Just Sayin'

So, I used to think that I was really weird because, for some reason, I am constantly confusing Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones . But it turns out that it's not just me! (I still think I'm really weird, but for different reasons). It turns out that people have written whole articles about why Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones are basically the same show; there's even an Abbey of Thrones tumblr page ! Like, no one's beheading Mrs. Patmore over a salty pudding and the Iron Bank of Bravos is not going to repossess Downton because Lord Grantham lost the family fortune. Compared to Game of Thrones , the dinners and garden parties of Downton seem pretty insignificant, but what makes them both so compelling as shows is that the characters take their own lives seriously. To the characters on Downtown Abbey, a cricket match is just as important as a battle. Make of that what you will, but the point is that the characters are absorbed in their own world, which means t...

After the massacre that was season three of Downton Abbey, season four was refreshingly cheerful. I'll admit that after Sybil and Matthew, two of my favorite characters, died, I was concerned that the show would fall apart. But, I have to say it's nice to see that season four has returned to some of the great Downton traditions: Edith's guy problems, Thomas schemes, and Mary's never ending parade of suitors. Downton has the unique gift of turning a show that is completely uneventful into something absolutley riveting. Downton Abbey is back to doing it Pride and Prejudice style. I mean, It just isn't the same show if Mary doesn't get proposed to at least once a season. That's not to say I wasn't upset about what happened to Matthew. But, on TV you can't linger on grief too much. The actor left the show, but the series must go on. Fortunately, Downton has a strong ensemble cast, so the lose of one character doesn't ruin the show. I'll admit...

I feel very sorry for the Starks So, a long time ago when I was first starting to read the A Song of Ice and Fire books, I was trying to convince my friend to read it and one of the first things she asked me about it was if there were any love stories. I had to stop and think about that for a minute because there are like thousands of character arcs, but, in the end, I had to tell her 'no'. I mean, I guess that you could argue that Catelyn and Ned Stark have a bit of a 'love story', but by the time A Game of Thrones opens, the exciting parts of their love story are over. The Starks are happily married with five children which, while one of the happiest stories in A Song of Ice and Fire, isn't particularly interesting. Personally, I would love it if George R.R. Martin wrote a prequel to a Song of Ice and Fire about Robert's Rebellion and how Ned and Catelyn fell in love (that book would also answer a lot of other pressing questions), but I don't t...

So, I just finished re watching season three of Game of Thrones and I have to say that Daenerys Targaryn just killed it this season. Like, seriously, it was the season of Dany. While everyone else is either being attacked by White Walkers or flayed alive, she's over in Essos taking over the world. I mean, at this point in the series, if you think that Dany is going to be murdered or drop off the face of the earth (cough, cough Gendry, cough, cough, Nymeria), you have to accept that you're pretty much wrong. I love Dany in the books, but, thus far, I wasn't super impressed with her in the TV show. This season really changed that. The producers really went out of their way to make her completely awesome this season; they really gave the character a chance to prove herself as a leader. She shows brilliant strategy in Astapor (she really is much smarter than anybody gives her credit for). She steps into the role of queen so easily and she never doubts herself; she is a nat...

So, I was reading this article about an elephant preserve in Florida (if someone wants to explain why that makes sense) and they were talking about the many virtues of the elephant species. Let me tell you something, I love elephants. Like, I don't think they're too many people in the world who dislike elephants, but I love elephants. I even have an elephant piggy bank! What an oxymoron. Anyway, the article was talking about the family values of the elephant culture and the way the matriarch elephants hold the herd together and I was so pleased that people are finally starting to realize how great elephants are! To quote the article: "They are family oriented. They're honest and straightforward. We should learn from them". It was about this point in the article that I realized something very important: elephants are the antithesis of octopi. If you read my blog regularly, you know that octopi really freak me out. It's partially the fact that they have n...

So, my roommate asked me to write a parody of Burred Lines that was about pumpkins (since she's basically on an all pumpkin diet). You're welcome. All you pumpkins get up! All you pumpkins get up! Hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey Hey, hey, hey If you're not a squash, if you're not a gourd If you're not a zucchini, if you're not a cucumber Maybe I'm making pie Maybe I'm carving a jack o' lantern Maybe I'm orange All you pumpkins get up OK now he was close, tried to carve you But you're an vegetable, baby, it's in your nature Just let me carve you Hey, hey, hey You don't need no squash Hey, hey, hey That gourd is not your gourd And that's why I'm gon' take a good gourd I know you want it I know you want it I know you want it You're a good gourd Can't let this pumpkin get past me You're far from squash Talk about getting carved I hate these pumpkin pies! I know you want it I know yo...

I realized something today. I think I might be a hipster. Like, yesterday, I was walking down the street wearing a wool beanie, my thick rim glasses, and my red converse shoes, listening to some Hendrix, and it hit me; I might be a hipster. Now, understandably, this is disconcerting for me, because I did not set out to be a hipster. It's not that I'm against hipsters or anything, but, it's like, if you spent all your life as a cow, trying to produce milk, and, all the sudden, someone says 'actually, you're a chicken, and you should be trying to produce eggs'. But, producing eggs sounds really difficult, especially if you don't like omelets. Like, if you're not trying to be an omelet, and you turn out to be an omelet, are you really an omelet, even if you feel like a pancake? That's how I feel (although, as a side note, if I was going to be a breakfast food, I would definitely be a muffin). Like, I thought the whole point of being a hipster was th...