Today, I spent the afternoon with my buddy (Lawrence) and his wife (Mrs. Buddy). I'd heard they were having a little family get-together and, well, considering myself family, I decided to attend. Festivities officially got underway after 1 p.m., but official start times are for suckers. If got there early so that I could scope…
December 25, 2014: The Christmas Wind-down!
Akemi and I spent much of the day winding down from last night's festivities. It was quite an evening. A couple of the culinary highlights - After dinner, dessert, and drinks, we retired to the living room for the present-opening portion of the show. As usual, mostly food and drink-related items for me including a…
December 24, 2014: Twas the day before Christmas and all through the town, Joe was getting stuff done and running around!
Seriously. You'd think we were back in Vancouver. On perhaps the rainiest day of December, Akemi and I found ourselves running around Montreal, running errands. First, it was exchanging gifts and, of course, food ("Put the shrimp in the oven at 400 for 2o minutes!"). Then, we were off to the basement of the Ogilvy…
December 23, 2014: Things I learned today!
Things I learned today: 1. How to make Osso Buco Milanese. 2. I don't like Osso Buco Milanese. 3. Most of the Best Books of 2014 lists out there range from ridiculous to utter bullshit. A novel shouldn't be lauded merely on the basis of a touching premise. Execution really should factor in. 4. My…
December 22, 2014: Montreal Road Trip!
Whenever we bring out the suitcases, the dogs start to worry. And, invariably, Bubba parks himself inside one of the suitcases as if to not-so-subtly suggest we might want to consider bringing him along. It was only when he saw us packing away his dog bed that he seemed to calm down, presumably realizing that,…
December 21, 2014: Drunken (Southern) Uncles! That Bourbon and Brown Butter Cookie – with white chocolate chunks – recipe!
I made these for the Dark Matter cookie exchange and, since so many of you asked (there must've been upwards of two or three of you!), I'm sharing my version of this recipe. I say "my version" because I used this recipe (http://buddingbaketress.blogspot.ca/2013/04/brown-butter-bourbon-chocolate-chip.html) as a template and refined to my liking. To achieve the taste,…
December 20, 2014: The Dark Matter pre-holiday wrap-up! Alex Mallari Jr. in action! THE katana!
One of the last things we did before packing it in for the holidays was go on a walk-thru of our standing sets. Of course, not all of them are quite yet standing (ie. the shuttle, parts of the space station) and those that are still have a ways to go, but our Art Department…
December 19, 2014: Prep hiatus! I’ll sleep ’til January!
Today marked the end of our final week of prep before the holidays - and despite the fact that it wasn't all that busy (it WILL get busier), I'm exhausted. Some of that may be attributable to the last mad dash to get pink drafts of episodes #101 and #102, and production whites of #107,…
December 18, 2014: Introducing the Dark Matter cast!
In case you hadn't heard, we finally have our cast: https://www.nbcumv.com/news/syfy-announces-casting-new-acquired-scripted-series-dark-matter?network=33143 "NEW YORK – December 18, 2014 – Syfy today announced casting of the new acquired scripted series Dark Matter, which will feature Melissa O’Neil (Broadway production of Les Miserables), Marc Bendavid (Bitten), Anthony Lemke (White House Down), Alex Mallari Jr. (Robocop) and Jodelle Ferland (Twilight)…
December 17, 2014: Akemi scrooged! Everything is coming up Dark Matter!
So much for the Christmas spirit. Today, Akemi did something she rarely ever does. She actually bought herself something. The girl hardly ever spends on herself but, this afternoon, she made an exception when she came across a cup emblazoned with the letter A at a local shop. Being a big tea drinker - and…
December 16, 2014: Introducing 1st Asst. Art Director and Graphics Maestro Roxanne Borris!
I've only been working with her a couple of weeks and I already a huge, HUGE fan. "Why?"you may ask. Well, why don't I just let her a few samples of her work answer that question... She also designed our future currency - but those pictures are on my other laptop. Do remind me to…
December 15, 2014: The Dark Matter Cookie Exchange!
The plan was to make my dough the day before, allow it to chill overnight, and then wake up early Monday morning and bake my cookies so that they could be fresh and warm for the 10:00 a.m. cookie exchange. In retrospect, a late decision to test-bake a batch probably saved my ass. Given the…
December 14, 2014: Snow Monkeys, Bourbon-laced Cookies, and Dogs!
My Fantasy Football team, The Snow Monkeys, are on life support following a career worst performance by Green Bay Quarterback Aaron Rodgers. And subpar performances by Tre Mason, Steve Smith, and Adam Vinatieri didn't help. We're down 96.82 to 71.2o heading into tomorrow's Monday Night game. Do you think my final player, running back Matt…
December 13, 2014: Snow Dogs!
Well, turns out I'm not the only one who is going to have to get used to deep freeze here in Toronto. Due to her hip dysplasia, arthritic shoulders, and advanced age (almost 16!), Jelly gets a free ride. Literally. She gets shuttled from the hotel to the park and back in a special…
December 12, 2014: Dark Matter! The Week in Meetings!
We are officially in prep on episodes #101 and #102 of Dark Matter. The train has left the station and is barreling down the tracks. There's no turning back now. We're making a t.v. show! As we creep ever-closer to our first day of shooting, the days grow longer, the pace more frenzied, and the meetings…