April 17th - Beard of the Day - George R.R. Martin

It's always nice when an author looks and acts almost exactly as you'd expect from them. George R.R. Martin is one those cases. The author of the insanely good A Song of Ice and Fire novels (AKA Game of Thrones) grew up the son of a longshoreman who developed a fondness for Marvel Comics. From there, he began to write fantasy, sci-fi and horror stories. Of course, it has only been recently that Martin has become a best selling author. A Song of Ice and Fire began in 1996 but it wasn't until the fourth in the series in 2005 that he reached #1. Despite his current fame, you probably wouldn't be shocked to see him in your local comic store (you all do constantly hang out in comic shops, right?) or playing a game of D&D with the same group of friends he's had since middle school.

Also, did you know the R.R. stands for Rail Road. How fucking awesome is that?