Pirates and Balance

Actually, I spent most of the morning watching Three Stooges shorts and puttering around online and with some stories I'd written with Lauren ages ago that were never meant to be posted. I haven't had a lot going on lately. I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to go out and do a lot of shopping...but if I'm not going shopping, I have no idea of what else to do with myself. I've been into movies and media and toys and collecting them for so long, now that I'm trying to save for other things, I have no idea what else I want. If I'm not into movies and toys, what am I? What else do I like?

Passion frightens me. I've never really dedicated myself to something besides media. I'm not even sure how. How can I get involved with real causes without looking crazy? What do I love? I'm not sure anymore. What do you do when you don't need the things you used to need, or you have them? I don't know what I want. I don't know what I'm craving. I'm craving...something, but I'm not sure what it is. Spending all that money last year - even on things I thought I needed, like those classes - just got me into trouble. I don't always have the paychecks to sustain them. And it doesn't help that so many people I know have lost jobs or shifts or have seen major work changes in the last year or so. No one else has an answer for me, either.

I finally went to the 4PM Basics Yoga class, after spending a half-hour or so browsing around in Collingswood. While the class wasn't as full as the morning one usually is, there were more people than normal, about 7 including the teacher, Lee. We emphasized balance poses and back stretches as we worked on getting the heart pumping. I'm getting much better at the Eagle pose, and I can rock Triangle and Warrior. My balance is still shaky, but it's improving.

Went straight home after class ended. When I got in, I made Julie's Tuna Noodle Casserole (with added frozen green peppers, low fat-and-salt cream of mushroom soup instead of cheddar soup, and topped with the last of the Christmas tortilla chips instead of potato chips) and watched The Pirates! Band of Misfits.

The most recent offering from Aardman Animation (the creators of Chicken Run, the Wallace and Gromit shorts, and Sean the Sheep, among others) is...how can I say this?...very peculiar and uniquely British. The pirates of the title are a group of sea rovers in 1837 who are very bad at their job, but enjoy it just the same. The Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) wants more, though. He wants to be recognized as Pirate of the Year by his fellow buccaneers. When they laugh him and his odd band of good-natured cutthroats off the stage, the Pirate Captain and his crew attempt to rob ship after ship...but only come up with struggling scientist Charles Darwin (David Tennant). Darwin, however, recognizes the pirates' pet dodo Polly as a rare bird, one of the rarest in existence, and thinks it may get them in with his fellow scientists and Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton). When the Pirate Captain gives in to the pirate-hating Queen, it makes him lose face with his crew...and learn that while recognition may be wonderful, having friends and a job you love is even more important.

This is a really, really strange animated film. Think a (somewhat) more family-friendly version of The Pyrates, or Pirates of the Caribbean meets Monty Python by way of Chicken Run. You don't see too many animated films whose soundtracks include punk-rock and reggae hits, or that mix Claymation and CGI with abandon. Or that revere Brian Blessed (who plays the Pirate King). Or where Charles Darwin is a major character who is played as a geek who just wants a woman.

Fans of British history might want go into this one with caution, since Queen Victoria is not seen in anywhere resembling the most flattering light. (Although I do like her going into Bond villain mode at the end.) Otherwise, this is a fun film for older kids, especially boys who will enjoy the action and slightly more adult humor, and adults who enjoy English comedy or other Aardman projects.