January, 2006 Tar Valon Times
January Tar Valon Times
Rhed al'Tere, Editor
al'Cary Mandoragon, Assistant Editor
Letter From the Editor
Rhed al'Tere
Happy New Year's and all that jazz. 2006 is here, and I am late. Again. (Or is it as usual by this time? Does it matter? Nah, didn't think so.) Well, there's plenty I can blame. A rollicking New Year's party in St. Louis helped. Especially when I lost track of what day it was. And a visit to the vet; my cat was spayed and declawed and I had to nurse her back to health. Not to mention being at my parents' house for a few weeks-my brain was zapped and couldn't hold important information like deadlines for the TVT.
But that's not important. What's important is that this is another wonderful edition of the Tar Valon Times. George R. R. Martin's new book A Feast for Crows is reviewed by al'Cary Gaidin, Narnia is reviewed by Valadilene Sedai, and New Year's resolutions are handed out by Dart. Jaim Gaidin, Captain of the Guard, responds to al'Cary's article in the December TVT. Anyone who would like to respond to something in the TVT or something on TarValon.net is welcome to send an email to news@tarvalon.net.
Enjoy.
A Review of A Feast for Crows
al'Cary Mandoragon
A Feast For Crows, the fourth installment in George R. R. Martin's epic A Song Of Ice And Fire series was released after much anticipation from fans around the world, except for some odd reason in Australia, where a total of 2 bookstores nationwide seem to stock it. Martin is seen by many people to be one of the most brilliant modern fantasy authors, and A Feast For Crows faced massive expectations.
To be honest, the book didn't really meet them. It had a few problems which undermined its chances of continuing the utterly brilliant standard Martin has created. The first was, as every reader worked out to their chagrin, the vast majority of interesting characters played little to no part. The second problem was that few of the plot lines advanced significantly. It seemed to be a book dedicated to building up things to come rather than one of resolving things. Finally, Martin seems to be following in Robert Jordan's footsteps and opening new storylines left right and centre.
That being said, the book was still very good. Martin has a unique ability to evoke emotional responses from readers concerning characters. Seeing Cersei from a first person perspective, for example, evokes a lot of emotion. His characters retain their amazingly realistic nature, perhaps the only current fantasy series to truly do so. These characters hold these books together, which it was why it was such a blow to see so many left out.
The tangle of new storylines was also done reasonably well. All of them appear to have a purpose, and they appear to be going places, and the nice thing about Martin is that you know he isn't afraid to end them. Terminally.
One word of warning about these books: don't start reading with a dislike for graphic imagery and strong language or with any moral hang ups. The language is blatantly foul, and some of the happenings are a bit odd, to say the least. In my opinion this adds to the interest and realism of the series, but potential readers beware.
In the end, the book was a filler, developing the story for the hopefully action-filled future. It speaks volumes about Martin's ability as an author that he managed to make it such a great read.
Movie Review: Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Valadilene Aldieb
Finishes wiping her eyes and blowing her nose before typing. What can I say...WOW. Yup, wow...that'll do it! Is still in a state of shock and awe.
Okay, seriously, I went to see Chronicles of Narnia with Dracaenaa Sedai over the weekend. We were worried because we love the stories soooooo very much and the original movies just didn't make all our dreams come true. Personally, I was worried that the animation would suck and that the acting/costumes/characters wouldn't be believable. Well, I was completely wrong on all counts!
This movie captured my heart of hearts when it comes to Narnia. Not a thing was left out! I swear the dialogue was taken directly from the books. Even the White Witch was believable. There wasn't an ounce of the Wizard of Oz anywhere to be found.
I do have to say though, that the battle scenes were pretty intense and I can definitely see it as being very scary for smaller kids. So please use your better judgement if you are thinking of taking your little ones! Otherwise, if you haven't seen the movie yet, get your rear-end out there and pay your $7.50 to see the thing! It's totally worth it!
Is Your Sig Too Long?
Rhed al'Tere
When I browse through the forums and read select threads-very select these past few weeks, thanks to a slow internet connection-I notice every now and again that a few people have ginormous signatures. At times, the signatures overwhelm the thread and any content that may have value is lost in a parade of tickerfactory.com or emoticons or lines and lines and lines of text.
Since the Red Ajah was relieved of the duty of policing sigs and avatars, community admins were put in charge of watching the people in their domain. However, when it falls to the Mistress of Novices to check all the novices' sigs and for the Mayor and her assistants to watch all the citizens' sigs, it quickly becomes ridiculous.
So the question remains, how to control sigs? Well, the admins have a novel idea about personal responsibility or some such crazy thing. Who on TarValon.net would ever take responsibility for their own sig? Makes no sense if you ask me.
According to the Constitution, which everyone is required to read and understand before becoming a member, "Signature blocks must not be excessively wide, nor should they by excessively long or possess flashing logos or scrolling text. Banners must be *.gif or *.jpg and may not exceed 350x100 pixels. There may be up to two lines of text in a signature with a banner."
It is understood that the Constitution is a set of guidelines; after all, this is the internet and no one can completely control someone else. We should hold ourselves to the spirit of the Constitution; that is, respect other members. When sigs have more content than a post, we get frustrated. Please, check your sig. Keep within reasonable guidelines. Respect other members.
Letter to the Editor
Jaim al'Bearach
Dear Editor,
I read with great amusement the article by al'Cary Gaidin in the December TVT on the current state of the Garrison, and as he so rightly pointed out, busy as I am, I took the time out from my non-existent life to write this letter. :look
Much of what was written in al`Cary's article was and is true. The Garrison has been in trouble for a long long time. The admins on the site recognised this, and they have been trying to turn the corner and improve things. I was a Recruit myself and I remember all too clearly how glad I was when I was no longer confined to posting in the Garrison. What a shame to feel relief at not having to be part of a particular area of this wonderful place we call home. Whilst I understand that al`Cary has presented his article in a humourous and fun way, he has actually raised some serious issues, which I feel cannot and should not go unnoticed, as they concern all of the male members of Tar Valon. So, if you can bear with me a little longer, I'll go into them in more detail. "Can one man shoulder the entire burden?" al`Cary asked. Well the answer is no! Yes, I'm the Captain, yes I do the administrative work and yes the buck stops with me. But, the Garrison is a part of the Tower that belongs to all the male members of Tar Valon. So in my mind, they all have a responsibility to help it flourish, take pride in their home within Tar Valon, and only by working together can we help the Garrison fulfill the potential that it has. To that end, the door of my office is always open for any suggestions that will involve the Recruits and Soldiers and give them things to do, improve the Garrison, etc. "There are other promising signs however," al`Cary stated. Yes, we've stolen some ideas that seem to work well in Novice Hallways and so far they've had a positive effect on the Garrison:
1) The quarters we've assigned have given the Recruits and Soldiers their own place to call home. It might not seem much to those accustomed to seeing the Novice Hallways, but for the Garrison this was a huge step.
2) Darim Gaidin contributed a wonderful signature for the new Recruits to wear, it gives them a sense of belonging in my mind, confirmation that they are truly part of the Tower now. A wonderful idea and I'm pleased to see many of the Recruits using it.
3) The Companies are contributing in the Gatehouse, each has its own thread. This is good, because it gives the Recruits a place to ask their questions and to get to know the Company members to help decide where they ultimately want to be.
4) We've cleared out the backlog of unassigned Mentors and many of the Gaidin have taken a Mentee for the first time, whilst other Gaidin have more than one Recruit. This is a good sign, because it shows commitment and a willingness to help others who are starting on the path they themselves have travelled. It also reaffirms our commitment to the Recruits to provide them all the assistance that they need during their journey to become a Soldier and ultimately Gaidin.
There are other administrative things that go on behind the scenes, and unless you're an admin, you don't know they are there. Monthly reports are now being written and submitted. All this helps the Garrison become what it potentially could be and to provide Mother and other admins with feedback on what's actually going on in the Garrison.
Are we there yet? No, I don't think so, I think we're at the beginning. We've made progress and it's good. Change is sometimes hard, but in this instance I think it's positive change. We have a long way to go. But together, the Gaidin, Soldiers, Recruits and myself will get there! Can this all be attributed to me ? No, certainly not; I'm just there holding the fort. The Garrison is bigger than any one man. It's with the help of many many people in Tar Valon that we've been able to make these changes. They deserve full credit for what they've helped do and long may they continue to do so.
In closing, I wish to agree with al`Cary's proposal to hold a composing contest throughout the whole Garrison. The goal is to compose a superhero theme song for my personal use involving as many kilt and kilt paraphernalia references as possible. The only condition I have for this request is that al`Cary compose the opening verse!
New Year's Resolutions
Dart Marouvin
Pigs will fly before I stop eating them and chocolate will become the new tofu before I give it up. I don't watch television, so that's out, and I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. In other words, the most typical New Year's Resolutions are more or less unachievable for me. Which is why, in the spirit of the resolve-to-change-life-for-the-better-holidays, I am composing a list of resolutions that aren't for me, but rather for other people, fictional characters and groups. One is for a month.
-Robert Jordan should learn to write faster. Much faster.
-My state senators should award me a larger-than-life college scholarship.
-Rand al'Thor should invest in life insurance, or at least health insurance. No matter how high the premiums.
-My editor, Adriana Sedai, should torture me or otherwise make my life miserable for missing my deadline.
-Steve Jobs of Apple should award me an iPod because...okay, so there's no real reason for him to give me an iPod. Of course there's also no real reason for him not to, so....
-Cher should not go on a seventh farewell tour.
-July-and my 18th birthday-should hurry up and get here.
-Everyone should NOT go see Cheaper by the Dozen 2, in hopes of preserving brain cells.
-My cats should stop shedding hair on my lap while I write this.
-Cadsuane herself should learn how to laugh, cry and knit.
-TOR Fantasy should stop making size adjustments when printing paperback Wheel of Time books; if Crossroads of Twilight isn't as long as Fires of Heaven, they shouldn't enlarge the print so that the paperback book is as big or bigger.
-Gaidal Cain should get plastic surgery.
-The words "Read and Find Out" should be banished forever from Robert Jordan's vocabulary.
-The "enter" key on my computer should stop sticking.
-Bela should get a chapter in the final book Wheel of Time book written from her perspective.
