Winter is Mine

Game of Thrones: Series 1 Bluray Review

First off, I want to praise the shipping processes of release date guarantee sites. My blurays got here in record time. Record. High praise indeed.

I was so excited when these got here, I may have scared my co-workers...

If you want links to in-depth analysis of the discs and their features, I recommend Tower of the Hand or Winter Is Coming. Generally, I recommend those sites for any and all wishing to gain further knowledge of the ASoIaF universe.
If you want a fangirlish assessment by someone currently head-over-heels for the series who is chomping at the bit for series two to arrive on screens, I'm here for you.

For ease of following my general squeals of delight, Imma break this down into sections:
1. Episodes
I don't have swanky HDTV. Yet even in standard definition the blurays look gorgeous. From Bran's freckles to swirling snowstorms at the Wall, to gruesome blood-spatters, it's all there in detailed glory.
1.1 Commentaries
I haven't made it through all the commentaries yet (I know, I suck for not being able to devote every waking hour to watching these, but sadly my life and soul-sucking day job do not allow me freedom to watch my favorite shows for money, twenty-fours hours a day). However, I did watch episodes three (Lord Snow) and four (Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things).

Episode three starts with the actors who play Bran, Arya and Sansa doing their own version of the opening titles (including the HBO logo), which is just damned adorable. Especially Isaac (Bran), who just won't let it go. The kids are sharp (especially Maisie / Arya), but still silly and obviously learning -- and in genuine awe of how good their adult castmates are. They definitely play up a bit trying to make sure they all get their comments in on everything, even if it's just one of them adding, "yeah, I know."

Episode four delves in with the writer for that episode (who started off as the showrunners' assistant) as well as swoon-worthy Kit Harington AKA Jon "You Know Nothing... Except How to do the Lord's Kiss" Snow. Huge points for both lauding the Sharpe series during one of Sean Bean's scenes. There's a remark made about Sean being the anchor for series one, which he absolutely is. Makes me wonder, though, who will anchor the series this season. Also, random factoid: Kit Harington has a phobia of things touching his neck which we learn from the extremely unpretty death of Sir Hugh of the Vale.

2. Character Profiles
These little snippets were, I believe, shown on HBO(.com) leading up to and during season one. It's nice to have a little examination of each major character from the perspective of the actors playing them. I would have liked a bit from either of the Mormonts and/or Maesters Luwin, Pycelle and Aemon, but none of them play significant roles in the first two episodes so I sort of get it. For anyone who's read the books, Richard Madden speaking of Robb's relationship with Jon Snow is quite powerful. Hopefully, there will be more of these as the seasons go on and we get introduced to yet more major characters.

3. Guide to Westeros
NERD ALERT! These little featurettes done in motion comic style provide the uninitiated with some of the very detailed history of GRRM's world. From the long ago to the events that start episode one, from history to religions to the great houses and beyond. As one delves further into these snippets, many are narrated by characters from some of the major houses, relating the perspective of that house on the events of the past. Particularly interesting to note are the POVs regarding Robert's Rebellion, and Tywin Lannister's less than favourable opinion of the Wall and the men of the Night's Watch. For those who have read the books, it's a convenient review of events and information disseminated throughout the books in piecemeal bits.

The only piece which lacks are the sections on the houses and their members / lieges / households / etc. These are just paragraphs of description where I feel like they could have devoted short 1-2 minute segments to each character either with video or a combo of that and the motion comics.

4. In-Episode Guides
The only feature so far I'm not a fan of... had it been illustrated or video cutaways or inserts during the episodes, I might have enjoyed it. As is, the couple sentences of exposition given on any selection isn't of much note, and I think only folks with a 55+ inch HD telly would be able to easily decipher the tiny writing.

5. Anatomy of an Episode: A Golden Crown

It's like in-vision commentary on crack. A toned-down version of this is what the in-episode guides needed. There are occasional full-stops in the episode to talk about the location or the set which seem a bit odd but are understandable as they don't have to do with the action at hand. Still, the concept of a making-of special / episode commentary within the episode itself is really cool. I hope they do more of these as the seasons continue.

6. Making of Game of Thrones

Fun little making of special overview. Nothing astonishing in terms of knowledge, though the interviews with GRRM are cool. Hearing the cast reactions to the sets, locations, costumes, and overall depth of the production makes my fangirl heart soar knowing they're as awed by it all as us uberfans are.

7. Creating the Dothraki Language

A neat little bit on the creation of the language. Jason Momoa, imho, should only speak Dothraki. Also, Iain Glen somehow slips into sounding like a chav when he says 'really crap.'

8. Creating the Show Open

A cool piece on the ideas behind crafting the amazing title sequence.

9. From Book to Screen

Basically a shorter edition of the Making Of special, but with more GRRM.

10. The Night's Watch

I love me some black brothers action. This is a nice acknowledgment of the one place in the seven kingdoms where EVERYTHING is different in terms of weather, adversaries, class standing, fighting, friendship, and loyalty.

Minuses:

The title menus for each disc are exactly the same, and other than the starting episode there's no indication on the disc menu of how many episodes are on a particular disc. This makes navigating the special features pretty aggravating. This would be a lot more tolerable except there's no guide in the enclosed booklet either. The only indication of what episodes are on each disc is printed on the discs themselves, which doesn't help much when you're over excited to see all the special features and have a two second memory for anything not related to them (or if you toss all the discs in a multi-disc player). At least with similar collections (I'm gonna just use the extended LotR DVDs as an example), even if navigating the features with the disc menus is a bit difficult, there's a guide map in the booklet to show you what features each disc contains and where to access it.
As stated before, the guide to Westeros section is amazing, except where it decides to just be written paragraphs. If you're going to go for it on these bits, then go for it like you did with the other sections.
While the making of specials are cool overall, it would be nice for a little more behind the scenes action in them. There's a lot of talking head bits, but not much of the off-screen interactions between actors, crew, directors, designers, etc. which, to me, is always more fun than just everyone talking about how they crafted this cool thing, and how grand it is to be working on the series. This would be a point where the crafters of special materials for the DVDs could take note of behind the scenes stuff from LotR and a myriad of British series (see Merlin and Doctor Who for two good current examples).
The only other minus, and I get that while filming these there was probably a gag order on everyone not to reveal major plot points, is that it would be nice to hear more from the cast and creators about their thoughts on some of those events. No book spoilers needed (and I actually love the decorum both Sophie (Sansa) and Kit (Jon Snow) show when talking about certain scenes during the commentary and speaking of events in the book without really giving anything away. I just happen to be one of those wacky people who assumes if you buy a movie or show on DVD that you've seen it before you start delving into the special bits, so a bit of a nod to those of us who know what's going on would be appreciated.

Dragon Eggs:

They're here... somewhere. I'm too lazy to sift through arrow buttons to find them (I tried a bit on a couple discs, to no avail), but when someone wants to point me to them I will happily seek them out.


All in all, it's a really good set and I encourage anyone who watched the series or hasn't seen it yet to get it. The show itself is so well crafted and the entire collective of people working on it show genuine love for the material and the work they do.

Doctor Feel Better Viewings...

Back in the day when I felt under the weather, I'd curl up with some VHS tapes of The X-Files. In more recent days of yore, I chose to see if one could really wear out DVDs with a smattering of teen comedies (Can't Hardly Wait, Bring It On, the John Hughes collection, Better Off Dead, etc.). Since entering my mid-twenties and embracing the inner-anglophile there's been a surge in Brit TV and movies.

This current go around with some unknown viral attack on my sinuses and energy levels I decided to post what I've been watching to see if I can glean anything about myself from said viewings. I somehow think not, due to my current inability to focus/think/walk for more than five minutes, but I like making random lists such as this sometimes...

Currently playing: The Vampire Diaries, Season 2, Disc 2 -- Mason Lockwood gets skewered, everyone glams it up for the masquerade ball, Jeremy suddenly becomes really hot, Digital Daggers have a fantastic cover of a classic 80s tune, Elena gets kidnapped by really old vampires running from an even older vampire, and Damon confesses his true feelings for Elena.

Over the Weekend:
Firefly - Our Mrs. Reynolds. Christina Hendricks + Whedon = we're all going to the special hell

Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Man's Chest - AKA Way too many Special Effects Cloud Really Important Exposition, and then Jack Dies and Barbossa Returns. Plus, scruffy, asshole Davers is really hot.

Doctor Who - The Time of Angels. Ser Jorah Mormont + The Doctor + River Song + Amy Pond = dream team

Grimm. This show is just fun.

The Cooking Channel. Default 'there's nothing else on' channel.

Sherlock - A Study in Pink & The Blind Banker. Because, duh.

Platypus Day AKA Phineas & Ferb Marathon. We all need a little secret agent platypus vs. hapless Germanic villain action in our lives.

Omm-ing

Taken from my first experience using the Omm Writer for Mac (it's astonishing what programs actually work when one updates their operating system...):

The epicness of this is not lost on me. The screen is white, save for a few sparse trees, their branches bare. Chimes ring steadily in the background as a little chirp accompanies each click of the keys. This is the typewriter of the internet age. Take out the real distractions and just bloody write.
I cannot click on another tab to distract myself with facebook, twitter, or any of the dozen other go to distraction sites. Everything is wiped from the desktop, leaving me alone with my thoughts... and these chimes.
All right, in all honesty, the chimes could be a little less new-agey. Then again, I'll take a bit of new age chiming over the draw to drift to some other distracting destination.
I don't even really know how to get out of this. I just opened the program and this is what appeared to me. I may very well have to go typing into the night until my eyelids droop and I just let the computer go to sleep. I mean, sure, I could pause in this typing exercise and go looking for something to get me out of here, but that would defeat the initial purpose.

Then again, I can only take so much of these chimes. Those at least I need to figure out how to change...
Oooh. New chimes. These are deeper... still new agey, but more like windchimes plus a singing bowl than something you'd hear in the background of an Enya track.
Third series of sound is... melodic. Ish. If you like music that sounds like it's been filtered through water and the lovechild of Phillip Glass and Danny Elfman. Yeah. Not for me.

I got the font to change to something more akin to my style. The background can shift as well to either all white (far too daunting for me), or a light shade of grey. That will be good when I go into a dark mood, but for testing out the program, I rather enjoy the winter-esque landscape. Must be the Stark in me. (I'd like some Stark in me, IYKWIMAITYD...)

Ahhh.... so I CAN minimize this little bugger (and put it on silent if I want my own theme music while writing). That's good, overall. What I'd really like to be able to do is set a timer and/or word count goal on here so the program won't minimize until the timer runs out/I hit my goal. That, in my procrastinating little mind, would create an ideal program.
Even with the odd new age bells.

All in all, for a program that's designed to keep you focused on writing, the Omm Writer does a pretty good job. Though the minimize and close icons are still there if you wiggle your mouse, they are well off at the top (and on the opposite side one is used to) and therefore the temptation to drift away, while still there, is not so easily accessible. The free version lacks a few features I'd like to have, but for someone starting on the path of distraction-preventing software, Omm Writer and I could become fast friends.

MoffTissIan

I'm proclaiming it, right now. (Links will contain major spoilers...)

The only thing which currently gets my brain a-buzzing, my pulse a-racing, my geek heart a-pitter-pattering as much as the ASoIaF series, is Sherlock.
While I understand that for the quality of the series to remain so spectacularly high they can only produce three per season, IT'S NOT ENOUGH. Just like waiting for The Winds of Winter (or, T-Wow, as my geek friends and I like to call it), waiting for whatever will follow "The Reichenbach Fall" is equal parts excruciating and exciting, both mentally and emotionally.
Thankfully, the interwebs indulge my addiction, while constantly proving to me that there are other fans out there just as invested. Even more so.

While following up on every theory and explosion of fandom awesome regarding these series may not equate to the best use of time which could be spent being 'productive,' it does get those synapses firing in a way nothing else does.

It's certainly better than spending my days following celeb news on TMZ and Perez Hilton...




#believeinsherlock

What is this place?

How did I get back here?

Well, I'm glad you (the interwebs) asked. Though the more appropriate query might be: why did I leave?
It's not you, it's me. There. I clichéd.
However, that is pretty much the reality. Just like I'm one of those folks with a tendency to not respond to someone about anything and then the guilt complex enters in for not responding, and then I just get so guilt ridden and ashamed I ignore the issue entirely unless it comes back to bite me in the ass... well, yeah, that's basically it.

Then, eventually, you have to pry yourself away from the Self-hate Spiral of Suck and start functioning again.
This lovely blog post was an enormous help in getting me back to the blogsphere. I am this person. Number fifteen, about the books... it's like the guy has lived with me my entire life.

So yeah, I'm a crazy writer. Nutters. Off my rocker. Gone 'round the bend. Koo-Koo for Cocoa Puffs. I'm not alone, though -- much as the isolating voices in my head and natural introverted personality try to convince me otherwise.
I can't blog the crazy away, but I can invite others to jump in the crazy pool and drown with me.*


*I can't swim. So by my logic, we're all drowning.
See. Crazy.

Midway-ish

Lack of updates generally point to one of the following:
- Inability to write, guilt over thus, and fleeing from any chance at flexing the writing muscles
- Lack of time to write due to insanity of life and/or work
- Illness
- Extreme apathy toward life in general and feeling like there's nothing worthy of writing about

Combine issues two and three, and that's basically the reason this time. I'm trying to be a dedicated mentor, passable worker, powerhouse novelist, and quasi-decent friend... and it's exhausting. It's just that time of year.

However, I wanted to take a moment to say that, while stressful, this has been one of my most fulfilling NaNoWriMo years yet. Why? I have an amazing collection of writers around me. In inspiring and encouraging them, I inflict the same wisdom on myself. When I feel like throwing in the towel just to focus on other things (including helping them make it through the month), I get energized by their passion. I'm finally getting a bit of the teaching bug, if you will, though I definitely do not have enough patience for that...
Mentoring, though, is damn satisfying. If I had more time to dedicate to it, I know there'd be even more worth sharing, even more rewards to give, even more encouragement to dole out, even more emails spewing variations of 'don't give up -- you can do it!'
I've always volunteered and given back to causes I'm passionate about in some way, but never with writing. It's such a (generally) solitary and isolating line, but it doesn't always need to be. Crawling out of our dark little writing cozies and chatting with each other, even consoling ourselves when nothing seems to be going right, is great motivation for retreating back into our own little worlds and continuing our journeys.

Also, it's great to be around literate people. Just, you know, for life in general.



Required link to fundraising page for NaNoWriMo for those who like writers and kids and books and reading (it's all tax deductible and I have swanky broke!writer rewards for any size donation. Any.Size.): Click here and show some love.

NaNoWriMo Year Five: The NSFPureMinds Version

Or: What in the name of all that is sacred or profane am I doing?

There's something participating in National Novel Writing Month does to you, year after year: makes you fear for your own sanity.
Much as I love it, and proudly wear my writing geekdom with pride, and encourage (faithfully and truly) other people to participate, I acknowledge the mind-shattering marathon that is attempting to write a novel in a month. It is a crazy idea.
It's also a fantastic one.
It's magical.

(Yeah, I got caught up in the leprechaun nonsense of GLEE last night. I'm a sucker for blue eyes, a cute brogue, and a stunning voice. No apologies for it.)

Every year within the first few days I experience the trauma of the OMGWTFs. It can paralyze a writer to start contemplating the 'what ifs' and the 'why the hell am I doing this-es' and the 'everything I write is crap so why bothers' of it all. It can paralyze you at any time. The added pressure of thinking you have to complete something as massive as an entire novel in one month can daunt you into a fear spiral so dark it causes the worst possible black hole: the 'I can't do it so why even bother' hole.

You know what?
Fuck that hole.
Take a giant phallus of words and plug that hole up good. Show that hole the plot it's been missing. Use that hole up with great big sentences inspired by writing prompt, plot bunnies, song lyrics, and everyday objects like carrots and long glass tubes and staplers.
Screw that hole good by showing it you know best.
Then walk away from that hole, satisfied in the knowledge that you fucked it so well it exploded into the brilliant light of inspiration.
Then keep writing. All month long.

And THAT is your pornographic NaNoWriMo analogy of the week.

It's also about 300 words. That's a powerful amount of foreplay for starting work on your novel today.

Just to complete the inspirational mental screwing, here's a picture of Arthur Pendragon, wet, in front of a waterfall.

Yeah, you KNOW you can write something about that.

Writing for More Than Myself

As if completing a first draft of a novel weren't accomplishment enough (or proof enough of my insanity), I have decided to once again participate in National Novel Writing Month.
For those unaware, the probability of my having a first draft without NaNo is... well, zero. Thus, as it's the primary reason for my current ability to tell people, "Yeah, I'm an anti-social mope who spends more time with books and writing implements than other human beings. Well, I've written a novel. What have you done lately?" I've decided this year shouldn't just be about me attempting to scribble another sequel to my ever-expanding series of novels. This year requires a little 'thank you' to the amazing construct that is NaNoWriMo... and maybe a little pat on the back for me.
Ergo, my 2011 NaNoWriMo Sponsorship / Thank-You / Encouragement Program

Here's the scoop:
Me - Five-time NaNoWriMo participant, three-time winner. First draft completed October 2011, with submission attempts by January 2012. Dedicated this year not only to writing another novel, but encouraging/supporting/mentoring a handful of participants. In need of caffeine and writing accouterments.

NaNoWriMo - Non-profit organization started online in 2000, which challenges participants to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Supportive, worldwide community which encourages writers to do what many say they want and few accomplish: write a novel. Also created a Young Writer's Program for students and classes, Script Frenzy (like NaNo, but with scripts), and the new Camp NaNoWriMo.

You - A citizen of the world who wants to support writers, creative types, non-profits, bloggers, arts education programs, and/or show some love for me.

How to Help:
Sponsor my writing efforts by donating to NaNoWriMo at this link. It's tax deductible and the money goes to help NaNoWriMo and their Young Writers' Program (it's for the kids!)

If you don't want a tax write-off, or to help kids (or have already done such and just want to encourage me), you can gift me one of these items to help get me through my fifth year of spending the month of November eschewing all social activity that does not involve writing in order to (hopefully) draft another book.
NaNo Survival Wishlist (leave a comment with your email/site for shipping deets):
Schuil Coffee Full Moon Mocha (auto drip)
Chateau Blanc White Tea
Gift Card to Espresso Profeta
Republic of Tea Wild Blueberry Black Tea
Ashby's Cinnamon Plum Tea


Now is probably the moment where you ponder: What do I get out of this?
Well, I'm a poor person (starving artist and all that), however there are some things I can give you as appreciation for your support. I've even tiered it for people who want to feel special by donating more.
All donations. Even a dollar. Really.
- Timely thank you for your donation on Twitter & facebook.
- End of November email report to wrap-up the successes of the month, as well as that of those I'm mentoring (for those desire it)
- NaNo Wrap-up blog post shout-out

$20 - $40
- All the above
- Dedicated blog entry during November on you and your awesome support (with pimping of personal site / work / project / etc.)

$41 - $99
- All the above
- A handmade thank-you gift of your choosing from the following: necklace, bracelet, key chain, hand-printed set of notecards/envelopes

$100+
- All of the above
- Specialized thank you in vlog post come December. There may be a song. We'll see.
- When published (which it will be, either through self-publishing or other means), a signed copy of Novel the First with personalized message

Donate now!

I Wrote a Book!

I wrote a book! I wrote a book!
Take a good, hard look -- I wrote a motherfucking book!

No, really. I did.

*whew*

It took about three years to get a draft in a place where I felt it could be viewed by others for eventual submission to agents. A little over my original nine month plan, but hey, I'd never written a book before. I was young and optimistic.
Still, for anyone out there struggling with a creative project, completion negates any whining about how log it takes to get there. Stay the course (or "Stay on target."). Distractions will always arise. Life will always be complicated and seem to block you at times (or oftentimes). However, if you work your ass off and try... really, really try, you can do it.
Don't listen to Yoda. There is a wasteland of try on the way to 'do,' and that journey makes it all the more worth the satisfaction when you reach what you're trying for -- I can now say this from experience. Like a boss.

Now to scan through the very drafty sequels to prep for NaNo. And start looking for agents.
Yipes.

Perhaps also take my own advice and have a look at the screenplay baby I've neglected for far too long.



I wrote a book.

American Horror Story: Needs More Crybation?

Courtesy of Urban Dictionary, for those unaware...
Crybate: Simultaneously crying and masturbating; the most pathetic act a human being can engage in alone.

Like millions of other seemingly ordinary individuals, I engaged in the horror mash-up that was last night's premiere of American Horror Story. The show has balls, coming out of the gate with a slew of disturbing imagery, homages to classic horror, Dylan McDermott crybating while being watched by a creeper standing amongst his family's drying sheets, and the most incoherent, jumbled assembly of timeline and plot ever created for a pilot series.
The show already has numerous reviews addressing the WTF-ery of its existence, as well as some top ten lists associated with the insanity vomited out of Ryan Murphy's GLEE-addled brain. My assessment runs more along the lines of: if this is an "American Horror Story," what makes it such... and does it work?

Ignoring generalizing and/or subjective queries such as: Is it scary? Are the ghosts real? Is anyone real? The biggest question about whether this show lives up to its title is this: What makes a horror story American?
Without getting all near-two-decades of watching, researching and writing about horror on y'all (because that would get far too intellectual for something as ridiculous as this series' pilot), it basically boils down to the following:
American horror wants to shock you. How it goes about achieving this varies depending on the desired shock level, where it hits you psychologically, and the style of its crafter. In this sense, American Horror Story wins in its first episode, if a string of mental WTFs can be considered shocking.
American horror is fascinated with disturbed individuals and their penchant for killing people, often in gruesome ways, with lingering effects. This show has disturbed people all right, and there's already hints and statements that some have already killed.
We like sex in our horror. It's not uncommon for American horror films to contain as much sexual content as violence, or at least the undertones of it. Europeans tend to be more subtle in their portrayal of sexuality as it relates to horror. It's almost non-existent in Japanese horror. Not us, we come out balls-blazing, coupling acts of gore in tandem with college orgies. From McDermott's luscious booty, to the (Ghost?)Gimp sex scene, to the hilarious (if you're me or anyone who works in my office) crybation scene, this series is no exception. In fact, if allowed by the censors, it could take torture-porn to a new level: porn-torture... like elevated crybation.
Many other themes in horror are embraced by the show: isolation, struggling against our desires in a heightened situation, history resurfacing to (possibly literally) bite us in the ass, and a questioning of what reality truly is. These are general constructs of most horror, not necessarily American.

So, the show hits most of the themes set forth in hundreds of years of American horror, along with more than a dash of general horror conventions. Does it work, though?
It could be a bit too soon to tell, but thus far... not entirely. The issue, I think, is that it's combining too many established constructs, coupled with homages, coupled with an incoherent plot and timeline. While it's shocking, disturbing, and full of weirdness (supernatural and otherwise), it fails to provide the audience with an answer to one of the most important questions in successful horror: What makes this horrific, and why tell us this story?
It has a chance to reveal this to us, but as of right now I'm doubtful it can accomplish this given its explicit bombardment of freakshow moments in the very first episode. That type of insanity cannot be maintained and retain the necessary creep-out factor to keep people engaged. yet you need to pull away a bit to provide some actual, coherent storytelling. Backing away from the crazy too soon, though, could expose perhaps the greatest flaw (so far) in this scenario: If all this insanity is happening within weeks(days? hours? who the hell knows right now...) of moving into their new home -- why are these people staying there and why should we care?