Fighter

"Fighter" is one of the few Christina Aguilera songs that I truly like. It elaborates on the (Hungarian?) saying which means something like "that which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." One of our metaphor-manic prof said at university that Hungarians see life as a struggle, whereas for the American it is more like a succession of victories, and that this might have to do with the difference in their political history. Anyway, I take this song as a kind of motto for my life, though at the time I need it, I tend to believe it only half-heartedly.

I don't want to bother with the proceedings of my life, again, let's just say I'm still at home recovering or what. I woke up at 5.30 am. to go to my class driven by shame and worry for I didn't want the class to wake up and get there at 7 in vain. Of course I missed all the buses, so I had to wait in the bloody cold for 10+ minutes several times. It turned out that although I feel relatively okay now, and can even cook and wash up, I'm not fit to be out in the cold and to speak for a long time, which two seem inevitable for a teacher (in winter). So I cancelled my afternoon class (not many classes to cancel these days), and got back home to do what I've been doing for a week now, namely lying, sleeping, watching TV, checking my temperature, et cetera. Luckily, I am now able to concentrate on reading, so I'm not totally bored. On the other hand, the spring semester has started for my sister, so I'm sort of lonely.

Now, what we did in these last couple of days was watching the super-popular HBO series, Game of Thrones, in a marathon fashion, and I feel it deserves being written about. Originally, it was a book written in 1996 by a guy called George R. R. Martin (have you noticed that fantasy writers have these mysterious initials?). It is the first volume of an ongoing series called A Song of Ice and Fire (all the volumes have a possessive structure for some mysterious reason). So far, four volumes have been published, all of which have also been translated to Hungarian, and the writer is planning to go up to seven volumes (just checked, and the fifth one had already been published in the US). According to my boyfriend, he is quite old, so the fans are praying that he doesn't die before completing the series.

You see, my boyfriend and his family are really into fantasy, and that's how I got involved in this whole thing. Besides, the main character of season 1 is played by Sean Bean, the very same guy who played Vronsky, Odysseus, and Boromir. Other than that, he is known to play villains, such as IRA terrorists, and the like. But for me, he is the ultimate good bad guy (though unfortunately his hair looked greasy and unkempt in the series).

The story itself is both simple and complicated, but definitely enthralling. According to my boyfriend, it was the most popular series of 2011 in the US (though it's hard to imagine the viewers of Sex and The City or How I Met Your Mother engaged in discussions of the Game of Thrones). The main idea is that there is some fictious country, or rather world, in which all kinds of nations and creatures live (thank god there aren't many fantastic beings like werewolfs, vampires, and stuff). The main scene is called Westeros. There are seven kingdoms in Westeros, pretty much remnding me of English history. These belong to powerful families, who struggle to gain control over all of the seven kingdoms. These people all have something peculiar about them. For example, the Starks live on the North, and remind me of Vikings. The Lannisters are gold-haired and very rich, and remind me of the Arthurian legends.

At the beginning, Robert Baratheon is the king. His "hand" (a kind of governor or chancellor or what) dies, and that's why he seeks the help of his boyhood friend, Eddard Stark (played by sexy Sean Bean). The Starks are confronted with the queen's family, the Lannisters in a lot of issues, and the king is constantly torn between these forces. The king has several bastards, plus two brothers. In addition to them, the exile son and daughter of the previous king also have a rightful claim for the throne, as their father was killed in a coup.
As you might expect, the story is full of intrigue and betrayal, just like all stories about kingdoms and courts. Despite some difficult names one gets the taste of it after a few episodes, and I think it is indeed quite enjoyable. Other than Sean Bean the actors are not well-known (at least not yet), but the characters are exciting.

I wrote the above part on Monday, and now it's Tuesday. I woke up at about 11, then I ate probiotic yoghurt, drank green tea, and put garlic in my ears. I feel like some medicine man (woman) with all this witchcraft. If someone told me to dance in the moonlight in a headdress, I'm afraid I would do that, too, just to get better. And I'm even beginning to look like a witch, only I have acnes instead of warts.

So, back to the TV series. You will find all kinds of strange creatures in it, from nomadic horsemen to blue-eyed zombies (who remind me of the Dune-movies). You will find in it an alcoholic king, a spoilt prince, an incestuous queen, a gay knight, a witty dwarf, an honest bastard, a double tongued eunuch, a loyal whore, a girl who gives life to dragons, a mother who breastfeeds a seven-year-old, and much more.
It would be hard to say who my favourite character is. For my sister, it was easy to identify with Stark's young daughter, the pugnacious and principled Arya. I guess my favourite is Jon Snow, Stark's bastard, but it might be because of the actor's looks. And the sexiest actor above all is the Danish guy who plays Jamie Lannister. He looks great in his armor. It's a pity he's on the wrong side. Probably the most interesting character is Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf. He reads a lot, has a good sense of humor, enjoys life, and he is good-hearted, too. I just read that the actor, Peter Dinklage, actually won a Golden Globe for the portrayal of Tyrion. I checked the cast on IMDB and it is full of theatrical actors, outstanding Shakespeare actors, and what not. And it is internationally varied, too. No wonder the series was nominated for Emmy in 13 categories.
My boyfriend wants me to read the books, but I object to that because they are about a thousand pages long each, and I don't feel like spending so much time on fantasy. My sister has started the first volume, though, and I will see how she likes it. Anyway, I'm going to watch the episodes for sure (the next season is to be broadcasted soon). And I hope you, too.