PAS#3: DEADPOOL

Just as I though that spring was around the corner, winter strikes back with a weekend in the single digits without, factoring in wind chill...yikes.  With weather like that I was definitely not planning any outdoor activities for the weekend.  So as Saturday past by and I was bored out of my mind, with nothing to do.  I remembered that the movie DEADPOOL had just opened Friday night and who does not love a super hero movie.

I had heard this would not be like any other super hero movies... the main character Deadpool was no superhero and it was almost a comedy.  How could marvel make a movie that is a comedy?  Well I decided to see for myself what this movie was all about. 

I called up my friend and we decided to go get dinner and head to the movie.

On Saturday my friend Cody and I went to a Piazza restaurant located along Atherton street, call FacciaLuna.  This is just one of the many pizza places located in State College.  It is one of my favorites, second to only a small place called OIP (Original Italian Piazza), in Millheim Pa.  One neat thing about Faccia Luna is that you can see the pizza cook in the back throwing the dough into the air, to make the pizza.  It is with amazing control and experience that these chefs do this, I have never seen them stretch the dough to thin or drop it. 

For lunch I order a specialty pizza called the Carciofi, which was topped with tomatoes, basil, and artichokes.  My friend went classic and order a plain cheese pizza.  The Pizza was great, much better than the dinning hall pizza.  We had to eat in a hurry though because our movie was showing at 6:00pm at the State College Premiere Theatre 12.  We had chosen to see “DEADPOOL”, and since it was opening week we decided it would be best to get there a little early, we wear right.

We sat down in the theater about thirty minutes early, but the theater was already beginning to feel crowded.  Overall the Movie was great. It certainly was an unorthodox superhero movie to say the least.  A whole lot of swearing and killing and sexual stuff.  It was pretty awesome there is no way you should let any kid under the age of 17 in to this movie though.  It was the, in terms of maturity level, the strongest “R” rated movie I have ever seen. 

The acting by Ryan Reynolds as DEADPOOL was great.  The comedy factor that this movie has was amazing.  IT is typical superhero fight scenes laced with well-timed comedic relief.  IT was a perfect blend of a say a Captain America and Will Rerrel Kevin Hart movie.   The execution of this movie was uniquely done in a way I have never seen before, which made it all that much better.  I suggest this movie to anyone who is a fan of super hero movie or comedy, it could stand alone in either genre. 

 

PAS#2: Hiking in the Snow

 

For this week passion blog I am actually going to talk about what I did two weekends ago when we had that little snowstorm.  For me I was expecting a lot worse, but when the snow was done on Saturday and the road cleared I headed out to go for a hike. 

About ten minutes drive from Penn State is a place called Shingletown.  It is named after the little town it is next too.  Shingletown is a series of trails located in Rothrock state forest. 

During the summer and warmer month I like to go running along these trails at Shingletown, it is a lot more engaging way of running than the monotony of running around a track.  Unfortunately, due to the weather I was regulated to hiking at Shingletown in the snow on this particular weekend.  Which was a very neat experience.

The first thing I noticed was how beautiful the forest was with the newly fallen snow being unmolested by animals or humans, while also veiling all the vegetation in the forest, everything was white.  Even though the snow had stopped, inside the forest it was still snowing as every little breeze of wind would blow some of the fresh snow out of the trees. 

The appearance of the environment was the real motivation for me to get out and hike the trails.  Even though I probably had hiked that area fifty times in my life everything seemed foreign to me.  I describe it as the feeling when fall comes and all the leaves fall of the trees, new things can be seen that were once hidden behind the leaves.  This change in environment always makes me feel like I am lost.  That is what I felt like while hiking. 

Asides from the wonders of fresh snow and the illusion of being lost hiking is really enjoyable as you are in a quiet peaceful place, a kind of solidarity that is hard to find on the bustling campus that is PSU.  If you live in Atherton you are constantly listening to the traffic along college Ave.  It is amazing how short a distance you have to travel to feel like you are completely alone...in a good way.

You are free from whatever worries you had throughout the week for as long and as far as you would like to go.  The rejuvenating effect for me is more than just mental though.  Even though hiking in snow is physically hard work.  I felt better and more energized during and after than I had all week.  

I highly recommend that everyone should make time to explore the surround area of State College; if hiking is not your thing there are plenty of other cool things to do in this area, if you are a fan of nature.