like it’s insane how I’m 20 and the only friends I have my age getting married are either a) in Christian fundamentalist cults or b) getting married to 28 year old pro footballers 😃😃

Sound Check

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,423

Waking up, there hadn't been any indication, from the heavens or otherwise, that anything out of the ordinary would happen. Not during breakfast, getting dressed, or on the way down to the venue. When he gets there, admittedly not as early as he would've preferred, it's different.

The crew is bustling around, but something is off. He can almost see the little storm clouds rumbling away above their heads. One shoves by him with a clipped ''scuse me’, and Gene sticks an arm out to catch him. It's his tech, Paul, face red and curly hair in disarray. There are bags under his eyes and a deep crease between his brows. He's got a white-knuckled grip on the neck of one of Ace's Les Paul's and the strap of another slung over his shoulder. He looks about ready to cry.

“What's got your knickers in a twist? And what’re you doing with Ace's shit? You're responsible for my gear, not his.” The kid's jaw clenches and he sucks in his lips. If he didn't look so damn miserable, it might've been cute. Paul takes a breath through his nose, then meets and holds Gene's gaze.

“Yours are done. One of the new kids got sent on a coffee run and hasn't come back. Barry can't get access to the amp. Ace's plugged himself in, says he's warming up-”

A loud riff wails from the direction Paul had come from. Gene watches as he rubs at his forehead with his free hand.

“He won't unplug and he won't play any others. I'm gonna go use the backups to prep these ones,” He says, gesturing to the one in his hand. Gene feels irritation tick inside him. It must show; Paul's shoulders come up and he lowers his eyes. He sighs, reigning himself in and clapping his tech on the shoulder. “I'll go talk to him. See if I can't get him to practice somewhere else.” He can feel as much as see the tension bleed out of his shoulders. “Thanks,” he sighs. Gene offers up a smile, which the kid returns, however brief, before scurrying off towards the extra equipment. He watches after him a moment before heading towards sound check.

His brow furrows when he finds Ace, almost immediately, perched atop the amp in question. He has his face paint on, for some bizarre reason, and coincidentally the only put-together part of his getup. He's dressed in a soft-looking robe, bare legs swinging slightly as he strums at the Les Paul in his lap. There’s a dented lager can next to his thigh, close enough that the can scrapes, dull and tinny, every time Ace adjusts his position.  His boots are tossed haphazardly to the side next to a short ladder he'd presumably used to climb up there in the first place. Barry's on the other end of the stage with Music Paul, talking quietly with him while he preps one of the V's, nodding in Ace's direction.

Ace glances up briefly when Gene cleared his throat. “Oh hi, Curly,” he says, giving a three-finger wave as he continues to play.

Gene feels his eye twitch.

“I hear you've been causing trouble for the crew.”

“Who wants to know?”

“Me. They're short-handed and you're dicking around with the equipment.” Ace's mouth quirks up at the edge and Gene squints at him. “We've got a show to do. Now get off and go somewhere else.”

“I'm trying, Geno, honest,” He picks up his can and pauses, gives it a little shake, then shoves it off to the side where it tips and clatters to the ground, noisy, but thankfully empty. He pulls another from somewhere behind him, cracking the tab and taking a long pull. He sighs and smiles. “think I'm almost done,”

Gene put his hands on his hips. “Uh huh. What made you come here now?”

Ace shakes his head, lips twitching again as he sets the can down.

“Mm, not yet. Told you, 'm workin’ on it,” He tilts his head down and starts up again, eyes back on his baby. Gene rolls his eyes, starting towards him with every intention of forcing him back down to the ground.

“Don’t come up here ‘nless you plan on givin’ me a hand.”

He stops. Ace still isn't looking at him. He crosses his arms.

“The hell’re you talking about?”

Ace’s eyes flick back to him, still for moment, before straightening up out of his slouch, head cocked to the side. A grin stretches, slow and sly across his face as he shifts the guitar to one hand and hikes up the edge of his robe to reveal the bare skin underneath, gaze never leaving him.

Gene closes his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose, and sighs. His tech will understand- like this, Ace is too much for any one person to handle on their own. He turns and stalks off towards his own rig, annoyance spiking as he passes the empty drum set.

True to his word, Tech Paul's got everything set up and ready to go, lined up in order of his favourites. He feels guilt crawling up the back of his neck. He shakes his head, picks up his main, and strums. It sounds perfect.

He groans.

Setting the bass back on its stand, he shuffles over to Paul and Barry, letting his displeasure ooze out into the world. Barry notices right away, looking up like a deer in headlights before muttering something to Music Paul and darting off the stage, leaving an unruffled, unimpressed Starchild behind with a half tuned guitar in his hands.

He watches Gene as he leans up against some wayward equipment, scrutinising and razor sharp.

“What crawled up your ass and died?” Gene's lip curls at that and he fixes Paul with his best 'isn't it obvious’ face.

Ace's cackle cut sharp across the stage, loud enough that the live mics pick it up, an eerie sort of echo filling the venue. Gene pays a glance towards him, bristling when he catches sight of Peter slinking up the ladder.

“Hey.” A smack to his shoulder. Gene turns back towards him. “Chill out.” Paul's face is the picture of cool indifference, but there's a brief twitch of his jaw that says otherwise.

Fine.

“You are aware of what he's doing over there, right?”

Paul blinks once. “So?”

“So? It's unsanitary!”

Paul's eyebrows shoot up at that. He's silent for a beat, staring and slack-jawed, before, “You've seen your room, right?” Gene throws his hands up.

“That's different! I'm not forcing anyone to go in there, or to clean it for that matter,”

“Gene, no one would clean your room anyway. Not for a million bucks.”

Gene squawks, uncrossing his arms and coming up to his full height. “You're missing the point here, which is that setup shouldn't be delayed with cleaning spunk out of our soundboards because Ace decides drinking and making a fool of himself is more important than actually getting ready. My tech shoul-””I knew this was about you!”

What?

“What?”

“This isn't about the good of the band, it's about you thinking you're entitled to something just because it's associated with you, and getting uppity when things don't go exactly how you want them to!”

“Paul, listen to yourself, you're acting like a child.”

“You have your own tech, Gene, you and Peter both have your own. Techs. They're not split between anybody else. Barry's got to look after two full sets of guitars, so sue him for needing a little extra help once in a while.” Paul drops the V down onto its stand and glares at him before storming offstage in a flurry.

Gene watches him go, bewildered, mood souring further as Ace sidles up beside him, chest flushed and looking entirely too pleased with himself. “That went well,” he chirps, and Gene resists the urge to deck him.

“Don't you have anything better to do?”

“Aww, I didn't mean nothin’ by it, Geno, Paulie’s fine, you just gotta give 'im time to cool off,” he croons, curling his fingers around Gene's forearm. “He’ll go powder his nose an' come back fine. I could help you take a load off too, if you want,” He presses closer, hooking a finger through one of his belt loops, “Lord knows you need it,” he says, smiling.

Shameless, absolutely shameless. Gene wants to scream.

“Quit harrassing my tech.” He snaps instead, yanking himself free and stomping off towards wardrobe and away from his ridiculous band mates.

In Defense of Thaddy Thor's Physique in Avengers: Endgame

There has been a lot of conversation surrounding Avengers: Endgame, the final chapter in Marvel’s 22-film, three-phase saga. Fans and critics have a lot of feelings about what the film did right, but a lot of the chatter I’ve seen on social media has been about what the film did wrong. Specifically, how the film “ruined” Thor. While I get some of the general issues people have with Thor in Endgame, a lot of the criticism feels unfair.

If you haven't seen Endgame yet and don't want to be spoiled, now is the time to stop reading.

At the beginning of the film, our heroes have lost the battle with Thanos. Thor, the self-proclaimed “strongest Avenger,” who first failed to deliver the fatal blow in Wakanda, executes a weakened Thanos on a garden planet in front of a demoralized team, then walks off. When we catch up with him five years later, he’s holed up in New Asgard with friends Miek and Korg. His hair has grown, his beard is unkempt, and crucially, he has gained weight. This has, apparently, made Thor “a joke.” That particular criticism irks me, so I’ll jump right into why I think it’s wrong.

First of all, Thaddy has been through A LOT. He loses the last of his living parents at the beginning of Ragnarok. His sister Hela, fresh outta prison, shattered Mjolnir(!) and kicked him out of the Bifrost mid-transport. She went to Asgard and murked an entire military squad, the Warriors Three, and no telling how many others. He landed on a strange planet where they cut off his hair(!!) and forced him to fight gladiator-style against his friend, Hulk. When he and his friends escaped, they came back to Asgard to save what remained but had to bring about Ragnarok — essentially letting a monster destroy Asgard — to kill Hela. Then when he led his remaining people to safety, their ship was beset upon by Thanos, who manually culled half the people on the ship, killed Heimdall and Loki, and gave Hulk the business. All while Thor watched, tied up and helpless.

Thor had already lost all his friends, family, and the majority of his people before Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to reduce the population of all living creatures by half. He 👏🏾 is 👏🏾 depressed. 👏🏾

Depression doesn't look the same on everybody. But it can and sometimes does look exactly like Thor. It looks like isolation, apathy, extreme weight loss or weight gain, and self-medicating or substance abuse. It looks like doing the bare minimum to keep yourself alive and grooming/showering only when you can muster the strength or the fucks to give. Thor wears his anger, grief, and guilt on his body like people who struggle with depression often do.

Apparently, this makes Thor unworthy. Or at least, that’s the way some people have interpreted it. I don't think the filmmakers thought through Thaddy, beyond wanting to show how much he was affected by everything he's experienced since we've known him. He was not written with as much care as he could have been, but I also don’t think he was written carelessly or as a punchline to a bad joke. I don't think the filmmakers saw him negatively or expected the audience to. They wrote him as someone who is still worthy.

Contrary to some criticism (1, 2, 3, 4), there are only a few times where someone makes a specific comment regarding his body/weight.

When Bruce and Rocket go to retrieve Thor and where his new, fatter body is revealed. Thor says something like "I am doing good, don't I look good?" and Rocket replies, "you look like melted ice cream."

Rocket is an asshole. That is his most defining characteristic, outside of being a sentient raccoon. (This is also why he does not give Thor a good pep-talk on Asgard.) Bruce says nothing about his physical appearance or about the way he spends his time and doesn't make fun of him or judge him for how he's changed. He just asks for his help.

When Thor abandons his mission to take the Aether from Jane and runs into his mother. After she lovingly roasts him and gives him sage advice, she sends him off with "eat a salad."

Mom's be like that. That’s not to diminish it cause it is problematic, but it's a thing a mom would say. It's something my mom has said to me and is in line with the kind of caring concern mothers who mean well often show.

After the team has successfully retrieved the stones and are discussing who will wield the new gauntlet. Thor asks them, "do you know what's coursing through my veins right now?" And Rhodey replies jokingly, "cheese wiz." Thor responds to this by making a face/gesture that's hard to read but is either agreement ("that's fair") or mild hurt. I personally read it as, "you got me there, but now is not the time."

It was, maybe, uncalled for, but definitely not worse than any of the numerous jokes that have been levied at other, fit-bodied people over time. One-liners are a staple of the Avengers films. Humor is one way the MCU and the Avengers films, in particular, have softened what might otherwise be very harsh stories to watch. Take away the zingers and it's just angst and fighting and death.

When Thor rejoins the rest of the team in Endgame, nothing really changes in how they treat him. Tony calls him a nickname, Lebowski, which is not a comment about his weight but his dress and overall demeanor. When Thor starts breaking down while discussing Jane and going on a tangent about what he's lost, they awkwardly try to get him back on task and when they can't, Tony gathers him patiently. They may react to him in ways the audience finds humorous, but they are not laughing at him.

I’d say the camera's POV was more discomforting than any of the characters’ words or behaviors. And this seems largely due to our own biases coloring how we view things. I watched all three Thor films recently and they have always loved a lingering torso shot that pans up. All-a-sudden it’s an issue when that same shot is focusing on a body we no longer find "appealing” or "attractive." They’ve always emphasized his body, it’s just now that his body is no longer “desirable” that the shot is making fun of him. The audience saw a “beer belly” and decided that was the joke. Never mind that the camera has always treated Thor this way.

Thor

Dark World

Ragnarok

Bonus: Age of Ultron

As for his character arc, he went from a person who wanted to be king but wasn’t ready in Thor to a person who was ready but didn’t want it in Dark World. In Ragnarok he discovers that even handicapped and disarmed, he has all the power within him. He leads the Asgardian refugees not because he wants to but because he is needed. It’s a lesson carried through into Infinity War, where he stands in front of a dying star to create a new weapon capable of defeating a powered-up Thanos. He doesn’t need Stormbreaker to be powerful, he needs it to channel his power.

That growth wasn't undermined in Endgame. Thor has not regressed, he’s stagnant. He’s lost. He doesn’t know where to go or how to move on. He feels like he failed his people as their king and everyone else as the “Strongest Avenger.” His retrieving of Mjolnir in the past/alternate reality was not about him “needing” a weapon (as he clearly had access to Stormbreaker), it was about him answering the question of, after all the failures and losses, is he still worthy? And he was. Belly, beard, sweatsuit, and all.

Maybe people's discomfort wasn't that the movie "made fun" of Thor's weight, but that it showed him being soft and vulnerable and messy and not all the way together. He didn't suppress the sadness and guilt he's entitled to. He responded to the pain. People want their heroes to suffer silently and never react or be affected. And it bothers some people that he didn't just move the fuck on. The film didn’t make him a “bumbling idiot” it just made him fat and people projected all their biases onto him.

As of this writing, I've seen Endgame three times. I went into both repeat viewings conscious of how the film treats Thor. And I've come away from it each time feeling the same way. I love Thaddy! I love that he was allowed to be imperfect. And I especially love that there was no “quick fix” before the big battle where he magically loses all the weight. Because even with a belly and split ends he’s still powerful, strong, and capable of and willing to fight. He’s still a hero!

And let us be clear, Thanos was beating ALL they asses! Any comments that Thor was singularly weak is nonsense. Tony and Steve got rocked in equal measure. Steve wielding Mjolnir was the shit(!!!) and it didn’t take anything away from Thor or undermine his strength in any way. Thor got his hero moments like many of the OG Avengers did, he just took a few Ls in the process.

Thor's final act on Earth is appointing Valkyrie king of New Asgard. He didn't want to be king in the first place and only took the mantle to protect his people after Asgard fell. In the five years while he was depressed and unable to lead, Valkyrie stepped up. She was ready and willing and he was not. Giving her the throne was not an act of weakness, but one of strength and wisdom. It was a culmination of all the lessons he's learned and him heeding his mother's advice to "be who you are, not who you're supposed to be."

Last we see Thor, he's hitching a ride with the Guardians and having a push-and-pull with Quill over who’s in charge. As we know, Thor is not a dude, he is a man. Quill is a dude at best. It's unclear whether Thor will make an appearance in the next GOTG, but if he does, I expect him to be the captain, it’s only fair.

Whether he remains thicc or tightens up is of no consequence. Being fat does not diminish him. He is still strong and he is still a hero. And frankly, he is still foine! A little tummy ain't never hurt nobody and Thaddy could still get it!

Header image credit to Marvel Studios.

We all know Apple is an American company and enjoys making an outsized chunk of their revenue domestically. But Apple sells its products in many international markets and even has retail stores in 24 foreign countries. Some of those markets, like Japan, have access to Apple products at a price like the US. For example, an iPhone XS costs 112,800 yen in Japan, which is about 1,058 USD. And when you consider the country’s 8% sales tax is included in that price, it actually makes the iPhone XS about $20 cheaper than in the US. Although this fluctuates depending on the conversion rate. But not every country is lucky enough to pay comparable prices for Apple products. To buy the bottom model iPhone XS, you’d need to pay $1,235 in Mexico, $1,285 in India, $1,454 in Sweden, and $1,800 in Brazil. And these high prices have prompted customers to fly to the US just to buy a new iPhone. So why exactly are Apple products so expensive in these countries? Well, that’s exactly what we’re getting to determine today.

So one of the most important reasons why Apple products are so expensive overseas is due to taxes. And the perfect example of this is often the worth Added Tax or VAT, which exists in over 140 countries around the world. But despite its prevalence, it isn’t something that exists in the US. So let me explain how it works. In places just like the European Union, a VAT may be a consumption tax added to the worth of products and services. Products exported abroad aren’t typically subject to the worth Added Tax, but imported goods, like Apple products, are. And counting on the country, prices of those goods can increase up to 25%. And unlike the US, consumption taxes in most countries abroad are included during a product’s retail price. So when you notice the iPhone XS selling for $1,454 in Sweden compared to $1,000 in the US, that isn’t really a fair comparison, since US prices don’t include local sales tax. Now if you’re doing the math, you’ll find that iPhone prices in countries like Sweden still don’t add up. Because if their Value Added Tax is 25% on a $1,000 phone, they should be paying $1,250. But instead, the iPhone XS is priced about $200 higher. And that’s because taxes are simply a part of the complex equation companies like Apple use when calculating retail prices. Another factor to think about are any associated costs with importation. Things like import duties, shipping, insurance costs, and tariffs all contribute to cost inflation when selling products overseas. India is a great example of this. They've enacted something called the Foreign Direct Investment policy which punishes foreign companies who don’t source at least 30% of the components of their products from Indian suppliers. And since Apple doesn’t meet that standard, they’re restricted from opening retail stores within the country additionally to being hit with a 20% tariff. There’s also an 11.4% customs duty on imported products in addition to the Value Added Tax that we discussed earlier. And when you add all that up, it isn’t surprising that customers in India pay a 28% premium for products like the iPhone. Now Apple is taking steps to not only price their products more competitively in India but also to open their first mercantile establishment within the country. I’ll talk about that in more detail near the end of the video. Now you'll imagine import costs only being an element in foreign markets, but they will also affect customers within the US. Recently President Trump planned to implement a 10% tax on Chinese imports by September 1 which would affect tech companies like Apple. Now that deadline was pushed back to December 15th, but Tim Cook would really like to ascertain the tax eliminated altogether.

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In fact, he met with Trump in the week and apparently made a convincing argument since Trump told reporters, “Tim was lecture me about tariffs and ... he made an honest case ... that Samsung is their favorite competitor and Samsung isn't paying tariffs. I assumed he made a really compelling argument so I'm brooding about it." Now if the choice isn’t reversed and Apple has got to pay the ten tax, they’d need to make a decision: Increase prices within the US by 10%, or keep prices an equivalent and permit their profit margin to require a serious hit. Both of which are dangerous for the corporate. If Apple raises prices it might exacerbate the difficulty of slowing hardware sales, but if they permit their margins to fall 10%, it might severely damage their profit potential.

So counting on how this story plays out, US customers made soon be feeling the consequences of tariffs that foreign countries are handling for years. Something else which will contribute to high prices is legally binding consumer guarantees that exist in places just like the EU. for instance, once you buy an Apple product within the US, you receive a typical one-year limited warranty that covers faulty parts, product defects, or other conditions that the manufacturer is liable for. But the matter is companies are liberal to define their warranty terms as they see fit. That’s why only certain components could also be covered, otherwise, you may need to pay a fee to ship the merchandise back to the manufacturer. And that’s exactly why the EU established a consumer guarantee that gives customers far more protection than a typical warranty. Customers within the EU are entitled to a minimum two-year warranty in addition to the quality manufacturer’s warranty. And this adds quite a little bit of liability for companies like Apple who typically offset the danger by increasing the worth of their products. But when it involves foreign markets, a serious concern is that the volatility of every country’s currency. Just take the united kingdom for instance. When Brexit happened, there was a 19% drop in the worth of their currency compared to the dollar, which caught tons of companies off guard and caused them to quickly adjust their prices to stay pace with the UK’s currency fluctuation Apple understands which foreign markets are most vulnerable to this volatility and preemptively raises their prices. you'll see this clearly with South Africa. Notice how the worth of its currency has fluctuated over the past five years compared to the EU, Australia, and Mexico. which volatility may be a major reason why Apple inflates their product’s prices in South Africa beyond what’s typically seen in other foreign markets. But so as to really understand Apple’s pricing overseas, we've to think about the American market. Because consumer behavior within the US is often quite different than those in other regions, mainly because American society is extremely consumption-based. we have the foremost credit cards issued per capita within the world, with everyone charging a mean of $4,000 annually. Compare this to other countries just like the UK or France, which opt instead for Debit Cards and thus charge but $300 on their credit cards per annum. you'll see companies like Apple capitalizing on America’s “buy now, pay later” mindset by offering monthly payment plans for his or her products. and every one of these amounts to US customers buying a better volume of products more frequently, allowing Apple to charge but other countries which don’t have a comparable level of consumerism. 

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Now up to the present point, we’ve discussed pretty concrete reasons why Apple prices their products higher in some foreign countries. But there’s one last fibrinogen want to debate that’s less easy to prove with hard facts, which is the brand image. Apple is taken into account as a premium brand in countries like India where the typical smartphone asking price is $200. So when it involves the iPhone XS price of $1,285, it is sensible that only the rich class in India could afford them. And if Apple knows their product will only be accessible to the upper crust, why not charge the maximum amount as you can? It’s an approach taken by many luxury clothing brands, whose customers haven't any problem overspending on items that ultimately function as a standing symbol. And you'll find evidence of this when comparing the iPhone’s price to other flagship smartphones. for instance, the Galaxy S10 retails for $900 within the US and $935 in India. a rise of just $35. The LG V40 retails for $900 within the US and $700 in India. That’s a reduction of $200. And once you compare those prices to the iPhone’s $285 premium in India, it supports the thought that Apple is just extracting the maximum amount of revenue from customers in India as possible, since they know people with money with pay any price for his or her premium phones anyway. it might also add up then that iPhones have only captured about one-hundredth of India’s smartphone market, which may be a shame considering India’s sizable population. But Tim Cook has made it clear that Apple has an aggressive decision to grow their presence within the region and make India one of their biggest sources of revenue. It all started earlier this year when Foxconn began trial runs of iPhone production in India, setting the inspiration for Apple to at least one day manufacture their smartphones within the region and satisfy the 30% local sourcing rule. this is able to allow Apple to avoid India’s 20% tariff additionally to opening their own retail stores within the country for the very first time.

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In fact, Apple has already finalized an inventory of several locations within the country where they could build their store. But they're going a step further by saying they’d overhaul the company's relationship with independent retailers, and improve apps and services aimed more closely at Indians. So while Apple is understood for being a dear brand within the US, their products are typically even costlier abroad. Perhaps they will take measures like those in India to scale back their tax burden and drop prices, but it’s more likely that customers in foreign markets will need to continue biting the bullet and distribute the additional money for his or her favorite products.