Well, damn. This pilot script simply refuses to be completed. I'm thinking I may just have to set it aside and come back at it with fresh eyes in a couple of months. Time to shift creative gears and start reviewing some alternate materials: pilot script, series overview, special "character secrets" document, and the 13…
June 20, 2014: And so it begins…
Looks like things are about to get real busy, real fast. A flurry of emails today, a few phone conversations, some decisions made and many more to come. We'll be flying out next week for a few days to crunch some numbers, clarify positions, and, of course, have dinner at one of my favorite Italian…
June 14, 2014: Father’s Day!
When I think of my father, I remember a man who was kind and generous, but stubborn and suspicious by nature. Someone funny and fun-loving, but a little quick-tempered. A loving husband and father, but a man who, occasionally, took things a tad too personally. In short, my father was a complicated and colorful man…
June 13, 2014: Joe and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!
Ceeripes, I feel like crap! I woke up this morning feeling significantly under the weather: stomach ache, nausea, headache, fatigue, muscles aches, and appetite free. I suspect food poisoning from last night's chicken dinner. I blame Top Chef Geoffrey Zakarian and his roast-chicken-at-375-degree-for-one-hour-and-serve-at-room-temperature recipe. Akemi claims there's only one way to know for sure: "Eat…
June 12, 2014: Bees and Burgers!
Last night, we got together with our foodie friends, Nicole and Lan, for an evening of Bees and Burgers. Campagnolo supplied the burgers while Nicole and Lan supplied the bees... Apparently, they picked them up in Portland (or had them shipped from Portland. I'm not sure how it works). They keep them in the above-pictured…
June 11, 2014: Things I hated when I was a kid!
10. Popcorn Chewy and flavorless. Yes, there's salt and butter, but why not just have the toppings and save yourself the hassle of those annoying bits that get stuck in teeth? 9. Shepherd's Pie Ground beef? Love it. Mashed potatoes? I like. Corn? Sure. All three together? Disgusting! 8. Candied Fruit I still don't understand…
June 10, 2014: A World Cup Primer!
What is soccer? "Soccer — also known as "the boring football" — consists of large groups of players kicking a ball, then chasing said ball back and forth on a field for extended periods of time." http://www.cracked.com/article_14785_cracked-faq-world-cup.html "If there's anything that resonates with the World Cup spirit, it's hundreds and hundreds of cheering, excitable, weirdly…
June 9, 2014: The Monkey’s Paw!
Seriously. I feel as though I'm the main character in a contemporary retelling of The Monkey's Paw. You know the story: Guy acquires a monkey's paw that is purported to grant its owner three wishes. Too late, said owner realizes he should have heeded the old adage "Be careful what you wish for.". There have been…
June 8, 2014: My May Reads!
Capsule reviews of all the books I read in May...and there were more than a few: ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes An individual with no caregiving experience is hired to look after a wheelchair-bound quadriplegic who has all but given up on life. Eventually, the two overcome their mutual uncertainty to form a bond, experiencing…
June 6, 2014: Akemi should get her own sitcom!
Zoodles. That's what Akemi calls the above-pictured dish. It's the disrespectful vegan version of spaghetti in which pasta is substituted with zucchini strips, yielding a culinary catastrophe that is both disgusting in appearance AND flavor yet less starchy and calorie-laden. In fairness, that would have also been the case had she substituted shoelaces instead. My…
June 4, 2014: Spring cleaning!
Viewer reaction to last Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones: Okay, moving on. Finally. No. Wait. I wanted to add that, having finished Dance with Dragons, I'm struck by the fact that the t.v. show has already caught up with certain storylines in the book series (ie. the Ramsay Snow arc). Either George R. R. Martin has…
June 1, 2014: My Top 10 Favorite Game of Thrones Characters!
10. Brienne of Tarth I love the fact that she's an atypical heroine and I find her sense of honor and principled loyalty so gosh darn endearing. 9. Asha Greyjoy Equally atypical is the ass-kicking Asha. Love her swagger and no-bullshit attitude. 8. Jonah Mormont Such a rich, textured and, ultimately, tragic character. 7. Cersei…
May 31, 2014: Akemi packs it away! Ollie! Judd!
"I ate like a garbage box." - Akemi, the other day, after a particularly filling meal. She has a way with words, no? These are some of the inspired dishes she's been packing away... Last night, we elected to take a break from the kitchen and headed over to our favorite Japanese restaurant: Yuji's (2083…
May 29, 2014: Lateral thinking!
Last blog entry, in compiling my list of crazy-but-true job interview questions, I failed to include one that should have made the list. Fortunately, my former Executive Producer Assistant, Trevor, was kind enough to remind me: “Are you comfortable occasionally draining my pet baboon’s anal glands?” – Joe Mallozzi To be honest, it wasn't a question…
May 28, 2014: Outrageous job interview questions!
I think pecans is the ugliest nut I have ever seen in my life - Akemi. I was, of course, shocked to hear it. It wasn't so much the bizarreness of the non-sequiter but the fact that pecan actually vaulted over walnut to take the top prize. Akemi clarified. Walnuts look like brains whereas pecans look…