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Beyond The Wall Podcast

Let’s play a game. Where do you fit in Westeros?

Thank you Westeros.org for the Heraldry

Are you loving the world of Game of Thrones?  I know I am.  I started to wonder about where I would be in Westeros (or Easteros, which is the long beyond the narrow sea, psst, where Dany is now)  So taking into account my background, my family made their living off the sea, merchant seamen and clammers and the like, I immediately though of the Greyjoys and the Iron Islands. (Theon and his family) but I realized that my family isn’t navy (war types) but merchants, so I looked eastward.  I thought about Dorne but still just a bit out of the way, also a lot warmer climate then I grew up in.  I also thought about Pontos, Tyrosh and Myr, good ports, lots of trade, but as I’m the first to color my hair crazy I’m not sure that fits either.  Then I settled on Dragonstone, (yeah my love of dragons helped me find this area,) it is just outside of Kingslanding, there is a lot of fishing, trade and even some smuggling (I won’t speak more on that from the books nor my family) so it seemed pretty perfect.  They get snow in winter so it matched my NY childhood pretty well.  I also found the house Sunglass there, now this is a coat of arms with a white background and seven seven pointed stars on it.  My actual family heraldry is a black background and six sixpointed stars on it, so it was pretty close I’d say.  Would I be from this house?  I suppose not, I imagine myself being smallfolk or someone who’s family worked for the great house.

Next, my husband.  That’s simple, as my husband is Canadian I look to the north.  Winterfell for sure, as my husband is in the army I would expect him to be sworn to the Starks.  Also, translating his trade (Weapons Technician, historically Armorers and Brasiers, founded in 1322) to westeros we find he would be an engineer in the Stark’s siege train. (meaning he helps build, fixes, uses trebuchets, battering rams, ballistas and things like that.)  My husband has mentioned to me, since he is French (Quebecer) and sworn to the Starks, does this make him a Cronogman? Hmmm, we’ll ask that again later in the series.

I imagine I somehow met the northman and moved myself up to the land of the cold.  Oh how I would miss the summer and the sea… Come to think of it, I do miss the sea.  I would like to think that I would be able to find work painting shields with direwolves or something similar, but then, what does a woman get to do in this type of world?

So where would you fit?  Need help figuring it out? Let me know.  I will help you find a land on the map and a herald to assign yourself.  So much better then one of those lame internet quizzes don’t you think?

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Beyond The Wall Podcast

Beyond The Wall – Episode 4

I know it’s very late, but here is “Episode 4” of SpecFicMedia’s Beyond The Wall – A Game of Thrones Podcast. This podcast focuses on a weekly discussion of the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” with additional discussions of the various media tied to George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

In today’s episode we discuss the fourth episode (May 8th, 2011) of “Game of Thrones.”

Episode 4 – Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things

00:00 – Intro

00:30 – Hosts Say Hi – P.G. Holyfield, Nutty, Chooch, Viv, and Nuchtchas.

1:10 – “Hodor” – We love Hodor.

9:50 – “Theon? Really, we’re introducing Theon now?” – ‘Bout time.

15:35 – I need a beer. – No, really – I needed a beer.

22:00 – “I’m not a cripple.” “Then I’m not a dwarf!” – Tyrion love

24:40 – “Nothing would give me more pleasure.” – The Samwell Tarly effect.

35:30 – “I had no money, and an expensive wife.” – Wait. Never mind. Back in Vaes Dothrak

48:30 – Hallelujah – It was only a matter of time before Viv does what Viv doos… does… did… whatever.

55:00 – “Oh well. Who wants to live forever? Dive!!!!!” – The death and resurrection of Brian Blessed

1:00:45 – “No, that’s not me.” – King’s Landing, and Arya.

1:08:55 – We’d have lasted a fortnight on you.” – Yes, I know it’s Alliser. I’ve been putting that damned “t” in there since I first read the book.

1:37:25 – Outro and Outtakes

Hosts: P.G. Holyfield (author of Murder at Avedon Hill and SFM Founder)
Nuchtchas (Host of Nutty Bites Podcast)
Chooch (Into the Blender Podcast Co-Host, and bassist of Ditched By Kate)
Vivid Muse (Into the Blender Podcast Co-Host), Girls’ Rules Podcast Host)
Christiana Ellis (too many podcasts to list here 😉 but you can check out all things Christiana at her site.

Contact Us:

Email: btw at specficmedia.com
Phone: 6199-BTW-GoT (619-928-9468)
Comments: On the site

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Beyond The Wall Episode Reviews News Podcast Reviews Television

Feature – The Eye of Newb – HBO’s GoT Ep. 4

Editor’s Note: This will be a weekly report posted after each episode of Game of Thrones (except that this is obviously two weeks’ worth of fun). “The Eye of Newb” contains spoilers from the episode, obviously, but from the perspective of someone that has not read the books. Enjoy!

The Eye of Newb: Game of Thrones (HBO) Episode 4:
\\Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things\\

By: Matt Lynch

 

\\Distrusting me was the wisest thing you\\™ve done since you climbed off your horse.\\- Petyr Baelish (Lord Littlefinger)

It\\™s not every day, Good People, whereupon one feels compelled to begin a screed of any kind with the utterance \\˜Well, crap.\\™ That said\\¦

Well, crap.

No, wait. Don\\™t go. I can explain.

See, one thing that is stunningly clear after this week\\™s broadcast is that I need far more and deeper data on Lord Littlefinger. Not want. Nor even desire. Need. Viscerally.

For the very first time, I exit viewing position much more than a tad perplexed and frankly a mite angry. Who profits by setting up my beloved Imp?! Seriously? I gots to know!

It was painfully obvious that his \\˜arrest\\™ at the hands of Lady Catelyn and her bondsmen left Tyrion stunned and confused.  Her accusation of his culpability in Bran\\™s attempted murder was thoroughly unanticipated. (Momentary soliloquy alert: Peter Dinklage has one of the most expressive and engaging faces I\\™ve ever seen. I must learn of, find and view whatever else he has appeared in tout de suite.) Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that the Imp had absolutely zero to do with the events of the assassination plot. If not him, who?!

This train of thought leads directly back to his identifier as the owner of last week\\™s suspect dagger \\“ the aforementioned Petyr Baelish. Why would he name Tyrion? To what end or ends? What, I ask you, has the Imp done to deserve this fate? And if naught, what game is Littlefinger playing? And why? Why?!

So, here we all are again\\¦ back at \\˜Well, crap.\\™ It would appear that despite my best efforts to stay above it all \\“ snarkily superior to this lower form of speculative fiction known as pure fantasy with political intrigue \\“ I am now what one might call, not entirely inaccurately, (gulp)\\¦invested. Crap. Epic snark fail. As I type, a small, furious part of my brain is concocting choice words with which I plan to liberally pepper my next chat with The Landlord. Rat bastard.

\\Watch the show,\\ he said.

\\It\\™ll be fun,\\ he said.

Grrrr\\¦

Now that we\\™ve gotten that torturous admission out of the way, on to other thoughts about this week\\™s episode:

  • Part the first: Although it holds more import when viewed through the lens of the \\˜arrest\\™ referred to above, I simply adore the interplay between Tyrion and Bran in the opening sequence. You can literally see the hope ignite in the young lad\\™s eyes when the Imp extends to him the possibility of riding again.
  • Part the second: Samwell Tarley\\¦really? This better lead somewhere. My initial wish is that someone will just grease this simpering tub of goo and be done with it. Possibly eat him as well. I nominate Aliiser Thorne, a man who has clearly developed a taste for snow-bound human. In any case, Sam doesn\\™t help Bubba Ho-Tep hold my attention at all. Zzzzz…snurk\\¦zzzz.
  • Part the third: Eeeww. Did I need to see a naked Viserys Targaryen bathing? No. No, I did not. And his proclivity to buy, sell and use human beings at whim only further convinces me that he\\™s been alive for long enough already.
  • Part the fourth: I must learn to pay more attention to these Small Council meetings, especially if such interesting and infuriating characters as Baelish continue to be introduced in them. It appears that dear, prideful King Robert has opted to disregard the first sensible counsel his new Hand has given him, and is holding his tournament anyway. Cost be damned.
  • Part the fifth: More muttering and lurking. The British fans must be so happy. Ned Stark doesn\\™t fit well discussing royal lineages with a poor imitation of Merlyn.
  • Part the sixth: Lord Stark does fit well in mentoring and doting on his daughter Arya, who is rapidly developing into a fascinating and liberated character. This girl is refreshingly self-aware and destined for big things. Bloody things. I like her.
  • Part the seventh: Gah. Tub of Goo! Simpering! Make it stop. Let Sam freeze to death, Bubba Ho-Tep. Push him off the wall. Something to keep me enthralled. I\\™d be willing to tell Sam Tarley\\™s mother I\\™d killed him in a hunting accident if it would keep him off my TV.
  • Part the eighth: Pure awesomeness. Baelish is fascinating, and so is the disclosure of the prying eyes all about the Hand of the King. On a side note, I\\™m very pleased that Aiden Gillen continues to get great roles after the Carcetti days.
  • Part the ninth: Sir Hugh. Must. Die. Soon. Arrogant prick.
  • Part the tenth: Aha! A bastard child of Robert Baratheon. Probably not first and definitely not the last. Does set up some interesting competition for the throne angles, though, when \\“ not if, but when \\“ Robert meets his untimely end.
  • Part the truly absurd device that needs to end now: As much as I loathe Robert as a ruler, I would bet that Mark Addy is enjoying portraying this large an ass (no pun intended). Part of me still does wonder where Robert Carlyle is. The chat outside the door does reinforce the notion that, despite his pretty-boy ways, Jaime Lannister was once a warrior of some stature. He\\™s also thick enough not to read intelligence delivered to the king he despises by Lord Stark\\™s Captain.
  • Wow! Waking up to a ravening wolf at your throat. Jon Snow may be dull as the Nebraska skyline, but he doesn\\™t lack for stones.
  • Alliser Thorne = Dean Wormer. It\\™s a theory.
  • Oh, sweet Dany, beat that bitch like a rented mule! How I laughed! That was thoroughly enjoyable, and produced the second greatest quote of the whole episode. Frankly, I look forward to a day that Viserys has no hands. Or head. Or lungs. Sorry, lost in thought there for a minute.
  • Oh, sweet tap-dancing jeebus! Enough with the Sam and Jon show already. Although I admire Snow\\™s choices regarding women and future progeny, he bores the hell out of me. Terminally.
  • New theory: Alliser Thorne = Dean Wormer playing a gravelly-voiced Cockney cannibal in summer stock. It\\™s a better theory.
  • It\\™s wonderful to see Daenerys finally coming to terms with the fact that her brother is suited for little more than fertilizer and has rightfully earned the life expectancy of a horsefly. Whack him, Dany. Soon. Please? For me?
  • Yay! Blood, spilled, spewed and spat. And Sir Hugh\\™s blood as well. Now that was satisfying. Plus, methinks the relationship of The Hound and The Mountain is enough foreshadowing to last about a week and a half. It\\™s even better in Baelish\\™s conspiratorial whisper. Not only is he a devious bastard, but he likes to horrify the innocent and entrap them in his schemes.
  • Part the penultimate: Cersei Lannister does not wear \\˜conciliatory\\™ well. Her color wheel tends toward a c range of cruelty, condescension and contempt.
  • Part the last: Well, crap.

I\\™m very much in for next week and beyond, now, Good People. I\\™m not saying I like this turn of events, but it is what it is. Until then, a hearty cheers to all.

 

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Beyond The Wall Podcast Television Website News

Beyond The Wall – Promo

You know how in “The Princess Bride” Miracle Max says “It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead.”?

Well, this promo is “MOSTLY” safe for work. The worst bits are bleeped, but it’s still pretty NSFW (just like Game of Thrones), so be careful how loudly you play it. 🙂

If you are from another podcast, please let me know if you grab this promo and use it in your podcast. I’ll return the favor (or at least put your link on a special page on the site, since we don’t play too many promos).

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Beyond The Wall Podcast Television

Westeros on Twitter

I mentioned on the podcast how I was following some people on twitter that were acting out the characters from the show, and we were asked for a link to a list of these people.  The list is every growing and there is a lot of fun going on, but I warn you, SPOILERS are in these tweets.

If you want to follow the characters you can at http://twitter.com/#!/list/KatjaKat/westeros-inhabitants this is not a list I made, but it is the same list I follow.  I have followed a few of the individual characters too because they crack me up, my first two follows and favorites were LadyAryaStark and SuddenlySandor

Have fun, interact with these characters, they do respspond back, and enter at your own risk, it’s totally spoillery, but if you read the books, then spoilers away.

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Beyond The Wall Podcast

Beyond The Wall – Episode 3

Here is “Episode 3” of SpecFicMedia’s launch show, Beyond The Wall – A Game of Thrones Podcast. This podcast will focus on a weekly discussion of the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” with additional discussions of the various media tied to George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

In today’s episode we discuss the third episode (May 1, 2011) of “Game of Thrones.”

Episode 3 – He’s a Liar and a Coward.

00:00 – Intro

00:30 – Hosts Say Hi – P.G. Holyfield, Christiana, Chooch, Viv, and Nuchtchas. We then go into general impressions of Episode 3.

3:30 – “I am your Dancing Master.” – We talk about King’s Landing. We skip around, because we can’t wait to talk a bout Syrio Forel.

5:10 – “Hey Mr. Kotter, I gotta note.” – Yes, I’m old. Syrio Forel looks like Juan Epstein to me.

7:35 – “It felt like justice.” – We like how the show is adding more layers to Jamie.

13:20 – “While your king eats and drinks and s*its and f**ks.” – Why does Robert not enjoy being king?

16:30 – “We serve at your pleasure.” – The Small Council.

26:10 – “Crows are all liars.” – Back at Winterfell

31:30 – Petyr Baelish?” – The Lannisters

More Show Notes to Come

1:24:45 – Outro

1:25:35 – Outtakes

Hosts: P.G. Holyfield (author of Murder at Avedon Hill and SFM Founder)
Nuchtchas (Host of Nutty Bites Podcast)
Chooch (Into the Blender Podcast Co-Host, and bassist of Ditched By Kate)
Vivid Muse (Into the Blender Podcast Co-Host), Girls’ Rules Podcast Host)
Christiana Ellis (too many podcasts to list here 😉 but you can check out all things Christiana at her site.

Contact Us:

Email: btw at specficmedia.com
Phone: 6199-BTW-GoT (619-928-9468)
Comments: On the site

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Beyond The Wall Podcast

Beyond The Wall – Episode 2

Here is “Episode 2” of SpecFicMedia’s launch show, Beyond The Wall – A Game of Thrones Podcast. This podcast will focus on a weekly discussion of the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” with additional discussions of the various media tied to George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

In today’s episode we discuss the second episode (April 24th) of “Game of Thrones.”

Episode 2 – He ran… Not very Fast.

00:00 – Intro

00:30 – Hosts Say Hi – P.G. Holyfield, Chooch, Viv, and Nuchtchas say hi and we introduce our guest panelist (and future permanent co-host), Christiana Ellis. We then go into general impressions of Episode 2.

8:50 – “Nymeria, gloves.” – Relationships, and animals (not with animals). We’ll save that for next season.

13:05 – Slap Joffrey – How are they going to keep Peter Dinklage from stealing the show?

14:35 – Slap Joffrey again. – Just because.

17:20 – “I Lost my first boy.” – These are multi-layered characters. How do they convey this on the show?

20:30 – “All the best swords have names.” – Wow, a non-incestuous familial relationship. Who knew?

21:10 – “First Lesson: Stick them with the pointy end.” – Farewells

24:20 – “Where’s your sense of wonder?” – The Lannisters

30:20  – “Seven Hells!” – The King’s Road

33:15 – “We’ll talk about your mother.” – Starks and Snows

44:50 – “I was 9 when my mother sold me to the pleasure house.” I guess we should talk some about Daenarys.

56:45 – Outro

57:35 – Outtakes

Hosts: P.G. Holyfield (author of Murder at Avedon Hill and SFM Founder)
Nuchtchas (Host of Nutty Bites Podcast)
Chooch (Into the Blender Podcast Co-Host, and bassist of Ditched By Kate)
Vivid Muse (Into the Blender Podcast Co-Host), Girls’ Rules Podcast Host)
Christiana Ellis (too many podcasts to list here 😉 but you can check out all things Christiana at her site.

Contact Us:

Email: btw at specficmedia.com
Phone: 6199-BTW-GoT (619-928-9468)
Comments: On the site

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Articles Beyond The Wall News Television

BTW Article – Game of Thrones – How to be a Fangirl/boy

Hi, Nuchtchas here. On the Beyond The Wall podcast I claimed to be the resident Fangirl, so I thought I would help out other aspiring fangirls and fanboys.  How do you become as obsessed as me? Simple, read each of the books a few times, listen to all the podcasts, even the podfaded ones, talk incessantly about the series with anyone who will listen to you for at least six years, scour the net for every bit of information you can find and start naming your pets after your favorite GoT characters.

Is that too much? Probably too much to do before next week’s episode, so let’s start small.

TWITTER

On Twitter you can follow @GameOfThrones the official HBO twitter account for the show. They do a great job of promoting the show, of course, and will keep you informed about cool items such as the food trucks, iron throne sightings and rickshaws, fan art (and more!).

Next there is @Westerosorg, run by the same people that run the site mentioned above and sanctioned by George R. R. Martin himself.  They are going to be good about not giving spoilers but will also help with fun facts, links and information.  As a matter of fact as I was getting ready to watch the premiere I tweeted a question about the swords used in the show to them and they answered me right back.  That was pretty awesome, I’m sure they get many tweets a day.

VIEWERS GUIDE (no spoilers)

GUIDE Here you just have the map and the basic houses with the characters you will see in the series.  It’s good for those of you just getting started.

GRRM’s “Not a Blog” and Author website

GRRM stands for George R.R. Martin. It’s how we fans refer to him, mostly because of his “Not a Blog” where he writes about football, the series, writing and whatever else suits his fancy. He vowed over a year ago that his Not a Blog would be spoiler free for the new fans and he expects his fans to respect this wish and keep the comments free of spoilers.  He even has his assistant Ty check for those.

He also has his main website HERE. Yes, it looks like it was coded in the 90’s and for a very good reason: it was. You may encounter some spoilers there, so tread lightly.

WESTEROS (SPOILERS AT SITE, not in the description below)

http://www.westeros.org – This site has more information on the heraldry of the houses then anywhere on the internet. It also hosts the Wiki of Ice and Fire and one of my favorite features, “So Spoke Martin,” where they have collected quotes from interviews from Martin or through direct correspondence with the author.  There are forums and a host of other features, including a MUSH (yeah, they still have that) and the site runners have claim to be the source that George R. R. Martin uses for fact checking his own world.

WINTER IS COMING

http://winter-is-coming.net – This site was created after talk of a HBO series first started.  Focuses on news and rumors around the television series. Read enough and you’ll find some indirect spoilers.

TOWER OF THE HAND

http://www.towerofthehand.com – Tower of the hand is an extensive source for information on the books.  You can click on each book you’ve read and customize your experience to where you are in the series.  They have chapter by chapter descriptions and will help you gain an encyclopedic knowlege of the series, or at least give you a place to look up the facts you need.  If you register there are more features available, more customization too. (While you can find spoilers, this site is geared to protect you from them).

HBO FORUMS

http://www.hboforum.com – Of course HBO would want to have a forum right there on their own site.  Here you can chat with other fans and get involved in some of the ARG produced by HBO. (I would hope this is to be kept somewhat spoiler free).

 

Yeah some of those sites can get intense.  But when you consider how long some of the fans have been following the series, it’s not much of a surprise.

Enjoy!

 

 

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Beyond The Wall Podcast

Beyond The Wall – Episode 1

Welcome to the “Episode 1” of SpecFicMedia’s first podcast, Beyond The Wall – A Game of Thrones Podcast. This podcast will focus on a weekly discussion of the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” with additional discussions of the various media tied to George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

In today’s episode we discuss the premiere episode of “Game of Thrones.”

Episode 1 – The Things I Do…

00:00 – Intro

00:30 – Hosts Say Hi – P.G. Holyfield, Chooch, Viv, and Nuchtchas say hi and give general impressions of the premiere.

2:50 – “It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted.” – Opening Credits

6:00 – “Clever Girl” – Winterfell

16:40 – “You should be the Hand of the King.” – King’s Landing

22:30 – “You don’t want to wake the Dragon.” – Pentos and The Targaryens

24:00 – “How did he get so fat?” – The King at Winterfell

36:30 – “When I fight a man for real, I don’t want him to know what I can do.” – The feast

42:00 – “All 40,000 men, and their horses, too.” – Back to Pentos

44:30  – “A Dothraki wedding without at least three deaths is considered a dull affair.”

45:20 – “The things I do for love.” – The end at Winterfell

59:00 – The Outro

1:00:00 – Viv introduces John Anealio

1:00:45 – John Anealio – “George R.R. Martin is Not Your Bitch” – Books, Bytes & Bots

1:03:40 – Outtakes

Hosts: P.G. Holyfield (author of Murder at Avedon Hill and SFM Founder)
Nuchtchas (Host of Nutty Bites Podcast)
Chooch (Into the Blender Podcast Co-Host, and bassist of Ditched By Kate)
Vivid Muse (Into the Blender Podcast Co-Host), Girls’ Rules Podcast Host)

Contact Us:

Email: btw at specficmedia.com
Phone: 6199-BTW-GoT (619-928-9468)
Comments: On the site

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Beyond The Wall Podcast

Beyond The Wall – Episode 0

Welcome to the “introduction” episode of SpecFicMedia’s first podcast, Beyond The Wall – A Game of Thrones Podcast. This podcast will focus on a weekly discussion of the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” with additional discussions of the various media tied to George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

First of all, we want to apologize for the audio quality of this episode. Thankfully, it is the “introduction” episode, and we have things in hand to ensure great audio quality going forward. It’s certainly listenable, but it isn’t up to Viv’s high standards, to be sure. 😉

Episode 0 – Winter is Coming…

00:00 – Intro

00:30 – Host Introductions

P.G. Holyfield, Chooch, Viv, and Nuchtchas take a few minutes to introduce themselves.

7:00 – What is this podcast all about?

15:30 – Let’s talk about HBO’s “Game of Thrones”

41:00 – Plans for the Podcast

43:00 – The 14 minute “Preview”

47:30 – The Food!

50:00 – We’re Ready . Are You!?

53:15 – Outro

54:00 – Outtakes

Hosts: P.G. Holyfield (author of Murder at Avedon Hill and SFM Founder)
Nuchtchas (Host of Nutty Bites Podcast)
Chooch (Into the Blender Podcast Co-Host, and bassist of Ditched By Kate)
Vivid Muse (Into the Blender Podcast Co-Host), Girls’ Rules Podcast Host)

Contact Us:

Email: btw at specficmedia.com
Phone: 6199-BTW-GoT (619-928-9468)
Comments: On the site

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More