October 11, 2007

Do you know what’s even more surprising than a surprise birthday party? Yep. A surprise dentist appointment! We were in Yaletown this afternoon, lunching at Phat for the second time in as many days, when I bit down on a peppercorn in just the right spot, sending a shiver of pain along my right jaw. I winced, leading Fondy to suggest I swing by the dentist’s office, only three doors down, and make an appointment to get my tooth looked at. Well, I did drop by to make an appointment - and my dentist did me one better. Thanks to a late cancellation, he had a free spot in his busy afternoon rotation. I was in luck! “Are you sure?”I asked. “It’s not a rush.” No, evidently, not a problem at all.

After a quickie x-ray and some delicate prodding, I was informed that I had chipped one of my back teeth and lost a piece of a filling. Alas, fixing it would require another hour of my time…preferably…next week? Yes! Great! Next week!

To celebrate yet another successful visit to the dentist, I swung by Monde Chocolat on the way home and picked up some of the new Pralus and Zotter bars that came out this week. As always, Zotter’s flavor combinations tend toward the unique. For example: Balsamic Camaramel, Sweet Potato-Moccha-Rosemary, and Sunflower Seeds and Reishi. Sadly, no Tofu-Sake. Maybe next week.

I returned home to find three discs sitting in my mailbox: a director’s cut of Outcast, a director’s cut of The Last Man, and a finished version of The Seer. The only one that couldn’t wait was the Product Cut A of Outcast…which wasn’t in my box. Hopefully, I’ll receive it soon so that I can review it, then swing by the studio tomorrow and make whatever tweaks need to be made before officially calling it a Prod 1 and sending it off to the network and studio for their input.

Overall, a productive day as I finally got back to work on that pilot script I stalled out on way back when. This one is a one hour dramedy or, I prefer, coma, and once it’s done, that should give us four originals in the arsenal with two more on deck. A little scifi. A little horror. Some comedy. A little touch of WTF?! If all goes well, once Stargate is done (which hopefully won’t be for a while), they’ll see the light of t.v. screen. Failing that, two years from now make sure to check your town papers as I could be doing selected readings from my scripts at a local library near you.

Today’s pics: Chocolate, cuts, and last night‘s dinner at Tojo‘s. It’s uni season!

Today’s video: Click on the date for a continued walk through the village in the FX stage.

Today’s mailbag:

Elizabeth writes: “1) What is the release date for Stargate Continuum? 2) Do you know what you want to happen when you start a TV series [like 'well, eventually Atlantis does blow up, the wraith will defeat the replicators, and in the third season the Doctor will die']?”

Answers: 1) No idea. 2) Sometimes.

Susan the Tartan Turtle writes: “Does Fondy sell cat outfits too?”

Answer: Yup.

Stargatemagic writes: “Will the next season involve evil plants?”

Answer: Next season will be all about evil plants and misunderstood marsupials.

MenNuniform writes: “Which has more Shep whump, Doppelganger or Travelers?”

Answer: In my opinion - Doppelganger.

Lady Dulcinea writes: “Or maybe I was thinking of Crazy Joe, the shoeless, one eyed, enema hoarder, moonshine runner who lives under the bridge at my work.”

Answer: Yeah, I’ve been getting a lot of his mail lately.

Emily writes: “You know the scene in 'Adrift' where Carter and Dr. Lee are floating around weightless? How was that filmed?”

Answer: Wires, green screen, and, I believe, a skateboard.

Edward4th writes: “ my mum goes into hospital tomorrow for a small procedure would be kind enough to wish her luck as she has a real phobia about hospitals”

Answer: Best of luck to Mrs. Edward4th! Print up all of my blog entries to ensure she has endless hours of entertaining reading during her stay.

Dreams-of-Skies writes: “You mentionned a few blogs back that you had picked up Ash: A Secret History - I spotted it in my local 2nd hand bookstore yesterday and picked it up, although I'm only 100 pages in so far. Where've you got to? What do you think of it so far? It's certainly an interesting writing style!”

Answer: I’m about 100 pages in as well as I was reading only a chapter a night as I worked my way through Fall of Hyperion. It’ll probably remain a chapter a night as I have to start on Heorot and Foul’s Bane as well. To be honest, I’m not a fan of the continuous interruptions by the historian-translator. While I accept the fantasy that this is an actual historical document - and given the fact that, as a student of history and having read plenty of historical documents, it’s a biiig stretch - it actually makes the suspension of belief all that more difficult every time I am pulled out of the narrative.

Sq27301 writes: “After the s4 premiere you said you should hear about the show's fate anytime in the next couple of weeks. Since almost two weeks have passed since then... Do you already know?”

Answer: I do not. Still waiting.

Fargate One writes: “who created Vala Mal Doran character?”

Answer: Robert C. Cooper.

Anonymous # writes: “ Boxing Day isn't just British. You'll find it in pretty much all Commonwealth countries.”

Answer: Yep. On this day, anyone in Canada is allowed to choose one person exiting a store and challenge him/her to a boxing match for an item they just purchased. An individual can only be challenged once for a particular purchased item, although they may technically be challenged numerous times (this is wholly dependent on how many items they have purchased). Last year, I won a Nintendo Wii from my 87 year old neighbor. She had me on the ropes in the second and third round, but I ended up winning a TKO in the eighth. Sweet, sweet victory.