Spacewriter here: Did they give you a tour of the von Karman visitor center? I worked on that exhibit -- wrote all the text for it, a couple of years ago. I've visited JPL many times as a scientist and writer, and each time I go, it's a HUGE thrill to be there where it all got started in planetary exploration. Can't wait to see your video!

Oh, and count me in for another request that we get you out here to the East Coast for a Con! ;) CCPetersen @spacewriter

Fandom... it's what keeps us going somedays. I remember the LONG DESERT between Trek series before NextGen. Fandom kept us going! Thanks for that posting, Wil. And hey... you said shagging like weasels... heh-heh... CCPetersen @spacewriter

Wil, that is totally great (the comic)... and I love the "maybe he can get me Patrick's Stewart's phone number" line. I had somebody tweet me the other day asking if I was somebody. Biggest laugh I had all day... We follow you here not because you're a celeb (well, sure maybe a little) but also because you have funny things to say and having a good mix of tweeters is relevant to my interests (LOLcat line). Tweet happy, my friend! CCPetersen (@spacewriter)

Oh. crap... it did post twice... I'm sorry about that... it didn't show up in the comments right away... c

OT: spacewriter here -- I thought I posted this earlier, but must have hit "preview" instead of "post"... anyway, about your feelings of needing to release that character on CM -- I had a recent writing experience very similar to that where I wrote a pretty gruesome scene for a piece of fiction I'm doing, and when it was done, I felt the need to do something positive and uplifting to help me shed the feelings that the writing engendered.It was as if I was shedding that character I'd assumed in the writing and letting it go... and I appreciated then reading your feelings at the end of that one rough scene... I really understood that. So, thanks...

HI Wil, spacewriter here... apropos of your post where you described the need to hug your fellow actor after that particularly rough scene in CM, I had to write and tell you that I had a similar experience as a writer recently -- I'd been working on a fiction story and it turned into a particularly morbid one where several people are killed by a madwoman. I have no idea where those things came from, but when I finished one of the scenes, I had to go and do something positive and wonderful to help me get rid of the scene I'd just written. It felt very much like shucking a character after a difficult scene study... but your story reminded me of that!

Oh man, Wil, that is SO resonant with me right now. We just got back from a long trip and I managed to hurt my wrist big time. It's not broken, but the "does it hurt when I push here?" story is exactly what I went through with my docs... Take those pain meds and don't stint... your body will do the rest... and do that coughing thing and some walking so the pneumonies don't get ya! Namaste. Spacewriter

Wil, et al: A lot of us who are in our 40s or 50s actually go to concerts and behave ourselves, so don't generalize about us all... or I'll start talking about the 20 and 30-somethings who make movie experiences so bad... on second thought, what the hey... CRAP like this is why we don't go to movies anymore. The last time we did, there were kids (I'm talking 20s, 30s and younger) sitting all around us, talking on the phone, getting up and down to change seats, yell at each other, etc. throughout the movie. So, assholiness is not limited to older folks, Wil... all it takes is a little booze or something, and a sense of self-entitlement and it's pretty easy to fuck up a concert or movie for somebody else. It would be cool to go to a concert or movie and not have it ruined by others... maybe if more of us stood up to assholes, and if stadium police would do their jobs, we could make a difference... eh? CC/spacewriter

NB: saying that it's good to NOT have the gubmint involved in deciding these things isn't the issue. It's the fanatics who are infesting government with their lunatic ideas who are driving this fear and loathing. It's not that "big government" is doing this -- it's Big Nosies who are using government to shove their views down everybody else's throats.

So, like... there's an incredible amount of murder and mayhem in the Bible. Yes, that selfsame book that most of these thumpers who are yelling about murder and mayhem in video games read and hold up as their "code" of behavior. And, there are adherents to just about any religion that you can name (with a few notable exceptions) that abuse their religion and use it foist... ah... murder and mayhem off on people who don't believe JUST like THEM. (Note: I'm not saying ALL religionists are like this, so don't go there with me... just. don't.) And, when someone points out this incredibly sick use of violence in the Bible and by fanatic adherents to the fist-pounders getting their lace panties in a knot over GTA or other games, what do you hear? *crickets* So, take all this hypocritical vomit for what it is. And, if you're a parent who thinks that it's best that your child is older before they can play a game that is legal for YOU as an adult to play -- more power to you. The system works as it's supposed to. But, this pissy-pants blathering from the fear and loathing brigade does NOT do much except expose them for what they are... whiners and lamers.

Wil, remember when we met in Boston and I told you I worked on the Griffith exhibits? Well, I wrote most of them in a design studio only two blocks from where you stayed in NYC! THAT was my neighborhood for six months while I was "in residence" and working on the project. I was a temp New Yorker, and I got to liking the same areas -- mad Square park, union square, walking up and down park ave... and never could quite get a room at the W because it was always sold out... glad you enjoyed NYC!!! Spacewriter...

Oh and I agree with the SkepChick! ;) ccpetersen aka spacewriter

Hey Wil, no trauma... no trauma. BTW: saw "Walter" on CSI last night... somehow I'd managed to miss every other time it showed, but since I'm down with a nasty sinus thing (not as bad as yours though) I stayed on the sofa last night and watched five solid hours of CSI! Good job!

Hokay... as one of those people who hires voice actors, AND as one who does the occasional VO job myself as well, I think the original author simply doesn't have a reality clue about what it takes to do voice acting. So, he has showed his ignorance. That ignorance can be cured, if he cares to take a look at the very talented people out there who do voice acting. I've had the luck to be able to cast people like Mr. Stewart in projects, as well as other screen actors; as well as those voice-overs who don't do screen work but specialize in voice-acting alone. It has been my experience that some screen actors are NOT the best voice actors -- it's not their gig nor their specialty. The qualities that are most preferred are versatility and patience, along with the talent to act. Wil has every right to be insulted by this unknowledgeable "review" and commentary. The reviewer simply slammed people based on some sort of misperception.

Last month we were out at Griffith Observatory for a meeting and when we came out in late afternoon we caught a sunset very much like that one... there were a few clouds on the horizon to the west and it was magical... took lots of pix from up there on the mountain.

Wil, Get a Neti-pot and use it daily! they sell 'em at pharmacies under the name Sinucleanse. Sounds grotty, but it works. My acting coach told me about them...

Logjams aren't necessarily bad. Sometimes they present the only opportunity you have to a solution you hadn't foreseen when you set out on a project. What works for me is to let the logjam sit for a while, and I go on to other parts of the project.

Wil, I think there's equal parts "I'm gonna be my own man" and "Meh" going on here... I also suspect that he'll come around to being an "Ender's Game" fanatic once he gets through it. I've read that book over and over again, trying to figure out just where it is that we all suss out that Ender's been fooled into fighting the final battle with the Buggers. Although I do not care for the author's politics, I find the man's writing to be so compelling and well-done that I can overlook his other views. They, after all, help form the books I enjoy, even if I don't agree with all of them. I found the other books, particularly Shadow of the Hegemon, to be quite strange. But well done. As for the Heinlein... well, you haven't lived til you've read Heinlein in his many forms.

Hi Wil, Got the book today! Looking forward to reading it now that I'm back from travel. We were at Griffith on Thursday and the Getty on Friday (even though it was raining on Friday, the Getty is SO worth it, even with the view obscured). Now, the next place we visit the next time we come out is the Huntington! Cheers and keep lookin' up! spacewriter/ccpetersen

wil, just bought one! If you want to save the postage, I'll be in Glendale for meetings starting Nov. 28 and I could pick it up from ya. You shouldnta worried about selling 'em. YOu know us monkeys have your back! CCPetersen (spacewriter)

Hi Wil (CC, formerly spacewriter) here: Double-dang good news on the audition and subsequent role! My acting coach likes to do what your casting guy did -- mix it up with the actors on auditions. It's so much more fun that way, even scary, but still fun. Can't wait to see you on the show!

I have to chime in about Shore Leave and how low-key and well-run it is. I was a guest speaker there in 2005 (gave 2 astronomy talks) and the people were really, really nice. I've done astronomy presentations at other cons over the years, and it's always a lot of fun being a guest. I agree that guest speakers, celebrities, etc. should be more cognizant of the fans. I can see where it can get very tiring to be "on stage" for long periods of time at these things; at that point, it's also up to fans to be understanding when a guest needs to bow out (for potty break or whatever). That said, I do heavily agree that celebs who are full of themselves are a turn-off. yet, they get away with it... something I cannot fathom. But they do... Wil, met you at Boston (I'm spacewriter, but for some reason my TypeKey account for commenting using that name is inaccessible). I thought you did REALLY well at the reading and signing afterwards; the line was humongous, but you held it together to the last! good on ya!