International Cheetah Day

Today is International Cheetah Day!

One of the big cats, the cheetah is known for being the fastest land animal, able to run at speeds of up to 65 mph (104 kph) for brief periods of time.

There are four subspecies of the cheetah, native to Africa and Iran. The name 'cheetah' comes from Hindustani Urdu and Indi, which itself derived from a Sanskrit word meaning "adored" or "painted", presumably as a reference to the black tear-like streaks on their faces. 

Cheetahs are diurnal critters, meaning they are mostly active during the day. This presumably helps protect them from other predatory cats like lions and leopards, as they are mainly active at night. Those predatory cats can kill cheetahs or steal their kills. Cheetah cubs are rather vulnerable to predators as well.

Male cheetahs can be rather social with each other, but females are generally more solitary. However, young female cheetahs can stay in ranges with their mothers. Male cheetahs can form coalitions that help protect their hunting ranges.

Cheetahs are also known for their being rather noisy critters. Like domestic cats, they purr when they are content. They don't roar like lions. But they do meow. 

Cheetahs are carnivorous, they love their meat. African cheetahs eat springboks, gazelles, nyalas, and duikers. Asiatic cheetahs eat desert hares, black-tailed gazelles, urials, wild goats, and livestock.

Cheetahs live in a variety of habitats. In Africa, they can be found in the savannas like the Serengeti, the arid mountains and valleys of northern, central, and western Africa, and the high mountains of the Sahara Desert. Iranian ones live in the hilly terrains.

The cheetah is sadly considered a "Vulnerable" species thanks to hunting (cheetahs were killed to protect livestock in Africa until the 1970s), habitat loss, and high susceptibility to disease.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Trailer, My Thoughts

The term "Skeleton Crew" basically means the minimum number of personnel needed to maintain something, like a ship or a business. Skeleton crews are often used in emergencies to maintain the most vital and important operations. In the Star Wars universe, that term is going to take on a whole new meaning. 

Created by regular collaborators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, Skeleton Crew is set around the same timeframe as The Mandalorian. A coming-of-age story, it tells the tale of a group of youths who make a discovery that takes them around the Star Wars universe, and they need to find their way home. The series stars Jude Law, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, and Nick Frost. The show was filmed from September 2022 to January 2023. Let's look at the trailer!

Peter Schilling's "Major Tom (Coming Home)"! I love that song!

Speed can kill, kids. Be warned.

Being a kid can be rough, but if your dad is the principal, that makes it a LOT worse.

I get the feeling that girl has beaten some dudes with that shovel. 

Awww, small Max Rebo.

Yeah, they're totally going to touch something. 

AAAAAND THERE GOES THE HYPERDRIVE!

It's okay! Jude Law is here! He'll get those kids home!

I like the surly robot.

Well, this looks like a very cute little show for kids. I would not be surprised if some kid becomes a Star Wars fan from this show. I think I may watch this with my nieces. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Antarctica Day

 Happy Antartica Day!

On this day in 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed. Going into force in 1961, this designated the continent as a scientific preserve, and banning all military activity there. This treaty would be the first such arms control treaty during the Cold War. 

This treaty would pave the way for the continent to be the subject of a massive cooperative scientific effort, the purpose being to study the planet. Antarctica provided some rather unique opportunities for various scientific disciplines. For example, its long nights allowed astronomers to view the stars in our skies. And the unique organisms that live there could help transform what we know about biology and medicine. 

Research on Antarctica is especially important these days as global warming has been making a major impact on various things like weather patterns. 

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Text Play: Pokémon Xenoverse #35

Hello, and welcome back to the Eldiw Region! This is entry number 35 in my Text Play of Pokémon Xenoverse!

Now, as is tradition, I must warn you, I will be spoiling this game. 

If you want to play the game yourself, you can download it here. And with that out of the way, let's do this!

Last time, we went through the Rock Room of Wallace Daddy's gym in Hypelion City. We had to battle all four members of the Roggenrola band to get the key to another room in the gym: The Dance Room. 

Welcome to the Dance Room. Time to get funky like a monkey, as the late Dusty Rhodes would say.

This room gives me a couple thoughts about ol' Wally. Based on what I have heard about his music, I can imagine that his work touches on a variety of genres. I think he also owns a record label, and it can be implied that he signs artists in a variety of genres as well. That's pretty neat.

Anyway, as can be seen in the screenshot, our fanboy is here as well. He jokes about us having rhythm in our blood, then explains that the Dance Room is full of breakers and, well...dancers. Duh. Basically, if you love getting down to pumping EDM in Eldiw, you go here. Let's head on down.

And here is the dance floor. Great place to get funky. Let's head to the right.

Looks like we got a bar. I get the idea that this place is also a nightclub. Would make sense. Wally is a businessman, and I can imagine he also would run a nightclub in his gym. Gives trainers a place to relax and let off some steam before or after a battle. We talk to the lady in a black cap.

Rika's idea of dancing is naturally, a Pokémon battle. Let's dance!

Hip Hop Rika
1st Pokémon: Kricketune (Lv. 44) -Defeated by Trishout.

Once she's defeated, she shows you this photo, autographed by Wally himself.

See that line of glowing tiles? That is a clue. A clue to what? You'll see.

Anyway, let's explore this place a bit more, shall we? If we go back to the dance floor and go down...

What is that on the right? A hot tub? I mean, it wouldn't make sense for a regular bathtub to be there. Ah, never mind. I'm going to talk to the DJ. Maybe I can get him to play "Freebird". It turns out he has a line of requests already, so we'll have to wait a while.

If we go back to the dance floor and go to the right, we find...another bar!

I'm guessing this Gym is also a good place to get drunk.

Up above this bar is a VIP area, which we're not allowed in. 

Next to the bar is a man in an orange hoodie. He likes the music here, and thinks rock is garbage. As a fan of rock, I feel a great need to smack this man. Instead, I'll smack him in a Pokémon battle.

(Hip Hop) Jake
1st Pokémon: Noibat (Lv. 40) - Defeated by Trishout
2nd Pokémon: Tokakle (Lv. 40) - Defeated by Harrowk
3rd Pokémon: Loudred (Lv. 42) - Defeated by Xatu. Palossand did heavy damage, but got switched to Xatu.

That's what you get for trashing rock 'n' roll, my friend.

Back on the dance floor! There's a Hip-Hop girl on here we can fight. She remarks we're a bit too young to dance with her. Which makes sense, our player character is a teenager, after all. But we can have a Pokémon battle. I'm all for that!

(Hip Hop) Miya
1st Pokémon: Jigglypuff (Lv. 41) - Defeated by Trishout
2nd Pokémon: Chatot (Lv. 41) - Defeated by Xatu

And I'm afraid that's where we're going to have to stop for the month. I do apologize, but I didn't get the chance to go as far in this gym as I would have liked. Hopefully, next month will get us through this place. Wish me luck! Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Marvel Comics Presents #23 (July 1989) (Wheels' Story)

When the Wolfpack are not fighting the likes of drug dealers, criminals, or the Nine, they are regular New York City teenagers of the late-1980s. Sure, they have skills and talents most teenagers don't, but that doesn't mean they don't also have to deal with regular teenage issues. One example is Nico "Wheels" Wolinski. The young man has a brilliant mind, and he's regarded as a master planner and strategist. But he's still human. And like most humans, he's not immune to being hit by the arrow of Cupid. This little story shows Wheels encountering his first taste of true love. This is Wheels's tale in Marvel Comics Presents #23!

The cover is a Bret Blevins piece. It's a wraparound cover. My favorite bit of it is showing Cyclops fighting some kind of yellow cousins of the famous grey aliens. You know, the ones with the big black eyes? The back cover shows the other characters who have stories here. Not really in any action poses. But our man Wheels is there giving a thumbs up, the cover promising that he's in a love story in the mighty Marvel tradition. I do like the cover, but I wish there was another way to show the other characters previewing their adventures. 

"Lady Jane"
Writer: John Figueroa
Penciler: Ron Wilson
Inker: Tex Blaisdell
Colorist: Evelyn Stein
Letterer: Diana Albers
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins in a baseball diamond in the South Bronx. Wheels is playing a bit of the sport considered one of the Great American Pastimes with some local kids. Our man is shown to be talented player, good at hitting the ball and sending it flying. He calculates that he has about 15 seconds to get to third base. Showing how fast he can be, he manages to make the base with time to spare. It allows him to test the newest modification to his wheelchair: Power brakes. 

"And NASCAR laughed at me!"

Much to his joy, they worked perfectly, allowing him to stop on a dime.

Wheels then spots a pretty girl standing on the sideline.

Right now, Cutting Crew is playing in Wheels' head...

Meet Jane. Everything about this young lady gets our man all flustered and love-struck. She's the girl of his dreams. He wants to talk to her, but he can't seem to muster up the courage. He sees himself as a coward. He's able to face drug dealers and the Nine, but he can't talk to a pretty girl. Poor Wheels. 

Another boy, Benny by name, yells at her to stop talking to Wheels, seeing the Wolfpack member as unworthy of attention. He wants to know why she hasn't spoken to him in a week. Thing is, Jane wanting nothing more to do with Benny, as he's become a drug dealer. Benny, though, is a man who does not take "no" for an answer. He grabs at Jane's arm, prompting Wheels to step in.

Benny wants Wheels to butt out, and he is willing to try and stomp our man to make his point. However, Wheels has martial arts training, and a wheelchair filled with tricks, as he demonstrates.

Benny managed to cover the entire baseball diamond in vomit.

Benny is furious at the Wolfpack member, and vows to meet him after school. Later that day, Jane and Wheels are walking down a street. Benny and a compatriot of his drive up, and they got a gun. Yup, they plan to add some hot lead to Wheels' diet. However, the Pack's resident master planner has, you guessed it, a plan for that. 

"I found some bulletproof glass in shop. I didn't ask any questions."

Not only does his wheelchair have bulletproof shielding, it is also equipped with a powerful engine, powerful enough to race with a car, if need be. Benny and his bud continue shooting at Wheels and Jane, but the redheaded genius built his shields tough, easily able to withstand the assault. Jane screams for Wheels to do something. 

After all, they can't stay on the defensive forever. But again, Wheels has a plan. He made another new modification to his chair: the ability to create slippery oil slicks behind him.

Cliche, but it works.

Evidently, Wheels is a fan of Spy Hunter. The oil slick causes the car to hit a police cruiser.

Nobody is hurt, but this causes the cops to catch Benny and his friend with their gun. They also discover that the trunk has enough drugs to get half the city high. With the danger passed, Wheels takes Jane home. He offers to walk her home every day if she wishes it. Jane finds that idea very nice. And she gives him a little reward for being her knight in shining armor.

💖

She heads to her home, saying that she'll see Wheels tomorrow. A happy Wheels, well...wheels away, vowing to be a hero to his beloved Lady Jane...

This was a cute little story. Wheels gets to save the day and get the girl. I think any real issues I have is mainly due to the length. The story has only so many pages to work with, and as such, the story didn't have a lot of room to really explore Jane as a character. It's a shame, because the Wolfpack's stories hardly ever gave much focus to any of the group's supporting cast.

I do think that Wilson's pencils are a bit stronger here than in the main Wolfpack series, mainly because there's less pages for him to work on? Evelyn Stein's colors and Tex Blaisdell's inks go very well with the art. I found myself wishing they were on the maxiseries. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2018 trade paperback Wolfpack: The Complete Collection. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off1 Take care of yourselves, and each other! See you next time!

International Jaguar Day

 Happy International Jaguar Day!

Jaguars are the only species of the Panthera genus that are native to the Americas, in particular Latin and South Americas. They are particularly fond of forests. They are nocturnal animals, most active at night. However, jaguars in the Amazon are noted to be more active during the daytime. They are also talented climbers and swimmers. Jaguars are also rather solitary animals. 

Jaguars are apex predators; their diet solely consists of meat. They mainly prey on the capybara and the giant anteater. They have also been known to prey on marsh deer, and some jaguars even prey on reptiles (like turtles and caimans) and fish.

Jaguars are major figures in Mesoamerican indigenous mythology, seen as a symbol of power and strength. Which makes sense, considering their apex predator status. The Aztecs viewed the jaguar as symbolic of rulers and were the totem animals of the gods Tezcatlipoca and Tepeyollotl. In Guyana, jaguars are considered the national animal and it appears on their country's coat of arms. 

Jaguar populations have been threatened by conflicts with ranchers, habitat loss, and poaching. This is concerning as jaguars are also seen by some as a keystone species (A species that helps maintain the health of a habitat by controlling populations of other species). 

Happy Red Planet Day!

 Happy Red Planet Day, everyone!

What is Red Planet Day, you may ask yourself? Well, it's a day to celebrate one of our celestial neighbors. In this case, the planet Mars. Mars was a planet that had long captivated the imagination of mankind. Among those who saw Mars as an inspiration was H.G. Wells, whose novel War of the Worlds depicted an invasion of Earth by beings from that world. War of the Worlds would in turn inspire the character of Killraven, whom you can learn more about here.

You may be asking yourself, "Why is November 28th Red Planet Day"? Well, November 28th is the day that Mariner 4 was launched. 

Back in 1968, this unmanned robotic probe was sent out into the stars by NASA. Its mission was to fly past Mars and learn what it could about the Martian surface. This probe would be the very first one to transmit photos of another planet's surface to Earth from space. Mariner 4 was also tasked with measuring various measurements and collect information to help develop manned interplanetary flights. The mission was intended to last several months, but the little probe lasted three years out in space, NASA ending all communication with the probe in 1967.