Showing posts sorted by relevance for query a game of thrones. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query a game of thrones. Sort by date Show all posts

Monday, May 16, 2011

Maps and Character Locations

Obviously, I have been reading George RR Martin's Not a Blog today. He links to a Spanish site that includes a map of character location by episode. Pretty cool.

I had a similar idea when reading his A Song of Ice and Fire books, but was thinking more about locations based on the fictional date. Some of the chapters in the books overlap so chapters aren't perfect for defining a point in time either. Someone with a little technical savy and some time could map out the locations and then allow you to click "play" and watch them move around Westros. Given the number of characters and locations this would be a slick compliment to the books. You could even move back and forth through time to watch the relative movement of characters. Imagine using something like that to map out Heroes or Back to the Future.

As I mentioned before, the title scene does a good job of giving an overview of Westeros. If I was a good writer, I would have said it like this:
"From the spires of King's Landing and the godswood of Winterfell, to the frozen heights of The Wall and windy plains across the Narrow Sea, Elastic's thunderous cartographic flight through the Seven Kingdoms offers the uninitiated a sweeping education in all things Game of Thrones.

- Will Perkins, Contributing Author"
The above quote is from an article on the Game of Thrones intro at The Art of the Title Sequence. The article includes a video of the intro along with several good pictures of various components of the sequence.

And it sounds like my speculation that the intro would change based on the locations of the characters is correct. Plus one for me!
"At this point, we made a list of the locations we needed to build. Then we figured out how many different versions of the sequence we would need to create, the idea being that the opening title would show you all the places you would visit in each episode. And we boiled it down to four different sequences, each a subtle variation."
I'm loving the series. I can't believe we have seen five episodes already, but I'm glad we have several more and a whole second season!

Art of the Title Sequence info via Not a Blog

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Contrast

This was a big week-end for me. I got to go see Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 and I ordered HBO just so I could watch the new Game of Thrones series. You might have seen me post about these things once or twice before.

Stop reading now if you want to avoid any potential spoilers.

Below are my comments from each of the two shows.

Atlas Shrugged
I felt like they used the "Who is John Galt?" question as a catchphrase. Eat my shorts! To me it was as if the actors were looking at the audience and winking as they asked the question. My wife, who has not read the book, didn't feel that way. In the book, the question is an expression of hopelessness and frustration. As the world is crumbling, no one even thinks to find this John Galt person - if he even exists at all. It is just something everyone says.

Matthew Marsden plays James Taggart. I pictured Jim Taggart to be much older. I think we got a little too much "hollywood" in casting this character. However, the worse offense was making Jim too active in the political games. While he was a political creature in the book, you felt like he was being swept along with the other socialists. In the movie, he takes much more initiative and blurs the lines between producers and looters.

Hank Rearden is very socially awkward in the book. My wife described the movie version as smooth and suave. Fail.

People have criticized the physics of the train running on the new Rearden Metal track. That didn't bother me nearly as bad as the attempt to explain the magical motor.

I don't think the movie did a good job of showing the root cause of the problems. Maybe this is because Rand spent a bazillion pages pounding the message into my skull and the movie was trying to compress those philosophies. Likewise, Rands views on the role of sex and relationships between men and women are completely left out. There other plot points that are missing - like the relationship that was formed between Dagny and Francisco as children. The lack of detail on Francisco's background and prior achievements is a huge gap.

And is everyone sharing the same limo?

Now that I'm done beating it up, I will say I am glad I went and I'm sure I will see Part 2. (Also, a mini-plug for Regal Cinemas. My wife and I dug out a hundred year old gift certificate that was for $5. They couldn't find it in the system, so they just gave us a free ticket. Customer service isn't dead!)

Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes
The View from North Central Idaho - Joe Huffman
ExurbanLeague - sounds like he had people clapping at the end of the movie, too.
Walls of the City

Game of Thrones
I've been more excited about this than Atlas Shrugged. As I mentioned, I even added HBO specifically for this show - that's almost $18 per month, so I better like it.

In short (and in contrast to ASP1 above), the first episode was exactly as I pictured it in the book. It was fantastic!

I was worried about some of the actors as I did not think they would fit their characters, but everyone was fantastic. I really liked Lena Headey (from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as Cersei Lannister. I did not see her as a good match, but she was great. I predicted I would like Peter Dinklage (from The Station Agent) as Tyrion and he lived up to the expectation.

The opening scene was very well done - from the CGI, to the pacing, and tension it created. The first few minutes would compare well to any classic horror movie.

I also thought the opening credits were very smart. You get a bird's eye view of Westeros, but you don't see each of the Seven Kingdoms. It only shows the ones that are currently relevant. My guess is that they will change the opening as the action moves between kingdoms.

Definitely, money well spent. It makes me even more excited that the next book is coming out. When A Feast of Crows came out, the bookstore provided everyone with a cheat sheet to remind us of what was happening with all the characters at the end of the book. The series will be a nice refresher without having to re-read some of the books.

I can't wait for next Sunday!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

A Dance with Dragons

I actually went to the book signing in Lexington when A Feast for Crows came out. I think that was when I was in high school - okay, maybe not quite that long ago.
"Big news. The end is in sight, at long long last, and we're close enough so that my editors and publishers at Bantam Spectra have set an actual publication date. A DANCE WITH DRAGONS will be in your favorite bookstore on TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2011."
He references A Storm of Swords for an estimated length, so probably about 1000 pages. Every year I hope it will come out before I go to the beach, but no luck. I've been reading the Wikipedia summaries as a refresher. If I had the time, I might re-read the books. Unfortunately, I still have 800 pages or so left in Atlas Shrugged before I start anything.

Previously:
George R. R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire
Game of Thrones coming to HBO

By George R.R. Martin: A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2)A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3)A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4)

Monday, May 16, 2011

The Problem with Environmentalist Tree Hugging Hippies

[ SPOILER ALERT ]

[ SPOILER ALERT FOR GAME OF THRONES - READ AT YOUR OWN RISK ]

[ SPOILER ALERT ]

Life imitates art again... George RR Martin discusses the response to the demise of one of his characters in the Game of Thrones series.
"It has come to my attention that a number of television viewers (mostly those who had not read my books and did not know what was coming)were shocked and upset by what befell Sansa's direwolf Lady at the end of the second episode of HBO's GAME OF THRONES.

Good. I mean, that was kind of the point.

But some people were reportedly so shocked and upset that they wrote angry blogs about it, and even declared that they would not continue watching the show.

Not so good. Obviously, I'm sorry to hear that.

I don't know if any of those people are reading my Not A Blog. But in case they are, perhaps it will make you feel a little better to know that Zunni, the Northern Inuit who played Lady, is alive and well, and has been adopted by Sophie Turner, the lovely young actress who plays Sansa in the show. We didn't really kill her."
But here is the kicker...
"(Rhodri Hosking, the young actor who played the butcher's boy Mycah, was not actually killed either, though oddly, no one seems quite so upset about him)."
How often do we hear about saving the tree/bird/unicorn, but with nary a word mentioned about the impact to people?

Monday, June 11, 2012

Game of Thrones and HBO

Some notes as the Game of Thrones Season 2 ends...

Game of Thrones is this season's most pirated show.

And if people like the content so much, maybe HBO should start offering it directly. I would probably pay for an HBO Go account since my provider, Knology, doesn't include it with the HBO subscription.

And a funny suggestion for other shows to watch while we wait for the third season.



Image via 9gag.com via winteriscoming.net

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Game of Thrones Deal

Wow! You can get all five of the A Song of Ice and Fire series (aka Game of Thrones) for less than $20! These are my favorite books of all time. I've got them all in hard back - including a signed copy of A Feast for Crows, but I may still have to get the Kindle versions. I suspect I will want to reread them when George RR Martin finally gets the next book out.

Friday, December 17, 2010

George R.R. Martin

George R. R. Martin is a favorite author of mine. (Of course, like most of his fans, I hate him, too because he can't hit a deadline to save his life.)

His Song of Ice and Fire series is probably my favorite of all time. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. Magic is rare. Magic isn't so powerful that it makes armies meaningless. There is balance.
2. He isn't afraid to kill (or maim) the primary characters - even the likable ones.
3. The scope is realistic - it isn't about saving the world from the "Big Bad," but rather about families and kingdoms as they struggle to survive and conquer.

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)

Friday, May 10, 2013

No Radio News

Nothing in the radio world is inspiring me at the moment, so you get this...

Game of Thrones character name is the fastest growing baby name - Arya.

A geography game using Google Street View - GeoGuessr.

Download your 3-D gun plans - at Joe Huffman's place.

The truth about IT people - Google Skills.

Say Uncle's worst nightmare - Unstoppable.

Ellen does security - Password Minder.

Almost radio related - DIY AUX port.

Baofeng, but still not a radio.

HP rep, in talking about new side docking stations for their laptops, described it as looking like a credit card imprint machine. If I was any younger, I probably would not know what she is talking about.

A weeks worth of groceries from around the world.

A split-screen interview - because we can!

Because I have the sense of humor of a 12 year-old: ship my pants!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Game of Thrones: Religions of Westeros

This video is a good review of the religions in Westeros from the A Song of Ice and Fire series of books and the HBO Game of Thrones TV series. One of my favorite things about the books is how tightly the culture, geography, religion, fashion, and architecture are tied together.

 

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Game of Thrones - Risk!

This is perfect... Game of Thrones version of Risk. I never played the board game version, but I remember several of us gathered around a computer in the early 90's to play on someone's Mac in the dorm.




Via Kinja Deals

Friday, November 29, 2013

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

WOW HBO Go!

Some good news... I'm getting HBO Go later this year. Game of Thrones on the iPad Mini! Knology was always slower than Comcast at getting features. We switched to Knology years ago when they had just a few high def stations. Their offering lacked some features the other cable companies, but the internet connection has always been fast and the I've saved a ton of money using them. Now if they will upgrade the cable boxes, so that I can control them from my smartphone or tablet, we will be rocking.

"Dear WOW! Customer, 
We’ve heard from many of you, our HBO customers, that you want HBO GO. At WOW!, we’re HBO GO enthusiasts too, so we understand why you are asking. If you’re not familiar with HBO GO, it’s an online application available only to HBO subscribers that offers video streaming of HBO programs on your computer and other mobile devices.

To make HBO GO available, we need to do some technical work that takes a bit of time to complete. This involves integrating systems between WOW! and the former cable provider in your market, Knology. We are working hard to make this content available as quickly as possible and aim to have HBO GO ready this fall. We realize that it’s frustrating knowing that HBO GO is already available in other WOW! markets and we want you to know that we will make it happen for you, too. Once we’ve completed the technical integration, all WOW! customers will be able to enjoy the HBO GO experience, no matter where you are located.

Please hang in there and know that we are on our way with HBO GO.

Thank you for letting us serve you.

Cathy Kuo
Mom, Karaoke Fan, Optimist
Chief Marketing Officer
WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone"

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Cheap Kindle Books

I've not read of the "50 Shades" books, so I can't comment, but I liked Ready Player One, The Martian, A Game of Thrones (duh), The Kite Runner, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl. My wife loves the Outlander books.

$2 Kindle Books

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Kingkiller Chronicle

So the Kingkiller Chronicles might end up as a series on Showtime. This could be a great option for The Game of Thrones fans. Of course, the author (Patrick Rothfuss) works like George R.R. Martin - we have been waiting about 7 years for book 3 in the trilogy.

I'm re-reading the first book: The Wise Man's Fear.

I love the stories within stories. I'm reading it with a little more care as I try to come up with some theories for the last book.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Friday, August 22, 2014

Be Afraid

Potentially bad news for your favorite Game of Thrones characters:
“I have a large number of important characters who I switch between to tell the entirety of the story, and that limits who I can kill … The viewpoint characters are meeting up with each other and being in the same point at the same time,” said Martin, “which gives me a lot more flexibility for killing people.”
George R.R. Martin via WinterIsComing.net.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Game of Thrones

They've already been picked up for Season 2. Thanks to NotTNJeff for the heads-up. Also, a great summary of the major characters, locations, etc. is here.