WIL WHEATON dot NET: Where is my mind?

Man, my life is real boring right now.

There hasn't been anything to blog about: no auditions (nothing for months, really. Maybe I really am finished.), nothing majorly exciting on the homefront besides the new dog (who is currently known as "Riley." It's stuck around for three days, longer than any other name, though I am still holding out for "Mr. Plow.")

Oh, and though I took two very bad beats when we played poker (effing Cal rivered quad Kings TWICE against my straight, and again against my set of aces), I walked with about 104 bucks on a 40 dollar buy.

So.

Real boring . . . until today.

Today, I sent the corrected proof of my first book (which is really my second, but I'm releasing them out of order) Dancing Barefoot back to my printer. This means that I'll have a final proof in a couple of days, and the book should be ready for sale somewhere around the second week of May. More details, including where you can get it, when I actually have copies to ship.

Here's the copy that goes on the back cover:

"There are five stories, spanning 30 years, between these covers. Some of them are funny, one is pretty damn sentimental, but they are all true. I wrote them shortly after my 30th birthday, as I looked to my past in an attempt to understand my present, and not fear my future."
                                                                        -Wil Wheaton
                                                        

Houses in Motion - Memories fill the emptiness left within a childhood home, and saying goodbye brings them to life.

Ready Or Not Here I Come - A game of hide-n-seek with the kids works as a time machine, taking Wil on a tour of the hiding and seeking of years gone by.

Inferno - Two 15-year-olds pass in the night leaving behind pleasant memories and a perfumed Car Wars Deluxe Edition Box Set.

We Close Our Eyes - A few beautiful moments spent dancing in the rain.

The Saga of SpongeBob VegasPants - A story of love, hate, laughter and the acceptance of all things Trek.

Some product details:

Size: 8.5x5.5
Length: 106 pages.
ISBN: 0-9741160-0-9
Price: USD 12.95

Each story is illustrated by Ben Claasen III, who did the "Klingon Convention Trauma" and "Wil Has A Posse" images in the Cafe Press store.

More observant or longtime readers of WWdN will recognize the titles as some blog entries, and wonder why they would want to buy the book.

This is a good question, and here's my good answer: Because!

Kidding.

There are several reasons that I think you'd want this, even if you've already read the stories in the blog: it's illustrated, and they are AWESOME! The stories have all been rewritten, and fleshed out. Working with an editor, and getting feedback from many people has made the stories richer and more evocative. I've matured as a writer since I first penned them, and it shows.

But the biggest reason to get it is this: The Saga of SpongeBob Vega$ Pants is finally concluded! The story that I kept promising to finish has been totally rewritten (I think it's AWESOME now), and includes a retelling of the very first time I met WILLIAM FUCKING SHATNER on the set of Star Trek V.

Initially, I wasn't that excited about this book. I just thought of it as something to fill the space between now and when Just A Geek is finished. I thought that maybe it could help generate interest in JAG too . . . but I've become very proud of it all on its own.

It is my first effort. I wish you would like it.

Posted by Wil at 03:01 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I'm playing poker tonight.

I can't wait. Man, I love to play poker. Gimmie a game of pot-limit hold em, a hundred bucks, and I couldn't be happier. I'm about two-thirds finished with Jim McManus' Positively Fifth Street right now, and I'm loving it.

Anne and I watched the DVD of Jackass last night . . . holy shit. Some of it was really stupid, like watching a bunch of stupid stoners do stupid stoner things . . . but parts of it -- Knoxville in old man makeup shoplifting, Wee Man getting chased by Preston all over Tokyo, making Bam's mom say "fuck" -- was insanely funny. And Rip Taylor! Damn.

We've added a new dog to our family, so Ferris won't have only child syndrome. Our new dog (rescued, of course) is a totally white shepard/lab mix. She's about 10 months old, very sweet, and she and Ferris adore each other. She has pointy ears (naturally, not clipped) that sort of flop around when she's got them perked up. Pointy ears, so I wanted to name her "Spock."

Get it?

I thought it was cool . . . but I was voted down by the rest of the family. Ryan suggested we call her "Arwen," though, so that's what we're trying now. We'll see if that name fits her, or not. I'm partial to New Dog, myself . . . though that'd prolly get shortened to "new-d" and then "nudie," and that's just wrong.

Plastic has an interesting story on celebrity etiquette that boils down to pretty much "don't be a gushing fanboy," advice I could have used on more than one occasion. The discussion is cool, and lots of people are talking about the celebs they've met, and how they were treated.

I gotta go mow the lawn now, and hit Smart-N-Final for poker snacks. I hope everyone is having a good weekend. We're enjoying awesome weather in Los Angeles right now.

Chris from The Force dot Net sent me this e-mail this morning:

This link is getting passed amongst the gamers I know, and i felt the need to send it to you in the hopes you might pass it on to your readership. It deals with getting people involved with the MS fundraisers that might not normally think to do so, but also talks about helping fight this stigma that gamers face when it comes to the media- showing that we're not the prone to violence troubled youth that they think we are. Doing this is a great first step in that.

I don't have a close relative with MS, I can't say that, but i do know the pain of wanting to fight back as a loved one struggles and not knowing where to start. My first step is here: spreading the word to the people that i know can get word out the quickest.
http://www.neenerneener.net/ms/

So take a look, and see if you can help out, okay?

Oh, I'm really taking it in the ass from the Right because of my last post. I guess lots of people take "you're with us or against us" very literally, and whenever I criticize Mr. Bush or his war, they take it personally. I won't apologize for my feelings, but I do feel strangely bad for pissing some people off. I'm not likely to tone it down anytime soon, so you may not want to read this site any more.

Thought For Today:

"The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of Aftermath."

Posted by Wil at 03:02 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

From Reuters:

Even Bush is fan of Iraqi information minister

WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - Now that the campaign to topple Saddam Hussein appears to be over, even U.S. President George W. Bush admits he is a fan of the public relations style of former Iraqi information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf.

"He's my man, he was great," Bush enthused in an interview with NBC's Tom Brokaw on Thursday. "Somebody accused us of hiring him and putting him there. He was a classic."

What?

He's my man?

HE'S MY MAN?!

HE IS THE ENEMY, MR. BUSH!

You know who Bush's MAN should have been? Every American soldier who was in Iraq fighting his immoral, illegal, and totally unnecessary war. Every child who is without a father or mother, every husband or wife, son or daughter who isn't ever coming home . . . they are "your man," Mr. Bush.

Bush said he had made a point of watching Sahaf, as well as scenes such as the toppling of a huge bronze likeness of Saddam Hussein.

"I did watch some of his clips," he said. "I get a lot of things secondhand, but in the case of the statue or Sahaf, somebody would say, he's getting ready to speak and I'd pop out of a meeting or turn and watch the TV."

Oh, fantastic. I am filled with confidence. Mr. Bush is doing an outstanding job at the head of the most powerful military on the planet.

I'm glad the President of the United States, during a war, is jumping out of meetings to watch his "man" on TV. I'm glad Mr. Bush didn't let a silly thing like running the country interfere with his watching his man on TV.

Sahaf has developed a worldwide following. A Web site that sprang up called welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com was forced offline earlier this month by a rush of global interest that drew as many as 4,000 requests a second for the page.

I wonder how many of those HTTP_requests came from whitehouse.gov?

With his trademark beret, Sahaf became a cult figure on television with his daily briefings, appearing from behind a sea of microphones as he condemned the American "infidels" and at times flatly denied what viewers around the world saw unfolding on their TV screens.

Infidels. Well, if the cowboy boot fits . . .

So here's the big question: If people who don't stand behind Mr. Bush's laughable foreign policy, and the wars it has created (and will continue to create), they're "against us." If people dare to express an opinion like, "I am ashamed of Mr. Bush" they are boycotted, threatened with injury and death. (I'll take it one step further: I'm ashamed of Mr. Bush, his entire administration, and the Congress that has given the Executive branch of government unchecked and unquestioned imperial powers to do whatever they please.)

So considering all that, what do we do with a President who cheers on a member of an enemy government, part of his notorious "Axis Of Evil," as "my man?"

I tell you what we need to do: we all need to --

Oh, I have to go. American Idol is on.

Posted by Wil at 10:29 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

"Look at me! Look at me!"

I hear that I'm gonna be all over The Screen Savers today: Kevin Rose is wearing a spiffy new WWdN T-shirt that I gave him when I was there last week, and Sarah Lane is going to be talking about this lame website in her Blog Report. (Thanks to WWdN reader Mary for the head's up on that!)

So I got to thinking . . . if TechTV takes a screenshot of my site to put on the air, maybe I should do something stupid like this. It's the onilne equivalent of jumping up and down and shouting "GO KENTUCKY!" in the background while some poor reporter tries to keep it together.

Hey, speaking of Screen Savers, go here, and vote for the hottest geek girl who ever modded a case: Morgan Webb.

Update: Heh. Guess I made the website, but not the broadcast. Did you see Kevin in my cool shirt? That was cool. I like the word cool. Cool. Cool. Cool.

Check out this cool thing I made today. It's cool.

Mmmm. Cool.

Cool.

This is only amusing to me, isn't it?

. . . cool.

Posted by Wil at 11:55 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

When I started writing Just A Geek back in September or October of last year, I never thought that it would turn into a real book. My plan, honestly, was just to collect some weblog entries, write an introduction, and present it as an off-line version of WWdN.

But the more I wrote, the more I saw a story emerge. It was the story of these two people, who I'll call Real LIfe Wil and TVsWilWheaton, and how they hated each other, but couldn't exist without the other. When one of them was happy, the other one usually wasn't: TVsWilWheaton wanted fame and fortune, and needed to prove to his detractors that he wasn't just a long-forgotten flavor of the month. Real Life Wil hated the spotlight, hated that he was so addicted to the praise and attention of anyone who would give it, and just wanted to be with his wife and stepkids. The problem was, Real Life Wil couldn't be happy unless TVsWilWheaton was satisfied. Just A Geek is about how I got these two characters in balance, and more-or-less put TVsWilWheaton on a Bus to Beelzebub, so Real Life Wil can listen to Sugar Free Jazz.

When I started writing it, it was easy. The stories connected together in a logical way, and I discovered lots of stuff about myself as I put them together.

Somewhere along the line, though, I realized the magnitude of what I was doing, and I panicked. After finishing the first draft, I saw stuff I didn't like, and when I tried to rewrite it, I totally lost my focus. I also lost an editor, my muse, and began to question whether it was even worth finishing. I didn't work on it for over a month, and seriously thought about giving up on the project.

See, I'm terrified. One thing TVsWilWheaton and Real Life Wil agree on is, we don't like to do things that suck. We're both perfectionists, and as much as we shouldn't, we care what other people think of our endeavors.

If a movie sucks (Book of Days, for example, or Python) there are lots of things to blame it on: weak script, bad editing, lazy actors . . . and I can usually find something about my work that I like. But if this book sucks, if people just hate it . . . they are pretty much hating me, because it's just me between those covers, you know?

Somehow, I've managed to stick with it, and I'm working on the final draft now . . . but I haven't been able to sleep much recently, and I am filled with self-doubt. I'm too far along to give up, though, so I will keep at it.

My friend Roger once told me that if I ever decided to become a film maker, I'd spend ten years on a project, and never release it, because I'm such a perfectionist. I think he was on to something.

Posted by Wil at 09:14 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Just do it.

Behold, the power of Fark.

Posted by Wil at 08:04 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I've been registered as a non-partisan/decline to state voter since the day after I turned 18.

I've heavily considered Libertarian, Green, and Independent status, and given slight consideration to the Democrats.

I recently became a card-carrying member of the ACLU. I also support Doctors Without Borders, the EFF and a few other progressive organizations.

I regularly write letters to my Senators, both of whom are Democrats (in title, at least.)

So I guess it was just a matter of time before I got a mailing from the DNC.

It came a few days ago, in an envelope cleverly marked up to look like an express mailing, haphazardly covered with "hand-written" notes and the like: The 2004 Democratic Presidential Strategy Poll.

The letter enclosed announced, WIL WHEATON, we are very interested in knowing what people like you, WIL WHEATON, care about in this upcoming presidential election. WIL WHEATON, as we craft our strategy, we need your input!

I double-checked the letter, to make sure I wasn't reading something from Publisher's Clearinghouse. I was unable to locate the smiling visage of Ed McMahon, and confirmed that this letter was, indeed, not going to guarantee me a multi-million dollar prize.

Tucked away inside the mailing was a ballot of sorts. It asked me questions like, "Where do you stand on efforts to privatize Social Security" and "How would you characterize our gun laws in America?" (It may surprise regular readers of this site that I checked "Our gun laws are too strong and interfere with an individual's right to bear arms." -- though I've never owned a gun, nor do I intend to.)

The questions provided for very honest responses that were ideologically conservative and liberal, and asked me to write in who I was most likely to vote for right now (at this early stage, I think that's a stupid question, as nobody has taken enough money from corporate lobbysts to formalize their position, yet, but I marked "Howard Dean," so the Democrats know that, if they care about this voter, they'd better quit acting like Republican-light.)

There was also a section for comments, where I wrote: "To earn my vote, the Democrats need to offer strong, clear, different alternatives to the neoconservative agenda which is currenly driving White House policy. Democrats in Congress need to shun coporate money, and return to representing The American People, when the two interests collide. Finally, Democrats need to stand up to the Republican agenda, and start fighting back with the same ferocity the Republicans displayed during 8 years of Clinton/Gore."

Though I am not naive enough to think that anyone at the DNC will give a shit about my opinions, I prepared to send it off to DNC headquarters in the pre-addressed envelope, which was helpfully stamped "RUSH!" in bold red letters.

The only problem was, the envelope was too small for my survey. It was, however, exactly the right size for a personal check. I tried and failed several times to make it fit, but before I gave up, I looked in the booklet one last time and saw the following final questions:

[o] YES! I have completed my Presidential Strategy Poll . . . please share my responses with our Democratic Party's campaign team.

[o] YES. I want to support the presidential election campaign . . . [0]$20 [0]$35 . . .etc.

[o] No. I do not want to become a contributing member . . . but here's my $7.50 to defray the costs of processing my survey.

[o] No. I do not condsider myself a Democrat. Take me off your mailing list.

Posted by Wil at 05:18 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The clouds speed across the sky, white and grey.

Green leaves rustle, vibrant against the greyness of the impending storm.

The Sun stabs through the clouds. Placid blue pools sit atop shafts of light.

A chill wind blows.

The sky weeps.

Posted by Wil at 03:44 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Anne's friend and her awesome kids have returned home, we're back to cooking for four instead of seven (I have no idea how you Mormons do it!) and our house is once again silent, except for the jingle of Ferris's collar, and the hum of all my computer fans.

We had such a great time while they were here: we went to Disneyland on Thursday, California Adventure on Friday (Huge, huge, huge thank you's go out to Eric, who signed our friends in both days, and Tom, who signed Ryan and Nolan in on Friday).

The kids hadn't ever been to Disneyland before. The best part of the experience for me was watching their faces on The Haunted Mansion, or the Pirates of the Caribbean. I recalled how magical those rides were to me when I was a kid, and seeing the excitement and wonder play across their faces took me back to a time when pirates chased wenches, not plates of food.

While they were here, I also introduced the kids to Homestarrunner.com, and Nolan and Brennen spent the entire four days quoting things like, "Welcome to Homestarrunner dot net. It's dot com!" and singing "Everybody's to the limit" and playing Trogdor.

Saturday, we took the kids to the movies, then went out to dinner in Old Town. When we got home, all the adults were exhausted, but the kids talked us into a game of Cranium. My team lost by one card. Grr.

Yesterday, Anne took them all to the beach while I stayed home and filled orders. When they got home, we went out for ice cream, then it was off to the airport.

It was a really fun few days. I wish they lived closer so we could see them more often.

But for today, I will enjoy my quiet house, make a trip to the post office to ship those orders, and hopefully finish proof-reading Dancing Barefoot so it can go to the printer.

Posted by Wil at 09:29 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Check it out.

No, seriously. Check it out.

Posted by Wil at 09:04 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

So that annoying splash screen is going to stick around until the end of the week . . . because I think it looks pretty cool.

Or maybe I'll take it down right now.

The e-mail consensus is that I look angry . . . which is kind of a drag, because I thought I looked tough.

Grr!! Check me out! I'm tough! Yeah! Tough! Grrr!!

Does anyone buy that?

Didn't think so.

Today, I shot an interview for this thing that's going to be on ABC during May Sweeps, called "Our Favorite Stars: Then And Now."

I guess I'm one of their favorite stars, or something. It's pretty cool. :) I got to talk about WWdN, recall some memories about Stand By Me and Star Trek, and talk about my books. We shot it at the ACME Comedy Theatre, which is cool, because ACME will get some national TV exposure out of it.

If anyone saw me on TechTV's The Screen Savers yesterday, LOSING in the Great PC race, here's what happened: Roger and I planned out how we were going to assemble the machine, and, on a scale of 1 to awesome, everything went totally great . . . except we both forgot that the P4 needed power.

Yeah, it's been awhile since I put together a machine.

But you know what? It's really easy. If I can do it, anyone can do it.

Heh. "Do it." Cool.

Chris DiBona also did a review of Red Hat 9 that you may find useful. I haven't gone to 9, yet. I'm still 8.0 with about a thousand apt-rpm additions. I'm terrified that upgrading to 9 will break my box . . . so I'll upgrade the machine Anne and the kids use first. ;)

Anne's friend Ashley is in town for the rest of the week with her insanely cool kids. We're going to be doing the Los Angeles tourist thing until Sunday, so blogging will be pretty light, if at all.

Several people have asked what happened to comments. Sadly, they've been disabled until I can figure out a way to ensure that people can act like mature adults, and not mouth-breathing idiots. Several readers have chosen to join the Soapbox community, and there's cool commenting going on in there.

How about a Thought For Today?

"Do what thy manhood bids thee do, from none but self expect applause; He noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self-made laws."

-Sir Richard Francis Burton

Posted by Wil at 09:45 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

How about that annoying splash screen, huh?

Don't worry, it's just there for today, to announce the arrival of COOL NEW WWDN SHIRTS!!

Check them out.

No, seriously, check them out!

Update: The response has been incredible! I am really happy. I think this design is just awesome, and apparently so do you guys.

But here's the coolest thing, ever. When we were watching "24" tonight, Ryan said to me, "Hey, Wil, do you have any extra T-shirts?"

"For who?" I said.

"For me, man! Your shirt is so cool, I want one! And some stickers, too!"

I gave it to him, and he told me he's going to wear it to school tomorrow.

I tried to act tough, but my grinchy heart grew two sizes today.

Posted by Wil at 09:37 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Wil at 08:24 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

She loves Big Brother:

"I don't have a problem with (government surveillance). I don't have anything to hide," Turner said. "I wish there was more government monitoring. I want to know if somebody on my block is reading a book on how to build a bomb or if there is anyone reading 'Catcher in the Rye.' They say there's a link between that book and many serial killers."

Hey, I read and enjoyed "Catcher in the Rye." I encouraged my stepson to read "Catcher in the Rye," and several of his friends also read it. Reading books is dangerous! Reading makes people think! Serial killers don't kill people! Books kill people!

So I think you should do your civic duty, and report us to the FBI because . . . well, we might be up to something you don't like. Something dangerous like reading a book. Maybe not now, but maybe sometime in the future, or maybe not at all.

But you'd better take pre-emptive action, because that is the American way.

. . . you want Freedom fries with that?

Posted by Wil at 10:22 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Several readers informed me that Book of Days was on last night. My personal favorite was,

"I RED YOUR SITE AND YOU SHOLD BE MORE LIKE YOU CHARACTER ON BOOK OF DAYS!"

Uhm. Yeah. Thanks for playing I just got a free AOL CD at Blockbuster.

It got me thinking. I never really shared my thoughts on the movie . . . so here we go:

While I am happy with my performance, as well as Isaac and Maureen's, I think that the movie as a whole. . . well . . . I don't know if I'd say it sucked, but . . . well . . . I think it's pretty bad.

Not Kangaroo Jack bad, but pretty damn bad.

It would be very kind to say that Richard Grieco (who I really like as a person, and consider a friend) "phoned it in." It was more like he hired an assistant to phone it in for him, and that assistant handed it over to a temp. Richard's performance was completely uninvested, and I think the movie, which had story problems already, really suffered because of it.

I do think that John Reilly played an outstanding villian, however.

The script that I originally read was really good. It was a bit metaphysical, but it's fucking PAX, for Christsake. What did you expect? However, when it was rewritten for bugetary reasons, it just fell apart. I feel badly for the original screenwriter.

The worst of the rewriting was the courtoom stuff. It was the most awful courtroom "drama" to hit television since the defense's closing in the OJ Simpson trial, and it was painful to watch.

Lots of people have emailed, or commented in the old Book of Days entry, that they enjoyed it, so there appears to be an audience who wasn't bothered by those things.

. . . or they're just sucking up, which is pointless because I can't get you anything. Not even an extra Straw at Dennys.

Well, maybe an extra straw, but you're on your own for the well-done hashbrowns.

Ultimately, I have some stuff to be proud of in there. I wouldn't change any of the acting choices I made, and I'm on to the next job.

. . . which doesn't involve extra straws at Dennys, so I'm doing just fine. :)

Posted by Wil at 07:49 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

In the Chicago Sun-Times, Paige Wiser says:

Last week, Forbes.com went to the trouble of rating the top celebrity blogs. The winner? "Stand by Me" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" alum Wil Wheaton. He writes every day at WilWheaton.net, and is impressively coherent, taking more than a few self-deprecating shots at himself.

Of course, it's interesting to note that the best-rated celebrity blogger isn't that much of a celebrity. But he gets extra points in my book for his online gift shop, where you can buy a "Wil Wheaton Dot Net" thong. Remember: There are all kinds of ways to express yourself.

Heh. I'm working my way up to that "B" list, slowly but surely.

Speaking of the "B" list, you know that shitty looking movie "The Core?"

Well, why not take the thirteen bucks you'd spend at the movies, and ownthe shitty-looking movie they ripped off? As an added bonus, you get to see me die, engulfed in a flood of molten lava.

Come on, you know you want to see the movie described as "Absolute junk, one of the worst films I have seen. You will be doing well just to stay awake for the duration. "

Posted by Wil at 05:51 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Found at Fark:

Baby Morrone is here
Our own Megan Morrone gave birth to Annabella Wells Morrone at 8:47 p.m. last Monday. In addition to a full head of brown hair, Annabella was 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and 19 inches long. Mother Megan feels great, and is quite possibly the proudest mother in the world. Send Megan an email, or if you prefer snail mail, here's the address:

Megan Morrone
c/o TechTV
650 Townsend, Suite 500
San Francisco, California 94103

I know that Megan is going to be a great mom, because she likes monkeys even more than I do.

Congratulations, Megan! You'll be enjoying a full night's sleep . . . before the end of the year. ;)

Posted by Wil at 02:22 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

My pal Sarah is an amazing photographer. She's so amazing, I'd like to see her work shared with the world . . . or at least that portion of the world that drinks Jones Soda.

Take a look at some of her work, and vote for your favorite.

You'll be glad you did.

Also, my very good friend, fellow actor, and former room mate, Chris Hardwick, has started up his very own website. He promised to buy me a new car if I sent him 15,000 visitors. So get to work, and I'll give you a ride.*

*not.

Posted by Wil at 04:00 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Man, I farkin' LOVE Fark.

Posted by Wil at 01:41 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I am back from my vacation. Spent about 30 hours in Las Vegas, where I won 41 dollars, paid way too much for a mediocre meal, and saw "O," which is breathtaking. I highly reccommend it.

After Vegas, Anne and I flew home, unpacked our bags, loaded the car, and drove to Lake Tahoe with the kids and Ferris. The drive was great: Anne and I listened to 80s CDs that we made, and the kids watched DVDs on my iBook. The eight hour drive raced by.

While we were up there, over two feet of snow fell, and the temperature only got over 33 once! It was awesome. We went sledding (tubing blows doors on regular sleds), introduced Ferris to the concept of bounding through chest-deep snow drifts, and just enjoyed being away from that pesky Real World.

And Road Rules.

And TRL.

As a matter of fact, being away from eMpTyVee was the best part of the whole damn trip.

Well, maybe not, but writing that made me giggle, so deal.

Seriously, I have to tell you all, having a week with no phones, no tv, no Internet, and therefore no war, no war, and no war, . . . it was magnificent. If you can isolate yourself from news, even if it's only for an afternoon's hike, you gotta do it.

There were several dogs on the street where we were staying, and they were all very friendly and well socialized, so we just let Ferris run around with them. She's been pouting since we got home. If you say "Friends" around her, she perks up her ears, wags her tail, and starts looking for them. It's kind of sad. We've been talking about getting another dog for a while, (did you know that it's "for a while" not "for awhile?" I learned that from Andrew when I was writing Just A Geek) and I think it will probably happen before the end of summer.

On Sunday, Anne hit us all with a big surprise: When we planned the trip, we talked about skiiing, and decided that we couldn't afford it (we desperately need a new dishwasher), but Anne wanted to do it regardless, so she put away some money each week for the past few months, and she took us all to Northstar. We haven't been skiiing in over three years, because I think it's a luxury that's just not in our budget . . . but I'm so glad that we went. It was so much fun. Standing on top of the mountain, looking down at snow-shrouded Lake Tahoe on our left and the dusty [Whatever the hell it is. I'm too lazy to look it up] valley on our right was quite an experience.

Both kids did really well, considering that they hadn't been on skis in so long. By the end of the day, Ryan and I were racing down black diamonds, and Nolan was jumping through the trees.

When we got home, there was quite a bit of exciting news waiting for me:

• Forbes.com did a story on Celebrity Weblogs, and this site was voted "Best Celebrity Weblog!" Behold the power of Fark. :)
  
• Because of the Forbes article, The Hollywood Reporter mentioned me in a story:
  

  
  (Hwd Reporter)
  Celebrities find new voice with blogs
  April 04, 2003

  The power of the Web log -- or blog -- to shape opinion has not escaped the notice of Hollywood. Most of the popular blog sites are political in nature and some are created by talented writers who aren't (yet) famous. Even some celebrities have become noteworthy bloggers, with regularly updated Internet sites filled with stream-of-consciousness honesty, relevant links and photos, and well-researched opinions. Such celebrity efforts are no mere
  online marketing tools. Sometimes blogs are controversial. CNN correspondent Kevin Sites had been blogging from Iraq until CNN reportedly asked him to stop. "I've been asked to suspend my war blogging for a while," it says at his blog, KevinSites.net. I "hope to come to agreement with CNN in the near future ... ." Now the folks at Forbes.com have gone through the trouble of ranking the best of the celebrity blogs. WilWheaton.net took first place.

  
  

  Pretty cool, huh?
  

• I was named "Chester of the Week" by Brendoman.
  
• I'm currently featured in two webcomics: Dork Tower (check this out: you know who e-mailed me to let me know about it? About a thousand people. But guess who was mixed in among them? Monte Cook. How cool is that?!)

  I'm also sort of the villian in something called "Man-Man."

  You'll note that it's "Man-HYPHEN-Man" not "Man-SLASH-Man," okay, freaks? I present the description of Man-Man, from the comic's creator:

  "I write an internet comic strip called Man-Man. It chronicles the adventures of Man-Man, a hero who, after being bitten by a radioactive man, gained the proportionate strength, speed, and agility of...a man.

  He uses his astonishing lack of abilities to fight evil and such."

  
  

  The description had me howling before I even followed the link. Then I yowled.
  

• Remember that awesome book, Jennifer Government, that I was talking about recently? I dropped a short e-mail to its author, Max Barry, to let him know how much I liked it. While I was gone, he wrote me back!!

  
  "Hi there,

  Hey, you liked my novel! And then you told hundreds of thousands of people about it. Boy do you rock. Thanks a lot.

  Max."

  
  Cool!
  

It's been a great week. Now I am about to go into lockdown mode to get Dancing Barefoot to the printer within 24 hours (I'm in the corrections phase!). When I'm done with that, I remain in lockdown mode to write for the new ACME show, and finish the final re-write of Just A Geek.

Stay tuned . . .

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