Irates of the Caribbean - At my Wits' End

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Yep, irate and at my wits' end with this film. I have several gripes.

Firing a monkey from a cannon isn't that clever, even in comedy. In real life, the poor creature's ass would pass through its head before it left the barrel.

"Ah, it's only a film," cry its defenders. But those same cannons were firing cannonballs through wooden beams, a moment before. Create a fantasy world, by all means, but at least make the rules within that world constant. Consistency please, cannons either hurt or they don't. They aren't phasers that you can set to 'stun.'

Friggin' in the riggin' - How many times did the characters hang from a rope and swoop in beautifully-timed and graceful arcs without once encountering any of the other countless pieces of rigging on a sailship? The only frigging in that rigging was with the truth.

The Kiera speech - flat and tedious writing, totally predictable. If I was a 'irate' on that boat, I'd have been swmming to shore rather than listen to that hogwash any longer. The main problem was that the speech turned the morality of the film and the historical world on its head.

Her speech about 'fighting for our freedom' and 'dying as free men' works when it comes from the President in Independence Day because the people are ordinary folk fighting for their freedom against an alien threat. But Kiera delivers this speech to a bunch of psycopathic, murderous, foul creatures whose career paths are based on depriving other people of their property, their freedom, and their lives.

It should have been more apt for the captain of the Royal Navy to deliver that speech, at least then it would be a case of free men defending the rights of others against barbarians.

Best part for me was the surreal sequence where Johnny Depp was going insane, alone on the Black Pearl. I knew the feeling by that stage of the film.

Got to say it was better than the second but let's face it, that wasn't hard.

South Wales Animal Rescue

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South Wales Animal Rescue is a great family-run rescue centre in Swansea that helps to rehome unwanted pets. I was introduced to them by my friend who lost a rabbit (See my post about Good Intentions) and was impressed by their dedication to a cause that is financially crippling.

Anyone can help by:

1) Calling them before getting a new pet. Getting a pet from a rescue will send a message to breeders and give a deserving animal a second chance.

2) By helping them locate a local supplier of hay bales. Hay bills are only manageable if bought in bulk. At the moment, their supply has been disrupted.

Their website is: http://www.southwalesanimalrescue.org.uk

The Welsh Assembly has finally passed some new animal welfare guidelines. I'll post the URL here soon.

Options and Intentions

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Are good intentions really worthless?

It's a common saying that good intentions aren't of value. It was a view I held but it has been challenged by the experience of a friend.

This friend is a keeper of rare breeds of rabbit. When one of his prized bunnies died, he suffered a breakdown. He couldn't stop wondering if he'd done the right thing, if he'd made the right choices, if he could have saved his pet. Now to non animal lovers like me, a breakdown over a rabbit seems incomprehensible but it got me thinking.

In some ways his reaction was perfectly human. When it comes to issues of life and death, we all play the "what if?" game and lose. Because if we'd chosen option A we'd have wondered if we should have chosen option B, and vice versa. We should not be surprised to experience doubt over past decisions.

First, my friend should remember that his rabbit would never have lived as long and as happy a life with another owner. This was a man who gave his pets the best treatment he could afford, a man who studied rabbit disease, who knew as much as any local vet. Apparently the general level of vet knowledge is woeful. A vet can pass his exams without ever having handled a rabbit.

Second, no amount of care will ensure that our guards aren't momentaritly dropped. We're human, we're fallible, we get tired, lazy, complacent. We can't be alert 24/7. It isn't right to blame yourself for being imperfect flesh-and-bone.

Third, whatever choice we made, we'll wonder if we did the right thing. But the key here, I believe, is the intention that lay behind the choice. The WHY a particular choice was made. The final outcome is not always in our hands but the initial part of the equation is. No matter the outcome, that underlying intention behind the choice can never change or be stolen from you.

So in some circumstances I'd have to argue that intentions are of worth, and are a true indication of character. I go further to say that the original intention is the only thing that remains pure in this messy confused world. After the foreseen and unforeseen repercusions of a decision have settled and the doubts come to haunt us, we can seek refuge in the intention: the only part of the chain that was within our control.