I WARN YOU RIGHT NOW THIS IS A COMBINATION OF 3 POSTS THAT I'VE BEEN MEANING TO DO, THE SEPARATE EVENTS ARE HEADED IN BOLD AND UNDERLINED!!!

(This is a review done for the Manticore Society edited for my blog :p my pictures and my two cents added in between [] brackets. Also, see the Manticore Society�s official post on this event for all the GREAT pictures MPsy took!
http://themanticoresociety.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=179121261222&ref=ts
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/manticoresociety
[shameless whoring])

March's Automatons and Alchemical Aberrations Chrononaut

http://chrononautclub.com/

My ensemble for the night: Mad Love for Science!

This March's Chrononaut was a very special one for Manticore Society: our very own Capt. Wong Wei got to show off his chops at being a GENcop for the Zydrate Anatomy performance! [should I mention we were horribly late? Nah, old hat...] Both myself and the Capt. are cast members in the San Diego Repo! shadowcast titled Elective Surgery. He is the shemp (doing the parts of GENcop, mustache driver, band leader and reporter) and I play the part of Blind Mag. Despite early technical difficulties, the number was performed with high acclaim and attention from the audience! It was great to see all our hard work come to life! [Blind Mag does not appear in this scene, therefor I did not perform. Instead I stood at the Obscure Discoveries table where people bought my creations!]

At the Elective Surgery booth there was a delicious blood-stain designed cake available per slice per donation as well as the usual stickers and posters. There was also a lovely welded gear necklace up for raffle! After the performance, there were many pictures taken of the cast in various poses by Jerry A. http://jerryabuan.zenfolio.com/p267226460
[You can tell by the magnitude of photos that Jerry was VERY busy this night!!!]

http://jerryabuan.zenfolio.com/p267226460/e3cfa760f
GENcop

http://jerryabuan.zenfolio.com/p267226460/e2054ebd0
Mad Science! (it's a vial of Zydrate in there, it's very bright light so it doesn't show)

Everything seemed to come to a halt when those magnificent pantomime performers, Steam Powered Giraffe, took to the stage! Hardly anyone moved from their spot! For those who are not familiar, Steam Powered Giraffe is a comedic performance troupe who dress as robots/androids and mimic the movements and sounds of the beings they dress as. I've only seen them once myself and was excited that I would have a whole night's worth of comedy, songs and entertainment to watch! If you've never seen the wonder that is Steam Powered Giraffe, I urge you to do so at least once! You will not be disappointed!
http://www.steampoweredgiraffe.com/

[I did not take pictures since MPsy was up front taking photos and video, and his camera is MUCH better than mine!]

Everyone was very very happy after they performed and I had the pleasure of talking to some of the people who ran their merchandise booth (as they were right next to the Obscure Discoveries table!) The Capt. bought one of their albums and I a sticker, and one of the gentlemen went over the beautiful artwork in the sleeve of the album!

At the end of the night, Elective Surgery raffled off the necklace and I was extremely excited when I was picked as the winner! The necklace was made and donated by a Mr. Paris, another merchant at Chrononaut!

It is a beautiful piece of work ^.^

It was a terrific night where people let go of the ordinary, took in the extraordinary and were delighted all night!

Cogs & Petals Picnic

Capt. Wong Wei and myself (yet to have a cool steampunk name, but Mercades is interesting enough, yes?) had a whirlwind weekend the day and night of March 13th going into the 14th morning when we were invited to attend both the Hanami Cogs and Petals picnic in Lake Balboa on the steampunk spectrum AND the There Will Be Brawl wrap party at Good Hurt in West Los Angeles in the same day!
[I did not think I would attend the picnic and may not have attended the party had it not been for MPsy talking me into it, I was beginning to feel ill and run down, add that to the fact that my immune system isn�t very strong it was a recipe for disaster but when it was all said and done I had a great night and was very happy I went out! Oi, getting ahead of myself, read on�]

This was also the weekend the Capt. made very good use of his new camera!

The day started off with a lovely gathering of steamies from near and far from the area at the beautiful and sprawling Balboa Park in Van Nyes, CA. [I was the one that was late for a change, oh my! MPsy (aka Capt. Wong Wei) pushed me up the hill where the picnic was! >:S)] . The Cogs and Petals Picnic was headed by the beloved Ms. Sheyne and Mr. Glenn. So many people were at this event, the camera person who took our group photo was a bit overwhelmed! We were pleased to see so many Manticore Society members and the League of S.T.E.A.M. in attendance as well as delighted to meet many new faces! There was something for everyone in the park: catching up with lost contacts, a few games to play, blankets to eat the plentiful food on, a dog in a pirate hat, bountiful scenery to take in and people watching! [I got to talk to Heather Forever Luminous for a good portion of the picnic, I haven�t seen her in ages and she was kind enough to give me a Pirate Hello Kitty charm for my cell phone! So sweet! We talked about a group trip to San Fransisco as well!] Capt. Wong Wei took many wonderful pictures of the people and the view we were surrounded by as I talked with many of the men and women, enjoying the many different animals in and out of the water [there were very many ducks in the water and lots of cute dogs on leads with their owners!] and, of course, admiring the few cherry blossoms that did bloom this year. There were not that many that bloomed this year because of the very cold season but the few that did were beautiful! [I took a few pictures and posted some on my Twitter!]

Myself with MPsy aka Capt. Wong Wei

Heather Forever Luminous and myself!

Hello Kitty Pirate! Thank you, Heather! <3

Rebbecca waits near the pond that took her love away...

"Oh, why did I push him in?!"

Dawn and her magnificent hat!

A small waterfall near our site!

These birds where everywhere!

This...is a dog in a pirate hat. Doesn't he wear it well!

One of the few cherry blossoms in bloom ^.^

There was also a cosplay photoshoot near our picnic, it was fun seeing all the different outfits wore by the steampunk & cosplay groups!

[I saw a young man who cosplayed as Abiru Kobushi from Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei at PMX, what are the odds?!] It was quite chilly so the picnic was wrapped up as soon as the sun started to go down but there was a lot of talk about events to come, including the There Will Be Brawl wrap party after the picnic! If there�s anything common about any steampunk even it is that we do NOT stop talking about present or future projects, places to buy interesting materials and events to come! We did not all go right away, we lingered along with a group that included our gracious hosts, very greatful that they put this all together for everyone!

The Capt. and I had about 5 hours to spend in between events, and since the two events were so close together we stood in the area looking for something to do. We found a very large and fancy looking Target to spend time at, looking at the electronics, toys to be modded, and finally purchased some flickering candle lights for our Obscure Discoveries booth! [This Target was crazy fancy, had a Starbucks and a Pizza Hut in it, and you had to take an escalator to enter into it from the parking lot! I�m easily amused.] After a coffee for Wong Wei and a Red Bull for myself, we drove to the Good Hurt in West LA, a club/bar where the Brawl wrap party was to be held. We were still ridiculously early so we went to the nearby Mitsuwa market for food, snacks, and to relax before the new event. We happened to run into one of the other party goers at Mitsuwa! [I bought Hello Panda and Pokey for the next day�s Repo! practice, who doesn�t like Japanese treats? :3]

There Will Be Brawl Wrap Party

While we were still early to the wrap party, it was a good thing because we got to speak briefly to some of the people that made There Will Be Brawl possible! Capt. took charge and started to snap pictures of the stars, who was the director and one of the co-creators as well as the actor who played Ganondorf and did the voice of Kirby (the very creepy voice of Kirby) [I gave him a thank you card from me to everyone! Matt Mercer is so, so nice! He gave me a hug and I got a picture, too!)The lovely Kat Steel who played Princess Peach was also there! [I spoke with her briefly, she�s always sweet as apple pie!] I am always ever-so touched by their grace and friendliness! The actors who played the leads of Mario and Luigi meshed in and out of crowds, as well as the other actors who played villains, heroes and of course the many extras who had a hand in the various episodes. The Capt. and I were extras in the very last episode, 13 hours well spent!

Matt Mercer, don't I look scared to tough him? But why? This is a flaw I have when I take pictures with men

Kat S., such an absolute sweetheart!

If you have not seen this web series yet, I highly recommend you do, especially if you like your video game heroes to be seen in a bit of a darker light! www.therewillbebrawl.com

More people started to fill the dark hospital-themed venue, the barmaids in sexy nurse outfits and the DJ looking very lovely! The tables were topped with medical supply jars filled with lollipops and the bar held the header The Prescription Bar. There was a special performance by a video-game themed band called The Megas who rocked the house down with their songs about Mega Man and his adventures! Capt. Wong Wei got a copy of their CD, which we listened to on the way back. There was also a very enjoyable performance by the Yuki Shundo and her dance crew! Throughout the night, all in attendance had an opportunity to take pictures with some of the props on display, which included the creepy Kirby puppet, an angry Pikachu, a flattened Yoshi and the Mario Brothers� Hats.

If only all prescriptions where this easy to get ;)

Props ahoy!

though they look MUCH more menacing in the dark...

After the stage was cleared, the dance floor filled up with dancers enjoying the beats, some even danced on stage and were joined by the actors Paul and Matt who played Mario and Luigi respectively! After that, a whole slew of merry party goers joined in and had a great time! This bar also had a stripper pole off to the side of the stage, it got used quite a bit this night! Outside the bar, The Capt. got a very humorous rant done by Matt and Paul on camera! We got to see a lot of members of the social web site we are a member of at the Good Hurt, it was great to see our comrades and I had the opportunity to meet a few new people, it is always a pleasure for me to meet more people behind the pictures!

Mario and Luigi getting to dance with the ladies, including this Toadstool gal!

I love this gal, Miss Jesse Jo! <3

These guys...Eddie, MPsy & Adrian

[I was kind of a wallflower near the end of the night as I was very tired and I couldn�t see/hear cos the bar was dark and the music was loud. Doesn�t help that my eyesight is diminishing and I already have hearing loss. When I was close enough for people to yell in my ear, though, I was glad to talk to people!]

Awe, despite fatigue I look nice this night!

By the end of the night, we were both very tired but very happy that we got to partake in these events. If I�m not mistaken, The Capt. had about 800-1000 pictures snapped and 6 videos taken. A great night to break in a new camera and a fun night to be a part of! (Though we were both dead tired the next day but had great fun at the San Diego Repo! Elective Surgery practice for our upcoming debut show April 24th at the Ken! For more information, check out http://www.repo-electivesurgery.com)[ [shameless whoring]

We both enjoyed ourselves very much and look forward to the next outing, which will be on Saturday, March 27th at Bar Sinister for The Leauge of S.T.E.A.M.�s An Evening with the Obscure). If you�ve never seen The Leauge of S.T.E.A.M. in person or are curious about what kind of show they would put on, I insist you come to this event! Only $5 entrance with steampunk attire! See the details here:

[more shameless whoring. You love me, don�t you? ^.~]
Web Site: http://www.leagueofsteam.com/
Face Book Link: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=365394182043&ref=nf
Venue of Bar Sinister: http://www.barsinister.net/home.php

Do we ever sleep? Rarely!
Till the next steam thing!