THIS was the first sight to greet me when I walked into work this morning –
Most gloaters do their gloating verbally. Best Boy Mike goes one step further, celebrating Bailey’s Irish Creamers’ defeat of my Snow Monkeys with a painstakingly assembled collage. Obviously, someone has put their weekend scrapbooking classes to good use. Well, the Snow Monkeys may have been beaten this past weekend but, incredibly, they’re still one game out of playoff spot. Fortunately, they’ll be up against a much easier opponent this weekend in Tio. I mean, come on. Ten weeks into NFL Fantasy play and he still hasn’t picked a name for his team!
Watched an awesome Day 1 Mix of an equally awesome episode, Hope, today. Carl Binder is on a roll this season. Great performances and some really, really nice moments both humorous and touching.
Also, watched my cut of The Hunt this afternoon. The A, B, and C stories interweave nicely and, again, some nice character and comic beats peppered throughout. The T.J. flashbacks are officially filed away for next season – but that’s fine because it pushes me to come up with a T.J.-centered story. Both Carl and Brad came up with some terrific potential season 3 stories. Let’s just say the second season finale sets up a VERY INTERESTING scenario.
Keep those dish descriptions and photos coming for the “I Make the Best Whatever…” contest! I’m eager to start prepping YOUR recipes.
Since some of you asked, here’s the doggy ailment update…
I’m glad to hear the pups are relatively well. Good luck on the fantasy football front!
I was going to ask about the next BotM selection, but I see it in the sidebar. I enjoyed Marjorie Liu’s story in Masked. I’m looking forward to reading it!
Hello Joe.
Glad to hear that the production is going smoothly. Sorry to hear that the pups have been a little down lately. Give them extra hugs from all of us.
Best wishes,
Bryan.
Sorry to hear the bad news for each of the pups. I hope they get well soon. I was going to say “heel (heal) but that is a rip off of a Hallmark card.
I really wish I was a better cook. Would love to participate, but my food is just mediocre at best.
My ESWL kidney-stone truck-surgery has been moved up to Thursday. The office cited a “scheduling conflict” on Friday (translation — the doctor has something better to do). LOL.
Only 25 hours until “Malice” airs in the US.
Does Lulu have food allergies? I’m having trouble remembering if you’ve said so already or not. Anyway, an elderly Cocker Spaniel who we adopted into our family some years ago had a habit of chewing on her paws, along with occasional digestive ailments. The vet told us it was likely a food allergy, and suggested we either change her diet to a special dog food or that we start cooking her meals for her.
We started off with the special food, but one night when she was feeling under the weather I ended up cooking for her. That was that. I cooked that goofy dog dinner every night for the rest of her life.
She was cute, what can I say.
Some days she’ll lie around all day, others will find her bounding about like a pug half her age.
Wow, that sounds like you’re describing me lately! I know just how you feel, Jelly!
Nice to see photos of your pups.
I had to have Dion (aka Moochie, my 21 year old cat) ‘euthanased’ (is that even a word? It’s what they call it at the vet’s) at home last Tuesday (about a week and 20 minutes ago, to be honest.) I was there when she was born, and when she died. It’s been a hard week.
The doggy pics,, so cute, thanks. Glad to hear about them.
-I agree with you that Carl is doing an outstanding job this season. Maybe we can get him a big name sign for over his door, oh wait, already done, sorry. No seriously, a great job Carl.
-Love the best whatever cooking contest, more pictures please. New recipes, a great idea!
and if Best Boy Mike gave you the collage, I say, a new dart board sounds like a grand idea.
JM:
Not sure this is the best place to comment, but I can’t figure out how to email you on this blog (you refer the the mailbag all the time?).
Just wanted to eat my words and say that I have come around on SGU. Really had a hard time with Season 1. Was in SG-A withdrawal and not thinking clearly. Last episode also brought me to a new appreciation of Col. Young. You are right – he’s a very good actor. And while I still can’t get warm and fuzzy about Rush, at least he’s not yelling all the time.
Also, took your advice and bought a copy of “Revelation Space.” I LOVE THESE BOOKS! Reynolds is an amazing writer. I’ve burned through every one of his books, even his short stories. Thanks so much for the great recommendation.
-brad k.
wash, dc
Hey guys… just wanted to drop by and tell you about the SGU awareness campaign’s new site. Were gonna post all the announcements there(under campaign blog).. and theres a contact section too. We also have a chat room, and from 10-11 tomorrow night EST… we’ll be discussing the episode Malice. No need to register… just pick a username and log in. Anyone is welcome, though we do ask you do keep it clean. Check it out!
http://www.sguawareness.com/index.html
To JeffW: All I can say is WHOA. That is definitely a labor-of-love cheesecake recipe. I don’t know if I even have the patience to TRY to make it.
@BA: Most cool. So glad something clicked for you about the show. I had the same thing happen for me with Atlantis so I know exactly what you are talking about.
OMG Riley I didn’t know…*hugs* thinking of you….so sorry to hear
Chev
Poor Jelly. I hope that she keeps bounding around the house instead of napping all day. Wait, napping all day is what I want to do.
Know what you mean by the eye drops thing. My largest cat is so slow until I get the drops out. Then if I don’t sneak up on him, he moves really fast.
{{{hugs}}} to Riley. It’s never easy.
The last few blogs people have mentioned about Vala needing to be on SGU… you know the show that she would be great on would be Warehouse 13!
I’ve only ever watched a couple of episodes of W13, but the Vala character would be a funny fit w/ that ensemble, not to mention all the interesting “goodies” she’d be able to find sitting around.
@Riley: So sorry to hear about Moochie 🙁 It’s obvious she was very loved.
We’ve been trying to get one of our stray cats, Spot, checked out for a week, but he seems to know when it’s time to go to the vet and disappears. I’m afraid he’s got either feline leukemia or AIDS or both because he’s lost a lot of weight. So, we may be looking at a bad end to the year, as well. He’s such a sweetheart, the whole neighborhood knows him and loves him, and having to do this is awful, no matter how many times you go through it. I felt like crap on Saturday calling out to him, knowing that I was taking him to the vet for what could well be his last day. I was SO glad to see him later in the day, did a little happy dance in my head. Later that night, I sat outside with him and “talked” like we have for so many years, and was just happy he’s still with us. But sometime this week, I’m going to have to deal with it, he’s just not well.
Hi Joe, your house sounds like mine. Elway’s doing great, 2 days shy of 4 months being seizure-free, but gassiness is a problem, especially at night *choke”. Having said that, I’d better watch him tonight , because every time I say anything, it almost guarantess a trip to the ER 🙂 Summer (aka Dinky) has selective hearing and a bad attitude (only with me, everyone else is ok). She’s getting up there (almost 14) but still acts like a dog half her age, especially if I’m after her for meds, clipping her nails, etc. The little shit can run! Molly’s getting a bit heavy, and like Lulu, ear scratching at night, paw chewing in the morning (what gives?) and is in desperate need of a dental. Insamuch as it’s all a pain and a huge expense, I wouldn’t trade it for the world 🙂
Have a good night!
Question: During “Enemy at the Gate”, the Control Chair was destroyed at Area 51. So now that the Lucian Alliance is poised to attack Earth, do they have access to the Ancient Weapons platform in Antarctica? If they can’t use it because the chair is gone, can they go somewhere else, say Taonas, and bring the chair back from there and hook it up. It would seem that Homeworld Security is really concerned about this attack, and it seems they wouldn’t be as much if they had the Drones. Do they in fact have the Ancient Defenses to combat the Lucian Alliance?
@ Tim
…or is Atlantis still sitting off the coast of San Fran able to help defend earth???
Joe knows, and he’s not telling! (no fair!)
PBMom:
It’s not as bad as it looks, although with some variations it can get a little complex; a lot of the recipe is filler for goof-proofing because I originally wrote down the recipe for some friends who had never baked one before.
The two component ‘cakes (1/2 regular/half chocolate or something else) take me about an hour and a half, while I can get a plain raspberry cheesecake done in about an hour (not counting cooking time but I do the sauce-making while the cake is cooking). I actually spend more time making the sauces than anything else.
The biggest pain is planning days in advance to get the necessary cooling time for the cheesecake; they just don’t seem to firm up right unless you’re cooling it overnight (in the oven) and then refrigerating it most of a day as well.
@ BMc, Deni & Chev
Thanks for your kind words.
Hello,
I have a production schedule question. If you are already working on the season two finale, when the mid-season finale has yet to air, how does this allow the writing team time to react to something that doesn’t air well? Say the introduction of a new character who just isn’t gelling, or a new mission that is confusing to everyone who isn’t on the writing team (;-) or just anything that doesn’t play as well on air as it does on the page? Maybe ratings reflect this, maybe vocal fans do. It seems that you work so far ahead, you don’t allow the show itself time to react.
The only show I know definite production info about is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I think had more sets, actors, locations, and maybe special effects that an SGU episode, and by the end of each season, they were shooting the episodes a bare three weeks prior to airing.
I think I already know your feelings about squeaky wheels (they don’t necessarily mean the whole car must change direction accordingly), but what factors would cause the production team to retool upcoming episodes? And why do you work so far in advance of airdate?
Thank you for your time.
@Riley: I lost my 20 year old cat this summer when I was away. She knew you loved her!!
@Joe: always happy with a doggie update!! They are just so freakin cute! The beef short ribs my sister cooked were good but the meat was still a bit tough for me, how did you cook yours?? We did it in a slow cooker with BBQ sauce is there another way? Should we have put more liquid in with them, like red wine?
Really hoping now for season 3!!
@riley I’m so sorry. Hugs to you.
@Deni Let’s hope that this breaks the trend for you and nothing happens to sweet Elway.
@JeffW: Thanks for the tips. If I ever get brave enough, I’ll try to make it for our book club and I’ll take pics of us enjoying it and post them.
If anyone is interested in reading a spoiler-free preview of Malice, I was honored to be able to do one:
http://wormholeriders.com/blog/?p=20713
And it’s short, too.
Hello Joe, small Question concerning SGA:
I want your opinion : does Wraith feed on pregnant women?
__________________________________________
(sorry for my english)
thank you !
Joe, could you provide some information on the Destiny’s FTL drive? Is the intergalactic hyperdrive in Daedalus-class ships faster?
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
Ran to hit the first shot in a social tennis game against my nephew and pulled a calf muscle (self diagnosed of course). It hurts….off to put ice on it…I’m on holiday too :(((
Chev
Riley: I’m so sorry for your loss. Everyone here has been through it and understands. It sucks!
Deni: Good luck and just do what you can. They are tricky little guys to catch sometimes. I know there will always be stray animals but I wish we could cut that number down by having mandatory spay/neuter laws. Saying that in the South gets me lots of enemies but I’ve had to euthanize a a few healthy animals (working as a vet tech) and it hurts.
Mr. M.: it’s painful to watch our pets grow older. Someone should invent a spray to use on them when they are pups/kittens to keep them young forever.
Good luck with giving meds! When I have to give my cats a medicated bath/dip, I get everything ready 2 hours ahead. They disappear as soon as they sees me prepping for it 😀 .
I’ll have the recipe and pics for my stuffed pork loin posted on Saturday!
Hello Joseph,
Yours dogs have so funny faces lol.
Anyway, I support always your great show SGU and I propose to you 3 news videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCjFLw8onjg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjBhUnWUTfI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1fLqY04IkA
And by the way, why I’m always hungry when I visit your blog? And idea?
Bye and vive SGU! ^^
ppatoc.
Ok, here’s my shot at culinary internet fame: I make the best carrot cake.
Awesomely moist carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting. So moist, you might need a spoon to eat it.
I won a contest with it, and I’ve given the recipe to lots of people.
Aw, cute puppy faces, love it! I also love Mike’s fancy collage; you can tell his parents didn’t help him with it?! And again with the cuteness, what are the people eating in Vancouver to be so darn cute? Or is it some nutritional supplement in the food on set?
I was watching a news story on laser treatments to ease pain in pups with joint problems and thought of our Jelly:
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2010/11/11/laser-treatments-helping-pets-in-pain/
Sounds like something you may have mentioned before.
Now off to lunch!
Coucou =)
ça va bien? moi oui j’ai passé un très bon week end à la campagne mais je regrette de ne pas avoir pu passé avant sur votre blog.
Vos chiens sont toujours aussi mimi, lol hier j’ai pensée à eux en regardant Men in Black 2, j’adore cette scéne^^:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6CWJr7jhlQ&feature=related
Je vous dit à plus tard, gros bisous!!!!!!!
<3!
Joe,
Lulu has CLASSIC food allergy symptoms. Look into Pinnacle or Wellness fish and potato food. Clears up the itching, ears, feet chewing. I promise. Why fish? The most common allergy is to protein. Most dogs with allergies are to beef, but they also become allergic to chicken and lamb and even deer quickly. Fish rarely causes an allergy.
As for Bubba… do me a big favor? Bitch slap your vet. Do it now, do it hard. Eyelashes cause horrific pain to the eyes. They should have fixed the eyelash problem LONG ago with entropic type surgery to prevent rubbing. I had heard how horrible it was (there was even a study on the release of chemicals indicating pain a while ago), but until I had my own corneal abrasion, I didn’t realize. I have given BIRTH and had 2nd degree burns. I’d certainly rather give birth than have corneal abrasion pain and I’d almost have to think about the burns. Slap the vet twice for me, in fact. Poor Bubba. 🙁
Hey, Joe! From everything you’ve said, The Hunt sounds like a great episode! I’m a little disappointed to hear about the TJ flashbacks, but that just makes me all the more hopeful for a third season! TJ has been one of the things that’s really kept me invested in this season, she’s such an amazing character and I can’t wait to see her backstory explored a bit more (and it does me good to know you’ll be handling it).
On a related note, are we going to see Varro pop up anytime soon? I really enjoyed what few scenes he had in the first few episodes of the season and have been kind of hoping to see him again! Any chance that will happen in the near future?
@PBMom: From your mouth to G-d’s ears!
@Tammy Dixon: I had them all spayed/neutered, so at least that’s not a problem. I agree with you about saying stuff like that in the South, but if you think that’s bad, try Guatemala (and I would imagine other Latin American countries). I’ve suggested to friends they neuter their male dogs who run all over neighborhoods impregnating un-spayed (stray) females, and I’ve actually heard “I couldn’t do that to him, it’s his MANHOOD!” I know we’re all guilty of anthropomorphism to some degree, but this is ridiculous! Meanwhile, the cat and dog population continues to grow, and very few people seem to care. I’ve made enemies just like you have, one of them being my ex best friend of 40 years, but you know what? Somebody has to say something, it’s the animals that suffer.
Joe, first thing I should do is point out that I’m a fan and friend of “Stargate Universe”. I do support the show. I watch every episode as it airs and I simultaneously record it on my DVDR. I defend the show when running up against the naysayers on various message boards. I went out and purchased the first season DVD as well. I am not some hater or some jaded Stargate Atlantis fan. Stargate Universe is far from perfect and not exactly “great” at this point and time, but at the very least its pretty good. Despite some issues I have with it, I find the show to be mature, smart, well written, beautifully shot, magnificently scored and full or tremendous acting.
However one issue that I can’t overlook, one that’s been agitating me since season one, is the handling and under usage of Greer. Its something I complained about before. Now to be fair in what I have seen of Greer this season has been an improvement overall then how you folks used him in season one. There have been a few moments in particular which have stood out. Greer disagreeing with Young on the release of the remaining members of the Lucian Alliance was nice because it showed Greer could be a loyal soldier to Young (one who follows orders when given command) even if he disagreed with Young’s decision. This is something that Scott does occasionally, so it was nice to see Greer be allowed to have a difference of opinion with Young as well. In fact it was great Greer could have that scene with Young without Scott being around because if Scott had been there I’m going to assume the argument would have been presented by him instead.
From that same episode another standout moment was when Greer broke up the confrontation between Simeon and members of the science/tech crew in the mess hall. It showed Greer’s growth as he publicly indicated that its no longer just the military folks on Destiny whom he view as his “people”. But best of all while Greer did get into Simeon’s face, he managed to keep an even tone and didn’t try to get physical with him. Last season that scene would have played out with “wild and out of control” Greer slamming Simeon into a wall and administering a beat down only to have his more in control military superiors (in this case TJ and Lt. James) run over to tell Greer to knock it off. It may not have been intentional by you folks but to have Greer routinely be disciplined like a child by his superior officers came across as condescending. So it was refreshing to see Greer handle the confrontation without resorting to violence or needing his officer to tell him what to do.
And I absolutely loved “Cloverdale” in part because it gave Greer his best heroic moments since “Air Part Three”. Greer showed his intelligence, bravery, loyalty, grit and selflessness in that story and Jamil was convincing in portraying all those characteristics.
But alas there are gripes I have. The biggest gripe remains when will Greer get storylines or episodes in which he is the focus? Not storylines in which he assists his comrades in a life and death situation or in their personal lives. I mean stories in which Greer himself is the center of the attention. Its been a year and a half and we still haven’t gotten such an episode. Some like to call “Lost” that episode but his storyline was no greater than the one or two other plots that played out in that particular show. I ‘m a guy who likes reading spoilers or looking at info about upcoming episodes or reading blogs like yours. For season two I haven’t read any descriptions of coming episodes in which Greer is mentioned with the lone exception of “Malice”. And in that description it simply mentions in line two that Scott and Greer are sent to retrieve Rush. By reading that description I can guess a couple of things ; 1)that Greer, as is usually the case when he’s alongside Scott, won’t get the chance to actually make any decisions on his own or display his intelligence and 2)that the episode will be more about how much of a badass Rush is. I’ll talk more about #2 later. The point is though whenever I read these short descriptions its always about Chloe, Young, Eli, Scott, Wray, TJ, Rush, Rush and did I mention Rush? Even clues dropped on your blogs about how well certain actors performed in a upcoming episode (which tells me at least that storylines are coming up for the characters they play), never seem to make any mention of Jamil which suggests there is nothing coming up for him.
If you want to dismiss this complaint (which you gently did back in the spring) then ask yourself this : which main character do we know far less about in terms of a personal life (Ex: who they love, what they do when they are away from work, what their current life on Earth before they boarded Destiny, etc.)? The answer is clearly Greer. Now here’s another thing to think about…that opening you guys have on each episode each week which gives the audience a rundown of all that has transpired so far on the show? The only main character that never has a line of dialogue said in those openings is Greer. What that tells me is that Greer is not ever made to be a big part of any of the larger ongoing storylines; that the character is just around to add flavor and coolness but not really around to be given anything pivotal to do or pivotal to say.
I wouldn’t be as upset with this if the actor playing Jamil was average in talent. But even amongst a talented cast Jamil stands out. I found it interesting that while watching the DVD commentaries the few scenes involving Greer and Jamil was almost always commented on by fellow cast members who were overflowing with praise for his work. You would think this would lead to more opportunities for Greer/Jamil on the show but so far it hasn’t. You guys seem more invested in Eli’s love life (or more Matt-Chloe drama or Sharon-Wray relationship issues) than in giving Greer any storylines at all. I find that amazing. How can you have an actor of his caliber at your disposal and refuse to take advantage of it? I can make an argument that Greer is a favorite of a lot of folks not because of , no offense, what you writers have written for him but because of how Jamil has a way of elevating even the minimal material he gets.
I’m a few hours from watching “Malice” which I’m looking forward to seeing. However I am already preparing for the episode to let me down by presenting Rush as more of the cunning hero who could take out Simeon than Greer. The writers would never have Greer invade Rush’s turf figure out a solution to Destiny’s technological secrets, but you guys appear to have no problem making a non-soldier like Rush invade what should be Greer’s domain by having the middle aged scientist take on the big bad. The Greer and Simeon showdown has been building and if it taking down Simeon becomes just one more countless showcase for Rush I will be as disappointed with this show as I ever have been.
For God’s sakes could you guys give Greer the spotlight for once? Please no excuses about the cast being huge when you manage to give all the other main cast members their own storylines and personal lives. Of course since all the season two eps have already been written it may be pointless for me to beg for more Greer stories. So with the possibility of this being the last season of SGU (and I hope that’s not the case), I hope, I pray, there is at least one Greer storyline to take place in season two.
Cute pug pics Joe. Was going to say Cute dog pics but Pugs > other dogs
@Major D. Davis
Good job with the SGU awareness thing. As I said a few days back, best to get a campaign going now for renewel when there’s still time.
Anyway offtopic. I really love Cats. Lol.