A Brush with Fame - OMG!

Last week my flatmate Geoff told me he had some geek conference to go to. Webstock.

I mocked him.

He told me to go check out the website.

I mocked him some more. I looked at the guest speakers and pointed out what kind of geeky each one was.

Then I saw him....

OMG!1!!

Rives.

My favourite performance poet (ok - to be fair, the only performance poet I know of really - but I am loyal) ever. A guy I came across on the Ted site ages ago and posted about how cool he was. I heart him much.

I told Geoff he had to go see him and that this was a man I would marry. He's good looking, entertaining, talented and knows about Shakespeare. And is romantic (according to his kite poem, anyhow).

Geoff watched some of his videos on Youtube and Ted and agreed he was pretty cool. Then he mocked me for liking a guest speaker at his geek fest. Turns out the emcee of the night was Russell Brown, the host of Media7, who I also like (but I haven't told Geoff that).

Geoff ended up seeing him perform at Webstock and posted a comment on my facebook wall to make me jealous. I was in awe.

Then afterwards... he talked to him for half an hour! I was in more awe. At first he made me believe he'd told Rives I wanted to marry him (which at first horrified me, but then I was coming to terms with it and liked the idea - I was going to use it as an hilarious anecdote next time I showed a class one of his performances).

This was untrue. But he did tell Rives I was a 'huge fan'. So Rives gave him a collector's edition badge with his face on it to give to me. A present! To me! From Rives!

And he told Geoff (who has now started a bromance with him and is trying to become his NZ agent) that he was looking for gigs for the few weeks he was here, but had nothing lined up yet. Geoff is looking for opportunities and open mic nights.

Geoff even had the balls to tell him that he preferred the version of the poem he performed that he'd seen on youtube to the live version of the day. What a critic. As if he'd heard of him more than 48 hours before the event. Not a true fan, not like me.

I may yet see Rives live!

Geoff is my hero.

So is Rives.

I love my badge.

I'm trying to think who else I would like to come visit Wellington and give me a badge. Right now I'm drawing a blank. None of my famous crushes are as cool as Rives.

Maybe the guy who plays Sheldon. But he's prbably not as cool in real life.




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I have just wasted a lot of time clicking on all my links and favourited sites.... I have decided that this act is called 'clinking around'.