George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 224

Playoffs, Round Two

Four more playoff games this weekend.

Of course, the Jets game is the one that concerns me most. Gang Green goes up against the Chargers this week, a very tough assignment. It should be a classic confrontation of offense against defense. San Diego will be heavily favored... but hey, the Jets have prevailed as a heavy underdog before... most recently, the last time they went to San Diego for a playoff game. Here's hoping Rex and boys can do it again, and knock off the mighty Bolts, Philip R...

Another Monkey Off My Back

Gardner Dozois and I have delivered SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH: Tales of Star-Crossed Love to our editor at Pocket Books.

SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH is another of our crossgenre anthologies, this one featuring stories that blend fantasy, science fiction, and romance. (I hear you jeering. Pfui. Those of you who know my work only from A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE may not be aware that I was once considered the most romantic science fiction writer of the 70s, back when I was doing my Thousand Worlds stuff...

Sunday, Sunday

Playoff football. Nothing like it.

Needless to say, I loved the morning game. I was rooting for the Ravens to win, but I won't pretend I ever expected anything like the whuppin' they put on the Patriots. It's always nice to see Evil Little Bill get elimimated, so we can be treated to another one of his mumbling monotone press briefings, where he says nothing at all. (Win or lose, I much prefer Rex, who shows signs of being an actual human being, with emotions and a sense of humor and ever...

Gang Green

So the Jets went to Cincinnati to play the Bengals in the first round of the playoffs. This time no one was lying down, Cincinnati had all its starters and played hard.

What can I say? Only this



The kid quarterback came through, the running game kicked ass, and the Gang Green defense hung tough. They gave up way too many yards to Cedric Benson, but made Carson Palmer look like the rookie, not Sanchez. And Revis shut down Ochocinco once again, despite the refs helping out Ocho with several t...

Wild Card Weekend

Wild Card Weekend is almost upon us. No, I'm not talking about SUICIDE KINGS this time -- although this weekend would be a great opportunity to go out and buy it -- but about the NFL.

The Giants are out, but the Jets are still in it (it's good to have two teams), travelling to Cincinnati for a rematch with the Bengals. Needless to say, I'll be pulling hard for this game to turn out the same way as the last one. Cincy will be playing all their starters this time, so I expect the game will be...

Learn to Write Good

Judging by the emails I receive, there are a lot of aspiring writers among my readership.

I wanted to make mention of a couple of summer writing programs that might be of interest to you.

First, the legendary Clarion workshop, which began with Damon Knight in Clarion College, Pennsylvania, and is now in scenic San Diego. An intensive six-week writer's boot camp that will make you, break you, maybe change your life. I will be one of the instructors at this year's Clarion, along with Delia S...

Giants D

Various sources are reporting the Pepper Johnson might be a candidate for the defensive coordinator opening on the Giants, created when Bill Sheridan was released.

That would be a risk, maybe -- Pepper doesn't have the experience of most of the other candidates -- but it's one I'd be glad to take. I have fond memories of Pepper from his days in the Giants defense of the late 80s and early 90s. He was always a fiery competition, a real leader, and the Giants defense desperately needs some fir...

Adventures in 2010

Life is magical... but full of pain.

The Jets are in the playoffs. Who woulda thunk it, a couple of weeks ago? The game against the Bengals was certainly impressive. Can they do it again, though? We'll see.

The Giants didn't play. I don't know who those guys in their unis were, but they sure were inept.

Goodbye, Bill Sheridan. A good guy, by all reports, but a horrendous defensive coordinator.

I meant to post yesterday on the weekend's games, but got busy writing instead, and finished a Tyr...

Happy New Year

2010. Who would believe it? We're in another Arthur C. Clarke novel.

Here's hoping all of you have a great year.

Life Is...

... meaningless and full of pain... but sometimes it gives you an unexpected gift.

The Giants game was a disgrace. Bill Sheridan has to go. How he could destroy the Giants defense in a single year, when he had all the players Steve Spagnuolo had and then some, is a mystery for the ages.

And the Jets... well, yeah, I'm glad they got the W, but really... call me old school, but I believe a team should play hard every week, no matter what. What Caldwell did was a disgrace. A nice late Xmas pre...