Life is Bigger

Revolution Earth

I saw parts of the city where I live and other places I know on Google Earth a few days ago. It’s exciting and quite scary, since it gives you a very specific perspective--the top view of many cities--and you can quickly zoom onto locales from the skies, just like in the movies and TV shows. It was so cool to see areas near our house that I don’t know about, and places near my old schools that I used to frequent.

It’s amazing how those neatly arranged and diversely colored rooftops shelter different lives and dreams. From above, the communities look so peaceful. It doesn’t really show people, as we’re dot-scaled and virtually unseen. But in actuality, we’re mere meters away from others, just separated by walls, gates and streets. It’s easy to get a sense of that when you’re looking at the wide shots. It’s interesting, too, that those patches look so unrelated, but we all know that that’s the farthest thing from the truth. Man, just imagine the intersecting stories all over those maps.

Google Earth is all kinds of awesome.

I Wanna Be Cremated

I attended a funeral last Sunday afternoon. As I wasn’t close to the departed, my time there was spent observing and sitting through the rites quietly. It did make me think about my own life and some things I want to do and accomplish while I’m still here, among other things.

I'd rather have my remains cremated and put into a jar. I’m also okay with my ashes getting scattered someplace pretty, or at a place with sentimental value, actually. I’ve always preferred that, I think, not because I don’t want my decaying body to become worm food--I’m probably beyond caring by then—but I feel now that I’d rather have what’s left of my physical shell near those who care about me. I’m okay with being remembered by loved ones without them having to trek to the cemetery. Cemeteries are just way depressing. The cost of cremation, I hear, is normally cheaper than the usual casket funeral, too, so I guess I’ll go for that, instead.

It’s a Boy-Boy Thing

Ain’t they sweet. Teen couple Hulkling and Wiccan, from Marvel’s Young Avengers comic book, posed and photographed by Benedict. Wiccan is Scarlet Witch and Vision’s miracle child, while Hulking is the hybrid son of the Kree warrior Captain Mar-Vell and a Skrull princess. Hey, by the way, I’m wondering: just how long will Young Avengers be on hiatus, and when will volume two come out? Come on, Marvel, make it happen.

Party Like It’s 2099

Marvel Legacy: The 1990s Handbook was a good read. It’s the latest from the people behind the new Marvel Universe Handbooks, a one-shot comic book featuring profiles of select characters from the era distinctly remembered for the shoulder pads, gritted teeth, toughie codenames and massive weaponry. Image Comics-inspired art and coloring were all the rage, and many Marvel characters and titles at the time embraced a darker, but not necessarily a more mature tone. Those included, however, aren’t necessarily Liefeld-inspired characters.

It’s an interesting list, although there are those creations that look dated now. Some of them have yet to reappear. There’s Vengeance, Nightwatch, Lady Punisher, Blackwulf, Maxam, X-Treme, X-Men 2099, and so on. Maybe creators who adored them back then will make them feel fresh and contemporary.

I was half-expecting to see entries of the armored Captain America, Daredevil and Spider-Man, the bikini-clad Invisible Woman, and the jacket-wearing Avengers and New Warriors members, but they weren’t depicted. Maybe the updated Handbooks will devote space to them, since Storm’s new entry showed all of her previous costumes.

I liked that the cover sported the coloring style that evoked simple Photoshop effects. It also has a masthead that intentionally looks slightly retro, and a particular company logo that was used later in the decade. Also, it was funny that they included a Coolometer at the inside-back cover. “Bankruptcy,” of course, was at the “Uncool” end.

I emailed the Handbook people recently, and suggested that they include or update some characters. I listed about twenty or so characters, and writer Stuart Vandal generously replied. He detailed that some of those I mentioned are slated for appearances in future issues (Agatha Harkness will have an updated one in the Magic 2007 Handbook), or have already appeared in certain themed Handbooks. He added that each of the other characters will eventually have his or her entry, as long as the series continues.