I was crossing the parking lot, my arms laden with almond milk (Capers was having a sale!) when an elderly woman approached and asked: “Did you vote for me?”. I stopped and eyed her uncertainly. Now whenever I’m approached by strangers, my first instinct is to either a) ignore them or b) feign some pressing commitment…
May 14, 2009: BIG Book of the Month Club News
Let’s kick off today’s entry with some BIG book of the month club news. There will be one, and only one, selection for June’s BOTMC discussion: Elric: The Stealer of Souls, by Michael Moorcock From the publisher: “When Michael Moorcock began chronicling the adventures of the albino sorcerer Elric, last king of decadent Melniboné, and…
May 13, 2009: I’m Like One Of Those Ninja Rabbits…
She's up to something! You can tell! "Seriously,"she says. "I don't know how that hydrochloric acid got in there." Hmmmm. Movie title...movie title... Got it! Stargate Atlantis...The Quickening! Ashleigh, our Exec. Producer’s Assistant, was incredibly cheerful today. Unnervingly so. “Good morning, Joe!”she greeted me as I rolled in this morning, a huge smile…
May 12, 2009: I’m Becoming THAT GUY!
This new camera is incredibly slimming! Kerry bemoans the loss(es) of her beloved Canucks. Lawren considers whether or not to grab my new camera and smash it into a million pieces. Hey, I’m turning into “that guy”. You know who I’m talking about. The guy who assumes that anyone under 18 out after nightfall…
May 11, 2009: Just Between Us, It’s Really Better to Receive Than to Give
Multi-tasking: enjoying two of my gifts simultaneously! Guess who else is doing something new with their hair? And redirecting packages meant for me to her office? The gals from Accounting celebrate a birthday! Then dock everyone a half hour's pay for the time wasted eating cake. They say it is better to give than to…
May 10, 2009: The Dogs Catch Twitter Fever, New Mexico Check-In, and Some Mailbag
My dogs were up at 7:00 a.m. this morning, excitedly bounding about the bed and all over me. I figured it was because they needed to relieve themselves. Or maybe they were hungry. As it turned out, it was neither. My pug Bubba informed me (Via telepathy. Duh! How else do dogs communicate with humans?)…
May 9, 2009: The Woohoo of it All, My Dogs Finally on Twitter, and The Mailbag
So they were like “Woohooo!” And I was like “Huh?” And they were like “Yeaaaahhhh!” And I was like “Uhhhh…” And they were like “Huzzaaaaah!” And I was like “Yeah?” And they were like “Wheeeeee!” And I was like “Er…wooooo?” And they were like “Eeeehaaaa!” And I was like “Wazoooooo!” And they were like “Waaaaheeeee!”…
May 8, 2009: Air Canada Does the Unthinkable! The Comics Roundup! And Some Mailbag!
Whoa! I’ve heard of companies going to high uncharacteristic extremes to help offset the effects of the ongoing economic downturn, but this is truly shocking. Taking a page out of competitor WestJet’s playbook, Air Canada, this country’s biggest airline and flag carrier, is adopting a more customer-friendly approach. In the words of one Air Canada…
May 7, 2009: The Perfect Pitch, Doggy Doings, and Dinner With Kim
Brie Brie Brie Bubba Jelly Jelly and Brie Maximus Jelly Brie Jelly gnawing on her bone Jelly Maximus Jelly Bubba, Lulu, Brie, and octopus Lulu, Brie, Bubba, and octopus Tojo's Tuna Kim Uni Spider Roll and Golden Roll Fantastic. That’s how today’s phone pitch went. I started off by talking a…
May 6, 2009: Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My writing partner Paul gave me a call this afternoon to go over the game plan for tomorrow’s conference call. As I mentioned in a previous post, Paul and I have an awesome SF series idea (complete with accompanying pilot script) we’ve been dying to go out with but, because of our continuing commitment to…
May 5, 2009: Ashleigh Checks In – To My Office(!), May’s Books of the Month Club Reminder, Welcome Thoughts, and The Mailbag
After yesterday’s entry in which I expressed my, uh, concern about Ashleigh’s return to the production offices following her Mexico getaway (at the height of the pandemic hysteria no less), I found the following comment awaiting moderation: “Hey Joe! Am back safe and sound! Hope you had a good week. Listen, I was speaking to…
May 4, 2009: A Deadline Looms, Dogs At Play, and The Mailbag
This morning, I received a gentle reminder from my editor that the deadline is looming on that short story I’ve been working on for, what, it feels like three years now. Well, actually, more like 6+ months, but still. As luck would have it, we’re on hiatus and I had set aside this entire week…
May 3, 2009: Transforming Stage 5 From Stargate Command to Icarus Base
Follow Carl down the new-look corridor on Stage 5. Hang a left, up the stairs, and you're in the control room. The stripped-down gate room. The former SGC gate becomes the gate on Icarus Base. Back in early February, Carl and I wandered down to Stage 5 to check out the work in progress.…
May 2, 2009: One of Those Days. And, The Comic Round-Up.
I’ve discovered that I’m much less productive on a) days when I miss my morning work-out, b) following a sleepless night spent cleaning up after a nauseous French bulldog, c) when I’m distracted by chores such as laundry, taking my dog to the vet, and planting those herb plants my wife bought for me that…
May 1, 2009: Projects Galore!
I’m well into the rewrite of Space, episode #11 of Stargate: Universe, and finally got it down to a full 46 pages from a robust 54 (and that’s down from its original 60!). Paring down the dialogue, stripping away some of the superfluous beats, but still maintaining a lot of the character beats that Rob…