My iPod arrived day before yesterday. While I was putting music on it, I decided to take a look at the iTunes Music Store, and see what it was all about.
I know what you’re thinking: What’s that? See what it’s all about? Wil, you just told us the other night on Your Mac Life that you didn’t like the iTunes Music Store! What gives?!
Well, here’s what gives: I misunderstood what the iTunes Music Store was about, didn’t fully grok how it worked, and I have changed my mind entirely about it.
I said that I wasn’t all that thrilled with it, and cited the (incorrect) fact that the buyer wouldn’t be able to take the music he / she / it bought and burn it, play it on different machines, etc. Last night, I realized that I was hasty in my condemnation, and I totally misspoke.
It was lame of me to answer the way that I did without having the facts at my disposal. I mean, I’ve always thought that people should have all the facts, and have them straight, too, before they form an opinion, or commit thousands of troops and billions of dollars to a military occupation.
I spent quite a bit of time last night poking around the store, and I bought 6 songs that I really like. If they’d had all of Arizona Bay or Rant in E Minor, I would have bought those entire albums, too. Once the prices over at Audible come down, I will probably pick up some books there (and look into offering an audio version of Dancing Barefoot!)
I think it’s really cool that I can put that music on my iPod, keep it in my iTunes library, and burn it to a CD and take it into my car. I don’t see any major limitations, so far, and I wish I’d had my shit straight before I opened my big fat stupid mouth.
I feel awfully embarrassed right now, but I think it’s better to be honest than it is to be right.
If it makes anyone feel any better, I am totally paying massive karma for this idiocy: ALL THREE of my linux machines won’t access the ‘net, and my iBook is pissed at me too. I’m having one of those “tanj” technology days.

Finally. The Big News is here!
Last week, I was contacted by Amazon dot Com. A very cool Amazon employee, who reads the exact site you’re reading right now(spooky!) suggested that Amazon would be interested in carrying Dancing Barefoot.
We did some business stuff with Monolith and Amazon, and I can announce that Dancing Barefoot is now available on Amazon dot Com. I couldn’t announce it on Monday, like I wanted to, because the cover art, reviews, bio, and all that stuff hadn’t been updated, yet.
I can also announce that I’ll be signing copies of Dancing Barefoot at the OSCon in Portland next week, at Powell’s Technical bookstore (Two signings: one inside the con at 1PM on July 10th, and one in the actual store at 7PM on July 10th. I think I get to read from the book, too!). . . and they placed a HUGE order with me already!!!
AND in August (It’s looking like the 14th) I’ll be in Portland again, this time doing a signing at the Big Store. That’s right, I will be signing at Powell’s City Of Books, in the heart of Spudnuts country.
EDIT: My bad. It’s not Powell’s City of Books. It’s Powell’s in Beaverton. Go suburbs!! 🙂
All of this is totally overwhelming to me. We packed another massive bunch of books tonight, (until we ran out of postage . . . dang!) and we’ll be shipping them all out tomorrow. We’re totally sold out of our first 1000 books, and I’m expecting another 1000 (with some minor corrections, and a cool new cover with some of the awesome reviews I’ve gotten) to arrive soon, so I can sell them in Tulsa at the convention.
Speaking of conventions, the gang over at Creation has once again heard the mighty voice of the fans, and invited me to attend the Vegas show! I’ll be there with (say it with me) books to sign, and I’ll be doing a reading, too.
I’m almost done with the Cruise entries, and there are still about 100 photos to be uploaded. I think I’ll have some time later today to get them put up.
Oh, and check this out:
The UPS dude stopped by around 4:45 this afternoon, and dropped off a tall rectangular box, addressed to “Wil Wheaton, c/o 1000 Barefeet Dancing.”
I opened it, and found a bottle of Macallan Cask Strength Highland Scotch Whiskey inside. It was sent to me by my friend Barry, to celebrate the 1000th sale of my book.
Barry, if you’re reading this, you effin’ rule, man. Thank you. (Yes, it’s as good as we thought it would be!) 🙂
I really feel like all this great stuff that’s happening is Balance for all the shit I went through when I was struggling so hard to make it as an actor. I no longer feel like I’m struggling against a mighty current, and it is wonderful.
Thought for Today:

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

–Thoreau

You can hear me tonight on Your Mac Life dot Com. I’ll be talking about my iBook, the eMac Anne and I bought for Ryan as a graduation present (that’s right, I’m the parent of a 9th grader — forgiv me if I’m a bit testy for the next four years), my book, Star Trek, and Muskrats.

The big question on everyone’s mind is . . . “Is The Hulk really going to suck as much as I think it’s going to suck? Because I am really tired of comicbook movies sucking.”
Of course, the answer to that can be best expressed in Wil’s Law of Movie Suck Potential: A movie’s suck potential is directly related to the amount of “product tie-in” which preceeds the film’s release.
For example, if there are several pop songs and fast-food children’s meals, or we’re seeing OREOS that tie-in to a movie, the odds of that movie sucking go up exponentially. If there’s a special Mountain Dew can . . . just forget it.
I’m cheating a little bit, here, because I’ve seen the trailer . . . oh dear god. Every time they screw up another movie based on a comic book (Daredevil? I left the theatre, raced into the shower and scrubbed myself raw.) It moves us farther and farther away from a “Watchmen” or “Sandman” movie. If LoEG sucks, we can pretty much forget it.
The second-biggest question on everybody’s mind is: “Where the hell is that big news you promised us, you jackass?”
The answer is: It’s not quite ready. I thought it would be ready on Monday, and it isn’t done, yet. When it’s done, I’ll announce. That should teach me to make teaser announcements when I don’t have the project in question totally finished.
Sorry . . . but I think it’s pretty cool that anyone even cared enough to e-mail me about it. 🙂

Oh man, I heart Fark so very, very, very much.
When I was a kid, I always wanted to be roasted by the Friar’s Club someday. This is so much cooler.