The New Year’s Eve committee, after much deliberation and consideration, have decided that, in keeping with the character and quality of their “Euchronia” event, it would henceforth be presented on alternate years. Members and friends are advised to make other arrangements to farewell the noughties, and we should all look forward to the riotous revelry of the 31st of December, 2010.
Title: Conflux 1880’s Banquet Location: Canberra Link out: Click here Description: Dr Gillian Polack is planning a fascinating banquet experience this year! As always, the recipes and menu are authentic to the time periods. Pre-dinner drinks will be set in 1945 - the first Mardi Gras after the war. Cocktails set the scene! Then for the dinner we move back in time to the culinary delights of the 1880s.
You have been invited to this Mardi Gras celebration by the great hostess Severine Sallier. Severine is upholding the old ways - she knows they’re going to fade. The railway has come to Lake Charles, it could soon be just another town on the line from New Orleans to Houston. Contraband Bayou’s pirate past and its pre-war elegance will be forgotten. This last dinner is her fight against mediocrity.
The Bayou is full of mystery and secrets - perfect for our Convention theme. There are many excellent horror and mystery novels in this exotic setting. Creatures from the Black Lagoons, Vampires, dark family secrets, and pirates’ hidden treasure all have resonance on Contraband Bayou in 1883.
The Banquet will be held on Saturday evening at the Marque Hotel Canberra, commencing 7pm with pre-dinner drinks.
Tickets are $52 per person (drinks extra). Start Time: 19:00 Date: 2009-10-03
Title: Steamrail Mildura Weekender Location: Melbourne + Mildura Link out: Click here Description: Weekender to Ouyen & Mildura. Enjoy a trip from Melbourne to the glorious town of Mildura on the mighty Murray River with options of dinners, river cruises and more! Start Date: 2009-10-30 End Date: 2009-11-02
Title: International Pretend to be a Time Traveller Day Location: worldwide Link out: Click here Description: December 8 is International Pretend to Be a Time Traveller Day. The idea is to dress and act like a time traveller but never to actually tell anyone that you are one.
Some ideas:
* Walk up to random people and say”WHAT YEAR IS THIS?” and when they tell you, get quiet and then say “Then there’s still time!” and run off.
* Stand in front of a statue (any statue, really), fall to your knees, and yell “NOOOOOOOOO”
* Stare at newspaper headlines and look astonished.
* Take some trinket with you, hand it to some stranger, along with a phone number and say “In thirty years dial this number. You’ll know what to do after that.” Then slip away.
Good Luck .. and for God’s sake people .. do try not to initiate any Paradoxes. Date: 2009-12-08
Australian publisher Black House are currently producing a series called The Dark Detective, a decidedly gothic and almost necessarily steampunky take on Sherlock Holmes written by Christopher Sequeira (who, besides being a Doyle scholar and writer, has apparently appeared as Moriarty on the television) and illustrated by Phil Cornell. The second issue is available now on newstands around Australia.
Continuum dispatchacule. At Ether, the ceiling breathes—which disturbs one on a surprising number of levels. “Steampunk 101″ modestly well-attended; all agreed the “-punk” is misleading, although Richard Harland was prepared to mount an argument. GOH speech worthwhile. Hotel coffee potable.
This weekend will see a contingent of League members attending Continuum, a steampunk-flavoured science fiction convention at the appropriately-named Ether (265 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne). Registration opens at 6pm tomorrow (Friday 14-August), with full attending rate of $210 on the door (although day rates are available).
The 2009 programme for the Melbourne Writers Festival (which is apparently unpunctuated, no doubt in deference to modernity) includes a series of items at the stylish Toff in Town, notably “McSweeny’s (Futuristic) Antipodean Adventure” (Saturday, August 29 — Mme. M and self will be transiting the podes, alas — 8pm–11pm; $25), which features our own Mad Uncle Cliff.
Of course, many fine writers (including China Miéville and Scott Westerfeld) will also be in attendance.
As the League’s Secretary, I am charged with getting the word about. To that end I’ve made use of the ALTV’s extensive (if occasionally antiquated) internet infrastructure to establish a distribution mechanism for electronic mail. This “members’ discussion list” is intended both to provide a medium for a notification service relating to the League’s official activities (some of you will already have seen a posting from the President regarding our recent Queen’s Birthday dinner) and to facilitate casual exchange between the members within the bounds of decency.
(Please note that you will need to use the “password reminder” system on the information page in order to change details of your subscription, or to access the automated list archives.)
Membership of the list is currently restricted to league members and invited guests. Please get in touch if you have any questions regarding League membership or the list.
The Brisbane Steampunkers picnic on Saturday had about 35 people turn up all told and some fantastic outfits. Most of the pictures are on the Facebook event at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=99289119155 but we’re working on moving some of them to non-Facebook areas so non-Facebook people can see the outstanding efforts. I cannot describe what a great time I had at the picnic, and I want to thank everyone who turned up - from the girls and guy who turned up first with the crazy chocolate cookies (2 minute noodles?) through to the organisers of Prometheus Bound (awesome Steampunk nightclub) who arrived in the afternoon after getting some much needed sleep. Especially to all the photographers.
Freeconomy is apparently a kind of distributed gift economy with an international membership of about 10,000. Its faux silent movie introduction is certainly amusing.
Australian publisher Black House are currently producing a series called