Prior to this month’s BOTMC selection, my exposure to the literary genre known as New Weird was limited to the works of China Mieville (The Scar being a personal “If I Was To Be Stranded On A Deserted Island And Could Only Bring 25 Books With Me This Is One of the Books I’d Choose“…
January 25, 2009: Why I’d Make A Terrible Alcoholic
I was going to have a glass of absinthe tonight but the instructions on the packaging called for me to dissolve a sugar cube into the spirit with equal parts water. Sadly, I found no sugar cubes in the house and while I briefly considered going with some densely packed brown sugar instead, I ultimately…
January 24, 2009: To Haggis or Not to Haggis?
This morning proved my productive beyond my wildest dreams. I completed three whole pages of my SGU script AND plotted out the next scene. I also started organizing my thoughts on the wondrous and weird City of Saints and Madmen, the next book up for discussion early next week. To be honest, a bit of…
January 23, 2009: Pigging Out At Fuel
One of the nice things about being a regular at a restaurant is the occasional invitation you’ll receive to a special event like, for instance, the Roasted Suckling Pig Evening hosted by the gang at Fuel last night. While Chef Rob was out making sausages all night (No, I’m serious.), Chef Ted was in…
January 22, 2009: This Blog Goes to the Dogs. Yet Again.
In spite of the fact that the production office is my “place of work”, I’ve been accomplishing very little in the way of actual script work there of late. I’ve been spinning my wheels on a complicated sequence that has been made all the more complicated by the fact that I’m dealing with all new…
January 21, 2009: Book of the Month Club Announcements, Guest Authors, and My Luck is About to Change!
I’m going to start off today’s entry by announcing the titles for next month’s Book of the Month Club discussions: Infoquake, by David Louis Edelman From the publisher: “Natch is a master of biologics, the programming of the human body. He's clawed and scraped his way to the top of the biologics market using little…
January 20, 2009: The Return of Norman Shuttlecock Junior
Today was a much better day insofar as I experienced no internet problems, didn’t encounter any black ice on my way in to work, nor did I have a bird shit on me. Instead, Tuesday was a quietly productive day spent helping to break a story (a possible episode #12) with a new freelancer. This…
January 19, 2009: The Living Dead, edited by John Joseph Adams
Early in season five, when the script for Whispers was in its earliest stages, I was presented with a concept drawing for one of the episode’s featured creatures. It was delightfully monstrous. In fact, too much so, I thought. As much as I liked the initial creature design, it wasn't quite what I was looking…
January 18, 2009: Series Creator/Showrunner/Executive Producer/Writer/Director/Duck Smoker Robert C. Cooper Answers Your Questions
I was watching the NFL playoffs and, at one point, one of the defenders for the Pittsburgh Steelers intercepted a pass and started to run it back, zigzagging his way through defenders and, most importantly, his own players. Nothing can slow down your progress like an unwitting teammate backstepping into your path. I could almost…
January 17, 2009: Author David Weber Answers Yours Questions
So on Wednesday, I gathered up the five full pages of fan questions for author David Weber and sent them his way with the understanding that he could feel free to pick and choose among them. After all, he’s an immensely busy guy and you wouldn’t expect him to respond to all five pages. Well,…
January 16, 2009: Link Issues, Book Discussion, Internet News, and the Mailbag
Yesterday, I received a call from the uber-talented composer Joel Goldsmith who wanted me to know he’s been working hard on those fan questions I sent him and is almost done. Actual work, it would seem, held things up a bit, but he assured me that his responses would be chock full of interesting info…
January 15, 2009: Writer/Executive Producer/Notorious Recluse Paul Mullie Answers Your Questions!
So I'm sitting at my desk, working on my script, when my writing partner Paul strolls in, tape measure in hand. "Hold this,"he says, handing me one end and casually walking to the other side of the office, unfurling the thing so he can get the exact length of the room. "Uh, what…
January 14, 2009: Scalzi and Stargate, Together At Last
Back in 2006, I read a novel that totally blew me away and single-handedly revived my passion for literary SF: Old Man’s War by author John Scalzi. It was smart, humorous, and unbelievably entertaining. So entertaining, in fact, that I ended up recommending it to anyone and everyone - friends, fans, and family alike. And…
January 13, 2009: Production Developments, Literary Discussion, and A Debacle of Olympic Proportions
Well, just a quick blog entry today as I’m off to have dinner with author John Scalzi and wouldn’t want to besmirch the image of the polite and prompt Canadian. Suffice it to say that today was an interesting day. We walked through Stage 4, the Destiny standing set, and it’s looking mighty impressive. And…
January 12, 2009: On Basilisk Station, by David Weber
Upon her graduation from the Royal Matincoran Naval Academy, Honor Harrington is given command of the HMS Fearless. In her first combat simulation, Honor demonstrates exceptional tactical prowess in leading the Fearless and its crew to a most unlikely victory, earning her the ire of rivals who make it a point to deal her a…