Yes!! Dorian's Parlor is Back!!!

                                                                   

Okay, my little munchkins. This Saturday Night, 7/20/2013 at 8 p.m. meet me at the Doubletree Hotel in Center City Philadelphia for a fun filled night of Steampunk fashion and entertainment.

 

 

 

The Steamstock Tour features the following acts of awesomeness:

*This Way to the Egress,

*Frenchy and the Punk,
*Psyche Corporation,
*The Cog is Dead

We will also be featuring our house musician, Michael Lunapiena: The Wandering Cellist, a fashion show, and much, much more! This show must be seen to be believed!

Our M.C. for the evening is the delectable Count Named Slick-Brass

We will also be featuring the following vendors!
Willy B's Hemp Store
Pandajaka Fashion
FotoPlex Photography
W Designs!
Fabric Dragon
Lady Arielle
Canes Enabled
Persephone's Jewels
Haus of Saint
Jewelery by Kara
Mad Dash Studio
Bombshell Pinups
Manic Muse
Solstice Brews
Crystal Vibes
MayFaire Moon Corsets & Costumes
Griffon's Claw: Freak Division
Mechanique Steampunk
Pretty Cunning

The Dress Code is simple: Dress to impress! We are a "Creatively Formal" event, and Steampunk, Neo-Victorian, Edwardian, Swing-era, or any formal or semi-formal attire is most welcome!

Admission to Dorian's Parlor is $25, and includes a drink ticket and hors 'doeuvres while supplies last.

Symphony For the Dead

                                                        

Last night my ghost hunting friends and I headed out to Laurel Hill Cemetery to listen to a concert in front of Millionaires Row. This is a special section located inside the cemetery that proves, once and for all that “You can take it with you”

                                                                     

The concert was given by an amazing group called The Divine Hand. What a treat!! I had heard this group play before at Dorian’s Steampunk Events in Philadelphia, but there is something just magical about hearing a concert while in a cemetery.

                                                                     

The Divine Hand ensemble is led by Mano Divina, who is a professional concert Thereminist. What is a Theremin you dare ask? Click here to learn.

                                                                        

                                                          

The group treated us to a special performance of funerary music, which was very popular during the 15^th century. The belief at the time was that a soul would be more comfortable moving on to the next life if it was accompanied by music; makes perfect sense to me. Musicians were hired by the family of the deceased to play music from sunset to sunset on the day of burial. This beautiful custom was later stopped by Pope Clement. I don’t know why. Maybe the musicians weren’t playing the Vatican’s favorite hits? Here is a sample from a few months ago:

                                                                                                                               

The performers played in front of a particularly beautiful mausoleum. The audience was lifted to heights of surreal imagination via the music that soothed the souls of the living and dead who had attended that night.

                                                                 

If you get a chance to attend a performance given by The Divine Hand; please do so. You won’t me sorry. And I would suggest you attend one of Laurel Hill Cemetery’s many interesting, educational and fun, events.

Episode Sixty-six of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                                         

“Come to my office,” the commander ordered Edward and Scooter.

Edward wanted to have a moment with Lilith, but he was pretty sure the woman in front of him was not accustomed to waiting. So he followed her and Scouter down a dim lit hall way to where her office was located.

                                                                      

Ruth took her seat behind the desk and gestured for the men to grab the folding chairs against the wall. “You’re going into enemy territory tomorrow. Are you ready for this?” Ruth asked as she lit the tobacco in the pipe that she grabbed from the desk drawer.

                                                                     

Yeah, we’re ready to go,” Scouter replied. Edward nodded.

“I’ll have to say, the doc did a fabulous job on your face,” Ruth said to Edward.

“I’ll have to take your word on it, because I’ve been too busy to check in a mirror,”

“No, it’s good and the doc said that most of the swelling will be gone by tomorrow when you’re ready to start out.” Ruth leaned back in her chair and studied Edward as she puffed on her pipe. Edward felt like a bug under a microscope.

“How come the enemy doesn’t attack this place? They have to know that you’re here, am I correct?” Edward asked, hoping that she would stop staring at him.

                                                                 

“Oh, they know we’re here, alright,” she replied.

“So, why haven’t they attacked?”

“It might be better to just show you,” Ruth said, as she stood and placed her pipe into the china tea cup that now acted as an ashtray. “Come along boys, I ain’t got all day.”

As the men followed Ruth from the office, Edward asked Scouter, “Do you know what’s she’s talking about?”

                                                                      

Scouter nodded and said, “unfortunately.’  

Episode Sixty-five of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                                 

 

“Slow down,” Edward yelled over the noise of the quad. The driver was zigzagging all over the place and Edward was worried about Rita. If the driver heard his protesting, he had no idea.

                                                                           

Just then a rocket flashed past them, followed by an explosion overhead. Edward looked over his shoulder to see a drone crash to the ground, but that’s all he had time to see before the quad drove down a ramp that led under the museum.

                                                                    

As soon as they reached the underground tunnel, the metal doors were slammed shut. Lilith, Bradley, Jones, Scouter, the entire caravan had made it to safety.

The driver climbed off the quad and pulled off her helmet. Edward was amazed; the woman had to be in her 70’s. “We need a medic,” the woman shouted when she realized that Rita was in trouble.

                                                                      

While the medics rushed Rita away, Edward thanked the woman and asked for her name. She shook his hand and said, “I’m Ruth, the Commander of this post, and who the hell are you?”

“After today, I’m not sure,” Edward replied with a chuckle. He immediately took a liking to the little old lady who had a very tight grip on his hand.

                                                                         

Mega-Bad-Movie Night & The Academy of Natural Sciences

                                                                      

     

For all my geek and non-geek friends who are not familiar with the events hosted by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University on 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, listen up! Besides offering the general public great exhibits, live animals, live butterflies, dioramas, science and research, the Academy offers an event for adults, called Mega-Bad-Movie Night.
                                                                           

If you remember Mystery Theater 3000, then you know where I’m going with this. For the small price of 15 dollars, you get food, drinks (wine and beer at the cash bar), and a chance to check out the museum before the start of the movie.

                                                                         

Last night’s show was Dinocroc vs. Supergator, a Roger Corman film starring John Carradine as Jason Drake, Corey Landis as Paul Beaumont, Amy Rasimus as Cassidy Swanson, John Callahan as Charlie Swanson, and Rib Hillis as the “Cajun.”
                                                                           
 This show was your typical Roger Corman film (I love this man) with your typical scantily clad bimbos, muscle men, evil scientists, heroes, lots of guns and bombs, and anatomically incorrect dinosaurs. By the middle of the show, the audience was cheering whenever the Dinocroc or Supergator snacked on one of the actors.

                                                                       

This was a bad, bad movie, but that’s the whole point of the event. What makes this a fun filled night is the commentary that takes place throughout the film. No, we don’t have Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot or Gypsy,
                                                                                  

but Jason Poole, Dinosaur Hall Coordinator, and Paul Callomon, Collections Manager of Malacology, along with Mike Kaczmarcik, Teacher Naturalist and Outreach Manager did just as well if not better than MSt3K, at firing off comments to the audience, with one slight difference, with our commentators, we got some interesting scientific facts.  

                                                                         

This whole event is pull together by Jill Sybesma, Adults Program Manager. She and many of the Academy Staff entertain the guests before the movie begins by displaying some of the specimens from the Academy’s large research collection, and by showing off the animals from the Live Animal Unit. Last night we met an alligator and a snake.

                                                                           

The next Mega Bad Movie Night will be on June 27^th and will feature Paul Callomon and Teri Scott, Senior Marketing Manager. The movie and the third commentator will be announced. Take my word on this, we all deserve a fun night out and with Mega-Bad-Movie Night, you won’t be disappointed.
Check out the Academy of Natural Science of Drexel University's site for family events!!!

Episode Sixty-one of Lilith's Escape

                                                                 

It was dusk by the time the caravan climbed out of the subway station at Pattison Ave. They at least could use the cover of the trees and bushes to keep them hidden from the drones, which frequently flew over the city looking for resistance fighters, but if there were zombies in the area, the very same trees and bushes would also endanger the living from seeing the shuffling dead in time.

                                                            

Rita was making her way back towards Edward and Bradley. As she waddled towards them, Edward wondered how she was doing; she looked so huge, so uncomfortable. “Lilith will lead with Tzaddik bringing up the rear with a few of the soldiers,” she told the men.

“Where do you want us?” Bradley asked.

“The three of us, along with some of the women, will protect the inner circle.” The inner circle she was mentioning was the children, the group’s most important cargo.

“Will you be alright…uh…you know?” Edward was attempting to be polite in pointing out the obvious.

“I’ll be fine. Just call me Wonder Woman,” Rita teased, but her expression revealed how worried she really was.

Edward could see Lilith at the front, near to the steps leading out of the subway. She was pointing to something on a map that Jones was holding in her hand.
                                                                   

 She must have sensed his eyes on her, because she glanced towards his direction and smiled. Edward and Lilith needed to talk, to touch base and maybe mend fences, that's if they made it to the museum, alive. 

Episode Sixty of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                                        

 

It took most of the day to move through the underground ruins that was once a working subway system in the city of Philadelphia, with the majority of time spent climbing over the wreckage from the bombing. Scouter carried the child known as little bit on his shoulders, while Edward held the hand of a boy who had to be about six years old.

                                                                            

“I’m hungry,” the boy told Edward.

“So am I, Peter,” Edward replied. He picked the boy up into his arms and hurried his steps until he reached Bradley. “We’ve been walking all day…these kids need a break.”

“Let me check with Tzaddik. Here, watch him,” Bradley replied before handing over an older child to Edward.

Edward was exhausted, but he managed a smile as he asked the boy, “What’s your name.” But, the child never replied, only stared off into space.

“He saw a monster and now he don’t talk,” the six year old explained.

                                                              

Edward wondered what type of monster this kid had seen and was it scarier than the zombies that they had fought, earlier. Whatever happened to the boy, it must have been bad.

“We’re taking a 15 minute break,” Bradley said as he handed Edward a package of crackers and a bottle of water to share with Peter. While everyone took advantage of the meager meal and needed break, Bradley whispered to Edward “We have to make it to the museum before nightfall.”

                                                                       

                                                        Edward knew why.

Episode Fifty-eight of Lilith's Escape

                                                                           

 

 

Back inside the underground hide away, below the subway station, the evacuation was in full swing. Bradley, Tzaddik and the other marines were packing up the weapons, ammo, and what little food supply was left. Rita, Lilith, Jones and the older children took care of preparing the children, while Scouter and Edward packed up the maps and two short wave radios.

                                                                     

“Are there other resistance groups in this city,” Edward asked Scouter.

“Yes, four in this city…in fact, we’re going…” Scouter was interrupted by a little girl, who had wrapped her arms around his legs.

                                                                          

“Outer…are you coming with us?’

“Hey, little bit.” Scouter picked the toddler up and threw her up into the air. “Yes, we’re all going.” The child was so painfully thin, but her eyes were bright and her laughter, infectious.

“So what’s your name?” Edward asked the girl.

“I’m three.”

“We nicknamed her ‘little bit’, now say hello to Edward,” Scouter urged the child who was now playing shy.

“Hello…” she said and then hid her face against Scouter’s neck.

“Are her …?” Edward was about to ask, but Scouter shook his head.

“Little bit, we need to finish packing. I’ll come for you, later.” Scouter placed the child on the ground and off she went.

Edward waited until the child was out of earshot and said, “Are her parents dead?”

“The Illuminati have their own soldiers, mercenaries who gathered up the people in each city, to be used as slaves for the new order.”

                                                                       

“Even the children?” Edward asked.

 They placed the children into retraining camps…that’s what they’re calling them, but it is brainwashing, plain and simple.”

                                                                     

“But, the children here; how did you save them?” Edward asked.

“We were able to save some, by ambushing the trucks as they were being moved to the camps. But,  ‘little bit’, we found at a nearby wildlife preserve.” Scouter replied, and then quickly glanced at the door.

“What happened?”

“She was sitting next to her older brother; he was dead.”

                                                               

“What about my country? Were my people enslaved?”

 

 

 

Episode Fifty-seven of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                                          

 

“Go on, Edward replied.

“I recognized most of those poor souls…they lived around here and the bridge underpass. I don’t think the enemy knows our whereabouts yet, but to make sure, we should move camp tonight.”

“There are too many of you, surely we’ll be noticed if we move camp.” Edward was worried about the children.

                                                                        

“There are tunnels within tunnels in the subway system. Our movements will go unnoticed,” Tzaddik added.

“I won’t leave until you're at the new location,” Edward replied as the oldest of the children climbed down from atop the barrier and ran past him and the soldiers and right up to Lilith. She hugged them to her, smiling as she listened to their excited chatter.

“She's not an evil creature…don’t hold her to your standards,” Tzaddik whispered to Edward.

                                                                     

He found it hard to believe that anyone would mistake Lilith as anything other than cold and manipulative, but right now, Edward was seeing a different side of her as she interacted with the children…no, she wasn’t evil, but she sure as hell wasn’t good. Did he care? No, as angry as he was with her, he still loved her.

“Let’s get this circus on the road. We have a date with the naval base tomorrow,” Scouter said, and then patted Edward on the shoulder.
                                                                                                   

Episode Fifty-six of Lilith's Escape

                                                                        

Rita and a few of the older boys had somehow managed to get on to the steel beam that ran across the train tracks. They threw what they had into the mob. It wasn’t enough to kill all the zombies, but it helped by giving the resistance fighters time to regroup.

                                                                                                                               

Lilith was still fighting the zombies on the other side of the chain fence and didn’t look like she needed any back up, so Edward and the others were left to take down the handful that hadn’t burned to a crisp from the Molotov cocktails.

When the last zombie was put down, Lilith joined the group. As she wiped her sword clean, she asked, “How many did we lose?”

“One,” Tzaddik replied and then pointed to a female soldier. “I put her out of her misery.”

                                                                 

Edward looked to where Tzaddik had pointed and saw that the soldier had been shot in the head. “Are you sure that she was infected?” There were no visible wounds.

Tzaddik glared at Edward and then walked over to the woman’s corpse and flipped her onto her stomach. The back of her tee-shirt in shreds, Edward saw that a chunk of flesh was missing from the midsection of her back.

                                                                     

“We need to patch-up up the entrance, make sure that the barricade holds in case of another attack.”

“Your enemy knows where you are,” Edward said to Lilith.

“Maybe not, Bradley replied.

                                                                        

Episode Fifty-four of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                                      

 

Rita needn’t worry about Edward. He already had the pleasure of meeting a zombie, and that was one experience that he wouldn’t forget anytime soon. When Edward arrived at the outer barricade, he was surprised to find that many of the zombies had climbed over the chain fence. Tzaddik, along with the two soldiers Bradley and Jones were doing their best to control the invasion, by making sure that every shot counted, but there were just too many of them.

                                                                    

“I thought there were only a handful of these buggers,” Edward said as he moved up to the others and began shooting. “There has to be over a hundred.”

“It’s spreading faster than we anticipated,” Bradley replied and then aimed his gun at Edward.

Edward was about to disarm the soldier in front of him, but Bradley shot first. Something fell at his feet; it was a young female, maybe around seventeen, but no more than that. Her eyes were open, her mouth still moving as she tried to grab hold of Edward’s ankle. He didn’t like shooting children, but there was no hope for her. He leveled his gun, took aim and put the poor creature out of her misery. “Thanks mate,” he called out to Bradley.

                                                             

The zombies kept coming, no matter how many they managed to kill, they just kept coming. “Where’s Lilith,” he asked, but everyone was too busy trying to keep the zombies from getting inside to the children.

At one point in the battle, Edward got a glimpse of Lilith. She was right in the thick of the battle, wielding her sword which such speed, that the zombies were piling up around her feet. Her clothing covered in their blood.

                                                               

“We won’t be able to fight off another attack like this,” Tzaddik said as he moved in next to Edward, shooting at the dead while he spoke. “Without her dragon, we’re outnumbered.”

Edward considered their present situation and felt that Tzaddik had a good point, because the dead just kept coming.

Episode Fifty of Lilith's Escape

 

                                                             

“You’ll see in the documents that I handed you, that Captain Brandish is a widower, with no surviving family for you to worry about. He’s in charge of overseeing several of the prisons behind enemy lines and he has a reputation for his brutal treatment of prisoners,” Rita told Edward.

                                                                         

“So…he was a monster and deserved to die, but he also had friends. What’s the cover story on how I…Captain Brandish managed to escape?” Edward asked. Lilith this whole time had remained seated and silent, which was fine with Edward. He didn’t want to divert his attention away from the facts that needed to be memorized.

“That’s where Scouter comes in. When he delivered your meal to your cell, you attacked him with a weapon that you put together. You used him as a shield to escape.” Rita then pulled open a map of Philadelphia. “This was once a Naval Base but now it’s a prison for people who fight against the power of the Illuminati.”

                                                                         

Edward studied the map, but it felt odd to be looking at a base that was operational back in his time, but here and now, was a place of torture and death. “Rita, how am I to find your husband and Lazarus? This isn’t a small complex.”

“With this,” she replied and handed him a small ear piece.

                                                                            

“How does it work?” Edward asked as Rita positioned it in his ear. “Ouch, don’t push so hard,” Edward exclaimed, thinking that Rita was pushing it past his eardrum.

“It has to go in far enough not to be seen. It will pick up  signals from the implants on Roger and my husband as soon as you’re near to their location.”

                                                                         

“What’s your husband’s name?” Roger asked.

“His name is Tom and you better bring him back to me.”

                                                                         

“It was foolish to allow yourself to become pregnant in this time of evil,” Lilith said in a smug tone from the other side of the room.

                                                                                    

Edward had forgotten that she was there, she had been so quiet. “Haven’t you also made bad choices?” Edward asked. When Lilith didn’t reply, he returned his attention to the soldier in front of him. “I’ll do my best to bring them all home.”