A softer Game of Thrones? {SPOILERS}

May23

By ‘softer’ I in no way mean ‘bad’!

I love Tyrion Lanister, played by the disgustingly talented and somewhat indecently attractive Peter Dinklage. I have an inappropriate crush here, and I don’t care who knows it, I think he’s brilliant!

Anyway, I was watching the latest ep of GoT and I couldn’t help noticing a couple of subtle differences in the way they played out the wedding of Sansa Stark to Tyrion Lanister from the book to the screen. I like both characters quite a bit, what with the seemingly unrelenting pile of shit which heaps itself upon them constantly and the way they attempt to survive it. In the book, there was never and real chance of an alliance between the two, too much hurt, to much mistrust, but the TV show has given the relationship a softer feel. Oh they’re not in love (though I can’t help feeling poor Tyrion deserves a loving wife, and Sansa should have someone in her life who would actually care about her), but there was less softness in their interactions in the book.

At the wedding in the book, Sansa refused to kneel so Tyrion could put his cloak over her shoulders. I’m not surprised. The Lanister’s destroyed her family, Joffery had been physically and psychologically mistreating her and now they were forcing her to marry ‘the monkey demon’… I wasn’t looking forward to it. The move terribly embarrassed Tryion in the books, and stung him badly considering how hard he’d been trying to protect her and I KNOW Peter Dinklage is more than capable of showing me all of that with his eyes… Instead, she knelt. While Joffery was attempting to humiliate and denigrate them both, there was at least this small victory that they could take for themselves. Some tiny sign that Sansa at least see’s he’s not evil, that he is being punished as much as she is.

It’s not true to the books, but in a way my desperate longing for something good for these two characters makes me glad that the scene was played out just that tiny bit differently. If there is one thing you can say about GoT (the books and the show) it’s that the characters don’t always get what they deserve. Good and noble characters die, terribly and pointlessly sometimes, while stupid, vile and evil characters seem to go on forever without the slightest hint of karma. It’s one of the books greatest strengths… but my soft little heart still begs for at least someone to get a happy ending. To have their actions and trials rewarded.

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Voices 2013

May22

So I was invited to the Voices of 2013 kidspot event in Sydney on the weekend. This of course involved flying up to NSW from Hobart, which I did without any kids… I think this FB post best sums up the day I left.

Flight Voices of 2013 Trip It was fine, infantile, but fine. I made a right tit of myself but hey, it’s me, and I’m used to it. That kind of childish behavior continued into Paddy’s Markets in Sydney where I spent about 2 hours shopping and bought… not a damn thing!

Unfortunately, because I’m a special ferret, those auspicious beginnings degenerated… Having given myself many hours to get to the event, I went to the perfectly wrong place…

terrible dayI made it, about an hour late, exhausted and completely reliant on the kindness of Sydney bus drivers (which was overwhelming and lovely!) Still, I made it in time for some great panels on working with brands and PR companies, not to mention the stories of some  great blogs including wee birdy, who is awesome (even if she hasn’t blogged since January).

It’d be nice, I think, if this post was more about the greatness of the blogging medium, the amazing women I met and how we’re all going to change the world, and less about how I’m a small town hick with permanent baby brain who can’t navigate in a city that too large to walk across easily… but thems the breaks unfortunately.

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Group works and learning curves

May14

Thing’s I’ve learned working in a group;

  1. Nothing, and I mean nothing is ever as simple, or straight forward, as you think it’s going to be when you start. This is true of everything from getting the appropriate stationary to making sure everyone understands what’s going on. No matter how clear you think you’ve been, you have confused someone. No one want’s to confuse you either, they think they’re being perfectly clear.
  2. Just because you like and/or respect someone, doesn’t mean they feel the same way about you… and visa verse. The person who seems like sweetness and sunshine can in fact be thinking you’re a complete moron, while the person who is driving you nuts can be the one with the most faith in your abilities.
  3. There is a space between your projects and the rest of your life for a reason. Keep it there. You can not, should not, must not live the project and be available to it 24/7 – you will lose your $#!^ and become worthless to everyone.

All you can ask for in the end, is to have something that you’re proud of whatever your level of involvement. I wasn’t as involved in some things as I wanted to be, I got pregnant and my daughter decided it’d be fun to turn mummy inside out, there have been some family issues and organizational problems. These things all conspired to make me significantly less helpful and involved than I wanted to be, and I think I’ll regret that for a long time… but I learned a lot, and I console myself with the knowledge that I was helpful and there were one or two little things that I made possible that might not otherwise have happened.

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Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

May13

I’m down with the hokey, fun, adventure movies, so this was right up my alley. Fair warning, it’s not taking itself seriously and if you try to you’ll be properly disappointed. Still, Jeremy Renner is a long time favorite of mine and his straight faced delivery of some of the cheesier dialogue gave me a big enough happy to make up for the fact that this is still Hansel and Gretel, and they did still get lured into a house made of candy.

You’ll probably go for it if you liked : Brothers Grimm, National Treasure, and every mid 80s family movie. (Keep in mind though, this one is for adults, it’s got swearing and a moderate amount of gore)

 

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A quick escalataion

May12

Well, I started The Black Stamp last week and this week it’s moved to a URL of it’s own! www.blackstamp.com is up and running and I’d ask anyone who was interested to pop over and have a look, or update their links.

I’d like to thank everyone for their support (which was huge, and quite nuts) and I hope to see everyone make the move with me to the new URL.

love CJ

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5 things that do… things.

May10

Friday is supposed to be my health conscious day on the blog, and I’ve been doing so well with writing lately that I don’t want to miss a day just because I don’t actually have anything… That’s a stupid reason LoL, but there you go. So;

5 things that are good for my mental health;

  • My kids when they smile
  • My pets when she snuggle
  • My blogs when the muse descends
  • My husband when he does the dishes
  • Eating fresh, home made food

5 things that are not so good for my mental health;

  • My kids when they’re insane
  • My pets when they’re insane
  • My blogs when I’M insane
  • My husband when he’s insane
  • Having to make every damn thing from scratch because 99% of pre-made stuff contains a substance that will make me high as a kite, confused, and dizzy.

It’s been that kind of week. TGIF!

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The other side of me

May8

After talking to a few people, doing a little reading around and holding my breath and biting my lip a lot, I’ve started a separate blog at The Black Stamp. It’s a news and politics blog with a focus of trying to look at developments not only from my personal point of view, but stepping back and trying to be more journalistic about it.DSCF0214

It will have a slightly different voice, and there wont be any room for the pics of my kids, my animals and my house etc. The idea of that while it’s still my voice, my opinions and undeniably my writing, I’m trying to do something a little different. I’d love it if you’d come and join me at The Black Stamp (feel free to refer to it as the B.S if you like, it tickled me).

A mini photo-shoot should be happening later today for the header/logo and then hopefully by tomorrow morning I’ll have a FB page up and running so that 10% followers wont have to keep hearing about it.

There are some vague plans in the works to attempt some reporting of my own (I am majoring in communications after all) depending on what happens and how things go there might be some independent research in there. If anyone would like to talk to me about that, or has any tip’s they’d like to spill please contact me, I’m usually pretty personable.

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My precious little man

May6

A special little man has come back into my life after a little time away, and  what’s happened to him has rocked my faith in humanity…

Meet Jonathan

Meet Jonathan

You might not be able to see if clearly in the photo… but my darling boy is woefully under weight. One year ago (a little over really) it seemed that with my growing family, I needed to find a loving home for my babies Jonathan and Nefarious. Nefer, my sweet sweet girl, passed away under circumstances I don’t entirly trust anymore, and when it came to my attention that Jonny’s new owner was seeking to rehome him, I talked my husband into letting me take him back, just for a while, and rehoming him myself.

Jonny was a huge, lardy ferret with thick fur and a cheeky sense of fun. He was robust and active and my daughter loved him to bits. When the new owner presented me with this small, sickly thin creature, I couldn’t believe it was the same animal! In fact, if it wasn’t for his birth defect (he has a missing foot) I’d have sworn she was trying to con me… but no, he knew me when I took him and curled up in my arms just like he used too…

I’ve been beside myself since. I betrayed him… I let him and his girlfriend leave my home and go to live with someone who, it turns out, was not in any way worthy of them… My darling little man, who I reflexively keep calling ‘fat man’ only to nearly cry at what he’s become, is on a strict diet of meat, eggs, kitten milk and love. He’s not leaving my sight until I’m convinced he’s fit and healthy again. Until he’s big and fluffy and happy, and I swear I want fucking references from your past pets before you get your hands on my baby this time!!!!

My daughter with her old friend. He still loves her to bits, and puts up with all her exuberance. She knows something isn't right with him, and babies him so carefully...

My daughter with her old friend. He still loves her to bits, and puts up with all her exuberance. She knows something isn’t right with him, and babies him so carefully…

I’m so sorry little man… I promise I’ll make it right.

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Brilliant Blue

May4

I know I don’t usually do the wordless thing, being a wordy type of person, but I have no words for this…

Brilliant Blue colour... It's freakin' CLEAR!!!!

Brilliant Blue colour… It’s freakin’ CLEAR!!!!

I’m sure there is a reason… but buggered if I know what it is.

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Starve the bitchy wolf

May1

What is one of the most powerful themes in literature, as in life? I like this particular story, it’s been floating around for decades, my dad heard it when he was a kid too…

 There once was an Indian chief who told this story to his grandson. It was a story about two wolves that were fighting all day. One wolf was mean, nasty and unkind; this wolf was big an aggressive; it showed no mercy. The other wolf was kind, gentle and loving. But when it had to fight for what was right and good it knew how to fight fair and hard

The little boy wanted to know from his grandfather which wolf would win the fight.

Wisely, the old man answered: “The one you feed”

I have a little voice (actually she’s kinda loud and bitchy) in my mind who responds instantly to information… usually in a wildly negative and sometimes pretty aggressive manner. I see things that I think are crappy and this voice rants and raves inside my mind; how could you be so stupid? Why did you let that happen? How could you not see this coming? What the hell is wrong with you? She’s a total cow.

It’s a constant struggle to keep her in line. She’s aggro. She’s opinionated, which is not to say I’m not, but she never stops to take a breath so it’s hard to get a word in. She makes up her mind in an instant with no thought to circumstances or information that might not be available to her…

We struggle constantly.

When I’m tired, when I’ve had a bad day, when someone or something has shaken the strength it takes to hold her in check, she gets the best of me. She spits venom one anyone and anything that doesn’t live up to impossible expectations. It’s not pretty.

It’s a small example, and most of the time it doesn’t impact on anyone else. I starve the bitch as much as I can, of attention, of power and of voice – I keep her as tightly caged as possible and lets be honest, even if I do word vomit sometimes, it doesn’t change the fate of the world. That’s not true of everyone though, nor of everything. If you don’t stomp hard on your inner bitch, or you’re knee-jerk jerk… what are the consequences?

What if it’s not just about your inner jerk? You can starve the hell out of the douche, but if you starve the other wolf too… what’s the point? Is it really enough to squash down your inner bitch/biggot/crankypants/cow, in the face of things that set her off? I don’t think so… If you starve both wolves, you put the whole business in a coma.

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