John Hodgman loves his Maine retreat, even though “I know nothing about letting go.” In his new book Vacationland, the closet Mac owner takes our humor in the North Woods to a new level of weird. 7 Personalities 44 P o r t l a n d monthly magazine In recent weeks, Vacationland has vaulted the former Yale under- grad to new heights on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah. PC Guy, Maine Guy By sarah Moore B y the end of 2012, John Hodgman had finished That’s All, his third book of farcical trivia and fake facts, and was awaiting the end of the world as predicted by the Mayan calendar. When the apocalypse didn’t arrive, Hodgman was alive but unsure of his next move. “I didn’t truly believe in the end of the world, of course, but if you say it enough, it starts to feel real. I went into 2013 with a terrifyingly clean slate.” “Clean slate” is a relative term. Hodgman pens the weekly “Judge John Hodgman” ad- vice column for The New York Times. His podcast of the same name has broadcast for over seven years with Maximum Fun pro- ductions. He’s recognized everywhere for his regular character appearances on The Dai- ly Show with Jon Stewart. But personal proj- ects had stalled. “I felt out of material. Like I didn’t have any stories to tell. I started com- edy residencies at the Union Theater and the Bell House in Brooklyn. There’s nothing like knowing there’s an audience waiting to hear you speak to draw out stories and ideas. Pan- ic catalyzes creativity.” Duringtheseperformances,“apartfroma goodAynRandimitation,”Hodgmanfound himselfavoidingtheimpersonationsandab- surdistcomedythathadcharacterizedhispre- viouswork.Heretiredthe‘DerangedMillion-