Somehow my little birds fell asleep on the job and neglected to inform me that Peter Dinklage is voicing the character of Captain Gutt in the animated movie, Ice Age 4: Continental Drift. I had to find out in Variety like a commoner, and IMDb also beat me to it.

Captain Gutt is the simian pirate leader who does baddie things, giving Dinklage a chance to play the villain once again, as in his roles as Dr. Simon Barsinister in Underdog and on stage as Richard III. Dinklage also voices Gutt in the animated short, Scrat’s Continental Crack-up Part 2, shown in theatres as a trailer during Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked back in November, 2011. As you can see, Gutt is clearly a Gigantopithecus with bad teeth.

The full-length Ice Age movie starring Peter Dinklage as Captain Gutt will be released on July 13, 2012.

No character assignments have been announced, but the story revolves around impressing a girl online and requires a string of lies to keep up appearances. You know, purely a fictional storyline that could only happen in a movie.

The wait is nearly over! Tune in on Sunday, April 1, 2012 for the second season of award-winning show Game of Thrones on HBO.

Check out Peter Dinklage’s Golden Globes acceptance speech!

World famous dog-sitter Kitty was not mentioned tonight, however, the actor was nervous about leaving his newborn DAUGHTER (congrats!) home with a baby-sitter.

Unfortunately, Game of Thrones did not win best Drama TV Series. The win went instead to Showtime’s Homeland. We’re not even going to talk about the People’s Choice snubs a few weeks back. Looking at the winners for that awards show, I think they’re probably a totally different beast that doesn’t like to acknowledge any series not on basic cable.

Sometime in January, the good folks at Valyrian Steel will offer their North of the Wall Survival Kit, complete with Night’s Watch Dragonglass Dagger and sheath, leather pouch with obsidian arrowheads and certificate of authenticity. They’ll be throwing in a mystery item as well! This replica set is what every man of the Night’s Watch should carry when patrolling the woods for Wildlings, guarding the Wall against the Others, or even wandering the Realm for new recruits.

Made from real obsidian, the dagger is crude yet cunning, forged at the Wall at a time of great peril. Own a piece of A Song of Ice and Fire history! Pre-orders to start on after January 7th. While you’re waiting anxiously, check out their other replicas at the Valyrian Steel Shop!

Writer Daniel Abraham and illustrator Tommy Patterson have teamed up to bring George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones in all its full-color glory. This hard cover edition of AGoT Volume 1 covers the first six of the planned 24 issues of the graphic series. Doing the math, there should be three more hard cover volumes to follow. The story here introduces the Starks of Winterfell, the King of the Realm, his dearly departed Hand, the lascivious Lannisters, the Brothers of the Night’s Watch, and the last heirs to House Targaryen.

Pre-order now and reserve your copy of AGoT: The Graphic Novel for March 27, 2012.

The Dunk and Egg novellas are available in two fantasy genre anthology collections: Legends and Warriors. The first story, The Hedge Knight, is buried within Legends: Stories By The Masters of Modern Fantasy (1998) follows the adventures of faux knight Dunk and amateur squire Egg. The Sworn Sword, continues the duo’s tale in Legends II: Dragon, Sword, and King (2004). The third novella, The Mystery Knight, was recently published in Warriors (2010), edited by GRRM and Gardner Dozois.

This ASoIaF spin-off tale also spawned two graphic novels written by Ben Avery and illustrated by Mike Miller: Hedge Knight, Vol. 1 (v. 1) and Sworn Sword (Hedge Knight II) (v. 2). GRRM has said that he would love to adapt the third novella The Mystery Knight after the exclusive agreement with the publishers of Warriors has lapsed, so it’s something to look for in 2012 or later.

Happy reading!

Check out the official GRRM website for a free The Winds of Winter sample chapter. This sneak peak is an early chapter of Winds featuring Theon Greyjoy, but chronologically it takes place between some of the last chapters of Dance. Do not even begin to speculate when The Winds of Winter will be published. Every time someone asks that question, GRRM not only kills a Stark, but also delays the release by a month.

However, feel free to speculate on the Winds excerpt and what it means for the upcoming book over at Westeros!

For traditional paper book readers, check out these hardcover volumes of GRRM’s Dreamsongs, an anthology spanning several decades of his works. The collection was first published by Subterranean Press in 2003 as GRRM: A RRetrospective. Alas, these hardcovers are sold out and a bit pricey in the collectors circuit. However, the most recent prints are available as two volumes (three for the audiobooks). Volume One contains his earliest works of the 60s and 70s (A Song for Lya, The Second Kind of Loneliness, With Morning Comes Mistfall, among many others), while Volume Two features writings from the 80s and 90s (Skin Trade, The Hedge Knight ASoIaF novella, and more).

If you want the audio book version, Audible.com can help you out. I’m not sure if the audio volumes match perfectly with the written ones, so best get all three to be sure you get every last drop of storytelling!

Pre-order the Game of Thrones RPG for PS3 or Xbox and Amazon you’ll lock in the lowest price available at the time of shipping, currently scheduled for March 6, 2012. This World of Westeros RPG title allows you to play multiple characters within the Game of Thrones storyline. Will you be a Ranger, Builder or Steward? Each role requires you serve the realm as a brother of the Nightwatch!

In the meantime, you can check out the interactive quizzes and other features online at the Official Game of Thrones RPG Website. Like the page on Facebook and unlock more content! Currently there are a bunch of game previews, character bios and promo downloads of The Wall.