"I'd love to be a judge on this episode of Iron Chef,"said Akemi. "The secret ingredient is heroin." "Heroin?"I asked. And here I'd thought they couldn't get any more surprising than "battle scotch". "Heroin,"she repeated. And then enunciating just to be sure: "He-ro-in." Hunh. You think you know a person... "The fish,"she added. "Like aji."…
April 3, 2013: My gals! News of Note! Mailbag!
Check out what I picked up today at The Comic Shop today. It's the latest addition to my collection of supervillain statues. Magneto, Master of Magnetism! When Akemi asked me what I bought, I told her it was her early birthday present (two weeks away!). Unbeknownst to her (in the unlikely event she doesn't read this blog),…
March 27, 2013: A rare political tirade!
By this time next week, I should have pretty good idea of what I'll be working on next - and, more importantly, where. Whether it's the SF space opera or the urban fantasy series or the non-genre cable show or one of a number of other opportunities, scoring the gig will only be half the…
March 23, 2013: Familiar faces!
There are a lot of things I miss about my days on Stargate, perhaps none more than the enormously talented people I worked with over the course of my twelve years with the franchise. I do keep in touch with many of the old gang. Still, emails exchanged and phone conversations are a far cry…
March 19, 2013: Sports Talk!
Next to NFL Football, there's nothing I love more than College Basketball, especially this time of year. It's March Madness! 64 (okay, actually 68) teams take part in a win-or-go-home six (okay, actually seven)-round tournament to crown the nation's best. And it never fails to impress with unbelievable upsets, fantastic finishes, and the occasional Cinderella…
March 17, 2013: Akemi says thanks!
Hurray! Akemi finally received her Canadian Permanent Residence Card. All it took was a lot of paperwork, a year and a half wait and, of course, the support of friends, family - and visitors to this blog who took the time to post comments on her behalf. Akemi prepared a little video thank you over…
March 15, 2013: Things Stargate!
Every so often, I like to check out this blog's site stats to get a sense of the daily visits, most popular posts and, most interestingly of all, what leads people to check out this little corner on the internet. In the case of the latter, if you go by recent search engine terms, it's…
March 14, 2013: Veronica Mars fans are finally getting their movie! So when are Stargate fans getting THEIR movie?
This was the question many Stargate fans were asking themselves yesterday after news broke of the astounding success of the Veronica Mars kickstarter campaign. For those of you who haven't heard, series creator Rob Thomas approached Warner Bros. about making a Veronica Mars movie. According to Thomas: "Their reaction was, if you can show there's…
March 12, 2013: Ah, screw it! Let’s create our own show!
It's amazing how things can turn on a dime in this business. One day, you're considering casting choices for your upcoming all-but-green-lit project and the next, you're shifting hopes and focus to that pilot script you finished last week. Sure, it's disappointing and incredibly frustrating, but what makes it so infinitely galling is how quickly…
March 9, 2013: Recommended Reads!
I am what my old college professor used to refer to as "a voracious reader". I read A LOT - anytime, anywhere - usually for a couple of hours every night before going to sleep but, occasionally, while I'm waiting for appointments or for my significant other to finish shopping or for the traffic light…
March 8, 2013: A word of advice! Campaganolo with Carl!
If there's a single word of advice I would offer anyone thinking of becoming a writer for film and/or television, it would be: "Don't". Don't do it. Spare yourself the aggravation. The endless waiting. The incessant disappointments. The interminable meetings that never seem to reach a consensus, even when it appears as though consensus has…
March 6, 2013: I’m finally gonna do it!
So, I'm finally going to do it. I'm finally going to sell my car. I really should have done it a while ago but, to be honest, I didn't want to deal with the hassle. I figured it would have been so much easier to simply trade in my old Q7 as part of a…
March 3, 2013: WTF? T.V. Moments!
In keeping with the t.v. theme, I thought it might be fun to take a trip down memory lane and imagine, not the best moments of your television-viewing history, but the weirdest. I'm referring to those WTF? moments that either cause you to stop watching or to seriously question what the writers were smoking when…
February 28, 2013: The Not-So-Lonely Maytag Repairman!
My oven is broken. "Again?"I can imagine you asking. Or: "Wait a minute. I've already read this blog entry!" Actually, my oven is STILL broken. It's been inoperable for about a week now because, apparently, that's how long it takes the average Vancouver Maytag repairman to clear his busy schedule. One week. Can you imagine…
February 27, 2013: When was the last time we did a Mailbag?
It's been a while since I've done one of these. Let's answer some questions... for the love of Beckett writes: "How did you like “Cabinet of Curiosities?” Answer: I liked it but not as much as either Still Life With Crows, Relic, or Reliquary. Pendergast is a terrific character and I wanted to learn more…