As I write this, the house is silent, except for Ferris and Riley playing “tear the everlivingcrap out of what used to be a soccer ball” in the living room, while several varieties of finch and sparrow are singing songs in my mist-shrouded back yard. It’s cool in Pasadena — my ambient orb glows green. Nolan and Ryan are on the couch, reading books, and the smell of coffee and toast is wafting out of the kitchen behind me.
Man, it’s a peaceful, serene morning, and a great way to start out the last day of an incredible weekend.
Thanks to WWdN readers, Just A Geek climbed as high as number 21 on Amazon’s Top 100 this weekend. At one point, it was the third highest pre-order they carry, alongside books by Stephen King and Bill Clinton. Dancing Barefoot also climbed back up from the 9000s to number 208!
You know, two years ago, when I started writing what became these two books, I thought I’d be lucky to sell 1000 combined. I hoped that readers would enjoy them, but I was unsure . . . this is just amazing: Barefoot is rated 5 stars with 93 reviews, and the chief complaint is that it’s too short (I agree, but the idea all along was for it to be a companion to Geek), and Geek has already peaked higher on the charts than Barefoot ever did, and it’s not even released, yet.
But this incredible, and unexpected, book success isn’t even why the weekend has been so amazing. Actually, it pales in comparison to why I’ll treasure the memories of this weekend for the rest of my life . . .
Anne’s goofing off with a couple of her girlfriends who have birthdays this weekend, so I’ve sort of “taken point” with the kids, and it has been sublime, effortless, joyous . . . I have felt the way I’ve always hoped to feel with them: like we love and respect each other, and enjoy each other’s company.
For the last eight years I’ve done everything humanly possible to help build a loving and supportive relationship with them, while always respecting their emotional limits . . . even when it was incredibly painful to feel like I was more interested in closing the gap than they were. I don’t believe that it’s my place as their stepfather to try to be their buddy, or force closeness on them if they’re not ready for it, or interested in it. It has not always been easy, and sometimes the hardest thing I’ve experienced as a parent is setting aside what I want, when it conflicts with what the kids need. It’s been especially tough when my relationship with them, (and my role in their lives,) has been intentionally and actively undermined, but I’ve always stayed focused on what’s best for them, and it’s during times like these, when I see and feel the results of my parenting, that I know I’m doing the right thing.
Friday night we watched Miracle, which is that movie about the 1980 US Men’s Gold Medal hockey team. I remember when that happened in real life, and it was awesome to watch it with them, and share my personal historical perspective on the Iranian Hostage crisis, Jimmy Carter’s “We have to be able to dream” speech, and, of course, the Olympic games themselves.
When I was a teenager, I played ice hockey, as a goal tender, and I got to play in a few charity games with this celebrity hockey team. Several of the players on that team were from the 1980 men’s team, including Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig, and while I didn’t get to know them very well, they always treated me like a fellow player — especially Jim Craig — so I have always felt sort of a connection to those guys. It was great to see their story brought to life in such a great movie.
Hey, this is a good time to throw this line into the water: I know that the celebrity team still plays, and while I’m not really an “A” List celebrity right now, I still skate. If anyone from the team is reading this, or hears about this, I’d love to play with you guys again.
Ryan and Nolan loved the movie as much as I did, and I can enthusiastically recommend it to WWdN readers. Kurt Russell is fantastic as Herb Brooks, too. I’m hearing, “I’m proud to be an american, but I’m ashamed of my government” a LOT recently — a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with — and “Miracle” reminded me of a time when I was younger, far more innocent (I was 8, after all) and those guys really were heroes to a generation. We could really use some more heroes right now, couldn’t we?
Yesterday, I did a virtual book signing in the afternoon (something so cool, it will have its own post later this week), then took the kids over to my brother-in-law’s so he could help Ryan with a geometry project. Ryan’s uncle is a brilliant architect, and a talented craftsman, and he helped Ryan build this art deco lamp out of several geometric shapes and solids. It’s awesome!
Nolan and I got to hang out with my niece and nephew while Ryan and his uncle worked, which was great. I hardly ever get to see my niece and nephew, and it was awesome to see how much they’ve both grown (in size and in emotional development) since the last time I saw them.
When we were done there, it was almost 8, and too late to cook, so the three of us went out to dinner at Chevy’s in Glendale. We were seated in the last booth on a wall of booths, behind a table of five teenage girls. Nolan was oblivious, but Ryan sat on the side facing them so he could “appreciate the view.”
The funniest moment of the meal was when one of them recognized me as That Guy From That Movie, — which is really weird because they probably weren’t even born when it came out — and all of them began signing “Stand By Me.”
Okay, look — I hate that. When I was a teenager, girls would see me and start singing that all the time, and it always made me feel like a sideshow freak. I used to like that song, but it follows me everywhere. I swear, 3 out of 5 times when I go shopping, it comes on the muzak. It’s on the oldies station on the radio all the time, and the Pennywise version was even on Fungus (XM 53) recently.
“Man, that follows you everywhere,” Ryan said.
“Yes, it’s haunting me,” I said.
“What following you?” Nolan asked, “The Stench?”
I have no idea where he got “The Stench”, or why he said it with capital letters, so I shook my fist at him and laughed.
“I’ll Stench you, mister.” I said.
Both of them looked at me.
“Yeah, I don’t know what it means, either. How about if I just embarrass you both in front of The Table of Hotties?” I took a deep breath, and struck a dramatic pose.
Ryan jumped like he’d been shocked with a cattle prod.
“No! It’s cool!” He looked across the table. “Nolan, Ixnay on the Enchstay!”
There was some serious giggling from us after that, enough to compete with a table filled with teenage girls . . . maybe I shouldn’t be proud of that after all. Heh.
We finished dinner (the spicy steak taco is where it’s at, yo) and made it home just after 10. Nolan was asleep as we pulled into the driveway, but insisted that he wasn’t tired, so he wrapped himself up in my geek blanket and sat on the floor while we watched Ghostbusters on TNT.
He was asleep before the first commercial, and I was asleep soon after. I woke up drooling on the arm of the couch right around the time dickless shut down the containment grid.
Ryan was still awake, so I let him watch the rest of the movie and went back to my room.
“Remember to turn the TV off,” I told him.
“Can I sleep out here?” He said.
“Yeah, that’s fine. But Riley will probably be licking your face at 7,”
“That’s okay. I love you, Wil.”
“I love you too, Ryan. Sleep well.”
“Remember this,” I thought, as I let my head settle down into my pillow.

It’s been over an hour now since I sat down to write this. The kids are playing catch outside, and Ferris is trying to convince Riley that she’s ready for a nap (Riley isn’t having it. Whenever Ferris lies in her bed, Riley walks in and paws at her face until Ferris either snarls at her, or gives in and comes out to play.) I’ve turned on iTunes, and I’m listening to “Morphic Fields” from the classic ambient record “Earth To Infinity.” My coffee is cooling, and it’s about time I got up, took a shower, and started the yard work I have planned for today.
It’s still a peaceful morning here, though, in my house, and in my soul.
Remember this.

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. Just A Geek is in its final stages, and I’ve been working very closely with O’Reilly to help it across the finish line. It’s a lot more work than I ever thought to get this stuff finished. Each time I think I’m done, I find out there’s something more to do. I like it, though, and I have enjoyed working with O’Reilly to pull this all together.
Just A Geek is so much more than a story to me, as weird as that may seem. It’s a huge part of my heart and soul, and represents two years of very intense work . . . and I’ve been a little concerned that they may not “get” exactly how much it means to me, you know? I’ve been nervous about walking that delicate line between art and commerce.
I am happy to report that this week, I’ve learned that not only do they “get” it . . . they grok it. I also found out that the printing date has been moved up, so the book will be released even sooner than I originally thought. I still don’t know the exact date, but I’ll be sure to announce it here when I do.
One of the cool things we’ve done this week is come up with a tagline for the book. I didn’t want to use one originally, but I guess taglines are a big part of getting undecided readers to pull the book off the shelf and give it consideration, so my editor and marketing manager were cool enough to hold my hand while we worked to come up with . . .

Just A Geek : Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love, and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise

I’ve been having a very hard time describing my story to people in just a few words, but now I can do it. That tagline totally distills the story down to its essence, and I think it’s super-cool.
I was telling Anne a few days ago how I just can’t seem to pull enough creative energy together to write anything cool, because I think it’s piling up behind the Just A Geek logjam. I mentioned that Vegas story a few weeks ago, and it’s been kicking around in the back of my mind . . . I think I have the beginnings of a spine, and that’s nifty. It will be the first work of 100% fiction I’ve done here, and it’s sort of a test for me.
Hey, speaking of Vegas, I will definitely be at the Creation Vegas Convention from July 29 (MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!111one!!) until August 1, and EarnestBorg9 is doing one of our awesome improv shows on Friday, July 30, around 8 at night. I’m also performing from Just A Geek and Dancing Barefoot that day too, so if you want to get the most Wheaton for your buck, Friday the 30th will be the day to come out. If you’re planning on attending, it would be cool to let Creation know that you’re coming out to see me or EB9. For some reason they don’t believe me when I tell them that people want to see us, even when we fill rooms to capacity.
That’s all for today. I have to go back to work. Tune in tomorrow for an exciting announcement.

A few years ago I took the train to Kansas and spent two weeks shooting a film that I am intensely proud of. It’s called The Good Things.
The Good Things, like Neverland and Jane White is one of the very few movies I’ve done in the last ten years that I can enthusiastically encourage everyone to go out and watch.
Hollywood Bitchslap says:

The Good Things (2001) – Sundance
Wil Wheaton stars as a lovelorn young man working in a toll booth of his small, middle of nowhere community. The love of his life is marrying someone else, and his best friend sends missives from far and exotic locations. He yearns for something beyond the isolation and loneliness of life in the booth, but he seems unwilling to reach out or make a choice toward something more. This short is very effective in creating a mood of loneliness and ennui which resonates. The whole thing hits a little close to home, as I look out the window at the same town I have known my whole life. Perhaps there is a difference between being content and being trapped, but the line is a fine one to walk. This well-made short deserves a look. The performances are good, and the writing and visuals are worth experiencing.

Much of my adult acting career is marked by movies that, quite frankly, suck. I mean, there are some that have good moments, and there are some where I’m happy with my performance, but the overall picture falls sort of flat . . . then there are the ones that I’d rather forget entirely.
As I worked on Just A Geek I looked for the answer to the question, “What the hell happened to my once-promising acting career?” Ultimately, it was pretty easy to answer: I made lots of bad choices, based partially on bad advice but based mostly on the arrogance of youth . . . I regret a lot of the choices I made, because I blew a lot of very good opportunities, and lost twice as many more when I didn’t respect the work. When I grew up (literally and otherwise) I knew that I had the acting ability to give good performances, but it was too late. I didn’t have the fame or Hollywood cachet that is so much more important than talent and ability when it comes to getting cast in just about anything (See: Affleck, Ben; Kutcher, Ashton and Simpson, Jessica). It was frustrating that nobody would take a chance on me, but it was doubly frustrating that putting me in a film was seen as “taking a chance” at all! Seth Wiley, who directed The Good Things, and David Latt, who directed Jane White Is Sick And Twisted both gave me an opportunity to perform for them, in very different types of roles, and their leaps of faith paid off for all of us. Jane White has won more awards than I can count (including a best actor award for me, thank you very much 🙂 and The Good Things won best short at Deauville in 2002.
Thanks to WWdN reader Greg, I just found out that The Good Things is airing on The Sundance Channel this Friday, May 21st. It’s only 26 minutes long, so if you hate it, it’s not like you lost almost three hours of your life in The Hulk . . . but I would be very surprised if you guys didn’t enjoy it — Matter of fact, I can hardly ever enjoy things that I’m in, but The Good Things is a notable exception to that rule.
I encourage everyone to record it, and share it with their friends. I think it’s a great movie and I’d like for it to be seen by as many people as possible.

Great news about Kris!
In my last entry, I mentioned Kris would be going into City of Hope one last time to spend a week getting medication that would boost her immune system. That was done last week. I wasn’t able to visit her because she was feeling very pukey and tired. It was more important for her to get her rest anyway. She came home on Saturday. I called to check in on her Monday but her son said she was sleeping and that he was staying with her all day to take care of her. So I called her on Tuesday and she sounded great. We talked about our kids, Mother’s Day (she slept through most of her Mother’s Day) and how she was feeling. She was doing much better after sleeping for most of the past few days. She said she spoke with her friend Debbie about how well she was doing. Debbie is the wife of her friend that died from the same type of leukemia she has. Debbie commented on how much further Kris has come through treatment than Debbie’s husband did (he died from pneumonia after the radiation treatments.) It’s so sad to think that she had a friend who was diagnosed a year before she was but didn’t make it. But at the same time, I’m so relieved that she toughed it out through all this and stayed healthy. I know a big part of her motivation is being at the finish line with our marathon. Yesterday, Kris went to her doctor to have a pump put in that will give her the same immune boosting medication for another ten days. This is like a jump start kick to make sure all of the leukemia stays away. She said she doesn’t feel as sick as when she was in the hospital last week. She feels like she has a mild case of the flu. But, she says, she’ll survive. I know she will too.
Today marks her 80th day of treatment. Her 100th day will come just days before the marathon. I can’t even tell you how happy I am that she’s doing so well. And she always says that a big part of it has to be all the good “mojo” that’s coming her way.
So now Wil and I are down to the last couple of days of fundraising for the marathon. We need to turn everything in next week. So if you’ve been wanting to help by donating anything (believe me, it doesn’t matter how much you can donate, every bit counts) then today is the day to do it. The PayPal donation page will be coming down on Saturday to allow for time to transfer the funds. You can donate through the webpage we have through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s site. Just think, you can be part of something that will make a difference in the world. Trust me. It’s a great feeling.
I will post more information about Kris, as well as our total funds raised (I have a huge stack of checks I haven’t added up yet) next week. Keep your fingers crossed that we reach our goal!