(reblogged from 2009)
Neil deGrasse Tyson is that guy and don’t you dare to suggest otherwise or he’ll declassify your ass.
A good friend tipped me off to a book tour Neil (I’ll just call him Neil from here on) was doing, promoting his book “The Pluto Files” .
Being a huge fan of his and seeing as how it was super easy to go and pick Jeanne up from work at the same time, I was so there.
We made it a date night. hawt !
If for some reason you’re not familiar with this man and his amazing brain, here’s a short video example; Youtube Video: 10 Questions for Neil deGrasse Tyson
Anyway - I’ve not been this excited about seeing someone in person since Ray Harryhausen, I even joked about ‘wetting myself’. (incontinence always makes for reliable humor)
The room maybe held 150 people or so, was sold out and a little stuffy.
I had brought Jeanne’s favorite soda water to help keep us hydrated. After the room had pretty much filled, I decided we needed a little sip to quench our collective thirsts.
There are moments when time slows and you see your mistakes play out before you. That moment came as I cracked open the bottle of soda water and it exploded in my lap. I had succeeded in turning my joke into reality.
My crotch was soaked, add to that I had also showered the back of the seat in front of me where hung a young lady’s evening jacket.
She didn’t notice, but of course I told her what had happened. She was none too thrilled even after I assured her it was just soda water, the kind of stuff you use to REMOVE stains (so says Heloise).
After using my hoodie to mop up her jacket and my pants, my only comfort was that there was at least an hour before I would have to stand up and meet Neil. It seemed very likely the moisture would be magically gone by then. (science is awesome)
Oh and the girl who’s coat I dampened - never spoke to me again. (small victory)
Anyway, Niel is GREAT and natural with an audience. Think of Bill Cosby + Carl Sagan with a little Dennis Miller for seasoning.
He was funnier than many stand-ups I’ve watched and he knew how to engage the audience. (yoda voice) Eating out of his hand they were.
After the show there was a book signing, only I had no intentions of having him sign a book, I mean come on - this was the coolest guy in the galaxy remember.
After seeing him on this Daily Show, I HAD to have Neil sign a Rubic’s cube. I wanted my 'NdT Bat Signal’.
The lines for the book signing were long, I kept it hidden away until the last moment, to (hopefully) create a small surprise. It worked.
I had left it solved to make it easier for him to sign the white section - I should probably have scrambled it first - because he seems to be a genuine Rubic’s fan.
After signing it Neil felt it had to be scrambled in a specific pattern before it could be set free to join my geek collection.
That was truly a gift.
He then invited us to stay around until after the signing to play with the cube some more but we had a ferry to catch to get back to Marin. In hindsight I feel like I passed on a chance to bang the prom queen just so I could make it home in time for curfew. Doh!
Well at least I got to sleep with my date that night and on the shelf sits a reminder of the time I got to shake hands with the coolest guy in the galaxy (universe).
digital-phenomena posted this