In response to a decline in print advertising, ever-increasing amounts of work for our Web site, and recent layoffs, my editor in chief threw a party for our editorial department to boost morale and celebrate recent awards. We enjoyed a lunch catered by Firefly's Barbeque at Fun & Games in Framingham, Massachusetts. Ken G. and I had recently checked out the arcade.

In addition to the video games, I had fun playing old favorites such as foosball, air hockey, and even laser tag! Of course, I'm pleased to report that I did well at my second games of each of these rather than dwell on my initial losses. Co-worker Bob R. and I have still been playing pool (billiards) during our lunch hour on most Thursdays. Speaking of food, this past weekend, Janice and I were pleased to find that our favorite local Chinese buffet, formerly Hunan New Taste in Walpole, Mass., is now improved as Asia Treasures.

After Friday's party, several of us went to the British Beer Company nearby for a few rounds of drinks and conversation. Of course, politics and the current U.S. financial crisis were among our topics. Although I applaud Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) historic choice of a female running mate, I'm distressed that Gov. Sarah Palin has relatively little experience with government beyond Alaska and is much more conservative than I'm comfortable with.

Still, the U.S. presidential campaign has heated up, with both McCain and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) performing well in their first debate — on economics and foreign policy — and Palin providing lots of fodder for Saturday Night Live parodies in interviews and her decent performance at last week's vice presidential debate.

On Sunday, 21 September 2008, Byron V.O., Thomas K.Y., Janice, and I watched the direct-to-DVD release of Stargate: Continuum. We enjoyed seeing the cast and crew of Stargate SG1 (itself a spin-off of the Egyptian-themed action movie) reunite to fight the parasitic alien Go'uald, travel through time and face paradoxes, and film on location in the Arctic. I'd give Continuum about an 8 out of 10 or a B+, since it requires a fair amount of knowledge about SG1's 10-year run (surpassed only by the BBC's Doctor Who).

It's a pity that the SciFi Channel has taken its time airing this sequel to the longest-running science fiction television show in North America to date. As with its lackluster promotion of Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars and Stargate: Ark of Truth, the cable network has preferred wrestling, so-called reality shows, schlock horror, and the dour, revisionist Battlestar Galactica over more classic or innovative genre programming. The Cartoon Network has been similarly tardy in showing good videos such as Justice League: New Frontier or anime. Speaking of anime, I'm looking forward to getting "Book 3" of fantasy Avatar: the Last Airbender on DVD.

I've been sporadically following spin-off Stargate: Atlantis and am cautiously optimistic about Stargate: Universe, which may be drifting from the franchise's premise of interplanetary explanation inspired by real history in much the same way the later iterations of Star Trek became more about conflict and less about humanity striving for its ideals. There's also still talk of a direct sequel to the original movie, and I might check out the multiplayer online game Stargate: Worlds.

I wish Stargate SG1 and Atlantis alumna Amanda Tapping success with the TV adaptation of her monster-hunting Web series Sanctuary. In other space opera news, I look forward to the television premiere of the computer-animated Star Wars: Clone Wars this coming weekend! In the meantime, I've again fallen behind in genre television, as my DVR fills up with episodes of metahuman melodrama Heroes and paranormal mystery Fringe because of gaming.

Coming soon: More on food, games, and politics!

Before getting into gaming updates, I must note the passing of actor Paul Newman. The Sting is one of my favorite films of all time, and I've been sympathetic to his political views and have bought many of his "Newman's Own" food products over the years. He will be missed, but his work lives on.

On Saturday, 20 September 2008, I hosted the latest D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed.: "Drake's Port" superhero scenario, coinciding with the visit from St. Louis of former Boston-area resident and role-player Byron V.O. We've been playing Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition (D&D4e) for a while, so it was nice to have a change of pace and genre. In the past few years, such visits have occurred around Halloween.

After a slow start, the metahuman vigilantes met near my fictional New England city, explored the former mansion of the "Hudson Valley Vigilantes" and the (onetime play by e-mail) group "Evil's Bane," and fought Nazis! Thomas K.Y., who demonstrated our City of Heroes online characters for Byron and Beruk A. at his place in Lexington, Massachusetts, also made a cameo appearance.

On Sunday, Sept. 21, Byron and I were disappointed to learn that Dexter V.H. wouldn't be as available as we had hoped for a D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: Holy Steel" teleconferencing session. Although Byron's Paladin/Wizard "Ibrahim" and Dex's Drow Ranger "Faelonia" have just entered Babylonia, their team has been hampered by chronic scheduling and technical difficulties, partly from family and work commitments.

The Monday-night D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" adventuring party has been doing fairly well in fomenting rebellion in the barbaric city of Tekugi (see maps), despite previously mentioned player turnover. We'll see whether the would-be heroes are able to maintain shared goals after the departure of John C.M.'s heroic Warlord "Harald."

Members of my Yahoo/eGroups Web club and the larger gaming community have been involved in ongoing debates surrounding D&D4e. Potential alternatives include the Pathfinder RPG (a.k.a. "D&D3.75"), True20, Savage Worlds (which Brian W. likes) and GURPS4e. Beruk has even suggested using the D20 Star Wars: Saga Edition rules for D&D-style fantasy. Pathfinder, currently in beta testing, has gained a following. I'm currently leaning toward the streamlined True20 or GURPS, but at Greg D.C.'s recommendation, we're sticking with D&D4e for now.

This past weekend, other than running errands in Norwood, Mass., Janice and I spent much of our time cleaning our duplex in preparation for my family's visit later this week.

Coming soon: Space opera strikes back!

The new genre television season is now under way, so as I catch up after Byron V.O.'s visit this past weekend, here's a recap of recent episodes.

Thanks to our DVR, Janice and I caught up on ABC Family's Samurai Girl, which reminded me of the short-lived Vanishing Son. The teenaged martial-arts drama was decent, even if it can't compare with the fun allusiveness of recent Sci-Fi comedy The Middleman.

In addition, the casting of Asian-Americans of assorted nationalities as Japanese annoyed me. We don't all look alike! On the other hand, with a Frenchman cast as a Scot in the original (and best) Highlander film and an Englishman cast as a Frenchman in Star Trek: the Next Generation, there is precedent for such internationalized casting in shows like Samurai Girl and Heroes.

Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles continues to be a decent preaopcalyptic drama. There have been numerous plot holes, but the serious mood and action scenes are consistent with the movies in that series. The foolishness of those who would develop fully automated combat robots seems obvious, until one realizes that such things are happening in real life.

Fringe, from the creators of Alias and Lost, focuses on supernatural conspiracies, so comparisons to The X-Files and the upcoming 11th Hour and Sanctuary are inevitable. Still, it was nice to see Keen Eddie's Mark Valley (who would also make a fine Captain America) in a supporting role, and the Boston-area locations seem almost authentic. Some reviewers have pointed out the pseudoscience in the show so far, but that's to be expected in this genre.

On the other hand, there is no shortage of what critics have called "SF-lite" programming this season, as the networks continue to try to capitalize on the popularity of movies based on comic books but are limited in budget and special effects to stories taking place in the (more or less) modern world. No spandex-clad superheroes, few truly alien horrors, and no old-school battles in deep space.

Until more lighthearted TV fare such as Emmy-winning Pushing Daisies returns in a few weeks, I already miss Psych because the number of genre melodramas has been high. As much as I liked the two-hour premiere of the ensemble of Heroes Season 3: "Villains" and the series mentioned above, there have have already been plenty of grisly murders, double-crossings, and hints of humanity's imminent self-destruction across many of these shows.

I prefer to balance the mood among programs, especially after long days at work and monitoring depressing real-world news. However, Heroes has proven that an adult approach to metahumans, as in the legally troubled adaptation of Watchmen, is possible

Since I'm usually running the D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the F.B.I." fantasy game on Monday nights, I'll have to decide whether to record Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, Chuck, and/or Heroes. At the moment, Heroes is probably my top choice, even after a lackluster second season.

On the lower end of the genre schedule is Smallville. While it's somewhat surprising that the young-adult metahuman ensemble has survived as long as it has, I'm glad that more elements of the Superman mythos, including a nascent Justice League, are finally being used. If only it could get away from love triangles and kryptonite monsters of the week.

Worse still was Spaceballs: the Series. Granted, I wasn't a huge fan of Mel Brooks' original spoof of Star Wars and other classic space operas, but the low-budget animation and writing of the television version make Tripping the Rift and Stripperella look highbrow. The voice casting, however, was pretty good, but I doubt I'll watch any more of this.

Next time: Stargate: Continuum and gaming!

I've been busy with work and gaming, hence the delayed blog posting. Despite recent dental appointments (partly as a result of the partial bridge on my upper teeth, my lower molars have worn badly), I've enjoyed lots of local cuisine lately. Co-worker Ken G., Janice, and I have been to the new Chipotle in the Shopper's World plaza near where Ken and I work in Framingham, Massachusetts. I slightly prefer that burrito chain to Boloco, which also has an eatery in the area.

In addition, during the visit of St. Louis-based friend Byron V.O. this past weekend (19 to 22 September 2008), we ate at the reliable Bertucci's and went to the crowded but fun Phantom Gourmet Food Festival in Boston. The Phantom Gourmet is a local television show that reviews area restaurants, or as we call it, "food porn." On Sunday, we enjoyed the Minado sushi buffet in Framingham with Thomas K.Y.

We also ordered dinner from Oak Hill Pizza during the D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed.: "Drake's 7" superhero game and had lunch at Nicholas' Pizzeria in Needham, Mass. Although we prefer Fuddrucker's or Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage (which suffered from a fire), we had good hamburgers at Wild Willy's in walking distance from my duplex. As I've noted previously, I've become a proponent of locally grown, organic foods, but patronizing local restaurants was our bit to help the economy during Byron's visit.

Next time: The new genre TV season!