Update on the Sanford/Casselberry Vampire and Shadowlore Meet Up

I’m so happy about how well this meetup has been developing over the last several months!  We’re getting more and more people in attendance and pulling in people from around the country and around the world through the talkshoe conference call set up!  (I’m so happy I went to the effort of getting that set up and so grateful that I have such tech savvy members to help me keep it up and running and continually improve the sound quality.  Thank you Magus and Kirra!)  The comments people have been making about the quality of the content are also quite encouraging.  So far it is everything I hoped it would be, and that makes me even more ambitious for what we can achieve for our members in the future.

Panera Bread worked out quite well last meeting.  It was indeed quieter for our recordings, and the microphone Kirra brought worked wonderfully well.  We had Doktor call in from Kansas — before his cordless phone died.  Let’s all remember that technology doesn’t always work well around vampires and try not to drain the batteries on our communications equipment, shall we???

We also had a guest call in from NORWAY!!! We have gone international!  And so dedicated was our guest Folksome that he stayed up until 2:20 a.m. his time (quite a time difference between Florida and Norway).  Yay, Folksome, and yay Doktor for making the effort to join us in the midst of moving.  (Sorry about your friends’ phone!)

I hope we have more and more national and international members and guests joining us in future; please do encourage any friends you have online around the world to join us for a meet up whenever they can.  Talkshoe chat is free, and skype is relatively inexpensive for calling in over long distances.  Please also make use of the downloadable recording of the meeting at the talk shoe site; July’s meeting is MUCH easier to hear and has lots of interesting information.

[Read more →]

Tags: General, Magic, Vivienne D'Avalon by Vivienne D'Avalon
No Comments »

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! - Haunted Attraction Crew

For event happening the weekend of October 17-19, 2008

In the Orlando/Casselberry/Sanford central Florida area

Nephilim United Productions, Inc., a corporation not for profit dedicated to promoting “dark” art, fashion, literature, film and music, is planning our first event for October 2008. Volunteers are URGENTLY needed as we create a charity haunted attraction to serve as both a fundraiser and our first edutainment introduction to the community. This will be a multi-element haunted event, and we need dedicated volunteers at all levels of experience and skill sets to bring everything together.

The attraction will combine educational, historic and cultural content with classic handcrafted scares, keeping tech effects costs to a minimum while relying on artistry, enthusiasm, and old fashioned fun and showmanship to provide family entertainment value and personal service unequaled by large “mega haunts” in the area. The event is presented for entertainment purposes, and as such will call for the creation of “sideshow gaffs” and oddities created through a variety of means. Local artists will also be needed to create the event, which will showcase the work of these artists.

Funding for the event will be secured through individual donations and sponsorship by businesses and organizations. Sponsoring organizations receive acknowledgment, advertising, and promotion as outlined in our sponsors’ information packet (available upon request).

The primary theme for the guided-tour haunt is “The History of Halloween and Horror.” Scare-laden rooms will illustrate key points in this timeline: the Celtic origins of Halloween; early horror literature; a homage to the circus sideshow; classic movies; and television. The overall framing script will be the operation of a “Traveling Spook-Show Carnival” of the style popular in America from the 1940’s to the 1960’s. Rooms in the sideshow will therefore also include a spook show séance, a museum of art and oddities, a “Treasures of Egypt” room, a chamber of horrors, a freak show, and a stage area for live performances of magic and theatrics. That’s the plan. We will need a lot of help to build the sets and staff these rooms.

[Read more →]

Tags: Entertainment, General, Vivienne D'Avalon by Vivienne D'Avalon
No Comments »

We wave flags and pin them on our lapel. We say that by being patriotic we are free, but it is the farthest from freedom.
We wear patriotism as a badge of freedom but it is not so. We are bound by it. A person who questions the shredding of the constitution by the “Patriot” Act, is said to be against freedom.
The freedom to speak has been silenced, because our phones are being tapped for “our protection.”
The freedom to bear arms has been shot, because you have become a criminal by owning a gun.
The freedom to check out books from Benjamin Franklin’s public library has been burned, because the librarian has to give up the list of books you have checked out.
The freedom to find out the truth for yourself on the web has been 403′ed, because one can no longer surf with anonymity.
The freedom to worship as you will has been exorcised, because wearing a symbol of your faith can get you killed.
The freedom to tell your government what you think of them has been quashed, because your name will end up on a list of “special interest.”
The freedom to think has been abolished, because to think is to question the government.
The freedom to question the government has been obliterated, because you will be called unpatriotic.
But to question, to think, to speak, to read, to learn, is the true freedom that America once offered, and being free is the only reason someone should be patriotic. Patriotism is not just waving flags, singing the national anthem, or blowing fireworks up. True patriotism is exercising your Constitutional rights and defending them in the face of tyranny.
A lot of people will say this today: “freedom isn’t free;” but right now it would be nice if we had some of these freedoms, for which so many have paid the highest price, back.
-Magus-

Tags: Current Events, General, Government, Magus Dethen, Politics by Magus Dethen
No Comments »

A few highlights:

“No philosophy or political party has a monopoly on patriotism.”

“What makes America great has never been its perfection, but the belief that it can be made better…. [W]e can be governed by laws, not men, …we could be equal in the eyes of those laws; …we could be free to say what we want and assemble with whomever we want, and worship as we please; … we could have the right to pursue our individual dreams, with the obligation to help our fellow citizens pursue theirs.”

“Patriotism is always more than just loyalty to a place on a map, or a certain kind of people…. It’s also loyalty to America’s ideals…. It is the application of these ideals that separates us from… Zimbabwe… Burma…. or Iraq….”

“Patriotism can never be defined as loyalty to any particular leader, or government, or policy. As Mark Twain… once wrote, ‘patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.’ That’s what patriotism is. That’s what patriotism is.”

“When our laws, when our leaders, or our government are out of alignment with those ideals, then the dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expressions of patriotism.”

“Recognizing a wrong being committed in this country’s name, insisting that we deliver on the promise of our Constitution, these are the acts of patriots, men and women who are defending what is best in America, and we should never forget that, especially when we disagree with them, especially when they make us uncomfortable with their words. That’s part of the American tradition. That’s part of why we are proud to be Americans.”

“It is our responsibility as Americans and as parents to instill that history in our children, both at home and at school. The loss of quality civic education from so many of our classrooms has left too many Americans without the most basic knowledge of who our forefathers are or what they did, or the significance of the founding documents that bear their names. Too many children are ignorant of the sheer effort, the risks and sacrifices made by previous generations to ensure that this country survived war and depression through the great struggles of civil and social, and workers’ rights. it is up to us then, too teach them. It is up to us to teach them that even though we have faced great challenges and made our share of mistakes, we have always been able to come together to make this country stronger, and more prosperous, and more united, and more just. And sometimes to teach them that America has been a force for good in the world, and that other nations and other peoples have looked to us as the last best hope on earth.”

That’s what patriotism is. That’s what patriotism is.

Happy Independence Day, everyone.

BB,

Vivienne

Tags: Uncategorized by Vivienne D'Avalon
No Comments »

Over the weekend I posted a new paper to our literature section: “Are things worse in America now than ever before?”

Are things worse in America now than ever before? Barack Obama doesn’t think so. In his book, The Audacity of Hope (review coming soon) he comments that when he hears liberals complain because America is slipping dangerously toward fascism, and our Constitution is being shredded beyond all recognition, he reminds them of darker times our country has faced.

The paper contains my remarks thereon. Once you’ve read it, please add your comments to this post and let us know what you’re thinking. Are things worse in America now than ever before?

Barack Obama’s book is available here:

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
Price: USD 10.17

107 New and used from USD 6.49

(626 Customer reviews)

BB, and have a wonderful Independence Day weekend.

Vivienne

Tags: Current Events, Government, Politics, Vivienne D'Avalon by Vivienne D'Avalon
No Comments »