And YOU SHOULD TOO!
Seriously, watch them all the way through. They just. get. better.
These are outtakes for an Absinthe commercial he was making.
--
And the Laudanum advertisement!! (it's slightly louder volume so turn things down first! :D )
And if this isn't enough, he'll be at Steampunk World's Fair!!!
Love you, Renfield!
Showing posts with label whisper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label whisper. Show all posts
Saturday, May 1
Friday, October 16
Steampunk's Reappropriation of Entertainment Media
First, I apologize if this is a TL;DR scenario. I tend to talk when I get going. If you give this a read though, I would love to hear other people's ideas and opinions.
---
Someone said recently of the steampunk hype that they don't think something counts as being the latest hype unless you can see it in everyday life.
People like myself and others who are involved with and interested in steampunk (who may even wrap themselves up in it like a protective blanket), see a lot of steampunk because we are on the social networking sites and the forums. We search it out, tracking down books, artists, movies; the latest "they might be steampunk, let's listen to them!" musicians, and articles from emerging thinkers.
We are not the average person, though. It might do us well to remember this.
The question was brought forth of, if we walked away from the internet and didn't actively go hunting it down, would we see a lot of steampunk? Would it seem like the latest bandwagon that everyone is jumping on? Brass Goggles has 8500 members- can 8500+ people on the whole of the internet really be the markings of a bandwagon? Can we estimate how many people are involved with steampunk in some way in their daily or casual living? Out of the 6.7 billion in the world?
I also got to thinking about how people have this problem figuring out what is and what isn't steampunk. In the search to find steampunk creations, there's starting to be backlash. See, when people enthusiastic about finding steampunk in what they love start labeling art, stories, or music as steampunk.... not all the creators appreciate it.
I'm not sure if the reaction is because these artists have given serious thought to their work and see it as something else that does not mesh with steampunk's messages. Or if it is that they don't want to be thrown on this perhaps imaginary bandwagon, nervous that they might not be taken seriously.
Frankly, to those artists, I say STAY! Keep your message there, and revel in being dragged, kicking and screaming, into what you perceive as something fringe mainstream. Here is where you can do the most good, if you just keep true to yourself and your message.
At the same time, I also look to all this labeling we steampunks do.
Steampunk has a very strange relationship with its media. Mostly because steampunk came before it had legit media to spread it, I would think. I know personally I was not influenced by any media to explore steampunk, despite that I had enjoyed several books considered steampunk, movies, and so forth. Others might have come to steampunk through this same media-less portal. And once they get here, they go, "I love this aesthetic, this idea for a sound I have in my head, this memory of emotional response from this sort of story. How can I immerse myself in this, so that I can form my own opinions on what this steampunk is all about?"
And what you get is a lot of retro-fitting of the title steampunk onto all sorts of media.
Even a year ago, steampunks didn't have a lot of bands to look at that were calling themselves steampunk. (And some that did still had a lot of Cruxshadows-envy floating in their musical veins.) If I looked to Tiger Lillies and Dresden Dolls and Gogol Bordello and put them in the "sepiachord" file on my ipod, is this wrong? They don't call themselves steampunk, but their styles are something that puts me in the right headspace.
These are bands and artists that I listen to that put me right back to that original steampunk mind. I'm listing all of them, so you can see the gamut they run:
Professor Elemental; Dr. Steel; Gogol Bordello; Jason Webley; The Tiger Lillies; HUMANWINE; The Dresden Dolls; Amanda Palmer; Tom Waits; Rasputina; Juke Baritone; Joe Black; Pretty Balanced; Jeffery Straker; Two-Man Gentleman Band; Voltaire; Creature Feature; Circus Contraption; The Decemberists; World Inferno/Friendship Society; Luminescent Orchestrii; The Scarring Party; Vermillion Lies; That 1 Guy; Hellblinki Sextet; Harlequin Jones; Reverend Glass Eye; Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band;
and yes, even Abney Park, because fact is: they were in my starter steampunk kit.
Now, not all of those bands are steampunk or should necessarily be called steampunk- and some of them, like Voltaire and The Decemberists, not all of their songs. But they are each of them something I would stand behind as what steampunk music feels like for me.
Then, too, a lot of people like to label literature as being steampunk; including things which have until recently simply been classic science-fiction lit. Stories which were alternate-realities in the time they were written, or looks to the future, are now being called steampunk: Jules Verne and H.G. Wells and the like are being considered the grand-daddies of steampunk.
ARE they steampunk? Is there enough of the punk (in the sense of "something that annoys or causes discomfort", especially "one who does not conform, pointing out the monotony of conformity for those who do") in these books to warrant them being progenitors of the genre? Is it worth mentioning as even proto-steampunk, a place that is "a good start"? Or should we move to the 80's and 90's lit, which STILL didn't necessarily call itself steampunk, for the first place to go for steampunk reading?
That brings up something else: the punk in steampunk. In the beginning, not much thought was put into what the punk meant. It was a joke at how cyberpunk was around and now this stuff was steampunk, har har, very funny. But can't we get comfortable saying, yes, though it didn't originally mean something but with newer people and ideas coming to the field, the punk DOES mean something now? There are the gaslamp fantasists and neo-vics who neither need nor want the punk, but there are people for who steampunk can be something harsher, louder, and doesn't take "because" as an answer.
If the punk is not important to someone, maybe the person should look harder at themselves and ask why it doesn't matter to them yet they continue to use it. Because, for me, ignoring the punk part says that as a subculture and small community, we introduce ourselves with a name that was and still is simply about... what? About making fun of another subculture? That... really doesn't throw the right message out there, guys. And cannot possibly be all that punk has to offer.
But moving back to the topic at hand...
There are movies, film, television, and anime too that have been adopted by steampunk. Wild Wild West, Back to the Future Part III, The Rocketeer and City of Lost Children to name only a few that I loved before I had steampunk to put them together on a mental shelf; I even put Waterworld in there, being like a post-apocalyptic steampunk world where everyone is making their own inventions and goods out of whatever they have left. But these were not greenlit going, "Hey, you know what's a cool style? Steampunk. Let's make one of those movies." They knew the style they wanted, and put it forward, and it just happens to look awesome.
It's like steampunk aesthetics, imagery, and media... was sitting around, knowing its style was something interesting and quirky that not everyone would like, and waiting for someone to go, "You. You are steampunk. Come, join us even if you already have other friends. You are welcome here."
What the problem becomes is this: some people are in the camp that the only things which are steampunk are those endeavors set forth by the creator as steampunk projects. They feel that it is the creator who has final say on what something is or isn't; and they may decide it is not steampunk, even if you say it is.
I can understand that this covers a lot of people's asses, so that they don't look too "hip and with it" on something that is only really big online and creeping into fancy fashion and movies; or on things that they feel have a different, not-steampunk-friendly message that is getting twisted or misinterpreted.
One issue with this is that, once your art leaves you, you sort of don't have any right to it anymore minus copyright and so forth. If I write a story, and publish it, those are no longer MY characters. They are your characters, because it is your time to spend with them now. Likewise, if you enjoy a piece of art, it is yours now to enjoy. And therefor, if steampunks like something for being steampunk that the creator did not make with that intention... it sort of becomes something that is steampunk-acceptable. Ba-goosh, after all, means "steampunk approved!" in Dreadspeak.
Note, too, if an artist doesn't mean for their work to be on the same wavelength as steampunk, but their message is getting misinterpreted, perhaps it is time to consider alternate ways of telling this message. Something is lost in the translation, and it can't ALL be the audience.
But, really, steampunk is adrift in an ocean of media mostly NOT "made for steampunk". So would it be fair to discount things that have passed long before steampunk hit this stride, and not consider them steampunk? A lot of bands and movies see a resurgence of interest in them, if they are discovered by someone to have a feel they equate with their own style of steampunk- is that such a bad thing?
Must something be made with the clear intent of being steampunk or can we retroactively give a personal category to these things?
What, really, is the problem with steampunk re-appropriating their entertainment?
---
Perhaps some other time I will talk about trying to find steampunk art that speaks to the Industrial heart of my steampunk in a sea of Victorian steampunk art. But that is a conversation for another night!
Much love,
Whisper
ps: Holy cow! I hadn't realized Lucretia had been the one to come up with the title "The Indifference Engine", but she did! And that is going to be the name of Professor Elemental's brand new album! Huzzah! Congrats, Lucretia!
---
Someone said recently of the steampunk hype that they don't think something counts as being the latest hype unless you can see it in everyday life.
People like myself and others who are involved with and interested in steampunk (who may even wrap themselves up in it like a protective blanket), see a lot of steampunk because we are on the social networking sites and the forums. We search it out, tracking down books, artists, movies; the latest "they might be steampunk, let's listen to them!" musicians, and articles from emerging thinkers.
We are not the average person, though. It might do us well to remember this.
The question was brought forth of, if we walked away from the internet and didn't actively go hunting it down, would we see a lot of steampunk? Would it seem like the latest bandwagon that everyone is jumping on? Brass Goggles has 8500 members- can 8500+ people on the whole of the internet really be the markings of a bandwagon? Can we estimate how many people are involved with steampunk in some way in their daily or casual living? Out of the 6.7 billion in the world?
I also got to thinking about how people have this problem figuring out what is and what isn't steampunk. In the search to find steampunk creations, there's starting to be backlash. See, when people enthusiastic about finding steampunk in what they love start labeling art, stories, or music as steampunk.... not all the creators appreciate it.
I'm not sure if the reaction is because these artists have given serious thought to their work and see it as something else that does not mesh with steampunk's messages. Or if it is that they don't want to be thrown on this perhaps imaginary bandwagon, nervous that they might not be taken seriously.
Frankly, to those artists, I say STAY! Keep your message there, and revel in being dragged, kicking and screaming, into what you perceive as something fringe mainstream. Here is where you can do the most good, if you just keep true to yourself and your message.
At the same time, I also look to all this labeling we steampunks do.
Steampunk has a very strange relationship with its media. Mostly because steampunk came before it had legit media to spread it, I would think. I know personally I was not influenced by any media to explore steampunk, despite that I had enjoyed several books considered steampunk, movies, and so forth. Others might have come to steampunk through this same media-less portal. And once they get here, they go, "I love this aesthetic, this idea for a sound I have in my head, this memory of emotional response from this sort of story. How can I immerse myself in this, so that I can form my own opinions on what this steampunk is all about?"
And what you get is a lot of retro-fitting of the title steampunk onto all sorts of media.
Even a year ago, steampunks didn't have a lot of bands to look at that were calling themselves steampunk. (And some that did still had a lot of Cruxshadows-envy floating in their musical veins.) If I looked to Tiger Lillies and Dresden Dolls and Gogol Bordello and put them in the "sepiachord" file on my ipod, is this wrong? They don't call themselves steampunk, but their styles are something that puts me in the right headspace.
These are bands and artists that I listen to that put me right back to that original steampunk mind. I'm listing all of them, so you can see the gamut they run:
Professor Elemental; Dr. Steel; Gogol Bordello; Jason Webley; The Tiger Lillies; HUMANWINE; The Dresden Dolls; Amanda Palmer; Tom Waits; Rasputina; Juke Baritone; Joe Black; Pretty Balanced; Jeffery Straker; Two-Man Gentleman Band; Voltaire; Creature Feature; Circus Contraption; The Decemberists; World Inferno/Friendship Society; Luminescent Orchestrii; The Scarring Party; Vermillion Lies; That 1 Guy; Hellblinki Sextet; Harlequin Jones; Reverend Glass Eye; Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band;
and yes, even Abney Park, because fact is: they were in my starter steampunk kit.
Now, not all of those bands are steampunk or should necessarily be called steampunk- and some of them, like Voltaire and The Decemberists, not all of their songs. But they are each of them something I would stand behind as what steampunk music feels like for me.
Then, too, a lot of people like to label literature as being steampunk; including things which have until recently simply been classic science-fiction lit. Stories which were alternate-realities in the time they were written, or looks to the future, are now being called steampunk: Jules Verne and H.G. Wells and the like are being considered the grand-daddies of steampunk.
ARE they steampunk? Is there enough of the punk (in the sense of "something that annoys or causes discomfort", especially "one who does not conform, pointing out the monotony of conformity for those who do") in these books to warrant them being progenitors of the genre? Is it worth mentioning as even proto-steampunk, a place that is "a good start"? Or should we move to the 80's and 90's lit, which STILL didn't necessarily call itself steampunk, for the first place to go for steampunk reading?
That brings up something else: the punk in steampunk. In the beginning, not much thought was put into what the punk meant. It was a joke at how cyberpunk was around and now this stuff was steampunk, har har, very funny. But can't we get comfortable saying, yes, though it didn't originally mean something but with newer people and ideas coming to the field, the punk DOES mean something now? There are the gaslamp fantasists and neo-vics who neither need nor want the punk, but there are people for who steampunk can be something harsher, louder, and doesn't take "because" as an answer.
If the punk is not important to someone, maybe the person should look harder at themselves and ask why it doesn't matter to them yet they continue to use it. Because, for me, ignoring the punk part says that as a subculture and small community, we introduce ourselves with a name that was and still is simply about... what? About making fun of another subculture? That... really doesn't throw the right message out there, guys. And cannot possibly be all that punk has to offer.
But moving back to the topic at hand...
There are movies, film, television, and anime too that have been adopted by steampunk. Wild Wild West, Back to the Future Part III, The Rocketeer and City of Lost Children to name only a few that I loved before I had steampunk to put them together on a mental shelf; I even put Waterworld in there, being like a post-apocalyptic steampunk world where everyone is making their own inventions and goods out of whatever they have left. But these were not greenlit going, "Hey, you know what's a cool style? Steampunk. Let's make one of those movies." They knew the style they wanted, and put it forward, and it just happens to look awesome.
It's like steampunk aesthetics, imagery, and media... was sitting around, knowing its style was something interesting and quirky that not everyone would like, and waiting for someone to go, "You. You are steampunk. Come, join us even if you already have other friends. You are welcome here."
What the problem becomes is this: some people are in the camp that the only things which are steampunk are those endeavors set forth by the creator as steampunk projects. They feel that it is the creator who has final say on what something is or isn't; and they may decide it is not steampunk, even if you say it is.
I can understand that this covers a lot of people's asses, so that they don't look too "hip and with it" on something that is only really big online and creeping into fancy fashion and movies; or on things that they feel have a different, not-steampunk-friendly message that is getting twisted or misinterpreted.
One issue with this is that, once your art leaves you, you sort of don't have any right to it anymore minus copyright and so forth. If I write a story, and publish it, those are no longer MY characters. They are your characters, because it is your time to spend with them now. Likewise, if you enjoy a piece of art, it is yours now to enjoy. And therefor, if steampunks like something for being steampunk that the creator did not make with that intention... it sort of becomes something that is steampunk-acceptable. Ba-goosh, after all, means "steampunk approved!" in Dreadspeak.
Note, too, if an artist doesn't mean for their work to be on the same wavelength as steampunk, but their message is getting misinterpreted, perhaps it is time to consider alternate ways of telling this message. Something is lost in the translation, and it can't ALL be the audience.
But, really, steampunk is adrift in an ocean of media mostly NOT "made for steampunk". So would it be fair to discount things that have passed long before steampunk hit this stride, and not consider them steampunk? A lot of bands and movies see a resurgence of interest in them, if they are discovered by someone to have a feel they equate with their own style of steampunk- is that such a bad thing?
Must something be made with the clear intent of being steampunk or can we retroactively give a personal category to these things?
What, really, is the problem with steampunk re-appropriating their entertainment?
---
Perhaps some other time I will talk about trying to find steampunk art that speaks to the Industrial heart of my steampunk in a sea of Victorian steampunk art. But that is a conversation for another night!
Much love,
Whisper
ps: Holy cow! I hadn't realized Lucretia had been the one to come up with the title "The Indifference Engine", but she did! And that is going to be the name of Professor Elemental's brand new album! Huzzah! Congrats, Lucretia!
Thursday, October 15
Tor.com Interview
A friend from the steampunk ning, Jha Goh, is blogging this month on Tor.com. She asked if I would be willing to give an interview, and I was more than happy!
You can read the article here.
I talked about living on the road, steampunk, and of course Steampunk World's Fair. ^_^
Enjoy! And be sure to read Jha's other articles- she has some really great ones that are not the typical stuff that gets talked about when steampunk is brought up.
Much love,
Whisper
You can read the article here.
I talked about living on the road, steampunk, and of course Steampunk World's Fair. ^_^
Enjoy! And be sure to read Jha's other articles- she has some really great ones that are not the typical stuff that gets talked about when steampunk is brought up.
Much love,
Whisper
Saturday, October 10
Cons! So many cons!
http://www.otakufestboston.com/
Our buddy Matt, from the L33tStr33t Boys, has asked us to help out with Otakufest 2 Boston! So the Penny Dreadfuls will be making an appearance there!
It is in Salem, MA on Salem State campus March 7, 2010. One day only- don't miss it!
O2B is a "50/50 deal" according to the site: half anime con, half concert event! Kaiju Big Battel, L33tStr33t Boys, geek comedian Uncle Yo, and us. How is this a bad plan? ^_^ Oh and Marz! We love Marz! He is awesome, and apparently for the second year in a row Marz will be their MC. XD Epic!
----
We're closing in on Baku-time! Halloween weekend! Colchester, VT. Who's gonna be there? ^_^
Then after that, it looks like we won't be able to make it to New England Fan Experience which is a real downer- I was looking forward to trying to find John de Lancie and be a fan-girl-from-afar. I've been showing Cap ST:TNG, lately, and yeah. Woulda been a good time, but we cannot afford to go to the con since the Woods didn't hire me back for anything this year. We had an offer of someone paying for us and we'd pay back later, but that was hinging on us getting a table there... which the time for that seems to have passed. Lamesauce. :(
But then! Then! We finish the year out with Another Anime Con. I love Nashua, NH and hope to some day live there again if I settle into a stationary life for any period of time. But AAC is going to be a blast! And Lucretia will be gracing the halls with her presence as Miss Trap 2008. Who will be Miss Trap 2009?! Come find out! We only regret that our buddy, The Internet, will be down in Virginia that weekend for Anime USA. And that he is also taking the General along with him. Ha! Sorry for you, Virginia!
---
After the break, we're starting the year with TempleCon- one of our other favorite cons. It's in Warwick, RI and a steampunk-flavored gaming con! If you're any kind of gaming geek- and I mean ANY- you have to come to this!
Then we have Jeff Mach's Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire! I am getting really excited for this one, and look forward to decorating the hell out of the venue!
All right, it's almost midnight. I don't want to be online at midnight so I will talk to you later, guys! COME TO THE CONS!
Much love,
Whisper
Our buddy Matt, from the L33tStr33t Boys, has asked us to help out with Otakufest 2 Boston! So the Penny Dreadfuls will be making an appearance there!
It is in Salem, MA on Salem State campus March 7, 2010. One day only- don't miss it!
O2B is a "50/50 deal" according to the site: half anime con, half concert event! Kaiju Big Battel, L33tStr33t Boys, geek comedian Uncle Yo, and us. How is this a bad plan? ^_^ Oh and Marz! We love Marz! He is awesome, and apparently for the second year in a row Marz will be their MC. XD Epic!
----
We're closing in on Baku-time! Halloween weekend! Colchester, VT. Who's gonna be there? ^_^
Then after that, it looks like we won't be able to make it to New England Fan Experience which is a real downer- I was looking forward to trying to find John de Lancie and be a fan-girl-from-afar. I've been showing Cap ST:TNG, lately, and yeah. Woulda been a good time, but we cannot afford to go to the con since the Woods didn't hire me back for anything this year. We had an offer of someone paying for us and we'd pay back later, but that was hinging on us getting a table there... which the time for that seems to have passed. Lamesauce. :(
But then! Then! We finish the year out with Another Anime Con. I love Nashua, NH and hope to some day live there again if I settle into a stationary life for any period of time. But AAC is going to be a blast! And Lucretia will be gracing the halls with her presence as Miss Trap 2008. Who will be Miss Trap 2009?! Come find out! We only regret that our buddy, The Internet, will be down in Virginia that weekend for Anime USA. And that he is also taking the General along with him. Ha! Sorry for you, Virginia!
---
After the break, we're starting the year with TempleCon- one of our other favorite cons. It's in Warwick, RI and a steampunk-flavored gaming con! If you're any kind of gaming geek- and I mean ANY- you have to come to this!
Then we have Jeff Mach's Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire! I am getting really excited for this one, and look forward to decorating the hell out of the venue!
All right, it's almost midnight. I don't want to be online at midnight so I will talk to you later, guys! COME TO THE CONS!
Much love,
Whisper
Tuesday, September 29
Twists and turns, never a dull moment
Arg. So, yeah, it may be a hand-me down and a bit old, but still... My ipod nano is dying. Why!? Frustration abounds.
::sigh::
So, I am sitting here at the General's house while he and Cap are off doing narrator-type things.
For the first time in 7 years, I am not doing narrator-type things. It's not killing me, but I think it's only not killing me because I can't let it kill me. You know?
I have had the Woods give me shit for the past two years; I'm not sure why I thought this year would be different. I broke my ankle, I have a cast; I sprained the other, but I'm able to get around in a wheelchair or on crutches for small periods of time. I am healing.
I had expected that, after as long I had been there, that the people in charge would be able to find SOMEthing for me to do to be able to help out. I gave up plenty of potentially fun cons to be here in October. I didn't *plan* on breaking my ankle, after all.
Instead, they just tell me that things are "all full up" and that they cannot think of anything I could do. It is really upsetting, because one minute I am one of their top 5 (oh, sorry, slip of the tongue, he MEANT to say 3 off the bat) narrators, who is going to train the new ones, someone who has worked for no pay to help make the script because I ENJOY working on it with Bob, and then.... I break. And now I am useless. All my creativity, and drive, and energy... worthless.
All because I cannot stand.
Thursday night, it will be the first opening night I will not be able to be at. I am... not sure. I mean... I'm just really upset right now. And I wish that I could find a way of getting it all out.
I'm going to celebrate my birthday in a few weeks. My friends will be at the Woods, and I'll be home. I don't... I don't really much care for my birthday, but I usually at least do something about it. I sort of view my birthday as a lonely time, and just try to put myself with people I care about, and maybe do something nice for them- like make pumpkin cookies. I dislike presents, I dislike parties that celebrate me. But it doesn't mean I want to be alone and moping.
Well... anyway.
I am happy that, if I cannot be a narrator this year, that at least Cap will be. He will have a chance to try something new, and do so with the Baron, the General, and Lord Bob at his side. ^_^ He has developed a character, and I'm very excited to hear how he goes over with guests and the other narrators.
I guess I will just keep my eyes forward: to getting this cast off, to physical therapy to regrow the muscles, to Bakucon on Halloween- my personal Christmas and New Years, to gaming in November, to New England Fan Experience, to AAC. To heading south. To working on Wicked. To TempleCon. To Worlds Fair.
I'm writing again. Slowly. But I'm writing again. I need to make items to sell at the up-coming cons, but when I'm not doing that, I hope to be writing. I should have enough time; I should be able to nanowrimo myself through October, perhaps.
Even though I have a broken ankle and this is going to be a very personally trying month, I think it is ultimately a good thing. Rather, it has more positives than negatives.
Negatives:
Broken ankle, cast, can't walk on own two feet
Cant work the Woods, see my friends, scare customers, see the repeat customers who know me as Odette
Can't go for walks, take normal showers
Positives:
Got to spend a week and a half at Jeff's, with Auggie- a very very delightful and unexpected silver lining, as I was pretty sure I would never spend more than a few minutes with my cat potentially ever again
I can spend the next month working on merch rather than stressing about it in-between Woods time
I don't have to feel badly about very likely not going back to the Woods next year, since they have shown me how unnecessary I am to the bosses (though, to my co-workers is another story: they have expressed that they'll miss me, and I already miss them :( )
I can spend time writing
I can spend time talking to Lois
I might even get some more drawing in
If the DVD player and DVDs get here, I might be able to re-watch Star Trek: Next Gen
I am building up arm strength via the crutches! :D
And I'm also grateful for the kindness others have extended to me: I wouldn't have this wheelchair, or this cast, without the Machs. The General is very nice to have us here in his home, as I know how he likes his privacy and things not being messed up.
So... positives are weirdly out-weighing the negatives. The negatives are pretty heavy hitters, but they can go jump off a cliff for all I care. A broken ankle isn't going to break me. I won't let it.
Thanks for listening.
~Whisper
::sigh::
So, I am sitting here at the General's house while he and Cap are off doing narrator-type things.
For the first time in 7 years, I am not doing narrator-type things. It's not killing me, but I think it's only not killing me because I can't let it kill me. You know?
I have had the Woods give me shit for the past two years; I'm not sure why I thought this year would be different. I broke my ankle, I have a cast; I sprained the other, but I'm able to get around in a wheelchair or on crutches for small periods of time. I am healing.
I had expected that, after as long I had been there, that the people in charge would be able to find SOMEthing for me to do to be able to help out. I gave up plenty of potentially fun cons to be here in October. I didn't *plan* on breaking my ankle, after all.
Instead, they just tell me that things are "all full up" and that they cannot think of anything I could do. It is really upsetting, because one minute I am one of their top 5 (oh, sorry, slip of the tongue, he MEANT to say 3 off the bat) narrators, who is going to train the new ones, someone who has worked for no pay to help make the script because I ENJOY working on it with Bob, and then.... I break. And now I am useless. All my creativity, and drive, and energy... worthless.
All because I cannot stand.
Thursday night, it will be the first opening night I will not be able to be at. I am... not sure. I mean... I'm just really upset right now. And I wish that I could find a way of getting it all out.
I'm going to celebrate my birthday in a few weeks. My friends will be at the Woods, and I'll be home. I don't... I don't really much care for my birthday, but I usually at least do something about it. I sort of view my birthday as a lonely time, and just try to put myself with people I care about, and maybe do something nice for them- like make pumpkin cookies. I dislike presents, I dislike parties that celebrate me. But it doesn't mean I want to be alone and moping.
Well... anyway.
I am happy that, if I cannot be a narrator this year, that at least Cap will be. He will have a chance to try something new, and do so with the Baron, the General, and Lord Bob at his side. ^_^ He has developed a character, and I'm very excited to hear how he goes over with guests and the other narrators.
I guess I will just keep my eyes forward: to getting this cast off, to physical therapy to regrow the muscles, to Bakucon on Halloween- my personal Christmas and New Years, to gaming in November, to New England Fan Experience, to AAC. To heading south. To working on Wicked. To TempleCon. To Worlds Fair.
I'm writing again. Slowly. But I'm writing again. I need to make items to sell at the up-coming cons, but when I'm not doing that, I hope to be writing. I should have enough time; I should be able to nanowrimo myself through October, perhaps.
Even though I have a broken ankle and this is going to be a very personally trying month, I think it is ultimately a good thing. Rather, it has more positives than negatives.
Negatives:
Broken ankle, cast, can't walk on own two feet
Cant work the Woods, see my friends, scare customers, see the repeat customers who know me as Odette
Can't go for walks, take normal showers
Positives:
Got to spend a week and a half at Jeff's, with Auggie- a very very delightful and unexpected silver lining, as I was pretty sure I would never spend more than a few minutes with my cat potentially ever again
I can spend the next month working on merch rather than stressing about it in-between Woods time
I don't have to feel badly about very likely not going back to the Woods next year, since they have shown me how unnecessary I am to the bosses (though, to my co-workers is another story: they have expressed that they'll miss me, and I already miss them :( )
I can spend time writing
I can spend time talking to Lois
I might even get some more drawing in
If the DVD player and DVDs get here, I might be able to re-watch Star Trek: Next Gen
I am building up arm strength via the crutches! :D
And I'm also grateful for the kindness others have extended to me: I wouldn't have this wheelchair, or this cast, without the Machs. The General is very nice to have us here in his home, as I know how he likes his privacy and things not being messed up.
So... positives are weirdly out-weighing the negatives. The negatives are pretty heavy hitters, but they can go jump off a cliff for all I care. A broken ankle isn't going to break me. I won't let it.
Thanks for listening.
~Whisper
Sunday, September 6
Oops...
So... follow up to Cap's last post- yeah. I broke my ankle. Sprained the other.
Immobility sucks. I am really gaining appreciation for what I lost, especially mundane things like being able to go into the bathroom without someone wheeling me down there, or go get a glass of water, or even just go into a room downstairs to stay out of peoples' way. Hell, of all the things I've lost with this break, I miss the floor the most. I love to sit on the floor, and now I am relegated to the couch. Harumph!
Anyway, I am resting. I made a little progress on the crutches today. Tried them twice and crossed the rug both times. The second time was much faster. I think I'm starting to understand the motions of how it works. I am, however, a little nervous about being on more solid ground rather than carpeting.
But yeah...
I will rest up, and hopefully get over to the Woods tomorrow with Cap and the General to fill out paperwork. And by the end of the week, we need to be out of here anyway- so we should be on our way to Jersey by then. With, I believe, my cat for Jeff.
I am a little sad he will be going to Jersey- I had hoped someone up here would take him in so that I could see him now and then. Though I suppose with the time we will be spending down that way next winter and spring, I should be able to see Auggie a little.
Anyway, I should give the comp back to Cap. And get some sleep. I hope I get a chance to write and draw some soon- if I cannot move around, I NEED to figure out how to sit with my feet elevated in a way that I can at least get that sort of thing done.
I say this to you: love your ankles!! Get calcium! Avoid my next 6-8 weeks. ^_^
Much love,
Whisper
Immobility sucks. I am really gaining appreciation for what I lost, especially mundane things like being able to go into the bathroom without someone wheeling me down there, or go get a glass of water, or even just go into a room downstairs to stay out of peoples' way. Hell, of all the things I've lost with this break, I miss the floor the most. I love to sit on the floor, and now I am relegated to the couch. Harumph!
Anyway, I am resting. I made a little progress on the crutches today. Tried them twice and crossed the rug both times. The second time was much faster. I think I'm starting to understand the motions of how it works. I am, however, a little nervous about being on more solid ground rather than carpeting.
But yeah...
I will rest up, and hopefully get over to the Woods tomorrow with Cap and the General to fill out paperwork. And by the end of the week, we need to be out of here anyway- so we should be on our way to Jersey by then. With, I believe, my cat for Jeff.
I am a little sad he will be going to Jersey- I had hoped someone up here would take him in so that I could see him now and then. Though I suppose with the time we will be spending down that way next winter and spring, I should be able to see Auggie a little.
Anyway, I should give the comp back to Cap. And get some sleep. I hope I get a chance to write and draw some soon- if I cannot move around, I NEED to figure out how to sit with my feet elevated in a way that I can at least get that sort of thing done.
I say this to you: love your ankles!! Get calcium! Avoid my next 6-8 weeks. ^_^
Much love,
Whisper
Monday, August 31
My cat needs a home or he will end up in a shelter
Hey guys,
So Nicole messaged me today to let me know that her and her husband can no longer keep my cat. I am not able to get an apartment any time soon, and even if I do end up in a place where I am stationary for a month or two, it would only be temporary. Plus, it might be renting a room from someone so I would not be able to take a cat with me.
They can keep him until the end of October. After that he will be going to a shelter.
Please let me know if you are able to help Auggie in any way. He is an 8 year old orange tabby cat. He is good with other cats. He can be a scaredy-cat, but he is very lovey.
Email me whispermerlot on the yahoo.com
He is currently living up in northern Nashua, NH. I am not sure at this point when if ever I would be able to take Auggie back- but if you were able to be his foster parent, I would be grateful. And likewise, if you were able to be his foster parent and then could no longer, I would try to find him another home if you told me you could not keep him any more.
~Whisper
So Nicole messaged me today to let me know that her and her husband can no longer keep my cat. I am not able to get an apartment any time soon, and even if I do end up in a place where I am stationary for a month or two, it would only be temporary. Plus, it might be renting a room from someone so I would not be able to take a cat with me.
They can keep him until the end of October. After that he will be going to a shelter.
Please let me know if you are able to help Auggie in any way. He is an 8 year old orange tabby cat. He is good with other cats. He can be a scaredy-cat, but he is very lovey.
Email me whispermerlot on the yahoo.com
He is currently living up in northern Nashua, NH. I am not sure at this point when if ever I would be able to take Auggie back- but if you were able to be his foster parent, I would be grateful. And likewise, if you were able to be his foster parent and then could no longer, I would try to find him another home if you told me you could not keep him any more.
~Whisper
Monday, August 3
Back from CT-con...
First things first, I promised our good PortCon friend, Tom Brown, that we'd post a link and promote like hell his comic/interactive horror world, "Hopeless Vendetta". Check it out, the art is gorgeous and Lovecraftian, and so is the story.
http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmhvcGVsZXNzdmVuZGV0dGEud29yZHByZXNzLmNvbQ==
We are hoping Tom has a chance to join us up at BakuretsuCon in October!
--
I just spent about 4 hours looking for pictures of us from CT-con, and not updating here...
But let me just say that we have a new crew member on the Icarus, the Professor (who is working on his steamsona, but his personality is 100% Dreadful!)
And now... I need to go!
Much love,
Whisper
http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmhvcGVsZXNzdmVuZGV0dGEud29yZHByZXNzLmNvbQ==
We are hoping Tom has a chance to join us up at BakuretsuCon in October!
--
I just spent about 4 hours looking for pictures of us from CT-con, and not updating here...
But let me just say that we have a new crew member on the Icarus, the Professor (who is working on his steamsona, but his personality is 100% Dreadful!)
And now... I need to go!
Much love,
Whisper
Thursday, July 30
Weekend of Wrong; ConnectiCon 2009
Hey guys, exciting news!
At the Weekend of Wrong at Midsummer Magick Faire this coming weekend, Jeff Mach has announced that we have a couple awesome guests coming:
The world-famous "Gypsy Nomads" (www.thegypsynomads.com) will be performing their music this weekend, and famed steampunk author G.D. Falksen will be appearing on Sunday.
This is also our “anything goes” costume weekend!
So come on down, it's going to be wacky and awesometastic.
And then, over at Hartford, CT, the Dreadfuls will be putting on four panels, an impromptu sky-pirate shindy, and a steampunk photo session!
Steampunk 101
Room 15 (I thin- the big one at the end on the left-hand side, upstairs)
2:00pm Friday
Bring your camera and best steamgear for the photo session on the main staircase at 3:30 on Friday!
Steampunk Culture
Room 15 again
5:00pm Friday
Sky-pirate Shindy
Likely at the end of one of the upstairs hallways, probably around 8:30 or 9pm Friday night.
Bring your dancing shoes! We'll be playing everything from Dr. Steel and The Dresden Dolls to Gogol Bordello and Two-Man Gentleman Band!
Then...
Steampunk Costumes and Props
Room 16 (the one right before the last one on the left hallway, upstairs)
8:30pm Saturday
Enthusiast's Guide to Steampunk in the Media
Room 16
10:00pm Saturday
The Saturday panels are held opposite the Masquerade, I believe, in a smaller room than the Friday ones.
COME SEE US! Midsummer Magick! CT-con!
We miss you all and look forward to seeing our CT-con friends once more.
Much love,
Whisper
At the Weekend of Wrong at Midsummer Magick Faire this coming weekend, Jeff Mach has announced that we have a couple awesome guests coming:
The world-famous "Gypsy Nomads" (www.thegypsynomads.com) will be performing their music this weekend, and famed steampunk author G.D. Falksen will be appearing on Sunday.
This is also our “anything goes” costume weekend!
So come on down, it's going to be wacky and awesometastic.
And then, over at Hartford, CT, the Dreadfuls will be putting on four panels, an impromptu sky-pirate shindy, and a steampunk photo session!
Steampunk 101
Room 15 (I thin- the big one at the end on the left-hand side, upstairs)
2:00pm Friday
Bring your camera and best steamgear for the photo session on the main staircase at 3:30 on Friday!
Steampunk Culture
Room 15 again
5:00pm Friday
Sky-pirate Shindy
Likely at the end of one of the upstairs hallways, probably around 8:30 or 9pm Friday night.
Bring your dancing shoes! We'll be playing everything from Dr. Steel and The Dresden Dolls to Gogol Bordello and Two-Man Gentleman Band!
Then...
Steampunk Costumes and Props
Room 16 (the one right before the last one on the left hallway, upstairs)
8:30pm Saturday
Enthusiast's Guide to Steampunk in the Media
Room 16
10:00pm Saturday
The Saturday panels are held opposite the Masquerade, I believe, in a smaller room than the Friday ones.
COME SEE US! Midsummer Magick! CT-con!
We miss you all and look forward to seeing our CT-con friends once more.
Much love,
Whisper
Sunday, July 19
First weekend of a Ren Faire, check!
I wish I had more access to the internet. I often find myself cramming all my work into a few short hours on someone else's computer, and then I don't have time to be all eloquent and engaging on the blog. It makes my travels sound far less interesting to be all "did this, this, this and then this", when I know I could be talking in much more detail, actually helping you *care* about what I am doing. I used to be so good at doing this, but I guess it helped that I had all the time in the world to craft my words juuuust right.
But I shall say this: Day 100 is next Saturday. The 100th day of being on the road in the Icarus doing this. And I know that, if it were not for the lot of you, this would have been more than 100 times harder, down-right unbearable at times, and we likely may have failed if it wasn't for the charity of you few who have donated to us. And we're not just talking monetarily here- you have opened your homes to us, your driveways, showers, laundry; you have fed us! You have helped us to keep going, bringing steampunk all over New England, and given me something very precious: a chance at loving who I am and what I do.
Please know that I can never thank you enough.
--
This past weekend, we worked our first Renaissance Faire. I had never been to a Ren Faire before. Being behind the scenes, it was a lot like the Woods. Only in a semi-specific time period. Midsummer Magick is pretty relaxed on its time period, after all.
It was a GREAT time.
I hope you all will join us at some point. Badger- I never saw you on Saturday, did you make it?
The Faire, I believe, did twice the patronage I think they were expecting. ^_^ They are now looking to find ways to get more *parking*. Ha! Awesome dilemma, eh?
And the weekend of wrong (August 1st and 2nd) I think we're going to have a pretty good showing of at least cast participation in the steampunk vein. I hope my fellow steampunks will have a chance to come do this wackiness with us!
Highlights of the weekend for me:
When we realized the shtick we wanted to do would interfere with a vendor, we changed things up to be "catch-and-release" hunters of magical creatures. Kiri, the fairie, played along so nicely! We love her. ^_^
The Queen!! He is fantastic!
The Mad Black Bard has stolen my brain space! I can't get "The Johnny Jump-up" out of my head, and I am loving it. :D
Finally understanding Daniel GreenWolf's t-shirts. That man is awesome. And death-defying! Gid, Edward: you two need to come meet Danny and his brother Jim at some point. So that the world can explode.
Rufus.... and his inappropriate joke of the weekend, so good! Ask me some time and I will tell you.
All of the shows we caught were great- and Cap, Rapture, and myself had an even better time getting more patrons over to the smaller shows. It made us feel helpful and useful. One fairy tale teller, Shannon, was so happy we were there! heh
Next weekend, I hope to see The Rennymooners (the fine folks who we are staying with), the Bardic Circle and Battle, and do a bit more game hunting.
We are going to do multiple little character things, I think. Sort of jacks of weird trades.
Ah, and I am starting to learn some palmistry from Kathy. I am happy about that. And taking it slowly. Zack, the elvin gamesmaster, is awesome, and read my animal stones last night. That was wicked cool. I love stone work; love animals; and love all forms of divination- how is this a bad plan!? Starwolf, Kathy's husband, was talking to me about I-Ching, an ancient Chinese divination using coins, and that also piqued my interest.
I received a few compliments on my outfit, and that is a nice little ego booster. ^_^ Plus, we have made friends with a few more people, like Brenda and her daughter Brianna, and Cassie. We really met a lot of great people.
And we're very happy we were here to help MSM start out on her first steps.
But Cap and I are back now at Carli and Matt's, after an incident involving the RV that made us paranoid. So we will have internet access and- more importantly- electricity! Because that means... I can make my craft stuff for CT-con! Awesome.
I should... go see how people are doing in the hot tub. Daniel and Cap seem to have hit it off, and I wonder what craziness they have been talking about for the last hour or so. ^_^
Much love,
Whisper
But I shall say this: Day 100 is next Saturday. The 100th day of being on the road in the Icarus doing this. And I know that, if it were not for the lot of you, this would have been more than 100 times harder, down-right unbearable at times, and we likely may have failed if it wasn't for the charity of you few who have donated to us. And we're not just talking monetarily here- you have opened your homes to us, your driveways, showers, laundry; you have fed us! You have helped us to keep going, bringing steampunk all over New England, and given me something very precious: a chance at loving who I am and what I do.
Please know that I can never thank you enough.
--
This past weekend, we worked our first Renaissance Faire. I had never been to a Ren Faire before. Being behind the scenes, it was a lot like the Woods. Only in a semi-specific time period. Midsummer Magick is pretty relaxed on its time period, after all.
It was a GREAT time.
I hope you all will join us at some point. Badger- I never saw you on Saturday, did you make it?
The Faire, I believe, did twice the patronage I think they were expecting. ^_^ They are now looking to find ways to get more *parking*. Ha! Awesome dilemma, eh?
And the weekend of wrong (August 1st and 2nd) I think we're going to have a pretty good showing of at least cast participation in the steampunk vein. I hope my fellow steampunks will have a chance to come do this wackiness with us!
Highlights of the weekend for me:
When we realized the shtick we wanted to do would interfere with a vendor, we changed things up to be "catch-and-release" hunters of magical creatures. Kiri, the fairie, played along so nicely! We love her. ^_^
The Queen!! He is fantastic!
The Mad Black Bard has stolen my brain space! I can't get "The Johnny Jump-up" out of my head, and I am loving it. :D
Finally understanding Daniel GreenWolf's t-shirts. That man is awesome. And death-defying! Gid, Edward: you two need to come meet Danny and his brother Jim at some point. So that the world can explode.
Rufus.... and his inappropriate joke of the weekend, so good! Ask me some time and I will tell you.
All of the shows we caught were great- and Cap, Rapture, and myself had an even better time getting more patrons over to the smaller shows. It made us feel helpful and useful. One fairy tale teller, Shannon, was so happy we were there! heh
Next weekend, I hope to see The Rennymooners (the fine folks who we are staying with), the Bardic Circle and Battle, and do a bit more game hunting.
We are going to do multiple little character things, I think. Sort of jacks of weird trades.
Ah, and I am starting to learn some palmistry from Kathy. I am happy about that. And taking it slowly. Zack, the elvin gamesmaster, is awesome, and read my animal stones last night. That was wicked cool. I love stone work; love animals; and love all forms of divination- how is this a bad plan!? Starwolf, Kathy's husband, was talking to me about I-Ching, an ancient Chinese divination using coins, and that also piqued my interest.
I received a few compliments on my outfit, and that is a nice little ego booster. ^_^ Plus, we have made friends with a few more people, like Brenda and her daughter Brianna, and Cassie. We really met a lot of great people.
And we're very happy we were here to help MSM start out on her first steps.
But Cap and I are back now at Carli and Matt's, after an incident involving the RV that made us paranoid. So we will have internet access and- more importantly- electricity! Because that means... I can make my craft stuff for CT-con! Awesome.
I should... go see how people are doing in the hot tub. Daniel and Cap seem to have hit it off, and I wonder what craziness they have been talking about for the last hour or so. ^_^
Much love,
Whisper
Sunday, July 12
And we're back up to 3!
Just for a little while, but we're back up to 3 Dreadfuls on the road. Sort of.
Rapture arrived yesterday (after slogging through traffic and a flat tire.) We are heading over to the faire grounds today, for rehearsal and for setting the Icarus up. I am displeased with the amount of bugs there, and if I could get my hands on some tent netting, I'd be happier. See, the bugs are so tiny, they will be able to get in through out screen windows. Grah!
But yes. Rapture is here! He will be with us from now until next Monday, when he goes away until that Friday. He'll be back for the Faire's second weekend, leaving on Monday again, back on Thursday, since we have ConnectiCon on Friday.
Then we have ConnectiCon! And Faire will be over.
BUT! The last weekend is going steampunk!
We'll be there all weekend, but we're going steampunk, and trying to bring in more steampunks.
Jeff has confirmed G.D. Falksen for August 2nd, as a vendor I believe. ^_^
So come on down! We're not that far from NYC!
And once more! Thank you everyone who has been helping us out on the road. Every little bit has helped. And, as usual, any PayPal aid can be sent to vigokosaru at yahoo!
All best and much love,
Whisper
Rapture arrived yesterday (after slogging through traffic and a flat tire.) We are heading over to the faire grounds today, for rehearsal and for setting the Icarus up. I am displeased with the amount of bugs there, and if I could get my hands on some tent netting, I'd be happier. See, the bugs are so tiny, they will be able to get in through out screen windows. Grah!
But yes. Rapture is here! He will be with us from now until next Monday, when he goes away until that Friday. He'll be back for the Faire's second weekend, leaving on Monday again, back on Thursday, since we have ConnectiCon on Friday.
Then we have ConnectiCon! And Faire will be over.
BUT! The last weekend is going steampunk!
We'll be there all weekend, but we're going steampunk, and trying to bring in more steampunks.
Jeff has confirmed G.D. Falksen for August 2nd, as a vendor I believe. ^_^
So come on down! We're not that far from NYC!
And once more! Thank you everyone who has been helping us out on the road. Every little bit has helped. And, as usual, any PayPal aid can be sent to vigokosaru at yahoo!
All best and much love,
Whisper
Tuesday, July 7
Erm, I guess not just yet...
It seems we're sticking in civilization for a little longer, to finish up some costume stuff for our hosts. ^_^
We spent the day hanging out with Jeff. Huzzah! A good time was had by all.
And now, for the part that's super important, I'll just re-post from other places:
(cross-posted on Myspace and Steampunk Empire)
Hey everyone,
Not too long on here, but just wanted to let you know that Midsummer Magick Faire (midsummermagickfaire.com) is coming up!
On the last weekend- the weekend of CT-con in fact- the coordinator has requested a bit of a STEAMPUNK twist.
So if you want to go to a Ren Faire, it runs from 11-6 on Saturday and Sunday, July 18th and 19th, 25th and 26th, and August 1st and 2nd. On the 1st and 2nd, come in your steam-gear best!
Also, we are going to be at ConnectiCon on Friday all day, and then Saturday night after the Faire! I'll be selling some of my craft items at a few peoples' tables, so if you were looking for anything from me in particular, please let me know and I will try to have it there for you then. Also, you should feel free to come buy my stuff in general so I can put gas in the tank and food in mah belly until Pi-Con at the end of August.
And anyone who was interested in keeping the Captain and I afloat who cannot get to CT-con or the Magick Faire, I give to you my PayPal account: vigokosaru@yahoo That seems to have been working out rather well. ^_^
Also, we are still looking for people interested in going camping with us the last weekend of August for "A Dreadful Affair", a casual event of steampunks gathering together to do steampunky type things, network, and have a hell of a lot of fun!
You can contact me at ssicarus.blogspot.com or ssicarus@yahoo.com I am going to be without internet for a while as we will be parking the Icarus on the campsite for most of the next 3 1/2 weeks.
All best and much love,
Whisper,
Communications Officer of the S.S. Icarus,
First Mate of the Penny Dreadfuls
We spent the day hanging out with Jeff. Huzzah! A good time was had by all.
And now, for the part that's super important, I'll just re-post from other places:
(cross-posted on Myspace and Steampunk Empire)
Hey everyone,
Not too long on here, but just wanted to let you know that Midsummer Magick Faire (midsummermagickfaire.com) is coming up!
On the last weekend- the weekend of CT-con in fact- the coordinator has requested a bit of a STEAMPUNK twist.
So if you want to go to a Ren Faire, it runs from 11-6 on Saturday and Sunday, July 18th and 19th, 25th and 26th, and August 1st and 2nd. On the 1st and 2nd, come in your steam-gear best!
Also, we are going to be at ConnectiCon on Friday all day, and then Saturday night after the Faire! I'll be selling some of my craft items at a few peoples' tables, so if you were looking for anything from me in particular, please let me know and I will try to have it there for you then. Also, you should feel free to come buy my stuff in general so I can put gas in the tank and food in mah belly until Pi-Con at the end of August.
And anyone who was interested in keeping the Captain and I afloat who cannot get to CT-con or the Magick Faire, I give to you my PayPal account: vigokosaru@yahoo That seems to have been working out rather well. ^_^
Also, we are still looking for people interested in going camping with us the last weekend of August for "A Dreadful Affair", a casual event of steampunks gathering together to do steampunky type things, network, and have a hell of a lot of fun!
You can contact me at ssicarus.blogspot.com or ssicarus@yahoo.com I am going to be without internet for a while as we will be parking the Icarus on the campsite for most of the next 3 1/2 weeks.
All best and much love,
Whisper,
Communications Officer of the S.S. Icarus,
First Mate of the Penny Dreadfuls
The next few weeks...
...we will have super sporadic internet abilities.
Cap and I are about to head over to Ashley's house for sign painting for MidSummer Magick Faire. (midsummermagickfaire.com! Oxford, CT!) Then, we are coming back to Carli's, somehow, and packing up everything to head over to the faire site, where we will be camping for pretty much the next 3 1/2 weeks.
Rapture is coming down here some time the end of this week, and he will be here for 3 weeks as well.
The Faire starts on the 18th. It runs that weekend, the weekend of the 25th, and the weekend of August 1st.
July 31st, all day, we will be in Hartford, CT for ConnectiCon. August 1st, we will be there in the evening and leaving in the morning on the 2nd. So if you want to see us.... that's when you can!
I am hopefully going to be able to sell some of my steampunk Lolita hats at one person's table, and then maybe my ball-jointed doll sized steampunk Lolita hats at another. And then maybe a few other of our steampunk items at other peoples' tables, but it depends on who is there and what we have.
CT-con is about the only money we will be making this month, so please come find us and our stuff! ^_^ If you don't know what other items we make, just ask me- we do commissions on things when we can. I am trying to have a bustle or two done for CT-con as well, but I am not putting any definite on it until it is done.
Then we have until the end of August to make our way with whatever we get from CT-con, when we have a table at Pi-Con (I am pretty sure...)
So yeah! Buy my crafty items? ^_^ Or throw a buck or two my way on PayPal, if'n you want (vigokosaru at yahoo)
Love you all, and I will post again when we have the internet to let you know how fairs the Faire!
All best and much love,
Whisper
Cap and I are about to head over to Ashley's house for sign painting for MidSummer Magick Faire. (midsummermagickfaire.com! Oxford, CT!) Then, we are coming back to Carli's, somehow, and packing up everything to head over to the faire site, where we will be camping for pretty much the next 3 1/2 weeks.
Rapture is coming down here some time the end of this week, and he will be here for 3 weeks as well.
The Faire starts on the 18th. It runs that weekend, the weekend of the 25th, and the weekend of August 1st.
July 31st, all day, we will be in Hartford, CT for ConnectiCon. August 1st, we will be there in the evening and leaving in the morning on the 2nd. So if you want to see us.... that's when you can!
I am hopefully going to be able to sell some of my steampunk Lolita hats at one person's table, and then maybe my ball-jointed doll sized steampunk Lolita hats at another. And then maybe a few other of our steampunk items at other peoples' tables, but it depends on who is there and what we have.
CT-con is about the only money we will be making this month, so please come find us and our stuff! ^_^ If you don't know what other items we make, just ask me- we do commissions on things when we can. I am trying to have a bustle or two done for CT-con as well, but I am not putting any definite on it until it is done.
Then we have until the end of August to make our way with whatever we get from CT-con, when we have a table at Pi-Con (I am pretty sure...)
So yeah! Buy my crafty items? ^_^ Or throw a buck or two my way on PayPal, if'n you want (vigokosaru at yahoo)
Love you all, and I will post again when we have the internet to let you know how fairs the Faire!
All best and much love,
Whisper
Friday, July 3
In Connecticut
In CT now.
Not long on comp but just letting people know we are alive!
Jeff activiated his phone tree and we are now safe. And showered. And laundered. And fed. And clothed! (Fore ren garb for tomorrow- we will work on our own stuff soon.)
We have to go though. Off to do fun amazing things!
We are staying at the site soon.
GO TO MIDSUMMERMAGICKFAIRE.COM!!! Do it now!
Love you all!
Whisper
Not long on comp but just letting people know we are alive!
Jeff activiated his phone tree and we are now safe. And showered. And laundered. And fed. And clothed! (Fore ren garb for tomorrow- we will work on our own stuff soon.)
We have to go though. Off to do fun amazing things!
We are staying at the site soon.
GO TO MIDSUMMERMAGICKFAIRE.COM!!! Do it now!
Love you all!
Whisper
Tuesday, June 30
Midsummer Magick Faire in Oxford, CT! (cross-posted)
midsummermagickfaire.com
Hey guys,
Cap, Rapture and myself are going to be working a ren faire in Oxford, CT in the month of July (and the weekend of CT-Con, hence not being there all weekend).
THE FAIRE NEEDS VOLUNTEERS! And vendors. And probably more people in the cast. And people to go to the faire and have fun!
Please check it out. The people who run it are awesome and we love them.
See you there!
Much love,
Whisper
Hey guys,
Cap, Rapture and myself are going to be working a ren faire in Oxford, CT in the month of July (and the weekend of CT-Con, hence not being there all weekend).
THE FAIRE NEEDS VOLUNTEERS! And vendors. And probably more people in the cast. And people to go to the faire and have fun!
Please check it out. The people who run it are awesome and we love them.
See you there!
Much love,
Whisper
Monday, June 29
Connecticut; Icarus troubles; and tales from the road!
Hey guy, if there's anyone who is in Connecticut who will be around in the next 2 weeks or so, please let me know! We are looking for places to stop along our way for a night or two, where we can park our 25ft RV (and maybe shower? ^_^)
Let me know! You can email whispermerlot at yahoo We don't always have access to the internet, but I WILL get any email in a day or so.
--
Oh, right, and the Icarus' birthday was on Saturday.
The S.S. Icarus was born in name over text messages between myself and the Captain. We had already decided on The Penny Dreadfuls long before actually naming the ship. ^_^
The actual Icarus is having trouble.
Again.
Seriously, what else is new, right? heh
But, yeah, we need to rebuild the carborator according to the guy who helped us push the RV out of the middle of an intersection in Milford, MA last night.
Captain's on Craigslist as we speak, looking for temp jobs and one day jobs down in CT for us. So, fingers crossed!
--
In other news, we went to HUMANWINE on Saturday night. It was a good time! Jess, from Mass Steam, was there; and The General and Gid were able to come with us too! (Us being the Captain, myself, and a friend of his, Ryan.)
PortCon was a good time as well. ^_^
We got an impromptu LARP game going with the help of Mike, a friend we met at TempleCon back in February. We also had a bunch of people show for our panels.
At one point, we had a panel room that would fit 50 people and we had over 150 show up. So they moved us outside to the main events tent. Ba-goosh!
--
So yeah. We're heading down to CT probably tomorrow night. Right now we're stopping over at the Baron's house for the night.
Last night was our first Wal-Mart parking lot experience. It went without a bother. However, weirdly enough, Brett Michael's tour bus was parking in the same parking lot. Strange, eh?
Captain and I may be marching in a 4th of July parade in Willimachit (spelled horribly wrong, I'm sure). For the ren Faire. And then rehearsals are on Sundays. I'm still not sure what we're doing for costumes o.O
IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE I CAN FIND A SERIOUS CORSET, please let me know! I am looking for a corset, 28", that you or a friend of yours no longer wants because you have nicer ones or whatever reason. ^_^ I am willing to make you some of my jewelry or steampunk lolita hat or such in trade. I have never had a corset, I really want one, and it looks like at the rate we are NOT saving any money because of Icarus repairs, I won't ever have one :( So any help on this, or pointing me in a direction, is great!
--
And as I mentioned before, we are coming to ConnectiCon! And, assuming he can get time away from The Orgia, Baron Von Lahey will be joining us!
That means for Dreadfuls:
Captain Jeramiah Homer-Winslow
Whisper Merlot
Dr. Hugo Rapture
General Caled
Lucretia Dearfour
Alan Merlot
and extended family:
Baron Von Lahey
Ay-Leen the Peacemaker
Miss Elizabeth
and The Brothers McManniss Gideon and Edward.
Goooood times!
Much love,
Whisper
Let me know! You can email whispermerlot at yahoo We don't always have access to the internet, but I WILL get any email in a day or so.
--
Oh, right, and the Icarus' birthday was on Saturday.
The S.S. Icarus was born in name over text messages between myself and the Captain. We had already decided on The Penny Dreadfuls long before actually naming the ship. ^_^
The actual Icarus is having trouble.
Again.
Seriously, what else is new, right? heh
But, yeah, we need to rebuild the carborator according to the guy who helped us push the RV out of the middle of an intersection in Milford, MA last night.
Captain's on Craigslist as we speak, looking for temp jobs and one day jobs down in CT for us. So, fingers crossed!
--
In other news, we went to HUMANWINE on Saturday night. It was a good time! Jess, from Mass Steam, was there; and The General and Gid were able to come with us too! (Us being the Captain, myself, and a friend of his, Ryan.)
PortCon was a good time as well. ^_^
We got an impromptu LARP game going with the help of Mike, a friend we met at TempleCon back in February. We also had a bunch of people show for our panels.
At one point, we had a panel room that would fit 50 people and we had over 150 show up. So they moved us outside to the main events tent. Ba-goosh!
--
So yeah. We're heading down to CT probably tomorrow night. Right now we're stopping over at the Baron's house for the night.
Last night was our first Wal-Mart parking lot experience. It went without a bother. However, weirdly enough, Brett Michael's tour bus was parking in the same parking lot. Strange, eh?
Captain and I may be marching in a 4th of July parade in Willimachit (spelled horribly wrong, I'm sure). For the ren Faire. And then rehearsals are on Sundays. I'm still not sure what we're doing for costumes o.O
IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE I CAN FIND A SERIOUS CORSET, please let me know! I am looking for a corset, 28", that you or a friend of yours no longer wants because you have nicer ones or whatever reason. ^_^ I am willing to make you some of my jewelry or steampunk lolita hat or such in trade. I have never had a corset, I really want one, and it looks like at the rate we are NOT saving any money because of Icarus repairs, I won't ever have one :( So any help on this, or pointing me in a direction, is great!
--
And as I mentioned before, we are coming to ConnectiCon! And, assuming he can get time away from The Orgia, Baron Von Lahey will be joining us!
That means for Dreadfuls:
Captain Jeramiah Homer-Winslow
Whisper Merlot
Dr. Hugo Rapture
General Caled
Lucretia Dearfour
Alan Merlot
and extended family:
Baron Von Lahey
Ay-Leen the Peacemaker
Miss Elizabeth
and The Brothers McManniss Gideon and Edward.
Goooood times!
Much love,
Whisper
Wednesday, June 24
Dual Postage!
So, big update.
Going to HUMANWINE this weekend, ( http://www.humanwine.org/home.html) then heading south. Maybe crash at the baron's place for a few days. After that, we are looking at spending a month in Connecticut. Specifically in oxford, I believe. So we are looking for Connecticut allies right now!
If you live in Connecticut, around Hartford or Oxford, message us! We need to find a place to park for a few days to a week before the Ren Faire ( http://midsummermagickfaire.com/index.html ). Plus, we could use some extra work during that period. We need to find Temp jobs, or someone who needs help for the month of July (but not on weekends). Spread the word!
We made money at Portcon, which is good. Then we went on a shopping spree and finally got a bunch of useful tools for living out of the RV. We do have money to run the Icarus, but with the oncoming land-lock we will have during the faire, we need a little boost. Again, any jobs or projects someone needs help with, we are helpful people!
Oh, and here is Eurus, my trophy from the Boffa Tourney:
Purdy, Idn'it?
Also, We have 'A Dreadful Affair' being planned. Whisper will talk more about that right after me, but I just wanted to say that we need a location, and we are searching for a place right now. Plus, we need to either make a little money to set this up, or work off of donations (food, drink, supplies...maybe have everyone bring something?) but we are still debating the best way to do this.
Anyways, I shall hand you off to Whisper!
Hugs and Bludgeonings,
~The Captain
Part II.
Thank you, Cap'n!
So, as Cap said, we have A Dreadful Affair coming up. I have a few people looking into locations, but more people looking is always a good thing.
Also, I want to set up a pre-reg sort of thing, maybe via PayPal. Anyone interested in essentially pre-regging for Dreadful Affair to help us get the money to secure a location, please let me know via this blog that you would be able to help out!
Once we have a location, we can move forward with things. If we don't find a location, I will refund any pre-regs.
---
WE ARE COMING TO CONNECTICON!
I figured I would officially announce that right now.
Friday, we have two panels, the photoshoot, and POSSIBLY our Penny Dreadful Sky-Pirate Shindy.
Saturday, after the faire, we have two panels.
Cap, Rapture, Alan, and myself will only be at CT-con for Friday and then Saturday night. But the General and Lucretia will be there all weekend I believe, along with their lovely lady friends.
---
I mentioned this briefly, but if anyone has an old corset that they don't want/no longer fits for whatever reason, I am looking for a corset. About a 28". I have never had one, and at the rate we have been slowly making any money, it doesn't look like I will be able to save up for one any soon. So if you have one, let me know! I will try to figure out some kind of payment, maybe some of my steampunk items I usually sell? Let me know.
--
And once more, we are still accepting cans to recycle and any loose change you may have! We had random donations at PortCon (and not so random) and I thank EVERYONE who has been giving so generously. You guys have absolutely no idea how much it means to us when we're offered places to stay, a meal, or even a little handful of pennies. Every little bit counts in helping us bring The Penny Dreadfuls and steampunk all over the place and allow us to live this crazy dream.
Thank you guys. Seriously.
All best and much love,
Whisper
Going to HUMANWINE this weekend, ( http://www.humanwine.org/home.html) then heading south. Maybe crash at the baron's place for a few days. After that, we are looking at spending a month in Connecticut. Specifically in oxford, I believe. So we are looking for Connecticut allies right now!
If you live in Connecticut, around Hartford or Oxford, message us! We need to find a place to park for a few days to a week before the Ren Faire ( http://midsummermagickfaire.com/index.html ). Plus, we could use some extra work during that period. We need to find Temp jobs, or someone who needs help for the month of July (but not on weekends). Spread the word!
We made money at Portcon, which is good. Then we went on a shopping spree and finally got a bunch of useful tools for living out of the RV. We do have money to run the Icarus, but with the oncoming land-lock we will have during the faire, we need a little boost. Again, any jobs or projects someone needs help with, we are helpful people!
Oh, and here is Eurus, my trophy from the Boffa Tourney:
Purdy, Idn'it?
Also, We have 'A Dreadful Affair' being planned. Whisper will talk more about that right after me, but I just wanted to say that we need a location, and we are searching for a place right now. Plus, we need to either make a little money to set this up, or work off of donations (food, drink, supplies...maybe have everyone bring something?) but we are still debating the best way to do this.
Anyways, I shall hand you off to Whisper!
Hugs and Bludgeonings,
~The Captain
Part II.
Thank you, Cap'n!
So, as Cap said, we have A Dreadful Affair coming up. I have a few people looking into locations, but more people looking is always a good thing.
Also, I want to set up a pre-reg sort of thing, maybe via PayPal. Anyone interested in essentially pre-regging for Dreadful Affair to help us get the money to secure a location, please let me know via this blog that you would be able to help out!
Once we have a location, we can move forward with things. If we don't find a location, I will refund any pre-regs.
---
WE ARE COMING TO CONNECTICON!
I figured I would officially announce that right now.
Friday, we have two panels, the photoshoot, and POSSIBLY our Penny Dreadful Sky-Pirate Shindy.
Saturday, after the faire, we have two panels.
Cap, Rapture, Alan, and myself will only be at CT-con for Friday and then Saturday night. But the General and Lucretia will be there all weekend I believe, along with their lovely lady friends.
---
I mentioned this briefly, but if anyone has an old corset that they don't want/no longer fits for whatever reason, I am looking for a corset. About a 28". I have never had one, and at the rate we have been slowly making any money, it doesn't look like I will be able to save up for one any soon. So if you have one, let me know! I will try to figure out some kind of payment, maybe some of my steampunk items I usually sell? Let me know.
--
And once more, we are still accepting cans to recycle and any loose change you may have! We had random donations at PortCon (and not so random) and I thank EVERYONE who has been giving so generously. You guys have absolutely no idea how much it means to us when we're offered places to stay, a meal, or even a little handful of pennies. Every little bit counts in helping us bring The Penny Dreadfuls and steampunk all over the place and allow us to live this crazy dream.
Thank you guys. Seriously.
All best and much love,
Whisper
Wednesday, June 10
But practice was essential
Being in stationary/"can't go anywhere because the Icarus' guts are literally hanging out in the open" mode has afforded me the ability to tell you things on a regular basis.
How different.
Though, Lois mentioned that I should look into if Verizon will allow me to twitter things, and if I will not be charged because I have an unlimited texting plan. Anyone know the answer to this one?
---
The Icarus repairs are going along semi-well. Ethan has fixed the problems we had, but discovered new ones or while repairing- as I mentioned in my last post- things fell apart at his finger tips from being swiss-cheese rusted out. So new problems have arisen. Of course, we should be able to leave here either tomorrow night or Friday afternoon without problem. It's just that, he said, we'll want to get those other things fixed asap.
So... yeah.
I'm not kidding about any help is accepted. Nothing is too small, even if you just repost our tale elsewhere to your own friends. I've tried to be more upbeat in past posts, like we've received a bunch of people offering anything, but really, it's been strangely quiet. I thank the few people who have stepped forward in our time of need with whatever they can offer; it is very much appreciated. It kind of shows me who is listening along to this weird little radio play we've got going on and who only swings by when they remember we exist. :'\
---
I watched a Dresden Dolls concert this evening with the Captain. Listening to Trash McSweeney sing "Mad World" brought me to tears. That song kills me every time. I think it must be the lyrics, because even Tears for Fears do it.
I'm really contemplating something drastic to change my physicality. I'm a little irritated and unhappy with it. I keep seeing people who, despite their shape or size or skin tone, find "their" look and work it. Nay, rock it.
I need to find "my" look. Something that I can wear and it will just look plain good on me. Sometimes, I would ask Rapture for his opinion of how something looks, and he tells me I look great, and then later I would see pictures and be disappointed. I'm sure to him I looked great, but it just wasn't doing it for me. One of the things I've been really aware of as far as my own sense of self-image goes, is that I know I won't be 100% happy until I find myself attractive. And really, that's not a bad thing to go on, except that I am extremely judgmental on the physical when it comes to attractiveness on women. But, if I can even get to be like 80% happy that would be good, right? ^_^
So, I'm considering hacking off a lot of my hair, and curls and frizz be damned.
This is, of course, something I need to consider for a while. Plus, problem, I'm not exactly a hairstylist and we come back to the little issue of me not knowing what looks good on me.
I feel like I need someone to dress me and do my hair and then say "Okay, this is what looks good. Stop doing all those other bland, plain, frumpy things, because you look gorgeous like this, and you know it."
Don't you hate how every now and then you can look into the mirror, see yourself, and think "Wow, I look great" and its quickly followed by "Why can't I look like this to everyone at all times?"
Ah well.
---
So I'm gonna get going now. Because I can't get all personal when people may come in the room. It throws things off for me. I've always worked alone, late at night, with no one around. It lets me focus on just myself and my own thoughts. ::shrug:: Plus, I don't like people reading what I'm writing until I'm done, because when I'm done, that's fine. It's been polished and you can't watch my brain think as I type at that point.
But... I miss writing. I actually was thinking, this morning as I laid here in this room that is not my own but that reminds me of my grandmother's guest room and with a Bengal kitty cat at my feet, that I'd like to have a laptop. But then I remembered that I hate them so, and would love to design a laptop-desktop hybrid.
Much love,
Whisper
How different.
Though, Lois mentioned that I should look into if Verizon will allow me to twitter things, and if I will not be charged because I have an unlimited texting plan. Anyone know the answer to this one?
---
The Icarus repairs are going along semi-well. Ethan has fixed the problems we had, but discovered new ones or while repairing- as I mentioned in my last post- things fell apart at his finger tips from being swiss-cheese rusted out. So new problems have arisen. Of course, we should be able to leave here either tomorrow night or Friday afternoon without problem. It's just that, he said, we'll want to get those other things fixed asap.
So... yeah.
I'm not kidding about any help is accepted. Nothing is too small, even if you just repost our tale elsewhere to your own friends. I've tried to be more upbeat in past posts, like we've received a bunch of people offering anything, but really, it's been strangely quiet. I thank the few people who have stepped forward in our time of need with whatever they can offer; it is very much appreciated. It kind of shows me who is listening along to this weird little radio play we've got going on and who only swings by when they remember we exist. :'\
---
I watched a Dresden Dolls concert this evening with the Captain. Listening to Trash McSweeney sing "Mad World" brought me to tears. That song kills me every time. I think it must be the lyrics, because even Tears for Fears do it.
I'm really contemplating something drastic to change my physicality. I'm a little irritated and unhappy with it. I keep seeing people who, despite their shape or size or skin tone, find "their" look and work it. Nay, rock it.
I need to find "my" look. Something that I can wear and it will just look plain good on me. Sometimes, I would ask Rapture for his opinion of how something looks, and he tells me I look great, and then later I would see pictures and be disappointed. I'm sure to him I looked great, but it just wasn't doing it for me. One of the things I've been really aware of as far as my own sense of self-image goes, is that I know I won't be 100% happy until I find myself attractive. And really, that's not a bad thing to go on, except that I am extremely judgmental on the physical when it comes to attractiveness on women. But, if I can even get to be like 80% happy that would be good, right? ^_^
So, I'm considering hacking off a lot of my hair, and curls and frizz be damned.
This is, of course, something I need to consider for a while. Plus, problem, I'm not exactly a hairstylist and we come back to the little issue of me not knowing what looks good on me.
I feel like I need someone to dress me and do my hair and then say "Okay, this is what looks good. Stop doing all those other bland, plain, frumpy things, because you look gorgeous like this, and you know it."
Don't you hate how every now and then you can look into the mirror, see yourself, and think "Wow, I look great" and its quickly followed by "Why can't I look like this to everyone at all times?"
Ah well.
---
So I'm gonna get going now. Because I can't get all personal when people may come in the room. It throws things off for me. I've always worked alone, late at night, with no one around. It lets me focus on just myself and my own thoughts. ::shrug:: Plus, I don't like people reading what I'm writing until I'm done, because when I'm done, that's fine. It's been polished and you can't watch my brain think as I type at that point.
But... I miss writing. I actually was thinking, this morning as I laid here in this room that is not my own but that reminds me of my grandmother's guest room and with a Bengal kitty cat at my feet, that I'd like to have a laptop. But then I remembered that I hate them so, and would love to design a laptop-desktop hybrid.
Much love,
Whisper
Tuesday, June 9
Crumbling apart at your fingertips
So the Icarus seems to have been running off sheer willpower and duct tape alone.
Ethan's been working on her this afternoon- some things were easy fixes while others were discovered that need fixing which we did not know about. And still other things crumbled apart at his finger tips from having rusted out. He found a bunch of things that were "bonafide GNDNs" or "goes nowhere, does nothing", which turned out to be things that should in fact go somewhere!
We just took a lunch break for an hour, and now I think we're heading back out there. The Captain and I are going through the Icarus, looking for things which we know to be Rapture's, and getting them out for him so he can get to them easily. Also, this is creating a lot more spaces for us to put things. In the end, Icarus will be a lot more organized, mostly because we will have the places to put things. And the back bathroom/storage closet should be easier to move around in to get whatever we keep back there.
But it looks like, in the course off all Ethan's fixing, we have mostly run into more things that need fixing. At one point, he showed us something and said, "I have no idea how this passed emissions" because the piece that was supposed to be there was gone and therefore definitely NOT doing its job. So, yeah, whoever inspected this thing really did a shit job of it. And totally just looked under the hood and went, "Yeah, sure, fine. It's good to go. Have a sticker!"
We're going to get as much down now as we can, before heading off in a few days.
---
In other news, people seem to be liking the idea of A Dreadful Affair. So if you are interested, too, please let us know. Leave a note here.
Once we have about 20 confirmed, we'll look into a site to host this at. We've had a few places suggested, elsewhere, but that are already booked for those weekends. I'm thinking something more along the lines of "Hey, we have this field..." may end up being all we're offered unless some steampunk happens to know someone who knows someone.
Ideally, we'll find a place that can host 20-40 people, that has small cabins, a good sized field, a Hall, and bathrooms+showers. That is the ideal, of course. And really, if we had that, we could run anything and everything we've been considering running! ^_^
---
And once more:
I'm still looking for people with
STEAMPUNK ITEMS
That I can raffle at the places we go so we can fund the Icarus repairs.
I don't know if I mentioned it here, but over on the livej steampunk community, someone had asked me about a PayPal account they could throw a couple bucks at. If you find you would like to help us in some way, but have no hand-made or modded steampunk items to go to the fund raising, but have a few dollars you want to toss at our feet, my PayPal is vigokosaru at yahoo dot com Again, this should work, but if it doesn't, let me know.
---
We are heading up to New Hampshire probably Thursday, maybe Friday. We will hopefully be in Maine with Rapture by Monday, since PortCon is that following weekend. I still need to make a villain outfit for that, but things aren't looking so hot on that end. I'm going to try to hit the Savers around here, see if I can't find anything that sparks my creativity.
Come see us at PortCon!
Much love,
Whisper
Ethan's been working on her this afternoon- some things were easy fixes while others were discovered that need fixing which we did not know about. And still other things crumbled apart at his finger tips from having rusted out. He found a bunch of things that were "bonafide GNDNs" or "goes nowhere, does nothing", which turned out to be things that should in fact go somewhere!
We just took a lunch break for an hour, and now I think we're heading back out there. The Captain and I are going through the Icarus, looking for things which we know to be Rapture's, and getting them out for him so he can get to them easily. Also, this is creating a lot more spaces for us to put things. In the end, Icarus will be a lot more organized, mostly because we will have the places to put things. And the back bathroom/storage closet should be easier to move around in to get whatever we keep back there.
But it looks like, in the course off all Ethan's fixing, we have mostly run into more things that need fixing. At one point, he showed us something and said, "I have no idea how this passed emissions" because the piece that was supposed to be there was gone and therefore definitely NOT doing its job. So, yeah, whoever inspected this thing really did a shit job of it. And totally just looked under the hood and went, "Yeah, sure, fine. It's good to go. Have a sticker!"
We're going to get as much down now as we can, before heading off in a few days.
---
In other news, people seem to be liking the idea of A Dreadful Affair. So if you are interested, too, please let us know. Leave a note here.
Once we have about 20 confirmed, we'll look into a site to host this at. We've had a few places suggested, elsewhere, but that are already booked for those weekends. I'm thinking something more along the lines of "Hey, we have this field..." may end up being all we're offered unless some steampunk happens to know someone who knows someone.
Ideally, we'll find a place that can host 20-40 people, that has small cabins, a good sized field, a Hall, and bathrooms+showers. That is the ideal, of course. And really, if we had that, we could run anything and everything we've been considering running! ^_^
---
And once more:
I'm still looking for people with
STEAMPUNK ITEMS
That I can raffle at the places we go so we can fund the Icarus repairs.
I don't know if I mentioned it here, but over on the livej steampunk community, someone had asked me about a PayPal account they could throw a couple bucks at. If you find you would like to help us in some way, but have no hand-made or modded steampunk items to go to the fund raising, but have a few dollars you want to toss at our feet, my PayPal is vigokosaru at yahoo dot com Again, this should work, but if it doesn't, let me know.
---
We are heading up to New Hampshire probably Thursday, maybe Friday. We will hopefully be in Maine with Rapture by Monday, since PortCon is that following weekend. I still need to make a villain outfit for that, but things aren't looking so hot on that end. I'm going to try to hit the Savers around here, see if I can't find anything that sparks my creativity.
Come see us at PortCon!
Much love,
Whisper
Monday, June 8
Icarus update, and an event you may be interested in
The Icarus is currently being looked at by Ethan, a young man we met while visiting with Harley. Hopefully the large problems can be fixed in the next few days. And then we can head on our slow trek up to Maine, make some money, get other things fixed, and then head to Connecticut.
WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING AID!
Again:
No help is too small, even if all you do is pass this on. You never know who can help.
We'd love to relieve you of your:
empty cans and bottles
jars of pennies (or silver heehee)
or STEAMPUNK ITEMS!
Did you mod something but will never use it? Do you have a small steampunk items shop online or off, and would like some promotion from wandering steampunk vagabonds? We will raffle these items off at conventions and will be more than willing to spread the good word about your work/shop/store/services. THESE WOULD BE A HUGE HELP! So I really appreciate it.
Meanwhile, back on the ranch...
While stressing out over the Icarus being broken, I wanted to look to the future, when she ISN'T in pieces, and when we can have some fun.
So, I've been talking a bit with the Captain about in August or September, when the con season dies down, getting a bunch of like-minded folk to spend a Friday night through Sunday afternoon together.
This event is still in her planning stages, but we're calling it:
"A DREADFUL AFFAIR"
We want to have a weekend, likely August 28th-30th, or otherwise September 4th-6th, where New England area steampunks (and any others who can make it) can get together for a casual weekend of steampunkery. Sharing information, networking, and having fun are what it would be all about.
We'd like to have a few workshops that we will be approaching people about, some live music from people who play old timey stuff (so if you know anyone, pass this on!); a steampunk LARP; tea time; maybe a steampunk Gentleman's Duel boffer tournament and one night a "speakeasy"; but definitely a great big campfire to cook hot dogs and roast s'mores!
Entertainers and performers are encouraged to attend!
So if this sounds like fun, let me know. If we have enough people interested (we're hoping for about 20-40 people to show interest) we will work on a location. [[NOTE: If you know a location, like a farm or field or gaming area that may be friendly to this idea, mail me at ssicarus at yahoo dot com]] We'd like to keep cost per person pretty low, so something around or under $20 for the weekend to pay for the site and some communal food.
RSVP and let's make this baby happen!
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