Author: Wil

Author, actor, producer. On a good day, I am charming as fuck.

at last, it can be revealed . . .

Posted on 10 December, 2008 By Wil

So this is why I got to spend the entire weekend making a D&D 4E character without feeling guilty about it at all:

For those of you who enjoyed the D&D Podcasts, we’re recording another session on Thursday. Jim Darkmagic (of the New Hampshire Darkmagics), Binwin Bronzebottom, and Omin Dran of Acquisitions Incorporated make their return to the table, while William “Wil” Wheaton joins as the new hire, playing an unreleased class. Yes, that’s correct: we have a celebrity guest. This is the big Goddamned Leagues, people.

I loved those D&D Podcasts, because it was like listening to me and my friends play in high school. I can’t wait to actually participate in one (I’ve written a backstory that fits into their campaign, even,) and watch Jim Darkmagic set Binwin on fire firsthand. I also can’t wait to find out who the celebrity guest is, because that’s going to be awesome.

I don’t have a character generator, or a subscription to D&D Insider, so I had to create [Awesome Character Name Redacted] the old school way: on the floor of my office, flipping between the PHB and Adventurer’s Vault to make sure I was investing my limited magic item budget in the wisest way, and then double checking to ensure I had applied the bonuses correctly. I hadn’t touched the 4th Edition character creation rules before last week, and I haven’t created a character from blank paper in over a decade, so I’m pretty sure that when I get over to the Penny Arcade Secret Headquarters of Doom to play tomorrow, there may be some serious pointing and laughing at me when I show off my character sheet and my errors are revealed for all to see. I hope they don’t do it in front of the mysterious celebrity guest, because I want to make a good impression.

The process of creating my character, who I guess I can tell you is an Eladrin (because I’ve always thought high elves were cool) and is a new, secret class out of the PHB 2, awakened all these slumbering memories of some of the happiest times I’ve ever had, and I can’t believe how lucky I am that I get to do this tomorrow. It feels too good to be true, you know?

Last night’s Child’s Play dinner raised over $200,000 and my harebrained idea to auction off “have a beer with Gabe and Wil and Kurtz and Khoo and The Other Mike at a bar around the corner after the auction’s over” went for $2900 and ended up being a ridiculously fun after party with Enforcers and Rock Band. Want to know how much beer I drank? One half a Double Bastard. Want to know why it was only one half? Because Sean from Harmonix bumped into me after the waiter put it into my hand and me and my friend Chris ended up wearing half of it. If anyone was wondering why I walked out of that bar, seriously soaked in and stinking like beer while staying completely sober, now you know. Goodtimes.

And check this out: because this week isn’t cool enough already, I’m going to Microsoft in about an hour to finally do a podcast with Major Nelson. OMGINORITE?!

This really is turning out to be the best week, ever, and I haven’t even disclosed the stuff that’s locked behind various NDAs.

I’m an incredibly lucky guy. I need to keep saying that so I don’t take any of this for granted.

an incomplete guide to lounge music

Posted on 9 December, 2008 By Wil

This week’s contribution to the LA Daily is online. It’s so money and it doesn’t even know it:

I do this silly thing on Twitter where I make up conversations with iTunes. The way it’s turned out, iTunes and I have a slightly dysfunctional relationship, but since it’s all in my head anyway, I’m in complete control (iTunes: Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that. Me: Stop it! I’m writing my column!) so I can claim responsibility for whatever music iTunes is making me listen to.

Last week, it shuffled to Combustible Edison’s “The Millionaire’s Holiday” (from the 1995 album I, Swinger) and though I hadn’t made a conscious effort to listen to lounge music in months, it was suddenly all I wanted to hear. I had so much fun listening to it again, I thought I’d use my column this week to celebrate some of the records I love, and hopefully introduce new listeners to the glorious world of space age bachelor pad music.

It’s a deliberately incomplete guide, so as to not overwhelm the reader, but it was fun to put together and it’s not a bad place to start for the lounge-curious hepcat, if I do say so myself.

Comments are closed on this post, but I’d love to hear your thoughts at the Weekly.

not so stealthy

Posted on 8 December, 2008 By Wil

Yesterday, the stealth bomber flew over our house seven or eight times.

It totally would have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for my dogs, who bark like crazy whenever blimps or other low-flying aircraft go over our house.

I guess it was doing a flyover as part of a December 7th memorial.

The D&D Family Tree

Posted on 7 December, 2008 By Wil

Oh kids. Oh, oh kids.

This first chart keeps things simple by charting the origins of D&D and the evolution of D&D, AD&D, and the positioning of some other early developments, up to the debut of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition in 1989. Perhaps later I’ll take things from 2E through 4E, but the era presented is the real heart of the whole discussion, particularly the split between D&D and AD&D and the contributions of Gygax vs. Arneson.

(via Purple Pawn)

RIP Forrest Ackerman

Posted on 5 December, 2008 By Wil

Elizabeth Bear just sent this sad news over Twitter.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A spokesman says sometime actor, literary agent, magazine editor and full-time bon vivant Forrest J Ackerman has died.

I never met him, I’ve never been to his reportedly awesome house, but all of us who enjoy or make a living from sci-fi (or both) owe him a moment of silence and remembrance.

Rest in peace, sir.

Most people who read my blog only do it via RSS and never see the comments, so I’m updating my post to add this comment from reader Stickman:

I do need you all to know what a class act Forry is.

For decades, Forrest J Ackerman opened his private home every week for public tours of his literally overwhelming collection of sci-fi and horror memorabilia. He had a practiced patter and plenty of horrid puns worthy of the founding editor of Famous Monsters Magazine.

A few years ago, Mr. Ackerman was hospitalized in serious condition. I had recently lost an inspirational college professor who I didn’t even know was hospitalized, so I made a point of traveling to see Forrest to deliver a rocketship-featuring get-well card.

He looked bad. Really bad. He had spinal blocks in following a surgical procedure, a scar on his scalp, his partial dental bridge was out, his skin was ghastly pale, his hair was sickgreased, and his medically paralyzed body was arranged at odd angles within the tucked-in blanket.

He literally looked like the bag of bones he was.

And he was smiling at his visitors.

He was telling his trademark corny jokes.

He insisted I take a complementary copy of Cult Movies magazine, an issue for which he recently wrote a column.

He was a gracious host even on what looked to be his deathbed.

That amount of grace in a person is stunning to experience.

You become very conscious of the air you walk through after such an encounter. He gave me proof of the possibility and ability of Human Grace firsthand. That’s the kind of good man he is.

I am glad that in the subsequent years, and the last few weeks, he’s had additional opportunity to receive well-wishers and tributes to him personally as well as his legacy to the fandom that Wil wrote about in the previous post.

I’m saddened he’s gone, but I’m glad he existed, as Ray Bradbury said of our purpose, "to witness and to celebrate."

RIP, 4sJ.