Game of Thrones the Countdown begins.

by on May 13, 2013 at 6:15 am
Posted In: Test

The long awaited “Maid and the Maiden Fair” This season’s episode written by the author George R. R. Martin was everything I hoped it to be including the advertised fight between Brienne and a bear. Along with all of this it very much looks like we’re well on our way to this season’s climax which, at the moment, I am fairly sure shall rhyme with “Dead Leading”

Again, as I’ve mentioned several times, I’m fascinated how the show is becoming it’s own thing. I keep waiting to see things happen on the schedule I’m expecting and I keep getting surprised that I’m surprised when it doesn’t. This episode was closer to the book than the last two episodes probably due to the work of the author but even then all of the new material began to continue it’s own way while at the same time compliments and improves on the original material. In this episode the best example of this is Tyrion’s mistress, Shae. In the book she is just a childish camp follower picked up at random and painfully naive. In the show she is intelligent and ambitious with her own agenda. It makes more sense for this character to do what she will do later on than the version in the book does.

The other example is the character of Gendry who’s story has gone in a completely different direction than it has in the book. In the book he joins the Brotherhood Without Banners and that’s it. Here his story is merged with another of his father’s bastards, Edric Stone. I have a hard time believing that it will end in the same way and I look forward to finding out.

All in all this one was great. We had one of the best dragon scenes in the entire season and we had a BEAR. What more can we ask for?

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Toonies

by on May 11, 2013 at 1:26 pm
Posted In: Test

WCNWLogoell today I’m taking it easy doing some office work while I get ready for this evening’s annual Toonies banquet.

For anyone who is wondering the Toonies is the annual awards banquet for Cartoonists Northwest held at Ivar’s Salmon House. Where all of the members dress up to meet up over an option of Salmon, Chicken or vegetarian option Four Cheese Ravioli and do clay sculpture while listening to this year’s speaker.

I confess that my opinion of the whole affair has been gradually dropping over the years (partially due to not being nominated for any catagory for the last couple of years “so that other people can get the chance”) but it’s a chance to put on the urban camouflage so I generally get guilt tripped into it eventually.

This year the organizer lost the list of suggestions and just made a list of nominations out of nothing and while most of the list certainly deserve the nominations the whole thing felt horribly fake. I didn’t even bother to vote for anyone. As far as I could tell other than nominations for the “Golden Toonie” award I didn’t see anything listed for other categories. Ah well. I guess we’ll all get prizes for good attendance as per usual.

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Friday Museum Sketches

by on May 10, 2013 at 7:37 am
Posted In: Art

LadyLouisamannersI haven’t been able to get as much of the Seattle Art Museum’s Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough exhibit as I would like. I’ve been either going there on the weekend when it’s packed which does not really lend itself to constructive sketching or I get there at the end of a weekday when the museum closes at five and I’m desperately trying to get something good finished before I get kicked out.

Anyway today’s was done last Thursday when I only had a had a half hour to work with (I would have had more but I got into a fairly good conversation with one of the security guards) So today’s sketch a portrait of Lady Louisa Manners done in 1779 by Joshua Reynolds. It’s done in the style approved by the Royal Acadamy as it intentionally takes on a timeless and mythic appearance and avoids any topical content or current fashion of the time.

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Apparently I’ve been Spamming People

by on May 8, 2013 at 1:05 pm
Posted In: Test

MalwareWell I had an interesting day yesterday… Along with all the other stuff there was… Spam. I’ve had some experience with this hacking and spamming technique where you get links to garbage from all of your friends. At first I would give these friends a heads up to tell them that their email addresses were being used for evil but after a while they became so ubiquitous I just started to ignore them. The flags were so obvious it was easy to ignore and delete them without having to blame your friends…

But yesterday the last bunch were “my fault”.

Over all of yesterday I had a batch of friends being well meaning and giving me a heads up… friends who were annoyed and sending me notes to ask why I was inflicting this stuff of them… and then there were the ones who were just sarcastic.

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Game of Thrones Episode 6

by on May 6, 2013 at 7:30 am
Posted In: Test

Well season 3 of Game of Thrones has just passed the half way point and I don’t have the slightest idea what’s happening next… Well I mean I know what’s going to happen next, they’re still sticking to the basic outline of the novel but they’re adding and tweaking so much it ends up being an extremely different trip to the ending. And frankly I think this is a good thing.

As I’ve said repeatedly, after making pragmatic change after pragmatic change in the past two seasons all of this is beginning to add up and snowball making Game of Thrones season 3 something notably different that A Storm of Swords. Along with this there are lots of things that are just added and changed completely in numerous and interesting ways. Today’s episode is one of the best examples of this as we have the Red Priestess Melisandre travels to the Riverlands meeting up with her coreligionist Thoros of Myr as well witnessing the slow destruction of Theon Greyjoy as he’s tortured mentally and physically. The creators of the show keep me wondering what is going to happen next even though I know.

Visually the show continues to please with a sweeping finale on the top of the Wall showing us a view of the North and Westeros in all of it’s glory. Showing me why I consider this show an addictive pleasure even when it is at it’s darkest.

On a very brief side note I saw some of “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” while channel surfing afterwards. It is just as bad as everybody says it is.

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