The Avengers

After many years of build up we finally arrive at The Avengers and the wait has been well and truly worth it.
Those who saw Thor would be aware of the ambitions of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to be worshipped and seen as a ruler to be feared, well he gives it a red hot go and serves as the catalyst for Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) to bring together The Avengers.
The opening reunites us with a few characters from Thor, notably Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Professor Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) who are effectively brainwashed by Loki into joining him.
The call goes out to assemble the motley crew that is the Avengers - Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Black Widow (Scarlett Johannsen), Captain America (Chris Evans) and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Thor (Chris Hemsworth) arrives from Asgard in pursuit of Loki and joins the team.
There's a bit of get-to-know you clashes between the supposed allies before we get down to the business of working out how to stop Loki from opening a portal and allowing all manner of alien attacks happen.
(A quick aside - it's a real shame that Mark Ruffalo didn't get an opportunity to be Bruce Banner in a Hulk film, he has a lap on both Bana and Norton's versions).
That's the plot, now some general comments.
It's not an easy thing to bring together so many exceptional characters, and big characters, and give them depth as well and even though most had their own movies so we can get to know them the filmmakers don't assume the audience automatically knows everything.
How much better could, say, Spider Man 3 been if they'd taken the time to make the villains a bit more three dimensional?
We don't have that problem in the Avengers and I'd say it is largely because of the involvement of Joss Whedon (Buffy among others). He's made an intelligent, witty and humourous film that features some amazing action sequences and he's brought out the best in, admittedly, some very talented actors.
Jeremy Renner is fast becoming a favourite of mine and Chris Evans was born to be Captain America. Scarlett, well, she's just spectacular!
What he has done is, in my view, established a new benchmark for the super hero/comic book genre - and yes that includes Chris Nolan's Batman films.
Take a bow Joss Whedon. No, check that. Take two bows. This is just brilliant and lives right up to everything it promised.
Naturally this is a franchise so there is an extra scene pointing us in a direction for the future. What we do know is Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 are on the way as well, likely before we get to an Avengers 2.I say bring them all on.
A very solid 9 out of 10.

Tapering

I think I'm on my third or fourth attempt at tapering off the anti-depressants I've been using for almost seven years now.
It seems like longer in some respects. Then again you get so used to taking them they become just a part of the routine.
But that's the important thing - routine. It's imperative that things change in that area. it is all well and good to have a routine, or series of habits, but you can't get too comfortable.
For a while now it has been on my radar that some things need to change. Certainly in the last six to nine months I have done some things differently, had some new experiences and taken a few more risks.
Some of those risks have been worthwhile, others have not been so successful.
I also went through an extended period of restraining from gambling. I did that with a fair degree of success though did begin to slip up towards the end. It was still a win, pun kind of intended.
The anti-depressants are a crutch in a way but at the same time they are a burden.
They make you feel nothing. Well, more to the point they have you in perpetual state of 'meh'. That gets frustrating.
One of the changes I am proud of is being able to make at least a semi-regular commitment to going to the gym. I certainly have noticed the difference and I think it has contributed a fair bit towards getting as far along with the tapering that I have to date.
I am half way there. For the first time in my attempts of reduction I have made it to the half way mark and while I am experiencing a bit of the headache-type withdrawl symptoms they aren't too bad at this stage. I figure if I can get through another week or so I might be ready to make a further reduction and then the finish line will be in sight.
I definitely feel some benefits from being on the reduced amount....the 'meh' feeling isn't so pronounced but I have to be wary that I need to be vigilant in keeping up the natural production of serotonin.
It will be an achievement of no small amount when I reach the goal of being anti-depressant free.