Rainy Memorial Day

The rain and occasional grumbles of thunder woke me this morning. And here I was, thinking I’d get to sleep in today. How silly of me.

Watched Shrek 2 at the theater and Big Fish at home yesterday. I enjoyed both of them. Escapism, rah.

Shrek 2 was clever and silly, with the pop references, classic rock soundtrack, and anachronistic humor that made the first one so new. But it suffered the shortcoming of most sequels in that no matter how cute it was, it wasn’t truly fresh anymore. And I’ve never really liked Eddie Murphy’s brand of humor. It helped that he was a CGI donkey, but I got tired of his antics before they were done. Still fun.

Big Fish was lovely and lavish. Distinctively Tim Burton in look and feel, it actually had more story and substance than most of his works end up with. I liked the fantasy fusion with reality. So many movie makers try that in an attempt to be surreal and artsy, and instead it comes out pretentious and/or fragmented. But Burton pulls it off better than most since his vision is so lush. Plus, I think Ewan McGregor is yummy.

Matthew and I made seitan again, with the requisite “Satan brain” jokes. Mashed potatoes and Satan brains. Mmmmm.

Also forced myself to exercise. Grumph. Started out with some yoga asanas. Nothing terribly strenuous, just a couple sun salutations and standing warrior poses to get me warmed up. Then I decided to do a few ballet barre exercises. Again, nothing terribly tricky, just some demi- and grande pliers, easy relevers, and a few forward and backward cambres. My leg muscles actually cramped up when I was doing grande pliers. My God. I can’t believe I’m in such bad shape. These are ballet warm-up exercises! I should be able to do these for hours without getting out of breath, much less have shooting cramps spasm through my thighs. These were nothing! Very sobering and disheartening that was. So now I’m dealing with strident opposing urges. One wants me to really push myself to get back into shape, exercising every day, yadda yadda ya. And the other one wants me to just give up the ghost and go flop on the couch, too depressed about what I’ve lost to deal with it. History warns me that the second will inevitably win out, entropy and all. But we’ll see.

So I’m very sore this morning. And still moody.

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8 Responses to Rainy Memorial Day

  1. rachelvallee says:

    My first thought when I saw Eddie M in Shrek was “he’s playing an Ass, and that’s the only character he’s playing… wow”

    Exercising after a long absence is difficult but good for you – I would go and do a few rounds of stretches, but I really should hop in the shower and get ready for work – another morning wasted ;^)

  2. emuko says:

    I love Big Fish! It’s become one of my favorite movies, and I’m usually not that much of a Tim Burton fan.

  3. Everyone said that Shrek 2 is funny, so I might take my daughter to go see it. Just dunno when. Btw, I do like Eddie Murphy. He’s funny…except sometimes he cuss too much.

  4. housellama says:

    Exercise suggestion…

    Also forced myself to exercise. Grumph

    Have you ever thought about Tai Chi? It’s a good way to get yourself back into shape gently while focusing your brain. It’s amazing what an hour or so of focusing on your breathing will do for you.

    -Tug

    • Eugie Foster says:

      Re: Exercise suggestion…

      I’ve tried T’ai Chi Chih, and it was way too low key for me. But I suspect T’ai Chi Quan would suit me more. I like the dance-like flow of it.

      • housellama says:

        Re: Exercise suggestion…

        But I suspect T’ai Chi Quan would suit me more. I like the dance-like flow of it.

        You do know that each of those flowing movements corresponds to a fighting form, yes? I’ve seen two Tai Chi practitioners go at it. It was BEAUTIFUL. SCARY, but beautiful too.

        -Tug

        • Eugie Foster says:

          Re: Exercise suggestion…

          Oh, yah. Both my parents do/did T’ai Chi. My mother teaches it (in Hong Kong)–or maybe that should be past tense. I’m not sure if she’s still doing her classes.

          I was never interested in it as a kid, as it always seemed like “old people martial arts”. When I took a hiatus from ballet, I got into Karate instead, quickly realized I liked it because of the dance-like aspects of it, and went back to dancing. But now it seems that I need to realize I am no longer as young as I once was, and “old people martial arts” might be a good alternative.

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