Thanos...Nuff Said

I love Marvel Comics, and I fall into the pit of buying into as many of the major crossovers as I can.  I really enjoy the collaborative efforts of the heroes when things get especially difficult.  Namely when that mad titan Thanos gets an itch.  This summer anyone in the know with Marvel Comics saw the Infinity storyline.  While I was glued to the pages, I pined for some old Thanos stories.  

A couple weeks ago when the weather had just been to cold to do anything but sit around the house, I was browsing the shelves at my local comic shop, Acme Comics.  As if fate led me there, I discovered right on the shelf, one copy of the single edition reprint of Thanos Quest.  The tale of Thanos's acquisition of the Infinity Gems.  I read the story years ago, but I did not have it in my own colleciton; I do now.  I soaked up the ultimate power and cunning of Thanos as he gathered up the Infinity Gems.  Now I have moved on to a re-reading of The Infinity Gauntlet.  What a great story with great characters!  

I had forgotten how much I liked Adam Warlock and what would become his Infinity Watch team.  Warlock uses the Earth's mightiest heroes including the Avengers, Spiderman, Namor, Dr. Strange, a couple mutant heroes, Wolverine, Cyclops and Scarlet Witch and many other as pawns in this galactic myth.  As the team musters at the Avengers mansion, the feelings of massive power give me the feeling that these guys can't be denied.  Then the pages turn to Warlock's meeting with the Silver Surfer, Quasar (another of my favorite characters who has faded from the pages of Marvel's books lately) and his mentor Epoch.  That isn't all though, a double-truck page reveals the true members of this alliance to be the Watcher, Lord Chaos and Master Order, Kronos the Titan God, the Stranger, Love and Hate, two Celestials, Galactus, Eternity, and the Living Tribunal.  These powerful entities next to Earth's mighty heroes makes the heroes seem small and insignificant.  In fact, Warlock tells surfer, "Our Allies' power is less than nothing against Thanos' might.  They stand defeated before the battle has even begun. The true purpose of their attack is merely diversionary.  They are sacrificial lambs."  Earth's heroes enter a massive battle Thanos.  Warlock's plan almost works, but Thanos slips away with a victory. 

The story continues with more heroic team-ups which is what keeps me coming back to these stories with Thanos.  He is not one who can be dealt with individually, but only with power and cunning from teams of heroes.  In my eyes, he is arguably the most awesome villain in the Marvel Universe.   

Marvel's Infinity...Worth the Wait

The comics have been flying around the house.  I just reread the Galactic Storm crossover from the 1990's, and I finished the A vs X and Age of Ultron miniseries.  I will comment on those later, along with my thoughts about Superior Spiderman, but I am quite interested in the ongoing Infinity series.  Of course, anyone who reads or used to read my blog knows, I am a Marvel fan and don't really venture into other comic lines.  The pocketbook just doesn't allow me to do much in the way of venturing out, so I stick to what I know and that is Marvel. 

After the somewhat disappointing Age of Ultron and A vs. X, I have been really satisfied with the Infinity storyline.  Thanos seems to be a can't miss villain, but what I have really enjoyed with this story is that Thanos, so far, has been a side story to a larger threat that draws the Avengers off Earth.  I am curious as to what others are thinking regarding the Infinity series.  I do wish that the Guardians of the Galaxy have played a more major role from the beginning especially since J'son of Spartax, Peter Quill's father, is a major player.  

Long way away, but

I know it is almost a year from now, but I already can't wait.




Still need to see Captain America and Thor.

Unplugged

So, I took the summer off from blogging. Partly from laziness and partly from the fact that I did not want to spend my summer in front of a computer. In fact, aside from the occasional email checks, Facebook updates, a few baseball and Tour de France updates (mostly done from my phone), I tried to stay offline as much as possible. It was somewhat liberating. I spent a lot of time teaching RPM at the Riverplex and teaching cycling at the Loop...actually, these consumed lots of time this summer. I trained in Body Combat. And I spent as much of the time left with my family.
I did from time-to-time wonder what I was missing in my RSS feed, but after a few quick scans of it, there wasn't much. A few postings from friends that I caught up on, but most professional stuff was "stuff" that could wait.
Regardless of the peace over the summer, I plan to get back in the swing of things and spout more Supposedly Interesting Things in upcoming weeks/months.

UPDATE 8/24/26:

Wow!  How life has changed for me 15 years later!  My kids aren't really "kids" anymore (college and high school), and I don't teach RPM, Body Combat, or cycling at The Loop anymore.  I retired from group fitness classes about 4 years ago.  I haven't watched the Tour de France in probably 5 years, but I still find myself trying to find ways to "Unplug."  

I teach my students that unplugging from technology is healthy.  Studies show that individuals who spend too much time on screens are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.  Well, I ain't got time for that, so I try to find as many blocks as I can to unplug.  I find that my computer isn't the one that I have to unplug from like I did 15 years ago.  I really need to unplug from my phone.  

So when you are done reading this, shut down, take a walk, read a book, listen to music (like really listen), or go sit with someone you love and see how their day was and maybe make plans to do something together.  

Send a letter

A friend of mine who is a columnist for the Peoria Journal Star, Steve Tarter, wrote in last Sunday's paper an article titled, "Business Watch: Help a postman-write a letter today." His article is right on so many different levels, I had to respond.

First, read his article (click above).

Second, a mantra in business is that you've got to change with your customer to survive and some argue that the post office hasn't done that. That isn't my argument. I feel that the post office is a service that we still need. What would we do if we got home from work and didn't get to make the trip to the mailbox to see what surprises are in there? Granted half the stuff I get is garbage or recycling, but it is a simple way to communicate, give and receive. Also, I'm still waiting for my million dollar check to come! If they dump Saturday delivery, I'll have to wait an extra day, probably. I'm not quite sure why the term "snail mail" got such a bad reputation. Don't good things come to those who wait? We don't have to get everything NOW! How about a little patience?

Third, I am all for helping people keep good jobs, especially in the environment we live in today. It is not going to break anyone's bank to do what Steve is suggesting: write a letter and if that is what it takes to keep an American staple of home delivery every day, how is that going to hurt? Write a letter once a week or once a month. Would it kill us to do that? Not just to save jobs, or a service that we all take for granted, but to write, share, think, care, etc. And, like Steve suggests, do you remember what it is like to get a note from someone in the mail? Isn't it fun to get a card in the mail on your birthday or Christmas? How would it feel to just get one for no reason except that someone was thinking about you?? I know, a foreign concept, because email and texts are so random and sent with little thought many times. And as we weed through our inboxes, how much time to you spend actually reading the contents? I've heard plenty of people, myself included, say, "I saw the message, but didn't really read it." A letter makes us stop and read. Do you have any idea what the handwriting of your family or friends is like? I will never forget what my dad's handwriting was like.

So, check your contacts in your email, see who your real friends are on Facebook (those would be the people whose address you know) and send them a letter in the mail. Also, maybe turn them to Steve's article or my plea (print them out and stick it in the envelope with your letter) and ask them to send a letter to a friend. If we all do this, we won't lose postal service, you might save your friendly, neighborhood postman/woman's job, you might rekindle an old friendship, you might get a surprise letter in your mailbox, you might reduce your stress by actually sitting down and thinking about something for more than sixty seconds. We all need that and so does the USPS.

CD revival stalled and Note to local Radio

The CD revival has been stalled and it is XM Radio's fault. Since our baby has been born, I have been driving our car and not the Aztec (long story). Anyway, the car has XM Radio and I discovered two stations that I can't leave behind when I'm in the car. One is BPM that plays techno dance and the other is the Grateful Dead station. I realize the stations are as different as black and white, but they both take me to different places in life.
I hope to get back to the CD revival soon, but as long as I'm riding in the car it will be XM Radio.

Oh, on a side note to all the radio stations in Peoria and their advertisers. Radio in Peoria is terrible!!! We are sick of light rock, pop/urban rap, canned country, and 80's and 90's heavy metal. Stations: get a real, original format that is different from your competitor. Advertisers: stop wasting your money and demand that the stations get real formats. Oh and get a clue, advertise on stations that meet your market. I don't think too many people listening to the rock and heavy metal station are going to the Peoria Symphony any time soon. Stop using Ad agencies!!!! Hire someone local who can actually listen to the station and understand who does or doesn't listen to the stations.

Happy Poetry Month

Rain, rain go away
the Bulls keep winning, so it's okay
the Hawks keep putting the puck in nets
I wish I would have placed some bets
if the Chicago boys of summer would start knocking in some runs
that might just bring out the sun

Happy Poetry Month from
the Cycling Librarian