… and has no purpose.

Pathetic loss by the Giants. They played without heart or guts, lost to an inferior Redskins team, and may be well on their way to another end-of-season collapse. Eli looked mediocre at best, but got no help from his receivers, who were dropping balls all over the field. Special mention goes to the normally sure-handed Amani Toomer, who dropped what would have been a long gainer while wide open, to Brandon Jacobs, who ran well but proved that he can’t catch anything out of the backfield, even when the ball hits him in his hands, and to Sinorice Moss, who twice caught crucial passes at a distance that would have been good for a first down and then ran backwards so they weren’t first downs after all.

Pfui.

If the Giants lose to Buffalo next week, they won’t even make the playoffs. I will not be at all surprised if that happens.

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Life is meaningless and has no…

Well, no, actually life isn’t half bad at the moment. Okay, okay, the Jets lost, just as everyone had predicted they would, but they gave it a pretty good try, and they certainly did not get destroyed or humiliated or ground into meatloaf, as so many commentators and Patriots fans were predicting. The Jets defense especially played very well, although one has to allow that they did get some help from the elements. And kudos to Chad Pennington as well. (More on Chadwick later). A hard-fought game, overall. The Jets were in it right up until the moment when Mike Nugent missed that final field goal.

I will even say a few good words for Bill Belichick. Perhaps even more surprising than the final score was the good sportsmanship that BB displayed at the end, when he shook Coach Mangini’s hand and said, “Great game,” and even congratulated Kerry Rhodes and a few of the other Jets. In honor of this display of class, I’ve decided to refrain from calling him ‘ELB’ in this post… and perhaps in future posts as well, if he continues to be a good sport.

Like many NFL contests, this one came down to a few big plays. The Patriots made them, the Jets did not. And that comes down to a few players. The Jets are actually not as bad a team as their record would suggest, but they do have some holes. If they ever hope to return to the playoffs or even (wonder of wonders) challenge BB and the Patriots within the division, there are some positions that they desperately need to upgrade.

Starting with the offensive line. The two young guys on the line, Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson, are solid, but the right side of the line is mediocre at best, and the left guard position is a disaster. Adrien Clark might as well be a turnstile for all the blocking he does. The Jets management made a terrible decision when they let Pete Kendall go without having an adequate replacement. The porous Jets offensive line has been a problem all season. The QB — be it Chad Pennington, Brad Smith, or Kellen Clemens — never has any time to pass, and the running game has never really been a factor, despite the acquisition of Thomas Jones in the off-season. Jones is no Curtis Martin, admittedly, but he’s a good runner, and along with Leon Washington, he gives the team a decent one-two tandem at RB… but any running back needs holes to run through, and the line is not making any. This also impacts the passing game, especially when Chad is in there. Pennington is at his most effective when he can play action. His fakes are superb, and when the running game is clicking, as it was back when you had Kevin Mawae opening holes for Curtis, Chad can really keep a defense off balance. When the threat of the run is removed, however, the play action becomes a non-factor as well. First priority for the Jets in the off-season needs to be to shore up that offensive line, whether through free agency or the draft.

And if I was Mike Tannenbaum, the Jets GM, I would also do a little addition by subtraction by trading or cutting WR Justin McCareins. Big players come up big in big games, and make big plays when the game is on the line. McCareins can always be counted on to come up small in those situations. Today, with Laveranues Coles unable to play, Jericho Cotchery became the number one receiver and McCareins stepped up to number two. With Jericho double-teamed for most of the game, Chad threw a lot of balls Justin’s way. He caught some, sure… but in the two most crucial situations, he came up short again. A third-down ball that Jericho or Laveranues would almost certainly have come down with went right through his hands, killing a drive early in the game… and later, with the game on the line, he juggled a touchdown catch in the end zone as he went out of bounds, where a clean catch would have given the Jets six points and a chance at an onsides kick. McCareins has had plenty of chances. We’d be better off without him. Put him on the bench for the rest of the season, I say, and let’s see what Wallace Wright and Brad Smith can do.

Oh, and speaking of Brad Smith… I hope after the game Coach Mangini took offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer back behind the woodshed and smacked him a few times for all those damned trick-play option packages with Smith playing QB. The first one worked, and Leon Washington scampered downfield for forty-four yards. Cool. After that the Pats were wise, yet time and time again we saw Smith back there in crucial situations, with Chad on the bench. What kind of Kool Aid was Schott drinking? None of the other Smith packages did bubkis. The kid was a quarterback in college and set all kinds of passing records, but the Jets don’t ever seem to let him pass… which means, the minute he lines up behind center, the defense knows it is going to be some kind of dipsy-doodle option play. I am tried of seeing Brad running around madly in fear of life as people descend on him from all sides. Most of these trick plays get crushed, and that’s been true all season.

Finally, let’s talk about the quarterback. This game would have been even closer than it was if Kellen Clemens hadn’t gift-wrapped a TD for the Patriots on the Jets second play from scrimmage. Lofting the ball off his back foot as he’s being sacked while on his own three-yard line… gawds… no. Yes, Clemens has a big arm. Maybe he is the Jets QB of the future, but the future is not now, and it shouldn’t be next season either. I have seen enough of Clemens for the moment, and I Want Chad. Pennington’s “weak arm” notwithstanding, he is still far and away the best QB on the Jets roster, and if they give him a solid offensive line and a good running game next season, I believe he can and will take them back to the playoffs. Quarterbacking is not all about arm strength. If it were, Jeff George and Richard Todd would be in the Hall of Fame. Chad’s a leader, cool under fire, a warrior, and he has smarts. Smarts are worth more than a big arm. CHAD PENNINGTON SHOULD BE THE STARTING QB OF THE NEW YORK JETS, THIS SEASON AND NEXT.

And for the P-men… congratulations on 14-0, but watch out next week. The Fish are on a roll.

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This is for all the Wild Cards fans out there… and for all those who I’m hoping will become Wild Cards fans in the very near future.

INSIDE STRAIGHT, the first book in the new Wild Cards triad from Tor, is scheduled for publication on January 22. To help celebrate its release, and the rebirth of the Wild Cards series, we’re debuting a brand new, official Wild Cards website. You’ll find it at:

http://www.wildcardsbooks.com/

Do go and check it out, and be sure and sign up for the free email newsletter that will keep you informed of updates to the site and all the other Wild Cards news. Sign-up will also give you a ticket to some nifty extras and hidden features that we’re planning.

We have big plans for the site, including a gallery of fan art, “webisodes” and other original features that you won’t find in the books, author interviews, out-takes, and a lot of other cool stuff, so once you visit, come back often.

And if you’re new to the world of the Wild Cards, you may also want to check out some of the existing Wild Cards sites on the web. They’re not “official,” as the new Tor site will be, but they’re wonderfully done, with a wealth of information. I’m talking about Jason Redgewell’s terrific fan site, Wild Cards Online, and the lively Wild Cards forum to be found on the Captain Comics board. Those addresses are:

http://www.wildcardsonline.com/

and

http://www.captaincomics.us/forums/index.php?board=35.0

So check those out as well, and keep on shuffling. Remember, we can’t die yet, we haven’t seen THE JOLSON STORY.

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Lots of things to blog about, if I kept a blog. (This little thing doesn’t count, no sir, not no way, not no how). Alas, there’s no time. Too damned much to do. So, instead, just a few quick hits.

This morning I was crosstown walking the picket lines at the College of Santa Fe, doing my little bit for the WGA and the writer’s strike. Support your local writers! This is the most crucial strike of my era, and will determine whether writers (and actors and directors, eventually) get a fair share of revenues for internet videos, webisodes, and all the other new delivery platforms for the net, or whether they continue to get ripped off.

Finished a Tyrion chapter yesterday, one I’ve been struggling with for months. Made a major change to the end of the chapter, one I think works much better than what I had before.

Also tackled another Tyrion chapter that had been giving me trouble, mainly by ripping Tyrion out of the scene entirely and rewriting the whole damn thing from another point of view. Not quite done with that one yet, but I think it will work better as well. However, I am keeping the old Tyrion POV version of the same events on my computer, just in case I change my mind later and decide to go back.

Dark Sword Miniatures has been shipping the first ten of their ICE & FIRE minis. I just got my box. Okay, okay, I’m prejudiced, but I think they look wonderful. Hey, they’re by Tom Meier, how could you go wrong? Purchase the complete set by December 15 and you’ll still be eligible for the drawing for the autographed books and other prizes. Contest details below, in my earlier blog post. Order via Dark Sword’s website. The link is below as well. And hey, pewter miniatures make wonderful stocking stuffers for that collector in the family (NOT for small kids, though, these are not toys).

SFWA has replaced Andrew Burt as chairman of its controversial Copyright Committee. I hope that pleases all those who were yelling and screaming about SFWA being unresponsive, paleolithic, etc. Hey, you guys won, Burt has stepped aside, you can take off the hob-nailed boots now. Can we all join ranks again and try to make things better for writers?

Some very nice reviews coming in on the two new books I have coming out next month, and from some unexpected places. HUNTER’S RUN got a four-star review from… wait for it… ROMANTIC TIMES. That’s very cool. I always knew I was a romantic. And the new Wild Cards book, INSIDE STRAIGHT, has been getting great reviews all over the place. Here’s two:

http://www.graemesfantasybookreview.com/2007/12/inside-straight-george-rr-martin-tor.html

http://drewsday01.blogspot.com/2007/11/inside-straight-next-generation-of-wild.html

I have to say, I am very gratified by all the raves that we’ve been getting for INSIDE STRAIGHT. My hat is off to my contributors. They did a terrific job. Check this one out, boys and girls. I think you’re going to enjoy meeting Jonathan Hive, Lohengrin, Earth Witch, Bubbles, Drummer Boy, and all the rest of our aces and jokers.

Football… ah, what can I say? The Giants won a squeaker over the Iggles to go to 9-4, but it wasn’t what I’d call a convincing win. A truefan never gives up hope, but unless they can really get on a tear these last few games, I’m not convinced that Eli can take them far in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Jets lost to the Browns, and now face the hated Patriots and Evil Little Bill. This could be ugly. Oddly enough, I won’t sweat the Jets-Patriots game nearly as much as I will the Giants and the Redskins. The Giants need to beat the Skins to lock up their playoff berth, but the Jets season is already over and everyone expects them to get crushed this weekend, so there’s no real pressure. Did any of you catch HBO’s INSIDE THE NFL tonight? Have to say, I loved Chris Collingsworth’s version of Eric Mangini’s pregame speech. I hope Mangenius was watching.

Elsewhere in the NFL, the big news is Bobby Petrino. What a scumbag. His players said it better than I could. No integrity, no courage, no honor. Maybe it’s fitting that he’s run off to a team whose mascot is a pig.

Some readers have been asking me to update my WHAT I’M READING and WHAT I’M WATCHING pages. I mean to, honest, I just haven’t had the time. On the “watching” front, I did catch THE MIST, and would strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned monster movie. This isn’t torture-porn like the SAW films, it’s Stephen King and Frank Darabont, well written, well acted, well directed. TV… well, I miss ROME and DEADWOOD more than I can say, and can’t wait for THE WIRE. The new network shows have been a mixed bag. The second season of HEROES has been much weaker than the first, and anyway, the show has never been more than Wild Cards Lite (though I do like Hiro). PUSHING DAISIES has a certain wacky charm, though it’s very stylized, and may not be for everyone. JOURNEYMAN is redeemed mostly by the presence of Kevin McKidd, though I bet he wishes he was still playing Lucius Vorenus. I know I do. As for books, since I last updated WHAT I’M READING, I’ve enjoyed new novels from Bernard Cornwell, S.L. Farrell, Melinda M. Snodgrass, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Michael Chabon, and some old ones by Jack Vance (I reread the entire DEMON PRINCES series, and I’m doing the same with the four DYING EARTH books now). The Vance books were even better than I remembered them.

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Life is magical and full of joy.

Two wonderful victories for my football teams today. The Jets dominated and demolished a sad, wounded, mistake-prone Dolphins teams, and sent them one step closer to a winless season, and the Giants came from behind in the last two minutes to eke out a nailbiter over the Bears in Chicago.

Pardon me. I must do my happy victory dance.

(But I’m still not convinced that Eli is the answer. He has flashes where he’s good, but just as many where he’s awful. Will the Hefty Lefty ever get a chance?)

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SFWA — the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, for those who don’t recognize the initials — is certainly no stranger to controversy. Ever since Damon Knight founded the organization back in the 60s, SFWA has shown a tendency to explode into war every few years. Maybe it has something to do with solar eclipses, or leap years, or the cycles of cicadas.

Some of the periodic wars have concerned important issues, from Vietnam to whether or not writers should be paid royalties; others have been fought over trivia, like Nebula rules and a proposal for an official SFWA tie. Most generate more heat than light. That’s certainly true of the latest, a huge firestorm that had broken out all over the blogosphere, centering on issues of e-piracy, copyright, “creative commons,” and SFWA’s response to same.

The difference is, where most of the past wars have been fought internally, in the pages of the old print SFWA FORUM, or the private areas of bulletin boards like GEnie and SFF.net, this one is being fought in public, with the whole internet watching, thanks to the decision of a few of the participants to air the issues on their blogs instead of keeping them “in house.” I think that’s unfortunate, myself, but it’s a brave new world we live in.

One of the unfortunate side effects here, however, is that I see a lot of people slagging on SFWA as a result. The ones that disturb me most are the posts from young writers, an awful lot of which say something like, ‘well, I’m not a SFWA member, and now I’m glad,’ or ‘after all this, I’ve resolved never to join SFWA,’ calling the organization stupid or clueless or out of touch or… well, I don’t have to rehash it all here, the fight is being fought on a dozen different blogs right now. Read the posts, and weep.

The part that really makes me gnash my teeth is where I see young writers saying that they don’t see what they can get out of joining SFWA, so why bother?

Maybe it’s a generational thing, I don’t know… but as I see it, SFWA is not about what you can get out of it, and never has been. Damon Knight did not form the group to boost his career, way back when. Robert Silverberg, Jack Williamson, Poul Anderson, Gordon R. Dickson, Joe Haldeman, Jane Yolen, Roger Zelazny, and so many more did not give up time and energy they could have devoted to writing novels and short stories to serve as SFWA officers because they thought they’d benefit from the networking, or get higher advances, or win a Nebula. It was all about improving the field. Writers helping writers. Paying forward. Heinlein said it best. You cannot ever hope to pay back the people who helped you when you were starting out, so instead you pay forward, and try to lend a hand to the ones who come up after you.

To paraphrase JFK, one of the heroes of my own generation, ask not what SFWA can do for you, ask what you can do for SFWA.

SFWA is not a union. (I wish it was, and during my own terms in office I tried to move it in that direction, but it’s not). It’s not the WGA, never will be, never can be under current laws. But it’s the closest thing we have. It’s forty years of writers helping other writers as best they can. It’s the Grievance Committee and the Emergency Medical Fund and the Legal Defense Fund, it’s Writer Beware, it’s hospitality suites at cons, it’s model contracts and random audits, it’s the Nebula Awards (love ’em or hate ’em) and the Nebula anthologies and THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME. It has done some incredible things during its tenure, and it has made some colossal fuggheaded blunders too. It can be amusing or infuriating. It’s a brotherhood — and a sisterhood — of professionals that has included Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Alfred Bester, Philip K. Dick, Ursula K. Le Guin, Andre Norton, Robert Silverberg, Jack Williamson, Clifford Simak, Fritz Leiber, Theodore Sturgeon, and more, and more, and more. That’s a club that I’m still very proud to belong to.

I have been a member since 1972. I have considered resigning half a dozen times, pissed off by one or another thing that SFWA has done or failed to do, but I never have, and I’m glad for that. In the late 70s I served two years as South Central regional director; in the early 80s I was a member of the Nebula Rules Committee (may god have mercy on my soul); in the late 90s I was vice-president for two terms; I organized and chaired a Nebula Banquet once. If I had never done any of that, I’d probably have gotten more writing done (or maybe not). I accomplished some good things during my time as a SFWA officer. I made some mistakes as well (one very bad one). It was never what could be called “fun,” but I did have the satisfaction afterward of saying I’d done my best for the field and my fellow writers… and looking back, I’m glad that I took my turn in the barrel.

And maybe that’s the point of this message. So if any of you reading this are young writers who have the professional credentials to join SFWA but haven’t… or aspiring writers who hope to have those credentials soon… and you’re reading all this crap in the blogosphere and wondering whether or not you should join… well, I say you should.

SFWA has flaws, SFWA has warts, SFWA makes mistakes from time to time… but in the end, the good it does far outweighs the bad, and you owe it to those who came before you and those who will come after to do your part, whatever that may be.

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A nine-way interview with the contributors to the new WILD CARDS mosaic, INSIDE STRAIGHT, is now up on Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. Check it out at:

http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/

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This story will be going up on my News page soon, but I thought I’d post it here as well, since I know some of my Not-A-Bloggers don’t check out the news page… and I did want to get out the word before all the prize entries were spoken for.

The wait is over. Get out your paints and brushes.

Dark Sword Miniatures has just released their first set of premium pewter miniatures based A Song of Ice and Fire. For photos of the figures, both painted and unpainted, be sure and check out my news page and Dark Sword’s own website.

The miniatures are available for purchase now via the online store at Dark Sword’s website. The figures retail for $9.99 apiece, or $99.99 for the complete set of ten:

— Ser Jaime Lannister,
— Queen Cersei Lannister,
— Ser Loras Tyrell, the Knight of Flowers,
— Sandor Clegane, the Hound,
— Melisandre of Asshai, red priestess of R’hllor,
— Jon Snow,
— four Sworn Brothers of the Night’s Watch, including:
raven keeper, archer, spearman, axeman/ swordsman.

All the figures were sculpted by the incomparable Tom Meier, who’s simply The Best. They are cast in pewter in the popular “28mm” scale favored by many of today’s wargamers and collectors, and go well with Dark Sword’s other fine ranges, based on the artwork of Larry Elmore, Keith Parkinson, and other renowned fantasy artists. It should be noted that all these miniatures come unpainted, and will need to be cleaned, assembled, primed, and painted.

To help launch the new “George R.R. Martin Masterworks” line, Dark Sword is offering some special promotions. The first 99 people to order the complete set of 10 miniatures will receive receive a certificate of authenticity signed by Tom Meier, Jim Ludwig, and yours truly. This 8 1/2″ x 11″ certificate will come in a protective bag and backing board to protect it and is suitable for framing.

Also, all those who purchase the complete set by December 15, 2007 will be entered into a random drawing for one or more of the following prizes:
— one of four $50.00 Dark Sword Miniatures online gift vouchers
— a signed and personalized copy of the Deluxe Leatherbound GAME OF THRONES
ROLE PLAYING BOOK AND RESOURCE GUIDE,
— a signed and personalized copy of DREAMSONGS, Volume 1, the new Bantam
hardcover edition of my RRetrospective short story collection,
— a signed and personalized copy of the TUF VOYAGING hardcover

Participants will receive one chance in the drawing for each set they purchase. So head on over to Dark Sword and place your order now, or you find that you’re number 102 and out of the running for all the cool prizes.

And while you guys are painting up these figures, Tom and Jim and I will be looking forward to the next set, and discussing which characters should be included. If you would like to put in your own two cents, sound off on Dark Sword’s message board at http://pub47.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=3964689298 and let them know which Ice & Fire character you’d most like to see in pewter.

We have lots of exciting plans for this range of miniatures, including more special promotions and raffles, painting contests, limited edition collector’s figures, and the like, so check the Dark Sword website early and often for updates and announcements.

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Okay, I’m not even going to talk about today’s Giants game or the one the Jets played on Thanksgiving. The wounds are still weeping. Sigh.

On other fronts, there’s a couple of new interviews online for those few of you who are not yet tired of hearing me expound. I talk about DREAMSONGS and genre and my middle initials with John J. Miller of THE NATIONAL REVIEW (not to be confused with John Jos. Miller, my sometimes collaborator and Wild Cards writer) at

http://radio.nationalreview.com/betweenthecovers/post/?q=YTdlOWVlNGYxMmFkZjE1ZTc2ODY2NDZmNzcwYmQyYTg=

and answer questions for the readers of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY at

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20161804,00.html

Oh, and I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Gobble, gobble.

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For those of you who are eager to get a head start on the Wild Cards relaunch — whether you’re fans of the original series, or newcomers curious to find out what all the excitement is about — Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist will be giving away two copies of the ARC for INSIDE STRAIGHT, signed by all nine contributors.

Details of the contest can be found on Pat’s site at http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/

Enter early, but not often.

Despite being a fan of the despicable Dallas Cowboys, Pat gives good contest.

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