Bracing For The Big Finale

Game of Thrones has the finale of its penultimate season tonight. The NY Times (spoiler alerts!) lays out some of the key plot points.

I would say that, although Game of Thrones is not nearly as big as Harry Potter, it has become a bit of a similar phenomenon among the millenials in my kids' entourages.

Six or seven years ago one of my devoted daughters, an avid reader, was talking up the George RR Martin, telling us it was a terrific 'sword and sorcery' epic in the fictional land of Westeros. Such a story could have been a good fit for our family since we loved Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter (OK, who didn't?). However, I felt obliged to have a fatherly talk with her. 

I explained to her based on my accumulated wisdom of years that everyone in that genre follows one of two paths - either they want to bang out three books and deliver the next "Lord of the Rings" or they want to produce a never-ending saga that assures them of lifetime employment. Upon their death their heirs will then pull together the notes and bang out a finale (or two) to top up the estate. Since George RR Martin had already written five books with more promised, I assured her that this was not the next "Lord of the Rings". Further, I had no interest in trying to outlive the author.

She insisted I was wrong, that he had talked about a seven book series, and that in any case he was old and sick so the end was in sight. And like a dupe I believed her.

The first book was riveting. The second was good. By the third, it seemed like the plot was going sideways rather than heading to a resolution. In book four, half of the main characters disappeared - huh? I read the foreward and learned that Martin had submitted a 1500 page manuscript so, like Solomon, the publisher had split it in two; the missing characters all reappeared in book five, along with some new ones, with the book four characters relegated.

That was a huge red flag. If book four was 1500 pages then book six or seven was likely to be the entire phone book of Westeros, with biographical notes. However! HBO entered the fray, beginning what was announced as an eight season production to be delivered over the next eight years. Five books were already on the shelves, so Martin had a five year headstart - what could go wrong?

Hmm. The book six manuscript was meant to be delivered around Thanksgiving of 2015. That delivery date became Christmas, then spring 2016, and then continued to drift as Martin struggled with some combination of writer's block and (my guess) writer's diarrhea (now the talk is of a manuscript in 2018). In any case, over its first five seasons people who had read the books had a pretty clear idea of what would happen next and (projecting from my experience) were not all avid followers of the HBO production.

That all changed last year with season six. Team HBO, unwilling to suspend production and wait for Martin, declared full speed ahead. That drew in people like me, since they were going beyond the published material and actually heading for a resolution. HBO had Martin's outline of book six and had discussed with him the story arc. Seasons seven and eight will wrap this up, with Martin or without him.

The show now has a frantic pace. Maybe they've stopped treading water while waiting for Martin, but the new pace reminds me of My Son the Student when he wakes up in the morning and remembers he has a big paper due that night.

In any case, roughly a year from now the HBO series will be over. Will book six be available by then? Will anyone care? Will Martin eventually rally to produce books seven, eight and nine, or will his audience believe the story has already been told? Will Martin deliver a notably different ending, leading to a vivid cultural schism sometime in the 2020's? Drama!

Meanwhile, tonight should provide drama enough for the current fans. Who will be the next major character to die? I'm wishcasting Lord Baelish himself (Littlefinger has little chance of making it to the final reel of the final season), but if The Hound beats down The Mountain tonight I'll be thrilled.

Comments

[henry]

McGregor lost. You have some other finale in mind?

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Here's a game of parliament;
Muslims raping UK girls is STILL ok to the Labor Party.

[Jim Eagle]

Do you want me to repost the venues?

Anyway, have never watched a second of it. Is it any good? I like the WaPo thing on how many have been killed and how. Perhaps I should have watched. Republicans versus Democrats could take pointers, no?

[Texas Liberty Gal]

Oh dear I better stay away from this thread as I am only in the middle of Season 6.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Will Catherine Engelbrecht do to the IRS what no one else can or will?
What possible 4D chess reason is there for Koskinen and that miserable bitch whose name escapes me to not be heading for Leavenworth already?

[Jane]

Well, I'm on my way to Iceland, then to London. On Thursday I meet up with the dreaded folks from NR to sail to NY on the Queen Mary. Hope our Texas friends stay safe.

[Jim Eagle]

Jane,

Do you have days in Reykavijk? I lived there as a kid. Fabulous place. We have been back several times. Enjoy the QM2. Wonderful ship.

[sbw]

Jane: Thursday I meet up with the dreaded folks from NR

You’re funny!

Hope you feel well for the trip.

[Possible trip to FL in April. Will let you know.]

[narciso.]

Its mostly a game of medieval power politics, although some sets like dubrivnik suggest renaissancr, its a land where life is nasty brutish and short, the dragons are the winds in this formula.

[Momto2]

Glad you are feeling better, Jane! The Queen Mary should be so much fun!

Reported on Twitter that Texas Governor left several messages for Dem. mayor of Houston - offering any help. Looks pretty bad or petty to refuse to take governor's calls at a time like this. (Watch...he will probably now turn around and complain about lack of help!!!)

[jimmyk]

Have a great trip, Jane. Put those NR #NeverTrumpers in there place.

[Jim Eagle]

Has anyone taken the Great Courses? Frederick and I are doing Latin now, a refresher for me and a prelim for him since he takes it in school next.

[narciso.]

From earlier the invitation to the white walkers was unmistakable, I've only been following abc and El pais:

https://www.saulmontes-bradley.com/barcelona/

[Another Bob]

Continuing to improve M22?

[Another Bob]

Re. Houston, read a claim that they tried evacuation on 2005 and the traffic was itself a disaster that killer twelve. And that's what informed the "shelter in place" direction.

Anyone with a memory of that?

[Extraneus]

I visit a football blog. It would be too embarrassing to say which team (some people here might remember), but I believe the same company hosts blogs from each team.

The reason I mention it is that the features are way better than here. You open comments and press the "z" key to navigate through each new comment, and comments are in threads, where replies to comments are shown as such.

People can even "rec" comments, so that if three or four people like a comment, it turns green instead of yellow.

I bring this up because in the prior thread Cleo was able to get through by changing his name. The football blog is a sign-in thing. Much better than here in that respect, even after considering the reluctance that new posters might have to set up an ID.

[Extraneus]

Wow, that was the last comment ever on jom...

[Extraneus]

I apologize.

[sbw]

JiB: Has anyone taken the Great Courses?

You betcha. I have about two dozen under my belt. Highly recommend many of them. There are some to avoid.

Five stars to “Thinking about Capitalism” because, as he says, Capitalism is too important to leave to Economics.

Loved the English Novel and several about Ancient Greece and Rome.

I could put a list together.

[Frau Hau ab!]

Troll and Koskinen separated at birth?

[narciso.]

I call him evil kip. Daddy will know why.

[Frau Hau ab!]

Ext - AFAIk no apology is necessary. 'Cleo messes his/her/its pants here and elsewhere. Mother 'Cleo weeps.

[Frau Hau ab!]

Jane! - what a great trip. Please keep us posted on what you do and see.
When you return home you can even look for Icelandic skyr in your neighborhood market.

Have you read any of the modern dark Icelandic mysteries?

[narciso.]

That was about right, ab

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/8-years-ago-seemingly-all-of-Houston-evacuated-4839142.php

[Frau Steingehirn]

Lost languages found in Egyptian monestary.

They have been chronicling the monastery’s library, which has been in continuous use for 1,500 years, but which is today threatened by growing Islamic fundamentalism and attacks on Christians in the region.

Religion of Peace? Must be fake news.
LUN

[Frau Steingehirn]

narciso - with 6 we get egg roll!

[narciso.]

One if the wttrched offerings in the local library was an apologia for this clan, by someone named ben ehrenstein:

legalinsurrection.com/2017/08/parents-of-murdered-u-s-teen-appeal-to-public-for-help-in-extraditing-terrorist-from-jordan

[Clarice Feldman]

In case you think I might have been exaggerating about antifa:http://ijr.com/the-declaration/2017/08/958689-antifa-mobs-taken-berkley-beating-trump-supporters-assaulting-journalists/

[Clarice Feldman]

Have fun, Jane. Behave.

[narciso.]

Well that's more like it.

www.timesofisrael.com/trump-team-netanyahu-renew-talks-on-us-embassy-move-to-jerusalem

Mantes Bradley has this thesis that camp David provoked the first wave of islamism, Oslo seems to have motivated the second.

[Captain Hate]

Iceland's an interesting place. Very clean because all power is geothermally generated. Every town has a municipal heated pool and hot tubs with walls around them because the wind blows constantly. The middle of the place is a windswept desert. Every so often the volcano, Hekla, will erupt and melt the glacier on top of it and flood everything below. You're so far north that from the middle of June until the middle of July it never gets completely dark. We rode Icelandic horses, really glorified ponies, at 11 pm. Didn't see any puffins for whatever reason. Everyone speaks perfect English but prefer to converse in Icelandic, an incomprehensible variant of Danish. Lots of rain, blondes and alcoholism (the winters must be brutally dark). Independent People by Halldor Laxness is an excellent description of life in the sticks.

[fdcol63]

My hope is that Arya shoves Lord Baelish's "Littlefinger" down his throat, IYKWIMAITTYD.

[narciso.]

This after they pumped 1/3 of the eater intonthe ocean:
http://www.presstelegram.com/article/LB/20170824/NEWS/170829723

[fdcol63]

A tax on drinking water. Why is ANY sane, freedom-loving individual still living in that Blue Hell?

[mad jack]

Iceland: Aren't they the ones that abort all the imperfect babies? Sparta of the North without the military aspect. Anyway, back on topic. I watched the first season of Thrones and promptly read all the books. I figured Martin would need five more books to get to the finish and given his age and less than healthy appearance I have my doubts he was going to get it done. Looks like HBO will finish it for him. Hope he got a big payday from them!

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Deploying to Houston:

Virginia Beach
Arizona National Guard
New York police and fire department

[Captain Hate]

I'm not sure they all do it, mad jack, but a group of idiot MDs certainly made ghoulish asses out of themselves with their own Final Solution for Down's Syndrome.

[narciso.]

It is rather striking it took her 18 years to be woke;
https://panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2017/08/25/exiled-attorney-general-says-venezuelan-regime-sent-paid-assassins-after-her/

[narciso.]

Ah look who shoes up here:

https://mobile.twitter.com/SethAMandel/status/901936382800777216?p=v

[mad jack]

yeah ch, i might have overstated it a bit but i agree, ghoulish!

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Fox on mayor not ordering mandatory evacuation.

Rick Levanthal asked if mayor would have ordered evacuation would she have left. (Black womman.) She said hes, had no idea it would get this bad.

Ka-boom.

[narciso.]

A happy ending for once:

http://babalublog.com/2017/08/27/how-obama-administration-holdovers-in-state-dept-got-beat-on-venezuela/#comments

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Heading to bed.

Nytol!

[Dave (in MA)]

Test
(Fed the typepad monster twice in the past half hour)

[Dave (in MA)]

Re: CA taxing drinking water, I just started reading Steven Konkoly's Fractured State series.

[mike in houston]

Tweet of the day

https://twitter.com/RennaW/status/901910166949560322

[RattlerGator]

Sometimes you have one of those nights and this is that night for me. Binge-watched my way through the series from beginning to end in the last month just so I could watch the last few shows in real time with the rest of the nation. Finished my binge-a-thon in time to watch last week's show with everyone else.

Sat down tonight, fat / dumb / and happy & ready to seen the finale. I stream HBO Now at home, don't pay for the service through my cable. I decided to watch Season 1, Episode 2 as a lead-in to the finale. No problems, no issues.

Time comes for the finale, 9 p.m., and the stream will not play on my big TV. After a few minutes of that, I decide fine. I'll pull it up on my laptop, position it about 1 minute in, then sign out and go back to my TV. It will automatically pick up where I left off.

Can't begin viewing on my laptop. HBO posts a notice saying I'm streaming on too many channels. Thus began a series of attempts that has now led me to where I am right now: a position of fuck it !!!

And yes, I am 38-hot about it.

Just one of them nights, people, just one of them nights. I blame the damn communists.

[Frau Steingehirn]

Four food groups, Dave (in MA) @9:35?

[Frau Steingehirn]

Patience, RG! You remind us to use patience. HBO is testing your resolve.
xxxoooxxx Clarice-sized smooches (Bigguns)

[Threadkiller]

I don't generally ask people to stay at JOM and I'm not quite sure I understand if Extraneous's posts are suggesting that he is done here.

If that is the gist of it, I would at least like to say that I have always enjoyed your posts, Ext, and I would miss your contributions.

[Captain Hate]

I think he was just commenting on the lack of comments at the time. Everybody must have been doing something else; I know I was.

[Frau Steingehirn]

TK - I answered Ext. I notice that there was a 30 minutes pause in Ext's two posts. Maybe he thought he was left hanging alone. It's happened to most of us at one time or another. Usually I'm left wondering if there is a new thread.

[Catsmeat]

It's my daughter's birthday and celebration--is that a decent excuse? Sorry! Truly, keeping up with this site and then trying to find a decent point to add is like finding a merge into the stream of a firehose--often, there's no plausible way in.

[narciso.]

Of course it is catsmeat, it also is Glenda in galvestons birthday.

[Threadkiller]

Ahh, OK.

[RattlerGator]

Good reminder, Frau. Sorry for the language.

[DebinGA]

Checked Facebook and saw hand drawn pics of numerous Game of Thrones characters' "death by"s. Several poisoned, "by boar", beheaded, "by shadow", etc. Very creepy and pretty sure not for me.

[Clarice Feldman]

Both re the Venezuela situation and moving the embassy to Jerusalem, I see a patter:He tries to see if reasonable negotiation is possible, when it's not, he lowers the boom.

[DebinGA]

Cheer up, RG. Gators v. Wolverines next Saturday at home.

[narciso.]

They will replay it at several times on sevrak of HBOS channels through out the week.

[Michael ( fpa P4F [Patriot4Freedom] )]

fdcol63 - Great to see you back posting here.

Hope all has been well with you and yours.

Your voice has been missed - hope you're going to stick around.

[DrJ]

Gators v. Wolverines next Saturday at home.

Damn. I have an important proposal due the Tuesday thereafter. We'll see if I can watch the game.

And I do hope that RG won't be talking to me for a while after the game. :)

[sbw]

JiB, “Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 3rd Edition” is on sale until 9/14 for $95-audio download or $130 for CDs -- 84 1/2 hour lectures. Great overview.

[Frau Steingehirn]

RG sez "Sorry for the language."

No need. Indeed, I sympathize. I've been trying all day to control my own patience with the vile troll who activates the Seymour Hersh language side of my subconscious.

[Clarice Feldman]

Smooches, backatya, Frau.

[Michael ( fpa P4F [Patriot4Freedom] )]

catsmeat - I think that OGH would gladly issue you a lifetime pass to comment whenever you please, be it a reply in an ongoing conversation, or a non sequitur to beat all non sequiturs (or non sequuntur).

[Frau Steingehirn]

Happy, soggy birthday, Glenda! JOM loves you across the US.

Catsmeat, I liken JOM to a grand cocktail party where you can pick up on a dozen conversations at once. Part of the challenge is trying to find the beginning of a conversation.

I hope your daughter has enjoyed her birthday.

[Michael ( fpa P4F [Patriot4Freedom] )]

DebinGA - If you're still here . . .

I still haven't found a pic of Duke lab fraudster Erin Potts-Kant.
Posted by: DebinGA | August 25, 2017 at 09:51 AM

Deb - I was able to come up with the pic you were looking for.

Here she is:

Note the particularly telling "Jailhouse Babe" look on her face.

Booking photos bring out the best in *so* many people, don't they?

If you want to look for other photos of her, try a search for "Erin Nicole Potts-Kant" and 'Duke.'

.

[fdcol63]

Michael, thanks! Been lurking every now and then, but needed to take a break due to work and my own sanity. LOL

Fortunately, RG has pulled me back from the ledge a couple of times. LOL

[narciso.]

It seems we have a deserved Norwegian blue case since Jeffrey.

[Frau Steingehirn]

Clarice, did you ever say what the wolverine thought about her forensics summer class? I bet she both learned and taught.

[DebinGA]

Thank you, Michael. Hard to imagine that Roller Derby Queen held a responsible position that allowed her to add bogus data to numerous scientific studies.

[Clarice Feldman]

Frau, She LOVED it.

[glenda]

Well--this was a memorable birthday😲....I have lived two miles from somewhere on the Gulf of Mexico, Galveston Bay all my life..I was 11 during the devastating Hurricane Carla, and now 68, and having lived through many storms since...Everyone needs to understand--this was nothing nothing ever experienced. Every hour forecasts wobbled..estimates varied....but the amount of RAINFALL between 11:00 pm last night and 7:00 am today was an historic 500 year event.
It is a fact bureaucrats at US Army corps engineers, Houston-Harris county have failed...but " I told you so's" don't help today. They should have been addressed years ago.
My daughter #1 home was inundated with flood waters in one hour. In three hours , her F250 Diesel was covered, 3+ feet in home. Never flooded, even in Carla. This was a monsoon disaster --Brave private Texan Navy's, rescued her family& pets after 14 hours. I almost lost my firstborn today and I seek no one to blame, my family and friends have survived a wrath of everything but fire...and all I have thought, since--is Thank you, God!
And the danger for many, now is wasting time blaming ...and I am a bitch when wronged. All I am today is grateful my babies are safe and they know how much I love them!
Hope. Faith. Love is always❤️️

[narciso.]

Wow Glenda,

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/pj-gladnick/2017/08/27/jorge-ramos-irked-race-card-pushback-cnns-state-union

[Tom Maguire]

1.

HBO posts a notice saying I'm streaming on too many channels.

In my humble experience nothing brings a scattered family together like five kids trying to hit the HBO Go account at the same time for Game of Thrones. Even when the separate locations include upstairs playroom and an upstairs bedroom.

2. Iceland venues are totally on topic since parts of the current season were filmed there (barren, icy north of the wall landscapes, I believe).

3. Good luck, RG. Not that you lack motivation but the episode is GREAT.

[Frau Steingehirn]

Clarice - nothing will escape her notice from now on--if it ever did.

[Beasts of England]

I'm still waiting on Extraneus to post a photo from his rocker days - purportedly featuring spandex pants and very long hair...

[GUS]

Beasts, you want to see Extraneus in SPANDEX.

You've changed.

[Frau Flut]

Cedar Rapids, IA in 2016

"The river level in Cedar Rapids, which broke a record set in 1851, crested this afternoon at 31.12 feet, but officials expected it to take several weeks to fully recede. Earlier, officials at Mercy Medical Center hospital, fearing they would lose power, decided to send its 176 patients, including babies in intensive care and nursing home residents, to other facilities. On Thursday morning, the hospital had switched to backup generators, which were threatened by floodwaters hours later.

(right click)

[Frau Flut]

I could not find out whether BHO visited Iowa during the 2016 flood. IIRC Iowa was on its own but Barry did visit LA.

[RattlerGator]

And I do hope that RG won't be talking to me for a while after the game. :)

Posted by: DrJ | August 27, 2017 at 10:22 PM

I'm confident, my man, very confident and had planned to be there but had to cancel those plans for various reasons -- some of which have subsequently fallen through.

But it should be a great match-up. May the better team win.

* * *

Finally got in to see the damn episode and I agree, TM; great season finale.

I didn't want my guy Jon Snow, King in the North, to bend the knee to the Daenerys Targaryen chick but now that I know he's not *really* Jon Snow but, in truth, Aegon Targaryen and heir to the damn Iron Throne . . . yay-yuh!

I said hail . . . yay-yuh !!!

But, just between usses, why do they have to play this incest angle mess ??? I could seriously do without that shiznit.

Good night my people.

[Frau Flut]

Game of Morons! Let the games proceed!
https://i0.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2017/08/Game-of-Morons.jpeg?w=1160

Sleep tasty...

[narciso.]

Yes, its creepy but no more than the rest of this tableau out of hieronymous Bosch.

[Momto2]

Another bob - thanks for asking about me. I see the spine specialist Dr. at 8 a.m. - have to get up at 5:30 a.m. to make it through Atlanta traffic (as well as my son, since I cannot drive.) Now I might just stay up! I'm praying that he says all is well...I have to go in weekly to make sure.

[GUS]

Momto2, I assure you, you and the rest of our JOM friends with health concerns are in my prayers.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

Olbermann still refusing to take his Abilify.

[Man Tran]

GUS,
Jr had no recs for the buffalo joints. Apparently not his thing.

I did find out the the young lady from Cowlumbus that just started at AFA is Lily Hess. If your niece finds her, they at least have the Midwest in common. Lily's mom is the cop. Great lady.

[GUS]

Man Tran, my Niece's Dad is a State Dept federal agent. Rex Tillerson's chief of detail. My other Lil Bro is a Detective in greater Denver, as is his wife. The ACADEMY is quite small. I'll make it my BIDNESS to connect my Niece with Lily. Btw, I found a Buffalo meat place near the Academy. Also, my NIECE has never lived in the Midwest. Her Dad, my bro is from Wauwatosa Wisconsin. Scott Walker and Stephen Hayes' home town. Mom is from Arkansas, bro and his bride met in DENTON TX. My niece was born on Shepard AFB in Wichita Falls Tx. I'm her GOD FATHER.
She has lived in England, Jordan, Suriname, Florida, NJ, and other parts of the planet.
She went to Freshman year at Columbine H.S. in Littleton CO, then 3 years at the SWISS-AMERICAN H.S. in LONDON.
Thank you Man Tran, I cannot wait to get to Colorado.

[GUS]

What is an "Olbermann"?

[-peter]

almost a three hour gap in comments?

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Hood morning,

They are releasing water from the Bayou dam this morning to keep it from breaking. It's going to add about 6 more inches to the water level in south Houston BEFORE the additional rain which is due today.

Gtiff Jenkins is about apoplectic and keeps saying that first they weren't told to evacuate and stay off the roads and now they are going to dump more water on them.

I still say they should have gotten the people in the lowest areas evacuated.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump

HISTORIC rainfall in Houston, and all over Texas. Floods are unprecedented, and more rain coming. Spirit of the people is incredible.Thanks!

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/27/this-dog-needs-no-man-steals-dog-food-to-outlast-hurricane-harvey/?utm_campaign=atdailycaller&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

http://nypost.com/2017/08/27/dramatic-before-and-after-photos-show-surreal-flooding-in-texas/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow&sr_share=twitter

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

Foe the wine-lovers:

https://www.cnet.com/news/oldest-wine-ever-discovered-siciliy-italy-monte-kronio/?ftag=COS-05-10aaa0g&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=59a3e62119694a0007c4b3e6&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/aug/27/there-are-no-decent-plans-in-congress-just-lies-in/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

Charlie Hurt has had it.

[Miss Marple the Deplorable]

http://nypost.com/2017/08/28/houston-mayor-defends-decision-not-to-evacuate-ahead-of-harvey/amp/

[cboldt]

Unexpected headline department: Black-clad antifa attack peaceful right wing demonstrators in Berkeley - WaPo
But of course, this is insinuated to be Trump's fault.

violence that has become a regular feature of the Trump years and gives signs of spiraling upward, particularly in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville.

[cboldt]

Typical WaPo reporter line, blamed on the AP, "anti-hate marchers far outnumbered the right-wing element ." Lefties and antifa are allowed to label themselves "anti-hate," The press labels the other side as "right wing," which by implication is haters.

AP take by Paul Elias and Jocelyn Gecker

Once anarchists arrived, it was clear there would not be dueling protests between left and right so [Berkeley police chief Andrew Greenwood] ordered his officers out of the park and allowed the anarchists to march in.

At the end of the AP piece, a notice and link that "This article is related to: Donald Trump"

Comments at the AP link (Chicago Tribune edition) notice the so-called anarchists attack the right and not the left. Seems to me the anarchists are leftists.