Entertainment Updates

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Bab – A – Dew’s Wood-Fired Pizza

Wood-fired pizza!

“You can do irrefutably impossible things with the right amount of planning and support from intelligent and hardworking people and pizza.”
-Scott Gimple, producer, “The Walking Dead”

“Pizza makes me think that anything is possible. It’s a quick and easy clean-up meal. Everybody likes pizza! It’s a universal love language.”
-Henry Rollins

Bab – Dew’s Wood-Fired Pizza offers authentic, artisanal Italian favorites with an Adirondack Flair! All of our creative cuisine is homemade and we pride ourselves on having something for everyone from vegan or gluten free to meat lovers. We serve traditional pizzas, specialty pies focused on seasonally available ingredients,  apps and desserts.

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Welcoming Committee: Vendors First

Many attendees for WonderPlace Alpha have made more friends online than in real life (which is harder!). If we can better blend the two, we can help people have a better time. Sometimes the dance doesn’t start until the first brave couple gets out there.

As a vendor, you’re already listed in the Swap Meet:Vendors section, based on your intake form. Here are features that support you as a vendor.

But you’re also an attendee, and hopefully running around having fun and meeting new people. Here we write what users can do.

We’d like to ask you to set an example. We’ll email you a login link, as explained here. Please take a few seconds to login, post a selfie, publish info about yourself, and see if it helps draw people to your booth, or sparks any strangers to talk to you about your interests.

Thank you!

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How SwapSnaps supports Vendors

  1. Directory List that includes details

2. Can include clickable email/phone/sms if you want to help people find you in the wilderness or even place a food order.

3. Planned Clickable map. It’s a big place.

4. Include snaps of your goods, of people wearing, browsing or eating your goods.

5. Your contact info persists after the event. Without handing out cards, ticket holders get a link to the event (for viewing their snaps) that includes the vendor list. Next time a gift giving time comes around,

For now, I can correct or add any information you want, if you email me @jim

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If you see something, snap something!

At a SwapSnaps event, everyone is both a star and a paparazzi. If you see something, snap something. Someone will enjoy that moment being captured.

It’s local, physical space social media without bots or anger.

Powered by the Swap Stream, where every snap taken by anyone streams by you. Anyone can add tags, titles and captions. Click the tag “Fae” to see every snap tagged that way. Tag yourself whenever you show up and you have a custom guide to your weekend.

Put yourself out there

Powered by the Swap Meet, list your selfie, interests, any website links, maybe even your email and texting digits. This opens your swap DMs from anyone. But what goes on at WonderPlace Alpha stays at WonderPlace Alpha.

Now find someone with similar interests, then find them in real space and make a friend.

Buy some gifts

Browse the vendors list to make sure you don’t miss that one place you can’t resist. Even after this weekend, you can place orders for whatever you argued yourself out of but keep thinking about.

Chat with some QRs

Powered by the Swap Zone, flash a QR code. Anyone who scans it joins an anonymous dissolving chat using peer to peer messaging, without sharing any deets.

Your WonderPlace ticket got you an account

You bought ticket(s) with an email address, and each ticket has a 7 digit unique id (capitalization matters). Your SwapSnaps account is a combination of those two. If your email was jim@less2do.com and your ticket code was 123abCD, your SwapSnass account and initial password are jim+123abCD@less2do.com until you log in and optionally change your password.

SwapSnaps login

Don’t worry, we’ll email you a link as well.

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Lyngvi, Wolven Domain and Larnvidia Muspelheim

“The loup-garou is neither man nor beast, but something accursed, driven by a hunger that cannot be sated, haunting the shadows of our villages.”

Wolven Domain within NYC. I have Adopted Lyngvi, the island where wolves live in Norse Mythology as a gathering place for all Wolves and to be a Wolven Domain in (NYC). Yes, Gotham Halo is the domain of NYC , but that is a vampiric domain. When people hear Lyngvi I want them to know wolves reside here in Gotham Halo (NYC) as well.  Yes, Lyngvi is the island where Fenrir was imprisoned, though also where Wolves live and where he breaks free to consume his imprisoned Odin. It now represents a place of power and freedom. It is described as looking like the crater of an extinct volcano in the sea and being covered in White Heather flowers that helps keep Fenris Wolf imprisoned, though now he has broken free it is the Haven of Lyngvi. Fenrir is said to eat the sun during Ragnarök, the end of the world. Which brings Forth Moon Side for Wolves. His and Larnvidia sons Sköll and Hati are said to chase the sun and moon, when caught will bring on Ragnarok. Fenrir being the most powerful wolf only makes sense for us to stick by his side. So we should live where he breaks free and together be unified.  As I am Larnvidia, it is my responsibility to give wolves their own place to come together. There is no better place than Lyngvi.

Larnvidia Muspelhiem (Luna Diosa) I am Larnvidia Muspelheim, Alfa of Ulveskare Muspelheim, and Founder of Lyngvi. I am an Alpha of Wolves and Wolven within Lyngvi (GH/NYC). I have been known as Luna Diosa since I was eight years of age, it followed me all the way to GH when I was twenty two years of age. As I am a new alpha and coming back to NYC I have changed my name and started from scratch to bring you the Wolven community of Lyngvi. I have been in Gotham Halo for nearly five years actively. I have been an active alpha for nearly three of those years. I moved out of state taking a sabbatical and enjoying my time with my fiance and our two kids. We recently came back and I am now an alpha within gotham halo once again. This time being completely released by the one who brought me into the scene, the one who gave me my title as alpha, along with being recognized within GH as having a bloodline. Since then I have an ancient bloodline, the first and only in any domain. My bloodline name is Muspelheim, a glowing, fiery realm that has existed since the beginning of time. Now that I am back in NYC I am taking a very hands-on, direct approach for the betterment of the wolven community. Creating our own domain within (GH/NYC) but still connected to Gotham Halo. We as wolven will have our own packs in Lyngvi. I am also the founder of White Heather, Wolven Haven. My council of wolves is Amsvartnir which is where the lake Lyngvi resides surrounded by white heather flowers.  I spoke about my pack which in the very beginning was made up of three members, my most loyal and supportive pack members who have seen me start, pause, and re-start up again and have not left my side. A great example of a pack and the unity I am bringing through Lyngvi.

Being as it is for wolves inside Gotham is not the best in regards to respect and honor it felt only right to give us our own place to be. I am not poaching, my pack and council is only open to those I see are a good fit. All are welcome into White Heather and all Wolven are welcome into the community Lyngvi. I am being passed a very old hope of bringing wolves their own domain and safe haven within NYC, which I take very seriously. I am opening my pack and Lyngvi to wolves/wolven who desire more out of life for their wolf side. I have teachings and I will mentor you in ways of connecting with your wolf side and guiding you through your journey as much as I can for you to become more successful within your life.

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Darkling – a poem from jeffmachwrites

(Originally published on our writing blog on October 31, 2024.)

We are Darkling. We’re not strange.
If your shadows re-arrange,
If your Moon sometimes winks out,
If your soul sometimes slinks out,

If you’re a midnight, inky Darkling
It’s a different kind of Sparkling;
We wax wroth, with strangeling fires
Welcome, Goths, ghouls, Vampires.

If, in short, you like the odds
Of serving strange and hungry Gods,
If you’re no coward or cowan,
If you lift the veil on Samhain;

Then perhaps, you, as well
In Darkling spirit ought to dwell
We judge no thought or love or sin;
We welcome you, our Otherkin.

Wonderplace Alpha – A Halloween Note From Darkling — Jeff Mach Writes

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Is Steampunk Dead, And If So, What Are All These Steampunks Doing Here?

“Steampunk is dead. Totally dead. Very very sad. Yes, just leave the body with me. I want to get it inside before this, um…frightening thunderstorm…”
-Dr. Victor “Two Hats” Frankenstein

Steampunk: a curious anachronism that refuses to rust away quietly. This panel dissects whether the genre—born of Victorian daydreams and brass-plated audacity—has sputtered out or merely recalibrated its gears. We’ll probe its persistence in literature, fashion, and the odd corners of maker culture, asking why enthusiasts still don corsets and monocles in a world of algorithms and anxiety. With a raised eyebrow and a touch of restraint, we’ll explore if steampunk is a relic, a rebellion, or simply too stubborn to die. Expect sharp insights, subtle jabs, and a nod to the absurd beauty of it all.

Questions and Subjects for Discussion:

  1. The State of the Genre
    • Has steampunk’s output—novels, films, games—dwindled to a trickle, or are we just looking in the wrong places?
    • Do sales of top hats on Etsy or steampunk subreddit activity suggest a pulse, or are these mere echoes?
    • What separates a vibrant niche from a museum piece?
  2. Aesthetic Endurance
    • Why does steampunk’s obsession with cogs and crinolines still charm in an era of sleek minimalism?
    • Is its appeal a quiet protest against disposable tech, or just a fondness for things that clank?
    • Can the classical world teach the modern world innovation?
  3. The Maker’s Paradox
    • Why do steampunk enthusiasts insist on soldering their own pocket watches when Amazon exists?
    • Does the genre’s DIY ethos—blending 19th-century fantasy with 21st-century tools—keep it relevant, or is it just cosplay with extra steps?
    • Are makers innovating, or endlessly polishing the same brass?
  4. Media and Mutation
    • Where does steampunk linger most convincingly: dog-eared novels, indie games, or that one Netflix series nobody finished?
    • Has it bled into other genres, or is it too busy polishing its goggles to notice?
    • Can steampunk’s retro charm survive in a media landscape chasing the next dystopian fad?
  5. The Persistent Devotees
    • What compels someone to declare themselves a “steampunk” in 2025? Is it style, substance, or sheer contrariness?
    • Do conventions and online forums thrive on community or just mutual indulgence?
    • How do newcomers find steampunk, and are they rewriting its rules or reciting old lines?
  6. The “Dead” Question
    • If steampunk is dead, was it the weight of its own clichés or a simple failure to compete with flashier genres?
    • If it lives, what’s its strongest vital sign—fan fiction, fashion, or something less tangible?
    • Could steampunk’s refusal to die be its most punk trait?
  7. Technology and Tension
    • Does steampunk’s love for mechanical whimsy hold water in a world of quantum chips and neural implants?
    • Can it critique modern tech without sounding like a cranky Luddite in a waistcoat?
    • Are there whispers of a “new steampunk” that embraces today’s machines without losing its soul?
  8. The Human Element
    • What personal stories do fans tell about stumbling into steampunk’s orbit? A book? A costume? A random convention panel?
    • Is steampunk a refuge for misfits, a canvas for creatives, or just a very specific costume party?
    • How does its community balance gatekeeping with growth?

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Secret List Of Wonderplace Alpha Panels

Exploring Steampunk Solutions: Can the Past Inspire Our Future?

Creating Imaginary Places For Real People

“What IS Steampunk? …the eternal, inevitable panel.”

YenYorkCity Live

Scream Queens, Artists, Authors, Mad Scientists, and Other Odd Persons Collude: A Panel & Discussion

“Blueprints of the Beyond: Crafting Tomorrow’s Worlds in Sci-Fi and Fantasy Architecture”

Phlogiston’s Furnace: Smelting Sound from the Unseen Flame

Creating Peculiar Art In An Increasingly Surreal Universe

Stardust to Star Dustbin: An Odyssey Through the Overlooked Oceans of Otherworldly Offal

Guest of Honor Panel

VIP PANEL(s): I love premium content, but I always feel shy creating it.

Weird Worlds: A Symphony of Abductions, Hauntings, and Tales Beyond Reality

The Machinations of Mayhem: A Grand Conclave on the Governance, Gallantry, and Grand Larceny of Steampunk’s Splendidly Sinister Souls, Mad Scientists, and Airship Brigands

Why You Need To Support Authors And Purchase Their Books Or Else The Universe Will Explode Tomorrow

The Unseen Library: Imaginary Books and Their Influences

Is Steampunk Dead?