Piper's Blog
Just One More Person's Thoughts Cluttering Up the Net*Spoiler Alert*
The first two weeks of 2010 were spent alone in our apartment with no means of transportation. My car, Sebastian, was sick and in need of a new tube for steering fluid. As a result, I watched a ton of movies already this year. Some classic…some just brain fluff. Let’s see now:
Ladyhawke = Remembered it vaguely from a long time ago. Michelle Pfeiffer looks beautiful and I think it was a really well done movie. Sometimes 80’s movies are classics even if they aren’t artistically great or have a great story but I believe this to be both! Also I was fairly impressed with the special effects of the day for Pfeiffer to turn into a hawk and Rutger Hauer to become a wolf. It was subtle and began with their eyes.
Time Bandits = Again I remembered bits of it from watching it on TV one Saturday or something. This is one of those 80’s movies that are silly but classic. LOL!
Confessions of a Shopaholic = If you liked the Devil Wears Prada, then you would like this. It definitely has the same look and spirit. I think some people were a little too critical of the movie and wanted a character like Streep from Prada. But, if you take it for a light-hearted yet poignant look at credit card debt with some romance, then it is super fun! I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a romantic comedy because that wasn’t really the goal of the film.
The Ramen Girl = One of Brittany Murphy’s last films…and it was bad. Her character goes to Japan and gets stranded there. So, she seeks to learn how to make ramen noodles from a chef. Sadly, she doesn’t speak Japanese nor does she ever really make an effort to learn it. The whole time she was crying because she didn’t understand why her teacher was so mad at her. Her teacher was yelling the whole time about how she doesn’t understand him! Needless to say, it got hard to watch.
Wall-E = Love this movie! There is nothing more for it. It actually kinda hurts your heart; it is so dang sweet! I even know what is coming and I still tear up at it because it is so sweet.
Stardust = Really silly movie but I enjoy it. Fun bit of fantasy good for a rainy Saturday afternoon. Probably the best part though, is seeing Robert De Niro playing a transvestite pirate.
Swan Princess = Not sure why I felt the need to watch this but I did and it was fun.
Hercules = Had the “Zero to Hero” song stuck in my head so I watched it. I think it was one of the more classic Disney movies. Not necessarily my favorite, BUT definitely followed their more popular formulas with music and whatnot. Certainly better than many things Disney has been putting out in more recent years.
Sunshine Cleaning = Had a feel like Juno or Little Miss Sunshine. Overall, I think it was a little funnier than the aforementioned films and I really like Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters. They played off of each other well. I would recommend this movie to people to see.
District 9 = Makes interesting commentary of good vs. bad. The aliens were made to be bad but there ended up being some good ones. The humans were the saviors but ended up being primarily monsters. Also, was left to set up a sequel or two. I don’t think it will be super popular BUT is an important one to see just in the history of film making.
I may have watched more but I have forgotten them…obviously they weren’t particularly good then. 
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Queenpin
This past weekend was my 23rd birthday! Ben and I went to visit my parents for the weekend to celebrate. They offered me a range of things to do but as soon as they said “bowling” I was excited. Bay Village has a little tucked away bowling alley that is under new management now. We decided to give them a shot! The place looked simple but nice and clean! It was great! My parents beat us to the alley and were sitting at the bar getting to know the new owners. So, once Ben and I walked in the manager was like “Oh good! Ben and Piper made it!”. He acted as if we were old friends. Too funny! Ben and I ate a quick dinner there and then the four of us proceeded to bowl. My parents played two games and then decided to call it a night but said Ben and I could play one more. As Ben and I were playing, they turned off the lights and made it a Moon Rock bowling type of thing with blacklights and other colored light balls. I really enjoy bowling…but turn it into Moon Rock bowling and I am on cloud nine! I was thrilled! Then as we were leaving, the owner of the place said he had something for me and handed me a bowling pin that said Happy Birthday on it! I felt like a little kid but I completely lit up and he came around the counter to give me a big hug! LOL! Awesome night!
On Saturday, Ben, Mom, and I met up with Dad at Si Senor (*a semi-new Mexican restaurant in town*). We totally pigged out and then Ben and I decided to go to Avatar in 3-D. After that, we went home and had a nice family dinner and opened presents. The biggest thing was that mom got all the throw-away cameras developed from the wedding reception.
All in all it was a really pleasant weekend!
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New Year + Old Friends
My husband and I started the year off right at a good 0l’ fashioned LAN party. We primarily played our old favorite LAN game CoD4 (*or Call of Duty 4 for you non-gamers*), but mixed in some Warhammer Soulstorm and Battlefront 2. Of course, I think it would have been awesome if we could have played Modern Warfare 2. Sadly, the makers decided NOT to have that as an option for PC gamers! And something that I think is SADDER is that they won’t let a Xbox Live player have a guest Live account to play MW2 on the Xbox with. This means that the only way for me to play online with my husband is for us to have a second Xbox in the apartment. Luckily, we DO own a second one, but it is currently at my parents house. It is there because I stay with them part time while I’m finishing up my degree and their house is much closer to campus than our apartment (*try 1.75 hours closer*). The only solution would be to ALWAYS tote my Xbox around which would be a pain in the patootie. Anywho…
The LAN party was a great way to catch up with people and not worry about anything. I’m just waiting for the next semester to start so it wasn’t like I had homework or a job to worry about. My husband and I have had a rather stressful 2009. In my opinion, pretty much the only highlight of last year was our wedding! So we needed something like this. But, you can’t get a gaggle of people together without there being drama…so naturally there was some. Figures!
All in all I am greatly looking forward to this year. It should be a little less stressful and this time next year I should have a job and Ben and I should be getting more settled. Basically, I look forward to this year because I have to get through it in order to have TRULY good years soon.
SO…everyone have a blessed New Year and keep on gaming!
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