Over the course of the many weeks I’ve spent researching restaurants for my upcoming Tokyo trip, I’ve made use of numerous resources: professional reviews, personal blogs, the Michelin guide, and, of course, several Japanese food sites. Negotiating the latter has not been without its share of frustration, however, owing to the fact that many of these sites are not in English. Fortunately, Google offers a handy translation service that allows you to translate a page almost instantly – with often bewildering or hilarious results. A recent google translation of a restaurant’s home page yielded the following tasty menu items:
“Liver appetizer dish of sand”
“Zestfully zanthoxylum, side dishes and a menu”
“Shanghai ‘catching drool’ hemp ‘oak Yamato’“
“Vegetable empty cores this month”
“4 old boiled beef”
And the following helpful suggestions:
“People who are bad, please call the voice when you order.”
“Ingredients not in your mouth, please consult us in advance what the charge and any allergies.”
Hey, finally received notes on both scripts today. Thankfully (and most importantly) everyone agrees that it’s a two-episode story. “I can’t believe we thought this was only one episode,”were Paul’s words. Anyway, some terrific suggestions that will help clarify certain elements, address a few outstanding issues, and generally tighten things up. I tend to hate rewrites, but this one (technically, these two) actually looks like it could be a lot of fun.
Ah, the life of a writer. Given your profession, you’re expected to come up with clever contributions or witty turns of phrase upon request. Take this afternoon for instance when Lawren and Ashleigh marched into my office and Ashleigh asked me: “What do you write in a wedding card?“
It took me all of three seconds to come u with the obvious answer: “Come to my wedding.”
Apparently, this wasn’t the scenario they had in mind. I wasn’t the one getting married. I was writing a card for someone else who was getting married. Ah, they should’ve been more specific. Not that it helped. I’m a notoriously terrible card-writer. Still, I thought about it and, as I was heading out, I poked my head into Lawren’s office and suggested what I thought was a fairly brilliant: “May your love prove as everlasting as the Saw franchise”. (Seriously. I think they’re up to Saw 7). Don’t know if he used it, but at least I was able to head home feeling I’d made a great contribution.
Well, off to Carl’s birthday dinner tonight. But, before I go, I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to post some wonderful, incredibly supportive comments. They were very much appreciated. You guys are the best!
Also, before I go, I leave you with a few snaps from a couple of visitors to my office. First up is VFS Supervisor Mark Savela who dropped by to discuss fandom. Visual effects, and t.v. in general. Holy smokes! I thought Martin Gero was a t.v. junkie. Mark Savela actually puts him to shame. He watches everything. And I do mean EVERYTHING! Except, for some reason, Top Chef which Rob Cooper was convincing him to check out as I was leaving the office.
- VFX Supervisor Mark Savela talks Big Brother and House.
Actor Jamil Walker Smith also dropped by my office today, sporting some wacky purple he was only too happy to model for us. Trust me. If you’re throwing a party, this is a guy you want at the top of your invite list.
- What the – ?!
- Yep, they’re purple alright.
- Jamil Walker Smith IS the hip, new Agent 86.
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