The signature pop culture experience of the Southwest

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Momma has been granted a media pass for the upcoming Phoenix Comicon 13!

That means that I, Steampunk Addie, shall be there in an official capacity!

Not only that, but my arch nemesis, Evil Wil Wheaton, will be there again - his sixth year appearing at Phoenix Comicon.


I am sooo excited.

I simply cannot wait for Phoebe to get here. We are going to have so much fun!

Now where did I put my Li'l Wil....

One in a million

I went off to find my friend Ivy after leaving the indignity of the restroom.

Harumph.

I found her hanging out with our friend Julie in 1974.

Ivy was greatly astonished to find several doppelgängers of herself standing around. I comforted her by saying there was an opportunity to be found in clones.

I demonstrated by taking her into the 1864 room (I think of AGPLA as one, giant TARDIS) and tried to waken my doppelgängers from their stasis.

Mwahaha. 

Dozens, nay hundreds, of Addys at my command!

Too bad it didn't work.

Momma said it took more than my half-dime to wake them from their slumber.

So now I am saving up. In the meantime, my Big Sister's Addy is amenable to my plans.

One down....

 

Lurkin' in ev'ry cove

While at Disneyland we had to go on our all-time favorite ride, Pirates of the Caribbean.

We liked it before there was a moving picture ... or even a Captain Jack Sparrow!

Pirates of the Caribbean was the last attraction overseen by Walt Disney himself; he died three months before it opened at Disneyland in 1967.

The ride tells the story of a band of pirates - including their troubles and their exploits.

It is also known for its song "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" written by George Bruns and Xavier Atencio. It also inspired the 2003 Pirates of the Caribbean film series. Since 2006, Disney has added characters from the film series into the Disneyland, Disneyworld, and Tokyo Disneyland versions of the rides.

At Disneyland, Captain Jack Sparrow has been added to the ride three times.

• He is seen hiding behind some dresses in the town square. 
• He is hiding in a barrel just behind the "Pooped Pirate," popping out and getting a good look at the map over the pirate's shoulder.
• Finally, he is seen in a room full of the hidden treasure, draped over a large throne-like chair and waving his new treasures around happily while talking to himself and to passing guests. Every once in a while he sings, "Drink up, me hearties. Yo ho!"

Ivy was mortified when I hoped off the boat to check out the pieces of eight.

Psst! Avast there! It be too late to alter course, mateys. And there be plundering pirates lurkin' in ev'ry cove, waitin' to board. Sit closer together and keep your ruddy hands in board. That be the best way to repel boarders. And mark well me words, mateys: Dead men tell no tales! Ye come seekin' adventure with salty old pirates, eh? Sure you've come to the proper place. But keep a weather eye open, mates, and hold on tight. With both hands, if you please. Thar be squalls ahead, and Davy Jones waiting for them what don't obey.  

The Year of the Ear

As previously mentioned, Momma surprised us with a one day trip to Disneyland last week. Momma, my Big Sister, her two cousins and their Momma piled into the car on Thursday and off we went. (I was joined by McKenna, Kanani, and Cécile. We met Ivy at Disneyland.)

The first thing we ALL did after walking in was get our Mickey Mouse Ear Hats.

Mickey Mouse Ear Hats began in the 1950s when The Mickey Mouse Club aired on television. The Mousketeers wore them throughout each show, so the hats became something young children and adults dreamed about wearing.

The creator of these ears was Roy Williams, an adult Mousketeer. He was allegedly inspired by the 1929 short story The Karnival Kid, featuring a scene of Mickey tipping his ears to Minnie. Many years later, the first wearable Mickey Mouse Ears were born.

The Mickey Mouse Ear Hat is probably the most popular item purchased at Disney theme parks. They are usually a simple round cap with two round ears attached so they look like Mickey's ears.

Did you know that Disney has declared 2013 to be the Year of the Ear? So there are more ears than ever to choose from! 

Momma selected a limited edition Steampunk Ear Hat (of course!), my Big Sister got Perry, I got a MousekeEars Mini Ear Hat - Red and McKenna got blue MousekeEars. My cousins also got a Dumbo and Donald Duck each.

You're never too old to be a Mouseketeer!

Give a hoot

My friend June is the original tree hugger.

She is into hippy culture, nature, tree climbing, environmentalism, and really wanted to visit the Redwood Forest.

So off we went - where we promptly found a redwood that had been cut down. June was devastated and wept while I tried to comfort her. 

The redwood species contains the largest and tallest trees in the world. (There's nothing like standing next to one of these babies to make anyone feel short - especially if you're only 18 inches tall!) These trees can live to be thousands of years old.

They are endangered due to habitat losses from logging, fire ecology suppression, development, and air pollution. 

Sequoiadendron giganteum and Sequoia sempervirens in California and Oregon are vulnerable species, and Metasequoia glyptostroboides in China is a critically endangered species. 

That's enough to make me a tree-hugger!

 

X-Women

My friend Ellie arrived this week for an adventure.

When I asked her what she was interested in doing, she said anything with space, planets, and telescopes.

She wanted to immediately launch into space but I told her, "Patience, my Padawan."

Let's start with some basics - which is easy since there are two powerful telescopes in Arizona: Kitt and Lowell.

My favorite? Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.
 
Lowell Observatory was founded in 1894, making it one of the oldest observatories in the United States.

In 1906, Percival Lowell, a wealthy Bostonian who had founded the Lowell Observatory, started an extensive search for a possible ninth planet, which he called, "Planet X."

It was there that Clyde Tombaugh discovered the dwarf planet Pluto on Feb. 18, 1930 using the 13-inch Pluto Discovery Telescope.

Ellie said she wanted to see that so off we went. She was so excited I was afraid she'd push Tombaugh out of the way!

Known for years as a planet, poor Pluto was downgraded to dwarf planet status in 2006.

(Momma likes to say that when she was my age Pluto was a planet.)

New Mexico's House of Representatives passed a resolution in honor of Tombaugh, a longtime resident of that state, which declared that Pluto will always be considered a planet while in New Mexican skies and that March 13, 2007 was Pluto Planet Day.

See what's become of us

My friend Norah arrived this week for an adventure and we decided to go see the astronomical clock at Hampton Court Palace.

Norah likes England, history, museums, reading, water, castles, and libraries so it seemed like a natural.

King Henry VIII commissioned the astronomical clock for his palace at Hampton Court, which was installed around 1540. Still functioning, it was quite practical: showing the time, month, day of the month, position of the sun in the zodiac, the phase and age of the moon.

It also determined the time at which the moon would cross the meridian and therefore the time of high water at London Bridge, which was useful if you, like King Henry, traveled to London by Royal Barge.

We, however, traveled in my floating library.

 

Molly and I take flight

photo courtesy of QNPoohbear

Golly gee, my friend Molly McIntire and her family sure do get around!

Not only is her father, Captain James McIntire, serving as a doctor in England, but her Aunt Eleanor is a W.A.S.P. -- a civilian female pilot employed to fly military aircraft under the direction of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.

On one of Aunt Eleanor's cross-country flights she and Molly met this short little guy named Curt Clump. Poor Clump has bad vision (we could both relate!) so he became a navigator for the 458th Bombardment Group.
 
During World War II, the 458th Bombardment Group was an Eighth Air Force B-24 Liberator unit in England. Assigned to a Royal Air Force station near Norwich, Norfolk in early 1944, the group flew its last combat mission on April 25, 1945 flying 240 missions and losing 47 aircraft in combat.

Molly is (understandably) a bit anxious about her father since he's overseas, so we popped over to see him in my time-traveling dirigible. While we were there I suggested visiting the 458th.

They had a group photo taken while we were there. Clump (the shortest man standing) was glad to see us since we were shorter than him, so I dragged Molly in, too!

Unofficially, of course.

The adventurous type

I've been thinking.

Clementine and I are always having adventures of one kind or another, but we're starting to think that others might like to occasionally join us.

Would you?

So far I've has adventures with Sam, Ruth, Josefina Ester at the St. Louis World Fair, and Inky and Raven in the Chiricahua Mountains.

My dear friend Phoebe is scheduled to arrive for a visit in May so she can meet Nichelle Nichols at Phoenix Comicon.

If you (or your vinyl friend) have always dreamed of an adventure but don't know how to fulfill that dream - let me know!

Who knows, maybe you (or your vinyl friend) can have the adventure of a lifetime without leaving home!

Just contact me at steampunkaddie@gmail.com.

The wildest, wickedest night spot

Raven with some cigar store statues. Photo by Super Inky.

My buddy Inky was back in Arizona for a recent visit but we weren't able to get together ... again.

As Inky would say, "Argh!"

While she was here she and my other friend Raven visited Clementine's old home: Tombstone, Ariz.

Without us.

Clementine and I both had a good laugh when Inky wrote:

Here's Raven with some cigar store statues. We definitely learned that Tombstone, in its heyday, was not a good place for kids. It was full of saloons, cowboys, and dancing ladies. There were even gunfights. Yikes! 

Gee, you think? 

Tombstone was founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. Its population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than seven years. In 1881, it became the county seat of the new Cochise County.

Far distant from any other metropolitan city, by mid-1881 Tombstone boasted a bowling alley, four churches, an ice house, a school, two banks, three newspapers, and an ice cream parlor, as well as 110 saloons, 14 gambling halls, and numerous dance halls and brothels. All of these were situated among and on top of a large number of dirty, hardscrabble mines.

The gentlemen and ladies of Tombstone attended operas presented by visiting acting troupes at the Schieffelin Hall opera house, while the miners and cowboys saw shows at the Bird Cage Theatre, "the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast" according to The New York Times in 1882.

Clementine certainly had her hands full keeping peace in the streets of Tombstone.

Ever hear of the Gunfight at O.K. Corral? That's how we met.

To the rexcue!

Payne Street Doll Boutique

I am so excited I hardly know what to do with myself.

My buddy Inky discovered an amazing doll shop in Casa Grande while she was visiting Arizona.

The Payne Street Doll Boutique began building handcrafted doll furniture in December 2009, when American Girl sold out of Camp Bunks. At that time, they only sold single-sized bunk beds, but a year later they offered a full line of doll furniture. They continue adding new pieces to their product listing, including their new Animal Lovers line!

Momma has been involved with Cornish Rex rescue for more than 20 years, and even wrote a book about her beloved breed.

And now I can help!

Some of the products that will be featured include a Pet Hospital & Boarding Set, pet carrier, dog house, cat tree, pet bunk house, pet-sized bunk beds, and horse stable and barn.

Their pet hutch has six cubbies with latched doors. The hutch is approximately 27 inches long by 18¼ inches tall by 9½ inches deep. Built of painted pine, hutch can be finished in any color combination of your choice.

Other items carried by Payne Street Doll Boutique include:

• Double Bunk Doll Bed 
• Triple Bunk Doll Bed 
• Quad Bunk Doll Bed
• Trundle Doll Beds & Bunks
• Ready-to-Paint Doll Bunk Beds
• Newborn Photography Prop Beds
• Princess and the Pea Prop Beds
• Doll Tables & Kitchen Sets
• Doll Couch & Chairs
• Doll Wardrobe & Armoire
• Doll Vanity / Dressing Table
• Doll School Desks & Easel
• Doll Treehouse
• Outdoor Doll Furniture
• Doll Gymnastics Set
• Fashions by Aunt Judi

Geronimo!

While visiting with my dear friends Inky and Raven on Wednesday they mentioned that they hoped to go camping in the Chiricahua Mountains this weekend.

I decided to surprise them.

The Chiricahua Mountains are named after a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At one time they were living on 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Mexico.

The most well-known warrior leader of the Chiricahua Apache, although he was not considered a chief, was Geronimo.

After an 1858 attack by a company of Mexican soldiers killed his mother, wife and three children, Geronimo joined revenge attacks on the Mexicans. During his career as a war chief, he was notorious for consistently urging raids upon Mexican Provinces and their towns, and later against American locations across Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas. He made a stronghold in the Chiricahua Mountains, part of which is now inside Chiricahua National Monument.

In 1886 Geronimo surrendered to U.S. authorities after a lengthy pursuit. As a prisoner of war in old age he became a celebrity and appeared in fairs but was never allowed to return to the land of his birth. He later regretted his surrender and claimed the conditions he made had been ignored. Geronimo died in 1909 from complications of pneumonia at Fort Sill, Okla.

Today, only two branches of the Chiricahua are federally recognized as independent units: the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, located near Apache, Okla.; and the Chiricahua tribe located on the Mescalero Apache reservation near Ruidoso, N.M.

The best laid schemes of dolls and women

Inky and Raven enjoy our desert landscaping.

What is the old saying about "the best laid schemes of mice and men go often awry"?

Well, they certainly went awry this week!

Momma and my friend Inky's mom had spent considerable time setting up a Wednesday play date for us at the Phoenix Zoo. They're visiting their friend Raven's mom in Tucson, but wanted to come north to meet Me!

So what does Momma do? Lands herself in the hospital instead.

Now would you rather have a play date at the zoo, or go to the hospital?

I voted for the zoo but Momma said her vote overruled mine - especially since she was driving.

Sadly we told Inky's mom about our change in plans, but she replied that she would still like to come see us! So Inky, Raven, and their moms arrived at the hospital just as Momma was discharged.

Being sporting women, they said they would follow us back to the house where we visited and posed for photos for a few happy hours. We even surprised each other when I gave Inky a pin with my likeness on it ... and she gave me one with her likeness!

It wasn't a trip to the zoo but it sure was fun!

I hope they come back soon, although they did invite us to visit them in New York City, too.

Don't want no short people

If you think I've got attitude, you haven't experienced anything like what My Dear Friend Angry Jess can dish out.

Angry Jess/used with permission.

Angry Jess got on a (GRAPHIC!) tangent Tuesday about Music to Moderate By and managed to hit one of my favorite modern (1977 is modern in 1864!) songs: Short People by Randy Newman. 

I love this song.

I'm short and despise prejudice. What's not to like?

Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
To live

They got little hands
Little eyes
They walk around
Tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet

Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
`Round here

Short people are just the same
As you and I
(A fool such as I)
All men are brothers
Until the day they die
(It's a wonderful world)

Short people got nobody
Short people got nobody
Short people got nobody
To love

They got little baby legs
That stand so low
You got to pick em up
Just to say hello
They got little cars
That go beep, beep, beep
They got little voices
Goin' peep, peep, peep
They got grubby little fingers
And dirty little minds
They're gonna get you every time
Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
'Round here

In case you don't get it, "short" is meant figuratively, intending to make fun of people who are short-tempered and small-minded.

A lot of people didn't get the joke and thought Newman was a bigot when the song came out in 1977. Legislation was even introduced in Maryland in 1978 to make it illegal to play Short People on the radio.

The bill did not pass.

Next up, Momma's Favorite: The Beatles, (Will You Still Love Me) When I'm 6'4".

Faithful friends who are dear to us

It looks like the fun times at the Fair are over. Sam and Ruth are wrapping up their Fair adventures and heading home soon. School starts next week. I imagine it's the same for Josefina Ester. Thanks for the fun time at the fair! 

Next year all our troubles will be miles away.
Once again as in olden days, happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us, will be near to us once more.
Someday soon we all will be together, if the fates allow
Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Meet Me in St. Louis, 1943

Meet me in St. Louie, Louie (oh no)

Sam, Ruth and Josefina Ester join Esther and Rose at the piano.

Giddyup! Today's the Horse Show Parade at the 1904 Fair's Livestock Forum which got me thinking about lyrics you don't normally hear.

"Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis," better known as "Meet Me in St. Louis," is a popular song from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair featured in the movie, Meet Me in St. Louis. 

In the 1904 song "Louis" is pronounced "Louie" and the chorus is the same for the first two verses but varies for the rest of the song to reflect the verses.

Verse 1
When Louis came home to the flat

He hung up his coat and his hat
He gazed all around
But no wifey he found

So he said, "Where can Flossie be at?"

A note on the table he spied

He read it just once, then he cried

It ran, "Louis, dear,"

"It's too slow for me here,"

"So I think I will go for a ride..."
 

Verse 2

The dresses that hung in the hall

Were gone, she had taken them all

She took all his rings

And the rest of his things

The picture he missed from the wall

"What, moving?" the janitor said

"Your rent is paid three months ahead!"

"What good is the flat?"

Said poor Louis, "Read that!"

And the janitor smiled as he read...
 

Chorus

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis,

Meet me at the Fair

Don't tell me the lights are shining

Anyplace but there

We will dance the "Hoochie-Koochie"

I will be your "Tootsie-Wootsie"

If you will meet me in St. Louis, Louis,

Meet me at the Fair.
 

(The rest of the verses are usually left out. Can't you just see Esther secretly singing these with Rose? Or even Mr. and Mrs. Smith when they were alone!)

Oops, you caught me!

Verse 3

Lew Woods was the name of a horse,

that ran at the New Orleans course,

I played him one day

for a dollar each way,

and I charged it to profit and loss;

He started to run in the wet,

the son of a gun's running yet,

That crazy old skate,

he made straight for the gate,

and I hollered, “Hey Lew! don't forget.”
 

Chorus 3

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair,

Take my tip and don't stop running until you are there,

You're a wonder that's no liesky, if you don't fall down and diesky,

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair
 

Verse 4

There came to the gay tenderloin,

a Jay who had money to burn,

The poor simple soul

showed a girlie his roll,

and she said, “for some wine dear, I yearn.”

A bottle and bird right away,

she touched him then said, “I can't stay.”

He sighed, “Tell me, sweet,

where can you and I meet?”

and the orchestra started to play.
 

Chorus 4

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair,

Don't tell me the lights are shining any place but there;

I'll be waiting there my honey, to divorce you from your money,

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair.
 

Verse 5

The clerks in the bank said, “It's queer,

did anyone see the cashier?

It's way after time,

and we haven't a dime,

we can't open the safe 'till he's here.”

The President shook his gray head,

“Send out for an expert,” he said,

The door's opened wide,

not a cent was inside,

just a card, that was all, and it read:
 

Chorus 5

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair,

All the boys and all the girls are going to be there;

If they ask about the cashier, you can say he cuts a dash here,

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair
 

Verse 6

In church sat a man near the door,

asleep, he was starting to snore,

The Minister rose,

and he said, “We will close

singing, Meet on the Beautiful Shore.”

The man in the back then awoke,

he caught the last words that he spoke;

He said, “Parson White,

you can meet me alright,

but The Beautiful Shore is a joke.”
 

Chorus 6

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair,

Don't tell me the lights are shining any place but there;

I'll be waiting at the station, for the whole darned congregation,

Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair

The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Daily Calendar

Friday, Sept. 2, 1904

• Fraternal Aid Association
• Horse show parade at livestock forum

Hail Italia

Sam, Ruth, Josefina Ester and I check out the Italian Pavilion.

I was fascinated when Josefina Ester told us she and her family were participating in the Italian Pavilion at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, so I headed to the library.

During the Fair, visitors walked up the wide stairs through the Ionic columns into a pavilion designed to resemble a Roman emperor's villa. Concerts featuring Italian music entertained Italian visitors and special guests in the pavilion and its lovely surrounding gardens. Visitors walked through the pavilion's reception room to view reproductions of statues from the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii along with modern works of art.

I found this in a book published in 1913:

Italian Pavilion and Italian Day:

The Italian pavilion was opened June 6, 1904 with an official reception. The guests began to arrive at 4 p.m., and for the next two hours the building was thronged with guests representing the Italian and other foreign governments, the exposition management, the National Commission, Board of Lady Managers, United States government board, Philippine commission, the many state commissions, the various departments of the Exposition and St. Louis society.

A canopy covered the walk from the Ionic columns fronting the pavilion to the main entrance, where the guests were announced by a member of the Italian commission.

At the opening of the reception, which lasted from 4 to 6 o'clock, the Italian colors were unfurled from two gilded flagstaffs in front of the building. The Colorado Italian orchestra played inside the pavilion and Professor Conterno's Italian band outside in the garden. As the official representatives of the different foreign governments arrived they were greeted with the national airs of their respective countries. Italian music was a favorite with the visitors, and next in popularity came Hail Columbia, the Star Spangled Banner and other American airs.

Among the many distinguished visitors was Count Henry Prevost de Brebiere. The ladies were presented, each, with a bouquet of flowers and a box of Italian bonbons tied with red, green and white ribbon, the colors of Italy.

Oct. 12, 1904, the 412th anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, was Italian Day at the World's Fair. The Italian pavilion was decorated outside with the national colors of Italy and the United States, and on the walls inside hung banners picturing the history of the Roman Empire from the earliest days to the discovery of America.

One of the main features of the celebration was a parade through the exposition grounds to the Italian pavilion and back to St. Louis Plaza where Baron des Planches, Italian ambassador at Washington, presented a very handsome Italian flag which had been carried in the procession by a guard of honor composed of 12 Italian marines, to Mayor Wells for the city of St. Louis. The Mayor gracefully accepted the flag in the name of the city and extended a cordial greeting to Ambassador and Mrs. des Planches and all of the visiting Italians. Signor M. Salvini, the Italian sculptor who had been selected to act as "President of the Day," delivered an address in which he expressed the hope that the time would come when the 12th of October would be celebrated regularly in the United States as a public holiday. After addresses by the President of the Exposition and Commissioner-General Giovanni Branchi, the latter read the following cablegram from Rome, which had just been received by Signor Angelo Pavia, president of the royal commission, from Signor Rava, the Italian minister of commerce.

Present to the great friendly nation, whose name reminds us of the greatest achievement of our country, the best wishes of the Italian government today when Italy celebrates its participation in the great International Exposition at St. Louis.

A banquet in the afternoon at the International Cafe on the Pike was attended by 1,000 guests, most of them Italians, Signor Pavia acting as toastmaster. An illustrated lecture by Professor Brunialti, of Rome, on "Italian Monuments," filled Festival Hall between 6 and 7 p. m. In the evening the celebration of Italian Day was fittingly closed with a water carnival on the lagoons, the distinguished guests being taken through the waterways in Venetian gondolas and launches to the strains of Italian music.

The Universal Exposition of 1904, Volume 1

David Rowland Francis

Saint Louis

Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company
1913

The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Daily Calendar 

Thursday, Sept. 1, 1904

• Tennessee Day (Hermitage - President Jackson)
• Indiana Day
• Horse show awards 

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