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Saturday, 13 August 2016

"God Damn You All To Hell!"

I Hasten To Reassure You - 
This is a quote, not your humble scribe being a bit more liverish and unbalanced than usual, although THANK YOU for pondering the possibility.
     "What's he on about now?" I can hear you question.  "Because Strictly Ballroom Factor is on soon."
     Leaving aside your delightful ignorance of reality television, I shall propound.  Art? screenshot, please.
Ending of "Planet of the Apes", 1968 version
     Now, given that the film POTA is nearly 50 years old, I don't think I'm spoiling the surprise here by revealing that in this single, iconic moment, Chuck Heston's character realises that he's been on Earth all along.  That quote in the post title is what he condemns his human ancestors with.
     "WHAT!" I hear you shriek.  "I was just about to watch - I've not seen - the ending twist - my life now a mess of ashes ..."
     Yeah yeah yeah, get over it.  Besides, this is actually about "Game of Thrones".
     " - spoiled utterly, I'm so disapp - what?   When did this become about GoT?" I hear you mutter, in a puzzled tone.
     Okay, this needs a bit of background explanation.  I'm sure you're aware of the television phenomenon "Game Of Thrones", which to this actinic analyst appears to be the South Canadians making up for not having undergone a proper Middle Ages with castles and knights and dragons flagons.
     Simple question, long answer:  where is it set?
     No, no, not what the different lands call themselves.  What planet?
     Because it's certainly not planet Earth.  We don't have winters that last nine years, although to us in the Pond of Eden it might feel like that, and we certainly don't have summers that last more than five or six days weeks months - sorry, Pond of Eden meteorocentrism coming in there.
Image result for earth
Planet Earth.  Just so we're clear
     The geography is notably different, too:  no map of the Seven Kingdoms even approaches that of Earth, even if we go back to Gondwanaland and Laurasian times.  Art?
Image result for gondwanaland
Proof I am not raving
     There are other subtle pointers about this not being Earth - the dragons, for one thing.  And White Walkers.  And giants.
     Conrad freely admits he's not read the books, so I may be making things up from whole cloth here, but - well, will the ending have Ned Stark riding along a beach and coming across not the Statue of Liberty, but the rusting remains of an interstellar starship with the title "Kyrie Interstellar Neo-earth Group" with a plaque nearby about how they made their <ahem> Landing?
     Just curious.

The Beast, Unleashed
No!  Not the one from 20,000 fathoms.  That beast was a mere piker compared to the one Conrad is about to dissect.  In metaphor only, I hasten to reassure you: doing it in real life would mean Dave and Anna would never speak to me again, and I want at least one of them to be on talking terms* with me.
     Right, remember how of late I have been lambasting the hapless science fiction author Harlan Ellison?  Also - don't let me keep on jogging your memory, do some work on it yourself - remember that novel or story or title that I mentioned, "The Beast That Shouted Love At The Heart Of The World"?
Image result for the beast that
Yes, very arty.
Still DOOMED!
     I bet you know where this is going already: Conrad, the hair-splitting pedantic literalist, is going to look at this title seriously.
     How did you guess!  Quite right.  We will take the stance that the Heart Of The World is not a fuzzy fantasy paradise a la Jules Verne.
Image result for journey to the centre of the earth mushrooms
Not much room at the centre of the earth.
Do you see what - O you do.
     No.  No indeed.
     It is, in fact, a hellish region of molten iron at incredible temperatures, 54000C, and 3.5 million Atmospheres pressure.  So the beast would have to be born and bred of very stern stuff indeed: a DNA made up of Unobtanium and Neutronium, in fact.  It could shout as loudly as it liked, too, because it's not going to have an audience.  Plus, the ability of molten iron under pressure to conduct sound effectively is highly problematic.  Not only that, given the extreme durability of this subterrene monster, not to mention it's size, prolonged shouty behaviour would crack open planet earth like a dropped egg**.
     So, Harlan, a poetic and evocative title that DOOMS US ALL!  Thank you so much.
Image result for earth explosion
"Last boarding call for Lannister and Targaryen..."

Damme, already at limit!  Quick, throw in a few pictures to make things look better -

Image result for skateboarding duck
How fowl!
A skateboarding owl.


*  I leave you to decide which.  But it isn't Dave.  Sorry, Dave.
** Perhaps why the K.I.N.G. left in the first place?

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