Hey y'all, I made a Mythical Astronomy video

[LmL]

...and here it is! 

[LmL]

And let me take a moment, as I do at the end of the video, to thank everyone of you who has contributed to all of the mythical astronomy threads over the past 2 and half years. This video wouldn't exist without the contributions and enthusiasm and banter and mud-slinging that we do here. You guys rock. The server... meh. But we all put up with it because the people are great, right? 

Anyway, the sappiness warning light is flashing. But seriously, thanks.

 

[Durran Durrandon]

Nice work.

[The Weirwoods Eyes]

Aha! am I correct in thinking this video will be a summary of all the stuff you have been theorising about for the last few years? yes? If so I can't wait to get these cakes in the oven so I can sit down and watch it! I've never managed to keep up with all your threads and external write ups as there is just SO much of it but have always had an interest and wanted to get up to speed with your ideas. 

[LmL]

4 hours ago, The Weirwoods Eyes said:

Aha! am I correct in thinking this video will be a summary of all the stuff you have been theorising about for the last few years? yes? If so I can't wait to get these cakes in the oven so I can sit down and watch it! I've never managed to keep up with all your threads and external write ups as there is just SO much of it but have always had an interest and wanted to get up to speed with your ideas. 

It's more like a distillation of the main parts of the moon cracking theory, as well as an introduction to the general concept of Martin creating parallels between the ancient myths and the characters and actions in the main story. Certainly not a summary of all my ideas, no - that video would be ungodly long. What I will probably do with the videos, because they are a lot more work than the podcasts, is just make an occasional one to get people into the various lines of ideas that I have. Like, I might make a green zombies video to give people the gist of the green zombies series, and hopefully entice them to read it. Martin's use of symbolism and archetype is simply to sprawling and complex for me to analyze in any way other than long-form essay and podcast, so I am hoping these videos act as a bridge to get regular people into the super nerdy podcasts and essays that I do. 

[ravenous reader]

11 hours ago, LmL said:

...and here it is! 

 

My favorite quote:  'Symbolism and metaphor is a good thing'!  

The Nissa Nissa animations juxtaposed with the celestial drama are priceless...after seeing that replayed a few times, it's a bit difficult to persist with the idea that AA was a big hero for killing his nearest and dearest in cold (well, technically, 'hot'...) blood ... (she even seemed to have a look of surprise on her face, instead of 'agony and ecstasy,' as she started to fall backwards -- a bit like I imagine the look on Lysa's face after having had her heart broken with the killing words 'Only Cat')! 

[LmL]

3 minutes ago, ravenous reader said:

 

My favorite quote:  'Symbolism and metaphor is a good thing'!  

The Nissa Nissa animations juxtaposed with the celestial drama are priceless...after seeing that replayed a few times, it's a bit difficult to persist with the idea that AA was a big hero for killing his nearest and dearest in cold (well, technically, 'hot'...) blood ... (she even seemed to have a look of surprise on her face, instead of 'agony and ecstasy,' as she started to fall backwards -- a bit like I imagine the look on Lysa's face after having had her heart broken with the killing words 'Only Cat')! 

Yes, it is indeed hard to rectify wife stabbing and hero-dom. This has always been my basic reaction to this fable, long before I ever started writing about the books.  originally, Michael sent me an animation where she actually bared her breasts, but it was too much sexual violence and my wife threw the flag on it. So Michael went back and gave her a fur bra so my video doesn't get taken down, lol. But you know, the main thing is the moon breaking... tough to sell that as anything other than really bad news

[ravenous reader]

6 minutes ago, LmL said:

Yes, it is indeed hard to rectify wife stabbing and hero-dom. This has always been my basic reaction to this fable, long before I ever started writing about the books.  originally, Michael sent me an animation where she actually bared her breasts, but it was too much sexual violence and my wife threw the flag on it. So Michael went back and gave her a fur bra so my video doesn't get taken down, lol. But you know, the main thing is the moon breaking... tough to sell that as anything other than really bad news

Ha ha, yes, we wouldn't want your animations to be censored.  Your censorship of Michiel Huisman's asset(s) made me laugh out loud!

[Bluetiger]

The animation with moon breaking reminded me of that ASOIAF video celebrating enhanced AGoT book being released...

Michael is very skilled guy...

 

[LmL]

9 minutes ago, Blue Tiger said:

The animation with moon breaking reminded me of that ASOIAF video celebrating enhanced AGoT book being released...

Michael is very skilled guy...

 

Yeah I remember when this came out - the inclusion of the two moons myth flipped my wig for sure, and the whole sequence - two moons myth, Dany waking the dragons, then the NW I am the sword in the darkness... they all go together. I have to think that wasn't an accident. 

Have you checked out Michael's Essos map?

http://klaradox.de/en/galerie/essos/

[LmL]

22 minutes ago, ravenous reader said:

Ha ha, yes, we wouldn't want your animations to be censored.  Your censorship of Michiel Huisman's asset(s) made me laugh out loud!

That was the idea behind the "OOPS!!"   I was looking for jus the right picture with just the right amount of innuendo... couldn't use actual copulation, so this seemed right.

[Bluetiger]

43 minutes ago, LmL said:

Yeah I remember when this came out - the inclusion of the two moons myth flipped my wig for sure, and the whole sequence - two moons myth, Dany waking the dragons, then the NW I am the sword in the darkness... they all go together. I have to think that wasn't an accident. 

Have you checked out Michael's Essos map?

http://klaradox.de/en/galerie/essos/

Yeah, I did. That's the same one as History of Westeros uses, right?

 

[LmL]

26 minutes ago, Blue Tiger said:

Yeah, I did. That's the same one as History of Westeros uses, right?

 

Indeed. "As seen on History of Westeros!"

[Equilibrium]

Great work man, congratulations.

 

[ravenous reader]

@LmL  I found that quote you referenced comparing the comet to 'dragonsbreath' intriguing.  There might be some connection to that other quote I'm fond of citing in which Bran seems to be associated with the break of dawn, 'blooms of dragon's breath,' and by implication the comet!  What do you think?

Quote

A Clash of Kings - Prologue

The child had been plagued by nightmares as far back as Maester Cressen could recall. "We have talked of this before," he said gently. "The dragons cannot come to life. They are carved of stone, child. In olden days, our island was the westernmost outpost of the great Freehold of Valyria. It was the Valyrians who raised this citadel, and they had ways of shaping stone since lost to us. A castle must have towers wherever two walls meet at an angle, for defense. The Valyrians fashioned these towers in the shape of dragons to make their fortress seem more fearsome, just as they crowned their walls with a thousand gargoyles instead of simple crenellations." He took her small pink hand in his own frail spotted one and gave it a gentle squeeze. "So you see, there is nothing to fear."

Shireen was unconvinced. "What about the thing in the sky? Dalla and Matrice were talking by the well, and Dalla said she heard the red woman tell Mother that it was dragonsbreath. If the dragons are breathing, doesn't that mean they are coming to life?"

The red woman, Maester Cressen thought sourly. Ill enough that she's filled the head of the mother with her madness, must she poison the daughter's dreams as well? He would have a stern word with Dalla, warn her not to spread such tales. "The thing in the sky is a comet, sweet child. A star with a tail, lost in the heavens. It will be gone soon enough, never to be seen again in our lifetimes. Watch and see."

'Never to be seen again in our lifetimes...Watch and see...' -- famous last words...!

Quote

A Game of Thrones - Eddard V

Arya bit her lip. "What will Bran do when he's of age?"

Ned knelt beside her. "He has years to find that answer, Arya. For now, it is enough to know that he will live." The night the bird had come from Winterfell, Eddard Stark had taken the girls to the castle godswood, an acre of elm and alder and black cottonwood overlooking the river. The heart tree there was a great oak, its ancient limbs overgrown with smokeberry vines; they knelt before it to offer their thanksgiving, as if it had been a weirwood. Sansa drifted to sleep as the moon rose, Arya several hours later, curling up in the grass under Ned's cloak. All through the dark hours he kept his vigil alone. When dawn broke over the city, the dark red blooms of dragon's breath surrounded the girls where they lay. "I dreamed of Bran," Sansa had whispered to him. "I saw him smiling."

"He was going to be a knight," Arya was saying now. "A knight of the Kingsguard. Can he still be a knight?"

 

[LmL]

Yeah, I've always found this one puzzling. Lot's of familiar language, but I cannot figure out what is going on exactly. 

[LmL]

10 hours ago, Equilibrium said:

Great work man, congratulations.

 

Thanks man! It's been a long time in the works  How do you think I did condensing the basic ideas?

[Equilibrium]

4 hours ago, LmL said:

Thanks man! It's been a long time in the works  How do you think I did condensing the basic ideas?

You did excellent job, but than again it is the result of the long work in refining and distilling those concepts, which you did all the while presenting new stuff.

I like the way you managed not to go overboard with the literary evidence, which is thorough and commendable, but this type of video wouldn't benefit from full on onslaught of evidence as you are known to do in the essays.

Presentation is great, as I have said regarding your podcasts, you have a knack for narration and pacing, and it is nice to see you managed to nail the visual side of presentation as well and you proved not to be proverbial radio star.

I'm really happy this is going great for you man, keep up the good work!

[The Weirwoods Eyes]

@LmL I bloody loved it! Thank you. And yes I have thought the same regarding the meteors and the moon stuff ever since the World book I've thought the oily black stone is the remnants of those meteors.  I'm going to have to find the time to read your other stuff cos I know I'm going to love it. Maybe this old fart can finally work out how to work podcasts. I know there is an app for it on my phone and it is probably self-explanatory once I go into it, I could listen to you in the gym. 

 

I've been categorising the various magics into these elements. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Blood, Skin, & Shadow.  But you could I think argue Skin as blood magic as the ability to Skinchange/Warg does seem to be passed on genetically, likewise, Greendreaming/seeing is seemingly a form of blood magic if one looks at it as an inherited trait. I'm considering the possibility that the abilities may have arisen through some form of the more traditional interpretation of blood magic as in sacrifice, that ceremony Bran witnesses with the Old woman and the man at the Weirwood tree and maybe something similar to what we have hinted at with the Dragon bonding "gene" having arisen through some freaky blood magic being the case for those with the Skinchanging ability. Likewise, Shadow magic could theoretically be interpreted as blood magic when one takes into account the requirement of sperm. Though I admit this one is looser. I've recently decided that the mystery of how to light the glass candles may have something to do with blood too. But have nothing as yet to base that on other than a hunch. 

Then we have the miscellaneous Wildfire and those powders, but both seem connected to fire, the former for obvious reasons and the latter as they all seem to involve being cast into a fire to activate them.

 

[LmL]

On 7/16/2017 at 5:38 AM, The Weirwoods Eyes said:

@LmL I bloody loved it! Thank you. And yes I have thought the same regarding the meteors and the moon stuff ever since the World book I've thought the oily black stone is the remnants of those meteors.  I'm going to have to find the time to read your other stuff cos I know I'm going to love it. Maybe this old fart can finally work out how to work podcasts. I know there is an app for it on my phone and it is probably self-explanatory once I go into it, I could listen to you in the gym. 

 

I've been categorising the various magics into these elements. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Blood, Skin, & Shadow.  But you could I think argue Skin as blood magic as the ability to Skinchange/Warg does seem to be passed on genetically, likewise, Greendreaming/seeing is seemingly a form of blood magic if one looks at it as an inherited trait. I'm considering the possibility that the abilities may have arisen through some form of the more traditional interpretation of blood magic as in sacrifice, that ceremony Bran witnesses with the Old woman and the man at the Weirwood tree and maybe something similar to what we have hinted at with the Dragon bonding "gene" having arisen through some freaky blood magic being the case for those with the Skinchanging ability. Likewise, Shadow magic could theoretically be interpreted as blood magic when one takes into account the requirement of sperm. Though I admit this one is looser. I've recently decided that the mystery of how to light the glass candles may have something to do with blood too. But have nothing as yet to base that on other than a hunch. 

Then we have the miscellaneous Wildfire and those powders, but both seem connected to fire, the former for obvious reasons and the latter as they all seem to involve being cast into a fire to activate them.

 

(Hey look, the forum us actually up!)

I make for a great workout buddy. I have a nice reading voice and I fit inside your earbud. Thays essentially why i started podcasting, becauze my essays got too long. I can help you clean your garage or dispose of your daily commute. Suddenly, my long-windedness becomes an asset!