A pop exploded and ruined one of the only photos Anne and I have of our trip to Italy. Doc took it the day we arrived, as we paused on the trip to ....Sorrento? and we were both very sleep deprived and jet lagged and greasy. Anyways, I feel horrible about it, because it stripped the pigment right off. I had also printed off a photo of Julie, Ann, Barry, and me when we were taking a walk when Ella was just a puppy, and that got hit as well. I just happened to have scanned all of these, which I suppose is lucky, though also sad, because this quality sucks.
So, you know how I've always stopped just short of crossing over that line from being just a fan of the fantasy genre to full blown all-out fantasy nerd? Well, I may be about to cross that line. Theron, a friend from first year who I haven't really been hanging out with since then, messaged me the other day to tell me that he was starting up a D&D group, and wondered if I'd be interested in joining. Some of your jaws have dropped in horror, I know. Particularly Brad's. But for those of you whose jaws have not dropped in horror, I figure you just don't know what D&D is maybe? D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) is a role playing game (RPG) in which you create a character that exists within a world created by the Dungeon Master in which you battle monsters and thereby develop your character. D&D is considered sort of the original RPG, and for those of you who know things like World of Warcraft (among many others) those are MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role-playing games). If I did do this, the only other level to which I could drop would be to start playing Magic, but don't worry I never will cause I don't want to spend all my money on those stupid cards (sorry to all of you Magic players out there).
However, I have to admit my true nature. I am a fantasy geek, and I would probably get a total and complete kick out of this, especially since the group seems like a really good group of guys. So, I'm just considering this. I haven't decided yet. Theron (who would be Dungeon Master) dropped off the Player's Handbook today to let me look over it and decide. Honestly, this would be a Mandy Adventure, because I think that teh only thing that's holding me back is my fear of looking stupid making some rookie move.
It's been snowing so constantly the last two weeks that, if this were rain, I'd be really depressed.
So I decided to not look at any of the reviews for The Golden Compass, despite my nearly overwhelming curiosity to see if it looked like it'd actually be good. And I succeeded. Until!!! I went to see La Vie en Rose at the Third Eye Film Festival that hosts cool movies throughout the year for those who are feeling culturally deprived in Antigonish, when after I mentioned The Golden Compass to my friend Sarah, she said that she heard a critic saying it was pretty crap. Nooooo!!
I still haven't looked, but now my expectations are in the toilet, and I'm so sad.
On a better, though not happier note, I saw La Vie en Rose (released as La Môme in France), and wow. Firstly, I was very very depressed. Secondly, I normally don't mind lots of
flash forwards and flash backs. I can handle it. But with this, her appearance (Édith Piaf's) kept changing so drastically for the better and for the worse that I couldn't really tell if the flash forwards were in chronological order, or if we were skipping around randomly in her later years. But! Marion Cotillard was really impressive playing Édith Piaf. I mean really. I watched clips of Édith Piaf performing afterwards, and her mannerisms were spot on. She really seemed to succeed in faithfully recreating a person. I'm terrible at explaining things. La Vie en Rose is about hte life of Édith Piaf, who was a famous French singer known for (among many many others) La Vie En Rose and Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.I suppooose I should go study some Brain and Behavior before my exam tomorrow....
I can't wait to be back in Ohio. Soon!!
