Rock ’em, sock ’em robots! Damn. I stopped recording just before the chewbacca yell. It was something else.
Technology conspires against me! Seriously and no, I’m not paranoid OR crazy. Hear me out. This morning…my alarm clock didn’t go off. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. It was some daylight saving time-related mishap. And that’s what I thought too. Until I turned on my blackberry and went to check my messages only to discover…the little wheelie thing wasn’t working. Every time I tried to scroll, it would start texting gibberish. Falling back on my tech training, I tried shaking the damn thing – to no avail. I took out the battery, put the battery back in, and turned it back on. The damn wheelie still wasn’t working. Clearly, this was a problem that required a more advanced approach, so I took out the battery, put the battery back in, turned it back on AND shook it. Still no go.
And here’s where it gets weird…or, dare I say, suspiciously insidious. When I got into the office this morning, I asked Brad how he had dealt with a similar problem. “Did you try taking the battery out and putting it back in?”he asked. Yes, I told him, wanting to add I’d even taken the extra step of shaking it.
“Let me have a look,”he offered. I pulled my blackberry out, unlocked it and, suddenly – miraculously – the damn thing was working. Quite the coincidence, no? After being totally unresponsive only an hour earlier, it was conveniently operational again – as it just so happened, right after I’d made a big deal about the fact that it WASN’T working.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, spent breaking Episode 1 of Stargate: Universe’s second season and, of course, approving a couple of hundred comments. Then, when I got home and finally sat down to write today’s entry, my laptop suddenly froze up on me. I rebooted, restarted my entry, and had it freeze up on me again. Three successive reboots and three successive freezes.
Now, come on. One incident is a trivial annoyance. Two incidents you can pass off as mere coincidence. But three? I wonder if those Ghost Hunters guys investigate stuff like this or do they just focus on arresting more traditional phantoms and your occasional revenant?
So I’ve switched over to my old laptop, just checked today’s blog stats and, ZOUNDS!, 10 000 hits today and counting. This the result of a perfect storm of visitors – those who came to check out my pug’s cool surgery scar, those who got here by accident following search engine results for “creepy alley” and “thefudgeshoppe.com in flemington NJ”, and, of course, those who clicked on the link provided by io9 in an editorial on my rant (nestled somewhere between a feature titled “Smackdown Finale: Witch vs. Vampire!” and an article on bully porn). Welcome, one and all, from the semi-regulars who dropped by to tell me how much they’re enjoying the show to that guy/gal(?) in South Korean who threatened to come over and punch me in the face. Enjoy your stay! But before proceeding to post any comments or questions, may I direct first-time visitors to the following highly informative past entries:
http://spambait.wordpress.com/category/aloysius-p-hazzencockle-ali-abbas/
http://josephmallozzi.com/2007/01/21/january-20-2007/
Done? Hope that helped. Okay, now go ahead and post those comments.
Finally, thanks to everyone who took the time to post opinions both positive and negative on the show, past entries, and my papier-mâché busts of every Hanna-Barbera character whose name sounds like a euphemism for something rude (including Zilly, Sperg, Niddler, Red Max, Fleegle, Foofur, and Boneless Chicken). Keep ‘em coming.
Mmm, don’t trust your Blackberry. I had that exact same thing happen to me 2 months ago until it gradually stopped working altogether. I had to bring it into Best Buy (where I bought it) who, after 3 weeks without a fix, finally gave me a new one. Be happy if it is fixed, but don’t be surprised if the scrolly ball stops working totally. They get gunked up with lint and body oils and it’s probably not pretty.
Someone threatened to punch you? What a lame person. You can totally take them.
I actually worked in Flemington NJ at one point, but that was awhile ago. It isn’t all that bad of a town.
Well, that vid would have been a fine addition to the show provided our two heroes were not fighting each other. Gee, they look like they were having fun sparring.
Hope Maximus is back to his chipper self soon.
Hey Joe,
If you’re planning a mailbag today I got a couple of good questions for you:
1. Is there a particular reason why the Destiny only recharged to 40% of its potential capacity when it got the opportunity to re-fuel from the star? If we are gonna find out why in a subsequent episode this season, please just say : Stay tuned for the answer.
2. Any thoughts on the H1N1 flu shots? Are you considering taking it?
3. Will our Universe cast explore the long pointy fore section of the ship during the subsequent episodes, because up to the sixth episode we could discern and track there movements only in the aft and mid sections of the ship?
Thanks
now that maximus has big scar and looks all tough, i think he needs to make an appearance on SGU as the alien who telepathically takes control of the ship.
I’m sleep-typing, so
barebear with me…1. My husband does the best Chewy call, ever! He also can mimic a mean didgeridoo. 🙄
2. You must have a powerful electromagnetic field/aura. I’m not as bad as you, but I can’t wear a wristwatch – they die within a week. So, I’m guessing that’s your problem – or…you just break stuff, ya big oaf!
3. You’re probably both paranoid, and crazy – but so are the rest of us, so stop making excuses.
4. “Let me have a look,” he offered. I pulled my blackberry out…” That sounds almost as bad as a Hanna-Barbera character name.
5. Do you remember Danger Island? Someone – I think BamBam – told me Jason M. is (he thinks) related to the guy who played Chongo. I loved Chongo.
6. My sister said I was like ‘Drooper’ and ‘Snork’…because I was droopy, and never talked. 🙁 She was mean to me. But I called her Watermelon Ellen and got her back! 😀
Nite, sir! Have a good one!
das
Wowser! 466 comments on the Oct. 31 post. Dang! And most of the first 150 that I read were lengthy too. I also agree with what you said and thank you for using the “Loving Mallet of Correction” (to borrow from John Scalzi).
Have a great day
Kody
@iamjohn: I grew up near Flemington and have praised The Fudge Shoppe more than once in my comments.
I was giggling too much watching the Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots! It really did look like the game.
You’re popular when you rant. Not that I want you to rant all the time because that wouldn’t be fun all the time. I just had to laugh at the few trolls who popped up.
I don’t do a chew impression however my laugh has be described at tusken raider like. I don’t laugh out loud much.
ohhh gosh:
The Cookie Monster/Baron Destructo review entry was one of my personal favorites of all time on this blog!
I sympathize with you on the tech front. My computer’s been making noises like it means to die for awhile and after collecting names of places I might take it to be looked at and possibly fixed, I came home, dared to turn it on, and it’s working and sounding just fine. Of course, I probably just jinxed it.
I have a question — I’ve really been enjoying the little Kino web-let things (the 30-60 second videos of random “Kino footage” ) and I’m wondering how they factor into the continuity of the show.
For example, the one I just saw had one of the scientists experimenting with the not-drinkable samples from the ice-planet in “Water” and other chemicals to create, apparently, banana flavoring. Will that get a nod in the show or will people who don’t watch the Kino videos just have to accept that somehow Destiny has more flavorful food now? Or, conversely, is food quality never mentioned again, so the Kino bits really are just special awesome extras?
On a related note, I’m so glad to see Becker getting screentime. I’ve always thought Stargate has been good at showing other military jobs — from Siler and Walter in SG-1 to Chuck in SGA — instead of just being the Gun Toting, Big Damn Hero Show all the time and now you’ve given us a whisk-wielder! Love it.
Okay, I normally wouldn’t leave two comments back-to-back, but I just did an IMDB search and realized Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman was also uncredited on SG-1 as a server (presumably of food) in Momento Mori! Neat!
Did that play into the decision to make Becker a cook in SGU or was the character always meant to be a cook and the SG-1 connection is just a happy coincidence?
It’s like 2:30 in the morning for me. I hope that question makes sense.
LMAO. Reading this entry makes for the perfect antidote to a tedious day. Your tech dilemmas obviously serve a higher purpose. (Even Brian is laughing while he looks down to read your blog. I rest my case.)
The next-to-last column of the users’ guide for Blackberries specifies that you do the hokey-pokey while you shake it. . . unsure if reference is to Blackberry.
Will Cookie Monster and Baron Destructo be doing any post-game analysis for BCS games? Pleeeeease???
You could always put in a call to the Ghost Hunter guys, who are sooooo going to be out of a job when David Boreanaz — and, uh, what’s-her-name who’s also on Bones (no time to watch anymore) — decide to bail on their forensics gig and let a slightly older and definitely hotter Angel go back to more fun stuff like tracking down revenants and phantoms.
Over ten thousand hits on your blog today?!! How does your blog feel about that? Was Seabass Janikowski in the house? Does your blog identify itself as male or female? Had it been drinking at the time all those hits were made? (Not implying that plaintiff’s mental state can legally excuse obnoxious behavior by those hitting on it, but blog should know consequences of its own conduct.) Would your blog like a day off to a) go to a full-service spa, or maybe b) stay at home with Amedei chocolates, a pint of premium ice cream, and a good assortment of DVD’s — maybe anything from Blue Angel to Bardot, and The French Lieutenant’s Woman to NFL Road to the Superbowl: Joe Montana, all 16 volumes — and, well, the possibilities are endless.
Feather pillow is threatening to start fight with synthetic pillow. . . good way to put end to “the sillies.”
Actually, your Blackberry story reminds me of my recent Nokia troubles. It was turning itself on and off at inconvenient times, so I took it in to the shop I bought it from a couple weeks ago since the warranty was about to run out. Of course, they sent it away to be fixed, and of course it came back saying they couldn’t find a fault. And of course, I took it home and an hour later it turned itself off. I’ve tried shaking to fix in fact, and that’s one of the known causes of it turning itself off. So I feel your pain Joe.
By the way, nice rant a couple of days ago. I agree entirely.
Well what can you expect from a piece of technology named after a fruit? I suspect gremlins left over from halloween.
man Joe, you probably scared the haters away for good. i expected io9 to cover it naturally but i sent them the blog entry just to be sure. believe me though the io9 article is right, you guys had it good for like 15 years believe me you guys were lucky, but for those hate-driven fans, they suddenly feel their place in heaven has been taken away from them, they remind me of those health-care conservatives at town hall meetings.
i know people who want George Lucas to die or something, fans are really vocal, so i figure you guys arent there yet lol. you should also be glad that AICN doesnt cover SGU (for some obnoxious reason) because over there they are really rude.
Coucou ça va bien?
Lol mince, c’est vrai que ça fait beaucoup de coincidance, il y’a des jours comme ça ou rien ne veux marcher^^. Oui le fait d’enlevé et remêttre la batterie en génarel ça remarche tout le temp étrange que pour votre Blacberry ça na pas marcher. C’est comme la derniére fois, je regard un decumentaire sur les fantôme et voila que tout la nuit des objets ce mêtte à tomber dans ma chambre alors que ce n’était jamais arriver, 5 en tout inutile de vous dire que je n’ai pas fermer l’oeil de la nuit^^!
Merci pour cette video!
BISOU,
Anais^^!
oh and try your best to not change the initial ideas of SGU just because of the negative reaction. dont be forced to do things you dont want to do, alright? because i praise the risks you guys taken, like the kino thing, if there is any time to take risks its now or never. or else you might fall into the abyss just to stay close to the ground where its safe. so what if its controversial to some, its not like that ever affected the ratings. and why do these feminists pick on SGU and not other shows? one of the things that i liked about SGU is its portrayal of female characters, although right now their dramatic role is rather small, i know that will change and develop eventually, i just didnt want female characters to be like the ones on BSG.
Wow, I’ve never seen a Kody with who spells it with a “K”. Anyhow, I totally missed the Nov 1 entry, how that happened I don’t know. Though I had a similar experience with the lack of trick or treaters. What is going on? I personally don’t live in the greatest of areas, N. Long Beach to be vaguely exact, but we always had a fair number of kids out and about up till around 6 years ago. Heck when I was out trick or treating people even made haunted houses of their back yards. I remember when after I had realized that dressing as Capt. Picard wasn’t that terrifying, I dressed in a really well done mummy costume. I sat outside holding still so that passing trick or treaters would think I was merely an elaborate piece of decoration, and then I’d casually stand up behind them. Ah the screams I would elicit… good times. It’s odd you mention ye olde Ghost Hunters… my mom loves them thus their show dominates Halloween at her house.
OH and, don’t worry Joe it’s not just you, technology IS revolting against US ALL. I mean seriously my computer’s operating system tells me what to do more times than I tell it what to do. And there have been plenty of times I’ve said something was a problem and when I go to show someone else, the problem mysteriously goes away. So just accept the truth and bow down our new computer over-lords.
Isn’t that always the way with technology? The minute you try to show someone else the problem, it works fine. Then, you get it back home, and i stops again. This is what I find!
There’s your solution to the “not enough action” complaints about the show. Rock em Sock em robot scenes. Hilarious clip.
can’t help with the technology glitches. I have more problems with gremlins that love to move things so that I’m cussing as I search the house than I do with electronic equipment. And my solution to the occasional problems is to(sincerely) tell the offending item that I will smash it and get a new one if it does not begin to work. An amazing percentage of time that actually solves the problem.
After your rant I’ve decided to show a little support for Universe by buying a season pass on ITunes. If nothing else, it’s a slap to the trolls that have harrassed you and others. At best it provides an infintisimal boost to the ratings.
I saw the oddly worded post about wanting to punch you. Be assured, if someone were to be so crass as to mar your impish features, you would be avenged. Das, you up to the job?
Thanks as always for the daily dose of smiles and chuckles.
Am I the only one who suspects that Louis Ferreira is Sylvester Stallone’s long lost brother?
SGU ratings info
http://www.gateworld.net/news/2009/11/universe-ratings-give-syfy-a-boost/
http://scifiwire.com/2009/11/tv-ratings-every-fall-sci.php
I have a weird question which I’m hoping you may be able to answer…
I was watching the SG1 episode Exodus last night, the one where Carter blows up a sun to neutralise Apophis’ fleet, and it reminded me of something that’s always puzzled me.
How many sides does a Ha’Tak vessel actually have?
Whenever you see them in space you can see clearly that they are built around a three sided pyramid. This was the case even when we saw them in Universe. However, they seem capable of landing on a four sided pyramid quite easily, which Chronus’ ship does in the previous episode, Double Jeapardy. And when you see the diagrams of the ships on the various viewscreens throughout the series they are shown to have four sides. This would mean they have four sides not three, even though they are shown to have three sides in almost every CGI shot.
I wondered if there is an official position on this… do they have three or four sides? Or is it just one of those things that will puzzle scientists forever?
I apologise if this is an awkward question, but it’s something that has bugged me for quite a long time.
Thanks.
Rob. 🙂
Um…have you ever seen Be Kind Rewind? Been in an accident that might cause you to give off some freaky radiation that messes with electronic equipment?
Time to give up all mod cons my friend and get out the old manual typewriter or the trusty old HB pencil. Maybe you could compose your stories as cave paintings for Brad to translate. Time to brush up on your emoticons. You’ll also have to work out how to “tastefully” draw Matt & Chloe having sex so as not to offend sweet Carl. 😉 *runsandhides*
Cheers, Chev
My husband has the anti-tech gene, too. He tried to download some ringtones this morning, and not only did his new tones not download, but he also accidentally deleted all his old ones. Pretty typical for him!
PoorOldEdgarDerby: “ But I still can’t believe Carpenter even got 10%. Lousy cronie.” Really, surprised? After Jake Ford (an ex-convict, high school drop-out) got 30% of the vote against Cohen.
Mr. M, Rock’em Sock’em is hilarious. Glad to see the “boys” are having fun on the set.
T
Hey Joe, enjoying SGU. Just saw Water – great episode. What I took away from it is that the characters in SGU are morally grey – they left an alien species stranded on an alien world after trying to kill it… does it make it okay that it was non-humanoid? I hope those ‘sand aliens’ (as I’ve seen them called) come back and open a can of whoop-ass on Destiny!
Also, since I don’t know where to look for such things, how are the ratings doing?
Hey Joe,
just wanted to say job well done to all you guys @SGU. Being a massive fan of SG1 & SGA, I was pumped when I sat down to watch Air Parts 1&2. After watching them I did feel somewhat deflated as it was VERY different to the previous SG series’. I then told myself to stand back and reboot my expectatations and then sat down and watched it again and was blown away. Even better was when darkness aired as I suddenly started seeing the good old humour (specifically Volcano Girl and Volkner). As I am in the Uk watching “Water” tonight and looking forward to it a lot. So fingers crossed for season 2 being green lit. One question, obviously destiny and the seeder ships pre-date Atlantis so these ships were sent out a long time ago and the drawings made in Ark Of Truth sort of corrospond to this; my question is do the seeder ships ever put DHD’s on these planets and where are they getting the naquada to create them?
Thanks, and keep up the good work!
Jon K in the UK
I thought it was kids who miraculously get better as soon as you present them to the doc.. not the phone to the phone techie!!!
Keep an eye on the phone – I have a feeling it will happen again Joe.
Hm, I see io9 has a story about a pink chain smoking stuffed bunny trying to survive a zombie Apocalypse – why does that never happen on Stargate?
But Rock ‘em, sock ‘em robots! Do they still make those?
I had some at one point – wonder what ever happened to them… the probably joined a traveling circus.
Hey, Research in Motion is a Canadian company — can’t you just zip over to their headquarters and have them check out your BlackBerry’s trackball for you? What, Canadia isn’t that big, right?
Yeah, I’m in a silly mood today.
Nice! I’m glad all those visitors haven’t broken your site or anything!
Thanks for all the videos. They make me happy =D
You have experienced what we call the technician’s curse. It never breaks in front of the person who can fix it, only in front of the rest of us helpless peons.
My blackberry has been doing that a lot too, btw. It seems to be more content now that I have made a habit of turning it off at night, instead of turning it to silent.
Btw I was going to ask you the other day when you mentioned you hate writing tech stories (along with Ancients and Atlantis Replicas, right?) – what’s your favourite type of story to write?
I will admit I tend to enjoy the tech stories. I’m a scientist by trade and a techgeek by heart and usually the SG stuff is pretty believable (well if we want to believe that a millions year old space ship can survive and that big fancy rings make wormholes across the universe, which I do).
Love that BTS vid with the suits.
Honestly, my only real complaint thus far about SGU is that we haven’t seen more aliens. Yes, its interesting to see the crew search for resources, but without any actual “bad guys” to fight against this show is going to get very boring sooner rather than later. I know there is a real desire to do something different from SG-1 and Atlantis, but without a real enemy(or various enemies) I think a lot of people are going to lose interest in the series. Its a sci-fi show, and yes they have a spaceship and explored planets (both of which have been fairly limited in stuff to “explore”, one being a desert and the other being a frozen wasteland) but sci-fi also relies heavily on action and adventure (which we really haven’t seen much of since the pilot).
Hi Joe! How are things?
First off I wanna say thanks for that vid! Proof if ever any was needed how well Universe’s cast get along. There definitely seems to be the same sense of fun on that set as there was on the sets of SG-1 and Atlantis. The spirit of Stargate is being well and truly kept alive with SGU whilst being its own at the same time. It’s just been a pleasure to watch and I’m looking forward to watching “Water” tonight here in the UK on Sky1 at 8pm GMT.
Well now I’ve made no disguising the fact that I’ve plugged SGU for British viewers I’d like to ask some questions if that’s okay –
1) Do you have any photos of the Homeworld Security and Jack O’Neill’s office sets and if you do would it be at all possible for you to post them please? They’re such impressive little sets and I’m just curious to see any details that might not have been picked up on the TV screen.
2) Can you please tell us what the pictures are that Jack has around his office?
3) I’m confused regarding Ming-Na’s cast status in SGU. In “Air” Part I and II she’s credited as being a regular cast member but from “Air” Part III onwards she’s now credited as a guest star. I’m curious to know what the reasoning was behind this?
Right I think that’s it from me. Thanks for reading and taking a look at these questions. I eagerly look forward to your next blog entry.
All the very best to you!
Alan
Adding a few more embers to the “just what *is* the Destiny’s FTL drive?” hibachi. 😉
I was just looking through HD screengrabs from “Water” at Gateworld and noticed something… intriguing, at any rate.
The stargate-generated wormhole between gates bears an uncanny resemblance, both in color and wispy fog-like streamer structure, to the Destiny’s FTL light-show; could Destiny’s FTL drive be some version of the wormhole drive used by McKay et al to bring Atlantis through to Earth PDQ in ‘Enemy at the Gate”? T’would explain the marked similarities between the gate wormhole and Destiny FTL “look”.
Now yeah, okay, the whole thing could easily just be a big ol’ FX coincidence, but do a comparison/contrast some time between the view down the throat of the ‘gate wormhole and the view along the bow-stern axis of the Destiny as she plows through whatever region her FLT takes her into; very, *very* similar in appearance.
(Okay, yeah, so I’ve always been quite fond of the whole Ancient tech aspects of Stargate and enjoy any chance we get to actually learn anything about ’em…)
Wow – what stats!!! A little touch of the Traveler mentality – you’re so ON the grid, so therefore trackable. Maybe it’s a good thing the connection was broken for awhile. Love the videos!
I was planning on looking up that mango post. Your first poster that day rescued the entry. I wanted to know, too.
Which reminds me
Will we ever get a Q&A from a chef? — I gots to know how to get me some year-round tomatoes without moving to LA. Real tomatoes.
I hope your daily reading gets more manageable. When it becomes a chore, it’s not fun anymore. Reading Great Expectations in compulsory schooling turned me off of fiction reading for years. Somehow, doing my next book report on the Pretty Woman movie got me an A, but, look, I’m rambling again.
So, limit the Dr. Seuss breaks? I suppose if people wanted Dr. Seuss teasers, they could look them up themselves or I could get my own blog.
So Brian was getting ready to give Louis a double purple-nurple? Good luck getting through the spacesuit. [/juvenile commentary OFF].
Cool to see that the wormhole event horizon is project onto a screen behind. I’d assumed it was a greenscreen. I presume back projection is much more cost-effective in scenes where you can’t see the gate itself.
Mr. Mallozzi,
I write to share with you some of my thoughts about the new Stargate series. I started watching this franchise when SciFi picked up Stargate. I really enjoyed SG-1, and was very skeptical of Atlantis when it started. My first impression of the Atlantis characters was not very favorable, I preferred the original (SG-1) and wasn’t very keen on the Wraith, but I decided to give the first season a try to see if it grew on me. It did right around the time of the first Genii episode and the two part story about the big storm. I was sad when SG-1 was cancelled, but not too upset because deep down I wasn’t a huge fan of the Ori storyline and I think the show had run its course. I was also sad when Atlantis was cancelled. I thought Atlantis had many more stories to tell.
When Universe was announced, I was optimistic. I liked SG-1 and Atlantis (even though Atlantis had to grow on me), so I was reasonably certain I’d like Universe. It was very unfortunate that the announcement occurred as it did, because of the impression that Atlantis was cancelled for the new show. Nevertheless, Atlantis was over and a new show was starting. Because of my enjoyment of the other shows, I was pretty sure I’d like the new one, too.
Having watched the first five or so episodes, I must sadly say that I have not enjoyed this show like I did the previous two. The special effects are beautiful, and the cast seems very talented. In particular the actors who play Greer, Young, TJ, and Scott have done a great job so far. Your praise over their abilities, as well as the abilities of the rest of the cast, seems well founded. I particularly found the James character compelling and complex in this week’s show, but I have to say that the one character that I wait to show up in every scene is Greer. Greer is made of awesome. Moreover, the whole sex scene thing doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. I didn’t have a problem per se with the inclusion of intimate moments, or the fact that Scott was involved in intimate encounters with different people.
It is difficult for me to pin down exactly why this show hasn’t drawn me in. Perhaps it is the fact that SG-1 and Atlantis were of a certain good guys v. bad guys formula that is more compelling to me. Perhaps it is the fact that the manner in which the show is filmed (both the regular and the kino shots) feels jarring to me.
The two things I have liked the least about this show are the kino scenes and the communication stones. With regard to the kinos, maybe I’m just not a particular fan of the video diary way of progressing a plot or character development. It feels a bit self-conscious and contrived. I think this is something that could work itself out with time. I may become more accustomed to it or less sensitive to it.
My biggest concern about the show is the manner in which the communication stones are dealt with visually. It seems to me to be an odd choice that the audience sees a body swap that is not visible to the other people in the room. (Come to think of it, this threw me in that Keller body switching episode of Atlantis, too.) Did you ever consider not switching the actors when the characters change places? For example, if the actor stayed the same regardless of whether Young or Telford(?) were on the Destiny, then the audience would be in the same position as the characters when trying to determine who they were interacting with. I imagine that this creative decision was made because of precedent or because it was decided that showing the different characters to the audience better served the story. Unfortunately, I just find it jarring.
I plan to stick with Universe at least though the first half of the season to see if my feelings change or if the show develops in a way that piques my interest. I am hopeful that I can return to your blog in a few months and tell you that, like Atlantis, Universe has grown on me. If not, I still wish you, the cast and crew much success in creating the show you want to make and finding an audience to appreciate your creation.
LOL lemme add to the search, been Flemington NJ for races. Nice place. Wait gotta get this in GO Phillies!!!
Gremlins can be pesky. You don’t need investigators, you need relocators which is better than just killing them outright.
DD
Hm. Your technical troubles remind me of that day, back in the 80s, when our car and a couple of neighbors’ cars wouldn’t start. The engines wouldn’t even turn over… until, an hour later, they did.
I blame cosmic death rays.
As for the South Korean fella, not sure what his beef is, but you should just tell him to bring it, you’ve got a whole pack of dogs who can make hamburger of his lower legs.
Wait. You’ve had airport snake soup, and you haven’t tried haggis??! Come on! Grow a pair and be a man!! EVERYONE’S had airport snake soup, but only the boldest and bravest dare Enter The Haggis ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CLdePXv1pc ).
Boiled haggis with nachos!!!
Carl Binder – if you are out there…I suggest you track down a nice fat bag o’ haggis and present it to Mr. M. for the next weird food purchase, asap. It’ll get him back for what he intended to do to you: “Then, she zeroed in on my legs, demonstrating an exquisitely excruciating calf grip that I’ll no doubt use on Carl Binder the next time he gets out of line in the writer’s room.” ~ Nov. 29, 2006
Beware the Mallozzi.
We’re looking out for you Carl…we’re you’re real friends, just remember that.
das
Joe, your tech troubles must be caused by your “electric” personality! 🙂
We’ve been infested by tech gremlins at our house too. First it was the cable remote. It works, then it doesn’t work. Changing out batteries has no effect. Then I washed my MP3 player. (Stupid me.) And now I’m getting the blue screen of death on my laptop, which isn’t good.
I’d go back to paper and pencil, but I can’t read my own handwriting…
Sorry for the poor quality…but can you have Eli do this sometime next season…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rRvZSMNWig
Pleeeeease? *makes puppy eyes*
das
Un petit bonjour de la part d’une jeune femme française qui voudrait vous remercier pour vos bons et loyaux services envers la franchise Stargate, mais qui voudrait vous dire également que désormais : Il faudrait peut-être arrêter les dégâts !!! ….
Merci de prendre en compte ce message de désespoir…
P.S. : (Renseignez-vous un peu, je pense que vous pourriez éventuellement trouver à peu près quinze ou vingt fans de SGU… peut-être vingt-cinq ^^. Bref, de quoi organiser un petit dîner bien sympathique dans un de vos restaurants favoris !)
Enfin, je terminerai par une phrase de notre cher Alexandre Astier, scénariste et producteur dont vous pourriez tirer quelques leçons : Non, sans déconner, faut arrêter là !! O_o
@ Ben
…they left an alien species stranded on an alien world after trying to kill it…
Or left a water-craving entity on a water based planet – kinda like a kid in a candy store?
…
Oh Joe, Research in Motion should just GIVE you a Blackberry.
Talk about nice sponsorship. Pity about the crappy wheel, something my SAMSUNG OMNIA does not suffer from. :LOL:
Also, you have mentioned the name enough times for the Google search-bots to include your blog when one searches for ‘blackberry’. Another zillion hits…well done!!
Sorry to hear about your tech problems. I hate it when tech decides to make our lives miserable…it’s a conspiracy I’m sure…
Are you planning on having a soundtrack come out for SGU? I absolutely love the music and I would totally buy it if there was one. The music is incredible and fits the show very well.
Also, are we ever going to find out why the dust cloud seemed to hover and try to communicate with Scott?
Thank you so much for having this blog and being open to answering questions. I really appreciate it!!! =D
The rock em sock em robots nearly made me choke on my cereal this morning. Funny stuff!
Back to the subject of Halloween and few kids coming around, maybe you could try appealing to the parents. The most popular house in the suburb we took the kids to was also handing out treats for the adults in the form of kielbasa and smoked sausage, and fancy little beverages served up in plastic shot glasses. 🙂
Hi Joe!
The space channel’s website also has a link to your blog under a sensationalistic title that goes: “Stargate Universe Writer Lashes out At “Idiot” Comments”. That ought to have yielded a couple more clicks for a couple more days.
Jean
Joe, both my cell phone and my e-mail were gorked and fubared the day of daylight savings time. Gork = God Only Really Knows” and fubar…. well, this is a PG blog…. those of you who know will know and those who don’t….. ask someone who used to be in the military!
@Maximus: How you doing sweetie? Incision healing up nice? Duct Tape wants to meet you…. I told you scars were irresistable to the ladies. She wants to compare hers with yours…. it’s on her tummy too. I sense a romance developing here.
… if you were offended by that broom closet scene in Air I, I guarantee you’ll be clawing your eyes out of your skull given what we have in store later this season.
Cannnnot wait! Not because of more potentially heated debates or plain sex, just… The broom closet quickie was what one can expect – unromantic and rushed. The “Light” scene was beautifully done – the soft yellowish colors, music, and two good-looking people. Would like to see what you guys did next.
Bonjour Joseph. J’ai bien réfléchi sur Stargate Universe et j’ai besoin de votre avis:
Puisque les personnages sont isolés de tout, ils sont sensés être sous tensions. Par conséquent, plus la série avance, plus les personnages doivent être fous. De cette manière, on pourrait voir les commandants dépasser les limites et ne plus respecter les règles, voir des membres de l’équipage du Destiny devenir complètement fou et vouloir tuer tout le monde. Bonne idée d’intrigue pour la saison 2.
Voilà, donnez moi votre avis s’il vous plait. Et si vous ne me le donnez pas, et bien ce n’est pas grave.
Bonne journée à vous Joseph Mallozzi.
I’m not one of those people that posts stuff but BlueSmartie posted a question that I’ve always had. How many sides are there?
Joe M. Vancouver, Canada
Gilder Texas, USA
PBMom Texas, USA
Susan the Tartan Turtle, Perthshire, Scotland
SG-1lover Scotland
Dasndanger New Jersey, USA
Charlie’s Angel Southern USA
Pastrygirl Arizona, USA
Montrealer Montreal, Canada?
Rose/OhioAnne Ohio, USA?
Sparrow_Hawk Midwest USA
deeinsouthafrica South Africa
Elminster Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
2cats, New Jersey (shore), USA
Thornyrose Virginia, USA
chevron7 (chev) Melbourne, Australia
Maddog316: Ft. Myers, FL, USA
Shiningwit – Cornwall, England
Berry – Las Vegas, NV
Shirt’n’Tie, Tipperary, IRELAND
Suziesbluefeather, Virginia, USA
cherluvya, Utah USA
Gracey, Connecticut, USA
Shia, Virginia, USA
I used to be an electronic tech in the Navy (an ET, how appropriate). I once fixed a multi-million dollar system with my shoe. And there was the time the chief got super-pissed when I cut the cord off the floor buffer… don’t get me up out of the duty rack at three in the morning and tell me “It sparks when I plug it in”. Duh.
Many of the problems I encountered were loose or dirty connections. I always checked that second, right after, “is it plugged in”?
But cosmic death rays and gremlins are perfectly rational explanations at times.
Try holding your breath while you take out the battery and put it back in. No, really, trust me. (buwahahahahaaaaa)
I am excited about this week’s episode. Why? Because I know absolutely nothing about it. I haven’t read anything about it, didn’t watch any previews about it and I don’t even know the episode title. I’m going in completely blind and I can’t wait.
Last night I couldn’t sleep either. Can you catch insomnia via the internet? Is that some sort of insidious “computer virus” ?
A question for the mailbag. I just did a marathon of all SG:U to date, and noticed a wedding ring on the hand of our mysterious Dr Rush, and his comment to Chloe that he understood her grief. Is there a dark tragedy in his past and will we hear more about it?
2nd question: just how many clothes did Chloe bring? 5 episodes so for, 4 outfits. Some of those other women on the Destiny are going to get jealous.
Please pass on my condolences to Carl for our loss. Saturday was tough.
shiloh
I have a tech problem too. My nephew has been sending me albums of his daughter through a photo website called Picasa for months now. The first couple worked (yeah 6 months ago) and now, since then NOTHING. My Great-Niece is now just over 7 months. And if it hadden been for some small albums his mother posted on Facebook. I wouldn’t have been able to see anything lately. Thing is these so called albums have worked for everyone else but not me. My brother thinks it is my computer (thought it was too old, mine is less than 2 years old and newer than his computer, yet it works for him but not for me).
Hope Maximus is feeling better soon and romping with the gang!!!
I was calmly ready comments on Spacecast.com when suddently an article was posted re: comments made on some actors and an idiot and idiotic comment and intimacy comments. Well there’s a article on you on Spacecast .com re: that whole thing.
Peak last night on this blog to see what the whole thing was about.
Not sure if the following joke of mine comes at a bad time but if it does I apologize in advance.
I found the following link below while surfing the internet this mornig and it made me think about that whole intimacy thing that was talked about.
One thing is sure, ( I’m not sure if this picture is legit), French people seemed quite happy at the whole new vision of Stargate.
Here is the main picture announcing the French site Stargate Fanfiction. And since I have to make a link with L. Ferreira, pay attention at the pictures of 3 other actors posted lower i.e Young and beautiful, gentle genius…
[Hey, Eric – I believe this is a link to a fanfiction site and, unfortunately, I’m unable to provide the link. Is there an alternate site that offers the same pic?]
Last night, I was going to listen to my iPod to soothe me into sleeping, but it wouldn’t work. I ended up having to go with the Discman instead, while the iPod charged up. It needed to sync anyway. Huh, these things happen.
And I’ve had technical problems while at work or doing something work-related too.
There’s something about anything work-related, it needing to get done soon, and technical difficulties that go hand-in-hand. Or, I guess it’s hand-in-hand-in-hand. But, things always seem to work out in time, at least for the most part, which is good.
@earndoggy – I love your Maximus message! It’s so sweet!!!
Peace & Love,
j
I wonder if those Ghost Hunters guys investigate stuff like this or do they just focus on arresting more traditional phantoms and your occasional revenant?
Dude, they’re Ghost Hunters, not Ghost Catchers. They don’t actually do anything about the ghosts. The most you could hope for from them is, “Yep, you’ve got ghosts. Good luck with that.”
Joe,
Thank you and the efforts of all of those folks involved with the production of “Stargate Universe”. Everyone does such a great job bringing their “A Game” to every episode….I am looking forward to the rest of the season and beyond!
Have a terrific day!
Jason
I frequently torment my wife with that song Chewbacca from the “Clerks” Soundtrack…. by singing it myself. I also was in IT, but left for greater shores, however, never left watching the industry, and while I do not have a crackberry, I work with many that do, and yes, your diagnostic procedure seemed to be entirely correct. That includes the part where you try to show someone else it’s broken and it works. I remember THOSE calls, and then I began having to make THOSE calls, but it’s all good fun. I doubt anyone has not had that experience. I feel sorry for the “geek squad”, when they make thei drive over to the house with the ailing computer, only to have it work just fine when they get there… perhaps it’s just how you hold the “little wheelie thing”.
Back in the day, we would call for what was known as a “technical tap”, which was administered as an open handed slap on whatever wasn’t working right, but stuff is too fragile now. I would knock my LCDs off the desk now-a-days. I still have a large CRT, 34″ wide screen that needs one every now and again. I even wrote a song with the name. It begins as some simple house music and a clever changeup (err… the tap), and a nice breaks track begins. That was almost 10 years ago when said procedure was more regularly administered.
Just don’t drop the thing in the toilet. The connected man of the day must stand corrected when… well… you get the idea. We have more electronic power hanging off of us than I used to do CAD on in the 80s, so… I guess I have somewhat of an appreciation for that wheelie thing and all it can do, when it works, of course.
Joe do you plan on watching “V” tonight? did you watch the original?
I was too young, scratch that, I wasn’t born when the original aired. But the re-imagined series promos have looked good so far.
also on the topic of ghosts, paranormal activity was horrible. they have you almost believing until the end when the movie completely falls apart in the last 10 minutes, mostly from 2 very poor acting performances.
just thought i would mention because in the movie they say that ghosts are hauntings by people and demons are hauntings by creatures who wish you harm. I believe you are dealing with a technology demon, probably summoned by Ashleigh with a Ouija board.
Remember: Even paranoid people have enemies.
It’s been asked already, but was the 10/31 post the one with the most comments to date?
I read the 3 posts and thought you should have let Cookie fix the Blackberry. And, I am glad you did not die of Mango Tango, but maybe Ali did.
In your 2007 mail answers, you suggested giving kids veggies, and this year you offered veggies…LOL! That might be the reason why so few kids showed up. They passed around the negative and not the positive info, which were both there for them to see. *glances back at the rant post to the comments that made you have to give Cliff Notes and reminds self to stay on topic*
Dear Sand Aliens Who Love Water,
SGU was glad to get the assortment basket of mangos and Blackberries as a thank you gift for transporting you back to your mother planet where you were able to drill down to the oceans of water. We know you were starving to the brink of extinction on that hot/dry planet. We only request that you continue the terraforming, so that the planetary axis continues to shift revealing its natural beach party planet atmosphere for when we make our trip there in 2010 for the Comic Con. Thank you.
Hey Joe
I was reading about your thoughts about the negativity shown by some people over the whole SGU.
Well this website was reporting about it
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6839
I think to be honest, those that go as far as to attack people involved really should get a life I mean seriously. If they hate SGU that much they should just change the channel on Friday nights and avoid searching out people on twitter.
I feel sorry for those who have been attacked by the disgruntled fools that feel like they have to make peoples lives awkward because they obviously need help mentally..
Not sure which entry it was but I noticed you mentioned Ghost Hunters. I can’t believe so many people watch such a fake show.. There are so many obvious fraud examples commited by the team. For example on one episode recently they had Jason/Grant walking outside and they unintentionally catch a crew member/team member on the thermal, they deliberatly act like its a ghost and they feel to pan the thermal camera in the direction the person went…(Obviously trying to cover up an obvious production mistake)
Another with Meatloaf on the show they put his drinks bottle in the bathroom and he asked for it to be moved closer(Of course the camera obviously isnt on the bathroom all the time) Mysterously its moved accross the room(Obviously a staged thing.. shut the cameras down briefly, move the bottle.. act like nothings happened etc)
Still its a good show for the entertainment value anyways =] Just odd it gets such high ratings.
Hey Joe,
Love your blog. I got a question about SGU.
Will there be some sort of a fallout from Scott having two “partners” in almost as many days?
From what I’ve seen of the show so far and how it is more character driven, this almost has to happen in order to allow more character growth.
Am I right?
Heya Joe,
Do each of your dogs have the ability to wake you up just by staring at you?
I might have some answers soon on your technological blowups. My psychologist Cousin saw me blowing electrical gadgets when I was upset/angry and she started discussing some of the studies going into such occurrences. Fascinating stuff! She’s done a lot of travelling to remote Buddhist Temples to study with some of the monks. Very jealous!
I’ll let you know how we go.
Joe, if Airman Becker does not yet have a name, may I suggest Luke? In a segment of fandom, that was the proposed name of an SG1 cafeteria worker.
@duneknight “why do these feminists pick on SGU and not other shows?”
Personally, because know I can reach Joe via this blog and that he will consider reasonable requests. Also, because Joe featured photos of SGU’s “average-looking” male actors /characters early on, but none of “average” women.
Must be the week for bad computer juju. My computer picked up a Trojan today. The kind that gives you endless pop-up screens tha tels you “Your computer has been infected by 14 viruses. Click here to remove them (and give up all your money).” It seems to have been contained and purged.
Hey, thanks for the name definition, das. Not as exciting as Joe’s fuzzy blanket, but I’ll take Saturday over Monday any time!
And, no, I don’t think anyone will take you more seriously if you say “rumpy pumpy’ with a British accent. Too much Inspector Lewis, there, luv. 😉
Well, this is a relief! I thought I was the most technologically disabled. Except I usually take it a bit too far with the screaming, yelling and threatening with my blackberry. And the laptop…..um…..lets no go there.
@ das I LOVED “Enter the Haggis”. Thank you for sharing the link. I have a special fondness for Scottish song humor. The point of view is so different and hilarious. How do you find this stuff? 😀
Joe, are you and the “team” at all worried about losing some viewership during the long span between the end of episode 10 and the start of episode 11 (airing in spring 2010)? I mean, I know it’s been done in past and those who will stay – just wait. And believe me, I plan on waiting, oh YEAH!
But seriously, is there any concern?
There is not enough zip left in my typing fingers tonight to regale you all with my many trips down tech frustration, aggravation, spitting anger and indeterminate consternation lane. Hey, I write course ware for a living and depend upon a functioning tech toolset. We won’t mention Micros..f…t here. Use your imaginations.
Thanks for the vid… enjoyed it a lot. Hugs to Max for a speedy recovery.
2cats — Go SGU!
Hey Joe,
I’m feeling the Stargate Universe series. I used to watch SG1 in syndication off and on before it got canceled and one of the SG1 DVD movies. Never got into Atlantis, though. Stargate Universe is slower paced, and its not cluttered with a lot of references that you don’t get unless you saw every episode and movie of the previous 2 series. But I’ve got some questions and possible suggestions:
1. When are we going to see some real, honest to God aliens? The water sand bugs were cool, but we never got a chance to really know how they worked.
2. Can you make Ming Na’s character a bit more useful? She’s smart and knows a lot about a lot of the characters. When will she do more?
3. Can we throw folks like Dr. Rush out the airlock at least in a dream sequence?
4. The clothes that the crew of the Destiny are wearing currently are going to wear out eventually. What will they do to make new clothing? Or for that matter, what will the military people do when they run out of ammo? Will they revert back to knives and sticks, or will they star forging homemade bullets for their guns?
5. Thanks for not having Greer as just a pissed off black guy or a hip hop gangsta stereotype or a guy blindly following orders, and for giving him some layers. He’s good with his deadpan humor lines.
6. I don’t care what anyone says, Eli is funny and says a lot of the things I would probably say if I were in his shoes. Granted that he’s got a little more weight and lighter skin tones than me, but regardless…I don’t see why folks get so pissed off at Eli. Like seriously, if any one of us wound up in a situation like that with no warning (and with no advanced science degrees or military training) we wouldn’t be a bit scared and confused? All the fellow geeks that say they would be just fine are either lying or are better prepared than I.
7. When will the crew of the Destiny be able to eat more than just gruel and drink something else besides water? I’m surprised that no military personnel tried to whip up some moonshine or that Eli tried to make a batch of cola yet.
Anyway, thanks for the listening ear. I’ve gotta do homework and get some rest. Take care, and keep on doing a good work!
Joe – a possible cure for your insomnia, the new series “V”. Just watched it…ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
@ 2cats – I’ve seen Enter the Haggis at the PA Ren Faire, and have a couple of their CDs. Usually my sister finds the stuff, then passes it along to me. I’m a bagpipe addict, and love any good rockin’ pipe music that comes my way.
das
Robert Patrick (Col. Sumner) was on NCIS tonight. What is it about that show – is it old folks show for Stargate alumni?
Good ep, too.
das
Hi Joe! How’s it going? How’s cutie pie Maximus?
@Quade1: re “V”, watched it, liked it a lot. The old one is hilarious (it’s been on SyFy), the costumes are terrible (never mind the rest of it), looks like they cut up black yard bags to put over their red shirts 🙂 It was nice to see Morena Baccarin, but it really made me wish we’d had another 10 seasons of SG1. Damn, I really love that show.
Joe M. Vancouver, Canada
Gilder Texas, USA
PBMom Texas, USA
Susan the Tartan Turtle, Perthshire, Scotland
SG-1lover Scotland
Dasndanger New Jersey, USA
Charlie’s Angel Southern USA
Pastrygirl Arizona, USA
Montrealer Montreal, Canada?
Rose/OhioAnne Ohio, USA?
Sparrow_Hawk Midwest USA
deeinsouthafrica South Africa
Elminster Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
2cats, New Jersey (shore), USA
Thornyrose Virginia, USA
chevron7 (chev) Melbourne, Australia
Maddog316: Ft. Myers, FL, USA
Shiningwit – Cornwall, England
Berry – Las Vegas, NV
Shirt’n’Tie, Tipperary, IRELAND
Suziesbluefeather, Virginia, USA
cherluvya, Utah USA
Gracey, Connecticut, USA
Shia, Virginia, USA
Andria – AKA Sis, Montreal, Canada
re: [Hey, Eric – I believe this is a link to a fanfiction site and, unfortunately, I’m unable to provide the link. Is there an alternate site that offers the same pic?]
I’m sure its available somewhere, I’ll look it up.
@drldeboer: Ah, the Flemington Fairgrounds and Speedway. Attending the fair was a big deal, from toddler days through high school. We lived eight miles away, across the Amwell Valley, and could still hear the racecars’ roar on Saturday nights.
Writing from my iPhone, easier to post separate comments than to consolidate. My apologies in advance.
@das: Ever heard of MacUmba? Scottish-Brazilian fusion, samba rhythms and bagpipe melodies.
So following on from what you have said today, about many things, i have some thoughts.
I said last week i didn’t like Greer because i feel that the character has still yet to deliver “his chops”. At the same time i said I love Jamil for making that character genuinely aggressive and giving him a sense of WTF that Ronon didn’t have. I don’t feel the writing has allowed him to do that as yet, as in give me backstory (which i expect is to come, but i’m impatient and want it now!!!!!) but his portrayal of the character alone makes me enjoy it. I’m not sure if i’m being offensive by saying that. I don’t mean to.
I’m glad you mentioned consequences. McKay blew up a solar system and nothing came of it. The Atlantis gateroom was destroyed and nothing came of it and it was rebuilt in the following episode back to its original condition. A jumper was crashed into one of the Atlantis towers and we hear nothing of it either.
I’m kinda indifferent between the whole Scott/Chloe thing. This is Stargate Universe not Stargate Porniverse. People procreate. It happens. We didn’t see various bodily bits dangling and such so it doesn’t bother me. On one hand, I think that the lack of passage of time (stated or implied) between Air and Darkness/Light didn’t help because you could assume that a very short space of time went by and they are already enjoying each other, which some people may feel is uncomfortably short. Eli did say afterwards that its “been a few weeks” since they arrived on the Destiny, which does suggest that off-screen things have been happening.
On the other hand, i know people who deliberately meet other people to skip the pleasantries and social interactions and just get straight to “interfacing”. With both of those in mind, i can understand the circumstances of being on a ship thats expected to crash into a star and having some fun before you go pop.
Of all the episodes i have seen so far, Water feels the most “stargatey”. It felt like something happened a bit more. I’m gonna keep watching and see how it goes from here.
@ narelle from aus:
I don’t know about Joe’s dogs, but my dogs certainly have that capability. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve woken up with a dog’s nose half an inch from mine…. they haven’t touched me…. but they start staring from wherever they are, either the end of the bed or the floor, and move closer and closer until I wake up. Depending on how much sleep I’ve had, it’s either cute or annoying!
Technology conspired against me, too, today. 4 hour delay on the train… Ughhhh.