Please Stand By...

 The Bronze Age Babies are back in hibernation. But fear not! We will return in the middle of July with new content and the second part of this summer's Super Blog Team-Up. Join us then!

In the meantime, the conversation continues on Twitter. Check us out @BronzeAgeBabies.

You can also listen to Karen and her partners on the Planet 8 Podcast, available on various platforms, including iTunes.

And, don't miss out on the daily happenings at Back in the Bronze Age, with Martinex1 and Redartz! 

We're Back!

Doug: Welcome back to this space! It has been a looooonnnnggg time since we've been together and Karen and I are excited to shepherd our community through a week of new content. In the midst of our time together we will be honored to present our entry in the coming 2-part Super Blog Team-Up. Here's a preview of the week ahead -

• Tuesday: Catching up with Karen 
• Wednesday: What's Doug been reading?
• Thursday: Super Blog Team-Up! Former BAB staff writers Martinex1 and Redartz will also be participating over at their place, Back in the Bronze Age.
• Friday: Sharing thoughts on the recent spate of Marvel Cinematic Universe flicks

After that we'll again be on hiatus until part two of this summer's SBTU event. Join us back here on July 19th!

Doug: Although the focus of this blog (and at times of the partnership between Karen and I) has largely shifted to the Twitterverse (we've added over 1700 followers since closing shop here), the spirit of the BAB remains across the interwebs. We regularly discuss Bronze Age/pop culture issues, tweet out cool artwork, and hopefully keep our work here alive by sharing links to material throughout our archive.

Karen: You've done a fantastic job on Twitter - I sort of see it as a metamorphosis! While you draw on the blog for some tweets, there's a lot of fresh material too. It all works to keep that community aspect of BAB alive, which was our original goal.

Doug: We hope you'll find this to be a reunion of sorts, with most of the old gang re-assembling for a little LCS-on-a-Wednesday conversation. I don't know how different I am from when I left you 19 months ago - I can report that our youngest son will be married two weeks from now, and in preparation for looking good as the mother and father of the groom my wife and I have each taken off some serious weight. Other than that, I think you'll find me the same guy you knew before!

Karen: That's impressive, but I don't think we'll have any problems recognizing you, pal. As for me, I feel like a lot of things in my orbit have changed, but for the most part, the basics of life remain the same. Although I have a new activity that I'll talk about on Tuesday that I hope all of you may also participate in. I won't say any more than that.

Doug: So enough about us (although more to follow in the next two days). What's everyone else been up to?

When It's Not "Continued Next Issue"...

The Bronze Age Babies blog is suspended indefinitely. We invite you to use the various navigation tools under the masthead and on the sidebar to find your way to over 2200 posts, almost 700 of which are reviews of comic books, films, books, etc.

Karen and Doug thank you for stopping by and welcome comments on any of our posts. We will be notified of your comment, so feel free to continue any conversations that grab your interest.

It Was Yesterday Once More

The first Bronze Age Babies masthead, c. June 2009

Doug: Karen started it. She did. In 2007 I am almost positive I'd never read a blog. Oh, sure -- I knew what a blog was. But I don't think I'd ever read one. She twisted my arm, though, and along with a third partner we embarked on the "Two Girls, a Guy, and Some Comics" site. Around 18 months later we landed here in this little corner of the Internet, where it's been childhood and teenage memories every day since. Here's what we said on June 16, 2009:

Welcome!

You've come across a blog that we hope will be a lot of fun.

Your hosts are Doug, a high school social science teacher based in the Midwest, and Karen, a research scientist based in the Southwest. We're about the same age, and despite our lack of geographic proximity, had some similar interests and experiences growing up throughout the 1970's-1980's. Lyndon Johnson was president when we were born, and Ronald Reagan was about to leave the White House (make whatever joke you feel is necessary right here!) when we were wrapping up college.

You'll see discussions of all things pop-culture. One week we might take a look at a film of the era (like Planet of the Apes or Logan's Run), another week it might be a review of a comic book story (Amazing Spider-Man #'s 121-122 -- the deaths of Gwen Stacy and of the original Green Goblin).

We'll tell you what music we were listening to at a given period of our childhood, and what toys we were playing with.

So stop by from time-to-time, and be sure to leave a comment or reminiscence of your own.

Doug and Karen

Doug: That was the only post we published that June. In July, we ran five.

Doug: In the succeeding 7 1/2 years we've published almost 2300 posts, 679 of which were reviews; we've also sent out almost 13,000 tweets. There have been 3.7 million pageviews on our blog (Holy cow!). And some of you have been alongside us almost every step (and occasional misstep) of the way. Today, for the foreseeable future, the Bronze Age Babies goes into hibernation.

Karen: This isn't an easy decision for either Doug or me. The BAB, as we've come to call it, has been a consistent part of our lives, and we truly value the community that has been created here. It's become much greater than anything we could have imagined or hoped for back in 2009, and we want to thank you all for contributing to it. Reading your comments and engaging with you, getting to know everyone -well, it's just been terrific. But a lot has changed over the years, and we're both at a point now where we have too many other demands on our time to continue the BAB with the care it deserves.

Karen: Personally, I want to say thank you for listening, as I've discussed all the geeky things I love, and for making me feel welcome. As a woman, and a girl growing up loving comics, monsters, and science fiction, this has not always been the case. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for treating me like "one of the guys" and either nodding along with me, or telling me when you thought I was full of BS, but always doing it in the spirit of good-humor and respect! It means a lot to me. I hope as I manage to come out from under what is currently an oppressive work load, I'll have more time to roam the various comics blogs and I'll see some of you out there. 

Doug: Karen said "to continue the BAB with the care it deserves". To some extent this blog has become like a child; certainly a member of the family. It's been in need of more care than we've been able to give it on our own, so we certainly don't want to leave this space today without a grateful nod to all those who've contributed as guest writers and guest reviewers over the past couple years. And even before that it was so helpful to us when our friends and readers left us recommendations in the Suggestion Box or during one of our requests for creativity. That was more valuable than you could imagine. But to Redartz and Martinex1 -- you guys were willing to come aboard as "staff writers" (you know Karen and I felt like big shots when we expanded this operation!) and truly take days of posting off our plates. Your presence as regular contributors added new life to the BAB, taking us into conversations that were uniquely your own. We have all been better for it. Thanks so much. And one more shout-out to Dr. Oyola for the professional-looking mastheads we've used over the past three years or so. He did good work, didn't he? Above and below are samples of what I used to cobble together with PowerPoint.

Doug: So what's ahead for me? I am going to read some comics without the mindset of writing about them and scanning from them, that's what I am going to do: just read. I had placed the graphic novel March on the sidebar as an upcoming review topic. I finished reading the third and final volume the morning of October 22nd. While you won't see any extensive thoughts from me here, I will just say "read it" -- in these turbulent political times, every American should; indeed, there is meaning for every human being regardless of race, creed, color, or national origin. I tweeted to Representative John Lewis (D-GA), the author of March, and told him that he is an American hero. I got a response, and I treasure that.

Doug:  But I am going to miss the conversations about comics. You all have been my "regulars" at the comic shop on a Wednesday new-arrival day. The community we sought when we began is a real thing in my life now -- you should know that you've left over 36,000 comments on this blog. That will be missed -- those days when some among you came back again and again to keep a conversation rolling... those were special times. You have come here over the years not to show off your knowledge or to argue; the opportunity for reflection of a shared experience will become a void for me, I know. So I will need to create a presence of my own on other blogs that do something similar to what we have done here -- perhaps among our Super Blog Team Up partners. And down the line? I've for years fancied a blog dedicated to comic books with art by John Buscema. Maybe someday...

Karen: I can echo Doug and say I will miss the conversations. Already, as I write this days before you all read it, I feel a great swell of emotion, knowing that I will no longer get up each morning and (because of the time difference) see your comments in my inbox. And even if I was too busy to participate in a discussion, I still was happy to know that the BAB was providing a few minutes of fun for you all. I know that you'll find new places to go - perhaps even hosted by a few stalwarts we know??  - but being able to help create this space is something I'm proud of. If I ever manage to get some spare time again, I might wind up blogging, but it might be about more free-ranging topics. I may have said all I have to say about comics. I mean, it's been 7+ years!

Karen: Before I lock up my desk and turn off the light, I want to give props to my partner. He has worked so hard on this blog, really taking on the role of publisher, and adding so much extra, like the Twitter feed, to create something special. I may have started us blogging, but Doug has been the driving force behind BAB for years. On top of that, he's just a flat-out good person, as I'm sure you've all gathered. There's no way we could have gone so long, done so many reviews together, without his hard work and good will. So cheers partner.

Doug: Stop it… you’re making me misty. Karen has also been a rock, even in those times when life threw her a few curveballs. She has stretched me as a writer (shoot, partnering with an author whose thoughts run in Back Issue? Give me a break…), and as I’ve said many times, I have read so many comics because of the BAB. I always appreciated the days when her posts ran, as her passion for topics on which I am not well-versed shined loud and clear. We've made a great team. And who knows? Maybe we aren’t finished talking comics. We have agreed to reach out to each other whenever we find a Bronze Age nugget worth discussing. But when that happens, those conversations will occur via email.

Doug: And to this day, believe it or not, the Bronze Age Babies have never spoken to each other.

Thanks for reading!

 

EPILOGUE: As Karen alluded above, our readers will have an alternative space to check out. Beginning tomorrow, November 3, 2016, Martinex1 and Redartz will be hosting a new blog. Please patronize them and leave them a comment at their new address, Back in the Bronze Age... You won't be disappointed, as we've already seen previews of several of their ideas. It is going to be fun!

#MyFirstAvengersLineUp

https://graphicpolicy.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/image0012.jpg

Doug: Here's a fun drill for Marvelites of all ages. About a week and a half ago one of our Twitter friends was asking folks to mark time by events within the pages of Earth's Mightiest Heroes -- specifically, the Avengers line-up when you started reading the book. So many thanks to Greg A. (@garaujo1) for today's post idea.

Doug: For this guy, my entry to the Avengers on an ongoing basis was around #119-120: the adventure against the Collector in Rutland, Vermont and then on into the Zodiac arc. You can see from the cover below (Jazzy Johnny Romita had a hand in that one, ya think?) that our Avengers at the time were Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, the Black Panther, the Vision, the Scarlet Witch, and Mantis and the Swordsman. That's a great line-up, certainly one of the best in the history of the team.

Karen: That's a powerhouse line-up, and very similar to my first team of Assemblers, from way back in issue #92. Anyone who's been around here for more than a few months knows that I came aboard the Marvel train with the Kree-Skrull War and never shut up about how great it is. But my first exposure to the Avengers had a team divided: there was the active team composed of the later generations of Avengers, namely the Scarlet Witch, her brother Quicksilver, their comrade Clint Barton, once Hawkeye, now playing the role of Goliath, and the Vision. The Big Three -Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor -show up at the end of the issue to disband the team -although they were really Skrulls posing as those heroes. But by the next issue the real McCoys would be back, along with a brief visit from Ant-Man. So I always think of the Big Three, plus the Vision, and Wanda, as mainstays.

Martinex1: As I've mentioned before, at a young age my cousin gave me a box of various comics and my favorites amongst those were a smattering of Avengers books ranging intermittently from Avengers #45 to Avengers #91. So I received in that gift a pretty broad view of the team's assembled heroes. My favorite though was the team gathered in the battle with Grandmaster and Kang in issues #69 to #71. The final page of that arc had a marvelous Sal Buscema pin-up that defined the team for me; it included the big three plus Vision, Clint-Goliath, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Black Knight, and the Black Panther. When I purchased my first Avengers comic with my own money, it was at the start of the Nefaria Saga at issue #164. Amazingly the team had not changed much despite the big gap in issues. The main difference was that the Scarlet Witch and the Beast were in, but Clint and the Black Knight were absent. So those were essentially my Avengers! I do have to say though that I thoroughly enjoyed the second kooky quartet that Karen mentioned of Goliath, Vision, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver; their battle with Brainchild in issue #86 remains one of my guilty pleasures in following the team.

Redartz: My introductory Avengers lineup is quite similar to Doug's, as we joined the Assemblers during the same era. Specifically, I began with issue # 127, the crossover with the Inhumans and the Fantastic Four. Actually, I bought the issue because of the Fantastic Four appearance, and was immediately hooked (and why not -- what a cast of characters, and Ultron to boot!). So that would be Thor, Iron Man, Wanda and the Vision, Mantis and the Swordsman. Honorable mention goes to the Beast, who joined shortly thereafter, and became my favorite Avenger.

Curating

Doug: On Twitter we follow all kinds of folks -- publishers, creators, fans, collectors, etc. I get a kick out of one fellow in particular (@AaronMeyers) who seems to have a bottomless comic book budget. He's posted photos in the past of his comic book room. To say it is a warehouse of longboxes would not do it justice. He regularly posts photos of books he picked up for $1, $2, $4... you get the idea. I love seeing the stuff he purchases, as it's varied. Of course I'm digging the Bronze Age-era books he acquires, but that brother has a broad range of interests. Check him out, give him a follow -- I guarantee you you'll find something that kindles a memory.

Doug: This got me to thinking, because obviously he buys comics in a range of conditions. To start us off today, I'll ask this: How do you handle your comic books? I'd guess that anything of age or value you've stored in bags/boards and in longboxes. But how about those of you who don't -- we've discussed storage before, but go ahead and remind us of your system. As my comics have now left to join other families, this is a worry I do not have anymore. In fact, you probably have figured out that I am pretty rough on my trades and hardcovers. Those scans I provide in my weekly reviews don't just happen -- most of my books have been bent in such ways that they could use a visit to the chiropractor!

Doug: So if you're looking at a comic that has some value (monetary or sentimental), do you wash your hands first? Do you make sure the surface is clean before laying it down, or do you not mind holding it? What's your method for unbagging it (because I guarantee I've pulled some color from a few covers in the past in tape mishaps)?

Doug: I was reminded of a funny story in this vein when teaching last week. We watched a clip from the MTV-produced film I'm Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust (2005). I paused the film as the next vignette began to tell a story about the diary. One time at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, during one of my meetings with the Regional Education Corps of which I am a part, we were privileged to meet Mr. Peter Feigl. Peter is a child survivor of the Holocaust who wrote down the chain of events he experienced in a diary. Years later he donated the book to the USHMM; it has been featured in the aforementioned film, which is based on the book Salvaged Pages: Young Writers' Diaries of the Holocaust. We had assembled in one of the Museum's classrooms, located on the basement level. Mr. Feigl was present, as was one of the Museum's curators. She had his diary with her. It was in a large plastic bag, like a Ziploc bag. Inside the bag, the diary was wrapped in some kind of white cloth. The curator wore white gloves as she handled the bag. As Peter was addressing us, he asked if he could read a passage from the diary -- now if that wasn't thrilling! The curator gingerly removed the book from the bag and wrappings, exposing the cover we'd all seen pictured in I'm Still Here. The curator very gently laid it on a white towel in front of Peter, who then opened the diary rather roughly and began to rapidly leaf through it, looking for the spot he desired. The lady behind him lurched forward but stopped herself; a look of terror swept her face. Aware of this, Peter paused and looked over his shoulder. With a mischievous smile, he said, "Relax. It's my book... I wrote it!" Everyone laughed. Even the curator. A little.

Six Years Older... Any Wiser?

Karen: Six years? Wow. Time really does fly. When we were just starting this blog six years ago, one of my nephews was visiting us. He was just a little kid. This last week, he graduated high school. That kind of puts things in perspective for me. I don't think I went into this enterprise thinking much beyond what we'd do the next month, let alone six years later! But somehow, here we are. I have to say, I think the reason it's lasted this long is because so many of you showed up and have taken such an active part in turning this into more than just me and Doug flapping our gums at each other. As always, many thanks for your support and  continued activity here. And this year we took it to a whole new level, with the arrival of guest posts. This has turned out to be a huge infusion of energy for the BAB and we are grateful to all of you BAB bullpen members who have contributed! It's been fantastic, and we eagerly look forward to seeing what new ideas you have to bring to year seven.

Doug: I view the guest writer project as a real opportunity to expand the horizons of this blog. Think about it -- since our readers began submitting posts, we've seen reviews of Donald Duck, Archie, illustrated novels, graphic novels, and a complete mini-series. And all of that is in addition to an off-the-beaten path DC sports comic, as well as a new discussion category (the $1 challenge)! To date we've had over 25 guest posts, and I think that's fabulous. There are a few more in the queue awaiting publication, and I know that also coming soon we'll be able to run the first non-Doug and Karen partner review! So this has just been exciting.

Doug: I have had some guilt feelings, though, because of my lack of writing comics reviews. It seems as all of that heavy lifting has fallen to our readers this past spring. I'm going to rectify that -- next Monday in fact! Karen and I have been talking about this recently. I proposed four comics that I am interested in, and she thought she could provide commentary on two of them. Those books (with no dates -- I want to stay flexible) are :

Showcase #17 (intro. Adam Strange, from 1958!)
Nova #2
The Champions #12
DC Comics Presents #26 (intro. New Teen Titans)

Doug: We appreciate your patience when we attempt new things. Of course, some stick and some do not. The 100-Word Reviews would be an example of an idea that seemed cool, but never really caught on. I say that with the finger pointed at myself as well. I suppose in a way, it ends up being a self-challenge, sort of a word game or something. But who knows -- maybe it will catch on if one of our readers chooses to write up their views on a song, or on a specific television show.

Doug: As always, comments are appreciated and it has been nice of late to see some new folks making their presence felt. But it's that core of a couple dozen of our readers who comment regularly that give this blog a community feel. It's been said 100 times already, but thanks for doing that and for being a part of this on each and every post. Some days are better than others, of course, but there always seems to be some conversation happening around here.

Doug: So in reflection -- yeah, six years is some serious water under the bridge! Instead of being about to turn 49, I was about to turn 43 when this ship started sailing. My oldest was entering his senior year of high school; now he's entering the second and final year of his master's studies and is getting married in five days! I had a heckuva lot fewer trades and hardcovers than I do now (hey, if nothing else the BAB has been a convenient excuse!). And I guess overall, I had fewer "friends" with whom to discuss comics and such. This has been a satisfying space.

How's That for Half a Decade?

Karen: Five years? Has it really been that long? Wow. I can remember very clearly when we started the BAB -everything else is a blur...But seriously, I know both Doug and I feel a sense of achievement making it this far, and most of that feeling comes from you guys, the BAB community, without whose interaction it just wouldn't be the same. I mean, without you guys, it'd just be me and Doug talking to each other, or ourselves, and while that could be fun for a little while, it's not five years worth of hoots and hollers, so hats off to you all, for making this the place that we hoped it would be when we started five years ago.

Doug: Funny story -- way back before we were on our first blog, when the discussion was taking place concerning what we wanted to do about expanding our thoughts on various Silver and Bronze Age comic books, Karen suggested we start a blog. Guess who was skeptical just about up to the date of that first publication? Yup -- me. I think I've warmed to the idea since! And as we've said many times, it's been a labor of love. I want to express again how great this venue has been for me in terms of really getting me back into comics reading. I had been going through the motions in the late 90s-early 00s, buying books that just stacked up, languishing atop the longboxes in my basement comic room. But since I've been a part of two blogging teams, my readership of books I loved (and some I never knew) has taken it's rightful place in my spare time. So I'm thankful to have this forum every day to come and meet some friends for some cordial conversations.

Doug: Looking back over the past year, there are some innovations and milestones worth mentioning. First off, forming a presence on Twitter has brought us new readers and commenters, as well as a wonderful opportunity. Through use of @bronzeagebabies, we have been fortunate to meet several other wonderful bloggers, and those new associations and friendships gained us a part of the second and third renditions of the Super Blog Team-Up. Speaking for Karen (if I may), we were so proud of our first post in this series, when we took a tour through the convoluted history of the Vision and the Original Human Torch. I will again laud Karen for her research in kicking off that post so that we could both then run with it. And it was our presence on Twitter that got us close enough to Kurt Busiek to be able to email him a couple of questions. Those of you who read the post enjoyed his lengthy explanation of his thought process in explaining some of the ways he "undid" the damage wrought by John Byrne in the pages of Avengers West Coast. As to our more recent offering in the SBTU on the Frightful Four, the deadline approached during a somewhat trying time for each of us. Again, if I can speak for Karen, I don't feel that either of us was satisfied with our output on that post. Perhaps it was due to the personal life factors, perhaps it was due to our chest-puffing over the Vision post... but I would never say that we put our best efforts into the FF post. I think I can say publicly, because I don't know why it wouldn't happen, that our pal Osvaldo Oyola will be bringing The Middle Spaces to the ranks of the SBTU on our next go-round in the early autumn.

Doug: As to the milestones, you may recall that we recently published our 1500th post; today's offering is #1544 for those scoring at home. Also for you numbers geeks, either today or tomorrow someone will make the 23,000th comment on the BAB. I guess that more than anything brings a sense of satisfaction to us that we've done what we set out to do -- seriously... 23K comments? Please hear my applause directed at you, the reader. You've done what we wanted you to do when we started five years ago -- to partner with us in a venture that would electronically create the feeling we may have gotten in years gone by, standing at the spinner rack or newsstand the day new comics came out. One more number: tomorrow I'll review Detective Comics #363 from the recently-released Tales of the Batman: Carmine Infantino hardcover. It will be the 489th review by the Bronze Age Babies.

Karen: Now I know some of you might have wondered what's been going on here lately, as I've been less active in these parts. It was even brought to my attention that a few thought there might have been problems brewing here between Doug and I . Nothing could be further from the truth! As we're moving forward I feel like I owe you all an explanation. Back in September, my Dad was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. As you can imagine, this was devastating news. Over the last nine months my life was pretty much consumed with this situation. Then last month, Dad passed away after fighting so hard. Throughout it all, Doug has been just outstanding in his support for me. I could not have asked for a better blog-partner, or friend. It took an enormous load off of my mind knowing that I did not have to worry about the blog during this time. I'm very thankful to him for everything he's done, and continues to do, here. However, going forward, I have started to think about my priorities, and I realize I do want to spend some more time with my husband and loved ones, and I need to achieve some goals I've had for myself for some time. This being said, something has to give, and for now, that means fewer partner reviews on the blog. They just take an  incredible amount of time for me. But that doesn't mean we won't still do some! Things are just changing a bit, and I hope you understand why.

Doug: I've of course been very supportive of Karen, and she of me. Not wanting to wreck a good thing, I nonetheless questioned the direction of the BAB with her fading into a less-regular role. I told her (in one of our editorial meetings -- do you know how hard it is to buy/bring the donuts to a meeting when the person you are meeting with is over 1500 miles away?) that I thought we had two "spirits" of the BAB: our partner reviews, and the great community of readers who rally around this space daily. I even offered an opinion that we close this down and immediately re-open on another blog where we'd operate a bit more as individuals -- I was thinking of our readers and your expectations of us and of this blog. I think in the end her advice is very sound -- we need to keep the BAB going, as our readers have adapted to every new idea we've thrown your way through the years (even the clunkers here and there). So when you come by tomorrow, we'll both be here -- as David Byrne said, "Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was". But a seven days a week schedule? That's probably not to be seen for awhile, unless one of us throws something together quickly on a weekend.

Doug: And speaking of the beginning of the 6th year (sheesh!), here's what you can expect -- my solo reviews of the first four issues of Frank Miller's turn on Daredevil, as well as a George Perez Wonder Woman, and then in August to celebrate the release of the Guardians of the Galaxy film, we're going to get back into that partner review saddle and bring the BAB treatment to the first four Guardians (the real Guardians, no less) issues of Marvel Presents. And, Karen did note to me Saturday that it is a shame that our Giant-Size July feature will go on hiatus this year, so for old time's sake we're going to squeeze in a partner review of Fantastic Four Annual #5. So, the more things change, the more they stay the same, huh? Oh, and to Edo Bosnar? You know how you're always singing the praises of DC's Blue Ribbon Digest? I have a new discussion-based category coming your way this week, with that title. Just wait -- it'll be fun!

Social Networking With the Bronze Age Babies

Doug:  As of this Sunday afternoon, the  Bronze Age Babies are experimenting with the use of Twitter for promotion of our upcoming posts, thoughts that strike us at the most inopportune times, and general Bronze Age goodness.  For the time being, it will be my voice you'll encounter, and I am certainly open to your suggestions (either here or on our Twitter handle).  If you feel there is a better way to use this resource than what you're seeing here as we get it up and running, then feel free to let me know -- publicly or through a private message.  This move is something that Karen and I have discussed previously.  Credit where credit is due -- it was our comrade at Steve Does Comics who put out the initial question as to whether or not we'd ever thought about starting up a social media account.  I've only been on Twitter since July, when I opened a personal account so that I could communicate with my younger son while he was on his soccer team's tour of Europe.  I have found the medium useful for news and sports, but mainly I just use it for that and camaraderie with my boys.  It will be interesting to see a) how this gets off the ground and b) if it advances or evolves in the coming weeks.  As I said at the top, it's an experiment.

Doug:  So if you're on Twitter and want to follow us, feel free to do so.  You can reach us and follow us --

@BronzeAgeBabies