EHyde

I thought it was a really good adaptation as well. Unlike most people I actually liked the shaky-cam, I thought that was a pretty good way to translate the 1st-person-present-tense narration of the book. One bit that especially stood out was when they boarded the train and the camera immediately flashed to all the food. The only part where I felt it was overdone was the hallucinations from the wasps.

I did feel that after they were out of the arena, the ending was a little rushed. I would have liked to see a bit more interaction between Katniss and Peeta after they were out, just to make it a bit clearer what was (or wasn't) going on between them.

I liked most of the costumes, except I wasn't a huge fan of her interview dress--other than the fire, it looked much too modern of a style, like the costumers were making her look good for the movie audience rather than for the capitol. And I don't think it should have been on fire, that was more of a spectacle for the parade and it makes it seem like Cinna's only got one trick up his sleeve. The fire outfits for the parade were okay, I liked the design of the black outfits but I agree, the fire itself wasn't impressive enough.

I dunno, Epic God Metal sounds more like a music genre to me.

Also this thread has given me a craving for double salt licorice, even though it isn't actually sodium that gives that its flavor...

I'm in the market for a new camera, and I thought I'd see if anyone here had any suggestions. I'm not really a photographer, and I'm not looking for anything fancy--basically just a small point-and-shoot that's under $200. My main considerations are--I want something with good macro focus, something that takes decent pics indoors, and something without too much of a delay between clicking the button and actually taking the picture. My main subjects will likely be costumes and cats.

Thank you!

Thanks for the suggestion. My good laptop came back quicker than expected so I'm not in such a rush to get the old one working well, but I'll probably continue fiddling with it so I have something that works just in case.

I would like to announce that yesterday I won my first journeyman-level costume contest at a con! It wasn't for my mistborn costume though.

Awesome! I have not been following all the hype for this series but I really enjoyed the first one.

I would like to announce that I am woefully behind the times when it comes to entertainment because I had no idea there was an Alien prequel in the works until today. And that I saw the trailer for Prometheus and it looks AWESOME.

Ugh. I would also like to announce that aluminum-lined hats are necessary when dealing with certain relatives.

I would like to announce that while theories and trying to figure out exactly how the cosmere works is ... not really my thing, I guess, I have decided to make it my solemn duty to at least read the theory threads so I can a)know what people are talking about and b)conduct myself intelligently at signings.

Good job and good luck, Windrunner!

I would like to announce that I planted a whole bunch of seeds today. If they're successful, I won't lack for fresh cucumber this summer. And the kittehs won't lack for catnip

Ketchup does not exist in the Final Empire, since it is from a fruit, which are flowering plants. The Lord Ruler did not engineer fruit. Mostly people eat vegetables and roots.

I happened to be re-reading Mistborn, or else I would not have caught this, but doesn't this contradict

"Plants that smell?" Vin asked. "Like fruit?"

"Something like that, I think. Some of the reports even claim that these flowers grew into fruit, in the days before the Ascension."

Vin stood quietly, frowning, trying to imagine such a thing.

I would like to announce that cherry pie is delicious.

That is all.

I would like to announce that my second batch of sourdough bread came out much better than the first.

Also I would like to announce that I have discovered I can read a paper book while on an exercise bike. Working out just became much less of a chore.

I would like to announce that my laptop is back and it works again.

Also that I'm staying out of the Upvote War.

So ... my good laptop is off for repair (it's the cat's fault!) and while it's gone, I've been using my 6yo dell laptop that is literally held together by duct tape and ribbon (the hinges broke some time ago...). It is very, very slow, so I decided that I'd put a linux OS on it instead of windows XP, thinking that would run more smoothly. I tried LinuxMint but if anything, it's now even slower than it was before. Do any of you more tech-savvy people have any recommendations for a good OS for an old slow computer? The only things I really care that it does are web browsing and word processing.

I thought this was a really neat music video

Also I can't figure out how to embed video...

I just finished 1634: The Galileo Affair. If anything, I liked it better than the first one. I'm gonna have to track more of those books down.

This is a long way off -- in July -- but I thought I'd give it a mention as apparently the hotel is filling up quickly. It's in Chattanooga, TN and Brandon is guest of honor. Other guests are Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Timothy Zahn, and Eric Flint (btw, I think it's pretty awesome that out of that list of names, it's Brandon who's GoH). Anyway, I plan on attending and I was wondering if any other 17thSharders might be there.

Diana Gabaldon's books are fantastic! Start with Outlander. A woman from post WWII England is inadvertently sent back to Scotland in the year 1743, just before the revolt. They're romances, but very well done and her research is impeccable.

I agree with everyone about Stirling's Dies the Fire. The only thing that got me through the book was the fact that it takes place in my back yard. (well, not literally, but close enough)

That's why I started Dies the Fire--I grew up in Corvallis--but, well, tiny irrelevant details being wrong probably wouldn't have made a difference if I liked the rest of the book, but they ended up just contributing to the overall "meh" I felt when reading it.

I didn't finish Outlander either, but that was mostly because of wrong expectations on my part--I knew it was "time travel romance" but I was thinking it was heavier on the time travel, lighter on the romance, and it just wasn't what I was looking for at the time. It was definitely well-written though, and I plan on finishing it sometime.

I'm a little late to the discussion here, but that is awesome. I didn't even think of getting custom plates for our van, though I do like to think of it as that one relative that Elend never talks about--you know, Chevy, of House Venture ;-)

Lots of Oregonians on this site! I used to be one -- grew up in Corvallis -- but alas I live there no longer.

I would like to announce that I'm going to be taking a weaving class starting next week. Okay, I know that weaving cloth may not sound like the most exciting thing ever, but I'm looking forward to it.

That's gorgeous!

My grandpa used to make this every Christmas for all the relatives. He'd even ship it to those of us who didn't live nearby ... of course it never lasted as long in the damp Oregon winters, so we'd have to eat it quickly ;-). I'm not sure it will fare much better in TN but I'm giving it a try.

Grandpa Young's Peanut Brittle

1 cup water

1 cup karo/corn syrup

2 cups sugar

1 lb (3 cups) raw peanuts

1/4 lb butter

3 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp vanilla extract

This requires a large saucepan, as it triples in size when cooking. Bring water and karo to a boil, add sugar and boil rapidly till "thread" stage, about 7 minutes. Then add the peanuts. Cook about 7 more minutes, stirring constantly, until it begins to turn amber. Add the butter, cook about 3-5 more minutes. Don't let it get a scorched smell. Remove from heat, add 3 teas soda and 2 Tb vanilla, hurriedly whipping it up. Immediately pour onto well-greased cookie sheet and let cool thoroughly. Break into pieces by striking with the heavy end of a table knife. Store in airtight container to prevent gumminess.

I would like to announce that after a 16 hour trip, I'm happily in Oregon!

*Jealous* We're not able to travel home for Christmas this year.

How good is 11/22/63? I also know that King is a liberal (this doesn't bother me), and I am wondering if he loads the book up with liberal diatribes? I read some reviews on Amazon that make me think he does. Even if you agree with him politically you should be able to see this if it happens. I don't like it when conservative writers do this either (Clancy loaded his later books with right wing diatribes).

I wouldn't say diatribes but you can definitely tell it was written from a liberal perspective. It didn't really bother me except for one particular case (but that was a small thing). The focus of the book is on the attempt to save Kennedy, not really alternate history "what if he'd been saved," so looking at how things would've been different from a liberal vs conservative viewpoint isn't really an issue.

Turtledove's another author I keep meaning to read but haven't yet. *Sigh* I've got too many of those.

Does the Nantucket series eventually tie in with Dies the Fire and those books? I think I heard that somewhere. I've tried and failed a few times to get into those books (Dies the Fire, I mean. I haven't tried the Nantucket series at all yet).