New Babbage's Air Kraken Festival

 Start the festivities by landing at the Port Babbage Docks!


Festival-long Events:

-Festival Merchandise Cart: An open air market cart at the Port Babbage docks filled with festival themed wares, food and games for festival goers to take and purchase. 

-Air Kraken Exhibit:  An exciting and intriguing natural history exhibit by Kimika Ying focusing on air kraken at Melnik Air Park behind Portside Books in Port Babbage.  

-Air Kraken Target Practice:  Located on the docks of Port Babbage.  Come safely test your shooting skills against the miniature-airship towed air kraken drones.  

-Iron Bay Chef:  We know that New Babbage has its share of mad scientists cooking away in their labs, but what are they cooking in their kitchens?  Get ready for a special event that promises to reveal who is hungry for power and who is just hungry!

Start digging through your recipe books, Babbagers, for that extra tasty dish. You know the one - just the thought of it makes your mouth water, but it is probably only considered edible in our part of the world. The catch is this: it must incorporate a secret ingredient, to be revealed below.

Submit your recipes to Blackberry Harvey and Junie Ginsburg inword by notecard so they can prepare your dish in their test kitchens and then confer about the results.  After all recipes have been prepared, all dishes have been tasted (by some lucky volunteers) and critiques have been written, these judges will determine WHO WILL BE OUR NEXT IRON BAY CHEF!

Your secret ingredient is... AIR KRAKEN!

This event will be executed as part of the Second Annual Air Kraken Festival, running from August 11 through the 25th.  Submit your recipe by noon on the 24th so that winners can be announced during the festival closing event. (We cook very quickly.)

Ready?  Get crackin'!

The winning dishes will go on the menus at The Cocoajava and The Gangplank.

(PRIZES:  L$1000, L$750, L$500)

-SuperVillain Try Outs:  Now is the time for those of you with a maniacal laugh, tyrannical motives and an aptitude for making minions to step into the spotlight.  The contest is going to be held entirely on the BAR ( http://cityofnewbabbage.com/

reader/ ).

There will be three posts/events for hopefuls to compete in:

1-Monologuing:  Take this opportunity to toot your own horn.  Tell us what makes you deserve the SuperVillain title.  What are your plans for taking over?  Why should we all bow and accept your greatness?

2-Fashion Show: Presentation is key.  Show others who is in charge by how you dress.  Submit at least one picture of your attire, accessories, and any other finery you wish to use to display your power.  (Maximum number of pictures per participant is three.)

3-How to Get One's Way (Dealing with Hecklers/Bribery):  There will be hecklers in the life of a SuperVillain.  There will also be all of the weak-minded fools who you will bend to your will through bribery (possibly the contest judges, one may never know).  Explain in detail how you intend to inspire the masses and deal with naysayers (including your competition).

There will likely be cash prizes involved, but the grand prize is the title of this year's SuperVillain! Mwahahahaha! *cough*

-Black Ink and Bold Tales Writing Contest:  At the core of each Air Kraken is a well of deepest blackest ink. Pick up your quill, dip into the source and pen your poem or tale of adventure.  All creative writings about these legendary beasts of the skies are welcome.  

No minimum word-count, but please, no longer than 1,500 words.  Submissions will be accepted the entire two weeks of the Air Kraken Festival, either by notecard to Ceejay Writer, or email to ceejay@cocoajava.com. After the festival, a panel of judges will choose the winners in these categories:   Truly Terrifying Tale (horror), You're Kraken Me Up (humor), Surprise from the Skies (cleverest) and Misunderstood Monsters (Pro-Kraken viewpoints), as well as one overall winner, the Tantamount Tall Tentacle Tale. 

Plans are afoot to publish all entries in some form of anthology for everyone's enjoyment afterwards. Submission of your entry shall indicate your agreement to this project.

One Time Events:

-H.G. Wells/ Air Kraken Festival Opening Party:  Please join us Saturday, August 11th 6:30-9:00pm SLT at The Gangplank as we celebrate the opening of the 2nd Annual Air Kraken Festival, in honor of H.G. Wells.  All attire is welcome, but please feel free to break out your air kraken hunting gear or best Wellsian finery!  Victor Mornington will be our DJ.

-Closing Party:  Come celebrate the close of the festival on Saturday, August 25th at 7-9pm SLT on the roof of Portside Books in Port Babbage.  Dress in your best air pirate/air kraken fighting attire/festival attire.  Dance, drink and be merry as Blackberry Harvey spins tunes.

-Please contact Sky Melnik if you have any questions or ideas concerning the festival.

The Great New Babbage Bar Crawl

Get your crawl on in New Babbage between June 1st – June 30th!

In New Babbage, drinking is the only activity that rivals building as the national past-time. To celebrate National Drinking Month, 21 bars have hidden 21 bottles for you to find. Can you find them all before you pass out?

We take no responsibility if your typist decides to play the home version of this hunt along with your avatar.

SLurl to starting location: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Vernian%20Sea/210/91/29

New Babbage Invites You to the 2012 Oiling Festival

Welcome to the 4th Annual New Babbage Oiling Festival! We hope you will have time to visit and build!

A message from Clockwinder Mosseveno Tenk, Mayor of New Babbage:

The Oiling Festival is a steampunk answer to spring cleaning, when we halt the factories to clean out the grit and grime of the previous year and perform our annual maintenance. All good citizens and visiting steamlanders are encouraged to roll up their sleeves, show their national pride, and participate! The original Oiling Festival was held in 2009 to add needed items to the city inventory and invite the greater steamlands to experience the Babbage way of life for a week. The drawbridges in Wheatstone Waterways, the city tartans, naval jack, the Sea Gate, and the palettes of bricks that appear at every build site and the crates of goods on the piers are all artifacts of previous Oiling Festivals.

Festival Opens at noon, Friday, March 9th. Building stops Saturday evening, March 24th, so we all have time to clean up for the Steamfitter's Industrial Gold Themed Ball at Piermont Landing.

You may use any building techinique at your disposal, including mesh. I encourage building in place to encourage sharing information and techniques, it helps everyone become a better builder.

Judging and walk around to admire the results will take place on Sunday, March 25th.

(To get a feel for what the Oiling Festival is all about, please enjoy this video of last year's festivities and a right nice photograph of a Big Honking Machine!)

YouTube: The Third New Babbage Oiling Festival

This years categories are:

CURRENCY
Sponsor: The First Security Bank of New Babbage
Land impact: 0
Prizes: eternal glory.

The Quatloo has been a topic of much discussion lately, as it is the coin of choice for which to make a wager. But did you know that the Quatloo is actually an archaic Imperial unit that is not in actually minted in the post-imperial New Babbage? Yes, its true, a quatloo is worth about... about....

And there's the problem. What is our currency called? The new? The old? What does it look like? Tell me a tall tale, it just might be true. The best elements presented will find thier way into an official wiki article in the Archives and become part of city lore.

Post your responses here

HAND TOOLS
Sponsor: Coffin Makers and Joiners Co-Operative Society
Land impact: 20
Prizes: 2000/1500/1000

This is New Babbage. Do I really need to explain this one? Tools should be ready-to-wear.

Place on central table in Tomonah Hall

HONKING BIG MACHINE
Sponsor: Mosseveno Tenk
Land impact 100
Prizes: L$ 3000/2000/1000

There's a certain sense of awe one gets when watching a monumental engine go through its paces - whether it's the massive pistons of an ocean liner's engine room or the elegant, massive power of a beam engine pumping water. So build one - it does't matter what it does, but it should move, be noisy, and be huge. An HBM will fit on a 25x25 meter platform, have a land impact of no more than 100, and must include operating instructions. Entry limited to platforms available. One entry per person. Build only on city provided platform, rez prim on platform to claim. IM Mosseveno Tenk if you need more platforms.

GROUP 1 - Academy of Industry, Builder's Square. 3 platforms

GROUP 2 - Port Babbage waterfront. 4 platforms

GROUP 3 - Clockhaven Harbor. 3 platforms

HOUSEBOATS
Sponsor: Consolate of Europa Wulfenbach
Land impact: 117
Prizes: L$3000/2000/1000

There is a serious lack of comfortable live-aboard boats and airships that are appropriate to the Steamlands. Build a houseboat with a land impact of 117 or less. Your boat must fit inside a 16x32 or 12x32 berth. Build only in marked berths. Claim your spot by rezzing a prim. There are phantom guides under the water to help you find your perimeter. DO NOT MAKE YOUR VESSEL A DRIVEABLE VEHICLE, there have been numerous object return accidents around town with people driving high prim airships over private parcels.

At the end of the festival. the berths with the vessels on them will be auctioned off for RFL. Two week of tier will go with the berths. It is entirely up to the builder on whether or not the vessel will be transfered to the winners of the auctions.

Montrutiol Marina, Vernian Sea

IMPERIAL FLAG & SYMBOLS (REDUX)
Sponsor: The Church of the Builder
Land impact: 1
Limit: 5 per person
Prizes: L$ 2000/1000/500

As we dig into our past, we learn more and more of the Old Empire. While Babbage was not the capitol city, the Imperial era, which ended over 150 years ago, left an indelible mark on our culture. But what did the flag of the Old Empire look like? We know the primary colors were gold and red, but that is all anyone can remember. Design a flag that represents the Imperial Past, and hang it on the wall at Tomahna Hall. 1 prim. You may include a notecarder in your entry to describe your choices.

Note: this category was offered last year, but the results were mixed. Since this is such a looming component in the created backstory that has been developing over the past 5 years, I decided to postpone it to give the finalists a second shot at it, then one of them lost his harddrive. There was heavy use of the double-headed eagle in some of last years entries, which a lot of people did not like because the symbol is too closely associated with real world countries and empires. Let's have another go at it, I'm sure someone is going to hit it this time.

Place on central table in Tomonah Hall

IMPORTS/EXPORTS
Sponsor: Mosseveno Tenk
Land impact: 5
Prizes: L$ 2000/1000/500

What does the city of industry export? What do we import from the other Steamlands? Whatever it is, it should be stacked in crates and pallets along the waterfront and on the freight platforms. Make a crate or other object of export. Limit 5 prims per object. Limit 5 entries per person. Entries will be full perm and may be added to City inventory, and placed in the Engineer's freebie object giver at the close of the festival.

Place entries on the upper quaywall in front of The Porthead Tavern and Shops

LIBATIONS
Sponsor: Ahab's Bane Tavern

Land impact: 8
Prizes: 1000/500/250

Building is thirsty work, standing up on that platform all night with your best bud, pushing that prim around in circles. And where better to slip in for a drink but Ahabs? Everyone will know you've been there by the lingering odor that will get in your clothes.

Create a drink to help give Ahab's that special atmospheric touch, be it related to whaling or a specialty drink. Limit 3 entries per person.

Ahab's Bane Tavern

P-MAIL TERMINALS
Sponsor: Scottie "Baron" Melnik

Land impact: 3 or less.
Prizes: L$ 1000/500

This one is for the sculptors. We need some very low prim pneumatic delivery system terminals so people will use them. Anything that gives people an excuse to run pipes through the living room can't be a bad thing.

New Babbage Pneumatic Delivery Central Station

PARK BENCHES
Sponsor: The New Babbage Ladies' Society For The Appreciation Of All That Is Proper
Land impact: 10
Prizes: L$ 2000/1500/1000

Because everyone deserves an elegant place to sit after a long day of admiring the Oiling Festival. Entries will be judged on appearance, animations, and script time.

Rutherford Park, Academy of Industry

PERIODICALS
Sponsor: Jedburgh30 Dagger
Land impact: 2
Prizes: 2000/1000/500

What do we buy at the newstand? What professional journals do Babbagers subscribe to? In short, what is sitting on our nightstands waiting to be read? Surely we have something better to peruse than the Canal Street Snitch!

Create a cover for a book, magazine, newspaper, or other periodical. Display your 2D creation as a poster so it is easily seen. You may also rez a 3D version of the periodical nearby to show it as a realistic object.

Place on central table in Tomonah Hall

PORTRAIT: HEROIC VALVE TURNERS
Sponsor: Piermont Landing
Land impact: 6
Prizes: L$1000/700/500

This year's portrait contest is HEROIC VALVE TURNERS, which you can interpret any way you want. Mount your portrait in a fancy frame (that's why I threw in a few more prims) and put it on one of the easels on the deck at Piermont Landing.

STATUE FOR A BREWERY
Sponsor: Rookswood Brewery & Bottling Company
Land impact: 100
Max dimesions: 10x10x10
Prizes: L$1000/750/500

The brewery is based of a real one that used to reside in Baltimore MD. (http://baltimorehistorybits.blogspot.com/2011/10/john-f-weissner-sons-brewery-aka.html ). The statue that used to reside on it was one of King Gambrinus, the Patron Saint of Beer (as seen in further pictures in the link provided).

The idea for Babbage is to create a statue that represents Babbage and Beer in the same sense King Gambrinus does. Many have suggested that we create a statue of Emperor Crumb, but I am not going to even limit it to him as long as it represents what is stated above.

Winning entry will become a permanent fixture of the Brewery.

Rookwood Brewery and Bottling.

STREET SIGNS
Sponsor: Mosseveno Tenk
Land impact: 1
Limit: 5 per person
Prize: 1000/750/500

Want to know why there is no street signs? Because Mr. Tenk got tired of making them. Make a street sign, you can use any name (real or wishful) you like in your example. There are still unnamed streets here and there, so wishful signs could be noticed by the powers that be.

Mr. Tenk will pick one sample and award a contract to make new street signs. If picked, you will recieve 10,000 lindens plus upload fees.

Place on central table in Tomonah Hall

TOWERS
Sponsor: Mosseveno Tenk
Land impact: 100
Prizes: L$2000/1000/500

During the North Fells sandbox week, elegant towers appeared in the lonely expanses north of the city. Build a tower. It should probably do something, but it doesn't have to.

North Fells Build Point

WHALE OIL
Sponsor: Ahab's Revenge Whale Oil Company
Land impact: 5
Prizes: L$1000/500/250

What is an Oiling Festival without oil? Build an object related to whale oil. Whale oil, the natural resource that needs no expensive and polluting factory refining or processing. Exploit it while you can, or someone else will.

Ahab's Revenge Whale Oil Company

Æther Salon: Heraldry!

Please note this event in your personal calendar - the Salons are indeed a highlight of each month in the Steamlands! (and there's always food!) The newly rebuilt Salon precariously straddles the Babbage Palisade & Academy of Industry sims, for cunning reasons of crowd balancing.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Babbage%20Palisade/254/60/106

and
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Academy%20of%20Industry/2/56/106

The Æther Salon is brought to you by Baron Klaus Wulfenbach and his assistants who take no responsibility for your lack of enlightenment should you choose not to attend. Everyone hopes fervently that you shall be amongst us tomorrow!

Tales of New Babbage, Vol. 1

I am pleased to announce that orders are now being accepted for Tales of New Babbage, Volume One! See http://www.babbagefictionpress.com/ for details and links.

The Tales project consists of thirty stories between 600 and 7,500 words, all by Babbage authors. Some of the pieces have previously appeared in online form, but none have been in print. Initial funding was provided by Babbage residents and steampunk enthusiasts through a Kickstarter project, and all copy-editing and typesetting was provided by volunteers. Proceeds from the project will be contributed to Clockwinder Tenk to help offset the cost of running the City.

We're doing an initial print run of 100 units so we can offer them at cost to Babbagers for the holidays: $8.95 each. (Google Checkout will add shipping based on where you live.) That order should arrive the week of December 12, at which point we will turn around and fill any orders we've received.

You can also order it directly from Lulu or Amazon beginning December 12 - eReader versions should be available at about the same time. The price, however, will probably be significantly higher. We'll update this space with details as they become available.

CONTRIBUTORS AND KICKSTARTER PROJECT SUPPORTERS: your copies will be sent out when we receive the first shipment, so please only order extra copies.

Volume One includes pieces from the following contributors:

A.E. Cleanslate, Abbey Hood, Arconus Arkright, Bela Lubezki, Blackberry Harvey, Ceejay Writer, Dr. Darien Mason, DreddPirate Bob, Elleon Bergamasco, Emerson Lighthouse, Jedburgh Dagger, Jimmy Branagh, Jonathon Spires, Junie Ginsburg, Leo E. Goubeaux, Magdalena Kamenev, Phineas Frakture, Salazar Jack, Sarah Heiner, Scottie Melnik, Serafina Puchkina and Tinus Koskinen.

Air Kraken Festival in New Babbage

(Poster designed by Lia Bilavio)

Week-long Events

Open Air Market
Shop carts along the Port Babbage docks will be filled with festival themed wares, food and games for festival goers to take and purchase. Shop carts can be provided, though you can also use your own display if you wish (within logical prim reasoning). First come first serve for spots, more space will be provided so all can participate. The first section of carts will be set out Friday, August 19th. Prim limit of around 25 per market cart area.

Build Contest
Contest theme is "Air Kraken Traps: Most Inventive Way to Capture an Air Kraken." Building platforms will be set out in the Academy of Industry Friday, August 19th, deadline for completion to be judged is Saturday, August 27th at Noon SLT and will be given on a first come, first serve basis. Additional space will be created if necessary. Please keep builds under 150 prims. Top three placed builds will be given prizes.


(Poster designed by Aeolus Cleanslate)

Black Ink and Bold Tales
At the core of each Air Kraken is a well of deepest blackest ink. Pick up your quill, dip into the source and pen your poem or tale of adventure. All creative writings about these legendary beasts of the skies are welcome.

No minimum word-count, but please, no longer than 1,500 words. Submissions will be accepted the entire week of the Air Kraken Festival, either by notecard to Ceejay Writer, or email to ceejay@cocoajava.com. After the festival, a panel of judges will choose the winners in these categories: Truly Terrifying Tale (horror), You're Kraken Me Up (humor), Surprise from the Skies (cleverest) and Misunderstood Monsters (Pro-Kraken viewpoints), as well as one overall winner, the Tantamount Tall Tentacle Tale.

Plans are afoot to publish all entries in some form of anthology for everyone's enjoyment afterwards. Submission of your entry shall indicate your agreement to this project.

"Look here! Look there! Look everywhere!"
Rumor has it there is a baby kraken that has lost his way in our fair city! Can you free this adorable little beast before he has our town for his feast? There's a reward in it for you if you do, so join the hunt and follow all the clues! The scavenger hunt will work just like a regular Secondlife Hunt will, taking you through 8 locations within the wondrous world of New Babbage. If you follow the clues and riddles you will certainly find the baby Kraken, however releasing him is up to you. There is no time limit and it's no race, but we hope you have fun and explore together!

Air Kraken Exhibit
An exciting and intriguing natural history exhibit by Kimika Ying focusing on air kraken at the Exhibition Hall in New Babbage.

Other Activities:

Air Kraken Target Practice
Located on the docks of Port Babbage. Come safely test your shooting skills against the miniature-airship towed air kraken drones.

Air Kraken Attacks
Once you've sharpened your skills with target practice go up against the big boys. Located in Clockhaven (as well as unannounced attacks in town). ((Psst- Look over the ledge of the wall towards the water, click on the top of the barrel to produce kraken.))

Kite Flying
Grab a free themed kite and enjoy flying them around Port and town.

One Time Events

Opening Party
Casual and fun celebration of the opening of the festival. 6-8pm SLT Sunday, August 21st at Liberty Hall in the Academy of Industry.

Listening Parties
There will be two listening parties on Tuesday, August 23rd featuring The Tales of New Babbage broadcast "Horror of the Heights" with the voice of Vic Mornington and hosted at the Brunel Hall Hotel's bar, Muirsheen Durkin. The broadcast can be also heard on Radio Riel Steampunk at the below times.

The first party for the European time zones will be at 12-1pm SLT.

The second party for the North American time zones will be at 7-8pm SLT.

Closing Party
Saturday, August 27th at 7-9pm SLT on the roof of Portside Books in Port Babbage. Dress in your best air pirate/air kraken fighting attire and come celebrate the close of the festival. Dance, drink and be merry.

-Please contact Sky Melnik if you have any questions or ideas concerning the festival.

The Academy of Linguistic Studies Wants You!

Introducing The Academy of Linguistic Studies!

Roster of classes:
Spanish
Scottish Slang
French
Italian
German (Instructors Wanted)
Dutch
Japanese (Instructors Wanted)
Latin (Instructor Wanted)
Chinese (Instructor Wanted)

Criteria: Instructors must be comfortable using SL voice as it will be the best way to convey proper grammar in the language. Each instructor will need to have a handout to collaborate. You will have to set your own schedule but language lessons are on Saturdays and Thursdays ONLY. 3-4 teachers each day and you will need to fill up your slots for one hour. Classes are ONLY an hour long. Teachers have the right to private tutor languages, but must be hired via the school.

Follow this SLurl to the New Babbage location of The Academy of Linguistic Studies.

The Academy of Linguistic Studies was founded on July 12, 188x. Here people can attend a specific language based themed class in a relaxing environment. 90% of classes are taught by fluent speakers, and via voice.

Requirements: Must have a clear microphone for class and one hour of free time and patience... lots of it.

The Academy opens August 1, 7pm slt with a special event! Hurry and RSVP at the New Babbage forum, or drop a notecard on an instructor inworld!

Tales of New Babbage

New Babbage's Maceholder, Mister Aeolus Cleanslate, speaks about this exciting new project:

The City of New Babbage is a consensual hallucination of a steampunk city in a time that never was. It’s built out of bits and prims in SecondLife (instead of bricks and plaster), but it’s as “real” a place as Paris or Mumbai. People from all over the world “go” there daily to build fantastic machines, fight krakens, and roleplay vast, open-ended storylines replete with mad scientists, street urchins and evil geniuses.

We also write stories. With a few exceptions, none of us are professional writers, and few write enough to generate complete works. But for all that, the stories are immensely entertaining and sometimes excellent. We’ve assembled pages and pages of them – and want to share them with the world.

Pre-Order Tales of New Babbage, Vol. 1

New Babbagers wishing to become involved should read this informative post!

New Babbage sees red over purple onslaught

For nearly a week not the citizens of New Babbage have lived under fire; a barrage of burgundy bombs launched upon the city by an evil genius.

Our New Babbage reporter Beq Janus who broke the news of this attack last weekend posted the following report this morning.

I woke this morning, this the sixth morning since the barrage began, and stared out across a sea of purple rooftops. Despite the litter of unexploded mauve missiles across our fair city, it is clear that many assaults have been succesful.

From the rooftops and walls to airships and chimney stacks, factories, homes and shops. Everyone, I have met in the past few days has borne the purple stain upon their skin, evidence of their oppression. No doubt there will be many tales told in the pubs of Babbage of these purple days.But feelings are turning from resentment to rebellion, as one they are rising up, it is time this victimisation in violet ended.



The reports of the mysterious boat, so bravely brought back by the city spies, from the lair of the evil genius Doctor Obolensky were correct and accurate. It was indeed emblazoned with the word 'Red' and the word 'Blue'. One label per tank. The boat has been holding its own in the port all week bombarding the city with its mighty cannon. The dastardly doctor was mixing the purple paint and launching his attacks from the sea.

I have had word from Commdore Dagger of the New Babbage Navy, who have recently returned from manouvres, that they are ready to end this and will attack today. I have heard too, the mutterings of an uprising, a people's army against the purple menace.

If the rumours are to be believed many of the brave men and women of Babbage, their clothes and skin now tinted purple, will wear their colours as warpaint and descend upon the port en masse to assault the ship and take the doctor captive.

So I will be joining my fellows at 3pm SLT in Port Babbage to see the bitter end of this.I hope to see many comrades by my side.

-----------------------------------------------------

From May 7 to May 13 the Second Life grid will be turning purple!

Thousands of Second Life residents will be painting their
stores and houses purple, wearing purple clothes, purple hair, even
purple skin, in order to show their support for the Relay For Life of Second Life and to spread a purple Message of Hope.

New Babbage Attacked in Purple Paint Blitz

From our New Babbage Reporter Beq Janus.
Mauve Melée
This morning I found that my home had been subjected to, what I took to be, an act of wanton vandalism. The walls of my home were slick with purple paint.
I looked out through the (now purple tinted) windows, to find that something more foul by far was in play.

The remains of numerous mauve missiles, many still leaking their purple payload, were strewn about the street.

Taking my trusty toolbelt with me, I quickly set about defusing those that I found, but simply got myself covered in the confounded purple paint. I was going to need help with this, so I ran off into the city to seek my fellow engineers.

[ Note: The missiles are RFLSL vendors giving you a fetching set of purple splats as a tattoo and clothing layers for a minimum donation of just 100L$]

Plethora of Purple
As I ran around the city I found that, as I had feared, it was not a personal attack but a city wide assault. Purple patches were appearing all over the city and every now and then the distinctive "whistle...splat" of a plumetting, purple projectile, echoed eerily through the alley ways.

Fear has been struck into our hearts. This is a crime worse than the threat of physical harm. The People of New Babbage are no strangers to danger, but bright colours! I am really not sure they are ready for this. Bring back the sooty browns and greys.



The Central Station in Babbage Square has been damaged but only lightly at this stage. Whoever is responsible for this we must take solace in the fact that their incompetence has meant that many of the devices have failed to explode and simply lay sparying a miasma of mauuve into the air about them.



Suspicions aroused?
In separate and as yet unconfirmed reports, a new boat has appeared moored near Doctor Obolensky's clock tower. Its exact purpose remains unknown and there is some confusion in the reports with one witness remarking that it has the name "Red" daubed on the side of a large tank, whilst another insists, it is named "Blue". The mystery deepens but I'm sure we'll figure it out.




[ As noted in this very journal

From May 7 to May 13 the Second Life grid will be turning purple!

Thousands of Second Life
residents will be painting their stores and houses purple, wearing
purple clothes, purple hair, even purple skin, in order to show their
support for the Relay For Life of Second Life and to spread a purple Message of Hope.

This is Team New Babbage's way of celebrating this event with a simple story to cover the theme. Come see New Babbage as it is succumbs to the purple onslaught.
RFLSL 2011 : Team New Babbage Team #90
]

Empty Mailbox at the R. F. Burton Library

Ms. Capalini sits in her office in the back of the workshop, her leather apron and goggles hung near the door. Frowning, she spreads the five manuscripts out on the desk, each one still folded and sealed.

"No peeking." a voice says calmly. Canolli startles as she looks around, then relaxes as Mr. Tenk points to the folded papers. "No peeking, there could still be some submissions tomorrow."

"Evening, Big Man." She slides the manuscript she'd been fingering the edges of across the desk. Huffing, she gets out of the chair and crosses the room to the window, her frustration apparent. "Do you realize we had 17 submissions last year? Illustrations.. It was.. so.. oh I don't know.. encouraging." Her voice trailed off as she leaned her forehead against the dirty glass, her breath making the window pane fog a little.

"You gotta have patience. Could be last minute entries.."

Canolli stared out the window for a few minutes, watching the plumes of smoke from neighboring factories rise over the skyline. Sighing, she began to turn from the window. "I just feel like no .. one... cares....." her voice trailed off as she realized she was standing in the room alone.

Reminder: The 3rd annual flash fiction contest concludes midnight tomorrow.. Read guidelines for it here.

Sweet Words: An Interview with “da Clockwork Dragon of New Babbage”

I’d like to introduce you to Miss Sheryl Nantus, a successful published writer who is also unique in many ways. For instance, in Second Life, she is Sheryl Skytower, a small clockwork dragon with a cookie fixation. But there’s more. Sheryl has turned her NaNoWriMo projects into publishable novels. Her latest is "Wild Cards and Iron Horses", which she wrote while sitting in the CocoaJava Cafe, a Second Life bohemian coffee house in the steampunk city of New Babbage. Sheryl’s novel gives playful homage to some of the city’s quirks and folks, which adds to the fun.

As the builder of the CocoaJava Cafe, (which is now under the ownership of Mister Blackberry Harvey), I am of course tickled to pieces that my cafe helped to inspire this rollicking Steampunk style old west adventure.

["Wild Cards and Iron Horses" cover art by Kanaxa]

The official teaser for "Wild Cards and Iron Horses" reads thusly:

Their love rides on a spring and a prayer…

During the recent Civil War, a soldier risked his life to save Jonathan handleston—and lost. With the help of an advanced metal brace on his crippled hand, Jon now travels from one poker tournament to the next, determined to earn enough money to repay the man’s debt.

Prosperity Ridge is supposed to be the last stop on his quest, but his brace is broken and he needs an engineer to repair the delicate mechanisms. The only one available is Samantha Weatherly, a beautiful anomaly in a world ruled by men.

Sam is no fool. Jon is no different from any other gambler—except for his amazing prosthetic. Despite a demanding project to win a critical contract to develop an iron horse, she succumbs to the lure of working on the delicate mechanisms. And working with the handsome Englishman.

Like a spring being coiled, Samantha and Jon are inexorably drawn together. Sam begins to realize honor wears many faces, and she becomes the light at the end of Jon’s journey to redemption. The only monkey wrench is Victor, a rival gambler who will stop at nothing to make sure Jon misses the tournament. Even destroy Jon and Sam’s lives.

It’s not often one gets the opportunity to pick the brain of a clockwork dragon writer, but Primgraph reporters are known for their intrepidness. Armed with a bag of cookies, I managed to lure Sheryl in for a conversation about the craft of writing. It helped that she was suitably stuffed with those cookies and couldn’t run away till she digested, so we had quite the lovely chat.

I asked Sheryl about her early days. I was curious how long she had been writing. She nibbled yet another cookie, sighed happily, and replied. “Well, technically I've been writing all my life. Way back in the Middle Ages I got a little ditty called "Be Kinder To Your Binder" printed in a school collection when I was eight years old. It was about a binder who gets recycled into another binder and finds a new life. Recycling and Reincarnation. Talk about lofty writing, eh?”

Occasionally I struggle for a plot notion. I was naturally quite curious to learn what inspired the stories that Sheryl writes. She belched a bit of smoke, then settled down. "Usually my plots come to me from the classic "What If?" game we all like to play. With "Wild Cards and Iron Horses" I started off with the simple sentence of "What would happen if I had a mechanical brace on my hand? What could I do with it? Could I use it for crime…" and it went on from there."

She paused, fidgeting nervously, then added, "Not that I'm endorsing crime. Unless it's freshly baked cookies, in which case all bets are off."

Poor thing. I quickly changed the subject, exclaiming, "you wrote an entire novel in the CocoaJava Cafe! I can’t tell you what an honor that is for me. Please tell me why the cafe works so well for you!"

Her smile told me that I’d touched on a comfort zone. After looking around for more sweets, she replied, “I loved and continue to love writing in the Café because it's just such a wonderful place to hang out and let the creative juices flow – or just percolate with some fine coffee, tea or your delicious chocolates!” I promptly gave her a chocolate, and she continued. “I'll set up in the Café and wander off at times to get a cuppa tea in RL, popping back in to see how I'm doing. If I only wrote so much in RL as I do in SL…*laughs*”

Sheryl is a true New Babbager, evident in the inspiration she draws from the city. “The Café offers a great place to just sit and enjoy New Babbage” she says. “From the trams that fly on by (usually literally into the air and into orbit) to the "interesting" events at Brunel Hall it gives me a great setting to soak up some steampunk atmosphere and inspire me.”

Amazing a writer can get anything done with all those fun distractions! I became curious about her “real life” writing space, and asked what it was like. “Ooh… well, I've got quite a few. At home I have a desk with a million books on the craft of writing about to topple over on me and cover me forever, or at least until the archaeologists disinter me in a few centuries. When I'm out I'll creep into a corner at my local Barnes & Noble with a large chai and bang away at my laptop until it screams for mercy. Or I'll be at a Panera Bread with another chai and some shortbread, nibbling away.”

I chucked at the thought of her nibbling habits carrying over in both worlds. “In RL I look much like my SL avi.” she said, patting her robust belly.

With so much to inspire her, I wondered if she ever experienced ‘writer’s block’. I asked her what she does the words just aren’t flowing well. She stopped staring at the truffle jar long enough to answer. “I usually go away and read- anything. Nonfiction, fiction, manga, play Zyngo… er, never mind that last one. I know some people say to fight through it but I find it more frustrating to write crap and KNOW I'm writing crap than to just walk away and catch my breath.”

“Sheryl”, I queried, “What inspires you? What causes you to drop everything (including your search for more sweets) and write?” She would have blushed if she could have, and brushed a few cookie crumbs off her metal scales, before speaking. “A story that demands to be told. In "Wild Cards" I started off with the premise of a man needing a metal brace to be able to use his hand. Then I extrapolated as to *why* he'd need to use his hand so badly. Then *how* he got the crippled hand. Then the hopeless romantic kicks in and I start running.”

On behalf of you, dear Primgraph reader and hopeful writer, I dug deeper into the craft of bringing a novel to reality. I asked Sheryl pointedly, “I’m sure our readers are a curious about your methods. Do you write from an outline, simply let the words flow and see where they go - or does your writing style take another form?”

I had to repeat the questions twice, as she’d spotted a cake in the far corner. Once I’d cut her a generous slice, she settled down happily and resumed the conversation. “I usually start with where I want the story to end – if that makes any sense. I come up with the characters and what I want/need them to do and then set them loose in the world I've created. They may zig and zag at times but they usually always end up where they should be in the end. Usually.”

This of course led to the wondering if any of her characters had ever surprised her. She nodded vigourously. “Definitely! Gil Grassfeathers in "Wild Cards" started off as just another street urchin but he tugged on my hair and stomped on my feet and got himself a whole supporting character credit.” We both chuckled knowingly as she added, “Sort of reminds me of some *other* street urchin in New Babbage, if you ask me.”

Sheryl has successfully harnessed the power of NaNoWriMo writing, and I wondered what advise she might have for others who like to participate in this annual tradition and hope to become published themselves one day. She finished her last bite of cake and gave the empty plate a forlorn look before replying. “Chug on through the first draft then relax. Catch your breath and start editing *after* the New Year has started. Don't even think about submitting it to an agent or a publisher until six months have passed.”

I got her another slice of cake, which inspired her to offer more encouragement. “And NaNo novels *do* sell. My first novel with Samhain Publishing, "Blaze of Glory" was a NaNo Novel and "What God and Cats Know", presently out with Lyrical Press, was another NaNo Novel. So you can sell these works – but not without putting in the time to edit and polish to the highest degree.”

Our time was running out... as were all the sweets in the Cafe. “This has been a lovely chat. Do you have final thoughts, Sheryl?" She giggled and said, “I luvs cookies. Donations always accepted at my residence or shop in New Babbage. And I'm sorry for stealing all the chocolate beans from the Café.”

You can visit Sheryl at her website, and find samples of her books, "Blaze of Glory" and "Wild Cards and Iron Horses" at the Samhain Publishing website - and don’t forget to look for "What God and Cats Know" at Lyrical Press. Amazon and Nook users can also get samples of Sheryl’s books as well!

Aether Salon Presents - Heroines!

Sunday, October 17 at 2pm slt
Babbage Palisade & Academy of Industry

Aether Salon, Palisade Entrance
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Babbage%20Palisade/254/60/106

Aether Salon, Academy Entrance
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Academy%20of%20Industry/2/58/106

Do you know one? ARE you one? From self-rescuing princesses to those daring gals who save the world and look fabulous doing so (hey, soot is IN), all the while cooking, cleaning, and raising brilliant children. Who isn't a little bit curious how they do it all? I mean, trouncing and squashing and humiliating Evil-doers is a huge job, right? For the Aether Salon's two-year anniversary, Miss Bookworm Hienrichs will enlighten us, as well as share a few tips and tricks she's picked up along the way. You'll be on the edge of your seat, gasping in awe at the derring-do of amazing and resourceful heroines throughout history. Watch out henchmen, madmen, and villains all! A new Heroine is in town!

To learn more about the Aether Salon of New Babbage and read past Salon transcripts, visit http://aethersalon.blogspot.com

Aether Salon: Phantasmagoria! with Loki Eliot

Learn more about the origins, traditions, and future of these newfangled moving images with noted practitioner Loki Eliot.

Loki will also give a small talk about origins of, and what he believes is vital to, making engaging, memorable and emotive Machinema in Second Life which will include audio and video experiences to enlighten.

Join the first fall Salon of the 2010-2011 Season! Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and new ones too. If you've never been, you will even be given a stylish Salon chair.

Bring your wit, and your questions, but please leave your weapons, incendiaries, badly behaved elder relatives, and non-housebroken shoulderpets at home.

SLurl to the Aether Salon

Catch up with transcripts of past salons at the Aether Salon Blog.

Look Out New Babbage - They're Back!

On the morning of September the First, New Babbage Hotel Proprietor and Certainly Not A Timelord Victor1st Mornington pushed open the front door of his luxury hotel... only to find that he was trapped. By a New Babbage tram. It has been a long while since the trams have run in town, but recently Maceholder Cleanslate has been attempting repairs to the fleet and the cars had been put back into service. However, as Mister Mornington was overheard to say, "As of the present moment in time though there seems to be an arguement within the tram community as to which one of them should actually run on the tram line."

(Click through the pictures for embiggened sizes that truly show the scope of this event. Photography Credit: The Beleagured Mister Victor1st Mornington.)



Looking West towards the Aether Salon, Victor was amazed to see the extent of the pileup, as trams stacked like cordwood at the entrance to the Salon, while a few bounced around as freely as children on school recess upon the plaza next door.



Incredibly, glancing Eastward on Academy Downs, the full scope of the problem revealed itself. The pileup continued across the sim to the far edges of town!



Maceholder Cleanslate issued this official statement regarding the incident: "The NBTA [New Babbage Transit Authority] would like to apologize for the disruption caused by the recent malfunction of the newly patented Streetcar Parturition And Weaning Nodule device recently implemented on the Academy Line. As with any new invention, performance wrinkles are to be expected and the public's patience is appreciated. The manufacturer (Steamweaver Heavy Industry) has assured us that further disruption is unlikely, but that if it does occur they will be happy to resolve the problem for a small fee."

New Babbage Athenaeum Wager

Readers may remember that, a month ago, this publication carried an article about the opening of the New Babbage Athenaeum, an institution that is converting books into information on punch cards, and then burning the books. Within a couple of weeks, an advertisement was placed for people familiar with the workings analytical engines. Rumors abounded that the translation engine was not working correctly, and the punch cards were storing only nonsense. Despite that, the burning of books apparently continued.

This reporter managed to track down Mr. Steamweaver again on the 31st of May, and so confirmed the rumors. In the course of the conversation, Mr. Steamweaver proposed a wager with Miss Bookworm Hienrichs. If enough money is donated to defray book storage costs--$10,000L or more in 10 days--then the burning will cease indefinitely, and Mr. Steamweaver will match the donation amount from his own pocket. If the money is not raised in time, then Miss Hienrichs must turn over her own personal library for conversion and disposal.

Donations to this cause can be made to the RFL kiosk in front of the New Babbage Athenaeum.

UPDATE: The goal was reached and then some! The total for the 10 days was $31,860L, so the books in the Athenaeum--and Miss Hienrich's library--are safe!

New Babbage Athenaeum - Article and Editorial

On April 26th, New Babbage received the news that an institution called the New Babbage Athenaeum had been opened in a building owned by the Steamweaver Trust. The announcement stated that the purpose of the Athenaeum is to translate the contents of books into data stored on punch cards, and then burn the books. Several residents of New Babbage expressed a great deal of consternation at this, and so this reporter worked to secure an interview with Mr. Lafayette Steamweaver, head of the Steamweaver Company, to gain firsthand information about the purpose and goals of the Athenaeum. An interview was granted the evening of the 30th.



Mr. Steamweaver explained that the Athenaeum is a sort of "transfer station" for books. The Steamweaver Company had been accumulating books for years, from collections and defunct libraries around the Steamlands. Several years ago, a researcher (whose name escaped Mr. Steamweaver) proposed a way of translating the printed page into tiny slices of information (which he called "nibbles"). The information on the pages is translated into information on punch cards, which are, Mr. Steamweaver assured, made of non-flammable camphorated polyvinyl. The punch cards can store information with much greater density, allowing an entire book to be stored on just a few cards. Mr. Steamweaver emphasized the portability of such storage. "Women, especially, are often capable of carrying only a small tome at a time," he said. "Carrying an entire dictionary, or an encyclopedia would be impossible, unless those works were reduced to the size of a few calling cards."

The cards can then be read again by passing them over a reader comprised of several needles. The pattern is run through a series of calculations handled by a large computational Engine, housed in the Athenaeum. The Engine translates the pattern back into text, which is printed on disposable ticker-tape by a device on the main floor. Mr. Steamweaver expressed a great deal of pride in the Engine, which he said is "one of the largest sextuple-core analytical engines ever constructed, capable of over sixty calculations every second." The ticker-tape-style reader is currently only available in the Athenaeum, though Mr. Steamweaver revealed that the company has plans to make the readers available for sale, as well as fees for copies of the works in this library, and "we are finalizing a technique for sending the patterns of reduced works through the aether, using this new 'Morse' code, so anyone anywhere can purchase a Steamweaver-patented reader, and pull any work ever written out of the aether, at any time."

"Think of it," he continued. "A single book can only be owned by one person, and only sold one at a time. Once we have the reduced version, we can sell copies ad infinitum--and it doesn't cost us anything to do so!"

The goal of the company is to eventually translate everything ever written. Once a book is translated, it is burned, as there is "no use keeping them around--no money in it." The Steamweaver Company is looking for a private disposal company to remove the ash created by the "reduced" books, and encourages anyone with books in their libraries to donate them to the cause. The company will pay for the books by the pound.

The Steamweaver Company plans to be the sole keeper of the punch card copies, and, as Mr. Steamweaver said, "we're working as hard as we can to become the exclusive holders of as many titles as possible." He believe that, "once the value of this technique catches on," all other forms of prose publishing, including magazines and newspapers, will be replaced by the punch cards and readers, and "eventually all writers would need to use our technique to publish anything."

Mr. Steamweaver discussed more of the Company's long-term plans for access and control. "Once we control the process, of course, we won't let substandard publications pass into the public," he stated. "We'll be able to enforce quality standards, and restrict content." When asked who would define substandard, he replied, "Well, I'm sure that all right-minded people know substandard works when they see them. And those who don't should certainly not be in charge of publishing." They would also establish rules for approving requests to access certain texts. "We certainly can't distribute copies to just anyone who asks." He spoke of envisioning a time when children would read "a steady diet of Steamweaver-provided reading material, according to a reading list approved my management."

For the immediate future, the Athenaeum is open to the public, "to encourage people to marvel at the idea at work, and bid farewell to the antiquated forms we're replacing."


----------


So much, then for the impartial article. Now for the editorial. Please note that all opinions expressed hereafter are solely those of the author.

When I first received word of the opening of the Athenaeum and its purpose, I was shocked speechless. Now understand, I am not against the first part of the process, that of translating book texts to a more storage-friendly medium. I applaud that; it appears to be a wonderful way to help preserve texts for the future.

But to burn the books afterwards? That, to me, is absolute anathema. Books are the emblem of the democratization of knowledge and learning. A person can buy any book, or, if they cannot afford it, receive it on loan from a library, and read it anytime, anywhere. Books, despite what Mr. Steamweaver says, are very portable, except for the largest tomes. (Women are "capable of carrying only a small tome at a time," indeed!) Books will, for the most part, stand up to the rigors of travel. Once purchased, they can be kept for years, and read many times, or passed to others as gifts.

My immediate concerns, apart from the destruction of the books themselves, focused on the accessibility and dissemination of the information once it was converted to punch card form. In the course of the interview with Mr. Steamweaver, I discovered that he was living down to all of my fears, and more!

The plans of the Steamweaver Company, as revealed by Mr. Steamweaver's own words, are to become the sole owners and disseminators of all published works and information. They alone will determine what works are stored, where and to whom those works are released, and what content will be "approved." While they say they will translate everything ever written, will they really be able to resist the temptation of allowing a work of which they do not approve to disappear, simply by refusing to translate it? And all of this will be done only for a price.

Readers, this is not democracy. This would be a dictatorship of information, with only a select few determining what we can and cannot read, write, and publish. Already, many books, perhaps by the hundreds, have been sacrificed to this nightmarish vision. I can only hope that somehow, this is stopped, before a rarity is lost forever to the flames of ignorance.

Designing Worlds Returns to New Babbage to Explore Burlesque!

Join our special viewing party at Piermont Landing in Wheatstone Waterways today (Tuesday 30th March) at 2pm SLT for a very unusual episode of Designing Worlds!

Last October, the Designing Worlds teams visited New Babbage to explore the amazing new underground railway system .. but things went terribly wrong when they were party to the discovery of the cellars of a long-forgotten Asylum, and its dark secrets. Elrik and Saffia were lucky to escape with their lives that time – but, nothing daunted, they are returning to New Babbage to investigate the phenomenon of burlesque.

After all, what could possibly go wrong?



Well … you will see … as they find themselves caught up in a new Babbage adventure.

This week, the Designing Worlds viewing party is NOT in the studio, but will be hosted by Miss Breezy Carver at Piermont Landing in Wheatstone Waterways. The show starts at 2pm, but this is going to be an exciting episode, and we recommend you arrive early if you can.

Renfold & Tremor’s Carnivale D’ Arcane

Welcome Ladies, Greetings Gentlemen,
Hail Urchins, Children and Freaks

Thank you for attending...

=Renfold & Tremor’s=
=Carnivale D’ Arcane=
New Babbage

March 12, 13 & 14 1898

Friday, March 12th, 3pm: Performer Parade to Carnivale Grounds in New Babbage
4pm Grounds Open to One and All
Saturday, March 13th, 2pm: Big Show Begins
Saturday, March 13th, 4pm: Inner Freak contest Awards
Saturday, March 13th, 5pm: Big Show Again
Sunday, March 14th, 2pm: Finale Show

We present to you the following acts of daring agility, fearless chutzpah, devil-may-care folly and utter stupefaction!

Not Necessarily in Order shown, but close to it!

RINGMASTERS
Ceejay Writer
Wiggy Undertone

TOWER of TERROR (Part 1)
From 158 meters! Featuring our own amazing diminutive wonder:
Lilliputian Edenflower

MONOCYCLORIST & BLADE TOSSING JUGGLER
Featuring agility and dexterity...if not lunacy:
Trex Renfold

HOCUSPOCUS and BALANCE BALL ARTISTRY
Featuring our newest Carnie Exemplar:
Maribella Bronet with SPECIAL APPEARANCE by
Finley Twine - We Hope

TOWER of TERROR (Part 2)
From an amazing 206 meters in the clouds.
Featuring again:
Lilliputian Edenflower

PANTOMIME & VOODOO DOCTOR
Featuring the MAN OF FEW WORDS & EVEN LESS BRAINS:
Wells Ellerbee

INTERMISSION

Guests will enjoy: Freak House, Shooting Gallery, Dunking Tank, Nell's Cafe, Impalement Wheel, Giant Fried Turkey Legs - bigger than an Urchin, Kissing Booth, Manly Man Hammer Ring, Steam Powered (by Clown Fuel) Rusty Trusty Ferris Wheel, and more... Gentlemen may enjoy the Bold Lady, Kaegan Karsin, (with the creamiest skin in Second Life) dancing on a secluded stage...

EQUESTRIAN SWAN DIVE
Featuring the DREAM INDUCTIONIST:
Professor Heliotrope Lionheart

FLIGHTS of FEATHER
VOLUNTEER FROM AUDIENCE and featuring the voluptuous and tantalizing:
Ms. Romert Yoj

FLYING TRAPEZE ARTISTS
DIRECT FROM ZIGAZAG EGYPT Featuring the Dazzling Duo of Dubious Dealers:
Renfold & Tremor

TIGHTROPE WALKER & HERO of the HIGH WIRES
Featuring our own HANDSOME and DASHING:
Tinus Koskinen and
one event only special guest, The Lovely Ms. Calia Giha
LOVE ABOVE! An EXCLUSIVE Tightrope Love Story!

TOWER of TERROR (Final part)
From the moon (set to midnight for the full fire effects)
Lilliputian Edenflower

HUMAN PROJECTILES
Captain Trex Renfold and Joy Tremor

ROCKETS & ILLUMINATIONS
Captain Trex Renfold and Joy Tremor

~~~~~~~~
Special Thanks to these who help make your Carnivale possible:

Aeolus Cleanslate:
Jaw dropping original works of steamwork art posters and sample books to print. More than that, his shop houses a printing press that's akin to going on a field trip for scripters, builders, artists, layman etc. All will be awed.
Steamweaver Printery

Blackberry Harvey:
Unprecedented event and party music provisioner and all-around swell Bunneh

Ceejay Writer:
CocoaJava Café, and Truffles and Tribulations behind the cafe
CocoaJava Cafe

Prim Perfect Publications (which includes Prim Perfect and Primgraph Magazines, Designing Worlds TV show, Quest for the Golden Prim comic and God knows what else)
The Primgraph Press

Elleon Bergamasco:
Come shop, grab a fez and stay over! Or for that matter live here...
Mechanix Arms and Oddments Shop
Elegant boxed chocolates that can be carried in hand or table displayed. Verse to bestow your thoughts included. Custom orders and delivery with style and grace.
Bergamasco Bon Bons

Jeaniesing Trilling:
Unique animations, custom work above and beyond.
Jeaniesing's Things and Animations

Penelope Strathern:
A wholesome calm and sense of goodwill comes over you as you step into Nell's Cafe and Gallery. Pretty place, comfortable and yummy food. Best of all it is in Wheatstone!
Nell's Cafe and Gallery

Tinus Koskinen:
Victorian textures, original and exquisite in a shop named for his mother. How can you not like this guy? Impossible.
Lovelace Stock & Trade
Gallery - Tickles and Bites...let your imagination run with this one.
Tickles & Bites Gallery

Jimmy Branagh:
Our overseer, confidant, and devotee!

We Thank You.

Writing For The Primgraph

Sitting in my factory in the Academy of Industry in New Babbage, hard at work writing for the next issue of the Primgraph magazine. (http://primgraph.blogspot.com/). My floating steam writing desk hovers off the floor and was created by Vian Magic. My 'SteamBook Pro' was created by Trilobyte Zanzibar. My animated writing chair (which allows me to really type) is by Lexa Rivera. My custom Seraph uniform is by BlakOpal Designs. Immersed in the music of Steampunk Radio Riel, reasonably safe in New Babbage, what could possibly go wrong?