Happy 4th Birthday, Caledon!

Yes, Caledon - the famous Victorian region with a steampunk flavour - celebrates its fourth birthday today, under the continuing benevolent rule of the Guvnah himself, Mr Desmond Shang.

Caledon Glengarry, of course, is the location of the Primgraph Press, and home of the most notable magazine in the Steamlands.

To appreciate the size of Caledon and its inworld colonies, there is a very useful map at: http://www.cyanotypiste.eu/. This, of course, does not show the new lands of Caledonia in Blue Mars.

Caledonians have received, among other things, a celebratory seal (shown at the top of this article) and a beautiful quilt from LadyDawn Starbrook, which lists the founding dates of all the areas that currently make up Caledon. They are listed in groups of four by date, with the dates listed being either the founding or the opening dates. The designation of during the 1880's was chosen by the quilter.

Various events are planned for the celebrations.

Fireworks
At 12 noon, we shall be launching fireworks from the rooftop of the Press - and everyone is very welcome to come and watch - and maybe even dance.


Caledon Formal Balls
In honour of Caledon's 4th Anniversary, Gabrielle Riel, the Duchess of Carnteigh invites citizens (and friends) of Caledon to a series of Caledon Celebrations & Grand Balls on Friday, February 26, 2010.

UK/Europe Ball - 2 - 3:30pm SLT
Eastern North America Ball - 7 - 8:30pm SLT
Western North America Ball - 10 - 11:30pm SLT

Attire: Formal gowns & suits, formal military uniforms, formal Caledon tartan attire, formal clan or family tartan attire.

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Rothesay/64/115/23
Music: http://main.radioriel.org

Rose Hunt
There will also be the 4th Anniversary Rose Hunt - starting on Friday 26th November at 6PM SLT.

The Rose Hunt is a traditional part of the annual celebration of Caledon's founding. A limited number of Roses bloom on the February 26th anniversary of the rezzing of the original Caledon sim, and people from all across Caledon hunt for them. The number of Roses available each year is limited and they are highly sought after.

Past Rose Hunts were conducted by Mr. Denver Hax (who is sorely missed). This year it took three people to replace him. The 4th Anniversary Rose was designed and created by Miss Vanessa Hamer. Scripting was provided by Sir ZenMondo Wormser. Miss Elenabeth Portal organized the hunt and hid the Roses.

One 4th Anniversary Rose is hidden on each non-duchy Caledon sim. In other words, there is one rose hidden in each of the following sims:

Caledon
Caledon II
Caledon Brigadoon
Caledon Cape Wrath
Caledon Cay
Caledon Downs
Caledon Dundee
Caledon Eyre
Caledon Glengarry
Caledon Highlands
Caledon Kittiwickshire
Caledon Mayfair
Caledon Moors
Caledon Morgaine
Caledon On Sea
Caledon Oxbridge
Caledon Oxbridge Village
Caledon Penzance
Caledon Regency
Caledon Rothesay
Caledon SouthEnd
Caledon Steam SkyCity
Caledon Stormhold
Caledon Tamrannoch
Caledon Tanglewood
Caledon Victoria City
Caledon Wellsian
Caledon Windemere
Port Caledon

In addition six "Wild Card" Roses that will be hidden as second roses on six of the sims listed above. This makes a total of 35 Roses, plus four numbered "Artist Proofs" (given to Miss Vanessa Hammer, Sir ZenMondo Wormser, Miss Elenabeth Portal, and Governor Desmond Shang).

Here is a photo of one of the 4th Anniversary Roses next to a scale:

Roses are only hidden on land owned by Caledon (via the "Commonwealth of Caledon" or "Independent State of Caledon" or "Caledon Oxbridge University" groups) and not on private land owned by Caledon Residents.

The Roses are very hardy and may be found in some extreme enviromnents at times, including high mountainous regions and in tunnels and/or caves. However, Roses will NOT be found underwater in the seas and rivers of Caledon. Though Rose may be found "underground", where "underground" is technically "underwater", as is the case with most of Caledon's tunnels and caves.

Please search using only your eyes and the normal functions of the Linden Lab SL client. Though I've taken precautions to mitigate against the usefulness of scripted scanners, third-party clients, estate manager tools, etc., I realize that somewhere, someone will be able to get around them. All I can do is as that you don't.

To claim a Rose that you have found, click on the Rose--it will give you a Rose named something like "Caledon Region Name Rose (XX of XX)", and then the Rose on the ground will disapear. If you don't want to take the Rose, DON'T CLICK IT. (I mention this because I know some hunters choose to take pictures and leave the Roses for others.)

Roses will bloom promptly at 6PM SLT on Friday February 26th.

The Hunt will end when all Roses have been found. Last year, it took two weeks for the final one to be stumbled upon. The organisers expect that most of the Roses will have been found by the end of Sunday, though. But Miss Portal has done her best to be devious, so it may take longer!

Happy Hunting!

Find Romance and a whole lot more with the Valentine Primgraph

Welcome to Issue 10 of The Primgraph - where the jazz is cool and the writing - and photography - hot!

This month we are taking a trip into the early twentieth century ... to visit New Toulouse - that jazzy region owned by the Duchess of Carnteigh herself, Gabrielle Riel, the Nightingale of Radio Riel and Prim Minister of Edison ... who has built up a phenomenal diverse portfolio in the Second Life World.

Miss Ceejay Writer explores New Toulouse, while Mr Onyx Plutonian talks to the Prim Minister herself about her varied career.

And in contrast to New Toulouse, Mr Raven Haalan visits a very different and fascinating region in Berlin, an area set in the Weimar Republic - that short, doomed flowering of expressionist culture in post World War 1 Germany. And to compliment this, Miss Riven Homewood and Mr Jvstin Tomorrow explore different aspect of the Jazz Age and the Lost Generation.

.

It's also our Valentine Issue and we have a wealth of articles about this! Readers have sent us their Valentine greetings - and you can have fun guessing whether any of them are addressed to YOU - and if they are, who sent them! In addition, Kittie Munro has compiled some suggestions of delicious gifts for your inamorato or inamorata.

Miss Emily Lockhart contributes an History of Valentines, and Frau Lowey is on hand to proffer advice on the correct etiquette to enable you to pursue a Valentine courtship in the Steamlands - and we think you will enjoy the ... ah ... graphic illustrations that accompany this.

We have two interviews with creatives this month. Lunata Lupino produces some of the most beautiful flowers in Second Life, painstakingly hand-painted, and Viv Trafalgar paid her a visit to find out more about her delicate artistry. Jema Hewitt is one of the UK's leading jewellery-makers and costumiers, and she talks to me about her work - and shows us some wonderful examples - including an inworld adaption!

And we have Episode 5 of our exciting new web comic - The Quest for the Golden Prim. We catch up with Miss Emily Lockhart, our intrepid cub reporter, who will let nothing stand in the way of getting a a good story for The Primgraph. And we find out what lies behind the Librarian's claim that our heroine Nan is the heiress to the secrets of the Golden Prim as he reveals a mysterious diary that has come into his possession. We see the preparations being made for the dangerous voyage ahead ... and our hero Ralph faces an agonising choice when he encounters his Commander.

And for the first time we have an exciting new feature ... Lost Chapters from Great Novels. Mr Mako Kungfu's extensive researches have revealed some unexpected early drafts of novels that are well-known, and he is proposing to share them with us over the coming issues. We start with the first of these ... Little Women, Big Wolves.

On the subject of fashion, we have a review of Valentine fashion by the Duchess of Carnteigh herself, while Miss Kembri Tomsen has a fascinating history of gloves, and Miss Naergilien Wunderlich provides an enthralling guide to love tokens through the ages.

Mr Onyx Plutonian has visited our library of the month - The Toussaint L'Ouverture Library of New Toulouse - and he brings us a fascinating account of this delightful place.

We have more of our classic serial, The Mysteries of London, and a further extract from London Labour and the London Poor - this month telling us of the Street-Sellers of Stationery, Literature, and the Fine Arts - 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 tenth 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 10 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?

Fundraiser Calendar Release Party at the R.F. Burton Library, Tonight!

(Graphic above is from the cover of the calendar, which has been designed and created by Mister Tinus Koskinen)

As announced in the New Babbage Ning:

The New Babbage Ladies Fire Protection Brigade cordially invites you to attend the Fundraiser Calendar Release Party!

Please join us this Tuesday from 5pm to 7pm slt at the R.F. Burton Library in Babbage Canals. There will be music, dancing and refreshments available, so come out and support the Brigade and our Library Fundraiser.

The first calendar is finished! Take home twelve hot men and dance with some of them as well.

*ahem*

All to benefit the library, of course.

Join us for a hot time.

For more pictures and enough tantalizing teasing glimpses to make the most stoic amongst us quiver, please read Capt. Red Llewellyn's blog.

Going back to the future with steampunk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/feb/04/steampunk

An interesting little article on the Guardian's book blog about the genre of steampunk, as it relates to novels, and why Steampunk is interesting to us today.

Uncovering Layers of History with Designing Worlds

For those of you interested in aetheric broadcasts and in history, today's Designing Worlds may prove very interesting. We will be visiting a house in Pompeii, the city in Southern Italy that was famously destroyed by a volcano in AD79 (for more information about that, go here). But that, in fact, is only the start of the story, because we are not visiting a Second Life reconstruction of Pompeii as it is now, or even a reconstruction of Pompeii as it was prior to AD79, but a recreation of a house in Pompeii that was recreated for the Crystal Palace in 1854 – see what I mean about layers?

The Crystal Palace from the north in 1854

The Great Exhibition was a fascinating event in itself – and you can see information about it here – and we will be talking about it during the show as well. But the heart of our show is the Pompeiian Court and we’ll be exploring this and discussing contrasting attitudes to history with Gwendoline Beningborough and Lucien Kranfel, the avatars of the real life Dr Shelley Hales and Dr Nic Earle from Bristol University, the people behind this project.

Bristol University Project: Pompeiian Court at the Crystal Palace

Shelley is a Senior Lecturer in Art and Visual Culture in the Department of Classics & Ancient History, while Nic is E-Learning Co-ordinator at the Education Support Unit and we’ll be exploring – with them – a fascinating bringing together of three immersive environments, one modern, one Victorian, and the other from Ancient Rome – or, at least, a conception of Ancient Rome!

The Pompeiian Court at the Crystal Palace in 1854

And we’ll also be talking to them about how they are using different Second life tools (such as a HUD, bots and information points) to create a vibrant educational tool.

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.

Further Reading:
Phillips, Guide to the Crystal Palace and Park, 1854: http://tinyurl.com/ykvypv4
Pictures of the original Pompeian Court on the English Heritage "Viewfinder" site, beginning here: http://tinyurl.com/yks9cdu
The Roman House and Social Identity by Shelly Hales: http://tinyurl.com/ygl5jro
(Victorian images in this article from the 1854 Guide Book to the Crystal Palace)

Wishing On A Cure – teams’ registration for Relay For Life of Second Life opens today!

RELAY FOR LIFE OF SECOND LIFE is back and it’s bigger and better than ever! This year’s theme is ‘Wishing On A Cure’. Teams’ registration opens on February 1^st in preparation for fundraising from March to July, culminating in a 24-hour walk on July 17-18 around a virtual track.

To register your team, please go to: http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/slregistration.

Don’t worry if you haven’t taken part in a relay event before. There will be an opportunity to learn more at a series of informational meetings on February 12 and 13 where the incoming Event Chair Tayzia Abattoir , together with the American Cancer Society’s official representative in Second Life, Stingray9798 Raymaker, will present an overview and hold a Q&A, supported by the Event Co-Chairs MamaP Beerbaum and Nuala Maracas. Each team will also be assigned a mentor who will coach the team, brief them on new developments and answer questions.

‘This year we’ve paid special attention to training’ says Tayzia. ‘During the informational meetings we’ll explain what goes on at Relay, how to form teams, and how people can get involved in the event. Each team will be assigned a mentor as well. We have a great group of enthusiastic mentors this year who have already been busy training for over a month so that we’re ready to go as soon as registration opens.’

For more information please contact one of the following:

Tayzia Abbatoir (RFL of SL Event Chair tayziaabbattoir@gmail.com),

Stingray9798 Raymaker (ACS Staff Partner Jeffrey.Montegut@cancer.org),

MamaP Beerbaum & Nuala Maracas (Event Co-Chairs, mamapbeerbaum@gmail.com or nuala.maracas@gmail.com).

About Relay For Life
Relay For Life is the signature fundraising event of the American Cancer Society. The mission of the American Cancer Society is to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. Cancer knows no boundaries. The American Cancer Society partners with 20 cancer organizations globally to license and support Relay For Life programs in other countries.

About Relay For Life of Second Life
Relay For Life of Second Life (RFL of SL) is a division of Relay For Life in an online virtual world. Relay For Life teams fundraise from mid-March through mid-July. On July 17 and 18 we will walk a track for 24 hours, just like in a real world Relay For Life. Team members build and gather at their team campsites, enjoy live music, participate in fun events, and explore the many Relay sims and the incredible builds by some of Second Life’s top designers, as the event runs overnight and into the next morning.

Last year’s Relay For Life of Second Life attracted more than 120 teams with participants from over 26 countries, held over 300 team fundraising events between March and July, and raised over US$275,000 (that’s REAL US dollars) for cancer research and education.

Key dates
Please note these key dates:

February 1 – Teams’ registration opens

February 12 – information sessions at 6am and 4pm

February 13 – information sessions at 8am and 6pm

March 13 – Kickoff Party and start of fundraising!

July 17-18 – GO RELAY!