Wil Wheaton rocks PAX East 2010

I've blogged in the past about how Wil Wheaton is a really funny writer. However, having now watched him deliver a very impressive keynote speech for PAX East 2010, I also have to admit that he is a great orator (and someone who really knows how to connect with a geek audience).

Probably a bit late to say this but if you aren't a gamer, don't click on the above links. :)

Anyway, PAX stands for Penny Arcade Expo and its an annual gaming convention in the US where people get together for a long weekend to celebrate videogames, RPGs, card games, board games and all things geek. It was started several years ago by the people behind Penny Arcade (hence the name) and has grown so big that they had to run an extra Expo on the East Coast.

Wil had done a really good keynote speech at PAX 2007 (which you can hear here - no video unfortunately) and he was invited to give the keynote speech at the inaugural PAX East 2010. And, just as with his keynote in 2007, he really knocks it out of the park.

What really resonated with me in his speech was when he talks about his earliest memories of playing video games with his friends. As a person, I really don't dwell on the past much and have a very poor memory of my childhood. All I can really remember are odd bits and pieces (contrast this with my wife who has an excellent memory and can remember large stretches of her childhood). You can also see this in play when reading my blog - I very rarely talk about my past.

However, in looking back at my posts where I do talk about my past, one thing becomes clear. Whenever I think of my childhood, the memory tends to include either a video game or a roleplaying game. Nice huh!