Fun and Games Dept

Quiet.

One of the things I like about walking in the morning before work is the relative quiet of the neighborhood. This morning the birds are singing, there’s a woodpecker earnestly working nearby, and traffic noise is at a minimum off the main streets.

A great way to start the day. Bliss.

Spring!

It was 62ºF this afternoon here in Chicago and I had to get outside and go for a walk to celebrate the arrival of spring. Granted, spring has been here for a few days but today is the first day it really felt like spring to me. Of course, the temperature has already fallen 13ºF and the weather this coming weekend is supposed to hover around 40ºF.

But signs of spring make me happy.

Every year around Halloween I make a concerted effort and promise to myself that I won’t let the winter doldrums take over. I won’t feel the SADs. And every year I lose at this battle because my body just can’t handle relentless winters and around the beginning of March I feel depressed even though I’m struggling really hard against feeling that way. I try therapy lights, I smile to myself, I think happy thoughts, I take Vitamin D, I do everything I can but move to the Equator to escape the winter blahs. I’ll be trying again when winter starts to show its face late this coming year, but for now, it’s all about spring.

Let the sunshine in!

Anything Is Possible.

When I read about the stupid and completely idiotic things the Trump Administration is trying to do, I remember this sign on an elementary school in our neighborhood.

Friday.

I’d write about the news today, but it would just be too depressing. So here’s a picture of Earl and me in Philadelphia in 2007.

Chirping.

Truman makes the oddest chirping noise when he spots a laser dot on the floor. I haven’t heard cats make this noise other than when they see birds outside and they’re inside. But Truman chirps and chirps and chirps as he gallops around chasing the laser pointer.

I decided to look this up and researchers believe cats make this noise when they’re trying to hunt something they can’t physically get at, like when a bird is sitting on a branch outside and the cat is stuck inside. Truman doesn’t see anything physical associated with the red dot on the floor, other than the dot itself, and therefore he apparently starts chirping trying to attract its attention.

One of these days he’ll get this dot.

Captain Marvel.

So we went to see “Captain Marvel” Friday night. I’d been looking forward to this movie since I was first made aware of it early last year and to make sure we had seats this weekend Earl bought tickets for the four of us on Wednesday evening. It was a family date night.

It was a thoroughly fantastic time.

I didn’t know much about Captain Marvel as I had not followed her adventures in the comics. I knew her name was Carol Danvers, I knew there were aliens involved, and I knew that she was an Air Force Pilot. Other than that, the story depicted in the movie would be new to me.

As I said, I had a thoroughly fantastic time.

The 124-minute running time flew by. As a viewer I felt informed on backstory without being overwhelmed. There were a couple of twists and turns in the story line that kept the narrative compelling. The dialog was very good and I really liked the way Brie Larson portrayed Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel.

The action scenes were great without being outrageously over-the-top. I never had a “wait, that doesn’t make sense” moment during the movie. I’d go back to a second viewing without hesitation and most importantly, I was happy to see where Captain Marvel fit in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). I’m really looking forward to “The Avengers: Endgame” now. While there was strife, I didn’t feel depressed leaving the theatre. “The Avengers: Infinity War” left me feeling depressed as a viewer.

I walked out of the theatre telling Earl, Jamie, and Chris: “this was my favorite Marvel movie thus far”.

I’ve been a Wonder Woman fan all of my life and while I enjoy the latest incarnation of Wonder Woman on the big screen, I have to say that I like Captain Marvel a lot more. She rocks in my book.

Go watch Captain Marvel kick some ass.