A couple of books landed in my mailbox this week, much to the chagrin of my over-worked mailman. “Shakespeare’s Lady” by Alexa Schnee (Guideposts) and “Shadow’s Master” by Jon Sprunk (PYR – link).

Both books look very interesting, I think that I’ll try “Shakespeare’s Lady” (that sounds so wrong). “Shadow’s Master” comes out in late March so I’ll hold on to that title for a while.

I also bought a copy of Sylvia Browne’s “Afterlives of the Rich and Famous” because I am a idiot. While I know who she is, I haven’t read or seen any of her work so I thought that I would try this book. What a pile of crap! Oh well, I consider it an expensive lesson in life.

He included a few lines from “Desiderata” and I felt that it would be a nice touch to include the full text. To say that John will be missed would be an understatement, but I will sit beside him at his cool stream some day.

Desiderata
by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Sadly, I couldn’t hear the noise reported by Jason. It would have been simple for Jason or an assistant to crawl on the floor out of camera and manipulate the closet door. Having said that, I was impressed with the shattered glass.

While there may have been several ways to duplicate this illusion, I believe that the simplest way would be the “Devil’s Bottle” or “Bologna bottle”. The glass is heated, the interior is subjected to rapid cooling, resulting in a shattered bottle or glass.

Enjoy the demo of the “Devil’s Bottle”.

Wouldn’t it be cool, if when asked what the client wanted, Amy replied that they want us to plug their haunted tours. Well, I can dream can’t I?

While I am sure that the, as Zak called it, damn dam was the scene of many tragedies, I was disappointed in the lack of historical documentation. Was any effort made to discover the names of the alleged men who fell into the cement? It would seem to me that an interview with a local historian could have cleared up a lot. Maybe a few headlines from the newspapers of the era would have been a nice touch.

When Ghost Adventures visited the location, they mentioned the Cherokee War Chief Dragging Canoe several times. However; the Ghost Hunters didn’t call him by name. Was that a lack of research on their part or a dig at GA’s focus on the curse? Grant tossed out the curse idea while on the way to investigate the damn dam.

Our professional team of crack ghost hunters quickly found themselves overwhelmed by the amount of “activity”. I have to admit that it does look and sound like a haunted place. I think that the high point was the flooded grave investigation.

Britt puts a camera in a water-tight box and with the use of a pole probes into a flooded brick structure. A bird flies out of the building scaring everyone. Just imagine if it had been Steve, he would have died of fright!

Of course, Steve and Tango had their moments. At one point, they started slapping their faces after feeling something on them. I was reminded of the Stooges. Amy got all worked up over a fish and Britt investigated by himself (I thought that a TAPS no-no???).

The most interesting sound recorded was what was described as an Indian flute. The wind can do that with a coke bottle, pipes, etc..

All in all, I enjoyed the episode. I have to say that in a head-to-head match Ghost Adventures had the more entertaining investigation.

This has got to be one of the funniest shows on TV.

From this show I have learned that Bigfoots behave very much like drunken frat boys. They will throw rocks at and pee on your tent. They catch ducks by swimming underwater and grabbing their little webbed feet. Bigfoots like candy bars and will walk on a fours to trick us into thinking that they are bears. They can imitate coyotes. The make tree knocks — because who doesn’t like tree knocking. Bigfoots only have black noses but have a variety of hair color. Power-line clearings are Bigfoot superhighways. Skunk apes sleep/hide in underground gator caves and absorb methane.

Oh those wacky Bigfoots!

Camelias in the front yard

Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons

Product description:

From the author of Mansfield Park and Mummies…

NORTHANGER ABBEY AND ANGELS AND DRAGONS

Dragons in the skies of Regency England!

Gothic horrors collide with high satire in this elegant, hilarious, witty, insane, and unexpectedly romantic supernatural parody of Jane Austen’s classic novel.

Young and naive Catherine Morland is constantly surrounded by angels only she alone can see. Leaving her country home for the first time, to embark on a grand adventure that begins in fashionable Bath, our romantic heroine must not only decrypt the mystery of the Udolpho Code but win her true love Henry Tilney.

Meanwhile she is beset by all the Gothic horrors known to Impressionable Young Ladies — odious demons, Regency balls, elusive ghosts, pleasure excursions, temperature-changing nephilim, secret clues, ogre suitors, and a terrifying ancient Dragon who has very likely hidden a secret treasure hoard somewhere in the depths of Northanger Abbey.

• TempleCon – Feb 3-5, Warwick, RI
• Anachrocon - Feb 24-26, Atlanta, GA
• AnomalyCon – March 23-25, Denver, CO
• Florida Steampunk Exhibition East – April 13 – 15 – Daytona Beach, FL
• Steampunk Empire Symposium – April 27-29, Cincinnati, Ohio
• AetherFest – May 4-6 , San Antonio, Texas
• Gaslight Gathering II – May 11-13, San Diego, CA
• Steampunk World’s Fair -May 18-20, Piscataway, NJ
• World Steam Expo – May 25-28, Deerborn, MI
• Clockwork Alchemy - May 25-28, San Jose, CA
• Steampunk Industrial Revolution – June 8-10, Nashua, NH
• ConTemporal – June 21 – 24 – Raleigh, NC
• San Diego Comic Con- July 12-15, San Diego, CA
• Portland GEAR Con - Aug 17-19 , Portland, OR
• The Alternative History Track at Dragon*Con - Aug 31 – Sept 3, Atlanta, GA
• Upstate Steampunk Extravaganza And Meet-Up – Sept 30 – Oct 2, Anderson, SC
• Four Winds/The Wild, Wild West Steampunk Fest – Oct 13-14, Troup, TX
• OctopodiCon 2012 – Oct 5 – 7, Oklahoma City, OK
• Steamcon IV : Victorian Monsters  – Oct 26-28, 2012 Seattle, WA
• Emerald City Steampunk Expo – November (dates TBA), Wichita, Kansas
• Teslacon III : “A Trip to the Moon” – Nov 30 – Dec 2, Madison, WI

If you have a steampunkish convention in your area, and it is not listed, leave the info in the comments below. This looks like a great year for steampunk!