What do you make of this?

"Well I can make a hat. A brooch. A pterodactyl."

Have a look at these results on the Real Life Meet-Up survey at ÆtherChrononauts. It seems fairly clear at this point that there is no ONE major place that the Neo-Victorian/Steampunk sims will meet this year. But perhaps this is the "off year" when folks get together in mulitple smaller venues with a larger con next year.

It looks like there is enough interest to put some specialized events on the SLCC calendar, and we will work with the SLCC Board to do so. Some folks also wish to attend SteamCon in Seattle. There may be opportunity to organize along similar lines there.

There were also a fair number of folks throughout this process asking about DragonCon...so it could be that this becomes the east coast location for a group. All these things are to be decided after review of the results and calls for volunteers.

Thanks for your participation!

CaleCon artwork from last year.

Real Life Meet-Up Anyone?

After hearing from many of you, those of us who created and attended the first CaleCon last year are working to create the next Convention. We hope to attract a much wider range of participants this year. We encourage all of our friends from the Realm of the Roses and other neo-Victorian, Steampunk, and similarly themed sims to participate with us.

If you have an interest in meeting in “real life” at a convention or special event (or even if you don’t), please take a quick survey to help determine interest in meeting at a private convention, SteamCon, Seattle Airport Marriott, Washington, October 23-25 or Second Life Community Convention, Marriott San Francisco, California, August 13-16.

Once the survey is closed, we will share the results with you. Then we shall create the workgroups (please share with us your interest in helping/planning/actively participating) for our seminars and events.

Oh and the name shall change from CaleCon.....stand by for that.

Thanks!

The Vicereine Arrives at CaleCon

And Sir JJ puts on his cloak of invisibility attempting to retain his title of the International Librarian of Mystery.

A group picture during the cocktail hour just prior to
the Simulcast of the Dinner and Dance

Participants in RL:
Pæony, Soliel, Kaye, Gabi, Eva
Elrik, Kamilah, Scotti, Otenth, and JJ

Gigglesford Weighs In

Soliel Snook has written a lovely entry in her journal about CaleCon and the days immediately following. I encourage you to visit her site, at this location.

Thank you, Soliel! It was so fantastic to get to know you and all the others better. (And thank you, Scotti Lyle for those impressions. I am humbled, but couldn't agree with you more as you described the others. )

The Duke of Murdann Shares a Glimpse of His Journal

A wonderful post regarding some of the CaleCon weekend events may be found here in Tenth Life.

Otenth, thanks for sharing these memories.

EB

Taking Time for Tea - CaleCon

A visit with Karen Hartwick, Canada’s Tea Sommelier.

photo courtesy of StratfordTeaLeaves.com

A perfect way for a group of Victorian Role Players to end their afternoon. Gabi, Otenth, Soliel, and I stopped by Tea Leaves, which is a tea tasting bar, located on the edge of Stratford, Ontario at 433 Erie Street.

We were warmly greeted by the proprietor upon our entrance into the lovely old Victorian home which was built in the mid-1800s. She had been in the dining room of the home, which serves as both showcase of teas and her handpicked tea specialty items as well as dining area for her Rosewood Manor B & B housed in this same building.

Karen took time to introduce herself and to get to know a little about each of us individually as well as us collectively. I am sure that most of my readership have experienced those moments in real life when answering the question of, "and how do you know these people?" becomes far too complex for the average person to understand. "You met through an internet game?" "But these are not your real friends." Now we know that SL -and certainly Caledon - is more than a game. We also know that very real friendships have developed. And in the case of at least one happy Caledonian couple has lead to real life romance, love, and marriage. So now imagine the looks that passed between us as we were asked the following series of questions by Karen, "Where are you from? So what brings you all to Stratford? How do you know each other? What kind of convention?"

Obviously she understood that we were from all over the states and Europe. She also had little issue understanding that we were here for a convention. The beautiful thing, however, is that when I replied that we had all met on the internet (seemed the easiest way to begin the conversation) and we desired to meet in real life, she immediately related. "Oh. My son has met a number of folks on the internet and one or two of them have come to visit us here in Stratford."
She did not bat an eye. It made perfect sense to her. And then when through further conversation she discovered our love of Victoriana her discussion with us became even more personal.

Karen poses for my iPhone camera in front of her wonderful selection of loose teas.

Karen is a true professional. She studied and has top certification with the Specialty Tea Institute in New York, and is one of only 14 Tea Sommoliers in the world. She also frequently conducts lectures, tea tastings and is a published writer and tea consultant. Her business has expanded to include blending and tea programs for restaurants, bed and breakfasts and spa/yoga studios. You may view the remainder of her bio at the website .



As we had animated conversation around her tea bar, she began to develop a sense of each of our current tea tastes, and then suggested some things that we may wish to sample with her. As each selection was made, she gave us the history of the tea, the method of growing, harvesting, and preparation. Timers were set for that perfect brewing time - and we kept talking.

Just then the grandfather clock in the hall struck 4:00pm. Tea Time.

We sampled the teas and described what we tasted and felt with each. Other suggestions made. We moved on.

In the end, Otenth and I purchased quite a few selections of her wonderful tea, and I will likely be ordering from her via email. Karen was very excited when I asked her if I might blog about Tea Leaves and our experience under her expert direction. I received her permission to use a pictures that I took in the tea house that day and said that I should let any interested party know that she will be starting e-newsletters soon. Simply email her from the Website - www.stratfordtealeaves.com.

My selections:

Earl Grey Supreme

an herbal blend for my mother-in-law

and Canadian Breakfast Tea

Earl Grey leaves

At the end of the visit, I was very well satisfied with the personal care and guidance we had each received. And certainly the home was beautifully appointed - a quiet (almost sacred space) created. Even as several regular local customers arrived during our tasting, she was able to see to their needs (filling many a tin for them) as she continued conversation with us bringing in the locals' experience to bear on our discussion.

I encourage you to visit Tea Leaves website - and the house should you ever travel to Stratford. Let her know Eva sent you.

Lapsang Souchong smokes over pine needles such as these.

Pictures at an Exhibition

For the last two days now as my mind has wandered back through the incredible events of the weekend, this phrase - this title - has run through my head. Pictures at an Exhibition. I am not sure that I have yet discovered the why of this. But perhaps as I write to you now, we will unearth the reasoning together.


So I have a little time to write as the woman you have all now met - the woman who animates me - is taking a break from the mind-numbing work of project documentation. The first thing I did was to Google the phrase above. I know the music well, but it's history was unknown to me. (I have the music playing in the background at the moment by the way.)


Modeste Mussorgsky created his Pictures at an Exhibition to perpetuate the memory of a friend, Victor Hartmann, who was an architect and painter. There does seem to be a drive that humans have to memorialize people, events, places. Some grand. Some simple. Mussorgsky was an ardent Russian nationalist, but he was far more interested in folk art than in the grandiose ornamental designs of the aristocracy. (Or, as Tchaikovsky put it, “He likes what is coarse, unpolished and ugly.”)


How odd for me, a member of Caledon's aristocracy, to find some level of inspiration in the music of a composer such as this. Perhaps not. I enjoy the simple things of life - often much more than the complex. ~Being loved and loving, caring for and playing with my children, a good book, walking through the snow on a clear winter night hand-in-hand with my beloved -the silence surrounding us, friendships - new and old.~ I have ever tried to be first and foremost a good citizen of Caledon (of any world, I occupy).



And what was this first CaleCon weekend about if not about inclusion - of learning about one another and our alternate selves. Our real selves. Putting the themed role play off of center stage. Discovering the motivating factors that lead us in world in the first place, that forged the path to Caledon. Those things that keep us there (at least as a place to belong in a world filled with exploration).



What is the common denominator? What bonds us all together as a community?


I believe we discovered that and more. So much more. And we did not desire this to be the experience only of those who were able to attend a convention in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Nay! We wanted to be able to share that with all of Caledon: Guvnahs, Shipwrights, Chivalric Groups, Pilots, Peers, Shop Keepers....all citizens of the Realm.



This is why it was so important to me, and to the CaleCon Planning committee, to be able to offer video and audio streams of some of the events. It is also why I hope to blog in some detail over the course of the next several days now that my human is home and is ready to assist in this process. (Side note - we all did discuss at our first meeting the pros and cons of revealing our human selves to the greater world at large. Some desire to remain more mysterious than others. These wishes are entirely respected and protected. So if you did not, and do not, see pictures, videos, or hear audio of some of our inaugural group, do not ask for them. They will not be shared.)



So maybe we should start with some of those pictures and I will fill in some details as I can.

A welcome sight indeed after 10 hours on the road.

The group agrees that the Stone Willow Inn in St. Mary's, Ontario did a nice job accommodating our group despite a few issues with the net connection (particularly in my suite *shrugs*). However, there were two staff that particularly assisted us with the internet issues and a few other items. Brian, in particular, went above and beyond the call of duty several times and assisted us while keeping such great good humor about him, that our group determined to let him know how very much we appreciated his efforts.

Brian - we hope that you got our note and our gifts of thanks! And perhaps you'll join us in Caledon some day soon. :-)

(yes - I know you've seen this pic before if you read this blog regularly..but it's a good one)
The first grand surprise of the night: getting to know each other better as our human selves.

I really did enjoy having everyone gather in my suite for cocktails. The surprises -the revelations great and small - were such treats for everyone. What an experience!

**

In the morning we all gathered outside on the patio for breakfast and conversation. Happily, Desmond was able to join us for a little over an hour via phone and skype. It was fantastic to be able to share part of our experience with the man who is the beginning of our nation - who is the heart and who allows us to be the body. Everyone laughed and shared experiences with him and each other as he did with us. What a treat!

The four of us engaged in that age-old SL and RL activity while the others of our group went to Taming of the Shrew in town. Shopping!! Soliel and I got some nice additions to our closet, too.
Here we are at the Down the Street Pub for a late lunch.

We went to a fantastic tea tasting prior to returning to the hotel, but I will blog about that in great detail tomorrow. What an experience as we tried a variety of black, green, white, and blended teas with one of fourteen certified Tea Sommoliers in the world as the clock struck 4:00pm.

By the way - never, NEVER go AFK when I'm around. Not even in Real Life. I have large cocks in my inventory at all times. *rolls eyes* No - CHICKENS, you naughty things. NOT Xcite attachments. Hrumph!

After these three "woke up" we headed back to the Stone Willow to rest up, clean up, dress up and prepare for the Dinner/Dance with music and video simulcast. I sincerely hope you were able to be part of it!

I am working on editing a couple hours of footage from the whole of the weekend. But a few screen shots from the simulcast may be found at Hibernia on the Skids.

Other blogs with CaleCon posts:
The New Observer
Meet the Petermans
Musings By Happenstance

Please send me other URLs if you are aware of any containing posts related to/about CaleCon.

Future CaleCon posts planned for this site:

• Tea Time
• The Big Party - stepping through the looking glass
• Workshops - Listening, Learning, Doing
• Pub Crawls
• CaleCon 2 Plans Begin

So perhaps I have discovered a few reasons that the title is an apt one. I think I have also begun to chip away at the answers to those questions. Even at Day One the participants began to have an understanding about our similarities and our shared experiences which have brought us together as a community.

more to come...

What a first night of CaleCon!

There will be more content here later in the day, but I just wanted to make an entry to let you know that we all arrived safely - if after some trouble with air travel or traffic. Last night was spent getting to know each other and in some great - and often humorous - conversation about SL and Caledon.

A few of us at the end of the Loch Avie Cocktail Party. The only one I'm confirming is me - and I'm on the left. :-)

Now - I must get downstairs for some breakfast and our first workshop.

Slainte!

IT'S TIME - CaleCon Begins In Just Over 24 Hours

Hard to believe it, but the time has finally come to begin the trek to Stratford, Ontario for the Inaugural Caledonian Convention - affectionately known as CaleCon.

Over the course of the next four days, a few of us will gather together in the Stone Willow Inn for a time to let our humans get to know each other. We will discuss how we came to know and love Caledon, and what things inspire us in world and out. We'll learn about chocolate, animation, and teas. We'll dance and sing, and eat and drink.

And we'll share as much of this as possible with everyone. Though we wish you could all be there with us!!

Look for the announcements from Radio Riel about broadcasts and other things. Join us in world in Carntaigh on Saturday at 4:30pm SLT for a dance and the simulcast of the dinner and dance from Stratford. I'll be working to bring you the video portion of the night in conjunction with Radio Riel who is providing the stream - and of course, the fabulous music.

Schedule of Events

August 29th

Loch Avie's Cocktail Party

Late supper in town (possibly)

August 30th

Book discussion: Favorite books that enrich or inform your life in Caledon

Theatre: Taming of the Shrew

Afternoon Tea - Stratford Tea Leaves

CaleCon Dinner and Dance

August 31st

Posing and Animation workshop

Radio Riel Interviews

Chocolate Symposium

Dinner and Pub Crawl

Finally - this poem by James Hogg seemed to be appropriate to the occasion of celebrating both Caledon and the Anniversary of the Firth.

Caledonia

Caledonia! thou land of the mountain and rock,

Of the ocean, the mist, and the wind-

Thou land of the torrent, the pine, and the oak,

Of the roebuck, the hart, and the hind;

Though bare are thy cliffs, and though barren thy glens,

Though bleak thy dun islands appear,

Yet kind are the hearts, and undaunted the clans,

That roam on these mountains so drear!

A foe from abroad, or a tyrant at home,

Could never thy ardour restrain;

The marshall'd array of imperial Rome

Essay'd thy proud spirit in vain!

Firm seat of religion, of valour, of truth,

Of genius unshackled and free,

The muses have left all the vales of the south,

My loved Caledonia, for thee!

Sweet land of the bay and wild-winding deeps

Where loveliness slumbers at even,

While far in the depth of the blue water sleeps

A calm little motionless heaven!

Thou land of the valley, the moor, and the hill,

Of the storm and the proud rolling wave-

Yes, thou art the land of fair liberty still,

And the land of my forefathers' grave!

James Hogg