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…
January 4, 2013: The Montreal Restaurant Countdown!
In addition to enjoying my mother's home cooking, I also managed to get out while I was in Montreal. In all, I visited nine restaurants over the course of my stay. No favorites like Au Pied de Cochon or Garde Manger this time, and still no luck getting a table at either Kitchenette or Joe…
January 3, 2014: Au Revoir Montreal!
Final day in Montreal. I am Vancouver-bound tonight! This morning I woke up to this... My mother used one orange and three tangerines for this single glass and it was delicious. I don't understand how some breakfast places can get away with calling their orange juice "freshly squeezed" when the taste is so damn different.…
January 2, 2014: The Change-up! Jazzycakes Cupcakes!
No sooner do I finally get used to writing "2013" in the blog title instead of "2o12" than I have to start writing "2014". 2014! It just feels like yesterday the world was supposed to end - back in 2012. Or at the end of 1999. I've got to stop selling off my worldly possessions…