The Post Hunger Games World

If you’re like me, you devoured The Hunger Games trilogy. And now, have to get your fill of that world in the movies (which are just as fantastic). But fret no more. I’ve been tipped of a series that’s similar in nature minus the arena. It’s called Divergent, by Veronica Roth (who’s 24, cue my jealousy). I was hesitant when Maggie first told me about this, because let’s be honest, nothing could ever compare to The Hunger Games.

Borrowed the first book from a co-werker (Divergent) and read it in three days. Got the second one (Insurgent) and missed my bus stop this morning from reading for too long. 

I’m hooked. And if you have a gaping hole the size of Panem, this just might be something to tide you over until Catching Fire comes out. I should note, the third and final book of the Divergent series is not out. Which means you’ll have to sit around twiddling your thumbs, just like you did when you finished a Harry Potter book. The Divergent trilogy is slated for Hollywood, though I refuse to see a casting list until I finish the second book.

Also to note, this book takes place in Chicago in the very distant future. But Roth still makes current landmark Chicago references (every time I look at Millennium Park, I think of a scene from the book). And I love every minute of it.

Ads on the Day

To spice up today’s Ad of the Day, picked out a video and a print one. Both are stellar and will get a little chuckle out of you.

First up, LOVEFiLM’s ad on Harry Potter characters for their “Love in all shapes and sizes” campaign. Really like the lightning bolt under Harry’s name. And Hagrid’s scrawl. Other ones included in the campaign include character run downs of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. via I Believe in Advertising

 

 

My second ad find is from a Cincinnati designer Adam Ladd and his daughter. He sat her down and had her analyze famous brand logos. Her answers are spot on, totally off mark and pretty funny. Though her voice sounds suspiciously like Marcel the Shell… The song in the background quickly grabbed my attention, thought it was an Augustana song I’ve never heard of, it’s Phil Wickham’s “Eden.” via AdFreak

Book It

This year, I’ve vowed to read 65 books, as my Goodreads account states. And I must say, while at times it’s been challenging to ensure I’m on track (currently 4 ahead after my vacay to Colorado), I will revel in the achievement this December. As it stands, I’m 39 books in on this year. Many ask how I have the time to read that much, it’s all due to public transit. I seriously wonder how I would spend my time while on the bus if I wasn’t reading…

Seeing as it’s summer and beach reading time, I’ve put together a list of the top 5 books I’ve read thus far. Now to be fair, my reading tastes have shifted this year as I’ve opt for more nonfiction work (which I always thought I didn’t like. I blame this on book reports in elementary school that FORCED you to do one on at least one nonfiction book), but as you’ll see from my list below, I just love me some fiction.

1) Commencement— J. Courtney Sullivan
A tale about four girls who meet in college and the life journey that awaits them as they prepare to marry, have children, fall in and out of love and blaze their career paths. Very realistic for those, who like me, still feel like they’re navigating their place in the adult world while your closest friends seem to already have found their way. Plus with Lisa’s wedding next year and me and Katie in the bridal party line-up, the whole wedding bit seemed to be predicting my future.

 

2) Night Road–Kristin Hannah
Living with Maggie has its perks and among them, our library grows when her mom’s in town as she does a book drop. Lately, her books have been stellar and this one was no exception. Hannah has written many books (think Jodi Picoult without all of those tears) and does so in a concise way. I find no matter which of her books I’m reading, I can’t stop. Mainly because each chapter is told from another character’s perspective. The minute I get hooked on one, I find myself continuing to read until their next chapter comes up.
Night Road dives into young teenage love, parental love, wrongful death and consequences themes against the canvas of a privileged lifestyle and a not so privileged lifestyle. The minute you think someone’s to blame for the book’s events, you find yourself warming up to that character.

3) The Violets of March–Sarah Jio
I fell in love with this book within the first few pages due to Jio’s magnificent writing on a setting. The book takes place in The Sound of Washington and Jio’s writing not only makes you picture it, but you can smell and hear it too. The book follows a character trying to rebuild her life after a divorce while working on her second book. She seeks refuge in The Sound with a family member and uncovers all sorts of family secrets, those kind some wish to take to the grave. A deeply engrossing story leaving you reading faster and faster on the last 30 pages.

 

4) Bossypants–Tina Fey
No surprise that Fey’s book made my list. I love everything about the woman and am pretty sure I’m Liz Lemon. Fey takes you on a rollercoaster of short essay stories from her childhood to today, making sure there’s something for every reader. I must say, I read her Chicago chapters with added excitement, especially when she talks about this man in Evanston who always hassles you about wearing a helmet when riding your bike. To think she experienced that in her twenties and so did I! I felt at times I was reading my future on some of her chapters.

5) The Hunger Games Trilogy–Suzanne Collins
Alright, you didn’t really think that after reading 30+ books this year, I’d only be able to pick 5 did you? The Hunger Games Trilogy includes three books; The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I’ll admit, I’ve had a withdrawl from serial books after Harry Potter and never really got in to Twilight despite my best efforts. If you haven’t read this trilogy yet, don’t read the back cover. It’s weird and makes the books sound way too sci-fi like. Sci-fi isn’t really my cup of tea, though these books sort of reminded me of The Giver. Collins writes about this other world and their grisly games in a way making it impossible to ever stop reading. Equally excited for the movie next year!

 

A First and Hopefully Last

Grandpas aren’t just good for teaching you how to hold a golf club, play Rumy or teach you the art of chocolate milk making. They help make sure you keep your blog up to date and fresh. Well, at least mine does. Nor (of Nor/Nan fame for all of you who drive the roads in STL and see him in his Caddy with those personalized plates) informs me every time I talk to him on the phone I haven’t updated. So, this one’s for you Nor.

Last week, I checked something off my bucket list no one believed I hadn’t done before. The wish? To pull an all-nighter.

Now I know, how could I possibly graduate from college without pulling at least one all nighter per exam time? Or how did I manage to not stay up the whole time during the All-Night Grad party (bleachers = nap time)? It’s beyond me. Guess we’ll just chalk it up to the fact I know what I’m like with just 6 hours of sleep and it’s not pleasant. So why should I submit society to anything less than six? But last week, I did it, survived and actually managed to go out in public with friends.

It all started on Wednesday. After a successful first date night (which I believe that phrase is usually an oxymoron), I had to chat with everyone under the sun about it. Which leads to the 4 o’clock hour rolling around and me still wide-eyed. So I sleep for maybe 3 hours before heading in to Werk. Needless to say, it was a glasses kind of day.

After weening myself off my usual 8-10 hours of sleep with that Wednesday night antic, I stare Thursday in the face. Thursday was my last midnight showing with Harry Potter. I don’t need to go into detail how traumatic this night was going to be for me, let alone coupled with an all-nighter.

It’s 2:30 in the morning as we wizarding-lovers finally make our way to the streets. Between the sugar high and special edition 3D Harry Potter glasses, I know sleep is no where in the near future. So after going home, I realize I’m not tired and proceed to read in the hopes I’ll fall asleep.

But I don’t. Because when I’m in a book, I can’t stop reading. And I won’t stop reading until I finish. So much for chapter breaks.

Then I see myself staring at the clock reading 8:15 and it dawns on me, that not only did I read Commencement in one night, I just pulled my first all-nighter.

And there you have it. My all-nighter didn’t include memorizing notes, a whirlwind evening in a foreign city or pain spasms preventing me from a slumber. Mine involved a goodbye to my favorite literary characters and a book about graduating and entering the real world.

A proper way to celebrate the night when it all ended.

Note: As Maggie can attest, my nights’ of sleeplessness caught up with me on Sunday as I managed to only wake for dinner. Jet lag isn’t just for international affairs…

Holy.

Award-Winning Movie Week

I sit here watching the Golden Globes. I most definitely stayed in this past Friday night solely so I could watch the Critics Choice Awards. This really is, the most wonderful time of the year.

This past year has been my favorite for movies. I like the fact I’m torn in nearly every award category for “Best…” And for The Parallax Review, we have to put together a top 10 list. And I literally have broken out into hives and having panic attacks when trying to narrow down my selections, so I can’t even begin to imagine sitting on an academy and voting.

There’s still a ton of films I need to see (The Kids Are Alright, Exit Through the Gift Shop and Animal Kingdom), so I feel weird even putting my list together, which is making me cram movies in during these past few weeks.

While I sit here hoping the awards season, I must say, there are some films from this past year that just made me fall in love all over again with the movie industry.

1. The Social Network is just as good as everyone says it is. But the thing I really loved in this film, aside from the hilarious one-liners, was the score. Remember how the score of Up makes you sob in the opening scene? The score in The Social Network won’t make you sob, but it will fill you with the paranoia and excitement the characters in the film experience. Music is such an intricate part of today (I can’t remember the last time I was at work without my headphones in) and I love the fact it’s commanding more of a presence in movies.
2. Wasn’t a huge fan of Black Swan, but there’s no denying how amazing Natalie Portman is in the film. She’s exquisite. She should win every award she’s nominated for, but the rest of the film is very blah.
3. Toy Story 3 was the first film to make me cry while wearing 3-D glasses. Enough said.
4. Underrated films of the year: The Town and Easy A. Do yourself a favor and see the silent, but deadly, Jeremy  Renner continue his reign of dominance in The Town and the hilarious Emma Stone scores an Easy A with her leading performance.
5. The King’s Speech made me finally like seeing all of those terrible Harry Potter characters (the ones trying to kill Harry all the time). Helena Bonham Carter looks perfect in her turn-of-the-century look and Colin Firth still makes you want to marry him in this role

Alright, the Globes are getting good (and I should say, Mom and I watched Temple Grandin a few months back and it was amazing. Claire Danes should win), so I’m off to watch more of Ricky Gervais. He is fantastic.

 

Fun fact: 2011 will continue to be a year with movie magic. Got voted on to the Junior Board of the Chicago International Film Festival and Cinema/Chicago. Woo! Volunteering pays off

The King’s Tweet

Jessica and I finally went and saw The King’s Speech and it was just as fantastic as everyone says it is. Colin Firth is unreal and the Harry Potter-cast reunion going on in the film was a nice surprise. After leaving the film, we immediately began talking about Mr. Eden, our high school journalism teacher. And I’m completely sure it’s because Lionel Logue in the film (played by Geoffrey Rush) is to King George VI (Firth) as Mr. Eden is to Jessica and I and any other soul who has ever had him for a teacher.

I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for Mr. Eden. I’m a 100% sure of that. He’s the reason I began my journalism major, which led to my journalism career. He’s the reason I didn’t waste thousands of my parents’ dollars figuring out what my major would be, seeing as every morning when I woke up in high school I wanted to be a zoologist, a nurse, a history teacher, a safari guide, a movie star, a Broadway Producer, a food critic or a lifetime sleeper. He’s the reason I’m a follower of John Wooden philosophy. He’s the reason I developed a passion for college basketball (though we’re rivals these days). He’s the reason I know how to do PhotoShop, Illustrator and InDesign (skills which have proven to make be a cut above the rest). He’s the reason I know you can enjoy your life, your work and still have a fantastic family. He’s the reason I know somewhere out there, someone will let you name your child after a sports facility (If I have kids, I’m totally naming one Oliver after my dorm in college. And then Quinton after our favorite spot on the town).

Reminiscing about good ole Chad “Mitch” Eden with Jessica outside on Michigan Ave. while we waited for a bus, made me extremely thankful for the man. I mean, we knew how kick ass he truly was in school and how lucky and fortunate we were to be in his graces, but today, getting in Twitter wars with him over college basketball and the Navajo sweater we bought from “Eden-Bay” for a ridiculous amount of money is so nice and reassuring. Even after nearly 7 years, he’s still in our lives watching and guiding us on our quest for greatness. Even if it is in just 140-characters.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

Your It List had a bunch of their contributors write in on their favorite things of 2010. I wasn’t asked this year, but there’s always next year, so I stole their questions and will answer them here.

Favorite Film
As a film addict, this is a dangerous question. A very dangerous question. We saw two much anticipated serial movies in Harry Potter and Toy Story. Black Swan is just as crazy good as everyone says it is. And the Film Fest delivered some gems in Trust and Nice Guy Johnny this year. If I’m going mega blockbuster style, I’ll have to throw in Inception as well. So really, this year delivered in movies for me. But okay, hands down favorite that I want everyone to see?  Conviction and/or The Town. Ben Affleck proved he’s still got it in Town (both on camera and behind) and Hilary Swank delivers another character driven piece in Conviction.

Favorite Album
It’s no surprise how much I love Mumford & Sons. But sadly, Sigh No More came out in 2009, at least, that’s when I first heard about it, then it crossed over the pond to here. That’s probably the album I listened to the most this past year. And then David Gray‘s Foundling wasn’t a personal fav, but it sure was when he played it live in Millennium Park this past summer. But Brandon Flowers‘  Flamingo was quite surprising and duh, Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy proved he’s still got it. Favorite: Kanye.

Favorite Book
I really got into non-fiction books this year and the best was Jerry Weintraub’s When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead. He literally knows or did know anyone worth anything in Hollywood. And his stories are insane. He’ll make you rethink your sales techniques. Close runner up: Jonathan Tropper This is Where I Leave You.

Favorite TV Show
30 Rock will forever be a favorite/staple in my life. But I’m so excited I finally hopped on the Modern Family bandwagon. Also to note: Mad Men really delivered this past season. So props goes out to the people of Sterling, Cooper, Pryce & Draper.

Favorite Twitterer
He was late coming in the game, but man, he is fantastic. @lord_voldemort7

“Horcruxes before hoes”

Runner Up: @preschoolgems

“I fell because I high-fived so hard.”

Favorite YouTube Video
Every week a fantastic one comes out. But this one from Google that premiered during the Super Bowl is epic. And it also has paved the way for the latest Google Ad.

Most excited for in 2011
Having one W-2 form. After multiple years of multiple jobs, I’m ecstatic to have just one for the 2011 year.

Who you want to kiss at NYE
Jake Gyllenhaal. But I’m sure he won’t be where I am. But just in case, I’ll be sure to curl my eyelashes!

Holiday Gift
Seeing as Edward Burns broke my camera during the Film Fest (yea, I’m never going to let this one go or stop believing it), I should probably get a digital camera. But Mom did get me some stellar rubber boots for the Chicago winter!

My Next Gig

It’s no secret that I love volunteering. And I especially love volunteer events where I have a high potential of meeting a boy. Or ones that reap serious benefits, like partying with Edward Burns. Or ones that pertain to things I enjoy immensely.

Alas, the mega one has landed. And next year, after seeing the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in the Summer, visiting the theme park in Florida, I will head to NYC for the International Quidditch World Cup to volunteer.

Yea, you read that right. There’s an International Quidditch World Cup. And it’s in NYC. Which means that I could potentially catch the real Harry Potter in his Broadway show when I’m there.

I just became infinitely more excited for 2011. Despite the fact I’ll turn 26 (woof).

It’s Here, It’s Here!

Tonight. With Jessica Liss. And a slew of Chicago Muggles.