More of the Steampunk World's Fair 2016

"People watching" was a big part of the fun. There were so many creative costumers!































Blaze and I attended The Queen's Tea, a tea party where we were able to try several kinds of tea and eat pastries. The hosts asked tea related trivia questions and the winners were given additional packages of tea as prizes.



The gift bags at each place setting were full of both single-size and pot-size tea bags for each attendee  to take home, so we left with a lot of tea.



Blaze and I were wandering aimlessly when we noticed a crowd of people and went to investigate. It turned out that what they were watching was a puppet show. Pineland Puppets has, very cleverly,  updated classic Punch and Judy shows by preforming them as the Joker and Harley Quinn.



This works amazingly well and modern children still enjoy the slapstick humor of the original scripts.
One adorable toddler came running up to watch while we were standing there, she stood watching for a minute, giggling the cutest, infectious giggle, and then pushed her way between two strangers to make room for herself on a couch, so she could watch the rest of the show.



Later in the day, Blaze and I were witnesses to puppet Joker and Harley Quinn meeting human Joker and Harley Quinn.



It rained off and on all weekend, but during one of the dry periods, we also enjoyed watching an aerialist perform.



And, of course, there was more music.

Frenchy and the Punk:

The Steampunk World's Fair: The Convention is in the Eye of the Beholder

This past weekend was our first time going to the Steampunk World's Fair. I had no idea what to expect.



Since the con is focused on steampunk and no other genre, it is not as big as DragonCon, but it is larger than any of the Florida steampunk exposes or festivals I've been to. As such, it is possible for two people to experience the weekend in totally different ways. I realized this, when a friend told me that he thought it was more of a vendors' convention than anything else. I had made the rounds of vendors rooms and hotel rooms cleverly turned into stores by the time he said that, so there was no arguing with his point of view. There are many shopping opportunities at the fair. I had formed a different view by that time, though, and had decided that it was a music festival above all else.

There was music everywhere, even in the hallway. This DJ referred to his set-up as "suitcase music".



Blaze and I began our Steampunk World's Fair experience by taking a waltzing class.





This was followed by seeing/hearing a lot of great live music.

Night Watch Paradox:





with more cowbell.











The Nathaniel Johnstone Band:

They may have lacked cowbells, but they had everything else: talented musicians, Tempest's beautiful dancing, Dogwood's energy, enthusiasm, and fantastic vocals, and Nathaniel Johnstone's very expressive face, while he demonstrated his ability to play multiple instruments.















This Way to the Egress:








The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing:









Those were only the shows we saw on Friday.




Pictures from the Steampunk World's Fair to be continued...

Radio Retrofuture Interview About Splendid Teapot Racing

This is your chance to watch me nervously giggle my way through an interview about Splendid Teapot Racing with Stephen Chapman and Bonsart Bokel.

Speed Reader, My New Teapot Racer

The new teapot racer started life as a Land and Water Rover by the Blue Hat Toy Company.

Blaze trying the car for the first time:



At the same time that I purchased the RC car from Marshall's, DH bought me a $6 Disney Frozen tea set. He's wonderfully understanding and encouraging about my silly hobbies.



I removed the stickers from the teacups and teapot, spray painted the whole set with black plastic paint, and then added some antique gold Rub 'n Buff. I replaced the stickers with tea related book illustration.

There are, also, teabag tags hanging from each teacup, with a tea related literary quote on each.

Even some of the clear plastic packaging from the tea set was used when I mounted the set onto an old music box, so that it would turn.






The idea of little wheels attached to the front bumper of the car to aid in going around curved ramps, was the genius idea of Stephen Chapman, who has dubbed it "the Chapman devise". I have created my Chapman devise using the wheels from a little monster truck that Blaze broke a long time ago, but never threw away.



Failed:
Those wheels were too big and got in the way of the tires. So, instead of helping the car to turn better, they stopped it from turning at all.
Smaller wheels would have worked fine, but there were none available.

Second failure:
I drilled a hole through the top of the chassis, so that I could mount a music box on it, but I didn't check to see what was under the plastic I was drilling through. It turned out the circuit board was directly under the hole and I damaged it. Now, the car won't go in reverse.



I have printed book covers and attached them to foam board to create light weight fake books. In case you ever decide to try this, I have discovered that foam board can be sanded, to even up the edges.

I now have a new car, identical to the one I destroyed.

One more time...



Introducing, my latest teapot racer:









This is the racer I will be taking with to the Steampunk World's Fair in Piscataway, New Jersey, May 13-15: https://www.facebook.com/events/1178157612204010/