'The Hunger Games' shoots straight and kills the box office

Katniss Everdeen of District 12 has to survive two weeks in a forested nightmare and be the last survivor, despite the fact that other teenagers want her dead in order to survive and be crowned the 7th Annual victor of their nation's twisted 'Hunger Games.'

"The Hunger Games" has come in first place in the box office (big shock). I went to the opening weekend of "The Hunger Games" with some friends. Only one of us - if any of us - had read at least one book in the series. This movie was made for people who had already read the books, or were strongly considering reading the books and felt inspired to do so after watching the movie (I am on chapter five of "The Hunger Games" now since Sunday). The movie was a visual aspect to the book, although the book had to be read for some parts of the movie to make sense. The movie was brilliant; I loved it. It was a little disturbing, I'm not going to lie, the way the kids killed each other and how it was portrayed on the screen. It was so unfair that all the small kids were either used by the older ones or killed. Cato was such a freak.

In fact, the whole concept of the Hunger Games seems horrible and hopefully will never come to pass, which Suzanne Collins, the author, said was based on a mixture of the ancient Roman gladitorial games, channel-surfing through reality TV, images of the Iraq war, and the mythic story of Theseus. Despite the concept, the movie was actually pretty great, except for a few details.
"The Hunger Games" starred Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, the 16-year-old protagonist who takes her 12-year-old sister Primrose's place as the District 12 girl tribute for the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Katniss has done her best to keep her mother and her younger sister alive, and this is just another element in Katniss' keep-my-sister-alive campaign. It is nonetheless extremely sacrificial and heroic, which later wins Katniss favor with "sponsors," rich people from the Capitol who can "be the difference life and death" for the kids during the Hunger Games, according to the overly-zealous, wig-wearing Effie Trinket (who's way too enthused about gathering kids who are about to die and really nothing more than an overly-done-makeup-wearing trinket and ninny).

Anyway, Katniss' district, apparently the poorest district in the nation, for their part in her sacrifice, merely stare at her and then kiss three fingers before raising them to her. (One has to go to the book to find out the meaning behind this, something I didn't like about the movie, which didn't EXPLAIN anything. The meaning, everyone, is that it's an old and little-used sign for respect, and, still rare, now is only used at funerals.) Fantastic! Katniss has a whole group behind her - behind her death, that is, for it appears no one expects her to survive. After all, there are 24 children, and only one survives; the one who survives has to kill the others, basically, or the ones that nature doesn't kill first. Not only that, District 12 has had exactly two victors, a dead person and a drunk named Haymitch, who is their mentor now. Oh yes. The boy, other than Gale, who's been in love with Katniss forever is Peeta Mellark, played by Josh Hutcherson, a baker's son who once threw bread to a starving Katniss - and of course he becomes the boy tribute from District 12. Naturally there will be romance. Lovers attempting to kill each other? A good adventure NEEDS a little romance, right?

So poor Katniss, who only wanted to save her sister, is thrust into the spotlight as an underfed, undertrained tribute and sent to the Capitol, a symbol of the punishment of the members of the Rebellion, in which 12 districts dared to rebel against the Capitol over 74 years earlier. Everyone assumes she will die in the rigged Games, and if she doesn't die, blood-thirsty, trained Cato will kill her. A wonderful and constantly twisting twist of fate is that they learn that two victors may be crowned, provided they're from the same district. Does that mean that Katniss and Peeta, star-crossed lovers, can both come out alive? Maybe...if Cato, some berries and unstable, ever-changing rules don't get to them first.


Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Veiled Rose review

Veiled Rose is the second book in The Tales of Goldstone Woods. Released recently, it tells the story of Rose Red, who has a dark secret that causes her to shroud herself in garments. She lives in the mountainous woods with her father and goat, seeing no one until Leo's wealthy family sends him to the mountains for the summer. The two of them strike up a friendship and explore the woods - only Leo seeks the dreaded Monster that supposedly hides there. Rose Red desperately wants to assist him, but she knows more about the Monster than she lets on and is terrified of it. She knows how to find the cave the Monster supposedly hides in, but she doesn't want to tell Leo for fear of the Monster's wrath. Leo wants her to leave the mountains and go with him to his country - but the Monster has something to say about it.

The writing is simplistic. At times the novel is hard to get through, but it has one of the best opening lines. "Hill House, though abandoned, had remained unscathed during the years of the Dragon's occupation" (7). If the reader had previously read Heartless, the first in the series, they would know that the Dragon took over the country and left nothing untouched by poisonous smoke - except apparently Hill House. Why? Readers have to continue the book to find out what's so special about Hill House that the Dragon left it. And, we find out more of the story of Leonard and Una and why he gave her up when challenged by the Dragon in Heartless.

The ending is heartbreaking but I won't spoil it for readers!

Looking into the author's statement and life, one finds the story is a Christian allegory, which may turn some readers off, but it's not a heavy allegory. Lets see if the readers can put together the allegory - I think I managed to do it.

The genre is fantasy and will thrill people who love fantasy!

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Leap Year

I HAVE to write about Leap Year. After all, we only get to write 2-29 every four years. Today were two wonderful speakers, Byron McCauley, director of Public Relations, at noon and Kurt Warner, the football player, at 7:30 p.m. I felt like I HAD to go to both (since both were free for students) and from BOTH I got extremely inspired. Even though Warner didn't know it, I came up with a very good question, which my friend Lisa asked him. He was rather surprised. That's because it was a) good, and b) she didn't talk at him, but to him. Plus she sounded totally dreamy and like she was madly in love with him. Honestly, I should have asked him a question just for the experience of it. I mean, I'll NEVER have that opportunity EVER again. I also need to get involved in SAC so I can actually MEET these people. It was just as great as meeting Michael J. Fox, if not better. This year's Speaker Series have gotten a lot better! I can't wait for Bill Nye the science guy :) YAY!

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Candlewood

I know that everyone is hearing the good and bad about Candlewood. But we haven't heard anything this semester about living on campus in an off campus environment.

It has definitely gotten better, or I've adjusted to it personally. I know that some students are eager to leave but have remained and some are dropping off like flies struck by electricity. I know that some students like it and are happy here.

I am somewhere in the middle. I like the space, the TV, the DVD player, and the Internet connection in my room (as well as not getting kicked off said Internet connection every 15 minutes or so). The laundry is fine. I like feeling more independent. I like the free commuter parking pass, because now I can basically park everywhere on campus (at certain times). I like the option of cooking, but I have decided I will probably never be a gourmet chef. I am a lot more confident in my cooking skills - I know that I can cook at least! Other people love it! All the more power to them! They probably don't have problems with stove top food burning. (Don't judge me!)

Actually that leads to my two dislikes: cooking myself food (I like for other people to make it for me although I do like to cook for other people as well, so it's a terrible mix), mostly because I don't have an oven, and that gravel parking lot.

I already explained about cooking. But one more. I love stoves, and I miss having a stove. I miss muffins and toasted ravioli and fries and baking desserts and everything else you can put in an oven.

Now.

The gravel parking lot. Now, I am not from the country and do not appreciate parking on gravel all the time (although the fun part is that everyone makes up their own parking spaces). It's highly annoying, and luckily I didn't have to experience gravel with ice on it (I don't know what the results would be) because of our super warm winter. Sometimes I have to park in a grassy/muddy area if I get back "too" late (after ten). The drop between the entrance/exit to the parking lot and the ground is steep and I swear my car scraps the ground, and my car is not that low to the ground. I just can't stand it. I want a solution. Plus, the parking lot does NOT have lights and I feel in danger walking through it (I don't know why, but at night that parking lot is CREEPY!). Plus vandals have struck our cars twice - once each semester. My locks are broken. I mean, seriously?!

So, that is the major differences, and the factors I have to think of in deciding to stay in Candlewood next year, or go back to Dearmont.

Great.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

The Vow

The Vow was very romantic, and perfect for the Day of Love. It was a little disappointing, but also left hope for the audience. I was disappointed the couple divorced. He was sweet. I felt he gave up too quickly. He was a good husband, and very defensive and protective of his wife. She seemed bratty after the accident, and I didn't like her most of the time. The movie probably could have had more depth, and reflected the couple better. Basically, the creators of the movie took Christ out of the story in the movie, and it seemed deflated without it. The movie had a Nicholas Sparks feel to it, even though he did not write it. It seemed like something he would write, except no one died. It's hard to believe she had such traumatic brain injury and could still survive.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Stove Top Cooking

Well, for my third year in college, I moved into a studio flat (which is actually a room in an extended-stay hotel but studio flat sounds better, makes me feel better, and is better to explain). I do have a roommate.

Well, I originally agreed to stay in the studio flat (rented through my university) because in the picture I mistook the dishwasher for a stove (and I didn't ask anyone to explain what was in the studio flat). So I came down all excited, figuring that, since I didn't have a meal plan and would have to prepare my own food, I would have a stove. I loved baking stuff in the stove. I rarely used a stove to prepare my food back home.

Well, big shock. I had a two-burner stove - and no oven. But I did have a dishwasher (which is rather nice). Well, my brother gave me a toaster oven he wasn't using, but believe me you, that is one annoying toaster oven (I do manage to use it, though, I just have to "baby" it and watch it and everything gets burned in it because it cooks the outside first and then the inside so by the time it's all done it's pretty burnt).

I've been learning exactly what you can make with a stove.

Here's my list.

1) Grilled cheese (with or without a fried egg).

2.) Grilled turkey and cheese (no egg for me).

3.) Fried eggs (and scrambled, but I only eat scrambled eggs if I have to).

4.) Bacon (if you have a place to put the grease).

5.) All kinds of canned and frozen vegetables.

6.) Hamburger helper.

7.) Spaghetti.

8.) Rice (mine has yet to turn out right, but I know you can make it on there).

9.) Pasta Roni (all kinds).

10.) Mac and cheese.

11.) Chicken breast fillets, premade, using veggie oil.

12.) Salsa con queso, cheese dip, salsa.

13.) Soup, canned or fresh.

14.) Pancakes.

15.) Hot chocolate AND cappachino (instant).

16. Whatever you can use ground beef for.

17.) Sausage gravy.

18.) Chef boyardi ravolis.

19.) Potatoes from a box.

* PLEASE GIVE ME MORE IDEAS :)
** Please, if possible, keep it fairly low-cost and fairly down to as few ingredients as possible. But really, whatever you come up with!

I use the microwave just as much (sometimes I buy stuff that can be microwaved).


And I use that good old toaster oven.

1.) Flameyons.

2.) Chicken breasts. 

3.) Party pizzas (big pizzas as well I guess).

4.) I will update this as I remember what I put in it.


I have some things I am going to try in the toaster oven.

1.) Muffins (muffin mix).

2.) Cookies.

3.) Chicken nuggets.

4.) Fries.

5.) Other meats.

Misc.
1.) I know how to make a no-bake cheesecake.

2.) I make juice (from cans of frozen juice).

3.) Pre-packaged, no cooking involved foods like donuts, candy, ice cream, etc.

Feel free to suggest stuff on Facebook or the comment section (for the stovetop, and for the toaster oven I guess if you want).

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

I'M BACK!!!!!!

I can't believe that I haven't blogged in such a long time. Well, break was, well, break. It was a normal break, and a good one at that. School has been, well, school. There isn't much to say about either of them after five semesters, and beginning my sixth, and facing two more (although one significantly shorter than the other). One goal I have for this semester: straight A's. I haven't achieved this yet, and I WILL.

Also, I am pondering my future (which gives me a headache, really). I know that no one feels like it is their right to interfere with my life (I'm not likely to show much appreciation if they do, no matter how much I need the advice, unfortunately). I just want to say that I am in my Mass Media Law class (finally, after everyone with as many credits as I have have already taken it), and I must say that perhaps I have found a niche. I feel really passionately about a federal shield law for journalists, and I want to be involved in that creation (IT WILL COME) either as the fighter for it or the politician who advocates it (the former, I would prefer). I just don't know how. Well, I could be involved in media law. Still, the thought of all those years of law school makes me cringe inside (the costs of law school hardly help alleviate it). Plus, my undergraduate degree(s) hardly provide much in the way of getting into law school (although English IS on the right track but it is not THE track). AND I want to make sure this is not just me trying to make up for something else (I don't know what). But law school for a woman is hardly a dream. And I'm old - 21 is old, trust me - but not only that I'm about to graduate college in a year with TWO degrees, which do not involve the law anymore than Small Press Publishing (contracts) and Media Law (introductory) are prepatory classes which practically don't even count! Why would this be growing in my heart the past two years? (Unfortunately, the years are right, even though I haven't admitted it to anyone until, um, today. Yea...).

Basically - I'm too scared to go to law school, too scared of failing. And I do not want to fail. What if this is God's plan for me? Why wasn't it more obvious...or, why didn't I listen?

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Finals

Finals are this week, or at least this month, for a lot of people. It's a stressful time, even if a student is not attending an Ivy League school. All schools hold finals in high regard.

Why? I don't know. I guess because they are the end of the semester test, the ability for teachers to know if you have learned something from their class.

I like the non-comprehensive finals, ones that serve as a third or fourth test that students get to spend two hours dawdling over (although few, but not all, only take half that time -- still, it's the IDEA that students have two hours that people like).

The comprehensive finals add more stress to an already stressful week. Better yet, professors should just give final projects and let that serve as the culmination of a student's knowledge. After all, how many of us are really going to remember the square root of 95 in our lives, no matter how useful that might be?

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

My Phone

Three days after my phone battery dropped down an elevator shaft and remained there, I finally got it back. I had almost 100 text messages that I missed over those three days.

WOW!

After whining to my RA and everyone else and spending too much time on Facebook and email, it returned.

I do, however, see the good in the situation. I was able to study for my finals, since I was not distracted by texting...and yes, texting IS a distraction. Of course, I was also thinking about my poor phone battery the whole time.

How did such a weird thing happen?

I really don't know. I was walking - really, Saturday was a horrible day, remedied only by dinner with Laura and Mike at McDonalds - to the elevator for something, I think laundry, and my phone dropped and broke open...and the battery went down the crack in the elevator. How the battery went down that crack I will never know because I wasn't watching it ... I just heard it hit the bottom. I'm pretty sure my finger got cut off (just teasing - I'm saying my phone is like a body part). And stayed there (because who can get to a battery in a crack in an elevator floor?) for three days - and a weekend, and everyone knows that weekends are a busy time for hotels.

Ugh! I worried about it, I checked on it (meaning I looked down the crack in the elevator when I went down the elevator), and I talked about it. I am sure that everyone is super annoyed about it now and happy that I got it back so that I will shut up about it.

And now Justice [the name of my phone] works again and we are back together and happier than ever.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Gossip

My favorite topic, probably because girls are so bad about knowing what is gossip and what is not gossip.

I do believe that gossips stems from insecurity. After all, if you're saying something about someone's clothes or body, things that cannot be changed and reflect who a person is, then you have deep issues that you need to confront and work through.

So, let's look at gossip from the Bible's standpoint.

1.) Gossip can stem from a lack of self-confidence that other people pick up on. After picking up on the lack of self-confidence of someone, others then discuss it in circles. God, however, punishes people who do humiliate and pick on other people who are already down, if you examine the rest of Ezekiel 36.

Ezekiel 36:3

English Standard Version -- "Therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people..." And so on.

MSG 1-7 -- "And now, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel. Say, 'Mountains of Israel, listen to God's Message. God, the Master, says, Because the enemy crowed over you, "Good! Those old hills are now ours!" now here is a prophecy in the name of God, the Master: Because nations came at you from all sides, ripping and plundering, hauling pieces of you off every which way, and you've become the butt of cheap gossip and jokes, therefore, Mountains of Israel, listen to the Message of God, the Master. My Message to mountains and hills, to ditches and valleys, to the heaps of rubble and the emptied towns that are looted for plunder and turned into jokes by all the surrounding nations: Therefore, says God, the Master, now I'm speaking in a fiery rage against the rest of the nations, but especially against Edom, who in an orgy of violence and shameless insolence robbed me of my land, grabbed it for themselves. "Therefore prophesy over the land of Israel, preach to the mountains and hills, to every ditch and valley: 'The Message of God, the Master: Look! Listen! I'm angry—and I care. I'm speaking to you because you've been humiliated among the nations. Therefore I, God, the Master, am telling you that I've solemnly sworn that the nations around you are next. It's their turn to be humiliated."

Evil gossip. Here gossip gets an adjective - evil, as in, malicious, awful, horrible. Cheap is also used in some translations. So this is gossip at one of its worst points, where people are trying to humiliate someone else. As you can see, the object of the gossip then falls under God's protection.

2.) Gossip can stem just from evil hearts living in a fallen world. They are making it worse for others, but that is our world, sometimes.
Romans 1:29
English Standard Version -- "They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips..."
Romans 1:28-32
MSG: Since they didn't bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it's not as if they don't know better. They know perfectly well they're spitting in God's face. And they don't care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!

3) Gossip can stem from lacking discipline, guidance and respect. A gossip may refuse to turn from their old way of life into the new way of life. Jealousy, quarreling, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder are all grouped together.

2 Corinthians 12:20
English Standard Version (ESV)
20For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.

The Message (MSG)
12: 20-21 I do admit that I have fears that when I come you'll disappoint me and I'll disappoint you, and in frustration with each other everything will fall to pieces—quarrels, jealousy, flaring tempers, taking sides, angry words, vicious rumors, swelled heads, and general bedlam. I don't look forward to a second humiliation by God among you, compounded by hot tears over that crowd that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways, who refuse to turn away from the pigsty of evil, sexual disorder, and indecency in which they wallow.

4) Gossip can stem from not having enough to do, and having a "we're just hanging out" mentality. It can stem from restlessness.

1 Timothy 5:13
English Standard Version (ESV)
13Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.

The Message (MSG)
5: 11-15 Don't put young widows on this list. No sooner will they get on than they'll want to get off, obsessed with wanting to get a husband rather than serving Christ in this way. By breaking their word, they're liable to go from bad to worse, frittering away their days on empty talk, gossip, and trivialities. No, I'd rather the young widows go ahead and get married in the first place, have children, manage their homes, and not give critics any foothold for finding fault. Some of them have already left and gone after Satan.

A clarification. Slander is malicious lies that people tell about others, with the intent of destroying another's reputation or life. Gossip may or may not be lies, but it is idle talk, may or may not be malicious, and is about people's personal lives. Some people don't realize that gossip most closely resembles "just talking about others," and mistake it for slander. Some gossip is stronger and comes extremely close to slander.

So we need to avoid it, watch what we say, and who we hang with. Sometimes we need to directly confront the person partcipating or pertuating gossip.

And remember.

If you wouldn't say it to the person you're talking about, don't say it to anyone else.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Blessed are you who mourn...

This is for everyone out there who's had a rough week/month/year. "Blessed are those who mourn [weep, wail, moan in deep sadness], for they shall be comforted." Prayer for you: "The Lord bless you and keep you. Lord, be with them in their time of mourning. Bring them Your joy and your peace, which passes all understanding. For the Lord says, "Weeping may last for a night, but the joy of the Lord comes in the morning." Love you all!" :)

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Comments

FINALLY! Comments work on my blog. They will show up now!

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Lessons from Jacob

Genesis 25-Genesis 33 - Jacob lost his whole family, way of life, his material possessions, and his land. He was fleeing for his life, despite having God's blessing and being the son who would inherit from his father. Even if we lose our whole family and way of life, God is still with us. We never lose God!

Eventually, Jacob received more than he could ever dream of (all twelve of his children were born before he ever got back to the "Promised Land") despite having lost everything. And God prepared the way Jacob and Esau eventually reconciled. God is a god of RECONCILIATION, of mending broken relationships! Amen.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

The Redemption by M.L. Tyndall

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a fantastic, must read book. It was my first introduction to MaryLu Tyndall. I bought the book with a gift card to Borders (now out of business, unfortunately). It was at the very top of the shelf, but somehow (divinely inspired), it found its way into my hands.



Charlisse is now my favorite heroine (my other favorite being Hadassah in Francine Rivers' "The Mark of the Lion" trilogy).



Charlisse is abused and neglected by her uncle in London. She flees him in search of the father she never knew, a pirate. She becomes shipwrecked and is found by Captain Merrick, a man filled with Christian compassion who desperately wants to stop Edward the Terror, one of the most vicious pirates on the sea and his former captain.



With pose, passion, and dignity, Tyndall weaves the story of Charlisse and Merrick on the tapestry of the Caribbean with God and Christ at the helm.



Merrick is noble, brave, and charismatic, but harbors deep pain.



Charlisee, too, is brave, fiery, and cautious, but hides dark secrets.



She keeps readers guessing and wondering - just what is Charlisse hiding, what happened to Merrick, who's Edward the Terror, and how does Charlisse factor in to this cylce?



There is no sexual content other than kissing, although some of the minor men (sailors, Charlisse's uncle) are licentious.



There are battle scenes, but these are well-done, and not presented as gory messes.



Drugs and drinking are frowned upon as bad habits and something people shouldn't do.



The language is appropriate with nothing foul.



A must read book, fantastic, entertaining, spiritually uplifting book!



View all my reviews

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Discipling: Psalm 91 Five-to-ten-minute Bible study

Here is a brand new Bible study to enhance your knowledge of the Bible.

A pretty common Psalm, but it needs to be looked at deeply. Stay tuned for more Bible studies!

Read Psalm 91 out loud. There is a link below.
Psalm 91

Questions:

Who does God honor?
Where should we strive to be?
When we are under the shelter of God, who do we fear?
Does God keep us safe in any situation? How?
Does God want us to be afraid?

1.) Pick out one, two, or three verses that leave an impression or say something to you.

2.) Search through those Scriptures. Answer the following questions, if possible.

What promises from God are there?

What warnings from God are there?

How do the characters mentioned in the Scriptures (players, i.e., angels, demons, other people, God) relate to our lives?

What does this say about our culture or society?


3.) Paraphrase the Scriptures in your own words.

4.) Pray the Scripture over a family member, a friend, or someone you know who needs to be saved. Ask God how you can outreach to them and be His hands and feet to them.

4.) Make up a short song, story, drawing, or poem that relates to the Scripture (if you wish). Or think of some creative way to express the Scriptures you chose.

Thanks! Love you all with Christ's love.


Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel