Missing the Boat -- a thread for JoCo fans who can't cruise.

edited August 2010 in JoCo Cruise
Am I the only diehard JoCo fan who ISN'T going to be on the boat? Is there anybody else who because of financial or scheduling or seasickness reasons is going to be sitting at home the first week of January? Is JoCo going to tour at all this fall/winter, or is cruising the only way to catch a JoCo show?

Comments

  • I won't be there either. Just started a new job, and taking that much time off is going to be impossible.
  • Can't afford it. Period. All these super cool events like the cruise and MaxFunCon are expensive.
  • The good thing is that we can rely on the actual shows to be posted online, probably within hours. But it seems as if the cruise is going to replace any gigs on land, at least until next year. Has anybody heard anything suggesting that JoCo might be performing anywhere this fall? Or is everything going to happen on the boat?
  • I was really interested when the idea of an Alaskan cruise was initially brought up by Jonathan. Caribbean? Not so much. At the amount of money this costs, the cruise itself needs to be as big a draw as the musicians and performers. The Caribbean holds no attraction for me at all.

    I hope it's wildly successful, so he will reconsider the Alaskan option for "JoCoCruiseCrazy 2, Alaskan Boogaloo".
  • Hi,

    A while ago, when I posted on facebook that I'd be going, the following conversation took place between a friend from another forum (whom I'll call B) and me (A)

    B: You better have some extra fun on behalf of those of us who cannot go! That means no less than 4 party hats on your person at any time.

    A: I'll put four party hats in my suitcase as soon as I get home tonight.
    A: Omgomgomg I am in the first 250. Should I wear four party hats for the exclusive cocktail? My gown and lambag/catbag (I haven't decided which to use) are neutral colours so they should go.

    B: Of *course* you should wear 4 party hats to the exclusive cocktail party! Dead serious, that would be awesome ^_^

    A: I think I'll take pictures of four party hats enjoying all of the entertainment and cruise facilities, and then the people who didn't go on the cruise can show them to people as their cruise vacation album. Maybe I should get waterproof party hats though.
    A: "...and then there was that time I sat on Jonathan Coulton's head. We had a ball."

    B: Haha!
    If you can't find waterproof ones you can always buy cheap ones and brush a thin layer of white glue over them (which dries clear). It will give your hats an added shine!
    Zomg you will have so much fun :D

    A: No, *you* will have so much fun, in your representation as a party hat.

    ...and then Jutze promised to build a statue made out of candy in my honour if I got JoCo to play Big Dick Farts a Polka, and I promised to eat it all in one sitting with sponsorship from a toothpaste company to raise money for children who can't afford candy.

    So anyway, I thought about this some more, and planned to post a thread about it. I plan to make some party hats made of laminated (so waterproof) A4 paper printed with photos, doodles, and whatever from all the people who want to be on the cruise but couldn't. And then I (and hopefully other people on the cruise) will take photos and videos of the hats doing interesting things, and you'll all be able to show them to people as 'your' holiday snaps from the cruise. I'd try to make sure each person's representation on the hats would get in at least one photo. I even thought of an idea for the intro of the video which I can't remember the details right now, but it involved somebody acting like the Old Spice guy responding to the above request on facebook. Oh, but that's a secret.

    Basically, I would need everyone who is interested in this to send me a picture of themselves or some other image that they'd want to be put on the hat in some kind of collage, and any specific requests of what they'd like to do on the cruise. Remember that as a virtual hat-person, you might be able to get away with more than a real person could. For example, you could probably throw yourself at Paul and Storm during Opening Band, or hop on board Paul during Frogger without causing a scandal. ;)

    Does anyone think this is a good idea, or have any suggestions to improve it?
  • Not going.
  • I can't go because of financial reasons, unless I win the lottery or something of that nature. The hat idea sounds intriguing Angelastic I will have to give it some thought. :)
  • Complete tangent inspired by SemiEvolvedSimian's reference to Alaskan cruises:

    At my new job I get to see all the Alaskan cruise ships as they pass through this port, and every. single. one. has a hideously tacky top deck with a fake rock wall, metal or plastic palm trees, and "grass" painted on the glass deck rail. No matter how nice the cruise ship, this deck looks the same. I am still mystified.
  • @Angelastic - Wrong thread, dear.

    @Chicazul - Cruises in general mystify me, beause they no longer are the experience they once were. It used to be a mode of transportation transformed into a social event to stave off the boredom... black tie dances and late evenings at the bar, with the vast ocean sliding by as backdrop. Romantic, ya know?

    Now you can't go on a cruise unless you're having FUN!!™ And we certainly can't leave home without taking all of it with us, can we?
  • All cruises aren't like that. I've taken two cruises to Alaska (Princess), and neither has had rock walls, palm trees, or grass painted on glass. They've been relatively classy, fun family trips.
  • Spiff: Perhaps Princess doesn't stop in Vancouver, or at least not on days I'm working near the water. It's surreal to see it week after week though--even the biggest, classiest looking ships have this little deck up top, as if it has been clone-stamped on to every boat.

    Back to the actual topic: I haven't heard any rumours of further touring, but I have PAX blindness and won't be paying attention to much else until it's over.
  • Cruises may be great but my boyfriend just won't get on a boat, even for JoCo.
  • How is it the wrong thread? I mean sure, I'm going, but the hats are for people who aren't. At least in theory. I mean maybe it looks like just another way for the people on the boat to have fun, but it was supposed to be a way of including the people this thread is for, although I realise it's not as effective as setting up a million dollar cruise fund to allow everyone to go.
  • Ah, sorry... misread your post. Apologies, and carry on then.
  • @Angelastic: party-hat me, please! I will not be able to go on the cruise and I would love to know that (and see the results of) a festive party hat was out there having a great time in my place. :) Thanks for the offer. As soon as I figure out how to send a private message here, I'll send you a picture of me and some activity requests.
  • Sigh. Add me to the list of folks not going. Just cannot justify it when husband can't come (and also feel far too selfish asking him to also be sole kid care while I gallivant around the ocean without him...)

    Add +4 to the Alaska cruise request list.
  • Not going, not rich- plus hubby lost his job for a little while (he got another, almost as good) so we are trying to pinch pennies till they scream these days. Are there any plans for an on line pity party perhaps?
  • Living in England I think it's safe to say that there's no chance in hell of being on that boat. :( I wouldn't mind being there in spirit on one of Angelastic's hat's though :D
  • Simply can't go. Even if I could afford the cruise, I doubt I could also afford the flights to the US to get on it :(

    You have fun now though, you hear?
  • The good thing is that we can rely on the actual shows to be posted online, probably within hours.
    Not likely. The satellite link is 40 cents per minute (if you commit to $100 or more of time), and relatively slow—about a megabit uplink shared for all consumer traffic. Some people think they might be hitting wifi hotspots ashore (like me :), but that won't be until at least 18 hours after any given show, possibly that plus a day.
    So, no, you won't get anything near "within hours", except in the form of tweets or facebook updates from the relatively wealthy, perhaps.
  • You'll get tantalising tweets hinting about them all getting naked and singing the best song ever within hours.
  • I guess we'll just be tweeting back about having huge bandwidth, and a Sunday afternoon without lifeboat drill. Oh sod it, enjoy every minute, and tell us afterwards ;-)
  • Or trek to the wifi cafes and tease/tantalize those of us left behind with the reflected glow of video, audio, posts and tweets. Please. (If I can't bask in the sun, I'll still hungrily gaze at the moon.)
  • Have I mentioned that I didn't get around to getting pictures of people and making hats? I'm sorry about that. :( it was one of this things that I put off because it seemed like I had so much time left for it, until I didn't. Also I was trying to work out the best way to make the hats and didn't really come up with a good solution. But we could still display pictures of you on our handheld computers and put those on our heads, if you want. I have a waterproof case for mine in case anyone wants to swim.
  • @JoAnn in VA ... depending on where you are in VA, JoCo is going to be in the area in May, I think. Definitely at the Birchmere in Alexandria, possibly Baltimore as well. We're going to at least one of those shows.
  • Can't go because of money issues mainly. I plan on going to the Pittsburgh show so that has lifted my spirits! Haha :D
  • Now is the time for those who remain to lament our circumstances.
  • Yeah, I was wondering about that myself. Funny thing is, I don't find my circumstances too lamentable right now. Hope yours are fine, barring communication deprivation brought on by the Wi-fi temperance brigade.
  • Now is the time for those who remain to lament our circumstances.
    Might be more fun to share pictures of the cruise, and pretend we're there! If you find any, share them here... I'll start:

    Tweeted by JoCo, saying goodbye to the bustling multitudes:
    http://yfrog.com/h7dsyqj



    Wil prepares for the trip:
    http://twitpic.com/3mgogk


    The Official Badge of Honor:
    http://yfrog.com/h3rr2wfj
  • edited January 2011
    well there is this
    http://twitpic.com/3mgogk

    and this
    http://twitpic.com/3m1r3w
  • also this.
    Don't know if you'll all be able to see it though
    http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=769383641852
  • edited January 2011
    Paul and Storm posted a link to their Flickr photo set of the Paul F. Tompkins Memorial Mustache Formal.
    IMG_0277
  • Remind me again which of those is Paul, and which is Storm? I get them confused... :-{P
  • Thanks rob, that's great interim entertainment!
  • Storm is the one with the moustache...
  • edited January 2011
    Len Peralta aka (@jawboneradio) is doing his part to make the left behind feel less abandoned.
    @Wilw's Sequential Panels of Awesome No. 1
  • Okay, so I'm in the mood for a set of related historical snapshots...

    Mid-2001: I'm working on Holland America ships as a chord monkey, spending too much time hanging around at the front desk. Here I discover that the style of back-office admin work required onboard can do with more automation, and dust off some coding skills. This segues into a career change from full-time musician when I realise that people might be willing to pay me money to play with computers.

    Mid-2007: In my new career, I'm introduced to the music of Jonathan Coulton by a fellow code monkey.

    Jan 2010: I compose an email to said Jonathan Coulton, mentioning some experience with theme cruises and specialist tour operators, stating the belief that he might just get enough people interested to put together a cruise with him as headline act. Specifically point out the Insight Cruises is experienced at working with the geek crowd. Never got a response, but we all know he is a busy man.


    You can see why this week is particularly poignant for me ;-)
  • edited January 2011
    Heh, Bravo Borba! You planted the seed, man.
    I had a similar experience. First time JoCo came to Dallas he was at a club in Deep Ellum that totally did not fit to his crowd.
    I had just been to my first show at The Granada (Guy Forsyth opening for the Asylum Street Spankers) and was blown away by that venue.
    I emailed JoCo and said THIS is the place you need to play at. No reply but months later he finally came back to Dallas playing at the Granada.
    So far there's been two JoCo shows there as well as a w00tstock.

    I pat myself on the back every time. ;-)
  • I wouldn't go so far as to claim credit for planting the seed. The email may have gone unread, or things were in motion anyway (there is a certain inevitability about it in retrospect). But at least for once I was in tune with a piece of history...

    Let's award ourselves special lapel buttons anyway ;-)
  • @BorbaSpinotti, I can state for certain that when the crew was looking for a travel agent for this cruise, they specifically sought out Captain Neil of (then GeekCruises now) InSightCruises, so I'd say your letter, if not specifically read, was certainly one of possibly many with similar thoughts, and for that, Neil and I are most grateful. Sad that you're not here with us. Maybe JoCo2?
  • Looking at the very existence of this thread, I've just been struck by the obvious thought: We are the geeks and misfits who don't get to kick it with the COOL geeks and misfits. There's a JoCo song in there somewhere!
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