Category: WWdN in Exile

At John Scalzi’s Whatever, I just read

As part of a barrel-full of Winnie the Pooh anniversary events, Disney is working on a new animated series that will replace Christopher Robin with a 6-year-old girl.

"We got raised eyebrows even in-house at first, but the feeling
was these timeless characters really needed a breath of fresh air that
only the introduction of someone new could provide," says Nancy Kanter
of the Disney Channel.

"Christopher Robin is still out there in the woods, playing," she says.

Uh, no. You stupid corporate jerk. Timeless characters do not need "a breath of fresh air" BECAUSE THEY ARE TIMELESS! What the fuck is wrong with you people?

Look. I’m a huge Disney nerd. I practically grew up at Disneyland, and I’ve done two great movies for Disney that I’m very proud of. I know Disney is a big evil empire, but I still like my Disney stuff . . . but this is fucking ridiculous. This has nothing to do with "breathing new life" into anything; it’s entirely about squeezing a few more pennies out of a successful franchise, and exploiting the anniversary of a cherished work of literature.

I have an idea: if Disney is so serious about breathing fresh life into classic characters, why not let Mickey Mouse enter the Public Domain? Okay, how about Goofy? Donald Duck? Admit it: those characters are getting a little stale, and could really use a breath of fresh air that only derivative works can provide.

Okay, Annie pulls out into a huge lead with her latest entry at Jesus’ Favorite. The entire thing must be read (do not attempt to do so while eating, drinking, or in an enviroment where you are expected to be quiet. You have been warned) but here’s a clip:

Shane:  Don’t tell anyone, but I think Annie is the coolest person in the world.   

Wil:  I know.

Shane:  Really.  I wish I had half of her coolness.

Wil:  Tell me about it. She is so kicking our assess in the bet.

Shane: I KNOW! Thank God we’re in an airtight borg free red dawn
tasha basha zone, so no one can hear us, ‘cause I would DIE if she knew
how awesome I thought she was.

Wil:  I feel the same way.  I bet whatever she is doing RIGHT NOW is super awesome.

QUICK CUT TO:

ANNIE IN A SOUND STUDIO RECORDING NEW MUSIC WITH GREENDAY.

ANNIE HIGH-FIVES BILLIE JOE.

BACK TO NERD TENT.

Annie also linked to her sister’s blog, which is about a frequently updated as Jesus’ Favorite, but with 15.875% fewer thinly-veiled references to how awesome Shane and I really are, and how living in the shadow of our awesomeness is less awesome than the actual casting of the awesome shadow.

But it’s still pretty awesome:

CONFESSION

Blog, "Did you grow up in a wealthy suburb?

Steffie
"YES. BUT, I did not drive a BMW at age 16. I had my dad’s old caddy.
It was a 87′ Sedan…ok…and it died within the year of me owning it
because ANNIE drove it into the ground. ALWAYS getting the HAND ME
DOWNS."

Blog, "Did you go to Catholic School for 14 years of your life?"

Steffie, "YES, hence my hang up with Jesus’ Favorite."

Blog, "Were you Homecoming Queen for the all boys school next door?"

Steffie,
"YES. But only because my senior picture was half-way decent and I
correctly answered some stupid question about "CaddyShack" and knew
some stupid football answer about how many downs it takes to score a
touch down…(which is a trick question…right???)"

(That is how they judged the girls..nice huh? The feminist in me is REELING.)

Blog, "Did you wear LL Bean shoes and have Polo glasses?"

Steffie, "Sadly, yes… no excuses for that one."

There must have been something in the water up in a certain catholic school in  Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, because those Sertich girls are crazy with the funny.

We’re coming for you, Annie. We have a +3 cape of kicking your ass, and a scroll of Hawesome. You’d better make your save vs. nerds, or you’re totally going to lose a level.

I‘m leaving for Vegas Friday morning for the WPBT Winter Classic insanity-fest and poker tournament plus jokes, and I haven’t had time to play much poker this week to warm myself up for the trip.

So I was about to go play some sit-n-go tourneys at PokerStars, and I realized that I can make private tourneys of my own.

So I made a private tourney at starts at 5:30 Pacific time (that will be 2030 according to the lobby clock). If enough people show up, we’ll play it like a simple sit-n-go, otherwise, I’ll just find some regular SNGs to play.

I always have a good time playing at PokerStars, but I’d much rather play with people I "know," you know?

So if you have time and interest, go to the PokerStars lobby and look for WWdN: Wil’s Folly under tourneys -> private. The password is monkey, and the buy-in is $10 +1. It’s tournament number 16141481.

Once more, the details:

What: WWdN: Wil’s Folly
When: 2030 EST (1730 PST) today.
Password: monkey
Tourney number: 1614181

Hey, if you’ve enjoyed my Radio Free Burrito podcasts, I think you may like the audio version of Just A Geek:

This journey is a fascinating read, made even more intimate and
fulfilling by Wil’s narrative. This is not just an audio book, it’s a
glimpse into the psyche of the man who considers himself…
Just a Geek. NOTE: Due to graphic language, some content may be unsuitable for
younger audiences.

Yes, I realize this may feel like totally crass commecial bullshit . . . because it is. I worked very hard on the audio book, and I don’t plug it nearly enough. A few RFB listeners have commented to me that they picked up the audio book after listening to the podcast, so I thought I’d make it nice and easy for anyone who is interested in checking it out. It’s available as a set of nine CDs for $35 (normally $39), or as an instantly-downloadable MP3, also for $35 (normally $35.)

I’m very proud of the audio book. I’ve talked in the past about what a huge letdown my experience wih O’Reilly was on the print version of the book, and much of the joy I’d hoped to feel with its release has instead come from the recording of the audio version, which ended up being a performance, with asides, commentary, and reflections on the material that aren’t in the print version of the book. I guess it’s like I’m reading the book to you, and occasionally setting it down to give some meta-commentary on various passages.

So if you liked the print book, or if you like the podcasts, I’m pretty sure you’ll dig the audiobook, which, to steal a line from Al Franken, "makes a wonderful gift." 😉

This Thursday night, I’m performing in a show called Monogram Sweater, at The Second City Theatre in Hollywood.

It’s a monologue show, in a very small intimate setting. I’m going to perform my short story The Trade.

Sadly, once I was home and on the kitchen floor, the reality of the
trade did not meet the grand build up it had been given by my young
imagination. That single push did not send my heros to quick safety.
Rather, it sent them forward about 6 inches and to the left, coming to
an anticlimactic rest against the front of the dishwasher. Only the
constant presence of my grimy 8 year-old fist would give them adequate
propulsion away from danger. And the foot-peg technology was quickly
replaced by the more reliable scotch-tape-and-rubber band technology.

The novelty of rolling that Land Speeder around the floor quickly wore off, and I really missed my Death Star.

Tickets are just five bucks, which you can totally score in about thirty minutes on any freeway off ramp in Southern California, provided your cardboard sign is easy to read. Details, including address and showtimes are on the spiffy clickable flyer over there, but for those of you who like to cut-n-paste:

WHAT: Monogram Sweater (Funny. Personal. Stories.)
WHERE: Second City Theatre -8156 Melrose Avenue, next to the Improv
WHEN: Thursday, December 8, 2005. 8PM.
HOW MUCH: $5