Hey, it’s been ages since I’ve done one of these!
noellam writes: “Also, if you are in the business of answering questions today, why is it that even bad potato chips taste good?”
Answer: The fact of the matter is they don’t. Have you tried those Lays baked potato chips? They taste like crispy sweat. I’m afraid you are a salty (as opposed to a sweetie, like yours truly), roughly half the human population that is genetically predisposed to enjoying salty snack treats regardless of quality. I believe you can find pills to help this condition. You’ll find it at your local drug store, somewhere between medication for Restless Leg Syndrome and liniment to treat chapped earlobes.
gforce writes: “Did you ever further consider adopting more pugs, as you were a few months ago (that were ultimately otherwise placed)?”
Answer: Yep, think about it all the time. I’ve hesitated because I’m not sure what the situation will be re: my living situation. If I’m in Vancouver and I’m staying in the house, then I can certainly make an addition to the pack. If I’m moving to, say, L.A., or moving into a condo, then getting a new dog may prove trickier.
Jeff W. writes: “How are things going on the Dark Matter front? Last I remember was that things were stirring. Any updates?”
noellam writes: “Hi Joe, what’s the news on Dark Matter?”
Answer: No news…yet.
Wendy writes: “Hey Joe, have you eaten at Wilderbeest yet (120 W Hastings?) We were there last night and it was amazing. Great atmosphere and amazing food.”
Answer: Haven’t been yet but it tops my list of Restaurants I Have to Visit. Crispy pork skin with spiced salt? Roasted sweetbreads with caramelized buttermilk? Pork jowl? Hell, yes! What did you have?
Tax Dixon writes: “What is the difference between toad stools and mushrooms?”
Answer: Uh, with all due respect, the difference is pretty obvious.
Tam Dixon also writes: “Mr. M., have you watched Arrow yet?”
Answer: Nope. Recommended viewing?
Sparrow_hawk writes: “what is the best way to use Matsutake mushrooms? Raw? Stir-fried with other food? Added raw to soup or broth and allowed to cook for only a short time?”
Akemi says:
dasndanger writes: “Also, pretty sure that first mushroom is the poisonous amanita muscaria, so I hope you weren’t picking any of those.”
Answer: Right you are. I just identified it moments ago. Apparently, it’s a hallucinogen. Also, occasionally deadly. Pretty to look at though.
dasndanger also writes: “It was really hard sending him away – he was sooo scared! And so was I. I know the operation is relatively simple, but any operation can have complications. Also, he was soooo scared!”
Answer: I can empathize as I run through these exact same feelings every time my dogs go under.
Sparrow_hawk writes: “Oooh! I just noticed that you added Sky High to the list! My kids always loved that one and they (we) still watch it sometimes.”
Answer: Uh, your kids didn’t happen to love The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, did they?
Sparrow_hawk also writes: “Doing anything besides restaurant hopping in Tokyo this time around?”
Answer: Oh, I’m sure I’ll be able to fit in some outings between all the restaurant visits. For instance, Akemi has expressed an interest in checking out the weird ice cream flavors at Ice Cream City. I may also visit the Curry Museum in Yokohama.
Airelle writes: “Joe , How goes the immigration process for Akemi?”
Answer: Seemingly never-ending. We’re a year into the process. Earlier this week, Akemi went in for another medical check-up because the last one expired while we were waiting for word.
gforce writes: “As I mentioned before, a couple of weeks ago I was down in the Grand Canyon for a vacation/four day backpacking trip as well as a trip around to the North Rim as well. I love photography and promised to share some pictures, so here they are!”
Answer: Wow. Great pics. I should hire you to do some artful shots of the dogs – lounging about, playing poker and such.
archersangel writes: “1. what happened with the dogs you were looking to adopt? (or did i miss that?)”
Answer: See above. I’m holding off until I know where I’ll be living next year.
“ 2. any weird food purchase of the day videos on the horizon? maybe something in tokyo?”
Answer: Chances are good, especially in Tokyo when we visit Ice Cream City. Seaweed ice cream here I come!
“3. while doing your days of stargate past entries do you think about what could’ve been done differently? should’ve gone with a different actor in a part or wrote a line differently? (for examples)”
Answer: Oh, I’m sure everyone second-guesses themselves in terms of decisions made. It’s very easy to reconsider choices made with the benefit of hindsight. As for examples – well, you just gave me a terrific idea for a blog entry.
dasndanger writes: “Do you find Christopher Lee as sexy as Sparrow and I do?”
Answer: While he’s admittedly dreamy, if we’re talking Hammer Films I’m more of a Susannah York or Ingrid Pitt fan.
Cool on the mailbag! I always seem to miss those.
@Tam Dixon: Hubby is on his geocaching trip now. They are in Miami, OK tonight. Planning to be somewhere in either TN or MS tomorrow night. They’re having fun though I’m having a spot of bad luck here. The car wouldn’t start earlier. Sure hope I can get it to start tomorrow.
Have a great night all!
What do you think, who’s face should they put on this when they rebuild it? The face of a Wraith would be cool. Maybe Teal’c holding a staff weapon? 🙂
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20012494
I’m….. stunned. Thanks for answering all my questions. When I wrote them I had no idea you’d be doing a mailbag, so actual answers are a delightful surprise! Thanks for the matsutake suggestions. So are they raw on the steamed rice?
And regarding Japan, the Curry Museum sounds interesting, I was more thinking about you doing some non-food related things. 😉
re: Shark Boy and Lava Girl vs Sky High. I’m pleased to say my kids (now 18 and 22) were not fans of the former, but liked the latter. Me, too. But then, I’m a sucker for Kurt Russell. I was going to suggest Big Trouble in Little China for your movie list, but Jack Burton doesn’t really qualify as a superhero, except in his own mind.
I love Susannah York, too! But I had to look up Ingrid Pitt on Wikipedia.
Really? I had you pegged as a Prudence Hyman sort. 😉
das
I think you jest about RLS. I did too. Until it turned out I had it 🙁 I thought they were making this stuff up. Then I went to the doctor to find out why my sleep was disrupted all the time. Yeah. They gave me a drug for it and suddenly I felt loads better and even started sleeping normally. At least people don’t look at you like you’re crazy when you tell them you have sleep apnea. *sigh* I suppose it’s penance or something right?
I hope Akemi’s immigration picks up. That’s got to be frustrating. Had a friend marry a girl from Peru – while they were engaged they were working on her visa to the US. Took years just to get that far – immigration into any country is a pain it seems :-/
@sg1efc: I think the figure should be redone as Hermiod or Thor. Only fitting they receive some form of tribute from us.
Mailbag is greatly appreciated. Never get enough of those. Thanks for the nice break from the real world. And a god weekend to all.
We had the pork skin, heirloom radishes, aged ham, halibut, lamb tartare, chorizo, poutine and the two specials of the night sardines and pork chop/belly. It’s all family style to sharewich is brilliant. Unfortunately we were too stuffed for dessert and will have to return soon. Oh the hardship!
I think the two specials weren’t favourite and against all judgement I really loved the radish dish. Least favourite for me was the poutine.
Oh yikes, let me try that again. Phone typing is tough!
We had the pork skin, heirloom radishes, aged ham, halibut, lamb tartare, chorizo, poutine and the two specials of the night sardines and pork chop/belly. It’s all family style to share, which is brilliant. Unfortunately we were too stuffed for dessert and will have to return soon. Oh the hardship!
I think the two specials were my favourites and against all judgement I really loved the radish dish. Least favourite for me was the poutine.
thanks for answering my questions. i look forward to the weird food videos & i’m glad you got an idea for a blog entry from that question that (quite possibly) could have been worded better.
I guess I am the only one here who likes Revolution. I think it is a great show. It is the only new show of the season that I am watching besides Last Resort, which I also like.
Re: Arrow, the pilot was actually pretty good, and so was the second episode. I’m not sure how close to the comic it is, but Oliver seems to be sort of Bruce Wayne with an obnoxious family instead of no family at all. I’d say take a look, and don’t forget to try Supernatural as well!
Plus of Arrow is BamBam is working the show as well.
That soup looks good. What brand of bonito stock do you use? I would appreciate a recommendation. The one from my childhood tastes odd now and I haven’t settled on a new one.
@Deborah Rose:
Asgard would be cool. I can picture some of Earth’s “alien hunters” camped out beneath Thor, praying to him. 🙂
@Tim Gaffney:
I like Revolution also, but they need to improve it a little bit so that it stays successful. The overall story is a good one and I am interested in learning how all the power has been kept off for all those years. I have a couple theories, however I’m just worried that it might end up being another canceled show without an appropriate ending. 🙁
@Marsha_R:
Not sure if Arrow will have enough interesting stories, plot twists and so on to keep me interested. They need these things so that it just doesn’t end up being just another predictable ‘crime fighter series’ thing. I do love Supernatural. Only bad thing about it, is that it is not on a network where it could be “R” rated like True Blood, Game Of Thrones, etc. That is the only thing I think would improve Supernatural. 🙂
@das: I had to Google Prudence Hyman, too. Yikes! And I think Joe’s just messin’ with us when he says Christopher Lee is dreamy.
For the new TV season, I did watch the pilot episode of Revolution. It was just okay up until the twist in the last minute. Then it looked interesting. I have the rest on my DVR because they put the show up against Castle. I’ll probably watch the episodes I have there, but after some of the comments from the other bloggers, I’m not as enthusiastic about it.
“I should hire you to do some artful shots of the dogs – lounging about, playing poker and such.”
Hey, I’d do that for free the next time I’m there! However, you’ll be the one that has to get Bubba to wear a bowler hat and hold a cigar.
Oh, speaking of doggie pics! Here’s one I took last year of my friends’ Golden Doodle (Toby!) in PEI. He’s very photogenic, and basically poses on command.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/DSC_0515.jpg
Mushrooms? Toadstools? Hmm, not getting the difference yet. Anymore examples? 😉 Ok, I walked right into that one. 🙄
My dad used to call them toadstools and when I looked the differences up, opinions greatly varied.
I started watching Arrow because it’s a show that Bam-bam is working on. It’s got a comic book feel to the show. Marsha_R’s description was spot on. Since it’s Bam-bam, you have to give it a try 😀 !
Alisa Russell: I hope your hubby has fun (stays safe). Good luck with your car!
Sparrow_hawk: I liked “Sky High” too. It was entertaining and I’ve been watching Kurt Russell since I was four years old. I’m sure he would love to hear that. 🙂
@ Sparrowhawk – So, you’ve never watched The Gorgon, eh? 😉
As far as Joey messin’ wif us about Mr. Lee, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure that Joe admires high cheekbones, an intense brow, and a strong forehead just like the rest of us. In fact, I’m pretty sure he keeps a picture of Todd in the bottom of his desk drawer, just to take a peek every now and then and reminisce about what was, and muse over what might have been.
NOT that I would know anything about that…
😉
das