#சிம்மாசனத்தில் விளையாட்டு

[westeroswisdom]

Ukraine Remembers.

Russian Gen. Igor Kirillov had been in charge of using chemical weapons in Ukraine in violation if international law. Such weapons had been banned in warfare since the aftermath of World War I. Apparently Russia has used chemical weapons over 4,800 times in Ukraine. Arguably this makes Putin's Russia worse than Nazi Germany in this regard.

Russian Chemical Weapons General Killed by Bomb in Scooter

Perhaps Arya Stark made a stop in Moscow during her voyage.

[westeroswisdom]

Pedro Pascal showed up at the Golden Globe awards with his arm in a sling which chromatically didn't clash his outfit.

To me, that illustration makes him look just slightly like Littlefinger.

Only Pedro Pascal Could Make an Arm Sling Look This Good at the 2024 Golden Globes

Pedro Pascal hit the red carpet of the Golden Globes where he was nominated for Best Actor in a Television Drama. He may have lost out to Kieran Culkin for Succession (who playfully shouted “Suck it, Pedro” in his speech), but he won big in the menswear department. After a strong, left-field track record that involves mesh Acne button-downs, Maison Margiela pajama robes and the shortest Valentino short shorts, he opted for a full Bottega Veneta look, with an embroidered turtleneck as the star of the show. In a simple pair of black trousers and chunky ankle boots, Pascal completed the look with yet another pair of statement glasses—this time, some half-rimmed black and clear frames. They've become somewhat of a calling card at this point, with their own fancam community to boot. And while we're talking the importance of accessories, Pascal had something no one else had at the Golden Globes 2024: an arm sling. When asked on the carpet what happened, he simply said “I fell,” before adding: “Be careful, it can happen to anybody”.

A winner in our hearts!! 🧡🧡🧡

I absolutely love the ouchy nails!! Simply iconic! 💅

On Instagram @ xcasshewsx

[venkatesharumugam]

7️⃣🐭🎊🎈டிஸ்னி என்ற மாயலோகம்🎉🐰பார்ட்-7️⃣

கரீபியன் பைரேட்ஸ் உலகிற்குள் எங்கள் படகு திரும்பிய வினாடி மொத்த குகையும் கும்மிருட்டானது! சுவர்களில் மறைந்து இருந்த ஸ்பீக்கர்களில் இருந்து திடும் திடும் என இசை ஒலிக்கத் துவங்கியது மெல்ல அவ்விசை உயர உயர அதே வேளையில் அமெரிக்க பி.எஸ்.வீரப்பா ஒருத்தரின் இடிச்சிரிப்பும் ஒலிக்க குழந்தைகள் தம் பெற்றோரைக் கட்டிக்கொண்டனர் நானும் கட்டிக் கொள்ள ஆள்தேடி பக்கத்தில் சசி கிறிஸ்டோ இருந்ததால் விட்டுவிட்டேன்.

கும்மிருட்டில் திடீர���ன பளிச் வெளிச்சம் எதிரே ஒரு அருவி கொட்டிக் கொண்டிரு��்க அதில் பைரேட்ஸ் தலைவன் முகம் புரொஜக்டர் ஒளியில் தெரிந்தது அவன் தன் கரகர மொறு மொறு குரலில் பைரேட்ஸ் உலகிற்கு எங்களை அச்சுறுத்தி வரவேற்க படகு அந்த அருவி நோக்கி போக போச்சு இந்த முறை நனைவது உறுதின்னு நினைத்து எங்களை தயார் படுத்திக் கொள்ள அருவியில் நுழைந்தது படகு.. ஆனால் யாருமே நனையவில்லை.!

அது விர்ச்சுவல் எஃபெக்டில் புரொஜக்ட் செய்யப்பட்ட அருவி என்பது படகு அதில் நுழையும் போது தான் தெரிந்தது இவ்வளவு நேரம் தண்ணீராக தெரிந்தது இப்போது புகையாய் சுருண்டு கலைந்தது.. அடுத்து போக போக இருபுறமும் கரீபியன்களின் உலகம், அந்த காரெக்டர்கள் அனைத்தும் உயிரோட்டம் உள்ள பொம்மைகளாக அசைந்து பேசின இடையிடையில் துப்பாக்கி வெடித்தது அலறல் கேட்டது மிகவும் த்ரில்லிங்கான அனுபவம்.

குகையின் நடுவே தொங்கும் ஒற்றைக்கால் மனிதன், நடு மண்டையில் கோடாலியை கோல்டு மெடலாக குத்தியவன், ஒற்றைக் கண் முகமூடி அணிந்த எலும்புக்கூடு பைரேட், வெட்டிய தன் கையை தானே எடுத்து வைத்துக் கொண்ட தானைத் தலைவன், தண்ணிவண்டி டாஸ்மாக் பைரேட் என திகிலுக்கு ஏராளமான கேரக்டர்கள் இருந்தனர்.. குகை முடிவில் தங்கம் வைரம் வைடூரியம் என கொள்ளையடித்த பொக்கிஷங்கள் இருக்கும் அறை.!

ஜொலிக்கும் அந்த அறையில் ஒரு தங்க சிம்மாசனத்தில் பைரேட்டுகளின் தலைவன் மகுடம் அணிந்து எங்களுக்கு போய்வா என கையாட்டினான். அதை கடந்த திருப்பத்தில் படகு திரும்பியதும் இயல்பு வெளிச்சத்திற்கு வந்தது.. அனைவரும் கைத்தட்டினார்கள்! உடலெங்கும் சிலிர்ப்பும் சொல்ல இயலாத ஒரு உணர்வும் ஓடிக்கொண்டிருந்தது. வெளியே கரீபியன்கள் பயன்படுத்தும் பொருட்கள் உள்ள கடை.! இது டிஸ்னி வேர்ல்டில் சகஜம்.

அலாவுதீனோ கரிபியனோ டிஸ்னியின் கேரக்டர்கள் உள்ள அரங்கிற்கு போனாலே எக்சிட் ஆகும் போது இதுபோல கடைகள் இருக்கும். கைப்பைகள், பர்சுகள், விளையாட்டு பொருட்கள், அலங்காரப் பொருட்கள், கைக்குட்டைகள், டேபிள்விரிப்புகள் இப்படி அந்த கான்செப்ட் அந்த காரெக்டருக்கு தகுந்தது போல வைத்து விற்பனை செய்கிறார்கள். நாங்கள் அதை வாங்குவதற்கு அமெரிக்காவில் சம்பாதித்தால் தான் வாய்ப்பு. ம்ஹும்..

30 டாலருக்கு (₹2100) குறைந்து எதுவுமில்லை என்மனைவி மட்டும் அங்கு இருந்தால் ஐயோ கிட்டத்தட்ட ஒரு கிராம் தங்கம் விலையா என அலறி இருப்பாள். (2016விலை) பைரட் அனுபவத்தை அசை போட்டுக் கொண்டே கிளம்பினோம் அடுத்து டிகி பேர்டு அரங்கம் ஆனால் அதற்கு நேரம் இருந்தது. எதிரில் தான் அலாவுதீன் மீண்டும் போனால் நாங்கள் காலையில் பார்த்ததை விட கூட்டம் அதிகம் இருந்தது. அலாவுதீன் தீம் பொருட்கள் விற்கும் கடை தென்பட்டது.

டிகி பேர்டுக்கு எதிரே தான் என்பதாலும் எப்படி பார்த்தாலும் எதுவும் வாங்கப் போவதில்லை என்ற தெம்பினாலும் உள்ளே நுழைந்தோம். என்னை போல பருமனான ஒரு பெண் அலாவுதீன் பணிப்பெண் போல உடையணிந்து வரவேற்றாள். அராபிய தீமில் அழகழகான கலைப் பொருட்கள் இருந்தன அத்தனையும் எங்கள் மனதை கொள்ளையடித்தது அதற்கு விலை வைத்து வால்ட் டிஸ்னி கொள்ளையடித்தார் என்னை அங்கு கவர்ந்தது ஒரு பொருள்.

அது என்ன தெரியுமா? அலாவுதீன் விளக்கு மிக சிறிய சைசே 30 டாலர்கள் என்றார்கள் அது குழந்தைக்கு பால் புகட்டும் சங்கு சைசில் இருந்தது.. அதை விளக்குன்னா பூதமே நம்பாது! ஒரளவிற்கு பெரிய சைசில் இருந்த விளக்கு 100 டாலர்கள் என்றார்கள் (₹7000) எடுத்து விட்டேன் அய்யோ இரண்டரை கிராம் தங்கம் என இந்தியாவில் இருந்து வந்த என் மனைவியின் மைண்ட் வாய்சை கேட்ச் செய்துவிட எடுத்த இடத்தில் வைத்துவிட்டேன்.

அந்தப் பெண் என்னிடம் வந்து ஹஸ்கியான விஸ்கி வாய்சில் விளக்கு வாங்கலியா தேனே (ஹனி) என ஆங்கிலத்தில் கேட்டாள் (என்னா யாவாரத் தந்திரம்) அதை தேய்த்தால் பூதம் வருமா அன்பே என்றேன்.. மேபீ என்றாள் கண்ணடித்து.. அதை தேய்த்தால் பூதம் வரும் ஆனால் ஆயுசுக்கும் எனக்கு சாதம் வராது எனக்கூறி அவளுடன் ஒரு போட்டோ எடுத்துக் கொண்டேன். அடுத்து டிகி பேர்ட் அரங்கம்.உள்ளே சென்று அமர்ந்தோம். விளக்கு அணைந்து எரிய அங்கே.!

(பார்ப்போம்)

[westeroswisdom]

« I mean, it would have to be the exact same cast and the exact same crew otherwise I wouldn’t go back and that would just be Season 9, and I don’t think we’re going to do a Season 9, but, I mean, I loved playing Sansa, and I do wonder often what would she be doing now. Where would she be five years later, what would she be doing? Would she still be queen in the North? Would she be a good ruler? Would there be some other kind of terrible war that’s happened? I’d love to see it. »

— Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) on ever returning to the Game of Thrones universe. At Variety.

Queen Sansa's rule would be influenced by the rate of recovery The North was making from the various conflicts since the death of Jon Arryn as well as the severity of the winter which Westeros was experiencing.

Westeros as a whole was not in great shape by the end of the series. They managed to avoid complete annihilation by the Night King but at great cost.

It takes a while to rebuild and to restore resources. But Sansa has talents as a manager as well as political skills she developed through her various associations. So with help from a stretch of peace and a mild winter, she might be doing reasonably well.

[westeroswisdom]

Among other reasons, George R.R. Martin implies that he includes detailed food passages in his writings to stretch out scenes and facilitate dialogue. Is he implying that The Winds Of Winter will feature nonstop food orgies? 😋

When it comes to Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin's writing, there is one fairly common critique of sorts: the author often includes "gratuitous" food scenes in his work, with some critics even commenting that his books might not be quite as long if it weren't for the various "gratuitous" feasts — among other so-called excess scenes — packed in them. It's not criticism that Martin is bothered by, but now he's explaining why there is so much food in his work. In his foreword for the new The Official Game of Thrones Cookbook (via Polygon), Martin says that, for him, the food matters because the journey is as important as the destination. "When used in the context of literary criticism, 'gratuitous' usually translates to 'more than I wanted' or 'did not advance the plot' And you know, often that is true," Martin writes. "Was it necessary for me to mention that the minor knight who just entered the lists bore seven golden hedgehogs on a field of dark green? In that sex scene, couldn't I just have tumbled them into bed and cut to 'the next morning'? And the feasts, oh those feasts, surely the only thing that mattered was what the characters were saying, not the honey-roasted duck they were eating as they said it? Well, no. Not for me."

Maybe by now he feels that readers are expecting such passages. 🤔

He continued, "It's not the destination that matters to me, it's the journey. I have been a voracious reader for as long as I can remember. A reader of fiction, specifically. Fiction is not about getting from point A to point B as fast as possible. It can educate, but it is not educational at heart. For that, nonfiction is infinitely superior. Fiction is about emotion. The heart, not the head. Fiction gives us vicarious experience. It takes us beyond ourselves and the world around us." Martin goes to write that he wants readers to "live with my story, not just read it. When they sit down at my table, I want them to taste the food."

I wonder if the length of the food passages increases whenever GRRM is hungry when he writes.

[westeroswisdom]

« He played a horrible human being but he's one of my favorite human beings. Um, and it was a shame how that one ended – on the toilet. »

— Peter Dinklage on his Game of Thrones father, Charles Dance, during an appearance on Hot Ones with Sean Evans.

It's great hearing from Peter Dinklage. Of course he always has witty and interesting things to say. But I actually learned a few things in passing about acting in between salsas. That's impressive considering I'm not an actor and often have difficulty even keeping a straight face when telling a joke.

[westeroswisdom]

The expression "bend the knee" certainly existed long before ASoIaF. But since the first book was published on 06 August 1996 its use in English has soared.

Google Books Ngram Viewer, of course, only covers books. So there was a dip after the publication of A Dance of Dragons in 2011. Though because of the HBO series the expression has entered the general lexicon and is being used by people who've neither read ASoIaF nor seen GoT. So as of 2019, the current end date of Ngram searching, it was moderately trending upwards again.

The mass worldwide web, at least Net 1.0, began around 1995. That's slightly before the time A Game of Thrones was published. So there's not much data prior to its publication to compare online use of "bend the knee" before its release and after. But use of the phrase is now extremely common – particularly in political discussions. Mainstream legit news media use it unselfconsciously.

It seems to be used particularly often in connection with a certain US political figure.

However, with several criminal cases facing him this year, another GoT phrase may apply to him: Winter is Coming for Donald Trump.

[westeroswisdom]

Daenerys Targaryen ruminates on Targaryen family history at the Dragonpit with Jon Snow.

[westeroswisdom]

George R.R. Martin attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois where he earned both a bachelor's and master's degree.

Just north of Evanston is the Baháʼí Temple in Wilmette which is shown in the reposted images above.

The Baháʼí Temple is the likely inspiration for the Sept of Baelor.

French artist Marc Simonetti created this image of the sept in 2009 – two years before the HBO series began.

The version used in the TV series had more of a Byzantine influence.

[westeroswisdom]

Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) was at an NBA game and was spotted by Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barrett. The Raptors lost that particular game to the L.A. Lakers 123-103.

That was fun. Though everybody's favorite unexpected Jaime encounter occurred in Season 5 of Game of Thrones.

[westeroswisdom]

You may have seen reports of a possible Game of Thrones film in development. But details about it are almost nonexistent.

Multiple sources describe the project as very early stage development, with no filmmaker, cast or writer yet attached. But the company is keen on exploring the idea of Westeros invading cinemas.  The move might represent a shift in the company’s strategy regarding the property. The showrunners of the original Game of Thrones series (David Benioff and Dan Weiss) famously wanted to conclude the series with three feature films instead of its 2019 final season. Martin was also keen on the idea of a movie and the author told The Hollywood Reporter back in 2014 that concepts were being kicked around. But for a long time, HBO strongly resisted the idea and instead wanted to preserve the prestige series as an HBO property.

So there's no director, no cast, no writers, no ASoIaF time frame, not even a "concept of a plan" – to use a recently famous phrase.

So far, nothing from George R.R. Martin about this.

I would humbly suggest doing something about Arya's voyage – if they're in search of ideas.

[westeroswisdom]

Amsterdam may be the inspiration for Braavos.

George R.R. Martin enjoyed his trip to Amsterdam. In his latest blog entry, he compares it to Braavos.

A  lot of my readers think that Braavos was inspired by Venice.   Because of the canals, of course.  Thing is, though I’ve read a lot about Venice, histories and travel books and the like, I have never actually been there.  I have always wanted to visit, Venice is plainly a magical place, and if I had a bucket list it would right up there… but somehow I never found the time.  One day, I hope. When the novel’s done, perhaps.  Yes, certainly, there’s some of Venice in Braavos.. the Sealord, and the manner of his choosing, was certainly inspired in part by the Doge… but there’s some of Prague in Braavos too,  and bits of other places, along with some things that were purely imaginary.  The Titan of Braavos, of course, was my twist on the Colossus of Rhodes. 

GRRM mentions almost nonchalantly at the end that he had been developing a spinoff series about Braavos.

One of these days I need to write that story about Braavos we were developing for HBO.   They shelved that one a couple of years back, alas, but that does not mean I won’t go back to it… after WINDS OF WINTER is done, of course. Maybe then I will have enough free time to visit Amsterdam again.

That's all he said. What period in Braavos history is not mentioned. The actual founding of Braavos would be epic.

[westeroswisdom]

Brandon the Builder, apparently planning to build something, the founder of the House Stark. By Spanish artist FelixSotomayorArt at DeviantArt.

[westeroswisdom]

« Again, just my opinion. I like the finale! You don’t have to agree with me. How about if I said like, “Yeah, I agree. I hated the finale. The whole last season was horrible”?  I mean, that would sit much worse than if I said I loved it, which I did. I can’t speak for anybody else’s opinion, and that’s what makes what we do fun, because everybody does have a difference of opinion and everybody gets to write about it and chat about it and drink over it and argue about it. It’s great. I mean, I think it means you’re doing something right. It’s like an old Irish way of looking at the world. There’s something wrong if everything’s OK. [Laughs.] »

— Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) telling Brian Hiatt at Rolling Stone that he liked the Game of Thrones finale.

My opinion may not be as resounding as that of Peter Dinklage, but I think that the frenzied criticism by some people of the GoT finale has been over the top.

A few days after the finale I posted the results of a poll which was conducted regarding viewer reaction to S08E06. The poll reported that far more people liked the finale than disliked it.

Read that 2019 post here.

But after self-righteous media pedants and hysterical blowhards on social media had non-stop shit fits over the finale, the public was left with the impression that the GoT finale was reviled by 800% of the people who watched it.

This has been a clear example of public opinion being hijacked by the loudest voices. Kudos to Peter Dinklage for not pandering to pseudo-outrage.

[westeroswisdom]

It's probably not a great idea to name kids after TV characters.

A woman was left "devastated" after her daughter's passport application was rejected because she was named after a Game of Thrones character. Lucy, 39, from Swindon in Wiltshire, said the Passport Office initially refused the application for Khaleesi, six. Officials said they were unable to issue a passport unless Warner Brothers gave permission because it owned the name's trademark. But the authority has since apologised for the error. "I was absolutely devastated, we were so looking forward to our first holiday together," Lucy said. After planning and saving up for a 'dream' trip to Disneyland Paris, Lucy, who works in Cirencester, applied for a passport for Khaleesi. "But then I had a letter come through from the Passport Office, saying her name is trademarked by Warner Brothers," she said. "It was the first I've heard of such a thing - I was astonished." After seeking legal advice, her solicitors discovered that while there is a trademark for Game of Thrones, it is for goods and services - but not for a person's name. "That information was sent to the Passport Office who said I would need a letter from Warner Brothers to confirm my daughter is able to use that name," she said.

This incident reminds me of a comment made by Peter Dinklage after the Game of Thrones series finale:

"I know a lot of people were supposedly surprised by the ending, but if you paid attention, the clues were there. We told you not to name your dog Khaleesi."

.

[westeroswisdom]

Iwan Rheon b. 13 May 1985 Carmarthen, Dyfed, Wales, UK

Hey, even bad guys gotta have birthdays!

It just occurred to me that Iwan would be a good choice to portray Elon Musk in a film or TV series.