Catching up on our tour of the ongoing Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival. Today, a couple of three-way throwdowns and a few surprises. Round #10... The Proposition: Eggnog and Rum Hot Chocolate with Cinnamon. Served with your choice of cookie. Available at: Koko Monk, 1849 West 1st Avenue, Vancouver LevniKokoMonk Ah, one sip and I was instantly transported.…
January 30, 2014: Upcoming Under-the-Radar Movies to Look Forward to! Or not! Join our Stargate: Atlantis Re-watch! And take part in our Book of the Month Club!
A FANTASTIC FEAR OF EVERYTHING Release Date: February 7, 2014 What it’s about: A former children's author seemingly loses his mind. What it’s got working for it: It's certainly unique and inventive-looking. What’s it’s got going against it: Pegg's movies are hit or miss. Even going off the trailer, it's hard to say what to…
January 29, 2014: Upcoming Movie Releases to Look Forward to! Or not! All Aboard the Stargate: Atlantis Re-watch Express!
THE MONUMENTS MEN Release Date: February 7, 2014 What it’s about: The true story of a special platoon entrusted with the task of safeguarding art during WWII. What it’s got working for it: Based on a true story. And the trailer looks very promising. What’s it’s got going against it: These "all star cast" affairs…
January 25, 2014: Buddy’s Day Out!
My buddy was in Vancouver today. For approximately five hours. He was actually on a layover, flying fin rom South Korea at 11:30 a.m., then flying out to Montreal at 4:30 p.m. Factor in the wait time at customs, travel to and from the airport, extended hilarious greetings/farewells, and that left us with closer to…
January 24, 2014: Hot Chocolate Festival Rounds #6 and #7!
In addition to scriptwriting (and rewriting), I've been very busy running around town testing the various hot chocolates that make up this year's Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival! Today, we reached the 1/4 mark of our epic chocolate journey... Round #6... Chocolat Glacé: Iced drinking chocolate. Served with a Gaufre de Liège waffle, along with a side…
January 23, 2014: The cocaine van must get pulled over ALL THE TIME! My back-up plan falls through!
"Cocaine,"said Akemi as we pulled up to the stop light. "What?"I asked. "Cocaine,"she repeated. "That's what it said on the side of that van." I looked over but the van was long gone. "Cocaine?"I asked. "Are you sure?" "Yes,"she said and proceeded to spell out: "K-O-K-A-N-E." "Kokanee,"I said, pronouncing it properly 'ko-ka-nee'. "Koko ni,"she said,…
January 22, 2014: Projects update! Hot Chocolate Festival Rounds #4 and #5!
So, things are progressing nicely on all project fronts. A.K.A.: We're working with Thunderbird Films, developing this one for Bell Media. Paul is presently doing a pass on the pilot script while I work on the series overview. We have our notes call on the script for episode #2 tomorrow which will give us plenty…
January 21, 2014: News of note! Answering your questions!
Well, this is interesting... Another reason why it was a good idea to drink six cups of hot chocolate yesterday: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/compounds-found-in-chocolate-red-wine-may-lower-type-2-diabetes-risk/ Finally! My terrible memory may well pay off down the line. Scientists posit the theory that brains are like hard drives, capable of running out of storage space with time: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10584927/Brains-of-elderly-slow-because-they-know-so-much.html If there's one…
January 18, 2014: Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival Round #1 = Aphrodite Delight vs. Magnifique Brunette!
As I mentioned in a recent blog entry (assuming you were paying attention) The Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival kicked off today. Running from January 18th to February 14th, it features over 60+ flavors (although I only count 58 flavors including a special off-the-menu 99% dark drinking chocolate offered at Bella Gelateria. The list of numbered…
January 16, 2014: An All Food Post!
They just don't make 'em like they used to. Pictured above, Frosted Ribbon Loaf - layers of ham and egg nestled under a cream cheese frosting. Yum! I'm thinking of making it for this weekend's football Sunday festivities. I was inspired, not solely by the horrific picture, or the prospect of a ham and…
January 15, 2014: Shit my Japanese girlfriend says!
Akemi made banana bread last night. I had it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I was three bites in when I noticed it was possessed of a unique flavor that I couldn't quite identify. I asked Akemi if she had changed up the recipe. In fact, she had: "I used gremolata oil,"she…
January 12, 2014: Pitiful football! Glorious wings, truffles, and macarons! Gearing up for the Hot Chocolate Festival!
While I spent the weekend watching four disappointingly mediocre football games, Akemi put her time to far better use by expanding her two-day truffle output. On Saturday, it was Bourbon and Tennessee Honey Whiskey truffles. This morning, she woke up early and added Bourbon Vanilla, Orange-Cointreau, and Almond to her line-up. She served them along…
January 11, 2014: Oh, come on!
Hey, anyone happen to be following this story? Christie Bridge Traffic Scandal Probed by US Prosecutors (3) In a nutshell: "The Bergen Record newspaper published on Wednesday this week emails indicating that high-placed figures within the Christie administration ordered those closures after Ft. Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich declined to endorse the incumbent governor during last year’s election.…
January 8, 2014: Project-hopping! Jelly and me hanging in there! Did you vote for our Book of the Month Club?!
I woke up this morning to find the above-pictured oranges sitting on my kitchen counter, and Paul's pass on our latest script sitting in my inbox. I looked it over, made a few changes, and then sent the script wide - and, in this particular case, "wide" refers to the 3-5 individuals involved in this…
January 6, 2014: I’m Hamlet, Khan, and Charles Bingley rolled into one!
While I was in Montreal for the holidays, one of my relatives asked me for my Facebook info so that she could friend me. I was perfectly happy to do so until she mentioned having to partially block another friend because all she did was post about her burgeoning art career. In that case, I…