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Dancing Barefoot
After nearly two years of blogging, Wheaton compiled and edited an autobiography from his blog entitled Just a Geek, to be released in June 2003. Several of the stories which didn't fit into Geek have been collected in a smaller companion volume, Dancing Barefoot, which is now available from Wheaton's publishing company, Monolith Press (www.monolithpress.com). The legions of Trek fans who have rediscovered Wheaton as a guy much like themselves, as well as those weblog readers who enjoy Wil's humor but don't know the difference between trilithium and tribbles, will find Barefoot irresistable. Those with only a casual interest in Wheaton but familiar with Trek will find the book's showpiece, The Saga of Spongebob Vegas Pants, well worth reading. Wheaton's conversational, intimate writing style may even convince them to read the rest of the book. Cartoon illustrations provided by Ben A. Claassen III are an excellent complement to the casual essays.
Barefoot begins with four short pieces, essentially vignettes of days (or even moments) in the author's life. These range from the amusing (ruminations on teenaged lust and paths untaken) to the melancholy (Houses in Motion, a paean to Wheaton's deceased great aunt), and one needn't be told that they were culled from journal entries, because they very much read that way. The best is Houses -- although it sometimes ranges into maudlin territory, it is also the most courageous writing in the book. Wheaton's generation has been raised on a diet of pop culture and cynicism, and it's invigorating -- if somewhat startling -- to see someone of that generation openly expressing such feelings of devotion and despair.
The man who spent his formative years aboard the starship Enterprise departs from the short form for the final and most engrossing portion of the book, the aforementioned Spongebob Vegas Pants. It's the chronicle of a Star Trek convention held in Las Vegas, during which Wheaton tolerates the alternatingly ugly and kindly faces of fandom, but eventually rediscovers his enthusiasm for the Trek universe. Those who have attended such conventions will immediately recognize the fan archetypes, while those who have never been to such an event may decide that they never, ever want to. Fortunately, the story is less about the horrors of being a convention guest and more about the resolution of Wheaton's conflicted personal feelings about having been a part of the Trek phenomenon -- including his unpleasant run-ins with the original captain of the Enterprise, referred to repeatedly as William F---ing Shatner.
Certain sections of Dancing Barefoot could have used another turn under an editor's pen. Sponge Bob Vegas Pants, in particular, has a few passages that don't serve the story much, but as with the deleted scenes on a special edition DVD, some readers will be grateful for the extra material, regardless of how it affects the overall pace. Frequent atticisms will sustain the rest of the book's audience through the book's slower passages, though, and the author's humility is an effective antidote for the feeling that one might be about to read the memoirs of yet another self-indulgent celebrity blowhard -- which Mr. Wheaton certainly is not.
Given that the engaging Dancing Barefoot comprises the material that didn't make it into Just A Geek, it feels much like an appetizer to the larger work. Let's hope the main course is as tasty.
...just a clever book title.
I'm a writer, a poet, a genius, I know it. I don't buy software, I grow it.
I admit I didn't see all the episodes, but I don't remember seeing one where Wesley went around crushing boys.
"People that quote themselves in their signatures bother me" - athakur999
his unpleasant run-ins with the original captain of the Enterprise, referred to repeatedly as William F---ing Shatner
At least youknew his name Wil.
Quite the number of trolls out today. Considering that Wil has enjoyed a somewhat unique experience in one of the most loved TV franchises in the modern era you think people would be more inclined to post thoughtful replies.
Then again, I suspect the trolls are simply driven by a wracking, crushing feeling of sexual inadequacy.
THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Dancing Barefoot as well. If you've read Wheaton's blog at all, you may be familiar with his funny, often self-deprecating, and above all, honest writing style. Sometimes, his blog entries are brief one-liners, but other times, they are quite courageous and emotional stories that really draw you in.
Even if you don't want to be drawn in.
Of course, I wasn't all that drawn in, you know, 'cause I'm a bad ass.
No, really.
And I didn't get choked up at ALL reading any of it, especially the one about his Aunt Val's house.
I did NOT.
Shut up.
Where was I? Oh yeah. Dancing Barefoot takes some stories that were previously on the blog, and adds to them, finishes them -- puts some more polish on the edges, and presents something that is incredibly human, touching, and even grand.
This book is worth reading just for the Saga of Spongebob VegasPants alone. Even if you're a long-time blog reader, I can almost guarantee there is some stuff you haven't seen yet.
Ok, I am actually going to buy this book. I am a sad sad man.
Great! Another positive review!
/RANT
I want to know more about its general feel! I want to know more about what I might not like! I want to know more than "There are parts that need to be polished, but ignore my last sentance"!
An online Starcraft RPG? Only at
In Soviet Russia, all your us are belong to base!
Online Starcraft RPG? At
Dietary fiber is like asynchronous IO-- Non-blocking!
Looks like he'll be on fark again tonight...
yeh, he's been a huge presence in usenet for some time now....
maybe, we could get don lapre to write a book, too.
... hi bingo
Actually, this was a reference to his former pro-wrestling career, where his title was "Wesley, The Boy Crusher". It's a period that Wil would rather soon forget about, thank you very much.
Pages, a big fat list of links, which I assuredly did not pay for but was funny on the shelf. Reading old blogs on paper is just an ironic anachronism. Although if the guy makes money, good for him. Is this a troll? I'm not a troller in general but I'm not sure this time... ;-}
What does his mother, the doctor, think about this?
I'm glad to see some of Wil's writing make it into print after having read his blog for so long. His style online, while not always what one would consider highly-polished (an asset, actually) is very heart-felt and honest.
Nice to see someone who had an early acting career not show up as one of those 'and they found him in his car, stoned out of his mind, with 17 sheep and a bottle of vodka' sorts of stories. Wil seems to be a decent guy, and I hope he succeeds enough with his writing to make that his profession, if he chooses.
Cheers, Uncle Wil.
Wesley stole the title of my favourite Patti Smith song. I was gonna use it myself.
It was in this movie script I've been working on which I'm not allowing anyone to see.
There's no emoticon for how I feel...
What a content-free review. We're told time and time again that we will find this book facinating but never how this book provides something that books written by other Trek actors or other genXers doesn't. Are we supposed to find this 'better' than other books because of Wil's supposedly candor in his writing style? It's not clear to me.
It sounds like this book is only directed towards Wheaton fans. This review doesn't suggest that this book will view already familiar subject matter from a fresh perspective. Maybe it does. Hell, I certainly don't know. But this review is terrible. The review also states that the book is comprised of four vingettes. Well, are these things actually related? Or is it just a collection of stuff? Again, the review doesn't say.
Seriously, my time is pretty valuable. I only read stuff that I think will provide me with something fresh and new. This review does not tell me whether this book does such a thing.
GMD
watch this
That's on PSG's *Wave*, "Dancing Barefoot" is. The original tune was featured prominantly in a 1997 episode of Millennium. And covered a few times be lesser artists (U2, Beverly Sister, Kiss).
She's too busy fucking Picard to care.
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Was he a WWF^HE pro wrestler?
I'm surprised that Wil hasn't been on "Where Are They Now?" on VH1. It's absolutely amazing how hardcore-trekkers reviled him in yesteryear, and everybody else essentially ignored him. And here he is, a Slashdot regular. You gotta take your hat off to the guy...not everybody gets a second chance.
--- Where's my car, and why are these grass stains on my pants?
I never thought many moons ago I would see someone on TV, and then talk to him many years later on this Internet thing.
I discussed how much I hated some horror movie where his family was getting infected(I can't access IMDB right now). He replied on fark a few posts later how much he hated it as well.
I felt like I upped my geek status at that point.
Wheaton is a real geek. A Geek's geek even.
Stop laughing.
Check out Wil's interview with The Onion AV Club. Lots of good insights on the absurdity of child stardom, and the bizarre love/hate relationship with Star Trek fans.
I think Wil's done a great job moving away from his strange past... hopefully he will soon find a strong movie role that suits his unique personality.
and in a follow-up story, a large number of Anonymous Cowards committed an act of mass suicide
but they were wearing cool shoes
Yeah, both of them.
Me and my buddies were thinking about starting a bowling team, but we weren't sure what kind of team shirts we should wear. Do you have any ideas?
All the reviewers will be on grass and all the reviews will be astroturf.
Are you confusing Wil with the Vladinator? Or is Wil just as big a loser?
After checking Amazon and Barnes & Noble for the ISBN and title, there is no record of this book anywhere according to the my two favorite online book peddlers. Thae makes me sad.
For the first time ever, inspired by this article, I checked out WIL WHEATON DOT NET (the newest programming language from M$? Aye, sir...), and was very pleased with the experience. Not all blogs suck, apparently. Yes, I'm a geek.
If anyone can find a dead-tree merchant who's taking pre-orders for (or acknowledges the existence of) books by Wil Wheaton, post it here? Please?
"Linux doesn't exist. Everyone knows Linux is an unlicensed version of Unix"- Kieren O'Shaughnessy
OMFG DANSIG BARFUT IS TEH FUTAR!!11
With a link to Amazon.
blarg.
I thought that Wil was a character in some stories about cthulhu and stuff. (alt.sex.cthulhu)
I didn`t know he was in star trek too. He must really kick ass there, I mean, with his almost infinite physical sthrenght and ability to change form at will. ?!
When I first saw the title of this book I thought it might be a biography of Stallman. The first time I saw him talk he was barefoot and he danced around the room as he talked.
PPSSSHHHHHTTTT
OpenBSD on an iBook maybe.
It's not cute and 'clever' anymore.
In other words he's an unemployed has been.
No, seriously. I used to watch Star Trek: TNG occassionaly, even liked it a bit. But for the life of me, I can't remember anything about his character. Can someone refresh my memory?
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
I've never had the particular honor to have been able to speak with him in person or on an online forum, but I've read over some of his comments and blog posts in the past. This book sounds like one I need to add to my list in the near future!
Mr. Wheaton has always come across to me as being an honest, true techie with a Clue. The fact that he speaks his mind without hesitation only makes me respect him that much more; a guy could easily dig himself into quite a hole with as many ears listening as he has.
I wonder, though, if this is the beginning of a new wave of publications-- dead-tree compilations of blogs? I'm not sure what I feel about that. For every good blog, there're a few hundred that are a total waste of electrons.
Shut up, Wesley!
Wil's a great actor. I remember him from way back when in Stand By Me, and even from The Last Starfighter. But the worst piece of writing I've seen in nearly any program was a TNG line where he meets Riker in the hallways of the Enterprise-D and says:
"Can I walk with you?"
Gahhh, I still think about it and it makes me cringe...but some folks could mistake the bad writing for bad acting. His revival is much welcomed for me, and that book will probably be an interesting read.
Shut the fuck up and get ready for work. I want my Big Mac to be HOT today, ass. Don't make me call you out in front of your supervisor again.
From the review of Dancing Barefoot:
The best is Houses -- although it sometimes ranges into maudlin territory, it is also the most courageous writing in the book. Wheaton's generation has been raised on a diet of pop culture and cynicism, and it's invigorating -- if somewhat startling -- to see someone of that generation openly expressing such feelings of devotion and despair.
Startling, but not unique in this generation. David Eggers' memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: Based on a True Story specialises in this style of self-revealing, self-referential, reflective, intelligent, witty prose. One can't help but notice the similarities in the relationship between Eggers and his brother Toph, and the relationship Wheaton has with his stepson. While reveling in the part of himself that will always be a boy brought out by the younger (the child is father of the man, and all that) he also can reflect on the call to greater responsibility required by the relationship, accepted somewhat reluctantly.
Eggers started a whole (and very good) imprimatur with a group of authors and artists who also transcend the pop culture they were raised on. Good Stuff and worth reading!
There ya go.
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It got a "7" for crying out loud!
Since 95% of all reviews get a "9", a "7" screams "Run away! Run away!"
This is just a thought, but I think that some of the younger Star Trek: TNG viewers might have even been JEALOUS of Wesley Crusher.
He is smart for his age (as many teenage Star Trek watchers were, or at least tink they were), and I think it might be easy for some younger viewers who were around Wesley's age at the time to relate to him.
However, the kids watching the show lived in the world of Junior High and High School, possible where they were made fun of for being nerds, trekkies, etc... whereas Wesley lived on the Enterprise and got to have at least a few cool adventures.
So I think it was easy for a young Trek fan to wonder why they couldn't be in a "cool" situation like Wesley was. So they were jealous of him.
Some people might have also been jealous of a Wil Wheaton for being able to play Wesley on Star Trek and be on the Enterprise set rather than in school.
Personally, I'm jealous of Reginald Barclay. Yet another crazy, incompetent mental case with a better job than I have.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
That'll teach me to skim reviews. Also provides a reminder that there are more than two online booksellers on the planet. D'oh. Interestingly, the entire library section of Wheaton's blog site links to Amazon, and the books in "What I'm Currently Reading" and "Essential Computer and Geek Books" are...intruiguing.
"Linux doesn't exist. Everyone knows Linux is an unlicensed version of Unix"- Kieren O'Shaughnessy
It's neat that Wil has `geek' tendancies, and it's not often that celebrities have blogs (but becoming more common), but he has much to learn before we can dub him `head-geek'.
Unless he's locked in a closet with my grandma and a tricorder, of course :)
Give this man an "Insightful" plz.
From: Brad Crick (bjcri1@mfs04.cc.monash.edu.au)
Subject: Wesley "Weener boy" Crusher must die a slow painful death
This is the only article in this thread
View: Original Format
Newsgroups: alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die
Date: 1997/05/10
Wesley (Weener-boy) Crusher tickles my soft palate causing me to expel my
stomach contents every time he appears on screen. I spent a lot of
potentially good Next Gen episodes barfing my guts out.
Signed, Luke
As a long term user of Next Gen, I feel it is in my best interests to make
every one aware of Wesley (Weener boy) Crusher's whingeing whining nature.
His schmalzy attempts at participation in bridge crew activity, when lets
face it, HE DOESN'T BELONG THERE!! They make him into some hero genius boy
able to save the entire crew of the Enterprise but his Will Wheaton
pathetic acting he doesn't get beyond the intelligence or knowledge of
Gordie LaChance of Stand By Me fame
Signed, Kieran
This is the best book ever written, hands down. I can't wait to buy a copy for everyone I know.
Just another wussy liberal commie
Would ever try to pick him up for one of their home grown series. Probably something space vessel related, though. I assume that his slashdot/internet popularity might be able to give it a boost, as long as the script is good, that is.
I thought he was good in Stand By Me. But the thing that bugged me about Wesley, was they made him into such a whiney, little snot on ST:TNG. I was also bothered by the fact that this "Advanced" and "Modern" version of Trek still treated him as a "dumb kid." Despite calling him a "boy genius" in the opening teasers prior to the shows launch.
Had they written a better part for him, and treated him like an equal, I'm sure that fans would have liked him more.
But with that aside, I have to give credit to him for being able to take the good with the bad in stride. He's still able to look back on Trek and Smile, and still able to smile when fans face him and say "I really hated Wesley."
How many of the rest of us would be able to do the same without giving folks a big "F*** You?"
I for one can say, while not a "fan" of Wesley, I can give kudos to Mr. Weaton for hanging in there with a bit of class.
-Goran
Carpe Scrotum - The only way to deal with your competition.
Are you sure Wil didn't play that bald French surrender monkey coward Captain Picard????
Cast Wil in the movie, and then cut him from it during post-production.
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream
I remember this from a Propaganda song; do you know the author?
Thank you.
Will wheaton is such a Fruit. I was so happy when they cut his scenes from Nemesis. He acts like he is god. What a dork.
- Crewmember on the USS Enterprise
- Codes and maintains his own website
- Uses Linux instead of Windows on his home machines
- Worked on the Video Toaster
- Obsessive blogger
- Posts on Slashdot
- Free Speech activist
- Frequent (but not frequent enough) guest and sometimes guest host of The Screen Savers
- Host of Arena on G4
- Gamer, both video and role-playing
What more can you ask for? Seems to me that Wil Wheaton has become the shining star of Geek Culture, the Ubergeek. He's both articulate and telegenic, and has a deep understanding of technology's role in society. Should Wil Wheaton decide to run for office, I'd vote for him in a minute.Interociter
-=What do I want? I'm an American. I want more.
Now, you can hate his blog, too. That's right! Wil Wheaton as Wil Wheaton the annoying nerd with a blog. No Trek. No bald Captain to fawn over. No deus ex machina plot to rewrite as a deus ex Wesley. Nothing but 'net. Tune in and bring a vomit bucket!
How was that flamebait? I happen to think Wil is great. I read his blog once a day and even have a wwdn mousepad (it was a gift). You knock someone down for making a joke? That was hardly flamebait.
Jumping Judas on a pogo stick! How was that flaimbait? A joke? Yes. Not your kind of humor? Quite possibly. But a flame? No.
Stop being so damned twitchy and THINK before you moderate.
I wouldn't classify the post I was replying to as flaimbait, either. But that's me.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
This oft used term is redundant. Your persona is the face you show to the public.
Insert witty sig here.
i would rather have my eyes gouged-out with a rusty fork than have to submit to have wil wheaton as the representative of all of geekdom. all the ubergeeks i know consider wil wheaton to be something of a wiener monkey, and if you don't agree with us you should read something awful's article:
http://somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=1123
or
http://somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=972
wil wheaton should not be writing books, or blogging, or existing, or in any other way influencing my culture. and he should especially not be joining my green party and tainting it with his unholy presence.
Why would he call William Shatner "William F---ing Shatner"? What is that... "William F dash dash dash ing Shatner"? That doesn't make a whole fuckload of sense. Is this fuckup from the book or the reviewer?
You can see a blurry shot of him in the background toward the beginning of the film. If memory serves me, it's when Louis is wearing a helmet and playing in the trailer park.
Try Pro-boxing. Undefeated in one bout with Barney .
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
Wow, people suck. I hope these are just a fringe element, and not a representative sample of the current slashdot population.
So for a different perspective, i thought Wesley Crusher was an annoying git, even though i'm a bit jealous of the name recognition (better to rule in hell than serve in heaven or some such.) I know very little about you, but you seem like an okay guy based off the posts here. Cool! You've got a book out! Wish i could do that :) Hope it does well!
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What strikes me as odd about that is that Valmont came out in 1989, and Gene Roddenbury didn't die until 1991. Boy wonder is a bad liar.
No! I am the clit commander!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
original captain of the Enterprise, referred to repeatedly as William F---ing Shatner.
I thought someone would have noted that William F'ing Shatner played Capt. Kirk who was not the first commander of the Enterprise having been preceeded by Capts. Robert April and Christopher Pike.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.
Even I had to go back and look. Since this is a movie that was pretty dear to me, I can still appreciated it simply because it was Wil's foray into Sci-Fi, albeit light fare.
So, how does one person find so much time to write so much negative?
I'd love to see the IP log for all those entries.
I wonder how Gene reacted to the public irritation with his characterization of Mr. Crusher.
:)
It hurt him a great deal.
Wesley was Gene's idealized self. Wesley was the kid that Gene couldn't be, and he hated it that the fans, who he loved, hated this character so much.
I remember once, we were at the same convention, and there was a group of fans chanting someting like "kill wesley" or "wesley sucks" or something equally intelligent.
Gene, who was about a thousand at the time, and not exactly spry, stormed up on the stage, grabbed the microphone, and said something along the lines of, "All you people just STFU! I make this show the way I want to! I don't make it for you, I make it for me, and if you don't like it, you can watch something else!"
There was a stunned silence, and then applause from the few majority of people who didn't share the opinion of the haters.
It was awesome.
I know that Gene respected and appreciated the fans, just like all of us do . . . but there's only so much a guy can take, you know?
Just read this thread at 1, and you'll get an inkling of about 1/10E6 of what I put up with for 15 years . . . and I was just an actor on the damn thing. I didn't even create it.
I know now, as a writer, that criticism of writing stings much worse than criticism of acting. The writing is much more personal, you know?
And thanks for setting the record straight on my history with TNG.
I don't really see what's so great about blogs. Sure, I like the idea of /. where you can discuss mutual interests, but as far as randomly surfing the net seeing what different people did in their day or what they have to think doesn't appeal to me. Maybe i'm missing something or maybe i'm not, either way I'm not really into blogs.
SIGFAULT
I remember noticing this really goofy guy . . .
:)
Heh. Some things never change.
You made a teenage geek very happy. Thank you.
That's awesome. I always try to be not a dick when people ask me for autographs and stuff . . . but when I was a teenager . . . well, I didn't just look goofy. I *was* goofy: insecure, awkward, and anxious. I could have easily let my insecurities get the better of me, and acted like some of the AC's here. I'm glad I didn't.
I was at Disneyworld then with my best friend Darin. It was for his 18th birthday. I was 16, and we thought we were SO COOL (nod to Teen Girl Squad) being all the way in Mysterious Florida . . . I have nothing but wonderful memories from that vacation (even though I lost my nerve and didn't kiss the cute girl while I was there.)
It's awesome to me that you have a good memory, and I'm part of it. Thank you for sharing it.
Atticism: Concise and elegant writing.