Supreme Court of Westeros, ruling 51

Thursday is court day!

Welcome to the Supreme Court of Westeros! Every week, three pressing questions from the community will be answered by the esteemed judges Stefan (from your very own Nerdstream Era) and Amin (from A Podcast of Ice and Fire). The rules are simple: we take three questions, and one of us writes a measured analysis. The other one writes a shorter opinion, either concurring or dissenting. The catch is that every week a third judge from the fandom will join us and also write a dissenting or concurring opinion. So if you think you're up to the task - write us an email to stefan_sasse@gmx.de, leave a comment in the post, ask in the APOIAF-forum or contact Amin at his tumblr. Discussion is by no means limited to the court itself, though - feel free to discuss our rulings in the commentary section and ask your own questions through the channels above.

One word on spoilers: we assume that you read all the books, including the Hedge Knight short stories, and watched the current TV episodes. We don't include the spoiler chapters from various sources in the discussion, with the notable exception of Theon I, which was supposed to be in "A Dance with Dragons" anyway.

And now, up to ruling 51 of the Supreme Court of Westeros! Our guest judge this week is James Ranson, an itinerant wordsmith on an indefinite road trip and the founding editor and chief word coach at heldforranson.com. He is also a TEDx speaker coach, all-purpose tenor, professional writer/speaker/provider of feedback, and giver of amazing hugs. James discovered A Song of Ice and Fire in 1998, served two years as a moderator in the online community Westeros Sorting, was a founding attendee at Ice & Fire Con, and proudly serves House Lannister in all his endeavors. Connect with him on heldforranson.com and @HeldForRanson. 

A Flight of Links

- How we got trolled by the dishonest fascists of Gamergate.
- Sean T. Collins interviewd Anita Sarkeesian
- Compare Iron Man throughout all MCU trailers. 
- MovieBob reviews Fury. 
- Bound women: why games better don't put in a damsel
- Chapter by Chapter: Tyrion IV
- Beyond Earth review
- Yathtzee about storytelling in Shadows of Mordor
- How the Golem went from Jewish myth to D&D monster
-18 weird German words that really exist (I knew all but two :))
- Ten Germans trying to say "squirrel"
- Yahtzee reviews Alien: Isolation 
- io9 review of the same
- You can fit every planet of the Solar System between earth and moon
- Ambition

Supreme Court of Westeros, ruling 50

Thursday is court day!

Welcome to the Supreme Court of Westeros! Every week, three pressing questions from the community will be answered by the esteemed judges Stefan (from your very own Nerdstream Era) and Amin (from A Podcast of Ice and Fire). The rules are simple: we take three questions, and one of us writes a measured analysis. The other one writes a shorter opinion, either concurring or dissenting. The catch is that every week a third judge from the fandom will join us and also write a dissenting or concurring opinion. So if you think you're up to the task - write us an email to stefan_sasse@gmx.de, leave a comment in the post, ask in the APOIAF-forum or contact Amin at his tumblr. Discussion is by no means limited to the court itself, though - feel free to discuss our rulings in the commentary section and ask your own questions through the channels above.

One word on spoilers: we assume that you read all the books, including the Hedge Knight short stories, and watched the current TV episodes. We don't include the spoiler chapters from various sources in the discussion, with the notable exception of Theon I, which was supposed to be in "A Dance with Dragons" anyway.

And now, up to ruling 50 of the Supreme Court of Westeros! As a surprise feature for our 50th anniversary, we have two guest judges this week. John Spinella is a member of the community. Travis A. is a fan of A Podcast of Ice and Fire and contributor to the offshoot Vassals and Bastards of Kingsgrave podcasts.  You can follow him at @travisotraviso for random musings on Game of Thrones, beer, and Destiny.

A Flight of Links

- 10 grammar mistakes that aren't
- The Future of the Culture Wars is here, and it's Gamergate. Read this.
- Heartwrenching trailer of the new Civ game
- Will Marvel adapt the Civil War storyline?
-  Final verdict of RPS on Shadows of Mordor
- And the one of Yahtzee
- Wanna know what happens when three expert fighters take on 50 novices? 
- Yet another example of Gamergate violence misfiring spectacularily 
- A documentation of 4chan harassment in Gamergate. 

- Shadow of Mordor is an infantile revenge fantasy. Can't stress that enough; true of so many games.

Supreme Court of Westeros, ruling 49

Thursday is court day!

Welcome to the Supreme Court of Westeros! Every week, three pressing questions from the community will be answered by the esteemed judges Stefan (from your very own Nerdstream Era) and Amin (from A Podcast of Ice and Fire). The rules are simple: we take three questions, and one of us writes a measured analysis. The other one writes a shorter opinion, either concurring or dissenting. The catch is that every week a third judge from the fandom will join us and also write a dissenting or concurring opinion. So if you think you're up to the task - write us an email to stefan_sasse@gmx.de, leave a comment in the post, ask in the APOIAF-forum or contact Amin at his tumblr. Discussion is by no means limited to the court itself, though - feel free to discuss our rulings in the commentary section and ask your own questions through the channels above.

One word on spoilers: we assume that you read all the books, including the Hedge Knight short stories, and watched the current TV episodes. We don't include the spoiler chapters from various sources in the discussion, with the notable exception of Theon I, which was supposed to be in "A Dance with Dragons" anyway.

And now, up to ruling 49 of the Supreme Court of Westeros! Our guest judge this week is Paul. He is known as Pod's Plight on the APOIAF forums where he enjoys dabbling in artistic pursuits via MS Paint drawings. He is also an occasional contributor to Vassals of Kingsgrave.

A Flight of Links

- The three lives of Blizzard
- Civ: Beyond Earth
- Culture wars are back, and we can win

- Stop supporting Gamergate

- Robin Hood expanded universe? Seriously? 
- Dracula goes full ISIS on the muslims 
- Moviebob's take
- Birdman movie, totally happening
- 10 types of apocalypses and what they mean
- 12 technologies we need to develop
- New TOTT essay
- Creature Feature: Alien
- Great anti-harassment ad
- Dredd is back
- Best Fall movies
- Past the Koolaid point
-  Middleaged white men making bad movies
- On secret Targaryens

Supreme Court of Westeros, ruling 48

Thursday is court day! This week, however, problems arose. Sorry for that.

Welcome to the Supreme Court of Westeros! Every week, three pressing questions from the community will be answered by the esteemed judges Stefan (from your very own Nerdstream Era) and Amin (from A Podcast of Ice and Fire). The rules are simple: we take three questions, and one of us writes a measured analysis. The other one writes a shorter opinion, either concurring or dissenting. The catch is that every week a third judge from the fandom will join us and also write a dissenting or concurring opinion. So if you think you're up to the task - write us an email to stefan_sasse@gmx.de, leave a comment in the post, ask in the APOIAF-forum or contact Amin at his tumblr. Discussion is by no means limited to the court itself, though - feel free to discuss our rulings in the commentary section and ask your own questions through the channels above.

One word on spoilers: we assume that you read all the books, including the Hedge Knight short stories, and watched the current TV episodes. We don't include the spoiler chapters from various sources in the discussion, with the notable exception of Theon I, which was supposed to be in "A Dance with Dragons" anyway.

And now, up to ruling 48 of the Supreme Court of Westeros! Our guest judge this week is Calvin (aka KCenturion), he is the copy editor for encyclopedia entries on Tower of the Hand. He lives in the UK and is one of the regular members of the APOIAF CockneyMoots. You can also follow him on Twitter @CassiusGren.

#Gamergate is not one debate, but two. Plus, it's a culture war.

In my latest post linking to Sarkeesian's latest video, I talked about her and the other "Social Justice Warriors" winning the fight. One reader then asked me the following: 

Stefan, i'm wondering where you're getting your sources on GamerGate because i've seen lots of one sided pieces on each side of the aisle and as someone without a dog in this fight I have to say that a lot of the feminists sites like some of the posts you've linked to don't talk about any of the negative things there side are doing. There supporters have done plenty of doxxing, threatening and throwing there weight around as well. I'm not even a video game player anymore but i've found this whole saga interesting. Anyway, read this interview today with developer Brad Wardell and I think it's one of the few examples of someone able to talk about the plusses and minuses of each side.

I initially wrote a comment, but my argument grew longer, and so I'm making a blog post about it. Advantage if you're the owner of the damn thing, I know. ;) So, on to the argument.

Video: Anita Sarkeesian at XOXO

Don't know, but from my vantage point, her communication strategy seems pretty clever to me and, above all, working. I can't see her as finished, and despite the partial success of the #Gamergate crowd in their boycotting of critical media by bullying Intel into withdrawing ad money (shame on you, Intel) I also don't see the backlashreaching any point (yet) at which the industry as a whole would disavow her. Despite Intel's appalling behavior, and of course the not even debatable degeneration of the Gamergaters, the paradigm shift Sarkeesian talks about is happening, and the elites that matter (as in popculture critics and developers) have flocked to the cause in droves. They are notably absent on the #Gamergate side of things, which consists mostly of the fanbase itself and many of the traditional video games review sites and magazines. The irony of this is, of course, that the #Gamergate people, who claim to attack corruption in the video game industry, have thrown their lot in hook, line and sinker with exactly those elements of the business that are known to be the most susceptible to corruption and getting influences by the industry they maintain way too close ties with. 

Video after the break.

A Flight of Links

- David Fincher will direct the whole first season of HBO's new mystery series "Utopia". Count me mildly intrigued.
- Destiny wants your money
- Ask Polly: Am I shallow? I love how she draws the connection to pop culture tropes. Spot on.
- Twilight comes back. Yay?
- The Angry Birds movie catches a ridiculously good cast. 
- Wot I think: Shadows of Mordor
- Don't know whether this looks intriguing. Strange. 
- Watch this brillant fake Tetris trailer
- Why does your voice sound different on recording? 
- Bill Nye predicts the end of Creationism. Let's hope he's right.
- Symbols and Stories in Westeros
- Mathematical calculation which GOT POV dies next
- Laci Green interviewed on TV
- Amazon has a disclaimer for Tom and Jerry for being racist. More of this, please.
- How the Vampire became less frightening. 
- Ice Age maps
- 23 years after its release, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves doesn't hold up. Maybe, but I fucking liked that movie.
- Alien: Isolation reviews here, here and here
- Throwdown: Alien vs. Aliens 
- Collected Information about TWOW 
- This GamerGate-crowd really sucks ass. 

Supreme Court of Westeros, ruling 47

Thursday is court day! 

Welcome to the Supreme Court of Westeros! Every week, three pressing questions from the community will be answered by the esteemed judges Stefan (from your very own Nerdstream Era) and Amin (from A Podcast of Ice and Fire). The rules are simple: we take three questions, and one of us writes a measured analysis. The other one writes a shorter opinion, either concurring or dissenting. The catch is that every week a third judge from the fandom will join us and also write a dissenting or concurring opinion. So if you think you're up to the task - write us an email to stefan_sasse@gmx.de, leave a comment in the post, ask in the APOIAF-forum or contact Amin at his tumblr. Discussion is by no means limited to the court itself, though - feel free to discuss our rulings in the commentary section and ask your own questions through the channels above.

One word on spoilers: we assume that you read all the books, including the Hedge Knight short stories, and watched the current TV episodes. We don't include the spoiler chapters from various sources in the discussion, with the notable exception of Theon I, which was supposed to be in "A Dance with Dragons" anyway.

And now, up to ruling 47 of the Supreme Court of Westeros! Our guest judge this week is Alix C, a show-watcher turned book-reader, forum member of Podcast of Ice and Fire and occasional speaker on Vassals of Kingsgrave. You can find her on tumblr at brownwizardofwesteros.tumblr.com.

Review: Noah

Warning: Spoilers for "Noah" ahead. Seriously, I'll spoil the whole movie. 

I finally got around to watch "Noah". I have found this to be a really, really disturbing experience. "Noah" is the weirdest piece of movie I saw since "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", and it left me deeply unsettled. The imagery, the story and the characters all align into something that doesn't fit any category, and the movie switches with ease between different genres, watching first some post-apocalyptic flic, then reenacting the battle of Helm's Deep before we get "The Shining 2" aboard the Ark. So why is this, and does it work?

This! Is! Noah!