OzMoot (Melbourne, 2013)

Well, lords and ladies, the first ever OzMoot was held last night, in a comfy little cocktail bar off Spring Street, in the Melbourne CBD. Four vassals were in attendance: two Aussies (me and jesicka309), one Romanian (marius), and one Brit (Bina007). We drank blood-red wine, feasted on sausage rolls and lemoncake, shared stories and theories beneath the imaginary flag of House Manwoody… and then dispersed back into the night. I had a really amazing time, and it was so cool meeting forum members in person.

It’s a shame we couldn’t record something for the podcast, because we had a pretty long and in-depth discussion of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Unfortunately, the bar was too loud, and my iPhone simply wouldn’t have been able to capture anything. However, I’ve been wracking my brain, and here’s some of the stuff we settled on throughout the night:

APOIAF MS Paint Project Entry

(click to enlarge)

This is my entry for the A Podcast of Ice and Fire’s A Storm of Sword artbook. The chapter is Jaime IX. For anyone wondering, APOIAF are the forefathers (the lord’s paramount, if you will) of Vassals of Kingrgrave, and Storm is the third book in Martin’s fantasy series. Artbook entries can be funny, silly or just plain wrong, but they all have to be completed by podcast listeners or forum members, using Microsoft Paint.

You can check out the forum thread here. and maybe even submit your own work of “searing bloody genius”. But be quick, because book 3 has almost been completed. You can also purchase ebooks for the completed artbooks of A Game of Thrones, and A Clash of Kings.

Lemon Yogurt Cake (recipe)

Haha! I told you this blog would also be about lemoncakes. I baked this bad boy for the Vassals of Kingsgrave meet-up next Friday (officially titled OzMoot).

For anyone wondering what the in-joke is, lemoncakes (which I will stubbornly continue to write as one word) are Sansa Stark’s favourite food in the world, and so we have co-opted the desert as our rating system. For example, when discussing a movie, book, TV show, or video game, the first question we ask is: “how many lemoncakes out of five would you give it?”

The recipe for this delicious Lemon Yogurt Cake is very simple (which I like), and only require a whisk, mixing bowl, grater, measuring cup, juicer (unless you want to buy bottled lemon juice), and an oven pre-set to 180°C. I’ve listed the full recipe below if anyone is interested:

Ingredients:
-vegetable oil (¾ cup)
-eggs (x2)
-finely grated lemon rind (1 tablespoon)
-lemon juice (2 tablespoons)
-thick natural yoghurt (1 cup)
-caster sugar (1½ cups)
-self-raising flour (2 cups)

-granulated sugar (¾ cup)
-lemon juice (¼ cup)

Method:
1) Using a fine grater (the littlest holes on a cheese grater), grate the yellow skin off 2 lemons (called the rind), until you have 1 tablespoon’s worth. Then juice the 2 lemons until you have enough juice for 2 tablespoons.
2) Pour your rind, juice, vegetable oil, eggs, yogurt, and caster sugar into a big mixing bowl, and whisk it all together into an even mixture.
3) Sift your self-raising flour over the mixture, and then whisk again, until there are no dry spots left.
4) Pour the mixture evenly into a ringed cake tin, and put it in the middle of the oven at 180°C. The original recipe says to leave it in there for 35 minutes, but mine took about an hour. Just make sure that when you pierce the cake with a skewer or knife, the point comes out dry and it will be ready.
5) The frosting is made by lightly mixing granulated sugar with lemon juice (¼ cup) until it has a crystalline texture, and then smoothing it over the top of the cake while it is still warm from the oven. This ensures that the frosting will seep into the cake itself, and melt over the sides.
6) You can serve the cake warm or cold, but I found it much easier to slice up cold.

I hope you enjoy the cake. I’m also a big fan of lemon slice, so I might do another post on that in the future. Also, I love the fact that we have an entry in the “Lemoncake” category before the “Philosophy” category. How droll! 😀

VoK 40: The Terminator [1984] (DVD Commentary)

VASSALS OF KINGSGRAVE: EPISODE 40
[MP3] Download or play this episode directly
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Join the Vassals for their second in a series of film fan commentary tracks. In this episode hosts Duncan (aka Valkyrist) and Glen (aka Dagos_Rivers) discuss and dissect James Cameron’s 1984 sci-fi classic – The Terminator.

The audio commentary itself runs from 3:30 to 1:51:02, and the opening production logos will be played at full volume in order for the listener to sync up their copy of the movie correctly.

Warning: Contains explicit language and plot spoilers for The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Credits:
Edited by Valkyrist
Audio Clips owned by MGM Studios

Links:
The Terminator (1984): Original Deleted Scenes
Planet of the Apes (audio commentary)

Support for Tyrion being a Targaryen (ASOIAF theory)

I wanted to make a few points about the whole “Tyrion is a Targaryen” theory. While the evidence for it is all rather circumstantial, I think taken together, it builds a pretty compelling case. And what’s more, it stems back to book 1 of the series. Anyway, here’s what I could think of so far:

• Like Aemon and his brothers, Tyrion dreamed of dragons as a child. He “used to start fires in the bowels of Casterly Rock and stare at the flames for hours, pretending they were dragonfire.” He continues to read many books on dragons as an adult and often fantasises about feeding his enemies (usually his sister) to the flames (very Aerys).
• Aerys was described as being infatuated with Joanna Lannister, to the point where, during her wedding feast, he lamented the revocation of the “first night” law, and also made inappropriate gestures towards her. I can’t imagine these gestures becoming less pronounced as his insanity grew in the intervening years. My only qualm here is that I can’t imagine Tywin remaining Hand for several years after Joanna had been raped, which he apparently did. The only explanation is that Tywin didn’t find out until perhaps Aerys taunted him with it, perhaps the day he named Jaime to the Kingsguard. It’s hard to say. Regardless, the piece of information doesn’t seem to have any relevance to the story, unless it implies Aerys eventually raped Joanna.
• Like Rhaenyra’s and Dany’s stillbirths, Tyrion was born malformed with a small tail. Rather than Lannister yellow (like the rest of his family), his hair is white, bordering on Targaryen silver. He also has mismatched eyes: one is Lannister green, while the other is described as black, but is more likely dark brown or dark purple (i.e. black and green like Sheira Seastar, or purple like the Targaryens).
• Tywin claims at one point that the only reason Tyion is allowed to be called a Lanniser is because “I cannot prove you are not mine”. And of course his final words are, “you are no son of mine”. Though, to be fair, he says a similar thing to Jaime a few chapters prior. Even one of Tyrion’s first lines in the series–“all dwarves are bastards in their father’s eyes”–takes on a new meaning.
• It would give a specific cause for why the Mad King had Jaime named to the Kingsguard (beyond just wanting to piss Tywin off), as it would ensure his bastard inherited Casterly Rock with all its wealth and claims.

It seems like people’s main problem with this theory is that they think it ruins Tyrion’s relationship with his father. I wanted to defend it somewhat on those grounds. Regardless of who sired Tyrion in a biological sense (and how that might help him tame one of Dany’s dragons), he was still raised by Tywin. And being Joanna’s son, Tywin obviously felt some obligation.

I think we can draw a distinct parallel to Jon’s situation. Jon may have been sired by a Targaryen, but I don’t think anyone would argue Ned was his father in all the ways that mattered, and Jon absolutely identities himself as a Stark. So it is with Tyrion. Indeed, another interesting parallel is that Ned and Tywin both claimed these ill-gotten bastards as their own, in order to protect the honour of someone they loved deeply. Unfortunately, Tywin’s hatred of Aerys seems to have twisted the way he treated Tyrion into something incredibly abusive, to the point of sexual abuse with the whole Tysha episode (perhaps suppressed rage over Joanna’s fate).

The knowledge that Tywin isn’t his real father (though they are of course related by blood and marriage, through Joanna Lannister) doesn’t change the way Tyrion was raised, or the complex relationship they shared while Tywin was still alive. It simply adds a new wrinkle to Tywin’s character. I highly doubt Tyrion will ever find out about it. I think Martin’s vague implications are purely for the benefit of the reader. However, if Tyrion did somehow learn the “truth” (and by truth, I mean totally unsubstantiated reader theory), it wouldn’t change their relationship, so much as alter his perception of Tywin as a man. That is, the notion that for all Tywin’s cruelty and coldness, he loved his wife enough to raise her bastard son, rather than drown it in the sea.

In fact, Tywin’s venom over Tyrion being a dwarf could almost be interchangeable with him being the product of his wife’s rape. As I said, though, I doubt (hope even) that Tyrion remains oblivious (as so many characters do), and that these wisps of knowledge and speculation are purely for the reader’s benefit.

Frankly, I don’t really care if we find out Jon or Tyrion’s true parentage. I’m okay leaving it ambiguous, as I imagine its relevance really only relates to their ability to fulfil the “three heads of the dragon” prophecy, and will have very little bearing on their character development.

George R.R. Martin’s Melbourne Talk (with photos!)

George R. R. Martin has been touring Australia for the past few weeks, and I managed to get tickets for his Melbourne talk. Marius from the A Podcast of Ice and Fire forums was also there, so it was great to finally meet another Vassal of Kingsgrave in person.

The talk was really enjoyable, with some surprisingly solid questions from the audience. It focused more on his career as a whole, rather than just ASOIAF. One thing that struck me was how he described the writing process. He said that coming up with ideas was actually the easy part, but that putting those ideas into words that could be very difficult and frustrating; that is, of having to choose the correct language to capture that elusive image in his mind, of not using to many or too few words.

Sapling (short film)

This is a short film I submitted to a climate change film festival. It depicts a dystopic world where trees have died out, and the dwindling oxygen is turning people hopeless and savage. A lone scientist struggles to find a solution, dreaming of one day seeing nature reborn. But is there time for dreams, when nightmares lurk beyond her doorstep.

Women in Video Games (Forum Transcript)

This is a conversation I had with another member of the A Podcast of Ice and Fire forum, in the lead-up to Feminism in Geek Culture. We didn’t really focus much on video games during that episode, so I thought people might find this exchange valuable. Alias raises a lot of excellent points, and I hope we can have him on for a for a followup podcast on feminism.

Valkyrist: It might be worth looking at how femininity is constructed in video games and video game culture. As people have mentioned, gaming is very male-centered and male-focused, and in most cases the gamers avatar is a male, with female characters depicted as objects to be rescued, guarded or conquered. The two most famous exceptions of female protagonists—Lara Croft and Samus Aaron—probably reveal a lot about the attitudes of the culture. Where Lara is hyper-sexualised and fetishised, Samus is almost like a repression of femininity, wherein the vulnerable female form is contained within masculine armor and weaponry. Of course, there is progress. I think the female characters in Half-Life 2 and The Last of Us are very interesting, well-rounded, pro-active representations of women.

VoK 36: Women in Geek Culture

VASSALS OF KINGSGRAVE: EPISODE 36
[MP3] Download or play this episode directly
[iTunes] Subscribe to VOK on iTunes
[WordPress] VOK podcast feed
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Things get raucous as Bina007, No True Lady and Valkyrist navigate the murky waters of geek culture’s woman problem and attempt to slay the myth of the Fake Geek Girl. This episode also features a shocking lack of Tolkien knowledge, the secret behind Tom Hiddleston’s charm and the heartbreak of discovering that the creators of things you like are actually terrible people.

Credits:
Edited by No True Lady

Links:
Feminist Frequency YouTube Channel
Harassment Against Anita Sarkeesian
The “Fake Geek Girl” Has Got to Go
Tony Harris’ Facebook Rant
Tolkien’s Ladies: Is Geek Culture Female-Friendly?
Podcast Awards
Suits and Madness Podcast

Treme (HBO series) – Season 1 and 2 (mini-review)

Like the David Simon’s previous series The Wire, Treme it is about a city – New Orleans, post cyclone Katrina. While I’m a fan of Simon, I struggled with Treme. I found the first season preachy and overwrought. The actors felt more like mouth-pieces for the creators than fleshed out characters in their own right. They struck me as a group of people feeling sorry for themselves and pining for their city’s former greatness. There’s very little plot development, until the later episodes, and the dialogue feels unnatural and written. There are of course exceptions to this, and by the end of the season, I hadn’t written it off. I generally liked the female characters, but the male characters just ranged from irritating to pathetic.

The second season, however, is MUCH better. It certainly isn’t up to The Wire’s standards, but it’s on the right track. The character feel closer to real people. I’m invested in their struggles and I want to see them succeed. They pick themselves up and start trying to rebuild their home, rather than moping for episodes at a time. The male characters really start to come into their own. I also feel a lot more affectionate towards the city and its culture, helping me see why New Orleans is so special and unique.