Steampunk News

Steampunk Tribune | September 30, 2010

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Tags: SL, Steampunk Librarian

Steampunk Workshop | September 30, 2010

Last year I wrote an article for Make Magazine volume #17 that described the construction of an electrostatic generator of electricity, a Wimshurst Influence machine, using parts and materials commonly available at your local home center and hardware store.

I was a little surprised and quite pleased when I realized that the contract from O'Reilly Media (the publishers of Make:) had me retaining copyright for the material I submitted.  What I sold to O'Reilly was basically a right to use and to publish first.

So here it is for your enjoyment! This is the first of a five part series detailing the construction of a Wimshurst Influence machine!  (UPDATE: added large dimensioned drawing.)

read more

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Tags: Make Magazine

Steampunk Tribune | September 29, 2010

Hello and good day!  Its about time to wrap up another poll, though this one had a bit of a twist to it.  The poll started in August, about the most Steampunk city in what might remained of what might be called the Plains states (Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico), and the winner was… “Other”.   As I outlined in the introduction to the associated poll on the “Most Steampunk city in the Southeast” http://www.steampunktribune.com/2010/09/most-souths-most-steampunk-city-poll.html

I do believe that many voters were under the impression that cities listed under the Plains states poll may have included parts of the Southeast.  As such, the option of “Other” may have chosen, vice one of the other listed cities.  As such, I’d say since I have had not comments on what “Other” is, nor were there any comments regarding the choice, I shall have to default to the next option and declare St. Louis as the most Steampunk City of the Plains states!  The results were as follows…

Other with 29.2% of the vote (33 votes)
St. Louis with 23.89% of the vote (27 votes)
Kansas City (MO/KS) with 15.04% of the vote (15 votes)
Austin with 10.62% of the vote (12 votes)
Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa each with 4.42% of the vote (5 votes)
San Antonio with 3.45% of the vote (4 votes)

My thanks to all who participated, and if there are any suggestions on the city of “Other”, please feel free to contact me regarding it, at thesteampunktribune [at] yahoo [dot] com!

Now onto the next vote, which suprisingly enough, has little to do with regional geography.  As I was on the back veranda of the Heliograph building in New Babbage, doing a bit of in-world correspondence, I began to wonder about the amount of “Steampunk” builds in the region (Wheatstone Waterways).  Where I reside at (the Southwest corner), I can easily count three airships, a giant telescope, and on a good day (or expanded draw selection on my browser), I can see the giant Tesla coil fluctuating in the background.

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Tags: MO

The Artificers Club | September 29, 2010

Ladies, gentlemen, friends!

It is a great honour to be a member of this wonderful blog, so allow me to say my “thank you’s” first of all before I post the following creations.

So, dilly-dallying aside, let’s get straight on to posting! The first are two masks and a pair of goggles. The masks were brought plain and undecorated and were customized by me. Goggles were silver cyber goggles I transformed. We have Lady Venetia who tells her broken time, The Professor with his all-seeing antique glasses, and the Timeless Watcher goggles.

Apologies for the pictures, they are terrible!

And yours truly –
Nitr0gene

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Tags: Lady Venetia, Timeless Watcher

The Steampunk Home | September 29, 2010

Peter Montgomery is hoping to build a “Journey to the Center of the Earth” style drill as an art installation/halloween decoration.

The problem? Lack of funds. If you’d like to support his endeavor, throw him some spare change over on Kickstarter.

For more on Peter’s past Halloween displays (he’s legit), check out this post.

Kickstarter works in a pretty neat way: The rules are really simple: If you make or exceed your funding goal by the specified deadline, you get the money. If you don’t make the goal, you get nothing. In my case, my deadline is October 14, so there are 21 days to raise the money. Also, people get gifts to thank them for pitching in.

It’s not very often you get to help out on something this cool.

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Tags: Peter Montgomery

Brass Goggles | September 28, 2010

James Richardson-Brown of The Artificers’ Club needs your help:

I have received news that a proposed book on steampunk art will be going ahead. Published one of the UK’s leading art publishers and edited by myself.

I am now looking for artists of all types to grace the pages of this humble endeavour with your wonderous creations. Apply now…

If you’re a Steampunk maker-artist, and you want to be featured in a book on the subject, this is your chance! Being considered for inclusion requires membership in The Artificers’ Club, which appears to be free of charge, but application-based.

[hat tip: Herr Döktor from our Steampunk Forum]

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Tags: James Richardson Brown, Steampunk Art

The Steampunk Librarian | September 28, 2010

Hello, and welcome to the new dwelling place for now! Life is a little hectic at the moment and Vox didn't provide a lot of time to prepare for the move, so we are hunkered down here for a bit. Everything should have transferred over properly, fortunately.

Nader Elhefnawy's guest post on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America website is all about steampunk. It's long and detailed (over 40 footnotes!) and a must-read for anyone interested in the genre. And if you're interested in steampunk-themed literature, why not take The Bookkeeper's Steampunk Challenge? It's a year full of reading, all geared toward steampunk (pun intentional).

The latest group to embrace steampunk may give readers pause: it's DARPA. Who knew that Babbage's levers might be more useful than semiconductors?

I had not heard of Strowlers until now. (I thought perhaps they were all-terrain strollers.) They are most definitely here and out in public, and are even throwing the first StrowlerCon later this fall in Boston!

The intricacies of Muslim art and dress seem to complement steampunk quite well, so it's wonderful to see a growing interest in Muslim steampunk. 

And finally, if you're in the area, be sure to check out Cirque Acirca's mural as it's being created this week in Grand Rapids. It's part of the 2010 ArtPrize competition, so you can also vote and support steampunk-loving artists and entertainers!

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Tags: Science Fiction, Steampunk Challenge

The Steampunk Home | September 28, 2010

The post on ways to hang pictures generated a lot of comments — many people pointed out ways to upgrade the “pants hanger” — darker wood, painting the metal, adding metal decorations to the wood, etc. The best idea, however, came from an email from Jen, who suggested using Victorian spring clips. You can see what they are and how Jen uses them above.

You can buy them at Lee Valley Hardware, where they come in 2 different styles. The drilled hole in the back lets you hang them on a nail.

Victorian Spring Clip. 4″ long overall and 2-1/2″ wide at the tip, it weighs about 7 oz. They are $6.20 for one, $4.49 if you buy 6 or more.

Cast Steel Spring Clip. The cast steel is a bit bigger at 4-1/4″ long overall and 2-1/2″ wide at the tip, it weighs about 6 oz. $8.80 for one, $7.10 for 6 or more.

For my purposes I think two at the corners of a large print (and perhaps two more at the bottom? I think I’ll have to experiment…) would be as cheap as a poster frame, and walk the casual vs Victorian style line that I want my office to have.

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Steampunk Magazine | September 27, 2010

Part 1 Multiculturalism: One compass, many directions

When one thinks of the words “steampunk” and “multicultural,” there’s a moment of head-scratching. Since steampunk has existed as an aesthetic style, first identified as a form of British Victorian aesthetic expression, the word conjures up images of stuffy, pale-skinned aristocrats donning goggles on their top hats while flying about in their dirigibles. “Multicultural” sounds too modern, too varied, too irrelevant to associate itself with the likes of what is steampunk, standards that are quickly-becoming formalized as the subculture becomes exposed to the mainstream and examples of the subgenre’s style become more pop-culture friendly (when Lady Gaga dons goggles and twisty pipes on her head, you know it’s a sign that people are Getting It). Multicultural steampunk, however, is not only another variant of steampunk, but, in my opinion, is intrinsic to the definition of steampunk as it exists as a form of creative expressive subversion. Thus, the average steampunk engages in more aspects of multicultural steampunk than one would assume; while likewise, multicultural steampunk is a prime example of how someone can grasp the “punk” banner by the handle and wave it for themselves.

Unlike the term steampunk, multiculturalism can be very simple to define–here’s the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition:

Main Entry: mul·ti·cul·tur·al
Pronunciation: \ˌməl-tē-ˈkəlch-rəl, -ˌtī-, -ˈkəl-chə-\
Function: adjective
Date: 1941
: of, relating to, reflecting, or adapted to diverse cultures

Read more...

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Tags: England, US

The Steampunk Home | September 27, 2010

Carolina Fontoura Alzaga makes chandeliers out of recycled bicycle parts. These are not just your run of the mill recycled lighting (although we love those too!). These are grand statements fit for your entry hall or ballroom. I love how they mimic the look of traditional crystal chandeliers, but with a lot more edge.

From her artist’s statement:

This body of work draws inspiration from Victorian chandeliers, DIY and bike culture, and the use of unartistic materials….

These subversive objects challenge the aesthetics of wealth by visually contrasting the classic elegance of the candelabrum with the newfound elegance of discarded, mechanical bicycle parts.

Don’t have a ballroom or a grand staircase? How about some smaller scale sconces for a hallway?

Carolina emailed me, but I had already seen her work thanks to a feature on Treehugger that Michael pointed out to me.

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Tags: DIY

Steampunk Tribune | September 27, 2010

Happened upon this clever video, which includes a peg-leg sailor, a Steampunk record player, and some antics at a bar… Unfortunately, it seems it is part of a larger project by Miss May Jay, and I’ll certainly be on the look out for more the complete work!

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Steampunk Wallpaper | September 26, 2010

	Title: In Which Landscape is Surveyed Description: One must be prepared for visitors. Type: Widescreen, 1920×1080 Credits: Licensed as Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial. Based on these:http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparktography/1382585742/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/hypersapiens/4701769776/
	Type: Widescreen, 1680×1050
	Type: Fullscreen, 1280×1024

Related posts:

1. Guest Wallpaper: Birthed in Brass by Terrichance
2. Repeating Pipes
3. Guest Wallpaper: Old Cog by mszafran

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Tags: Credits Licensed, Guest Wallpaper Birthed, Type Fullscreen, Type Widescreen