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 We're
back from JoCo Cruise Crazy 2 (JCCC2), and it was amazing.
I declined on the opportunity to go on the first JoCo Cruise
Crazy, deciding to wait and see what Kristin thought of it before
taking such a plunge myself. But from the moment I picked her
up from the airport last year, I knew I'd made a mistake in not
going with her.
So, I signed on as a Sea Monkey for JoCo Cruise Crazy 2, and
the trip was everything I'd hoped it would be. For a week, I
sailed the Caribbean seas with old friends, new friends, and
a bunch of slightly famous people I admire -- including of course,
JoCo himself, Jonathan Coulton, seen here with me on the final
night of the cruise.
This was my first time on a giant cruise-ship like this, and
it was a great experience. Fine dining, exotic ports of call,
the constant swaying that says "this may look like a hotel
but you are actually on a gigantic vehicle," and so on.
I expected to enjoy all those things, and I did. Very much. But
what drew me to it, and what made the cruise so fantastic, was
the convention.
I've been to a lot of conventions, and in many ways this was
just another. But this is also a totally new convention (well,
since last year) and it's not quite like any of the other conventions
I attend.
The official theme of the convention is the music Jonathan
Coulton, but since he writes songs about games and robots and
monkeys on the internet, it was also a convention about games
and robots and monkeys on the internet. And that makes it my
kind of convention.
Particularly of course, the games. The game room was so popular
last year that they made it a 24-hour thing this time, and that
was my favorite place to hang out. I got a lot of great playtesting
done during our long days at sea!
Here's the official Wunderland Toast Society group photo.
That's Alex on the left, then John, Renee, Kristin, Gina, Alison,
and myself.
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 Perhaps
the craziest event on this crazy cruise was the Paul F. Tompkins
Mustache & Fez Formal, for which occasion I grew a mustache.
I also dusted off my classic Emperor
of the Universe uniform, since that seemed suitably formal.
I posed for a lot of photos,
including the one shown here by Hank Shiffman -- but I forgot
to take any myself.
It being a Mustache Formal, everyone was expected to wear
a mustache -- those without mustaches were issued self-adhesive
mustaches upon arrival. But most guests had come prepared, many
with elaborate and often ridiculous fake mustaches. And I wasn't
the only man to grow a mustache specifically for this party --
but I was the only one to shave it off again as soon as the party
ended.
Awards were given for Best Mustache in both Natural and Artificial
categories, and I was one of the nominees for the Best Natural
Mustache award. I was actually happy not to win, however, since
I'd previously decided not to keep it permanently. I would have
had to re-consider if it had become an award-winning 'stache!
Anyway, that's the short report. For more details, check out
Pano Galleries 13
and 14!
 Thanks
for reading, and have a great Whenever!
PS: Are you going to be at GTS,
LunaCon, MidSouthCon,
or PAX East? If so, look
for me there!
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