I had originally intended to blog about recent comic books, but that will have to wait until I've got more time and have caught up in reading them. My thoughts are with friends with sick family members, including Brian D.H. and April O'C., and I've offered condolences to fellow blogger Steve M.R. regarding his grandfather. Speaking of illness, with Monica S. out sick yesterday and Michele L.D'F. still in Italy, CW's copy desk has been busy, especially in the face of some construction in our office (see image above) as the online group continues to expand.
Last Saturday, 6 October 2007, Janice and I finally went to the renovated and enlarged "Natick Collection." The shopping mall is nice, but we'll be unlikely to shop at most of the upscale stores. We also took advantage of Olive Garden's "Never Ending Pasta Bowl!" We also had an expensive but tasty dessert at Finale. Closer to home, we're fortunate to have a Trader Joe's within walking distance. While we do most of our grocery shopping at Sudbury Farms or Stop & Shop, Trader Joe's is good for healthy snacks and seasonal items.
As September's warmth has given way to more seasonably cool, damp weather, I've caught up on local newspapers, including the Boston Phoenix, the Cambridge Weekly Dig, the Improper Bostonian, and Stuff at Night. The Phoenix and Dig are progressive alternatives to The Boston Globe and Herald, similar to New York's Village Voice or Washington D.C.'s City Paper. The Improper and Stuff are aimed at young urban sophisticates, which I'm not, but they're occasionally entertaining or informative.
I pick up the free Boston Now during the workweek. In addition to my Yahoo and Google RSS feeds, I read the Sunday Globe, but I miss the reading The New York Times in print.
While I know that I've blogged quite a bit lately about genre television, now that we're a few weeks into the new season, I can report my impressions more fully.
The revived Doctor Who's third-series finale was well-done, not so much because of the plot, but because of the acting and a few choice revelations about the time traveler's friends and foes. My favorite recent episode was "The Weeping Angels," but unlike some of the British tabloids, I liked most of this season. Spin-off Torchwood has also been decent.
Supernatural comedies Reaper and Pushing Daisies have both been stylish and amusing, with the slacker spy on Chuck not far behind. Of these, I've found the surreal Pushing Daisies to be more sweet than twee. As for more dramatic shows, Heroes is still working to juggle converging plot threads, but I appreciate the connections to the Star Trek franchise. Time-travel program Journeyman has also been solid.
Speaking of Trek, in addition to various Web sites' eager speculation about the Iron Man, Dark Knight, Indiana Jones [4] and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Justice League movies, J.J. Abrams' plan to reboot the space opera franchise has fans cautiously optimistic. Here's a good link to a list of the best "quest films:" http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/22/quest.films/index.html
I'm dropping Bionic Woman and Moonlight, mainly to free up time to watch shows I've recorded while gaming. Smallville may not be far behind, and I'm still waiting for the "Worf factor" (when actors from a parent show move to the spin-off, improving it; an allusion to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) on Stargate: Atlantis.
Next time: Comic books, gaming, and more…
Gene's Worlds 