Reading a series like George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire can really ruin your faith in humanity.
The best part, and the worst, of George R. R. Martin's series is that it's REAL. There are white knights in the books, but they are the most dishonorable knights of all. There are kings, but there is no such thing as a good one. There is love, but it rarely comes without a twist. The bad guys don't all die, the good guys often do, good rarely wins, and evil usually has what it takes to prevail. The innocent die, or don't stay innocent for long. And everybody plays the game of thrones.
It's a breath of fresh air, let me tell you. I love a story where the hero wins and gets the girl (insert any alternative genders or non-genders that you wish into that old trope, I know I do), where they vanquish the evil and restore the good king to his throne. But it gets tired. You look around at the world today, at the people who are in politics and power, and you don't see Gandalf; you see Peter Baelish, or Littlefinger. You look at heads of state and you don't see Aragorn; you see Robert Baratheon, feasting and wenching and drinking himself into an early death (or, say, golfing and sending his family on fancy European vacations, on the taxpayer's dime. Just a random example). Experience is usually what triumphs, and innocence dies a hard death, or learns to survive- but in doing so, begins to look curiously just like experience.
Why did I decided to (re)read SoIaF? Two reasons. First, the beautifully done new Game of Thrones series (I say new, but it ended two weeks ago). It's MARVELOUS. It's like, LotR quality, but in TV. It's also crazy true to the books, which is excellent, although it makes me spit at some of the fans because they got all up in arms after the ninth episode, whining about how they didn't want Ned Stark to die, and how the producers gypped them and just wanted to get good ratings, but BITCHES, THAT'S HOW IT WAS IN THE BOOK. Ugh, this is such an indicator of the liberal culture we live in today. "Wahhhh, I don't want my favorite character in a show based on a book series to die, EVEN THOUGH HE DIED IN THE BOOK AND THAT WOULD CHANGE PROBABLY THE WHOLE DAMN SERIES, because I DON'T WANT HIM TO! Mommy, FIX THE WORLD FOR ME!"
...okay. I'm good now. I promise you, Walt Kowalski didn't just take over my body and write my post for me. Well, maybe a little bit.
I guess the whole problem I have with people today is that they cling to the fairy tale notion of how everything is always going to work out perfectly in the end. We can do whatever we want, but nothing bad is going to happen to us. We can refuse to take responsibility for our actions, because it'll all turn out okay. We can elect a man to the presidency just because of his skin color, and give him a Nobel Peace Prize less than a year into office, and he'll turn out to be the best and wisest president we've ever seen, and he'll fix unemployment and make sure everybody has health care and all the wars in the world will cease and we'll have peace everywhere, just because we HOPED he would.
Just, you know, a random example.
One other thing I love that GRRM does is show that appearances are deceiving. Joffrey LOOKS like he should be the perfect king: handsome, golden, well-formed, carrying authority easily, everyone looks at him and says he must be wonderful. Inside, however, he's a monster. But I guess we're still going back to The Tempest:
There’s nothing ill can dwell in such a temple.
If the ill spirit have so fair a house,
Good things will strive to dwell with ’t.
Well...not so much. I mean, Cersei and Jaime are blond/e and gorgeous twins, but they've been fucking since they were fifteen and now have three kids together. Just sayin'. There's part of me that thinks the crybabies that our nanny state have created need a harsh lesson in how tough things can be in this world, but I guess that's uncharitable of me. First, because nobody deserves the things that happen to the people of Westeros during the war- constant raping, pillaging, the destruction of houses and homes and hopes, and death- constant, inexorable death. And second, because the vast majority of the American people wouldn't make it through the first day.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Vacation (coming back was the best part)
I was on vacation with my family at Universal Studios Orlando for the past week and a half, which may be why I haven't posted in a while (plus I'm just lazy. It had to happen sometime). The trip was in honor of my sister's graduation from high school, and our primary focus was the brand spankin' new Wizarding World of Harry Potter (shorthand: Harry Potter World). It was, in a word, AWESOME. You enter through a stone arch, under which hangs a sign that says Hogsmeade Village: Please Respect the Spell Limits and has a picture of a boar. The first thing you see is the huge scarlet Hogwarts Express, steam billowing and everything. To your left is Zonko's Joke Shop, one of the few actual shops in the area. It sells about five things, but everything is so cleverly arranged that you think there's a lot more variety than there is. It's appended to Honeydukes, which is a wonderful mix of Potter-themed sweets (Sugar Quills, Chocolate Wands, Fizzing Whizbees, Cauldron Cakes) and regular candy. Beyond that is the Three Broomsticks, done up like an old British pub and complete with food like Cornish pasties (which are delicious) and butterbeer, which is wonderful frozen.
Beyond that are empty storefronts, including Scrivenshaft's, a parchment and quill store, and Dogweed & Deathcap, an exotic plants store, which has an animatronic mandrake in a pot that moves, and occasionally screams. Beyond that is Hogwarts Castle, rising splendidly above a lake. Within that is the park's hottest ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a part 3-D and part animatronic Harry Potter adventure. I did not appreciate the sojourn through the arachnid part of the Forbidden Forest.
Back in the village is Olivander's wand shop, makers of fine wands since 382 BC. If you're pressed for time, I recommend getting your wand in Dervish and Banges, which has the "personalized" wands for sale in the back, because a) you're not getting into Ollivander's without at least a 40 minute wait, and b) the wand show, which is what goes on in there, happens to only one person in a group of thirty, and that person is invariably a younger child. It's worth it to wait on the line, though; the wand show is glorious, even if it's not happening to you. Dervish and Banges is the real gold mine in Harry Potter swag, however. That's where you can get normal wands, character wands, robes, house pillows, house sweaters, plush dragons, Remembralls, Sneakoscopes, the Monster Book of Monsters, house ties, and just about everything you can think of. Yours truly is prepared for the premier of the final movie, with her house (Slytherin) uniform and her very own wand.
Other than HP World, the park is a lot of fun. The age group is generally two or three years older than the Disney World set, and that meant there were less little brats zooming around underfoot. It also meant less temper tantrums in lines and at gift shops, which was marvelous. Plus my family had the express pass because we stayed at one of the Universal Orlando resorts, the Loews Portofino (decked out like a port town in Italy), and thus we got to cut most of the lines.
So if someone can tell me why we needed to get up at 6:30 every morning and charge around the park for 7 hours, I will give them my sincere thanks (because I'm a poor college student, or at least I am now after I got through Dervish and Banges). I seriously need a vacation from that vacation, although getting up at 8 for work at 9 seems kind of like heaven, after it seemed like such a drag before. It was really nice to come back to Cecilia, however, and not just for obvious reasons. Being the wonderful, caring, considering person she is, I came back to find my room actually clean for once (I soon got to work on dirtying it again), my bed made, and a vase of truly fresh tiger lilies on my desk (she picked them from the huge stand of them outside our dorm), and my birthday present, finally come from the Lucky Dog Leather leather workshop: a lovely wrist cuff, custom made and sized for my wrist.
And, of course, her.
I missed her more than I can say. Bear in mind, we dated for three weeks our freshman year before we went to separate sides of the country for summer break: me to Connecticut, and her to an undisclosed location in the Midwest. We created a relationship through copious texting, letters, three-hour Skype sessions, and Facebook chat when her phone fell into a river (that was hell, let me tell you). You'd think, after three months of not seeing each other, that one week would be cake. It wasn't. It was really hard. I never realized how much I needed her and how very much I relied on her until she wasn't there to hold, to bitch to, to kiss, to cuddle. I missed her like crazy. And now I'm glad to have her back.
That's pretty much it :)
Note: Cecelia is so awesome that I have created a new tab category for her: My Girlfriend Is Awesome, abbreviated as MGIA.
Beyond that are empty storefronts, including Scrivenshaft's, a parchment and quill store, and Dogweed & Deathcap, an exotic plants store, which has an animatronic mandrake in a pot that moves, and occasionally screams. Beyond that is Hogwarts Castle, rising splendidly above a lake. Within that is the park's hottest ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a part 3-D and part animatronic Harry Potter adventure. I did not appreciate the sojourn through the arachnid part of the Forbidden Forest.
Back in the village is Olivander's wand shop, makers of fine wands since 382 BC. If you're pressed for time, I recommend getting your wand in Dervish and Banges, which has the "personalized" wands for sale in the back, because a) you're not getting into Ollivander's without at least a 40 minute wait, and b) the wand show, which is what goes on in there, happens to only one person in a group of thirty, and that person is invariably a younger child. It's worth it to wait on the line, though; the wand show is glorious, even if it's not happening to you. Dervish and Banges is the real gold mine in Harry Potter swag, however. That's where you can get normal wands, character wands, robes, house pillows, house sweaters, plush dragons, Remembralls, Sneakoscopes, the Monster Book of Monsters, house ties, and just about everything you can think of. Yours truly is prepared for the premier of the final movie, with her house (Slytherin) uniform and her very own wand.
Other than HP World, the park is a lot of fun. The age group is generally two or three years older than the Disney World set, and that meant there were less little brats zooming around underfoot. It also meant less temper tantrums in lines and at gift shops, which was marvelous. Plus my family had the express pass because we stayed at one of the Universal Orlando resorts, the Loews Portofino (decked out like a port town in Italy), and thus we got to cut most of the lines.
So if someone can tell me why we needed to get up at 6:30 every morning and charge around the park for 7 hours, I will give them my sincere thanks (because I'm a poor college student, or at least I am now after I got through Dervish and Banges). I seriously need a vacation from that vacation, although getting up at 8 for work at 9 seems kind of like heaven, after it seemed like such a drag before. It was really nice to come back to Cecilia, however, and not just for obvious reasons. Being the wonderful, caring, considering person she is, I came back to find my room actually clean for once (I soon got to work on dirtying it again), my bed made, and a vase of truly fresh tiger lilies on my desk (she picked them from the huge stand of them outside our dorm), and my birthday present, finally come from the Lucky Dog Leather leather workshop: a lovely wrist cuff, custom made and sized for my wrist.
And, of course, her.
I missed her more than I can say. Bear in mind, we dated for three weeks our freshman year before we went to separate sides of the country for summer break: me to Connecticut, and her to an undisclosed location in the Midwest. We created a relationship through copious texting, letters, three-hour Skype sessions, and Facebook chat when her phone fell into a river (that was hell, let me tell you). You'd think, after three months of not seeing each other, that one week would be cake. It wasn't. It was really hard. I never realized how much I needed her and how very much I relied on her until she wasn't there to hold, to bitch to, to kiss, to cuddle. I missed her like crazy. And now I'm glad to have her back.
That's pretty much it :)
Note: Cecelia is so awesome that I have created a new tab category for her: My Girlfriend Is Awesome, abbreviated as MGIA.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
A variety of birthday things
To begin with, yesterday was my birthday. It was a good birthday, despite the oppressive heat and the working 7 hours that filled most of it. I woke up with my girlfriend, who has decided to allow me to call her Cecelia (not her real name), and she kissed me good morning. I brought her breakfast, and we enjoyed that. She gave me a mix CD that she’d made, and a vase of fake flowers, which she has promised to transmute into real ones soon. She’s also apparently ordered me something that required my wrist size, but because I kept forgetting to measure it it’s going to be pretty late.
Work was good, except for the fact that I was on a mega caffeine high, which never happens considering that I don’t have blood in my veins, but coffee. I felt crazed, and I thought I was going to wind up on the ceiling before long, staring down at everyone with wide, bloodshot eyes. The second half of the day, I was grouchy with withdrawal, but the infinitely wise powers that be at the office put me in the cage reorganizing old monitors and hauling buckets of cables to tech trash, so I couldn’t put anyone off with my ill-tempered muttering.
Last weekend, I went home to keep my mother company (my dad was on a motorcycling trip, and my sister was at a friend’s cabin), but when they got back we celebrated my birthday. I got, among other things, a Kindle, the sickest headphones that ever lived (SK Pro Sparkle Motions), and a pair of Sperry’s! The Kindle is my baby; I go everywhere with it. Literally. When I’m at work, I take it with me to the bathroom—that’s how much I love it. Not sure why; I’ve always been someone who loves the feel and smell and heft of books, but something about this gadget calls to me. Maybe it’s the fact that I can carry ten books and more around with me at a time, though I’m only reading one of them…ahhhh, I don’t know. I just love it.
As for the headphones, they are SICK.
And the Sperry’s…well, they’re beautiful. They’re a rich brown leather with tan laces, and very, very comfortable—as someone who doesn’t like to wear shoes in the summer, let alone socks, but is required to by her job, they’re an excellent compromise, and because they’re slip-ons I can sort of fudge it if I’m on a desk shift…until my boss walks by and yells at me. My only complaints are that a) they’re attempting to tear a hole in my right heel, and b) they somehow manage to vacuum up dirt from wherever I am (the ground, a carpet) and suck it right into the shoe, which is, as you can imagine, annoying. But other than that, I love them, and I can’t wait until they break in, because I’m sure they’ll be mega-comfy, wonderful summer shoes. Plus I can wear them with my khaki Dockers for something a little more formal than sneakers, but not so formal as my dress shoes. So, as I always said to justify buying something to my mother, they fill a gap in my wardrobe. Plus they make me look like the preppiest prep that ever prepped, and Cecelia likes that.
After work, I got a haircut that made me look like a bro, put on a nicer shirt than my “Nerd Herd” shirt, and we went to the Cheesecake Factory, where C treated me to a wonderful dinner. Then we went home and did wonderful things that you don’t get to know about.
All in all, I feel incredibly…gifted. Given to. I don’t know…I don’t think there’s a good word for it. I’m just grateful. Last year at around this time, I wasn’t sure I was going to see my 20th birthday—I hadn’t even believed I’d see my 19th, just before. I thought the depression was going to take me. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to see either of those birthdays. But since, I’ve been given reasons to keep going to see them—and the next one, and the next one, and the next after that. I live for C, for my parents and sister, for my friends, for the marriage and children I hope to have someday, for the job I hope to have, for the books I want to publish, for the life I hope to live. In the words of Dan Savage’s excellent campaign, things DO get better. They have already done so for me, and I hope they will continue to improve. From here on out, it’s only up.
Plus next year, I can legally drink!
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