August 2017 #MicroStory Collection

Posted: September 1, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Flash Fiction, Writing
Tags: , , , , , ,
2

It’s September, so I went through my social media feeds and grabbed all of the MicroStories I’d tweeted during the month of August.

As a reminder, these represent story-essences composed using no more than 129 characters (so I could tweet them with the hashtag #MicroStory.)

Usually, I only tweet Science Fiction and Fantasy #MicroStories. August was pretty much no exception. (Some of them seem less obvious as Sci Fi/Fantasy. Your mileage may vary.)

For really great #MicroStory action, please follow @MicroSFF, the Twitter account that inspired me to participate in this minimalist writing exercise. That feed puts out great science fiction and fantasy MicroStories all the time.

Read the rest of this entry »

Uncle Benjen Stark: a Ranger and a Danger.

Posted: August 25, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, TV
Tags: , , ,
2

Hey, I have a new feature article on Watchers on the Wall, talking about Beyond the Wall, the most recent episode of Game of Thrones.

It was a somewhat divisive episode from a critical standpoint, but I found all the action and character moments compelling.

Read the rest of this entry »

Daenerys Targaryen and the Defense of the Realm

Posted: August 15, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
Tags: , , , ,
8

Up on the Watchers on the Wall website, I recently posted a feature discussing Daenerys Targaryen, and how her invasion of Westeros might not be the best thing for the defense of the Seven Kingdoms in the looming war against the White Walkers.

No, I’m not currently being paid by the Cersei Lannister administration to build a case against the Mother of Dragons.

Read the rest of this entry »

Jon Snow and Theon Greyjoy: the Reunion

Posted: August 9, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
Tags: , ,
15

Look you guys, I got REALLY excited when Theon Greyjoy and Jon Snow were face-to-face, something that hadn’t happened since the very first season of Game of Thrones. (It’s possible the only scenes they’d shared were in episode 1?)

I got so excited, that even though I wasn’t really planning on keeping up with my usual blogging schedule, I wrote something up about their reunion for the Watchers on the Wall website.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sansa Stark: Playing the Game Her Way

Posted: August 6, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
Tags: , , , , , ,
8

Up on the Watchers on the Wall site is a new post from me, talking about Sansa Stark.

I’m occasionally a vocal member of the Sansa Stark Defense Squad, since she tends to be viewed in the most negative light possible at times. My latest post is along those lines.

Read the rest of this entry »

Castles: Ironborning and Stormborning

Posted: August 3, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , ,
2

Hey everyone, the Watchers on the Wall website accepted another feature article from me, discussing some of the events from the recent episode of Game of Thrones in a historical context. By historical, I mean from the show’s own history.

Yup, Game of Thrones is such a big story, we’re seeing its history repeat itself. Maybe?

Read the rest of this entry »

July 2017 #MicroStory Collection

Posted: August 1, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Flash Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing
Tags: , , , , , ,
3

It’s August, so I went through my social media feeds and grabbed all of the MicroStories I’d tweeted during the month of July.

As a reminder, these represent story-essences composed using no more than 129 characters (so I could tweet them with the hashtag #MicroStory.)

Usually, I only tweet Science Fiction and Fantasy #MicroStories. July was pretty much no exception. (Some of them seem less obvious as Sci Fi/Fantasy. Your mileage may vary.)

For really great #MicroStory action, please follow @MicroSFF, the Twitter account that inspired me to participate in this minimalist writing exercise. That feed puts out great science fiction and fantasy MicroStories all the time.

Read the rest of this entry »

Daenerys Targareyn: Queen of the Ashes?

Posted: July 29, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, TV
Tags: , , ,
0

Game of Thrones is back on the air, which is when I usually take a break from blogging about the show and just settle in to watch it. But it’s really hard to not write about all of the thoughts I’m having.

Instead of breaking my no-blogging rule (I’m clearly bending that rule now), I wrote a short article about Daenerys Targaryen for the Watchers on the Wall website, where I reflect on Daenerys as she contemplates her next moves from the island fortress of Dragonstone.

Will she follow in the footsteps of the first Targaryen king, her ancestor Aegon the Conqueror? Or is she destined to track along the same path as the previous wannabe-monarch who lived at Dragonstone, Stannis Baratheon?

Read the rest of this entry »

Con of Thrones 2017

Posted: July 16, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Diary, Game of Thrones, Music
Tags: , , , , ,
13

For three days, running from June 30th to July 2nd,  Nashville Tennessee hosted the first-ever Con of Thrones.

CoT wasn’t the first-ever convention dedicated to the book series A Song of Ice and Fire or HBO’s show Game of Thrones, but the convention’s inaugural effort solidly established itself with an impressive venue, the amount and variety of stars from the show, the massive engagement of fan experts in the programming, and the support of a dedicated app that provided scheduling, maps, and a social media component that was surprisingly effective. (I have some things to say about this app.)

I was pleased to attend the convention, and lucky enough to be a panelist talking about the Night’s Watch. What follows will be some of my experiences at the convention, along with some observations. (I know a handful of my friends, as well as my Game of Thrones-watching dad, wanted some kind of after-action report. But mostly pictures.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Bronze, Iron, and Steel: the Metallurgy of Game of Thrones

Posted: July 11, 2017 by patricksponaugle in Game of Thrones, Opinion, TV
Tags: , , , , ,
14

Hey, this post, like many of my posts, is about the HBO show Game of Thrones (occasionally I talk about the book series it’s based on: A Song of Ice and Fire.) Will this post be safe for people to read, for those who are not up on the story and don’t want to be spoiled?

No.

Don’t listen to him. Everything is perfectly safe. We’re perfectly safe. Come be our guest for dinner.

The armorer considered that a moment. “Robert was the true steel. Stannis is pure iron, black and hard and strong, yes, but brittle, the way iron gets. He’ll break before he bends. And Renly, that one, he’s copper, bright and shiny, pretty to look at but not worth all that much at the end of the day.” (Jon I – A Clash of Kings)

Much is made in Game of Thrones of Valyrian steel, the nigh-mythical metal alloy whose secrets vanished with doomed Valyria. Much is made of Valyrian steel and with good reason. It’s rare, valuable, and possibly non-replicable. Valyrian steel weapons are superior weapons and also of powerful symbolic importance to the houses of Westeros.

And they’re hell on White Walkers. But I’m not here to talk about legendary carbon-rich iron, forged in the fires of a vanished empire.

Read the rest of this entry »

Older Entries
Newer Entries