Defining Steampunk Saturday, May 31 2008 

Research Dr. Ella Nunn 4:38 pm

…is a lot harder than it looks, as any of us who immerse ourselves in the retro-futuristic ideals of steampunk realize. Newbe’s Steam Powered Blog tackles the problem in his own words in order to resolve a few sticking points for world-building of his own, calling steampunk “a “can do” genre where if you can have an idea that seems plausible, then it should be possible.” Which in my eyes is the heart of science-fiction, even though sci-fi worked solely with the pure aspects of technology and its effects, whereas one of the responders points out that steampunk is more loose and free-wheeling. I personally love the idea of returning to that ‘what if’ wonder the Victorians had of the infinite possibilities of the future. I love that steampunk includes the culture and etiquette and mindset of the Victorians themselves, with its emphasis on classical training and unhampered joy of beauty, not to mention when people still treated each other with respect.

To wit, poster Marcus Tairov said : “Not only is Steampunk where Science runs the world but that people are cordial to one another. They dress in creative and mad scientist looks. Gears are common. The individual is unique and more importantly, can contribute to society easily. The focus on success is what you can accomplish, not how much money you make. The quality of life is better. The science though is a bit more important than anything else and you run the risk of loosing your humanity in it.”

I think the 20th century worked very hard to call the century before it every dirty name in the book, including Puritanical and repressive and staid and stuffy and unyielding and frozen and then worked even harder to get rid of everything that we might actually discover about the 19th century in terms of the wonder and awe. Some might blame the atom bomb for this, some might say it was the 60s Hippies. Anyone who reads up on what Victorians were really like discovers a much more vibrant world. A view I have held for a LONG time is that the 20th century discarded the 19th as useless junk and we have crudity and blandness instead. Cynicism replaced wonder, thus leading some at the end of the Millennium to declare that we have reached ‘the end of history.’ So I would have to say that for me, steampunk means going back to the heap and taking what was discarded and rediscovering what worked…and having FUN with what did not.

 

A little retro-futurism Saturday, May 24 2008 

RetroFuturism Dr. Ella Nunn 3:15 pm

By way of Clockworker’s Guild, a compendium of artwork featuring the futuristic imaginings of those living at the turn of the 20th century. Some of them were quite amusing, some astounding in their supposition that certain physical laws were overcome (and eliciting the thought of ‘oh Lord, if we did that, imagine the accidents!’), and others that only a jaded person in the 21st century could look upon and smile at with amused cynicism.

Like the scene of a group of children gathered under a show tent to see the a relic of their grandparents’ past: a real live horse! I could only imagine what the mother was whispering to the little child next to her: “now see…that is what your Great-Grandpa used to ride when he wanted to visit…” and the little child’s face just bug-eyed with amazement. “But Mama…where are the knobs to make it go ‘vrooom’?”

Sad thing is, fifty years later, people were still imagining we’d be mobilized by rockets in backpacks and individual flying contraptions that turned us into birds. Apart from the recent Swiss “Fusion Man”, its still not as ubiquitous as they, and we, would have liked.

 

Do Steampunks Use Flux Capacitors? Tuesday, May 20 2008 

Steampunkitude Dr. Ella Nunn 9:35 pm

I am nowhere near being outfitted for any kind of steampunk role playing at this time, otherwise I would plunge wholeheartedly into a suggested day of time traveler chaos - I want to be with these people when they act out their ideas! On another forum, the ideas are wickedly fun and funny. For example, one suggested using a smoke machine to set the stage in which one comes running out in whatever period costume one chooses, preferably a futuristic one, and stop someone to ask them in panic “what year is this?!” and then time it so that a second person appears in a similar manner, only he has a piece of paper with the picture of the first person and asks the same…erm…victim: “have you seen this man?”

I think if one were to get a very very large group of these people to act out these very things throughout an entire city, it would be much more effective in freaking everyone out, otherwise, a solitary occurance could land someone in more trouble than they were counting on…or be summarily dismissed. *shrug* Although, I am probably projecting…*I* would be the one dismissed or hauled off somewhere for a psychological check. There are people who have the talent and personality to carry it off with aplomb. I would want to be watching when they did it.

 

Like clockwork Friday, May 16 2008 

Cogs & Wheels , , Dr. Ella Nunn 5:00 am

I may not be quite to the level of wanting to build my own steamworks just yet, but I have been rather taken by the design elements inherent in cog wheels, and in perusing the world of Google, I found a tutorial that takes you through creating various kinds of cogs, right down to the cut and shape of the teeth, in the Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Like the little wheels they are, cogs have been spinning in my mind toward some ideas for a DIY project…focusing on a leather bomber jacket that had the misfortune of being the object of a male cat’s ire at one time. All…erm…”ephemera” from that incident have long since been eliminated, but the damage has been done, and someone suggested on the Steampunk forum (for another poster’s desire to hide unlucky spots) that an undesirable image could easily be refashioned and hidden by steampunk coverups.

Only thing is, its not like I dont have other projects to work on…/sarcasm off. (1830s bonnet, 1830s corset, two or three writing projects, a fanfic website, sewing, crochet, embroidery, garden…)

Additional : I dont think he is advertising steampunk design itself, per se, but his personal website definitely has that feel.  I am loving the flash animation of the cogs on the front page.

 

Already Steamed Thursday, May 15 2008 

Cogs & Wheels Dr. Ella Nunn 6:24 pm

Was scrolling through a favorite forum of current events when I came across this article:

Swiss ‘Fusion Man’ Flies Over the Alps With Jet-Propelled Wings

and instantly thought “steampunk!”

And then this was posted on YouTube - with the theme from “Great American Hero”.

. . .

See?  Already it’s taking hold. . .

 

What *is* Steampunk? Thursday, May 15 2008 

Research , Dr. Ella Nunn 4:52 pm

Dont have time to get into a fullblown description of my initial thoughts about how I am perceiving steampunk, but thought Id point in the direction of a thread on the Steampunk forum that members have begun to hash out that very thing. For myself, I think I have always had punk sensibilities as well as Victorian ones, punk being anti-establishment and anti-conformity. I was precocious in my use of language and forever teased for my vocabulary in school days when most students professed a disdain for nerdy behavior. I actively sought out dress and mannerisms that harkened back to the Victorians when my youth was inundated with the hippie and jive culture. The 80s were the last time when I felt like eclecticism had its sway - you could dress whichever way you wanted and you were ‘in fashion.’ The 90s and Aughties have pulled more to sameness everywhere. Honestly, I feel like I see things in ‘fashion’ and general lifestyle that really havent changed for the last decade or so and my instincts are screaming for a severe change and return to more dignity.

But what I got on here to REALLy say was the discussion was to find out what the different perspectives of steampunk were and the main thread throughout was Victorian and Edwardian ideals. This got me to thinking about my favorite artistic period, Art Nouveau. AN was a reaction to the flush of mass produced culture in the mid-1800s, when the Industrial Revolution brought about advances in technology to generate a consummerism that made obtaining items easier and less costly. A prime example of this was the proliferation of East Lake furniture. This was a mass-produced style, very distinctive, that can be easily found in antique stores and old homes across the nation. Art Nouveau was an active rejection of that mass production, returning the eye and sensibility to the more romantic ideas of nature and higher aesthetics. In reflection of this, I have to wonder if steampunk isnt similar to that: the mass production and homogenization of technology and aesthetics has reached such a degree that people long for a return to beauty and ‘organics,’ - only this time, we harken back to a time when technology was still a ‘new’ and refreshing means of exploring possibilities?

Theres a lot to think about when it comes to steampunk. Perhaps I’m way off the mark here on ascribing it to Art Nouveau-like emergence. I sympathise quite a bit with the desire to ‘be punk with etiquette’ especially considering that etiquette has become so severely lacking that we are seeing backlash in a lot of areas in our culture. I have so wanted to rebel against the assumed establishment of our hip-hop, junk fed society, a society that assumes that anything they want will be within a hand’s reach, instead of learning to create and build from scratch.

 

New Roads, New Adventures Wednesday, May 14 2008 

Research Dr. Ella Nunn 3:50 pm

Well, at least for me. Have been introduced to the world of steampunk by Andrea Harris, Old Grouch, and others at Twisted Spinster. I am excited to discover something that has been around for quite some time, not to mention some of the literature that inspired it. For me it will be like digging into the past all over again, with prospectives for the future. Just perfect.

I am not a consistent blogger. I write when I get the inspiration, and a lot of times the Muse refuses to speak to me for days on end. And since I am a newbie to the world of steam punk, I will be spending much of my time immersing myself in it. I could not resist starting a blog about it though.

Expect this place to go through several morphs - Word Press buggers me every time when I want to change the appearance. If someone could do a walk through with me on this - I have a ‘free’ account, but I bought the CSS upgrade, so how do I go about changing the appearance to something other than the standard offered in the account?

PS - Im looking for artwork to brighten up this place…