Slashdot Mirror
Wil Wheaton Strikes Back
All these questions were very thoughtful and interesting, though, and I wanted to give equally thoughtful and interesting responses to them. I hope it was worth the wait.
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Looking back...
by SeaDour (704727)
Looking back from where you are today, Mr. Wheaton, what would you consider your greatest achievement that you take the most pride in? Your work as an actor? Your widely-acclaimed blog? Or maybe your published memoirs?
And, on a related note, are you anywhere close to where you expected you'd be by now?
Wil Wheaton: "Where I expect to be now" is a concept that's constantly changing for me. For a long time, I wanted to Prove To Everyone That Quitting Star Trek Wasn't A Mistake by the time I was 30, but once I started my blog, I proved it to myself, which I ultimately figured out is the only opinion on the subject which was really that important. There was a lot of freedom in that discovery, so even though I'm not where I thought I'd be as an actor, and I have no idea where to expect to be as a writer, I've learned that the true joy in life comes from seeing the path, staying on the path, and enjoying where you are at this moment.
It's hard to talk about what I think my greatest achievement is, because I feel like I'm seriously jerking off . . . and if I'm going to do that, I'm building a wishlist and charging memberships.
But feeling proud (without being prideful) is something I can talk about. I don't think there's anything wrong with taking an occasional step back to reflect on the things you've done, as long as you don't do it all the time and talk about it in Slashdot interviews. If you that, you're a total dick.
Anyway, I'm incredibly proud of my first book, Dancing Barefoot, even though I recently read it, and I would like to do a serious bugfix upgrade. I published it myself, marketed it myself, and it was the first real risk I've taken in my adult life. I had a lot of help, from a lot of people, and the whole experience is something I will always be able to look back on fondly. I am also proud of Just A Geek, because I think the writing is better, and I grew a lot while I wrote it . . . but the way O'Reilly handled its publicity and marketing (and me as an author) was so frustrating and upsetting, it's difficult to look back on that experience and feel good about it. Mostly, it feels like a missed opportunity to me, and that's a drag.
At the end of the day, though, I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had, and I hope I've made the most of them.
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Starfleet IT
by Anonymous Writer (746272)
One of the things that fascinated me about Star Trek: The Next Generation was the attention to detail in set design. I'm aware that Michael Okuda [startrek.com] was responsible for a lot of the design work, like the LCARS [wikipedia.org] interfaces for example (also referred to as "Okudagrams"). There was just an underlying subtle feel of logic and innovation behind it all that appealed to the computer nerd in me.
The touch screen interface standard was one; touch screens are an ideal graphical user interface because you don't need an indirect input device to manipulate the interface. I've actually read somewhere that NASA considers it to be a useful idea for manned space missions because it allows a user to access a whole range of controls with a simple touch screen, saving on space and weight when compared to the equivalent in physical controls. The PADDs [wikipedia.org] were also a novel concept, resembling current PDAs and tablet computers. The LCARS interfaces also had recurring elements, like a round one I've read was nicknamed the "spinner", that looked like a control for 2D or 3D manipulation, kind of like arrow keys on a keyboard.
I also noticed that everything - devices, bulkheads, panels, containers, etc - all had the same kind of labels on them. They seemed like a standardised system for doing things like handling inventory, like barcodes. And there was a consistency across the board, the way they were also used as signs on doors and also appeared as LCARS interface elements. I've noticed that they've used them in the Star Trek: Enterprise series as well. (I've also read that they sometimes had jokes [ex-astris-scientia.org] on them visible only to the cast during filming.)
Since you were working on the set, you must have had a lot of exposure to what went on behind the scenes with regards to the design process. And as a self-confessed geek [amazon.com], you must have had some interest in that part of the production. Was there an actual working concept behind LCARS as a real graphical user interface? What can you say about the fictional LCARS that would be applicable to real operating systems and graphical user interfaces? And what about those labels- were they based on a realistic system of organisation and management? What kind of concepts were the set designs based on, and how much detail did they get into regarding those concepts? I was just wondering how much of it all was just aesthetic and how much of it was based on real logic.
WW: From 1987 to 1989, I spent about fifteen thousand hours up in the art department, asking Mike Okuda and Rick Sternbach questions just like yours, because I wanted to make the technology on TNG as real as possible. If you'd asked me at the time, I would have sworn that it was because I was so dedicated to making the show as good as it could be . . . but the truth is, I did it because I was a geek, and it was super fun to hang out with really smart and talented futurists who didn't treat me like the idiot teenager I was.
There was a balance of logic and aesthetics, if I recall correctly: Logic for the writers and actors, and aesthetics for the producers and audience. Some of the things you described, like the "spinner," just looked cool, and made it look like things were actually happening on the ship. (All that was done with polarized film, I think.) But everything was absolutely designed within a logical structure. For example, I remember Mike telling me that the Enterprise computer system was all about the software, so the design could very logically be the same, even if the consoles were supposed to do very different functions, with the same style and color scheme all over the place. This was also financially prudent, because the art department could quickly duplicate the same series of buttons if they ever needed to. According to the writer's bible, the LCARS always knew who was talking to it, and what functions that person usually needed. The idea was that Geordi would usually need engineering functions available to him, so the LCARS would wake up wherever he was, and the keys would reconfigure themselves appropriately. Wherever Wesley went, he'd get access to /usr/bin/outsmartthegrownups and /usr/lib/dialogue/stupid. What I find interesting about this is that this sort of thing is very plausible today, with RFID in badges (or communicators) and things, but TNG was doing it in the late 80s, when digital watches were still a really neat idea.
One of my favorite things to do when I worked on Star Trek was walk through the sets when nobody else was around, just so I could study the graphics. I'm sure you know about the giant Enterprise schematic in Engineering, but for the one person who doesn't: The huge cutaway view of the Enterprise is filled with little graphical inside jokes, like a hamster wheel where the engine should be, only two restrooms at opposite ends of the ship, NOMAD from the original series, and a few other things that we all figured nobody would ever get close enough to see . . . until one director (I think it may have been Paul Lynch, who liked to yell "Energy! Energy! Energy! Energy! And! And! And! And! And! ACTION!" at the beginning of each take) wanted to do a shot that started close on the cutaway, swept across it, and pulled back into a two shot of me and Brent. When he watched the rehearsal, and saw that there was a giant duck decoy and a "Speed Limit" sign in the middle of his shot, he was pissed. I'm sure the art department felt bad about that, but we all had a god laugh while they reblocked the shot.
If you watch any TNG episodes where I send the ship to warp speed, you will notice that I always use the same series of commands. I don't know if anyone else cared about it as much as I did, but because I was such a huge geek, it brought a "playing cowboys and indians" element to my job. When I went to Star Trek: The Experience in 2001, which I recounted in Dancing Barefoot, one of the first things I looked for was my initials on the security panel, and some other inside jokes on the science stations. After confirming that they were there, I sat in the CONN, and sent the Enterprise to warp 6, using the same series of commands I'd used for years on the show. It was pretty cool.
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Aqualad
by vjmurphy (190266)
Since you are doing the voice of Aqualad on Cartoon Network's Teen Titans, how different is that experience (voice acting) compared to in-the-flesh acting? Are all the other actors voicing their characters at the same time you are? Is there a lot of experimentation, ad-libbing?
And did you have a choice of characters to play? If so, Aqualad? I mean, come on, his power is to swim and talk to fish. :)
WW:I absolutely love being Aqualad. I think he looks cool, they always give him great things to do, and I've been able to give him a very distinct attitude and voice: he's a prince, you know, so he's sort of aristocratic when he deals with the other Titans, and he gets annoyed when anyone doesn't respect what he calls "My Ocean."
And I'm incredibly lucky that I have that job, because the voice over community is the hardest secret handshake to learn in the entire industry. As hard as it is to get hired for on-camera work in Hollywood, it's exponentially more difficult to get hired for voice work. It seems like it would be easy: You just walk into a booth, record your lines, and leave, right? Wrong. The great voice actors are not just doing silly or interesting voices: they're actually acting using only their voice. They can't use their eyes or their bodies to convey emotion or intention, so giving a subtle but powerful vocal performance (like Kevin Conroy on Batman, for instance) is much harder than . . . well, than it sounds. Once someone proves themself as a voice actor, they will work a lot, and there's very little turnover.
We record Titans in a pretty big studio at Warner Feature Animation. There are about a dozen chairs lining three of the four walls, with music stands (for scripts) and microphones in front of them. The fourth wall is a huge sound-proofed glass window that separates us from the room where the director, writers, producers and engineers sit. I usually sit between Scott Menville (Robin) and Greg Cipes (Beast Boy) . . . though when I work with John DiMaggio (who plays Brother Blood, but is best known as Bender from Futurama) I always get a little fanboy and try to sit next to him. I've noticed that many of us adopt certain postures when we do our character voices. Scott always stand up, and usually clenches one fist, Greg usually crosses one leg over the other and fiddles with a pencil, and I sit up straight, with my hands on my knees. I don't know why we do these things, but I know that I can't do Aqualad's voice unless I'm sitting in that posture.
We start out by reading the entire episode top to bottom, with the director reading the action. We get a few notes during this read-through, but mostly it's to help us track the entire episode and warm up our voices. When we're done, we take a quick break, and then we start the episode. We go scene-by-scene, occasionally stopping to re-do a line here or there. We are not given an opportunity to ad-lib very often, simply because the scripts are very tight, and have had to get approval from a lot of people before we finally sit down to voice them, though occasionally if a line isn't working for some reason, we'll get the nod to play around a little bit and find something that does.
A typical episode takes about two hours, and when we're done, the director and producers play back their "pick" takes from the session, in context, and usually bring a few of us back in to "pick up" a few lines here and there. They edit all the takes together, and send the final product to the animators. Several months later, we come back into the studio to clean up anything that may have made sense when we recorded it, but doesn't work in the context of the final animation. We also record all the "OOF!" and "URGH!" and "THWOCK!" sounds for our fights at this time, so we match the action on the screen.
A couple of weeks after this session, the episode usually hits your television.
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The effect of movie piracy on the actors
by kevinadi (191992)
Ok I've been itching to ask this to a real actor who also happens to be a geek.
You know MPAA's been suing left and right claiming downloading movies are damaging to the industry as a whole. As an actor in probably the most popular science fiction series ever, how does piracy or file sharing affect you and your bottom line?
Does what the studios say about piracy is total bull? Or is it the truth?
WW: I think it's bull. I've only had profit-sharing in one movie, and according to the studio it never made a profit *cough*bullshit*cough* . . . so even if it had been pirated, I wouldn't have been affected by the loss of revenue. To be honest, piracy hasn't hurt me as much as creative studio accounting has. If people pirated my Monolith Press books, or my audiobooks, I'm sure it would hurt my bottom line because I'm more directly connected to the revenue stream as the publisher.
I don't know more about this than anyone else who has google news and some free time, but as far as I can tell, piracy doesn't affect movies that are still in theaters. The copies you find for sale on street corners are laughably bad, and there is no way they're going to replace studio-released DVDs. On the other hand, piracy becomes a problem when those studio-released DVDs are copied not by people like me who just want to use DeCSS so I can watch a DVD on my Linux machine, but by organized crime in Asia. I'm no expert, but it seems like the MPAA would get a much bigger return on their investment if they stopped going after college students and went after the factories that turn out legitimate movies by day, and switch over to pirated material at night.
Personally, I don't download movies, or music, or anything else (except purchases from iTunes, or artist-approved concerts via Bittorrent) because I believe it's stealing. I'm not going to lecture anyone about it, but if I like something, I pay for it and support (however minimally) the people who made it.
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Child Actor Prodigy Success
by statusbar (314703)
It seems that most child actors end up growing up to be crack-heads, drug-dealers, low class porn actors/actresses, and/or dead from bullets or drugs.
How did you avoid all that mess? Was it easy or hard to avoid? Was there a point in your life where you had to make a conscious choice? What would you say to other child actors to help them avoid the pitfalls of early fame?
WW: I think not being on Diff'rent Strokes had a lot to do with it.
Thank you. Tip your waitress, and don't forget that you can play Keno right at your table! Come back for the late show . . . it gets a little blue.
In all seriousness, I think most child actors end up as you described because they believe all the hype they hear as kids. When I was a kid, it felt good to hear from everyone that I was the next big thing, and I was always the golden boy, and that I'd never lose the light in my eyes. Did I know it was all bullshit? Right after Stand By Me came out, and I'd done some interviews and dealt with some "Hollywood" people, I did.
Something kids and their parents (and all actors, really) need to remember is that Hollywood is always looking for the next big thing; and that rarely means the next amazing-but-undiscovered actor. In this business, a talentless whore who gets fucked in grainy night vision is more valuable to the networks than a talented actress who has spent years studying and honing her craft. That's the reality of Hollywood in 2005, and if publicity and fame is more important to an actor than the work, they're going find a void in themselves that can only be filled by sweet, sweet heroin. Or late-night erotic thrillers featuring Shannon Tweed and Lorenzo Lamas. See, fame comes from without, and the joy of performing comes from within. Actors can always perform on stage (or start blogs) if they can't get work in TV or movies. They probably won't get fame, but they'll get the joy of performing.
I think that I avoided becoming a regular on Cinemax's late night boob-a-thons because even when I was a kid, I quickly figured out the difference between the kids (and their parents) who wanted to be Actors, and the ones who wanted to be Movie Stars. I never wanted to be a Movie Star, and the ones who did annoyed the hell out of me. They were the ones with the obnoxious stage parents, and we were the ones who just wanted to learn our lines and do good work. When we all grew up, guess who turned out okay, and guess who is selling his teeth on eBay? Okay, if I can drop a name for a second: I am lucky enough to have a signed copy of the book Sideways. When he signed it, Rex Pickett wrote,All that matters is the work. I think that's important and useful advice for anyone who gets into a business that mixes art and commerce. If the attention becomes more important than the work, you're boned.
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What kind of movie would you make?
by chadjg (615827)
Let's say that you come into posession of a large ( $100,000,000) stack of money and you have a burning desire to make a movie that you know your fellow geeks would enjoy; what would it be?
What is missing in most movies today, if anything? Is it possible to make a geeky movie that has a chance of commercial success? Are we stuck importing Japanese anime?
WW: I absolutely hate that what passes for Sci-Fi in movies much of the last ten years is really just the action movie formula with laser guns and rockets instead of machine guns and motorcycles. So if I had a pile of money, I would make a Sci-Fi film based on a classic novel, like [insert your favorite title here. There's no fucking way I'm picking one, and dealing with the ensuing flamewar]. I would love to do American Gods or Sandman, and my dream is Watchmen as twelve two hour episodes: the first 90 minutes would be the main story, and the last 30 minutes would be Hollis Mason's book, and Tales of the Black Freighter. I'd also like to do Preacher or Fables. Okay, those are mostly graphic novels . . . but can you honestly tell me you wouldn't want to see Sandman? (If it was done right, without Vin Diesel.)
I believe that there are two vital things missing from the film industry today: the first thing is a willingness at the studio level to take risks. As Hollywood's consolidated, and studios have been bought up by multinationals who don't make movies as their primary product (Seagrams, Sony, etc) the industry has become very risk-averse, and if you're not willing to take risks, how can you be truly creative? That's why we see the same old dogshit repackaged year after year. The head of a studio can stand up and say, "We made you X dollars with Mega Crap Blockbuster last year, and this year, we'll be giving you Mega Crap Blockbuster II: Electric Boogaloo! Lindsey Lohan is attached, so we'll make 2.5X dollars!"
The second thing missing from movies is even worse: story. We say it all the time: "If it's not on the page, it's not on the stage." When a studio spends 20 million dollars on some currently-hot celebrity and pays the writer 50K . . . well, we get what they paid for. Since most geeks are smarter than the average bear, we have slightly higher standards for movies (and I'm not even talking about the film geeks, who both terrify and impress me) so paper-thin stories tend to annoy us more than the average audience member. We need someone to step up and be to 2005 what Robert Evans was to 1970. Okay, have I managed to come off like a total elitist film snob yet? On the off chance that I haven't, I'd like to once again observe that Tom Cruise is one of the most over-rated, worst actors in history, and Michael Bay should not be allowed near a film set for the rest of his life. Or at least the rest of mine. Jon Favreau is a fantastic actor who should write and direct more, Lorne Michaels should stop trying to turn unfunny three minute sketches into unfunny 90 minute movies, and where, for the love of god, is my generation's Steve McQueen?!
Hrm. Looks like I crossed the line from elitist film snob to never working in this town again.
Uhh . . . let's see if I can get this back on track before the goon squad shows up: I think there is a silver lining here for geeks. Lord of the Rings proved beyond any doubt that it's possible to make geeky movies that still appeal to a broad audience, as long as there is a director with a clear vision who understands and respects the material. Lord of the Rings had both elements I think are important to successful movies: the studio took a huge risk, and Peter Jackson worked with amazing screen writers to bring one of the greatest stories in history to the screen. This tells me that there is some hope for us geeks. We could see a resurgence of geek-friendly movies that actually reward our intelligence (ie: more The Matrix, and less Catwoman). And if not, there's always Firefly on DVD.
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Fame and accessibility to the public
by H_Fisher (808597)
While many celebrities try to isolate themselves from the public as much as possible, except for talk show visits and the like, you've taken the route of being much more responsive to your fans and the world at large - openly posting to sites like Slashdot and Fark, blogging, and all the while being very open and honest about your opinions.
That said, (a) Do you ever regret doing so? and (b) Do you think it's fear of unstable people, overwork, or a holier-than-thou attitude toward the proles (or a combination of the three) that keeps other celebs from being as visible, open, and honest?
I say this because I'm amazed at the down-to-Earth nature of those like yourself, J. K. Rowling [jkrowling.com], and others who aren't afraid to speak out for what they think and feel. With technology, one may wonder why others might not do so.
WW: It's tough to answer your question without coming off like a total douche, but I'll try: I think you see most celebrities carefully choosing who they talk to and what they talk about because a lot of their value is based on the mystique their publicists can create for them. In other words, some actors play a role when they're on the set, and another when they're talking to Oprah. I prefer to keep my acting limited to the set, and because I have a blog, I can speak for myself, so I don't really need or want to participate in the Mainstream Entertainment Media.
In real life (like, not on The Internets) I'm a very shy and private person. When I'm out with my wife, I really just want to be left alone, and I feel pretty uncomfortable when I get into big crowds and stuff. But I think I'd feel that way whether I was an actor, or not. I don't think of myself as a celebrity, either. When I hear someone called a celebrity, I think of someone who gets special treatment, never waits in line, and has had sex with Paris Hilton. And I wish my blog wasn't constantly framed as a "celebrity blog." When I hear "celebrity blog," all I can think of is a PR tool that's run by a publicist, and I make a conscious effort to ensure that WWdN is not like that. I am also a little weird about people who read my blog, or my books, and think we're best friends. Unless your name is Darin, and you've known me since 9th grade, we're not best friends. It means a lot to me that there are people who enjoy reading the stuff I write, and I've heard from a ton of people who read Just A Geek who identified with the struggle, and the journey, and the angst, and stuff. That's really awesome, because as a writer and actor, I hope to affect people with my work in one way or another . . . but I do those things because I love the creative process and I love performing. I don't expect anything in return, but I am intensely grateful that I can earn a living doing what I love to do, which just happens to be a fairly high-profile job.
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Politics and Hollywood - from WW's perspective?
by Zondar (32904)
Wil,
We in the non-Hollywood scene see a fair number of outspoken individuals on one side of the political spectrum, a few on the other, and it *always* gets press anytime anyone on either side speaks out about any political issue.
Having seen it from the inside, how pervasive is politics in the workplace in the projects you've been involved in? Is it something that comes up every once in a while, like the rest of us, during office discussions... or is it something more "tangible", where you basically know where everyone around you stands - and you'd better hope you either stand the same way or don't say much?
Have you ever felt pressure from someone with regard to politics? Have you ever felt that your political viewpoint would affect your chances of working on a project?
WW: First off, I don't think that there's anything wrong with anyone speaking their minds about political issues, especially in the current climate. It deeply offends me when I hear someone telling an actor, musician, or other well-known artist to "shut up and sing." The real outrage, I think, should be directed squarely at the douchebags in the mainstream media who ignore the Downing Street Minutes, but show the fucking Runaway Bride in a split screen with the Michael Jackson trial every. Goddamned. Day.
Sorry. What was the question? Oh. Politics. I've never felt any political pressure or seen politics be an issue on the set; we're just too busy trying to complete the schedule so we have time to nail our hookers on the way home from work.
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Thoughts on the future of Enterprise
by Skyshadow (508)
Okay, let me start out by saying I'd understand if you don't keep up with the new Trek shows, and if that's the case you should chalk my question up to being those of a truly pathetic geek and possibly make "magic xylophone" [simpsoncrazy.com] jokes about it.
That said, if you do still follow Trek I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the progress of "Enterprise" given your status as someone framiliar with the entertainment industry (esp. as it relates to this particular line of shows).
I have been so impressed by the last two seasons (except the Nazi arc at the start of this season) that I'd go so far as to group them with some of the best episodes of season 3 TNG. The characters are finally starting to fill out, the plots have gotten away from the standard "it's the Borg again!" horseshit and they've even had relatively decent dialog.
I get the impression, however, that it's not going to be enough to save the series based on the timeslot it's been relegated to. While my TiVO stays in Fridays even though I don't, I can't believe that even Trek fans regularly stay home Friday nights in sufficiant numbers to save the show, not to mention all the people who stopped watching in season 1 or 2 and won't end up flipping past sometime to give it a second chance now.
Is "Enterprise" as doomed as I think it is?
WW: Well, between the asking of this question and my finally answerng it, Enterprise was cancelled. Despite a massive "Save Enterprise" effort, Paramount decided to tell Enterprise about the rabbits one last time, and walk her behind the shed.
I know this will be unpopular, but I think it was time for Enterprise to go. I also think that it's time for The Simpsons to go, and I thought that even Seinfeld went on about 12 episodes too long. I'm a firm believer leaving the audience wanting more.
Ron Moore wrote some wonderful comments about the demise of Enterprise on his Battlestar Galactica Blog (which I wish was called "Galactiblog,") where he basically said that Star Trek was being returned to the care of the fans now, and it's up to the fans to see where it goes next. I agree with that, and I think that a break from being in production will give the next generation (har. har. har.) of Star Trek creators an opportunity to get some perspective on Star Trek, and let whatever the next thing is return to what made Star Trek so great: Captains who bang green chicks in mini-skirts.
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Women et. al
by DarkHelmet (120004)
I know this is one of those things that was asked to Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade, but as Ashley Judd's first on-screen kiss, do you have any advice on finding women? ;)
On that matter, what do you think priorities should be in looking for that sig. other?
WW:Well, I went out and conducted a very serious scientific poll, and I discovered that strippers and pornstars are turned on by guys in Think Geek T-shirts with Slashdot IDs between 129188 and 129190. Hope this helps.
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What about the flip side?
by Short Circuit (52384)
In your response to a comment titled "Usenet," from the previous interview, you make it quite clear that people hating you for being Wesley pisses you off. Do you have anything in particular to say to the people who like you for being Wesley?
WW: Thank you. I wish I'd known you were out there in the alt.wesley.die.die.die days.
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Child Actors
by Keebler71 (520908)
Would you let your own children enter the tv/film industry? Why or why not?
WW: No. Children need to be children, and part of being a child is being irresponsible, occasionally moody, and playing every chance you get. When a child becomes an actor, they are expected to be professional, enthusiastic, and focused on their work at all times. That's unrealistic, and it takes a huge chunk of their childhood away.
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Celebrity poker
by Magius_AR (198796)
Hey Wil,
I'm a longtime reader of WWDN and I know you're big into poker. Is there any chance of you making an appearance on Celebrity Poker on Bravo? It'd kick ass to see you on there in action ;)
WW: I played in the World Poker Tour Invitational the Commerce Casino earlier this year. I started out at a table with Tom Everett Scott (who went on to finish third), Mena Suvari, Willie Garson, and Gus Hansen. I played very aggressively in the first couple of levels, and built up a pretty respectable stack.
Sometime during the third or fourth level, this guy moved to our table, right next to Mena. He was clearly star-struck by her, and he started talking about Celebrity Poker Showdown a lot. Mena gave me that "save me" look and said, "Have you played on Celebrity Poker Showdown, yet?"
I told her that I'd asked Bravo a few different times if I could play on the show. The first time, they told me that they were full for the season, but they'd keep me in mind for the next season.
"The next season came around, and I contacted them again," I said, "and this time they told me, 'We're sorry, but you're not a big enough celebrity for our show.'"
I looked at my cards: AJd in middle position, in an unraised pot. The table was playing insanely tight, so I raised it the 3x the BB figuring I'd take it right there. It was folded to Willie Garson, who was two seats ahead of me. He called and said, "Are they nuts?! They had Carrot Top on the show for Chrissakes!"
The flop came J-x-x with two diamonds. I checked.
"Oh, thank you," I said. "That makes me feel so much better."
Willie bet about 1/3 of the pot. I figured my jacks were good, so I bet whatever would have put him all-in, hoping he'd call with a non-diamond Ace-high or a flush draw, and he folded.
Eventually I got busted out by Amir Vahedi when my short-stacked 55 ran into his pocket tens. Oh well, that's poker.
I'd love to play on Celebrity Poker Showdown, and I've let them know that . . . but whoever books the talent over there has made it very clear that until they go through their A-listers, B-listers, C-listers, and whatever list Carrot Top is on, I'll have to wait.
Even though I played like a donkey on the WPT Hollywood Homegame, I managed to finish third, so when the first and second place finishers couldn't play in the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio, I got to go in their place. Holy shit, man! Can you imagine a $25,000 freeroll, against a field of only about 500 players, with a shot at 3 million bucks?! Of course I went . . . and suffered two BRUTAL beats to get knocked out about 100 places short of the money: I raised UTG+1 with pocket kings to 3X the BB, which was 1800, I think. It's folded around to this guy in late position, who re-raises me to 6000. It's folded to me, so I re-re-raised him to 20000. He went all-in, I called. He turns up AQo, and I was very happy . . . until the flop came Q-Q-x. That fucker took most of my T140,000 stack from me on that hand. Two hands later, I get pocket kings again, so I raise it, get re-raised by Annie Duke. I push, she turns up AKo, and rivers the ace to bust me. I went from 7th in chips to drowning my sorrows in Newcastle in three hands. It was tough, because if I'd won against that AQ, I could have folded into the money, and even made a few moves to seriously compete for the final table.
During the week at Bellagio, I got some coaching from my friend Lee Jones, who is the manager of Pokerstars.com, and author of a fantastic book called Winning Low-Limit HoldEm. (Full disclosure: that's an affiliate link. If you sign up with PokerStars, and use referral code wilwheaton.net, I'll get some points. I'm trying to get enough points to win some army men or a new dirtbike.) I also became friendly with Phil Gordon. Between Lee's coaching and lots of great advice between levels from Phil, my game improved dramatically. I got to talk with Greg Raymer after I busted out, and he told me that poker is a game of decisions, and you just hope to make more correct decisions than your opponents do. He thought I'd gotten my money in good, and made the correct decision both times. When I got home from Vegas, I decided to test that, and find out if that one tournament was just a fluke, or if I could actually make consistently better decisions than my opponents. So I studied the crap out of Dan Harrington's fantastic book, Harrington on Hold'em, and started playing almost nightly on PokerStars, which is the only online poker site that I can play on Linux I'm running Wine 20050524 on Sarge, and it supports it right out of the box. Well, I discovered pretty quickly that I could, indeed, make better decisions, more consistently than my opponents.
Anyway, there's a point hidden deep within all of this: I guess I played well enough in Vegas, and in my online games to get the attention of people at PokerStars, and they invited me to join their team. I am still shocked that I get to be in the company of Greg Raymer and Tom McEvoy . . . but I'm really looking forward to being photographed between Isabelle Mercier and Evelyn Ng! They're buying me into the $10,000 NLHE Main Event in the WSOP, as well as a few other events this year. If you're a PokerStars player, search for user "WilWheaton" and maybe we can play together I like to play the 10 +1 MTT SNGs. If I have the time and bankroll, and enough people are interested, I may try to put together a weekly geek/blogger 20+2 tournament.
-------------------------------------------
How to be a "real" actor/writer/speaker/artist?
by Silas (35023)
Hi Wil. I know you're not about dwelling in the past when it comes to your acting career, but I did want to say that I think "Young Harry Houdini [imdb.com]" is an oft-overlooked film that you should be very proud of. Okay, so maybe I was only like 10 when I saw it, but as an amateur magician it really had an effect on me, and I thank you for your role in it.
A related question then: What advice can you give (beyond saying "be born with raw talent") to folks like yourself who see themselves as creative types with an interest in acting, writing, speaking - the public arts, if you will - but who also don't want to tread the over-worn path of mainstream media and every other Hollywood actor-wannabe? You seem to have done an exceptional job being a part of the underculture - sci-fi TV, self-publishing, blogging, small theater, etc., so it would seem you have some insight into how to participate in these arts without becoming corrupted by the process of getting involved.
WW: Thanks for your kind words about Young Harry Houdini. I am very proud of that film, and I think it's a shame that Disney hasn't released it on DVD. It's a great little movie.
A very quick story about working on that film: I had several scenes with Jose Ferrer. He played a snake oil salesman who I (as Erich Weiss) traveled with around the Old West. During the journey, Erich discovers that he's got real magical powers, which he uses to eventually become Harry Houdini.
We were filming a scene that took place late at night, around a campfire. Near the end of the scene, Jose was supposed to get up from the fire and walk into the wagon that all of our characters used to get from city to city. Well, during one take, someone forgot a line or something early on in the scene. So Jose stood up, and ad-libbed something like, "Well, I'm off to bed! Good night!" As he walked into the wagon. The director cut the scene, and when Jose came out of the wagon he said, "I'm so sorry, my dear, but there was a long silence, and I felt compelled to fill it."
At that moment, I learned how important it was to be present in a scene, even if I wasn't talking, and when to fill the silence, or just let it hang there. To this day, whenever there's a silence in a scene, I feel compelled to fill it.
The short answer to your question is: Create something, and release it yourself. You don't need anyone's permission, and the traditional rules about distribution just don't apply anymore.
The long answer to you question is: First, create something for yourself. You asked about acting, but this applies to a book, a 'zine, a website, a web-comic, a short film . . . whatever. Don't wait for someone else to give you something to do, or give you permission to do it. Just create something that you are passionate about.
Go ahead, I'll wait.
Okay. Most of this answer is going to apply to writing, because it's where I've had the most experience in doing it myself vs. doing it the traditional way, but it's easily applied to creating in other mediums. Here is the most important thing I can tell you: You do not need the so-called traditional channels of distribution to get your work to an audience, and you'll probably be happier and more successful by not going through those channels. I've done it both ways, and self-publishing and distributing was more fun, more creatively satisfying, and much more financially rewarding than the indescribably frustrating process of doing it the other way. This is the best advice I ever got from a fellow author, and I'm thrilled I can pass it along:"Nobody is going to work as hard as you are to promote and sell your work. Books sell as well as their authors promote them, and don't expect anything from your publisher after the book is turned in."
When I wrote Dancing Barefoot, I had a lot of the concerns I think you're referring to in your question: I just wanted to create something, and give it to an audience. I didn't want to experience the same process of begging and rejection, ultimately culminating in some form of (what often feels like) selling big parts of my soul that I have experienced my whole life as an actor. I knew that there was an audience for my work, and because of The Internets, I had a way to reach them. So I learned all I could about self-publishing, asked lots of people lots of stupid and not-so-stupid questions, and came up with a way to publish, market and distribute my work on my own terms. This had a couple of huge benefits, that should appeal to any creative person: I could let the audience decide if the material was worthwhile or not, and I had complete control over the way my work (and by extension, I) was presented to the audience. When I went the "traditional" way, I didn't have that control, and it was endlessly frustrating. O'Reilly insisted, against my advice, on marketing my story as a Star Trek book, which it clearly is not. I warned that they would alienate an enormous potential audience of non-Trekkies with that plan, but my pleadings fell on deaf ears. Unfortunately I was right, (Barnes and Noble won't even stock Just A Geek I've never seen it in a single store. According to a store manager, "Star Trek books just don't sell after the first week.") Just A Geek was abandoned shortly after its release just before Christmas, no less before it ever got a chance to take off. I worked on that book for two years, and poured ten times more energy into it than I put into Dancing Barefoot, and I was rewarded with a frustrating, depressing experience that I will never repeat.
It goes back to the advice my friend gave me: As a creative person, whether you're an author, musician, actor or filmmaker, you will end up working harder than anyone else to promote your work, despite the promises they make to you before the contracts are signed. So why give up creative control and an enormous share of the profits when you're going to do most of the work anyway? Why bust your ass to make someone else rich? There isn't a stigma attached to self-publishing (or performing in a small theater, or distributing your performance on DVD via the Internet) like there used to be, because more and more people are coming to understand that the audience is an enormous collection of little niches, and every single one of them can be served by small presses or indie distributors. So if you don't want to participate in the soul-crushing aspects of the entertainment industry, you don't have to. Self-publishing (or self-producing or distributing, or whatever) is risky, but it's the best way to participate in the arts without being corrupted by the process of being involved. Of course, you must have some inherent talent to create good work, but your question implies that you've already got that part of it worked out. I'm trying to show you how you can take your talent, use it to create something, and then take your creation to an audience.
- You want to publish a book? It's easier than ever to create an e-book with free software like Scribus and OpenOffice.org, and use a service like PayPalDownloads to deliver it.
- You want to release your music? Garageband will host your files and connect you with people who want to hear you.
- You have a great idea for a play? There are 99 seat Equity-waiver theaters in every big city in America.
- Don't want to shop your brilliant short film to myopic studio buyers who are just going to steal your idea anyway? Produce it yourself! Film it on digital video, edit it on your Mac, and create your own DVDs.
- When you've got a physical product to sell, PayPal will process payments for you and create shipping labels you can print, or you can use a service like Yahoo Shopping to do your fulfillment.
-------------------------------------------
Your future?
by identity0 (77976)
It occurs to me that you're not much older than I am, and probobly younger than most people on Slashdot. Do you ever find yourself wondering, "What will I do with the rest of my life"? Do you have a plan for your life, or are you just making it up as you go along?
Does having had a career and achived fame(at least among us geeks) at a young age give you a different outlook on life than the rest of us young folk, who are just getting out of school and looking to start a career? And any advice to us geeks seeking a family and job would be appreciated : )
Oh, and on a lighter note - you may be a famous actor and author, Wil Wheaton - but I still have a lower Slashdot ID than you! Take that! : )
WW: I'm not trying to sell books here, I swear, but much of your question is answered in Just A Geek. (Contrary to what you may have heard, I managed to sneak in stuff between the endless Star Trek stories that people in their late 20s to early 30s may be able to relate to.) But since you waited seven months for an answer, I'll see what I can do: When I was younger, I always assumed that I'd be an actor for the rest of my life. I liked acting, and I didn't totally suck at it. But when I hit my late teens, I worried that I may not be as good an actor as I thought I was, so I took some time off. That long and winding road lead to the Where's My Burrito? Geocities website, which eventually lead to my blog, Dancing Barefoot, and the Star Trek book. Along the way, I discovered something very important about myself: I still enjoy acting, and I love to perform for an audience . . . but it's the creating that I love, and writing allows me to create much more than I can when I'm an actor-for-hire.
See, as an actor in television or movies, I ultimately have no creative control over what the audience finally sees. All I can do is create a character, wrap him around me like a second skin, and hopefully bring something unique to the performance. It's incredibly satisfying when it works on the set, but there are so many elements in filmmaking that are out of my control, what I hoped to create on the set and what makes it to the audience can be two very different things. The music, the scenes before and after, the editing, and about a hundred other things that have nothing to do with me can all come together with disastrous results. And all the preparation in the world doesn't mean anything if the any other actor phones it in, or the director is incompetent. It's also very weird to be a few weeks shy of my 33rd birthday, and a veteran actor. About 80% of the time, I've got more experience than most of the people I work with, even if they're ten or twenty years older than I am. What's actually kind of upsetting is that all that experience counts for very little when you get right down to it, and I still lose jobs to people who are less experienced but currently "hot" according to Hollywood. But that has actually helped me find and stay on my Path: I love writing, I want to be a writer now *and* when I grow up, and I can't think of anything else I want to do with my life. Besides, I'm never going to make it onto This American Life as an actor.
It's going to be a challenge for anyone to balance career and family, and as far as dispensing advice for fellow geeks about that . . . I don't think I'm qualified. Unless you're hoping to have a successful acting career stall out, become a blogger, and start writing books. If that's your thing, I can help you out, Mister-I've-Got-A-Lower-ID-Than-You.
-------------------------------------------
WW: Well, it looks like I'm finally finished here. I'll read this thread (at +5, you Los Angeles Times Wiki-trashing idiots) and I'll do my best to karma whore^H^H^H^H^H^H^H answer any follow-ups that may occur.
Vote Quimby!
- clevernickname
In Soviet Russia wheaton WILLS YOU!!!
GoD BLeSS HOWaRD STeRN!!! ps whos wil wheaton???
There is no such thing as a card shark. Someone who is an exceptionally good card player is said to be a card SHARP.
where is the "I feel for ya, but that's some funny ass shit" moderation?
/not trying to start a flamewar, honest
I am trolling
Before we begin, I want to sincerely apologize for taking so long to get these questions answered. Since these questions were submitted to me seven months ago, a lot of things have happened in my life, and my free time went from 1d12 - 4 hours a day to 2d4 -3. (Yes, I realize that means I can occasionally have negative free time in a day. Believe me, I know.) I lost two companion animals, worked on CSI, didn't work in a play, insulted the Star Wars nerds, got a crippling case of mono that effectively means 2005 will be two months shorter for me than everyone else in the world (except those who couldn't do a damn thing for two months because they were so sick), and started a writing job that actually pays me a little bit.
...
I think it was insulting the Star Wars nerds that gave you all the bad karma.
Either that or you need to take more showers
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Which reminds me, when do we get to see Wil's face on a box of Wheaties (poker is a sport right)? I mean "Wil Wheaton on a Wheaties box" could be the next big thing (wow is that a great epithet or what?)
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Did he ever try and put the moves on Diana Troi?
;)
Or maybe Diana's mom tried to the put the moves on him after Picard spurred her advances
I can see charging membership to watch this, but where exactly does a wishlist come into play?
I jest, I jest.
NMG
I think I can give you a run for your money.
I pass the geek test by being a member of the community here, and I have a blog as well. Here is an account of my BPO win and another of my loss in the semifinals.
Fun with Anagarams! LADS HOST, SHALT DOS. HAS DOLTS. AD SLOTHS, HATS SOLD. ASS HO, LTD.
The huge cutaway view of the Enterprise is filled with little graphical inside jokes, like a hamster wheel where the engine should be, only two restrooms at opposite ends of the ship, NOMAD from the original series, and a few other things that we all figured nobody would ever get close enough to see . . .
Never underestimate the power of hamsters.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Looks like we have a common dream. A Watchmen movie is, in fact, being produced but then again, how much will it be toned down from the original?
Makes me shiver every time I read that.
The owls are not what they seem
I'm not reading all that.
If someone were to introduce a new space/sci-fi series I think there's enough excitement with what we are doing with comets, shuttles, ISS, etc. and the grim realities of going up and coming back on bombs or in tin pots. Enough cloaking/photon torpedoes/butt-ugly aliens, etc. Bring it back home.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
On that matter, what do you think priorities should be in looking for that sig. other?
WW:Well, I went out and conducted a very serious scientific poll, and I discovered that strippers and pornstars are turned on by guys in Think Geek T-shirts with Slashdot IDs between 129188 and 129190. Hope this helps.
Actually, there is some truth to the first one, strange as it may sound. There is a high correlation between geek-loving women and strippers - not sure about guys tho
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
This has to be one of the best Slashdot interviews ever - Wil, your responses were truly great, and it was a fun read.
Rather than the make-believe responses that I see on most interviews, this came across as a genuine talk from a fellow geek, rather than a celebrity, as some would put it.
More power to people like you! Rock on, dude.
Like him or dislike him...but I wish every slashdot writer was so thoughtful and lucid. (And knew what karma whoring is!)
Good answers. A good read.
Having a three-year-old son gets me exposed to a lot of the remakes of classic films from my childhood. Most of these (eg. the Parent Trap) are crap, but sometimes, people do capture what made the original so good and give it a fresh angle at the same time.
When my wife checked out "Flubber" from the library, I was ready for it to be a horrible remake of a classic, and, for the most part, it was. The exception was Wheaton's repraisal of Tommy Kirk's character. Maybe it was because they look so much alike, but he nailed that part.
It got me thinking that Disney missed the boat. Swiss Family Robinson, Old Yeller, etc., could have been remade with Wil in the cast....
Then again, considering what Disney has done for the last decade or so.... maybe it's better off this way.
I'd rather have someone respond than be modded up.
Rob Reiner should return to insanity
and turn "The Cowboy Wally Show" into
a movie. The graphic novel by Kyle
Baker is pretty much a finished
storyboard for a movie already.
J
Thank you, Wil. Thank you for taking a difficult role on TNG to pull off without annoying people, and pulling it off (at least to me). I enjoy the character Wesley. Thank you for then having the temerity to turn out to be a normal, seemingly well-adjusted adult in real life. Thank you for taking the path of the writer and showing people how words can be used to thrill and inform. And thank you for being such a funny /. poster, and for such great answers to these questions.
I always wanted to know if he had seen Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverley Crusher) nude while on set. Frankly, I wish I could see pictures of her nude body. But if he had seen it live, then more power to him!
Cyric Zndovzny at your service.
Does a blank T-shirt and my user ID come close enough?
Not even close, apparantly...
Picard: You'll never be, you're whiney, snivelly, and annoying. I hate kids, but I hate you most of all.
Wesley: But why? You want to get it on with my mom.
Picard: Number One, taking Ensign Crusher and flush him out the nearest exhaust vent. We'll tell Doctor Crusher he drank some toxic neutronium temporal beam juice and went insane.
Riker: With pleasure sir.
Wesley: But that's just technobabble! No one will believe that.
Picard: Trekkies have been buying technobabble for years. Technobabble keeps the ship running, or not running. Now make it so, Number One.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Sex appeal???
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Dammit, that's not flamebait!
Wil Wheaton freely admits that Wesley Crusher was a horrible "character". And ST:TNG is widely seen as the best of the recent series. So this is a perfectly valid question.
Wil: Do you feel better now that there are worse-written Star Trek characters than Wesley?
Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
The purpose of that site was not known.
One of the great things about Wil, he tends to read slashdot...
So whats the story with voice acting work... any more coming up?
I'm surprised I didn't recognize your voice for that show. (In my defense, I work in broadcast, so I do watch our programming which included Teen Titans)
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
I knew they were in it with the hamsters. Nice to see they didn't take it all too seriously. Or, maybe it was an infinite improbability drive..
SEVEN MONTHS? Where were you, Iraq?
Perhaps for Michael Jackson...
It's no surprise child actors come out all screwed up. To me, the main surprise was how Will came out so grounded.
I did time working as a camera assistant once. I was working a student film at UCLA, and one of the main actors was a seven year old girl. Between takes, she approached me and demanded that I get her water. I was shocked back by the girl's rudeness, but I felt even worse when her mother didn't offer a rebuke for her. It was hard not to be offended because the little tyke didn't know better.
For the rest of my tenure in Hollywood, I did my best to stay clear of the little folk. For the especially well behaved ones (ie, new child actors) I enjoyed making them laugh by making funny faces in between takes. That was the exception, though. Not the rule.
"I am also a little weird about people who read my blog, or my books, and think we're best friends. Unless your name is Darin, and you've known me since 9th grade, we're not best friends."
800,000 hearts just became a little bit crushed.
They let Mo Rocca on "Wait, wait don't tell me.." on NPR, and Wil can't get on "This American Life?" I call BS. I wonder if Westley can take Rocca in a fair fight? [-)
What would Richard Feynman do, if he were here right now? He'd do some math and he'd follow through!
No, because he clearly has no desire to impose his will upon us. I won't mod you down, but I feel comfortable in calling you an asshole. Asshole.
Hey Wil,
I have the ThinkGeek wear and all, but I still get bitched at by women for my apparel.
I realized what's been missing from my life, and what will get me the ladies... so...
Is your slashdot userid for sale? I must have it!
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
The fact that so many hated the character is a real tribute to the actor's skills! You can't inspire people to feel so passionately about a character without *really* selling the role.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Anyone else catch the Pink Floyd reference?
I don't find sharing material without regard for copyright holder to be acceptable behaiviour either. The important distinction being that I don't regard it as stealing and neither does the law.
I assume you had a point?
we're just too busy trying to complete the schedule so we have time to nail our hookers on the way home from work.
:D
Nice to know that WW is just like all us other 9-to-5 working people.
"What do you think?" "I think 'What, do you think?!'"
I don't see that there was really a big need for WW to apologize for taking so long, because really he didn't. I remember the original questions thread, and that a great number of the more intelligent questions were answered by him in-thread. People would write responses such as "Will, dude, if you keep answering in-post you'll ruin the ask-slashdot responses section"
Giving a little time worked out nicely, more going on in his life adds some more recent personal anecdotes and opinions.
Cheers WW, you might not have had all the teenage girls drooling over you but you've got a lot of fans that admire you in both genders.
A good shark will only ever play as good as he/she has to to win, in order to never reveal their true ability.
-- Too lazy to get a lower UID.
As opposed to you, who has a gun rack in his pickup and secretly admires the BTK killer.
He said he was against it, but didn't preach about it. Did call everybody a bunch of pirates or thieves. He put it down to his own personal morality. Fine.
As opposed to people who are suing grandma because they got the last octet wrong.
That's not much of a contest.
I'm curious as to whether voice actors will eventually find fame and fortune as the on-screen actors now do. For myself, I've found that movies such as The Incredibles were both highly entertaining and had production values that allowed me to suspend disbelief. As the technology continues to mature and allows audiences to become truly immersed in rendered environments, the writers, animators, and voice actors become absolutely critical to a successful production (as opposed to "look, Carrot-top and the Olsen Twins did voices in this movie!"). Will we eventually see voice actors' names in big credits? Will skilled voice actors command huge sums for lending their talents? Is it obvious that I'm a geek with almost no movie knowledge who is just excited by the idea of movies not limited by real-world constraints?
P.P.S. I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.
Who's Richard Feinmen? You should learn to spell the names of your superheros you schmuck.
Yay for Wesley!!! Yay!!!!
'We're sorry, but you're not a big enough celebrity for our show.'
The last episode of CPS I watched had Sarah Gilbert, Macaulay Culkin, Neil Flynn and Kevin Nealon and some other people too unimportant(er) for me to remember. If I recall, Kevin Nealon won, but it was Neil Flynn who made with the funny.
That said, thanks for the answers, Wil. I didn't really learn anything I didn't already know from reading WWdN, though. Why not go back through the original thread and cull out ten different questions to answer? I'd bet they'd post a sequel article (Wil Wheaton answers ten questions we didn't ask), and you could try answering some questions that didn't pass muster (read: flavorless pap) with whoever was modding that day.
The only surefire protection against Microsoft infections is abstinence. - The Onion
...would put a Hitch Hiker's Guide reference in response to a Slashdot interview.
A Child star From Outer Space On the Enterprise Saved the human race Burma Shave
Good answers. A good read.
You forgot a category - those who don't care about him. I am not ragging on him by saying I don't care about him, but I really haven't seen him in anything since Stand By Me (that I remember). I have never liked Start Trek or its variations. But I agree with your assessment of the interview answers. It was a good read. I have seen his name on Slashdot several times, and thought I'd read the interview. It was a good read, he seems to have a pretty good grasp on things. Hey, he calls bullshit on movie studios and says things like he doesn't want to come off "like a total douche". Gotta love that.
I don't think it is a slam to say I don't care about him, I am sure he doesn't care about me either. I'll bet fanboys get quite annoying. Good interview though, I wish more of the Slashdot interviewees were half this good.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
I must say I really hated the character Wil Wheaton played on Star Trek.
After this interview I have gain a ton of respect for the guy. I found his interview to be one of the best I have see/read in a very long time. It came across truthful and with intelligence. Most importantly it did NOT look like the PR and marketing agents scrubbed and re-wrote it.
I may hate the character he played but at least now I respect and admire the real person he is.
We could see a resurgence of geek-friendly movies that actually reward our intelligence (ie: more The Matrix, and less Catwoman).
I laughed so hard I nearly pissed myself.
Is Wil one of these black trench coat fiends that actually thinks The Matrix was so much better than the "laser and robot" sci-fi films that gets put out by the Sci-Fi channel? Please. Matrix Reloaded had a 45 minute car chase! By those standards Mad Max is now a sci-fi epic!
If you liked the Matrix fine, but don't come off as one of the fan boys who endlessly chanted "If you don't like The Matrix it's because you didn't understand The Matrix". It wasn't deep and it wasn't original. It was good for what it was but let's not take ourselves too seriously here.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Are you kidding me? Wesley Crusher was one of my favorite characters when I was growing up - in fact, as a geek, I could relate to the character and felt that there was nothing wrong in being a geek.
More importantly, Wesley's character told me that at least in an imaginary world, some kid was having a great time just being who he was, and doing cool things that captured his imagination.
It was okay to be geeky, okay to do mistakes, even if you are on a galaxy class starship.
The Traveler and Wesley were perhaps some of the best characters in ST, I owe part of my geekdom to them! =)
so we have time to nail our hookers on the way home from work.
See! I knew being a movie star was sweet!
... I guess they need a bit of cluestick when it comes to non-tech publishing...
And an excellent Ask, even if it is a bit late... In the DNA tradition perhaps... "I like deadlines. I particularly like the whizzing sound they make as they go flying past."
I have never liked the whole Wheaton thing, mainly because think he tries extremely hard to convince his new audience that he is indeed a geek (constant references to /usr/dumbass joke and other linux schenanigans...). It has become a trademarked mantra for him that wears on my nerves.
On the otherhand, after reading most of this interview, he seems like a fairly well grounded person who could have done alot worse after going through the humungous ego pumping that I am sure every child actor gets. So indeed, who cares?
Wil,
You say that you worked on Just A Geek for two years, which for many of us with first-person-shooter attention spans is roughly equivalent to three generations. During that time, how did you maintain your focus? I've heard that some authors treat it like a nine-to-five job, chaining themselves to an office chair and screaming "write, dammit" at random intervals. Others, I'm told, write because it's the only way they can avoid becoming a giggling serial killer; pouring their emotions, thoughts, and fears into isn't a want, it's a need.
Do you use long-suffering friends as test-readers? Is an editor really needed for someone who wants to self-publish, or is the criticism of friends and family enough? Do you tend to write as a stream of consciousness and then edit, or are you more like P.G. Wodehouse (the greatest humourous author who ever lived, IMHO) who would paste crooked typewritten pages on the walls of his room, only straightening them when they were perfect?
Any tidbits or lessons learned would be appreciated.
P.P.S. I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.
Don't forget the part about where he beats his wife and has an old firebird up on cinderblocks in the front yard. Or the mullet.
Actually, I'm surprised our friend Cletus here even managed to work the internet. I didn't think inbred redneck fucks could figure anything out more complicated than a TV.
will you not find a single +5 comment if Will tells you he'll browse at +5.
You insensitive clods!
Unless of course you're trying to get work in Hollywood and get passed over because you aren't the flavor of the week.
I read the internet for the articles.
Even though I played like a donkey on the WPT Hollywood Homegame, I managed to finish third, so when the first and second place finishers couldn't play in the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio, I got to go in their place. Holy shit, man! Can you imagine a $25,000 freeroll, against a field of only about 500 players, with a shot at 3 million bucks?! Of course I went . . . and suffered two BRUTAL beats to get knocked out about 100 places short of the money: I raised UTG+1 with pocket kings to 3X the BB, which was 1800, I think. It's folded around to this guy in late position, who re-raises me to 6000. It's folded to me, so I re-re-raised him to 20000. He went all-in, I called. He turns up AQo, and I was very happy . . . until the flop came Q-Q-x. That fucker took most of my T140,000 stack from me on that hand. Two hands later, I get pocket kings again, so I raise it, get re-raised by Annie Duke. I push, she turns up AKo, and rivers the ace to bust me. I went from 7th in chips to drowning my sorrows in Newcastle in three hands. It was tough, because if I'd won against that AQ, I could have folded into the money, and even made a few moves to seriously compete for the final table.
;)
You know what, though? That means you got your money in while you were ahead, and that's all you can ever do. It vaguely reminds me of a time I pushed in against someone with the A-high flush, the stone cold nuts. This was on the turn. They called all in, and turned over another flush, maybe 3rd or 4th nuts. We both had 2 suited cards in the hole with 3 on board, and under the circumstances I could see him thinking I pushed with a draw.
Anyhow, as the dealer is about to deal the river, I have this epiphany: the guy has 4 to a straight flush, but it's a gutshot straight. Sure enough, the dealer flips over his dream card, he makes a straight flush, and I'm left thinking, "Nice one out. Grrrr."
But that's the name of the game. I've been on the other side of that once in a while. And remember: if you have your money all in at the right time more often - when you're in the lead - you will suffer more bad beats, because they will have to suck out on you. If you find you suck out more than your opposition does, it probably means you actually just suck. So good job not sucking
It's worse than you think. Duck Tape ISN'T Duct Tape. And I'm tempted to think somebody ought to make a false advertising lawsuit about it...
Duct Tape meets particular HVAC standards - essentially you have to be able to tape ducts with it, which may be at fairly high temp.
(At least when I worked at Ace and sold it) Duck Tape is a brand of tape. The most common Duck Tape is a silver tape similar in appearance to Duct Tape but with a much less durable adhesive, especially if you warm it up a bit. It does not meet the standards to be Duct Tape - they can't and don't call it that. (In its defense, it was also signficantly cheaper than "real" Duct Tape)
So Duck Tape is useful when you need a cheaper, lower quality tape than Duct Tape - and is mostly used by people who just don't know any better and who thought it was the same thing. Some of whom then complain to me that it doesn't hold as well as I described on a project. I also occasionally use it for color, because it is commonly available in a variety of colors.
There may be some Duck Tape that is also Duct Tape, but I haven't seen it.
Looking for freelance Actionscript (Flash/Flex) or ColdFusion work and/or freelance developers. Email me, put Slashdot
Not to be picky, but since he's one of your Heros, you might want to spell Mr. Feynman's last name right.
Just a thought.
Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
man: no entry for woman in the manual.
"Qua!?"
I agree *completely* with his 'Steve McQueen' comments. There just isn't anyone like that today. LeMans and GrandPrix (I know, he wasn't in it, but the two movies are from the same era and are the two best racing movies to date) were great car movies due to their authentic racing sequences and sound, but had no plot whatsoever. I don't see movies like that being made anymore, that appealed to niche markets because of a star wants the movies to be made (actually I'm wrong - Travolta's scientology one would qualify, I guess. But I don't see any authentic aspects to it). But the car sequences were amazing, nothing since has come close. Bullitt was neat, but I don't see movies being made where studios/producers/directors are going nuts over authentism about anything. Ronin was as decent, but it's not a racing flick. McQueen got LeMans done the way he wanted because a studio wanted him to be happy, and let him have his project.
I still boo and hiss every time I see a 'Driven' or 'Days of Thunder' DVD at stores...
I hope I got his McQueen comment in context...
---- Meh.
The thing is: he was talking about downloading. Downloading involves copying files. It does not involve "taking". We do not know what he thinks about taking, because he did not mention it.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Very interesting answers, many things i agree with. As a filmmaker i completely agree with a lot of what he said on the current climate. And certainly the runaway bride split screen micheal jackson comment is dead on.
:)
The our corperate world is certainly fucked in many ways... Wesley Crusher even knows it!
Thanks Will for taking the time.
Forget the whales - save the babies.
A geek is a person who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by technology and imagination..
I believe your definition is highly elitist and narrow. Wheaton's interests seem to fall directly inline with the definition above, which, I might add are interests that most of us on this site share. Not to mention the fact that he starred in a show who's core audience is, in fact, geeks and nerds (Have you ever seen Trekkies?). I don't know what you do that makes you feel so special, but you should come down to our level and join the rest of us, cause as it stands, your definition would probably not include most of the people here. I don't view him as a superhero, hell, I didn't even watch his show, but it is kinda cool that someone who's been on TV and film, would hang out at this site and banter back and forth with, and even consider himself one of us "little people".
"Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
Wil,
In case it makes you feel any better for not being picked ahead of Carrot Top for Celebrity Poker Showdown, here is a little (true) story for you:
A friend of mine is friends with Carrot Top. A while ago, they were waiting in line at Wal-Mart together. They get up to the checkout, and the checkout lady looks at Carrot Top and says, "You know, you really look like that Carrot Top guy from TV... I mean... no offense."
Loved StandByME, Huge STNG Fan. Even liked Wes.
Much bigger fan of things you have said since.
EXCEPT :
I also think that it's time for The Simpsons to go,
That tears it you punk. I will boycott you, and your poker appearances, & your Blog entries and your Star Trek the Generation After pilot.
to you I say Good Day Sir!
I say GOOD Day.
By the way StarTrek GenerationAfter is Copyright. Patent Pending,Patent Pending Patent Pending...
OSGGFG - Open Source Gamers Guide to Free Games
Mr. Wheaton - how can you come down on the side of these whiny, greedy, lazy actors who want a ridiculous pay raise and profit share just for doing voice recordings for games?
In particular, how can you justify your comment to support this position - that 'voice acting doesn't pay enough to be your only job'. Do you think that a two-day job _should_ pay enough to feed you for a year, while the actual people making the game still have to scrabble every day to earn a living?
My superheros: Donald Knuth, Alan Turing, DJ Bernstein, Richard Feinmen, among others.
I think you meant Dick Feynman...
Thats an EASY one I think.
Yes. I belive his name was Nog. Son (or was it Nephew?) of Quark from DS9. The Wesley Crusher character was vastly superior to that one.
Note I am am not saying that the actor who played 'Nog' was horrible, just that the character was. Oh and while I am thinking of this add Sisko's son (can't even remember his name) to that list, he was also quite horrible and he and Nog got into all kinda of 'trouble' together. Those DS9 ep that revolved around Nog and Sisko's Son's shenanigans were the absolute worst.
Again no offence to those actors, but wow what horrible roles!
Its like the romance lines in SW ep 2, sure Haydon may or may not suck as an actor, but give anyone those lines and see how they fare, yuck.
Using your logic, Hayden Christensen will be breaking all the records at the Academy Awards this year.
This is not the sig you're looking for.
I keep seeing her on various websites I visit....uh, while doing sociological research, yeah.
In this business, a talentless whore who gets fucked in grainy night vision is more valuable to the networks than a talented actress who has spent years studying and honing her craft.
Wil Wheaton just became my new hero. Bravo!
"Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
with Johneee Depp (or however you spell that)... man that would be awesome.
People who quote themselves bug the crap out of me -- Me.
I suspect his bank account is healthy enough that he doesn't really care much about $.99 a song. For most busy people, the money spent for full service is well worth it (properly tagged and indexed songs, for example).
/.
Besides, even if he does d/l the occasional song/movie he sure as hell isn't going to admit to it on
btw - very nice interview.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
They don't need any organization; the government, and Chinese culture in general, does not understand or respect the concept of "intellectual property."
In the United States, Information wants to be Free.
In Soviet Russia, Freedom wants to be Information.
In China, Information has always been Free As Long As It Doesn't Piss Off Any Government Officials.
Yeah, Flame Bait but I'll reply anyway.
For me at least, I think he quallifies as "one of us" because when I watched TNG I was about the same age as Wil, so I identified with this scrappy kid who was doing all the cool star trekking and neat stuff. Finding out this actor was also on slashdot was cool because, lets face it, how many actors do you think give two shits about the kind of people who read sites like slashdot? I think he also deserves some recognition because he's proud of his geekness, and being famous gives him the ability to speak up a bit more for the less famous geeks. And yeah, if someone put up a website trashing my career, I'd be fucking pissed too.
Awesome answers Wil, I don't think I'm alone when I say that for practically every other interview other than your two, I find myself skipping half the responses as their so cautious and humdrum. Your answers were clever, funny, insightful and in depth, allowing all us geeks to see a little of your unique character. Just like your insanely cool blog. :)
/. are players. I wondered, (if your around read these responses) what your favorite edition and character class was for D&D?
Hope the editors will have you back in another five years time for a third interview.
I noticed there weren't any D&D questions which is surprisingly considering you, and a good portion of
Space: I was just emailing my wife about getting rid of several bookshelves worth of books and now you've got me wanting to get Young Harry Houdini for my son and Just a Geek for me. DAMN YOU!
Star Trek: Let me just say I'm 27 and a geek and I loved every Wesley Crusher episode when I was a kid. (Can't say the same for Teen Win, Lose, or Draw...). It was very inspiring to me and and and dammit the Traveler was cool! I digress.
Cats: My mother-in-law had a similar cat kidney situation. It's very hard. I think you did the right thing.
-l
Help cure AIDS, cancer, and more. Donate your unused computer time to worldcommunitygrid.org. Join Team Slashdot!
You know, those girls who tease guys into buying them stuff off Amazon.com by showing their underwear on the Internet.
Freedom: "I won't!"
I personally hope nobody mods you down for expressing a valid opinion, but I am inclined to disagree.
The dude went on a Star Trek celebrity edition of "The Weakest Link" and chose the EFF for his charity. It was tremendous fun watching him trying to explain to Ann Robinson what the fuck the Electronic Frontier Foundation was. All that was missing was a pair of horn-rimmed glasses for him to push up his nose as he was talking.
Instant geek-cred in my book.
More importantly, he's an actor who hasn't forgotten that it's the huge nerds of the world (including the ones bitching about Wesley on usenet) who paid for his house. This perhaps wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't so rare. Most performers on shows that appeal to geeks seem to have no interest in their audiences beyond the speaking fees they can draw from the convention circuit when their career begins to fizzle out.
Finally, I think it's very snobbish of you to insist that somebody must be a great programmer, mathematician, or scientist in order to be regarded as a "hero" to the likes of us. There are plenty of geek heroes in the humanities: William Gibson, Trent Reznor, Darrin Aronofky, Leo Kottke, Tray Parker and Matt Stone, Douglas Adams, etc. etc. etc.
I'm actually a bigger fan of Wheaton's blog than I ever was of any of his movies. In fact, I frankly think that the majority of the projects he's been involved with as an actor have been crap. I am curious about his books though... he clearly can write well.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Comments like this are WHY Wil's gonna browse this thread at +5...
Freedom: "I won't!"
Couldn't resist...I use that line at my home game. UttBuggly here...same name on PokerStars, Ultimate Bet and Full Tilt. NL Hold'em or Pot Limit Omaha 8/b....anytime....with anyone. The BPO is impressive and I don't have the cred yet, but I did just miss the WSOP Main Event by 2 places at Harrah's last month ($200 satellite) playing against some folks who were on WPT last year along with some strong amateurs. Love the game, will have the fame..... Geeks ARE the best poker players!
I am my own gestalt.
Wil,
For the record, I bought my copy of Just a Geek at the Barnes and Nobel in the Grove on 3rd and Fairfax. So they carried at least one copy. And it was in the computer section and not at all near any Star Trek books.
I really enjoyed the book and its stories. Probably doesn't make up for how it was marketted but the work you put into it was (at least for me) well worth it.
Bet this
"DIE WESLEY DIE!"
That's German for "The Wesley the," right?
I agree with a lot of that stuff about making movies, but Tom Cruise is not overrated. Sure, he's a freak, and his fans are really annoying, and he may be desperately afraid of being outed, but he's still a great actor. Ignore the Mission Impossibles and Top Guns. He was great in Interview with the Vampire, Far and Away, The Last Samurai, Collateral, and probably a few more I'm forgetting.
(Note: IANTC or a fanboy.)
- clevernickname
I object to your fiendishly clever reverse plagiarism!
It's over now. That, or it's go time. One of the two. acts of gord
Got your towel with you, Wil?
-Dave
If "creating" is the thing that makes Wil's soul-sails fill with the wind, I would think that directing is where he would be heading, as writer's are just as ham-strung as actors in the visual media circus.
Oh, that's right -- I forgot there are venues for writing other than screenplays and scripts.
Silly me.
I still think that he might enjoy taking a spin at the director's chair. Who knows? He might be the next Clint Eastwood. (that sound is Wil Wheaton's ego exploding)
And especially those of you who hate psychology and probability. I need more easy marks :)
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
Either is correct.
--------
This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along.
I happened to read this article during the breaks in the latest ep. of Enterprise (here in the UK, that is) - I read the joke about captains banging green girls - and then it turns out this epsiode is about a trio of green girls (one of which appears to be seducing Dr. Sam Beckett right now.. ) That is weird..
What was it like working with television's Martin Sargent on "Unscrewed"?
Seriously, Martin Sargent needs a blog up. And not the fake one that was legally taken down a few months back.
"Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
First, your question is a straw man. He never said anything about taking something without paying. He said he doesn't engage in copyright infringement (which isn't taking, but unauthorized copying) because he believes it is stealing.
He's wrong (in that he's using the wrong word), but certainly in good moral company by refusing to engage in the activity in question.
Yes, but that also means that your negative free time went from -3 hours a day to -1 hours a day! w00t!
So did you frame the Shatner card from Linucon?
--
"Open source is good." - Steve Jobs
"Open source is evil." - Microsoft
Paris, are you posting on slashdot again?
By reading this comment, you immediately waive any and all rights regarding it.
You do not need the so-called traditional channels of distribution to get your work to an audience, and you'll probably be happier and more successful by not going through those channels.
Amen.
my own movies are often for a very very very small audience, but i can't imagine the pain of working with a bunch of suits and wankers trying to get my stuff published.
So i don't. Do i make a ton of money? Absolutely not. but i have a day job to pay bills - I make movies and create because i NEED to do these things. My longest movie so far, a spoof on "24" done for my jr high group at church was some of the most fun, and hardest work i've ever done.. and i can't imagine having any more fun doing anything else "work"-wise.
Did i make any money on that? No... i won't sell enough DVD's to the kids to make back the costs of the tape i used... but i couldn't care less. I'm already planning next years, spending time working on an idea, a script, production, etc.. and i'm doing it for the fun of it. so long as i have money coming in from a day job that also allows me to create and funds my hardware and software needs, I can't imagine ever wanting to go mainstream.
Sell DVDs online from my home or from a duplication house? Yeah... hell yeah.. Deal with movie companies? No... never.
If you want to get a feeling of what its like to be in the position of loving the creation, rather than the accolades, go buy THX1138 on DVD. Watch the American Zoetrope video that comes on the 2nd DVD. It explains a lot... now, you can take-or-leve Lucas' work - and he'd welcome you to that.
but i am saddend that Lucas gave up 20 years of creativity to make the starwars movies instead of making movies that he really liked. THX was his best movie he's ever made... at least to me.. because you can see the creativity put into making it.
guns kill people like spoons make Rosie O'Donnell fat.
Is it just me, or is our little Wil just a tad attention starved... 100 places out of the money, means he finished before 99 other players who didn't make the money. That's no accomplishment. 500th place pays the same as busting out on the bubble (one from the money): ZERO! What's so special about finishing 200th???
I have distaste (more so recently) for celeberties who are so because the media or their PR people say they are. (Tom Cruise, et al.)
/. (poker, Linux, Sci-Fi, and beleive it or not quality parenting).
Wil's down to earth, talks about topics that interest many of us on
He's living an interesting, but not sturggle free life, writing, voice acting, playing poker, and rasing children. All of which he has insites about, and is willing to share.
Who cares? We care.
Perhaps you should get out more.
-Jason
As probably one of very few female slashdot readers in her early 20's, I think I should weigh in on the subject.
Yes, like Lucas on Seaquest, and Leonardo DiCaprio in almost every movie he's ever made, Wil Wheaton's character had sex appeal. It was only to young girls in the 10-15 range, but it was there. Think Anne McCaffrey hero/heroine style. I'm not sure if the creators of TNG intended this effect, but it's not the only example of this phenomenon. Explorers/3 Ninjas/Neverending Story (I, and especially II)...the list goes on.
I'm afraid that this characteristic makes him particularly annoying to boys (young and old). Now, just because your girlfriend thought Wesley was cute before you even dispelled the mythos of cooties, doesn't mean you have to get ugly about it.
In a non-psuedo-sexual-appeal way, I think most people consider Wesley annoying because of his enthusiasm. But if you were 14 again and were a supergenius with access to a starship, wouldn't you be enthused?
You seem to miss one big point in this answer. You already had some "fame" gained from a time working through the conventional distribution channels to leverage when going DIY.
It's the same as when I hear people talk about Prince releasing his albums himself to his fanclub or whatever. "Just sell it direct, then you don't pay the label/studio a huge chunk of YOUR income, you don't lose creative control, etc".
Well... yes. But the thing is, the traditional channels don't just distribute, they promote. It's rather hard to compete with that. Prince doesn't have to: he's already a global megastar when he blows off his label and goes DIY. Everyone into funk-type stuff is already aware of Prince when he puts his new album for sale on his website. Hell, he's still famous enough that the newspapers talk about it for him.
Somewhat similarly, your market with your blog and books was (internet-enabled) geeks, pretty much all of whom are already well aware of your name from your Star Trek appearance alone.
So, yes, I agree the technology (Openoffice and Final Cut and Cubase and Paypal and whatnot) is there to produce and distribute creative works, but that still leaves the promotion.
You can have a product for sale as much you want, but thats not enough - people won't buy it by magic. I know this, how? Well, look at my sig. I have an album for sale, self-funded, self-produced, self-distributed. How many do we sell via paypal? Not many, and most of them we DO get are people who saw at as a gig anyway!
The sad fact is, very few people are prepared to buy a creative product online from a "nobody", without the newspapers telling them to. Slashbots like to talk about "free samples", "word of mouth" or "p2p". Well, our free sample is the all time #1 download on a major mp3 blog, with more downloads than Bjork. That exposure didn't noticably affect our paypal sales one iota. We've been featured on endless internet radio stations, podcasts and playlists - again - no payoff in sales. I've had it shared on eMule and soulseek - I'd love to believe in p2p as a means of spreading unsigned talent (that's honestly what I use it for, in both directions) but the sad truth is very few people download it, and I've yet to see any download -> purchase trend.
Ultimately from where I'm standing you just can't argue with the media saturation that only major labels/studios can afford buy. So unless you're in that position where you've enjoyed a spell of major-league media exposure, and THEN taken control and gone DIY, I would refute your "more financially" successful claim.
I would however completely agree with your "more satisfying / rewarding" claim, which is why we still persist in doing it this way, regardless.
Truth be told, the only role I knew him in was TNG. TNG was a great sci-fi series. I wonder how much of a mistake it was leaving that show. I am sure everyone on the show cashed in for the last seasons, when the show was established. But he was not my favorite actor. The one I really missed was Doctor Crusher. She was a hot red head. Why did she leave the show? I always wanted a couple of seasons of her and the captin having a soap opera. Picard: "Damn it Beverly, not now, I have Klingons to deal with. Number 1 raise sheilds. Data, take my wife to her quarters... no, delay that order *thinks about Tasha*, no, Troy, you take Beverly to my private quarters".
I was going to be in this movie... and the shooting schedule for Valmont would have carried me over about a week into the regular season schedule into Star Trek. I would have had to sit out the first episode of the year... I said to the people on Star Trek, "I need to be written out of this particular episode, because I'm going to do this movie... they said, "We can't write you out because the first episode of the season is all about you. It focuses entirely on your character and it's your story..."... A couple of days before the season was ready to premiere, they wrote me out of the episode entirely.
This is so funny. Sad for you, for sure. But it sucks that people are treated that way. And it is not in studios that it happens. Chances are actors get treated better than the average joe. You should quit your bitching. They paid you, didn't they?
So are you going to reply to me or what?
LOL. Wait another 10 years until all you have is "I was once on TNG". LOL. ROFL. Muahahaha. See you at the conventions. Maybe, after Spock is done on stage anwsering questions, they will let you on stage with the guy who played the ferengi.
Since so many people have already met Anne, we felt that it was appropriate to include pictures of her in the gallery
There has to be naked pictures of her on-line, somewhere. Maybe she is wearing jordi's visor and Will is hitting it from the back, and yelling in a scottish accent "I'm giving her all I've got".
Too bad it does not list what he is doing now? Someone should tell him the world needs more burger flippers and janators. Is he too proud to do those jobs. Only reason I am so sardonic is because this guy complains in his blog. He was on TNG, a great show. And he complains. Ugh.
Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."
The most important one is what was it like to kiss Ensign Robin Leffler, aka Ashley Judd?
If I have the time and bankroll, and enough people are interested, I may try to put together a weekly geek/blogger 20+2 tournament. I heartily endorse this product and/or service!
Oh really? Do you-sa really think-sa so?
I think the problem people have with celebrity politics is not that they speak their mind, it's that they tend to whine when speaking their mind gets them in trouble with their fans. If you come out for or against some issue, and you get a boatload of ire from fans, running to hide behind the First Amendment is both ridiculous and childish. Sure, you have the right to voice your opinions. We have a right to voice opinions back, and even enact voluntary boycotts of your products. If you're okay with that, fine. If you're not okay with it, rather than whine about it, next time keep your mouth shut. Being a celebrity is just like any other job, and a celebrity's job is to be liked (failing that, at least recognized), and being liked means not accusing half the country for being retarded for voting for the other guy.
It doesn't help that celebrities tend to be left or far-left in their politics, which is at odds with a majority of Americans. There's a whole lot of middle class folks thinking, "Sure, it's easy for them to advocate higher taxes and more spending--they have the money to pay for it. I'd rather buy a bass boat next year than see some avant-garde artist display a piece mocking the middle-class America that subsidized his show."
Potato chips are a by-yourself food.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Wil, if you happen to read this, you aren't correct that there isn't any support for Linux at online poker sites. pokerroom.com has a Java interface, and it not only doesn't require WINE, its even supported (Tux is even present on the site!)
;)
Not that I expect you to switch, if I found a site willing to fork over a $10K buy-in for me, I'd run Windows 3.1
They always told me it's not the magnatude of your UID, it's how you use it...
I know this is just the Answer part of the Q&A and that we're not supposed to kepp asking, but:
... great line, btw. :)
I only remember the following because of the close proximity in time between original interview thread and a comment you made on Fark.
Question: Anything happen because of this: clicky clicky
In the name of science
"Duct Tape" has become a generic term for tape more or less similar to that which was once used on ducts. "Duck Tape" is a term used by people who didn't hear "duct" right, and by one company who realized they could trademark this misnomer since it wasn't the actual generic term. The fact that they make a rather poor product is all the more reason to insist on calling the decent tapes of this genre "duct" tape. Of course, as you note this tape is no longer in use on actual ducts. But if you work at a hardware store, and somone asks you for "duct tape", you could, I suppose, inquire if they intended to use it on ducts, and if so direct them to the uber-sticky aluminum-backed stuff. But you could almost certainly safely assume that what they want is the medium-sticky, heavy-duty cloth-backed stuff.
"Tape for ducts" meets particular HVAC standards, and those who need it generally know what it is. "Duct Tape" is heavy-duty general-purpose tape, and "Duck Tape" is an inferior brand of same.
...mod this poor fool up. It'd be neat to have WW read/respond to this as well. I will gladly admit to being in his short-attention-span company. In fact, my lack of focus has..uh...uh...ooh, battlefield 2!
'If you're flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit.'
No, I'd be plotting the take over of the ship and the shoving of the Captain and most of the officers out of an airlock.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
wow...this is SO flamebait.....
/., but tough noogies. Based on my personal values bush was the best choice.
although, "man-purse" DOES make me laugh.
More seriously, The proper response to this post is not to flame back as was done by others replies, but to point ou that wil has a right (like anyone else) to like/hate any political party or candidate he pleases.
I personally voted for bush, proudly, and would do it again given the chance. I realize that puts me in a minority here on
The point is, the people who replied to this original flame with allegations that bush-supporters were all "inbred" or "rednecks" are just as bad as the original flame-troll. I am tired of this constant partisan mud slinging crap on slashdot, we are better than this, and it gets us noplace.
Shame, shame on all of you who troll!!
sometimes, i wonder if i'm the only conservative on teh intarweb. ah well, back to mah hogs and warmongerin'....
Oh and while I am thinking of this add Sisko's son (can't even remember his name)
I'm pretty sure it's either Night Train or Mad Dog.
I don't think so. In fact, it's the opposite.
I was a Star Trek fan (though not a Trekkie or Treker, I just liked the shows) from the old Kirk series when I was a teenager.
When the NG came out, I hated the idea that they had kids on the Enterprise. I thought the idea that bringing kids along on something as dangerous as space exploration was stupid.
THAT was why I hated Wesley.
However, by the third episode or so I liked the character and was OK with kids on the ship.
And I blame Wil Wheaton and the directors for that! Just wanted to give a belated "good job sir" to Mr. Wheaton.
Anyone here read his books? His blog bores me to tears and for a comedian he doesn't seem all that funny. I've seen him appear on Vh1 a few times but he seemed uninteresting. I can't figure out why people like him.
True, it's not like there was a alt.tv.stng.numberone.die.die.die.die!
Even though I hated his character even more. (Lets be honest, his character was like a grown up wesley.)
The fan scripts which floated around the Usenet in the early days were great too. I remember the joke of one such script was to have Picard call up Wesley at in opportune times and say "Shutup Wesley". Wesley got a lot of bad lines, so that someone would parody that was very amusing. It's hard to believe though that anyone would transfer the lines to be the fault of the actor.
Stop being stupid people!
WIL I WANT YOUR BODY
Based on my personal values bush was the best choice.
Which leaves only 2 possible options:
1. You have no values.
2. You pay no attention whatsoever to what is actually going on.
Which is it?
Rational political discussion on /.??? Come on, you know you are dreaming, right? Why would /. be able to hold a discussion without mud slinging when even our elected representatives can't?
Self-serving semantics. Just because you think that the word "stealing" shouldn't be applied to unauthorized copying doesn't mean that it's the "wrong word". If that's the word he used, that's what he considers it: stealing.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Of course young Wil had sex appeal: he was nice-looking, smart, had a cute smile, etc. To a certain demographic, he was a definite hottie. (And for the record, he still looks quite nice. But he's hitched, so I'll just leave it at that. {sigh})
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Wil, thanks a lot. A really great interview, if somewhat belated. I have to say, I was never a fan of STTNG. At all. I like TOS pretty well though. STTNG always looked like a hotel with all those earthtones on the set, the uniforms were terrible, and the show was preachy, predictable, and safe. Whereas TOS was the opposite. That said, having read both your blogs, heard some audio of you, and read this, I've gained a lot of respect for you, and appreciate your work. You have a great "voice", and I'm glad things are going well for you. And I hope things get even better. Ahhh, but 10 points off for mentioning The Matrix in the same sentence as Firefly, and/or intimating that it is the opposite of all the crap SF Hollywood has put out in the last few decades.
"In this business, a talentless whore who gets fucked in grainy night vision is more valuable to the networks than a talented actress who has spent years studying and honing her craft. That's the reality of Hollywood in 2005"
Ah, but is this a new reality or is it something that goes back as far as film history? Are things really getting worse at the sky-is-falling crowd suggests, or is it just more of the same? More importantly, how much longer before we can replace most actors on screen with CGI?
I didn't realize it until I read your comments, but the kind of treatment you mentioned would be the ONLY way to do justice to The Watchmen.
An HBO miniseries would be the way to go on this, with a subsequent (or concurrent) DVD release for those who don't subscribe.
You rock!
bun-fhuinneog agam!
You want to publish a book? It's easier than ever to create an e-book with free software like Scribus and OpenOffice.org, and use a service like PayPalDownloads to deliver it.
Or you could publish a book using dead trees with Lulu. I've never tried it, but it looks neat!
He'd be a GREAT coder if he could output the same amount of code as his words..
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
Dictionary says:
"To take (the property of another) without right or permission."
Now that leaves the definition of take. I'd assume that if I make a copy of, say, this page, no one would say that I'm taking it.
If that's the word he used, that's what he considers it: stealing.
He can use that word in that way all he wants, but copyright infringement isn't stealing. It is similar to stealing but isn't the same (just as copyrights and patents are similar, but not the same).
On the bridge mockup at the Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas, I noticed the engineering console had a button labeled EJCT WRP CR. Apparently LCARS is decended from bash. I pressed it, but sadly nothing happened.
For great justice.
I really enjoyed that, thanks for the effort, the story about the cat is really sad, you're a great writer!
See, fame comes from without, and the joy of performing comes from within.
It's so refreshing to hear someone from that side of the fence (having been a popular actor), say something like this. I'm always dismayed when I hear someone say, "I want to be a famous [insert favorite activity]," because it shows that they truly don't understand what it's about.
These words can be applied to many aspects of life- not all of us may act on stage or in front of a camera, but we do carry out the roles that we establish for ourselves.
"Shut up, Wesley."
3 ???? 4 PROFIT!
There's no place like ~/
Needlessly pedantic distinction. The value of the thing is taken. Call it infringement or stealing, it amounts to the same.
No, seriously, you consider the makers of South Park to be heroes?
I'm guessing you're an American.
Already asked and answered. Now, you may not agree with him, but the reasoning is there. (Short version for the lazy: he doesn't think the actors pay should be coming out of the coders and designers pockets, and they need to get the collective act together and get their own deal.)
I'm guessing you're Canadian.
Can't trust those beady-eyed fuckers.
jred
I'm not a mechanic but I play one in my garage...
Did Lardass have to pay to get into the contest?
Just had to say that this interview was great. Err Thats all :)
Sweet, sweet quote... thanks wil!
In this business, a talentless whore who gets fucked in grainy night vision is more valuable to the networks than a talented actress who has spent years studying and honing her craft. That's the reality of Hollywood in 2005, and if publicity and fame is more important to an actor than the work, they're going find a void in themselves that can only be filled by sweet, sweet heroin
I've had good luck using both pokerroom.com and pokerchamps.com. pokerroom.com, of course, is a web applet, and pokerchamps.com's software, although it has problems with the autoupdater routine, works fine under Wine. Stars is still the best place to go to improve your game, though.
Oh I can understand Stewart, he's got presence. I've seen that in almost everything I've seen him act in (first thing I ever saw him in was the awesome British I, Claudius series). But I'm afraid Wil Wheaton never struck me as being anything in particular. Character wise, he was to Star Trek what Ewoks were to Star Wars. His character seemed to serve more of a purpose of being a foil for Picard's angst, and the way the writers had Dr. Crusher behave around him, I'd lay even odds that young Wesley probably ended up spending time in whatever passes for gay bars in the 24th century.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Barnes and Noble won't even stock Just A Geek I've never seen it in a single store.
Just for the record, I bought my copy of JAG at a Barnes and Noble (University Village, Seattle, WA, as I recall). They did, however, have it in the Star Trek section and not the Biography/Autobiography section in which I spent 15 minutes looking before asking for help.
Pedantic, yes. But it doesn't amount to the same thing, IMO.
"... when digital watches were still a really neat idea."
:)
Nice to see a little Douglas Adams showing up here
Car parts, bottles and cutlery
I love it when I say something, someone interprets it through their own filter, hears what they want to hear, and flames me based upon their misunderstanding. (Yeah, I read the parent.)
So, Fox_1 is correct. I enjoyed the first Matrix film enough to buy the DVD and I've watched it several times. I could care less about the supposedly deep philisophical implications of the movie (other than knowing that there's no spoon there's good Zen wisdom in that bit, I think.) I just thought it was a cool movie to look at, and the story didn't insult my intelligence.
The sequels were so fucking horrible, I wanted to find a spoon and gouge out my eyes with it . . . until I realized that there was no spoon, and I was able to go home and kill the memory with some Arrogant Bastard Ale.
But, you know, Mr. WTF, you go ahead and believe what you want to believe. You've clearly got a lot invested in it.
That must have been very loud and caused a lot of earthquakes.
My Greasemonkey scripts for Digg &
That's right: It's your opinion, not the Gospel According to Webster. I can respect that. Your attempt to declare other opinions "wrong" by appealing to semantics, I cannot. It's pathetic. And fucking stupid to think that it has any weight.
That'd be Ten-Forward.
(Though I'm afraid you lost me with this point. Are you equating "not sexy" with "gay"? With all due respect, all that does is support my assertion that straight men don't get what makes a man "sexy"; gay men (stereo)typically have it in spades. {smile})
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
If you're over there and you want to play me, just look for "Mr. Nipples" (greyfox was taken.) I prefer face to face poker though, and am running late for a bar game as we speak, so I must be off!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Oh well.
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Actually, yeah. I think he did a credible job (given what he had to work with).
It always seemed to me that people saw in him themselves as teenagers, which was the true cause for the extreme reactions (i.e., it was really self-loathing).
Of course, the character could have been made more interesting and less like one of the Boy Scouts from a David Brin novel, but that wasn't the actor's fault.
Read the best of all of Slash: seenonslash.com
Or you don't pay attention to what's going on, and that's why you don't have options 3-7 on your list.
Plus the arrogance to push "My understanding is the only correct way to look at this issue."
Sheesh.
Democrats or Republicans. They are both taking us to the same place and they are not afraid of us anymore.
"The real outrage, I think, should be directed squarely at the douchebags in the mainstream media who ignore the Downing Street Minutes, but show the fucking Runaway Bride in a split screen with the Michael Jackson trial every. Goddamned. Day."
Indeed, how can anyone be enraged about anything substantive, if they're misdirected with shark attacks, captive serial killers confessions, runaway [insert fauna/vehicle/condition here], and celebrity gossip masquerading as news?
But then, that's the MediaMongers real job in the 21st century, isn't it?
Some days it's just not worth
chewing through my restraints.
1d12 - 4 hours a day to 2d4 -3
Anyone care to translate?
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Free Domo Kun, Ackbar, or Mustard man action figure in every box.
How could you not include Wil's own Aqualad on that list?!?
Sig cancelled due to lack of interest
I, for one, would be very interested in your view of the aforementioned confectioner's movie which seems to be yet another in a litany of re-makes and tried-and-true theme titles this summer, 2005. I wonder when Rocky will resurface... oh wait, it kind of did as a reality show.
I still remember when Jun Falkenstein gave me the nickel tour at Disney B-Movie studio and let me browse the storyboards in the hallways. Re-make after re-make, I was off-put then, and with "Herbie: Because GadgetMobile wasn't Annoying Enough," I at least know now I can save frustration by skipping that brand/studio entirely.
Chrissakes, man - you're such a class-act it makes the rest of us look bad! I've see your movies, watched every episode of ST:TNG, read the blog (present tense), read the books (past tense), and I have to say, you take the cake.
Fuck the fact that this will be modded into oblivion, and I'll lose a little karma - I have to say it publically - you are one of the most talented, well-spoken, intellectually gifted, funny, and down-to-earth people I've ever had the pleasure of being exposed to.
We need more people like you in Hollywood, in publishing, and MOST OF ALL on Slashdot (snicker)... Please keep writing and keep working - we'll keep reading and watching.
(BTW - Loved you on VH-1's Top 100 Child Stars, but geez, you should have made the top 50... As you say, it's not like you were on Differ'nt Strokes.)
"Adventure? Excitement? A Jedi craves not these things."
I'm curious how many books of the paper variety you (or rather the publisher told you) sold and how many on PayPalDownload? (I realise they're quite different books, still you seem to have a pretty clear view now of which you'd prefer)
The reason I ask is I have a nearly complete novel, a number of short stories and some scripts that I've become somewhat despondent over due to the uphill climb to traditional publishers. Your experiences seem to reinforce my perception (despite your having some cache to your name to help promotion) so I looked at some online publishers who wanted money (usually hundreds of dollars) and that just didn't feel right either. I'd left it for a year or so now untill reading your comments and wonder if it's worth putting time into these projects again.
It's good to see you've achieved some successes that are each stepping stones to the next adventure (whatever that is!)
I wish you well - there's just *got* to be a place for an articulate actor/artist who's self effacing manner yet technical savvy certainly endears you to the Slashdot, in not a wider, crowd.
pithy comment
I wasn't referring to any physical aspects of the Crusher character, but rather to Dr. Crusher's behavior towards her son, and the fact that his most significant male role model treats him for most of their relationship like refuse that somebody forgot to sweep up.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
That's the sound of the point flying over your head. Sideshow Bob was stamping car licence plates with "Die Bart Die" in prison, and he got asked about it and explained it as above. The response was "Oh, that's okay. No German has ever been evil" or something like that.
Ah. So you're just not getting why people go to gay bars. {shrug}
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
I have a lower slashdot ID than anyone in the post! Nyah nyah!!
-- I am. Therefore, I think!
The official legal distinction between a sport and a game is whether a participant can consume alcohol during the activity.
:o)
I *KNEW* it! Baseball is not a sport!
Thanks for the confirmation. Do you have a link for that definition? (I'd like to throw it in people's faces when they insist on discussing baseball.
From Question 2: I've actually read somewhere that NASA considers it to be a useful idea for manned space missions because it allows a user to access a whole range of controls with a simple touch screen, saving on space and weight when compared to the equivalent in physical controls.
Touch screens are not used much in current spacecraft for a number of reasons. First, they aren't as reliable as switches. Second, the requirements you must satisfy for their use (in places like the Man-Systems standard - NASA Standard 3000 - and the safety interpretation letters) force you into designs that are pretty restrictive. Think about it - you have to be sure that objects floating about in microgravity don't reconfigure the fuel cells, fire thrusters, etc. It's not impossible to design in that way, but not easy.
And yes, I am a rocket scientist.....
First, thanks for answering these questions.
Second, you wrote: Eventually I got busted out by Amir Vahedi when my short-stacked 55 ran into his pocket tens. Oh well, that's poker.
Your Presto lost to Amir because you haven't been to BARGE. Ask Lee Jones about BARGE or look on r.g.poker. You would be more than welcome to attend this year. You'll never find a better group of pocker r00l3rz.
Also, a semi-regular geek-group $20+2 on Pokerstars would be fun.
Third, I never hated Wesley - I hated some of the idiot plots the idiot writers wrote for the show.
How about?
3. I hate leftism.
Seriously. The only reason I vote republican is because, in general, I hate undesirable liberal values (economic anti-darwinism) more than I hate undesirable conservative values (anti-liberty moral agenda).
And I suppose you know what's "actually going on" eh?
Are you a US soldier stationed in Iraq, or perhaps an Iraqi citizen? Otherwise, how can you really know any more than what you hear and read on the news?
Honestly, I dont get it. I put up a post saying that it's a waste to flame each other, and I get flamed in return. How can you have the rank arrogance to tell me that IM the ass?!?!
sometimes, i wonder if i'm the only conservative on teh intarweb. ah well, back to mah hogs and warmongerin'....
(About the whole sci-fi films becomeing action movies and Michael Bay's lack-of-talent, and Vin Diesel).
IMHO, Bay's (from all 3 films I've seen - "Bad Boys" 1 & 2, and "The Rock") an okay director. The Bad Boys films were enjoyable, because Will Smith and Martin Lawrence wre funny in them, and big explosions didn't hurt things too much. And, frankly, The Island can only be an improvement on it's source material.
And I kind of thought of the whole Riddick series (especially if you ignore the Theatrical Cut of Chronicles of Riddick and count the Director's Cut instead), as sort of being Conan in space. (Think about it, of all the people with ray-guns and "gravity guns" or whatever the Necromongers were using, the one who does the most damage uses, almost exclusively, knives.)
But now that I've got that out of my system, I can get to the part where I agree with you on something. Yeah, TV needs a break from new Star Trek (by all means, keep re-running DS9 and TNG, and the last season of Enterprise). My Generation has grown up in a world where Star Trek has always been on TV. We need a break, so that Berman and Braga can retire or move on to other things. A series can survive this, fandom-wise. Just look at Doctor Who! Just so long as there are novels with new characters (or lesser characters, as the case may be), and (hopefully), the bookstores will keep them on the shelves, fandom will endure.
Now, keeping MST3K fandom alive and growing. There's the toughie.Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed and eats you in your sleep.
Sorry about the Anon Coward post...(no access to password and don't have access to registration email). I wanted to ask you something. I hope someone can bump this post up to even just a 1 so I have a chance of you seeing this.
:-) Maybe it was a guy thing-- I'm female. I kept my mouth shut (ok, maybe coward does fit here) but I always thought the character was dead on for what he was supposed to be. I also loved the Ashley Judd episode. You were growing up quite nicely. I'm 8 years older than you, so I was being kind of pervy; it was the first time I understood what twentysomething and older guys see in underage girls (blush). You two acted so adorable together... cuter than a whole grain bin of tribbles. It was almost sickening, but I believe that was how it was supposed to be-- two young people with a big crush.
I've been really getting in to audiobooks lately. I enjoy them a lot because that way I can read and play videogames at the same time! (It makes me feel less guilty for playing videogames so much!). I've heard your work on the recreation of 'War of the Worlds,' and 'The Greatest Science Fiction of the 20th Century,' -- the second purchased because you were doing some of the voice work.
Is there any chance of you recording audio versions of your books (unabridged)? It's amazing to listen to an author who can read do his or her own material. I'd really love to own them! Neil Gaiman does a great job of this. He leaves 18 hour books with lots of characters, like American Gods, to others but he has recorded much of his children's work.
I also had to comment on the whole Wesley issue. Back in my old usenet days, I remember the confusion I felt when I checked for new groups and saw alt.wesley.crusher.die.die.die . My first response was, "Huh? People don't like Wesley?" Sure, at that time the two big usenet cliches were 'die.die.die' and 'yet another,' but I was baffled. I asked around and my friends clued me in. They told me it was felt that Wesley was Roddenberry's "self insertion" character, and after I realized what they were talking about (and that it wasn't some sort of sexual term) I understood, but I just figured it was other people like me being jealous that when we were the character's age, we were stuck in a regular high school and not saving the galaxy with our special gifts and super-brain.
I never saw anything to dislike about Wesley until others told me I wasn't supposed to like him.
Thank you for answering the questions. I had also forgotten about them, so it was a nice surprise.
If Wil Wheaton has mod points and uses them on the comments of his interview, does that count as a violation? heh....
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
The former, get in line.
The latter - 12 Eps too much? As a self confessed non-trek* (actuall non star* - neither Trek or Wars!) Although I occassionaly watch them, I would defend the last series of Seinfeld. Although I admit another series wouldn't have hacked it.
"When I hear someone called a celebrity, I think of someone who gets special treatment, never waits in line, and has had sex with Paris Hilton."
Surely that is an oxymoron!
(if you get that, and have mod point, bless you)
#hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
... but nobody ever seems to bring up Toy Soldiers when mentioning your acting career. For years it was my favorite movie. I'm wondering how many /.ers were fans of this movie when they were younger?
> Everybody thought Iraq had WMD, including John Kerry!
You mean everybody but Hans Blix, who was actually there?
Um, where have you been? Stallone's already been signed to Rocky VI (Ghod help us all). Something about playing Rocky as the coach of a new boxer.
Media that can be recorded and distributed can be recorded and distributed.
-kfg
Yes! A man who actually appreciates quality entertainment, not brain-dead worship of necrotic garbage.
You truly understand what makes great Star Trek. You must be angling for that future Trek producer job. Unfortunately, Peter Principle means you don't have a shot in hell of getting that job. Here is the critical question: can you actually be a bigger, more clueless a-hole than Rick Berman?
There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
Thank you Wil for answering real people's questions and being funny at the same time. It is quite refreshing and interesting to read the opinions of someone who is and was once famous (for whatever reason) and their honest experiences with fame - whether good or bad.
I must admit, when I watched Star Trek TNG (I was about the same age as you were during the show) I did not like your character that much. My friends and I would say things like, "How does that nerd know more than Geordi or #1???" "Beam Wesley and his Mom to the Borg ship and get rid of them once and for all!" But, the show for me was still more entertaining than 98% of the crap on TV (see the Cosby Show and Moonlighting) at the time.
It is good to hear an honest opinion for once in this day of celebrity worship. I agree with you that Tom Cruise is a bad actor. I just saw 'War of the Worlds' and I thought he ruined some of the feel of the film, it would have been much better if you (Wil) or a totally unknown actor had played the lead role. At least that would take your attention away from his Scientologist views and his nutty antics over his brainwashed girlfriend.
Don't worry about the Hooters waitress, a good come back to her-"didn't you used to be famous?"- quip would have been "didn't you used to have small boobs?"
Your writing has inspired me, I think I might even pick up a copy of 'Just a Geek' to read. (hopefully some of the profit will lead back to you)
Good luck Wil and beam me up because my sensor array detects absolutely nothing worth investigating on this rock!
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
Now you know why he named his company Micro-Soft.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson