The Hunger Games!!

So, to go ahead and start this out, I'm going to express my female side for a little bit.

I am totally Team Gale.  Don't get me wrong, I think Peeta is a great character and has some great qualities, I just perfer gale. 

Anyways, I read this series back in December and have sense convinced many friends to read it as well.  I started off kind of bored with it.  The plot reminded me a lot about the Romans and their staged fights, and quite frankly...I wasn't interested.

I struggled through the first TWO chapters of the first book, and then my opinion was changed. Changed so much that I read all three books in two days. 

For those that don't know, the premise of the book is that the world has essentially been destoryed. There is a capitol, and 12 districts.  There were 13, but during an uprise, the 13th district was destoryed as an example of what happens if you mess with the capitol. 

"The Hunger Games", where the book's title comes from, are yearly games that are held by the capitol.  Each district gives two tributes, one male and one female, and all 24 participants are placed in an arena.  Once in the arena, the participants fight to the death.  There is one objective....to live!

The winner of the games is given wealth, food, housing, etc in their district in an area called the Victor's Village.  The district that has the winning tribute is gifted extra food, and kind of showered with gifts from the capitol for a year. 

The book, isn't just about their struggle of surviving inside the arena, the book is also about the personal struggle of Katniss, the female tribute from district 12.  Some would say that the whole book is about her, and they may be right.  However, I think the book shines a spotlight on the way of life of people that are less fortunate, that are from a "poor district", or third world country.  Everyday people struggle to have food to eat, to keep warm, to have medical care, to simply live!  Collins does a great job of showing how the capitol/government in the book kept control over everything in their lives.

I think the moral of the series is to never give up, no matter what the odds are.  The impact that Katniss and Peeta had on all the districts, on people in the capitol, is inspring. The impact that one or two people can have, is truly motivating.  The book shows that one person can create a revolution, but could potentially also destory it.

The Hunger Games is a fantastic series, and is a cheap easy read.  I recommend it for a weekend getaway insde your own little apartment!

A Love Story

So, for class we had to write a short play.  The stipulations were that it had to be three to five minutes long, have no more than four characters, and the time spam could be no more than three hours.  So, I sat down and rattled my brain.  I googled ideas, read random websites, and ended  up going with a love story. 

So, here it is....don't laugh. 

By the way, this isn't based on me. Anthony was the easiest guys name to come up with, and Natasha was a name that I had just read somewhere.  Granted, Anthony may be "me", and have a lot of similarities to me, but in no way do I plan on proposing to a girl this way, nor do I plan on proposing anytime soon to anyone.

Everything between the parenthesis are stage directions.

A LOVE STORY

Anthony McKenzie

 

 

(It’s breakfast time inside Anthony’s apartment. It’s the morning after the celebration dinner for Anthony and Natasha’s three year anniversary. )

Anthony:

Good Morning!

(Carrying a tray of breakfast food and climbing into bed next to NATASHA)

Natasha:

mmm! That looks good!

(NATASHA reaches over and grabs a piece of toast off the tray and sits up)

Anthony:

Wonder if there is anything good on.

(ANTHONY reaches over and grabs the remote, turns on the TV, and starts flicking through the channels.)

Natasha:

Oh, I love this show! Leave it! Watching the guidos in Jersey look like idiots makes me feel better about my life!

Anthony:

How can you stand watching this? This is terrible! This show, and the other shows on MTV, portrays everything that is wrong in society today.

Natasha:

There is nothing wrong with this show. It is quality entertainment. Everyone watches it. You’re just so uptight you don’t know how to enjoy anything!

Anthony:

Entertainment?! We clearly have different definitions of that word. Tell me, how is showing everyone that you can be a drunken idiot not a bad thing? How is a show about sixteen year old mothers not bad for society? They put teenage mothers on a pedestal, and people wonder why there are fifteen year old girls walking about the mall pregnant. Entertainment? This is just reality TV ruining everything.


Natasha:

Why do you have to act so “righteous” and “better than thou”? Can’t you just relax and watch a TV show?

(Righteous and better than thou are said with NATASHA making quotation marks with her fingers.)

Anthony:

Wow, really? You’re gonna act like that. Figured someone who was in their mid-twenties wouldn’t act like a little kid.

Natasha:

I’m not acting like a kid. You’re just being irrational. Change the damn channel, I’d rather you watch sportscenter and be bored out of my mind than listen to you bitch about how TV impacts our society. You’re a fucking chemistry major, you hate psychology; since when do you care about human behaviors and interactions?

(ANTHONY begins changing the channel as NATASHA speaks)

Anthony:

I care since they started having an effect on my life. You know my sister; she idolized these girls and look what happened to her? Popped a kid out when she was 16. Tell me there isn’t something wrong with that?

Natasha:

So, you’re saying your sister got pregnant because of a TV show and not because she had sex?

(sarcastically)

Who knew TV could do that to a girl! I better stop watching.

Anthony:

Wow, whatever.

(ANTHONY gets out of bed)

I’m going to take a shower, enjoy your show.

(ANTHONY exits stage right, leaving NATASHA sitting on the bed)


Natasha (Aside):

(Reaches for remote, and starts flipping to channel)

He is such an asshole, but I can’t help but love him. I can’t believe it’s been three years. We have these little spats here and there, but other than these, he treats me like a princess.

(Looking up as if daydreaming and smiling)

I still remember him asking me out. He was nervous. I had smiled at him a lot, trying to let him know it was ok to come over and talk to me. I was at work, and he made it a point to come in every day to act like he was doing something, but I caught him staring at me all the time. Finally one day he needed “help” with something and came over and talked to me. He asked me out for coffee, and the rest was history. It was perfect, I knew this is what it was suppose to be like, I knew -----

Anthony (OFF):

Can you bring me a towel? Mine is gone.

Natasha:

(Yelling)

Sure, let me find one.

(NATASHA gets up and goes to the closet and grabs a towel, walks off stage, and returns a few seconds later without the towel)

That kid, he may be brilliant and he may end up making a lot of money one of these days… but he is the most forgetful person I’ve ever met.

(Lights fade, and scene opens back up. ANTHONY is dressed and groomed, out of the shower back in the bedroom. NATASHA is dressed and putting on makeup and doing her hair. ANTHONY is pacing the floor, back and forth. ANTHONY sits down behind NATASHA on the bed.)

Anthony:

(cautiously and soft spoken)

Babe…?

Natasha:

(NATASHA picks up perfume)

Yes?

Anthony:

I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to get on a rant and everything with you about pointless stuff. I love you, I really do. I’m not sure ---

(Natasha sprays her perfume as ANTHONY is talking causing him to go into a coughing fit from it getting in his mouth)

That perfume taste like ass!

Natasha:

(While Laughing)

You’d know what ass taste like, wouldn’t you?

(NATASHA jumps on ANTHONY, forcing him to lie backwards on the bed.)

Anthony:

My, my…aren’t you a feisty one now.

Natasha:

I love you too. You’re just stubborn and too argumentative 99% of the time.

(NATASHA leans down and kisses ANTHONY. ANTHONY rolls her off of him, sits up on the end of the bed and has a look of anxiety, anxiousness, and fear on his face.)

Anthony:

I have something to ask you. Please don’t laugh.

Natasha:

Why would I laugh?

Anthony:

Well, I don’t know. Sometimes you laugh when I’m trying to be serious, and it makes me nervous.

(ANTHONY gets up; NATASHA rolls over and props her head up on one hand)

I know you don’t mean too. But, I’m being serious, please don’t laugh.

Natasha:

I’ll try. I won’t promise though. But, really…I’ll try.

(ANTHONY reaches the dresser and opens the drawer and pulls out a ring box.)

Anthony:

(ANTHONY begins walking towards NATASHA)

So, earlier when I said I loved you. I meant it.

Natasha:

(Smiling)

I know you did. I’ve never thought otherwise when you’ve said it.

Anthony:

( ANTHONY leans down and pulls NATASHA up so she is sitting up on the end of the bed. He drops down to one knee, lowers his head and pulls the ring box out of his pocket. NATASHA gasps.)

I remember the first time I saw you. You were at work, I didn’t know your name or anything, but I knew I had to talk to you. It took me awhile, I won’t deny that, but I regretted everyday that I went without talking to you, because it was another day I didn’t know you. I remember all of those days. All those times you’d smile at me as I walked by. They made my day. I can’t promise you the world, but I can promise that I’ll do my best to make you smile every day.

(There is a pause. NATASHA has tears running down her face; ANTHONY is still on his knee.)

Natasha, will you make me the luckiest man in the world and spend the rest of your life with me?

(Lights go out. There is silence)

Natasha:

Yes!