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Sometimes It’s Hard To Come Up With a Title For These Things.

Hey, so do you think that it confuses our pets that we look different every day? I mean, we change our clothes, our appearance, daily. On purpose. They gotta think that’s weird, right?

I’m sure it’s weird enough to them that we put on our outside feet whenever we leave the house. It’s probably even weirder that we put on new fur. They just have nothing to compare it to.

Well, unless you’re one of those people who like to dress up your pets. I was going to say “dog” there, but I’ve seen people dress up cats too. How they do it without getting their eyeballs scratched out is beyond me, but they succeed.

Anyway, if you dress your pets, I suppose those particular ones have some frame of reference. Although it’s still gotta be weird for them because they don’t like being dressed up.

That’s right. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the animals you are putting into those adorable little sweaters or holiday-themed whatevers aren’t particularly happy about being dressed that way. Even if they wag their tail when the hat goes on. Even if they bring you their sweater in the morning.

They. Do. Not. Like. It.

They like you. They want to make you happy, so they put up with it in order to please their owners and be told how good they are, get some head scritches, and maybe a treat. That’s it.

So if they don’t like getting dressed up themselves, it must confuse them as to why we want to do it. After all, they walk around naked all the time.

Which is one of the great things about pets-dogs in particular. They just spend all their time naked and have no shame. No embarrassment, no body issues, nothing. They are who (and what) they are. What you see is what you get. Dressing a bulldog up like the Easter Bunny won’t change a thing. Animals are 100% pure and 100% free.

Maybe there’s a lesson for us here. We should all live our lives as freely as our pets. Just maybe not naked.

We shouldn’t be dressing up in order to please others or to keep up with the status quo. Just be yourself. Okay, so maybe your job requires a uniform or has a dress code. That’s fine, follow it. Don’t get fired. You will find yourself with a whole lotta freedom all of a sudden-and not in a fun way.

Look, all I’m saying is that we could all benefit from worrying a little bit less about what others think of us and living as our true, authentic selves. Now, that doesn’t give us an excuse to be rude, to be mean, condescending, or to take advantage of others. Kindness and civility should still win out. But if we all live as our purely and honestly as we can, then maybe we can find a little more happiness.

And if you do find some “happy” spread it around. We could all use some.

See you next time, MonDavers. Until then, remember you’re the bestest-yes you are, yes you are, who’s the best? You are.

Sorry. Got a little carried away there.

Um, bye.

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A Few Ideas

I’m on a mission here at MonDAVES to provide loyal readers (you MonDavers know who you are) with fun content that gives you a little break from the work week and the daily insanity that is the world at large.

This is getting increasingly difficult to do.

While I was stuck trying to think of a topic for this edition, my wife handed me a book of writing prompts she bought for the kids to help them in their creative writing classes at school. This particular book, The Amazing Story Generator by Jason Sacher, is essentially a flip book. It allows the reader, or, um, flipper, to combine three different elements (setting, character, and plot) together to generate new story prompts. Most of them come across as pretty wacky, but that’s the fun of it. It should spark the imagination of pretty much any writer, and perhaps help bring a new story, poem, novel, or play into being.

Unfortunately, fiction is not my forte. I’ve tried many times, but I have yet to write much of anything fiction-wise that I would deem suitable for human consumption. However, being the creative type, I was intrigued by the concept. Even though this book may not spawn any stories from me, I did enjoy playing with the combos. I think you may enjoy them too.

So I now present to you the top ten story ideas I got from randomly flipping through The Amazing Story Generator. who knows, maybe one of these ideas will help one of you write something. If so, feel free to share it with me, I’d love to read it!

Let’s start with the first page. The flipbook reads as follows:
“Upon winning the lottery,
a reformed hitman
meets the ghost of Ernest Hemingway.”

Each part of the sentence, as I have typed it here, is flippable, so you can have any character in the book meet Hemmingway’s ghost. Or win the lottery. Or whatever. There are hundreds of combinations to choose from. The following are my favorite ones that I have chosen while flipping through the book. Put on your writing hats, if that’s a thing, ’cause here we go!

-After a monthlong fast, an avid comic book collector joins the mafia.
-In a post apocalyptic world, a clown in training leads the charge against a zombie army.
-After prolonged exposure to radiation, a talking dog has a showdown with a sheriff.
-Vowing not to bathe for an entire year, the illegitimate son of a king forgets to mail an important letter,
-After misreading an e-mail, the drummer for a punk rock band founds a nudist colony.
-Hoping to disprove a long held superstition, a wise garbage collector travels back in time.
-Forced to join the family business, an unsuccessful comedian is initiated into a secret cult.
-Longing for a simpler life, a former child television star develops the ability to fly.
-Having poisoned the soup, an Elvis impersonator receives a message from God.
-Blinded during a freak lightning strike, an apprentice bee keeper inadvertently starts World War Three.

And it goes on from there.

You know, even if you’re not a creative person, it can still be fun to flip through all of these ideas. Maybe order yourself a copy of the book. Maybe write something. Or don’t. I’m not here to pressure you or tell you what to do.

But I will be here again soon with another edition of MonDaves! Assuming I can generate any ideas that is.

Annual St. Patrick’s Day Post 2025

Well, here we are in March. Spring will be here before you know it. First though, comes one of my favorite holidays, St. Patrick’s Day. Therefore, it’s time again for the traditional St. Paddy’s Day post. This being MonDaves, there can be no better way to usher in the holiday than by sharing some of my favorite St. Patrick’s Day Dad jokes!

You asked for it, and I’m happy to oblige! Well, actually, no one asked for it and I’m pretty much doing this out of obligation, but here we are. Let’s make the most of it and have a little fun anyway. Ah sure, it’ll be grand.

Leprechaun jokes:

-What do you call a leprechaun who recycles? A wee-cycler.

-What do you call a leprechaun who goes to jail? A lepre-con.

-What do you get when you cross a leprechaun with a yellow vegetable? Lepre-corn.

-Why did the leprechaun put his money in a blender? He wanted to make liquid gold.

-What happens if a leprechaun falls into the ocean? He gets wet. Duh.

-Why do leprechauns prefer dancing to running? They’d rather jig than jog.

-What do you call a frog who jumps into a pot of gold? A leap-rechaun.

-What do you call a leprechaun prank? A saint pat-trick.

-How did the leprechaun get to the moon? In a sham-rocket.

FYI-I’m calling dibs on the name Sham-rocket for if I ever start an Irish covers/punk band.

-What does a leprechaun have for lunch? A ba-larney sandwich.

-Why did the leprechaun go outside? To sit on his Paddy-o.

St. Patrick’s Day jokes:

-What do you call an Irish spider? Paddy long legs.

-When is an Irish Potato not an Irish Potato? When it’s a French Fry.

-How can you tell if an Irishman’s having a good time? He’s Dublin over with laughter.

-What instrument does a show-off play on St. Patricks’ Day? The brag-pipes.

-Why don’t you iron four leaf clovers? Because you don’t want to press your luck.

-What do Irishmen say when you tell them Bono is your favorite singer? You too?

-How do you pay for soft drinks on St. Patrick’s Day? With soda bread.

-What’s big and purple and lies next to Ireland? Grape Britain.

-How did the Irish Jig get started? Too much beer, not enough restrooms.

And finally,

-Why did St. Patrick drive all the snakes out of Ireland? Because it was too far to walk.

Alright MonDavers, there’s your post. I think it was good for at least one chuckle, and probably several groans. You’ll probably tell at least one, though.

Anyway, now that that’s clover, sorry, I mean over, all that’s left to say is have a safe and Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all that celebrate. I’ll be back soon with more nonsense. See you then!

Captain America: Brave New World Review (Part Two)

Okay, Tessa fans, she’s here with her review of the newest MCU flick. Let’s see how her opinion holds up to mine. Fun! Take it away Tessa!

Hi guys! I haven’t been on the blog in forever (because Marvel has been flopping recently), but I’m back! I’m excited to review again, I’m sure my fans missed me.

I’ve always liked movies more than my dad, or the average person. A movie has to be really bad for me to not like it. But thankfully, this movie wasn’t really bad at all. It probably wasn’t great, but I found it’s flaws easy to look over. My dad did a summary in his review, and I’m not typing all that out, so go read his if you don’t know what the movie is about.

I really liked Sam Wilson as Captain America. Anthony Mackie is just a charismatic guy, and his performance has such an ease to it, it makes it hard to question why Sam is the new Cap. I miss Chris Evans as much as the next person (maybe more), but I’m really glad Sam is filling the role well. I also think it’s kinda cool that he gets to keep his wings. All his usual gear is back and now made of vibranium, which is pretty sick, and his new costume resembles his old one a lot, while also looking like Captain America. The costume designers honestly did a great job with his suit.

However, I did not like the new Falcon’s suit. It doesn’t look like the old one at all, and is such a gross shade of green. It might not be his official costume that will stay for the rest of the series, but it is definitely ugly. I thought Joaquin as a character was fine, I didn’t remember much about his from TFATWS, and there was pretty much no recap on who he was or why audiences should care about him. I honestly doubt that having a Falcon Jr. is necessary in the long run anyway, but you never know. He was kinda funny, and felt realistic to a modern young person in his situation, but that doesn’t really make up for the poor writing of his character (or poor acting). I don’t hate his inclusion, he was just integrated strangely.

But I did like Isaiah Bradley a lot. I find his story so fascinating, and he had a really cool arc in this movie. He was a character you wanted to root for, even if you didn’t remember him at all from the series or know anything about his story (side note; watching this movie made me realize how little I remember of TFATWS. I was like thirteen and only watched it for Bucky, so most of the actually important stuff slipped my mind). The actor’s portrayal of Isaiah was wonderful, and I definitely hope he comes back in more movies or another series.

Another portrayal that stood out was Harrison Ford’s work as Ross. I thought it was a great casting choice to replace the actor who died, and he stole the show in all his scenes. However, I honestly wasn’t expecting characters/scenes from the original Hulk movie to ever become relevant again. I thought Marvel was trying to sweep that movie under the rug and make it not canon to the MCU. Most people were treating it like it wasn’t canon already, since an entirely different guy played Bruce Banner, and it was virtually never mentioned again. I think it’s cool that they brought it up again, though. It kinda just made me feel like a true fan for remembering things from the movie no one talks about, but it was also cool to bring back those aspects of Ross’s character that weren’t really touched on again. It was unexpected to have a lot of the focus on Ross and Hulk, but it was well done. I’m honestly happy that the movie didn’t spend so much time on Sam adjusting to being Captain America, since it made room for this cooler plotline.

I didn’t care much for the main villain of this movie, Samuel Stern. I didn’t like looking at him, for one. The SFX artists did a good job on his weird brain-shaped-head, and it was probably intentionally gross, but it was still gross. I honestly didn’t understand a lot about his character. One flaw of this movie was that they were very bad at explaining who characters were, and just expected viewers to be MCU superfans who remembered every single character ever, which most of the viewers are not. I left the theater a little confused on a lot of characters, and then promptly forgot about all of them. I can’t even tell you what I didn’t understand about this guy because he’s that forgettable. He had a lot of cool villainous aura and a weird head, and that’s all I remember.

All in all, I think this movie was pretty good. I think I’m a little less critical of it than most people since I love Captain America and am of the firm belief that all Cap movies are good. And this movie felt like an old Captain America movie. Like my dad said, it felt like a phase one or phase two movie, which was probably the wisest decision Marvel could’ve made with this film. It would’ve been a flop if they tried to do the same thing that they’ve been doing with tying every single comics character into one movie. I’m glad they didn’t, even if their character integration is still shoddy. It definitely had some more flaws I didn’t even touch on, but I found a lot of plot holes easy to overlook. This movie’s jokes were honestly pretty good, I know everyone hates on Marvel humor, but I honestly think it works in this film. The fight choreography and costuming was pretty good, and while the special effects weren’t exemplary, I think they were still pretty good. It is isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s still a great experience because it feels like an old MCU film.

I would give this a 4/5, since I really liked it despite everything I dogged on it for. I think it was a pretty good reset for the MCU, and I’m super excited for some of the upcoming films. That’s it for my review! Thanks for having me back on the blog, Dad!

P.S.-Someone behind me in the theater fell asleep during the best cameo ever, and I almost missed it because I was trying to see who it was. Don’t be the person literally snoring in the theater, you might make a teenage girl miss seeing her favorite character on screen. (On an unrelated note, I’m super excited for The Thunderbolts! I will review that one too, trust.)

There you have it, MonDavers (and Tessa nation). thanks for reading. Back soon with more stuff!

Captain America: Brave New World Movie Review (Part One)

Okay, it’s not a Monday, but y’all know what that means.

The newest Marvel movie has been unleashed to the masses. So far it’s taken a big hit from the critics, and from some comic book nerds as well. But what about us average folk who just like watching the MCU movies and have no ulterior agendas (in that we dont get paid to watch stuff) or pre conceived notions about how the characters or storylines are supposed to go? Well, that’s what I’m here for. the everyday fan’s perspective.

Regular readers take note: normally daughter Tessa would join me for these reviews, but we weren’t able to see this one together. Never fear though, Tessa fans, She will see it tonight and I’ll let her post something on the blog later on. That’s why this is part one of the review, because it’s just my thoughts and you’ll get her POV on it all tonight or tomorrow. Anyway, let’s get to it.

Captain America: Brave New World is the first film to feature Sam Wilson as the Cap, and is somewhat of a continuation of the Marvel TV Series Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It is also a sequel to Endgame and to a lesser extent, Eternals. What it really is though, is a sequel to The Incredible Hulk.

As the movie begins, Lieutenant General and former Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross has just been elected the President of the United States, and Sam has well and truly taken over as Captain America. Though their relationship has been adversarial in the past (what with the Sokovia accords and all) both men realize they need to make an uneasy alliance and work together for the good of the country. An assignation attempt is made on Ross, sending Sam into a story that involves conspiracy, misinformation, the threat of international war, and Red Hulk smashing his way into the picture. So, you know, standard Marvel stuff.

This film isn’t so much a super hero movie as a political action thriller. I mean, sure, lots of stuff goes “boom” and there’s some major feats of derring-do, but the action takes a backseat to the story itself. Which in this case is both good and bad. Honestly, the story is a little thin in places, and some characters and aspects could have been delved into more. There are multiple interesting aspects, both from the political and moral issues raised and from character development standpoints, that are mentioned but glossed over-even for a Marvel movie. That’s a bit of a misstep, but it’s okay because the movie is still entertaining enough to keep the interest level up.

As for the action scenes…they’re fine. There’s not much we haven’t seen before, but again, that’s okay. While none of the action really brought me to the edge of my seat, it was all done perfectly well. It’s just that in this day and age audiences have seen big action scenes a billion times and they all tend to get a little same-y after a while. So while there was nothing particularly wrong with the action in this movie it didn’t knock me off my feet either. So I’m not sure if it’s the film itself, or just me on this one.

Well, that is, until Red Hulk shows up anyway. Those scenes alone were worth the price of admission, but Red’s screen time is regrettably short.

It was kind of nice, though, to have a Marvel film rooted firmly on Earth and in our reality for a change. The MCU has been so into the Multiverse for the last four or five years that the films were getting a little crazy. I actually liked some of those movies, but most of them were pretty spotty. Captain America Brave New World provides a nice soft reset for the MCU by giving us a movie that is more grounded than anything we’ve seen for a while and actually kind of feels like a phase one or phase two MCU film. It’s far from a perfect, sure, but it might just be what Marvel needs right now.

Okay, let’s talk performances. Anthony Mackie (Cap) is a big onscreen presence and an effortlessly cool guy, which makes him a treat to watch. The only downside is that Mackie has too much swagger ,just as a human being, that it almost makes the more emotional scenes difficult to buy into for me. I’m not saying he can’t act-he certainly can, I just don’t relate when he’s playing the softer scenes. That one is just me. Other cast members are exceptional too. Carl Lumbly elevates the character of Isaiah (a holdover form the TV series) well beyond the scripted work. Tim Blake Nelson is reliably good (if you remember his character from back in phase one you know where this movie is going) but both he and his character are underused. This is Marvel we’re talking about here, though, so he could always come back. Again.

Harrison Ford absolutely steals the show, because of course he does. Ford takes over the role of Ross from the late, great William Hurt, which is kind of a shame, really. You see, this movie is just as much about Ross as it is Captain America. Arguably more so. It would have been cool to see what Hurt would have done with this script, and to see him get a big payoff on screen for what he’s done in the franchise. Be that as it may, Harrison Ford does a superb job in the role. He’s not just cashing a check here, or appearing in the MCU because it’s the thing to do, he gives an actual performance and the movie is all the better for it.

Okay, so what’s the verdict overall?

I think this movie is flawed, but fun. The pace is a little slower than what we are used to with other Marvel movies, and the whole “undercutting drama with bad jokes” Marvel movie trademark is kept to a minimum, which is kind of an unexpected change but a refreshing one. It could have been a touch more exciting, and could have gone deeper, but there’s plenty to like about what’s there. Also the cameos are cool but I won’t spoil them. It’s a little clunky, but it also feels familiar and is a solid, but not mind blowing entry into the MCU canon.

As a sequel, a connector of story lines, and a touchstone for future projects I’d say Captain America: Brave New World works well. As far as standing on its own two feet, well, it’s a little wobbly but at the end of the day it still stands.

I give it a 3 1/2 out of 5.

That’s it for now. See you soon with Tessa’s take, and back again later for more MonDaves!

P.S.-The after credit scene isn’t really worth it. It’s fine but not all that cool or revelatory.

P.P.S.-On a side note, why do we need the character of Joaquin Ramirez? If Sam still has his Falcon style wings, why do we need Falcon Jr.? It bugged me in the series and it bugs me now. That alone (and, sorry/not sorry, Danny Ramirez’s bland portrayal) kept this movie away from the 4 star rating. I was trying not to go there but here we are.