• The Hunger Games–Some Folks still just don’t get it

    ByElizabeth
    4 Comments

    I generally don’t expect too much of the fashion industry. After all, these are the jackals who parade underfed, oddly made-up creatures wearing impractical, ridiculously expensive garments, while trying to convince the rest of us to buy this nonsense. While I sometimes enjoy the theatricality of fashion shows, I always hear in my ear the incomparable superhero costumer “E” from The Incredibles. “Bah! Supermodels! Nothing super about them! Whiny, selfish stick people with poofy lips! I used to design for gods!” So when I saw this monstrosity from the recent Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, I was struck not only by the idiotic design, but also by what it says about the complete lack of comprehension of what the story of The Hunger Games is really all about. Follow me after the jump for more. Read More “The Hunger Games–Some Folks still just don’t get it”

  • After Action Report on The Hunger Games at the Y

    ByElizabeth
    2 Comments

    On August 19, the Williams YMCA of Avery County (North Carolina) held its Hunger Games Event to show the movie, provide fun and educational opportunities and activities, and raise resources and awareness for very real needs right here in our area, since there is no need to go outside our own District to find folks who need food and opportunities for better health. Join me after the jump for details on our activities and programs, more pictures, and inspiration for those hoping to do their own Hunger Games Night!
    Read More “After Action Report on The Hunger Games at the Y”

  • Hunger Games DVD Release: What Are Your Plans?

    ByElizabeth
    6 Comments

    No, it’s not the Reaping, but there will be some pretty intense crowds this weekend as fans anticipate the release of the Hunger Games film adaptation on DVD. There are actually websites devoted to helping a person locate a release party, and Toys R Us is really pushing its line of HG-themed toys and merchandise at its 12:01 event on Saturday morning. If this hullaballoo makes you feel like a shallow Capitol citizen, some events are more educational and meaningful. At our local YMCA (western NC) our Hunger Games event will be on August 19. Read More “Hunger Games DVD Release: What Are Your Plans?”

  • Chronicle of Higher Education Finally Notices Harry Potter

    ByElizabeth
    11 Comments

    On August 1. The Chronicle of Higher Education published a brief piece about how effectively Rowling satirizes the (American) educational system, particularly in the person of Umbridge, the administrator we all fear and loathe, particularly if we work in an academic setting. Though Rob Jenkins’s article is about nine years late to the party, it does have some merit. In addition, many of the comments posted by readers are even more chortle-producing for their “I just woke up from a decade-long coma” tone (I am really amused by the attorney who wants to be the literature police. What is he even doing reading the Chronicle? Hopefully, he’s not planning to sue a teacher for giving a student the grade the student earned, but that’s another post). So check out the article, and then follow me after the jump for a few thoughts on yes, indeed, why Umbridge is, to some of us, much scarier than Voldy himself. Read More “Chronicle of Higher Education Finally Notices Harry Potter”

  • Breaking Down the New Breaking Dawn 2 Trailer

    ByElizabeth
    5 Comments

    Wednesday was the first day of summer (well, technically Thursday was the first full day), and, for those of us who have been to Forks as many times as the young lady in the hilarious Time Warner television commercial, it was also Edward Cullen’s 111th birthday (and he doesn’t even need a magic ring to stay looking 17)! In honor of that auspicious occasion, Summit treated us with the “theatrical trailer” for Breaking Dawn part 2.

    Check it out in the first comment box below if you haven’t seen it already. The trailer is widely available online (good thing, too, as the only movie I’ll be seeing in theaters for a while is probably one made by Pixar), and, as promised earlier this week, here are my thoughts, nit-picky and literary as they may be, on what we see, what we don’t see, and what we should be expecting.
    Read More “Breaking Down the New Breaking Dawn 2 Trailer”