Treasure Hunting for August 14th, 2017
Aug. 14th, 2017 05:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amyvanhymGame of Thrones S7E4/5, freedom of expression
The writing! Gilly's annulment nuke. 15,482 shits. Fermented crab. Eternal rowing quip. The acting! Jon's dragon terror/awe. Tyrion and Jaime re: Dad. Dany's shameless moon eyes for Jon. Jon's secret moon eyes for Dany. Marvelous. And Gendry! His stewing over the meaning of his identity, his carefree determination. So many no-bullshit conflicts and interactions. Arya vs Sansa post-actualization, great extension of their original tensions. Each has grown in ways the other hasn't, true to themselves and almost antithetical to one another. There's so much potential for them to be complementary if they work their shit out.
Now where are my macros?
First, some E4 leftovers:
HEERE'S DANY
Perspective
Jaime the Fool by Bayard Wu
For E5, Must begin with chrysreviews' tl;dw album
Dany's hypocrisy BBQ
Daenerys the 'breaker of chains' acquired her power and reputation by freeing slaves. Missandei believes she is free. The Unsullied fight in the name of freedom. Now in Westeros Dany enslaves soldiers. All of this had better be a setup for a request by Missandei to leave and go be with Grey Worm at Casterly, or something like that. How will Dany answer? Is she a slaver or not? Are her Unsullied free to go or not? Jorah, you know all about slavery, get the hell in here! As for Dickon's fate: called it. Not the specifics, but that he would die, having been included as a minor sympathetic character to give a relatable human heart to a tragedy endured by a larger population. Karsi played a similar role at Hardhome. Man I loved her.
Jorah vs Jon
I'm wondering whether, and how, these issues will come up and play out. Of course they'd be managed honorably, but I hope they won't be buried entirely by priorities. Also, Dany needs Jorah's advice. She listens to him and he's a cool bloke. He should be her Hand rather than Tyrion but now he's been sent away. It ain't right.
Gendry + Jon
That meeting was like S1E1 Rob & Ned reincarnated (but not repeated ver batim, a relief). Jon needs a plucky sidekick. Everybody else has too much baggage.
Dany vs clever plans
The plan's kinda got a couple holes. How did they know Jaime's alive? Did they have divers search the bottom for him? How did Tyrion find Bronn? Did he really have time for that? I like the no-BS plot speed (plus it might be necessary in order to keep so many honorable and direct characters in character), but a bit of a slow-down would have helped knit these scenes together more believably. I want more conversations. I want Dany & Tyrion to actually talk about Jaime. There's a lot of complexity and backstory there.
Time to level up Gendry
Tristram's fukn boring, just farm him through Hell Cows a hundred times. Cow King > Night King. What a dream team, though. I feel like I've been watching three or four different shows the last six years and just got dropped into the coolest crossover possible. All we need now is for them to run into a pack of Ice Spiders Big As The Hound.
lol
Predictions that will never happen: Jon legitimizes Gendry so he and Arya can repopulate house Baratheon, also Dany and Jon make lots of Targ babies, also Tyrion and Sansa make babies for Lannister. Gilly and Sam rebuild house Tarly out of more babies. Babies babies Babies. Seems I'm ovulating.
New Zurik vid: Olenna Tyrell || The Queen of Thorns
The loss of the Tyrells still smarts. They were best people. Mormonts are secondbest people.
GoT audition reel
I might be the only one who hasn't already seen this. But I'm including it because Emilia Clarke (1:40) is pure sunshine and, in this current political atmosphere, this paradoxical mass psychosis enabling hatred and evil to overflow abundantly through masks of love, I need some sunshine.
Why Freedom of Speech is Necessary
"Without free speech there's no true thought."
Behold Jordan Peterson's capacity for multidisciplinary abstraction. A 10/10 explanation of some of the ways expression, experimentation, argumentation, articulation and fiction work together to be indispensible for human growth.
YouTuber Razorfist: "It's Not An Algorithm, It's a Blacklist (And I'm On It)"
In short, the user did an experiment: he uploaded a video containing nonsense and nothing offensive, set it to private, and it was demonetized. YouTube appears not to have a demonitization algorithm at all, but rather a guilt-by-association blacklist.
Majority of Muslim asylum seekers in Austria want jokes about Islam banned
A Danube University of Krems survey of 1,129 Muslims originally from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia and Chechnya, found that 60% believe jokes about Islam should be banned.
A few days ago I expressed a desire to paint the town in Goolag stickers. Fortunately someone else has done just that in another town.
I guess this is what "solidarity against hate" looks like. (Seattle)
"The Right to Openly Discuss Ideas Must Be Defended" - sign held by man attacked in the name of love
A few months old, but I was reminded of it. It's crazier than absurdist comedy, and it's real life. I can't get into these people's heads. I don't know where to start trying to grasp their thinking process. Are they thinking at all? Are they zombies? It shorts me out.
Corporations are cracking down on free speech inside the office — and out
"Tools of surveillance, whether public or private, coercive or voluntary, have never been more powerful or sophisticated, and while the reactions of private employers to employees’ speech vary, it doesn’t take many incidents like those listed above to create a chilling effect. Every engine of online expression is also a tool with which our bosses might investigate our lives and our opinions. They will also therefore be key instruments of employer coercion going forward. As businesses gain new ways of observing the private lives of employees, they will become more adept at policing those off-the-clock moments, and all of us will become less free."
In #Seattle now, and coming to a city near you,
The
.
ride
.
never
.
ever
.
ever
.
fucking
.
ends.
Game of Thrones S7E4/5
The writing! Gilly's annulment nuke. 15,482 shits. Fermented crab. Eternal rowing quip. The acting! Jon's dragon terror/awe. Tyrion and Jaime re: Dad. Dany's shameless moon eyes for Jon. Jon's secret moon eyes for Dany. Marvelous. And Gendry! His stewing over the meaning of his identity, his carefree determination. So many no-bullshit conflicts and interactions. Arya vs Sansa post-actualization, great extension of their original tensions. Each has grown in ways the other hasn't, true to themselves and almost antithetical to one another. There's so much potential for them to be complementary if they work their shit out.
Now where are my macros?
First, some E4 leftovers:
HEERE'S DANY
Perspective
Jaime the Fool by Bayard Wu
For E5, Must begin with chrysreviews' tl;dw album
Dany's hypocrisy BBQ
Daenerys the 'breaker of chains' acquired her power and reputation by freeing slaves. Missandei believes she is free. The Unsullied fight in the name of freedom. Now in Westeros Dany enslaves soldiers. All of this had better be a setup for a request by Missandei to leave and go be with Grey Worm at Casterly, or something like that. How will Dany answer? Is she a slaver or not? Are her Unsullied free to go or not? Jorah, you know all about slavery, get the hell in here! As for Dickon's fate: called it. Not the specifics, but that he would die, having been included as a minor sympathetic character to give a relatable human heart to a tragedy endured by a larger population. Karsi played a similar role at Hardhome. Man I loved her.
Jorah vs Jon
I'm wondering whether, and how, these issues will come up and play out. Of course they'd be managed honorably, but I hope they won't be buried entirely by priorities. Also, Dany needs Jorah's advice. She listens to him and he's a cool bloke. He should be her Hand rather than Tyrion but now he's been sent away. It ain't right.
Gendry + Jon
That meeting was like S1E1 Rob & Ned reincarnated (but not repeated ver batim, a relief). Jon needs a plucky sidekick. Everybody else has too much baggage.
Dany vs clever plans
The plan's kinda got a couple holes. How did they know Jaime's alive? Did they have divers search the bottom for him? How did Tyrion find Bronn? Did he really have time for that? I like the no-BS plot speed (plus it might be necessary in order to keep so many honorable and direct characters in character), but a bit of a slow-down would have helped knit these scenes together more believably. I want more conversations. I want Dany & Tyrion to actually talk about Jaime. There's a lot of complexity and backstory there.
Time to level up Gendry
Tristram's fukn boring, just farm him through Hell Cows a hundred times. Cow King > Night King. What a dream team, though. I feel like I've been watching three or four different shows the last six years and just got dropped into the coolest crossover possible. All we need now is for them to run into a pack of Ice Spiders Big As The Hound.
lol
Predictions that will never happen: Jon legitimizes Gendry so he and Arya can repopulate house Baratheon, also Dany and Jon make lots of Targ babies, also Tyrion and Sansa make babies for Lannister. Gilly and Sam rebuild house Tarly out of more babies. Babies babies Babies. Seems I'm ovulating.
New Zurik vid: Olenna Tyrell || The Queen of Thorns
The loss of the Tyrells still smarts. They were best people. Mormonts are secondbest people.
GoT audition reel
I might be the only one who hasn't already seen this. But I'm including it because Emilia Clarke (1:40) is pure sunshine and, in this current political atmosphere, this paradoxical mass psychosis enabling hatred and evil to overflow abundantly through masks of love, I need some sunshine.
Freedom of Expression
Why Freedom of Speech is Necessary
"Without free speech there's no true thought."
Behold Jordan Peterson's capacity for multidisciplinary abstraction. A 10/10 explanation of some of the ways expression, experimentation, argumentation, articulation and fiction work together to be indispensible for human growth.
YouTuber Razorfist: "It's Not An Algorithm, It's a Blacklist (And I'm On It)"
In short, the user did an experiment: he uploaded a video containing nonsense and nothing offensive, set it to private, and it was demonetized. YouTube appears not to have a demonitization algorithm at all, but rather a guilt-by-association blacklist.
Majority of Muslim asylum seekers in Austria want jokes about Islam banned
A Danube University of Krems survey of 1,129 Muslims originally from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Somalia and Chechnya, found that 60% believe jokes about Islam should be banned.
A few days ago I expressed a desire to paint the town in Goolag stickers. Fortunately someone else has done just that in another town.
I guess this is what "solidarity against hate" looks like. (Seattle)
"The Right to Openly Discuss Ideas Must Be Defended" - sign held by man attacked in the name of love
A few months old, but I was reminded of it. It's crazier than absurdist comedy, and it's real life. I can't get into these people's heads. I don't know where to start trying to grasp their thinking process. Are they thinking at all? Are they zombies? It shorts me out.
Corporations are cracking down on free speech inside the office — and out
"Tools of surveillance, whether public or private, coercive or voluntary, have never been more powerful or sophisticated, and while the reactions of private employers to employees’ speech vary, it doesn’t take many incidents like those listed above to create a chilling effect. Every engine of online expression is also a tool with which our bosses might investigate our lives and our opinions. They will also therefore be key instruments of employer coercion going forward. As businesses gain new ways of observing the private lives of employees, they will become more adept at policing those off-the-clock moments, and all of us will become less free."
In #Seattle now, and coming to a city near you,
The
.
ride
.
never
.
ever
.
ever
.
fucking
.
ends.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-15 02:13 am (UTC)But, I agree. Babies! Maybe not Sansa and Tyrion, though. I never thought that pairing had romantic chemistry. Definitely not Sansa and Littlefinger though (ew!).
I am also totally on board the S.S. Tormund and Brienne, though. The way he moons over her is so cute!
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-15 04:13 am (UTC)Yeah, Sansa isn't really feeling it either (though I'm sure Tyrion would be disbelievingly on board). My thinking is basically just that there's not really anyone else for either of them, Tyrion's a thinker and Sansa's becoming a better thinker every day, Tyrion proved what a relatively nice man he is on their wedding night, and Sansa's taller than every man in Westeros anyway so maybe the dwarf thing will end up not mattering.
lol, Tormond and Brienne. What I don't understand is why she seems to dislike him so much! But then she does tend to chase the prettier ones.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-15 01:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-15 03:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-16 01:02 pm (UTC)Thank you.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-16 04:19 pm (UTC).
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-16 07:03 pm (UTC)My feeling, exactly! But strangely enough, people have done exactly that and it creeps me out. They add me and then there's zero interaction, ever. (Even when I have then taken the initiative and commented on their entries.) That's the only reason why I asked. The internet is straaaaaaaaaaaaaange sometimes!
Anyway, carry on!
Game of Thrones
Date: 2017-08-17 07:24 am (UTC)Anyone could die at any time, and George R.R. Martin was a "Killer GM" of a D&D dungeonmaster -- Got a favorite character? He'll fix that for you!
But 1) There is a document floating around online. I have a copy. It is the original pitch to the editors for Martin's idea for the series. It includes the characters who he saw surviving to the very end. Would you like to see, even if it may not still be valid?
2) GRRM has written a lot else. I strongly recommend his editorial work on "Wild Cards," superhumans anthology/alternate history, at least for books 1-10. It was inspired by his old Champions superhero gaming group (I am not kidding), which was full of great authors. The authors then called their other friends, and suddenly people like Roger Zelazny are writing about realistic superheroes and alien-engineered viruses that rewrite your DNA. And yes, Martin has his own character that he writes about: Thomas Tudbury, the Great and Powerful Turtle, who uses his telekinesis and hides his identity from inside a flying Volkswagen Beetle that he outfits with battleship armor plate...
You either love this stuff or you don't get it at all. :)
There are two amazing short story collections by him, but the shift in tones can be jarring. But my favorite novel of his remains "Tuf Voyaging." If you can find a copy, try the first ten pages.
A very peculiar individual acquires a old Empire relic: a bioArk, a ship which can terraform entire worlds and ecologies. For a price, he will solve your problems, or at least the ones you started with.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-17 08:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-17 08:32 pm (UTC)Years ago on Livejournal I had a random stranger post a nasty message and they even had an obscene icon. I... didn't even realize what it was until someone else pointed it out. Then I looked more closely. EEWW!
rocks fall, everyone dies
Date: 2017-08-17 09:32 pm (UTC)1) Aarlksdfjkhskdjfhghhh. I've spoiled myself somewhat for S7 (script leak summaries, basic plot points), and I'm not sure I want any more, but these aren't technically spoilers. I know D&D have strayed from Martin's advice before. Yes! Yes I would like to see, and thank you.
2) I've had difficulty reading GRRM's prose style though I love his vision, dialogue and characters, so aside from trying ASOIAF I haven't pursued his writing much. But this Wild Cards thing, the premise on Wikipedia, looks fkn awesome. A DNA-rewriting bioweapon hits just around WWII -- I wonder if it was part of the inspiration for The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances, probly my favourite Doctor Who eps. And then also on the Wiki entry I found, "In August 2016, Universal Cable Productions acquired the rights to create a television series, [yaddayadda]." Hype!
I've got a couple GRRM short stories inside some old anthologies I picked up at a bookstore closing. One is The Storms of Windhaven, which is nice though not mindblowing, and the other is Nightflyers, which I've yet to read.
>> For a price, he will solve your problems, or at least the ones you started with.
Heheheh. Maybe something like this guy then? I like this theme, I'll remember this, thanks.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-17 09:43 pm (UTC)lol, obscene icons. At first you think it's a rose. Then you realize it's actually a vagina canoe.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-18 12:09 am (UTC)Nope, nope, not gonna click. Once seen, never unseen! LOL!
This world is so crazy.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-08-18 12:19 am (UTC)Re: rocks fall, everyone dies
Date: 2017-08-18 03:10 am (UTC)GRRM. More reply later. :)