Down to Earth

I am so excited I don't even need my beloved Airship Enterprise to be in the clouds.

Nichelle Nichols likes Me us! She really, really likes Me us!

Nichols, well known as Lt. Uhura of Star Trek: The Original Series television series and six feature films, is also a singer, dancer, and a lifelong supporter of the arts and sciences.

Today at Comicon we made a beeline for Nichols to get her autograph. She loved us! In fact, she wanted to keep us but Momma said that wasn't possible.

(Phoebe got her tummy signed!)

Later, we went for a photo opportunity where Nichols again admired us. Momma said it still wasn't possible to give either of us to her, but if Nichols really wanted a doll she would make her one - and Nichols said, "Yes!"

Steampunk Addie Into Darkness

I flew my Faithful Dirigible (the Enterprise, of course) back from the Navajo Nation in time to join Momma for tonight's premier of the moving picture Star Trek Into Darkness.

 
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew. 
 

Only eight days until Phoenix Comicon - and the arrival of My Dear Friend, Phoebe!

The Jolly Addie

While re-reading Dave Barry's delightful 2004 book, Peter and the Starcatchers, I was struck with inspiration for the sails of my pirate ship, the Enterprise. 

Peter and the Starcatchers

In Barry's Peter Pan universe, pirate captain Black Stache is very resourceful. He captures the naval ship the Wasp by using a corset-shaped sail.

"'The Ladies' were Black Stache's secret weapon -- a special set of sails he'd had the ship's sailmakers make, using patterns that Black Stache had obtained from, of all places, a ladies' corset maker. Though they had not yet been tested at sea, Black Stache was convinced that his invention would revolutionize the pirate industry. He was saving the Ladies for just the right moment, when he was heading downwind, closing on his prey for the kill." (p. 34).

Can't you just see me, Steampunk Addie Dred Pirate Scott, at the helm of such a stylish pirate ship?

The house next door

The girls asked Me today if I would take them to see 5135 Kensington Avenue.

I was happy to oblige and they filled Me in on the story as we headed over.

Sam, Ruth, and Josefina Ester try to get me to hide!

The well-off Smith family lives there with four daughters and a son.

The family was shocked when Mr. Smith revealed that he had been transferred to New York, which meant that the family had to leave St. Louis before the St. Louis World's Fair!

Mr. Smith later announced that the family would not leave St. Louis when he realized how much the move would affect his family. And the whole family has been able to attend the World's Fair.

The story ends at night with everyone overlooking the lake at the center of the World's Fair just as the lights come up on the entire fair.

Sounds like a pretty good story to Me. Maybe someone could make it a moving picture someday and call it, Meet Me in St. Louis.

The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Daily Calendar 

Wednesday, Aug. 31, 1904

• Mining Gulch Day, 10,000 free watermelons given out
• Bulgaria's V.I. Exhibits opened
• Two simultaneous marriages took place on Observation Wheel
• Eagle Day

O Captain! my Captain!

Sam expressed interest is seeing my "newfangled" airship, The Enterprise, so I arranged for a private tour.

Not that it's hard when you're the Captain.

She was surprised that the blueprints were in German but I reminded her that I met Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1863 when he acted as an observer for the Union Army Balloon Corps during the American Civil War.

I like to think I helped spur his interest in dirigibles and flight, so when I asked for my own little zeppelin he was happy to oblige. 

Sam, Ruth, and Josefina Ester seem impressed with my floating bookmobile. Sam wants to know if I can fly them (including Uncle Gard) back home to New York once they're ready to leave the World's Fair.

I don't know if she'll be so eager once she finds out how cold it can get up there....

We're fairly stuffed

Sam, Josefina Ester, Ruth and I check out my favorite exhibition.

Sam, Ruth, Josefina Ester, and I are having a grand time at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair! 

Samantha and Ruth are both from New York. Sam is curious about everything and Uncle Gard is accompanying the girls along with a maid as a chaperone. Ruth is a Society girl who wants to be where all the fashionable people are. New York City is great but St. Louis is where it's at right now.

(Samantha wanted to know if I arrived in one of those newfangled airships that are on display. Of course! Now, if I can just figure out how to get her on board the Enterprise....)

Josefina Ester is a first generation American who lives in St. Louis so she can show us where everything is! Her parents immigrated to St. Louis from Palermo, Sicily. She is named after her grandfather (Joseph) and her grandmother (Ester). Her father is a shoemaker and has his own shop in St. Louis. Her mother stays at home. Josefina Ester is an only child.

Her family and some other Sicilian immigrants are part of the Italian Pavillion at the Fair. She is very interested in many of the science exhibits.

Waffle ice cream cones

We've been busy taking in the sights ... and eating lots of yummy goodies!

Thankfully for us, doll food is calorie free!

As I mentioned yesterday, a number of foods claimed to have been invented at the Fair including the waffle-style ice cream cone, the hamburger, hot dog, and peanut butter. (It is more likely, however, that these food items were first introduced to mass audiences and popularized by the fair.) 

Cheeseburger with french fries

If you (or your doll) are now drooling over these luscious foods, drool no more! I can't recommend Pippaloo's doll food enough. She's the artiste who sculpted these luscious creations.

Don't they look good enough to eat?

Pippaloo creates realistic polymer clay food for your American Girl or other 18-inch doll. All items in her shop are ready to ship. She strives to make unique and high quality products that will delight dolls and their owners alike.

Hot dog with mustard

According to Pippaloo, "My polymer clay obsession started out quite innocently when my two young girls asked me to make some cookies for our American Girl dolls. Dismayed by the lack of realism and incorrect scale of so many of the foods that AG makes, I soon found myself on a mission. That was about four years ago. As you can no doubt imagine, we now have some very well fed dolls."

Are your dolls craving something specific? She is always happy to do custom orders. Custom orders can take from one to three weeks to complete, depending on the request.

Peanut butter and jelly

Food items are crafted from polymer clay and are in perfect 1:3 scale for American Girl dolls.

Because of the realistic nature and scale of the food, these items are not intended for children under the age of 6. Her food is not for human consumption - it is only tasty to dolls!

All items are crafted by Pippaloo in her smoke-free home studio.

Since all her clay food is handmade, no two will be exactly alike - but each piece you receive will look as realistic and scrumptious as the ones pictured. 

Now, what should I try next....

On the Net: http://www.etsy.com/shop/pippaloo

The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Daily Calendar

Tuesday, Aug. 30, 1904

• Improved Order of Heptasophs
• Olympic Marathon Race, temperature over 90 degrees. Fred Lorz crosses finish line, but had ridden a car for 11 miles. Thomas Hicks won the race, but required assistance after taking strychnine and raw eggs.

Captain's Log, Stardate 2011.231

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

I salute you today Mr. Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991) on what would have been your 90th birthday. You have been a source of hope and inspiration for millions since 1966.

I have been and always shall be your friend.

Live long and prosper

Up, up and away

I think it is safe to reveal this now, but I served as a Union spy during the Civil War.

Something you might have suspected since I have spoken freely of my work for the Underground, but not all my work was underground. Sometimes it was 500 feet up in the air!

How did I accomplish that marvelous feat, you ask? By volunteering as an Aeronaut.

But how did this come about? My work for the Underground had become well known. My eyes and my color made spying easy. Then I gained a reputation with my unusually stout parasol, made by Momma. (It's too short to function well as a parasol but it's dandy as a self-defense weapon!)

I also trained myself as a detective and became proficient with a magnifying glass. (I became interested in its use after reading future Sherlock Holmes books.)

So after reading about the formation of the Union Army Balloon Corps I raced over to HQ to volunteer my services.

At first I was mocked and ridiculed ("A girl! In the Army!!"), but I persevered and eventually won them over after demonstrating my varied and unique skills.

So I  was trained in the use of a telescope (which I admit was hard with my eyes and I still prefer my binoculars) and my very own aether pistol! Don't worry, the pistol was permanently set on "Stun."

The Balloon Corps and I served the Union Army from October 1861 until the summer of 1863, when it was disbanded. I got to participate in four major battles though: Bull Run, Yorktown, Fair Oaks and Vicksburg.

Now you might be wondering, how did I manage all that when I didn't reach Philadelphia until 1864? Did you forget my TARDIS?

But what else could I possibly do when I belatedly read about Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, who met with U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on July 11, 1861, and proposed a demonstration with his own balloon, the Enterprise.

The Enterprise, really! How could I resist that!