Everyone has their weaknesses. For some it's drugs. For others it's drink. For still others, it can be something as seemingly innocuous as surfing the internet, head massages, or shirtless albino guys. For me, it's ice cream and macarons. I've never been much of a drinker and, to be honest, golf and drugs hold equal…
April 9, 2012: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Hoo boy. Take one good idea wit promise, sell out and make it for kiddiez to cash in on merchandizing potenshul, den make movie about it but don't bother paying for decent script. Just trow together any old lazy ideas, some lame jokes and dubbing, and voila - you have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a…
April 8, 2012: Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France! Nebula Awards Showcase 2012! Dark Matter #4!
Tucked away on the less-traveled 21st Street, just off the much-traveled Main Street, sits my favorite little truffle stop in Vancouver: Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France. Owned and operated by former Quebecer Anne-Geneviève Poitras, it offers a delectable selection of hand-crafted chocolates, truffles, confections and beverages. With its rustic wooden shelves, glass jars, and chalkboard specials,…
April 7, 2012: Akemi and I attend the Annual Waiting Festival! Dark Matter #4 Preview! Mailbag!
Ever see that South Park episode where Cartman and the gang visit an amusement park? We discover them in an incredibly long queue where Kyle complains about the fact that they've been standing in line for almost an hour. Thankfully, as Cartman points out, they're almost there. Seconds later they finally reach the end of…
April 6, 2012: Tortuosity and Dark Matter!
Every year, when we were kids, my father used to put my sister and I through the holy trinity of medical check-ups: dental, optical, and general health. Of the three, our local ophthalmologist was the only one I actually looked forward to visiting. There was no pinching, no prodding, no poking - just some reading,…
April 5, 2012: Projects! Dark Matter #4 preview! Fat Dragon II: The Return!
Today, I completed my pass on the horror script, incorporating notes from Paul, Rob, Ivon, and Tara before sending it on its way. It is now in the hands of my agent(s) who will take the weekend to read it and then get back to me early next week with their thoughts, notes, and/or tearful…
April 4, 2012: Potential pack members? We check out The Oakwood Canadian Bistro, Market by Jean-Georges, and Thierry.
"I am melting sleepy. I can't take it anymore." - Akemi, last night, apparently VERY tired. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm considering adopting an elderly pug in memory of my boy Maximus. I've been scouring the pug rescue sites and came across the twosome pictured above. Buddy and Junior are brothers, aged…
April 3, 2012: Fat Dragon!
The other night, Akemi and I attended the soft opening of Fat Dragon, the latest addition to the Vancouver restaurant scene from the guys that brought you Fuel/Refuel, Campagnolo, and Campagnolo Roma. The theme is Asian barbecue - Where East meets South - and Fat Dragon offers a variety of southern comfort-style Asian plates inspired…
April 2, 2012: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews The Punisher (1989)!
Monster really looking forward to not seeing dis movie. So looking forward, in fakt, dat me make planz to visit Wildwood New Jerzey for jellyfish mating seazon instead. Joe accuze monster of not trying hard enuf to find movie, but iz not true. Me look everywhere for it! Even check out speshulty video store dat…
April 1, 2012: Remembering Maximus
Today would have been Maximus's twelfth birthday. I'd like to dedicate today's entry to his memory and offer up some of my favorite photos of my boy, "the handsome one".
March 31, 2012: They’re killing your pet. And you could be next!
I've been reading Marion Nestle's Pet Food Politics, a book that details the mass 2007 tainted pet food recall and its far-reaching implications. For those of you who don't know, back in 2007, cats and dogs started dying under mysterious circumstances. Panicked pet owners contacted the FDA which, in turn, contacted pet food companies. Ensuing tests…
March 30, 2012: Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! And chocolate.
So I was in bed last night, dreaming about the end of the world (don't recall the details but I do remember we only got a days advance warning - fairly typical of the government), when I was awakened by the sound of something hitting the floor - kerplunk! I sat up, assuming it had come…
March 29, 2012: In Japan, the dogs go “waan waan”, the cats go “nyan nyan”, and the sheep go “meeeeeeeeh”!
Since returning from Tokyo in early February, I've set aside about an hour every day to study hiragana and katakana, two of Japan's syllable-based writing systems. Each contain about 48 characters, some frustratingly similar in appearance (like many of you, I occasionally have trouble distinguishing between シ and ッ,or ザ and せ), others so downright bizarre you would think they…
March 28, 2012: Shooting the horror trailer!
Former Stargate Special Features Producer Ivon Bartok is helming the trailer that will accompany my horror script when it eventually goes out. He's been at it for weeks now - shooting, sourcing, editing. The trailer, as envisioned, breaks down into five section (and subsequent sub-sections) and we've got two of four done. Of course, depending…
March 27, 2012: Pugs on the Beach!
With the warm(ish) weather upon us, I decided to treat the gang to a morning at the beach. Coincidentally, the last Sunday of every month is Pugs at the Beach so it worked out perfectly - minus the biting wind and fact that only about a dozen pugs showed. Bubba, impatient as always, couldn't wait…