I agree with the person who said that Parris was so supremely empathetic here - I felt so badly for him, trying so desperately hard to prove that he belonged there, and I also felt, maybe too scared of what it would mean to accept that they were in trouble, that it wasn't a test. I mean, OK, the guy lives in Eureka, maybe he should be used to it. :) But, the group was locked into a tiny cell way beneath the surface - I don't know that I would have had the courage to confront that situation, if I were in it, and might have stubbornly insisted it was just a test as a coping mechanism. I don't know if you were trying to suggest that, but it made me want to hug the guy. Also, I had to pause the TV and hyperventilate when poor Andy fell down - I actually said out loud, "Please don't hurt Sherriff Andy! I love Sherriff Andy!" This is why my husband will not watch TV with me.

I so have enjoyed the Dr. Parrish episodes - and I wanted to mention that my mother called me each time one was on just so I knew "Wil Wheaton is in Eureka!" I think she may have had the wrong preposition there, but the enthusiasm was genuine. I am so thrilled you have made it on to my favorite show - and I agree with your assessment of the episode - and that you have had such fun with Parrish!

Ever since I began watching Fringe, I have dared hope we might see you on it - I will sacrifice all the goats I can find!

Sending you audition mojo, and soap for your scary, scary imagination.

I love the recursive Wheatons video. Can you fold that shirt into a Möbius strip? Keep up the goofball gonzo cellphone videos!

That is one of my favorite stories in Dancing Barefoot - it does read like a tiny love letter or story, and yet you've managed to share it with readers in a way that isn't awkward or uncomfortable or gloat-y (I don't think that's a word); it's just lovely and warm. You two are so very lucky in each other!

I very much like how this was completely not a surprise ending. :) Even a new reader could tell from the photos that Batman Seamus would be a Wheaton before long!

The crappy thing about being someone that a lot of folks pay attention to is that when you do get upset, in a personal way, it's difficult to keep that personal or delimited from the public you. I'm sorry that this whole thing left a bad taste in your mouth and that you ended up feeling embarrassed. If you can be reassured that it does happen to everyone - we say things that come out the wrong way, we feel like idiots, and we get hurt and disappointed. It's more public in your case - but if we're honest with each other, all of us here can identify with that experience. It's really difficult, especially when you get passionate about something, to remember that not everyone is in your head with you - at least it is for me. And so, all the things you were thinking and feeling as you responded - when you looked at your responses, you didn't see those things as clearly as you felt them. That's the hard part about humans in general - and about being a more public human in particular. Being locked inside our own brains with no windows for the people we interact with can get confusing and unintended meanings can happen. It's just one of the rough parts of communication. But you are excellent at communicating, and I really appreciated your commentary on the exchange here. I think that's the best we can do - give others the best explanation we can, and do our best to correct misunderstandings. And it's a hard thing to be able to do sometimes, so I think you deserve a pat on the back for being able to do it, honestly. Here's hoping that you have fewer communications obstacles going forward!

I am a major Anne Fan based on the Anne stories Wil has shared with us. I knew she wouldn't be there, but I imagined she might come to GenCon, so there would be someone else who got excited about sales at Home Depot! :) I loved the reading at GC - thanks again, Wil!

I am really thrilled to hear it, and gave three cheers at my desk this morning (in Exile is my guilty pleasure when I get in, before I do my actual work). I hope that some time you can come and enjoy GenCon as well, and I appreciate on behalf of all your fans and followers that you make the time to sign things for us and give us salutes! I hope you have a marvellous time! (I always feel like an ass signing in with Facebook, but it's what I got.)

I have some serious envy of all the things you're seeing firsthand that we can see via twitpic (I appreciate the sharing!) - and as much as I try to enjoy things while they happen, there is a big part of me that can't wait until the fall to see Parrish back on Eureka. :)

I have always wanted to be a foley artist I hereby respectfully request the sound of ten pounds of dice being spilled on the next RFB (should there be one)!

I was worried that you wouldn't have enough time for gaming - I suggest next year, sneaking in with a mask, so you don't get mobbed by all of us raving fangeeks, so that you get a real chance to experience GenCon as a gamer! I know that for me, I never get to pack in everything I wanted to in those four days, and you deserve at least the full four!

I, for one, always encourage protecting your health - I heard you coughing while I waited in the autograph line, so it looks like the swine flu may have found you anyway. I hope you're feeling better! (I am also glad to know my Emergency Replacement Dice (TM) went to a good cause!)

Hey, all kinds of happy to you! I will be celebrating "birth of one of my favorite authors" day from now on!

I can't wait to see it! I am always really excited for you that you get to do work on shows you enjoy - it seems like the best of both worlds? (I've always wondered, though, once you have been in an episode, are you able to sit back and enjoy it, or do you have to tie your internal critic to a chair in a dark corner of your mind first? Does it change the way you feel about a show generally? You seem to have an even greater appreciation for some shows after you've worked with the amazing folks on them, but I'd be curious to know how it changes your viewing experience, more specifically.) In any case, I'm glad Friday is tomorrow!

I'd definitely order from Lulu, and if only an e-version were available, I would take that instead! (I do wish it were easier to gift things on Lulu, as I've run into trouble buying copies of audiobooks for others).

A hug doesn't hurt, as long as you're not hugging something broken, bruised, or otherwise wounded, and as long as, if porcupines are involved, all parties are porcupines. * HUGS * to both the Wils. I think it can be really neat to read glimpses from our past selves and imagine talking to them - it helps remind me to be humble about where I think I'm headed, because all the past mes would have gotten it completely wrong.

I am a vegetarian person at GC, and am also happy to send recs if you like - there are a few fancier places with non-starchy veg options, but also plenty of starchy veg like pasta (Bucca Di Beppo), sandwiches (Einstein Bagels, Subway, the various pub places) and even veggie salads at some of the in-convention-center places.

I got this news via the official GC newsletter and had to run around my room screaming (in delight, I swear). HOORAY! Thanks so much for coming! And, I hope you have a blast. OH! And! I am running INWO! You should totally come and play (at either session). I knew when I read an early INWO reference that I could die happy if I could convince Wil Wheaton of the Internet Awesome to play INWO with me. . . come on, you know you want to! And who runs INWO anymore?

I think they just changed it, without warning. If you go in the market, the terrier still says it will harvest rabbits, but Farmville says it will harvest a single duck. Nice to be mislead, right?

Wil the amazing - time spent appreciating a moment (even if it leads to 10 extra seconds of arrr) - is never wasted. Hang in there - you will get the things done that are essential, and you're gonna make it.

So, I am sure you have seen the gamer review of outside here (scroll down to the comment by aeschenkarnos - I hate that there's no way to link directly to comments on MeFi), but just in case you hadn't, I felt it my duty to bring it to your attention. I loved this story, because I not only laughed at "free scrap lumber day", I also thought "What an AWESOME idea"! I go to Free Comic Book Day as willingly as my spouse, but I refuse to take him to Home Depot because I feel that would be cruel. As he has said, "I know how to repair something that's broken. I call a repairperson."

This reminds me of that Memories of the Futurecast, where you talked about spending hours learning the layout of the Okudapads, so you could actually be pressing the correct buttons - that kind of detail that it's possible to ignore, but folks like yourself (and me!) really groove on.