I've been a fan of Robert Picardo since back in his days at Star Trek: Voyager's The Doctor, but I've become an even bigger fan of Bob's over the years as I've gotten to know him. A terrific actor and equally terrific human being, he's a good friend and someone I always make it a…
November 2, 2017: L.A. Day #4!
Here's my problem with Thai food = eatability. If I got out for any other type of cuisine, I'll eat until I'm full. In the case of Thai cuisine, however, I'll continue eating past full, beyond stuffed, and and a stop or two north of gorged. Such was the case this afternoon when I got…
November 1, 2017: L.A. Day #3!
"So what do you guys do?"asked our uber driver. "Joe here is a writer-producer,"said Marc. "And my friend Mark here is an actor,"I added. "Do you watch t.v.? "Yeah,"said the driver. "I love The Walking Dead." "Who's your favorite character?"I asked. "Rick." And then, after careful consideration: "And Daryl." "Yeah, Daryl,"I agreed. "What about Game…
October 31, 2017: L.A. Day #2!
Last night I had dinner with the lovely Torri Higginson, Dark Matter's Commander Delaney Truffaut, aka Stargate: Atlantis's Commander Elizabeth Weir. Since I was on her turf, she got to choose the restaurant, selecting Redbird, Chef Neal Fraser's flagship restaurant. Apparently, it's a big deal in foodie circles - and with good reason. It was…
October 30, 3017: L.A. Day #1!
"What do you do?"asked the custom's agent. "I'm a writer-producer,"I told him. "Anything I've seen?" "Well, I worked twelve years on a show called Stargate..." "Didn't really watch it. Didn't really like the way the stories went." "Was it the human form replicators?"I wanted to ask. But instead I said: "Well then you can check…
October 29, 2017: Kicking off my L.A. doughnut tour!
Welp, I'm L.A.-bound tonight, heading west for one glorious week of general meetings, pitches, and general meetings that will evolve into pitches. To help prep me for all the best Los Angeles has to offer, Dirk Gently Executive Producer Robert C. Cooper was kind enough to forward me the following links: http://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/10-best-doughnuts-in-los-angeles-2381416 https://la.eater.com/maps/best-los-angeles-doughnuts-donuts Looks like…
October 23, 2017: Van Gogh Latte Art! High Maintenance Pooches! And congrats to the world series eventual winners!
If you're ever in downtown Toronto and have a hankering for some Van Gogh-inspired latte art, I'd recommend paying Brian a visit at Calli-Love. Pictured above, his cream and color rendition of Starry Night. Apparently, he not only dabbles in the Impressionists, but also takes requests - skylines, customer portraits, perhaps a cantankerous pug or…
October 21, 2017: Saturday with Fiver!
Well, well, well. If it isn't the angelic Jodelle Ferland, in town shooting a guest spot on a local production. We met up, went out for a Thai lunch, hit SOMA chocolates for - what else? - chocolates, swung by the apartment so she could say hi to the dogs (both Lulu and Suji are…
October 20, 2017: Timbit, Letters, and Answers!
Our little Timbit! I've spent the past couple of days working on my pitch for the Masked series, reading, and going through the scores of letters Dark Matter fans have sent in. Another 15 were added to the dropbox yesterday, bringing the grand total to close to 300! Tomorrow, it's a mini Dark Matter reunion…
October 19, 2017: Lyrical Akemi-isms!
Misheard lyrics are great fun. Misheard lyrics involving my Japanese girlfriend, Akemi, are downright hilarious. Every often, I will catch her belting out a tune and ask: "What are you singing?". She'll repeat the lyrics and, when I correct her, she'll frown and say: "But that doesn't make any sense." Then we invariably debate the…
October 16, 2017: My Birthday Month Festivities Get Underway!
Yes, from today until November 17ish, we're celebrating my birthday - as is the custom. I kicked things off this morning by hopping on twitter and personally thanking everyone who sent me birthday wishes. About thirty minutes in, Akemi suggested I might be better off simply liking everyone's efforts otherwise I'd be spending the better…
October 15, 2017: Next up…
A little R&R - specifically "Rest" and "Reading". Last night, I finished Dennis Lehane's "Gone, Baby Gone", staying up until a little past one a.m. to blaze through the book's final 250 pages. A terrific read. One of my favorites of 2017 which, at 170 titles and counting, is turning into a banner reading year…
October 11, 2017: No love for the dogs from Toronto taxis!
Back in Toronto - but our return trip was not without incident. Given the fact that we were traveling with two small dogs, you'd figure I might encounter a problem going through security, maybe on the flight, possibly even at baggage claim - but Lulu and Suji were incredibly well-behaved. They sat snuggled down in…
October 7, 2017: On the homefront!
Hey! Check out the birthday boy Anthony Lemke with not one but TWO birthday poudings de chomeur! Perfectly appropriate given that we met for brunch in Old Montreal. If Akemi and I get one of the places we'll be checking out Monday, we'll be a mere ten minute drive away from Anthony's place. I couldn't…
October 7, 2017: This and That!
First, here's the script I promised you for Episode 102 - final production draft, green: xxx Second, I've discovered my insane pepper threshold. I tap out at roughly 1 million scovilles with the ghost chili, nowhere near the 2 million scorching scoville units of the carolina reaper. Third, the somewhat inexplicable cancellation of Dark Matter (P.S.…