I'm busy outlining a 13-episode first season for a new SF series. But more on that in another blog entry. In the meantime, when's the last time I did a mailbag? Mailbag: Tam Dixon writes: "He likes them well done and you know how hard it is to retain the tenderness when cooked that way?!…
May 5, 2014: Our Book of the Month Club reconvenes! Let’s discuss The Rich and the Dead!
Time travel fiction is notoriously difficult to write, fraught as it is with complicated theoretical rules related to grandfather paradoxes and butterfly effects. It is, on the other hand, relatively simple to write if you merely pay lip service to said rules and then proceed to either ignore or violate them over the course of…
May 3, 2014: My Top 10 Most Personally Influential SF Films!
This morning I came across this (http://www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/how-many-science-fiction-movies-have-you-seen) Buzzfeed article that asks: "How many science fiction movies have you seen?". Apparently, in my case, quite a few - but I'm sure many of you can do better than my still-respectable 151 out of 300 score. In looking over the list, I realized I watched A LOT…
April 30, 2014: Conspicuous Consumption! Richie Rich sticks it to the little guy!
If I had to pick one comic book that I considered "the weirdest" growing up, it would have to be Richie Rich. The title character was described as "the poor little rich boy" but I never found anything remotely poor about him, either literally or figuratively. I suppose, one could make the argument that deep beneath…
April 28, 2014: A Trip Down Memory (Lois) Lane! Comicdom’s Most Dated – the awesome, the atrocious, and the quaintly antiquated!
"They sure don't make 'em like they used to" goes the old adage, and nowhere is this more evident than in the ever-evolving world of comic books. From Superman battling nazis to Spiderman meeting President Obama, comics have a rich tradition of embracing history and reflecting social and cultural norms. What was perfectly acceptable ten, maybe…
April 26, 2014: May under-the-radar releases to look forward to! Or not!
BLOOD GLACIER Release Date: May 2, 2014 What it’s about: A bleeding glacier infects and mutates the local wildlife. Chaos ensues. What it’s got working for it: In the spirit of Alien... What’s it’s got going against it: ...comes a movie that looks like a cheap rip-off of Alien. * WALK OF SHAME Release Date: May…
April 25, 2014: May movie releases to look forward to! Or not!
THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2 Release Date: May 2, 2014 What it’s about: Spiderman takes on Electro and...Voltron? What it’s got working for it: The visual effects looks pretty good. And it's always great to see a new super villain on the big screen. What’s it’s got going against it: Not loving the updated Electro. Also, the…
April 25, 2014: Customer Service Hell! The Flipside!
Whoever coined the term "The customer is always right" probably never worked retail a day in his life. Setting aside my bad customer service experiences for the moment, let me be frank: The customer is NOT always right. A lot of the time, the customer is wrong and/or downright rude about it. Take today, for instance,…
April 21, 2014: Bubba’s surgery! Stargate stuff! Continuing our Stargate Atlantis re-watch with…Infection!
Bubba had his surgery today. Before... And after... The bandage conceals a nasty cut-and-stitch that looks like a wound he may have sustained in a knife fight. Thanks for all the well-wishes. He's on the mend and already eating like crazy. Robert Cooper forwarded me the following link under the email heading: "Where were these…
April 18, 2014: Akemi’s birthday festivities!Our Stargate Atlantis re-watch continues with…The Prodigal!
Akemi's birthday... Continuing our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch with...The Prodigal! Another Carl Binder-san spectacular. I loved this episode even more on repeat viewing. It's got action, humor, and high-stakes developments with all of our characters in play (even Zelenka, Lorne, and Amelia Banks). Fast-paced fun! And Akemi agreed. She laughed out loud a couple of times,…
April 17, 2014: Sequel-mania! Our Stargate Atlantis re-watch continues with…Inquisition!
Hey! Great news, Mrs. Doubtfire fans. 21 years later, a sequel is finally in the works: http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Mrs-Doubtfire-2-Works-42606.html It will follow in the rich tradition of Basic Instinct 2, Blues Brothers 2000, Escape from L.A, and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights - as sequels that were released after over a decade had passed since the original graced the…
April 16, 2014: Dog fight! Continuing our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch with…Outsiders!
Dog fight! Continuing our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch with...Outsiders! Hunh. I assumed Akemi would enjoy The Lost Tribe, but she found it slow-paced and confusing. I figured she wouldn't like Outsiders, but she was entertained throughout. While I wouldn't rank it among her favorites, she did prefer it over the previous episode: "I felt quicker than…
April 15, 2014: Well here’s something I bet you haven’t tried! Continuing our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch with…The Lost Tribe!
I'm a fairly adventurous eater and I'm always up for trying something new. I may not like everything I sample but I will, for the most, give it a go. Seafood City, in the Granville Island Public Market, can always be counted upon to have a few surprises along with their regular, more mainstream assortment…
April 14, 2014: News of note! Continuing our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch with…First Contact!
Awww, this is sweet. And salty. And risky! http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2014/04/14/kfc-chicken-corsage-prom/7705419/ World's Fastest...cat? Wheel of Fortune's Worst Contestant. http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/04/14/wheel-of-fortune-contenstant-cant-solve-filled-in-puzzle/7710211/ And in science news: http://www.theonion.com/articles/study-finds-earth-located-in-lamest-part-of-univer,35688/ Cat burglars beware! Dog summoned for jury duty. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/weird/Dog-Chosen-for-Jury-Duty-255184841.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_PHBrand And we continue our SGA re-watch with...First Contact! Hey! Another great episode. We're on a roll! Lots to love about this fast-paced episode (compliments of…
April 12, 2014: Pilots, pilots, pilots! Our June Book of the Month Club Winner! Our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch continues with…The Queen!
It's full steam ahead on the project front! While A.K.A. is still in development limbo, Southern Gothic (the pilot I co-wrote with our friend Tara Yelland) has garnered some early interest. My U.S. agent will be reading it this weekend and will get back to me early this week with his take on a prospective…