JoCo Cruise Crazy: Day 3
Tuesday, Jan. 4:
I wore my awesome Large Torso Collider T-shirt for this day at sea. That turned out to be handy, because when I headed to breakfast on my own (Kim ate early) I randomly ended up on an elevator with a woman about my age who'd been a code monkey at CERN; we had a fun conversation over breakfast together.
That morning was a big Q&A session with JoCo and practically all the other featured guests. It was a really neat chance to hear them all respond to a range of questions about creative work and pet peeves and a bit about "What's it like to be famous?" One of the last questions was asked by another woman about my age named Tracy, who commented that she found it easier to talk to famous people if she silently told herself, "I'm famous, too." A bit later, one of the panelists commented at some point that, "Of course, I'm not as famous as Tracy; she should really be on stage with us." Without missing a beat, Tracy got up from her seat, walked to the stairs, and got up on stage. Someone handed her a chair on the way up, and "Dammit Liz" (stage manager and organizer supreme) even handed Tracy her own bottle of water like the others when she joined them. It was awesome.
After the Q&A came a big group photo at the front of the ship. (We'd had to file through a narrow hallway to the small-ish door, and after a while it started to feel like watching a clown car as nerd after nerd kept appearing through it.) After that was lunch, and then Kim took a nap while I went to a swing dancing lesson. Turns out it was a somewhat different style of swing than what I'd learned in Social Dance at Mudd, but I was glad of that (since I've recognized for a while that what I knew didn't seem to be universal). That was really a lot of fun, and another good chance to get to know some some people. (Despite much improvement over time I'm still shy about barging up and introducing myself to strangers, so I benefit from events like dance lessons and open seating dinner that make the "approach" step automatic for everyone.)
The evening's show was the first actual JoCo concert, followed by John Hodgman doing various funny stuff. JoCo played a fair number of familiar songs (and some less so), and several of them were together with Paul and Storm or with Molly Lewis with her ukulele. After that, Hodgman came out and presented a bunch of facts about the ship and other topics, some of which might have even been true. He then acted as judge to settle two relationship disputes: one about when it's proper to play seasonal/Christmas music, and one about whether it's acceptable to eat brown gravy (instead of white) with a fried chicken dinner. (That last featured Adrienne and Francis, whom I'd hung out with a couple of times the first night.) After a brief intermission, JoCo played some songs from his new album and a number of more familiar ones. (Near the end, folks backstage announced that they'd found a lost camera in the game room, and when the owner claimed it they told him he had to post all the backstage pictures they'd just taken on Flickr, including a sort of mini-play.)
We wound up sitting with just one other couple at dinner, but we all got along very well (perhaps because the topic strayed to our total of eight cats). Kim headed to bed, and I went down to watch some JoKaraoke (which was being run by JoCo himself: that must have been a bit odd for him). I didn't convince myself to sign up, but it was a tremendously supportive crowd (the weaker singers may well have gotten the most heartfelt applause) and a great atmosphere. The crowd invariably provided backup vocals and harmony parts as needed, too. :) Eventually, though, it was again time for bed.
Video evidence: No video of the Q&A seems to be up yet, but look for it if it's there! One video sequence of JoCo's part of the concert begins with "The Future Soon" (and more) before continuing in three more parts in the linked playlist. The only Hodgman video that I've found so far is a recording of the Gravy Ruling, which was pretty amusing. [Edit:] Also, here's a recording of Molly Lewis singing "Brand New Sucker" at JoKaraoke.
I wore my awesome Large Torso Collider T-shirt for this day at sea. That turned out to be handy, because when I headed to breakfast on my own (Kim ate early) I randomly ended up on an elevator with a woman about my age who'd been a code monkey at CERN; we had a fun conversation over breakfast together.
That morning was a big Q&A session with JoCo and practically all the other featured guests. It was a really neat chance to hear them all respond to a range of questions about creative work and pet peeves and a bit about "What's it like to be famous?" One of the last questions was asked by another woman about my age named Tracy, who commented that she found it easier to talk to famous people if she silently told herself, "I'm famous, too." A bit later, one of the panelists commented at some point that, "Of course, I'm not as famous as Tracy; she should really be on stage with us." Without missing a beat, Tracy got up from her seat, walked to the stairs, and got up on stage. Someone handed her a chair on the way up, and "Dammit Liz" (stage manager and organizer supreme) even handed Tracy her own bottle of water like the others when she joined them. It was awesome.
After the Q&A came a big group photo at the front of the ship. (We'd had to file through a narrow hallway to the small-ish door, and after a while it started to feel like watching a clown car as nerd after nerd kept appearing through it.) After that was lunch, and then Kim took a nap while I went to a swing dancing lesson. Turns out it was a somewhat different style of swing than what I'd learned in Social Dance at Mudd, but I was glad of that (since I've recognized for a while that what I knew didn't seem to be universal). That was really a lot of fun, and another good chance to get to know some some people. (Despite much improvement over time I'm still shy about barging up and introducing myself to strangers, so I benefit from events like dance lessons and open seating dinner that make the "approach" step automatic for everyone.)
The evening's show was the first actual JoCo concert, followed by John Hodgman doing various funny stuff. JoCo played a fair number of familiar songs (and some less so), and several of them were together with Paul and Storm or with Molly Lewis with her ukulele. After that, Hodgman came out and presented a bunch of facts about the ship and other topics, some of which might have even been true. He then acted as judge to settle two relationship disputes: one about when it's proper to play seasonal/Christmas music, and one about whether it's acceptable to eat brown gravy (instead of white) with a fried chicken dinner. (That last featured Adrienne and Francis, whom I'd hung out with a couple of times the first night.) After a brief intermission, JoCo played some songs from his new album and a number of more familiar ones. (Near the end, folks backstage announced that they'd found a lost camera in the game room, and when the owner claimed it they told him he had to post all the backstage pictures they'd just taken on Flickr, including a sort of mini-play.)
We wound up sitting with just one other couple at dinner, but we all got along very well (perhaps because the topic strayed to our total of eight cats). Kim headed to bed, and I went down to watch some JoKaraoke (which was being run by JoCo himself: that must have been a bit odd for him). I didn't convince myself to sign up, but it was a tremendously supportive crowd (the weaker singers may well have gotten the most heartfelt applause) and a great atmosphere. The crowd invariably provided backup vocals and harmony parts as needed, too. :) Eventually, though, it was again time for bed.
Video evidence: No video of the Q&A seems to be up yet, but look for it if it's there! One video sequence of JoCo's part of the concert begins with "The Future Soon" (and more) before continuing in three more parts in the linked playlist. The only Hodgman video that I've found so far is a recording of the Gravy Ruling, which was pretty amusing. [Edit:] Also, here's a recording of Molly Lewis singing "Brand New Sucker" at JoKaraoke.