On Sunday, 27 January 2008, Janice and I met birthday boy Beruk A. and Thomas K.Y. for the "Death by Chocolate" charity event at the Sheraton Newton hotel. For $15 per person, we got to taste confections from about a dozen local restaurants and bakeries and rate them for best cake, cookie, brownie, and candy. We also got to judge the most unique dessert, observe a silent auction, and chat about politics and gaming. Beruk, Thomas, and I plan to meet again this coming Sunday for Day Watch, the second installment in a Russian modern fantasy/horror film trilogy.

Speaking of gaming, the D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" face-to-face group has been going strong on Tuesday nights: Sara F.'s boyfriend Josh C. joined the Arabian fantasy campaign this week. The current Boston-area Player Character party is between quests in the Halmed Desert at the moment.

However, the Thursday night "Holy Steel" teleconferencing team of Dexter V.H./"Faelonia" and Byron V.O./"Ibrahim" and the Sunday morning City of Heroes online supergroup have run into scheduling snafus. Apparently, getting people with careers and families in multiple cities to coordinate schedules is difficult, but I have been in touch with other out-of-town friends, including Damon F.P., Ray C., Corbin A.Y., and David A.H.

In addition, with Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition (D&D4e) approaching, fellow role-player and Game Master Brian W. and I have been evaluating that and alternative rules systems, including Green Ronin's True 20 (a streamlined version of the D&D3.5/D20 Open Game License), Steve Jackson Games' Generic Universal Role-Playing System (GURPS) 4th Ed., and Pinnacle Entertainment's Savage Worlds.

I like True 20, which is similar to the Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed. superhero game. Brian and I have played and run GURPS, but we've found a lack of support for the latest edition and a steep learning curve to be intimidating to newer gamers. Savage Worlds, which originated as a pulp game, may provide a good balance of simplicity, flexibility, and genre neutrality, but EnWorld.org and Wizards of the Coast's latest previews of D&D4e still promise to make preparing for and running sessions easier. Character creation is still being debated, both within our group and in the wider community.

Of course, the big game that most people are thinking of (including fellow blogger Steve M.R.) is the Super Bowl, which I hope will be more exciting than the Miss America Pageant. At least the Screen Actor's Guild award show had some star power amid the ongoing writers' strike. Speaking of contests, I've been playing Scrabulous with Janice and Erik B.L. while it's still available through Facebook, and I've signed up for a Jeopardy-style competition at work.

Next time: weekend update and politics!

Friends, I hope you've had a good week. On Saturday, 26 January 2008, Janice and I drove down to Norwood, Massachusetts, to take advantage of sales at Barnes & Noble and New England Comics and to use an Applebee's gift certificate.

Comics of note include darkly quirky Umbrella Academy, classic Mythos: Fantastic Four, and Star Trek: Year Four. The controversial retconning of Avengers: Illuminati, Countdown to Final Crisis, and Spider-Man: Brand-New Day has produced decent storylines, if not in the best way. Over the weekend, I also watched documentaries about Black Sabbath and Metallica, two of my favorite heavy metal bands.

We also enjoyed the latest misadventures of the sleuths on Psych, some episodes of the animated Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Batman that I had missed the first time they were on television, and the last two installments of Chuck made before the writers' strike. The espionage comedy was more predictable than, say, Reaper, but it was still amusing. Wikipedia has a good list of genre programs. What do I mean by "genre"? Anything that's not a mainstream modern drama or comedy, such as science fiction, fantasy, or horror.

Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood returned to BBC America, only a week or so after Series 2 began in the U.K. I personally like the slightly lighter tone of the new season that is the result of the supernatural show moving to a more family-friendly BBC channel. For more adult fare, The Graham Norton Show is a guilty pleasure. I've got some Jane Austen adaptations on "Masterpiece" (formerly "Masterpiece Theater") and the latest Robin Hood to catch up on.

In my recent mixed review of Cloverfield, I didn't mention the movie previews that we saw. Of those, Iron Man still looks promising, but the brief teaser for Star Trek (XI) was interesting. On the one hand, I'm a fan of the long-running space-opera franchise, but on the other, I'm leery of yet another attempt to retcon Gene Roddenberry's humanist vision of the future, which is very different from the cyberpunky Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles or "reimagined" Battlestar Galactica. I hope that heroic optimism eventually returns to popularity. Unfortunately, the Justice League movie has been indefinitely postponed.

On a related note, Cinescape.com ran an amusing article about historical inaccuracies in cinema. As Janice has observed for certain adaptations of mystery novels and I tend to point out for weapons and armor in period epics, such things might go unnoticed by mainstream audiences but are distracting to people who know the source material.

Next time: "Death by Chocolate" and gaming updates!

As genre entertainment fans may know by now, actor Heath Ledger was found dead in New York yesterday of an apparent drug overdose. He was only 28 years old and leaves behind an estranged wife and young daughter.

I first saw the promising Australian in Roar, a fantasy television series about a Celtic warrior trying to stave off Roman conquest of Ireland. Since then, I've enjoyed Ledger's performances in movies such as Terry Gilliam's Brothers Grimm, and I look forward to his take on Batman villain the Joker in this coming summer's Dark Knight. He was nominated for an Oscar for his work in Brokeback Mountain.

The troubled, self-destructive artist is an unfortunate stereotype that has been realized numerous times over the years, from Michaelangelo to Mozart to Judy Garland. One can only hope that people such as Amy Winehouse and Lindsay Lohan get the help they need soon.

I was at work when the news about Ledger broke, and Brian F. and I were both reminded of The Crow's late Brandon Lee, whose untimely death also prevented him from reaching his full potential. The surprising news cast a pall over us and last night's D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" fantasy session, which otherwise went well.

Of course, there are many other serious issues to be concerned about, such as an incipient economic recession, environmental degradation, the ongoing so-called war on terror, and the U.S. presidential election. But human tragedy is still felt most immediately on the individual scale. May we have the compassion and wisdom to deal with all of these things.

In addition to the sick friends I mentioned previously, I should also add my best wishes for Dave F.R-B. and various family members. If this is what we should expect as we reach middle age, count me out!

On Friday, 11 January 2008, I enjoyed the return of USA's sleuth comedy Psych. Although the writers' strike has affected most network television, I look forward to the next few episodes of Chuck and Pushing Daisies, which has earned critical praise and been nominated for some awards. In addition, the BBC's Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood returns in a few weeks. I'd rather watch these than the plethora of reality shows.

On Saturday, Janice and I ran errands after the holidays and travel to New York. After going to the local dump (Needham doesn't pick up trash and recyclables), we had a good lunch at Acapulco's. From there, we spent the rest of the afternoon browsing at Newbury Comics, the massive New England Mobile Book Fair, and Borders.

Since we've been offered a trial package of Stars/Encore, Showtime, and IFC through Verizon FiOS, we've also been catching up on movies in the past few weeks. I liked period drama Elizabeth and computer-animated cyberpunk Renaissance.

The comedies Mighty Aphrodite, Nacho Libre, and Stranger Than Fiction were all amusing, but cyberpunk Aeon Flux and horror/action Underworld 2 and Ultraviolet were not as compelling. Entertainment Weekly recently ran an interesting article asserting that risk-averse Hollywood (and Burbank) are relying on certain properties that are aging as fast as the core genre fanbase.

Still, I have to admit that I look forward to movies for The Hobbit and further adventures of Indiana Jones as much as the next guy. Janice and I really liked cross-cultural comedy Bend It Like Beckham.

Cars was decent children's fare, if not as good as Ratatouille, and there are certain cult favorites that we've watched repeatedly, such as Buckaroo Banzai, Dune, and The Mummy and The Mummy Returns (and a third is on the way). Although the previews and early buzz for the animated Dragonlance fantasy adaptation haven't been promising, I have higher hopes for the computer-animated sentai Gatchaman.

On Sunday, after I played City of Heroes online and Janice returned from the animal shelter, we had lunch at Conrad's and did some grocery shopping at Shaw's in Norwood, Massachusetts. I also picked up my subscription at New England Comics.

Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, Mania/Cinescape, and IGN have all recently posted features about recent trends in comic books (see enclosed links). Some, such as DC Comics and Marvel Comics' crossovers, convoluted continuities, and character resurrections, are negative. Fortunately, there are titles that stand alone, such as noirish Powers, the upcoming Zorro, and the surreal Umbrella Academy.

We also watched some football (go Patriots!) and the latest version of Jane Austen's Persuasion on PBS, as well as the first part of the premiere of Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. The science fiction/action movie franchise translated fairly well onto the small screen, thanks in part to 300's Lena Heady and Firefly/Serenity's Summer Glau. Fellow blogger Thomas K.Y. and others have noted how the television show alters the history established by the postapocalyptic/time-travel flicks.

Speaking of blogs, I highly recommend co-worker Angela G.'s Tech Space on USA Today's Web site, in which she writes about science, pop culture, and politics. On Monday, Jan. 14, heavy snow led most of CW's staffers to telecommute. Janice and I got to try out our new electric shovel (a small snowblower) that we got from her parents for Christmas. I've got meetings and a multimedia class at work later this week, so let's hope the weather holds up!

Since Steve M.R. and I try to keep track of such events, I should wish Happy Birthday to Bill A.R., Michele M.L., and Steve M., as well as a Happy Anniversary to my brother Peter and his wife Kelly! It's hard to believe that it has been five years since we all stood on the beach of the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas!

In the meantime, I have tonight's D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" Arabian fantasy session to prepare for. I recommend checking EnWorld.org for the latest updates regarding Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition. The Arisia genre entertainment convention is this coming weekend, and I'll have Dr. Martin Luther King Day off from work.

Friends, I hope that you have a happy and prosperous New Year! Also, congratulations to newlyweds Dexter V.H. & Linda N.-H.! In addition, my thoughts are with friends Ray C., Stuart C.G., and Robert A.S., who are all fighting serious illnesses.

Janice and I went in to work on 28 and 31 December 2007. Traffic was light, which was good, since New England had gotten some more snow and ice. Although CW's offices were nearly empty, there was still enough work to keep me busy.

On Saturday, Dec. 29, I ran a makeup session for the D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" Arabian fantasy campaign. The regular Tuesday night role-players (Beruk A./"Kunal," Greg D.C./"Killian," Brian W./"Mumtaz," John C.M./"Nebi," and Sara F./"Neela") were rejoined by Paul J./"Rache," Alex J./"Karril," and Bri/"Rhiannen," as their Player Characters continued their misadventures in the hostile Halmed Desert. The game went well.

On Sunday, I played the City of Heroes multiplayer online game, but my usual superhero group wasn't available. Janice and I then went to Masala Art, a local Indian restaurant. We also watched documentaries about Star Wars and Star Trek on the History Channel, as well as an adaptation of Jane Eyre on PBS. The truncated workweek after that went quickly.

On Friday, 4 January 2008, Janice and I caught an Amtrak train from the Route 128 station near Boston. I find riding the rails to be much more relaxing than driving or flying. I caught up on some newspapers and issues of Wizard magazines, while Janice read a historical mystery novel and did some crosswords. We arrived at New York's Penn Station by early afternoon.

Our gracious host, Stuart C.G., met us so we could drop off our luggage at his place on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Unfortunately, Stu was feeling under the weather for most of the weekend. Speaking of weather, we couldn't have been luckier for this time of year, with an unseasonably warm and dry spell.

We got to meet college chum Stuart's patient wife, Zoe, for the first time, as well as his rambunctious sons Sammy and Benji. We also played Rayman Raving Rabbids, Dance Dance Revolution, and Cooking Mama on his Nintendo Wii game console. Janice and I liked shooting plungers at the rabid rabbits the most, since the other videogames require more coordination and practice.

Fellow State University of New York at Binghamton alumnus Dexter V.H. was originally supposed to join us at 4:00 p.m., but we ended up meeting him for dinner at the Dave & Buster's restaurant and arcade in Times Square around 8:00 p.m. (Zoe stayed home with the boys.)

Dexter and his fiancée Linda N. were still scrambling with last-minute wedding preparations. We found Linda to be pleasantly down to earth. Since this wasn't Dex's first wedding, a more subdued rehearsal dinner/bachelor-bachelorette party was in order. We went our separate ways after that for Stu and Dex's sakes, but Janice and I did get to know Zoe better later in the evening.

On Saturday, Jan. 5, Stuart, Janice, and I picked up breakfast (bagels and lox!) at Tal Bagels and M. Rohrs' House of Fine Teas & Coffees. I had forgotten the convenience of having everything one could ever need within a few blocks' walk, and I've missed the diverse people of the Big Apple. We played a bit with Sammy and Benji, and after a lunch of New York pizza (with olives), we caught a taxicab to the historic Convent Baptist Church in Harlem.

The bride and groom ran late because of family members traveling with them to the church from Brooklyn and Queens, but the actual ceremony was brief and went smoothly. I again had the honor of being best man, and we were all happy to see Dexter's father, Vernon, who is still spry and flirtatious at 94 years old! Stuart arranged for a minivan and driver to take some of us out to Glendale, Queens, for the reception and dinner at the China Buffet restaurant.

On the way, I learned that Linda's older sister had worked at the same hospital as my mother in the Bronx, and Janice and Zoe talked with Leala, one of Dexter's more precocious children. The reception was enjoyable, with about 50 of Dexter & Linda's family, friends, colleagues, and even students all in attendance.

On Sunday, Jan. 6, Zoe and Benji had to attend a birthday party, so Janice and I walked with Stuart and Sammy to Eli's Vinegar Factory, a spin-off of the famous Zabar's "epicurean emporium." We had a good brunch with Carlo R., Steve A.L. and his son Nathaniel L., Erik B.L. & Wei T.L. and their daughter Emma L. The Asian-Jewish New Yorker subculture was well-represented.

It's hard to believe that I've been friends with Carlo for about 25 years, since freshman year at Archbishop S
tepinac High School! I've known Steve (and his wife Michele) since college, and Erik since graduate school at the George Washington University.

Steve, Erik, and I talked about politics, urban life, and technology, while Janice chatted with Wei. I also talked about speculative fiction and travel with Carlo and Stuart. Cute Emma flirted with all the boys, but athletic Nathaniel and balloon-chasing Sammy weren't interested. I hope to see more of my friends, many of who turn 40, in the coming year!

That afternoon, Janice and I returned to Massachusetts. I spent much of Monday catching up on rest and e-mail in preparation for this week's "Broken Chains" session and the "Holy Steel" teleconferencing team with Dexter/"Faelonia" and Byron V.O./"Ibrahim" (in St. Louis).

Thanks to holiday cards and my Web 2.0 presence, I've recently reconnected with several friends, including Ray in Florida, Mark A.S. & Ann W. in New Zealand, and Robert A.S. in North Carolina! I hope to stay in touch with them and others in the coming year.

Next time: Genre entertainment update…