Blondie wasn’t famous until Debbie Harry was in her thirties; the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. took a century to erect; and God, we are told, spent six days creating the world. In the tradition of his great creative predecessors, John Hodgman didn’t end up headlining a one-man show — dressed up as 1980 Ayn Rand, singing “We’re in the Money” while accompanying himself on the ukulele — overnight. So let’s back up a little. On the first day, John Hodgman was born, went to Yale and started writing humorous essays and short stories for popular literary magazines. On the second day, John Hodgman helped to develop and star in a character-driven multimedia project with pop-rock innovators They Might Be Giants. On the third day, John Hodgman wrote his first book of fake facts. On the fourth day, John Hodgman’s writing landed him a spot as a regular on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and a part in a popular Apple television ad campaign. On the fifth day, John Hodgman got involved in various collaborative podcasts, wrote more books, and played Jason Schwartzman’s nemesis on the hilarious HBO series Bored to Death. On the sixth day, John Hodgman starred in his own apocalyptic Netflix special called Ragnarok, and toured in a live one-man show. On that day, also, I had the pleasure of receiving the gospel of John Hodgman in person. But let’s back up a little more: I first met John Hodgman on a train from New York to DC for the  “Rally to Restore Sanity”; he held the ticket for the seat next to me. For nearly the whole ride, I basked in his minor celebrity and wondered how (or even if) I would strike up a conversation. Finally, I did what any capable modern introvert does and tweeted something along the lines of “I’m taking lots of pictures of @hodgman on the train as he naps.” He eventually woke up, read his @ mentions, looked around, perhaps worried at first, then got up and left the car. I assumed I had gone too far. About 20 minutes later, he returned, sat down, and said, “Was that you, tweeting at me?” I said yes. He said it was funny. I was thrilled and relieved. We chatted briefly and took a few photos of him pretend-napping on my shoulder. It was a great day.