Friends, I hope you've had a good week. Happy Birthday to my brother Peter, Dexter V.H., Nick F.J.T., and Nicole P.! Although I've been playing phone tag with Stuart C.G. and Robert A.S., I'm glad to report that Janice's mother and Corbin A.Y. are home from their respective knee surgeries.

At work, I washed out of during the second round of our Jeopardy tournament, but CW's editorial division rooted on Ken G. as he made it to the finals. Unfortunately, I've been too busy to keep to my regular schedule of pool/billiards with Bob R. on Mondays and Thursdays and visiting Bedrock Comics in Framingham, Massachusetts, with Ken or Brian F. on Wednesdays.

I'm also still catching up on reading comic books. However, I can say that, even though Marvel's long buildup to "Secret Invasion" and the retcon of "Spider-Man: One More Day" were bad, Amazing Spider-Man and action/espionage-flavored Captain America have been pretty good. Over on the DC side, as "Countdown to Final Crisis" drags on, I'm still enjoying the post-Eisner Spirit and all-ages Justice League Unlimited and Teen Titans Go, which I know my nephews David and Joshua would enjoy.

In independent titles, the new Zorro looks to be a worthy companion to the Lone Ranger and other recent literary adaptations, such as Dark Horse's sword-and-sorcery Conan. Eric Shanower's Age of Bronze, a retelling of The Illiad, is still the most detailed and carefully researched of these that I've seen.

Speaking of multimedia adaptations, this past weekend, Janice and I watched the direct-to-video Justice League: New Frontier. Much of Darwyn Cooke's graphic novel had to be cut or condensed for the woefully short runtime, but the art and animation were clean, since Cooke's style is close to that of the respected Bruce Timm.

Andrea Romano's voice casting was excellent, including Buffy: the Vampire Slayer and Angel's David Boreanaz as pilot/cosmic hero Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, Bionic Woman's Miguel Ferrer as alien exile J'onn J'onzz/the Martian Manhunter, Doogie Howser's Neil Patrick Harris as speedster Barry Allen/the Flash. Also noteworthy were Dune's Kyle MacLachlan as Superman; Brooke Shields as Jordan's boss and love interest, Carol Ferris; and in the role she was born to play, Xena: Warrior Princess' Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman.

The plot of New Frontier was mostly intact, showing how the idealistic Justice League emerged from the dark days of the early Cold War. We also watched some of the extra features on the DVD, including a brief history of the Justice League. Overall, I'd give this an 8.5 out of 10, four stars, or an B+/A-, putting it with Marvel's Ultimate Avengers (Vol. 1) and the animated Hellboy: Blood and Iron.

In genre television, with major cast changes coming to the young-adult metahuman drama Smallville, long-running time-travel show Doctor Who, the speculative fiction team in Torchwood, and space opera spin-off Stargate: Atlantis, the season finales or midseason runs of these shows take on new significance. It's a pity that supernatural comedy Reaper is "on the bubble" in terms of renewal.

We'll have to wait and see if the quality of these shows is helped or harmed by the changes after several years of each. The first-season finale of pre-apocalyptic Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles was decent, with some belated character development and persistent plot holes. As co-worker and fellow blogger Angela G. has noted, the nightmare of killer robots may yet be realized.

After watching the series finale of French sci-fi series Skyland on Friday, 29 February 2008, Janice and I both observed that the design and computer animation were impressive, but that the writing could have been stronger. I've caught parts of the cyberpunk CGI anime Appleseed on cable, and we're looking forward to the eventual return of fantasy Avatar: the Last Airbender on Nickelodeon.

I haven't yet watched the series premiere of New Amsterdam, which features an immortal New York detective reminiscent of Highlander: the Series, but Janice liked it, and I can only hope that it is more consistent than the swashbuckling Highlander franchise.

Coming soon: Gaming changes!

Friends and fellow role-players, I recently learned from gamer Beruk A. and co-worker and fellow blogger Ken G. that Dungeons & Dragons co-creator E. Gary Gygax has died at the age of 69.

Even as we enjoy D&D3.5 and look ahead to Fourth Edition, I have fond memories of first playing the boxed sets back in the early 1980s and of finding the pamphlets of the original 1970s version of the game. I've also read several of Gygax's fantasy novels, played in the world of "Greyhawk," and used several of the ideas he helped establish in our hobby.

Gygax will be missed, and we'll remember him and other fallen friends at this week's D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" and "Holy Steel" sessions.

My thoughts are with Janice's mother Linda, who is recovering from knee-replacement surgery, and friend Corbin A.Y., who also has orthopedic work ahead after a spill this week.

Although the writers' strike is over in Hollywood, we'll have to wait until autumn for new episodes of many television shows, including favorites such as Heroes, Reaper, and Pushing Daisies. Still, there has been no shortage of stuff to watch, even for those of us who aren't big fans of reality programming.

On PBS, Janice and I have been following the "Complete Jane Austen," which is airing as part of the retooled "Masterpiece" (formerly Masterpiece Theater) on Sunday nights. We've also been following a ballroom dancing championship on Wednesday nights, and we caught dog breed (Westminster) and agility (AKC/Eukanuba) contests in the past month.

The closest we get to reality shows is watching Ninja Warrior and Unbeatable Banzuke on G4 or Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network. Janice also watches some home-design shows on HGTV and other channels, but I'm usually busy with various games. Thanks to Stars/Encore/IFC, we've enjoyed "samurai Saturdays" and recent movies such as The Queen, and I hope to catch The Tudors on Showtime this spring.

I've fallen behind on military space opera spin-off Stargate Atlantis and cyberpunk prequel Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, but I've caught up on Smallville and Torchwood. Although the young adult melodrama on Smallville has been drawn out, at least the presence of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow has encouraged belated character development.

I've previously mentioned how I think a lighter tone is helping the paranormal investigators of Torchwood be more sympathetic and interesting. Parent show Doctor Who will return to the SciFi Channel soon, joined by new spin-off Sarah Jane and computer-aided Sanctuary. I won't miss the "reimagined" Bionic Woman or Flash Gordon, which have been canceled.

Although Psych is also off the air for now, the comedic sleuths will return to USA's Friday night lineup this summer. The revisionist Battlestar Galactica will also be returning soon. While I expect to finish the well-made series, I hope the next crop of genre shows will be a bit lighter in tone.

This week, I've picked up the much-anticipated DVDs of Justice League: the New Frontier. I'll try to review the animated video the next week or so. There are a number of animated superhero series in the works, including Spider-Man, Wolverine and the X-Men, and Batman: Brave & Bold, plus the Batman: Gotham Knight and Wonder Woman direct-to-video releases. Of course, there are also numerous genre films coming this summer!

Friends, I hope the past fortnight has treated you well. I've been busy with the usual things: work, various games, genre entertainment, and winter events.

Happy birthday to brother-in-law Gary (pictured), sisters-in-law Kelly and Shelly, and co-workers Michele and Donna! Gary's wife (and Janice's youngest sister) Melinda threw a surprise 40th birthday party for him at the "Parting Glass," an Irish pub in Saratoga, New York.

Congratulations also to fellow blogger Steve M.R. & Aleece Z.R. on the birth of their daughter, Lauren! I hope to see them and toddler Connor later this spring. I wish high-school chum Damon F.P. luck with his annulment proceedings, and I plan to attend my niece Lili's baptism as well.

Janice and I had our annual reviews at CW and OCS, respectively. On Saturday, 16 February 2008, we got our taxes done at H&R Block in Norwood, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, Janice has had to bring her car in for repairs after a thrown truck tire in the middle of the highway damaged the rear bumper.

In addition, I participated in a Jeopardy-style tournament at work. I ended the first round with -400, but bounced back during Double Jeopardy to about 12,000. Although I didn't bet enough in Final Jeopardy to win, I should have enough points to move ahead, since I would have won any of the other games played so far. The trivia contest has helped me to get to know some co-workers, but my billiards game with Bob R. has gotten rusty.

I've also been playing Scrabulous through Facebook with Janice, Erik B.L., and Ken G. As for social networking sites, I've been reconnecting with friends and co-workers through MySpace.com, LinkedIn, Classmates.com, and Google and Yahoo.

Speaking of games, Sara F.'s boyfriend Josh C. has joined the D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" Arabian fantasy group on Tuesday nights. The current face-to-face party of six Player Characters has gotten involved in intrigues in the city of Falit, hunting down members of the cult of Set and instigating a riot in the slave market.

The Thursday night "Holy Steel" teleconferencing team of Byron V.O./"Ibrahim" and Dexter V.H./"Faelonia" is also in Falit on its way to the distant empire of Khemet (New Kingdom Egypt). Over the past 25 years, more than 300 P.C.s have explored and helped develop my "Vanished Lands" campaign setting!

In addition, the role-play by e-mail team of Byron/"Melchior," Paul J./"Sai," and Gabe C./"Eva" have belatedly moved forward in their reconnaissance around the Temple of Elemental Evil, an adventure module that I may run later this spring. Greg D.C./"Janus" is helping them, while fellow Game Master Dexter is helping me prepare for this tabletop (pen-and-paper, dice-and-pizza) scenario.

Aside from "double-XP" (experience-point) weekend in City of Heroes, David I.S., Shari S., and I haven't had much time lately outside of the Sunday morning virtual sessions. The rest of our group — Kim A.G., Steve M.R., and Thomas K.Y. — has continued regularly in the multiplayer online superhero game.

I've enjoyed the Wii, which I'll probably get to use at CW's annual offsite editorial retreat in late April, and I'd love to play the Lego Star Wars (Classic Saga), Batman, and Indiana Jones video games.

Next time: More genre entertainment and food!

After blogging about various games, a contest that has proven to be equally entertaining and more important to the nation is the U.S. presidential primaries. The withdrawals of John Edwards and Rudy Guiliani have narrowed the race considerably. The good news is that voters now have a clearer choice, but the bad news is that the remaining candidates will disappoint both the liberal and conservative faithful.

On the Republican side, John McCain is the candidate with more experience and endorsements, although Mitt Romney's fiscal and social conservatism may be more appealing to the party's base. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's network and detailed proposals are offset by her personal disputes with Barack Obama, who is appealing to younger, idealistic voters with his promise of change. If you live in a state participating in the "Super Tuesday" primaries, please remember your civic duty as we head toward the next election!

After rewatching The Who's Quadrophenia last week, I caught Shut Up and Sing, which documented how country music trio the Dixie Chicks were blacklisted by radio stations after lead singer Natalie Maines-Pasdar made a crack about President George W. Bush at the outset of the second U.S.-Iraq war. Although I'm not a big country music fan, I was impressed by the Dixie Chicks' integrity in the face of political criticism and commercial setbacks, and I hope that our divided nation can respect free speech and differences of opinion.

I've also caught up in reading recent issues of Captain America, another intersection between politics and art. As former sidekick (long thought dead) "Bucky" Barnes takes up the shield of Steve Rogers, writer Ed Brubaker shows how our ideals and methods have changed from World War II, through the Cold War, to the current so-called War on Terror. He stays nonpartisan but notes that security and liberty are difficult to balance and that people are often their own worst enemies.

In addition to the various comic book adaptations I've already mentioned (such as Justice League: New Frontier and Incredible Hulk), I should add new animated versions of Spider-Man and the X-Men that are in the works. We'll see if they capture the "With great power comes great responsibility" idealism, youthful energy, and concerns of oppressed minorities of the original titles and other recent takes on these characters. I'm also looking forward to an animated Batman: Gotham Knight direct-to-video release that is supposed take place between the two Christian Bale live-action movies. May justice prevail!