Designing Worlds wishes you a Merry Xmas!

12/21/09  at 11:29 AM
Join the Designing Worlds team today, Monday (not tomorrow) at 2.30pm in our studio in Northpoint for our final show of the season, when we visit Elrik's home on Brideswell Manor on Caledon Rothesay.

The show is coming out a day early, due to Christmas scheduling constraints, but it will be shown again tomorrow at the usual time - with the bonus that Elrik, Saffia, Matelisse and Aisling will all be in the audience - and we're planning on making it a Christmas party!

Today we'll be at the Manor and exploring the grounds of Caledon Rothesay, as well as meeting two of Elrik's neighbours - Eleanor Anderton and Gabrielle Riel (the head of Radio Riel), who will be telling us all about their Christmas plans - and beyond! And we'll be seeing - and hearing about - an mazing steampunk Christmas Carol from Iason Hassanov. In fact, in the course of the show, we'll be hearing about three different Christmas Carols!

The show starts at 2pm SLT, but you should be in our Northpoint studios by 1.30pm to make sure of getting a seat. Or you can watch on the Treet live stream. And there will be gifts for all those who attend in person.

Santa comes to the Steamlands - to deliver The Primgraph!

12/19/09  at 8:44 AM
Issue 9 of The Primgraph is now available - and this Christmas issue is probably our most exciting yet!

We have an interview with Desmond Shang, the Guvnah of Caledon, where he talks openly about the development of his latest major project - Blue Mars Caledonia. What does this mean for Caledon in Second Life? The Guvnah explains ... but you'll find another clue to his belief in Caledon (and Caledonia's) potential for the future in the wonderful Caledon Christmas Carol, written by Miss Scotti Lyle.

For those who love their Christmas to be a little spooky, there's a wonderfully poignant tale from Miss Riven Homewood, with a very special Caledon ghost story.

The Primgraph Issue 9: Feature article

By now you may have guessed that we've returned to Caledon to celebrate Christmas! It's an unusually hard Christmas in terms of the weather this year - even that great strip of open water, the Firth, is freezing fast. Our intrepid Reporters and Photographers have ventured out to explore the Islands in the Firth; Miss Therese Carfango brings back a report of those diverse and isolated landmasses, while Miss Scotti Lyle has an interview with Her Excellency the Lyonesse of Caledon, The ViceReine Kamiliah Hauptman.

The Primgraph Issue 9: inside pages

Ranging further afield, Miss Ceejay Writer has a report on the diverse celebrations of the season planned throughout the Steamlands, while Mr Jvstin Tomorrow has ventured further back in time to discover how the season will be celebrated in the lovely baroque region of the Duché de Coeur, a region fast in the grip of the Little Ice Age. And Frau Annechen Lowey is on hand to give her invariably helpful advice on the etiquette of the Steamlands, this time concerning the vexing issue of the gift exchange.

The Primgraph Issue 9: Feature article

In pursuance of the exchanging of gifts, Miss Kittie Munroe has produced an advertising feature showing a selection of gifts that will delighted your friends and acquaintances (or that, alternatively, you can show to your friends and acquaintances with a very strong hint). And if you are reading this publication in one of its aethernet forms - Calameo or pdf - you will find helpful links that will transported you to the stores in question in the whisk of an elegantly tailored skirt, or trouser leg.

And we have Episode 4 of our exciting new web comic - The Quest for the Golden Prim. At last our heroine, Miss Annabella Scott, is able to keep her mysterious meeting with the Librarian - but what secrets will he have to share with her, and with the strange collection of academics and adventurers that he has summoned to the Secret Annexe? And there are tensions within the group of those the Librarian has summoned: academic spats between Dr Wirefly and our old friend Crotty ... and a darker animosity between our hero Ralph and the gallant stranger - Mordecai Watson - who proved so invaluable in rescuing Nan from the female pirates and their thugs. And those dastardly pirates are making new plans ... with the aid of the mysterious Gardener. What will this mean for Nan's dearest friend, Miss Wilhelmina (but more usually called Minnie) Rowbottom?

In addition, Miss Viv Trafalgar has interviewed the enormously talented Miss Canolli Capalini - and been somewhat distracted by her marvellous collection of music boxes.

I should, gentle readers, inform you that our Business Manager, Miss Eloisa Denimore, has been hard-pressed this month dealing with a series of extraordinary expenses claims from the reporters who have been sampling the Christmas delights so many of our talented creators have to offer for your delectation! And, I believe, Miss Denimore has yet to consider the claims presented for mulled wine and mince pies ...

Talking of Christmas food, their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Caledon Argylle have presented a fascinating article on Victorian Christmas food, while Miss Alesia Markstein has a very timely piece on the customs relating to the season.

The Primgraph Issue 9: Victorian Christmas Dinner

Mr Onyx Plutonian has a delightful account of the new balloon tour that will take you to visit all the libraries of Caledon; at this season the land looks enchanting pretty under its blanket of snow, but we would urge you to wrap up warmly!

We have more of our classic serial, The Mysteries of London, as well as News from around the Steamlands and other vintage sims.

So, with no shortage of fascinating articles and beautiful illustrations supplied by our brilliantly talented team, we welcome you to this ninth issue of The Primgraph.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How do I get my copy of The Primgraph?

Well, there are various ways to get The Primgraph!

Best of all, you can join our Subscribe-o-Matic group, which will deliever the magazine to you automatically when it is published. The Subscribe-o-Matic kiosks are located in historical and steampunk sims across Second Life (for example, you’ll find ones at all the Caledon infohubs). And if you can’t find one in your favourite sim, why not ask the owner to install one?

You will also find them at the Prim Perfect offices in Oliveto.

For a short time, it will be available through XStreet (just search on the site for Prim Perfect). This will deliver you a copy in the form of a Thinc book that you can rez and read inworld. However, we will shortly be closing our XStreet Store and moving to another internet based porovider, as we are not prepared, for a magazine that is free at point of delivery, to pay the listing charge being asked of us by Linden Lab.

But if you prefer to read the magazine online but not inworld, there are choices too. Firstly, there’s the wonderful Calaméo system, which allows you to moves smoothly through the pages, giving you the feeling of reading a real magazine. You’ll find Issue 9 here – and please do leave a comment!

But, if you like to download your magazines to read as you commute to work, or in the bath, or wherever, you can also obtain a standard pdf for downloading and printing.

So, really, you have no excuse for not reading The Pimgraph. In fact, why aren’t you reading it now?

The Primgraph Issue 9: Balloon Tour of the Caledon Libraries

And don't forget our Party!

There will be a Party to celebrate the launch of the new Primgraph at 10am SLT Saturday 19th December at the Primgraph offices in Caledon Glengarry!

The Party will begin with a special podcast made to celebrate the new episode of Quest for the Golden Prim – to be followed by dancing (dj’ed by Miss Gabrielle Riel) and general celebration!

The podcast will start at 10am SLT and the party will start immmediately after and run till 12 noon (when some participants may care the cross the Glengarry Sound to the Ball in Caledon Oxbridge.

It would be LOVELY to see as many Primgraph, Quest, Prim Perfect and Designing Worlds writers, readers and fans as possible at the party!

Come and help us celebrate the launch of the New Primgraph!

  at 5:22 AM
Caledon Spierling as seen in The Primgraph. Photograph by Mr PJ Trenton

There will be a Party to celebrate the launch of the new Primgraph at 10am SLT today at the Primgraph offices in Caledon Glengarry!

The Party will begin with a special podcast made to celebrate the new episode of Quest for the Golden Prim - to be followed by dancing (dj'ed by Miss Gabrielle Riel) and general celebration!

The podcast will start at 10am SLT and the party will start immmediately after and run till 12 noon (when some participants may care the cross the Glengarry Sound to the Ball in Caledon Oxbridge.

It would be LOVELY to see as many Primgraph, Quest, Prim Perfect and Designing Worlds writers, readers and fans as possible at the party!

Caledon to Establish Colony on the Blue Mars Platform

12/16/09  at 2:10 AM
A press release has been received from Desmond Shang of Caledon with some exciting news:

"For the first time ever, the micronation of Caledon will establish a Crown Colony on another world. Within a few days, a preview of this colony will open to both Caledon citizens and the native Blue Mars population. The colony has been named Caledonia, a largely forested temperate highland surrounded by the deep waters of this recently terraformed new world."

Contact information:
Desmond Shang, Guvnah
Guvnah's Mansion, Victoria City
Independent State of Caledon
Agni 909.1023

This exciting project has been underway for some time now, and Desmond has been working with a team of designers from Second Life Caledon since April 2009 to create an exciting and challenging environment for people who love the Caledonian experience.

"I see a lot of potential with Blue Mars," says Desmond, "more than potential, actually; it already does a lot of things very, very well for a new platform."

And there is certainly a lot of land to explore ... Caledonia is already a mini continent of about four million square meters, with forests, meadows, mountain ranges, and themed towns. And like Caledon itself, the Guvnah is expecting its citizens to play an active part in developing the new colony. It's not hard to be a developer - there's no need to be a member of a huge corporation. Nor does one need to buy a fantastically expensive graphics package to access Blue Mars; Desmond and his team have been working with the free programme Google Sketchup, which he warmly recommends (and he suggests people watch this demonstration to see how easy it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCqr3ZJ8Igc). The tools, he says, are fairly accessible and intuitive.

"The common wisdom about Blue Mars seems to have been that it is 'inaccessible except for developers, only high end content creators need apply as developers' so far ~ but that has been the complete opposite of my experience," he says.

And he is eager to encourage merchants to come to Caledonia - where they will be able to sell pretty much anything they want, as long as they keep structures steampunky or Victorian themed.

He is also determined that this new development will be an opportunity for the Caledon in Second Life, and not a problem.

"Caledonia is our colony on Blue Mars, and the original Caledon isn't going anywhere, of course," he says. "Initially we may see some 'cross over' as high end content creators from Second Life are attracted to new, wide open markets. That would happen regardless of having a colony on Blue Mars or not."

And he believes that both worlds will benefits from the Caledon/Caledonia presence.

"My hope is that wherever one of our 'citizens' goes they feel free, at home, and proud to be part of the spirited, whimsical empire that is bigger than all of us ~ and most especially more than I could ever dream to do on my own," he says. "I'm sure the new people we meet on Blue Mars will wonder about Victoria City back on the main grid, as well, and consider travel and trade back and forth. All that interaction will stimulate commerce and a vibrant world for everyone, everywhere."

A fuller version of this interview with Desmond Shang will be available in the new issue of The Primgraph - to be published shortly.


Access Blue Mars at: http://www.bluemarsonline.com/

You can see more about Caledonia at: http://sites.google.com/site/caledoniamars/

Concert of Sacred Christmas Music

12/15/09  at 12:22 PM
Lady Eva Bellambi is pleased to invite you to the ballroom of her home, Caisteal Teanacadh, on December 20, 2009 (7 - 9 pm slt) to listen to a concert* of sacred choral Christmas music by Miss Ariesse Heart - or rather, her human.

Miss Heart's guiding spirit began piano and theory lessons at the age of five, and wrote her first song at the age of twelve. Her first octavo was published twenty years later. In 1992, she became a full-time composer and arranger and now has over 1,500 published works. Over twelve million copies of her songs have been purchased in their various venues, and she has been a recipient of the ASCAP Special Award for the last 19 years.

In addition to her choral music for church and school choirs, her songs appear on thirty albums (four of which have been Dove Award Finalists) and numerous children's videos, including sixteen songs on four gold videos, and four songs on one multi-platinum video.

Her songs have also appeared on such diverse television shows as "The 700 Club" and HBO's acclaimed series "The Sopranos."

Lady Bellambi feels so fortunate that Miss Heart has agreed to spend time with us in the Isle of Skye, Winterfell Anodyne [slurl], Second Life, sharing her music. Attendees will all have a chance to chat with Miss Heart during the concert as well as after the music has ended. Unlike RL composer/conductor educational moments, which must take place either before or after the music, the platform of a virtual world gives us all the opportunity to use text to ask and answer questions while the music plays all around us.

Please join Lady Bellambi for this special holiday time together. She looks forward to the opportunity to introduce you to Miss Heart, and for you to learn more about the brilliant and lovely woman behind the avatar.

*pre-recorded

Missing Primgraph Journalist!

  at 6:39 AM
Concern is growing for the Primgraph Aethernet Weblog Manager and journalist, Miss Viv Trafalgar. A report of her disappearance is to be found on the Babbage Ning, written by Miss Jedburgh Dagger, one of her colleagues on the monthly Aethernet Salon.

Miss Saffia Widdershins, editor of the Primgraph, says: "We are very concerned to learn that Miss Trafalgar has not been seen for several days. This is particularly worrying as she lately accepted a commission to undertake a journalistic investigation in New Babbage, concerning rumours that have reached us of the possibility of hostile takeovers of some much-loved New Babbage companies. We shall be undertaking our own investigations over the coming days."

Photograph of Miss Trafalgar taken by Mr PJ Trenton

Twas The Night Before A New Babbage Christmas

12/4/09  at 11:03 AM
by Mr Salazar Jack

Adapted from “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore.

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the city
Not a creature was stirring, not even a kitty.
The stockings were hung by each stovepipe with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The urchins were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads.
And the Clockwinder, resting from Underby’s trap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the cobbles there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my cot to see what was the matter.
To the Steamworks’ first floor I flew with fleet feet,
Out through the front door and into the street.

The wind blowing briskly did little to muffle
What the street lamp revealed as the source of the scuffle.
When, what to my wondering eyes did it show,
But a wayward green trolley, wheels deep in the snow.

With her little old boiler, belching smoke pea soup thick,
I knew in a moment I had to be quick!
The coals from her fire in danger of dousing,
Could be saved if the trolley succumbed to some rousing.

“Now Trolley!,” I said as I ran up the street,
Knee deep in the snow to this car I would meet,
“You must get back in line with your rails on the track
Put this stumble behind you, and never look back.”

“New Babbage is counting on you to keep steaming,
Keep your coal fire burning, keep your beaming light beaming!”
But now with her wheels axle-deep in the snow,
Though she wanted to move, she just couldn’t go.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard in the street
The stepping and clomping of many-sized feet.
The citizens of Babbage had heard the loud din,
And donned jackets and scarves as the sound drew them in.

Each gentleman, lady, urchin and beast,
From north and from south, from west and from east,
Slowly walked toward the trolley still stuck in the snow,
How to right the stuck trolley? They didn’t quite know.

Mr Underby chanted, incanted and spelled
But results for his mystic charms never quite gelled.
Lady Breezy, her skirt twirling mad in the gale,
Tapped her bumpershoot’s tip on the car’s snowy wale.

Loki and Myrtil and Skyler and Jimmy,
Tried to wedge a small board ’neath the axle so primmy.
They huffed, and they puffed, then they started to pout,
When they realized the trolley might never get out.

That’s when Clockwinder Tenk, a right thoughtful old gnome,
Thought he’d figured a way for the car to head home.
With a wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
He reached down with his hammer, then his pipewrench instead.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
Feeling deep for the valve, which he turned with a jerk.
And with nary a stain nor a spot on his clothes,
The steam from the sewer pipe rose! Yes! It rose!

With the snow melting quickly from her wheels, I could tell
That our trolley was free! And she rang her strong bell.
Then we said, to each other, as we set things all right,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”