The ABCs of Unobtainium:

I have no coherent time-line for the wonder and beauty and fun that was the Showdown at Unobtainium(hey, we were in a town full of unstable time-bending ore, OK?) so, instead, I give you

The ABCs of Unobtainium:

A: Actors, Airship & Artists First of all, the town itself was a work of Art, with carefully-fashioned wooden facades and fencing for many structures, various props and odds and ends carefully placed about, lending atmosphere. Each and every vendor at the event had all hand-crafted, one of a kind, awesome stuff.

There was an Airship on site; the way it lit up at night looked like something straight out of a Cirque du Soleil production. It was a wonderful moving piece of art and many very lucky folks got to enjoy a ride around the site in the airship. They also had a shoot-out between the crew of the airship and the SteamPinkertons.

When the event was announced in July, the call went out for actors, and many folks stepped up and put in a lot of hours getting into character, practicing improv bits, practicing the showdown combat scene, and getting ready to show our visitors a good time.  We had a mix of historical characters--Edison, Tesla, George Westinghouse, Calamity Jane--and characters created by the actors for the event. Everyone did an amazing job of bringing their character to life and keeping in character throughout two days of festival.

B: Bartenders, Builders & Burlesque Shiner's Saloon, Tenyson absinthe, and others provided top notch beverages. The bartending team kept themselves cheerful and high energy from opening to closing. Everyone who came in to the bar was immediately swept into the spirit of the Wierd West!  From a cow field in the middle of nowhere, a town was built; the Unobtainium volunteer builder team spent months building facades, furniture (the bar itelf was a thing of beauty), seating, you-name-it. And for the folks who were able to stay up late enough Saturday night, there was Ruby Joule, a wonderfully talented, beautiful, and fun burlesque dancer. Ooh la-la!

C: Crafters & Costumes Everyone from the build team to the vendors & guest lecturers, robot-builders and everyone visiting the town for the day or the weekend was fantasically creative. There were very few people who came to Unobtainium in "street clothes"....most visitors were in fantastic garb with many individual flourishes. We had military-style steampunks, Weird West steampunks, renfaire steampunks, Explorer steampunks in pith helmets, Steam Pirates, Officers, Gentlemen,  Gunfighters, Soiled doves & dollymops, gypsies and at least one automaton (me!). I think my eyes hurt from seeing so many beautiful and interesting people and costumes!

D: DJ. In between live music, science demonstrations & debates by Tesla and Edison, and Doc Ravencraft's talks on supernatural phenomenon, we had Dr. Strangevibe, whose musical archives were a thing of wonder, as was his skill at mixing and matching the tunes. There were wonderfully etherial, strange songs, there were more "earthy" tunes, and all of them contributed greatly to making the atmosphere of this temporally-challenged town sliding into madness.

E: Edison. Daniel Benes, the actor who played Mr. Edison, though  he portrayed Edison as the arrogant man of business and science, was actually in reality a very nice, thoughtful, and funny person. In his personal life, he is a musician and sound engineer who also builds scientific gadgets for fun. One of the most enthralling pieces of art at the event was a mine shaft he constructed using hardware store goodies, with eerie lights and smoke and scary warning sign to avoid the mine shaft due to raw Unobtainium vapors. It looked amazing. He also built a board with a small steam engine which he used to power various light bulbs in order to demonstrate his electrical inventions. We were all absolutely *stunned* when, after all was said and done and we were packing it in Sunday night, when  he confessed that he'd felt completely over-his-head, and had seriously contemplated quitting early on! He never showed it! I was also terribly amused when he broke into an absolutely adorably silly little dance at the end of the day Sunday. I hope someone got it on video.

F: Friends & food. FRIENDS! Wow, it was great to see so many friends at this event. We had friends vending, friends on cast, and more friends came out as patrons to shop, eat, drink, listen to music, see art, check out the gadgets and media displays, and have a good time. It was wonderful to see y'all and I hope you had the best time!

The Brou-ha-ha, one of my favorite food vendors from Sherwood forest faire, were selling assorted strange and yummy things, including 'hell spawn on a stick' and 'sea pig'. I hope to replicate the sea pig soon. The chef catering the VIP area was also fantastic; After a long day at the Ticket booth, I was absolutely starving and grateful for my VIP pass. I enjoyed nibbles of prosciutto-wrapped melon, basil, tomato, and mozzarella drizzled in olive oil, thai coconut soup, and bite sized cheesecake bits.

G: Gadgets, Gamers &  Gunfighters! ATX Hackerspace was there, there was a Maker Mad Science Lab & the Edge of Imagination station, all demonstrating media, computers, blinky lights, and science. There was a funky spin-art machine, gadgets that would tell your fortune or diagnose your wierdness (I'm hebephrenic!) and all sorts of fun.  Ubergoober & Cracked Monocle were on hand with Steampunk LARP goodness. I was sadly working the ticket booth when it happened, but apparently there was a grand shoot-out between the  Steampinkertons and the crew of the airship, in an attempt on Mr. Edison's life. Thax, as the Town Drunk, was unfortunately killed. Twice. and brought back to life by the Mysterious Stranger, Mr. Satan. Oops, I meant Seatan, of course.  

H: Hell. and HOT. A strange twist on the story of Unobtainium, apparently the miners dug very deep, indeed, in their pursuit of the valuable and crazy-making Unobtainium ore. Weather wise, it was quite warm both days, especially for mid-November. Many volunteers and cast got sunburn, and I know of at least one heatstroke. But everyone soldiered on like champs.

I: Ice Cream, Ever made Ice Cream with Liquid Nitrogen? Heh, me neither. But the Maker/Hacker/Mad scientists sure did. It was great fun, nevermind that the entire apparatus was then covered in bees shortly after they completed this amazing demonstration of scientific fun!

J: Martha Jane Canary. That's be Calamity Jane to me and you, folks. Sue, the actress playing Calamity Jane, is one of the loveliest, kindest, most genteel ladies in the steampunk scene. She's known for going to cons and doing presentations on how to put together steampunk outfits from goodies you may have stashed in your closet, or find at vintage stores, with just a bit of alteration and perhaps one or two well-chosen accessories. She was on task and in-character from day one, in all her salty glory. Amazing!

K: Kiki Jezebel. I am sad to say that the actoress playing this role was rudely denied leave from work at the last minute; she was a hoot and a half at rehearsals and I hope she will reprise the role at some future steampunk shindig.

L: Laminates! The ticket gate crew had fun and headaches sorting through the dozens, or possibly hundreds, of laminated name tags for VIP, Artist, Vendor, Cast and Crew of Unobtainium. They were meticulously crafted, printed, laminated, sorted and organized by Sam Tyler, and after being in the grubby paws of the front gate volunteer team, all organization had fled and we were just fumbling through. It was a valiant attempt and the laminates all looked fantastic. I'm keeping mine forever :)

M: Makers & Music! I mentioned the gadgets brought by hackerspace, mad scientists, and media presentations already. As far as music goes, there wasn't a bad band in the bunch; Erika Maasen is very talented at playing various stringed instruments and has a fantastic voice; she re interprets many 'alternative rock' songs from the 90's into her very own interesting covers. She was quite beautiful, as well. Saturday we saw and heard Ms. Maasen, Temple of Ape's Theremin-carnival, Shakey Graves,Darwin Prophet & the Chronus Mirror, and the perennial Texas Steampunk scene headliners Marquis of  Vaudeville brought the house down. Sunday, many of the same artists played again, plus Barebones Orchestra rocked the hung-over house! Amazing, amazing, amazing. Idea for next time: these artists really need a dedicated CD table set up all weekend, so people can take all that great music home!

N: Nitrogen! Again with the fun and messy science! The makers and hackers not only made ice cream but also demonstrated fruit-shattering tricks with liquid nitrogen :)

O:  Ozzy & Oktober Love. Not THAT Ozzy. Unobtainium's Ozzy was portraying Herr Doktor Einstein, a renowned expert on hysteria. He has worked as an improv actor at renfaire, he really added a lot to rehearsals and between him and the bartender, did some of the damn funniest improv I've ever seen in my life. Being that he was an expert on treating hysteria, I don't know about that other "O" tho I could be curious. ;)

Oktober Love was our very own steamgypsy; and a lovely one she made, too. Trekking up from San Marcos for actor rehearsals week after week, she was also an absolute ROCK at the front gate, helping with tickets and traffic, and then whisking off to help with bartending in the VIP area. What a beautiful, multitalented, creative, and dedicated Unobtainizen.

P:  Presentations! We had everything from soldering to arduinos to costuming to westernpunk to psychic phenomena. If you wanted to glue a gear on something and play in the alternate costume reality or actually make your gears go, there was someone there who could tell you how to do it. Art, science, DIY, you name it.

Q: The Queens of the event, the organizers heart and soul of the event: Sam Tyler, Maggie Duval and Lisa Ralston Turner. This whole thing came about from their dreams and ideas, and the people who believed in it enough to make it real. I know it was a stressful thing to plan and organize, and I know that in the aftermath of the event, they are exhausted and crispy around the edges, but I hope that when the smoke clears and the counting's done, the enthusiasm of the builders, makers, vendors, volunteers, and paying patrons will motivate them to let it happen again.

R: The Robot Group. These are the folks who brought the crazy spin-art machine for everyone to play with. Very nice folks, lots of fun, and very patient with science noobs.http://wiki.therobotgroup.org/wiki/Main_Page

S: Science! Have I mentioned the science? Robots, blinky lights, tubes and wires, dry ice, liquid nitrogen, Tesla Coils...this was hands-on learning at its finest and most fun.

T: TESLA! Portrayed by Edwin Wise, a real-life mad scientist, improv artist, locally famous gore-maker, avid past participant in Scare for a Cure  and a dedicated ladies' man. A true renaissance gentleman. He and Daniel took joy in bringing science goodies to actor rehearsals. He brought his small Tesla Coil and we fired it up in the back yard; the following week, Daniel brought a Van de Graaf generator. The two scientists worked and played very well together, and it was almost a shame that Tesla won the Showdown, because they were both just awesome.

U: Unobtainium. More than a few tents in a cow pasture in the middle of Nowhere, TX, this was a community of people who came together to make something happen. Everyone who visited added their own energy to the whole. It was an amazing, amazing event. Not a place, a feeling, a brief step out of time into a world we made real. I want to do it again!

V: is for VIP! The VIP area was flowing with complimentary drinks and the most tasty bites of yummy things. Thai coconut soup, figs, tiny cheesecake bites, melon wrapped in prosciutto, I could go on and on. I hear there was a VIP supper as well, but I completely missed it. boo to that.  Unstable chronological elements in play, what can ya do?  There was lovely beer from our local Independence brewery and absinthe purveyors Tenneyson were on  hand dishing out the Sazeracs as well.

W: Wind. There was a cold front trying to blow in all weekend, which didn't arrive til Sunday night. We had tickets and envelopes blowing around at the Ticket booth, until Holly found us a lot of rocks. The stage was a little wild at times, too. Apparently just being a few more feet above the ground raised the wind gusts even more. We all coped as we could, and at least the wind kept things a little cooler than they might have been otherwise.

X: X rated OK, I've got nothing for this, except I heard there was nudity out in the camping area.

Y: Yearly! This was the first, and from the sounds of it, the ONLY Showdown at Unobtainium event that will ever be. I would love to see this become an annual festival, featuring quasi-historical characters portraying history as it should have been, science and art pointing the way to the future as we'd like it to be.

Z: Zeitgeist I had to hunt for a Z word, and I think I found the perfect one: the spirit, attitude, or general outlook of a specific time or period.  Pretty much sums it up. Art, science, do-it-yourself-ness, re-purpose, re-cyle, community spirit, and fantastic costumes. The spirit of Unobtainium, a moment in time, more precious for having been short and intense, and leaving us all wanting more Art, Science, and Beauty in our daily lives.

Wherein the Society solves a Mystery aboard a moving train.

The Holy Ghost Revival Meeting Murder

Saturday, June 16, 2012 

7:00pm until 10:00pm

• http://

www.austinsteamtrain.org/

rides.php#holyghost


This is a place holder for an entry that should be written about our Steam Train Murder Mystery and Boxed Supper Adventure.

We are taking another jaunt, sans theatrics, in September. We would be honored if friends and cordial acquaintances would care to join us.

https://www.facebook.com/events/412036015505772/

In which members of Our Society travel through the wilds of Tejas...

...tour a Prison Museum, find a Secret Alley, one of our members learns the language of the Birds through eating a Glowing Fruit & the Society fetches a storm cloud home 

Our Party for this outing was Myself, Thax Aka. Lord "Odd" Ballington, Lady Victoria, and Major Dammit Flavio.

Our adventure began on Friday night, after tending to a mundane day of mundane tasks in exchange for filthy lucre. We are certain that this unsuitable arrangement shall be remedied at some future point in time and we shall no longer have to mingle with the working classes.

Major Dammit Flavio arrived with our friend Lady Victoria and the four of us ventured to Spec's, where we chose apertifs with which to toast our safe arrival once we got there. We ran into our friend Lee, the Green Fop, who is similarly hindered with day job which hampers adventuring, and we commiserated about fate, spoke of the joys of Absinthe, and other sundry topics of a more cheerful nature. We wished him good evening and made our purchases.

Then we set about finding supper, some of us having a hankering for Thai. Our first stop was Titaya's but sadly it was overrun, being an establishment that is not only delightful to mispronounce but also delicious to dine, so we put our etheric devices to work and found a Madam Mam's close by and drove there. There was no line or wait, everything was good, and then we headed on home to gather Lady Dog and luggage.

The drive was uneventful, but long. Though it was very dark, I did go ahead and drive us past the lovely old building in Navasota that has captured my fancy. Though the building was darkened, the gas lights out front were burning merrily and giving such a nice ambience. The next time I have a spare half million burning a hole in my pocket, she will be mine!

With no further delays, we got to Huntsville around 1:00 AM and checked in to the La Quinta in Huntsville, even without it being next to its customary companion, Denny's. We availed ourselves of the ice machine, Major Dammit  got us some mixers at the nearby convenience store, and we got into PJ's and had nightcaps and somewhat loopy conversations. It was quite late, so we went to sleep shortly after that.

The next morning found dawn breaking unpleasantly upon my brow with the jingle of my phone alarm. I got up, washed up, dressed and made up mostly in the dark (not half bad, once I saw myself in full light) and headed over to the prison to make a brief social call. The hotel front desk gave me some directions  that took me through town rather than over the highways, and I got a glimpse of the old town square and the lovely grounds of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum. 

The roundabout way from the hotel had taken me past the prison museum, our day's destination, so I knew where we were going. The museum was small and rather depressing, but had some interesting things, including the pearl handled gun used by Bonnie &/or Clyde, various other weapons, and "Ol' Sparky."

The Houston steampunks who had organized this apparently fell apart before the event with car troubles and various flake-age, no one was there at 10, the time the gathering was to start. We ourselves did not arrive until a bit after 11, and from the reactions of the desk persons, we were the first Steampunks of the day. As we were looking around the museum, one of our group read an update from someone in Houston who was on his way, but being after noon by then, we decided to finish our tour and find some lunch.

As I was making my purchase in the gift shop (an 'ol sparky' shot glass), two Houston Steampunks arrived. I said "Hey!" and waved, but they either didn't see or deliberately ignored me, and also did not see Mr. Ballington or Maj. Flavio...so we went ahead and took it as a snub and took ourselves to lunch.

Lunch at Grand Buffet, where Lord Ballington and I had stopped before on the way to our cruise in May, and then we went down to the old town square to check out the old fashioned candy store and soda fountain. We parked a block from the square next to the old jail and found a very sweet little 'pocket park' with a spring and some sculptures, or perhaps somehow magically-petrified savages. It was very nicely landscaped and just pretty as it could be. At the bottom of the pool, I saw some small glowing pinkish-purple objects. I thought they were those opaque stones you see in fountains sometimes, but turns out they were small fruits that were falling into the pool from a nearby tree. I tasted one, and it was bitter and sour*. Then I found I could understand the Language of the Birds. And such language it is! Filthy little beasts, entirely consumed with base pursuits better left undiscussed in polite company. At any rate, we had a nice little wander, the dog enjoyed herself very much, and then we walked up to the town square.

We window-shopped along the way, stopping to peruse local real estate listings & advertisements for the Ghost Tour, and finally got to our ostensible destination, Farmhouse Sweets & Eats, with a charming pink pig painted on the front window, wood floors and high tin ceilings and a real old-fashioned candy counter & soda fountain inside. Vickie and I wandered the store and left Thax and Flavio seated at the table out front where Thax enjoyed a cigar and Flavio his pipe. I got a couple of chocolate truffles, but the rest of our group was pretty stuffed from lunch. A young man inside the store asked about our dog and was surprised to hear that she is a 14+ year old mixed breed rescue. He seemed to think she looked like an Australian Shephard. He was very complimentary and kind, really liked our dog. :) While we left our gentlemen unattended, a couple of the local women who had been enjoying a treat indoors went out and asked Thax and Flavio about themselves & got pictures with them. As we were leaving with our chocolates, one of the ladies asked "Are those your men?" and I said "yes," She replied "Well, we just stole them for a bit," (or somesuch) and I said "That's OK, they're easy!" It was funny. Turns out she'd told Thax and Flavio that her name at the bars was "Trixie"...aha.

Anyway, we sat and visited out front for a bit, another lady passed by and offered to buy Lady for a million dollars and said she looked like some dog from a show she'd seen. That was funny. As we sat and visited and Thax finished his cigar, it started sprinkling a bit. Vickie said we should bring some of that home with us, so I agreed and it was done :)

We finished walking the square, taking pictures along the way of various odd and pretty things, including a corner that was landscaped and planted with mustang grapes. Also sour, by the way.  

On our final turn before returning to our car, we found the most wonderful alley between two buildings. It had trumpet vine partially growing across the top like a green roof full of singing birds, and there was still a gentle sprinkle of rain coming down. The walls were made of red brick, many of which were carved with peoples' names and various messages both spiritual and vulgar. It was a really magical-feeling little place.

Then we found a little old cabin and wandered around the small but very nicely landscaped lot surrounding it. There was a trellis that was overrun with jasmine vines and tiny red roses. Sadly, the jasmine has already bloomed this year, but I think it would be lovely to come back sometime when the flowers are blooming. I bet that's just heavenly.

The raincloud we'd selected to bring along went ahead and rained on us for part of the way back to Austin which was lovely. Temps in the low to mid 80's followed us almost to our house, and then the cloud finally started raining here sometime early this morning.

Once we got home, we headed to La Palapa for supper and ran into Lee again, along with his lovely lady Tina and her son Damien. We sat together and visited about Goth and Steampunk and music and Faire and every good thing. It was such a nice coincidence to run into them like that.

We ended up finishing most of Flavio's bottle of Dr. McGillicuddy's root beer shnapps and playing Cards Against Humanity with Chief Joseph, our native guide, until late-ish. It was a lovely end to a really very nice trip.

And that's been the weekend. A really good one, all 'round. I'm thinking next time, we should take all or part of Friday off, arrive in time to take the Ghost Tour in proper Steampunk Garb (of course!) skip the prison museum (depressing), and try the Sam Houston museum instead.  I hope other Lady and Gentleman Adventurers shall join us upon that occasion.

If I'm not very much mistaken, our next blogged adventure should concern our Unicorn Hunt. I very much look forward to sharing that with you all. Pip, Pip!

--------
[*I believe they are actually "hog plums" but I like my story better.]

PS: here are Lord Ballington's photos of our journey:: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150989742670750.439401.825595749&type=1

 

 

Clockwork Con with Roosevelt Adventuring Society

Our day began with a leisurely breakfast at home. I dressed myself in scandalous Hermaphroditic fashion: short pants, ankle boots, sleeveless shirt, brown underbust corset, utility belt, paper-boy cap and jacket. Thax donned his gentleman's garb of trousers, dress shirt, vest, cravat, top hat, and corduroy jacket. Thus attired, he made our morning coffee (a lovely rum-flavored Blue Mountain we picked up on our last trip to Jamaica. Sadly, it is our last bag. We shall have to return soonest.) and then went round to the local pastry shop, run by some neighbors from Viet Nam. They are charming people who always remember us when we arrive in their shop, ask after whichever one of us is not there, and are generally lovely. They also make the most excellent pastries.

We were joined for our repast by our good friend Flavio, who was in fine form in his gentleman's garb. We still had his hat and camera bag from the last adventure, so once equipped and breakfasted, we all climbed aboard Thax's carriage and made our way the short distance to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, where Clockwork Con, Austin's first Steampunk Convention was in its second day.

We quickly registered at the desk and found ourselves in a genial crowd of what appeared to be mostly Fallen Women and disreputable Gentlemen of Questionable Pursuits. What fun! I immersed myself in people-watching as we toured the Hotel and oriented ourselves as to where the various events were taking place that day, and then we walked through the Dealers' Room, where two corsetmakers and a shop selling silly hats were taking up most of the space. Perhaps living in Austin has refined my taste in esoteric bits and bobs; we have seen far better variety at the smallest and poorest-attended of The Mysterium's Steampunk Saturdays. The goods that were for sale at Clockwork Con were attractive and of good quality, please don't misunderstand, but there could have been more, had the space been better allocated and the vendor coordinator perhaps a bit more acquainted with the local artists and craftspersons to be found here.

The first event we attended was the Gadgeteer Festival in the main room; a far greater variety of craftspersons than could be found in the Dealers Room. Most if not all of the gadgets were simply made for the artist's own amusement and not for sale, but we very much enjoyed looking at the varieties of creative endeavors, strange machines, and blinky lights.

After that, we attended part of the "Pirates in Steampunk" panel, which appeared to be nothing more than a handful of drunken pirates recounting rambling tales of how they met one another. It was not quite what we expected, and drunken blather is no fun when one is unfortunately sober, so we moved along to the Tea Room, where we were joined by our friend, the lovely Lady Lyn, who was looking fetching in her airship garb. Her Aetheric speaking and photographing device had taken an unfortunate fall as she exited her carriage, so she was unable to get the machine to save pictures of her adventures for the day. We hope she is able to touch bases later with the many gentlemen who took her image and proffered their cards, but as I said, it was mostly a disreputable-looking crowd and there is no way of telling what these chaps might or might not do; however I'm told many pirates and scalawags have their own code, so it is to be hoped that they'd be gentlemen of their word so long as there is no rum, murder or plunder involved.

Lyn took her leave of us, wanting to attend the panel on Vintage Hair for the Modern Steampunk, and Thax wanted to try his luck with the panel entitled "Steampunk LARPing and Proper Roleplaying" so Thax, Flavio, and I made our way to Panel Room 3, where we saw our friend Doctor Richard M---, who was accompanied by his lovely young ward, a Miss Kat. We traded small waves and nods across the room, so as not to disturb the presentation, and then we learned a bit about SCARS, their etheric postings and attempts to bring some of their typewritten adventures to real life. It was established that if one feels insulted by a member of SCARS, they are more than likely "in character" as their daily personas are all quite pleasant folk, and the SCARS game they play allows them to portray sinister, wicked alter-egos. They issued many commonsensical bits of advice, such as "We're all friends, so try not to take things personally if the game becomes difficult for you," and "If you don't know what's going on, ask a Storyteller," and "Do not frighten children," There were also admonitions against the use of foul language in-game, as there are delicate ears and eyes about, and also it is more fun to insult someone creatively than it is to merely be vulgar.

At any rate, these seemed fairly straightforward and certainly a bit more oriented toward people who had never LARPed before, so we quietly excused ourselves into the hallway, where we were joined by Dr. Richard M-- and his companion. We enjoyed a pleasant, if short, conversation, and then we wandered on.

At this point, Thax decided it was time for a pipe, so we stepped out into the lovely afternoon sunlight. We were joined by several very kind and upstanding gents who were eager to make Thax's acquaintance, as he cut a splendid figure with his fine handlebar mustache and new imported pipe. Several amateur photographers wished to capture his likeness, and the gentlemen traded cards. It was very proper and quite gratifying to watch Thax engage his new friends with his usual approachable charm. We spoke with a young pipe aficionado by the name of Matthew, who attends university in nearby College Station. He had a charming moustache and impeccable taste in both pipes and tobacco. We also met a young alchemist by the name of Jedediah E. I--- , whose card was an unusual brass plate he had engraved himself. He was very smartly-dressed and also quite charming. It was quite refreshing to meet gentlemen of quality in the crowd of riffraff and rapscallions we had previously encountered. We also chatted with some lively young women from Anomaly Pod-Cast group, who were kind enough to take my image and give me a card so that I might contact them at a later date. Though their garb was more befitting to the night, they were in fact quite genteel.

Flavio mentioned that it might be time to enjoy a late lunch or early supper; what in a more civilized milieu might be properly called tea-time, but being in strange surroundings, we instead found ourselves back at my home enjoying a repast prepared by the heathen Chinee nearby the venue.

As it would soon be evening, I donned a skirt, blouse and corset more befitting to evening revelry rather than daytime adventures, my new shoes given to me at Christmas-time by my step-father (quite naughtily showing a bit of ankle!) and also my new Lobster Hat, which I made myself in the style of Isabella Blow. I think the look of the hat is quite lovely, but there were some logistical issues which I hope to remedy. My adventures in Millinery have only just begun, I think.

We were joined at home by another member of our Society, our Native Guide, Joseph, and we returned to the convention in time to enjoy a drink in the Crowne's pub, where we also enjoyed a fast and entertaining game of Gloom. Joseph, in the Way of his People, though he'd never played before, very quickly learned the rules and devised a winning strategy. Through some means of native cunning, he got Flavio to play what Flavio thought was a BAD trick on him, which ended up allowing Joseph to win the game. Never trust a smiling Indian.

After enjoying cards and beverages, we noted it was time to go and see the musical entertainments that had been procured for the evening. We went back to the Main Room, which had been expanded for the evening's festivities. The first [Edit: I am informed that Giraffe was actually the *second* band of the evening. Apparently we somehow missed the first band, the aforementioned sodden pirates. I stand corrected on my recounting of the order of events in the ballroom] was called Steam Powered Giraffe, and featured very life-like mechanical men who played instruments and sang songs. They were quite delightful. We also enjoyed watching our fellow convention-goers dancing. Steam Powered Giraffe's mechanics must have been quite capable, as the mechanical men went on for quite some time with very minimal losses of power.

After their nice long set, there was a brief interlude, and then the next band came on stage. These chaps were called Marquis of Vaudeville, and aside from their look, which was a sort of haberdashed emo-kid affectation, the music was fairly repetitive and not very interesting. We dubbed the style of music "Steamo" and quickly took our leave of it.

We met the lovely Lisa, the Artiste in Residence of Turners Tokens in the hallways, and had a chat with her. We'd seen her once earlier in the Dealers' Room as well. She was visiting as a 'mundane' rather than selling her fascinating wares (In this writer's ever so humble opinion, the organizers of Clockwork Con made a grave error in not allowing Turners Tokens space in their Dealers Room). Accompanying Miss Lisa was the peppery Chris-Rachel Oseland, an authoress of some repute, whose latest volume, SteamDrunks is available only through the Aether, via Kindle. Thax had a lively discussion with Miss Oseland about the desirability of the printed and bound word, but Miss Oseland refused to be moved by his entreaties. Alas, her insistence on Kindle may prevent her work from reaching this audience. She spoke of releasing it to various other Aether-based media, such as Nook and other infernal devices. The Aether-book phenomenon is in its infancy and the lack of consistent formatting between devices is limiting. One would not care to purchase an Aetheric Reading-Device at this early stage of the game. We shall see.

At this point in the evening, it was growing late and other than the unfortunate Steamo band, drunken hallway revels and some reports of upstairs goings-on in various chambers of the hotel, there was not much going on. We decided to close our day with a trip to Kerbey Lane for pancakes. In addition to multiple short encounters with Doctor Richard M--- and his protege Miss Kat, we had also been running into Daniel S---, Esq. and his lovely wife Mrs. Wendy S---, and they were kind enough to join us for pancakes and more lovely conversation at the restaurant. We were seated with alacrity by the attentive staff and had two very kind waiters who saw to our needs for the evening. As we chatted and dined on fine pancakes, we were approached every few minutes by interested fellow-diners who wished to know who we were and why we were so well-dressed. Luckily, Thax had gotten calling-cards printed earlier in the week-end, so he was able to present his credentials and introduce our group properly. One fellow diner even went so far as to ask for our image, which he obtained with the ubiquitous Aetheric pocket talking-and-image devices that are so common nowadays.

The hour was getting late, and we all had begun to turn our thoughts toward home and bed and the long tomorrow ahead, so we took our leave of one another and departed in our various carriages।

And here I am in blogger, which presented a challenge in posting, as it will only allow me to choose between five heathen languages which I cannot read, and therefore had to compose this entry in another Aetheric journal and then copy the writing here। What fun!

वहत फूं इन्दीद!

THAT Damned Band, Spiced Whiskey, and bitter bitter remorse

"I'm told I had a really good time. Thanks and Praise go to EEk, Thax and Joe for putting up with my drunk ass. Love you guys. I really hope I didn't do or say anything bad." -Flavio

Friday night a number of us, being Thax, Erika, Flavio, and our native guide Joseph, ventured out to the CD release show for THAT Damned Band's new Mutantstrosities album. I thought nothing of the venue or address of the show as we piled into a carriage and made our way out. We searched around a very seedy part of town for a while before realizing we had found The Broken Neck, a self described "DIY Punk Venue". We could also easily describe the place as "Ghetto", "Industrial frightening", and "terrorific". There were no signs to let us know it was there next to the mechanic shop, no parking lot, nothing but a small group of gents with instruments smoking in front of a small open door.

The Broken Neck, a "DIY Punk Venue". Where you ask? See that small door slightly to the right of the middle? Yes, that's the entrance.

With some trepidation, we approached the door and were warmly greeted by the band and entered the establishment. Inside a converted warehouse we found it clean, well lit, a blank slate on all four walls; nothing like what we might have expected from the outside. A large stage and sound system was set up across one side of the room, with displays of circus posters and taxidermy curiosities placed for our entertainment. We were quickly joined by our friends Mike and Sam, and make comfortable chit-chat while the bands tuned up.

The Susquehanna Hat Company were the first to perform, and I regret to say they failed to win our affections. Most of their work sounded the same, and was slow and dreary. It was taken as a queue by Sam to break out the Revel Stoke, and favored spiced whiskey of theirs, and we passed it around. And we passed it around again. And again.

Joseph told me later that he, being taller than any of us, could easily overhear conversations around us about "the steampunks" and how cool we were. Things of that nature which seem... odd to me, I guess. Although I enjoy our outings a great deal, it never occurred to me that we are making an impression on others, or engulfed in some sort of aire of brilliance that other people are awed by. Do other people in the culture get that sort of response when they're out? It just seems so strange to me.

We were all feeling high spirited but none more than Flavio. We didn't realize right off that every time he hit the bottle he was trying to drown a demon. He'd already pointed out the comely young woman in dreadlocks and the elegant tall woman in the hat more than twice before the second act, Dave Quanberry & the Dirty Brassos All-stars hit the stage. He remembers very little after that.

Let me say here that Dave & the Dirty... stars (far too long a name) were rather excellent, with a full brass section including a tuba and french horn. You don't see those used in a punk style much these days. Mr. Quanberry had an excellent voice, and skill in multiple instruments. We should have to find them at their next performance.

Although they had not completed their act, our time had to be cut short. Guests were coming to my house and I'd hoped THAT Damned Band would have played far earlier since their show was due to end at midnight. I was ignorant to the tradition that a main act goes on at midnight, so that was bad planning on my part. Just as well, however, because Flavio was in no condition to continue. We brought him back to my home and placed him in a chair to rest off his condition before traveling back to his residence. I'll save any further details that would embarrass, and there are a few, but know that everyone got home safely and without permanent harm.

Some interesting Flavio quotes should be recorded here for posterity:

"I've never been this drunk... in my whole life."

"I've never been this embarrassed... in my whole life."

"I graduated from high school, then I graduated from testicle school."

"I love you guys." "We love you too." "You don't even know me!"

Dickens on the Strand

This weekend some of us took our first excursion as part of the RAS to Galveston, Tx for the annual Dickens on the Strand. The Strand is the historical street running the length of the port district of Galveston, and is lined with buildings over 100 years old. Thanks to Ms. Erika, we planned to take residence in a Victorian mansion less than a mile away. You can imagine our excitement as our carriages meandered the long stretch across east Texas, through Houston, and to our destination! Our arrival was also the point where our “adventure” began as we learned the landlady had not prepared us room and that we were locked out as night set in with a brisk chill. By the time I arrived, Erika had already been in town and dealing with the landlady for over two hours and I dare say she was at the point of losing her feminine composure. Having been witness to such a occurrence I had growing concern for the landlady's physical wellbeing, when suddenly the banknote that had been sent by post over a month prior was found misfiled, and we gained immediate entry.

After a short trip to the market for essentials and spirits, our party of five, being Erika and myself, Victoria, Flavio, and Tammy, settled in to rooms of the fabulous house. Soon delicious smells rose from boiling pots of potatoes and fresh shrimps, cocktails were poured, and our experience had definitely taken a turn for the better. Our dinner was enhanced by our being joined by the sixth member of our party, Scott, and the evening revelry continued into the evening.

Nearing 2am, Tammy and Scott retired and the four of us remaining well into our cups decided to walk the stone's throw to the seawall that held the thrashing sea back from the island. We walked along the sand and stared out into the murky blackness where the cresting waves appeared from nowhere. The strangeness of the sea at night always entrances me, sets me to fear and longing for more all at once. We walked out on an outcropping of cement many meters into the gloom until the night surrounded near completely, the crashing of the waves drowning out all else. It was intoxicating, and difficult to leave. Something about putting my back to the crashing inky darkness was especially unsettling.

The light of morning came too soon through the battenburg lace curtains and I stumbled downstairs to find Scott had already started a pot of dark coffee. The rest of our party came out soon after, and breakfast was drummed up. Bacon was already long gone from the night before but we'd gorged ourselves such that I don't think any had a keen interest in it. The morning had not come easily to our hostess, Erika, who found herself taken with aching behind her right eye, and regular bouts of nausea. As much as we hated to hear it, she was not able to go out and returned to her bed. I'd hoped she might be feeling stronger later in the day, but not if we stayed around to prod at her. We ventured out.

Arriving at the Strand was so exciting, full of crowds of elegant people, fried delicacies and rides on exotic elephants and camels, small booths and shops against the backdrop of this historic town. There were a number of custom penny-farthings and strange pedal cycles on display. The steampunk scene was out in force thanks to Airship Isabella, a leading influence in the Texas steampunk community. To give a complete accounting of the day would be burdensome, but the time spent was absolutely marvelous.

One story does come to mind. The first thing we came across was a falconer displaying his prized birds. As we approached he was showing a screech owl that was beautiful, but seemed confused and would not screech for all the gent's attempts. Then he brought out a black buzzard, an unsavory creature that I didn't care for, and then a sharp eyed hawk which he had swoop across the road and back for a treat. You can only imagine our surprise when the sleek predator took to the air and flew between the buildings and away. The falconer whistled and called, but the raptor was not seen again. As displeased as I'm sure the fellow was, I found it elevated my spirit to watch the bird take back its God given liberty.

By two in the afternoon Victoria, Flavio, and I agreed that our feet were ready to return to the house. As we were leaving, we caught up with Scott and Tammy who had quite the same idea. If that wasn't synchronous enough, as we strolled to the carriages I got a message that Erika had awoke and was feeling improved altogether, and soon we would all be together again! We spent some time in the parlor taking a rest, and then returned to the Strand with Erika to see how far we could get before supper. As the sun set and dusk fell across the street, an added atmosphere of mystery seemed to settle on the revelers. It really is amazing what the coming of night does to us. We enjoyed spending much of that time in the steampunk quarter, which we'd missed earlier. Folk there took full advantage of the dusk with special apparatus that glowed in the failing light, and a woman on stilts dressed as a Christmas tree, lights and all! We learned that there was to be a steampunk performance of Dickens' Christmas Carol, but sadly we would miss it. Dinner of lobsters and filet minion were back at the house and there was blessed little in this world that would keep us from them.

And it proved another culinary masterpiece too. Grilled garlic, broccoli florets, mashed blue potatoes (yes, blue), cheeses and bread kept us at the table until we could barely leave. Just recounting the table makes me hungry all over again. We ate plenty after the long excursion of the day. Then we relaxed in the parlor again recounting the day's events, and playing some cards until our weariness overtook us.

We awoke Sunday to find that rain had blown in overnight and the world was a proper English mess. However we would not be cut short by mere weather, and we ventured out for another day of exploring. In our wanderings the day previous we were passed a calling card from a mysterious little bald gentleman who quickly darted into the crowd without a second glance at us. Examining it, we found an invitation to visit “the Witchery”, and we decided to make it our first stop today.

With the rain few were on the streets and we soon found ourselves before a little occult shop of apparent good reputation. The scent of incense from the far east pulled one inside the door, and our party broke to shop and peruse the displays and sacred tools of the Craft. I don't hold a great interest in the occult myself, but was delighted to run across my friend, Jim Cook, whom I hadn't seen since my days in the war. We made our pleasantries and exchanged calling cards. I hope I'm able to speak with him again soon.

From there we ventured to the port where the Tall Ship Elissa was anchored. The vessel was open to public scrutiny and we took the opportunity gladly. Elissa is a cargo sailing ship from 1877 and still in operation. We viewed the engine room which serves to supplement power from the sails. Also the crew quarters and the captains office and quarters. All were terribly cramped and absolutely inadequate. We returned to the deck and watched a new crew in training trying to tied down the sails. Difficult and awkward work to say the least, and I was happy to just watch.

We returned to the Strand proper and took in everything we could. With the dampness over everything, there were far fewer patrons, and vendors looked far more deflated than the day before. We enjoyed watching a parade of all the organizations that helped to bring this event alive, which we weren't able to do the previous day because of the crowds. Airship Isabella made an impressive showing near the end of the parade. We enjoyed a stop at a spacious confectionary shop that made their own excitement. Chocolate cordials and pulled taffy delighted children and adults alike and it was easy to feel your spirits rise. It was with this refreshed and joyous attitude that we took our leave of Dickens on the Strand. It was difficult to say goodbye after such a grand weekend, but our time was up.

As a last hurrah, we stopped at a little fish and chips shop on our way out of town. Shrimp and Stuff was the name of the place that we stumbled across, and it was just the sort of spot only the locals know about. The food was excellent and the place was very neighborly. I get the feeling it will be a regular stop in our future visits to Galveston.

Member Victoria