"The Hills are alive with the sound of music? I love it. " ~The Narcoleptic Argentinean

Well the Isle of Skye was certainly alive on February 27th - alive with music, but also alive with the many and diverse persons present for the event celebrating the film, Moulin Rouge.

The event was themed on the Baz Luhrmann film and was fantastically well attended and incredibly interactive and fun. The build was phenomenal thanks to my co-creators, Lady Kate Nicholas (who worked diligently with me to set most of the scene) and Mr. Iason Hassanov (for the Eiffel Tower). DJ Icarus Ghost blew everyone away with his remarkable playlist which included many original tracks (the inspiration for the movie soundtrack).

Pictures being worth thousands, I will share with you the evidence of a great event. Let's do it again sometime, 'k?

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

While I missed the fabulous Caledonian Mardi Gras parades entirely due to my real life schedule, I was fortunate enough to join in the post parade revels for a while.

Lady Eleanor, Lady Eva (and our feathers) dance with the creator of the Caledon Mardi Gras Parade, Iason Hassanov.

photo credit: Eleanor Anderton

For more information on Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras see this Wikipedia link.

In Action

*a strange little tune going through my head*
"He'll fight for freedom, where ever there's trouble. GI Joe is there....GI Joooooe. A real American hero. GI Joe is there...."

PRESENTING:

Caledon Action Figures by Iason Hassanov in support of Relay for Life. $100L each.

(l-r) Action JJ, Action Kamilah, Action Eva, Action Gabi, and Action Cornelia

As defined in Wikipedia: An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon a movie, comic book, game, or television program.

In our case in SL, this creative fund-raising effort has action figures made of prims (Action Eva is 31 prims) and outfitted to express the personality of the honoree.

(l-r) Fogwoman, Edward, JJ, Kamilah, Eva, Gabi, Cornelia, Patty

As you can see I have collected all of the figures currently available in the RFL vendors. I will have the full set once all are released.

I am imagining all kinds of fun things that can be done with these wonderful little creations, and have made a suggestion for an event supporting the Relay to our fearless Caledonian Team Captain, Kiralette. I'll let you know if anything comes of it. If not, then we shall just see what kinds of fun we might have independently with these charming dolls - erm - action figures.

Well done, Mr. Hassanov. These are grand fun!

p.s. I found this awesome Steampunk Top Hat in the RFL vendors, too. I love it!

USS Loch Avie

It was a great party the other night! Many, many thanks go out to Iason Hassanov for his work on the build of the aircraft carrier. Thanks most certainly must also be sent to Otenth Paderborn who did a fantastic job with the playlists and requests as he DJ'd the event.

Mr. Iason Hassanov and Miss Hypatia Callisto

Now I have to grumble a bit. YouTube has taken down two (count them - two) versions of a short photo montage I made.
OK - the first time, I'll give you. I had decided to use Jump with My Baby by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. I knew the risks. Even though my copy of this song is fully legal, I was not sure if they would allow use in this instance. I found out - they will not.
So then I used a Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters song that I found on archive.com which is supposed to be safe for podcast use. Apparently not.
And so version three was created with music from PodSafe. Not precisely what I was looking for, but it works.


So now I invite you to use your imagination: Picture Bob Hope and the rest of the crew standing on the stage as a young group of musicians joins them on the deck of the carrier and begins playing a peppy tune for the guys and dolls to dance to.

Boogie Woogie!

What a wonderful night we had last Thursday high in the skies of Loch Avie as we traveled into the future for a mid-20th century (1940s) USO party.

Iason Hassanov did the heavy lifting (how appropriate) on the decorations as he translated my vision into reality. Working with Hotspur, O'Toole, he created a wonderful hanger/base setting for the event. Once my computer was repaired, I jumped in an made a few final touches adding the stage, posters, piano, mic, and other nick-nacks.

Otenth Paderborn was fantastic in his musical selections. Unfortunately much of the early part of the dance, I spent trying to get a reliable stream of the music from human's my conference hotel room. Once I established that, it was a bit easier for me to fully enjoy myself. I did, however, miss a lot of photographic opportunities during the first hour of the fun.

We had about 42 avatars at the height of the party, but had a steady group of 30 or so throughout the night. Thanks to all you guys and dolls who joined in the fun - particularly our soldiers and sailors!





Mwaaah!

Eva

Slàinte Iason Hassonov! Slàinte!

Mardi Gras parade
(shhhhh - Don't tell the Bishop that the parade took place 2 days into Lent)

Talk about an event that brought the community together! On one count I made, there were at least 70 participants in the parade, and several more spectators along the route. The lag provided irrefutable evidence of the high level of participation. Well that and the huge numbers of prims per float.


About two weeks ago, Iason and I were having a lovely conversation when it seemed an idea struck him. He said, "Your Grace! What would you think about a Mardi Gras parade for all of Caledon?" I was just about to answer when he said, "Hold on....hold on.....I'm working on the notecard!"

And thus the event was conceived. How brilliant it turned out to be, my friend! I am unsure of the final count on the floats. And the lag was so bad that I was not able to actually get pictures of very many of them. But I do know that everyone seemed to have a great time - just being together - laughing, cracking jokes, and dancing away. The Exotic Women of Caledon could not get their float working, so we all called for our horses and were back in the parade straight away.

Standing on the Exotic Women of Caledon float

No float? No problem!

At one point I crashed so hard I ended up back home in the Loch. Bucephalus and I decided to head into Vic City and the the Moors to wait for the parade to catch up to us. For old time's sake I sat at my old Moors plot. Shortly after my arrival there, Miss Underwood, Miss Nadir, Mr. Somme, and some unknown tinker (ahem) showed up to watch the parade with me. We had a lovely time chatting and watching the floats.

Some of the beautiful floats

We then rode our horses as fast as we could to Iason's property. The mood was extremely festive! Gabrielle put on some fantastic Mardi Gras music and we partied and laughed together for quite some time.



Thank you Iason! And thank you friends and neighbors for such a wonderful, creative response.

A Surprizingly Pleasant and Eventful Night

I arrived from the human plane last evening with nothing really on the agenda. I knew that I had some inventory deliveries which needed to be opened and sorted. I also knew that I needed to continue placing the informational signs about the Snowflake Ball this Saturday. Other than that, I expected that I would pass a rather uneventful night working in the Loch.

The evening started out just as expected. I took delivery of some portraits that my cousin and I had sat for with Miss Callipygian Christensen. Unfortunately SL was not cooperating with me, and I was only able to rez one of the several pictures. Her work, however, is most incredible, and I look forward to seeing how she framed these for us.

Portrait selection several nights ago

I decided, then, that I would go shopping for a little while. I am in need of a few things for the Conservatory in order to get it just right for the ball. Shopping was pleasant enough, and I did have some success. During that time, though, I decided that what I really wanted to do was to go on an exploration. I thought I might visit a place called, Nyoka Falls, which was recently featured in Dr. Fabre's fine journal.

To be quite honest, there are not a few places that he has mentioned of late, that I should like to visit. This was the first.

But....duty first. So I stepped back home and began placing the informational signs. While I was out and about, I happened to run into and Mr. O'Toole. We started talking about Nyoka Falls, and decided that we should take some time and go exploring.

I went ahead first as I had already searched for Solarya, Nyoka Falls. Landing in the arrivals area we discovered two lovely airships and a gorgeous air station. What was not clear to me initially is that this is a place that is just under construction....but my goodness...it is going to be fabulous. From the land covenant, I excerpted this information:

Coming soon: Solarya, a Conclave City on the Passion Trade Routes.

Solarya and its surroundings are the first sim in a new world. Delirium's Threshold (D|T) is an original Gothic/Romantic fantasy/steampunk mature RP setting. If you enjoy vivid role-play in a consistent IC atmosphere, we may be the community you're been looking for. We've drawn inspiration from a variety of games, movies, and literature, including Neil Gaimen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alice in Wonderland, Psychonauts, Bioshock (and Ayn Rand), and more.
Delirium's Threshold is a coherent, detailed setting for a wide variety of characters and their passions. D|T is a unique world that mixes magic, technology, and re-imagined 19th Century royal colonial sensibilities and technology. The Conclave is a loose alliance of Dream Kings and Queens. Their cities' prosperity depends on a steady supply of passion--from artists, builders, soldiers, slaves, and more --a city that thrives on your passions, and does all it can to provoke them.

The view from above

Sadly Mr. O'Toole crashed fairly soon and was gone for some time, so I pressed on in my exploration. As I went further into the city admiring the architecture, I found Mr. Sundance Churchill creating and perfecting the most amazing steamworks. We chatted for a bit, then I was hailed by my exploration partner and I sent a carriage for him to join us. After chatting a bit with Mr. Churchill about his steamworks build and some of the other gorgeous buildings he has completed for Solarya, we went about our way.

Mr. Churchill's Steamworks

Incredible view

I am unsure whether this large build may become a manor, apartments, or a hotel. The textures inside and out are very rich. And the view from the balcony is of the ocean.

This cries out for further exploration

After circumnavigating the sim, it was time for Mr. O'Toole to depart for human space. As I was not quite yet ready for my own bed, I went back to the Conservatory to resume my decorating and preparations. Just about the time I was mumbling that I was not satisfied with the lighting options that I had found along my shopping trip, Mr. Hassanov hailed me. I mentioned this dilemma to him as we talked. He was so kind as to create a lovely candelabrum for me right then and there. Thank you so much, sir!

Sure this all seems a little ADHD as I write it, but once I tried and failed again to rez several things out of my inventory, I thought I might try to place a few more of the signs. As I walked and tp'd through the sims, I discovered - and was happily invited to join - 3 particular friends of mine for a snow picnic, book discussion, and overall chance to simply enjoy each others' company. We - Mr. JJ Drinkwater, Lady Darkling, and Lord Bardhaven - sat there in the cool winter air at the Lady's Tanglewood property. It was a very enjoyable way to end the night.





Pleasant. Eventful. Most enjoyable.

Another Normal Night in Loch Avie

Invasion of the SteamBots!

Thank God Colonel O'Toole was on patrol else who knows what fate might have befallen the Loch, or my person! Or the whisky distillery!

I had just returned to the skies of Loch Avie and noticed some green dots down below me. Thinking they may be friends utilizing the practice area, or some stopping by the pub, I determined that I would flutter down and say a word of hello.

What I found was shocking!



Thank goodness the Colonel saw me coming and sent a secure message stating that he had donned his steam-mechanized persona and was in fierce combat with some unknown foreign behemoth. Dear Miss Virrginia Tombola was nearby on the steps of the distillery watching with wide eyes the clash of these titans.

Quickly I thanked Colonel O'Toole and swept Miss Tombola up to the roof of the public house. From that vantage point we could safely watch the battle in the age-old tradition of the gentry: on a lovely chaise or blanket, with drinks at hand.



It was not long before the battle grew more fierce. Trees uprooted. Steam and smoke. Much grinding of gears. Oh and Miss Tomobola announcing on the State Channel, "Steambot battles in Loch Avie near the pub. Sunday. SUNDAY. SUNDAY!"



I grinned and nodded at Miss Tomobola, then placed the cask of whisky out on the roof for I knew what was going to happen. Guests! Cheering. A little steampunk trash talk. Some threats of Duchess Stick use. And continued fierce competition to keep Loch Avie safe.



In the end, Colonel O'Toole won the night. Huzzah! Safe and secure once again. My thanks, sir!

(My thanks to my other good friend, Iason Hassanov, for playing the part of the villain. Well done sir. Such good fun.)