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August 23, 2012: Dog Blog! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! Vengeance!

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The dogs make the most of the remaining days of summer:

Uh, actually, Lulu, that’s my seat. I just got up to get a drink and…ah, never mind.
Jelly takes a break from her walk to get a treat. Still waiting…
Jelly, exhausted from all that walking. And snacking.
Bubba kicks back and enjoys the sights and sounds of the farmers market while Akemi gets in a little workout.
Bubba on his way back from the farmers market, clearly pleased with his purchases.
Jelly considers the upcoming fantasy football season. What position to draft first? QB or RB?
Oh, yeah. That tan’s coming along nicely.
Are you sure? I could’ve sworn somebody said “dinner”.
Lulu enjoys the best of both worlds.
Prisoner 410-77.
Twice around the block, then homes, Jeeves.
Plenty of room!
Lulu sleeps off Margarita Monday.
Jelly is hoping Santa brings her something. Even if it aint the season.
I got as far as “You’ve got something on your – ” before she licked her nose and ate it.
Lulu ponders the meaning of life.

And we continue our look back at Stargate: Atlantis’s third season with…

VENGEANCE (319)

Hot on the heels of the creepy, horror-like Submerged comes the equally creepy mini creature-feature guest starring the villainous Michael.  Turns out he didn’t perish in that hive ship battle way back when.  Either that, or he got MUCH better.  Well, he’s back and he’s mighty pissed.  He’s also brilliant (a deadly combination) and has put all that energy to work on a little experimentation.  And when the team investigates the general well-being of some old friends, the Taranians (last scene in Inferno), they end up experiencing the fruits of said experimentation up close and personal.

Love Connor Trinneer as Michael and also love the character’s increasingly erratic and, arguably, evil turn.  Still, he retains that flicker of humanity and vulnerability thanks to Carl Binder’s writing and Connor’s nuanced performance.

On the other hand, the monsters were well-served by the quick cuts and dark lighting that left much to the viewer’s imagination.  I recall watching the dailies and laughing every time THIS fellow high-stepped his way across the screen:

Boogaboo!

Cookie Monster asked me to remind everyone that this week’s Supermovie of the Week Club selection is X2: X-Men United, the sequel to a move he actually liked!  Can the sequel equal the original, or possibly even surpass it, in monster’s eyes?  Check out Monday’s blog for his review to find out.  Oh, and watch the movie so that you can take part in the discussion.

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31 responses

  1. Alisa Russell Avatar
    Alisa Russell

    Doggies. I always like the doggie pictures. Looks like they are all doing well.

    And Cookie is doing a movie we actually have so I’ll be able to participate in the discussion on Monday. Yay!! Now, need to start decorating the house. Younger son is turning 13 tomorrow (can’t believe I’ll have two teenagers), and he wants to see all of his decorations when he wakes up. One of the benefits of homeschooling is that we will take tomorrow as a vacation day and celebrate tomorrow night at Carrabba’s. (He loves Italian food.)

    Have a great night!!!!

    Reply
  2. anneteldy Avatar
    anneteldy

    I liked “Vengeance”. The iratus was much more frightening than in “38 Minutes”.

    Blood test results are back. Kidneys far from perfect [BUN 47; Creatinine 2.2] but on the road to recovery.

    I’m still reading Les Miserables. Did you know Victor Hugo wrote more than 40 pages detailing the Battle of Waterloo just to tell the reader something that happened on the carnage-covered battlefield AFTER the battle was over? Tough going.

    Anne Teldy

    Reply
  3. gforce Avatar
    gforce

    Lulu looks quite defiant in the chair picture, but the contemplative one is actually quite artistic. She may have a future in dog modelling. Or something like that.

    Also, has Akemi been working out? Check out those ‘ceps!!

    You’re right that those creatures were best left half-seen. Is that the episode where Rodney says something to the effect that he only got a bronze in rope climbing for the Participaction challenge? I loved that little bit of Canadiana. As much as I actually hated the Participaction challenge in school. Oh, bronze again!

    Reply
  4. Marsha_R Avatar
    Marsha_R

    Michael! Connor!! I miss them!!!

    Reply
  5. Mike A. Avatar
    Mike A.

    As much as I love the food adventures and progress reports for you and Paul, I do so enjoy the dog blog posts! Followed closely by discussion of Connor Trinnear’s many talents. When I finally write my screenplay, I’ll definitely be casting him in the movie(provided I keep a bit of creative control in the deal). Amanda Tapping as the present day love interest, too.

    Oh, and thank Cookie Monster for me. I never saw Daredevil because it looked like it was going to suck, hard, and I’ve never been a fan of Affleck’s. With certain movies, I’m a “two strike” guy.

    -Mike A.

    PS. When are you going to start that “Most Emotionally Gut-Wrenching Moment in Stagate Franchise History” poll/contest? I know there are a few that get me choked up every time I see them. I know it probably fits well in the category, but including the final scene of Gauntlet with Eli would be cheating because it’s emotional on a different level, a level that exists outside of the fiction. (Plus, I think it’d win in a landslide victory!)

    Reply
  6. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    Those are some adorable kids you got there Joe! Love the picture of Lulu lying mostly out of her bed. She is showing off her cute little legs and rear end. My beagles back legs are short like that too.

    I liked Vengeance. You can’t say “poor Michael” anymore. And he shouldn’t say “look what you’ve made me do” either. He is experimenting and killing humans for his own purposes. He is now acting worse than the humans he blames. I thought those giant bug guys were kinda neat, especially when viewed from behind and you could see their shells. Just need a bigger bug spray. Ronon and Rodney sparring was funny. Rodney looked like a teenage mutant turtle. Why would he ever agree to do that with Ronon? Is he crazy? Ronon picking up that severed giant bug arm was gross! Yuk, put that down!! Another good, spooked out episode.

    Reply
  7. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    Eli visiting with his mom to let her know he is okay was a very emotional moment. I’ll vote for whatever made me cry the most.

    Reply
  8. Sparrow_hawk Avatar
    Sparrow_hawk

    Awww. Cute doggies pictures! The reminds me, I have to take more pictures of my dog to send to my daughter. She is away at college now and is having doggie withdrawal!

    Vengeance – Michael the mad scientist!

    Reply
  9. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    @ anneteldy – I was thinking about your money theft problem. It is a shame you cannot trust all of the staff to keep their greedy asshole hands off your money. And I can see why you would want/need to have a little cash around. I was wondering if you could ask the office to hold it for you. They could limit everyone to no more than $200 each, and they could keep a running total that you would sign each time you took some out. I know it would be more work for them, but it would also be a service to you and the other residents there. Plus it’s their own damn fault some of the people they hire cannot be trusted, so this is the least they could do for you. It just really makes me mad that happened to you! They should count their lucky stars you are not my sister and I am not nearby or I’d be giving them a daily earful until the situation was resolved.

    Reply
  10. Tim Gaffney Avatar
    Tim Gaffney

    There will be a new MacGyver comic miniseries coming in October:
    http://macgyveronline.com/news/our-first-look-inside-the-macgyver-comic-book/

    I wonder if RDA gets a cut of that.

    Reply
  11. anneteldy Avatar
    anneteldy

    @Ponytail The facility does keep our money. I had drawn so much out because I was going to pay my little sister. Normally, I’d only have ~$30 in my room but I had $100 to give Sis. (Of course I kept forgetting to give it to her. 🙁 ) We can draw up to $50 a day from our accounts. It’s very carefully reviewed by the state so no hinky business can wipe out those not quite coherent.

    I like to order from a local place called Spuds ‘n Stuff and the occasional Papa John’s pizza. That’s all that delivers though some aides will pick up stuff for you if they’re going out to lunch.

    Thanks for the concern.

    Anne Teldy

    Reply
  12. dasndanger Avatar
    dasndanger

    PUPPIES!!!!!! 😀

    Yeah, that’s all I got. 😛

    das

    Reply
  13. Carol Avatar
    Carol

    Am in Vancouver at the tail end of a 12 day vacation…just had a very tasty meal at Don Francesco – ate delicious mussels & ostrich whilst husband had soft shelled crab with oysters and the wild boar…no opera tonight but saw the photographs of both Richard Dean Anderson & Robert Carlyle up on the “Famous Diners’ Wall” – are you there?..didn’t see your pic…:P

    Reply
  14. Alexis Avatar
    Alexis

    Great pictures of the kids. Thanks. 😀

    Reply
  15. Kevin Avatar
    Kevin

    “Vengeance” was a good episode. The dark setting and quick editing did help keep the bug monsters scary as in regular light they do look ridiculous. Best parts of the episode is when Ronin is going around as a one-man monster hunter stabbing monsters in the neck and blowing their brains out. Exciting.

    Reply
  16. DP Avatar
    DP

    My husband’s sick and was eating his breakfast in bed. The two year old went up next to his tray to visit him. So, naturally, I sang out Oppa Gangnam Style and she started horse dancing next to his tray. She doesn’t get the one, two, three, four right, but she takes advantage of the bounce in the mattress.

    He only got a little coffee in his cream of wheat. I’ll load the tray differently tomorrow if he’s still sick. I gave him lids and didn’t fill things up all the way – poor planning.

    Reply
  17. cherluvya Avatar
    cherluvya

    I love your pup pictures. You have a 🌺beautiful🌺 family.

    Reply
  18. Deborah Rose Avatar
    Deborah Rose

    Long overdo for a heavy dose of doggies. Thank you. As for vengeance, not a bad story but one that definitely shows Michael’s deterioration. Or more of his inner Wraithness. Humans to him are still cattle, to be experimented on even if he does not need them for food. Though he looks more human than wraith, he has lost most of the humanity that made him s sympathetic chat archer in Michael. And little do we know how far things will go… Just their luck hey didnt experiment on a dumb soldier instead of a Wraith genius.

    Reply
  19. Tam Dixon Avatar
    Tam Dixon

    I love the dog pictures and the captions! Bubba does look like a good workout.

    Vengeance: I’m a big fan of monster movies, so this one hit the spot. When J.F’s character saw the bug at first, I felt his dislike was not just acting 😉 . I can only imagine what it was like for an actor having a big “fake” bug strapped to their face all day. The bugs looked like big cockroaches to me…YUCK! I hate roaches ( shudder). Connor is always fun to watch, as well.

    AnneTeldy: any luck recovering your funds? Are you on twitter? If so, please look me up: @Jertam .

    JeffW: Thanks for the encouraging words. My hubby got a smile out of it. Oh, I would love to hook hubby’s website up to PayPal. I think the school would give us permission to use their account but I haven’t dared put the idea out there yet.

    Has anyone tried Windows 8 yet? It’s a whole new learning experience. They completely redid the OS. Brave or stupid, we will see. Hubby’s been learning it because of work.

    We booked a room in downtown Atlanta for a long weekend for October. My cousin (a Georgia native) has recommend a few favorite eateries. The Flying Biscuit, West Egg and Octane. I’m a big breakfast eater, so those sound pretty good. Any other suggestions for Atlanta? I’m meeting her for a meal at LaFonda and their online menu looks yummy too. I may splurge and order the paella. I know there is no way I can eat all of it but…the hotel has a fridge. 😉

    Ponytail: The nursing home theft does NOT surprise me at all. My sister-in-law is a nurse and a Rx/meth addict. As soon as the home realizes drugs are missing, she quits for another nursing home job. They got her on a misdemeanor once but still no drug felony charge. Amazing/scary to me that she seems to have no problem getting hired. Recently, she was forced into rehab but went to work sitting with the elderly right after her release. Nursing homes must have a hard time keeping people if they hire deadbeats like my S.I.L..

    Reply
  20. anneteldy Avatar
    anneteldy

    The administrator of the facility just came down and told me he not only believes me but is refunding my money. Apparently, only the woman who questioned me was disbelieving. The rest of the department heads believed me immediately. What a relief! 🙂

    Last night I had a strange thing happen: while typing in a post, the letters suddenly didn’t appear. I couldn’t delete or navigate inside the box. I had to leave the page and come back. (Cut and paste did work.) Anyone else having trouble with WordPress comment boxes?

    Anne Teldy

    Reply
  21. bailey Avatar
    bailey

    Cute pups! Although they are scarier than that Vengance monster is in broad daylight! It’s quite silly. 😛
    Did you ever think to put one or more of your canine crew in an episode of SG?

    Reply
  22. sylvia Avatar
    sylvia

    @ AnneTeldy – whooo, that’s a relief.

    @ JeffW – according to the Fresh Market. They receive shipments of some baked goods, like the whoopie pies. They don’t prepare these. We read the ingredients and the label seems generic to all of the varieties.
    So…caution would be smart. The label mentioned cocoa on the Red Velvet pies. BUT…we will find some non-chocolate ones!

    @ Joe and Akemi – YAY….puppy pix LOVE THEM.
    Very cool when you do captions. THANKS.

    Reply
  23. Randomness Avatar
    Randomness

    @Mike A.
    @“Most Emotionally Gut-Wrenching Moment in Stargate Franchise History” poll/contest?

    That would be MGM pulling the plug on Stargate, and thus the props, sets being dismantled and sold off at The Bridge.

    If Joe follows that suggestion and this option is included it would be the clear winner, though it’d probably just be easier just to write ‘When MGM killed off Stargate’.

    Reply
  24. Cynthia Avatar
    Cynthia

    Saw these vanilla macaroons on flicker and immediately thought of you. http://tiny.cc/ocgkjw

    Reply
  25. Anonymous J Avatar
    Anonymous J

    Enjoyed both Vengeance & Submersion, but give I Submersion the edge. Mostly because all the Taranians were offed offscreen, which pushes my buttons. But yeah, I agree with Ponytail – at this point, Michael loses all sympathy. (It might be where he loses all sanity as well, but that’s besides the point.)

    Also, anytime Teyla beats Ronon up is pure gold. 🙂

    Reply
  26. Sue Jackson Avatar
    Sue Jackson

    Doggies!!! 🙂 Such sweet babies! Love Lulu! She is such the diva that one. I bet she pretty much runs the house. 😉 Love Bubba and Jelly too! Is that Jelly in the stroller? Too cute! 🙂

    Vengence…was a so so episode. Not one of my faves. Felt a little like Scooby Doo.

    Reply
  27. Ponytail Avatar
    Ponytail

    @ anneteldy – That is good news! Glad they are going to make it right. Now, is there a nook or cranny on your body where you can hide your money until you actually spend it..? Okay, just kidding. But maybe a small locked bag (like a coin purse) with a chain on it, and you can lock it to your bed. Oh!, oh!, oh!, how about a fake can of something or an object that has a hidden storage compartment? Well anyway, glad you’re getting your money back!

    @ Tam Dixon – that is terrible! I thought all businesses did background checks and drug testing on all new hires nowadays. Surely that would catch her.

    Reply
  28. Deni Avatar
    Deni

    @anneteldy: So glad you got you money back!

    Daughter’s got a really bad cold/flu, so we’re avoiding each other and spraying and wiping everything down. When she gets sick, it’s over in a week, but when I get sick, oh my… Mr. Deni and I have done this a few times before (in a much smaller house) and it worked, so hopefully I’m safe. 🙂

    Looks like Florida will be getting a tropical storm/hurricane, just hoping it fizzles out before it gets up here. Still not taking any chances and going to the grocery store tonight to load up on hurricane stuff.

    Otherwise, still a mess over so many losses since last November. The house is incredibly quiet these days, even with crazy Riley running around. Molly was always such a happy girl, always had a high five and a tail wag for me, and I’m having a hard time without her. She was my cuddle bug at night (ok, she slept on my head…), and I keep re-living the moment she died in my arms. Oy. I know it’ll get better(ish) with time, it’s just so awful and sad.

    Anyway, hope everyone has a great weekend, and to those in Florida, good luck! xoxo

    Reply
  29. for the love of Beckett Avatar
    for the love of Beckett

    Oh, puppy pictures! Can’t wait till they engineer in-person technology, so we can give them hugs and scratches. 🙂

    anneteldy — So glad that the administrators believed you and refunded the money! Wonder what was the deal with the defensive person?

    Akemi, that lifting and carrying does lovely things for biceps and arm definition! Mine are getting better from toting nephews around. Today was nephew baby-sitting day, so that was my exercise. 🙂

    Reply
  30. for the love of Beckett Avatar
    for the love of Beckett

    Deni — Hope Lauren gets better soon! And that the hurricane fizzles out quick. Floridians seem to get it so often. Aw, the Molly story… *sniff* I could just see her doing those things. What a sweet girl. I hope another cuddle-bug doggie finds you someday. *Hugs*

    Reply
  31. Airelle Avatar
    Airelle

    hmmm, @anneteldy, my comment just disappeared,,spooky.

    Reply

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