May 22, 2013: Ah, the marvels of modern technology! Sidebar! Mailbag!

My new $175 paperweight.

My old high school buddy, Cas, has been staying with us this past week or so and, as a thank you for hosting him, he bought me a new wireless printer.  I told him he didn’t have to do it, that I was perfectly happy with my old, dependable plug and print, but he insisted it was time to move on.  Think of all the time I’d save printing from anywhere in the house with just the push of a button.  Despite my protests, he bought me an HP 6600 series, just like he has at home.  And, after setting it up, we were good to go!  All I had to do was print a test page from my laptop and I would finally enter the 21st century.  I selected print and -

Nothing.  I waited.  A little onscreen window informed me that the printer was busy and that it would attempt to reconnect in another five seconds.  Busy?  Doing what?  It was just sitting there!  Five seconds later, the little onscreen window informed me that the printer was still busy, but that it would attempt to reconnect in another ten seconds. Then, thirty seconds.  ”Make sure to add the new printer to your computer,”Cas advised.  Silly me.  Of course!  I went into my printer settings, input the IP address for the new printer, hit print and -

Nothing.  I waited.  The little onscreen window informed that the printer was busy and that it would attempt to reconnect in another five seconds.  ”Here,”said Cas handing me the software disc that came with the printer.  ”Install the driver.”  So I slid the disc into my Mac, clicked the little install icon and -

Nothing.  Another little window popped up, informing me that the HP software was not compatible with my Mac (he’s Baptist, she’s Southern Methodist) and that the installer required MAC OS X version 10.6 or later.  ”No problem,”I said.  ”I’ll just hit the old “Software Update” option on my Mac and then, it’ll be smooooooooth sailing.  So I hit the software update and -

Nothing.  My software is, apparently, up to date.  ”You need to go online and download the driver from the HP site,”Cas suggested.  So I went to the HP site, downloaded the Mac version of the driver for the 6600 series.  I got rid of my old, potentially confusing printer settings. My laptop detected the new printer.  Bingo!  I hit print and -

Nothing.  I went back to my printer settings and added the new IP address.  Hit print.

Nothing.  My new printer was, apparently, unable to connect…but perfectly willing to retry in 5, 10, and 30 seconds increments.  Worse still, an annoying pop-up window started to appear, unprompted, to inform me that the “Application HP Device Monitor Quit Unexpectedly”, offering me the choice to “Quit”, “Report”, or “Relaunch”.  Okay, I thought, and clicked “Quit”.  Seconds later, the warning popped up once again.  Again, I hit “Quit” and, seconds later, it reappeared.  I clicked “Relaunch”.  The window reappeared within seconds.  I settled on “Report”.  And still the window reappeared.  No matter what I clicked, it just kept reappearing, annoyingly persistent as an ad for Hangover III.  ”Maybe you need to reboot,”suggested Cas.

Ah, reboot – the last refuge of the weak, the desperate, and the technologically inept.  I was all three, so who was I to argue?  Within seconds of rebooting my laptop, the window popped up once again. Exasperated, I turned things over to our resident all-around expert, google, and was promptly directed to a forum where I was offered instructions on uninstalling the HP software.  Which I did.

While I’d love to admit my incompetence and tell you I’m back at “square one”, the truth is that, having wiped my original printer settings and unable to find the set-up disc for my old printer, I’m actually worse off now than when I began.  So what can I do now if I need something printed?

That’s right.  Absolutely nothing.

A SIDEBAR ON MY SIDEBAR -

May I direct your attention to my sidebar to the right of this text.  It’s chock full of interesting goodies like…

A handy search option that allows you to  seek out specific subjects I’ve covered in past blog entries like “Atlantis”, “SG-1″, and “Crispy prawn head recipe”.

A drop down Archives section allows you peruse past entries by month.  Look!  December 27th!  My Snow Monkeys are world champs!

A section dedicated to our Supermovie of the Week Club gives you a rundown of the superhero-themed movies up for review and discussion in the next few weeks.  Looks like the Green Lantern is up next, with this blog’s resident film critic, Cookie Monster, weighing in with his review on Monday, May 27th.

The Stuff I’ve Worked On section lets you know the projects I’ve worked on the last ten years or so.  I hope to add one or two (maybe more!) to this section before year’s end.

Consult my Watching window to find out what I’m currently viewing. At the moment, I’m halfway through the second season of Girls.

Consult my Recently Watched window to find out what I’ve just finished viewing – most recently, the second season of Downton Abbey. Damn, I can’t believe how much I love this show.  I was planning to jump on a couple of other shows before moving on to Downton Abbey’s third season (I figured it would make the looong wait for season four more bearable), but I’ve been suffering withdrawal pangs and fear I won’t be able to hold out past the weekend.  Wonderful characters, especially Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess.  I ♥ Violet Crawley.

A little further down you can check out what I’m Currently Reading.  At present, I’m doubling up on true crime.

And, below that, you can peruse my list of Recently Read titles.  A lot of true crime in there as well in addition to David Sedaris’s latest and the terrific first book of a new-to-me fantasy trilogy: Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice.  Great stuff.  I’ll be ordering the next two books.

And, finally, a list of Categories.  Want to read through all of my Fantasty Football-related entries?  No problem.  Just click on the Fantasy Football.

Mailbag:

Kathode writes: “Did your mom really tear your exercise book in half?!? (Or were you taking poetic license in writing that?) Was she THAT angry at you for quitting, or was the book-tear merely a clever dramatic show intended to guilt you into keeping on with your piano lessons? Have you discussed this with your mother since you’ve become an adult, to get her side of the story? Does she even remember this incident? I am fascinated with this story. I want to know more.”

Answer: Oh, she did tear it in half.  And cried.  And made my sister cry.  When I asked her about the incident years ago, she drew a blank.

dasndanger writes: “So, can you play the piano?”

Answer: Yes, I’m able to play all five songs I happen to remember from back in the day.

Ponytail writes: “How is Bubba’s paw healing?”

Answer: Bubba is back to his old lazy, anxiety-prone, walk-loving self. Thanks for asking!

luis811 writes: “Can you get the recipe for Cas workout Shake?????”

Answer: Mixed frozen berries, fresh pineapple, banana, pomegranate juice, cranberry juice, one lime (rind and all), toasted oats, greek yogurt.

JeffW writes: “We made the Sancocho a couple of days ago and we enjoyed it…very gumbo like. Did you try the Gouda grilled cheese with it? It made for a nice “soup” and sandwich combo.”

Airelle writes: “Joe forgot to ask, are you packed for a trip to LA?”

Answer: Not yet.  Paul and I should be making plans early next week.

Answer: I had the sancocho with cheddar and havarti grilled cheese (and steak and chicken and avocado and caramelized onions) sandwiches.

Delicious!

Today’s entry is dedicated to Bethany!

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May 21, 2013: Childhood memories! Pools, piano, and parents!

For most youngsters, weekends are a time to sleep in, relax, and have fun.  Growing up, for my sister and I, it was anything but.  My parents signed us up for so many extracurricular activities – judo, yoga, bomb disposal – that they’d drop us off early Saturday morning and we wouldn’t see them again until late Sunday night.  Part of me wants to believe it was born of a concerted effort to make us more rounded individuals, but I suspect it was really just a way of getting us out of the house.

This was especially true during the summers when my sister and I would have to take full advantage of our membership at a local pool. Full advantage in this case meant getting there for the 10:00 a.m. opening and staying there until 5:00 p.m. closing – every weekday and every weekend, rain or shine (It was up to the pool authorities to decide whether it was too dangerous to swim and, more often than not, they were spot judgement calls that required us to be on standby, quite literally standing by the pool house, for the green light).  If we were ever late leaving the house, came home early, or lingered too long at lunch (we had approximately 40 minutes, like in most Japanese prisons), they’d suggest the one hundred dollars spent on the pool membership had been wasted and that, maybe, next year they would have to reconsider the expense.  And so, duly chastised, my sister and I would trudge back – she with her nose plugs, goggles, and bathing cap, an ensemble that gave her the appearance of a subaquatic creature (in a one-piece dark blue swim suit) every time she broke surface; me with my goggles, Raiders towel, and whatever book I’d brought along to rescue me from the prospect of terminal pruning.

Truth be told, for all the time we spent at Heights Swimming Pool, I spent very little time in the actual pool, preferring to read or chat with friends over braving the crowd.  I remember once standing poolside for a good fifteen minutes, waiting for an opening in the churning sea of bodies before deciding “What the hell” and jumping in, quite literally, feet first.  I recall the coolness of the water, then the yielding softness of some hapless swimmer’s back as I unwittingly pinned her to the bottom of the pool.

Given all the opportunities, it’s surprising that I didn’t actually learn to swim until my early teen years.  Before that, much of my pool time was spent wading, lounging, and participating in (dare I say it) horseplay. At some point, my father got fed up and paid for private lessons. Every Friday night, I’d go to the Pointe Claire YMCA where Gary, my instructor, would attempt to initiate me in the mechanics of swimming. It was a slow frustrating process.  For him, I mean.  Whereas my sister was a natural, mastering and honing her skills early enroute to attaining that loftiest of swimmer’s achievements, the position of summer lifeguard, I was about as comfortable in the water as C-3PO making love for the first time.  I’d thrash my legs wildly, splash about, and generally try to avoid getting any of the corrosive pool water in my eyes.  And, all the while, my father would sit forlornly up in the bleachers, watching and waiting.  And then, one night, it happened. Gary cancelled late (I like to think that he’d finally given up and was going to let us down easy by maybe faking his own death, until he heard about my abrupt turnaround) and I decided to spend the hour going over what I’d learned.  I lowered myself into the deep end, steeled myself, pushed off from the ladder and, suddenly, I was treading water.  The treading became a breaststroke and, before I knew it, I was swimming.  I swam all the way to the other side of the pool.  Then I swam back.  Then I swam front crawl.  Then backstroke. By hour’s end, I pulled myself out of the pool to find my father waiting for me.  Bursting with pride, he congratulated me.  And handed me five dollars.

In addition to all the swimming, there were the piano lessons.  When my sister and I first started, our instructor had done me the great disservice of informing my mother I had “piano fingers”.  I’m not sure what that meant exactly but was fairly certain that its marked characteristics would have suited any of various other descriptors like, say, “surgeon fingers” or “origami fingers” or “pick pocket fingers”.  To my mother, however, it denoted a genetic predisposition to musical genius.  And so, while my sister, with her short, inelegant fingers better suited to t.v. remote manipulation, got a pass, I was pressured to make the most of my God-given talent.

Next to trampoline week in Phys. Ed., there was nothing I hated more and, perhaps sensing this, my instructor prescribed a practice regimen to help things along: thirty minutes a day for the six days between lessons.  I was given a special chart to take home that my mother was to check off and sign at the end of each week.  ”You probably won’ t be able to practice for half an hour every single day,”my piano teacher conceded.  ”Some days a little more; some days a little less.  Just as long as you get your hours in.”  I returned home, my seven year old self embittered by the prospect of all this piano practice cutting into my non-existent plans.  I mean, sure, my week was pretty wide open but what if something came up on Friday afternoon and I’d have to miss out on account of that final half hour owing?  Well, the solution became readily apparent.  I could just front load my practice at the beginning of the week and have the rest of the week free – just in case. And so, the following day, I sat down in front of our home piano – an antique, discordant monstrosity so enormous that it probably necessitated the house be built around it – and started banking practice time.  Thirty minutes, then sixty, then an hour and a half. After two hours, I was beyond exhausted.  Dazed, fingers cramped, I played on.  Two and a half hours in, I had attained an otherworldly transcendence, what the Native Americans call “a vision quest”.  I was one with the music, the metronome, and my poodle, Snoopy’s, sporadic howls.  At one point, I was floating above it all like one of those out-of-body experiences where the spirit of the soon-to-be-undeceased looks down at himself and thinks “Poor sonovabitch”.  And then, finally, it was over.  Three and a half hours later.  I trotted upstairs, had mom sign my practice schedule – which she did without even bothering to ask what the hell she was signing – and had the rest of the week off.  I thought it a brilliant plan; my piano teacher less so when she checked out my practice schedule the following day.

Eventually, I grew tired of the piano and, after considerable thought, elected to stand up to my mother and tell her I was giving it up.  It was my first adult decision.  And a memorable one.  I told her I was quitting.  She burst into tears and tore my piano exercise book in half. My little sister cried.  I apologized.  The next day, my mother bought me a new piano exercise book and assured me that it would be our little secret and she would not be telling my dad what had happened.

It was another two years before I quit for good.

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May 19, 2013: If I were on Survivor…

Jelly can’t bear to look

Several weeks ago, Akemi and I were watching Survivor.  In the episode, the contestants were treated to surprise visits from their loved ones.  They had been separated for quite some time (over a month!) and, not surprisingly, the reunions were incredibly emotional.  One girl hugged her father like a long lost love.  Another woman broke down at the mere sight of her husband.  I tried to imagine what it would be like for me, standing there, watching as, one by one, my fellow contestants had their moments with their significant others, anxiously awaiting my turn, eyeing the tree-line for my special someone… Akemi?  Mom?  My sister?

“Jelly,”said Akemi, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.  And, the second she said it, I realized: “Of course!  Who else?”

Who else would it be but my 14 year old pug, Jelly, snarfling and panting as she’d break through the treeline and waddle up the pathway on her arthritic legs into my waiting arms?  We’d probably lose the challenge but nevertheless be chosen to join the winners on the reward getaway where we’d enjoy a wonderful feast of assorted meats, veggies, assorted fruits and desserts.  And before saying goodbye, I’d give Jelly a smooch on the noggin’ as I do every time I carry her up and down the stairs or in and out of the house (Full disclosure: I probably kiss that dog more than I do my girlfriend) and then we’d part ways – me, back to the island, inspired by her visit to persevere in the face of adversity; she, to her guest hut, provoked by the richness of the meal to void her bowels for one endless diarrhea-festooned evening.  Now THAT would be reality television!

My other muse: Lulu.

Jelly works up a sweat.

Bubba – all smiles.

Lulu is laughing AT you, not WITH you!

Hey, my pal, Tara Yelland, is trying to raise money for Response Time, a short film she’ll be working on in the next couple of months.  She didn’t specify what, exactly, she’d be doing (my guess is crowd control) but it’s obviously something she’s passionate about (like nail art, Mad Men, and my occasional dog-related blog entries).  So passionate, in fact, that she produced the following video in support of the project: http://vimeo.com/65869540.  The goal is to raise $10 000 in 30 days and, with 6 days to go, they’re at $5590.  Apparently, the way the fundraising works, they need to reach their target in order to get the money pledged.  If they don’t, they get nothing.  Also, at some point, someone breaks into their homes and soaks their pillows in linseed oil.

Don’t let this happen to Tara!  Help her and her reach her goal by visiting and pledging here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/response-time

And check out her personal blatherings here: tarayelland

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May 18, 2013: So you’ve won $600 million! Now what?

Yes, you’ve just won $600 million!  Now what?

Well, if you’re like 70% of other instant millionaires, you’ll demonstrate unsound judgement, make poor investment decisions, fritter your money away and, eventually find yourself destitute, friendless, and alone (What could happen to you: tales of big lottery winners – U.S. News).  Don’t believe me?  Check out the sad tales of these former lottery winners:  How the Lives of 10 Lottery Millionaires went Disastrously Wrong ….

What is it about huge monetary windfalls that transforms the average person into a compulsive spender?  One day, they’re just trying to make ends meet and, then next, they’re suddenly demonstrating the financial acumen of successful pro athletes (How Millionaire Athletes Spend Their Money and Go Bankrupt …, 15 Pro Athletes Who Lost Millions and Filed for Bankruptcy, Top 10 Bankrupt Athletes – Kidzworld).

According to this article - Riches to rags: Why most lottery winners end up broke – Yahoo … - it’s human nature to adjust our consumption based on what is available to us.

So now that we know what the problem is, how do YOU avoid inevitably finding yourself penniless and living in your parents’ basement?

Well, you can try following my helpful advice:

1. Take half of whatever you’ve won and put it in the bank or in a safe, very conservative investment.  The other half is your spending money.  THIS is your keeping money, only to be touched in cases of emergency (ie. mortgages, life-saving medical procedures, ransom payments, etc.).

2. Tigers and other exotic animals are poor investments.

3. As are flashy new cars.

4. Creative endeavors like scifi shows and low-budget horror movies on the other hand…

5. If you haven’t heard from a friend or family members in the three years prior to becoming rich, don’t rekindle those long-dead relationships once they come a-calling.  And they will come a-calling.  Limit your generosity to close friends, loved ones and, of course, the writers of blogs your frequent on a semi-regular basis.

6. Dude, you’re already rich.  Don’t try to become richer by investing in that sandwich franchise, state-of-the-art wig factory or Kanye West Cologne.

7. Try not to get bumped off by your next of kin.

8. Avoid doing anything that might get you sued like drinking and driving or being alone with anyone at anytime.

9. Drugs are VERY expensive.

10. So are good-looking women/men.

11. That entourage/helicopter pad/set of yellow diamond grillz – not as cool as you think.

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May 17, 2013: Pending Projects and Memorable Meals!

Pictured above, research materials for an upcoming project.  Well, provided everything goes as planned.   But – honestly – when does it ever?  Fortunately, it’s a subject that interests me so I will eventually read them…hopefully sooner than later.  

Well, another week has come and gone and still no word on the pilots. My agent inquired and was essentially told “Hey, if we didn’t like them, we would have already passed.”.  So, I suppose, no news is good news. But, after a while – a looooong while – no news is bad news if you’re looking to plan your life.  As a result, we have to start making plans for our L.A. visit next week.  This first trip will be a meet and greet.  We’ll follow with a more relaxed, get-to-know-the-neighborhoods visit soon after – a quasi-vacation to familiarize ourselves with the city and find a suitable place to live, somewhere nice but not too far from the action. I’ll rent at first and then, depending on what production we land on, maybe sell the house in Vancouver and actually buy a place there.  I think I should settle in nicely.  As it turns out, I actually have more friends in L.A. than I do here!

One of the things I’ll look forward to will be the L.A. restaurants.  It’ll be interesting to see how they compare to some of Vancouver’s best.

Speaking of which…

Cas’s trademark post-workout shake 

Cas treated me to his trademark post-workout shake the other day. Packed full of vitamins and, well, everything that could fit into a blender, it was surprisingly tasty (ableit fruity).   

The inclusion of half a lime (rind and all!) was a surprisingly nice little addition.  

I was equally dubious about another of Cas’s suggested snacks: 

Rhubarb and sugar

In this instant, I was right to be skeptical.  It was awful.

Much better luck with some recent meals…

The eggplant parm sandwich at Fable Kitchen.

The spot prawn appetizer at L’Abattoir.

The scallop sashimi with yuzu and jalapeno at Chez Joe.

The sous-vide octopus salad at Chez Joe.

The sous-vide rib-eyes with chimichurri sauce.

The sticky toffee pudding at L’Abattoir.

This entry is dedicated to all of my close Powerball Lottery-playing friends here on this blog.  $600 million could produce a lot of great television!  Just sayin’.

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May 14, 2013: Actor Cas Anvar Answers Your Questions!

As Sayid’s brother, Omer Jarrah, in Lost.

I sit here in Joe’s guest room savoring the memory of the numerous gourmet meals I have been treated too here ( still astounded Joe’s learned to cook!) and enjoying the gorgeous home that Joe has opened up to me … am flooded with nostalgia for our high school days so I’m glad to answer all your questions cuz its letting me remember things I haven’t thought about in aaaggesss!

CAS

Sparrow_hawk writes: “Are you a fan of the Assassin’s Creed games? Have you played them? Do you have a favorite? Is there anything that makes you crazy (in an annoyed sort of way) when you play them? Does the movie begin at the beginning of the story or do they play a little fast and loose with the timeline?”

CAS: Hey S.H.! Great questions! I most def have played ‘em.. and being I’m that emotional sensitive actor type …I tend to have a preference for the awesome ending of ACR. AC3 ended a bit strangely and left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. I also LOVED the bombs in ACR ..I became a master of stealth and bomb-duggery in the end… getting rid of all my opponents with some nasty toxic gases. AC bloodlines was not too shabby either! As for Fassbender’s flick…as far as I know they only chose a writer a few months ago so it’s not likely to even be a locked story yet, let alone anything but top secret. I will say that I think that he should play Ezio and let someone ..oh i dunno … a little browner…play Altair..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auePbjyI3QM

Fan art.  When was the last time one of you guys did something like this for me?  The occasional macaroni likeness would be greatly appreciated.

Nik Tesla writes: “So, yeah. I’m a gamer. And a fan of the AC series. So, assuming that “Cas” is Anvar from AC Revelations, my question is: Were you involved in the decision to use a mid-eastern accent? Philip Shahbaz, who voiced Altair in the first game, sounded (inexplicably, given the backstory) like he was from North America. By AC Revelations, which Cas voiced, Altair had apparently acquired an accent more representative of his Syrian roots. Who makes a decision like that, and was Cas involved? What did he think of not sounding like Phillip Shahbaz? And did he meet Kristen Bell (voice of Lucy)?”

CAS: Very intuitive observation, Nik. Regarding the decision to go the direction we went, I think that Ubi wanted the accent, and they wanted the more middle eastern element for the final chapter of Ezio and Altair. As for my role in the whole thing, I came to the table with the accent but then we had the very fun challenge of aging Altair from the age of 30 to 90 during the game. A brand new challenge for me, but I loved it. We went thru numerous versions of OLD Altair before we arrived at the voices you guys heard and enjoyed in the game.

He’s a paintball wizard, gotta a paintgun in his fist!  Paintball wizard, with a braaaacelet on his wrist!

Randomness writes: “1. Are you a fan of any of the Stargate shows?
2. Are you a foodie? And if so what are your fav foods?
3. Do you have any hobbies?
4. What would you say have been the high, and low points of your career?
5. What was the most enjoyable TV show or movie you’ve appeared in?
6. As you’re shooting a movie at the moment, from what you’re allowed to say, what kind of movie is it, and what kind of role do you have?
7. What’s your fav tv show at the moment?
8. Where can you see yourself in 10 years time?”

CAS: geeezus! Now I know why you call yourself Randomness. Ok in the spirit of how you asked, here are your answers.

1-YES! The original SG is my fave! Cuz Joe & Paul rocked it !!

2- YES BBQ porterhouse steaks, Thai, sushi

3- COMICS, Gaming, Sci fi and fantasy. If someone were to offer to DM me in a game of D& D I wouldn’t turn it down…oh and my most recently acquired passion? ….PAINTBALL My team is called the SUAVE BASTARDS.  You can find our page on FB!

4-Highs have been Source Code, Neverland, and the upcoming DIANA movie (I play Dodi) and also entering into the whole COMICON world …love the fans!

Corporate takeovers can be ruthless.

5- I think The PHANTOM was my most fun bad guy.  Gotta luv beheading a businessman at a board meeting.

6 – Currently shooting BABY SELLERS here in Vancouver. Directed by my Neverland Director Nick Willing and starring Jennifer Finnigan and Kirstie Alley. A dark, brilliantly written drama about the baby trafficking trade. And yes (I know you will be shocked) I’m playing the bad guy.

Suave Bastards on the hunt…for fun!

Brian mcgee writes: “Is Cas allowed to tell us if he’s filmed this scene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ86b-2xpNk yet?”

Cas: Brian, you’re a deeply troubled little puppy and although I’m bound by death penalty gag orders not to reveal trade secrets … I can tell you I DID film these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz9S2TwzjVQ and this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH0wMYdPJGE

Ponytail writes: “Some questions for Cas Anvar. Brave man!  You have a long diverse impressive resume. What has been your favorite job so far?”

Cas: BEST PROJECTS Neverland, Source Code, Diana, and I cannot WAIT to play Captain Eric Cern of the Starship C.AS. NOBILITY (yes… that’s right … my name is in the name of the ship is that a problem?)

Insert shameless plug – http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cowboyerrant/will-you-bring-nobility-to-life?ref=live

In Last Resort

BEST ROLES – NEVERLAND, THE PHANTOM and LAST RESORT!

BTW you can check out clips from all these projects on my website www.casanvar.com

“Is there anything you haven’t done yet that you would like to do?”

Cas: To be the romantic lead or hero of a major series or feature, ideally something in the action genre.

“If you could only do one thing for the rest of your career, what would it be?”

Cas: ACT

“What was the funniest thing that ever happened to you while filming, recording, or acting, etc?”

Cas: So many, …but one was when shooting Source Code – Jake Gyllenhaal played a practical joke on me when we doing our scene and was hanging from the roof like a monkey in the bathroom of the train, so when I walked in ( during a take!) I had to try really hard to not crack…and said something like …’well um …I didnt realize this was occupied sir… pardon me…’ lol

With John Cusack

“Where do you live when not in Joe’s guest room? Vancouver, Toronto, NY, LA, etc?”

Cas: What do you mean? This is my only home ..oh, Joe, I forgot to ask you …Can I stay a little longer…like till 2015? (Otherwise I’ll have to go back to LA in Studio City)

“Who speaks more foreign languages, you or Joe?”

Cas: English French Farci , and smatterings of Spanish, Italian, Arabic and Hindi… Joe?

“Did you and Joe get into any trouble in High School? Like what?”

Cas: Ha! Pale broccoli – that’s all I can really say.. or wait… there was the time that someone started my dad’s boat during the toga party ..which wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t been on the trailer in the front yard at the time….oh and then there was the time we ran nearly 6 miles in the middle of the night to get home because our ride was too drunk to drive and Joe and I refused to take a risk…smart boys we were. I think our prom pic says it all …can you say ‘Revenge of the Nerds’?

“I guess you got to sample dasndanger’s Puerco Pibil? Well, how was it?”

Cas: Ummm delish! Yummmmmm

Tam Dixon writes: “I recognize Cas Anvar from Netherland. Hi! I hope the visit goes well. Questions for Mr. Anvar: How does acting in movies/shows compare to video game voice roles? Which roles to you prefer between the two?”

Cas: Hey DIX!!  It’s NEVERLAND actually, but I am fondly looking forward to appearing in Netherland at some future date…;-) As for the diff between FILM/TV and voice work – it’s substantially different. 1- In voice I get to play ANY type of character I want as long as I can do the accent.  I don’t have to shave.  I can wear sweats , so I play Marines & soldiers and Russian spies and Asian baddies in my flip flops…as well as all the stuff I play on camera…its a lot of fun to play these roles I’d never get to play in real life. It’s really hard to say which one I like more… don’t make me choose ..don’t make me choose!! :-O

Mom was right. Don’t run with scissors!

Dasndanger writes: “QUESTIONS FOR CAS!!

“1. What kind of kid was Joey back in school? Quiet? Nerdy? Cool? Smart? Dumb as a bag of hammers?”

Cas: Ha! Nicely played Das…very few fans would think to ask the best friend from high school about their blogging guru.  Haha.  But now the veil is parted, and I will say that Joe…or as you so correctly called him, Joey, was a unique combination of nerdy/cool. As I recall, not a huge fan of sciences or phys ed but great at long distance running …and loved English and history classes…Not quite sure how he pulled off the whole thing though cuz the jocks liked him and the nerds liked him. Even the girls liked him.. He was kind of an Alex Keaton type except that instead of money and business he was always talking about stories and writing and super serious about it…Oh and football and D&D yikes! its scary to think about the football pools he organized (and won!) … And then there was this strange war game he invented and got the entire school addicted to playing which involved paper and pens and drawing islands and boats and doing some sort of battle ship move with the pen to blow up your opponent… completely bizarre now that I think about it… but back then… everyone was lining up to play against Joe in some massive war tournament which obviously he won. He was kinda like a modern day Tom Sawyer or Huck fin. Could get anyone to pretty much to do or like anything…but didn’t have tons of close friends. Just a few of us.  Friends with lots of girls and always there were his stories…and his writing writing writing… always writing ..Carried a spiral note book around with him 24/7 filled with chicken scrawl pages of endless stories, ideas and concepts.

“2. Do you have a specific fond memory/story about Joe and you from back in the day that you could share with us?”

Cas: I’m not sure why this comes to mind…but it was kinda hard to make Joe laugh. He had a weird sense of humor ..but being that I was kinda weird I often made him laugh without even thinking ..and that was always rewarding. I remember one time ..it seems silly now…but we were having breakfast and I said ” Jey do you want some O.J…. J.O.?” …. he died….I’m not quite sure why …but that was fun.

“3. Will you have any involvement in the planned Assassin’s Creed movie?”

Cas: Damn straight!! If I have anything to do about it …. just gotta let Michael Fassbender know… Feel free to send him a note.

“4. Do you have a favorite Persian dish that you could share with Joey and his blog followers?”

Cas: Ooooooh, good one. Umm not sure how to spell these things but FEESENJOON is awesome.  It’s pomegranate paste with walnuts and chicken…god its good! And Tadeek, the crunchy rice that cooks at the bottom of the rice cooker is a delicacy – as well as Gormeh Zabs, a stew I would probably blade soeone for.

Line Noise writes: “Question for Cas: When recording a voice for a video game are you given any context as to where your character is and what he’s doing so you know how to act?”

Cas: Sometimes LINE ! But not always .. For ACR I was shown a very rough video presentation of the gaming world …It looked like a monkey had been typing code on the keyboard …No resemblance to the epic beauty of the finished game … but it let me know the basic action then on CALL OF DUTY which was full motion capture.  We had an empty green screen room with tape marks on the ground and a verbal description of the mountain cave we were in and the thunderous artillery blowing sand and dust in our faces etc. So it was all acting… but we did get to rush to the monitor after each take and see the animated characters doing the take we had just shot in a virtual environment ..it was sooo cool!

Patricia Stewart-Bertrand writes: “For Cas: 1) How did you get int o the gamer business? Did Joe have a hand in it?
2) What advice would you give to other people who want to follow in your footsteps?
3) Joe has said that to be a successful writer you need to have talent, networking skills and luck. How do you feel about this? What has helped you the most out of the three?
4)How did you manage to get an agent, if you have one?
5) Is there any money in gaming for anyone besides the owner of the company?
6) Where do you hope your career will take you next?”

Cas: Ok, PAT (M’s future voice actress want to be) here’s the scoop: voice fell into my lap…I was a personal trainer during the writers’ strike and had a huge voice actor as a client.  She hooked me up with a big voice agency.  I was good at voices and I booked ACR as my first job…THAT WAS GOOD LUCK.

With Rainn Wilson

2- If you can do ANYTHING else in your life that makes you happy and fulfills you other than acting…DO IT! That’s my advice. This business is not for the faint of heart or the thin skinned.

3 – Talent, drive, thick skin and luck in equal quantities, yes. And you’d be surprised how little talent has to do with it at a certain point. But it is a requirement for sure. For me, my drive and inability to take NO for an answer is what got me here.

4- Agents must be sought out unless you’re a star and usually the best way is by referral. Sending materials in unsolicited usually ends up in the garbage (at least in LA).  In smaller cities, knocking on the door and dropping your resume and photo off in person does actually work if luck is on your side and they need someone like you at that time.

5- Gaming has not yet yielded the lucrative results for the talent that film and TV have done because, currently, our unions have not gotten us poor little artists a piece of the pie for gaming sales. It will come but who knows when. I want to be an action hero and dramatic classical film actor. Let’s just say if someone offered me Hugh Jackman’s career I would not likely turn it down …or rather I’d wrestle the person to the ground and force them to sign the offer in blood and scream no erassies.! As for Joe having a hand in my gaming career…I’m actually trying to get JOE into gaming. He didn’t realize till I showed him some of the newest games coming out like Ellen Page’s new BEYOND 2 SOULS game or THE LAST OF US or Assassins Creed, just how story heavy and character driven games have become. And how dependent they now are on brilliant writers to develop and create these complex new games. With technology maxing out now and visual quality at near photo realism the only direction left for developers to grow is in story…deep complex nerdgasmic stories.  You should have seen his eyes light up and his Mr. Burns hands rub together… animation-check, Sci fi –check comic books- check …Gaming…a new world to conquer.

With Jar Jar Binks

DP writes: “@Cas – What is your involvement in the playtesting?”

Cas: At this time, DP, I do not BETA test games …at least not as an actor…I sometimes will sign up online for them and play the crap outta a new game and send all my bugs to the developers…but not as part of my acting world. Thats just me being an uber geek gaming nerd!

Airelle writes: “Cas, who did the music for Nobility promo?”

Cas: Airelle, well now there’s an excellent question because it is an all original score for our new sci fi show. And it’s composed by Charles-Henri Avelange. I’m gonna put the link here so people can watch the hotness of this new series which I will be Captaining out of dry dock.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cowboyerrant/will-you-bring-nobility-to-life?ref=live

Yet another shameless plug – Feel free to support NOBILITY.  There are 2 weeks left to get it going and we really do have the most awesome team on board. I even dropped the bug in Joe’s ear to ponder writing a season (or 2).

OK off to do another day’s shooting on Baby Sellers as the nefarious Vikram (baby seller extraordinaire)

Baby-selling Vikram

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May 12, 2013: Dinner and drinks with Lisa!

Last night, Akemi and I played host to my old Stargate pal, Lisa.  Wow, it feels like just yesterday I was strolling down the hall of the Production Offices to chat with the gals from accounting (and put off writing that script).  Our evening in pictures…

Lisa arrives, looking sassy.

Her earrings = less sassy and more, well, hooty?

We were expecting five for dinner – Akemi, Lisa, Lisa’s husband, my buddy Cas, and myself.  Alas, her hubby canceled so we ended up with a fair amount of leftovers.  I ended up sending Lisa home with an extra steak. For her husband.  I assume.

P.E.I. rib-eyes – I heavily salted them and let them sit for an hour, then rinsed them off, patted them dry, and seasoned them with thyme.  I then vacuum sealed them with a little olive oil and crushed garlic and cooked them in a  sous-vide bath at 56 degrees celsius for 3 hours.  I finished off by pan-searing them over medium-high heat for 30 seconds on each side, then let them rest for five minutes before serving.  

I seasoned the salmon with salt, garlic powder, pepper, and a little yuzu powder.  I placed a baking tray filled with an inch of water on the bottom rack, set the oven to 200 degrees, and then put the salmon in on the top rack.  After 20 minutes, I turned off the oven and let it sit for another twenty minutes.  I finished with a little chopped chive from the garden.

I used Scott Conant’s Scarpetta spaghetti recipe for this one.  Some of the highlights include using a potato masher on the stewing tomatoes and using an olive oil infused with basil, garlic, and chili. 

Veggiest (not pictured): purple cabbage with maple balsamic, and (unintentionally) crispy stir-fried broccoli (which I forgot to take off the heat).

In addition to the dessert Lisa brought…

A cream puff assortment from Beta 5.  Flavors included chocolate, vanilla, the ever-popular salted caramel, creamsicle, pistachio and sour cherry (one of my faves), strawberry-matcha, and raspeberry- Earl Grey.

And, finally, we capped things off with booze.  We tried a little chartreuse, had some of that terrific root liquor with ginger beer, and, of course…

A scotch and whisky assortment.

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I’ve never been a big scotch drinker – but have had my interest piqued by the Prohibition-ear gangsters running all that tasty-looking whisky on Boardwalk Empire. So, I picked up a few bottles for a tasting.  Five out of the six are scotches – so-called because they were produced and aged for at least three years in Scotland.  The lone dissenter, Nikka, is a Japanese whisky.  The five scotches were surprisingly different.  The 10 year old Laphroaig is the boldest, smokiest of the lot.  The 14 year old Oban was, in my opinion, the easiest-drinking scotch.  I couldn’t really pick out the almond and vanilla notes supposedly present in the Sauterne cask-aged 12 year old Glenmorangie Nectar D’or.  The 12 year old Cardhu was a treat.  Apparently, it’s so popular in Japan that it is purchased in bulk, directly from the distillery, making it a hard “get”.

Everyone else had their scotch on the rocks but I find the ice dilutes the flavor.  I opted for a drop or two of room temperature water instead.

The results?  If I had to rate them in order of preference:

1. Nikka, 2. Oban, 3. Lophraig, 4. Cardhu, 5. Glenlivet, 6. Glenmorangie.

But, really, they were all very good.  And, by night’s end, I was feeling a lot like Bubba here…

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May 11, 2013: Dinner disaster averted! News of note!

Thanks for the vegetarian recipe tips but, as it turns out, the presumed vegetarian coming over for dinner tonight is actually a pescetarian, meaning she also eats fish (as opposed to a Pescadorian who lives on one of the 64 islands in the Formosa Strait).  This also means I have only one vegetarian friend – and even that’s not for certain as, last I heard, Ashleigh may have been fallen off the wagon.  Bacon is a powerful drug.

So, anyway, as a result, tonight’s dinner menu looks this: sous-vide rib-eyes, oven roasted wild spring salmon, spaghetti with tomato and fresh basil, purple cabbage with maple balsamic, stir-fried broccoli, cream puffs, and four kinds of scotch.

Some news of note:

Non-skinny customers, Abercrombie & Fitch doesn’t need your business.  Abercrombie & Fitch CEO slammed for targeting thin customers in comments made seven years ago | Shine On – Shine from Yahoo! Canada  Fallout from a 2006 interview.  It took the public seven years to notice?

Just in time for Mother’s Day: 11 Facts That Show How Hard Moms Work

21 Devastatingly Accurate Movie Reviews (Featured Partner)  The Wizard of Oz: “Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again.”

I’m sure it seemed like not a good idea at the time: ‘Gunmen’ Hired to Storm Movie Theater for Traumatizing Publicity Stunt

SFSignal offers its own Crowd Funding Roundup: SF/F Crowd Funding Roundup For 05/11/2013

Scientists May Have Found Brazilian Atlantis  No, no.  That’s just where we parked it after the events of Enemy at the Gate.

Another dog in need.  Some sad, shady goings-on in Salem, MO: Save Phineas

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May 10, 2013: Ask Altaïr! Fight Apophis! Vegetarian Alert!

This is it!  The last day to get your questions in for Assassin Creed’s Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad (aka Cas Anvar)!

Learn the secrets of the Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins.  Ask him now!

Lulu is a huge fan.

Hey, on the heels of yesterday’s Kickstarter entry, I received an email from space lawyer and author Virgilu Pop who has asked me to put the word out.  He needs YOUR help in the fight against Apophis.  No, really…

Save Earth from killer asteroids – just like SG-1 in Fail Safe!  Learn more here: www.apoph.is

And one more shout out for the SF web series, Nobility -

Starring Babylon 5′s Claudia Christian and Assassin Creed’s Cas Anvar…

http://goo.gl/rLERO

NobilityTheSeries.com

VEGETARIAN ALERT!  VEGETARIAN ALERT!  Tomorrow night, I’ll be entertaining one of my two vegetarian friends.  She’ll be coming over for dinner and, apparently, a fancied-up side dish masquerading as a main course aint gonna cut it.  I can’t simply substitute an entire eggplant for a chicken in that roast chicken recipe.  I need a tasty vegetarian dish.  And this, my friends, is where you all come in.  Please be so kind as to post your best, can’t fail, delicious, vegetarian main course recipe.  Help a non-vegetarian help a vegetarian out.

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May 7, 2013: Altaïr checks in! Summer arrives! Scotch-tasting with Akemi!

Sorry.  Crazy-busy day today.  Entertained my visiting cousins.  Took Bubba in to get his bandage removed.  And I’m also hosting Altaïr from Asassin’s Creed who is in town shooting a movie.  No. Seriously.  This guy -

I went to high school with him.  Back then, he went by Cas.  I, on the other hand, was known as The Spider.

Right now he’s up in the guest room, sharpening his blade and whatnot, but once he’s settled in, I thought it might be fun to throw a little Q&A his way.  ”Are any of your blog readers gamers?”he asked hopefully tonight.  Hell, I’d be surprised if they weren’t!

Well, summer is finally here to stay.  How do I know?  Well -

Akemi has dusted off her parasol.

Discernible increase in my vVsits to Cadeaux Bakery.

Lulu seems lazier than usual.

Today, it gives me great pleasure to kick off a new blog segment: Scotch-tasting with Akemi.  In this installment, our resident scotch expert samples a 14 year old Oban and a 10 year old Laphroaig…

IMG_5055

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Both receive a #1 rating!

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