Something something rearview mirror blog posts 2009. This is continued from part three.
I told the world what happens when you feed a dog chocolate while he wears a tinfoil hat in the microwave.
My friend Mike (@cwgabriel) and I engaged in the great retweeting madness of 2009, which I totally won.
I went to Comicon and, uh, got excited:
… and that's when I saw that Joss Whedon was sitting in the front row. About ten feet from me.
Let's take a look inside Wil's head, shall we:
Me: OMG OMG OMG
Brain: What?
Me: JOSS WHEDON IS RIGHT THERE! HE CAME TO THE PANEL AND HE'S RIGHT THERE!
Brain: Okay, just be cool.
Me: OKAY I'M BEING COOL.
Brain: No, you're staring.
Me: What?
Brain: You're staring. Stop staring.
Me: Shit. Okay. I'm not staring now. [pause] HOLY CRAP DID YOU SEE THAT JOSS WHEDON IS RIGHT THERE IN THE FRONT ROW?!
Brain: Yes, you mentioned that. Also, you're staring again.
Eventually, I broke out of the loop, which in WhetonIX looks like: (if near.joss=1, do {stare.like.idiot} fi;), and I enjoyed the rest of the panel.
Anne turned 40, and we had a radical bitchin' 80s costume party for her.
I found an old photograph of the four of us from Stand By Me that unlocked a flood of memories:
I forget what day this picture was taken, but it was 1986, right after Stand By Me had been released. There we are, sitting on chairs in the green room, waiting to go be interviewed by (I think) Ron Reagan, Jr. It was my first trip to New York, and I remember how excited I was to go to that huge, almost mythical city, see Times Square, ride the subway, visit the Statue of Liberty, and hang out with Jerry in his home town.
[…]
I've always said that Stand By Me was so successful because Rob cast four young actors who were so much like their characters, but I think it's spooky how the four of us ended up being so much like our characters: River died too young, Corey struggled like crazy to get his personal demons under control, Jerry found success and happiness, and I'm a writer.
…I have had a fucking weird life, man.
My dog Ferris, who Anne rescued from a bus stop in Monrovia where she'd been abandoned when she was just a puppy got cancer, and died. It was absolutely devastating.
I saw Ferris' empty dish last night when I fed Riley, and it unleashed an agonizing wave of sadness so overwhelming, I dropped to the floor in our living room and cried as hard and as long as I ever have in my life.
After she was finished eating, Riley came over to me and sniffed at my face. Through my tears and gasping sobs, I told her it was okay, I just missed Ferris a lot and I was sad.
She rubbed her face against my cheek and trotted into the family room. A moment later, she returned with her soggy tennis ball, which she gently put into my lap. She looked up at me, and then walked into the corner of the family room, where she picked up her rope – her favorite toy, which she brings with her to the front door whenever we come home – and brought it over to me. She set it on the ground next to me, and then laid down and put her head in my lap. I cried for a good long time, but I was comforted by Riley's actions, even if I'm projecting my own feelings onto her. I felt like she could tell I was grieving, so she brought me the things that make her happy, before letting me cry on her until the fur on her neck was soaked with my tears. When I finally stopped, mostly because I was physically and emotionally exhausted, I felt a tiny bit better.
Ferris was just eight years-old, and a huge part of our family. I still miss her every day.
I wrote some fiction, and released it as a limited-edition chapbook at PAX. It was my first foray into anything longer than a blog post, and scared the hell out of me to release. I still haven't decided if I'll publish it at Lulu like I did with Sunken Treasure.
I started a weekly podcast to
promote Memories of the Future called, appropriately enough,Memories of the Futurecast. It eventually got so fun and so popular, I gave it its ownwebsite.
When I was at PAX, Jonathan Coulton, Molly Lewis, and Paul and Storm sang a song to me. Just thinking about it now still brings tears to my eyes. It was one of the highlights of the year, if not the entire decade. Know what else I got at PAX? H1N1. Yay.
The third series of the D&D Penny Arcade podcast began. It, uh, didn't end too well for Aeofel.
In memory of Ferris, Anne and I held a fundraiser for the Pasadena Humane Society's Wiggle Waggle Walk. Due to the generosity of WWdN readers, we ended up raising more money than any other individual – almost $14,000. Because so many people contributed to our effort, the humane society asked us to walk a shelter dog. We loved him so much, we adopted him and made him part of our family. His name is Seamus, and he's awesome. Yes, he'll get his own post with pictures and everything, just not right now.
To be continued in part five…
The black and white pit/lab mix dog?? I was so hoping you were going to keep him!!! Ferris could NOT have had a better home, that is for sure. I am so sorry for your loss…been there and boy do I know how hard that is.
Loved that old Stand By Me photo too. Someone asked me today what was a good 1986 film to see, and I shouted Stand By Me! One of the best of that year. That and The Goonies were my childhood!
Awesome 80’s party photos. So you are a converse fan too huh??? I still proudly wear my bright green and red ones as if it were still 1984:)
Just all kinds of great blogs you have done this year. Can’t wait till 2010 to see what you have in store for us:) You rock!
Whoa! As a long time WWDN reader it’s interesting and strange to read these “year in review” posts and remember where I was and how I felt when I read them at the time they were first posted throughout this year. The grief I felt for you when Ferris died. The amazement when you pointed out after finding the “Stand by Me” pic how all of you became in life the very characters you portrayed in the movie. The joy I got out of listening to “Memories of the Futurecast”. Strange….and yet very cool. Thanks Wil
I was wondering, peripherally and in the back of my mind, if you had adopted your pet walk dog. Too cool. I’m glad he got a home. For him, for you, and for Ferris, who wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
I feel this way, too. It’s pretty cool, no?
Do not forget that in 2009 Patrick Stewart became “Sir Patrick Stewart”.
(:
By far one of my best nights on the internet…
I’ve just recently discovered your blog after hearing about it on a gaming forum called Octopus Overlords. I sincerely wish I had found it months ago.
To be able to get a snapshot synopsis of your year with a “best of” post highlights has only confirmed what I already suspected: You’re just a guy…with an amazing knack for story-telling. I’m happy that you’ve found your niche in life that keeps a roof over your head and food on your table. It is far better to love what you do than work for a lucrative living. It’s a bit like the military…I’m not in it for the money. I do it because serving my country is what I love.
Thank you, Mr. Wheaton.
BTW, Seamus is an awesome name for a dog. Which is why ours is named Seamus. 🙂 I hope you didn’t name him after the same person I did though (a certain character off of Andromeda).
Anne named him after two weeks of us going through every name in the book and not finding anything that worked.
I went along with it because it really suits him, and is the name of a Pink Floyd song that I dig from Meddle.
Check it out, Wil. “Baldy” got knighted. I posted as follows on Rochester CL RnR:
http://rochester.craigslist.org/rnr/1531523607.html
Knowing how much Frakes loves Stewart’s legendary pomposity, I can only imagine how he is eating his heart out at this moment, LMFAO!!!!
Wil, I saw you at ECCC 2008 and I could tell just by the way you interacted with your fans that you’re a kind person. BTW, I may be way behind on post-series Next Generation cast members but that was the first time I’d seen you with the moustache and beard. Awesome look! Facial hair is savage! I’ll never forgive my boss for ordering me to ditch my beard.
Given that you’re on the guest list for ECCC 2010, perhaps I’ll catch a brief glimpse of you there and draw the same conclusion.
2008 was my first year and I couldn’t believe how awesome ECCC was.
OMG! It’s the Steven King Film Curse! He is such a demented writer that his stories actually come to life! Or maybe he is a profit, and your life story happens to be an interesting one to tell, or foretell as it may be. ONE or the other of these statements has to be true. Or maybe both are true and happening simultaniously in a space void of time as we all swirl and act out the preplanned storyline for our own ammusment where we all get a turn to play god and feel like the center of the universe, and then the oneness settles in, the storyline of creation enacting the devine within all.
Too bad the clown got Jonathan Brandis 🙁
I told you, actors live their characters to some degree.
You Were in the movie Curse -fighting aliens. The liers cLub, you stood up for what was right- fighting rape, murder and disrespect of women. Toy soldiers, you stood up for what was right-terrorists taking over the school system. December, The peaceful hero who stands up against war. The Last Prostitute, you were a young boy looking for sex from an older woman. lol
I think you must look to these clues to find your real self because as an actor you dont even know your true self, until you act it out in front of yourself. Its the magic of life being a star on display for everyone to see, so they can watch you discover yourself and then perhaps it will inspire them to discover themselves. See you are a super hero in more ways than one. I think you need to use your celebrity and get on board all those causes your characters fought for in your movies. Chop Chop! this is the new decade! This is our generation’s time to rule, our time to truly shine, our time to win the fight for good, for good. Your soul is pure and you have more power than you know of yet. Isn’t life Awesome when you Blossom!
I just can’t believe that you have been a major star in the world your entire life…and you still don’t know it. lol Or you really are a Brilliant Actor fooling us all. Better get on working for those causes and you will soon find out! 🙂 Start by giving the native people back their land. I will help you understand their spiritual ways. Happy New Year Wil! You are the King of …….
And my life is the same kinda weird, believe me. That’s why I can help you understand. I am writing a book about it.
Peace in the New year and forever more! xo vic
I could tell just by looking in his eyes that he is a kind person. I think the beard is a symbol that he is growing up. 🙂
Was he outside at the time? 😀
Happy new years to you and your family, Wil.
I, too, lost a pet this year. I still get teary eyed when I close my eyes and see him in his last moments looking up at me and trying at cuddle to me. He was my six-toed cat and a best furry friend a girl could have. At Christmas, when my husband and I got out the stockings, I had a similar moment to yours. I got out our stockings and found Count Rugans (my cat) stocking. I dropped to my knees and cried so hard, my eyes swelled. My other two cats came around sniffing at me and my husband held me.
happy new years! ;D
Hi Wil
I stumbled across “Memories of the Futurecast” on iTunes a few weeks ago. My husband and I were both fans of TNG (me a bit more than he) and we listened to them together in the car. You’ve been cracking us both up, and started many a conversation (and a check on the Tivo for the eps…you’ve made us want to see them again so badly we’re considering just buying the dvds…something we’ve been trying to cut back on).
I remember reading the original columns and being sad that they ended mid-season 1, so I was really happy when you talked about doing future volumes.
I also wanted to let you know that the “Futurecast” was so funny that I was motivated to seek out and purchase the audio version of “Just a Geek,” which I own, but hadn’t read in a few years. I’d forgotten just how funny you are, and hearing you read the book aloud (and break away from the text) has been a delight.
I know my love of TNG is nowhere near yours, but you’ve made me remember why I love the series (something that I had been forgetting as our Tivo continued to tape a string of weakly plotted, weakly written, sci-fi cliche’d eps).
I’m so sorry for your loss of Ferris. Yesterday I was listening to the part in “Just a Geek” where you talk about how Anne found and saved her, and she became a part of your family. I understand your grief-this past October we had to put my cat to sleep after 16 years of being my best friend. I adopted her from a shelter when I was 15 and other than the few years I lived in the dorms in college, she and I had been the best of friends. It seemed like a SIGN when she was very affectionate when I introduced her to my now husband after being completely dismissive of former boyfriends. When I had my daughter in November of 08 I was worried about what she might think or do as she’d never been exposed to small children and didn’t like loud noises. I was shocked when she decided that my baby was essentially her kitten and until the day she died they shared a special relationship. Even almost 3 months later, I get teary thinking of her. I’m glad that you had a wonderful family member like Ferris, and it’s so wonderful that you all have room in your hearts for a new (NOT REPLACEMENT) family member. We hope to find a new family member as well….some day.
Thanks for sharing your stories with us. Can’t wait to hear what the New Year brings you.
Crystal
You know, I kind of figured with that. I’d have done the same thing.
Maybe our next cat should be called Sam? (Only if he’s a Siam cat…)
Wil, you and the Penny Arcade guys should get together again soon! I just started playing D&D 4e myself, and thanks to the podcasts, I had a greater understanding on how this edition works, and it helped me greatly in my first foray into 4e. (Like you, I’m an old-time player.)
Thanks for those, and hope to hear more! (And for the record, I felt bad for Aeofel, I really did.)