Monday 23 May 2011

thinking about: a song of ice and fire

it's high drama stuff because no one is safe ever. even when you think they've made a friend, a temporary ally...they could turn right around when they least expect it and bitch slap them so hard. help is not coming. this is your life - deal with it or die. Cersei Lannister says as much:

When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.

Friday 20 May 2011

A Game of Fathers

i am fully hooked on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. done with A Game of Thrones, reading: A Clash of Kings. Do you like the lord of the rings? arthurian legends? merlin? dragons? 300? LOST? if you answered yes to any/all of these questions. this is the book for you.

how a game of thrones is like:
  1. the lord of the rings: features words like 'westron' and 'lordling', mysterious creatures in the woods that sound a bit like ringwraiths
  2. discworld: there's a Night's Watch
  3. star wars: the brothers of the Night's Watch take no wives much like the Jedi*
  4. 300: the dothraki and khal drogo remind me of xerxes
  5. arthur/merlin: knights, dragons, etc
  6. lost: daddy issues floating about everywhere, also the mysterious creatures are called 'the others' 
but ultimately it is itself. what makes it so good:
  1. realism: lots of death, danger, strategy, betrayal, plots, lies...anyone can die. it's probably as unflinching as whedon that way. 
  2. really talks about cowardice, desertion and treason and war. is it cowardice to admit that you're no good at fighting or a lack of denial? is it desertion when you're running away from one thing to go help somewhere else? is it treason when the lives of your children are at stake? is it murder when you kill women and children in wartime?
  3. the daddy issues! 
  4. the characters. so well written. so many sides to every situation.
  5. and finally: direwolves. BEST. PET. EVER. 
*i don't think that was an issue in the original trilogy tho. it's not like luke didn't have a thing for leia before he found out she was SPOILER ALERT his sister. 

Sunday 8 May 2011

tumblpost

yeah my tumblr's acting up again. and i don't feel like spamming the peeps on facebook. that gives me no joy at all. so here you go:

"Ladies love a good mustache ride..."
via @austinkleon with instagram

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@rsummers89 getting a feel for the Audi R8!

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"Animal ethicists are calling for a new vocabulary about animals, shunning words such as pets, wildlife, and vermin as derogatory and even suggesting animal is a term of abuse."
via @Doublenaut: this is the dumbest thing I have ever read: http://tiny.cc/op6bi

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^note the millennium falcon in the back!

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@dannynorthphoto: incase y'all were worried, I found that pub.

Tuesday 3 May 2011

what i like about music

an analysis/list of some things i enjoy in songs.
  • long/unusual words eg. 'denouement', 'secateur', 'rarefied', 'insidious', 'frigidaire'...  (guess the songs!) - it's just the love of a good rhyme i guess :D
  • when lyrics narrowly escape making sense - i'm not talking gibberish lines, just lines that almost make sense. mostly lots of beatles/bohemian rhapsody/freelance whales...
"I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in / and stops my mind from wandering / where it will go" (fixing a hole)
"My ears are blown to bits from all the rifle hits/but still i crave that sound" (giving up the gun)
  •  clapping/whistling/laughter - it's a case of it being really human as opposed to manufactured beats and things or even people playing instruments..there's a certain regularity about that - timing. these are more likely to be a tiny bit off and the idea of that appeals to me. 
  • wonky singing - i dig the sort of singing that isn't about hitting the high notes and how long a note can be.. eg. joanna newsom, cyndi lauper, marianne faithfull...
  • harmonies! eg. the beach boys, mumford & sons, hanson...
  • unabashedly catchy things eg. mcfly! i am remembering that reality show that found leads singers for bands, the inxs season: there was this dude who said something along the lines of "if you can predict how the line should end...you should come up with something else" and to me that's just forcing it. why resist the logical ending? i like being able to listen to a song once and halfway through start singing along. like:
"Don't you want the way i feel/Don't you want the way i feel/Don't you want the way i feel..for you?' (don't you) 
but the strange thing is i seem to look for the exact opposite when it comes to songs in musicals!
..also this is hugely incomplete and most of the music i listen to is probably nothing like this. *shrug* :)