LynnS

The Diskworld audio books are very entertaining if you are looking for a diversion. Sam Vimes of the Night Watch is one of my favourite characters starting with Guards, Guards. Any of these books read by Nigel Planer or Stephen Briggs are well worth listening to. At the moment, I'm listening to Unseen Academicals about the people's game - Foot the Ball - with some other amusing sub-plots. There doesn't seem to be anything of interest on TV right now. I finished Season 1 of the Peripheral but will we get a season 2?

We didn't do any veg this year. We're working on the perennials. Second year for bee balm and they came up like gangbusters but we've got white spot mildew which we had to treat with a neem oil solution. They are starting to flower so hopefully we got it in time. They attract a lot of bumblebees. We're going to try columbine from seed next spring. I saw that interview and started listening to Lord of Light by Zelanzy which GRRM said was his magnum opus. I couldn't get into it. Yes, the Doom was caused by volcanos. But that wasn't really the question. Moqorro says men are responsible.

Some additional thoughts/questions about the house with the red door. We know it's an actual place and also that the red door itself has some kind of significance or meaning, according to GRRM. What could that be? Dany has a childhood memory of the red door but the red door also shows up in her dragon dream. Doors and portals have significance in this story - the doors on the House of Black and White, the Black Gate, the doors in the House of Undying, for example. Does the Red Door fall into this category? Does is show up in dreams of other dragon dreamers? Is that why Dragonstone has red doors or why Maester Aemon says he remembers the colour red?

I think that's been done in a thousand different ways. How much more can you squeeze out of it? Anyway, these recent forest fires and their effects on weather reminds me of the Year without a Sun in 536 AD. I think this must be where GRRM gets some ideas about the Long Night. I don't think the original event has to be a cosmic collision especially since vulcanism is a big thing in the Essos historical record. I question why the Doom of Valyria didn't have a similar effect. GRRM says men keep making the same mistakes. So what was the original mistake? Does it have something to do with Asshai? How was the land so poisoned? There is a metaphysical explanation, no doubt. I don't think there were ever two moons orbiting Planetos at one time either. I think there is a physical moon and a metaphysical moon. By that I mean that the moon can be percieved as the personification of someone or something. For example, Bran appears as the moon to Jon in a wolf dream. chasing him and calling out to him. You could say this is a mask or second moon. This same moon appears to have goosebumps in reaction to the cold, in another passage. The moon also appears as a sign or portent at different times. For example, the blood bruised eye that Tyrion mistakes for the sun setting in the East; with its twin on the sea seems so obviously about Euron. Surely, the reason why Benerro is so exercised about it. He and Moqorro both say Euron is a threat to Dany and call him the Dark Eye. So Jiqqui's story about the moon being an egg that cracked open when it flew too close to the sun; sounds very close to Dany walking into Drogo's funeral pyre and the eggs hatching. So the second metaphysical moon appears as an egg that cracks open; perhaps to someone with a third eye. The actual moon itself doesn't have a crack across its face. I think it's a story about the original mother of dragons. Like everyone; I'm still wondering about the House with the Red Door. Did Daeron the Dreamer leave Westeros to live in Lys at one point? I wonder if this is the House with the Red Door. Dragonstone has red doors. So, I wonder if this is a Targ thing. He also had a daughter which could explain the room with animal carvings in the roof beams. And I go back to Dany's scent memory of home of perfumes and spices.

Yikes! We had one like that last year. Trees down everywhere, including across my neighbours roof. We didn't have power, water or communications of any kind for a week. I lost everything in my fridge and freezer, Luckily some of the neighbours had small generators; so I was able to keep my prescriptions refrigerated and get a cup of coffee in the morning. We've have a lot of rain in the last few days. Seems to be helping. The sky is more normal. How is your garden this year? Did you try anything new?

We're still waiting on a book, I see. June has been a strange month with all the forest fires in Quebec. I'm close to the Quebec border and have seen a few orange moons and fucsia sunrises with all the smoke blanketing the town. It looks almost like a fog most days and you can smell wood smoke. I thought we would get some relief with the rain, but it's persistent. The sky is white today. Have to stay in most days due to eye irritation.

Astronomlles: Orcs and Sauron.

I am not all that excited about it. I guess I'll be more interested when it's actually in production.

I am well, thank you. Occupied with family matters and spring maintenance. Nice to see you, as well. Yes, he could be put into storage in an ice cell. Not sure this means that is where he will be raised, especially if there is discussion about burning his corpse. So I wonder if Borroq will intervene knowing that Jon's soul is currently house in Ghost. Raising Jon from the crypts at Castle Black.(reserved for Lord Commanders of the NW?) would be interesting forshading for potential events, in the crypts of Winterfell. I'm always hopeful for something a little left field from George.

Another possibility is that Jon could be placed in the crypts at Castle Black:

Girlnextgondor is brilliant. This is really interesting:

Have you seen the aurora over the past few days?

HAH! My niece is going to be on parade for the King's coronation as part of the Canadian contingent. There is going to be a Coronation Party in this house!

I was going to say that they are more akin to Mel's lot but opposite. If there is an analog to dragons; it might be ice spiders. I still like the idea of winterized wargs. But were they such in the beginning?

I'm leaning this way too. Mel says you can't have light without dark; so I'm guessing that the ice side is an unintended consequence of the fire sorcery that created the dragons. In fact, she generates light to create shadow assassins as witnessed by Davos. Moqorro might be hinting at the causal event when he talks about the Doom of Valyria; that men delved too deep and there were consequences.. I think this goes back to the old story of two moons in the sky. I don't think there were actually two astronomical bodies; but one physical and one metaphysical. By that I mean someone who can appear as the moon; like Bran when he chases Jon in his wolf-dream. Something that certain characters can perceive with the third eye. Bloodraven tells Bran that the weirwood faces will be the first eyes he will see through but that he will not need that at some point. This is why Bran was given flying lessons by the 3EC; so he could astral project or fly and view the world from the sky. The 3EC has mastered that level of magic. The eyes in the sky that can see across continents as shown in Bran's coma dream. So getting back to the two moons; was this another who could fly and came disguised as the moon to those who could perceive it? When the moon flew too close to the sun (eclipse); she cracked open and a thousand, thousand dragons poured forth. Are we getting a story about the original mother of dragons and her dragonseed descendants? Perhaps this is the preternatural event that created dragons fire and air made flesh; and their opposite, ice and air made flesh. So I lean towards vulcanism to explain why the sun hid it's face; an event that may have taken place when the moon cracked open. Makes me wonder what will come pouring out of the Blood Moon; monstrous and swollen (pregnant?) as it is. This appears to be Euron/Sauron's eye in the sky.

Excellent! Really interesting and enjoyable to read. Some fascinating insights and intuition here.

The idea that the sun hid its face and the darkness started in the North, affecting the globe; mirrors descriptions of the year with no sun. Starting at 26 minutes:

Something interesting - The year without a sun 536 - 560 AD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_winter_of_536#:~:text=Modern scholarship has determined that,the atmosphere for several years. GRRM's inspiration for the Long Night perhaps?

I saw a fascinating demonstration of ChatGPT on The Philosophers Games podcast the other day! It just amazes me how far technology has progressed.

Cheers! I'm over the covid. It took about 10 days and lots of sleep. I've been thinking about the Sky Gods lately and I might have something in a week or so...

Yes, I can't explain it or comprehend it. These are characters in a story of high fantasy. We are meant to see them as flawed characters and some are vile beyond question. It's turned into a kind of competition for some readers. I don't know what to say to that and I pass on those threads. I am very much appreciating the humour that is coming out in some threads. There can't be too much of that for my liking.

More on green pea galaxies:

Rescheduled to Mar.5th:

Yah, I like that. Some kind of sorcery involved.

It was interesting to see video footage inside Gibralter. It gives me a better idea of how GRRM imagines the inside of Casterly Rock. You have to wonder how the Eyrie was built and if it was carved out of the mountain ,which seems easier than hawling up blocks of stone, to the pinnacle. Same with Dragonstone. It seems to be carved from the volcano with the main residence inside the volcano.