What a difference a week makes. Well, actually a weekend in which my Snow Monkeys were upset in fantasy football league play. In the days leading up to the week one kick-off, I was incredibly excited, scouring the internet in preparation for the season to come – researching, analyzing, deciding. Today, I could barely muster the enthusiasm to look into the waiver wire prospects. My shocking loss all came down to two plays: the injury to my top-ranked running back, Fred Jackson, and a fumble by my top-ranked wide receiver Marques Colston. In the first case, Jackson’s injury took him out of the game (and will keep him out of action for 3-4 weeks) and allowed backup C.J. Spiller to rack up 20+ fantasy points. In the second, Colston fumbled the ball on his way into the endzone, costing me about 14 points (6 for his TD, 4 for Brees who I also have, and the 2 point penalty for the fumble). So there you have it. 34 points. 34 points that would have handily given me the week one victory. Instead, my Snow Monkeys are 0-1 and I’m heading toward a tough week #2 match-up without my #1 running back.
Oh, well. On the bright side, all that time I would have spent on fantasy football can be put to more productive use studying Japanese or continuing my seemingly endless spring (through summer and heading into fall) cleaning.
And, of course, updating this blog with my reflections on SGA’s fourth season…
MISSING (406)
Girl power! A great episode that showed off two of our strong female leads. On the one hand, we have Teyla, the fearless warrior, who kicks ass and demonstrates the courage and poise of an experienced leader. On the other hand, we have Jennifer Keller, the young doctor who, overwhelmed and out of her element, still manages to step up and come through. What really struck me about this episode was how reversed the roles were behind the scenes. There was no way in hell Rachel was getting anywhere near that bridge, much less stepping on it (hell, I don’t blame her). Jewel, meanwhile, not only stepped onto the bridge, she dispensed with a stunt double and gamely walked across it herself.
And, oh, that bridge. I recall Carl coming into my office one day, shaking his head, rueing the day he wrote it into the script. To quote from a past blog post on the infamous footbridge: “Carl envisioned a scene involving a rope bridge and, simple enough, the Art Department came up with a design, it was approved, the bridge was built – and then when we found out the cost, our eyes almost popped out of our skulls. As it turns out, it wasn’t the bridge that was so pricey but the added expense of paying security guards to stand watch, 24/7, to ensure no adventurous teens attempted to cross the damn thing while it was up. It was just one of many surprises that transformed this originally inexpensive episode into a $$$ spectacular.”
Mailbag:
DP writes: “In the intro: “he eats six times a day. He has a thing for cats.”… did they want me to think he eats the cats? Because I did at first and I didn’t mind.”
Answer: Ha. So did I. I thought the saving the box of kittens at the subway station was a nice, silly touch.
gforce writes: “What exactly did the ex-Nazi’s hope to gain by all this, bring about the end of the world? How does that benefit them at all? Are they just being jerks?”
Answer: You’d think they’d have learned their lesson by watching the countless books, movies, and t.v. shows that have used this plot. Opening portals to Hell/other dimensions always ends badly for the guys doing the opening. It’s not as if some gibbering, multi-tentacled hellspawn is going to waltz through and thank them for making it all possible.
anneteldy writes: “I liked Abe a lot and Hellboy himself was great but Liz? How does living in an asylum help you control your firestarting? I could see living in seclusion so no one accidentally pisses you off, but an asylum?
Answer: Good point. Unless of course they happen to have someone who specializes in treating firestarters.
Wendy writes: “Huh? Any reason that my RSS reader decided to load feeds from your HK trip with Fondy back in the day? Strange, but kinda disconcerting how long I’ve been reading your blog! Lol”
and
JasonM writes: “Why is it that when viewing your blog via RSS I keep getting posts from November 2006 popping up as new and un-read?”
Answer: Apologies. I’ve been going over my old posts, fixing some of the weird fonts and correcting spelling errors. Please disregard. Or, better yet, read ’em again!
Randomness writes: “Speaking of your Japan trip Joe, you may want to visit Namja Town. It’s an indoor theme park that not only focuses on the fun aspect of things, but also is home to a million flavors of ice cream including stuff like Squid Ice Cream things like that.”
and
Maggiemayday writes: “Squid ice cream.. I have nothing left to add.”
Answer: I’ve got something to add. Please go to this post and scroll down for a video of some of the unique ice cream flavors I picked up at Ice Cream City including crab, salt and the oh-so-memorable squid: November 26, 2008: Tokyo Trip Day #4, Kaiseki Feast, Porking Out, Sweets and Such, and The Weird Food Purchase of the Day – Japanese Ice Cream Edition
for the love of Beckett writes: “Joe, so sorry that things fell through for Dark Matter. Was it a deal for TV, feature film, or both?”
Answer: TV. Ah, well. If it can’t be done right, best not to do it at all – a lesson I’ve learned the hard way.
JeffW writes: “Sorry, I do have sympathy for Indy Colts fans, just no sympathy for the Irsays. This is why:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/baltimore-colts-move-to-indianapolis
I went to bed that night hearing Bob Irsay say the Colts were staying in Baltimore and woke up to news they were gone…left in the middle of the night.”
Answer: At least Modell was clear about his intentions and, after leaving, left Browns their identity. Irsay simply hijacked the team in his infamous midnight move. Classless.
Ponytail writes: “When are we going to Tokyo? November?”
Answer: That’s the plan. 🙂
Michelle writes: “Even better reason not to go back to Japan is their fishermen are again killing whales and dolphins for their (mercury-ridden) meat at The Cove. I wonder what the average Japanese citizen thinks of this, if they even know. Real-time reports: https://www.facebook.com/SeaShepherdCoveGuardiansOfficialPage”
Answer: According to Akemi, whale meat was eaten by the older generation back in the day because it was cheaper. Very few people eat it today. It’s neither popular nor one of those “fashionable” dishes that might explain why it continues to be eaten. Most consider its greasy, gummy texture unappetizing. As for dolphins – the fact that they are being eaten in certain areas of Japan was shocking news to her and her friends. Like the seal hunt, it’s a suspect activity isolated to a few places that excuse their behavior on the grounds that it puts money in the pockets of impoverished communities.
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