Frosting - the Final Defense of the Dying

What's with The Hunger Games movie?

I find it interesting that the title of today's blog (or something very like it) made it from the book into the movie when so much was left out. Yes, I realize that any time you try to cram a novel into a two and a half hour movie, you must leave a lot out. But they left out crucial data; if you haven't read the book, you won't completely get it.

The Good

• They stuck to the plot! They really didn't change much.
• The cast was generally excellent.
• If you understand the basic premises, it's a powerful commentary on society, and on some tendencies in our government and media, almost as much so as the book (and even better in a few cases).
• The districts looked just as I imagined them. The capital was perfect.

The Bad

• They changed how Katniss got the pin and why she wore it. (Apparently this matters for the later books/movies.)
• They failed to emphasize a big part of the motivation to win (besides the obvious issue of personal survival, and for some, the glory), which was that the winner's district got a lot of extra food and other assistance the following year, whereas they normally just eked out an existence (Katniss and her family were on the edge of starvation when Peeta threw her those crusts, having burnt them on purpose to get to do so.
• They didn't really develop Katniss. The book is told in the first person, so you know her every thought. The movie is more third person, and they fail to explain why she does much of what she does. She's a very complex young lady, and the situation was as tough for her mentally and emotionally as physically.
• They just kind of glossed over the danger at the end for the champions, and how hard they had to work to turn things around, having infuriated the authorities with their defiance.

The Ugly

• What is with the constant "fat head" close up shots? Yuck.

Hope is Stronger Than Plugophobia

A plug should only go one way, and it should be obvious what that way is, even if you are nearly blind, trapped in a cave with no light, and the earwigs took a wrong turn and ate your eyeballs.

And yes, by this definition, most plugs fail. Headphone plugs don't. You can plug those in anywhere, under any conditions save those requiring gloves so thick you can't really feel anything or use your fingers' fine motor control. But lots of others fail, including AC power plugs. If you try to plug those in under adverse conditions, you could easily become a short circuit across the exposed prongs. Or worse, from the hot prong through your body to the rock you sat on.

But apart from safety considerations, some of the worst around are, in the words of Randy Kirchhof, "USB plugs. Specifically engineered to make sure that you try to put them in the wrong way, on the first time, every time." I had to disagree, because I'm pretty sure I get it right at first at least 1% of the time. Then again, they may do that just to get my hopes up so they can mock me more.

Traffic Stop

A very buff, not quite middle aged man sauntered along, peering intently at the merchandise. Something about the way he carried himself kept most sellers at bay, but the boldest sang praises about their women and tossed out prices.

Johnny shook his head, glared at the most persistent, and kept moving. Finally he stopped, staring at a dirty blonde partially hidden in shadow.

The seller flashed an enormous, knowing smile."You want her, mister? Prime stuff, best one in the whole market. Ten grand. She's worth every penny!"

Johnny stared back. "That's much too much."

The seller's smile faltered. "I've got expenses." He shrugged and started to turn away. "Either buy or get moving..."

The gun against his head got the slaver's undivided attention.

Johnny smiled. "But I'll take my wife back, thank you. And ten grand. I've got expenses, too."

I wrote this for a Valentine's Day related contest whose entries had to be exactly one hundred forty words. The story developed from another contest based on a 100 word limit. I like this version better.