Reading: Catching Fire

New summary through page 297

The games have begun! Katniss can't focus on the game because she's too worried thinking about Cinna's beaten body, but she realizes she needs to suck it up because he risked his life for her making her mockingjay dress and now she's ready to fight.
Katniss takes off after the gong sounds and starts swimming towards the Cornucopia. With her first idea to being to grab a weapon, Katniss begins thinking like a Career now. She meets Finnick at the Cornucopia and he's got it in their mind that they're allies. Katniss thinks this is fishy and is ready to send an arrow whizzing through his heart when she sees he has Haymitch's golden flamed bangle on. She realizes that he has given it to Finnick with the message that she must trust him in the games. The three have come to the conclusion that they're also in an alliance with Mags.
This year's arena is composed of salt water and dense jungle. Already there are dead bodies covering the ground and in the water (there's about six, but Katniss is unsure). It's not long before Katniss considers shooting Finnick. She believes their alliance will go no where because one of them with have to kill the other eventually and he's too valuable to let go loose in the games. She let's it pass for the time being and reminds herself that she could always kill him in his sleep.
Peeta slashes his sword unknowingly through a force field and is thrown to his back to the ground. He's unresponsive and Katniss is certain he's died of heart failure. Finnick tosses Katniss aside and begins to do CPR on Peeta and it's a miracle it's worked. Katniss's guilty conscious takes over when she realizes now she'll forever owe Finnick for saving Peeta's life. Finnick becomes curious as to how Katniss was able to know there was a force field there. She makes up a lie about how it sounds similar to the fence that surrounds her district when it's lit up, but the strange thing is, Katniss can only hear it out of one ear. Are the doctors who fixed her ear on her side?
After climbing a tree Katniss reports to her alliance that "the force field has us trapped in a circle. A dome, really...There's the Cornucopia, the sea, and then the jungle all around. Very exact. Very symmetrical. And not very large." She doesn't see any other water source besides the salt water near the Cornucopia. Maybe the Capitol left out water to make these dreaded games go by faster?
Katniss goes off solo to find a water source and hunt. She gets a death tally of eight bodies. While she's out she manages to kill and animal. When she's skinning it she notices it's mouth is wet, so there must be water near by. Giving up for the day she returns to Peeta and the gang. The four have used the Gamemakers' force field to their advantage. They've set up shelter near it, hoping they could drive enemies into it, and they've begun to use it as their 'safe' source of fire since it produces zero smoke.
At night the dead tributes are projected into the sky and they learn that the men from 5, 6, 8, 9, and 11 are dead along with the women from 8 and 10. After the anthem a silver parachute comes bringing a gift. Once it's opened no one recognizes the the hollow metal tube. Given some time Katniss realizes it's a spile and tells the gang that it's used to get sap out of trees.

(These are the tools that they have so far, and since some of them are unfamiliar here are pictures. The first is an awl, which they used to drill a hole into the tree. The second and third are of a spile.)






They've hit the goldmine! Water comes streaming out of the tree and through the spile. Finnick takes watch over the camp and the other three while they sleep during the night, but Katniss wakes to the ringing of a bell, in fact, it rings twelve times. Finnick and Katniss have no idea what this could mean. It begins to rain and through it Katniss hears a cannon fire, another tribute is dead. When the rain stops Katniss notices the fog, but she notices its too uniform to be natural fog. She realizes the awful odor and her skin begins to blister...

Cliff hanger! Stay tuned to find out what it is.

She's a Trickster!

We’ve all see people like the Harlem Globtrottters doing incredible things with basketballs, but have you ever seen someone do similar things with a soccer ball? Indi Cowie has been making up and performing her own freestyle soccer routines. Now I bet you’re thinking “Freestyle soccer? How is that possible?” The sixteen year old superstar has won several talent contests with her usual skill. One of Indi’s favorite things about performing her talent in front of an audience is being able to “hear the oohs and the aahs” and “sense the shock.” Indi has been dribbling soccer balls since she began to walk. When she was a sophomore she tried out for the Glasgow Celtic women’s club and made the team. Everyone can see that soccer comes naturally to Indi; in fact, upon the first meeting of her coach, Paul Brownlie, “was blown away by how creatively she could dribble the ball.” While observing Indi two words should come to mind: “technique and determination.” She spends ninty minutes every day practicing her free style in her garage. Hoping she will improve to greater heights, Indi trains with a boy’s club team. Surprisingly, Indi struggles playing as a team member. She has been taken off the field several times during games due to her lacking of sharing the ball. Indi makes her selfishness into a positive by believing that she likes to freestyle because she does not “have any teammates to worry about.” The motivation and talent packed into each of her routines has begun to inspire people across the globe to try free styling.

In Ten Years...

After listening to some of the high-school seniors dream jobs I had my own opinions about them.
Damian Dumas has been inspired by his own high-school counselor to follow in her footsteps. He comes across as friendly, open, and caring. I could definitely see him succeeding because he likes to help those around him. He holds their trust and he's reliable.
Carli Harwood hopes to be a physical therapist. When she was younger she actually had to go to physical therapy and that's what got her into the idea of this career. She wants to have an easy going and stress-free life while still hoping to have a high income. She feels that she has the work ethic to keep her going in the field. I mostly relate to Carli because I've been thinking about becoming a physical therapist. I want to be able to help others and improve their lives. I'm really interested in the human body and how it works so I'm hoping this is a good possible career choice for me.
Now this one I found interesting at first, but Salome Zamora wants to become a baker, however not your average baker. In his bakery he will have normal foods like any other bakery but he wants to help those who need medical marijuana. Because he's interested in helping others in abnormal ways he plans to bake the marijuana into foods for those who require it. He's got a good idea going for those who need it and thank God he's going to require the costumers to show their medical cards before he sells them a good. Who knows what the world would be like if he didn't.
In ten years I plan on being graduated from high-school and possibly college (I plan on graduating but depending on my major who knows when I'll get out). Lately I've been considering the options of becoming an elementary school teacher or a physical therapist. I think I'll be happy with my life if I'm able to help people in my community. In addition to graduating I hope in ten years that I'll be married and possibly working on starting my own family (this is weird thinking about it, but I mean I'll be 27 or 28 then so I mean anything could happen).

Reading: Catching Fire

Here's a new summary up through page 265 ending Part II: "The Quell"

Katniss can't stand the idea of training around any of these tributes because she's actually starting to like some of them and she knows that in order to save Peeta they'll have to die. Being the typical Katniss, she leaves her private session with a bang. She finds a target dummy, hangs it (practicing her knot tying skills), then paints the name Seneca Crane on the body in bloodred berry juice. Will this turn the Gamemakers completely against her during the games? Peeta and Kantiss decide that they'd rather play the game without allies which doesn't seem like a smart move now. They've both scored twelves in training therefore making them the biggest targets in the game. The two have come to the assumption that President Snow has given direct orders to the Gamemakers to kill them in the arena. Of course throughout this section Peeta's being the sweet guy he is and Katniss feels guilty having to listen to him dropping hints about his love for her.
The atmosphere between the team is changing. Effie is letting Peeta and Katniss take care of things on their own, the stylists are acting strange, Haymitch isn't coaching them for their interviews, and they all seem to have an "I don't care" vibe around them. President Snow required Katniss to wear her wedding dress to the interview. When Katniss is twirling and showing off her dress she notices smoke rising from somewhere. Courtesy of Cinna, Katniss's beautiful white dress goes up into flames and she is left wearing an exact replica design of her wedding dress, only now it's the color of coal and has added feathers. He's planned it so she now resembles a mockingjay....DUN DUN DUN!
Katniss remembers Cinna's words "Don't worry. I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don't hurt anyone but myself." Katniss is so worried now because Cinna design could easily be considered an act of rebellion.
During Peeta's interview Caesar brings up the point that there will never be a wedding after the games because he and Katniss will be dead. Peeta reveals that the two are already married, well not offically, but they claim to have done a District 12 wedding ritual and told no one of it. The crowd in shocked and as they're recovering Peeta drops another bomb. He says that they would've waited until after the games if it wasn't for the baby! The question is now, is this true or did he make it up? I mean the two have been sleeping together a lot lately...
At the announcement of this everyone goes crazy and Peeta's interview is over. When the national anthem plays all of the tributes have joined hands, symbolizing unity between the districts, but little do they know they've staged their own uprising.
Anyway, it turns out Peeta's made up the pregnant thing. The two run into Haymitch after the interview and he tells them that the Capitol has sent everyone home and has cancelled the recap of the interviews on T.V. They begin to question whether or not the Capitol will stop the games. If they'd have to stop the games then Katniss and Peeta would have to make this rumor true, don't you think?
Realistically, the Capitol would never cancel the games, and they all know that. Since tomorrow begins the games they know they'll never see Effie again so they leave a verbal thank you and goodbye message with Haymitch, and they leave one for him as well. His last bit of advice for the couple is, of course, to stay alive.
The next morning it's the same situation as before: Katniss wakes up, gets sent to the hovercraft, has a tracking device in her arm, and takes off for the arena. Cinna leaves her with the reminder that he's still betting on her to win it again. The two part but before Katniss leaves the hovercraft she notices three Peacekeepers enter the room. They pin Cinna and hit him in the head causing him to fall to his knees and they continue to beat him.
In the arena Katniss notices the blue waves that seem to wash up over her boots and take over the area in every direction. She now realizes that "this is no place for a girl on fire." Ah best line yet, and who knows what the future holds?!

Quarter Poetry

To finish off the other half of the Action List for 3/22 I picked my favorite poem of the quarter. I really liked Karley's "The Pressure of the Game" for multiple reasons, those being:
1. She wrote it herself, how awesome is that?
2. I feel like I'm actually on the green with her
3. I admire how seriously she takes her sport, she's so serious she'll write a poem about it
4. I like that it relates to life, having to make decisions without knowing the outcome
5. I can feel the pressure she's under
6. I also like how 'in the moment' it is

#995 Finding Money You Didn't Even Know You Lost

Out of the list of 1000 Awesome Things I instantly knew which one was my favorite! I have a habit of putting money in jeans pockets, coat pockets, drawers, and various other places (I can't tell you where all my money is!) and I love re-finding it. Sadly, I don't just do this with money. I lose other things, but I always manage to find them somehow, once again, usually when I'm cleaning my room. However, I hate it when it's something with multiple parts. For example I'll lose my gym lock and key. I'll find my lock in no time, but not the key. Then later, I'll find the key, but not the lock. I think I should make a resolution to know where everything is...maybe a good idea? This inspired me to want to make a list of different things in my life.

Children's Books Flashback

Although the pictures are old-fashioned and drawn in black and white, I like the ones from Invitation, Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking-Glass because they're very detailed and I like the idea that they're sketched. I don't remember reading some of these books when I was little, but I remember watching movies about them like Alice in Wonderland or Madeline. As for Good Night Moon, the first time I read it was actually two weekends ago when I was babysitting for a family. I've never read The Story of Ferdinand, but it has been alluded to in some of the stories I've read or shows that I've watched. When I was little I can remember playing 'school' with my sister while reading her books from Little Golden Books and Harold and the Purple Crayon. Of course my childhood was filled with Dr. Seuss's simple and almost colorless drawings and rhymes. From the 1960's section of the time line and forward I recognized several of the book titles.

Reading: Catching Fire

A new summary up through page 238.

The tributes are being prepped and Katniss still hates this process. The stylists are an emotional mess crying over her. Her costume this time around appears simple. It's a tightly fitted black jump suit that covers her completely from her neck on down With a change of lighting the suit gives the idea that she is a "a glowing ember straight from our fireplace." This year they're trying to intimidate the other competitors. No smiling, waving, or cutesy stuff this time during the parade.
While waiting for Peeta and Haymitch to arrive for the parade Katniss catches the eyes of a male tribute named Finnick Odair. He's basically a legend. He won the 65th games when he was 14. He was a Career from District 4. She makes him out to be absolutely gorgeous. He's "tall, athletic, with golden skin and bronze-colored hair and those incredible eyes" (they're a perfect sea green). Sounds dreamy right? He survived his games by being able to fight with spears and knives and a trident. Basically he's today's version of Justin Beiber --YUCK!!-- all the girls have been swooning him since he turned sixteen.
Katniss admits that she's never found herself to be attracted to him. The two a flirting like crazy. But when Peeta shows up Finnick makes a strange comment. He tells her "sorry you have to cancel your wedding. I know how devastating that must be for you." Wow jerk. Peeta asks what Finnick wanted and she tells him that he wanted to know all of her secrets, which is true. They going backing and forth teasing each other about how they would be if only one person won.
They get ready for the parade by themselves because the stylists aren't anywhere to be found. Katniss wonders if they're supposed to hold hands during the parade again this year and Peeta assumes that the stylists have left it up to them. They decided to hold hands.
The crowd in the arena goes wild and the two act like nothing has phased them. They notice that other stylists from other districts have copied the idea of illuminating their tributes. After the parade they meet up with Haymitch, Cinna, and Portia who are talking to the tributes from District 11 (they're Haymitch's friends). Katniss asks about Thresh and Rue's families and they assure that they're still alive.
A tributes attempts to talk girl talk with Katniss and she fails....epically. In the elevator the girl unzips her costume entirely and talks to Katniss and Peeta while she's stark naked. Talk about an interesting conversation. Peeta claims every one of the tributes are acting like this because of her presence. He says that they're playing with her because she so pure, like she wouldn't look at him when he was half dead and half naked during their games. Being the sweetheart that he is he tells her that "for the Capitol you're pure, for me you're perfect." Oh man he's still a sweetie!
Katniss sees the same redheaded Avox girl from her first time in the games, only this time she's paired with a redheaded Avox boy. She instantly recognizes the boy. He's Darius, the old Peacekeeper from her District. Katniss believes President Snow has strategically made Darius her new Avox.
In her room Katniss spends her time picturing her old house in District 12. At dinner Katniss purposely knocks over a dish of peas in order to get close to Darius when Effie yells at her and tells her it isn't her job to be cleaning them up. When they watch the recap of the ceremony Katniss doesn't want to be anywhere near Peeta.
Katinss goes to bed and is trying to get Darius and Gale out of her head. Meanwhile she's battling another nightmare. When she gets up for the day the "team" begins to discuss their strategy. Katniss doesn't want to talk about it at all. While she's getting ready someone is pounding on her door. It's Haymitch and he's ordering her to the dining room asap!
She gets to the dining room and finds Peeta and Haymitch, he's wearing a solid gold bangle patterned with flames on his wrist. Haymitch reminds them that they must stay in love during their training today and that they need to make friends because in order for them to survive the competition they're going to need more allies. He believes that they will be the first targets because everyone else is already friends. Haymitch wants them to join the pack of Careers this time (that includes Mr. Gorgeous Finnick!!). But then he gives them the option to create their own pack.
When all the tributes are together Peeta and Katniss split up hoping to cover more ground when it comes to getting to know other people. Of course Finnick meets up with Katniss during their training. The tributes work their skills and mingle amongst each other. The tributes talk about the uprisings going on in the districts.
This year the Gamemakers are separated from the tributes by a force field thanks to Katniss's actions last year. Two tributes, Wiress and Beetee, let Katniss in on a secret that there is a "weak spot" in the force field. Katniss seems to consider these two in her alliance and she wonders if she'll be able to get Seeder to join their alliance.
Katniss and Peeta catch up finally over lunch. Katniss likes the District 3 victors (Wiress and Beetee) and Peeta says that the other tributes think the 3's are a joke. A tribute names Johanna, the one who was in the elevator naked, has nicknamed the 3's Nuts and Volts. Katniss doesn't care and she still wants the 3's as her allies.
Peeta catches on that she's upset and she's distracted by Darius. Peeta suggests that he and Katniss could fend for themselves again without an alliance. Peeta votes for Seeder and Chaff joing their potential alliance.
Katniss compared the tributes with the ones that died during her game. Katniss gives up on making friends and turns toward archery as her stress release. After training the team (Katniss Peeta Haymitch Effie) eat. Haymitch reveals that over half of the victors' mentors have been suggesting that their tributes team up with Katniss and Peeta. They don't promise to aline with anyone though.

What will happen next? Who will make the duo's alliance? We'll see.

Reading: Catching Fire

Back to the suspense of the Quarter Quell in Catching Fire. Here's my summary up through page 204.

In a rage of panic Katniss runs across the lawn of the Victor's Village looking for an escape. However she doesn't make it far; she ends up in an empty Victor's house. Everything that's been going on lately has been flashing through her mind. She's freaking out at the idea of having to kill either Peeta or Haymitch. She's determined that even if Haymitch gets picked Peeta will volunteer to go in his place to protect Katniss.
She leaves the empty house and goes to see Haymitch. He thinks she's there to ask him to take Peeta's potential place in the games and she asks him for a drink. She's afraid that he's actually right for once and that she'lll want Peeta to live. She settles on the idea that if she and Peeta get sent into the arena again that Haymitch will save him this time.
She wakes up with a hangover the next day. Katniss can't keep her act together now with this little surprise. She's crying all over the place. She goes back to Haymitch's bringing food and finds Peeta pouring out all of Haymitch's alcohol. Peeta admits that he's paid off the Ripper to not sell anymore alcohol to either Haymitch or Katniss. Peeta's in game mode planning out their strategies and getting the others heads in the game. He's determined they will once again win.
They spend the next few nights watching recaps of old games learning about the other tributes. They also begin training exercises during the day. New has been buzzing in the Capitol and people are already betting on possible victors. The three share all of their personal tricks and trades that could become useful in the games.
Katniss finally is able to talk to Gale. He admits it's impossible for him to hate Peeta. They begin thinking in "what ifs." What if Peeta died? Where would we be? Thinking on her toes she replies that they'd be hunting just like they did every Sunday. She's watching what she tells him because she's afraid that any emotional upset will cause Gale to start a riot in the mines.
It's the day of the reaping and Effie quickly announces the tributes, Katniss and Haymitch. As predicted Peeta volunteers to take his place. They're all stuffed into vehicles and driven away watching District 12 disappear on their way to the train station.
Worried about her last words, Peeta calms her in the idea of telling her they'll write letters home. Katniss feels awful and she can only think of how she'll manage to keep Peeta alive. At dinner Effie suggests that everyone on their team gets some sort of gold item to match Katniss's mockingjay pin. Effie's hair is now gold and she suggests that the boys should get ankle bracelets. Does Effie know about the uprisings? Is this her way of saying I'm on your side? Katniss doesn't think so. They watch more recaps of reaping and take more notes in hopes of maybe winning again. They discover the other victors from the various districts.
Peeta tells Katniss to go to bed but she knows she can't without him being there in bed with her. She can't take the nightmares anymore. She leaves her room in search for something to drink and finds Peeta who can't sleep either. The two are affectionate towards each other and Katniss seems to be loving it. Together they watch more tapes to learn different fighting techniques of the various tributes. They start watching Haymitch's tape. I would like to see this one, it'd be so interesting to see how he handled the games by himself. They watch it because it's their only tape from the Quell and they hope they're be able to see how these games vary.
Turns out Haymitch was in an alliance with his district tribute as well, however they split up when it came down to the final five. He ends up watching her die in a similar situation to Katniss when she watched Rue die. Haymitch was tracked down by the remaining tribute who died from her own weapon. She threw an ax over a cliff, but she didn't remember that there are forcefields at the bottoms of cliffs that prevent people from jumping and committing suicide. Anyway the ax came back and killed the girl. Also like Katniss's game this part was never shown again, similar to the berries.

What's in store for the new tributes in the Quarter Quell? I'll keep you posted!

Reading: Catching Fire

A new summary of Catching Fire up until page 173. Will Katniss conquer the buzzing fence?

Freaking out Katniss vanishes back into woods with everything running through her mind: "What is going on? Has Thread turned on the fence as an additional security precaution? Or does he somehow know I've escaped his net today?" Katniss manages to climb up a tree and to jump over the fence landing on the District side, however, this results in a a sprain in her foot and a sensitive tail bone. While buying bandages she's thinking of possible alibis. She claims to have been fixing a leak in her original house's roof when she slid off.
When she gets home she sees two Peacekeepers who begin to question her about where she's been. Katniss is witty and stalls to get rid of the Peacekeepers. They inform Katniss that the fence surrounding the district will be electrified 24/7 as a warning to Gale. Without anything else to say the Peacekeepers leave.
Katniss continues to lie and tells her family that she slipped and fell on some ice and that is how she's all bent up now. Peeta carries her up to her room and before he leaves her side she stops him because secretly she wants him to climb into bed with her. Hmmm.... who's she going for now? Peeta tells her that he thought she had ran away when she went missing during the day.
Peeta visits her everyday and they work on her family's herb book together. Someone on her mother's side started a book about plants and their medical uses, but she and Peeta are adding things to the list of edible plants. They've decided that this is the only relatively normal activity the two have done together. Talk about some fun huh?
Later when Katniss is watching TV she begins to scan the channels for anything displaying her mockingjay symbol. She comes across the film of the Justice Building and seeks the mockingjay and now realizes that Bonnie and Twill have been telling the truth. This makes Katniss wonder what really is in District 13?
Ahh it's time for Katniss's bridal photo shoot! I love love love wedding dresses so I'd be ecstatic if I was her! They're soooo pretty to look at that's why I love the show 'Say Yes to the Dress!" Oh I can't wait to get married. The stylists are there all ready to go and Katniss realizes that she'll have to wear high heels- this is a major problem with a half almost broken foot! Katniss catches a vital bit of information in the madness of the make over. It's been impossible to get shrimp or any seafood lately because of "bad weather" in District 4. Could this be code for they're in the uprising as well? I mean it's a good excuse to occupy the other districts' minds. She learns that it's been hard to get electronic gadgets (District 3) and fabrics (District 8). Now she's aware of who's joined the revolt. She falls asleep after the photo shoot and has a nightmare. She's in a ragged bridal dress running through the woods being followed by the dog mutations.
Katniss goes to Haymitch to vent about everything going on in her life. He still doesn't believe that an uprising will happen in District 12 because it's half the size of the other districts. He believes that the Capitol will start killing off districts like 13 if the revolts get too serious. This leads into a conversation about the remains of 13.
A mandatory TV watching session is announced during the day and Prim's determined it's the photo shoot and she's right. Katniss thinks it's weird how interested people are in her future wedding. But that's not all, tonight is the night for the reading of the card for the Quarter Quell. The president gives a speech over the history of the games and blah blah blah. He announces that for this year's Quarter Quell the tributes will be drawn from the pool of existing victors ---CRAP! Katniss realizes that because there's only been three victors from District 12, one female and two male, she is for sure going into the arena once again.

Will Peeta or Haymitch be Katniss's new sidekick in the arena this time around? Who will win? Stay tuned!

What's the language of origin?

The 2002 documentary, Spellbound illustrates the experience, techniques, motivations, and lives of the eight devoted and hopeful pre-teen spellers. Although the contestants share the same goal, to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee, they all have their own ways of getting there. April DeGideo had a manageable and relaxed schedule for preparing for the Bee. Her home environment allowed her to study hard while still being able to have fun. Mr. and Mrs. DeGideo helped their daughter study by quizzing her and using a variety of words a day. April was able to keep her cool during the entire process, because she knew her parents would be proud of her no matter what the outcome might be. However, not all of the contestants were as carefree as April and her family. Even though Neil Kadakia appeared to be devoted to his spelling, it didn't seem like his heart was in it. He committed several hours of the day to studying words, and for this, he was essentially a good speller. A 'good speller' should be loyal to his studies and be passionate about what he's doing also. Neil was not passionate;however, his father was. Neil's dad practically forces his son into long study sessions with various tutors and techniques. Both contestants made it fairly far in the 1999 National Spelling Bee, and they both got there in different ways. Success can be determined through multiple techniques, it just takes that little extra 'umph' to win the National Spelling Bee.

Reading: Catching Fire

Another summary for Catching Fire! This one goes up through page 150. What's going on with Gale?

Katniss has fallend asleep at Gale's bed, or actually Gale's table side. She's awakened by Peeta who tells her to go get some sleep. In her bed Katniss is haunted by nightmares from the Games. The swelling from Katniss's welt has gone down and she's able to see the blizzard going on outside. Katniss thinks of how the Peacekeepers won't be able to reach her in the blizzard. She contemplates her death by them and realizes that her family might suffer the same future as her.
She sees this as her opportunity and considers Gale's idea of starting their own uprising. Knowing that she'd need to be good with words, she hopes Peeta will help her. A side from her daydreaming, she goes down to check on Gale. Her mother has him in a 'snow coat' and it has so much effect that Katniss "can almost hear the sizzle of Gale's tormented skin meeting the snow mixture." At this point Katniss is admiring the one thing she thinks her mother can do right. She describes how her mother is a totally different human being when she's working with a patient. She apologizes to her mom for yelling at her the other day and her mom responds with: "I've heard worse. You've seen how people are, when some they love is in pain." This sends Katniss on a whirlwind of emotions trying to figure out if she loves Gale or not or what type of love it is.
Katniss calls Peeta's house to make sure he's made it home fine during the blizzard. They arrange to meet later in the day to talk about running away or starting an uprising. Now she's changed her mind and doesn't want to runaway. The two let Haymitch in on their ideas and he totally ignores them because he doesn't think it will work. While on their walk they observe the new changes that have been made to the district. The number and intensity of Peacekeepers have increase. The peacekeepers have set the Hob on fire.
After observing her neighbors she realizes a tragic flaw of all the people who live in District 12; none of them are willing to break the law, and without this an uprising would be a failure. The townspeople have shut themselves up in their houses and have stopped using Gale and Katniss's mothers' services by fear of association. Everyone's starving, the mines have been shut down, and more and more kids are signing up for tesserae but they don't receive their grain. The district's taken over by a temporary food shortage.
To help Gale's family, Katniss convinces Haymitch to hire Gale's mom as his housekeeper; this improves both of their lives. One day Katniss leaves the district and takes off for the woods where she carefully covers her tracks the entire way. She grabs her bow and arrow and heads off for the lake. One her walk Katniss hears the click of a gun behind her and instinctly draws her arrow. It's a Peacekeeper. It's a woman. Katniss thinks she's going to be taken into the Capitol for torturing, but the woman holds out a small circular piece of bread/cracker that's been imprinted with a mockingjay. This confuses Katniss, why has the mockingjay become such a popular symbol? Flashback to the man at the party from the Victory Tour with the pocket watch that had the mockingjay on it.
Katniss asks what the cracker means and the woman simply says: "It means we're on your side." She finds the other woman's partner in the little concrete house. Turns out the two, Twill and Bonnie, are from District 8 and have ran away and hope to reach the remains of District 13. They explain how they stole two Peacekeeper uniforms and picked up the gun from a dead Peacekeeper. She shares her food with the starving women as they continue to share their stories. They admit that the whole whistling salute from the Victory Tour ceremony was planned by everyone. The people planned to take over the centers of power, like the Justice Building etc. Because everyone in District 8 was require to get together to watch Katniss and Peeta's proposal interview, it was the perfect time for them to meet and arrange the uprising.
All hell broke loose in District 8 and the two women made a run for it. The townspeople were hoping for word of the uprising to spread to the other districts as well. However, this didn't look to good. Peacekeepers came in swarms all over the area and bombed a ton of rebel strongholds. The area went on lockdown for a week, but eventually everything went back to normal. There was an explosion in the textile building and the women managed to steal some goods from the dead workers.
They women explain that they're running to District 13 because they believe that it's not really rubble like the Capitol has been showing. The two suspect that the Capitol has been using the same footage from the area year after year. They think that the people from 13 survived, and have been left alone because they used to specialize in nuclear development.
Katniss takes Twill out and teaches her the basics of hunting. She also makes a new crutch for Bonnie and gives her an extra pair of socks. Then she tells them what's going on in District 12, but only because they're dying to know. The ladies talk about how Katniss is well liked by the entire district and Katniss realizes that President Snow has been playing her for a fool. His threats were obvious distractions to keep her from influencing the uprising.
She hears a mockingjay and thinks back to the pocket watch and the cracker and what they could possibly mean. She takes off for home, but when she reaches the fence it's buzzing with electricity.

Stay tuned for a new summary. Who's on Katniss's side? What will become of the uprising? Will Katniss ever make it into the district again?

3.1 Diction Exercise: Poetry

For this I'm using Things by: Lisel Mueller

a) 8-10 Words Describing Diction
-stout
-fatigue
-emotional
-graceful
-profiles
-received
-slender
-recast

b)Describing 2 of the 4 Elements of Diction
-concreteness: defined, tangible
-elevation: conventional, pedestrian, familiar

c)Draft a Full Claim
-The definition of the tangible images, in Lisel Mueller's Things, are distinguished by her conventional and familiar diction.