The final two days of the cruise were spent at sea, while the ship made its way back to Florida.
There was a morning show featuring Vi Hart and David Rees, but I was so tired I don't remember very much of it. David Rees read from his new book about artisanal pencil sharpening, and demonstrated some intricate techniques for the audience, then Vi Hart played us some mathematical piano and got people to hop around on stage to demonstrate patterns and symmetry. Both of these people are talented and funny, but I didn't feel like either of their acts translated well to the big stage. I feel bad saying that, because I really did enjoy the performances, but they're both performers who seem to come across better in different media. Vi's blog and videos are wonderful, and I'm sure David's book is very funny, but having them on a huge stage at 9am was an odd decision.
Thanks to popular demand, Marian Call arranged an encore performance for her doting fans, and a few of us squeezed into the Northern Lights disco for an intimate little show. She's stellar live. I hope she comes to this area soon so I can drag some friends to her show and make them love her. Her guitarist, Scott Barkan, also did a solo show for the Sea Monkeys, but I was wiped out and needed a nap more than I needed more music. I'm told I missed a great show, and I hope someone got it on video.
That night, it was the show of Johns. John Hodgman, the Deranged Millionaire, spoke to us about his new book and the end of the world (his new book describes the end of the world, it does not cause it directly). I enjoyed his comedy tremendously - I'm used to seeing him playing a character, on the Daily Show, and he was a lot more real on the cruise and thus somehow funnier to me. After that, John Roderick, from the band The Long Winters, took the stage. He'd joined other performers in their shows here and there, so I felt like we'd already seen him perform, but his solo show was great. I'd never heard of The Long Winters before, but I've got their albums on my wishlist now. At the end of his show, he brought Jonathan Coulton and his band, and Paul and Storm, onstage to join him in The Commander Thinks Aloud, and the performance moved us all to silence.
Finally, after another formal dinner in the fancy dining room, it was time for The 2nd Annual Paul F. Tompkins Memorial Moustache Formal and Feztravaganza. They like long fancy names in JoCo Cruise Land. People were gussied up, drinking free booze, and sporting creative moustaches.
Mine was a simple stick-on moustache, but my husband, already possessing facial hair of his own, opted for a 'stache-on-a-stick. There were moustaches of every conceivable type and color, even some made out of rubbery tentacles. I will need to step up my game for the next cruise. The fezzes were impressive, too, many of them handmade and quite elaborate. Storm (of Paul and Storm fame), wore a fez with a built in percolator, engineered by Grant Imahara of the Mythbusters. I hang my fezless head in shame, and I pledge to have appropriate headgear for JCCC3.
There was a morning show featuring Vi Hart and David Rees, but I was so tired I don't remember very much of it. David Rees read from his new book about artisanal pencil sharpening, and demonstrated some intricate techniques for the audience, then Vi Hart played us some mathematical piano and got people to hop around on stage to demonstrate patterns and symmetry. Both of these people are talented and funny, but I didn't feel like either of their acts translated well to the big stage. I feel bad saying that, because I really did enjoy the performances, but they're both performers who seem to come across better in different media. Vi's blog and videos are wonderful, and I'm sure David's book is very funny, but having them on a huge stage at 9am was an odd decision.
Thanks to popular demand, Marian Call arranged an encore performance for her doting fans, and a few of us squeezed into the Northern Lights disco for an intimate little show. She's stellar live. I hope she comes to this area soon so I can drag some friends to her show and make them love her. Her guitarist, Scott Barkan, also did a solo show for the Sea Monkeys, but I was wiped out and needed a nap more than I needed more music. I'm told I missed a great show, and I hope someone got it on video.
That night, it was the show of Johns. John Hodgman, the Deranged Millionaire, spoke to us about his new book and the end of the world (his new book describes the end of the world, it does not cause it directly). I enjoyed his comedy tremendously - I'm used to seeing him playing a character, on the Daily Show, and he was a lot more real on the cruise and thus somehow funnier to me. After that, John Roderick, from the band The Long Winters, took the stage. He'd joined other performers in their shows here and there, so I felt like we'd already seen him perform, but his solo show was great. I'd never heard of The Long Winters before, but I've got their albums on my wishlist now. At the end of his show, he brought Jonathan Coulton and his band, and Paul and Storm, onstage to join him in The Commander Thinks Aloud, and the performance moved us all to silence.
Finally, after another formal dinner in the fancy dining room, it was time for The 2nd Annual Paul F. Tompkins Memorial Moustache Formal and Feztravaganza. They like long fancy names in JoCo Cruise Land. People were gussied up, drinking free booze, and sporting creative moustaches.
Mine was a simple stick-on moustache, but my husband, already possessing facial hair of his own, opted for a 'stache-on-a-stick. There were moustaches of every conceivable type and color, even some made out of rubbery tentacles. I will need to step up my game for the next cruise. The fezzes were impressive, too, many of them handmade and quite elaborate. Storm (of Paul and Storm fame), wore a fez with a built in percolator, engineered by Grant Imahara of the Mythbusters. I hang my fezless head in shame, and I pledge to have appropriate headgear for JCCC3.
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