My Birthday Week festivities continue! How are YOU celebrating? Today, I received a little something from Sis (and by "I", I mean "we" since the contents of the package were for both Akemi and me, and by "a little" I mean a lot). Mexican chocolate, chocolate-covered licorice, multi-flavored chocolate bars (including peanut butter and banana,…
October 16, 2012: Baby, Birthday, and Chili Verde!
I was taking Jelly for a walk yesterday when I ran into my neighbor on her way to work. It had been a while since we'd crossed paths. "You've lost weight!"she marveled. I was about to tell her that I'd been working out, morning and night, in preparation for my annual Tokyo food tour. But,…
October 13, 2012: Complain complain complain!
CHEESECAKE ETC. Akemi had a hankering for dessert, so, once the dishes were done, we hopped in the car and headed over to Cheesecake etc. on Granville Street for a little post-dinner treat. Now I'm not sure what the "etc." stands for in "Cheesecake etc." but, judging from our experience last night, you ca be…
October 6, 2012: Holiday non-traditions!
Look at what I came across while cleaning out the crawlspace - a clear indication that I was destined for creative genius at a very early age. Note the artful composition, the refusal to be bound by traditional framing, the boldness of the color palette, and unique use of what appears to be actual gift…
October 5, 2012: Akemi Podcast #2 – Adam and Eve! Jelly on the mend! Bad Movie Night!
In which I (admittedly way over my head on the subject being discussed) attempt to explain to Akemi why humanity must toil as a result of original sin: Jelly went in for a stem cell boost the other day and is now at home and on the mend. Will be interesting to see what kind…
October 2, 2012: Safe, all-natural dog treats! I checked! Almost smoooooooth sailing! No, really! The Frozen Sky!
A recent investigative report on suspect dog treats from China led me to do a little research on the treats I feed Jelly, Bubba, and Lulu. After all, just because it says "all natural" and "made in the U.S." or "made in Canada" on the label doesn't mean some of the ingredients don't originate in…
September 30, 2012: Joe’s English language school! Snow Monkeys in tough! And so am I with this outline.
I figured what better way to help Akemi learn English than by having her master the art of the tongue twister? Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers... The plan was to have a rough draft of the finished outline by Sunday. Well, yes, that was the plan. It's Sunday and I've only managed…
September 27, 2012: Quinto Quarto dinner! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! Kindred I!
"In the cuisine of modern Rome quinto quarto (literally the "fifth quarter") is the offal of butchered animals. The name makes sense on more than one level: because offal amounts to about a fourth of the weight of the carcass; because the importance of offal in Roman cooking is at least as great as any of the outer quarters, fore…
September 21, 2012: In memory of Kelly
I awoke this morning and logged onto to this blog to find the following message awaiting moderation: "Anne Teldy’s lil sisAnne and I wrote this two weeks ago. All typos or mispellings are mine. I had hoped not to have to post this for some time, but sadly… Kelly Hurt, known on the Internet as…
September 11, 2012: Fantasy Ennui! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past continues! Missing! Mailbag!
What a difference a week makes. Well, actually a weekend in which my Snow Monkeys were upset in fantasy football league play. In the days leading up to the week one kick-off, I was incredibly excited, scouring the internet in preparation for the season to come - researching, analyzing, deciding. Today, I could barely muster…
September 9, 2012: The sweet taste of donuts, cookies and Philly cheesesteaks! And the bitter taste of defeat! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! Tabula Rasa!
A disappointing start to the (fantasy) football season saw my Snow Monkeys upset today in unspectacular fashion. Looks like it's going to be a loooong season. Well, at least I was able to drown my sorrows - in Philly cheesesteaks, donuts, and chocolate chip cookies: It was a lower than expected turnout (four of us…
The Supermovie of the Week Club Reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Hulk (2003)!
At one point during movie, monster get so enraged he charge into food court and start smashing, stomping, screaming, and trowing Sbarro pizza toppings at frightened children when - Oh, sorry. Dis not scene from movie Hulk. Dis was Cookie Monster's REACTION to movie Hulk, one of de most tortuously long and plodding superhero movies…
September 2, 2012: YOUR sure-fire recipe for the perfect steak!
Last night, Ivon came over with fifteen pounds of meat. Now, normally, the writer in me would be instantly suspicious of a friend who just happened to show up on my doorstep with a bag full of red meat that needed eating, but in this case Ivon paved the way with a (suspicious?) story about…
August 22, 2012: Cos & Effect! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! Submersion! Mailbag!
Oooh, only two days to Cos & Effect, the big cosplay con going on at UBC this weekend. It's not just another anime con, promising a wide array of costumes - and plenty of blog fodder. Check out the details here: http://www.coseffect.com/ Akemi is raring to go, Oppan Gangnam Style! Our trip down SGA memory lane…
August 18, 2012: Dinner with Remi! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past! The Game!
Back when I was in San Diego for Comic Con, I ran into former Stargate: Universe writer-consulting producer Remi Aubuchon who was in town promoting Falling Skies, a scifi series he is showrunning for Dreamworks Television and TNT. He informed me that he would be back in Vancouver to start production on the show's third…