So somehow I discovered WWDN. Being a bit of a Star Trek dork myself (which I suppose falls somewhere between Trekkie and Trekker) I expected, as I'm sure most people who find it do, either something catering to the die-hard Trekkers about how Wesley Crusher got shafted and how he should have been on the show more and blah blah blah, or else the opposite, a "Star Trek suck, everyone who watches it sucks, the people who cut me suc", etc. etc. sort of thing. Turns out to be neither... nor anything close. Very little discussion about Star Trek at all in fact. Just the ramblings of a guy who used to work in Hollywood, and would like to again, but if he doesn't that's okay too. Turns out that Wil Wheaton doesn't need to worry about if he'll ever work in Hollywood again. He still acts, mostly with improv groups and so he's happy with that. Still goes to auditions, but they're not that important to him. Why?
Because he's got a wife he truly loves and who seems to love him right back. He's got 2 kids who look to him as a Father even though he's not the one who supplied the sperm. He's got dogs who he treats as family (I firmly believe that a person who can't treat animals right has no business being part of the human race) and he's got things he wants to do with his life that he's doing. Not a lot more that you could ask from life as a whole. But the best part is, he doesn't talk about how great his life is (well not too much) he just writes what his life is and you can tell that it's mostly good. He doesn't hide the fact that there's stuff that hurts, but he also shows that life is good on the whole.
So anyway... I got hooked. I check the page every day. Got my wife hooked too. We've come to the conclusion that if we had the chance, we'd hang out with the Wheaton family. I bet they'd be fun to play Cranium with. It also doesn't hurt that he's a Cubs fan. He wrote the most well thought out commentary on the "Foul Ball Incident" in the playoffs that I've come across.
So when it was announced that Wil Wheaton had a book out, my wife and I decided to buy it. Now, we're pretty much broke, so we hemmed and hawed over it. Then one day my wife calls from work and says "WWDN says the book is sold out!" Well... Crap. A bit later she calls and says "They still have it at Powell's Books, and I can use my Amazon.com gift certificate." So Dancing Barefoot was ordered.
Flash Forward... We get the book and, of course, I'm not allowed to read it. My wife's logic is that it was her gift certificate, so she gets first dibs. Which I suppose is valid. So I had to wait a few days to read the book. Today I read it. Bet you didn't expect this to be a book review.
Dancing Barefoot is a great book. I read the whole thing in about an hour and enjoyed it quite a bit. There are 5 stories and the first four are short, and simple. They make their point and are done. The style is simple and honest and it's easy to read, and you can see yourself in similar situations very easily. I found myself wishing that I could write my life as well as Wil Wheaton can. Then maybe someone would read this, because the stuff I do, normal stuff, would seem as interesting as normal stuff does when he writes it.
The last story is great and puts a real perspective on why Wil Wheaton doesn't need to worry about being among the least respected characters on a great show, or the fact that William Shatner treated him like crap. It's worth reading.
I love finding new stuff to read.
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