The Daily Bizarre

This last Saturday evening was w00tstock 2.1 at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon.   We drove up from Salem and fought the Portland traffic and managed to find a parking spot close enough that we didn’t need a Sherpa and support crew with about a half hour to spare.

The post icon this time is the event poster that they gave out, be warned that if you click the picture (or any others in this post) it will download a hi-res (read “friggin’ huge”) version of the thumbnail image.

A most excellent time was had by all and I must admit that everyone I met there obeyed the Wheaton Rule.  At the risk of sounding like an Internet meme, Epic Win doesn’t begin to describe how awesome this whole event was.

We couldn’t have picked a nicer day to go there, the sun was out, and it was warm but not too hot (except inside the theater where it must have been 80 degrees). 

At first we thought we’d found “T  E Aladdin T Eater” but we guessed that was a ruse and it was actually an “H” eater that had come along and accosted the sign.

Since we brought our minor child with us, we were relegated to the balcony (as beer was being served down below).  I think Wil and everyone did a great job of keeping the show around a PG-13 and if you’ve got a 13+ teen I’m sure they’ve heard/seen far worse on the Internet.

Wil did the opening introductions and then Paul and Storm took the stage for the obligatory “We Are The Opening Band” number.  They were, however, surprised by the panty-throw response they got this time.  The audience loved it too.

The rest of the guests were great too, and now I have a whole bunch of Internet research to do to find out about them, since I hadn’t heard of many of them.  The whole show is really sort of a blur and it’s hard to remember what order which performer appeared in.

All of the performers were great and I’ll try to recount the ones I can remember:  Molly Lewis came out and sung a song or two and was awesome (which according to the show is synonymous…  guess you had to be there). 

Mattfraction (wish I could remember his real name) came out and talked about drawing and story telling in comics which was very insightful and quite inspiring.

Hank Green came out and did a song or two, he had more energy than a friggin’ jack russel terrier on crank.  I will have to spend some more of my already overburdened Internet browsing time searching YouTube for his videos.

Stephen Toulouse, who works for Microsoft on X-Box live security came out and did a skit worthy of the Holy Hand Grenade from Holy Grail.  I spoke with him afterwards and he said he wrote the skit.  I think he’s wasting his talents working for Mickeysoft and should take up writing full time.

Then to thunderous applause Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame came out.  He wowed the house with a preview of an upcoming Mythbusters episode about a giant water slide (like 150′ feet long or more).  Both he and Jamie got to dress up in latex again so it’ll be a good episode.  I do regret he pointed out “Jamie’s Junk” as it cannot be unseen now.  However, if Adam ever decides to form a Nick Yankovic cover band I think “Jamie’s Junk” would be a perfect name.

Backfence PDX also performed as did LoadingReadyRun and I don’t remember in what order.  And I may have forgotten someone and if I have I apologize, I’m still a bit fuzzy even two days later.  We didn’t get home until after 2am and those old wooden-backed seats in that theater were not kind to my back.  I really couldn’t feel my right leg much at all after almost five hours and that makes for fitful sleep at best.  I would, however, do it again in a New York minute.

As good as the show was, the highlight of the night for my son was getting to meet Adam and Wil after the show.  He actually got to shake Adam’s hand and couldn’t get over how nice all of the performers were.   I think someone must have gave Wil a moonpie with “Game Over” written on it before my son got there (it’s a reference to an episode of Big Bang Theory that Wil guest starred in)  and never having seen one before he was fascinated by it.  

My wife made some kind of comment to my son about don’t you dare steal Wil’s moonpie, and Wil must have heard.  When he got there, after signing her poster he grabbed the moonpie, signed it and gave it my son.   That, quite literally, blew him away and he was speechless (which, take it from me, is an exceedingly rare state for him to be in).

In the unlikely event that you come across this blog entry, Wil, I want to personally thank you for the show, your effort, your attitude, and thank you most of all for giving me and my son a shared memory that will long outlive me.  You’ve show him that you can follow the Wheaton Rule and still be a success, and that lesson is quite priceless.

If anyone who reads this post has the chance to attend a w00tstock, go.  Just go.  You won’t be disappointed.