Jaxom 1974

He did make me better... :P

Mods? Maybe pin this for a while?

So there are a number of different Fantast Football threads going simultaneously here abouts. To avoid confusion and to keep a sense of continuity, a little primer. There are a lot of new folks hereabout and they're starting their own leagues up. which is totally cool, but for those interested there is a long history of Fantasy Leagues on the Forum. A number of us have been playing for many years. Some of us have had aspects of the Westeros Fantasy "System" named after them... :P For the majority of the last decade, Whiskeyjack (or Amyrc from back in the day) had been running most of these leagues. For that, if nothing else, he deserves credit as it resulted in a somewhat strong culture of Fantasy here on the Forum and has helped develop relationships on the Board and in real life. He has chosen not to run any of the leagues he helped create/develop for reasons we do not need to get into here. Suffice it to say, the torch has been picked up where it could be and it would be nice to see Fantasy Football continue to flourish in the manner it has over the years. There are FIVE somewhat permanent leagues that have had, for the most part, the same cast of characters playing in them for upwards of ten years in some cases. The first two: Dynasty and Keeper are in jeopardy of being the primary casualties of WJ's leaving. Some kept records, but give him his due, WJ kept some really good ones. I do not know if these leagues will continue. Groz? Were you taking one of them? The third is THUNDERDOME! A battle royal of 16 teams split into four divisions battling it out for the supremacy of the entire Westeros Fantast Football World (barring one exception). North, East, South, and West with teams representing those areas of the country (i.e. as I was in the Eastern Division, I was King's Landing). QB, WR, WR, WR, RB, TE, W/R, K, DEF, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN Last year's players: Mexal Lightning Lord JJ Lannister Slurktan DVD ROTS Bronn Jaime Mya Fuentez Prince of the North Boiled Leather Whiskeyjack Space Bandito Jaxom Weekapaug Kalbear It is a snake draft. JJ Lannister has said he’d be taking the reins of the commish this season, as WJ is the only player we know of at this time who isn’t returning. Look for the thread on this. There will be at least one open spot. The fourth is Survivor. Another sixteen team league where you score or you go home. After week 2, if you’re the low score that week, you’re gone. Your players are off the board and no longer available. So choose wisely! QB, WR, WR, WR, RB, TE, W/R, K, DEF, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN Another snake draft, this one is all about the fun. Last year’s players: Weekapaug Mexal Scuba Steve Lanza Rota Jaxom Bronn Grozeng Boiled Leather Trebla Fuentez Ericxihn Whiskeyjack J.J. Lannister The Heir DVD ROTS Slurktan Again, only one spot open here for certain with WJ’s departure. Though I don’t know if Scuba Steve has been about, but that may change now that Fantasy Football is coming back… The fifth, and most important league: Experts. Experts started seven seasons ago when those who were playing regularly looked to the existing leagues and decided that there needed to be an invitation only league. A top tier, if you were. This league is about the competition, the trash talking, being active, and the skill. In that first season in 2006, WJ and a couple others discussed the initial class and decided on a group of ten. Turns out, I was eleven. I’d only been playing a couple years and was learning about fantasy still (some would say I still am!) and that while active, it wasn’t my time yet. I’d have to win my way in. Once that came out, I got it, I understood the reasoning and I declared that I’d be in the very next season. You see, as JJ explained a little in the thread he started for Experts this season, if you’re in the bottom three, you’re out, unless you win one of the feeder leagues to stay. Those that win the feeder leagues are elevated to the Expert tier. Then it’s up to you to win enough to stay. Thus was born, “Jaxoming”. Because I was determined to be elevated, no one else wanted to be the one to give up their seat to me, so you don’t want to be “Jaxomed”. It’s a fun term that I’ve embraced, though it kinda seems odd since I’m the reigning Experts champ… It is an auction draft. It is ten teams. QB, QB, WR, WR, WR, WR, RB, RB, RB, TE, TE, K, DEF, DEF, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN It is actually filled at the moment. But it’s important to talk about as the regulars of longtime Westeros Fantasy Football begin setting up the feeder leagues for the year. New players are always welcome! Be active. Be good natured. Remember this is mainly for Pride, not Prize. It’s supposed to be fun. Now, I know there are a few new leagues already up and running from some newer Forum members who may not have been aware that there was such a rich history around here. That’s cool. Perhaps some of you will join in the three or four feeder leagues that we’ll have going too and maybe earn your way into Experts. J If any of the other long timers wish to add anything, please do!

It's all good, Ran. I'm okay with it being just that. I couldn't not at least point out a possible reason for the scene though, in light of all of the negativity... Sometimes a scene is simply meant to allow the actors to have some fun and explore a little bit about who they are, Now, if the scene is anything more than a briefly referenced memory in the future, or a running background gag in the future, then I reserve the right to re-evaluate my thoughts on its worth as a scene, :P

I've yet to get through all of the whining commentary in this thread, but for all the complaining, I've not seen a single person point out that, with regards to Pod returning from the brothel, the whores didn't take Tyrion's money. Littlefinger's whores didn't take Tyrion's money. Littlefinger's whores didn't take Tyrion's money for the "gift" he was purchasing for his squire... Reading too much into a scene meant to play for humor? Maybe, but it's a nice little conspiracy theory that there is more to it than Pod is just that good... It was a great episode. Regardless of the Stannis we know in the books, the show Stannis is falling flat, and that is disappointing in terms how we expect him to go because of the books...will the show Stannis take a different path? The Stannis scene was the one negative, even if it was beneficial to crucial information.

I thought it was a pretty solid start. Dany's scenes were nice. It was good to see that there were still SOME Dothraki with her, as the end of last season gave the impression that there were all dead or gone. Was that a couple of her bloodriders on deck? Hard to tell. There is a bit lacking from her developing inner circle with the direction the show's gone vs. the books. Shifting a lot of Barristan's secert identity by elimnating it shouldn't be too much of an issue. It is rather irrelevant as they eliminated the whole prophecy of the House of the Undying, so the wondering over betrayals and the like matter little. So it should work. My biggest disappointment came in the whole Sansa/Littlefinger bit. Where's the mystery? But let's see how they twist about this storyline once they introduce the Queen of Thorns next week. As a side, the Shae/Roz thing is what it is, but it grates that there are implications that both of these women are far more than they seem to be. The Jon/Mance scene played well, but I don't know why they felt they had to deviate from the books there. Jon's book speech about why he's come over worked so very well. I forget exactly how the book plays out, so I'm wondering about how they'll resolve Davos in the dungeon. As the battle at the fist was only told to us in Sam's frenzied memory, I don't know that it matters if we saw it or not other than it might have "looked cool". Though it would have been nice to know Sam did get the ravens away...

It is a difficult thing to divorce ones self from knowledge of material as rich as ASOIAF when dealing with a television adaptation. I have tried to approach each and every episode looking at it in two ways. 1. How does the show do as a whole, independent entity? 2. How does my knowledge of the source effect how I think about the show? I like to think that I'm smart enough, versed enough in pop culture and the general sense of the way television adaptations work, that I can do both. The reader in me rails at a lot of the general changes in that I think that things may have worked as well to keep certain threads from the story intact that may not have kept viewers who haven't read the books away. However, as a whole, it's a solid solid show. Grand. Big. Heavy. But it's still very well done. I can see that. I can, and do, enjoy it immensely. Especially since it can be kind of fun to try to out guess where the hell the show creators want to go with the material they've taken and changed so heavily. So, I try to couch my comments on the idea that the show is it's own entity and how is it working? Though I freely acknowledge that the books and knowledge from there intrudes on some of it. The deviation from the end of ACOK here is stark (no pun intended). While the actor playing Ygritte is wonderful (how folks have decided she's "hot" when she's that bundled up...), the scenes themselves aren't working as well as they could for me. They're getting to the same point that the books did, but to take away Jon's interactions with Qhorin and the others as they race through the Frost Fangs, seems to lessen the impact of contrast. Jon goes on the ranging with one set of ideas about the Wildings in his mind. From Qhorin, he not only learns there is more to it than that, but it is also a strong reaffirmation of what it is to truly be a Brother of the Night's Watch. This makes the sacrafice of the others as they try to get back to the Wall, the sitting about the fire saying the oath again, much more powerful and gives some proper context to Jon's orders from Qhorin and his subsequent actions in ASOS. This is an instance where I don't know that the change works as well. From a book standpoint, moving the scene with Jaime and Cat here was a mis-step. Not knowing about Bran and Rickon means that Cat is freeing the Kingslayer (if that's what she's doing) to save his life. I acknowledge that it makes sense that she needs him alive to ensure the life of her daughters, but thinking her sons are gone really amps the drama of the scene. From a pure show stand point, the escape attempt tracks. Though it seemed a little high handed to have Jaime kill the relative. It is as if they needed to remind the audience that he's still technically a bad guy. I think it may have worked better if the attempt had been part of a Tyrion plot, as in the books, but this still works. Having a Karstark killed still works. The alteration of having Catelyn confront Rickard Karstark sort of works. So much of Theon's ACOK scenes have been used in the Winterfell arc. I can see the GRRM dialogue as the characters are saying the lines. Sure, some aspects have been changed, but it's still the strong wording and context that is there...UNTIL we get to the chase in the woods. I know we're still getting Ramsay Snow/Bolton based on the earlier episode, but changing the bit with the orphans to being essentially Theon's idea? It just doesn't track with the character that has been portrayed. Theon on the show, as in the books, is so desparate to be accepted for who he believes he is, he's always been easily manipulated by stronger personalities (which is why his POVs are sometimes hard to read and why his road to redemptions/realization in ADWD is as strong as it is). Here, if using the unseen orphans was Dagmar's idea, it didn't come through clearly, and even if it had, this Dagmar is underutilized to make him seem inconsequential. Yes, changing it to be Theon's idea is a drastic departure from the books, but it's also a drastic departure from the show as well, as Theon on the show has never actually shown any ability for thinking on his feet in such a manner, nor has he shown any kind of evil streak. Petty and cruel in a kicking puppies kind of way, but never evil. Does it matter? There's been too little shown on the show to establish a proper chain of events that will lead to Roose's defection/betrayal. That he's still with Robb, rather than at Harrenhall really does lessen some of the impact. Just my opinion on that one though. I remain neutral on the Dany stuff until I see how they go about it. I still predict a very tepid House of the Undying, as any images she gets will not be of the prophetic Red Wedding type, or flashbacks to Rhaegar as that would make no sense to anyone as they've barely talked about him or the significance of the Song of Ice and Fire. As a whole with regard to the show, it's working (for the most part), though other than Jorah and that one Dothraki guard we see at the top of the stair in her first scene last night, is there anyone left with her?

And such is the shame of the cuts and story trimming that had to happen. That Brienne was made a member of Renly's Kingguard (why not call it the Rainbow Guard anyway?), yet not knowing any of the others other than Loras, well that's really dampened the emotional aspect of the whole scene. And having Loras blame Stannis, rather than Brienne? That just takes a whole lot of sting out of her character arc after her trip with Jaime. Pretty much everything about Renly on the show has been weak. Possibly my least favorite aspect of the adaptation. It would also seem that we're not likely to get Mace Tyrell or any of the others to the extent that they deserve to flesh out the whole Tyrell/Lannister alliance. Folks are being way too optomistic. If we get any kind of scene in the House of the Undying, it'll be nothing like the scene in the book. Too much has been altered or left out for any of the scenes to make any realistic sense. Any sightings of Rhaegar will be lost on the non book reading audience as Jon's parentage has not really felt like much of a sub-plot at all in the show and remember, the name of the television adaptation is "A Game of Throne" not "A Song of Ice and Fire". To have Rhaegar appear and talk about it will certainly be much more confusing. The foreshadowing of the Red Wedding? Bet we don't see it. Television won't want to take a chance to spoil the reveal or power of it. Other images? Does it matter? The house with the red door in Pentos? Perhaps there will be new images for the show, but somehow I just don't see the scene being much. Too much of the overall story feels neutered from the books to make as much of an impact on the show. Just an opinion though and I hope to be wrong. As to the rest of the episode? It was good, but as mentioned, the Shadow Baby fell flat. When we saw a clear image of Renly's shadow on the tent, I thought for sure it was going to come alive and we'd see things go properly. Instead, we get some odd Death Eater/Lost Smoke Monster imagery that never actually looked like Stannis. Ah...enough of the griping. I do, I really do like the show. John

Haven't read all of the thread yet, so if some of this is repeated or mentioned already, oh well... :P It was a really strong episode. No doubt. It would appear that, from previews, that LF will give the idea of Renly's peach to Renly...though why they had to move up the negotiations to now...I didn't think he left until after Renly had been killed... Frankly I though Brienne was perfect. Spot on. Referencing the preview again, but I'm convinced that they're combining the scene under Storm's End with the killing of Renly. I hope it works. While I agree, it almost feels wasted as they've really not done any good service to the character as a whole. As a result, seeing Renly more like the Renly readers expect is almost out of place... Again, haven't read the entire thread, but I'm betting I'm the only one who, upon first glance of Margarey, did a double take and wondered how Michelle Trachtenberg was cast...but then again, I probably could have read up on casting news and not had that image flash through my head. Fleeting though it was...

I have to disagree. There's good ambiguity in television. Mysteries can be left out there for the discerning viewer to piece together. The whole idea of "show don't tell". If Mel attempts to seduce Stannis and he says no, but maybe he seems tempted and then there's a shadow baby that looks like Stannis? Real good viewers will catch on to things that are foreshadowed well. Hell the first time we see Stannis' shadow in the books, there's no indication that it has anything to do with Melisandre's seduction of him. Unless of course, they're going to combine Davos taking Melisandre under Storm's End and the killing of Renly into one scene to save time and skip Edric Storm all together... Bottom line, the seduction of Stannis was done in a clunky manner and felt out of place with the deliberate nature of it. This statement is a case in point. Readers will get the reference right away, but viewer who haven't read the books might just look back upon this statement at the end of the season and think that the writers might have just been that clever.

I really would have preferred some more ambiguity about the whole thing on screen though. They could have gone through that whole scene and still left it up to interpretation whether Stannis gets his freak on...it might have made the eventual shadow baby more chilling in that respect, much in the way it is in the books. Down the line, the Davos/Mel scene where she offers herself to him, that could confirm it then, but some ambiguity would have served the tension of the story better, as well as given the non-book viewers something more to debate at the water cooler... And damn it, Han shot first too! I wonder at the condensing of too much though. Not having some of Tyrion's appointees and people about makes his fall after the Blackwater a little less satisfying. Everyone he surrounds himself with before the Blackwater is either dead or turned on him by the end of it and it really helps motivate him in ASOS and beyond. Peter Dinklage will certainly not lose his nose either. I do have concerns about how this will play out down the line, but I'll keep the faith over all.

Just re-watched the episode and agree that Selmy was truly badass...I don't know the acor, but with his look, I thought to myself, "I'm Saul Motherfuckin' Teague."...but did anyone mention, I,m sure they did, that they forgot to put the Hound into Selmy's place...

Peashooters can be a vital weapon of good sometimes though...

And most people probably won't even pay attention to it and use it sparringly, if at all. Jsime comes through with another sig worthy statement. :thumbsup:

Wait. What about thousands of posts and pretty much a 0 reputation? All I've done for nothing! Bastard. You actually made me use the "negative" button. How the hell am I supposed to stay neutral in this discussion now?

Since I barely understood the purpose of the system when it went up, I've basically ignored it. I've never clicked a plus or a minus. Ultimately, I've been about the Board long enough now to know who's going to say something witty or wry, who's going to add to a conversation or who's likely to simply be trolling. What does reputation have to do with that? Really? Though apparently I have a "-2" reputation. Me. The most harmless poster around... :P Stay or go, I guess we'll need to come up with some sort of the good title for this little discussion, eh? Any suggestions?

Maybe if you spent less time "working" and more time "at lunch" we'd have a few more posts now, wouldn't we? :P

It isn't hatred though. It's pure disdain and loathing. The Goodkind threads aren't pillars of hate (or creation for that matter), but they're warnings. They're red lights in a green light world a go go that spreads the word that, while one can enjoy TG if they so choose, do for a true purpose, to be entertained and escape from the day to day grind that reading books is supposed to be about (and by getting the books from a library). Don't feed the notion that there is actually some sort of message about "living life better" through the books. They're fantasy stories that have no coherence to reality no matter how much the hapless followers of TG seem to think they do. I suddenly realize the ironic twist that we're the lemmings...duh!

Face it, TG just couldn't make it as a Vulcan.

Just read a few pages of Soul of the Fire. That should do the trick. Either that, or a couple shots of tequila. :P

Yeah, not so much. :P

Okay. I admit it. While I didn't "fall in love with Denna", I did kind of wonder who'd be playing her in the movie in all of that skin tight red leather...maybe Jennifer Lopez, you know, in an outfit similar to the one she wore in The Cell? Yeah. That'd be fine. You gotta figure Denna had a great ass, right? I mean, what's not to love about that? That's what I get for thinking the books were escapist. Damn my eyes.

Ah, but which part tickled your funny bone the most? The part where Terry said he puts all his eggs in one basket and can't think ahead? Or the part where he said he writes the best book he can? Unconditionally. The best book.

Despite claims by some to the contrary, most true TG fans are unable to think for themselves. That's why what TG writes speaks to them so totally. Dontcha know that? :P

Kinda like Rocky? Who'll play Frankenfurter? Question: In the first book, the night wisp told Richard "tell the other night wisps my name, Shar, and they will help you." Is that ever going to happen in one of the future books? Answer: Maybe. (Laughter.) I don't mean to evade your question; it's an honest question. I intend to give you the best answer I can give you, which is to say that, at this moment, I don't have a clue as to what the next book is about because I've devoted myself entirely to writing Faith of the Fallen. This is the way I write each book. I don't think about what's down the line because I'm thinking about this individual book. I have to work on the plot, the structure, the characters and the integration of all the themes into this one book. That's a very difficult task. It's fun, but it's hard work. So, I don't think about what's on down the line. I don't know if Richard is going to say Shar's name in another book. That's the first part of the answer. The second part of the answer is that even if I did know, I couldn't tell you. (Laughter) Not because I'm trying to be evasive, but because the act f writing is a very personal dramatic undertaking. If I tell people things, t takes the fire out of that act of creation. When you're writing, you call upon your subconscious to give you the information you need to complete consciously directed goal. That may sound complex but you do it all the time, for instance, when you say to yourself, what's my phone number? Your phone number is stored in your subconscious mind. You don't think about it until you consciously need the phone number, then you call it into your conscious mind. It's good to see he kept his answers short and to the point.