hunger games
Showing posts with label hunger games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hunger games. Show all posts

The 3rd Annual Josh Hutcherson Celebrity Basketball Game | 20140808

Belated Happy KCON 2014 weekend!  I skipped it this year.  My funds went elsewhere, namely a very pricey medical copay and... the best impulse purchase that my monies could buy.


The 3rd Annual Josh Hutcherson Celebrity Basketball Game.  It kicks off the yearly Nike 3on3 basketball tournament.  The event that I was going to fell on a Friday, also Roger Federer's birthday, which meant a half day at work.  Some people have their after-work clubbing.  I am willing to skip work all together for things that I love.  Truth.  This event benefits the Straight But Not Narrow organization, Josh's own.

AXS sent an email the day before the event with the schedules and rules and whatnot.  That totally threw all my plans out the window.  It broke my wee little heart to read "No cameras and no autographs at the Meet & Greet."  Darn, I had something very special for Josh to sign.  *sadface*  And the times also meant an even shorter half day at work.  Hey, at least I showed up.

I got to LA Live at around 2PM, a good hour before box office opened.  Already there were girls lined up so I surrendered to the sun and baked.  One good thing that happened while baking under said sun was meeting a fellow Filipina and fan, Alyson.  I admit, I go to these events mostly alone but the best times I've had are always spent in good company of friends and fellow fans.  I'm really happy that I met Alyson at this event.  We had so much in common, it was creepy.  BUT it made the whole experience so much more FUN.

I splurged on a Courtside VIP ticket.  Hey, it's for a good cause.  I attend free events all the time so I should pay for my fun once in a while, right?  Anyway, I had no idea what to expect.  I thought Courtside meant the first row of the bleachers behind some barricades but nooooo... the placement of our seats alone made the $260 price tag well worth it and so much more.


It also included a signed item.  It's a small basketball.  I forgot to bring my shopping tote so my poor - but large - shoulder bag was stuffed with said ball and two Straight But Not Narrow shirts that I got at the merch table.  We received wristbands with "VIP" on them and I felt a bit nostalgic.  Next day, Saturday would've been G-Dragon night at KCON 2014.  I once said that I will not miss a Big Bang or GD appearance in Los Angeles but alas... priorities.

The line to the actual Meet & Greet was also under the hot sun.  The struggle this time was not the risk of sunburn but in keeping both hair and makeup somewhat presentable.  This is a difficult thing, people, especially knowing that at the end of that line, you'll be meeting one of your current obsessions.  (Note: Obsession is a rather strong word but give me this pass, willya? It's been a long, long while since I had a legit crush on someone, celebrity or no.) It all held up okay, methinks.  Thank, Yevon!  (If you got that reference, we should be bffs.)

Cate-niss and Peeta, anyone? 

Super-duper thanks to the professional photographers for making me look good beside this incredibly good-looking man.  Look ma, he didn't have to stoop down for a pic!  ^_^
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The odds are in AXS's favor.

About a month ago, I made a huge purchase from AXS.  My Mythbusters tickets.  That was pretty major, dropping $300 in one go.  But like I said, it was for two tickets - $150 each.

Today, AXS has robbed me blind again.  More like, I threw my monies at them.  That's okay... tomorrow is payday lmao.  And for what?  Well...

I shied away from the first two The Hunger Games premieres because I saw people legit camp out days before the premiere.  And LA Live is not my venue of choice.  But I did want to see Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in person.  I already saw Liam Hemsworth thanks to the Thor: The Dark World premiere.  I swore to attend this year's Mockingjay Part 1 red carpet.  Now... may not have to.

When I got home from work, I saw an interview posted on the Josh Hutcherson Facebook page.  It was on Ryan Seacrest's radio show and Josh was talking about his annual charity basketball game.  Now, I may have a free thrower's hand but I know nothing about basketball.  But I've heard of these charity games, saw pics of the one he did last year, and I'm interested in going to the next one.



And guess what?  I AM.

It'll be on August 8, 2014, Friday, 6:30PM at LA Live.  Needless to say, I will be skipping work for this event.  And why the hell not?  I scored a COURTSIDE VIP ticket!  It's not the Ultimate VIP package, it was sold out by the time I knew about ticket sales, but it did make my bank account cry a little bit.  Are you one of those people who get the shakes when you make a large purchase?  I definitely am.  My hands started to shake once I saw how much the courtside VIP ticket was, $250.  Man, and I was planning to buy a Keurig system.  Guess that's not gonna happen yet.

The courtside VIP package includes:

o Courtside seats (the event starts at 6:30PM but I'll be there dead early, as with all events)
o Meet & Greet (!!!)
o One autographed JH item (this is the thing that made me get this deal instead of the bleacher seats)
o Chance to win signed JH jersey from game
o Nike 3ON3 Team Registration (I have no idea what this is lol.  My knowledge of Nike exists in the world of tennis.)

I went into full blown fangirl mode when I secured my ticket.  Hands shaking, jumping up and down, squeeing.  OMG, JHutch is my brother's age... basically the first younger guy I went crazy for... oh man.  Peeta (the character), I blame you!  XD

I guess that leaves JLaw.  But she's not going anywhere.  There's a lot more biographical, book-to-film stuff where she can be miscast.  (Trust me, I love her.)
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Divergent (2014)


There's a word for people like me. I'm Divergent.

And it's not in the movie!  Oops, spoiler!  XD

I read the book when I heard that there will be a movie.  And I saw the book set on my niece's FB wall.  I don't know what it is about trilogies.  Harry Potter spoiled me, making me patient enough to wait and wait for the next installment thus making me invest time, money, effort, and... emotion to the whole damn thing.  Only to be crushed by the final book/movie.

But I digress, you can read all about the book on my book blog.  I've only read the first book for now.  I thought it was great but I'm in no rush to read the rest.  It still had the teenage whine that I dislike but with violence, suicides, and deaths.  You know, dystopian-style romance.

The movie, I liked. I admit, I wasn't super excited but I still couldn't wait to see it.  It was long and the editing was choppy but it is to be expected. The first book was one long introduction to Tris and the society and it's a lot of stuff to cram into a 2.5 hour movie.  I actually think it would be a good candidate for a CW series.  The movie definitely had an Arrow-ish feel in production and general treatment of content.  But since it was 2.5 hours long, the "cut into Tris", "close up of Tris' face", and "it's all about Tris" became old... fast.  It was all about waterproof defining mascara and brown smudged liner to me. Boy, I thought the LesMis movie had too many closeups. I was very well acquainted with Shailene Woodley's freckles by the end of the first hour.  

It was as faithful as it could, I guess.  Like I said, the book is packed with information and situations that it's not possible to be 100% faithful in a movie.  For once, I was happy with the casting.  Haha... I won't say it was "perfect" but I couldn't think of other people who can do a better job that what they had.  Theo James was solid as Four, considering he's oh, 10 years older than the Four in the book.  Shailene Woodley is... she's brilliant!  She looks so meek but, I mean, she's Tris.  OMG.  She's like the stillest of waters, she runs deep.  I loved the nuances she gave Tris -- the little smiles, giggles, and the intensity during the battle scenes. 

Comparing it to The Hunger Games is pointless.  They're very different.  I must say, THG keeps you on your feet and is definitely more tragic and gory.  But Divergent keeps you thinking.  If only they extended the training scenes to include the others... those were my favorite parts of the movie.  Both have deeper meanings, societal issues and inequality but it's easier to apply the issues in Divergent to our immediate situation.  THG looks at it at a larger scope.

But my one biggest complaint (not counting my fangirly issue that Maggie Q was underused) is with a Lionsgate budget, they can't make the tattoos a least bit realistic?  I said it when the trailer first came out, Four and his huge back piece looks like it's been sponsored by Sharpie.  The fake tattoos that are applied with water look better than those.  Are they henna'd on the actors?  If so, it wasn't very good.

One treat for a movie buff like me comes in the casting.  There was this one scene were Tris is running down a corridor with Peter played by Miles Teller, Four, and Caleb played by Ansel Elgort.  Miles was in The Spectacular Now with Shailene.  Caleb is Tris' older brother.  Ansel will be Shailene's love interest in The Fault in Our Stars.  Yay.

So how about you?  Have you taken your test?  I have… and about 10 others.  All of them point to the same result: “You are #Divergent- But Closest to Erudite.”  I would agree.
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Starbucks Names.

My first Starbucks of 2014!  And it tastes like medicine.

There was a time in 2013 when I swore off this overpriced coffee chain for at least 4 months.  Then I began craving the Green Tea frappuccino and caramel frappuccino with no whip and that was that.  I had an early clock-in at work today so I decided to treat myself... and try something out.

On Tumblr, I've seen "pranks" like giving the barista a different name on your Starbucks order.  I read one who gave the name "Voldemort" and what was written on his cup was "He Who Must Not be Named".  How I wish my baristas are as geeky as that.  I get so anxious when planning to do something out of the ordinary and end up chickening out lol. 

Some days ago, I tweeted this:


I saw this on a Buzzfeed post and it seemed harmless enough.  I mean, "Primrose" is a normal-sounding name vs Voldemort LOL.  But it still took me 4-5 days to go through with it.  Heh.  I don't get Starbucks everyday and hell, making a fool out of myself is not a motivation to get one.


But I did it.  Sans the "I volunteer" part.  My barista did it for me.

Barista: What can I get you?
Me: Let's try the Caramel Flan latte.  Venti.  No whip.
Barista: All right. And your name please...
Me: Prim.  (I tried not to fidget.)
Barista: Maria?
Me: No, Prim.  Primrose.
Barista: Well then.  I volunteer to make your coffee for you.

Heh.  That didn't feel as stupid as I expected.  And oh, I had to pay cash so she won't know that my name is not really "Prim".  I wish it though... "Primrose" is a pretty name.

That was fun.  I might pull this off again - using Primrose this time - the next time I crave Starbucks.  But never again with this Caramel Flan flavor.  Something in it tastes like medicine.  I'll stick to my favorites.
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End of 2013 Survey

I could not find an "End of 2014" survey that is not about books.  So I might as well use the one I filled up last year.  It should be interesting to compare answers.

What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
Dyed my hair! And I'm keeping it red.  And KCON! 


Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I made good with one: to start formally learning a foreign language.  I did that for roughly six months then I plan to continue on my own.  I've acquired a couple of books.  Especially next year... we're going to South Korea!
 
Did anyone close to you give birth?
I won't say "close" but some school friends had babies this year.

Did anyone close to you die?
Again, not close but some people that I knew.

What countries did you visit?
None.  I will remedy that in 2014.

What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
A better-paying job.  Again.  But to be fair, my job in 2013 paid better than the one I had in 2012.  If it follows the pattern, I hope to get a better job in 2014 with all the benefits.

What date from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
December 2, 2013.  Not just because it's my brother's birthday.  It was the red carpet premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  I cannot gush about that event enough.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Hmm... being able to have short but straight conversations in Korean. :)  It was a once-a-week, two hours per day class in a span of six months but I did okay in that short amount of time.

What was your biggest failure?
I try not to think of those.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
It seems that my voice is not going with me in 2014.  At least, it's going to be late.

What was the best thing you bought?
 The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey 5-disc extended DVD set.  This brings me so much joy.

Whose behavior merited celebration?
Pope Francis, I guess.

Whose behavior made you appalled?
If I answer this truthfully, I'll get a lot of hate.  It's not a fandom thing... it's a real life thing for a change.  I guess I'll just keep that to myself.

Where did most of your money go?
DVDs.  Bath and Body Works.  Hot Topic.  Especially around the Black Friday weekend. And yeah, KCON.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug premiere.  I never saw this coming.  LOTR events were always either NYC or NZ.  Finally they have something for LA and I dropped everything just to be a part of it.  Twelve years is a long time to wait.  No more.

What song will always remind you of 2013?
2013 is more about movies for me.  I listened to the same bunch of songs and even the 2013 releases didn't stand out to me that much.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) Happier or sadder? Happier.
b) Thinner or fatter? About the same.
c) Richer or poorer? Richer.

What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I wrote more.  Even fan fiction.  Especially fan fiction. ;-)  And crochet.  My stash of yarn is growing faster than I can stitch.  The season for crocheted goods isn't that long.  And oh yeah, watch more movies.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
As always, spend.  But no regrets!
crocheted good season is not very long. 

How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent it up at the Hollywood sign!

What was your favorite TV program?
Storage Wars.  I'm not even kidding. XD  I could watch HOURS of this show.  The original one, not the Texas spinoff.
 
Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I actually scratched a name or two off that list this year.  Improvement!

What was the best book you read?
Enders Game by Orson Scott Card.  And I have to say, The Maze Runner by James Dashner.  Serena by Ron Rash is a contender but I didn't breeze through that as easily as the other two.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
I'm still very much in my K-pop bubble but I'm slowly coming back to indie, folk-y music, thanks to Spotify.  Sophie Madeleine is one of those finds. 

What did you want and get?
An Amazon Kindle Fire HD!  Don't get me wrong, I love real books and my nook isn't bad.  But I really wanted a Kindle for the longest time.  I have Kindle apps on my phone and iPad but being the dedicated tech person that I am, I needed a separate Kindle.  And I fulfilled last year's answer to the next question, a new MacBook Pro!

What did you want and not get?
A new iPod.  Still debating whether to get the Touch with the camera on the back or the Classic.  Leaning more towards the Touch though.  It's an extra camera for events and whatnot.

What was your favourite film of this year?
I have a list.  In no particular order:
  • The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
  • Pacific Rim
  • Catching Fire
  •  Thor: The Dark World
  • Gravity
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 25 and I was at work. I planned to go to NYC and watch Orlando Bloom in Romeo and Juliet but no dice.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
Sweaters and boots.  I finally got one of those Converse boots.  And some very cute white Doc Marten-looking pair from Forever 21.

What kept you sane?
Fandom.  Lately, I cannot stop talking about either The Hunger Games and/or The Hobbit/LOTR.  And good books.  I've been using the hell out of my Kindle Fire HD since I got it and I'm lucky that my picks have been good ones.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Josh Hutcherson.  Shoot me.  He's younger than me but hot DAMN, when he's in Peeta mode.... he's hot as hell.  He's cute as himself too but add my automatic sympathy for Peeta, I can't handle it.  And yes, I have a pillowcase with his face on it.  Two of them.

What political issue stirred you the most?
That Napoles debacle in the Philippines.  Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago PWNED!

Who did you miss?
My dad.  And my brother.  It's times like this when I need someone to geek out with.

Who was the best new person you met?
Our red carpet premiere group is growing.  :)

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013:
Just have fun.  And acknowledge the signs.  -- ditto!

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
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10 Books that Have Stayed With You

This is a Facebook tag, originally.  Someone tagged me on there but I'd rather reply on my blog instead.  I do post the link to the post on FB anyway.

The tag rules go like this:
 In your status line list 10 books that have stayed with you. Don’t take more than a few minutes. Don’t think too hard. They don’t have to be great works, or even your favorites. Just the ones that have touched you. Tag 10 friends including me so I’ll see your list.
I can easily dump my all-time favorites on to this list but if you've been around me for a while, you're probably sick of hearing Jane Eyre, One Bullet Away/Generation Kill, and The Hobbit/LOTR all the freakin' time.  While their influence will stay with me forever, here are ten other books that have left an impression on me.  So much that I re-read passages or the whole thing from time to time.  For some, I even dream about them.  There are more than ten, I'm pretty sure, but off the top of my head, here's the list... and I'll try not to spoil y'all:

1. The Stand / Stephen King

The Complete and Uncut version, fyi.  Okay, I admit, I picked up this book because of Gary Sinise.  I enjoyed the mini-series and I'm a Gary Sinise fan.  And a Stephen King fan too.  One day, I was checking out the used book stores at my university and saw the TV tie-in cover.  I figured that was my excuse to finally reading this.

I ended up loving it more than the mini-series.  Duh.  It wasn't your usual Stephen King horror.  At least, to me.  It was more of an adventure.  Flagg reminded me of The Walking Dead's Governor.  I've only read it once because it is a brick of a book.  But I might crack it open and read a random chapter. 

2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban / JK Rowling
I remember picking up this book and I think I finished it in no time.  Or it felt like it was no time. This is my favorite HP book BUT it is my least liked HP film.  They completely ignored the Quidditch in the book and that made half the fun.  Yes, I'm Oliver Wood-biased but after Azkaban, there's no thrilling Quidditch scenes left; World Cup is not counted because none of our Hogwarts students actually played in those games.  This was the point where HP stopped being a strictly children's book to me.  And out of the 7 books, this is the one that I've re-read the most... and my book shows the wear and tear.

3. Catching Fire / Suzanne Collins
I remember the moment when I realized what the 75th Quarter Quell arena was... I literally applauded.  No joke.  From the get go, this book captured me and never let go until I finished it.  The twists and turns completely blindsided me.  I thought The Hunger Games was good.  But Catching Fire was GREAT.  Idk what happened with Mockingjay but so far, I liked the movies more than the books (le gasp!) so I have high hopes for the Mockingjay movies.

Katniss' voice in Catching Fire was perfect.  It was like I could hear her - not JLaw - in my head.  She grew so much from the last book and you felt it.  And that book cemented my Team Peeta badge on my chest.  I liked all the characters.  And I think that affected how I read the 3rd book.  I became so attached to them and when some of them were off'd in Mockingjay said so so... ~simply... I wasn't happy.  I wish the 3rd book was written/done better because Catching Fire was so awesome.

 4. Ender's Game / Orson Scott Card
I read this again not too long ago and I don't remember it being THAT GOOD.  I mean, "holy shit, that was good!"  The reveal in the end is done so subtly that I had to re-read that page to make sure if I read it right. It was pretty straight forward and if you're merely skimming the pages, you'll definitely miss it.

 5. Nancy Drew Mysteries: The Secret of Mirror Bay / Carolyn Keene

How much do I love this book?  I dreamed about it.  Not once, not twice... three times.  The same dream every time.  Especially the part where Nancy is spying on some people lowering a crate into a body of water. It's been years since I read this book but I will never forget that dream.  And it wasn't because it was the cover art.  No, I vividly recall it.  It was like I'm Nancy and... hell, I could even hear the water moving as the package was lowered into the bay or whatever.

The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories started it all for me.  My mom read it when she was a kid and she introduced it to me when I was a kid.  I started with Sign of the Twisted Candles then slowly built my collection.  Today, I see them at used book stores and I'm always tempted to pick everything up, to complete the "original" 56 volumes.  Who knows.  Maybe one day, I might just do that.

6. The Pillars of the Earth / Ken Follett
Here's another book with a screen adaptation.  Eddie Redmayne was introduced to me via the amazing mini-series.  Like with The Stand, it was after watching the show that I decided to pick this brick of a book up.  It took me a month to get through it but I did enjoy it a LOT.  I love Ken Follett's mastery of words and the way it seemed Medieval.  The voices of the characters were clear and distinct.  It was like a simpler A Song of Ice and Fire... it was pretty epic but easier to follow.

It is definitely one of my favorites now.  Book and mini-series.  It's funny too because... President Snow is the father of Agent Peggy Carter and Finnick Odair.  The actor playing Remigius was also in Captain America with Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter).  Six Degrees... is one of my favorite games and I can pretty much connect anyone to Orlando Bloom.  Heh.

7. The Kite Runner / Khaled Hosseini
This is one sad story.  A sad... SAD story.  I don't think there was ever a happy thought in this book.  It was hardship after hardship and the ending was satisfying but not very "happy".  This book has been under my radar for years but it was only this year that I finally read it.  I waited to get a physical copy.  Reading something this intense on an ebook just didn't feel right.  I know, I'm weird.

In my used bookstore/thrift store hauls, I also picked up the follow up, A Thousand Splendid Suns.  A woman on the train saw me reading The Kite Runner and "couldn't help but interrupt but you have to read the author's next book".  I haven't yet but I definitely will.

8. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children / Ransom Riggs
This has one of the most creative concepts ever.  It is hard to believe that this was borne out of a found collection of photos.  I posted a full review when I read it the first time on my nook.  Then I eventually was sent free copies by the author and publisher.  (Yes, I have two paperback copies lol.)  Not too long ago, they came out with a graphic novel which I also picked up.


I even had my brother and mom read this and they both loved it also.  I cannot wait for the sequel coming out next month.  Hopefully, I'll get a free copy of that too! ;-)

9. Dominance / Will Lavender
In the early days of my fledgling "career" as a book blogger, this was one of the first free books that I received.  It was a whole book.  Free.  Can you imagine how excited I was?  I still get excited over free stuff, especially books.

Once in a while, you'll come across those stories that seem like your typical thriller, mysteries, and whatnot.  Until you get to the last chapter or last couple of pages.  For this book, it was the final sentence.  I think even my mom will tell you that this book definitely sticks to her mind. 

This is a lesser known book from all that I will mention but I urge you to pick this up when you see it.  Read it and see what I mean.

10. Belinda / Anne Rampling
This list is not complete without an erotica entry.  Admit it, you've read erotica.  And you might not admit that you liked it.  Well, I am fessing up.  I love reading erotic fiction.  Even some that are as badly written as Fifty Shades of Grey.  This one is probably my favorite.

Anne Rampling is one of Anne Rice's pseudonyms when writing erotica.  The other one is AN Roquelaure which she used to write the Sleeping Beauty trilogy.  If you like Fifty Shades, read that.  If you like Lolita, read this.  It's almost a mirror to Nabokov's novel only hotter and guiltier and aaah... it's like a dirty little secret that you would hide even from yourself!  I admit, I read a random passage here and there when I'm bored lol.  Any e-reader that I own has a copy of this novel in it.

I'll try to think of ten more when I need blog filler inspiration strikes.
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