October 23, 2007

I was at the stove, carefully stirring the pot’s contents into a thick, creamy consistency when Fondy walked in and asked: “You’re not eating oatmeal today because you think it’ll effect the results of your cholesterol test, are you?” “No,”I lied. In fact, the oatmeal was just part of my three-pronged plan: oatmeal, green tea, and dark chocolate. That triple whammy would, I assumed, be enough to help lower those LDL levels. I worked out. Ate. Showered. And then, anxiety mounting, hopped into my car and drove to the doctor’s office for a long overdue physical. By the time I arrived, I could already predict my blood pressure would be through the roof. I could actually hear my heart beating in my ears. After the assistant took my height and weight, I gauged her for any sort of tip. She was expressionless. “5’10, 160 lbs.,”I noted. “In your medical opinion, is that normal?” She shrugged and explained that she usually runs the numbers through her computer to come up with a BMI, but her computer was down today. Then, she ushered me into the doctor’s office where I sat. And waited. And read. And waited some more. Twenty minutes later, the doctor came in and asked me some general questions. Smoke? No. Drink? Rarely. Exercise? Every day. I had to add that my dinner habits tended to the “richer” end of the scale. She took note. And took note of my family history. Then, she checked my hearts. Checked my lungs. Checked my ears, nose, and throat. Checked my blood pressure. All good! Then proceeded to poke and prod. Despite the fact that I’m ticklish, I suppressed the urge to giggle. When it was finally over, she made a note on my lab requisition form I couldn‘t help but notice. Hmmm. “It’s probably nothing to worry about,”she tried to reassure me, “but we’ll know more when we get the blood test back in a few days.” Another hmmmm. Since I have to fast 10 hours before hitting the lab, that means I can get my test tomorrow morning at the earliest - which means I’ll get the results on Friday at the earliest. Damnit! I knew this was a bad idea!

I spent the next half hour madly googling non-existent symptoms and attempting to decipher the shorthand the doctor had scrawled under the “Additional Testing Instructions” portion of the requisition form. I suppose I should be thankful for small comforts. At least there were no checked boxes under the “Genital Specimens” sub-category.

Oh, I thought this was interesting. David Chase finally spoke out about that Sopranos non-ending, finally quashing all those elaborately detailed theories that sought to prove Tony did, in fact, get whacked in the episode’s final seconds. “Lookit all the clues!“they shouted. “The tune that comes on the radio is funeral music!“ “The Soprano meal at Holstein’s is meant to parallel the Last Supper!“ “Meadow’s inability to park represents humanity’s inability to master their fate which must inevitably end in death and not enough change for the parking meter!” Yeah, nice try. In the words of series creator Chase (who, incidentally, wrote and directed the finale so, I suppose he should know):

"There are no esoteric clues in there. No `Da Vinci Code,'" he declares. He says it's "just great" if fans tried to find a deeper meaning, but "most of them, most of us, should have done this kind of thing in high school English class and didn't." (Sopranos' creator defends famous finale By Frazier Moore).

Well, there you go. The interview appears in The Sopranos: The Complete Book which comes out this week.

This blog is dedicated to all of our friends in Southern California who have been displaced by the fires.

Today’s pics: The dogs conked-out after a day at daycare, Tojo’s sushi, Hiro and Dragon, breakfast!

Today’s video: None today. Sorry.

Today’s mailbag:

Charles Schneider writes: “How do you feel about eating fish? Any favorite in particular?”

Answer: I’m all for it. I’m a big fan of skate, sea bass, monkfish, and crispy trout.

Dustin writes: “are you not allowed taking them to work or is it just ezyer if you have to work in the office for a day doing book work writing ext to not have to look after them?”

Answer: Oh, I can take them to work but that would mean I would have to keep an eye on them all day long to make sure they stay out of trouble (chewing things, having “accidents”, making long-distance telephone calls, etc.)

Alipeeps writes: “I guess I like my high fantasy a little less wordy and with a bit more pace. Ironic, perhaps, given that, as a writer, I am terribly wordy!”

Answer: So what would you recommend among the high fantasy titles out there?

Cathain writes: “This has been bothering me, is there a reason why MGM spells Ronon's name as Ronan?”

Answer: Yes. It’s because they are spelling it incorrectly. I prefer Row-none myself.

Jill E. writes: “Was Lulu ok with all those big dogs?”

Answer: Yep. Although she prefers the company of small dogs, her best friend at daycare is a four month old Great Dane puppy.

Anonymous #1 writes: “Tabula Rasa: More humorous, or more serious and angsty?”

Answer: More serious. And perspirey.

Inpa writes: “1. If sci fi do choose to not renew the show, or to renew it how will that decision be made public? Will you mention it on here first or will Sci fi release a statement of some kind?
2. Do you ever consider getting famous actors (as in not just within the genre) more often to see if interest in the show or episode would be boosted?
3. And do you sometimes scroll around different stargate fan sites in order to get a wider perspective of the reception to the episodes or just stick to the one or two?”

Answers: 1. I’d wait for the official SciFi release. 2. We’re always considering atypical scifi guest stars. 3. Since I started this daily blog, I don’t have as much time to check out the different fan sites.

Ditraveler writes: “Glad you liked it! hope Fondy liked it too.”

Answer: As predicted, she loves it. Thanks again.

Arctic Goddess writes: “Would you consider living in the United States if an American series offered you a writing position?”

Answer: Of course.

Tesajb writes: “Speaking of, have you checked your Cookie Monster email lately?”

Answer: I did. He wrote you back but had the email bounce back.

PG15 writes: “The amount of time I've spent with that flocking by my side […] it has not damaged me one bit with its fatal poisonousness or in anyway attempted to kill me…”

Answer: When you least expect it…

Rebecca writes: “So, on to The Legacy of Heorot. It's interesting you mentioned Alien, because my first thought on reading the book was Alien meets Robinson Crusoe. I wonder how much of the book was influenced by that movie, at least as far as the monster goes.”

Answer: I don’t know but that’s a very interesting question. I believe the book came out a year after Aliens was released.

Anonymous #2 writes: “Have you ever tried hot chocolate?”

Answer: I do enjoy chili chocolate.

Cat4444 writes: “I also thought it was interesting that Sheppard would be getting himself pounded into the pavement by the entity, despite it being "him", but I figure it was more the "guilt" than anything and it took McKay's appearance to show him that he's not the one to blame for what happened -- “

Answer: That’s a great interpretation of the scene.

Anonymous #3 writes: “I was just curious if you'd read The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis?”

Answer: I haven’t although it is on my to-read list. I read To Say Nothing of the Dog an I understand that many of the same characters appear in Doomsday which is a decidedly bleaker book.

ZoniDuck writes: “I'm curious Joe, does SGA require a lot of ADR work, or would you say it's pretty average by industry standards?”

Answer: Many shows do significantly more ADR than we do.

Beckett Fan writes: “She 'acts' too young and insecure to have such a high position, IMHO.”

Answer: Keller’s insecurities stem not so much from the position but from the fact that she is the CMO of an off-world expedition.

Stivaria writes: “Who builds the ZedPM and Ancient Personal Shield type props, a group within the studio or an outside contractor…”

Answer: They were built in-house.

Rich S. writes: “Anyways, sorry you didnt enjoy, not every book is for everyone!”

Answer: True enough. I’m pleased you enjoyed it though.

Anonymous #4 writes: “I think the only modern writer of fantasy who does manage to maintain my interest is Clive Barker. His horror is a little too hard core for me but his dark fantasy is often brilliant.”

Answer: I do like his stuff. I remember reading Weaveworld and The Books of Blood ages ago.

Iamza writes: “So, the miraculous lifting of his symptoms, the regeneration of his nerves, the return of his sexual potency, these are things that make Thomas angry because they're indicators that he is losing his battle for sanity.”

Answer: That does explain why he lashes out at the his allies over the course of the adventure but, like you said, I don’t think it excuses his actions - or makes him any more sympathetic.

Archana S. writes: “1) How do you feel about Indian cuisine? 2) How many languages do you speak?”

Answers: 1) Love it. 2) 3 and some.

Firefly827347 writes: “I also wanted to ask if you'd like to stop by your thread on Gateworld once in a while?”

Answer: Awww, you shouldn’t have. I’m blushing.

S.B. writes: “ What do you think about Dumbeldore being gay?”

Answer: Meh.

Wolfen writes: “Hmm, I'm trying to think of fantasy books that stay far enough away from the usual formulae that you might enjoy them…”

Answer: Thanks for all of the recommendations. As for Jim Butcher - I’m not familiar with his work but word from the people who worked with him on Dresen is that he’s a very nice guy.

SciFi Slacker writes: “are we going to be seeing much of major lorne this season?”

Answer: Yep.

Irmo writes: “Do you always take a camera with you when you go out to eat?”

Answer: Yep.

Anonymous #5 writes: “And just because I can't resist please name me five 'child (or young person) genius's that have actually been successful and popular is Sci-fi?”

Answer: Why would whether or not another scifi show has done it before be a good argument for doing it or not doing it on our show?

BoomerGoodHeart writes: “Canneloni is a tube of pasta stuffed with a meat mixture, Manicotti is a tube of pasta stuffed with a cheese mixture.”

Answer: Hmmm. Whenever my mother made cannelloni, it was always a thin, crepe-like covering as opposed to a firmer tubular pasta shell.

Atlantisfannew1 a ecrit: “Je vais vous écrire une autre lettre ce week end. Il serais possible que vous me répondiez et que vous me donnez votre autographe?”

Reponse: Bien sur.

Anonymous #6 writes: “Out of curiosity, now that the show is done with production, will you be taking any time off from the blog? Like a day of rest?”

Answer: No plans to.

WingedPegasus writes: “By the way, is there any chance I could have today's blog dedicated to me? It's my birthday.”

Answer: I advance-dedicate tomorrow’s blog to you.