Archive for May, 2002

And you are…?

Published by Brendon J. Wilson on May 20, 2002 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

I was walking back from the office this evening, after I decided I needed to upload a file from work so I could continue working on my follow-up to last year’s MP Survey. As I walked down the alley, I spotted a man walking towards me that looked eerily familiar, but not so familiar that I could figure out where I’d seen him before. Then I realized who it was: William Gibson. I didn’t even realize that he still lived in Vancouver, so I was a little surprised. It’s only once I had successfully completed Stage One, recognizing him, that I proceeded directly onto Stage Two: Operation “Make A Complete Ass Out Of Myself.”

Here was my opportunity to ask the author of several highly regarded sci-fi books, such as Neuromancer, Idoru, and The Difference Engine some insightful questions. Of course, that would be somewhat out of character. Instead, the conversation went something like this:

Me: <incredulous>”William Gibson?!??”</incredulous>

Him: <hesitant>”Uh, yes?”</hesitant>

Me: <idiotic>”What are you doing here?”</idiotic>

Him (shaking my hand): <amused>”Well, I just went for dinner with a friend, and now I’m going home.”</amused>

Me: <idiotic>”Oh. I was just uploading some files from work to my home machine and here you are. Well…see ya!”</idiotic>

Him: <confused>”Uh, okay. See ya.”</confused>

I know what you’re thinking: you &%$*’n idiot. Then again, this isn’t the first time I’ve embarrassed myself in front of a first class science-fiction author, so you shouldn’t be that surprised.

Two years ago, I attended a Neal Stephenson reading where he read from Cryptonomicon, his newest book at the time. During the reading, Stephenson revealed that the Electric Till Company in his book was based loosely on IBM. I worked for IBM at the time and so when I went to get my copy signed I flashed my IBM badge and asked when the company could expect residuals. Dumbass. At least I managed to get an autograph that time.

So, long story short: if you’re out there Mr. Gibson, feel free to contact me so I can redeem myself. Or at the very least, make a dumbass out of myself again, but this time with a little more preparation.

Kids In The Hall

Published by Brendon J. Wilson on May 13, 2002 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

We went to see The Kids In The Hall at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The original quintet was there to parade old sketches and favourite characters, such as Simon Milligan and the Pit of Ultimate Darkness. All in all, a good show by a bunch of funny guys.

It’s strange. For a bunch of guys with an original comedy act, they disappeared into obscurity after the series ended in 1995. With the possible exception of Dave Foley, who went on to lead “News Radio” and land a number of roles doing voice work for animated movies, none of the others really seemed to do that much. I suppose in a lot of ways they were probably victims of their own success. After being such well known faces on the CBC, making the transition into the gigantic wading pool of American television might have required a whole new set of skills that perhaps they didn’t possess. Or maybe they just didn’t want to play that game.

That aside, the Kids are still a force to be reckoned with, judging by the welcome they received at the hand of the capacity crowd. Given the legions of fans, you’d think they’d reunite for good and replace some of the mindless drivel polluting the TV these days.