Yesterday was a foray into the culinary unknown with my sampling of the Triple Down (see last issue, ed.). This January, I hazard the literary unknown with my first foray into urban fantasy. January’s Book of the Month Club pick is…
The Iron Hunt, by Marjorie M. Liu
From the Publisher: “Living tattoos: demons of the flesh, turned into flesh, the only family demon hunter Maxine Kiss has left—and the only way she can survive, and fight, the imprisoned demonic army waiting to destroy humanity.”
Publishers Weekly says: “Liu is one of the best new voices in paranormal fiction…”
Booklist says: “The boundlessness of Liu’s imagination never ceases to amaze; her ability to translate that imagination into a lyrical work of art never ceases to impress.”
Discussion the week of January 17th with author Marjorie M. Liu.
Came across some video links I thought I’d bring to your attention…
Making some of the big screen’s saltier language a little more t.v. friendly: http://tv.gawker.com/5667748/the-most-ridiculous-edited+for+tv-movie-lines?skyline=true&s=i
A new study finds that most Americans get the majority of their exercise while drunk – http://www.theonion.com/video/study-americans-get-majority-of-exercise-while-dru,18198/
OK Go makes the best music videos. Exhibit A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHlJODYBLKs&feature=player_embedded
Exhibit B: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w&feature=channel
Lizard drinking a juice bar. Yes, that’s right. http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1942633
Mailbag:
dasNdanger writes: “Yer freakin’ SICK! Stay home, and stop infecting your co-workers!”
Answer: I had to go in to say goodbye to Linda on her last day – and hopefully pass the cold she passed on to me back to her.
JYS writes: “I met Alaina Huffman today while i was downtown. It was amazing. She’s very nice.”
Answer: Yes, she’s an incredible sweetheart.
Arctic Goddess writes: “Are there any plans for next year for episodes? When will you know if you are writing for next season?”
Answer: I hope we’ll know by December. More likely January.
ytimynona writes: “Wait, huh? Your only woman writer left?!?”
Answer: Well, we have finished our script work for the year so that part of the process is complete.
sgfan writes: “where is the crew on Destiny getting there bullets for there guns from? They do have a limited supply of ammunition right?”
Answer: Yes, their supply is limited. However – with the exception of the Incursion two-parter, we haven’t really expended that much to date. Also, after the events of Intervention, we added the Lucian weapons to our stockpile (pictured in a forthcoming episode).
Raynan writes: “I just noticed you had the “Shine” Anthology on your “recently read” list (don’t stop by often, so… hi!). What’d you think about it?”
Answer: I liked it, but didn’t love it. There are some terrific writers in the collection but my main problem stems from the anthology’s theme of “near-future optimistic science fiction”. On the surface, it sounds like a great idea but, once you’re three stories in, the generally positive nature of the stories undermines much of the dramatic tension. In short, you know it’s not going to end badly so it’s hard to get that emotionally invested when you’re already aware of the outcome.
Sean D. writes: “Does the SG producers’ team currently have anything in mind for a potential “tv movie turned new SG tv series”, or any SG tv series, in the event SGU isn’t renewed?”
Answer: Nope, not that I know of. Brad and Robert may have something in the works. As for Paul and me – if and when Stargate does end, we’ll be moving on to some non-Stargate-related projects we’ve had brewing for some time now.
Brandon writes: “Will sgu ever encounter the asgard scout ship with living asgards inside and offer them assiatance?”
Answer: Nope.
Nicholas T. writes: “I am curious about your itinerary for your trip to Japan. What is your plan and your objective on this forthcoming trip? How long will you go for? What does Ivon think about it?”
Answer: Ivon and I will be going two Tokyo for two weeks in December. I usually fly solo and my main interest is food but this time, I’ll be accompanied by Ivon whose interests are more of the partying variety. I assume we’ll split the difference.
Lewis writes: “Hey, Joe, the doctor overseeing Eli’s Mom looked really familiar, was she the same doctor who worked at the SGC shortly after Janet’s death on SG-1?”
Answer: Yes. And Dr. Brightman also made an appearance in SGU’s season 1 episode Divided.
Elminster writes: “Oh, and Joe, I’m going to assume you’ve never heard of Andrew Nichols or Daryl Vickers.”
Answer: Of course. Nicholls and Vickers. I believe they got their start in animation as well.
MrsB writes: “Can we expect the Lucians to be on the ship for a good length of time?”
Answer: Some, yes. Some, no.
Ponytail writes: “That picture of Linda in your office…are you packing? (Books in boxes) What’s up?”
Answer: Since starting my book of the month club here on the blog, I receive about a dozen books a month from various publishers. Doubles and titles aren’t exactly my cup of tea go into the boxes for my next bookswap meeting.
You’re such a generous fella, Joey. 🙂
Have a good night, sir!
das
RE:
“Since starting my book of the month club here on the blog, I receive about a dozen books a month from various publishers.”
…Damn. 🙂
Thank you for the two music videos Joe, they are priceless.
Heh. That gawker vid reminded me of time I watched Blue Velvet on tv. Frank was suddenly ridiculous instead of terrifying.
Hey, Joe!
I have a SGU question: Before being assigned to Icarus, were Young and/or Telford members of SG teams? It seems like O’Neill has a personal relationship with both of them (rather than just a commanding officer relationship) that stems from many years of working together “in the trenches” per say.
Which brings up another question (sorry), at its height how many SG teams were there running around the SGC? I seem to recall an episode with a SG-17 team, but was there more than 17 teams.. (plus not to mention the short-lived SG-Russian team)?
Thanks! Take care!
Am I a bad fan for hoping that there won’t be any new SG after five seasons of SGU and some SG-1/SGA movies? 20 seasons seems like the perfect number.
Hey Joe!!
Sad to see Remy and Linda go, I hope it’s not a sign of things to come.
I took the time to do a little research on yours and Ivon’s behalf.
Did some Googling for “weird things to do in Tokyo”. Got a lot of results, you may have done some of these previously…including in no particular order:
1. Latest toilet technology in Toto Superspace
2. Maid café
They also listed a butler café but I think that’s a different audience.
3. Tokyo Parasite Museum
“This museum in Meguro is probably better visited before lunch. It features over 300 species including a mammoth 30 foot tape worm which was found in the stomach of an unsuspecting man.”
Address: 4-1-1 Shimomeguro Tel: 3716-1264
Hours: 10a.m. to 5p.m.
Closed: Mon.(the following day if Monday is a national holiday) and from December 29 to January 4.
Nearest station: Meguro
Admission is free.
Actually, I’m not sure if Ivon would like this one.
4. Daikanyama
“If you’re into desserts in a Dutch setting, you can take the train to Ebisu, walk up the hill toward Daikanyama and look for the cafe Quil fait bon — amazing desserts and service, with decor and a wait staff all looking like they’re from Holland.”
5. Akihabara – electronics area
“Some of the buildings have a labyrinth of corridors with small stalls selling everything from high end stereo components to piles of obsolete electronic parts.”
6. Spend a night in a “love hotel” LMAO
OK…so that might be wasted on the two of you, but we’d find it highly amusing. OMG!! The Hello Kitty SM Room *cough*
7. Find a punk rock or ska club
“The Japanese take their love of punk verrry seriously!”
8. Visit a neko cafe (cat cafe)
“hanging out with super-expensive Japanese cats in a quiet environment that’s special. There are about a dozen of them in Tokyo; Curl Up Cafe is particularly nice. Just remember, you have to be on your best behavior”
9. Get a foot massage from a “French maid” at Melty Cure near Akihabara Station
“Make sure your feet are clean and good-smelling and your pedicure is presentable first.”
Better book in for a mani/pedi before you go…lol
10. Walk around to Koenji
“Shop at the many used record and vintage clothing stores during the day, then check out one of the many livehouses. Saturday is a good day to go. Shows usually start between 4pm-6:30pm.”
11. Venus Fort
“Like something from Las Vegas but, since it’s Tokyo, instead of fat Americans wearing shorts and t-shirts, it’s a mall geared towards women, so it’s full of hot women. The whole thing is supposed to look like you’re walking the streets of Venice, with a “sky” overhead that changes color (and even has moving clouds) throughout the day.”
Plus this is where you make it up to the ladies you left at home…LOL
Sources:
Weird things 1
Weird things 2
Weird things 3
Cheers, chev
aka @imwebgurl
p.s. y’all can thank me later
Oh that Edited vs. Unedited Clip was Hilarious. i coulden’t get over
“YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS LARRY? YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FIND A STRANGER IN THE ALPS?”
I tip my hat to thee good sir, master of the funnies and bringer of the laughs.
Hey Joe,
Considering you’re reading Tiger have you seen the video of the guy attacked by a tiger while on an elephant?
Cheers, Chev
mailbag question: If you find out about renewal in January, when would you start filming season 3? And when would it premiere? Next fall?
Thanks.
re: Asgard –
I had actually assumed the aliens that were on the other ship that took Telford were Asgard, of a different-evolution-variety. Ooops.
re: The doctor with Eli’s Mom-
aha! I knew she was familiar! I looked the episode up on imdb but it didn’t list her, so there I was, stumped.
You know, what I notice some people asking for in not too many words is some hint as to the future of Stargate SGU.
We see boxes in your office, Robert Cooper, Linda & Remi, leaving, and probably others that you haven’t written about…not to mention, not a word about ideas for season 3. All these “hints”, together with the assinine way that the viewing game is played by TV execs and the assinine way that the viewing numbers are calculated, might lead us to believe that there is preparation for a major parting of the ways afoot.
I know it’s just a show, but there are more viewers than numbers show that are wrapped up in the story and the whole concept of the stargate. It’s a quality show with quality talent both onscreen and behind the scenes and one of the few sci-fi shows operating at such a high standard.
I wait with bated breath and can honestly tell you that I will be losing some sleep (from anger and total disappointment) if it is cancelled.
In fact, there are few quality shows of any interest to me on the box right now and am seriously considering cancelling my Bell TV package of 200 plus shows, or whatever. If the shows I’m interested in are not online then I can wait til they are. They all are just shows, right?… and they will probably be cancelled too soon too, by people who really don’t care about the viewing public, using numbers that are skewed because “there is no system in place that will provide an accurate assessment of how many viewers a show actually commands across the various viewing platforms.”… how stoopid is that to be so behind the times and be so purposely ignorant of what viewers would like to see.
If adverts are the problem, then add an advert to whatever one sees online, without making viewing online too complicated.
I’m getting too mad for a Sunday morning. Thanks for your blog and all the information you and invited others are nice enough to give us. I just don’t have a good feeling about the viewing direction that SGU seems to be going in – I hope I’m wrong.
Leaving aside the few TV execs with common sense, a pox on all the rest.
I would still like to know how your sister’s Siberian is doing with the knee problems. You have my email and so can answer directly if it’s bad news you don’t want to share. I love Siberians.
Though I’ve never considered owing a Pug, I would now. Lately I’ve seen Grey Hounds around that have been saved… I would consider doing that too.
Mugger fussing cook supper!
Been busy, just a drive-by lurking.
Das: I’ve been watching the Law and Order: UK. I love listening to the Brit vernacular but the plots are straight out of our L & Os’. The culture is interesting, as well. I had read about CCTV but now I see how it fits into their everyday life.
The Iron Hunt, by Marjorie M. Liu looks VERY intriguing. I’ll make sure to look that one up!!!!!! Thanks for the suggestion, Mr. M.
How ya feeling? Keep an eye out for those secondary infections.
We went to another ALL DAY high school band competition yesterday. Bands have changed since I was in h.s.. Now they have electric guitars, keyboards, and some bands, have all kinds of props. Where did the baton girls go? They seemed to have replaced them with flag girls/guys (color guard).
Well, at least the money you save on having to buy books can go towards your foodie pastimes. Also note you’re reading Dune. Hope you give us your take on that particular work.
Thanks for the BotM club heads up. Been remiss on a lot of reading lately, and hope to find some time to play catchup. Thanks as always for the post.
You are just now reading Dune, or rereading? Wow read the whole series back when I was a spring chicken… wasn’t that wild about his son’s books so stopped with I think the 2nd one unfinished.
@ Tammy Dixon – The plots are out of our L&O – I don’t think anything else was expected, at least not for their first series – but there is still just something different about the characters. I’ve always preferred the British style of acting to the American…not really sure why. Is it because I grew up on Masterpiece Theater, Mystery! and all those Brit comedies PBS aired over the years? Mebbe. British actors just seem more natural to me, their acting less forced. I think that’s why I fell in love with Sergeant Hathaway in Inspector Lewis – the character just comes across as so real, so believable, so likeable – much of which is because of the mannerisms the actor adds, especially when he pouts. 🙂
(I love characters who pout!**)
das
**See Steve the Wraith. 😀
Can’t get enough of Marjorie’s books. So glad you posted something about her work. Thanks Joe.
“There are some terrific writers in the collection but my main problem stems from the anthology’s theme of “near-future optimistic science fiction”. On the surface, it sounds like a great idea but, once you’re three stories in, the generally positive nature of the stories undermines much of the dramatic tension. In short, you know it’s not going to end badly so it’s hard to get that emotionally invested when you’re already aware of the outcome.”
Ah, I see, thanks for answering. I’d still not say it is the “generally positive nature of the stories” that might be the problem. After all, an anthology of “near-future pessimistic (or dystopian) science fiction” would also kill the suspense right on the cover. Maybe more like the sameness of the general underlying idea.
Greets!
Ridiculous edited-for-TV movie lines? No, I don’t think so. I’d call it ingenious, clever, artful, inventive. What is more creative? Spewing curse words (any 4 year old can do that) or writing appropriate, imaginative language for a scene?
“I have had it with these monkey-fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!”
I rest my case! I have read that those who curse all the time do not have the will or vocabulary to express themselves intelligently. True or just bullshit? Excuse me. I meant bull-malarkey. 😀
Just a reminder if anyone in the US is interested…
Steve Moffat’s Sherlock Holmes – a contemporary update of the most famous detective – airs tonight on Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this. In fact, a friend of mine who lives in England and who usually e-mails me to rub it in that he just saw Korn or Pearl Jam in concert somewhere, took time out from his usual teasing to tell me that I MUST watch this series. I’m guessing it’s well-worth the watch.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/index.html
das
I must be really hungry, because that Triple Down sounds kind of good. On reflection, I think I’d skip the cheese. Bacon, chicken and a donut doesn’t really sound bad. I had a burger last week with cheese, bacon and a slice of pineapple, which isn’t THAT much different, and it was delicious.
Hahahaha, I can’t believe films are edited like that for TV. One I recently heard was “Go hump yourself”, it was even after the watershed at around half eleven
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Watershed_(television)#United_Kingdom
Quite amusing when you’ve seen the original.
@ maggiemayday – at first reading of your comment, I thought you were just drunk. But now I get it! I’m a little slow. Very funny. 😉
@das, I am tuning in to watch Sherlock, the promo peaked my interest. I agree, I love to hear the English speak, so different, so nice. Well off to watch the telly..
Thanks Joe for the new book to read.
Hi Joe,
That triple down made me sick just watching you! Have you noticed that your WFPOTD have gone from just you in front of the camera to a full-on production with camera-people and live audience?
I’m actually in Quebec right now on holiday! (from Aus, so much colder than I should be at this time of year!) I’ll be heading down to Montreal in a few days with my friends, where can I take them to eat so they will be amazed at my local knowledge? I’m travelling with a vegetarian (I know, I know) so I guess there should be something she can eat.
Also, I’m heading down to New York on my own, and I was wondering how you find all those people to eat with when you go to Tokyo? I think I’ll get a bit sick of going solo…
Cheers, Jade 🙂
Sherlock was a HOOT! Loads of fun, well worth the watch!
das
Any plans to climb Mount Fuji in the warmer months Joe? Assuming the worst happens and SGU doesnt get the third Season it deserves, you should really check Fuji out. If anything you could easily speand a day or two, or three climbing the mountain as it has various trails with various rest stops if you feel like staying overnight and hiking to the summit in the morning 🙂