Tag: books

New Tolkien recording to be released

A recording of J. R. R. Tolkien made at a “Hobbit Dinner” in the Netherlands in 1958 is going to be remastered and released later this year.

Wow.  Just… wow.

I love the idea of Tolkien himself attending a feast inspired by his own writings.  Makes me think of how Sariann and Chelsea did something similar with GRRM when he came to Boston for his book tour.  I also love that Tolkien was apparently delighted by the whole thing and really enjoyed himself (as did GRRM).  As a huge fan of Tolkien and GRRM and of creating food inspired by fantasy books, I can hardly wait to hear the whole recording.

It also makes me a little sad that I never had the opportunity to meet Tolkien, this warm, brilliant, remarkable man, before he passed away.  I was only a toddler when he died.  But I am hopeful for the opportunity that perhaps one day I will have the chance to meet George R.R. Martin.  Maybe on his book tour for The Winds of Winter.

-Geoff

 

So… here’s what happened to the Greatjon Umber

As I had mentioned before, one of my favorite minor characters from A Song of Ice and Fire is Lord Jon “the Greatjon” Umber, who was played oh so awesomely by Clive Mantle in Season One of HBO’s Game of Thrones.  I have often wondered why the character had suddenly disappeared after appearing so memorably in Season One.   Well, after doing some research I found out.

Continue reading “So… here’s what happened to the Greatjon Umber”

Yes, some filler has been added to GoT

Last night’s episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones (First of His Name) definitively proved three things:

1) Hodor is awesome.

2) Brienne and Pod may well be the next Tyrion and Bronn in terms of comedy on the show.

3) One important ASOIAF character from the books may not ever make an appearance on the GoT television show.

Continue reading “Yes, some filler has been added to GoT”

So maybe there are potatoes in Westeros after all

Remember that post I did a while back when I talked all about Old World/New World foods?  I mentioned that I added potatoes to some of my favorite Westerosi dishes, like Roast Aurochs with Leeks, because in GRRM’s writings there are already a lot of other New World foods in Westeros.  After all, beans, squash, pumpkins, pecans, and corn are all post-Columbus (and thus unknown in Medieval Europe) but make an appearance in Westeros.

Well, it turns out that at least on HBO’s Game of Thrones, potatoes do in fact exist in Westeros.

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It’s not just me. I feel better now.

After my sort-of-rant about spoilers yesterday I discovered that other people have been noticing the same phenomenon.  Notably, Stephen King made some comments on his Twitter feed about GoT spoilers.  And other people noticed.  And other sites on the intertubes also apparently made similar comments, like this article at Jezebel, this one at the Independent, and this one at C|Net.  And I am hardly the only one who suggests staying offline if you want to avoid spoilers.

So I am not crazy to think “it’s OK for me to have in-depth discussions about ASOIAF and GoT on my own blog and people screaming about spoilers should just go somewhere else”.

I feel a bit better now.

-Geoff

GoT: Books vs. TV

Before I begin, I just want to say that if anyone reads the title of this post, and thinks that I am NOT going to talk about things that may be spoilers for those who have not read the books, you are just… dumb.  It is not my intent to be a big meanie who spoils everything for all those people who have not read the books but are devoted fans of the HBO series.  But come on, these books have been out for years, and the TV show is now in its fourth year.  You should probably just go read the books, or else stay off the internet.  Otherwise, perhaps you should consider staying in a monastery or becoming Amish or doing something to keep away from the internet and popular culture.  ASOIAF/GoT are so hugely popular and widespread at this point, it’s everywhere.  It’s in magazines at my doctor’s office and on t-shirts of people walking down the street.  It’s almost like saying you didn’t watch the 2007 World Series and you don’t want to know how it ends before you can watch it, even though you live in Boston.  Or not knowing the ship sinks in Titanic  but getting mad at someone who mentions it.  We are rapidly reaching a level of patent absurdity when it comes to these spoiler issues.  I just refuse to say “spoiler alert” everything time I talk about ASOIAF or GoT.     So this is the last time.

So if you want to have a freakout about that sort of thing, GO READ SOMETHING ELSE.  If you can’t think of anything, I can probably offer some suggestions.    But ultimately, those who wish to avoid spoilers should assume some responsibility for themselves and stop insisting the whole world police itself for their benefit.

Anyway, on with the discussion.

Continue reading “GoT: Books vs. TV”

Surviving the Apocalypse

As anyone who knows me well will tell you, I am somewhat obsessed with emergency preparedness and safety in general.  Mind you, not to the point of having a bunker and hoarding gold coins and such, but I do take that sort of thing seriously when it comes to normal Red Cross-type preparation.

Well, this past week I got to hear Annalee Newitz, one of the founders of io9, give a reading from her new book: Scatter, Adapt, and Remember:
How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction.  And it was quite illuminating, and a lot of fun to boot.  Count on the Harvard Bookstore to always bring in cool authors.

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Trying to enjoy life one day at a time

Well, after taking some time to process it, I guess I can go ahead and say (officially) that I am not going to the police academy this year.  I just wasn’t high enough on the list, I guess.  But the people involved in the process have been highly encouraging and supportive towards me, and so I will make another effort whenever they put together another class, either later this year or early next year.

In the meantime, it has been a humbling experience to get back into the job hunt full-time.  And to be honest, a little depressing.  But since I am Mr. Silver Lining, I am trying to find the bright side of the experience and move on.

So there’s a few things I am doing to keep myself entertained while I continue the (seemingly eternal) job hunt.

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Thoughts on winter in New England

A lot of people hate winter, especially after so many days and nights of snow and cold temperatures.  People complain bitterly about it and pray for spring to get here faster.

I am not one of them.  I like winter, and I believe in addition to the bad it has much good.  Just like any other season.  But here in New England it is a very distinct season, and not watered down at all.  You get beautiful winter scenes like no other.

That’s one of the things I love most about New England: it has seasons.  Four very different, very distinct seasons.

Continue reading “Thoughts on winter in New England”

Medieval mutton stew, slightly modified

Great stew for a cold winter's eve.
Great stew for a cold winter’s eve.

I used the mutton stew recipe I mentioned yesterday to make this, but I did make one change: I added yellow carrots, which would certainly have been known in Europe by the late middle ages.  Orange would not become the typical carrot color for a few more centuries.  Red would also have been common, but those are a little more difficult to come by these days, at least outside of a farmer’s market full of heirloom gardeners.  It just felt like the stew needed something besides meat, an egg, and seasoning.

Note to self: get a better background for medieval cooking photos.

-Geoff