Author Archives: bina007

VoK 70: Frozen [2013] (Review)

Posted on March 9, 2014 | 4 comments

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Join our (whatever the collective noun is for snowmen) of Vassals and special guest host Amin from A Podcast of Ice and Fire, to discuss Disney’s super-hit, the Oscar winning Frozen. We take a semi-serious look at the issues of feminism, LGBT rights and depictions of race in Disney.  We also take a not very serious look at whether Hans is gay, whether A Song of Ice and Fire could have a happy fairytale ending, and what kind of protection one might need in dating Elsa.

Naturally this is full of spoilers for Frozen, but also Mulan, Pocahontas, Brave and assorted other Disney princess movies.

Podcasters: Amin; Nadia; Bina; Duncan (Valkyrist); Julia (No True Lady); Michal (Inkasrain); Saad (Saad164); Zach (Alias) and Elena (Lady Grey).

Edited by Bina007 using excerpts of music from the wonderful, and now Oscar-winning, original soundtrack to the movie.

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VoK 67: LOTR ReRead (Part 6) – The War of the Ring

Posted on March 2, 2014 | Leave a comment

WitchKing

The Fellowship of Vassals record their best reread yet, covering the Siege of Minas Tirith; the Ride of the Rohirrim; and the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Naturally, this podcast is chock-full of spoilers for all of Tolkien’s works.

02:30 – White Raven recaps Chapters 1 (Minas Tirith) and Chapter 2 (The Grey Company).  Shellfish accuses Aragorn of being a usurper and MiddleCyclone accuses Gandalf of knowing less than the average Gondorian. Bina007 defends Eowyn’s decision to abandon her people and ride to war, and Nadia supports the manliness of archers.

35:00 – Shellfish recaps Chapter 3 (The Muster of Rohan), in which it is discusses how good orcs are at math; how scary it must be to watch people lay siege upon you; and the difference between Book and Movie Eomer.

50:20 – Teddard recaps Chapter 4 (The Siege of Gondor), including the attack from the Mordor Air Force. White Raven argues that Faramir is baked and Bina007 plays devil’s advocate for Denethor.

1:12:00 – Nadia recaps Chapter 5 (The Ride of the Rohirrim), inciting the mantra, “Theoden is magnificent here, but also really stupid”.

1:28:00 – Middlecyclone recaps Chapter 6 (The Battle of the Pelennor) Fields, the coolest chapter in perhaps ALL of literature. Fact! But we all have a bit of a rant about how the movie handles the Army of the Dead.

1:45:57 – Bina007 recaps Chapter 7 (The Pyre of Denethor), and discusses what would happen if an Eagle took the ring, and more seriously, the overtly religious nature of this chapter (and the twisted love Denethor has for Faramir).

Credits:
Edited by Bina007

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VoK 64: LOTR ReRead (Part 5) – Forum Feedback Discussion

Posted on February 17, 2014 | Leave a comment

Anduril

In this episode our Fellowship of Vassals takes a break from carrying the Ring into Mordor in order to discuss all the fantastic feedback the four previous episodes have had in the Podcast of Ice and Fire forums.

Podcasters: Shellfish (Peter), WhiteRaven (Brett), Teddard (Eddie), MiddleCyclone (Amanda), Scilens (Tanja) and Bina007 (also editing, using music from the Brobdingnanian Bards and Chicago.)

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VoK 62: LOTR ReRead (Part 4) – The Journey into Mordor

Posted on February 5, 2014 | Leave a comment

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Join our Fellowship of Vassals as they Journey Into Mordor, and discover that the much-dreaded Book Four of Lord of the Rings has more to it than just ‘more walking’.  Not least, many spoilers for all of Tolkien’s oeuvre.

 

  1. 02:45 Shellfish aka Peter describes The Taming of Smeagol, and his deep and abiding fascination for Elvish rope.
  2. 12:45 JoThirteen aka Joanna taks us through The Dead Marshes, and asks what exactly the magicks are that are preserving the bodies.
  3. 19:20 EastTexasDirewolf aka Shane leads us to The Black Gate, in which  we debate whether the black gate is, in fact, just a big gate.
  4. 28:40 Middlecylones aka Amanda speaks Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit in which we discuss  the coolness of armoured elephants.
  5. 45:30 Bina007 gasps in awe at Faramir in The Window On the West, and gets excited about how the Dalai Lama could use the Ring to take over India.
  6. 57:50 Teddard aka Eddie watches over The Forbidden Pool and asks if Frodo was a victim of creaking doors.
  7. 1:01:30 WhiteRaven aka Brett takes a Journey To The Crossroads, in which there are some cool staves and a Venn diagram of doucheyness.
  8. 1:04:45 Nadia leads us into Cirith Ungol and Shelob’s Lair where we discuss Orc technology, Beren and Luthien and whether Frodo is Lord of the Rings.
  9. 1:19:00 Shellfish aka Peter describes the Choices of Master Samwise, as Frodo continues his habit of being stabbed by new and exotic things, this time off-screen, and Shelob Occupies Wall Street
  10. 1:30:00 Outro.

 

Editing credits: Bina007 using music from the original soundtrack to The Two Towers composed by Howard Shore.

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VoK 60: LOTR ReRead (Part 3) – The Treason of Isengard

Posted on February 1, 2014 | 1 comment

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The ongoing quest to re-read Tolkien’s fantasy classic continues as the Fellowship of Vassals tackles Book Three of Lord of the Rings aka The Treason of Isengard.

In this  third episode, Nadia, Eiffel aka Matt, Shellfish aka Peter, Amanda aka MiddleCyclones,  Joanna aka JoThirteen, Brett aka Whiteraven and Bina007 enumerate their love for all things Rohan!

Beware of Spoilers: This podcast discusses Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and the Silmarillion in detail.

00:00 Introduction to the Fellowship and Bina’s geeky key stats.

05:00 JoThirteen leads a discussion on Chapter One – The Departure of Boromir – Should this chapter have been in the previous book? How were orcs and trolls made? Why does Aragorn keep Boromir’s betrayal secret?

13:00 Eiffel leads a discussion of Chapters Two and Five – The Riders of Rohan and The White Rider – Is Saruman deliberately trying to look like Gandalf? How come Gimli is happy to ‘ride bitch’? Is Aragorn every funny? Does Gandalf know about the Entmoot? Is it weird that Saruman is abroad before battle?

49:00 Whiteraven leads a discussion of Chapters Three and Four – The Uruk-Hai and Treebeard – is cutting off a hand harder than swinging a sword? Poor Orcs! Did the movie misrepresent Ents?  What happened to the Entwives?

1:05:00 MiddleCyclones leads a discussion of Chapter Six – The King In The Golden Hall – in which we express our Hama-love for seemingly hours; Theoden compared to Mufasa and/or the Arthurian Fisher-King;  why do they let Wormtongue go?

1:22:00 Nadia leads a discussion of Chapter Seven – Helm’s Deep – Do the movies rob Treebeard and Theoden of their agency? The Elves show up! Erkenbrand doesn’t! The absurdity of Aragorn parlaying with the Orcs!

1:45:00 Bina007 leads a discussion of Chapters Eight and Nine – The Road to Isengard and Flotsam and Jetsam – On the new no-nonsense Gandalf the White and the importance of chilling out.

1:54:00 Shellfish leads a discussion of Chapter Ten – The Voice of Saruman and Chapter Eleven – The Palantir – what is the nature of Saruman’s power? Would Theoden have fallen?  How Theoden has all the best lines. Does Saruman know Gandalf has the Ring? Was Saruman always bad? Is it credible that Gandalf doesn’t know about the Palantir?

Edited by Bina007 using extracts of music from the official soundtrack to The Two Towers composed by Howard Shore.

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VoK 52: LOTR ReRead (Part 2) – The Fellowship of the Ring

Posted on January 4, 2014 | Leave a comment

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Join our doughty Fellowship of Podcasters as they level up and discuss Tolkien’s high fantasy novel at almost as slow a pace as Frodo’s quest to destroy the Ring.

In this second episode, Teddard, Nadia, Shellfish and Bina007 discuss the events of Book Two of The Fellowship of The Ring: The Journey of the Nine Companions / The Ring Goes South.

Beware of Spoilers: This podcast discusses Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and the Silmarillion in detail.

02:00 Nadia leads a discussion on Books 1-2, Many Meetings and The Council of Elrond, in which we debate whether:

  • The Elf Bard is the “asshole of the year”
  • Sauron shows his hand in sending an emissary to the dwarves
  • Gandalf sends Balin into Moria for no reason at all

47:45  Shellfish leads a discussion on Books 3-6:  The Ring Goes South, A Journey In the Dark, and The Bridge of Khazad-Dum, in which we discuss

  • Which fantasy sword has the coolest name
  • Whether Legolas is a jerk (Shellfish has a beef with Elves)
  • Frodo’s hobby of “getting stabbed by new and exotic things”
  • Whether the Balrog has wings

1:13:55 Teddard leads a discussion on Books 7-8: Lothlorien and the Mirror of Galadriel:

  • “there seems to be this bird called Galadriel, and she seems to be quite important”
  • Is Sauron drawing Frodo toward the Mirror of Galadriel?
  • Is Nadia the Samwise Gamgee of Vassals of Kingsgrave?

1:23:00 Bina007 leads a discussion on Books 9-10:  The Great River & The Breaking of the Fellowship in which we discuss:

  • Tolkien clearly not caring as much about food as George R R Martin
  • Yet more Legolas hate from Shellfish
  • And accusations that Elrond is basically incompetent in how he sets up the Fellowship!
  • The nature of Boromir’s corruption.

1:40:00 Closing thoughts on Book Two and a special song for Shellfish.

Credits:
Edited by Bina007 using music from the  Brobdingnangian Bards’ album Memories of Middle Earth.

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Links:
Tom Shippey’s book Tolkien: The Author Of The Century

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VoK 50: LOTR ReRead (Part 1) – The Return of the Shadow

Posted on December 25, 2013 | 1 comment

Book Cover

Join our doughty Fellowship of Podcasters as they level up and discuss Tolkien’s high fantasy novel at almost as slow a pace as Frodo’s quest to destroy the Ring.

In this first episode, EastTexasDirewolf, Teddard, Nadia, Shellfish, Eiffel and Bina007 discuss the events of Book One of The Fellowship of The Ring: The First Journey/The Ring Sets Out.

Beware of Spoilers: This podcast discusses Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and the Silmarillion in detail.

00:00 Introductions – how we got into the books

08:00 How we rate Fellowship compared to the other two volumes and whether we faff about too much with Tom Bombadil

12:00 EastTexasDirewolf leads a discussion of the The Prologue and Chapters 1-6 (Frodo finally leaves the shire and runs into elves, black riders and Tom Bombadil).  We debate:

  • whether Tolkien’s directions are a bit Quaithe-y;
  • whether pipeweed is in fact weed;
  • the endearing xenophobia of hobbits;
  • Gandalf as the Doran of Middle Earth;
  • whether Gollum eats babies;
  • the alleged creepiness of Sam and Frodo’s friendship;
  • whether Fatty Bolger is bonkers or a badass;
  • and the nature of the evil in the forest.

41:00 Eiffel leads a discussion of Chapters 7-12 in which we discuss:

  • the nature of wights;
  • Tom Bombadil’s mad pick-up lines;
  • how Gandalf is susceptible to the Ring;
  • how the Black Riders are weaksauce;
  • the misremembered tactical idiocy of going to Weathertop;
  • how far Frodo has free will;
  • the insane badassery of Glorfindel;
  • how Elves are kind of Cylon-y – hobbits not so much;
  • what’s the use of gods anyway?

1:20:00 Final thoughts on Book One.

Credits:
Edited by Bina007

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Links:
The Tolkien Professor

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VoK 25: Star Wars

Posted on October 9, 2013 | 2 comments

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Join our ramshackle crew of rebels as they go up against the evil galactic empire and discuss all things Star Wars, rage against special edition edits and the prequels, and show some love for Chewie and Bobba Fett.  Naturally, there are spoilers for all Star Wars movies, as well as the expanded universe, and some tangential spoilers for George R R Martin’s A Song Of Ice and Fire.

Running order:

00:00  Introduction

21m:  A New Hope

49m: Empire Strikes Back

1hr 10: Return of the Jedi

1hr 30: The Prequels; the new movies; the extended universe

2hrs: Aftershow – One Night, Marry, Frozen In Carbonite; Who’s the biggest badass?; who’s the biggest dumbass?; who do characters resemble in ASOIAF?

Credits: Edited by Bina007 with music taken from the official soundtrack albums of the movies, which are also available on iTunes.

Episode 25:

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VoK 21: The Wire (HBO series)

Posted on September 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

The best TV show ever made?

The best TV show ever made?

Join our four guest hosts for a spoiler-filled explicit discussion of HBO’s seminal TV series The Wire, as well as all things A Song Of Ice and Fire.  Mordion aka Michael, Valkyrist aka Duncan, The Parsnip Knight aka Will and Bina007 aka Bina take a critical look at each of the five seasons in turn, before a more light-hearted after-show discussion.

Running order:

00:00  Introduction to the hosts, how we found the show, season ranking and favourite characters.

13:00 Season One –  The pOlice start to investigate the Barksdale crew and we discuss how The Wire measures up to standard cop shows; the character development of Prezbo and Daniels; and the who we were rooting for.

26:00 Season Two – Union leader Frank Sobotka tries to keep the dockworkers in business by making a deal with “The Greek”.  We also discuss how The Wire tackles female characters, equal opportunities for white drug dealers, and whether Ziggy or Herc is the biggest idiot.

46:40 Season Three  – We discuss the pros and cons of Bunny Colvin’s Hamsterdam plan, the comedy of drug dealers recognising the chair in co-op debates, and the tragedy of the rivalry between Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale.

1:10:40  Season Four – The Wire delves into the parlous state of public education in Baltimore as Prezbo becomes a teacher and we debate how far Chris is a “bad guy” and why The Wire didn’t achieve the commercial success of shows like Mad Men, let alone Game of Thrones.

1:38:40 Season Five – We discuss how plausible the McNutty storyline is, and whether the journalism story is too rushed for its own good.

1:50:00  Aftershow –  In which we discuss who the biggest badass of the show is, who the biggest dumbass is, and whether Herc would be a gentle lover, Stringer Bell would cuddle, whether you can say “shiiiiiiiit!” in an English accent and which characters in The Wire resemble characters from A Song Of Ice and Fire.

Credits: Edited by Bina007 with music taken from the soundtrack album “…All the pieces matter – Five years of music from The Wire.”

Episode 21:

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Links:
The Aidan Gillan Game Of Thrones/Wire Mash-Up Video

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