WWdN: In Exile

The Dresden Dolls

After reading my post about the Ditty Bops, jwz (yes, that jwz. Because I am totally that cool. Shut up! I am! Jeeze!) pointed me toward videos by The Dresden Dolls, specifically Coin-Operated Boy and Girl Anachronism.

Holy shit. I immediately went to the iTunes Music Store and bought their album.

This is another reason I'm so happy to be living in this age, with access to this technology. As recently as five years ago, I never would have heard of this band on my own, and even if I was fortunate enough to accidentally stumble upon them, I'd have to drive to a music store that not only carried their album, but would let me preview the album before I bought it. Instead, Jamie told me, "they're your new favorite videos ever, you just don't know it yet." and he was totally right. [I could put a huge rambling dissertation about the Long Tail and the value of word-of-mouth marketing here, but I'll spare you.] The thing is, the Dresden Dolls and the Ditty Bops sound nothing alike, and the only thing they really have in common (in this instance) is the visual style of their videos.But the music they make together, and the passion in Amanda's lyrics grabbed me by the cerebellum and wouldn't let go. The last album I had this sort of visceral oh-my-god-i-have-to-listen-to-it-over-and-over-and-over-again reaction to was Mike Doughty's Skittish / Rockity Roll.

You've got to go to their website right now and read Amanda's bio. Wow.

This is not music for everyone, but if it hits you, holy shit will it hit you.

vote for cthulhu

I am very fortunate to call John Kovalic my friend. He is an incredibly kind, supportive, and talented guy. He did the illustrations for Just A Geek, just because I asked him to, and the goddamn publisher didn't even give him (or Neil Gaiman who wrote the foreword) credit on the cover (I guess they needed every inch they could get for the Star Trek stuff. Awesome.)

John has brought so much supermegacool stuff into the world, and has contributed sto so many things that I love, it's hard to single out one thing that's best: Apples to Apples? Dork Tower? The illustrations for various incarnations of Munchkin and Chez [Geek|Grunt|Greek|Goth]?

How about his hilarious-because-it's-true take on Disney's fetid "breath of fresh air?"

All are legitimate candidates, but today I am voting for the shirt you see pictured on the left, which finally combines Napoleon Dynamite and Cthulhu, a pairing that was long over due.

Bravo, John. Put me down for a men's medium.

oh bother.

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.

girls in corsets juggling knives

If you like:

• olde tyme music
• louise brooks
• girls who look like louise brooks
• squirrel nut zippers
• asylum street spankers

and you're not on dial-up, you simply must go watch this video from The Ditty Bops.

(via grapeJuiceplus)

ways + means

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.

anyone want to play poker?

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

Just A Geek: Teh Audiobook

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 9 CDs for $35 (normally $39), or as an instantly-downloadable, non-DRM 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, my PAX keynote, my performance of The Trade, or if you like the podcasts, I'm pretty sure you'll dig the audiobook.

Radio Free Burrito Episode One

I can't believe I already did another podcast, but I had ideas, and they needed to come out of my brains, so here we are.

I'm going to tell you the complete truth: This isn't the greatest thing ever, but I really had fun putting this show together, and I think I'm officially hooked on doing these shows. As long as it doesn't completely take over my life, I'll do everything I can to get a new episode up every week. Around episode four or five, when I've climbed a little higher up the learning curve, I'll even see if I can get this into iTunes so subscribing is easier.

Okay. How about some show notes? That's kind of cool, isn't it?

Notes for Episode One:

• Feedback and reflections on Episode Zero
• Bumpers!
• An audio diary, featuring an audition, some random thoughts around town, a bit of really horrible singing, and an interview about Stand By Me.
• Very brief Q&A.

This week's show is much, much smaller than episode zero, weighing in at a much friendlier 13.3 MB, but still just over 30 minutes. I'm still not ready for primetime, but I feel much more comfortable than I did last week, and had a great time putting this together.

Questions can be sent to ask at wil wheaton dot net and comments can be sent to podcast at wil wheaton dot net.

Also, until I figure out a more appropriate license, RFB will be released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

Okay? Get to listening!

Download radio_free_burrito_episode_one.mp3

Afterthoughts:

Several listeners have asked for a list of the music in this show:

• Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
• Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day
• Title and Registration The New Year by Death Cab for Cutie (that's what I get for doing this list from memory.)
• Radio Cure by Wilco
• Kamera by Wilco
• Tear Stained Eye, by Son Volt

. . . and have a mirror, courtesy of WWdN:iX reader Alan.

. . . and another mirror courtesy of Craig.

. . . Brian did a ton of Burrito-Fu, and sent in a low-fi version, and .torrents for hi and lo fi:

High (orig):
http://athena.unearthed.org/torrents/radio_free_burrito_episode_one.mp3.torrent

Low (mono, VBR bit rate range 8-24, 5.7 megs):
http://athena.unearthed.org/torrents/radio_free_burrito_episode_one-low.mp3.torrent

Mirror for the Low..
http://www.badmonkies.com/rfb/radio_free_burrito_episode_one-low.mp3

Wow! Thanks, guys!

Monogram Sweater: Funny. Personal. Stories.

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

a few random rfb thoughts

The feedback on RFBep0 has been great. Everyone seems to like it, and the constructive criticism has been really helpful. Thank you, everyone, who left comments or sent in e-mail. I quite obviously still have some growing to do, but the two major criteria (was it fun for me, and did the audience enjoy it) seem to have been met. I think it's worth trying another one, and incorporating the notes.

(I was going to write down all my thoughts here . . . but I think I'll just put them into RFBep1 :-)

I set up a new e-mail address for the show, too: questions can still go to ask at wil wheaton dot net and comments can go to podcast at wil wheaton dot net.

I figure that if I can do four of these things, and I can manage not to suck, RFB will get its own location, like radio.wilwheaton.net or something, so I can set up special podcast feeds with feedburner and have show notes and other exciting things. I'll also figure out some sort of schedule, so the show is coming out on a regular basis.