Books and more books!

| September 18, 2012

Japanese dystopian steampunk? That’s what Jay Kristoff is serving up in his latest book.

 

Speaking of books, you can pick up the newest by David Malki! You can even enter a contest to win more books and have your very own Roll-a-Sketch in them.

 

And speaking of contests…the results of the Vampire Empire drawing will be up soon, and I’ll be emailing the winners!  This week, we have another giveaway, and it’s a total smorgasbord as we clean up older copies (in most cases, they’re the final publication version of books we gave away earlier in advance reader copy format). We have copies of the following books to give away, and we’re going to do it all right here, right now, in one entry. All you have to do in order to enter the contest is post below, and post which books you want (examples: “Ghosts of War” or “all of them”). The deadline is Friday, September 22nd. We’ll do a mega-drawing this weekend! Then it’s on to new publications, and we have several of those to give away as well.

 

– The Doctor and the Kid by Mike Resnick

 

– Ghosts of War by George Mann

 

– Society of Steam, Book 2: Hearts of Smoke and Steam by Andrew P. Mayer

 

– Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon by Mark Hodder (advance reader copy only)

 

Good luck!

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of fortuitous finds and magnetic futures

| October 18, 2011

Are you participating in the fall book giveway? You should be! More books are on the way; you can enter for one or all of them.

 

David Malki! is having a contest, too – be classy, take a photo of yourself, and join the fun! (Actual cash prizes, too!)

 

For the super classy steampunk type, consider this incredible music box crafted by Swiss watchmakers. It’s beautiful, plays 19th century music, and is insanely expensive.

 

No money is needed to enjoy Slate’s series on this treasure trove of photos and report cards from the Manhattan Trade School for Girls, curated by Paul Lukas (you may recognize the name from Uni Watch, another great website). If Slate’s page gives you problems, there’s now a website for the project, too.

 

My other half (aka the voice of Sir Reginald) contributed two great links today – one looks at the diseases of the beloved computer game Oregon Trail, the other is a video of the future as it may be, with the help of magnets. (Levitation! It’s not that far away!)

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traveling through steam

| August 16, 2011

This week, it's all about the gatherings, it seems!

 

 

Some photos from GenCon give a slight hint of how much steampunk there was. It was impressive, to say the least.

 

 

If you're looking for places to show off your finery and meet others, there's Renovation SF, going on this weekend in Reno and featuring a decidedly steampunk bent. One example is a panel entitled " Ultimate Steampunk – Could the Victorians Have Built a Flying Carriage?" David Malki! will be taking photos and sending them out on Twitter! On the other side of the country, the people behind the ever-fantastic Coilhouse are throwing a fundraising party in New York City this Sunday, and it looks like it's going to be amazing.

 

 

Looking into the future, the Time Traveller's Ball is happening next month here in the Midwest (come visit us, we're fun people!), and then in October, back on the west coast, Anaheim is hosting "Steampunk: History Beyond Imagination." You can't complain that nothing is going on in the world of steampunky stuff these days.

 

 

Many thanks to Bunny, who sent me the link to these 1920s mugshots. I'd featured a few of them before here, but this post annotates several photos with the stories behind the faces, adding to the experience!

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word association fun

| April 26, 2011

When you think of plush animals, do you think "steampunk"? No? Well, neither did I, until I saw Etsy's latest challenge to its artists, and now I think a plush dirigible is probably one of the best things ever made.

 

When you think of tinkerers, you may think of steampunk. And that would be a good thing, because David Malki (of Wondermark fame) is posting the Tinkerers' Handbook this week!

 

How about fantastical creatures in the form of taxidermy? No? Well, Enrique Gomez de Molina creates them, and they're pretty amazing.

 

Retro gambling machines? It's only a matter of time until they appear on the scene. (Psst, Vegas, here's a concept for you.)

 

And finally, something truly having to do with steam: the King Edward II locomotive is up and running!

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of art and bullets and magic and bibles

| March 15, 2011

Hear ye, artists of a steampunk bent: you're needed for an upcoming gallery in Foxboro connected to a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea exhibit!

 

In other artistic happenings, Tom Hardwidge creates robotic insects from decommissioned ammunition, and David Malki discusses Victorian-era retouching of photographs. (A lot of those retouchers were very talented. Hoaxes are nothing new.)

 

Nelson Illusions is a family magic act with a decidedly steampunky angle. Huzzah!

 

Trial By Steam is my latest steampunk weblog discovery.

 

And finally, prepare yourselves for the Steampunk Bible, coming to you in May from the good VandeerMeer people!

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