Game of Thrones--Who is your favorite minor character?

I really mean from the Song of Ice and Fire series of books, but I put Game of Thrones since that is more recognizable these days to more people. I'm rereading all the books again for the fourth time, and I'm halfway through with A Feast for Crows. I can't understand why so many people rate it the worst of the series, because I just love it. I even love how it gives us differing POV characters than the earlier books did. To me it is expanding on the world building in very interesting ways.

Well it just struck me while reading that one of my absolute favorite characters in the series is Podrick Payne. I don't recall at the moment whether anything happens to him later on, but I hope he gets to be a big hero eventually. I also really enjoy Samwell Tarly.

Who is your favorite minor character?

USA Beats Russia!

I know it won't mean much to the non-chess admirers out there, but the US chess squad defeated the heavily favored and top seeded Russian team at the Chess Olympiad yesterday. The US stars on our top two boards rose to the occasion and beat their higher ranked opponents. Hikaru Nakamura beat former world champion Vladimir Kramnik on board one, and Gata Kamsky defeated Alexander Grischuk on board 2. Way to go guys!

Vladimir Kramnik against Hikaru Nakamura -- from Chessbase.com

At the beginning of the round the Russian team led everyone by two full points. After this massive upset, the US team pulled into a tie for first place.

Facebook

Okay, I finally broke down and did what I had once hoped I would never have to do--join Facebook. I did it mainly because everyone says authors need to have a Facebook presence. I think it will be a while before I figure out how to use it properly for showcasing the books I eventually publish. I'd especially appreciate any tricks and tips other writers have for using Facebook for this specific purpose!

Carrot and Stick

Sorry I haven't been blogging much. I haven't been able to write either, and it's eating away at me. All I can really do these days is study. First I have to pass a really difficult exam this September or I will lose 14% of my salary. I really wish my employer would use the carrot rather than the stick for us!

Playing one of my guitars

Anyway, unlike most such exams in the past, this one is truly hard. I've been studying for weeks already and still don't feel close to being able to attempt it, yet it's now September and I have no choice. This three day weekend is for nothing but studying.

My ever patient and lovely wife

To make matters worse, in October I have to go to Cisco's Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) training, and the test for that is also grueling.

Hanging out on Margit Island in Budapest

So I have little to look forward to over the next couple months except tedious studying. At least the NFL season will begin--go Peyton Manning! I'm no Denver Broncos fan, but I don't like the way the Colts ditched the greatest quarterback who ever lived.

Always a smile to brighten my day even when times are tough

Do You Enjoy 80's New Wave Music?

Well, I never did. But...I don't necessarily need to love a piece of art (whether writing, music, painting, movies, etc) to still be able to admire the skill or craft or talent that an artist has. Australian musician Stephen Carmichael dropped me a message asking if I do reviews. I never had before, but then again, no one had ever asked me. I told him that from the looks of his site, I doubted it would be my kind of thing and I generally won't post about things I don't like.

Anyhow, I did check out his video. Naturally, it isn't to my personal taste. However, I did think it showed enough professionalism that people who do like such music might like to discover him, and I think it can be cool to help relatively unknown artists reach an untapped audience. So, is it your kind of music?

Good Music Covers

Usually when a band covers a song by another group or songwriter it's time to wince and move on very quickly. Every so often, though, someone does a cover very well. The Beatles and Led Zeppelin did a lot of this in their earlier albums. Here are a couple of songs that I think were done really well as covers, even though I still love the originals more. What sets these versions off so much from most covers is how distinctive these are from the originals. There is no attempt to be similar to the originals; these are complete reinterpretations

Here A Perfect Circle does an eerie version of What's Going On, originally by Marvin Gaye
Below is Tool's reimagining of the Led Zeppelin classic No Quarter. What connects these two bands is Maynard James Keenan, the singer and songwriter, who I believe is the most brilliant songwriter of my generation.

Angry Songs

What music do you listen to when you are in a foul mood? I've been upset at myself all week for making a big mistake that made me look foolish (the Die Hard incident, for those who have read the posts), so I've been listening to a lot of these two songs that I tend to play when I am angry. Warning, don't listen to them if you are overly sensitive! They are awesome songs, but they are also pretty explicit. I crank them way up, especially the incredible finish to the first one when it just gets brutal.

Okay, and if you need to calm down after that, here is a gorgeous song...