“And may the odds be EVER in your favour”

I’d think a proper hunger games blog is due, now that I’ve read the trilogy in a week over Easter and been to see the film… twice. So here are my thoughts & some favourite youtube clips based on the hunger games.

THE CAPITOL

So the capitol seem like a twisted people. To punish the districts for the past uprising, each year they make two children from each district fight to the death in an arena. The Capitol make the hunger games a big event and force the 12 districts to celebrate it and enjoy watching it. Twisted? Probably, but dear blog reader, you are probably just as bad as the capitol if you’ve seen the film. Most people who have seen the film knew what it was about before watching it, yet chose to watch it anyway. Heck, I’ve seen it twice. We become like the capitol because we enjoy the entertainment, even if it is watching 12-18 year olds kill each other in the arena.

BEANIE BABY HUNGER GAMES

So secondly, I wanted to share this video. It’s made using beanie baby toys and is probably more accurate to the book than the film itself. It summarises the hunger games in 11minutes. Worth the watch!

THE BOOK V FILM BATTLE

So there’s always a debate about whether the film is better than the book or not. I think it’s a stupid debate. It shouldn’t be either/or, because if you read the book, the storyline isn’t new when watching the film: you can’t get the full ‘wow’ film experience. The same applies if you watch the film first, the book might not be as good afterwards because you know what happens from watching the film; there’s less suspense. I read the books first, and thought the film did a good job in complementing the books.

The film did a great job is portraying the tracker jackers, Rue’s death and the difference between the capitol and the districts. I think reading the books first made the film more dramatic, because every time a character is introduced, you already know what is going to happen to them. For example, characters you have been made to like in this first film do indeed die in the second and third books. Sad times.

I know a lot of people moan about film adaptations because they don’t always stick to the plot, but the Hunger Games did a decent job. Lots of smaller storylines were left out, but that had to be done, otherwise the film would’ve been an extra hour long. For example, the dog creatures at the end are called mutts/mutations in the books, and they have the eyes of the tributes that have died in the arena. There’s a great storyline about Avoxes, people who have disobeyed the capitol and had their tongues cut out, but you have to read the book to learn more about that. Haymitch is even more of a drunk in the books; he falls off the stage at the district 12 reaping.

If you like gore then the book is probably better because the film has been cleaned up to make it suitable for a 12A rating. E.g. Peeta gets blood poisoning and the wound on Katniss’s head is meant to be really really bad. But hey, the lack of blood isn’t necessary for the film to be good.

FUTURE FILMS

There are going to be more films!! Yaaay! I’m rather excited as you can tell. The second and third books introduce more intriguing characters and kill off many people too. And the arena in the second book… PHWOARRR! Can’t wait to see that on the cinema screen!

In the second book, we find out how Haymitch won the 50th hunger games. Some geniuses on youtube have made an awesome 12 minute video to show his hunger games. It’s quite gory, but makes me uber excited for the next film. I don’t know how much the next film will touch on Haymitch’s hunger games, but it’s safe to watch this clip if you haven’t read the books. It doesn’t contain spoilers of the main plot. Enjoy!

5 Things I dislike about the cinema

1. The adverts – They waste so much time, promoting things that I don’t care about. Most of them are about cars and I don’t even drive. They just go on and on and on. Who wants to watch half an hour of adverts before a 2 hour film?
2. The trailers. I like a good trailer; one that actually makes you want to see the film when it’s released. But cinemas show really long trailers. The films don’t look bad themselves but the trailer reveals so much of the plot that you don’t see the need of watching the full movie.
3. The smell of popcorn. I think it should be called poopcorn. It’s ucky!
4. Noisy people. Yea, you know. The ones that just talk all the way through. Sniffle at scenes that aren’t sad and laugh at scenes that aren’t funny. And it gets to a point where even their breathing annoys you. It’s so constant. Just in and out and in and out. Ok, so I may be over-exaggerating, but really!
5. The way everyone gets up and rushes out of the cinema the moment the credits start rolling. I like to sit back and enjoy the music while the credits roll.

Apart from that, I quite like the cinema. Especially when the speakers are so loud you can feel the explosiona and bass music through your seat.

“There once was a king who so burdened with grief, walked into death so that we could find peace”

I heard a song the other day called ‘Scars‘ by Jonny Diaz.  You need to hear it! but before I just post the song, I think you should just read the lyrics first. Strip away the melody and focus on the meaning of the song. Beautiful!

She holds for dear life to the end of the sleeves in her hands

Covering up lies that she wrote with a razor sharp pen

And the sting of the pain is no match for the pain of the loneliness she’s going through

We’ve all been there too.

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You can still see the mark on his hand where there once was a ring

He watched decades of history dissolve when she wanted to leave

And the hole that it left there inside of his chest is a canyon a thousand miles deep

We all know how that feels

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So praise God we don’t have to hide scars

They just strengthen our wounds and they soften our hearts

They remind us of where we have been, but not who we are

So praise God, praise God we don’t have to hide scars.

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There once was a king who so burdened with grief

Walked into death so that we could find peace

He rose up with scars on his hands and his feet

And by them we are healed, by them we are healed.

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So praise God we don’t have to hide scars

Yeah we know his are covering ours

If you want more information about the story behind this song, Jonny Diaz made a video about it which you can view HERE. We all have scars, some physical and some emotional, but the love of God covers them all.

“Photographs and memories, all that I have are these”

I like taking photo’s. They help me remember the nice places I’ve been and all the pretty things I’ve seen (that wasn’t intended to rhyme!). So I thought I’d share some of the photo’s that I’ve taken, my favourites. Let me know which ones you like best!

(1) Some of my church youth group on the beach at Llanmadoc, the Gower.

(2) Some snowy tree’s at Morriston Park, Swansea.

(3) The Millennium Stadium. Wales v Italy.

(4) Bracelet Bay, Swansea.

(5) A Swan at Roath Lake, Cardiff

(6) Fields along the Taff River.

(7) Graig Castle, Swansea.

(8) Sunset over the Millennium Stadium

(9) A random ladybird on a random log.

(10) One of the guys from church dune jumping. Starting a sand avalanche?

(11) Roath Lake Sunset

(12) John 3:16 written on Swansea beach.

 

(13) View from the top of Pen-y-Fan.

 (14) Millennium Stadium, taken from under a bridge in Bute Park.

(15) Worm’s Head, the Gower.

(16) Pretty sky taken from my doorstep, Swansea

‘Times’ by Tenth Avenue North

I’ve just had my ipod on shuffle and have been reminded of a few great songs that I haven’t listened to in a while. Ah yes, the power of shuffle! The song ‘Times’ by Tenth Avenue North came on and reminded me of just how awesome, caring and understanding God is. Here’s the song if you haven’t heard it:

The first part of the song tells a tale of someone feeling distant from God. Longing to be closer to God but feeling guilty for being so distant. Here are the lyrics:

I know I need You , I need to love You. I’d love to see You, but it’s been so long.

I long to feel You, I feel this need for You. I need to hear You, Is that so wrong?

Now You pull me near You. When we’re close I fear You.

Still I’m afraid to tell you all that I’ve done. 

Are You done forgiving? Or can You look past my pretending?

Lord I’m so tired of defending what I’ve become. What have I become?

The second part of the song is like the writer is imagining God’s response to these thoughts.  The writer says “I hear you say…” and then such as beautiful description of God’s love beings. Imagine it as a speech, a love letter from the emperor of the universe to YOU.

“My love is over. It’s underneath. It’s inside. It’s in between. The times that you doubt me, when you can’t feel. The times that you question ‘is this for real?’. The times you’re broken, the times that you mend, the times you hate me and the times that you bend. Well, my love is over. It’s underneath. It’s inside. It’s in between. The times that you’re healing and when your heart breaks. The times that you feel like you’ve fallen from grace. The times you’re hurting. The times that you heal. The times you go hungry and are tempted to steal. In times of confusion, in chaos and pain, I’m there in your sorrow, under the weight of your shame. I’m there through your heart-ache! I’m there in the storm! My love I will keep you by my power alone! I don’t care where you’ve fallen or where you have been, I’ll never forsake you. My love never ends. It never ends.”

I love it! It’s like a lyrical expansion of Romans 8 v 38-39 where it says “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

It’s a great reminder of how big God’s love really is. It’s like God is screaming “I’m here!!” Even in all our troubles, God is there and in control. His love is over all things, under all things, between all things and IN all things. ♪ It never ends ♪

The Hunger Games

Heyy, so I’ve spent the last few days reading the book ‘The Hunger Games’ before it’s released in cinemas this friday. The trilogy is written by Suzanne Collins and if you have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s the film trailer:

I love it! This is how I’d but ‘The Hunger Games’ trailer/promo into words: There are 12 districts, and each year one boy and one girl are chosen to compete in the Hunger Games as a government punishment against the districts. The chosen participants, aka tributes, are put in an arena of some sort and have to battle it out to death. The government try to make the games an annual celebration, and so every district watches the coverage on the television. The last surviving tribute wins, provinding their district with luxuries for the year – an important prize when some of the districts are very poor.

The story is based on Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark who are the chosen tributes from district 12. The story is about trust and betrayal, the strong and the weak, survival and death. It’s so so good!

And now it’s about to hit the cinema and I want it to be really really good. I hate it when good books are turned into bad films, or when the film does not stick to the written plot e.g. The Dawn Treader, Narnia. But there’s hope! I’ve heard that the film sticks to the book [yay!] and I think the chosen cast really suit the characters they’re playing. So I am uber exited to see this film in hopefully the next week. And I think you should see it too and let me know what you think.

Now excuse me, I have a new book to start reading haha. Hello ‘The Hunger Games - Catching Fire’, the second book in the trilogy. #bookgeek

Kony2012 – Possible Scam, Definite Issue

Over the past 48 hours, the video ‘Kony 2012′ has gone viral all over the world. The aim of the campaign is to shed light on child soldiers and to create awareness so that those in power see the need to stop Joseph Kony.

The problem with #Kony2012 is that the non profit organisation ‘Invisible Children’ appears to be taking money and using only one third of these funds to help the children. Websites such as THIS don’t help the situation. After doing some research, I am not too keen on the charity, but am still keen to support the issue!

I am all for creating awareness for child soldiers but now that people know who Kony is, I don’t think the awareness needs to be done through an organisation. Why buy posters off them when there is the option to print them yourself? Why buy a braclet with Kony2012 on it, when you can spread the message of child soldiers by word and mouth? You can write a letter to those in power instead of buying a t-shirt. How about more focus on the children rather than the charity!

From a Christian point of view, I don’t like the idea of making Kony out to be the worlds most evil man. The Bible tells us that we all fall short of Gods glory (Romans 3v23) and that in the eyes of a Holy God, we are all sinners. It’s hard to take in, but it doesn’t matter if we lie or murder, we all sin. So I don’t think we should be looking down on Joseph Kony and emphasising what a bad man he is, but rather we should be praying for him. God changed Saul from a Christian persecuter into a forgiven man (Acts 9). If God can forgive people like Saul/Paul, surely we should be praying that Joseph Kony will come to know Christ too?

I know people have strong opinions for and against this campaign, but its not like twilight with a Team Invisible Children versus Team Kony. It’s not one team or another. I encourage you to look at the evidence and form your own opinion. Don’t be caught up in the video without checking out the other information. What you do next is up to you.