Friends, I hope that your holidays have been happy thus far. Instead of sending out the usual annual update letter, I hope that people are reading this blog.

The week before Christmas was busy, even though Janice and I had finished most of our gift shopping. Working on two issues simultaneously to get most of this week off kept CW's copy desk humming. On Saturday, 22 December 2007, we went to the local dump and post office, and I got my car inspected (which went more quickly and was cheaper than the previous week's repairs).

We also had a Chinese-American buffet lunch at the Hunan New Taste, stopped by the Walpole Mall and the Big Y supermarket, and picked up my subscription at the New England Comics in Norwood, Massachusetts.

On Sunday, we stayed in because of the latest snowfall and caught up on television. What are your favorite holiday specials? Mine include classics such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and various versions of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Janice's include A Garfield Christmas, Bill 'n' Opus: A Wish for Wings That Work, and Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas.

Of course, numerous Rankin-Bass cartoons and stop-motion specials have marked the holiday for generations, including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and The Year Without a Santa Claus. More recently, we have A Muppet Family Christmas and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Robbie the Reindeer, and Shrek the Halls.

I also had a quip-filled City of Heroes (CoH) virtual session with David I.S. and company, and Janice baked in preparation for seeing her folks. We plan to have a relatively quiet New Year's Eve, since we'll both be working that day.

We drove to Upstate New York on Monday, Dec. 24, first to Janice's parents' home. Like my parents, Marvin and Linda M. live atop a hill on five acres in the country. Unlike my family, they have numerous pets and a steep, icy driveway. Janice's middle sister Shelly was already there with her husband Melvin W. and children Rebecca, Laura, and David.

I checked out photographs of friends on teenager Becky's Clie handheld device, played chess with tween Laura, and played pool with 9-year-old David and his father. Shelly told us about her missionary work in inner-city Utica, and after a tasty lasagna dinner, we drove down to Janice's youngest sister's home, where we were staying.

We joined Melinda and Gary L. and their children Amanda and Joshua for Christmas Eve. I helped keep the kids occupied while the other adults finished wrapping a pile of presents. Amanda demonstrated her recent violin lessons, and I talked with 6-year-old Josh about various superheroes. Their cat Chocolate kept us company as we slept.

On Christmas morning, unwrapping continued, as the Manwillers and Wrights reconvened at the Lewis home, which has the most open space. Among other things, we got DVDs and an electric snow shovel. We had a ham luncheon, followed by Laura and 8-year-old Amanda playing with animal toys and David and Joshua playing with action figures and videogames. Becky is old enough to participate in most adult conversations.

Thanks to Gary's PlayStation 2 and Xbox, I played an off-road racing videogame with Melvin, as well as Justice League Heroes with Josh. Although I don't have the money or time to add console systems to my crowded tabletop (pen-and-paper, dice-and-pizza) role-playing, teleconferencing, and CoH PC gaming schedule, it was nice to try them out once in a while. Josh also demonstrated Spider-Man and Star Wars Lego II for us. (Lego Batman and Indiana Jones games are coming!)

I telephoned my family in Virginia, but I still missed being with my parents, brother Peter, sister-in-law Kelly, and nieces Ava and Lili. I hope to see them sometime in spring of 2008. But first, we'll be at Dexter V.H.'s latest wedding in New York City in just over a week!

We returned to the Boston area on Wednesday afternoon after taking out the Lewises and Janice's mother to lunch at Applebee's. On Thursday, I caught up on e-mail and prepared for various games, including last night's D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: Holy Steel" teleconferencing team and tomorrow's D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" holiday makeup fantasy session. I've got to work today.

Of course, no year's end blog post would be complete without a set of "best of" lists. IGN.com has a pretty good rundown of movies, genre television, and comics, but here's my abbreviated version for 2007:

-Favorite movies: Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, and Ratatouille

-Favorite SFTV shows: Avatar: the Last Airbender, Doctor Who, and Pushing Daisies (Fellow blogger Ken G. has also noted the untimely demise of the underrated time-travel drama Journeyman, but at least Reaper got picked up.)

-Favorite comic books: Captain America, Detective Comics, and The Spirit

-Favorite musical singles (and videos): "Gone Gone Gone" (Robert Plant and Alison Kraus), "Rehab" (Amy Winehouse), "Umbrella" (Rihanna)

-Favorite RPG releases: D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed.: Ultimate Power, A Practical Guide to Monsters (Dungeons & Dragons 3.5/4e), D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition

What were your faves? I look forward to blogging about such entertainment and more in the coming year, and may it bring good health and prosperity for all!

First off, happy 40th birthdays to Ron J.K. and David I.S., the first of my cohort to pass this milestone! On Thursday, 13 December 2007, we rushed to leave after a mandatory meeting at work. Unfortunately, most other Boston-area employers also released their staffers around the same time, just as an early afternoon Nor'easter arrived.

Heavy snow and traffic resulted in hellish commutes — it took me 3.5 hours to drive 10 miles home, and Owen E. had the worst commute of my co-workers, taking six hours to get from Framingham to Brookline, Massachusetts! Route 9 was particulary treacherous through the hills of Wellesley, and Janice and I repeatedly shoveled our driveway. In addition, we got plowed in a few frustrating times, and several more inches of wet snow fell on Sunday.

To add insult to injury, I took my car in to Direct Tire & Auto in Natick, Mass., because of a loud whine or rattle when I started it up in the cold weather. Although that turned out to be a loose belt, my 1998 Honda Civic coupe also needed an oil pan and exhaust repairs costing $1,300. There's never a good time for such an unexpected expense!

On a lighter note, Janice and I volunteered at an Animal Rescue League event in chilly downtown Boston on Saturday, Dec. 15. We helped serve as crowd control for the 96th Annual Christmas for Horses near City Hall. It was nice to see the fine police and park ranger horses, as well as children dressed as Santa's elves and fellow animal lovers, especially since snow prevented Janice from getting to her regular shelter shift in Dedham on Sunday morning.

Afterwards, we had lunch at Faneuil Hall's excellent, if crowded, food court and walked among the throngs of shoppers in Quincy Market and Downtown Crossing before catching a train home. We also put up our holiday decorations.

Over the weekend, I watched documentaries about classic rock and heavy metal music, inspired by Led Zepplin's well-received reunion concert. (I've blogged previously about music, including the troubled Amy Winehouse.) I was less pleased to learn that in its quest for ratings, the Food Network has had a falling out with chef Mario Batali (and to a lesser extent, with Emeril Lagasse), as the trend toward younger celebrities and competition over informative cooking shows continues on cable television. Yes, they helped create that culture, but I still prefer the quirky personalities of experts such as Alton Brown over the admittedly attractive and more homey newer cooks.

That dilution of brand identity is similar to what I've seen on other channels. Discovery used to be devoted to "hard science," murder-investigation procedurals seem to dominate the so-called Arts & Entertainment network, and even the Cartoon Network has experimented with live-action series. Many genre entertainment fans have been dismayed that the SciFi Channel is still chasing ratings with professional wrestling, schlock horror, and reality shows rather than original quality programming.

The Wild Web is no different, as journalists at CW and elsewhere grapple with shrinking print readership, pressure to maximize "clicks," and shifting reader habits and technologies. On Tuesday, I attended another interesting presentation on this topic by a Washington Post editor who gave examples of sites rising to the challenge.

Speaking of changing newsrooms, one of the reasons I've enjoyed NBC's short-lived time-travel drama Journeyman is how it has depicted a San Francisco newspaper in different periods. At least Pushing Daisies, one of my favorite new shows of this autumn, was recognized with a Golden Globe nomination and renewal.

Although last Thursday's D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: Holy Steel" teleconference and Sunday's City of Heroes virtual session were truncated because of show shoveling, the face-to-face role-players turned out for a solid D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" Arabian fantasy game. The announcement of Peter Jackson's potential return to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth encouraged fantasy film fans everywhere.

Newcomer Sara F.'s boyfriend Josh C. wasn't able to get organized in time to run a D20 Call of Cthulu/Ravenloft: Masque of the Red Death steampunk/horror one-shot this coming weekend, but I look forward to the return of Paul J. and other college students for our makeup session in just over a week. I hope to catch up on snailmailings soon. In the meantime, may all your holidays be happy!

On Saturday, 8 December 2007, Janice's parents and our niece Amanda L. came to Boston for the Bay Colony Dog Show. We enjoyed watching the agility trials (an obstacle course also testing obedience) and walking around the breed competitions and various vendors. It was 9-year-old Amanda's first dog show, and we ran into Brian W. & Beth S.

We also visited the Animal Rescue League shelter in Dedham, Massachusetts, where Janice volunteers on most Sunday mornings. After that, we had an early dinner at Bertucci's (Janice and I had eaten at the Fuji Japanese steakhouse in Needham on her birthday itself.) We'll be at a charity equestrian event at Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston this coming Saturday.

On Sunday, after the usual shelter/City of Heroes morning activities, Janice and I met Beruk A., Thomas K.Y., Brian & Beth, and Sara F. & Josh C. at the AMC Framingham 16 for The Golden Compass. A few of us had read the fantasy novel on which the movie was based, and none of us was overly concerned with the Catholic League's latest protests against such godless entertainment.

In one parallel world, a young girl named Lyra Belacqua is given the last altheometer (the divination device in the film's title) and must find the truth while trying to help her friends, including a shapeshifting daemon or familiar, a street urchin, some "Gyptians" (Gypsies), a witch, a gunslinging aeronaut, and an ursine warrior. However, the mysterious research of Lord Asriel into a cosmic substance called "Dust" and the evil machinations of the Magisterium (the reason the Church is upset), led by the icy Marisa Coulter, bring danger to Lyra, her friends, and their entire world.

I thought the acting in Golden Compass was good, with young newcomer Dakota Blue Richards as a bright Lyra, and Casino Royale's Daniel Craig and Eva Green as Lord Asriel and witch Serafina, respectively. Nicole Kidman is appropriately chilly as Marisa Coulter (no relation to Ann?), and the cameos and voices of various animals include Lord of the Rings' Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee, Ian McShane, and Kathy Bates. Sam Eliot plays his usual charming cowboy as Lee Scoresby. I also thought the computer-animated animals and steampunk/magitech vehicles were well-realized.

However, as my friends and some critics have noted, the writing and direction could have been better, with some choppy exposition in the beginning and an emphasis on a few spectacular battle scenes later in the movie. The truncated ending raised the specter of the inevitable sequel. Also, some of the flaws are in the source material –Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, which tends to favor philosophical discussion over an original setting or well-rounded motivations. I'd give Golden Compass about a 7 out of 10.

There was a similar trend after Conan: the Barbarian film in the early 1980s, as many fantasy flicks tried to duplicate its success but fell short more often than not. While I have some nostalgia for movies such as Beastmaster, Krull, and Legend, they had weak scripts, acting, and special effects. As Brian pointed out, even Willow, which tried to be epic, tried too hard to get the mythical ingredients right but failed to ignite audiences' imaginations.

In the wake of the Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter movie adaptations of the past decade, it's no surprise that risk-averse Hollywood studios would jump on the fantasy bandwagon, much as it has with comic book superheroes and animation. Unfortunately, most of the resulting movies will be subpar, but a few will be of interest.

Just this year, Bridge to Terabithia, The Seeker: the Dark is Rising, and Stardust were underwhelming in terms of box office and reviews; we'll see how Spiderwick Chronicles and Inkheart do. Like its science fiction and horror brethren, multimedia fantasy franchises tend to drag on in slavish imitation of archetypal or truly creative works of art.

On the other hand, films such as last year's Pan's Labyrinth show that people can revisit themes from fairy tales and legends and make them fresh and interesting to adults. It was also nice to get together with people outside of the usual D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" and City of Heroes games.

I thought that Journeyman's latest episode was well-done and timely, since my newsroom's annual year-end party is today. In the meantime, have a Happy Hanukkah and may all your holidays be happy!

Friends, I hope you've had a good week. I've been busy with work and taking some time off to celebrate Janice's birthday. Also, Happy Hanukkah and happy birthdays to Ron J.K. and Brian F.!

On Saturday, 1 December 2007, Janice and I raked the last leaves of autumn; ate brunch at Fresco in downtown Needham, Massachusetts; and did a bit more hardware and holiday shopping. We also drove down to New England Comics in Norwood for my subscription, and Janice found a dress at Sym's for an upcoming wedding in New York City.

On Sunday, I briefly played City of Heroes online before going into Boston with Janice for the Wadaiko Yamato: Shin-On concert at the Cutler Majestic Theater of Emerson College. The Japanese drumming troupe was excellent, blending technical skill, high energy, and a sense of humor!

We stayed in on Monday, using up some vacation time. After shoveling a bit of snow, we caught up on recorded genre television. The penultimate episodes of animated fantasy Avatar: the Last Airbender featured a major battle with an interestingly inconclusive ending.

Espionage comedy Chuck was decent, although I still like Reaper more, since the characters in the latter show act relatively intelligently, even though they're supposed to be dumb, whereas on Chuck, the characters are supposed to be smart but often act illogically. Of course, romantic complications are a staple of both.

The half-season finale (perhaps the full-season finale, depending on the ongoing writers' strike) of Heroes was fairly satisfying, if a bit rushed. Still, the metahuman ensemble drama recovered from its sophomore slump, while Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood and Stargate SG1 spin-off Atlantis have struggled to make their teams both impressive and sympathetic.

While I wait for the series finale of time-travel drama Journeyman, I had to content myself with belated episodes of Smallville and Legion of Superheroes (I've still missed some of The Batman). Tonight will be the return of very different sleuths in Women's Murder Club and a holiday special for Psych. Speaking of winter revels, Janice and I have been watching several of the classic (and not-so-classic) shows by Rankin-Bass and others on ABC Family. What are your favorites?

The biggest event in this past week's SFTV was the SciFi Channel's Tin Man, the latest riff on The Wizard of Oz. If you're familiar with L. Frank Baum's children's books or the classic 1939 movie musical, you'll recognize many elements and tributes in this miniseries, which is something between a sequel and a remake.

Zoey Deschanel (also seen in the recent Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy flick) was a bit stiff as "D.G.," an analogue to the original's Dorothy Gale. She was accompanied by "Glitch" (X-Men 2's Alan Cumming), this version's Scarecrow, and by a "Tin Man," a former cop and prisoner played by Star Trek: First Contact's Neal McDonough, who brought heart to the production (pun intended).

They were later joined by "Raw" (the Cowardly Lion, played by Raoul Trujillo) in their quest to defeat wicked Princess Azkadellia (played by Kathleen Robertson). Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind) had a cameo as the Magic Man (the Wizard), and Due South and Battlestar Galactica's Callum Keith Rennie played Zero, the brutal head of the security force.

Although Tin Man was occasionally hampered by weak dialogue/script and Vancouver sets shared with the lame Flash Gordon, it handled some folkloric concepts well, including the creation of a secondary world and the hero's journey (as friends and I studied in Libby Tucker's class in college and the books of Joseph Campbell). I think Baum himself might have approved.

The supporting cast was surprisingly strong (and McDonough hopes the network will pick up Tin Man as an ongoing series), and the retro steampunk style was fitting, reminding me of another quirky Halmi brothers miniseries, White Dwarf. Like the Dune miniseries, as reinterpretations go, I was mostly pleased with Tin Man, which was better than the SciFi Channel's recent offerings of schlock horror, "reality" shows, and professional wrestling.

Speaking of fantasy, the latest D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" session went well, but the "Holy Steel" teleconferencing teeam is still dealing with scheduling problems.

This coming weekend, the birthday celebration for Janice continues with a visit by her family and the Bay Colony Dog Show in Boston. We're also planning to meet some of the local gamers to screen the adaptation of The Golden Compass. Have a good one!

Fellow genre entertainment fans, here are a few updates (see also previous postings and the enclosed links):

Nickelodeon will be showing a one-hour episode of its animated fantasy Avatar: the Last Airbender tonight (Friday, 30 November 2007). This weekend, the SciFi Channel's Wizard of Oz riff Tin Man premieres, and the final episodes of NBC's time-travel drama Journeyman may yet air after all.

Although the strike affecting Broadway is over, the writer's strike may give us time to catch up on viewing after the half-season (and some series) finales in the next few weeks. The DC Comics direct-to-video release of Justice League: New Frontier has been delayed to February, but it looks very promising (and more so than the live-action movie, which has stalled for now).

In movie news, next year looks to be a good one for cliffhanging pulpy adventures in China, with Hellboy 2: the Golden Army (July), The Mummy [3/4]: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (August), and of course, Indiana Jones [4] and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May)! In the meantime, the slightly campier National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets might be entertaining, if even more implausible.

The trend of comic book adaptations will also continue, with The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and a new Hulk coming. Speaking of superheroes, Janice and I have been enjoying early evening reruns of the classic 1990s Batman and Superman animated series on Jetix, as well as the occasional late-night rebroadcast of the Timm/Dini Justice League on Boomerang.

Unfortunately, because of problems with our DVR, we've been missing recent Saturday morning episodes of The Batman, which have featured cameos by characters such as Green Arrow and Green Lantern. I hope to catch up on reading comic books this coming weekend, since I'll be using up some vacation time, in part to celebrate Janice's birthday. Have a good one!