If you were at the SGU Comic Con panel - or followed the fallout on twitter - you by now already know the identity of the two Stargate: Atlantis vets who will be putting in an appearance on Stargate: Universe. Yes, it's true. Robert Picardo and David Hewlett will be reprising their roles as Richard…
July 22, 2010: Cobre! Ivon! Rodney’s Oyster House! Akemi! Visual Effects Spotting with Mark, Mike, and Bones!
Last night was "guy's night out" - but, with Marty G., Alex Levine, and Rob Cooper long gone, Carl and Lawren out of town, our number was reduced to a modest two. It was just Ivon and me. Still, we made the best of things, hitting Cobre Restaurant in Gas Town for some nuevo latino…
July 21, 2010: Another chocolate tasting! Jelly shows off! 100 Science Fiction Novels Everyone Should Read – How many have you read? Solution’s tribute to Robert Cooper!
Another day, another chocolate-tasting. This time, we shift our focus away from Paris and its award-winning Pralus Chocolats toward the high-altitude environs of Salt Lake City and Utah's Amano Chocolate, makers of heavenly hand-crafted artisan chocolates. The line-up: Even though they've only been in business since 2006, Amano produces chocolate on par with the world's…
July 19, 2010: Masked hits the street! Last days of Atlantis! Mailbag!
Tomorrow's the day so you're going to want to head down to your local bookstore and camp out in order to make sure you get your copy of... Masked: An awe-inspiring anthology of all-original superhero fiction edited by Lou Anders! Publishers Weekly says: "Anders (Fast Forward) delivers an ambitious collection of superhero tales that provide…
July 18, 2010: Chocolate and dogs don’t mix! Except on this blog.
Last night, we sat down to a chocolate tasting. The selection: The entire Pralus line of dark chocolate bars. We had 14 bars to get through, so we started early and finished late. Following proper chocolate-tasting etiquette, we: 1. Made sure the chocolates were at room temperature. The Zero Bars were kept refrigerated for a…
July 17, 2010: Don’t recommend me a book! Enough with the mash-ups! Mailbag!
Here's a suggestion: Don't pay attention to the suggestions made my anyone who works in a bookstore. Between those ubiquitous staff picks and the disquietingly animated advice offered by aimless aisle-wanderers, you'd think they'd get it right at least some of time. The sad truth is that, for the life of me, I can't even…
July 14, 2010: My summer reading pile! Jelly’s return! Persons Unknown alert! And the mailbag!
My summer reading pile. Since snapping this pic the other day, I've already made some headway, finishing The Strain and Bitter Angels and moving on to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Of course I also picked up three more books today - So I'm right back where I started. My eldest pug…
July 13, 2010: This blog goes to the dogs! Again! Some House of Suns discussion! And the mailbag!
Well, today was the day Jelly finally went in for that stem cell procedure I'm hoping will help her deteriorated hips and arthritic elbows. At eleven, the poor gal can barely get around anymore, limping to and from her food bowl every morning and night, requiring my assistance to negotiate stairs, couches, and that lofty…
July 12, 2010: House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
In the year 3000, the wealthy Abigail Gentean, inspired by dreams of exploration and discovery, creates nine hundred and ninety-nine clones of herself. These “shatterlings” and her original self (indistinguishable from her duplicates) are subsequently dispersed to the far reaches of space - to colonize, investigate, learn and, eventually, meet up every two thousand years…
July 7, 2010: Do NOT doubt the octopus! Ivon’s unnerving bad vacation mojo! In and around the office pics!
Yesterday, I mentioned that psychic octopus that correctly predicted every one of Germany's World Soccer Cup wins in addition to its shocking 1-0 upset loss to Serbia (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10521867.stm). It predicted another upset for today's match, picking perennial underachieving Spain to beat the favored German squad. Well, with Germany played Spain today with a World Cup…
July 4, 2010: Happy 4th of July! Lou Diamond Phillips wants to hear from you! September’s Book of the Month Club pick! Mailbag!
Happy 4th of July to our southern neighbors! Enjoy your barbecue and fireworks, but please try to keep the noise down. Some of us have to wake up early tomorrow. Next - another big guest blogger announcement! Today, I start gathering questions for the one and only... Actor, foodie, twitterer, and occasional Iron Chef judge…
July 3, 2010: Q4 with Nia! Cheaters prosper, especially in soccer! Anime round-up! Book of the month club reminders!
Last night, I finally went for dinner with fellow foodie (and, more importantly, fellow sweet tooth) Nia. I say "finally" because we've been meaning to get together for a while now but the girl is: a) busy, b) very popular, c) trying to avoid me, or d) all of the above. Anyway, we were originally…
July 2, 2010: Natsukashii!
The Japanese have a word, "natsukashii", for which there is no English equivalent although I suppose "nostalgia" would come close. But whereas "nostalgia" suggests a feeling of longing, a certain wistfulness, maybe even a sense of loss that is closer to the fatalistic tone of the Portugese "saudade", the term "natsukashii" possesses an almost evanescent…
July 1, 2010: Commemorating a very special day!
Alas, I'm going to have to defer my natsukashii one more time in order to dedicate this July 1st entry to help mark of a very special occasion, one being celebrated not only here in Canada but all over the world, honoring the hard work of the countless men and women throughout history who sacrificed…
June 29, 2010: Santouka Ramen! That Tokyo Trip! Mailbag!
Hey, I went to a terrific inexpensive little ramen shop the other day... Located on the bottom of Robson Street right across from another ramen shop I've been meaning to try and surrounded by about a dozen Korean restaurants, Santouka is a popular noodlery that always sees a healthy line-up during the lunch time rush.…