An Odyssey of Dreams

So my paid account expired and my Jaime Lannister icon is unreachable. But that won't stop me from linking to this post by GRRM telling one and all HBO has given the production order for The Game of Thrones pilot.

That news almost makes up for my 12-hour work day yesterday (and today mostly takes care of what's left).

A few days ago, queenofthorns assigned me the letter "L" for the 10-things-you-love meme. It took me quite a long time to come up with 10 things, and by the time I did, I had 11. Whoops. Here it is (in alphabetical order):

1. Languages - I think this one stems from my love of reading. Some of the earliest books I remember reading were translations, and it was always ingrained in me, even before we left the USSR, that I would need to know more than one language. They sound nice, each one with its own rhythm and style. Family and individuality. Communcation and my love of talking and writing also contribute, but there is, I think, an underlying unease about not knowing a language and not understanding what's said. It probably stems from immigrating - not understanding German, or Italian, and especially not English (and 2-5th graders are mean little bastards when you can't understand what they say). I don't ever want to be that helpless again.

2. Lannister, Jaime - ( ASoIaF Spoilers Through A Feast for Crows )

3. Lannister, Tyrion - ( ASoIaF Spoilers Through A Feast for Crows, once more )

4. Lavender - It's clean, soothing, and helps my migraines. I love the scent, as it can put me to sleep or revive my ability to think. Just breathing in lavender relaxes me, and it reminds me of undergrad evenings in my room, getting back massages from one of my housemates that allowed me to function during CS project all-nighters. It's odd that I miss that, but I do. There was a great deal of social that no longer happens now that I no longer live in a house with 5 people.

5. Left Hand of Darkness, The - ( Spoilers for... well, everything. )

6. Legends - Any kind, really. From folklore of Koschei the Undying and Ivan the Simple (and Baba Yaga, naturally) to the Celtic cycles, to Greek, Roman, Sumerian, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, Egyptian, and I'm sure I've forgotten a few pantheons. I grew up with my dad telling me the latter and my mom telling me the former. I think it's the concise storytelling and what it says about human nature that really appeals. Kind of like balladry (which can be a subset, too) - storytelling skeleton where only the essentials remain over time.

7. Lilacs - Lilac is the first scent I remember clearly, even from Kiev. They were my late grandfather's favorite flower, and while I still lived in Ohio, every spring we'd cut a branch or two and put it at his gravesite. But even before he passed away, it wasn't spring until I smelled lilacs blooming. Then May seemed that much brighter and the sun more refreshing. My mom also loves lilacs - I can count on a vase of them if I go visit this month. They remind her of Kiev, blooming with tulips, poppies, and lilacs, and buckeye trees in the springtime. I know I shouldn't remember it, but I do recall wide boulevards of tall, shady, blooming trees.

8. Literature - Do I really need to explain this one, given the blather on books and characters above? Yes? Oh, well. ( Here goes... )

9. Logan Echolls - ( Vague S2 Spoilers )

10. Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The - Hoo-boy. ( Unrepentant squeeing )

11. Loreena McKennitt - Other people spent their angsty teenage years listening to Nine Inch Nails, and I did too. But the memories I have of high school inevitably end in driving home with Loreena McKennitt in my CD player and my girl friends singing along with Book of Secrets or The Visit. She's got a haunting, melodic voice that draws you in and enchants. And the influence ranges the world over - from Celtic myths and Tennyson to the Trans-Siberian railroad and Morocco. She might very well be the musical equivalent of my reading obsession.

Let's talk Targaryens and prophesies. Spoilers ahoy!

( Younger and More Beautiful )

( . . . three heads has the dragon . . .  )

And on this note, I go drink tea and sleep. My brain is dead from trying to find one GRRM answer in the Citadel.

(Also, queenofthorns, have you seen Amoka's galleries? I think I like his art more than the artbook.)

Reading Update: I'm about 200 pages into A Storm of Swords right now - for those who may have different editions or somesuch, I'm in the first Sam Tarly chapter - so my thoughts will be colored by what I've gleaned thus far.

( A Song of Ice and Fire Discussion. Spoilers into the third book, enter at your own peril. )

I think I must stop there. I'm about falling over, and must rest if I drag myself to work tomorrow. I think I shall save the rest, including my thoughts on "the dungeon scene," for tomorrow.