End of August Memage and Happy Labor Day to those who get the day off

I'm debating, do I want to take another walk? Eh, probably not. Depends on blood sugar - right now, it appears to be going down. My life is now being determined by blood sugar. Ah well, tomorrow, I'll see the doctor. [ETA: Took a walk with the intent of getting a gluten free freshly baked chocolate chip cookie - but the store closed at 3pm on Mondays, and I got there at 4pm. The Universe clearly didn't want me to get a chocolate chip cookie.]

I've done a lot of walking the last three days, and I'm tired. I think I'll be fine with the excuse of not leaving my apartment tomorrow - so that they can test for lead whenever they get around to it? I did laundry this morning, so got that out of the way at least, along with a shower just a moment ago, and several hours prior to that grocery shopping. Also took the new shoes I got from Allbirds for a walk yesterday - broke them in. I think they can handle maybe a mile, but the length of yesterday's walk might require shoes with socks in the future, or sandals? The new sandals can handle it. They were cheaper than the Allbirds. I keep getting Allbirds, and no matter the pair? It has a quirk.

Catching up on the End of August Memage:

27. Are you a fan of bananas? Do you like to bake with them, or eat them raw?

No. I do not like bananas. The appeal is completely lost on me.

28. When was the last time you spent a night (or more than one night) away from home?

May - when I visited my mother for mother's day.

29. How many times have you moved home so far in your life? Do you plan to move again in the future?

17 times. And yes, most likely. I rent - so I tend to move whenever the rent gets too high for the what I'm actually getting in regards to the apartment.

30. Has the area where you live changed much over the last decade?

Not really? I mean sections have - it's Brooklyn and NYC and this city is in a constant state of flux and construction, but overall no.

31. Do you have any plans for the next month?

Hmm. I have doctor's appointments at the beginning of the month. Nothing else that is definite at any rate

Thunderbolts Film Review

I finally got around to seeing Thunderbolts - the Marvel flick that was released earlier this summer. I waited until it streamed on Disney + this weekend. So, depending on one's point of view? I saw it for free.

I've mixed feelings about the movie. I liked it a great deal, but like most Marvel films and television series post Endgame, it has its issues.

Thunderbolts unfortunately works better if you've already seen (and remember) Ant Man & the Wasp (I vaguely remember it), The Falcon and the Winter Solider, and Black Widow. I'm not sure if you'd be hopelessly lost if you haven't seen them? But you might be a tad confused? It took me a moment or two to remember who the heck Ghost was, and one character (who dies early on) - I had no idea about. And I've seen those films, along with nearly everything else except Captain America: Brave New World - which might have been required as well? (Not certain - haven't seen it yet. But it might explain what the Winter Solider is up to in this film.)

( the problems with superhero flicks since roughly Endgame )

Thunderbolts is among the more interesting Marvel and Superhero films in part because it is in many ways the antithesis of a superhero film. It's not like DC's Suicide Squad films which are basically a bad ass CIA director putting together a who's who of the worst and most insane villains to fix a problem that no one can fix. I thought it was going to be that? It's most definitely not. Thank god. Let's not go copying each other thank you very much. Whew.

Instead, it's about a bunch of antiheroes banding together because it's either that or die? And they kind of help people partly by chance and it seems like a good idea at the time, albeit clumsily - because you know, they are opportunistic anti-heroes. They aren't nearly as bad as DC's rogues line up. This is more of a group of misunderstood anti-heroes who fell in with the wrong crowd, not insane sociopaths. Marvel does a decent job via an intriguing flashback device of giving some of them complicated back stories and mental health issues.

The movie shines a light on mental illness as it applies to highly skilled and dangerous individuals. That's the focal point. Not a heist, not some external threat - the threat is more an internal one. And their powers, especially one of the characters, are metaphors for the dangers of untreated mental illness in our society at large - and how left untreated, it could threaten to devour us all, if the wrong folks get into positions of power or obtain power.

These seven-eight characters have to learn how to trust each other and themselves long enough to save the city and themselves and each other. And they don't trust themselves let alone anyone else.

( vague spoilers )

Overall a solid B effort from Marvel, better than the last few flicks I've seen, but that's not a high bar to navigate.