Thyroid

A Clash of Kings has this odd schtick of not being a sequel. It feels more like a reboot, haphazardly introducing new concepts, themes, families and a whole new tone. I didn't like it as much as I liked A Game of Thrones, initially, but upon reading some crazy fan theories and re-reading bits of it for clarity it became better, and over time I've come to think of it as its prequel's equal. It really benefits from that quick re-read, because you're no longer expecting it to be like A Game of Thrones and can appreciate it for its own. A Dance With Dragons is full of gems, also. For instance, Actually, there's a good one someone pointed out to me in A Storm of Swords. The books are full of stuff like that. It makes me love them on a whole new level.

Do not read A Song of Ice and Fire. It is crack on paper and you will go through serious withdrawal after realizing the next book isn't out yet. Goddamn. That having been said, book 5: not as good as books 1-3, better than 4. I'm kind of mad at his editor. (S)he could have easily made them into one big book and not lost anything of substance. There's superfluous crap in both and every once in a while the pacing needed help. But still, pretty good. I'm normally avert to fantasy, and this kept me going. The best thing is that the backstory is easily as good as what's happening right now. A work of talent. So far, I'd rank them as: A Storm of Swords (probably one of the most brilliant novels I've ever read, plot-wise), A Clash of Kings/A Game of Thrones, A Dance With Dragons, A Feast for Crows. Had 4 and 5 been the one book they were originally meant to be, it may have been the best or second best of the series, since there's some really good stuff in there. I'm addicted. Goddamn cliffhangers.

It took me a while to get used to Gillan as well, but I re-watched series five last January and I realized that I really liked her. Amy Pond's an interesting character, all said. Matt Smith is second to none. I know I have an unfortunate tendency to succumb to hyperbole (I'm working on it), but this isn't part of that. I can not think of any person who fits the role of the Doctor so perfectly. He doesn't play The Doctor, he is The Doctor. That sounds like exaggeration, I know, but I do think it's true. He has an old/young quality to him, with something alien, that makes him a great casting choice.

From what I can tell, almost all his books are good but do get a bit repetitive if you read too many in one go. That having been said, my friend recommends: Something Fresh, That's a Good Man Jeeves, Thank You Jeeves. She hasn't read a lot but thinks any of them should be pretty good anyway. I can vouch for the first five pages of Indiscretions of Archie being good. I was going to finish it, but my girlfriend stole my copy and has yet to return it. She says it's good. I was always more interested in Buffy fandom than in Buffy itself, so that's fine by me.

You two might be happy about next series, then. (I enjoyed the arc, personally. It was thematically interesting.) Boldings my own. This is the source.

Me too.

Hurray! Well, I'm going to interject here. I watched it like you did, and since you're retracing my steps... 1. At this point, watch "Blink" from series 3. 2. Watch "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead" from series 4. You don't have to, but they bring back things from those two episodes in series 5. Plus, both episodes are what the British would call "belters".

"The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances", "The Girl in the Fireplace", "Blink" and "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead"! Well, and the Red Nose Day episode "Time Crash". How do I always scare people away from things?

Though if you do this, skip episodes four, five and eleven. My goodness, are they terrible. And all of them are either followed by or preceded by such excellence.

You can start with the Eleventh Doctor fine, but I would recommend going back and seeing "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead" from the Tenth Doctor era first. There's a character introduced in that story that has come to be something significant in this current series. You could also watch any episode written by Steven Moffat from the Ninth and Tenth Doctor seasons. You can start with the Ninth Doctor too, but a lot of those episodes are hit and miss. The dude in charge of that era was a good showrunner but a bad writer. I did compile a "Best Of" list that you can watch and enjoy (that list is now a little outdated, since it only covers episodes aired till that day). Watching that is fine also. So, to sum-up: 1. Start with the Eleventh Doctor, but watch "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead" (in that order) first; optionally, watch Steven Moffat episodes from previous seasons for additional goodness; OR 2. Start with the Ninth Doctor, watch until you catch up to the rest of us; OR 3. Watch the episodes I've recommended and skip the rest!

Drive is an interesting and stylish movie. The pacing and editing are great, as is Ryan Gosling's performance. I'm not a big fan of intentionally "weird" characters who are "weird" because they don't have a past, but this movie pulled that off. It's blatantly ridiculous and show-offy in some ways, but a good movie nonetheless.

I didn't hate it! I thought it was OK. Not a classic or anything, but hardly David Cage.

I finished Machinarium. I'm going to save my thoughts for a review for my stupid blog, which is in dire need of an update, but the bottom line is this: Machinarium falls heartbreakingly short of greatness. I bought it off the Amanita Design website for $20 a while back, because I wanted to directly support them, and I regret it. Bad decisions make the game worse than it should be, especially when it has some individual moments of brilliance. Unless you really love adventure games, I'd suggest getting it for $5 or $10 - the individual moments make it worth that much, as does the soundtrack. Otherwise - and it really hurts to say this - I would suggest skipping it. (Alas, the soundtrack is missing the of the whole game. Still good, though.)

I'm going to do it. I'm going to buy those games. Maybe. Soon. God, help me. I have an addiction but the sale is too good to pass-up...

Today's promo seems to have been designed to make me suffer. I want it, all of it, and I haven't got the cash. Mind you, the Sega sale on Steam is mighty tempting also. I'm in that place, where I know I want the games but am also partially grateful I don't have the cash to get them because I don't have the time, either... Still, play them in my honour, or something. Yell "FOR KROMS!!!" when you slaughter your first rebellion or your first demon bastard. Or don't. It's all cool. I'm rambling.

I didn't work on this, but a good friend of mine and an acquaintance did. Hence, not putting it in the "Pump your shit" thread. So, here's REPL.it, a (wait for it) REPL! Code straight into your browser, see results. No need to download big programs. If you have an idea and want to try it quickly...well, I thought it was cool and wanted to share. Any thoughts from anyone who's tried it so far?

Cheers! And, I should mention, having seen your comment on metafilter: codeacademy uses REPL.it's library. It doesn't acknowledge it, but it does. So does Pythonfiddle.

So, I finished watching The Wire, season two, two weeks ago. People, there are some serious spoilers in this post. You've been warned. The first thing that comes to mind is that it is not as immediately grabbing as the first season. In fact, I got a little mad at David Simon for writing such a cliched interrogation scene. On the other hand, they seem to actually know this, and it's weird to think that episodes 1-3 are all set-up. Yes, they're a bit cliched, but they're also brilliant; more importantly, they're setting the table. The story only really starts when Avon so cleverly works things to his advantage in the prison by poisoning everyone. It's really commendable that they take the time to tease you with reunions. There's a shot in the first episode where a new character is watching Bodie and Shamrock working, and you very clearly see a reflection off the glass window he's standing next to; it's a man, passing quickly, and wearing Omar's clothes. It's very subtle. And they *do* take time to re-introduce things, because they don't want to stay in the past. Sure, some things are mentioned, but they're only talked about because they need to be talked about. This is a brand new story, very different to the first one. You've got dock workers, Greek (well...) gangsters, an ass-pimple of a police chief, and a can of dead girls. You've got a new member, the very likeable Russell, and that lovable train-wreck, McNulty, to rope back. You've got boats. You've got last year's crew, Stringer running a business and a lot of people behind bars. D'Angelo and Avon clash. Stringer's busy boning D'Angelo's former flame and making mistakes. He isn't making himself many friends and is counting on too many things to happen. There is a tragic arc here. He's slowly working towards his own end, while also becoming the most fascinating and interesting character in the show. By the end, it seems like Avon knows what he did. (I won't talk about that. My heart still hasn't mended. What a twist. I didn't believe it until the funeral.) The new characters are all great. They're all real human beings, and who hasn't known a Ziggy or a Nick? Frank Sobotka's the one who takes the cake, though. A real shade of grey, a man swimming in murky waters to reach a goal; a good man, I think, who makes a few too many mistakes. As always, the George Pelecanos episodes are a highlight and his last one, "Bad Dreams", which ends with Frank going to meet The Greek and Spiros near the docks is one of the greatest, and one of the saddest, things I've seen on television. This is real writing, people. Learn from it. David Simon's episodes always feature some moment where things are put in an ironic way, and he really outdoes himself here. He makes statements that are neither forced nor straight-out delivered. They're there, subtle, buried, and you have to pay attention to notice them. Another thing about season two: it's really funny at times. As sad as the Sobotkas' story is, and what happens to the Barksdale crew and McNulty with his wife, there are some genuinely funny moments throughout the series. My favourite is Herc teasing Kima for being "whipped", with a nice "Fuck me, I can not type" at the beginning. The ending relies on too many coincidences and there's some good luck involved I feel averse to. The dock where the Turkish handler is killed just happens to have a tide-turning security camera. Freamon just happens to be there when Nick turns himself in. But still. The second season, though less than the first in some ways, is superior in others, and manages to be about on par with it. Tonally, it's different, but still very much The Wire. I don't want to start season three yet, because I don't want to hurry the day when there is no more Wire to watch.

I'm on Goodreads too. Feel free to add me!

Yeah, that last Doctor Who episode, "The God Complex" (it has more than one meaning...) was really good too. This series, while having a bad episode and two very underwhelming ones, has been really strong. From 1960s America to the galaxy's second best vacation resort, it's mostly been terrific.

Are you talking about "The Girl Who Waited" being "OK"? Thought it was phenomenal. It had a good idea and it explored it really well.

Just found out that Tomas Alfredson's new movie is out. Yay. Has anyone seen it? Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, I mean?

Shakespeare for me - but I was eight! My granddad used to sit with me and have me understand the meanings completely. It was really great of him to do so. This little poem - written by one Percy Shelley - impressed me a few months ago. It sets a tone in very few words, and they roll off the tongue:

I'm off to Lisbon in a few hours. I always thought that anyone who got on a plane on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 must be a dunce, and look at me now. Anyway, that fun thought aside, anyone know anything particularly cool to do in Lisbon?