20 January 2010: The New York Times to charge for online content

Is this the march of progress, or is it the beginning of the end of good journalism?

http://www.wordbits.net/author/gened/

I've been busy with TT's annual company meetings, which went very well. It was my first time as an attendee, and my panel on writing effective summaries for online articles went well. I was also impressed by the other sessions, and I ate well at the lunch and dinner, which featured four food stations including Chinese, Italian, Mexican, and vegetarian cuisines!

Also at the belated holiday party were four tables of beer pong, Wii consoles with big-screen projectors, and lots of great opportunities to catch up and socialize with current and onetime co-workers!

5 January 2010: Sherlock Holmes review

We found Sherlock Holmes to be entertaining, if not especially cerebral. Guy Ritchie did a better job of adapting Arthur Conan Doyle’s seminal mysteries than some critics had feared, using dialogue and descriptions recognizable to Holmes enthusiasts. On the other hand, the movie has the director’s trademark slow-motion fisticuffs and explosions, modern quips, and focus on the seamy side of Great Britain.

Robert Downey Jr. is as much a caricature of Oscar Wilde or other Victorian bohemians as he is the great detective. As with Iron Man, he brings appropriate charisma, nervous energy, and intelligence to the role. Jude Law is good as Dr. Watson, giving Holmes’ sidekick a more youthful energy and making him more of a true partner than he has often been portrayed.

The pretty Rachel McAdams plays Irene Adler in the largest deviation from “canon” as a recurring love interest of Sherlock Holmes, and genre veteran Mark Strong plays Lord Blackwood, the key to a nefarious plot threatening London, and by extension, civilization itself.

The story is similar to that of Young Sherlock Holmes and other pastiches, and even though I’m a big fan of the original books, I can appreciate well-done variations on the classic characters. The script leaves an obvious opening for a sequel.

I’ve argued on Facebook and elsewhere that Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes is a decent adaptation of the literary sleuth but a better steampunk movie. I plan to blog more about this subgenre of speculative fiction, which has been growing in popularity and has had relatively few successes in film or on television.

Sherlock Holmes is an excellent example of steampunk, including social commentary implied in the Dickensian images of a gritty (and class-stratified) industrial metropolis, a few clockwork and steam-powered gadgets, opulent costumes, playful anachronisms, and a lively soundtrack inspired by Gypsy music.

Although my favorite version of Sherlock Holmes so far is the early 1980s BBC/PBS television series starring Jeremy Brett, I enjoyed the movie, which I’d rate an 8.5 out of 10 or a B+. It’s rated PG-13 for violence and some sexuality. Let’s hope that more movies this coming year are equally fun!

3 January 2010: Holiday report

Friends, I hope that all your holidays were happy! Janice and I enjoyed relatively quiet workweeks at the end of December 2009, and we drove to Upstate New York on Christmas Eve. We feasted on lasagna at her parents’ home and stayed at the Country Inn & Suites across from the Great Escape amusement park.

The next morning, we exchanged gifts with Janice’s parents and her middle sister Shelly’s family. Among other things, I got some DVDs, a Jedi costume, and books. Thanks to Amazon.com, I exchanged most presents online and through the mail with my own family in Virginia. Janice and I then headed down to the house of her youngest sister, Melinda, for a Christmas dinner of ham.

I gave comic books and Lego sets to my nephews David and Joshua, and we played pool and Wii video games with grandpa Marvin and brothers in law Melvin and Gary. My nieces Laura and Amanda played Dance, Dance Revolution, while Becky texted her boyfriend Tristan. I also caught up on videos, including the mildly amusing G-Force
and Night at the Smithsonian.

The day after Christmas, the children went sledding, and we enjoyed a sloppy Joe (what Janice’s family calls “barbecue”) lunch before returning to Massachusetts. On New Year’s Eve, Janice and I got vaccinated for the H1N1 flu virus and screened Sherlock Holmes at the new Showcase Cinemas at Legacy Place in Dedham, Mass. I liked the steampunky film, which I’ll try to review in more detail in the coming week or so.

We also had lunch at Qdoba and picked up my subscription at New England Comics in Norwood, despite the snow. That night, we went to local New Year’s Eve celebrations, including a Celtic music concert, some square dancing, an ice sculpture, the Needham Concert Society, and the Homegrown Coffee House. It was also interesting to visit various churches, which served as venues for the civic events. We had dinner at The Rice Barn, a good Asian restaurant.

On Saturday, 2 January 2010, former co-worker and fellow genre fan Ken G. and his girlfriend Kahmmie came over to play more Wii games. Thanks to Ken, I finally got my Wii hooked up to the Internet, and we ate nachos and macaroni and cheese. We had considered going to Avatar, but snow and mixed reviews led us to postpone seeing James Cameron’s latest blockbuster. We did watch an episode of the geek comedy The
Big Bang Theory.

I liked the finale of Doctor Who: the End of Time, which I’ll also try to review in the coming weeks, along with other genre entertainment. The D&D4e “Vanished Lands:
the Faith-Based Initiative” fantasy campaign has finally wound down, amid some
contention among the role-players and clearing the way for one-shots and
miniseries.

Since my circles of acquaintances suffered through layoffs, divorces, and other stresses over the past year, let us hope that 2010 is better for everyone!