18 Comments

If you’re happy, I’m happy. 😎

Expand full comment
Apr 2Liked by Michael Ian Black

Hang on a second. Did you just convince me that I might *enjoy* a cruise?

Expand full comment

Your NYT article about cruises is a masterpiece

Expand full comment

I haven’t been a cruise in many years but I loved reading your take on it. Enjoy 😉 !

Expand full comment

Michael I hope you enjoy dipping your toes into the waters of the Jimmy Buffett lifestyle. Fins up to you and yours 🙏🦜🍹

Expand full comment

A thousand times "NO!" and I would like to hear from Martha, please.

Expand full comment

This has made me crave going on a cruise for the first time since I went at 24 and knew nothing about the world. Sorcery - maybe change your act to magic and see if that helps?

Expand full comment

You’re one of my writing idols. Please let me know if you’d like a free editor for your articles. It would be a privilege (I have years of editing experience)

Expand full comment

Jin, that's a kind offer, but most of us who subscribe to MIB's Substack nether notice nor care about that stuff. And his occasional faux pas makes us look better when we comment so perfectly.

Expand full comment

It wasn’t a criticism - I just wanted to be a part of MIB’s universe!

Expand full comment
author

I definitely appreciate the offer and I’m trying to do a better job self-editing but this Substack is more or less a way for me to post thoughts and I’m worried that if I formalize the process too much it’ll deter me from writing.

Expand full comment

That makes complete sense, I appreciate the reply ❤️ hope you’re still loving the big boat!🧜‍♂️

Expand full comment

I understand. 😉

Expand full comment

😂😂 This is so good! If I were half the writer you are (+ 3/4 the writer DFW was) I might have written nearly the same piece on my cruise experiences.

Expand full comment

Poker + cruise = I am jealous. Except for the part at the end about the thumping beats. Jimmy Cliff, yes. Thumping beats, no. I guess I'd just need to find the right deck. Of cards! heh heh.

Expand full comment

dear michael,

i like this a lot: "[David Foster Wallace's] piece was obviously much-better written but, to my credit, mine was much shorter."

have a great time on the ship and thank you for your finite jesting!

love

myq

Expand full comment

Cruising is great. You have written a perfect synopsis of why. And don't feel bad about the comedy, I am not sure why it's so difficult to be funny on a cruise ship, but it does appear to be almost insurmountable. I have seen too many frustrated comics on these things. On our last cruise, the middle aged woman comedian was just awful, but I am not sure it was her fault -- on a boat full of grey-haired silent generation people who have been married for 40 years, do you really want to tell jokes about getting divorced, needing raspberry vodka to exist (wayyy too many jokes about that), and the fact you had 8 kids and raised them as a single mom? It was just weird. I think she just reminded the audience of how their kids drove them to retire on a cruise ship. Anyway, a great post as always.

Expand full comment
founding

Sounds lovely. Never been on a cruise because my sister, who is my travel buddy, is an epidemiologist who describes cruises as the best place to incubate deadly diseases. I guess I could go alone and see what it’s all about. What’s a little plague between friends?

Expand full comment