January/February 2009 Issue

Ahoy, Special Interest Maties!

Nine supposedly fun cruises you’ll never do again.

Illustration: Gordon Studer

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Ahoy, special-interest maties! If classic cruise activities like shuffleboard and midnight buffets don’t float your boat, fear not. With apologies to the late David Foster Wallace, here are some other niches in the sea.

MacMania Cruise Six days of seminars such as “Backing Up Your Mac” and “The Nooks and Crannies of the Mac OS”; past celebrity passengers have included Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.
Supposedly Fun Thing You’ll Never Do Again: Reboot over the railing

Gothic Cruise Now in its 19th year, a week of Rocky Horror nights, masquerade balls, and boatloads of eyeliner
Supposedly Fun Thing You’ll Never Do Again: Slather on the spf 100

The Dr. Laura Cruise Last year’s voyage included four days of private book signings, wine tasting, fitness and makeover demos, and intimate morning walks with the conservative radio host.
Supposedly Fun Thing You’ll Never Do Again: Learn about the proper care and feeding of cabana boys

Smoking Cessation Cruise Eight days of counseling and nonstop distracting entertainment
Supposedly Fun Thing You’ll Never Do Again: Ignore that you are stuck on a long white object with smoke coming out of it

The Great Gig in the Sea Pink Floyd Cruise Three days with cover band Think Floyd USA
Supposedly Fun Thing You’ll Never Do Again: Write “wish you were here” postcards

Bloggers’ Cruise Five days with Carnival Cruise director John Heald, who blogs about…cruises
Supposedly Fun Thing You’ll Never Do Again: H/T John Heald

Girl’s Get-a-Way Cruise Four days of single-sex Christian sailing, with G-rated stand-up, “Modest Is Hottest” fashion shows, and Full House star Candace “D.J.” Cameron Bure
Supposedly Fun Thing You’ll Never Do Again: Kiss tan lines goodbye with your long-sleeved bathing suit

Sandra Day O’Connor Cruise Twelve days on the high seas with the ex-high court justice
Supposedly Fun Thing You’ll Never Do Again: Wear your “friend of the court” briefs

Creation Cruise Last year’s passengers spent seven days at rest, marveling at Alaska’s glaciers—which are only 6,000 years old!
Supposedly Fun Thing You’ll Never Do Again: See polar bears before God calls them home

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

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