Back when I last visited Montreal, my sister gave me one of the greatest gifts ever: a bunch of Ghost Chilis and Carolina Reapers she'd grown in her garden.  I love spicy.  Very spicy.  Even so, at roughly 1 million Scoville heat units, it proved a bit of a challenge.    Tasty, but mind-numbingly hot…

"Hmmmm.  What should I write about today?" "Nice To Be Home blog?"suggested Akemi.  "Only if you feel that way." Ooooh.  Pressure. Yes, it's great to be home.  But for how long?  And how long will Toronto be home? Looks like I'll be heading back down to L.A. in January to pitch Masked.  Before then, I've…

Last night, in addition to enjoying a spectacular meal at Osteria Mozza with Martin Gero, Carl Binder, and Paul and Michelle Mullie, I also got to practice my Japanese by breaking the news to two wayward young tourists that the Paul Smith store was a good 20-30 minute walk from our current location.  "Chotto toei…

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…

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…

"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…

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…

"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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…