January 22, 2008

Well, I feel bad. When I dropped off Lulu for her spay yesterday, I was asked if I’d like her tattooed and chipped as well. It was a security measure we’d taken with the pugs and, since Lulu would be out for the operation anyway, I figured “Why not?“. So, I picked her up this morning (according to the staff at the vet clinic, she was a superstar) and dropped her off at Fondy’s shop for the day. And it was while Lulu was ambling about the store in her buster collar, chasing down her rat toy, that Fondy suddenly noted: “You had her tattooed.” Yeah, I had her…uh…oh. As Lulu stared up at me, I realized - I’d fucked up. Unlike the pugs whose ears fold down, Lulu’s ears sit straight up on her head, offering an unobstructed view of the inner flap - and, now, her glaring numerical tattoo.

My fault. I didn’t even think of it when I gave the okay. Fondy tried to ease the guilt by trying to convince me it was actually kind of cute (The upper row of numbers = 007!). Marty G., meanwhile, suggested I go all out and actually tattoo a heart around the numbers or some other cool design, something that will give her a little more street cred. Lulu, for her part, doesn’t seem to mind her new look.

I walked into my office to find a package awaiting me from Prometheus Books. Check ’em out. Three books in a series I’ve been dying to check out - Joel Shepherd’s Cassandra Kresnov series. I’ve heard a lot of great things about the books, and Shepherd in particular, so I’m considering making the first book, Crossover, a candidate for March’s scifi BOTM club. Also included in the package was the February scifi runner-up, Kay Kenyon’s Bright of the Sky, which I’ll start on tonight once I finish up Philip Jose Farmer’s To Your Scattered Bodies Go.

And speaking of the book club, I’ve decided to do things a little differently for the February selections. I’m going to devote a week to each of the three selections (feel free to weigh in with your comments on the week in question or anytime after the discussion begins). So -

February 18th: Discussion begins on Fast Forward 1: Future Fiction from the Cutting Edge, edited by Lou Anders. This collection of Hard SF stories is the perfect selection for those of you who have been sitting on the fence, uncertain about wading in. Pick and choose if you like. Comment on whichever stories catch your fancy. And come armed with questions or comments for editor Lou Anders who has kindly agreed to drop by and do a guest stint on this blog

February 25th: Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions, by Neil Gaiman. For those of you who prefer the fantasy genre, this collection is another great starting point.

March 3rd: We’ll be discussing our horror pick, Children of the Night by Dan Simmons. I love the guy’s work and really enjoyed Summer of Night, so this one should be a lot of fun for fans of the genre.

I hope you’re reading at least one of the aforementioned titles!

PROGRAM ALERT! JUST RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING FROM PRISCILLA AT MGM -

“Tune-in this Friday, when EXTRA! airs a special SGA segment with host, Jerry Penacoli!”

Mailbag -

PG15 writes: “Do you guys do storyboarding?”

Answer: Yes, occasionally, for more complicating sequences, a director will storyboard the scene, sketching out it out shot by shot.

Squall78 writes: “Do you have any ratings info on “Quarantine”.”

Answer: The early returns have Quarantine matching Lifeline’s numbers.

Patricia writes: “So Joe ~~~ since you did not bother to give even a sarcastic answer to my inquiry about crashing on one of your puppy pillows for the April time frame I can only assume that it was a stupid inquiry to begin with.”

Answer: Sorry - Jelly asked me to ask you whether you snore.

Msstargate writes: “I enjoyed “Quarantined” immensely. However, critics around the net have been less than complimentary because (their words) it is a retread of an old Star Trek TNG episode.”

Answer: Which part? The part where the hero climbs up the side of the tower? The part where the character undermines not only his marriage proposal but his relationship? Or the part where the Czech scientist crawls through the vents in a race against time to turn off the self-destruct?

AscendedTauri writes: “Alison Porter…. hmm, interesting. Possibly the gate tech from Quarantine?”

Answer: No, you’re thinking of Amelia Banks.

Voodoolizzy writes: “Where will you watch the Superbowl?”

Answer: Don’t know yet. What’s your big screen like?

Talula writes: “I was thinking about joining my local Roller Derby. What do you think?”

Answer: I think you should join and then challenge our Stargate team. Marty G. is ruthless in the pivot position and Alex Levine is subbing for Carl as our jammer.

Zoniduck writes: “Hey, Joe. Watched the Vancouver edition of Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” this evening, and I have to ask, have you ever tried a Japa Dog? Because they looked very, very tasty on the show, and Bourdain seemed to think so.

If you haven’t seen the show, he visited Tojo’s, Rangoli Restaurant, Sooke Harbor House, and Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill, all of which looked delicious. I know Tojo’s is a favorite of yours, but have you ever eaten at any of the others?”

Answer: I have enjoyed Japan Dog. Haven’t been to Sookie Harbor House, but Tojo’s is my favorite sushi restaurant in the city (we’re going there tonight) Rangoli is also great - located right next door to Vij’s, one of my top 5 faves. Cioppino’s is fine too.

Alipeeps writes: “My completely unbiased opinion? Alison’s a great choice.”

Answer: Yeah, had a feeling you’d be on board.

Paul writes: “So is there anything we’re supposed to be doing to help Bam Bam get selected for Gladiators?”

Answer: Well, if you happen to know anyone on the selection committee, you could put in a good word for him.

LLB writes: “You said you only watch subbed anime. Why?”

Answer: In Japan, anime is a form of entertainment that can range from the amusingly childish (Crayon Shin-chan) to the cerebrally adult (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex). There is a distinct difference between the various types of shows and those that fall into the more mature category are respected as such. The voice performances in the kid-oriented shows are fun and cartoonish while performances in the adult-themed shows are subtle and nuanced. Compare this to North America where “Cartoons are for kids!!!” and, given this mindset, the voice performances are always WAAAAAAY OOOOOVEEER THE TOOOOOOP! WAAAAAAAH!!! HOOOOHAAAAAAAH!!!!

Stefanie writes: “ I am wondering if you know who at MGM and/or Sci-Fi Channel I can get into contact with in order to ask about potential employment opportunities.”

Answer: Unfortunately, I can’t help you because we don’t deal with that part of the studio/network. Anyone?

Jean writes: “Have you read Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card? It’s a great book that I read many years ago, also the sequel Speaker for the Dead is good.”

Answer: Two very different but very good books.

Matt S. writes: “In general, do you pay attention to fan “ships” when creating pairings that some can read into as growing deeper (i.e. Ronan and Keller) or do you prefer to let these relationship grow naturally out of the stories the writers create?”

Answer: We didn’t go into season four with a definitive plan to ship certain characters although, prior to the news of Teyla’s pregnancy, we had considered the possibility of making Katie and Rodney unexpected parents. Of course, this storyline was scrapped in favor of the Teyla pregnancy. The Ronon-Keller scene came about as an idea we had at the beginning of the year, a remark that Keller certainly looked a lot like Ronon’s ex. As to whether we’ll be pursuing this or any other ship in season 5 - stay tuned.

DeeinSouthAfrica writes: “Joe, have you ever fallen over Max in the dark?”

Answer: No, because what I do is shuffle my feet when I walk to and from the bathroom early in the morning. And, yes, at some point or other I have shuffled into each of my dogs

OregonJen writes: “Are there any Colombian restaurants in Vancouver?”

Answer: Hmmm. There are a few Brazilian and Peruvian restaurants in town, but I can’t think of a Colombian restaurant.

Anonymous J writes: “Do you have the directors set for Season 5 yet?”

Answer: Yep. The first three on deck: Andy Mikita, Will Waring, and Ken Girotti.

DanielForever writes: “Several years ago (I think it was back during season Brad/Rob wanted to do a Stargate movie that was supposed to be a lost season 2 episode. […] What was the idea for the episode?”

Answer: I don’t believe there was a fleshed-out idea. It was simply going to be a “lost episode”, a one-off adventure that would have taken place sometime between SG-1’s 2nd and 3rd season.

Charly Kinder a ecrit: “Vos chiens sont pas trop jaloux ? Il me semble que les bouldogues sont de nature jalouse …”

Reponse: Ils sont tous jaloux

Sort of translation: All of my dogs are the jealous types.

Charly Kinder a aussi ecrit: “A propos de Lulu … a t’elle un fiancé ? car j’ai moi même un bouldogue ( 6 mois la semaine prochaine hiaaa)et il bave devant l’écran… “

Reponse: Lulu veut voir une image de son petit ami éventuel.

Sort of translation: Lulu has requested to see a pic of Charly’s bulldog - and her prospective new boyfriend.

Charly Kinder a aussi ecrit: “Etes vous retourner au restaurant Bistrot Bistro ?”

Reponse: Nous étions là il y a deux semaines. Délicieux !

Sort of translation: We went to Bistrot Bistro a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious.