If the World was a Machine

"I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too." --Hugo Cabret

Hi there, I just want to share with you a movie that I just watched that I really enjoyed. I'm not really going to review it or anything, but rather tell you why I loved it. It'a a mix of an adventure, comedy and drama. This movie is a really nice one for the whole family. Hugo (based on the book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret") is about an orphan who lives in the train station and is trying to find out about the mystery of his late father and an automaton. 

The plot has fiction and facts in it, too. I won't spoil the story, but I can tell you that there will be a lot of books and movies involved. Then the characters, on the other hand, are such well played and they make the movie even more enjoyable. Georges Méliès is a former movie maker who has a brilliant creativity and passion for movies, but then he has a heart felting story behind it (watch the movie to find out!) And there's the Station Inspector who was pretty funny and made me laugh because of his awkward and clumsy ways. Hugo, is a determined and brave boy who will stop at nothing to make his automaton work again. Isabelle, a free-spirited bookworm who loves adventure, helps Hugo on his journey.

Now, I won't tell you everything about it so I'll stop about now, hehe.
I learned a lot from this movie and I strongly recommend everyone to watch this movie if you haven't yet, and I hope you guys enjoyed it as much I did! Happy weekends, everyone :)

Happy Birthday, Katniss Everdeen!: Katniss' hair in the reaping

(c) hungergamesanonymousaddiction
on Tumblr

Today, one of the victors of 74th Hunger Games is celebrating her birthday! Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fireeeeeeee! -clap clap applaud applaud kiss your three fingers on your left hand and hold it up to her-

It's her birthday, so I'm gonna make another Katniss hair tutorial! Yay. Today, I will teach you how to make Katniss' braid in the reaping.

Sadly, I'm in a bit of a hurry now and I don't have time for any illustrations (except for the GIF over there, which was hard to find).

You're going to need some bobpins and hair ties (preferably the transparent or the ones that match your hair color).

1. French braid your hair on both sides of your head, a bit close to your ear. (If you don't know how to french braid, google it or read my tutorial on how to do Katniss' hair in the Games [if you decide to read my post on how to do Katniss' hair, remember to braid your hair over instead of under]).
2. After braiding both sides of your head, fold them over each other. Clip bobpins so that it will stay in place. You could also place hairspray if you want.

I'm sorry for this hasty post and the not-so-clear instructions! But if you still don't get it, this is where I learned it:

The Avengers: Biggest Blockbuster of 'em All

"There is no throne, there is no version of this where you come out on top! Maybe your army will come, maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you! Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damn sure we'll avenge it! "

When the world first heard of the Avengers movie coming out, every Marvel fan out there was indeed incredibly excited. The expectations for this movie were set high-- higher than any other movie set out there. Each Marvel fan was dying inside, wishing that the release of the movie was to come sooner... so it wasn't very surprising when I first called the cinema to reserve my tickets, it was sold out.

The Avengers was released in the Philippines on April 25, 2012--- most of my comic book savvy friends were able to watch on that date itself. I, on the otherhand, was not so lucky. I had to wait for the weekend to arrive before making my to Trinoma and watching the Avengers; I paid for the tickets of my mom and grandpa. I was hoping that the movie would reach every single standard which I set for it. I was hoping that this movie would live up to the title: "most anticipated movie of the year". I was hoping that my money would not be wasted--- and true enough, this movie was worth every single penny I paid for it.

The movie started with Director Nick Fury arriving at a top secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility during an evacuation. To their very surprise, the Tesseract activated and opened a portal. There, Loki, a figure in Norse Mythology, entered this earth and stole the Tesseract--- a power source with unknown potential. He was also able to gain control of Dr. Erik Selvic and Agent Clint Barton who helped him escape the S.H.I.E.L.D facility. Not knowing the damage the Tesseract could do to this planet, Nick Fury decides to assemble a group known as the Avengers Initiative, which consists of Tony Stark (Iron Man), Natasha Romanoff (The Black Widow),  Dr. Bruce Banner (The Hulk) and Steve Rogers (Captain America). Thor, the half-brother also comes into the picture, when he attempts to collect the Tesseract and Loki. When Loki escapes, he ends up helping the Avengers capture him and to regain the Tesseract. 

All in all, the Avengers was an excellent movie for me. It was a mixture of action, drama and comedy. Though I was able to grasp the darkness of the movie, it didn't bring me once again into my 'hole of depression', unlike some movies. There were definitely times when I was able to laugh out loud (Tony Stark is the master of retort and sarcasm). There was also some... shall I say, 'romance' in the movie (Try watching it out for some Natasha x Clint out there or even some Pepper x Tony), though this isn't the main focus of the entire movie (which is pretty good for someone like me). The effects were brilliant; you should have seen the Hulk and the Tesseract--- absolutely believable and brilliant. But the thing that really caught my attention was the actors and actresses--- they were perfect for their roles. They are the Avengers. 

This movie is a must-see movie and anyone, Marvel lover or not, should see this. 

Clove's Training Hair

Clove's hair

Front

If you want to 'fancy up' your hairstyle in PE class and if you're also a fan of The Hunger Games, then Clove's ponytail is for you! It's easy. It's basically some sort of hair that a Japanese warrior would wear. You're going to need five/six (elastic) hair bands (preferably the color of your hair).

1. On each side of your head (above your ear), make two small pony tails; one on top and one at the bottom. (If you're having a hard time tying, then tie the top ponytail first then clip it to the back of your head then do the bottom ponytail. Unclip when you're done.)
2. From the back of your head, divide your hair into two parts; one on top and one at the bottom. Tie the strands on top (the one on the side of your head) to the top hair and tie the strands at the bottom to the bottom hair.
3. If you find tying your hair in two ponytails in the back hard, then you can just tie all of your hair into one ponytail.

Back-easy

There you have it! Clove's ponytail. Easy, right?

If you want to learn how to do Katniss' braid in training/games, click here!

Adventure Totoro, anyone?

Imagine if Studio Ghibli and Frederator Studios worked together to make this adorkable movie. Finn would be Satsuki, Jake would be Totoro, and Beemo would be chibi totoro! And the whole story would follow the plot, but then the Adventure Time setting and characters would have to be squished in. 

Honestly, that would be so cool! I'd definitely watch it.

Artwork from adventuretimeisland on Tumblr.

Katniss Everdeen's Braid

Katniss' braid

I know that most girls are dying to learn Katniss' braid from The Hunger Games. It's basically a dutch braid or the opposite of a french braid. It starts from the upper right part of your head and runs down diagonally to the lower left of your head.

My Katniss braid (my camera is a mirror)

For those who know how to do a french braid but not a dutch braid, it's simple. Just do the steps of a french braid but instead, braid it under. For example, if you cross your three hair strands over each other, you have to cross them under each other.

1. Get a section of hair from the upper right part of your head and divide it into three strands, just like a normal braid.
2. Take the left strand and cross it under the middle strand.
3. Take the right stand and cross it under the middle strand.
4. Add a section of hair to the right strand then cross it under the middle strand.
5. Add a section of hair to the left strand then cross it under the middle strand.
6. Repeat the adding of hair and crossing under until it reaches the end of your head.
7. When your done braiding on your head and reached the end of your head, braid it normally over your right shoulder (remember, cross under).

There you go! It's not easy, right? But guess what; just keep practicing and practicing until you get it right. If you do it by yourself (like me), your arms will ache, but it worth it/the try.

What to read?

Don't know what to read? Try these two books (and watch their movies!).

Flipped by Wendelin van Draanen is a book for teens and tweens. It's about a girl named Juli who's been crushing and stalking on her neighbor and schoolmate, Bryce. Bryce is doing everything to make Juli to stop; going out with the school's prettiest girls, hurting her feelings, etc. The reason why Juli's been crushing on Bryce is because of his dazzling eyes. Juli starts to look at Bryce's personality and realizes that  she doesn't really like him as much because of the things he's been doing to her. On the other hand, Bryce starts to fall for Juli. How will this turn out? Read the book to find out.

The movie released in 2010 with Madeline Carroll (Farren from The Spy Next Door) as Juli and Callan McAuliffe (Sam Goode from I Am Number Four) as Bryce.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is about a girl named Susie, who's been raped and murdered by George Harvey, a serial killer. After she dies, she watches her family and her friends from her own heaven as they struggle to get over her mysterious death. I recommend this book for teenagers, because this book has a lot of realizations and life lessons.

The movie released in 2009 with Saoirse Ronan (Briony Tallis from Atonement) as Susie and Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman from The Hunger Games!!!!) as George Harvey.