Sons Of Anarchy Season 1 and 2

" A true outlaw finds the balance between the passion in his heart and the reason in his mind. The outcome is the balance of might and right."

Viewed March 2011

I have to admit that I was very skeptical of this show and refused to watch it for a long time. I had heard that it was really good, but come on, a show about a motorcycle gang? Not for me. My siblings eventually became obssessed with it which was really weird, and my brother ended up putting it on my ipod over Christmas break (he always loads my pod full of movies and tv shows for me, so I'm kind of at his mercy). After I had watched everything else that was on my ipod I reluctantly started in on Sons. I wasn't sold after the first episode. In fact, I had a hard time even paying attention cause I bored and still overly skeptical. I texted my younger brother and asked if it was really worth it and he assured me it was. So I watched another episode. Then another. Then another until finally I was really hooked. This is not a show about a bunch of long haired, tattooed, Harley loving thugs who drive around on their motorcycles all day and cause trouble.... Except it sort of is... But it's even better. The Club is involved in many legal and illegal business ventures and the ATF is on to them. The first season deals mainly with the ATF trying to bring them down, and the second season mainly deals with another "business" man coming into town and trying to take over all the illegal activities in Charming. There are brawls and gun battles and plenty of motorcycle riding, but there's also some romance and some hard issues as well (I even got all choked up in one episode!). Sons of Anarchy has a butt load of really great under rated actors as well including Kim Coates, Ron Perlman and Tommy Flanagan (just to name a few). I now definitely love this show and the second season was even better than the first, so I hope that it continues to get better and better! Oh, and when did Katy Segal become super hot!? A

The Hunger Games (book)

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Written by Suzanne Collins

I've decided to start writing about books as well... I've read 7 books since January since I have way too much down time at work.... So here it goes...

The Hunger Games takes place in the dystopian country of Panem. Panem is split into districts (there were 13, now only 12) that each serve the Capitol. The Capitol is rich and it's people are extravagant. District 2 is a little less so. Each district is poorer and more impoverished than the one before it. Every district is basically enslaved and provides the Capitol with a natural resource. Before this book begins, District 13 staged an uprising and rallied the districts to revolt against the Capitol. They failed and the Capitol retaliated by first destroying District 13 and then creating The Hunger Games to remind them of their disobedience and how powerless they are against the Capitol. The hunger Games is a fight to the death that takes plae every year and is televised throughout the country. One boy and one girl
(called tributes) from each district between the ages of 12 and 18 are randomly chosen to participate. The last one standing at the end of the Games is the victor.

Katniss Everdeen is the main character. She is 16 years old, lives in District 12 and takes care of her frail mother and her younger sister Prim. During The Reaping (the ceremony where the tributes are chosen) Prim's name is pulled and Katniss rushes in to take her place in the Games. Katniss is brought to the Capitol along with Peeta (the boy tribute) and Haymitch (District 12's only past victor who serves as a mentor) for training and then the Games. Katniss must survive many horrors and must kill or be killed in order to survive.

I loved this book, actually I loved this entire series. I think this is my favorite young adult series. I might get beat up for saying this, but I loved The Hunger Games more than Harry Potter. This book is super intense, so definitely not for those who don't like suspense. Katniss is sometimes a frustrating character, and a little dense as well. She has a fiery temer and over reacts/over analyzes frequently. She makes up for it by being a really strong female character though. There were a few plot points that I had figured out, but Katniss took longer to realize, but I also remembered that Katniss was 16 and not 27, so maybe that was ok. What I liked the most was the attention to details. For example in the arena Katniss is searching for water and gets dehydrated and her lips get dry and her tongue swells and she gets a headache and sluggish. Its details like that that make the whole story seem more real. It's also told from Katniss' perspective so you really seem to feel what she's feeling. This is definitely a must read. A