Mockingjay Part One

Katniss destroyed the 75th Hunger Games arena and was instantly rescued by District 13. Leaving Peeta who eventually got captured by The Capitol--wait, de javu, de javu... Think I've done this before... Oh ya! I did, but for the book. But I think it's the same so, I might wanna skip it.

So...

What did I feel right after? Actually, not "right after". More like, "during". And the answer to that is, I cried. During the movie, yes. Well I knew the story pretty well. As I re-read the book several weeks before the movie was released. I cried because I got carried away. Katniss' rebellion, I never thought it was that touching, before I saw J.Law on screen. She played the role beyond perfection. Her gesture, her face, her trembling body... I never completely agree that she suits well with Katniss Everdeen, before this movie. Then we have Alma Coin. Oh President Coin. I was more than grateful when they picked Julianne Moore for the role. Well I didn't expect her to play really well as what I inferred from the book, Coin is a cold-hearted bastard I couldn't even guessed how she actually is in real life. But Moore's versatility was really relieving to me and I was right! She played damn good.

And the whole movie was, I don't know, maybe I'm a little biased because I am a fan of the trilogy but, it was that mesmerizing. The terror, the pressure, it was just exactly what I felt when I read the book. Even more. Although some scenes from the book were removed but, with that kind of output, I don't even care if they kicked Gale out of the script.

But what trembled me the most, was something off the storyline. It's Philip Seymour Hoffman. Well to be honest I have no idea who he was until he appeared as Plutarch in Catching Fire. But then, maybe because I love character Plutarch itself, I felt like I really love this guy. Philip Seymour Hoffman. And seeing him all healthy, bright with positive smile all along the movie, it just broke my heart.

Well, well. Look at this.

In the world of Neverland blog I'm running, movie review should only consists one prologue paragprah in English, one review paragraph in Indonesian, and if necessary, a glimpse of closing statement in English. But look what I did today.

It just shows how much I love...

Katniss? J. Law? Plutarch? Philip?

No. Suzanne Collins

image source: here

What Victors Deserve

When I'm addicted to something, sometimes I do useless stuff in order to maximize my personal experience and interest towards that something. Let's say, The Hunger Games for example.

I finished reading all the three books. Long ago. I kept waiting the casts updates for their upcoming movies. I kept clicking the links appeared in The Hunger Games wiki. I bought the guide book of The Hunger Games. I even fantasized of being one of the contestants and--whoa okay I'm telling you too much. Let's get back to the book thingy.

Okay so I really have that guide book. It's pretty interesting tho, to know some new facts I never discovered before. While some others are stuff I already knew about The Hunger Games. But that was fine because mostly, my main objective was to relive the euphoria of reading the trilogy.

After all I enjoyed reading it.

Although, got to admit there's something missing. Something a Hunger Games fan would really love to know from a source, which entitling itself as a "guide book". Yes, young men and women, it's

The List of The Hunger Games Victors

Caroline Carpenter, the author, must've forgotten about that crucial thing. Or, she didn't have a list of the exact victors. Well Suzanne Collins may not have one either but I'm pretty sure she has at least one, inside her mind, about the complete list of the victors. Which she didn't plan to share because she wanted to let her fans speculating as what I'm doing now!

So fellow tributes, I'm pretty sure you now know what this post is all about. Yes! I'm going to spill you the list of complete Hunger Games victors, like I know if it's true or not! Well at least, I can say that this is actually an open discussion so if someone disagrees, there's always been that comment section below.

Shall we begin?

Okay so, let's do some basic math first. Up to the very end of the trilogy, we knew that there were 75 Hunger Games held, resulting the number of 75 winners, in which the 74th gave two yet 75th gave none. As much as 24 victors were called in again to contribute the Quarter Quell, leaving the other 51 victors unknown. Well, since you must've known Haymitch Abernathy, Annie Cresta and Lyme, I gotta say that there are actually 48 victors left unknown, 16 of which had died of natural courses.

Wow that's one complicated paragraph I did eh? So let's recap. We now have 27 known victors and 48 unknown ones. Now, how do we know which district these 48 victors were from? Well I have no idea myself either, but let's just assume! We can't ever find out the exact answer anyway, unless if out of nowhere Ms Collins gives a visit to this humble blog and read this post, discovering fake facts about the victors and contacting me to give the original list--okay now Vick, skip the meaningless imagination and let's just assume!

OKAY! We all know that district 12 only has 3 victors of all time, so let's cross 12 off the list of those 48 unknown victors' origins. And we all know that most games were won by the Career Pack, so let's give the major portion of spots to district 1, 2 and 4. District 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are considered as mid-class districts, so let's give each of them 2 victor spots. While the remaining ones, 10 and 11, each will have one spot.

Damn it's getting more confusing eh? Haha so let's calculate. Unknown victors from district 1 were 10, 2 were 14, 4 were 10, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 each has two so the total will be 12, while 10 and 11 combined is 2. 10 plus 14 plus 10 plus 12 plus 2 will be? 48. Perfect.

Now let's just randomly put the numbers on the list, and there you go!

Wow I'm actually doing this. I been wondering about the past victors, the past games and stuff, and I never thought I'd be the one telling myself about the info I been looking for. Lol well, Ms Collins, if you happen to see this list, please forgive my smart-ass self and just let me play with my fantasy. I can't ever find such list so there's no harm in making it myself yes?

Now I'm feeling like a geek.
But well yea I don't care that much.
I'm always hungry for The Hunger Games.
And the past victors are hungry to be memorized,

http://thehungergames.wikia.com/wiki/Interviews

May the title be ever in your favor

Catching Fire (Again)

After winning the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Ever--okay you know what, I've done this before. Please just read here if you want, it's not what I'm eager to talk about.

So...

What did I feel right after? Superior. Gue udah baca bukunya duluan kan, bahkan sampe buku ketiganya pun udah ludes. Jadi pas keluar dari bioskop, yang gue lakukan adalah melangkah angkuh dengan dagu yang naik. Sumpah ya, orang orang keluar studio pada diem kayak rombongan pelayat, trus berdiri gerombol sambil nanya nanya "itu tadi kok gitu sih?" ada juga yang komen "ah gue paling gasuka ending kayak gitu..." sementara gue udah tau kalo nanti President Snow bakal... Oke gue bisa mati dipanah kalo spoiler disini. Tapi gimanapun juga ya namanya udah ngefans, walopun sepanjang nonton gue selalu mendikte di dalam hati apa yang selanjutnya terjadi, gue tetep ngerasa terhibur. Hats off to the actors, bow to the director and his crew, but all credit goes to Suzanne Collins of course.

Tapi yang paling oke adalah deg degannya sih. Ngena parah, mulai dari sebelum, selama, sampe sesudah filmnya selesai. Gatau ya deg degan karena filmnya, plotnya, sinematografi, musik atau emang murni deg degan karena akhirnya setelah penantian satu setengah taun gue bisa nonton ini film juga -kayaknya sih deg degan karena alesan terakhir.

Dan sekarang mesti nunggu setaun lagi buat nonton Mockingjay. Okay that's fine. Setaun lagi gue udah kerja. Gatau sih yang pasti kehidupan gue baru karena bukan lagi mahasiswa.

Yaa I don't know. Anything's possible.

Like maybe, hopefully... I get to watch the movie

Straight down in Los Angeles?

Image Source: here

Highlight One: Lifestyle

When you visit some different places, there's this culture gap.

Like language, currency, sides of driving and the reversed driver seat.

Also the lifestyle.

Even two cities from the same state,

Only 5 hours away from one another like New York and DC,

Share a quiet different lifestyle.

The City That Never Sleeps

The quote don't lie. New York never sleeps. Everyone's everywhere, everytime. The subway's 24/7, the Apple Store's 24/7, some other shops are 24/7, you won't ever feel so lonely walking down the streets and the avenues even by midnights. And speaking about roads, I couldn't stop praising how buildings are well structured in there.

Streets are named consecutively, after numbers. You can always easily measure the distance and how many blocks you should walk through, because you clearly know where to go. Oh the organized city, it's just a paradise for OCD weirdos like me. And! The simplicity can also be felt when it comes to cab riding. Damn it's so easy to navigate the driver and you won't, ever, get, lost.

And cabs. You don't always use cabs, unless you're in such terrible hurry. The main transportation is yet to be mentioned. It's the Metro. I'm sure the creator of NY subway will end up in heaven. Because it gives us effectiveness. Stations are everywhere, covering almost every corner of lower Manhattan, in which metropolitan life mostly runs. And it integrates with buses. You seriously don't have to own a car because pedestrians are treated like a king.

Yes, we're kings. The sidewalks are wide open, shaded under trees, guarded by curbside traffic lights, human and dog friendly anyway. And the walkers are sophisticated, well dressed and beautiful. Cute girls and good guys are wandering around with you. Street performers are in touch as well! It's like an entertainment a king would always ask -I even ran into Shakira's concert in one of those parks, what better thing could I ask??

And kings live in a castle, right? You know what castle is to me? Yes, an apartment. I visited like three different apartment my friends have and, oh Lord, I really want to have one like, REALLY DO. I'm sorry Dad I keep bringing this up but I have to live in an apartment at least once in my lifetime. Well if you don't want me to have one back home, how if I have one in NY? It's more like a hotel with lobbies and receptionists, and bigger spaces too you would extremely like it!

So.

In Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens or even Bronx,

Not just in Manhattan, I tell you, good stuff are on you.

View from Brooklyn Bridge and see how buildings rule the city.

The City That Sleeps, In Peace

When big, hectic city starts to piss you off, DC's the one to go. I don't know, it possesses this serenity with its simple brick-touched buildings, no modern skyscrapers in sight and plus, the windy and wet atmosphere. And I felt like the city's sacred. Oh. I know, maybe because all the historical tracks, monuments and memorials are there. Let's now talk about the historical sites.

To be honest, I never liked places of histories. I mean, why should I bother learning about other people's history? I'm not even familiar with mine. But things are different when it comes to big, gigantic buildings. And those memorials in DC are colossal, damn I liked it! Especially the Lincoln ones. Looks exactly like one of those Grecian temples I'm dying to pay a visit.

But my hat's off to Georgetown. You can actually feel the difference between NY and DC, when you walk around that area. I don't really have to tell you about how tranquil it is, it's like a village of old people, except the citizens are actually young! You remember my trip to Malaysia? Well the sensation's just the same when I compare KL with Penang -and the name of the area was George Town too, anyway.

It's not just in DC. A local friend invited me over his house in Virginia -so technically, I visited three different states in the US yeay!- and it has the same scene. Quiet, breezy on the outside and warm inside. Plus, his house was so cozy. American-wise cozy. Just matched too well with the atmosphere.

Buildings in Georgetown. See the one on the right? That might be the tallest there.

Seeing DC and NY, all I ever thought about was The Hunger Games.

Yea it's like The Capitol and District One, as I picture them in my mind.

You know DC's the central of American governmental stuff. The citizens live in welfare and peace, no pressure and fear, also secured because they're just on the same area where the government residents are. And their houses are placed so close one another. That's just what I imagined Capitol is.

And NY, well you can always find beautiful guys and girls in New York, just the same as in District One. New Yorkers live in luxury, just like District One citizens who produces luxury items. And they seem like enjoying their life, living so near to Capitol. That scene played when I see New Yorkers always seen to be in a rush, joyfully going to work or stuff, while by the end of the day their hard work will end up in the government's desk.

But the major similarity between DC-Capitol and NY-District One came when I saw their subway stations. DC's got the best. Futuristic architecture, clean, calm and empty, sophisticated as Capitol will always be. While the ones in NY, you know how matter fancy District One is, after all they are still a part of those districts. They're still one level beneath somehow, and you can see it when waiting on their dirty, moist, crowded and full-of-rats subway stations.

The left one is stations in Capitol, the right one belongs to District One.

Look how long this post has become, ladies and gentlemen.

I told you, I can't decide what to tell and what not to tell.

But to sum it all up, there's this one big thing I loved about US.

And once again, like what I always liked on my previous trips, is

The Local Side:
The places to visit, the people, the way they live.

There's no other way to place your trip at its best,

Unless you also feel how it is like to live the locals' life.

Or maybe I become a local, someday?

Mockingjay

Instead of cooling down the fire, Katniss Everdeen ignited even bigger flame towards Panem. Capitol under President Snow destroyed Katniss' home District 12, and she was brought by the opposed to the abandoned-but-independent District 13 to prepare some rebellion acts. They were taking Capitol down, by making her as the symbol. The Mockingjay.

Oh, this gon' take a long time. So...

What did I feel right after? Heartbroken. Inti dari buku ini adalah perlawanan, ngerebut kemerdekaan dari kebengisan Capitol. Dan tau kan apa yang terjadi kalo orang berusaha ngerebut kebebasan? Perang. Dan tau kan apa yang terjadi di dalam perang? Orang orang tewas. Sumpah ya, gue udah susah payah ngejalin hubungan delusional sama tokoh tokoh di buku ini dan... Ya mati aja gitu. Capek hati, capek ketakutan, bahkan gue secara harfiah deg degan beneran pas lagi adegan selokan -ini personal highlight of the novel versi gue, menurut gue endingnya justru kurang nampol. Gue capek sebenernya mau bilang ini tapi serius deh Suzie,

"I HEART/HATE YOU!"

Oh wait, I'm not finished.

One thing that disappointed me was, the death of Boggs and Finnick that felt like, easily forgotten. I mean, I know, Katniss was in a serious trouble and needed to rush out but... At least tell us more about how devastated she was about their deaths because... She knew them well. Even better and longer than she knew Rue. She sang for Rue, why couldn't she mourn even just a paragraph for her favorite commander, and her flirty-and-funny-partner-in-surviving-the-cruelty-of-Capitol??

But then again, it was okay.

Whatever you write, Ms Collins,

I adore it anyway :)

Image source: here

P.S. : So today is Indonesia's 68th independence day. And Indonesia's still broken, on major aspects. Well let's just learn from Panem, government, that they needed like 75 years before people started rebelling. So you fat bastards still have like, 7 years left to work things out. Or else, see what we can do :)

Anyhow, Dirgahayu Indonesia!

Good Deeds Turn Bad

No one ever doubt the usefulness of Wikipedia.

With Google by its side, they make a very helpful couple.

Just mention what you want to find, and Wiki will help you explain.

But -there's a but in every post.

Sometimes kind acts lead you to disappointment,

When you treat it wrong.

Long ago, I was so into Masterchef Australia. I stay tuned in each and every single episodes, said goodbye to the leaving contestants, one by one until it was down to the last two contestants -I even remember their names, it was Adam and Callum.  I never knew that the actual show had long finished before Star World aired it in Asia. So it was all, encore.

Just several days before the season finale, like an innocent little pig I browsed Wikipedia to cherish the previous moment and mourn the eliminated contestants. When on the entry, I over-read the section when they mentioned Adam as the winner. Feeling down? Yeah I was broken, but not as broke as what happened yesterday.

Once again, it's about The Hunger Games. Okay I'm sorry I can't help but keep talking about it. It's always been my nature to compulsively seek for information, articles, posters, videos, fanarts, and all maniac stuff about one thing, once I'm on a fiery love with that thing.

And yesterday was the day I regretted how corny my obsession is.

So I browsed Wiki and read the article about districts in Panem. What they are specialized about, and who the tributes they have. District one, with tributes of Marvel, Glimmer, Gloss, Cashmere, district two with Cato, Clove, Brutus, Enobaria, three with Beetee, Wiress, four, Finnick--okay. I stopped at Finnick Odair.

And why did I stop? Because I over-read that in Mockingjay, the third book of the trilogy, the book I am now halfway reading, Finnick died. I was like, Oh my God WHY DID I READ THAT?? Any chance that I didn't read that or, Wiki lies to me?? And yeah, there went my regrets.

Portrait of Finnick Odair was obtained from here.

It's like, I'm just several pages away from finding out that Finnick will die, 

And I'll be literally freaking out like he's actually one of my relatives,

And I'm gonna say something like

"Damn Suzanne Collins, you rock my ass!"

But now, I won't feel the desired euphoria.

Wikipedia successfully, proudly stole it for me.

Well umm, my impatience let Wiki stole it from me.

There, there...

Now let me summarize you the moral of the story:

Don't take good deeds for granted

On a Blaze

Some people might knew that I like Hunger Games. Not the whole trilogy tho, since I haven't read the third book -but I'm a hundred percent sure anyway, that I'll love the whole trilogy, but THE Hunger Games itself.

You know, 24 tributes from 12 districts with different characteristics and skills, placed together in one extreme arena to kill one another and be the only winner.

On the second book, Catching Fire, the game is still on. It's much much more interesting and challenging than the previous year because, because, argh can I spoil it here? Sure why not? Because the tributes are the living winners from the previous Hunger Games.

Can you imagine it? 24 victors, 24 professional assassins, now face to face each other to win their second title. Their skills are explored by the others already, that makes it hard. But the worst part is, they've known each others for years because they share one mutual status: being a winner.

Gloss and Cashmere, brother and sister from District 1,
winner of two Hunger Games in a row.

Brutus and Enobaria, tributes of District 2. Among any other contestants who were mostly ruined
by joining the game for the second time, these two seemed to be fully ready and excited.

Beetee, wasn't powerful, but smart enough to create electric trap and won his Hunger Games.
Wiress, the female tribute, was brilliant/geeky enough to be able to win her game.

Finnick won his Hunger Games because of his ability to swim and use trident. Sharing same skills,
Mags won the earlier generation of Hunger Games and later on became Finnick's mentor.

Peeta the male protagonist from District 12 who y'all probably know, won the 74th Hunger Games.
Johanna from District 7 won her Hunger Games by pretending to be a spineless little girl.

The heroine, Katniss Everdeen.

This is crazy. Suzanne Collins is crazy. I read the book once, a year ago. I got psyched and all excited like a fool reading that, and four days ago, I re-read the book and man! I still feel the same exact pressure I felt from the first experience!

I know I once wrote a post about the book review

And this one, yaa, more or less contains similar thoughts.

But I don't care.

This means that now I adore Ms Collins twice than before! And perhaps, after I finish reading the third book, I'll love her thrice than before! I can't believe myself I didn't write a bigger euphoria after my first reading. This book is too damn amazing she should be awarded as Goddess of Tragedy!

Man it drives me crazy. It was because the movie trailer I watched last week, that ignited me to re-read Catching Fire and re-live everything all, over, again.

Damn I can't wait for the movie.

I'm flaming in some kind of an impatience.

I'm hungry, geeky hungry

Image source: Google

I can't remember which site, I was too excited.

The point is, those pictures aren't all mine.

Catching Fire

Katniss survived The 74th Hunger Games. Her victory ignited the rebellion of whole Panem. President Snow saw this as a threat. Along the Victory Tour, he forced Katniss to settle down all the people of twelve districts not to act against Capitol. Or else, she placed herself in danger, along with her loved ones. Meanwhile, the 75th Hunger Games was going to be held. This third quarter is a special event, with some new rules. Unfair rules. That had Katniss back to the arena.

What did I feel right after? Awalnya sih biasa aja. Penasaran, emang. Tapi selama tur kemenangan itu isinya gak begitu ngagetin. Nah pas udah masuk Hunger Games ke-75, baru deh tuh mulai seru. Apalagi karena peraturan Quell (istilah buat Hunger Games kelipatan 25) yang dibacain Presiden Snow itu sangat amat mencengangkan dan gue sendiri sampe lompat lompat gak percaya abis ngebacanya. Haha I won't tell what the rules are, cause it will be an annoying spoiler then. Nah dari situ sampe abis bener bener gak ada obat serunya.

"Ms Collins, I LOVE YOU!"

Image source: here

The Hunger Games

Katniss Everdeen. A tough lass. A cunning hunter. A backbone to her family. Lived in District 12 of Panem nation where there was this big tournament called "The Hunger Games" held annually in the center city of Capitol. Each of 12 districts should send a boy and a girl to join the game, killing each other in an extreme arena and be the only winner. Peeta Mellark was the 'lucky' boy from District 12. While the chosen girl was Primrose Everdeen, Katniss' spineless little sister. She wouldn't ever let her little sister die in the game. So she replaced her.

What did I feel right after? Stunned. Gue gak nyangka ada buku seseru ini. Mungkin ini semacem gabungan Tekken sama Final Destination kali ya, dimana pesertanya ikut turnamen tapi pake cara apapun biar lawannya mati (tombak, panah, semua yang berbau thriller muncul disini). DAN GUE SUKA YANG KAYAK BEGINI! Haha lebay yak. Tapi beneran deh. Cerita yang konsepnya survivor semacem ini, yang tadinya tokohnya ada banyak, trus nyusut nyusut sampe tinggal beberapa orang doang, ini favorit gue. Masalah alur? Action? Gaya bahasa? Pembawaan? Oke banget pokoknya, berasa nonton film. Satu sih yang bikin gue geli. Love story nya haha. Soalnya gue ngerasa si Peeta Mellark ini agak mirip seseorang yang cukup deket sama gue. Jadinya selama gue baca, gue ngebayangin doi dan pas lagi adegan cinta cintaan gitu gue jadi geli sendiri. Nah masalahnya gue gak tau mirip siapa. Ada yang merasa mirip?

P.S. : Film nya udah mau rilis tanggal 23 Maret nanti aaaaa pasti keren deh...

Image source: here