Gorgeous Tiny Chickens, Batman, and the Happiest Media Kit

Posted on By Wil

I guess it’s appropriate that I’m a computer geek, because I have a very binary lifestyle: my level of work is either 0 or 1, with nothing in between.

I’m currently set to 1, so my time to post is very limited (though I’ve been using Twitter like crazy, because it’s fast, immediate, and portable.)

However, I wanted to take a moment and share three things for your pleasurable enjoying.

1. I did an episode of Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show last week. I don’t know when it will be released, but I saw an edit of it last night that is hilarious.

2. I got permission from James Tucker, producer of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, to tell the world that I worked on the show Monday. I can’t say anything about the content of the episode or the character I play — apparently, it’s a Darth Vader-is-his-father kind of secret — but it was massively fun, and since I’m one of the world’s biggest Batman Geeks, it was kind of a dream come true.

3. I can’t believe how many orders of Happiest Days were recently placed! I guess I should run out of printings more frequently. Many of you asked for a media kit, like the one I did for Dancing Barefoot. Well, here’s the Happiest Days of Our Lives media kit. Please download it and use it; it’s under a Creative Commons license, so I encourage you to get crazy go nuts with it.

Shit. The robots are crawling all over the lab again. I have to get back to work.

the secret life of wheatons

Posted on By Wil

And now, via reprinted text messages, a glimpse into the private lives of a geek, his wife, and their son:

Anne: Michelle was late, so I’m going to be at work longer than I thought. See you guys sometime around 9.

Me: Somehow, someway, between Battlestar Galactica, NHL playoffs, and Rock Band, we will find the strength to survive until you make it home.

For the record, it was Battlestar Galactica. BSG pre-dates TiVo in our house, so we’ve been DVD viewers until this season. TiVo is storing season 4 for us while we devour — and thoroughly enjoy — season 3. Also for the record, Nolan and I survived just fine until Anne got home. So say we all.

more excellence in journalism

Posted on By Wil

In a review the Sarah Jane Adventures, Tod Emko at UGO writes:

So, children’s show, yes. Has young teens in it, yes. Yet, a show you
may actually want to watch, despite your probable hatred for Wil
Wheaton-type characters through the years. It’s definitely one of the
most intelligent shows for kids you’ll ever see, and if you can’t get
enough of the Doctor’s universe, this will give you a decent fix.

Well. Glad he liked the show, and is encouraging teenagers to watch intelligent programming; we certainly need more of that to act as a counterbalance on Hanna Montana. But I feel compelled to point something out that is apparently lost on Tod Emko-like writers: I didn’t invent that type of character. I just played one of them for a few seasons. Twenty years ago. Using my name as a pejorative in this case isn’t just profoundly offensive to me, it’s profoundly inaccurate.

Despite my probable hatred of Tod Emko-like writers through the years, though, I’m totally going to do Tod Emko-like writers a solid here: Hey guys! Send your resumes to Entertainment Weekly; they love your style.

sitting on stairways is strictly prohibited

Posted on By Wil

If you don’t follow me on Twitter, you probably don’t know that I was in New York until yesterday.

I’m working on a full-on trip report, with lots of pictures, a review of Spamalot, and a few jokes, but I’m busy getting actual work done so it’ll have to wait a day or so.

Until I have time to properly show you New York the way I saw New York, please enjoy this example of why New York is so awesome:
Img_2323

For the photographically-challenged, that’s a girl sitting on a stairway in Grand Central Station, next to a sign which explains that Sitting on Stairways is Strictly Prohibited. Yes, those are three New York City police officers watching — and laughing — at her audacity. I don’t know if they wrote her up, but I doubt they did. I got the sense that the NYPD had much better things to do with their time than write stupid tickets to college students who were on their cell phones.

Happiest first printing is nearly sold out!

Posted on By Wil

When I went to pack up a bunch of Happiest Days orders this morning, I realized that this totally awesome tower of books, representing much of the first printing, has been reduced to just three boxes, and one of those is only half full. I’m probably going to have to order a second printing for the great Geek Tour of 2008.

Thank you, so much, to everyone who has bought Happiest Days, talked about Happiest Days on your blogs or Live Journals or wherever you make your home online. Thank you to everyone who slipped it into conversation with friends, families and random hobos, and to everyone who has supported me and my work. Thank you for believing in me and supporting me. I don’t have a publicist or a big marketing budget or any traditional mainstream support in print or electronic media . . . but I’ve never felt like I’m doing this all by myself.