Thank you for all of your comments!
Both pros and cons, that is. I'm so happy to have become the conduit for all frustrations and praises regarding the long-delayed completion of ADWD.
Why, some of you ask? Why do I do what I do? Do I have a skewed sense of grandeur? Of entitlement? Am I doing this to simply entertain? To constructively critique? Or am I just an asshole?
Perhaps a bit of column A, a bit of column B...
Seriously though, the inspiration for FTBG comes directly from the man himself:
And if you want to comment on other matters... including, but not limited to, the lateness of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, that's fine, just go do it on your own blogs...Tell you what, you talk about whatever you like on your blogs, and I'll talk about whatever I want on mine.
Now, for those of who you have run to defend the esteemed GRRM and his right to write (no pun intended), or more specifically, his right NOT to write (again, no pun intended), I could not agree more. George is an American, and as such, he can sit around all day playing Xbox and eating pie cakes all day, for all I care. (I don't know what a pie cake is, but it sounds delicious, no?) George was given those rights by Jesus, or Darwin, or Thomas Jefferson, or somebody, and goddamnit, I will support that 100%!
However, I will also exercise my rights, rights that the big man clearly supports as well. And while I have complained quite frequently (mainly to my brother) about the long wait we have all had to endure for ADWD, I did not decide to publicly do so until:
1) GRRM started lashing back at those individuals who brought up the issue on his blog (and I was never one of them);
2) I realized that AFFC came out three years ago; and
3) I started re-listening to my audiobooks of ASOIAF and found Bran even more annoying than I had previously
Okay, so I don't know why Bran is so on my nerves these days. But come on. Seriously? Three years ago?
As such, it is time to vent, and I blame the big man for this. He told us it was finished, then it got too big, then it got split, then it needed revision, then the next post would be when it was finished, then the next post wasn't when it was finished...sigh. He tipped his hand, and it's his own fault. If he had just said "Lordy lordy kids, this next readin'-brick is a big 'un, and I don't reckon it'll be writ notime soon!" then we all could have gone on our merry ways, filling the time with Stephen Erickson and Gene Wolf and other fun people. But no, he teased us, he kept teasing us, and frankly, it's about time he got me off or gave me cash for a happy ending at the massage parlor down the street. But instead, I am releasing myself all over the keyboard.
Man, I even gross myself out sometimes.
As for entitlement, well yes, I do feel entitled, I will gladly admit that. I believe that art, once made public, belongs to the public. If the big man wanted to create art for himself, he could fill his bedroom with novels a la J.D. Salinger. (Well, that's what I imagine Salinger is doing. He too could be playing Xbox all day. What a great game of COD4 that would be. FRANYZOEY420 HAS KILLED YOU.) But frankly, I find it a bit offensive when I and literally hundreds of thousands of other people have spent countless hours and dollars in faithful dedication to someone's work, and instead of taking on that responsibility, the individual lashes back at us, treats us like we're the root of the problem, and then wants us to buy replica swords and Wild Cards XCVIXCMMMIII and talk about football like nothing is bothering us.
Screw that! No matter how much I like Journey, the Sopranos owed its viewers a better ending than a black screen, Seinfeld owed us far better than the Good Samaritan law, and GRRM owes it to us to give ADWD his best efforts. And frankly, maybe he is doing that, but his website tells me differently. So just like a sports fan who feels his team owes him better coaching and better performance, or a music fan who gets disgusted when their favorite band decides to sue its own fans, I am exercising my righteous indignation and what I perceive to be my earned entitlement to better output from someone I have freely given both my time and my money.
And if you disagree with me, that's fine too. That is your right as an AMERICAN, as well. U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
So feel free to lambast me or agree with me; I won't be able to take time to answer all your queries, quips, complaints, concerns, calculations, computations, or conundrums, but I welcome them all. I created this as a forum for loyal readers to vent, and I actually think George would appreciate me taking the time to field all the complaints and take them off his hands (and blog).
However, for those of you who truly find my blog distasteful, you will be happy to know that our application to the Westeros webring was not only rejected, but rejected with a suggestion that I sexually violate myself with a well-honed tree limb. Apparently my right to free speech will have to be exercised right here. But as Kingsley Amis once said, if you aren't going to annoy somebody, there's little point in writing.
Tomorrow (or maybe later, depends how I feel): my brother joins the blog, and I create a list of things I like about ASOIAF. (What, you surprised?)
Why, some of you ask? Why do I do what I do? Do I have a skewed sense of grandeur? Of entitlement? Am I doing this to simply entertain? To constructively critique? Or am I just an asshole?
Perhaps a bit of column A, a bit of column B...
Seriously though, the inspiration for FTBG comes directly from the man himself:
And if you want to comment on other matters... including, but not limited to, the lateness of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, that's fine, just go do it on your own blogs...Tell you what, you talk about whatever you like on your blogs, and I'll talk about whatever I want on mine.
Now, for those of who you have run to defend the esteemed GRRM and his right to write (no pun intended), or more specifically, his right NOT to write (again, no pun intended), I could not agree more. George is an American, and as such, he can sit around all day playing Xbox and eating pie cakes all day, for all I care. (I don't know what a pie cake is, but it sounds delicious, no?) George was given those rights by Jesus, or Darwin, or Thomas Jefferson, or somebody, and goddamnit, I will support that 100%!
However, I will also exercise my rights, rights that the big man clearly supports as well. And while I have complained quite frequently (mainly to my brother) about the long wait we have all had to endure for ADWD, I did not decide to publicly do so until:
1) GRRM started lashing back at those individuals who brought up the issue on his blog (and I was never one of them);
2) I realized that AFFC came out three years ago; and
3) I started re-listening to my audiobooks of ASOIAF and found Bran even more annoying than I had previously
Okay, so I don't know why Bran is so on my nerves these days. But come on. Seriously? Three years ago?
As such, it is time to vent, and I blame the big man for this. He told us it was finished, then it got too big, then it got split, then it needed revision, then the next post would be when it was finished, then the next post wasn't when it was finished...sigh. He tipped his hand, and it's his own fault. If he had just said "Lordy lordy kids, this next readin'-brick is a big 'un, and I don't reckon it'll be writ notime soon!" then we all could have gone on our merry ways, filling the time with Stephen Erickson and Gene Wolf and other fun people. But no, he teased us, he kept teasing us, and frankly, it's about time he got me off or gave me cash for a happy ending at the massage parlor down the street. But instead, I am releasing myself all over the keyboard.
Man, I even gross myself out sometimes.
As for entitlement, well yes, I do feel entitled, I will gladly admit that. I believe that art, once made public, belongs to the public. If the big man wanted to create art for himself, he could fill his bedroom with novels a la J.D. Salinger. (Well, that's what I imagine Salinger is doing. He too could be playing Xbox all day. What a great game of COD4 that would be. FRANYZOEY420 HAS KILLED YOU.) But frankly, I find it a bit offensive when I and literally hundreds of thousands of other people have spent countless hours and dollars in faithful dedication to someone's work, and instead of taking on that responsibility, the individual lashes back at us, treats us like we're the root of the problem, and then wants us to buy replica swords and Wild Cards XCVIXCMMMIII and talk about football like nothing is bothering us.
Screw that! No matter how much I like Journey, the Sopranos owed its viewers a better ending than a black screen, Seinfeld owed us far better than the Good Samaritan law, and GRRM owes it to us to give ADWD his best efforts. And frankly, maybe he is doing that, but his website tells me differently. So just like a sports fan who feels his team owes him better coaching and better performance, or a music fan who gets disgusted when their favorite band decides to sue its own fans, I am exercising my righteous indignation and what I perceive to be my earned entitlement to better output from someone I have freely given both my time and my money.
And if you disagree with me, that's fine too. That is your right as an AMERICAN, as well. U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
So feel free to lambast me or agree with me; I won't be able to take time to answer all your queries, quips, complaints, concerns, calculations, computations, or conundrums, but I welcome them all. I created this as a forum for loyal readers to vent, and I actually think George would appreciate me taking the time to field all the complaints and take them off his hands (and blog).
However, for those of you who truly find my blog distasteful, you will be happy to know that our application to the Westeros webring was not only rejected, but rejected with a suggestion that I sexually violate myself with a well-honed tree limb. Apparently my right to free speech will have to be exercised right here. But as Kingsley Amis once said, if you aren't going to annoy somebody, there's little point in writing.
Tomorrow (or maybe later, depends how I feel): my brother joins the blog, and I create a list of things I like about ASOIAF. (What, you surprised?)