Hello everyone.
I am so sorry I have not posted a blog today. We are having technical difficulties with the Internet and only the raspberry is working. Anyway, it’s been a long day and as much as I would love to type a full blog, doing at on this thing that has keys smaller than a sparrows kneecap, I shall wait until tomorrow.
By the way, some have asked the question that “If all the Cruse Directors are here, who are on the ships?” Well, the ships are a fine care of talented Assistant Cruse Directors who are doing a fine job……they are the future, after all.
Once again, please forgive me for not posting but tomorrow’s blog will be well worth it…..oh yes, it will be complemented by lots of photos.
Goodnight
Your friends
John and Heidi
Filed under: Tales from the Ship
OPEN LETTER TO MY EVIL CREW
I know I said this before “we started as Bloggers then became friends” but the part I like the best is “we then became a FAMILY”. I never felt so at-ease hugging people I’ve never meet as I did when we all first greeted each other on the 2008 Bloggers Cruise. From the first hugs with The Chads as I unloaded my car at the terminal to the last huggo with Nanette in San Juan,PR. I will remember them all.
The 2008 Bloggers Cruise on the Carnival Freedom was the best cruise Pat and I have ever been on. Yes, John Heald was the cruise director which on it’s own would make for a great cruise. But we will remember this cruise more for all the fun we had with our new family. Right from the birthday party this family planned for John to the support we gave three family members to win their way into the LEGEND SHOW the last night was just awesome. YES! WE ARE FAMILY.
But what does every good FAMILY have that we have never had? A REUNION. Well that will change when we have our first BIG ED’S EVIL CREW FAMILY REUNION in 2009. It may be called the 2009 Bloggers Cruise but we all know it will really be the FIRST ANNUAL EVIL CREW FAMILY REUNION. So let the planning begin. Till we all meet again on February 7,2009 in New Orleans here is a BIG FAMILY HUGGO.
“BIG” ED
Captain of the EVIL CREW
And Big Ed you are right we have become one big family
I apologize to all of the evil crew members, and of the bloggers that have tried to write me only for it not to go thru. Nannette says I need to give an update.
Well the plans were for me to go to my brother’s funeral and get shots in my feet. Well that all changed when I started having all of the pain from kidney stones. Don had to rush me to the ER the morning of the funeral. They gave me very strong pain meds and did a CT scan that they said showed 1 stone in my kidney that I could pass. I went straight to the doctor who said I had 3. He made arrangements for me to enter the hospital Wed and have them removed and busted with the lithotripsy machine. Unfortunately the stones didn’t want to wait and Don had to rush me back to the hospital Tuesday night. They put me in an IV with a morphine drip. If you have never had kidney stones, you don’t know what pain is… I can not describe it. They took me to surgery yesterday and did their thing with the lithotripsy thingy and used something else to get the stones that had already left the kidney. I’m home, sore and bruised. My arm looks like I’ve been in a fight with a mountain lion, where they have tried, failed, and inserted one needle after another to put IV’s in.
I want to thank all of you for the thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. My body will heal in time, but my heart is heavy because I did not get to say my goodbyes to my brother.
The shots in my feet are going to have to wait a couple of weeks. I’ve had all the pain I can endure for a few days. Thank goodness that this didn’t happen while we were on the cruise…….. God is good……..all of the time.
Carolyn and Don
CAROLYN AND DON
Carolyn, thanks for the update will keep you and your family in our prayers. I’ve never had kidney stones but I’ve seen people double over in pain when they were hit by them. Grown men in tears from the pain of kidney stones.
BIG ED
Hi John and all.
Carolyn.. want to offer you my sympathies on the passing of your brother. Sounds like you’ve been on just an awful run from every corner.
Ed..welcome home. Sure you’d still rather be floating. Hope you made good use of the basket we left you.
Mr. Cahill – condolensces on the loss of your fish. I had a friend who has a huge Koi pond in his yard. He has to take them indoors every winter. I think he only has$62,000,009 invested in this hobby.
Here’s a little fish tale… the trick is just to try and read it..
MR fish
NO MR not fish
S MR fish
CDEDBD fins
MR fish
John (anyone) care to translate?
We’ve dubbed Bloggers 2 , Blog2NOLA and already have 100 cruisemates chopping at the bignet for 1 year to pass.
Regards,
Kuki
CruiseMates.com
John, I have been enjoying your blog thingy for months and kept meaning to reply to you and all your faithful bloggers. But now I am compelled to write and tell about my wonderful cruise last week on Carnival Liberty. It was my seventh cruise but the first for my daughter and her three kids. And it was all I had promised them. I especially want to tell you how great the Camp Carnival team was. The six and eight year old kids had a ball, and my fifteen year old granddaughter had the time of her life. But even more than these, our wait staff, Victor and Angelito, made each dinner a very special event. Of all my cruises (on three different cruise lines), these guys were absolutely the best ever. I’ve never cruised with kids before and to have such wonderful, accomodating staff made this a wonderful experience.
I am cruising again in six weeks with my two sons and three more grandchildren on Carnival Freedom. I hope to see you then.
Hi John,
This morning I received an e-mail from a friend and I will paste it here. I’ve seen it before, and I’m sure some of my fellow bloggers have too, but it is after all – John Cleese:
Message from John Cleese – British comedian:
To the citizens of the United States of America:
In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent
candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we
hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective
immediately.
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties
over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which
she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for
America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate
will be disbanded.
A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of
you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following
rules are introduced with immediate effect:
You should look up “revocation” in the Oxford English Dictionary.
1. Then look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. You will
be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.
2. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour’, ‘favour’
and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without
skipping half the letters, and the suffix ‘-ize’ will be replaced by the
suffix ‘-ise’.
Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable
levels. (look up ‘vocabulary’).
3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises
such as “like” and “you know” is an unacceptable and inefficient form of
communication. There is no such thing as US English. We will let
Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell- checker will be
adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter ‘u’ and the
elimination of -ize.
4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns,
lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and
therapists shows that you’re not adult enough to be independent. Guns
should only be handled by adults. If you’re not adult enough to sort
things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you’re
not grown up enough to handle a gun.
6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything
more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you
wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will
start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you
will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of
conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you
understand the British sense of humour.
8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been
calling gasoline)-roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it.
9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries
are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips
are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal
fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually
beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to
as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be
referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable as they are
pound for pound the greatest sporting Nation on earth and it can only be
due to the beer. They are also part of British Commonwealth – see what
it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen
Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as
good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to
play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English
dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having
one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.
12. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of
proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in
time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American
football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds
or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Don’t try
Rugby – the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they
regularly thrash us.
13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to
host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played
outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a
world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn
cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the
sting out of their deliveries.
14. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.
15. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s
Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all
monies due (backdated to 1776).
16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, with
saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes;
plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God save the Queen!!!
John, I hope you get to go on the Emerald Princess. My neighbor hasn’t returned from her cruise yet. I can’t wait to hear what she has to say about it.
And I have a Carnival convert. A former co-worker of mine will also be going on the Miracle in September. Her first cruise and it’s on Carnival. Yippee!
Can anyone who’s cruised on the Miracle let me know if there are hairdryers in the bathroom? Thanks,
Take care all,
Carol
Yes, on cc they said you could check on your reservation at the specialty restaurant if you have not heard a response. We made a reservation for the Carnival Liberty on Jan. 3. We have not heard a thing. We made the reservation for Tuesday, March 18 @ 7:00 p.m. for Harrys. Thank you for any help you may be able to give.
Dear John:
I know you have taken the day off to be in mourning since hearing your beloved Shaq has been traded…., but hey he is now in Phoenix ~ so you can play cowboy ~ I can see it now.
Sorry about the transfer but I only imagine you look great in black.
Love a Pistons fan!
We are signed up for the next blogger’s cruise and I can’t wait to meet all of you. We are cruising on the Freedom in the Med on May 10th but I think I am really looking forward more to the blogger’s cruise. Can’t wait. I was hoping John would be the CD on the Freedom but it seems maybe not.
Good Afternoon John,
Here’s the “Low Down” on the Heat. The Phoenix Suns today acquired four-time NBA Champion Shaquille O’Neal from the Miami Heat in exchange for forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks, pending completion of physical examinations by both teams.
With Shaquille O’Neal on his way to the Phoenix desert, his former Heat teammates trudged on without him into the Michigan winter. For at least the first night, they did OK. But it still wasn’t enough to avoid their 20th defeat in 21 games. Miami led by nine, 44-35, before the Pistons pushed toward a halftime tie at 48. The Pistons carved out an 11-point lead after three quarters, but found themselves in another tie at 83 midway through the fourth. A Jarvis Hayes triple gave Detroit the lead for good moments later, 86-83, but the outcome stayed in doubt until the end, as Rip Hamilton (19 points) and Chauncey Billups (15 points, 10 assists) each made a pair of free throws in the final 20 seconds. It was a great game and both teams really fought for eveything they got.
Sorry about the game. I do think that this trade will be everything good for the Heat (next year) and I’m not so sure about Phoenix. Shaq is just not on top of his game anymore.
Enjoy your conference and I can’t wait to read about all the “brilliant” thingys that are coming for Carnival!
Take care,
Joan
Hi John/Heidi:
Hope you were able to get technical issues resolved.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
John, comments on Shaq being traded to Phoenix?
Take care,
David
Hello John, I have a group of 28 people (The Cruise Crew) will be aboarding the Freedom on April 5, 2008. We are looking forward to this Cruise, I hope to have a chance to met you. This is my 5th Carnival Cruise.
John,
I have sailed on 30 cruises with Carnival Cruise Line. Before anything brand new is added to the ships the higher priority should be to get all ships consistent with one another. Some examples:
In April 206 and March 2007 I sailed on the Carnival Liberty. The Liberty had the outdoor movie screen but not the mini golf course.
In September 2006 I sailed on the Carnival Triumph. The Triumph had the mini golf course but not the outdoor movie screen.
In September 2007 I sailed on the Carnival Valor. The Valor did not have either the outdoor movie screen or the mini golf course.
This year I will be sailing on the Carnival Destiny in April and the Carnival Liberty in September. It will be interesting to see if the mini golf course has been added to the Liberty and if either the mini golf course or the outdoor movie screen is on the Destiny.
Chip
Attention Bloggers
Click on my name above to see photos from John’s birthday party given him by My Evil Crew. The links are in the post “BLOGGERS CRUISE 2008 CARNIVAL FREEDOM”.
BIG ED
Hello fellow bloggers,
I am finally caught up on my blog reading having gotten busy around Jan. 29th with life and other stuff and had fallen behind.
Carolyn, good Lord, what’s next. You are certainly in my thoughts and prayers. As one who lives with chronic pain and has been through the dreaded kidney stone attack(s) years ago, I sympathize with you. I am also sorry about your brother, what a sad thing to come home to.
I am thrilled to report I am finally booked for the 2009 Blogger’s cruise. I am bringing along a girl friend who has never cruised before and she is excited out of her mind. It will be great to finally meet you all. Thanks to Big Ed for helping me with the fare code. I looked him up on the internet and called him at home because I couldn’t find the code (because I was too dumb to read the entire paragraph that was posted next to the info about the cruise). Anyway, we’re all set and counting down to next year.
Take care everyone,
Julie Gantt
Hi John & Heidi,
We were so glad to get this blog, we have not heard anything for over two weeks, we are not sure why your updates stopped coming to us, but have kept up to date by logging on to the Carnival site. All is sunny downunder and we have recently had an invitation to the wedding of Christiaan & Prudence who announced their engagement on Carnival Liberty in 2006. They get married end of March and their reception is at the Windsor Hotel, which is one of the grandest old hotels in Melbourne, so it should be lovely. Sounds like the bloggers trip was fantastic, what a pity we are so far away that we can’t just up and join something like that. We will have to be content with planning our trip on Splendour in August. Getting excited about some of the day tours that are coming on to the site. We also have had recent email communication with 2 couples from Amsterdam whom we met on Freedom last year and there is a possibility we could catch up with them when we dock in Amsterdam. Anyway that is all from us, have to get back to work. Look forward to receiving continued blogs.
Suzanne & Lisa
Kuki,
Them are fish.
No, them are not fish.
Yes, them are.
See them itty bitty fins?
Them are fish.
I was born in New York, but lived most of my life in the South..I can speak redneck.
elaine
Hello Big Ed! Ther’re always police on I-75. They’re are always contest for the Fast Driver Incentive Award.
Only 93 days?? until mama Sheriff and I hit the Glory. I hear there is a nice Brig on board.
John, mate, I have missed a reply!
Your mate,
Rosco P. Coltrane
Sheriff Of Hazzard County, Georgia
John,
What are the dress up dates on the Glory, May 10 cruise? Mama Sheriff and I would like to book the Supper Club ahead of time.
Thanks,
The Sheriff
On Shaq being traded:
Brillant move by the Miami Heat! He is overpaid, does not play much or well. The Heat did real well in getting two good players!
Doesn’t Mickey Arison (Captain Carnival) own the Heat?
John -
What, you can’t compose a complete blog on a Raspberry? Really?
I know the Freedom is in great hands – Noortje’s. I just hope that Todd was kind enough to buy that girl a cup of coffee before he left the ship.
Looking forward to finding out if you would shift your allegiances to the Phoenix Suns or remaining a Miami Heat fan.
Jon
Dear John and Heidi:
We arrived home tonight safe and sound. Thank you for a wonderful time on the Jan 28th cruise.
We also had a blast on the the Feb 02 cruise!!
Karaoke was the best I had ever experienced…and if you think I was a hoot as Gloria …. you should have seen me last night as Sir Elton John….
film at 11 !!!!
Carol,
I have cruised on the Carnival Miracle and yes there is a hair dryer in every cabin. I was on the first cruise out of Jacksonville, FL and it was great. Got to meet the Godmother of the ship, Jessica Lynch, and even got pictures taken with her and she signed her book for me. There was so many military men and women on the ship always in dress uniform. I never felt so safe….lol. Have a great cruise!
Raspberry ? ?? ??!!?? Not Blackberry ? !! ???!!
Ah yes, you’re right. I’ve just tried to make a call on mine, and Raspberry is certainly the noise it made……
Another person checking on supper club reservations at the suggestion of CC.
Requested 3/18 at 2030 on the Glory for 2 people.
thx!!!!
Hello John!
You’re working to hard. We’ve been home 2 weeks and I am just now starting to get caught up with your blogs. No, I am not still on vacation…. just working harder than I would like too. I do have to say though, I have enjoyed everyone of your blogs. And now that I have downed 2 bags of RS Jelly Beans trying to catch up with your blogs…. well, good thing mine weren’t sugar free! By the way, how are you doing with those RS SF Jelly Beans??? Getting low yet? Do I need to send more? Let me know! Oh, is Heidi making good use of that “Smell-O-Meter” I found for the crew to give her?
To Mr. Cahill – our deepest sympathy in the loss of your fish. We have koi in our pond and they stay there year round…. yes, even in the cold Wisconsin winters, they stay in thier pond outdoors and occaisionally, the nieghbor cats like to come and peek at them through the hole in the ice. No…. they don’t die from the cold… they hibernate, just like “Bears”. We rarely lose any, if we do is because of the cats.
Well, John, we had such a wonderful time on the “1st Annual Bloggers Cruise” that we can hardly wait for the 2nd …or reunion cruise. And what evil can Big Ed’s crew come up with between now and then! John, I don’t know how you can top the 2008 Bloggers Cruise, but I am confident you will have lots of surprises awaiting us in New Orleans. I have never been to New Orleans… so I am REALLY looking forward to it. Carl is already checking out hotels for us. He’s been there several times and loves it.
Hello to Heidi! Big Bear Hugs to you both!
Barb
PS…. Hello to the beautiful Stephanie and the very handsome Roberto!
Hello John and Heidi
Here is your Kahuna lesson for the day
Kahuna is a Hawaiian word, defined in the Pukui & Elbert Dictionary as “Priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession.” (See also Ancient Hawaii)
Forty different types of kahuna are listed in the book, Tales from the Night Rainbow. Kamakau lists more than 20 in the healing professions alone, including for example Kahuna la’au lapa’au, an expert in healing; kalai wa’a, an expert canoe maker; ho’okele, an expert navigator.
Many myths have grown up around kahuna. One is that kahuna were outlawed after the white man came to Hawai’i. Although it is true that at various times specific kahuna practices were made illegal, including healing people through “superstitious means,” for the most part, most kahuna practices remained legal. [1] However, during the decline of native Hawaiian culture many kahuna died out and did not pass on their wisdom to new students. As an example, when the Hokule’a was built to be sailed to the South Pacific to prove the voyaging capabilities of the ancient Hawaiians, master navigator Mau Piailug from Satawal was brought to Hawai’i to teach the Hawaiians navigation, as no Hawaiians could be found who still had this knowledge.
With the revival of the Hawaiian culture beginning in the 1970s, some Hawaiians call themselves “kahuna” today.
The word has been given an esoteric or secret meaning by modern followers of Max Freedom Long and Huna to emphasise a priestly or shamanic standing.
Non-Hawaiian uses
The use of the term in reference to surfing can be traced back to the 1959 film Gidget, in which “The Big Kahuna”, played by Cliff Robertson, was the leader of a group of surfers. The term then became commonplace in Beach Party films of the 1960s such as Beach Blanket Bingo, where the “Big Kahuna” was the best surfer on the beach. Eventually, it was adopted into general surfing culture. Hawaiian surfing master Duke Kahanamoku may have been referred to as the “Big Kahuna” but rejected the term as he knew the true meaning of the word.[2]
· In an episode of the American TV show “Magnum P.I.”, it is said that a Kahuna can be identified by a “red flash” in his eyes.
· Kahuna or Ka Huna massage is a rhythmical style of massage.
· In some computer programming shops (for example, IBM), “kahuna” is a synonym for “wizard” or “guru” (see internet slang).
· Kahuna is also the code-name for Windows Live Mail, the successor to Microsoft’s MSN Hotmail.
· “The Big Kahuna” is the nickname for Major League Baseball Broadcaster Jon Miller.
· “Kahuna” also refers to a very large fish, usually a walleye or Bass so named by Lake Erie fishermen in the late 1970s.
· “The Big Kahuna” is the name of a burger-joint in Quentin Tarantino’s second film, Pulp Fiction. It is also seen in the Robert Rodriguez movie From Dusk Till Dawn (for which Tarantino wrote the screenplay) and mentioned in the Tarantino-directed Death Proof.
· “Kahuna Airlines” is the name of an airline company in Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland.
· There is a gaia class on the MMORPG Rappelz called Kahuna that can be seen as a buffer for other players.
· Kahuna is the main character in the game SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs.
· One who has “Big Kahunas” – Aussie Slang – denotes person who is known to be brave, without fear. Possibly derived from Spanish cojones.
· Title of some of the world’s largest, fattest men.
Notes
1. ^ Chai, Makana Risser (2005). Na Mo’olelo Lomilomi: The Traditions of Hawaiian Massage and Healing. Bishop Museum Press. ISBN 158178046X.
2. ^ Hall, Sandra Kimberly (2004). Duke: A Great Hawaiian. Bess Press. ISBN 1573062308.
This kahuna wants you to know that his kahunaness is in reference to his pronounced belly it referes in no way to his cojones.
WE are hoping we do not see any kahuna or ” magic stickgame” appear in the Carnical Capers” on our next cruise.. then we might have to think about changing cruiselines”
Take Care
The Tuckers
Arnold & Elizabeth
360 Days till we see you again