Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Breaking news
I broke my new smart phone last week — dropped it about 18 inches, and it struck the ground on one of its corners, shattering the face plate, which only remained in one piece thanks to the plastic protective layer over the glass. Not relishing the innovation of Smart Phone As Stained Glass Window, I went through the rather painful process of starting an insurance claim. They were good to their word, I’ll give them that: I faxed them the necessary forms on Monday, and we got the new phone today. Now I have to figure out how to get all my info ported over to the “new” phone.
The newest app: SELF DESTRUCT!
I broke the Nook, too, shortly after acquiring it. Seems like there’s a part of me* that takes the phrase “breaking in period” too seriously. The damage to the Nook was not too severe — a small fracture through the case near one of the navigation buttons, such that it occasionally does not work (but usually does).
Most devastating of all, I broke my glasses two days ago. Went to clean the lenses with my tee shirt, as usual, and the damn thing broke in two, right at the nasal thingie. I can’t get in to the optometrist for another week and I am damned lucky to have gotten that appointment. Meanwhile, I’m using an old pair that are fine for distance, but close work such as reading is way off limits. Particularly frustrating was my attempts last night to read my Nook while working out on the elliptical trainer. No go, no way. And I’m getting a headache simply typing this post, my eyes are crossing, waaaah.
Am reading the second book in George R. R. Martin’s Fire and Ice series. I have mixed feelings about it. I know I am reading a soap opera and I know the author likely has no idea where he is going. (I know this because Karen, who has less patients than me for 3500+ word-and-still-not-done-yet series, has read the Wikipedia precis on the books, and she says so.) In truth I lost interest once Martin killed off my favorite character. But I still like the dwarf and I still like Arya, the younger daughter, who reminds me a bit of one of my own characters. Since the chapters are conveniently titled by the POV character, I suppose I could skim my way through, reading only the bits I’m interested in. I wonder if I would miss much?
But I should probably move on to something different. It appalls me that I’ve read over 800 pages and I’m not even 1/4 of the way done with this beast.
D.
*My hands, that is.
I’m about halfway through the 4th. Or the 3rd. The blue one, anyway. While it is indeed a soap opera, it is a grand one, and I am enjoying it. I’m with you on the characters: Arya is my favourite, my second is the bastard Jon Snow, with Tyrion the dwarf a close third. Although I like Danaerys, too.
The good thing about these books is that Martin keeps a lot of balls in the air, and so far he hasn’t dropped one. He also displays few of the verbal tics that usually get to me in gigantic huge sagas of this sort (cough wheel of time)
I would rank them: Arya, Tyrion, Danaerys, and Jon. Catelyn and Sansa are way at the bottom of the heap for me — Sansa because she is stupid and Catelyn because she is petty and malignant.
What about Martin’s fondness for characters being X of Y (broad of nose, buxom of breast, etc.)? He doesn’t do it too often, but it makes me snicker when he does.
Everybody hates Sansa. I like Tyrion, Danaerys, Jon and Arya. And the direwolves. There’s probably a PhD dissertation on determining one’s character by one’s Game of Thrones preferences.
. . . or at least a Facebook mini-app, “Which Song of Fire and Ice Character are YOU?”
I’m Tyrion. Definitely.
I actually have no idea which one I would be.
Catelyn, petty? Her focus is narrow, it is true, she puts family before anything, but she’s not petty.
If you like Jon, didn’t you find Catelyn’s behavior toward him in Book 1 to be terribly petty? Or perhaps petty is the wrong word. Mean-spirited, immature, spiteful . . .
I like the X of Y formation. Clunkly enough to make fast readers like me stop a second and actually take note. I’m a slave to the rhetoric rule of three. My poor staff has heard the “My high school Shakespeare teacher said that Shakespeare always repeats every important plot point three times to make sure it get through to the groundlings.” Okay I leave off the groundlings part. Having only two supporting elements to a statement leaves me unsatisfied, as if my idea can’t be that great.
I’ll close with asking if Karen remembers that Ms. Campbell told us one that she levitated (she was a TM practitioner, so was quite serious).
Oh, and haven’t read the series.
And, sorry about your gadget(s).
And another and, consider a cleaning cloth for your glasses, although as a guy, I guess you don’t have a handy place for one, unless you are a murser, which I kind of think you aren’t.
Oh, THAT. Yes, well… yes.
I think you have a point. But it’s part of my point, too, in that it is part of her putting family before everything. So you see? We’re both right.
Although I think you’re righter.
KK – I’m a murser and I could see Dougal as a murser too. I have a glasses cleaning cloth but I use it to clean my camera lenses so I don’t like to use it for my glasses and so… yeah.
Nope, no murse por moi, but maybe I should. I’ve been looking for some way to protect my cell phone.
Kira, I’ll ask Karen about the levitating teacher . . .