Chips Ahoy!
Robin Williams and I leave Santa Fe this Friday for Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We'll board the Holland America Line cruise ship, m.s. Volendam on Saturday. The Volendam is home (for 10 days) to both the Shakespeare At Sea cruise and the MacMania 7 cruise, running concurrently. For generic information about either of these, visit www. geekcruises.com
Even though both events are sold out, you'll get to experience the cruise through this blog. Of course, I'm assuming the Internet connection onboard is decent and dependable. We'll see. I have a Verizon Wireless PC card, but there seems to be large chunks of open ocean that don't have Verizon coverage. Not yet, anyway. I'm sure they're working on it.
My sweetheart/co-author, Robin, is speaking at both events, although primarily at the Shakespeare At Sea event. Most people know her for her books about design, type, and Macs, but a growing number are getting to know her as a teacher of the works attributed to Shakespeare. One of her most recent books is a compelling book of research into the Shakespearean authorship question, titled "Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare." Before you scoff, read the book. Interestingly, even people who don't have any particular interest in Shakespeare find it compelling and fascinating. I know, because I'm one of them.
Of course, she won't be talking about the authorship question -- just about the Shakespearean works. That's because some people go bat-poop over the suggestion that the man named William Shakespeare might not have written the stuff. Heck, there's no documented evidence that he could write at all, much less a genius playwright. But hey, just because no one mentioned meeting him in his lifetime, that doesn't necessarily mean he couldn't have been the most prolific literary genius of his time. Other famous writers of the that period might have just forgotten to mention him. You know, like "oh darn, I forgot to mention that genius Shakespeare... oh well, he's so famous it won't matter." It's just so damn sad that every writer of the day made the same mistake. Big deal. It hasn't hurt his PR much. So, in the interest of keeping the cruise from being boarded by rogue Oxfordians or Marlowe pirates, discussions will focus on the actual works rather than the author, whoever she may have been.
If possible, I'll be spending more time on the Mac side of the ship, where it's safer. This is my first Geek Cruise, so I don't know if a fight usually breaks out between MacMania attendees and PC people who just happen to be onboard. I think we're beyond those days, but I'll keep the cameras on standby.
More ship talk later, mate.
