The first full-length trailer for HBO’s forthcoming Game of Thrones series has arrived and it looks promising. Readers of the novels will recognize several major characters including Robert Baratheon, Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister, and Boromir–er, I mean Eddard Stark. Sean Bean, who plays Stark, seems to be Hollywood’s go-to guy for any role involving a noble but tragic figure from fantasy literature. The trailer nicely captures the dark, foreboding tone of the first book and I’m eager to catch additional glimpses of the series when HBO airs a brief making-of documentary this Sunday. In the meantime, I’m almost done rereading the first book. Doorstop fantasy novels are much more manageable on a Kindle.

The Times reports on the abysmal conditions investigators found in Mexican institutions for people with disabilities. These facilities are little more than warehouses, as documented to disturbing effect in the accompanying video. The article describes how little government funding the institutions receive for basic supplies like toilet paper. Many of the residents are neglected and overmedicated with psychotropic medications. Some are even lobotomized. It’s a depressing reminder that international agreements and conventions on the rights of people with disabilities cannot improve conditions overnight in many parts of the developing world. The sad fact is that people with disabilities will continue to be victims of such medieval treatment until governments have been sufficiently shamed into doing better by their people.