Regarding that Game of Thrones

Somehow we started watching it a week ago or so. I didn't know we had HBO. I'm not always real smart on details. I pretty much consign TV to children-land and let them have at it. But writing this reminds me the built-in Comcast TiVo apparently doesn't work (?). Someday I should remember to call and find out what that means. No, wait, I did call, and they started talking about billing. I cut them off (it was a weekend) and said I'd deal with that later. Billing? We had a TiVo thingie. Then we didn't. The billing hasn't changed. So, like: WTF?

Anyway, Game of Thrones. We're a few episodes into Season One. Fucking fantastic. I feel I can surmise from the dialog and the relationships and the characters' motivations that the books are written pretty well. It all seems very realistic with nothing held back. We're completely sucked in and finally understand what drives people to binge-watch. I want to read the goddam books.

The reading of books has re-entered my life in small baby steps. I reread Smith of Wootton Major and thought it a little above my understanding. I've reread a few Conan stories and found them a bit beneath. I guess I'm just not feeling very literate these days and like my stories to a) have a point and b) be done well. I dunno, I'll give Conan more chances and find the stories Howard wrote well, but The Tower of the Elephant was no great shakes and The God in the Bowl starts off as bad detective fiction. I've only read half of it and will re-encounter Thak at some point and I'm sure all will be redeemed, but then, maybe not. R. E. Howard was an isolated man-boy with a great talent wasted by a signal lack of life experience. He did great work from reading history books and Burton and Burroughs but that's all he had. That movie with Renee Zellweger remains a sweet story I'd like to see again, so there's that.

And the Conan reboot: It was very promising. Jason Momoa was a fabulous Conan and there were properly immodest girls of the caravanserai. But the writing stank. The story was stupid and overblown. Fortunately for Momoa, he got away and wound up one of the best characters in Game of Thrones, so no worries there.

I feel as though reading books again should lead to writing them. But instead I've put a little more time into three-dimensional projects (electric trike etc.) and into finally after all these years practicing a little piano. It's a bit much to say I'm "teaching myself to play" because I can pick out a tune with ease and know all the notes and keys, I just have to train my fingers to find them. I'm not much of a teacher but I hope this somehow also brings the kids along musically as well, those who are inclined.

So, regarding that Game of Thrones, one thing that can really annoy me these days is ANY HINT AT ALL of what's coming next. We had an art-slave over at the house working on a canvas and she was all into it and couldn't withhold a few cryptic comments and we're both all "shuDUP!" Fortunately no harm was done but I may want to bring out one of my old knives in case I need to slice off someone's ear.