He stuck in his thumb, and pulled out a plum...

...and said, "What a good boy am I!" (LOL)

Bottom Crust Fresh Fruit Pie (adapted from Martha Stewart Living Bottom Crust Plum Pie) - Makes 1 nine-inch pie - Martha's recipe uses only plums, prolly cuz she's Polish; I use what I've got.

Ingredients

- 1/3 cup flour
- One pie crust - If you're smart, you'll just buy it at the supermarket.

If you're really good, you'll make it from scratch.
- about 5 not-too-ripe plums, washed, pitted and quartered (freestone is always best)
- about 5 apricots, washed, pitted and quartered
- handful of blueberries to fill it out
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling (and you can use more, cuz there's no such thing as too sweet a pie)
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
- Creme fraiche, for serving (or you can skip the exotic tartness and just use whipped cream)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Fit the dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Transfer to refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. (Some ppl like to "seal" a crust - I'll let you figure out how to do that.)

In a large bowl, combine plums, apricots, blueberries, sugar, flour, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Toss to combine. Mound fruit in the lined pie plate. Dot with butter, and fold the pastry up over the fruit. Transfer to refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the pastry with granulated sugar. Bake until the fruit is tender, the juices in the center of the pie are bubbling, and the pastry is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before dusting with confectioners' sugar for serving.

The Wall V-2, Final Days

PeaceFest 08 is a three day Second Life benefit event for worldwide peace running from the 15th Aug to the 17th. Covering ten sims, this festival will feature over 80 events, including live music, theatre and dance performances, art exhibitions, panel discussions and a rally at the SL Central Park.

All proceeds from PeaceFest 08 will go benefit several charities including Amnesty International, UNICEF, Kids4Peace, Uthango Social Investments, and others.

The NMC Campus, Peace Train (the group sponsoring PeaceFest 08) and the Cybernetic Art Research Project (CARP) are delighted to announce that 'The Wall V-2' will be performed in Second Life as part of this great festival at 2pm SLT on the 15th August and 17th August 2008.

Access to the venue is via. the following SLURL:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/NMC%20Campus%20West/127/47/612/

A Shrub Is Not a Bush...

Nor is it furry... (oops). A shrub is an ancient drink, as old as spirits themselves. It's most often made with brandy or rum. It's truly a drink for all seasons. It can be cooling in the summer, or it can make a wicked hot toddy in the winter. It uses up fruit that has seen better days, and the fruit itself can enhance desserts such as cake and ice cream :P.

Orange Shrub

Benjamin Franklin's favorite libation was an orange shrub (a documented fact). However, from what I've seen of it, this recipe is MUCH better than HIS was.

6 oranges
8 oz cold water
2 lbs sugar
8 oz FRESH orange juice
2 fifths of rum (I would use cheap Virgin Islands rum, Cruzan or Ron Rico - use Ron Rico, I own stock in the company...)

Wash the oranges, peel off their rinds, and place the rinds in a gallon jar. Add the juice and 8 oz cold water. Close the jar and let stand for 3 days, stirring occasionally.

Strain into a pot, add 2 lbs of sugar, and bring to a boil. Let cool, add an additional 8 oz of FRESH orange juice, and strain again. Add the rum, jug it, and wait a week or two :)

Raspberry Shrub (adapted from Lobscouse and Spotted Dog by Anne Chotzinoff Grossman and Lisa Grossman Thomas)

1 1/2 pints fresh raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brandy
1 tsp lemon juice

Crush the raspberries and strain the juice. Add sugar, brandy, and lemon juice, and stir. Bottle and let sit for a week or more.

Lemon Shrub (adapted from Lobscouse and Spotted Dog - good for what ails you, esp. in the winter time)

Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups rum

Combine all ingredients, stir well, bottle, and set aside in a cool place. It will be ready to drink after about a week.

To serve, mix 2-3 parts boiling water to 1 part shrub.

Gudrun's Special Shrub

Any apropos rotting fruit that's around (i.e., good in a drink, and not too rotten). My last shrub contained strawberries, peaches, and some dried Cherokee blackberries that were too seedy to eat in their raisin-dried form.

1 cup fruit
1 cup sugar
1 fifth VI rum (Ron Rico is fine)

Put it in a Mason jar with as much of the rum as you can. Put it in the fridge for 2 weeks. You can replenish the rum as you drink it. Eat the fruit, even tho it discolors a little. It's good for you.

Ars sine Scienta Nihil Est

The Second Life production of "The Wall," approaching the end of its run, has been running for many weeks now, and has entertained a huge number of people. The performance schedule for this fine spectacle and its contributors’ contributions have been chronicled before in this blog. Therefore, this particular post has a special focus on some good friends, the production’s Creative Director, Ms. Debbie Trilling, and the superbly talented creator of its animated puppets, Mr. Duggy Bing.

Like so many of us, Debbie first heard of Second Life in the mainstream media as it grew in popularity and became an object of interest more or less universally. Like many “residents,” she came from an IT-related RL background and like many she avoided any scripting, regarding it as too much like RL work. Though Debbie still considers SL a relaxation and an escape from her first life, she gradually found that her scripting talents complemented her newly found leisure preoccupation. In Debbie’s own words:

“Second Life offers an opportunity to create almost anything that one can wish for or can conceive of. Although I cannot create anything of note using a pencil and paper or paintbrush and canvas, I appear to have a knack of picking up any new piece of software and taking it to a high level of competency within a short period of time. As such, although I cannot draw or paint, I can do some quite cool things using a high specification PC, mouse, tablet and pen, software and then meld it all together using a programming language. I consider myself as a ‘Technical Artist’, rather than a ‘Natural Artist’. My art is made of algorithms and pixels, rather than oils and parchment. Second Life came natural to me. It was the ‘game’ I had always been looking for; I just didn’t know I had been looking for it until I found it.”

In the course of exploring SL and discovering this new artistic outlet, Debbie met another longtime friend of mine, Duggy Bing, who needed some help scripting the cartoon creatures that became his now well-known and successful line of “Cartoonimals.”

Duggy’s SL story is slightly more succinct:

Duggy Bing: ”Hi Gudrun!”
Gudrun Gausman: “How is you?”
Duggy Bing: “Am good how ‘bout you?”
Gudrun Gausman: “k”
Gudrun Gausman: “Can you give a little backstory on your Cartoonimals? Doesn't have to be much...”
Duggy Bing: “Well, I started building animals for fun, to decorate my waterfall”
Gudrun Gausman: “LOL”
Duggy Bing: “ppl liked them and passersby offered to buy, so I started the skyshop over my house. Soon the shop got bigger, had to tear house and waterfall down for prims. Then simowner quit so had to move...bought my own sim. And that’s my story. The end."
Gudrun Gausman: a man of few words :P Sheesh!

(btw, Duggy’s Cartoonimals store was featured in SL Showcase: cute, whimsical scripted animated cartoon animals; pajamas, animal slippers, unique hats, baby carriers, monkeys, cats, zebras, turtles frogs, dogs, skunks, fish, kangaroos, elephants, dinos, lions, and marine animals.)

During this period, Debbie also created the collection of particle sculptures she calls her “Particle Garden,” and open- sourced the script for her extremely popular (and she says notorious) “Random AV Profile Projector.” (One of Debbie’s earlier efforts, the “Random Lover,” is quite a bit more notorious and has gotten me, personally, in quite a bit of trouble, albeit because of lapses in my generally reliably good judgement.)

In the end, though, it was her Particle Garden that caught the attention of Velazquez Bonetto and won her an invitation to join the Cybernetic Art Research Project (CARP), a collaboration of artists working in Second Life to experiment and share ideas and techniques to create New Art. And it was with Velazquez Bonetto and in the framework of this group, that this production of “The Wall” came into being.

Creating a spectacle in the spirit of, but not identical to the original, involves many challenges, some relating to the production itself, some merely technical.

“Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' has a number of iconic images, notably the giant puppets, the Crossed Hammers and the wall itself. All these are included in our production. However, we did not want to simply produce a copycat of the original but instead create a unique artistic vision and interpretation. Our production of 'The Wall' therefore adds other components that were not in the original version. We also re-mixed the soundtrack in a number ways - some subtle, others obvious. A dedicated Floyd fan will find much that they recognize in our production but will also see and hear entirely new components and concepts. Hopefully there is nothing that we have added that they might object to; we were very conscious of keeping to the spirit and essence of the original.

“The biggest technical challenge is without doubt getting the seven Controllers to remain in synchronization with the soundtrack being streamed into SL. This caused the biggest heartaches and headaches during the early days, especially when we were still performing on a Class 4 mainland sim.”

[NB ~ the team is most grateful to the NMC Campus for later providing them free with a Class 5 full sim on which to stage ‘The Wall, and also to Haven Colville of ‘Havens Paradise’ for the free use of a four-sim amphitheatre.]

“However, we have since learnt a number of tricks and techniques and can now pretty much guarantee that on a normal day within SL that synchronization will be within half-a-second to two seconds over a 45 minute period. This is an acceptable level of tolerance. When SL is having a bad day, however, there is little or nothing that we can do to restore synchronization once it has been lost. Some things you just can not control, either in RL or SL, and when this happens, although disappointing, we just have to live with it. Fortunately, such instances are rare.

“[Though] there were no real organizational problems or challenges to speak of. Once it was agreed that CARP would stage ‘The Wall’ as a major production, and that I would act as Creative Director and Velazquez as Producer, it was a matter of allocating particular segments or elements of the show to one of the core members, and refining that work to fit into the show. For the most part a spirit of co-operation existed. However, that is not to say that a certain amount of professional and artistic conflict did not arise during the creation process – it most definitely did. For example, there were calls from a number of quarters that we should reduce the size of the wall, saying that is was too big and dwarfed the dancers. I resisted this suggestion vigorously, arguing that not only is there a symbolic message behind a massive wall and a tiny human being in front of it, but the visual impact of the show would be diluted with a smaller sized wall. Both sides of the argument presented their case in a forthright manner. In any event, over time, the wall has increased from 50m x 20m to 60m x 20m to its present size of 70m x 30m. And if we were to re-build the production again, I’d want to make the wall even bigger ~ perhaps 90m or 100m x 45m.

“As Creative Director I was granted final veto over other artists’ ideas and contributions. This could be a psychological strain sometimes. Emotionally it has been a challenge because we are all experienced artists in our own right, often passionate and sometimes opinionated ~ myself probably the worst! Emotions can run high about an idea or contribution, and often have. Fortunately we have Josina [Burgess] who compliments her delicious design and colour-sense with skilled negotiation and diplomatic skills. In every instance where creative conflict has occurred, once a final decision has been made, the team have wholeheartedly supported it.”

DEBBIE’S PET PEEVE: Facelights!

“Facelights ruin artists’ work! Because of the way SL lighting works, one person in the audience wearing a facelight can possibly ruin the show for every other member of the audience. We have spent many hours over several months perfecting the lighting systems on ‘The Wall’. Most of our promotion politely asks that patrons refrain from wearing facelights at the venue. We have ushers who politely ask wearers to remove their facelights. We give shout-outs before the show asking that people detach their facelights; we even send them polite IM’s. But still a small hardcore refuses to remove them. The problem is essentially technical. SL (or more specifically OpenGL) only allows the rendering of eight lighting sources, In SL, two of these sources are allocated to the sun and moon. Therefore, in practice, only six lights sources are available. Moreover, a client can only render the nearest six sources. So, if you happen to be seated near to someone wearing a six-source facelight, you will be unable to see any of the lighting effects that we have carefully crafted into ‘The Wall’; if they are wearing a four-source facelight then you’ll only be able to see two of ‘The Wall’ lights and so on. Watching the ‘The Wall’ in a facelight-free zone is a completely different experience to watching whilst wearing or seated near to someone wearing a facelight. In the facelight-free zone it is a panoramic festival of colour; with facelights nearby, it is gray.”

Trust me, seeing someone in the audience wearing a facelight is enough to bring Debbie to tears. You might as well trot a horse through her living room.

"The Wall, V-2" has run through July. There will be two final performances at the Second Life PeaceFest 08 festival - 2pm SLT on Friday 15th & Sunday 17th August 2008... Then it will be over.... Proceeds go to a variety of charities.

Please check Debbie’s profile for links to her “Particle Garden,” Exploratorium project, “Gravity’s Rainbow," and other projects, and Duggy’s for the Cartoonimals store.

A Yummedy Summer BBQ'd Appetizer

TRADITIONAL RUMAKI
(Bacon, Chicken Liver, and Water Chestnut Kebabs)

Adapted from: BBQ USA by Steven Raichlen

1 lb. chicken livers (about 16 livers)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup cream sherry
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 - 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 slices peeled fresh ginger, crushed
2 whole star anise
8 drained peeled canned water chestnuts, cut in half lengthwise
8 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise
About 16 small (6-inch) bamboo skewers

Clean the chicken livers. Combine the soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and star anise in a bowl and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Add the chicken livers and let them marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for 1 hour.

Remove the chicken livers from the marinade and blot them dry with paper towels. Set the marinade aside. Wrap each chicken liver, along with a water chestnut half, in a piece of bacon, securing it with a skewer.

Strain the marinade into a saucepan over high heat, let it come to a boil, and boil until thick and syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes.

(The BBQ USA recipe deals with heat zones, etc. OMG, like I'm going to set up heat zones. I have two zones, hot and not.)

Grill the rumaki until the bacon is crisp and the livers are cooked (pink in the center), 2 to 4 minutes per side, basting them with the boiled marinade. To test for doneness, squeeze a rumaki between your thumb and forefinger; it should be gently yielding, not soft and squishy. Or, cut into a rumaki with a paring knife. Only the center should be pink. Be ready to move the rumaki should the dripping bacon fat cause flare-ups.


GUDRUN'S SECRET RUMAKI:
(Bacon, Shrimp, and Water Chestnut Kebabs)

Use shrimp instead of chicken livers, and use chili sauce in a bottle (such as Tiger Sauce) instead of that complicated recipe (no marination needed). But the complicated recipe is REALLY, REALLY good.

If you don't have chili sauce, try apricot preserves and hot Chinese mustard (you may have some left over from take-out). :P

The Wall in Second Life, Version Two

The Cybernetic Art Research Project proudly presents...

** THE WALL V-2 **

On July 21 1990, nine months after the dismantlement of the Berlin Wall, Roger Waters and an all-star cast performed "The Wall" at the Potzdamer Platz in Berlin. The performance was watched by a live audience of 250,000 and an estimated half-billion people on television…

And now, an international team of artists working with the Cybernetic Art Research Project (CARP) bring a unique vision and live performance of "The Wall" to Second Life ™...

The original CARP version of "The Wall" was performed in SL fourteen times, to 1260 attendees. Each performance filling sims and to rave reviews.

And now, the NMC Campus are delighted to bring you "THE WALL V-2"!

The CARP Team have updated and re-scripted near every element of the show, as well as adding entirely new effects and surprises. "The WALL V-2" is now even bigger, more colourful and more visually stunning than ever before!

"The Wall V-2" will be performed at twice-weekly at NMC Campus West:

EVERY FRIDAY 2pm SLT

EVERY SUNDAY 2pm SLT

Access to the venue is via. the following SLURL:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/NMC%20Campus%20West/127/47/612/

The CARP Wall Team:

Creative Director: Debbie Trilling (UK)
Producer: Velazquez Bonetto (Germany)
Wall Design: Elfod Nemeth (UK)
Animated Puppets: Duggy Bing (US)
Animations: Caravaggio Bonetto (Austria)
Original Music: Junivers Stockholm (Sweden) & Josina Burgess (Holland)
Stills Photography: Adec Alexandria (UK)
Dancing & Joyfulness: Klute Copploa (France), Southern Riptide (US)

with valuable contributions from:

Scio Kamanchi (US)
Gypsy Paz (US)
Lyddyn Tzara (US)
Celeste Moonlight (US)
DJ Jenns (UK)
George W Bush (US)

and, of course, Pink Floyd's incredible album 'The Wall'

Aa' lasser en lle coia orn n' omenta gurtha

There must be Elves

Well, I've decided that elves in Second Life are even more diverse than humans. I did a little Elf research, and thought I knew something, but as is so often the case, further investigation proved I knew nothing. At least part of this is because there have been so many different interpretations of elf-ness in various and sundry virtual realities, of which SL is only one.

There are some things I can say for sure: Elves live in an imaginary world along with fairies, witches, dragons and pixies. They often live in the deep green woods. They love to dance and make music. They often but not always wear long, pointed ears. They have created fantastic kingdoms in which to role-play. Their lands are peaceful retreats from the rest of the metaverse, and, according to tel'Mithrim, all elves follow the Way - "No Elf shall do intentional harm to another Elf, and except in a case where an Elf acts with malicious intent, he shall be helped by other Elves." This pact protects all those of Elven blood. Any Elf found to be in violation of the Way through action or inaction shall be cast out (N'Tel Quess). But there are also Dark Elves, selfish and pleasure loving, who would have no qualms about enslaving other species, such as humans (*shivers*).

Speaking of their lands, I've been variously told they encompass as many as 35 or 70 sims, with a population of 1200-1400 elves. The most organized group of Elven sims I have come upon are those owned by the Lady Forcythia Wishbringer, regarded by many as their Queen, and, at the very least, Queen of Elf Circle continent. These sims include ElvenGlen, ElvenMoor, ElvenVale, ElvenStone, Elf Haven, Shea Nectaris, Shea Cognoium, Shea Ingenii, and Shea Imbrium. There is also a group of partner sims, owned by others, but bound by the Elf Circle Charter: Ceilich, Elf Harbor, Farhaven, Mystica, The Fairy Crossing, The Glimmering, ElvenValley, Falathrim, and The Green. It was at ElvenGlen that I gathered much of my information. (The Elf Circle Charter is available to all who wish a copy. It describes the customs and organization of Elf Circle.)

TIGGS

TIGGS Beaumont (who is technically not an Elf, but a dragon - "Two dark rkf - drow - are my mentors" ) provided some lovely insight, off-the-cuff, while dancing. "[I have given] you Elf Circle Charter 2.0. This should explain a bit. But it has much more meaning I think to you, than you may realize. You will be traveling all of Elf Circle lands I trust? [They are] varied, and wonderfully aesthetic, creativity abounds, but... The most important for me, is the honour, integrity, spirit, and friendship found here. Often, when a group grows as this one has, it loses its sense of family. Elf Circle does not. We are a family of many beings. All accepted for whom we are. No fights between drows and elves, orcs and fairies. Oh petty differences, as in all large groups, but... loyalty to the charter's ways, "friendship” for all. We are Elvenae. And here, in Circle lands, is the Heart of Elvenae. Yes, a world we "play" in, but one which we bring ourselves to. The one thing people do not realize at first, is we also bring these Elvenae ways back out to RL. It is inevitable." At this point, TIGGS drifted off into a conversation with friends, whom I believe were merfolk... TIGGS pointed out that human avatars were free to role-play at will, respecting the customs of the lands they found themselves in.

Astrid

Elves seem to abjure politics. However, they have rulers, and they are sometimes combative and into weaponry. These are the seeming ongoing contradictions in Elvendom. They seem averse to discussing politics, which seems strange given what one might hear about Elf society. Astrid Zhangsun tells me it's a rule in Elflands, just to keep the peace. (Wow.)

Astrid could, I'm pretty sure, be correctly described as a Dark Elf (**double shivers**), and has a Bast as a Profile portrait. Asked about her Bast, she explained it was the only adult dragon she has, and that she had just got her. The first time I met Astrid, she was wearing a lovely dress. The second time I met her she was a (very) sexy warrior carrying a battle mace who had just come from a tournament (where she had used a battle mace for the first time), frustrated cuz she kept hitting the wrong key (LOL). Apparently she was stuck going shopping with her BF, even tho she herself had thought they might pursue some more romantic endeavors.

Astrid did clarify the politics of Elvendom somewhat: "You mean politics in Elfland? Okay, well we don't really have a political structure here. We have a Queen, High Council, Guardians, and Greeters. Each has their duties. So you want to know about Elven society? Okay well for the most part, think of the hippies in the early 70's. [LOL.] But there is an undertone of ick here too. ...I have only just experienced this myself." Well, I guess that's politics...

Padiel

Elves love music and dance. Padiel Montgomery is a composer and musician who graciously invited me to his tree dwelling, a natural abode of the type favored by elves. He treated me to renditions of several of his pieces, including "Mixing the Magic, and "Rain on My Wings." Padiel is a spell-casting Elf with a magic staff (very impressive), and some typical Elven pets including two owls, a pixie familiar, and a dragon. He was the first to report that he observed any Elven holidays (Solstice, but it's cuz he is an Elven Druid), and that he had favorite Elven foods (bread and honey). His favorite ritual is the dance in the Elven drum circle where Elves share fellowship and their love for one another. Padiel's music is available both in SL and in RL: http://76.18.77.46:8000 for SL play, and http://76.18.77.46:8000/listen.m3u for internet play.

Padiel was also first to comment upon the species he perceived as dwelling in various places: Forests (esp. hollow trees)? "That is for Wood Nymphs." Caves? "Ack.. Trolls and Dragons." (poor TIGGS) Underground? "Dwarves, hehe." Wells and springs? "Bugs.. really cute ones :)"

And, in addition to being a musician and composer, is a builder. He built his lovely home, including its fountains and effects, and also does things like garden sets and animations. He makes romantic fountains, Elvish garden sets, and intimate glass showers. Unfortunately, Elven lands are PG, so, even though all Elves are fond of animations, his tree dwelling, with its romantic animations, must be located elsewhere :P

Nilmë

Nilmë (a.k.a., Gert Grigges) is a longtime friend whom I only vaguely knew had an Elven side. He was not at all hesitant to tell me about himself. "I am a Maia, posing as an Elf. From Wikipedia: 'The Maiar (singular: Maia) are beings from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy legendarium (Book: The Silmarillion). The Maiar are lesser Valar and the helpers of the (greater) Valar. Being of divine form and possessing great power, the Maiar could wander the world unseen or shape themselves in fashion of Elves and other creatures; when wearing a mortal guise their bodies could be killed, but their spirit would live on.' I've taken/been given the name 'Nilmë,' meaning 'Friendship' in the Quenya language. I'm also known as 'The Lord of Lag.' (Yea, and also as The "Hugmeister General." :P)

Nilmë is a member of the "Builders of Valimar" group. The Builders currently live in the sims Valimar, Valarinde and Lorien. (Valimar/Valmar is a city of the Valar.) He doesn't bear arms, and currently does not practice magic or cast spells, but he could: The Maiar are powerful enough (see e.g. the story of the Maia Olórin, a.k.a. Gandalf who took the guise of a Wizard).

Nilmë has never tried to number the variety of Elves in SL, but was willing to comment upon other species often associated with Elves. "Drows: No clue (don't occur in Middle Earth). Orcs: Warring servants of the Dark Lords; It is said that they were in origin corrupted Elves captured by Melkor. Before the beginning of the First Age. In appearance, Orcs were squat, swarthy creatures. Most of them preferred the darkness, being blinded by the light of the Sun, but the kinds bred later in the Third Age, such as the Uruk-hai, could endure the daylight. Faeries/Faerie: The lands of the Elves in Aman, more commonly known by their Elvish name Eldamar, a word variously translated as 'Elvenhome', 'Elvenland,' or 'Elvenesse.'"

As for where Elves live? Forests (esp. hollow trees)? Caves? Underground? Wells and springs? Nilmë says, "None and all of the above: Most Elves lived in Aman (Continent originally lying in the far West of Arda, now removed from the World) and Middle-earth." Hmm...

As for what Nilmë thinks of humans: "The youngest of the races of Arda, men are unique in possessing the Gift of Men, death, by which they leave the world after an allotted time and go beyond it. What is to think of them? Some of my best friends are Men..." ;)

The Elven Way

From the Web page of tel'Mithrim, or the Grey Company (http://www.grey-company.org) in the Common tongue, which LOL prolly has nothing to do with SL:

The Elven Way

All elves follow the way- "No Elf shall do intentional harm to another Elf, and except in a case where an Elf acts with malicious intent, he shall be helped by other Elves." This pact protects all those of Elven blood. Any Elf found to be in violation of the Way through action or inaction shall be cast out (N'Tel Quess).

Elven Holidays

Yenearsira - Winter Solstice, the Elven new year. A day of rebirth.
Sheelala - A day of games and practical jokes celebrated in early spring.
Ehtele'mele - Vernal equinox. A week of romance and song.
Faradome - Summer Solstice. A celebration of the battle between Corellon and Gruumsh One-Eye. A night of orc hunting.
Yavieba - Autumnal equinox. A week of reflection and a time to remember those who have left this world. Most important decisions and judgments are made during this week.

Favorite Elven Wines

Saerloonian Glowfire-pale wine, luminous, taste reminiscent of pears.
Saerloonian Topaz-yellow amber wine w/ nutty quality and bold fruit overtones.
Mead-sweet wine of fermented honey.
Elverquisst- a ruby-colored liquor magically distilled from sunshine and rare summer fruits. Utterly smooth, the liquor is nonetheless flecked with gold and has an iridescence of both COLOR and flavor. It is highly prized at all times, but in the autumn rituals it is savored as if it is the gift of one final, perfect summer day.
Evermead-THE elven mead, imported from evermeet. The one to which all others are compared and found wanting.
Clarry-Table wine blend sweetened w/ honey and spices.
Arabellan Dry-fine red wine, very dry woodsy overtones and a slight berry taste.
Berdruskan Dark-heavy sweet and burning, almost black, HIGH alcohol content.
Morimatra-a spiced wine favored by the Drow.

Other Items Of Interest

Kholiast-elven card game consisting of a 1000 card deck, dice and a very difficult method of counting points. A high elf favorite.
Shalaquin-long necked elven instrument, plucked or strummed string tension is controlled by a ratcheting wheel.

AND IF ANYONE HAS ANY FAVORITE ELVEN RECIPES, BY ALL MEANS, DROP THEM OFF!