I'm
sorry that it has been a while since I've updated my blog on Yahoo 360/Profiles and MySpace.com, but as you can imagine, I've been
busy with my
new job. It has been going well so far.

This
past weekend, Janice and I met former and current co-workers
at a fun party hosted by Donna S. It was the first time I had seen many of
these people since my layoff and Ken G.'s
fun Cinco
de Mayo
party
at the start of May. The excellent band of Donna's husband played classic rock,
the spread of food was impressive, and we were lucky to have a rare June day
without rain.

The
recent deaths of pop-culture icons such as singer Michael Jackson, actress Farrah
Fawcett, and pitchman Billy Mays reminded me not only of the ephemeral
nature of life but also the enduring influence of memorable people. On a
related note, in the past month or so, I've been catching up on musicals on cable
television and DVD.

Janice
and I belatedly enjoyed the Bollywood drama Slumdog Millionaire
and Across the
Universe, whose rearrangements of Beatles songs were surprisingly well
done. I'm more dubious, however, about plans to take Spider-Man to Broadway, despite a strong cast.

We
also liked Once, an understated movie
that I had borrowed from my parents. For insight into the artistic process, I
highly recommend Sundance Channel's Iconoclasts and Spectacle With Elvis Costello,
both of which feature unexpected pairings of celebrities. Live From
Abbey Road has featured some intimate performances in the famed British
studio.

Kenneth
Branagh's Love's
Labours Lost successfully set Shakespeare's romantic comedy in the late
1930s, while Ian McKellan's King Lear was a
powerful (nonmusical) drama. Branagh was good in the BBC/PBS Masterpiece Mystery:
Wallander, and I look forward to his take on Marvel Comics' Thor. I'm
also interested in seeing McKellan in AMC's remake of the late Patrick
McGoohan's paranoiac classic The Prisoner later
this year.

For
more than 20 years, I've relied on friends David I.S. and Corbin A.Y.'s
recommendations regarding music because our tastes are similar. I've been
watching VH1 Classic's That
Metal Show and enjoyed the concert film Iron
Maiden: Flight 666.

In
the coming weeks, I'll try to post about other genre entertainment and planned
visits by friends to the Boston area. What would you like to see?

Friends, I hope you've had a good fortnight. Last weekend, Janice
and I went to Harvard Square,
Cambridge, for its book shops and restaurants, including B Good Burger. We also met the Levines
in Boston for a nice dinner at Legal
Sea Foods and dessert at Finale.

My first week at my new assistant site editor job went well. It's
the first time in 10 years that I've had to get used to a new employer and
corporate culture. So far, my commute, hours, and co-workers have been great.
It has taken some time to learn the technologies and processes at TT, but I
expect to have quite a bit of work to do once I'm up to speed.

Yesterday (Saturday, 6 June 2009), we went to a street
fair in Needham, Massachusetts, followed by meeting Thomas K.Y. at the AMC Framingham
16 for a matinee of Pixar's Up.

I enjoyed the computer-animated movie more than I expected to.
From the previews, I thought it would be just another comedy, but as with Wall-E,
the first 20 minutes had little dialogue but great emotional depth. I'd give Up an 8.5 out of 10, or an A-.

After the movie, we had dinner at British Beer Company, where every meal we've
had so far has been good. I'm still catching up on reading comic books, genre television, and gaming notes,
and I've got more blogging to do!

It has been difficult for many of my peers to focus on entertaining
diversions lately because of concerns about the ongoing economic recession,
global political tensions, and ailing family members. I hope that we'll all be
able to get through these tough times together!

Friends, I'm pleased to report that less than a month after being laid off, I received and accepted a job offer yesterday! I had a telephone interview last week and a face-to-face one on Thursday, 21 May 2009. By that afternoon, my references had been contacted, and I got a phone call yesterday morning!

Because of the possibility of interviews, I didn't attend some outplacement seminars in Burlington, Massachusetts, and I didn't go with Janice to visit her ailing grandmother in Pennsylvania this week. I haven't heard back regarding one potential freelancing gig, which would have required software installations.

Although I don't mind having time to myself, I'd rather have the security of a steady paycheck than worry about severance and unemployment benefits ending. Many people, including several friends and relatives, are still looking for work. Let's hope the global economy recovers from the current recession soon!

The assistant site editor position doesn't completely reflect my 10+ years of experience as a copy editor in technology publishing and journalism, but it should enable me to gain valuable Web skills and learn a new corporate culture. The new job will also be close to where I live in Needham, Mass.

Thanks again for all your support, and I was lucky to know Jacqui D.B. and other CW alumni at TT, where I'll be starting on Monday, June 1. I also got several sterling references from former co-workers on LinkedIn.com and elsewhere, which no doubt helped.

My travel plans for early summer will have to be postponed, but I look forward to getting together with college chum Steve A.L. and Michele M.L. and their son Nathaniel during their Boston visit tomorrow. Have a good Memorial Day weekend!

A few months ago, Janice and I rented some video games for our Nintendo Wii. Wii Music was decent, with a wide array of instruments and styles. Since Janice took piano and violin lessons growing up, I was at a disadvantage in figuring out the rhythms and controls. Still, we may eventually buy this game.

Star Wars: Clone Wars–Lightsaber Duels is based on the well-done Cartoon Network television show, the latest installment in George Lucas' space opera saga. The characters and audio clips are taken from that computer-animated series, which is a good tie-in for young audiences.

However, I found that the Wii Remote, or "Wiimote," didn't translate very well to the Jedi signature weapon, and the fights quickly became repetitive. Thus, I unfortunately can't recommend Lightsaber Duels, and I hope for a video game that isn't too complicated or require lots of time or expertise (as Soulcaliber IV and The Force Unleashed seem to).

For now, I'm happy with occasionally playing Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga and the tabletop D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition role-playing game, but a well-done massively multiplayer online game (MMO) such as the upcoming Old Republic could lure me back to that galaxy far, far away. Of course, there's also a small space–opera rival called Star Trek Online, which might get a boost in popularity from the recent film, even if the latter is a continuity reboot.

Speaking of MMOs, while I miss travel powers such as flight in City of Heroes ("CoH"), David I.S., Dexter V.H., and I enjoyed exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings Online ("LotRO"). I don't know whether I'll get as far as I did in CoH (28 out of 50 levels), but I have enough different characters right now to provide different perspectives and glimpses of locations, characters, and monsters from that classic fantasy setting.

Speaking of superheroes, there are a number of promising video games in the works, including DC Universe Online, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Champions Online. In the meantime, I have Lego Batman and Marvel Ultimate Alliance (for which a sequel is coming) to keep me busy. However, I've been using the Wii Fit more often lately, and reading comic books rather than playing games based on them.

Before my layoff and before Dave and Dex got busy with schoolwork, we played LotRO on Friday nights and/or Sunday mornings, while the rest of the "Dimensional Corps Online" supergroup has been logging into CoH on Tuesday evenings, among other times. Some of my other friends and former co-workers play the same MMOs, but on different servers.

In addition, my face-to-face D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" fantasy role-playing group still meets most Mondays. That adventuring party has continued its quest for barbarian relics, defeating numerous ninjas in a Dwarven mountain citadel, creeping through a haunted forest, and defeating a witch and her minions in a strange pagoda.

Meanwhile, the Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" teleconferencing team has finally regained momentum on Sunday nights. That group is in Pi-Ramesses, capital of New Kingdom Egypt, attempting to exonerate its Paladin of charges of treason against Pharaoh Ramses II and fight the cult of Set.

The debate between supporters of Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition and other rules systems such as Pathfinder has continued, and the current Boston-area gamers haven't yet shifted to the D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2 nd Ed. superheroic scenarios or Star Wars: Saga Edition. So many games, so little time!

Coming soon: Comics reviews, job news, and genre television!

…must come to an end. I'm sorry that it has been a while since I've blogged, but I've been busy since visiting family in Pennsylvania and Virginia around Easter.

On Friday, 1 May 2009, I was laid off after nine and a half years of working as a CW copy editor. I was fortunate to be part of a great team, and I'm proud of what we did in print and online. However, publishing and journalism have been suffering since before the current recession, which has only accelerated changes in reader and advertiser habits.

Unlike the last time I was laid off, after the dot-com bust and terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, I have more experience and contacts, but the global economy is in worse shape than it was then. Still, I've jumped into the job hunt, sending out resumes, looking at online postings, and networking with former colleagues. I've also filed for unemployment compensation and met with an outplacement counselor.

My initial search has focused on editing and writing, but I'll widen my sights as needed into education, marketing, regulatory monitoring, and health care. I don't have the talents to become a musician, programmer, or waiter, but every organization needs to communicate clearly.

Thanks to all of my friends and former co-workers who have already offered encouragement and advice, and if any of you reading this have any leads, don't hesitate to pass them on! I'm also active in online social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace.

Since Janice's technical writing post is relatively stable at the moment, we have no plans to relocate to New York or Virginia, despite the leads forwarded by some friends. I'd like to spend some time visiting friends and family outside New England, but I have to see how my schedule sorts itself out.

There's no danger of me becoming bored — in addition to continuing to catch up on reading and filing, I intend to do more of the housework, yard work, and cooking now that I'm home before Janice. Even with cutting back on buying gaming and comic books, the local groups have kept me busy, especially as the genre television season winds down and the summer movie season begins. I'll have reviews and more updates within the week!