geneseo98

[geneseo98]

Game of Thrones Series Finale

Lost. Sopranos. Breaking Bad. True Detective Season One. The Thrones deep dive journey that I went on was deeper than all of them. So I don’t come to write this post enthusiastically. That the final season, episode, stories in this epic tale that I hyped to my friends, read up on, listened to hours of podcasts on... Kinda stunk.

Let me start by saying that the final episodes were clearly well acted, visually impressive and downright unprecedented in television history. It looked and sounded great (when we could see through squinting darkness in E3) time and time again. In no world are these things not achievements of the highest order. Emmys will be rightfully coming to many on the show who worked for years on every detail. But the reason I was one of many to get sucked into this world 

For the season opener, I thought about it all day long; sat up on my couch leaning forward for the full hour. By the season finale, it was almost an afterthought. “OK, let’s see how they get Jon to kill Dany here.” I kinda didn’t care who ended up as ruler. I appreciated the “their stories will go on” vibe from the final moments, but ultimately, the dramatic scenes fell flat to me. I didn’t.... care? How is that possible? I agreed with all the bullet point choices the show made. Jon/Dany drama once his big secret was revealed. Arya playing murder hero. Dany breaking bad. But SO much in between the lines didn’t land. WHY?

Been doing some digging the last few weeks and came up with some pieces and quotes that I think ring the most true. 

The Real Reason Fans Hate the Last Season of Game of ThronesIt's not just bad storytelling—it’s because the storytelling style changed from sociological to psychological. 

In a Ringer podcast after Episode 4, Andy Greenwald said something like “The game board had been stacked up for years like an epic game of chess. And suddenly, the game changed to Chutes and Ladders. Nothing wrong with Chutes and Ladders. But it’s not the game we were excited to play.” That hit home for me.

I enjoyed this random Twitter thread about plotters and pantsers in terms of script-writing.

The Unearned Madness of Daenerys Targaryen

Matthew Ball on Twitter: “The big failure in #GoT finale was yada yada-ing of post-war power/statehood/allegiance. These notions underpinned the entire show/books, GRRM’s very interest in writing epics”

Even the Ringer’s die-hard fans/writers crapped on the season/finale (even if their editors’ headlines softened their blow... “Bran the Broken indeed.”)

Alan Sepinwall on the finale/series

Some of my back of the envelope complaints: - Oddly, more people should have died in the Battle of Winterfell.  - I don’t care what the cinematographer says about the brightness level on my TV, The Long Night was shot far too darkly - Tyrion and Varys suddenly losing every bit of their back-room guile and intrigue, given nothing but contrived bad ideas to advance the “Dany is going nuts and alone” thread - The “End of the Dothraki?” - So many of the strongest moments of conversation, verbal sparring were straight callbacks to days/seasons gone by... (Arya: That’s not me... Jon: Love is the death of duty....  - How Euron and Iron Fleet just “sneak attacked” and killed a dragon in broad daylight easy peezy.. and How they captured Missandei and used her as a prop just to push the Dany mad thread again... but then Cersei just let the remaining, crippled forced regroup back at Dragonstone - after Euron did the same thing after the sneak attack? - How they turned Jaime Lannister, one of the most thoughtfully complex characters in TV history, into the protagonist of a series of baffling decisions just to set up his final act.  - The coffee cup. The water bottle. Mixing up Gendry Rivers and Waters. All small time nerdy stuff. But they hit home how sloppy and seemingly careless some of the writing was this season. - So did Dany go mad in that moment to kill a million innocent people as hinted at in the after-show extras? So if so, how/why did she have zero remorse in the moments after the hour-long murderfest?  - The Euron-Jamie fight. Bah - Cersei, Bran and Dany were the most important figures of the final few episodes and they were the most one-dimensional, inconsistently written characters of the bunch! - What was the point of the Arya/horse shot at the end of The Bells when the next time we see her, she’s literally horse-less and told to stay out of it. - JON’S WHOLE PARENTAGE STORYLINE WAS DEEMED IRRELEVANT! - Did Drogon burn the Iron Throne in a suddenly sharp  - Bran’s position as Three-Eyed Raven is barely explained, which seems important when it’s the basis of the Battle of Winterfell and his resume for becoming king .. and he somehow jokes he expected to become king the whole time -- while somehow knowing millions would die to make it happen the whole time?  - The replies to this thread about the season’s biggest miss was therapeutic

- More nit picks: How did the Iron Throne not crumble in the collapse? Why couldn’t Cersei and Jamie just move over 10 feet and go to the area without any rubble? How did Grey Worm get to the top of the steps before Jon when Jon just left him in the streets saying he was going to Dany? Why wasn’t Bronn in the King’s vote meeting as Lord of Highgarden? Why was he allowed to keep Highgarden anyways? Why did Brienne get a vote? Why did she leave Sansa when she was sworn to protect her? Why would Dorne or the Iron Islands allow the North to break away when they wanted or had their independence earlier? Why didn’t the archers shoot at the White Walkers when they were just standing next to the trench? What’s the point of the Night’s Watch and the Wall at the end?  But in the interest of being fair -- because I would still tell someone that’s been living under a rock for a decade that they need to watch this show all the way through -- the season had some cool things. - The conversations in “Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” A love letter to the characters and the fans who spent years with them - a 90-minute battle scene/episode was straight up intense.  - The chaos of King’s Landing attack looked damn impressive for TV (thought not up to Mission: Impossible, Avengers-level spectacle) - Tormund Giantsbane’s breast-feeding story - The Dothraki fire sword charge image - This shot - One more fun Tyrion-Jon verbal sparring session (even if there’s no way any guard/Dany would allow Jon to just waltz into his cell to chat it up) As for the show’s legacy, it just cracks my top-5 dramas of all time (if we’re not counting Band of Brothers as a though stands alone as the most ambitious story ever told on the screen. 1 Sopranos 2 Mad Men 3 Breaking Bad 4 Lost 5 Game of Thrones 6 Friday Night Lights (currently watching The Leftovers, never saw West Wing, The Americans, The Shield, Justified, Fargo, Six Feet Under, Battlestar Galactica, failed to get through the Wire 3x, did 5 episodes of Deadwood, did first 2 episodes of Fargo which were awesome)

[geneseo98]

[geneseo98]

Writing some PPRs and this song came up and I can't ... stop... moving... THIS MY JAM.

#music #spotify

[geneseo98]

Got mine! The World Cup better start ASAP... buying too much gear in anticipation!

Are you prepared to take on whatever Brazil 2014 has in store for us? 

We wanted to create something that would allow GFOP’s to ride any mood swing that is sure to come in Natal, Manaus, and Recife as well as have an identifier to connect to other GFOPs in deepest Amazonian rain forests, or, even more hazardously, Any Bar USA.

Thanks to GFOP Ian Hutchinson for designing this “COURAGE! DOMINATE!” HAT, “NOT IN THE FACE” SCARF, and our official MEN IN BLAZERS BRAZIL 2014 PATCH (actual size: 3” diameter). Perfect attire to wear on July 13 when Clint Dempsey lifts the trophy over his head at the Maracana.

These kits are a limited edition of just 750. 

Kits include hat, scarf, and blazer patch.

#Courage #GFOPS #Size the Day

BUY NOW. 

[geneseo98]

Insightful. Compelling and rich.

Myers Briggs personality test by Susan Isaacs

[geneseo98]

Missed a game during the tournament? Fear not, re-live the experience here.

Good job capturing the memories and images...

[geneseo98]

This collection of photographs of majestic landmarks around the world do a great job of just how important framing, perspective and lighting are to a photograph. All of these photo pairs are of the same object, but the changes in perspective can make them seem more or less grand. A change of ...

[geneseo98]

get yer own pie.

[geneseo98]

True Detective Season 1 Wrap Up

I wanted to wrap up the first season of True Detective with some of the enthralling articles, images and quotes that spoke to me as clearly and like a Rust Cohle vision.

First off, check out this Hardcore Fan Page. Who has time to make this stuff? It has a sweet timeline on it. Basically, this was a show that "got under your skin." And you couldn't stop thinking about it.

It was a mystery, with a whodunnit vibe and red herrings and the like. This isn't the most eloquent breakdown of clues you may have missed (some aren't even clues), but it's interesting nonetheless. But this was really a mystery about humanity - and it played out in your mind, not just the screen. I guess McConaughey wrote 450 pages of notes on his character. Kinda crazy. But the good kind. And helps give a full picture of the show. This was a show for amateur and professional philosophers. Check out this missing scene for Rust and his girlfriend - it's damn depressing and telling.

Yet, despite all this dark and sinister stuff going on. There was humor to be found.

And this imitation is also just gold. The biggest plot hole in the finale:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I&#39;m not buying the part where someone actually filed for a business license in Louisiana.</p>— Spencer Hall (@edsbs) <a href="https://twitter.com/edsbs/statuses/442833127749066752">March 10, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Some finale reviews: THR: "True Detective was ultimately about the journey, not the finale. Paste: "Most shows ask questions of the world. But there are few that ask questions of the viewers."

But the ending was ruined by this fan theory I watched just before. Damn it. Was good otherwise.  Some lasting images that will stick with me, non-Alexandra Daddario edition:

And who could forget that amazing 6-minute, long one-shot at the end of Episode 4.

Looking for the show's final, overall arching theme? From the show's creator himself: "I would say it was that as human beings, we are nothing but the stories we live and die by — so you'd better be careful what stories you tell yourself." And what a story it was.

[geneseo98]

Multiple goosebump-age.

[geneseo98]

Pack

Green Bay Packers x GM

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Sick.

New York Jets x jetBlue

[geneseo98]

After draining a 70-foot buzzer-beater to beat Weber State on Saturday, Sacramento State point guard Dylan Garrity did it - AGAIN - on camera yesterday. Click here to see both in action.

[geneseo98]

I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be calm.’… I can’t do it anymore…I’m going back to being me, because we need it.

Infamous Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson on his attempts to stay under the radar this season. Doesn’t seem it will last much longer. Henderson was suspended for three games and returned to the court in an 88-74 win against LSU last night. (via rushthecourt) https://31.media.tumblr.com/9de64970ac30ab29f79cd585d20676c8/tumblr_mq0za8A4CU1sppmago1_500.gif

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Sick

"Great Moments in Football History" by Oz

Read More

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#yahoosports #Loop

[geneseo98]

I was at the movies the other day ( I’m in Italy) and I saw the poster for 12 Years A Slave. I’ve been following the press for months and I can’t wait to watch it but REALLY?  I don’t remember Brad Pitt being the protagonist of the film or having such a pivotal role in the story to stay in the middle of the poster…

I sure don’t know anything about marketing strategy to appeal audiences but isn’t this going to far?