Today, Akemi and I checked out the Japanese-Canadian Powell Street Festival with our friends Nicole and Lan. The highlights (most of it food-related, natch)... The onstage entertainment. Guy mans the barbecued salmon grill. Akemi discovers how HOT the udon is. Nicole and Lan: Let the Eating Games Begin! The spam sushi - an Okinawan culinary…
August 2, 2014: The Visitors!
Today, we entertained. First, my cousin Evelina's husband and son, Brian and Jake (pictured above on their hogs), stopped by. They're apparently on a whirlwind motorcycle tour of Canada, covering the west coast before heading back home to Saskatoon before embarking on the more challenging cross-country leg of their adventure that will take them through…
August 1, 2014: Bookly Matters and Birthday Wishes!
I have a feeling that working on scripts for this new show is really going to put a crimp in my rapid-fire reading pace. Last year, I read a paltry 65 books. I was so embarrassed that I set a seemingly lofty goal for myself in 2014: 120 books! At the time, I figured it…
July 31, 2014: This and that!
Hey, check it out! Akemi received shipment of that box of packing peanuts she ordered last month. The company also threw in a tiny bottle of some cosmetic product. But who cares. Look at the size and quality of those packing peanuts! Last night, I got together with friends to check out Hawksworth which recently…
July 30, 2014: Fade in…humor!
It NEVER gets any easier. Inevitably, the jubilation of convening with your fellow writers and hashing out a terrific story is extinguished by the prospect of having to actually write the damn script. You sit down, type FADE IN and then...What? Oh, you know what the scene is going to be (You just broke it the other…
July 28, 2014: 12 down! 1 to go!
Another day, another story. This episode, like episodes #7, 9, 10, and 11, was envisioned as a tough one that would take a couple of days to break. But, like episodes #7, 9, 10, and 11, we ended up breaking it over the course of a single day. And that leaves us with one final…
July 27, 2014: Attitudes, good and otherwise!
Hey, you know who has a GREAT attitude? NOT me. No, I'm easily offended, temperamental, and a notorious grudge-holder. As one of my friends once put it: "Joe is the type of guy who, years later, will remember that pencil you stole from him in high school - and finally exact his revenge." While not…
July 26, 2014: For the kid who has everything! How about…terror?!!
Next to clowns, furry spiders, and old timey pictures of twins, there's nothing quite as creepy as a porcelain doll. I discovered this several years ago, on my first trip to San Diego, when I stayed at a turn-of-the-century hotel that thoroughly freaked out my ex. I attribute her response to a few things: the…
July 25, 2014: 11 down! 2 to go!
Wow! We're unstoppable! Five stories in five days brings our grand total to eleven out of thirteen. And, as one writer pointed out: They're all great! There's not a single episode I'd happily pass on to someone else. I want to write them all. They're a lot of fun, chock full of action, humor,…
July 24, 2014: 10 down! 3 to go!
Today, we finished breaking episode #10 of my new SF series. It's a little rougher than the preceding stories with a few TBD's, but it's great fun and ends with a jaw-dropping sequence that will no doubt have this blog buzzing when it eventually airs. Can't wait until next year? Want a hint as to…
July 23, 2014: My favorite spaceships!
While we're on the subject... SUPER DIMENSIONAL FORCE MACROSS ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT STARBUG SERENITY THE BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO VORLON CRUISER MOYA STAR DESTROYER ASGARD SHIPS THE BEBOP ANCIENT AURORA CLASS BATTLESHIP THE ARCADIA THE USS SULACO THE MILLENNIUM FALCON THE DESTINY USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701 THE NOSTROMO KLINGON BIRD OF PREY ROMULAN WARBIRD
July 22, 2014: On ships and such!
Another day down, another story done. That makes 8 out of our 13 first season episodes broken in less than three weeks. I feared today's episode would prove tricky, but I got in early this morning and hashed out a rough outline. My writing partner, Paul (aka Captain Logic) had surprisingly few problems in the…
July 21, 2014: An update and a mini mailbag!
Hurrah! The writers' room is back on track! Today, we tackled episode 7 and, while it was touch and go in the early goings, we did manage to finish breaking the entire story (tease, five acts, and a tag, natch), this despite a sluggish morning, an impromptu visit from an old friend and colleague, and…
July 20, 2014: Eat your (expensive) fruit!
Tired of the same old apples and bananas? Looking to top your corn flakes with something really special? Well, cash in that 401k and fly on over to Japan to sample these unique fruit: YUBARI KING MELONS A hybrid of two cantaloupes (Earl's Favorite and Burpee's Spicy), the Yubari King Melon hails from Hokkaido, Japan where…
July 19, 2014: Friends, food, and space suits!
To those asking: Yes, you'll be able to watch my new show when it premieres in 2015. Unless you live on the moon of course. Which, I suspect, some of you do. But fear not. I'm sure they'll have found a way to stream it to your base by then. Today, I finished a revision of…