John Hodgman: Enigma

Note: I had this "in the can" as they say before yesterday's big news that there will be a Joco cruise Crazy 2 in February, which explains the tone. Don't worry that I'm going to start publishing daily.

What does the enigmatic smile mean? Politeness? Shyness? Or just some grander joke the rest of us can only guess at?

Image of Hodgman attributed to ETHAN MILLER / GETTY on the Time site.

I've mentioned before that John Hodgman was the one celebrity I was really nervous about meeting on the Joco Cruise. It wasn't just, as he's pointed out in the QA session, a fear of magical genies who live in my television coming out to get me in real life. John Hodgman is a dry wit, the proverbial straight man, and as such, it's very difficult to tell when he's joking, and when he's being sincere.

And that's intimidating. How often have I left a gathering to realize I was probably being made fun of the whole time? It's a scary thought. I'm not particularly good with sarcasm or irony, and I had a feeling John Hodgman could be the sort to wield these with surgical precision.

After my first nervous meeting with him at the mustache formal, and his very kind words during the QA (pet peeves: phoniness and frowns), I felt much more comfortable. When I saw him, or anyone else among the celebrities I would give a friendly but polite wave. Because when it came right down to it, I only had about two things to say to each, and I wasn't about to wing it.

The emperor approves in this photo from grimoire42

But did John Hodgman actually have a good time on the cruise? He called in to the WFMU show to talk about it and made it clear, saying about the seamonkeys:

"Really lovely people, and terrific folks, and very sea-worthy, I must say." He also calls us "smart and interesting."

You can listen to the whole thing here (Hodgman calls in at about the 45 minute mark):

http://wfmu.org/flashplayer.php?version=2&show=39064&archive=66748

Among the topics covered are:

Baked Alaska
Joco's huge room
Ice sculptures
A boring dentist from Michigan
The ship's smarmy art dealer

It's a few months old, but it's a nice trip down memory lane and a good way to get excited for Joco cruise crazy 2.

Miss you guys. That is all.