Stairwell Art, Disruptions, and Infections - October 17 & 18

Again, I will fuse two mostly pleasant, indolent days together. We didn’t take enough photos and I suppose we didn’t do enough.

I went to Knitters & Knatters. There’s an unwritten rule that we don’t discuss politics in that space. A woman started out with “I know I’m not supposed to talk about this, but . . .” And and off she went and another woman joined her, and I heard what they said, and I heard what they implied but didn’t say. I was not prepared to sit there silently and listen to them, and I really didn’t want to have to get into a heated political discussion, so I left. If anybody’s wondering, these women were not Americans.

Ken and I started a stairwell art tour in the aft starboard stairwell, but we did not finish it. We ran out of time. In between each level we walked up and down the full length of the ship to get our steps in. It was too windy and hot outside. 

It is extremely difficult to take photographs of the stairwell art because you can’t stand very far away from the art without having to go up or down stairs. The lighting isn’t great, and there is always glare from the glass and there are usually annoying reflections from the lighting. Sorry about the poor photos.

I was not that fond of the art in this stairwell. Some of it we didn’t even photograph because I just didn’t like it and I didn’t think it was interesting enough to include in my blog. 

The vintage toys were fun. Is it art? I don’t know. I enjoyed them. 

A series of plaques represented dahlias and peonies - two showy flowers that add drama to any garden. The name of the artist was not provided.

Here we have one of a series of fanciful artworks by Miriam Danar, a photographer. The pieces have a gumball theme. This one is called Gumball Jumblee. I wonder if “jumblee” is a typo.

The final landing we photographed today contained a series of surreal, clever illustrations by Catrin Welz-Stein, a digital artist. This one is called Stranded.

The book club met again today. There were two out with Covid. One of them tested positive the day after our last book club meeting (and promptly notified all of us that we had been exposed). It’s now been 10 days since that exposure and I have not had any symptoms. 😊

A comedian gave a “cabaret” show in one of the lounges. This is a more intimate venue than the large theater, and we are supposed to feel like we are in a cabaret. The comedian asked for two volunteers from the audience to participate in his show. A woman raised her hand VERY eagerly, like a child who wants to be the first one to ride on the pony. She was almost jumping out of her seat. My sense was that the comedian instinctively ignored her and asked another woman if she would like to participate. That woman said no. By this time it was hard for him to pretend he hadn’t seen her, and no one else was volunteering, so he picked her. Big mistake.

The comedian brought the woman up on stage and we learned that she was “Liz from Virginia.” She seemed slightly drunk to me. The comic gave her some lines to read and he was going to do something like Mad Libs with her. It immediately became apparent that she was there to disrupt. She would not do what was asked of her. She kept trying to steer the conversation away from the show and make it about her. She was not always coherent. The comedian tried to reel her back in, but she would not be reeled. I don’t think he was prepared for an audience participant who willfully obstructed his routine. Liz’s rudeness went on far too long, the cruise director didn’t help (he probably wasn’t there), Liz tried to extort a bottle of champagne in exchange for going away, finally the comedian regained control, but his time was up and the spell was broken. The audience didn’t want any more and the comedian clearly didn’t want to be there any more. On the way out we found out from another passenger that Liz had done pretty much the same thing a few nights earlier during one of the game shows. Disgusting.

I didn’t pay any attention to her at the Equator ceremony because I had never seen her before - and it was a boisterous occasion - but a day or two after the Comedian debacle I spotted Liz in our photos of the Equator ceremony. If I see her again, I am going to run for the exit.

Today’s fabric is Ocean Waves Blue Sea, by Jeanne van Etten, printed with 100% plant based biodegradable inks.