scripted page = 1 minute of screen time. It varies somewhat depending on whether the scripts are action or dialogue-heavy, or whether you’re actors speak quickly or enunciate at a glacial pace.

Ytimyona writes: “Joe, do you have anything to say about the Emmy bruhaha?”

Answer: Sure. What Emmy bruhaha?

Otros Ojos writes: “I hope you don’t get tired of people telling you how entertaining you are.”

Answer: Not yet. But I’ll let you know.

Jenn writes: “So, Joe, uhm…is there any word about the SGA movie? Any word at all? Are you still optimistic that it’s going to happen?”

Answer: As I’ve said all along, I’m going to assume we are making a movie until somebody actually tells me we aren’t. And that hasn’t happened yet. Also, if the plan was never to make a movie, Paul and I wouldn’t have been hired to write and produce it. If at some point they’d decided not to do it, you’d think they would have said “Hey, stop writing that script!” rather than paying us for something they had no intention of using.

Anais33 a ecrit: “Je ne pourrai pas passer sur votre blog avant une semaine, car pleins de monde viennent chez moi, et je part quelques jours en vacance dans un luxueux hotel.:

Answer: Bonnes vacances! Et bonne anniversaire!

JimfromJersey writes: “I can’t help you with the actual backup, but I can help with this: The best screen capture program I’ve ever used. And it’s free!”

Answer: Thanks, Jim.

Angelus writes: “Will you be showing any work-in-progress art designs for SGU?”

Answer: I will – and have posted some early design work already.

Ytimyona writes: “Does the crew always wear awesome shirts to work, or only when their pictures are taken?”

Answer: I think they wear them in the hopes that they’ll get their picture taken.

Shawna writes: “So… what happens if SGU doesn’t get picked up for a second season?”

Answer: So negative! We grow increasingly excited about the show the closer we get to those finished episodes. Hopefully quality will translate to solid ratings. But, in the event things don’t work out, we’ll be able to look back on 16 incredible seasons of a franchise that, quite frankly, was originally, in a best case scenario, only envisioned going 5. I will of course finally be able to head back to Tokyo and spend the entire year as a guest contestant on various Japanese game shows before returning to start up my dream monkey sanctuary.

Fargate One writes: “Quand vous rédigez un dialogue, le lisez-vous à voix haute pour vérifier si les phrases sonnent bien à l’oreille, pour entendre les répliques afin de vous assurer qu’elles sonnent naturelles?”

Answer: Des fois, oui.

Translation: I occasionally do read my dialogue aloud to make sure it sounds right. I do the same with my answers to your questions.

K-Man writes: “If for some reason they don’t make the movie will the script ever be released anywhere? Maybe as a novel or something?”

Answer: That, of course, would be up to MGM.

Fran writes: “Is Brie the newest edition to the bunch? And do they all get along with each other?”

Answer: Brie is a guest. And, yes, they do all get along. More or less.

Chevron7 writes: “Joe & some other social people, please take the test.”

Answer: I scored a 29.

Vincent92 a ecrit: “1)Quelle est votre niveau d’étude du français ? (Vous avez lu la BD Asterix en Français !)

2) Quelle est la marque des “Tablets PC” sur Atlantis ?

3) Allez vous sur le site de David Hewlett (dGeek.com) ?”

Reponses: 1) J’ai étudié le français dans l’ecole primaire et secondaire.

2) Je ne me rappelle pas.

3) Non, je ne le sais pas.

Translations: 1) I studied French in elementary school and high schoool.

2) I don’t recall what the markings are on the Atlantis tablets.

3) I’m not familiar with dGeek.

Norriski writes: “I was wondering if you could direct me to a few Sci Fi authors whos works would, for lack of a better term, be consider PG.”

Answer: I can’t vouch for an author’s entire bibliography, but I can suggest individuals titles: like this months BOTMC pick The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon, or John Scalzi’s Zoe’s Tale, or George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides to name a few.

DasNdanger writes: “ Joe – Lou says to look for the book sometime in 2010. You will give us a head’s up, I’m sure…but I was wondering if you know if this is going to be a general release thing (something you can pick up at your local bookstore), or limited, and only available through select outlets.”

Answer: I’m pretty sure it’ll be a general release.

Majorsal writes: “when does filming for ’sgu’ finish?”

Answer: October.

37 thoughts on “August 6, 2009: Back in the Office! Pics from the Early Days! And an Extra Chunky Mailbag!

  1. Chev – Took the test and scored 12. I do public speaking and enjoy meeting new people, yet remember 35 digit alpha-numeric software license codes. But that could just be because it’s easier to remember the code than have to go searching for it each time I need it.

    Joe – Sorry about your blog backup issues. Your talking my language when it comes to SQL and php but I work with big databases not Bloggy stuff. In my final year of VCE (Year 12 for us in Aus) the night before my major assignments were due for Legal, PE and English my hard drive corrupted. It corrupted my floppy disk backups too (showing my age). I had to rewrite them from what I could remember the day they were due (Co-ordinator wouldn’t give me an extension grumblegrumblegrumble). If I knew then what I know now about PC’s I could have rescued my work. Despite me now being in the industry and having access to some incredible resources (ie: people much nerdier than I), I’m a compulsive backupperer.

  2. Hello Mr. M,
    Can you please tell me what service Jamil Walker Smith’s character, Sgt Ronald Greer is in, Air Force or Marines?

    Thanks

  3. @Vincent92 – if you are looking for the brand of tablets…i think they might be from “motion computing” – weir also used a mobile keyboard from the same company. However, don’t take my word for it…
    anyway they are nice and expensive computers…come to think of it, Atlantis gear in general is very nice and expensive; (e.g. the $500 sf-m4 flashlights that they all carry around *drools*)

  4. Waou!!!!

    Vous avez étudiez longtemps.

    Vous etes bilingue pour le français? (répondez directement)

    pourriez-vous vous inscrire sur le site de référence francophone de stargate SVP, après tout vous etes bien sur gateworld.

    http://www.stargate-fusion.com/
    inscrivez vous sur le forum, je suis sur que vous avez un meilleur niveau que la plupart des boulets français du forum 😀

    Les questions:

    A quoi sert le 10eme chevron (celui du sol), car a part décorer j’en vois pas la moindre utilité?

    Une petite vue externe et interne des shuttlepods du destiny (c’est le meilleur nom que j’ai pu trouver)

    Comment l’equipe va t’elle faire pour les réserves munitions?
    Vu qu’ils n’ont pas eu le temps de prendre des stocks lors de l’évacuation et vu les hostilités des indigènes dans “Air” ils auront tout épuisé a la fin du pilote.

    Alors explication?

    merci

  5. This Emmys bruhaha. I can’t believe you hadn’t heard of it already! Basically, 8 awards are not being presented live. But I guess since SciFi gets snubbed almost every year, maybe the Emmys don’t matter so much to you.

    It varies somewhat depending on whether…your actors speak quickly…
    Like David Hewlett and Michael Shanks? I’ve heard rumors that scripts heavy in McKay or Jackson dialogue would go ten pages over and still clock in under time! 😀

  6. Joe wrote: “Hey, we’ll be doing a big screen cast and crew screening prior to the premiere so we will get to see it on the big screen! It will truly be awesome!”

    I would love to be considered as part of the crew for this screening. Perhaps if I see you on Monday I will ask you in person. 🙂

  7. Majorsal writes: “when does filming for ’sgu’ finish?”

    Answer: October.

    thank you. =)

    there’s another browser you might like (i use it) called ‘google chrome’. it’s very simple and basic (no real thrills), but it might do what it is you’re trying to do.

  8. @Chevron7 I missed the test you linked to (I haven’t read Speed of Dark yet but want to, so I didn’t wanna read the spoilers) but I just took it now: 33. I guess I’m borderline, but apparently autistic people don’t like to imagine themselves elsewhere, and I pretty much live in my own little world. 😉 Seriously though: it was a very insightful test; half the time I don’t even think about these sorts of things!

  9. Joe,
    Thanks for the response… I’ll have to visit Amazon’s website when I get back from my vacation (or wait until next month after payday., and pick up those suggestions..) guess it depends how crazy I go in vacation…
    Norriski

  10. Hey Joe,
    Just wanted to drop you a note. Jodelle Ferland (Harmony) is also on Twitter (@jodellemicah).

    -K

  11. I just rewatched Midway and had some questions.

    Aside from being one of the funniest SGA episodes out there, I wondered… did anyone on the staff do a body count of just how many Wraith took the plunge? I guessed 200 or so were shown. I think there were more Wraith shown shot in that episode than any other in the series!

    Secondly — how many extras would you have employed for that episode? How many times did each of them take a P90 shot, a Zat shot, or a Ronon Special?

  12. At the end of the day, so long as we’re consistent throughout the production, we could be using Hermetica Indentured Serf Gothic Extra Bold and it wouldn’t really matter.

    LOL. That’s one font I’d really love to see, if the designers could really capture the essence. In contrast, I was deeply disappointed to find that Trebuchet isn’t even remotely related to actual trebuchets. Could’ve been a great font for medieval warfare/character development video games. As would, of course, Indentured Serf Gothic.

    External hard drive, check – practical, uncomplicated. And it’s nice to know that other people email documents to themselves, another easy-retrieval practice. Writing out your entries may be going the extra mile; still, in an electronic age, there’s just nothing like having the original hard copy. – Everything you mentioned as a recourse in the event of a system crash suggests a logical, methodical mind, so it’s kind of fun to recall Ashleigh’s reference to “Joe’s disaster of a desk.” Not that there’s an incompatibility. But truly messy desks are just funny, as well as intriguing. Any chance of a pic of your desk at work, au naturel?

  13. Oh, I certainly don’t mean to be negative. I do hope that SGU goes on for ten years (or at least five), but when that’s not a guarantee, I, as a viewer, hate cliffhangers. This is probably because there have been too many shows I’ve liked which have either simply ended, or worse, ended on a cliffhanger. It’s just not fair to the viewer. I think every show, no matter what the quality, should get a chance for a proper wrap-up, otherwise the story’s incomplete. I would have been incredibly disappointed if SG-1 had not had the chance to wrap up the Ori storyline in a movie. I mean, obviously the writers/etc. don’t choose to cancel the show, so they can’t take all the blame for shows ending forever an a never answered question mark, but I think they do share some of the blame for choosing to do a cliffhanger when they have no guarantee of giving the audience a conclusion. I don’t mind cliffhangers so much when it’s a week-to-week thing, or when there is any kind of reasonable assurance that we’ll actually get the conclusion, but as a viewer I’ve just been burned too many times by shows that leave me hanging in suspense that I’ve just come to loathe the whole idea of a season-ending cliffhanger.

    That’s what I meant when I asked what would happen. I’m sure if it didn’t get renewed you and the rest of the people involved would get along. It’s a purely selfish worry. What would we, the viewers, do?

  14. In terms of backups, I use two external hard drives, three online backup service (one of which was developed by my employers), and then use Blu-Ray BD-RE 25Gb discs to make backups of the backups. Blu-Ray is rather good as a backup medium if nothing else – until then next mass optical storage system comes along.

    As for the blog backup, that’s a strange one. Unless WordPress.com are willing to do the backup for you every so often and send the results by email, I can’t think what could be causing the timeouts during the XML export. Especially if you’ve tried different web browsers. You did try a different Internet connection (office / home / 3G mobile dongle).

  15. Darn. If I knew you were doing an extra chunky mailbag, I would have asked some important questions, ya know – something about manscaping, or Todd…or Todd’s opinion on manscaping – instead of having you to dig up some old thing I asked days ago, and forgot all about.

    Gotta run. Have a great day, sir!

    das

  16. @dasNdanger
    Well…at the time it is. Afterwards I usually spend a few hours in seclusion, beating myself up for talk-ing too much, and swearing that I’ll never, ever do it again… aaaaaand I never seem able to keep the promises I make to myself.

    *LOL* Another thing we have in common (hope that doesn’t scare you 😉 ) I reassure myself that these people are my friends (at least I hope I act like that only with my friends…), so they should bear with me. Besides, it happens mostly when I talk about anything Stargate related and stuff like that. It’s hardly my fault that they aren’t interested in Stargate and science fiction, isn’t it? 😉

    It is time to move on. I never thought I’d say that – certainly not a year ago. But, yeah. Time for us to get over Atlantis and find something new with which to amuse ourselves.

    After seeing how depressing something can end which is supposed to be entertaining, I swore to myself to never get involved so much in a TV show again. I have enough trouble and bad feelings in my real life, there’s no need for something additional.

    I didn’t think it would be hard, because with SGA it has been the first time that I’ve called myself a real fan. I didn’t just watch the show. I was interested in anything about it. Even in the people behind the cameras/their work and things like that. I joined online communities. I thought about episodes, the characters, the stories. I lost track of how often I rewatched all episodes. With other shows I just watch? I hardly know all the names from the main cast. I don’t bother to buy DVDs and books. It’s a huge difference.

    Besides, I haven’t watched much TV/many movies for some years. IMO the quality has become pretty low in general.

    And then there was Torchwood. I quickly became a fan. It’s not SGA, but probably the closest another show can get. And what happened? I still haven’t watched the 3. season, because I’m not in the mood for probably crying all the time.

    Hello, welcome to the next depressive displeasure. 🙁 I know, TW isn’t axed. But it won’t be the TW I fell in love with anymore. They have definitely overdone the whole drama stuff.

    So, I really hope this time, I will keep the promise I’ve made to myself. I watch something or not, but I don’t want to get emotionally involved anymore.

    And for the SGA movie. After hearing all the comments about the cancellation, I’ve been pretty pessimistic right from the start whether we would really get one. I don’t say TPTB haven’t had the intention to make one at all. It’s just the feeling that it isn’t important enough for them. Not a priority. The first thing they’ll skip when there are other things or any obstacles. 🙁 And some day it might be too late for it. Because even I’m not sure if I want to watch a movie 5 years after the show was aired or so.

    Just for the record: I don’t mean you, Joe, with those TPTB. Because you’ve made it pretty clear that you were disappointed by the cancellation and that you are eager to make a movie!

    @dasNdanger

    You see, maybe I talk too much not just with friends. *LOL* Or I have currently too much time. Or I’m not in the mood for doing my work. 😉

  17. Hi Joe. After October arrives and the crew finishes shooting how much will it take for the crew start to shoot again, in the event of a second season?
    Thanks.

  18. @Das. With due respect, I don’t want to “get over it”. I’ve been trying to come up with a way to explain how I feel. The best I can do is the following analogy. I find a restaurant that offers up an interesting dish, one I like enough to return to frequently. Later, the same diner offers a new selection, one that becomes my favorite meal. They eventually drop the original dish, but promise, and offer it, as an off the menu special now and then.
    Then one day I show up and they announce “sorry, we’re not going to carry your favorite any more, but we will have a new entree for you, but you’ll have to wait for months for it. And yes, we’ll carry your favorite as an off menu special too”. Ok. As a customer, I’m a tad put off that they have dropped my favorite meal, but I understand business is business. And they have not only promised me occasional opportunities to enjoy my favorite, but I may enjoy yet another new dish.
    Time has gone now gone by, and now it seems that the promise has been reneged on. No mention of when they might carry the schedule(not even, because of economics it might take us a few months to import the dead sea mushrooms that make up the special ingredient, but don’t worry, we eventually will get them). Just silence from the chef and/or owner. The waiter, while excellent, cannot offer me either information or assurances, unless he’s told something concrete. Now it becomes a customer service issue. I feel that the restaurant owner doesn’t think enough of my custom to be honest with me, and that’s putting me off the rest of the menu. Even though I’m quite sure the chef(s) will offer up a great new dish. After all, why get excited if that dish too will suddenly be yanked from the menu, even if a large number of people are enjoying the product?
    Not a perfect analogy, but its the closest I can come up with. I think it comes down to I feel as if I have been lied to, in that we’ve been promised something, and now there is no indication it will be delivered, even though the other movie has been green lighted. I’m hoping some definitive word will come down before the release of Universe, so that I can enjoy that show with unallayed pleasure. Otherwise, I will probably end up passing on the show, because if TPTB think so little of the viewers that they won’t even own up and say “sorry, we changed our minds for abc reasons” then I don’t see the point of continuing to support their productions.
    Anyways, sorry about the quasi-rant Mr. M. but now that it’s August and TPTB who make the decisions on this matter are still silent, I find myself feeling like that anagalous customer who has been treated rudely by the chef/owner. I’m still hoping, if not hopeful, that some final word will be released before Universe airs, so that I can indeed “move on”.
    On a different note, I’ve missed the link to the autism test, and I can’t seem to find it. Someone care to repost it?
    @Cheryl. sympathies on your daughter’s loss. May the thief suffer genital mange and rectal worm infections till the stolen ‘puter is returned.

  19. @Chevron7
    I scored 18 on the test.

    @ytimynona
    here’s the link to the Autism Spectral Disorder test
    http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

    Joe,
    I certainly hope they make the SGA movie. I miss the gang.
    Are they working on the SG1 movie now?
    My brother and I are working our way through the SG1 series again. We are on season 2. I’ve forgotten many of these episodes and I remember falling asleep on the couch watching them. Can’t remember why I was tired back then.
    When did you join the show as a writer?

  20. Hi again Mr M!

    OK Whoa!!! Phew Mr M! is back in da house!

    @PG15: Stand down…he’s been located!

    Know what you mean re: reading stuff aloud. I actually read my comments aloud to ensure they sound good too! Hmmm

    Am desperately trying to finish up The Speed of Dark! It is such a great book, I don’t want to rush it!

    PDL back for directing = EXCELLENT!!!!

    I know it’s insanely early, but have any of the actors been approached about doing audio commentary for the eps?

    Best to all

    S’n’T

  21. UGG I totally agree, Lucid was an amazing title, hope it gets changed back.

    OH and HI IM BACK!!!!! The missions trip was great. Had a fun time in Newcastle!!!!

    SO I do have a question.

    I heard SGU’s budget was up by 1 million bucks from Atlantis’ budget. So is SGU’s budget 3 million US dollars???(I remember atlantis being 2 million USD)?

    Thanks so much,
    Major D. Davis

  22. I took the test and scored a 6. I have spent my professional life in jobs that require sociability such as journalism (both written and broadcast) and teaching. I am not a spring chicken anymore (dammit) and so I’m wondering whether this test is a measure of anything for people who have a great deal of experience living. For us older farts, it seems to me that it’s not possible to discern whether we chose our path in life because of our sociability or whether our life’s path has made us more or less social. It’s entirely possible that I could have scored differently at different ages and I expect, at least for me, that would have been the case. Just thought I’d muddy the waters here.

  23. An extra harddrive is good for backups. We finally setup our own server to back up everything daily. Hubby build it with five fans because of the mega processor he put in the server. Fans in a computer are a must. Forgot who mentioned them yesterday but they are essential. These new processors run hot. We’ve had dvd drives burn out because of the heat. Learned our lessons.

    I refuse to be down about the SGA movie! Mr. M’s logic is sound! I just hope it’s made before the cast gets much older or commited to another project.

    Cheryl: don’t some laptops come with a tracking device? I’m going to check our laptop on that.

    So many scumbags feel entitled to anything others own. We have a lot of crime in our area, so I sympathize with your daughter. It’s an awful feeling.

    Hope all are well today.
    Tam

  24. Hi Joe! Hope your are having a good day. One of the girls over on David Hewlett’s site has a friend who posted a video on youTube that I thought you and the guys in the office might kind of like.

    It’s the Mountain View, CA High School Marching Band doing a selection of songs from the orginial Stargate movie. They performed this in 1995 at a band review and they have several interesting little touches: The director was dressed as Ra, the members of the flag corps were dressed as Abydonians and at about the 6:10 mark some of them pick up Jaffa weapons instead of flags. they even produce their own Stargate – complete with guards.

  25. HI guys, I scored 13 on the test and would somewhat agree with JES. I think our personalities are what they are, but of course, with age comes experience in social situations and such. 🙂

  26. Joe, is Thornyrose comparing you to a waiter? Oh well, at least it’s not the busboy! (ha,ha,he,he)

  27. David Chapple writes: “What month are you going?
    The winter months may be a littler busier because of the heat from the food.”

    Answer: I’m going from late November to early December. I’m having the concierge at my hotel book most of the other restaurants on my itinerary so I’ll do the same for this one. Oh, and while we’re on the subject, have you heard of a restaurant called Kabukicho?

    Joe,
    Sorry I didn’t reply sooner. Been pretty busy lately.
    November and December are good times to go. It doesn’t happen often, but you may get some snow sticking in Tokyo while you’re there. One of my great memories is when I visited the 47 Ronin Shrine near Shinagawa station during a blizzard. It just seemed appropriate.
    I have a picture of that day in one of my albums.

    I don’t know of a restaurant called Kabukicho, but there is an area of Shinjuku known as “Kabuki-cho.” It was originally named that because it was going to have a kabuki theater built there. The theater was never built but the name stayed.
    It is kind of a rough area. It is known to be a Yakuza area(although that might have changed in the past few years).
    Lots of drink bars and pachinko houses. BUT there are some good small restaurants in the area.
    Not sure if I would go without a Japanese friend though.

    If you like Tempura cooked with good oil, try a place in Shinjuku called “FUNIBASHIYA.” The rice is outstanding and the tempura is never oily and the tastes are always fresh.
    I don’t remember the address though. I believe the restaurant has been around for many years. The area is on the steep outside staicase side of Shinjuku station. I’ve been there about 12 times and I know how to get there but have long since forgot the address and street name.

    I’ll try to find the location if you might be interested.

    By the way, if you get a chance to come to Los Angeles, I have a great sushi restaurant for you.

    Take care,

    Dave Chapple

  28. “I do the same with my answers to your questions.”

    WOOHAHAHAHAHA ! ( timing is THE ingredient to do good humour)

    Thanks for answering.

    As I always say : les personnes intelligentes n’ont pas toutes le sens de l’humour, mais toutes celles qui ont le sens de l’humour ( vous notamment) sont obligatoirement intelligentes.

  29. @JES and Deni: I agree that most people tend to become more comfortable in social situations with age and experience, or at least, most people become better able to manage and function within social situations with experience. But for some of us, large groups are something to be avoided and parties are not fun. I am also not a spring chicken and scored a 29 on the test, but I already knew that I am no social butterfly.

    Hey, we are all different and that is what makes this a delightfully diverse community!

  30. JES – my score on the test was 16. But I agree with you about the experience aspect. I had to deal with public communications and many different types of people in my former career. So, I do wonder what effect that has on your score. Thanks for this link, Chev. Really interesting stuff.

  31. @ Mishmee… thanks for posting the link to the AG Test again. I scored a 13. Notice that if you answer anything with less than a “strongly” it doesn’t count?

    @ BeckyL … THANK YOU for that Stargate marching band video, what a hoot! Now that is some dedication to build your own stargate, make the Jaffa, RA and Abydonian costumes and staff weapons and learn the music with dance steps! Woo-hoo!
    I wasted no time speeding that link to several folks who will really enjoy it as did I. 😉

    Take care & be well all…

    2cats

  32. While I think that all your dogs are adorable, as well as your guest dog, I must say that I have a soft spot for Maximus. Absolutely love the latest pic of him on their twitter.

  33. yeah i email myself every document just in case too but then i delete them coz they are garbage.

    hey joe, since the other guys read your scripts roughly at the same time they are writing theirs; so how are all 22 episodes in-sync in terms of the development of story arc and characters. and how do all of you write for the same character without making them sound different in each script especially for a new show like this. i of course know you have multiple discussions before the writing phase but still.

    and one more question: you probably answered this one before, how do you get yourself into writing mode, im a lazy undergrad so for me writing is a pain especially for that first page and ideas dont flow that easily. i would really like to know if there is an easy way to get myself writing in a blazingly fast way so i can get the work done quickly enough. im not a perfectionist i dont care what kind of garbage i create i just want it finished, ITS THAT BAD sometimes at least when im forced to write about stuff. like does music help? what kind? like whats the source of your inspiration?

  34. David Hewlett has said on Twitter:; (Aug. 4th, 8:07pm)

    “cast has heard nothing about Atlantis movie. I think the chances of it happening now are slim to none…such a waste!”

    I agree, such a waste!!

  35. DP wrote:

    “If all parties to body-swapping sex are consenting, it’s not rape.”

    Yes, but it’s the task of the writers to make the consent plausible. Would a lesbian really give blanket permission for another woman use her body for straight sex?

    Let’s change the roles around a bit, shall we? How many straight men do you know who would readily consent to having another man use their body for gay sex?

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