I really like the training and racing scenes (although that broken leg was horrifying. Did they rally need to go there in the very first episode? That this is a show that puts down a horse on screen so soon is giving me pause about whether it's something I really want to watch). The gambling bits are okay but not an inherently interesting subject for me.So, I don't know, but the DVR has instructions to record the series.

But nobody thinks Brian is real, though, right?

Correct.

I'm "reading" Jeff Lindsay's "Dexter is Delicious" on books on CD; he narrates, and wow is he terrific - one of the best author-reads ever. I've read the others in print. He's droll, his voice is very well modulated, and the writing has always been very good. I think maybe he used to act, might have read that back-when. Anyway, listening to Lindsay makes me give M.C. Hall less credit for Dex's character in voice-over than I used to.

The plot in the tv show diverged from the books a long time ago. Things look dismal for the show right now; this last season was pretty bad.

Fired from "Boardwalk Empire"

Paz de la Huerta. Raise your hand if you are surprised.

Is that not a spoiler?

(Not surprised)

I've caught bits and pieces of that show, from a bunch of different episodes, and never seen her in it. But I have seen the stories of her being drunk, etc.

ita,

I'm not sure it is. If you watched through the season finale I think it was implied she wasn't coming back any time soon.

I was left with the impression we weren't going to see her again.

I don't watch Boardwalk Empire, but I'm enjoying the AV Club's take on it:

In yet more promising casting news for the third season of Boardwalk Empire, TV Line reports that the show has added “The Complete Absence of Paz de la Huerta” to its ensemble, who will fill the dead air once occupied by Paz de la Huerta.

I've never seen it myself, but I really do love reading people harsh on her. I get the impression that whether or not she's good in it, it's the least stupid way people get to see her look.

I heard terrible things about her behavior on the set of BE. just terrible things. It might have been here, but since I read that shit, I kind of hope her careers dies in flames.

Westeros got an advanced copy of the GoT blu-ray. They said the first thing they looked at was the History of Westeros section:

The various segments, covering selected parts of the history of Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms, are read by a number of different actors, speaking a their characters. Our favorites? Charles Dance’s phlegmatic Tywin on the Night’s Watch (“Fairy tales”) and the Mad King, and Harry Lloyd as Viserys on everything he reads, because he absolutely projects his character and the writing is especially good when you get his very warped sense of recent Targaryen history. Other reads include Isaac Hampstead-Wright as Bran, Michelle Fairley as Catelyn, Richard Madden as Robb, Mark Addy as Robert, and Donald Sumper as Maester Luwin.

The best part of these segments is the ones where multiple characters provide different takes on events, such as the Sack of King’s Landing, which feels appropriate to the setting of the series. It does mean there’s a bit of repetition, it’s true, but still, very nice.

I hope that these are features on the dvds too.