The wonderful/frustrating/truest aspect of blogging (or any writing for that matter) is this: thinking about doing it and actually getting it done are two very different things.

I’m the undisputed champion of leaving myself the digital equivalent of sticky notes in the form of open browser tabs, half-completed link lists, Evernote notes and ill-conceived blog drafts, but my actual blogging output has diminished (charitably) of late.

I’m not going to try and make up for that egregious silence all at once, but I am going to clear the cache in more ways than one.

Here, then, is a post about Game of Thrones that is both timely – the second season of the HBO series wraps up this weekend – and useful. If you’re a fan of the source material or the TV show, you should find these links right up your alley, whether that’s the King’s Road or leading in to Flea Bottom.

For those looking backward to the book as source material (either because you read some/all or just because you’re curious), here’s an interpretation of all the major houses, their colors, their words, their sigils & their castles

For those looking ahead to tonight’s episode (and perhaps beyond), here’s a handy character chart put together by Paste Magazine at the start of this season. Good for establishing branches of family trees and telling bearded faces apart, especially if you haven’t read the books.

And if you’re the curious type, looking for updates on new characters for next season, it seems like that information is floating around now.

For those who are happy right where they are, thank you very much, here’s The National’s version of “The Rains of Castamere” which played over the closing credits last week. Based on the lyrics found in the book to a song of the same name, it describes Tywin Lannister’s defeat of House Reyne of Castamere. If the show continues for several more seasons, this won’t be the only time that song is mentioned or sung.

Until next season (or I finish another book)!