Friends, I hope that all your holidays were happy. On Wednesday, 31 December 2008, after Janice and I worked from home, David I.S. arrived after a long drive from Upstate New York behind a snowstorm. We played video games on our new Nintendo Wii, caught parts of Superbad and Planet Terror on cable television, and watched the lighted ball drop in Times Square. Let's hope that 2009 is better than this past year for everyone.

On New Year's Day, we went for a quick walk, but found many stores in Needham, Massachusetts, closed for the holiday. College chum Dave and I decided not to screen The Spirit because of mixed reviews, instead watching part of Across the Universe. While I'm not a big fan of rock operas, I was favorably impressed at the actors' performances in this drama of a group of friends through the 1960s set to Beatles songs.

In addition, we played Lego Star Wars: the Complete Saga, Boom Blox, and other Wii games. We stayed up late into the night watching documentaries on heavy metal music and chatting about work, travel, friends and family, science and politics, and genre entertainment.

On Friday, Jan. 2, Janice drove us down to Norwood, where we stopped in at New England Comics and Newbury Comics. I picked up my comic book subscription, and audiophile and drummer Dave bought numerous music CDs. We then enjoyed lunch at Stone Hearth Pizza and picked up munchies at Trader Joe's before belatedly watching Dave's DVD of Wall-E.

Pixar's latest computer-animated movie was very good, especially in its first half, which has little dialogue as the eponymous robot deals with a trash-strewn Earth abandoned by humanity. I still prefer The Incredibles and Ratatouille, but Wall-E was one of the best films of this past year. Janice fed us well with barbeque (sloppy joes).

Since it was "SciFriday," we also watched the latest episodes of Star Wars: the Clone Wars and Sanctuary and speculated on how the announcement of the latest cast change for Doctor Who will affect that franchise.

The next day, Janice's parents Marvin & Linda, youngest sister Melinda, and our niece Amanda visited. Among other Christmas presents, they gave us the Wii Fit, a balance-board peripheral for the game console, and Lego Indiana Jones: the Original Adventures! After setting up the Fit in front of an audience, I have no excuse not to get into better shape.

We had lunch at Friendly's before the Upstate New Yorkers all left to return home. Janice and I watched Persepolis, an animated movie that tells the heartbreaking story of a young woman's difficulties as she moves between revolutionary Iran and the free but problematic West. Persepolis is based on Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel and is arguably the best animated film I've seen in a long while.

The remainder of our holiday break was spent catching up on television such as new caper series Leverage, sleep, and e-mail with other gamers. Speaking of games, sessions of the City of Heroes supergroup, the D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" face-to-face role-players, and the Pathfinder/"D&D3.75: Holy Steel" teleconferencing team resume this week.

What do you want me to blog about in the coming year? I've tried to post more regularly, but do readers want more detailed reviews, political discussions, or anything different?

Friends, I hope that you had a Happy Hanukkah/Merry Christmas/cool Yule/happy Kwanzaa/festive Festivus! After working from home on a rainy Christmas Eve, Janice and I spent the holiday itself watching the Star Trek: the Next Generation marathon on the SciFi Channel and eating pancakes and turkey Parmesan (but not in one meal).

On Friday, 26 December 2008, we drove down to my brother's home in Northern Virginia. As always, it was nice to see Peter, his wife Kelly, and their daughters Ava and Lili. Peter and I picked up dinner from Glory Days, a nearby sports bar.

The next day, my parents and Kelly's mother Maureen joined us for a belated Christmas gift exchange. Peter & Kelly gave us the big present this year: a Nintendo Wii, my first-ever video-game console! (Stuart C.G.'s gift of The Complete Monty Python Collector's Edition on DVD is a close second.) All of the adults enjoyed trying the different parts of Wii Sports: baseball, boxing, golf, tennis, and especially bowling.

We also feasted on a turducken — a turkey stuffed with a deboned duck stuffed with a chicken! (We had eaten tofurkey for the first time at Ken G.'s around Thanksgiving.) It was surprisingly good, with the different meats complementing one another and none dried out. We also enjoyed some fine cheeses and champagne.

On Sunday, we played Uno, a favorite family card game that Ava will soon be able to join. Taking a break from leftovers, Peter and I picked up lunch at Chipotle. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get together with Steve M.R. and family, but we expected the holidays to be busy. I did touch base with other college friends, including Ben P.S. and Ron J.K.

That evening, Janice and I watched Stardust for the first time on DVD. I thought the adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess' work was well-done, if not quite as romantic as The Princess Bride, to which it has often been compared (a better soundtrack might have helped). A strong cast, sharp script, and folkore-inspired plot made Stardust one of the better fantasy movies to come out in the wake of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter franchises.

Janice and I made good time in the long drive back to Massachusetts on Monday, Dec. 29, and we spent much of the next day cleaning in preparation for planned visits by David I.S. and Janice's folks. We worked from home today, partly because of the latest snowstorm, but I hope to get out within the next few days. Have a Happy New Year!

Friends, sorry for the delayed blog postings — like many people, I've been busy with work, holiday preparations, and most recently, winter weather. On Saturday, 13 December 2008, Janice and I went into Boston for the Christmas for Horses held by the Animal Rescue League. While it was chilly by Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall, we didn't mind helping with crowd control as mounted police participated in the annual awareness-raising event. We later enjoyed lunch, checked out Macy's window decorations, and finished our holiday shopping.

On Sunday, after the usual animal shelter/City of Heroes sessions, we had Thomas K.Y. over for a roast pork dinner. We spent much of this past weekend shoveling out from the first snowstorms of the season. I still haven't yet gotten out to screen James Bond adaptation Quantum of Solace, Delgo, or Tale of Desperaux, but since they've gotten mixed reviews, there's no rush. I may catch Frank Miller's controversial take on Will Eisner's classic The Spirit after Christmas.

Speaking of movies, by now, you may have seen the latest trailers for Watchmen and Star Trek. I think the adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' seminal graphic novel looks extremely faithful to the source material, despite rumors of changes to the story's ending. As with any translation of a book to movies, some plot lines will have to be cut or reduced.

As I've mentioned before, I'm cautiously optimistic about the cinematic reboot of Gene Roddenberry's space opera. While I'm not sure it will revive or continue the franchise as well as the Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoons have for George Lucas, I would like to see more heroic, upbeat science fiction.

I finally saw No Country for Old Men on cable television, and I thought the Coen brothers' leisurely paced but grim modern Western was well done. I'm cautiously optimistic about M. Night Shyamalan's adaptation of Nickelodeon's fantasy Avatar: the Last Airbender, which has now been cast (with Caucasians rather than a mix of people, raising some protests).

In related comic book news, DC Comics and Marvel Comics are dealing with a new status quo after their "Final Crisis" and "Secret Invasion" crossover "events," respectively: Batman and Captain America have been (temporarily) replaced, Superman and Iron Man are no longer team leaders, and metahumans aren't sure whom to trust as supervillains organize.

It looks like the animated Wolverine and the X-Men may use bits of continuity from Days of Future Past, X-Men: Evolution, and the live-action movies. Live-action adaptations can be hit or miss, but the Wolverine: Origins preview looks pretty good.

Still to come: Holiday wrapup, genre television and gaming reviews, and more!

Although I've blogged a lot lately about genre television, movies, and comic books, I haven't written much about their intersection in animation. While I look forward to the eventual return of The Spectacular Spider-Man, the retro Batman and the Brave and Bold has been entertaining so far, and I think the computer-animated Star Wars: Clone Wars has been underrated by most critics and fans of George Lucas' space opera universe.

It's a pity that the TV networks have been gradually moving away from child-friendly cartoons on Saturday mornings. Just as my nephews are at an age when they enjoy all things related to the DC and Marvel superheroes, including toys and video games, the "big two" publishers' main titles are written for adults, and most of the reruns in prime time are more than a decade old.

The upcoming Wolverine and the X-Men looks promising, at least to fans of the 1990s cartoons and the more recent X-Men Evolution, as well as the live-action movies (Wolverine: Origins is coming next year). I still wish that the various adaptations could get the various cohorts of Prof. Xavier's mutant students correct in terms of their relative ages.

Marvel also has kid-friendly versions of The Avengers and a young Iron Man in the works, while DC's Legion of Superheroes has joined Justice League Unlimited and Teen Titans in series to be found only in reruns on the Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Fox Kids, or ABC Family.

As an adult fanboy, I look forward to the animated tie-ins to the upcoming Thor and Wonder Woman movies. I'm optimistic about the live-action Asgardian Avenger flick, which currently has Shakespearean director Kenneth Branagh directing and Journeyman's Kevin McKidd under consideration to play the Mighty Thor. (On a side note, I voted for Mark Valley of Keen Eddie and Fringe to play Steve Rogers/Captain America.)

The Amazonian princess has not been done justice since the Lynda Carter series, with a variety of actresses favored for the role and no director or script set, but at least the cartoon looks decent. The live-action Justice League movie has had similar problems getting off the ground (Aussie Megan Gale had been cast as Wonder Woman), even as the deconstructionist Watchmen and Marvel's master plan for an Avengers team-up advance.

Not surprisingly, given Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election, some fans have named black genre actors for roles such as Doctor Who, James Bond, and Wonder Woman. Hustle's Adrian Lester might be fine as the next incarnation of the time-traveling Gallifreyan, but Colin Salmon is arguably too suave for Ian Fleming's superspy (I'm more a fan of Sean Connery than Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan), just as Daniel Craig is arguably too rough (a bit like Timothy Dalton).

I hope for the day of truly color-blind society and casting, but in the meantime, I think an athletic and high-quality actress of Mediterranean extraction would be better as Diana of Themiscyra. However, Gina Torres from Xena: Warrior Princess, the Matrix trilogy, and Firefly/Serenity) would be better than singer Beyonce Knowles for Wonder Woman, and I still think that Angela Basset would have been better than Halle Berry as the X-Men's Storm.

Speaking of Ororo Munroe and her mate T'challa, Djimon Honsu should make an interesting Black Panther in BET's upcoming animated series. Jennifer Garner, while convincing in action, was too much of the wholesome girl next door to be convincing as a troubled assassin in Daredevil and Elektra.

I also think it's a good idea to work out the supernatural heroes' origins in direct-to-video releases while preparing big-budget features. Marvel is also working on Hulk vs. Thor and Hulk vs. Wolverine videos, while DC is following with Wonder Woman and Green Lantern the successful strategy that brought us Justice League: New Frontier and Batman: Gotham Knight.

Friends, I hope you had a good holiday weekend. On Thursday, 27 November 2008, Janice and I drove to her immediate family in Upstate New York to celebrate Thanksgiving. Her youngest sister Melinda hosted the big feast, which included turkey and all the trimmings, as well as four kinds of pie!

The next morning, Janice, her sisters, and their mother woke up at 3:00 a.m. to brave the "Black Friday" shopping crowds. Fortunately, the men stayed behind. I played video games with my brother-in-law Gary and nephew Josh. That evening, we enjoyed a lasagna dinner and surprised my niece Becky with a cake for her 16th birthday.

On Saturday, we met up at Janice's parents' home, where I saw their newly renovated kitchen. Some of the children and the family dogs played in the snow, which we haven't gotten yet in southern New England. My nieces Laura and Amanda played piano, I belatedly watched the computer-animated Ant Bully, and we ate still more food — this time, barbeque (Sloppy Joes).

Janice and I then drove back to Massachusetts. I'm now caught up on episodes of Star Wars: Clone Wars and The Legend of the Seeker, both of which have grown on me. While most of our Christmas shopping is done, I have lots of snailmail and reading still to do. This coming weekend, Janice's parents and Amada will be visiting for Janice's birthday and the Bay Colony Dog Show in Boston.