Moving. It's A B----!

So, that time has come.

As much as I dreaded the actual mechanics of it all, I somehow went through the motions and managed to get most of my stuff squared away in boxes and suitcases, and prepared for the big move. Which is tomorrow, people!

Holy shit!

I've rented the U-Haul and have some of the world's bestest friends helping me out. I can't believe that, after nearly 13 years in the same spot, in less that 24 hours I will be moved in to an entirely different spot. Albeit a much smaller spot, and all by my lonesome, but a major change nonetheless.

And how do I feel about it all? A bit depressed, yes. But moreso excited. The prospect of eventually being all unpacked and settled in, of being able to kick my feet back and know that I am in my VERY OWN personal space with no one else to answer to but myself . . . well, I admit it's pretty damn enticing! Probably that sentiment alone has gotten me through the worst of it these past 6 weeks. If I allow my mind to do so, no doubt it would sink into a well of misery and self-doubt. But I won't allow it to do so. I'll keep forging ahead and doing what needs to be done. Even when it seems like one shit revelation follows another, still I'll soldier on.

I'm sure eventually it will all catch up to me, though. One weekend in the not too distant future I will be miserable and reflective on all that I have lost. I will shutter the windows in my new apartment and hunker down on the sofa under a mountain of blankets. And much bad tv will be consumed. And much good wine will be imbibed (I don't do beer outside of social settings).

And then . . . and then I will be better. The sun will still shine and the birds--those blasted birds!--they shall continue to chirp happily outside my windows. And I will one morning find myself expectant, hopeful: reflective on all I have yet to accomplish! For I am only 36 years old, not 66; and the world is yet my oyster.

By the way, what the fuck does this saying mean, anyway? I hate shellfish!

So, this is so-long for a short while, my friends. I will try to establish an Internet connection at the new place as soon as possible, but who knows when next our paths may cross on Blogger? Once I'm settled in, for sure. But whether that takes 2 weeks or 2 months, only the Old Gods and the New can answer.

'Till then, stay frosty.

David J. Batista
Bronx, New York.  May 2013.

Episode 25 Discussion: "Kissed By Fire"

Despite the fact that I am no longer writing reviews of Game of Thrones episodes, I do of course still watch each show as they air. I caught last night's viewing of "Kissed By Fire" and have to say I was very impressed. Sadly, we are already halfway through the season now. Where the hell did time fly off to?

Anyway, I wanted to at least give a forum for fans of the show who visit The Bimillennial Man to sound off with their comments, observations, and opinions of what transpired this week. And to start things off, I'll add some of my own quick observations:


R'hllor, the Lord of Light. I'm glad we're finally getting to see more of this mysterious Eastern religion from Asshai and its spreading influence in Westeros. Up until now, we've only been exposed to this new brand of worship during the Stannis scenes. But now we see that Melisandre isn't the only follower of the Red God. Seems that Thoros of Myr, of the mercenary group "Brotherhood Without Banners," is also a staunch follower. Somehow he has been bestowed through his Lord the power to resurrect the dead and/or heal the newly wounded. Hmmm, now I wonder when that might come in handy later on in the season . . .

Duel of the Fates. That was one kickass sword fight between The Hound and Beric Dondarrion. Some of you may recall back to season 1 when Beric was the man Ned Stark sent out to the Riverlands to hunt down the Lannisters' top lackey, The Mountain, and bring him to justice for crimes against the lowly farmers and village folk living there. Apparently in that time he's been stabbed, hanged, and suffered who knows how many other morbid horrors in-between. And yet somehow he keeps being brought back by Thoros, a little "lesser" of his former self each time. Thoros defeated The Hound in tournament melees three times in the past, most likely due to his flaming sword technique, exploiting Sandor's one true fear in the world. So when Beric sets his own sword aflame before The Hound's trial by combat, the contest takes on extra peril for the younger Clegane. I thought it was rather impressive how The Hound still managed to kick ass despite his crippling fear of fire. As a result of winning the duel, Sandor is deemed "innocent" in the eyes of the Lord of Light, and is allowed to go about his business. Beric Dondarrion, on the other hand, is once again brought back to the world of the living.

A quick note about R'hllor that some of you may be overlooking, particularly if you have not read the books. You may be wondering how a religion of such obvious potency could have remained relatively unknown to Westeros for all this time. For unlike that land's Seven Gods, this religion of fire and light seems to have some actual teeth to it. Well, it has been mentioned already in this show ... things are changing now that there are dragons in the world again. That was the whole purpose of the red comet at the start of the 2nd season, remember? Magic is alive once again! This is the start of a new age. Or, as some will have you believe, the rebirth of a cycle already experienced some 8,000 years prior. For as the White Walkers begin to stir once more, an opposite but equally potent force is needed to combat such a threat. And what is the epic weakness of wights again, class? Why, yes -- FIRE! Trust me, there is a method to all this madness. One that, to be honest, has yet to become fully realized even in the books. So, we still have a looooong way to go on that front. Be patient.


Rub a dub, dub, dub. My favorite scene of the episode--hells, probably the entire show--has arrived! I've been waiting a long, long time to see this exchange between a defeated Kingslayer and the erstwhile lady knight, Brienne of Tarth, given justice on the small screen. Fans of the books can now rejoice! Writer Bryan Cogman pulled it off beautifully, with exactly the right nuance, pathos, and chemistry delivered by the wonderful actors themselves. Bravo! For me, no arc has been more poignant and satisfyingly unfolded in the books than that of Jaime Lannister. It was this very development which gave me my first real lesson in how to effectively write a long-term character. There has to be some development there, and what Jaime reveals of himself in this one simple scene amounts to a mountain of character exposition. I've been savoring this moment for so long, hoping for viewers to finally understand that there is a lot more to this tragic hero's tale than what is realized at first glance. No, he is not perfect. He did push a kid out of a window to cover up his incestuous affair with his twin sister, after all. And, in the tv show at least, snapped his own cousin's neck just to save his own. But hey, I never said he was a morally righteous hero. It was so much fun seeing the Kingslayer appear in a new light in Brienne's eyes. The dawning of just want this man has been through all these years is so clear on her dumbfounded expression. In life, nothing is ever what it appears at first blush. Such an excellent scene! I want to rewatch it over and over again.

This one is called. Grey Worm! Yay! I am so ecstatic that we finally get our Grey Worm. I actually liked the actor they got to portray him. Good things are to come. Good things. We didn't get much from the Daenerys' plot line this episode. Some dick measuring between Ser Barristan the Bold and Ser Jorah Mormont, sure. But that's to be expected. They both are jockeying to be their queen's right hand man. At the moment Ser Jorah still holds that elevated position by his khaleesi's side, but Barristan does have the advantage of having served her family once upon a long time ago. And, as he stated himself, for once he would like to serve a just and righteous ruler. Just this one time. Purdy pweese! With a dragon-flambé cherry on top, pweese? How can you refuse an old man such a request?


Let the heads roll. And so it begins. Robb Starks' plotline has come to the inevitable turning point I've so dreaded all these years. Pretty ominous that Theon's tune "Pay The Iron Price" is playing during this darkest of scenes when Lord Rickard Karstark must be made an example of if Robb Stark is to keep any semblance of his authority intact. This is the tune that also played when Theon executed poor Rodrik Cassel last season and thus began all his current woes in life. Unfortunately for Robb, his decision flies in the face of advice given to him by his mother, wife, uncle Edmure, and great-uncle Brynden the Blackfish. That can't be good. I mean, look: we get that he had to be his own man in this. After all, he alone is the King in the North. But damn! this scene did not feel good. I actually cursed out loud when Lord Karstark's head fell. "Shit," I said to the screen. Shit. Here we go now . . .

So, those are my thoughts. Maybe not exactly quick, but these were the scenes that stood out the most for me. I'm a little peeved by Stannis's crazy wife, Queen Selyse, keeping her miscarried fetuses in jars. Ick! And . . . wtf? This was never in the books, and I know that as a tv show they need to get across rather quickly that this woman is not all entirely with us. But I thought this was a little too over the top. She's not as crazy as Catelyn Stark's sister, Lysa Arryn, after all. Just a little, well . . . weird in the books. We're clearly never meant to entirely like her, obviously. But I just thought this was too heavy handed and not believable. By contrast, though, I absolutely fell in love with little girl Shireen Baratheon. It's not explained yet in the show what affliction she suffers from, but apparently she's being kept locked away in a high tower ala The Man in the Iron Mask. She only gets visits from her papa and the Onion Knight. But in just a few short scenes I already love this little girl. Way more than in the books. I always found her a bit on the bland and boring side there. But here on the show I actually find myself feeling miserable on her behalf.

Now that I got all that out of the way, what are your own thoughts? Sound off in the comments section below and get this discussion rollin'!

No Mas (Game of Thrones Related)

Well, I have decided I had enough of writing reviews of Game of Thrones. Yes, sorry folks (all 4 of you who care), but I just don't have the wherewithal at this point in my life to slave away writing such long, detailed looks into an hour-long television show. It's getting old really fast.

But in fact the real reason is two-fold:

One, as mentioned already, my life is topsy-turvy at the moment. I'm in the process of moving to a new place, and in a few weeks I won't even have cable tv anymore. It might take a week or two to get it back at the new place, and combined with everything else I will need to get done during this time (like, hey, actually moving and getting settled in), I can honestly say that I won't have the energy or time to punch out a super cool, super informative review of this super great HBO show I love so much. Such is life. Don't cry for me, Argentina ... and all that jazz.

The second reason is more disappointing, really, than an actual cause for no more reviews. Simply put, not enough people give a damn this year for some reason. In previous years, my Thrones reviews garnered thousands of unique views on this here blog. That's thousands. Plural! By the third episode of Season 2, my review of the first episode just two weeks prior already had 900 plus unique views. And how about this year? Well, now that the third episode has already aired, my review of the first episode two weeks back has tallied all of . . . 51 views. That's it. My review of the second episode has accumulated only 30. So, combined with my personal life being in a disarray, this added news does not keep me motivated to continue this endeavor.

Sorry, all. I just can't bring myself to do it anymore. I will still watch the show, naturally. But that thing where I spend hours and days writing the words, rewatching the episode over and over, and acquiring screen grabs and what have you? Yeah, no more.

Jaime's distraught over no more reviews on the Bimillennial Man.
Or because someone just cut off his hand. One of the two. 

I would suggest that if anyone has any questions about the episodes as they air, to drop them in the comments section here and I will definitely answer them. But who are we kidding? Let's be honest, no one will. And that's okay.

I'm just saying, though, if anyone wants to . . .

And, one last thing. No, I will not be accepting any guest reviews at this time. That's cool for like one or two episodes, but not for the rest of the whole bloody season. Thanks, though.

Game of Thrones: "Dark Wings, Dark Words" Review

Episode 22: "Dark Wings, Dark Words"
Original Air Date:  April 7, 2013.
Directed by:  Daniel Minahan.
Written by:  Vanessa Taylor.


Tonight's episode was full of dark forebodings and even darker intrigues, hence the title. And as we all know by now ... the Night is Dark and Full of Terror, too. Quite a few new faces were introduced as well, which I'm sure just made the heads of non-book readers spin mercilessly. Have heart, it will all start to make sense in the coming weeks. But for this week we got our hands on a particularly meaty feast of gritty fantasy goodness. Shall we dig in?

Eleven Elevator Ethics

As someone who lives in the big city and works in a very tall office building, riding an elevator is a daily affair. We've all done it. But the more you do it, the more you tend to gloss over some of the important niceties of making the experience efficient and safe for everyone. What follows are rules to remember based on personal everyday observations from a long-time city dweller.


1)  The last one in on a descending elevator is the first one out. This is especially true in crowded cars.

2)  The "close door" button doesn't actually make the doors close any faster. This is a myth. The button is only there for malfunctions and emergencies. So. STOP. Freaking. Pressing. It!

3)  If a lady is on the elevator, out of courtesy step aside and allow her to be the first one out. It's called manners, gentlemen.

4)  If the elevator has mirrors, or if the doors are highly polished metal, it is rude to make eye contact with your fellow passengers. Not everyone takes kindly to being ogled.

5)  If you know your stop is on one of the top floors, please step to the back of the car after pressing your button. Chances are, everyone else in the elevator will getting off before you.

6)  Never eat in an elevator. Doubly so for passing the gaseous by-products of such consumption from the other end.

7)  When leaving the office for the night, it is customary to say "good evening" to your fellow passengers upon exiting to the lobby.

8)  Rule of thumb: If you can make eyesight, you must hold the door for that person rushing toward your elevator. However, if all you hear are footfalls coming near, you are not obligated to hold the car unless said phantom calls out for you to do so. You are not a mind reader.

9)  If you reach the elevator bank but the doors are already closing, do not reach out and attempt to halt their progress. Simply take the next one.

10) You must ALWAYS wait for the elderly or handicapped, no matter how long they may take to reach the elevator.

11) Similarly, if a handicapped person or a parent with a baby stroller needs to get on but there is no room--make room! Even if it means a few of you must get off to do so.


And there you have it. Nice and simple, yes? Most of these are of the common sense variety, so you would think everyone would follow them, yes? You'd think wrong! Every single one of these points are ones I've witnessed or practice myself. Yet, I see them ignored on a constant and daily basis.

My question to you all is: how many of these do you break and/or follow? Leave your answer in the comments. Or anything else you might like to add.

Game of Thrones: "Valar Dohaeris" Review

Episode 21: "Valar Dohaeris"
Original Air Date:  March 31, 2013.
Directed by:  Daniel Minahan.
Written by:  David Benioff & D.B. Weiss.


First things first, I thought it was a nice touch to start off the episode with a little prelude before the title jump. We haven't seen this since the very first pilot episode aired back in April 2011. But me personally, I prefer a little hors d'oeuvre to whet the appetite before the main meal. Jumping straight into the credits after the HBO snow screen always seemed cheap and less cinematic to me in the past. So kudos to going back to the old format. Let's hope it's not just for this one episode.

Thank Heaven I Was Born A Man!

A few months ago I wrote this piece specifying all the qualities, both physical as well as intellectual, that I found attractive in the opposite gender. Some of you may remember that, on the physical side of things, I tended to favor women with oblong faces and high cheekbones, with long dark hair and smoldering almond-shaped eyes. I mentioned how these traits naturally drew me toward the Asia Minor and Subcontinent parts of the world, as this is where you'll most likely find ladies embodying this particular classification of female perfection.

And then, the other day, I beheld this Aveda commercial for some hair product or technique I wasn't paying too much attention to, because it felt like a thunderbolt had struck me from the sky:



(You can find a longer, more detailed, version of this commercial by clicking here.)


And I think it's pretty clear why I was not paying so much attention to whatever the hell this commercial is selling, right? I mean, WOW! I had to rewind the DVR several times to behold the wonder I was seeing. Who was she? Why is she only doing Aveda commercials? By god, I must rush to the Internet and learn more!!!

And learn more I did. Well, sorta. It turns out that this very lovely woman is a relatively unknown fashion model from the Netherlands named Asal Soltani. She is of Persian and Dutch descent and, I believe, is currently working in Milan. Unfortunately, that was about the extent of all I could find out.

*Sigh*

However, all was not lost. I did come back with some pretty hot pictures of Ms. Soltani, which I will share here of course. Since the majority of my readers are female, you must bear with me and allow me this one male indulgence. You all know me. I don't do this very often.

So, uh . . . yeah. She pretty much rocks my boat. I mean, hard! In particular her eyes are what really captivate me. She's not your typical looking runway model, which is a nice change. I'm so tired of the blonde, Nordic look. Aren't you?

Where are the Asal Soltani's of the world? If you're out there . . . call me, maybe.

Game of Thrones Reviews

Stannis is patiently waiting for Dragonstone
Cable to upgrade his HBO subscription.

So, that time is fast approaching us. In fact, the new season of Game of Thrones will begin in less than 13 hours. I can't believe we're finally here!

As you may recall, I've been doing recaps of each new episode for the past two seasons now. You can still find those recaps and impressions by clicking on the links below:

Season 1 recaps.
Season 2 recaps.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints and ongoing personal circumstances, I will not be able to provide such detailed and wordy services any longer. But fear not, I won't leave you completely hanging. Starting with tomorrow's episode, you will find on this very blog a review written each week by yours truly. It won't be anything too flashy or in-depth, just a normal length review with a grade at the end. The old format was just too much for me to keep up with. Especially since these episodes air late on a Sunday night when I have to go to bed for work bright and early the next morning.

Unfortunately again, HBO in their unending wisdom chose to air the season premiere on Easter Sunday of all days. D'oh! I'm going to be upstate in the countryside visiting family for most of the day, and will be pressed to even catch the episode on its original air date, let alone write up a review for it. So this is my way of saying to expect the first review rather late in the week. I will try for Wednesday at the latest, but hopefully you'll see it earlier. Keep your fingers crossed!

In the meantime, for those fans of the show who can't recall much of the complicated plot and machinations of the past two seasons (and don't worry, no one blames you!), here is a 10-minute recap in video form provided by those same kind folks at HBO. I hope this gets you back in the mood to visit Westeros and unending quest to claim the Iron Throne. On a side note, I wouldn't recommend watching this unless you've seen the first two seasons already. Newcomers won't be able to make much sense of what in the seven hells is going on here:




Hope you're getting ready. All the bloody fun and intrigue from last season will continue tomorrow night at 9:00 pm EST!

Because, You Knew It Was Coming

Does our fair khaleesi got herself a brand new ... army?

Yes, folks. That time is almost upon us. For the Night is dark and full of terror ... and Winter is coming!





Oh. My.

And, yes, that was a dragon on a chain. Stop for a moment and allow the enormity of what you just saw to sink in. A muther-fucking dragon on a muther-fucking CHAIN!!!! How sick is THAT?

Now that is what I call a trailer full of awesome! I bet some of you were wondering how long it would take for me to finally descend into Game of Thrones lunacy here on the Bimillennial Man as with previous years. What with Season 3 just a mere two weeks away, you must have wondered what was taking so long.

Well, see, I was waiting for the right promotional material to come along. And now I think we can get this party started!

What do you fans think? Especially those of you who have not read the books? What do you think this season will bring? Sound off in the comments section below.

I can tell you this much, as a book reader:

This is the season all of us in the know have been waiting for. Yes. If you thought the previous two seasons were spectacular (and, pfft! Why wouldn't you?), then you have to realize that everything you've seen thus far was really just a nice warm-up for much greater things to come! The third book in George R. R. Martin's ongoing multi-volume opus is probably the one tome that defines the series best. It's a pure masterpiece, no debate about it. And so massive that it's going to take two full seasons just to cover it in its entirety!

Let that sink in while, like myself, you press the replay on that there video clip up above and bask in the greatness of HBO again, and again, and again . . .

And, besides leaving your impressions in the comments, if anyone should have any questions about the upcoming season (NO SPOILERS!!!), please ask them of me and I shall do my best to answer (NO SPOILERS!!!).

So . . . Celebrity Wife Swap, Anyone?

Let me preface this by admitting that I never watch these types of shows!

I know, big surprise. However, what you might be surprised to learn is that I actually used to watch "Jon & Kate Plus 8" on TLC one upon a long time ago. Back when the family seemed genuine and sweet, and not yet jaded by all the cameras. To be honest, I watched it for the adorable kids and grew attached to them and their crazy toddler antics.

Fast forward several years later and now the kids are all so much older. But still adorable. And so, despite my attempts not to, I couldn't help but watch the season premiere of "Celebrity Wife Swap" this week. Although I hate Kate Gosselin with the heated fury of 10,000 blazing suns, I do like Kendra Wilkinson a lot. Whereas Kate is a bitchy, psycho camera whore, Kendra always struck me as more down to earth and "real," despite being a former Playmate and pseudo "girlfriend" of Hugh Hefner at one point. Still, she and her husband Hank only have one child, while a determinedly single Kate has 8 to contend with mostly all on her own.

While the whole concept of these "wife swap" shows always skeezed me out, I had to admit I was mildly intrigued to see how this one would turn out. If you have the time and want to watch it for yourself, you can see the entire episode below for yourself (my comments to follow):




I have to say, things didn't turn out half as bad as I'd feared. And even though Kate is still such a cold, soul-sucking bitch, she actually does a pretty awesome job with those kids. I mean, they didn't even need Kendra there. They practically ran that whole house by themselves! On the flip side, I think Kendra's spontaneity and  open-ness relates so well with children, and Kate could learn a thing or two about just letting loose and not being so strict all the time.

Over at Kendra's house, I do think Kate was right on the money about all the free time Kendra has. I believe mothers should learn to spend some "me" time on themselves, but this is ridiculous! A nanny for only 1 child? Both Kendra and Hank seem like they have loads of free time (when the NFL is not in season, of course), so it seems bizarre to me that they should have a nanny taking care of little Hank as much as she does. Big Hank really does do a lot, too, and allows his wife to slide too much on her responsibilities, I think. But I also respect their relationship and how they run things, and don't think Kate had any business telling Hank what to do in his own marriage. I guess I can relate to Hank because I'm very much like him in a relationship. Which is to say, I'm very laid back and not afraid to cook and do chores around the house when needed. And I would also want my SO to be able to go out and have fun with her girlfriends, inasmuch as I would like to be able to do the same with my own friends every now and then. Of course, once again this is doable when you only have one kid. Not so easy when you have 8 of them running around. Sheesh!

Although I don't have children, Kate was right in that they need structure and schedules in their lives. At least, that's a truism I've observed firsthand with all my friends who have children. She was also right that a family needs to do more activities together, and for the love of god definitely eat at least one meal a day together.

But Kendra was awesome in changing things up a bit and having that taco "picnic" in the basement media room. Although it turned into such a horrifying mess, I can speak from my own childhood experience that we kids love nights like those. It shouldn't be every night, but whenever an impromptu dinner change-up did occur, it was something us kids always remembered. Even now I remember those fun moments, like the one time we were given tuna fish sandwiches and potato chips for dinner and watched Jaws on VHS rental for the first time. I will never forget that!

So all in all I can say this was an exceptional episode. Having read up on it, though, it seems that this is not the norm for "Celebrity Wife Swap." Seems it's usually more trashy and/or staged than this. So in no way will I become a regular viewer now. I came to see how the adorable Gosselin children were doing after all these years, and came away learning a lot about raising a family. For who the hell knows when that might come in handy for me, current situation being what it is and all.

But maybe someday I might need to know how to strike that right balance between order and spontaneity when it comes to raising a family. Or, barring that, how to find that right balance just in my personal life.

What do you readers think?

Side Note Observation:  Kendra is a very, very fine looking woman! Ain't she? Kate looks like an old, dried out drag queen by comparison. Kendra even looks great in the morning with very little to no makeup on. Of course, she's also 10 years younger than Kate and doesn't have a veritable brood of children following her around all day, every day.

"Sometimes I Dream . . ."

". . . That he is me. You've got to see that's how I dream to be!"

So, this past Sunday was Michael Jordan's 50th birthday. Whoa! What a legendary milestone for such a legendary athlete. You know, I consider myself eternally fortunate to have grown up in the "Jordan era" of American basketball. Although my hometown was always trying to play up Patrick Ewing and his revolving band of losers on the NY Knicks, for me my allegiance always resided farther out west. Yes, my heart belonged to Chicago and the Bulls during the better part of the 90s. How could it not?

So, nothing fancy this blog entry. No wordy, lengthy diatribe. His Airness is His Airness. Nothing more needs to be said by I. He is: A Champion. A Legend. An Inspiration.

However, I will leave you with two videos to commemorate this august anniversary of the Magnificent One. They're both commercials, but both are equally awesome and appropriately demonstrative of why, for a while there back in the 90s, everyone wanted to walk around with a "23" on their backs. Hell, I still do to this day!


Gatorade's 1991 "Be Like Mike" Commercial.



This is probably MJ's most famous commercial. Even 80 year old grandmas hum along to this tune and want to "be like Mike." It's so inspirational for what is essentially a sports water ad. I especially get teary-eyed at all the adorable little kiddies in this spot trying to imitate the Legend. To know that you've inspired so much of the younger generation to strive to be the best, to go for that seemingly impossible goal against seemingly impossible odds? How do you respond to something like that? Well, when you're Michael Jordan, you do it with class, grace, and not an insignificant amount of humor.


Nike's 2006 "Let Your Game Speak" XXI sneaker commercial.



I always gets goosebumps watching this. Don't you? The spot showcases everyday players from around the globe, young and older, recreating in slow motion some of MJ's most iconic moments on the basketball court. Simply amazing! Like its title, this commercial speaks for itself. No words are necessary. Just music and awesome moves. And if you want to see the original Jordan moves that the commercial was based around, simply click on this link for the video.

Happy Birthday, MJ. As David Stern put it in one of his many MVP trophy presentations to you: "You are, simply, the standard by which basketball excellence is measured."

Damn straight!

Because, Sometimes

I'm a grown man, I know. But sometimes I can't help but revert to the way things used to be once upon a long time ago.

Because, sometimes . . .

I still like to stomp through puddles after a rainstorm.
I miss my mommy when the world is scary and life uncertain.
I'll pretend to have super powers, like flight or invincibility.
I must have milk with my cookies. Right. NOW!!!

And sometimes:

I still like a good bedtime story.
I get shy around pretty girls.
I don't care if I'm dirty.
I'll chat with my li'l bro for hours about video games.
I believe in happy endings.

Because, sometimes . . . I'm still 4 years old, and Summertime never ends.

Happy 800th!

So, it's come to this? I don't know how I managed this unprecedented feat, but somehow the Bimillennial Man is still up and running four and a half years and exactly 800 posts later.

Yes, you heard me right. This is officially post number 800. Wow! I didn't even realize this milestone was approaching until I viewed my stats page last night. And I thought I would plan something special to commemorate the occasion. But then I got sleepy and went to bed. And when I woke up, I realized I was too lazy to do anything remarkable. Such is life sometimes.

So instead I will revel in my laziness and re-post the very first blog entry from way back in 2008 when I first started this whole crazy shebang. Yes, travel back in time with me, won't you? Point and laugh at how ridiculously optimistic and happy I was about starting my very own blog.

(If only he knew what he was getting himself into, poor sap.)

On a serious note, it's amazing how well I've stuck to my mission statement all these years later. Not bad, Batista. Not bad at all.


                             ==========================


August 26, 2008

Argh, mateys!

Hello there, glad you could join me. This is the narcissist post, all about me. I promise not to do too many of these (if any) in the future.

Now, who the hell am I? Nobody, yet. I'm the original David Batista, and not at all related to that poser wrestler (who's real last name is spelled with a 'u' in there, btw). I'm just an average guy living in the big, bad city of New York. I was born and spent most of my life here, and it's not too bad of a place to call home.

I'm of mixed heritage (anglo-saxon mother, dominican father) with almost no hispanic identity. Which is a shame, as it would have been nice if my father had stuck around to teach me some spanish. Anyway, I was raised solely by my mother, and then her mother (my grandma) after the age of nine. I am who I am today thanks to being surrounded by strong-willed, independent women -- my mother, grandmother, and aunt.

In high school I learned Spanish for the first time. Some of it stuck, most of it didn't. I had far more success in college where I majored in Chinese Studies. As a result, I came away with a pretty solid mastery of Mandarin and an unwavering love of all things China. I enjoy learning languages, especially difficult ones.

Now I spend my days toiling in a high-profile legal publishing company located in the Financial District. But by night . . .oh, well that's where the fun begins!

You see, I'm trying to break into the fiction writing biz. Specifically, sci-fi. I got back into writing in the summer of 2006, focusing mainly on the short form. I've written nineteen short stories since then, ranging from 5k to 12k in length. I still have a lot to learn as none of my attempts are fit to be published. Well, that's not true; one of my stories will be published online in the Feb. 2009 issue of Afterburn SF. So hopefully I can keep the ball rolling!

This blog will just be me going off at the mouth on various subjects that fit my fancy, not necessarily sci-fi related. I have a wide range of interests: from comics to computers, to antelope herding and video games. Okay, I made up one of those (guess which one).

I can get very heated on certain subjects, but for the most part I'll keep this blog on an even keel. My main mission is to just have fun.

Hope you do, too!

Feel free to drop in on the comments section and leave an introduction of your own.

Peace!

--David J. Batista

5 Most Influential Books

To anyone who knows me, it's no secret that I love to read. It was my first true love, actually, and one which I still share to this day. In fact, for a list of (mostly) every book I've ever read--starting since childhood and moving on up through the years--check out my book list in the sidebar to the right of this page under "The Books I've Read." Be warned, though: the link leads you to a word document I have up on the public domain of my cloud service. You will be asked whether you want to open or save the file first.

Books have shaped the man I am today. I've learned so much, visited so many wonderful places (both real and imagined), and met a lot of strange and interesting characters along the way. I don't think there's one aspect of my writing today that is not somehow influenced by a great many of the titles from my childhood. Some days I feel as if I'm channeling them all! But there are a few that stick out. I've narrowed them down to 5 books that I will share with you below. These books, more than any other, have had the most profound impact on my development both as a person and a writer. And all for differing reasons.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

My uncle used to subscribe to Reader's Digest, and every month or so a new hardcover novel would arrive at our home in the mail. Beautifully bound and lettered, most of these books were great classics which carried an air of importance about them. Though, at the age of 11, most such titles like Moby Dick or The Virginian were too intimidating for me to try. But the Sherlock Holmes stories were different. Although it was difficult at first to get into the narrative style and syntax of the Victorian-age writing, the larger than life figure of the world's greatest detective took hold of my imagination like no other book could. To this day I still try to emulate Sherlock in my everyday life--observant and keenly interested in everything!

For Love of Mother-Not - by Alan Dean Foster.

My best friend introduced me to the author's works at the beginning of my freshman year in high school. I was 14 at the time and this was my first foray into the sci-fi genre for books. I was initially skeptical of the genre, but Foster's young protagonist quickly drew me in. Not to mention the fantastical descriptions of the sights and sounds that inhabited the sleepy backwater world of Moth, on which an orphaned red-headed boy was taken in by a curmudgeonly old merchant woman named Mother Mastiff and raised as her own. Being an orphan myself, I practically devoured this novel and asked for more. Luckily it belonged to Foster's "Commonwealth" series, and I quickly set out down the path of science fiction fandom that has so steered the course of my adult life. If not for this one book alone, I might never have discovered that sci-fi isn't about flying saucers and alien monsters incubating inside smelly human space miners. A whole new world of sophisticated and possible stories to tell was opened to me!

The Shades - by Betty Brock.

This was my first "big book" for children back in the third grade when I was 8. It was also my first foray into the "fantasy" genre, if you want to classify it as such. The story was about a boy who comes to stay with his eccentric aunt one summer, only to discover a secret world of shadow people living in the gardens behind her house, unseen to the rest of the world. It was this fantastical element that so surprised me back then, as I was initially led to believe that this was going to be a mundane story about a boy learning to be self-reliant and dependable in the face of indifferent parents who had better things to do. To be true, it was some of that. But the Shades and their shadowy intrigues proved far more compelling of a plot device for my young, bored mind. I doubt I've had more fun reading a book even to this day. It opened my eyes to reading as enjoyment, and not just as part of some school assignment. From this moment on, I would seek out and acquire books on my own. A book worm was born!

Dragon's Blood - by Jane Yolen.

Read this book in high school ostensibly for its cover. But what was inside turned out to be even better. Jane Yolen was mainly known for her YA fantasies at the time, but this book had some curious sci-fi sensibilities going for it as well. Which, since I had only just discovered the genre, was right down my alley. It's what originally caught my attention. Although the novel definitely has its fantasy trappings--it's about an orphan boy who seeks fortune through obtaining and training his own pet dragon, after all (and decades before that other series of books and movie)--it took place on a ruthless "outback" colony planet peopled by former prisoners. The world had mechanized transport and space ports. And it also had dragons. Weird! But as I was always a sucker for rags to riches tales--and there was that orphan boy angle again, to boot!--I read this book three times over in back to back sittings. Yeah, I did that. I loved it that much, see? I vowed to someday write a novel with a young teen protagonist that would be just as cool as this book. A promise I'm still keeping today.

Altered Carbon - by Richard K. Morgan.

I've talked about this book often on this blog, I'm sure. And with good reason. Morgan has gone on to write many other books since, of course, but this 2002 debut novel of his is why I'm writing sci-fi today. By the new millennium, I had pretty much given up hope of ever writing in the sci-fi genre. I used to read so many golden age science fiction stories that my style and ideas were as dusty and obsolete as those tales. I felt detached from the genre, with no idea what new stuff was selling these days. And then I saw all the praise this novel was getting in the trade rags. On a hunch, I picked up a copy and settled down for an adventure that would turn my life around forever. All the hard-boiled grittiness, the violence, the dark intrigues and socio-political underpinnings of a future Earth faced with a crisis of the soul . . . all these things and more endeared me to a new class of contemporary sci-fi novels coming out at the time. In Morgan's world, humans were no longer bogged down by the specter of age, disease, and death. Implanted with a "cortical stack" at birth which records all memories and saves them to backup, people were virtually immortal in this time. They could swap bodies at will, effectively extending their consciousness and, therefore, their lives indefinitely. But all things come with a price, as usual. Reading into all this, I was taken over by Morgan's slick use of inferred future technology. But even more so by his fast and loose use of prose which kept a steady, upbeat tempo ticking away as you read along. This stuff was exciting, modern, and so in tune with what I thought I should be writing! Suddenly, I had stories to tell. Suddenly I saw that there was a world out there for the stories I wanted to tell. Suddenly, I wanted to WRITE!

And there you have it. The 5 most important books in my life thus far. Writing this up makes me want to read them all again. Especially the Dragon's Blood trilogy, which I just discovered had a fourth book come out only a few years back. Hmm, I must have missed mention of this somehow. Ack! I must read the first three all over again before purchasing the fourth. So exciting!

How about you? What book has influenced your life in a great and positive way? Tell me in the comments section below. Or, better yet, write your own blog entry on the subject!

The Return

Guess who's back? Back again . . .

I've been M.I.A. over the past several days--since last Thursday, in fact. I needed some time off from everyday life here in the city. And so I headed up to Vermont with my very good friends, Cin and Aleks, and one of their friends for the MLK weekend. We all stayed in a great little B&B just outside of Ludlow in Okemo valley, which is not far from the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border.

But, boy, getting there was an adventure and a half! I dragged my luggage over to my friends' house Thursday morning. They had the car, see, but I would be the one driving us the 250 miles there and back. We picked up their friend, Marci, and then hit the road at around 4:30 pm. Unfortunately, this is the height of rush hour. And even more unfortunate, this is New York City. You get the picture. Needless to say it took an inordinate amount of time just to reach New Haven in Connecticut. About an hour longer than normal, if not more. Considering that we still had another 3 hours to go, I was worried we would arrive at our destination too tired to do anything but drop our bags and pass out. And what a waste of a day that would be, huh?

Still, on top of the horrendous traffic, we also had to contend with mother nature and hungry stomachs of course. What an annoyance! So we stopped at a service station along the road and made it into a McDonald's. Now, I haven't eaten in a Mickey Dee's in quite some time. And whenever I do, I'm never there for a whole meal. This time was different, tho. This was actually going to be my dinner for the night. So I ordered something simple but filling: two cheeseburgers and a small fries. However, when it came to the choice of drink I was drawing a blank. I was craving orange soda for some reason, and I could not remember if McD's served orange soda. The cashier looked at me like I was crazy. No orange soda, only an orange-like fruit drink. I had to reveal that, hell, I haven't asked for a soda in a fast food joint in 7 years. Give me a break, dude!

So I went with a diet coke instead.

But my poor, dear friend Cin had a worse experience. Not known for her adventurous spirit when it comes to food, I don't know why she chose this day to stir things up a bit. Having heard of the cult-like status surrounding McD's limited time sandwich--the McRib--she decided that this treasured delicacy would finally, on this very night, be hers! Oh, if only I had known. See, knowing Cin as I do, I did think this item an odd choice for her to be ordering. Despite the mania in this country for the McRib sandwich, it really isn't as good as it used to be back in the 80s when it was first introduced. I used to love it as a kid, but must say it's gone downhill ever since McDonald's decided it was a good idea to get rid of all the unhealthy saturated fats and other gunk that used to make their food delicious. Who needs a heart anyway, right?

But see, I didn't know that my friend did not know the McRib sucks. I thought she'd had one before and, like other crazy people in this country, had grown to become obsessed with the little faux-ribbed delight. Nope. Turns out she just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Bad, Cin. Bad! Only after she finished the sandwich did she complain about how awful it was. And that's when I found out the truth. Oy vey! I could have saved you the trouble, my friend.

The stuff of Cin's nightmares!

Yes, I'm still shaking my head to this day. Luckily for all of us in the car, Cin's error in judgement did not manifest itself in . . . er, let's say . . . any gastro-intestinal mishaps as we continued on our way. Phew! When we finally arrived at our destination, it was 10:00. Late, but not too late. The innkeepers Julie and Mike met us at the door and showed us to our rooms. Everyone got settled in, retired downstairs to the parlor to hang out a little, and then called it a night.

Home away from home at the Golden Stage Inn.

This tidy inn was very comfy to hang out at during our stay, and is very close to Okemo ski resort. We didn't do any skiing, however. Cin and Marci wiled away their waking hours crafting warmy socks and cool cowls and what have you, while Aleks had to contend with work-related phone calls and a business meeting or two in a big town one hour's drive away. Meanwhile I wrote a little and read a whole lot -- and stole cookies from the inn's infamous "never ending cookie jar" when I thought no one was looking (for the record: they totally were!).

Honestly, though, we were there just to relax and unwind, which was definitely welcomed on my part. And the innkeepers were just too awesome for words, too! We felt like we had free run of the house, hanging out in the parlor by the fireplace and sipping vodka-and-peppermint spiked hot cocoa as if it was our home. Not a bad way to spend a long, cold winter weekend, eh?

At some point Cin, Aleks and I left Marci behind and drove 90 minutes northeast to visit our alma mater, Middlebury College. We arrived on a late Sunday morning/early afternoon--and during January term to boot! Which meant the campus was even emptier and more quiet than normal for a Sunday.

It was weird returning to my old stomping grounds. Since graduating in 1998, I've only been back twice. Once in 2001 for a Chinese dept. reunion, and then again in 2004 to attend a wedding in a nearby town. Since then so much has changed. For one, there is a lot more development in the little village of Middlebury. More empty plots of land are now occupied by housing, or stores, and even a huge restructuring of the town center to include a traffic circle and this massive new bridge connecting the college with route 7 on the other side of town. Crazy! What used to take me 30 mins to walk to back in the 90s now takes only 12! Oh how I could have used this convenience then. *shakes fist*

In my day, we had to walk uphill in the snow . . .

And yet, for all that has changed, the campus itself has remained remarkably the same. It was very weird seeing the same official buildings, the same mail room, the same dorms we lived in looking very much like we last saw them. I had this weird feeling as we walked around campus reliving old memories; a feeling as if I had never left. This used to surprise me back when I attended college there, too, after returning from summer recess or winter break. This sense of sameness that used to drive me crazy, but now I find I miss terribly. If only I knew then what I know now. Maybe I would have savored the experience a bit more, knowing what awaited me out there in the real world.

Checking the ye olde mailbox just for kicks. Oh, how
my knees remember!

My dorm from Feb. 1995 until May 1996. 

Mead Chapel on the western end of campus.

What was even more disconcerting, however, were the few students we did run across on occasion during our trek to all our familiar haunts. Geez, were we ever so young and baby-faced? I mean, Cin could still pass for 19 years old no problem. But myself? Probably not so much. Still, I swear some of these kids looked like freshmen in high school, not college! Or maybe I am just getting older? Could be . . .

Anyway, the trip was a blast and much needed. Too bad it had to come to an end. Sorry for the long silence, but I'm back now and ready to return to this difficult task of getting my life in order. It's going to be a long year ahead, but I must remember to take little breaks like this here and there and have some fun. Or else I shall go mad. And there's nothing worse than a nutso blogger, is there?

Didn't think so.

My Own Path

So 2013 is here and it's time for me to turn over a new leaf. Simply put, I need to get back to writing seriously. Due to those issues with my personal life I keep hinting at, I've slacked off something serious over the past two years. I think I may have written maybe three brand new stories in that time, revised one or two others, and completely re-drafted my novel in progress, which is still only one-third of the way done. That might seem pretty good progress, but it actually isn't for me. Not for two years' time.

But I think I feel my spirits starting to rise a little, despite my ongoing situation. Well, perhaps in spite of it is more accurate. I just feel like ENOUGH IS ENOUGH already! I need to refocus and remember my goals. I  refuse to be beaten down.

And yes, hopefully this means I will write more here on the blog. Can't promise anything, but I will try.

For the foreseeable future, my plan is simply to write. That's it. Write. Oh and read, of course. Can't forget to do that. But actually, this has always been my philosophy. I have a very simple one, dedicated primarily to the bettering of my craft. I don't go in for conferences, or genre cons, or constantly discussing agents, synopses, and other assorted mundania of the business side of writing. I will get to that some day for sure, but right now all I care about is becoming a better writer. Finding my voice and perfecting my story-telling techniques. For the short term I'm in it all for the love of the pure art of writing. Since a child I wanted to write so that my dreams could be realized on paper. This is all I should be focusing on right now, to bring this realization to fruition. To that end, there is no better formula than planting butt in chair and to write, write, WRITE!

Right?

Disappearing Act

The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

Hi folks. Happy new year. Let's hope 2013 is a lot better to me than 2012 has been. Jesus Christ!

No, I haven't run away, although I haven't been on the blogs for some time. That means not only have I not been updating this site on a regular basis, but that I missed out on all of your own blogs for almost a month now. Sorry 'bout that. I've been pretty down and out of things for a little while due to a crippling personal circumstance that has arisen. It's not about my health, nor has anyone died in my family. Thankfully everything's fine on both accounts. But I don't really want to go into details right now. Maybe later. Suffice to say that I've been very sad and hurt in all this time, and haven't had much enthusiasm to start up the PC and blog about stuff.

It happens.

Cake Me!

I was in the mood for some cake over the weekend, so figured I'd try an oldie but goodie family tradition--the pineapple upside down cake! This is a dessert my grandma used to make for us kids all the time, and was my personal favorite growing up. Problem was I didn't have a big enough cake pan to do the job. I'd always heard that the traditional method of making this classic was in a cast-iron skillet. I don't own a cast-iron-skillet, but I do have a very heavy, 12-inch Cephalon skillet that I thought might do the trick. And so I set to work on what I hoped wouldn't prove a colossal disaster.

First I melted an entire stick of butter in the skillet over a low fire. Then, I mixed in one cup of packed light-brown sugar until the entire bottom of the skillet was covered in the butter/sugar mixture. Atop this I placed around 8 slices of pineapple.

Some people use cherries, halved, to place within each pineapple slice center. My grandma never did this, so I didn't either. Perhaps next time. And like grandma, I decided to use pineapple from out of the can rather than going through the labor of cutting and coring a whole pineapple myself. After all, I didn't even know if I was wasting my time or not. So I wanted to stick as close to what I remembered from childhood as I could.

Next I combined all my dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, granulated sugar, salt . . . box of instant vanilla pudding mix!) with eggs, more butter, oil and a about a cup of pineapple juice from the can the slices came out of. I dug out my trusty old mixer and set it on medium. After around 2 minutes of this, the batter felt like just the right consistency.

Or so I thought. After pouring the batter into the skillet and over the pineapple and brown sugar, the result seemed a little too stiff for my liking. But I hoped beyond hope that this was just my paranoia taking over, and decided to risk it all. I placed the entire skillet in a pre-heated oven set at 350 degrees . . . and crossed my fingers.

Good thing the skillet has a steel handle! I let it bake for an hour, checking every 10 minutes to make sure the cake was rising the way it should be. What I saw each time was promising. It just rose and rose until the top was almost cresting the skillet's rim. Whoa!

But I'm happy to report the cake came out just fine! Take a peek for yourself:

I noticed the pineapple slices migrated quite a bit from the center during the baking process. Hmmm, will have to pack them in closer together next time, methinks. But overall the coloring and consistency came out just as I had hoped. Better yet, the skillet worked out perfectly! I never would have guessed. It does make me wonder what difference a cast-iron one might have made. I dunno.

But anyway, here is the final result:

Mmmmm. Doesn't that look simply scrumptious? Is your mouth watering yet? Maybe you'll want to click on that image to get a closer look? I know I for one can't wait to eat this! :)

I think next week I will try to make a pie for the very first time. Blueberry is my favorite, but I was thinking of going traditional American and making an apple pie as my first try. I will be making everything from scratch, including the crust. *meep* Wish me luck!

A Gaming Milestone

Now this is interesting!

My favorite indie game of the year, Journey, just got nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media." It goes up against a slew of excellent movies this voting season, including: Hugo, Tintin, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and The Dark Knight Rises. This marks the first time an entire album has ever been nominated based off an original video game soundtrack. And what makes it so cool for me is that I genuinely enjoy the heck out of this game! (And, yes, I've already downloaded it off iTunes, of course!)

Journey is a very simple, beautifully moving adventure released exclusively on the Playstation Network back on March 13th. It takes roughly 2 - 3 hours to complete and costs less that $15 to download from the Playstation Store. There is no dialogue. No guns. No fighting. No drawn-out cutscenes. You start out as a mysterious robed figure who's born out of a comet hitting the desert sands early one morning. From this point on you must guide this figure across the dunes on some unexplained quest that even he or she does not understand. Your only clue is a great big mountain peak rising up to the sky in the far distance. A bright beacon of light beckons to you from the summit of said peak, somehow drawing you forward. It's a journey, you see? One that will take you across great expanses and against sometimes impossible odds. And like all great journeys, it's not the destination that is important, but your experiences along the way that shape who you will become.

Journey also uses online play in a unique way which I totally enjoyed. If your PS3 is connected online, the game allows other players to intrude on your session. Now, "intrude" is perhaps too negative a connotation here. In Journey, random online players can appear in and out of your adventure at any time, offering to team up with you along the way if you so desire. You cannot speak to one another, or even see the other player's gamer tag (aka, user name). Your only form of communication is through a series of musical notes. Yeah, how rad is that? Somehow, some way--through carefully placed musical cues and the context of your actions--you and your companion can get the gist of things and work together toward a mutually beneficial goal. Which is, to reach your destination atop that mountain! On my first play through, I ended up buddying up with some guy from China randomly chosen by the game's servers. Because we could not speak to each other, and because there is no dialogue or text to read in the game itself, cultural and language barriers were never an issue. It's was all about the gameplay! Which, frankly, is how it should be.

Check out the trailer below for just a taste of the beauty and majesty this title brings:




Journey is a title that urges pure, unadulterated exploration and puzzle solving. What I loved so much about it is that most of the story is inferred by the gorgeous scenery and music. As such, the orchestral score is some of the most haunting, evocative pieces you'll ever hear. The type of score you'd expect from a deep, well-thought out foreign indie flick. Not a video game!

So it is no surprise to me that the score was nominated for such a top honor. The game's composer, Austin Wintory, did an outstanding job. Wow! And kudos to all the hard work from the members of the orchestra, especially the main cellist, Tina Guo. She's absolutely fantastic here!




I also love how much the scenery and colors draw you into this world. You start out with the golds and reds of the unending desert sands, move on to the muted greens of a sunken world, and eventually on to the drab blues and foamy whites of the snow-capped higher elevations . . . moving inexorably toward that bright light beckoning to you from afar. Along the way, as you successfully solve puzzle after puzzle with the aid of an online buddy, your robed protagonists gain wonderful abilities like incredible jumping height and even a form of flight. Given how much I love flying, you can only imagine how cool this was for me!

But perhaps the most thrilling aspect of the game comes early when you have to dune surf your way to the end of the stage. Yes, you read that correctly: dune surf. As in, surfing on sand instead of water! Or "sand skiing," if you want to get caught up in particulars.

I'll leave you all with this video of a German player's dune surfing session, which not only confers the sheer fun of this game, but the amazingly gorgeous visuals. Check out the lighting and spectrum shift when entering the terraced area of the ancient city. Jaw-dropping!




By the way, those energetic carpet bundles you see gliding through the air alongside your character, dipping below and above the sands like dolphins, are sentient helpers you had to rescue earlier. They assist you sometimes, lending magic to your depleting stores so that you can gain lift and maintain flight when you most need it.

Did I not mention this game is awesome? You should all play it sometime. It's a title anyone can pick up and enjoy.

Game of Thrones Looking Good For Next Season!

This will only matter to fans of Game of Thrones, I'm sure. But HBO aired this awesome Production Video last night which gives us our first real glimpse into what's in store for Season 3. Anyone who has read the books knows that the third novel--A Storm of Swords--is when things really get cracking. No joke! This book is the darkest, most violent, most shocking of them all thus far. And judging by this clip, it seems the show's producers are just as intent on capturing all this as we readers are in seeing it all come to our tv screens.

Check out the video for yourselves:




Emilia Clarke looks absolutely stunning in her brief interview (1:05 mark). Wow! And, who cannot be excited by our first on-set sightings of Jojen and Meera Reed (0:35 mark)? Last season I had speculated that we may never see the Reeds at all, since they should have shown up on the show by now. At the very least, I remember saying, only Meera would appear since Bran Stark seems to have taken on some of the role Jojen filled in the books. But, nope, both Reed siblings will arrive in season 3! I'm so excited.

Jojen is played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Love, Actually), while Meera is being portrayed by Ellie Kendrick (Upstairs Downstairs). Sharped-eyed viewers may also notice a pair of acting luminaries in this clip in the form of one Ciarán Hinds (Rome) playing "the King Beyond the Wall," Mance Rayder (1:46); and the incomparable Diana Rigg (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) taking on the role of the formidable Lady Olenna Redwyne, aka "the Queen of Thorns" of House Tyrell (0:54).

I love all the awesome talent, new and old, being poured into this fabulous show!

We still have a ways to go before Season 3 airs, unfortunately. Mark it on your calendars: March 31st! If you love the show but have not read the books, you're going to be in for one hell of a season. Damn!