http://silver-goggles.blogspot.com/
Here's Jha's latest steampunk blog! It deals "solely with postcolonial theory and steampunk". Totally awesome!
Go give a read, bookmark, friend, whatever you need to do. ^_^
Much love,
Whisper
Showing posts with label Steampunk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steampunk. Show all posts
Sunday, October 25
Friday, October 16
Steampunk's Reappropriation of Entertainment Media
First, I apologize if this is a TL;DR scenario. I tend to talk when I get going. If you give this a read though, I would love to hear other people's ideas and opinions.
---
Someone said recently of the steampunk hype that they don't think something counts as being the latest hype unless you can see it in everyday life.
People like myself and others who are involved with and interested in steampunk (who may even wrap themselves up in it like a protective blanket), see a lot of steampunk because we are on the social networking sites and the forums. We search it out, tracking down books, artists, movies; the latest "they might be steampunk, let's listen to them!" musicians, and articles from emerging thinkers.
We are not the average person, though. It might do us well to remember this.
The question was brought forth of, if we walked away from the internet and didn't actively go hunting it down, would we see a lot of steampunk? Would it seem like the latest bandwagon that everyone is jumping on? Brass Goggles has 8500 members- can 8500+ people on the whole of the internet really be the markings of a bandwagon? Can we estimate how many people are involved with steampunk in some way in their daily or casual living? Out of the 6.7 billion in the world?
I also got to thinking about how people have this problem figuring out what is and what isn't steampunk. In the search to find steampunk creations, there's starting to be backlash. See, when people enthusiastic about finding steampunk in what they love start labeling art, stories, or music as steampunk.... not all the creators appreciate it.
I'm not sure if the reaction is because these artists have given serious thought to their work and see it as something else that does not mesh with steampunk's messages. Or if it is that they don't want to be thrown on this perhaps imaginary bandwagon, nervous that they might not be taken seriously.
Frankly, to those artists, I say STAY! Keep your message there, and revel in being dragged, kicking and screaming, into what you perceive as something fringe mainstream. Here is where you can do the most good, if you just keep true to yourself and your message.
At the same time, I also look to all this labeling we steampunks do.
Steampunk has a very strange relationship with its media. Mostly because steampunk came before it had legit media to spread it, I would think. I know personally I was not influenced by any media to explore steampunk, despite that I had enjoyed several books considered steampunk, movies, and so forth. Others might have come to steampunk through this same media-less portal. And once they get here, they go, "I love this aesthetic, this idea for a sound I have in my head, this memory of emotional response from this sort of story. How can I immerse myself in this, so that I can form my own opinions on what this steampunk is all about?"
And what you get is a lot of retro-fitting of the title steampunk onto all sorts of media.
Even a year ago, steampunks didn't have a lot of bands to look at that were calling themselves steampunk. (And some that did still had a lot of Cruxshadows-envy floating in their musical veins.) If I looked to Tiger Lillies and Dresden Dolls and Gogol Bordello and put them in the "sepiachord" file on my ipod, is this wrong? They don't call themselves steampunk, but their styles are something that puts me in the right headspace.
These are bands and artists that I listen to that put me right back to that original steampunk mind. I'm listing all of them, so you can see the gamut they run:
Professor Elemental; Dr. Steel; Gogol Bordello; Jason Webley; The Tiger Lillies; HUMANWINE; The Dresden Dolls; Amanda Palmer; Tom Waits; Rasputina; Juke Baritone; Joe Black; Pretty Balanced; Jeffery Straker; Two-Man Gentleman Band; Voltaire; Creature Feature; Circus Contraption; The Decemberists; World Inferno/Friendship Society; Luminescent Orchestrii; The Scarring Party; Vermillion Lies; That 1 Guy; Hellblinki Sextet; Harlequin Jones; Reverend Glass Eye; Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band;
and yes, even Abney Park, because fact is: they were in my starter steampunk kit.
Now, not all of those bands are steampunk or should necessarily be called steampunk- and some of them, like Voltaire and The Decemberists, not all of their songs. But they are each of them something I would stand behind as what steampunk music feels like for me.
Then, too, a lot of people like to label literature as being steampunk; including things which have until recently simply been classic science-fiction lit. Stories which were alternate-realities in the time they were written, or looks to the future, are now being called steampunk: Jules Verne and H.G. Wells and the like are being considered the grand-daddies of steampunk.
ARE they steampunk? Is there enough of the punk (in the sense of "something that annoys or causes discomfort", especially "one who does not conform, pointing out the monotony of conformity for those who do") in these books to warrant them being progenitors of the genre? Is it worth mentioning as even proto-steampunk, a place that is "a good start"? Or should we move to the 80's and 90's lit, which STILL didn't necessarily call itself steampunk, for the first place to go for steampunk reading?
That brings up something else: the punk in steampunk. In the beginning, not much thought was put into what the punk meant. It was a joke at how cyberpunk was around and now this stuff was steampunk, har har, very funny. But can't we get comfortable saying, yes, though it didn't originally mean something but with newer people and ideas coming to the field, the punk DOES mean something now? There are the gaslamp fantasists and neo-vics who neither need nor want the punk, but there are people for who steampunk can be something harsher, louder, and doesn't take "because" as an answer.
If the punk is not important to someone, maybe the person should look harder at themselves and ask why it doesn't matter to them yet they continue to use it. Because, for me, ignoring the punk part says that as a subculture and small community, we introduce ourselves with a name that was and still is simply about... what? About making fun of another subculture? That... really doesn't throw the right message out there, guys. And cannot possibly be all that punk has to offer.
But moving back to the topic at hand...
There are movies, film, television, and anime too that have been adopted by steampunk. Wild Wild West, Back to the Future Part III, The Rocketeer and City of Lost Children to name only a few that I loved before I had steampunk to put them together on a mental shelf; I even put Waterworld in there, being like a post-apocalyptic steampunk world where everyone is making their own inventions and goods out of whatever they have left. But these were not greenlit going, "Hey, you know what's a cool style? Steampunk. Let's make one of those movies." They knew the style they wanted, and put it forward, and it just happens to look awesome.
It's like steampunk aesthetics, imagery, and media... was sitting around, knowing its style was something interesting and quirky that not everyone would like, and waiting for someone to go, "You. You are steampunk. Come, join us even if you already have other friends. You are welcome here."
What the problem becomes is this: some people are in the camp that the only things which are steampunk are those endeavors set forth by the creator as steampunk projects. They feel that it is the creator who has final say on what something is or isn't; and they may decide it is not steampunk, even if you say it is.
I can understand that this covers a lot of people's asses, so that they don't look too "hip and with it" on something that is only really big online and creeping into fancy fashion and movies; or on things that they feel have a different, not-steampunk-friendly message that is getting twisted or misinterpreted.
One issue with this is that, once your art leaves you, you sort of don't have any right to it anymore minus copyright and so forth. If I write a story, and publish it, those are no longer MY characters. They are your characters, because it is your time to spend with them now. Likewise, if you enjoy a piece of art, it is yours now to enjoy. And therefor, if steampunks like something for being steampunk that the creator did not make with that intention... it sort of becomes something that is steampunk-acceptable. Ba-goosh, after all, means "steampunk approved!" in Dreadspeak.
Note, too, if an artist doesn't mean for their work to be on the same wavelength as steampunk, but their message is getting misinterpreted, perhaps it is time to consider alternate ways of telling this message. Something is lost in the translation, and it can't ALL be the audience.
But, really, steampunk is adrift in an ocean of media mostly NOT "made for steampunk". So would it be fair to discount things that have passed long before steampunk hit this stride, and not consider them steampunk? A lot of bands and movies see a resurgence of interest in them, if they are discovered by someone to have a feel they equate with their own style of steampunk- is that such a bad thing?
Must something be made with the clear intent of being steampunk or can we retroactively give a personal category to these things?
What, really, is the problem with steampunk re-appropriating their entertainment?
---
Perhaps some other time I will talk about trying to find steampunk art that speaks to the Industrial heart of my steampunk in a sea of Victorian steampunk art. But that is a conversation for another night!
Much love,
Whisper
ps: Holy cow! I hadn't realized Lucretia had been the one to come up with the title "The Indifference Engine", but she did! And that is going to be the name of Professor Elemental's brand new album! Huzzah! Congrats, Lucretia!
---
Someone said recently of the steampunk hype that they don't think something counts as being the latest hype unless you can see it in everyday life.
People like myself and others who are involved with and interested in steampunk (who may even wrap themselves up in it like a protective blanket), see a lot of steampunk because we are on the social networking sites and the forums. We search it out, tracking down books, artists, movies; the latest "they might be steampunk, let's listen to them!" musicians, and articles from emerging thinkers.
We are not the average person, though. It might do us well to remember this.
The question was brought forth of, if we walked away from the internet and didn't actively go hunting it down, would we see a lot of steampunk? Would it seem like the latest bandwagon that everyone is jumping on? Brass Goggles has 8500 members- can 8500+ people on the whole of the internet really be the markings of a bandwagon? Can we estimate how many people are involved with steampunk in some way in their daily or casual living? Out of the 6.7 billion in the world?
I also got to thinking about how people have this problem figuring out what is and what isn't steampunk. In the search to find steampunk creations, there's starting to be backlash. See, when people enthusiastic about finding steampunk in what they love start labeling art, stories, or music as steampunk.... not all the creators appreciate it.
I'm not sure if the reaction is because these artists have given serious thought to their work and see it as something else that does not mesh with steampunk's messages. Or if it is that they don't want to be thrown on this perhaps imaginary bandwagon, nervous that they might not be taken seriously.
Frankly, to those artists, I say STAY! Keep your message there, and revel in being dragged, kicking and screaming, into what you perceive as something fringe mainstream. Here is where you can do the most good, if you just keep true to yourself and your message.
At the same time, I also look to all this labeling we steampunks do.
Steampunk has a very strange relationship with its media. Mostly because steampunk came before it had legit media to spread it, I would think. I know personally I was not influenced by any media to explore steampunk, despite that I had enjoyed several books considered steampunk, movies, and so forth. Others might have come to steampunk through this same media-less portal. And once they get here, they go, "I love this aesthetic, this idea for a sound I have in my head, this memory of emotional response from this sort of story. How can I immerse myself in this, so that I can form my own opinions on what this steampunk is all about?"
And what you get is a lot of retro-fitting of the title steampunk onto all sorts of media.
Even a year ago, steampunks didn't have a lot of bands to look at that were calling themselves steampunk. (And some that did still had a lot of Cruxshadows-envy floating in their musical veins.) If I looked to Tiger Lillies and Dresden Dolls and Gogol Bordello and put them in the "sepiachord" file on my ipod, is this wrong? They don't call themselves steampunk, but their styles are something that puts me in the right headspace.
These are bands and artists that I listen to that put me right back to that original steampunk mind. I'm listing all of them, so you can see the gamut they run:
Professor Elemental; Dr. Steel; Gogol Bordello; Jason Webley; The Tiger Lillies; HUMANWINE; The Dresden Dolls; Amanda Palmer; Tom Waits; Rasputina; Juke Baritone; Joe Black; Pretty Balanced; Jeffery Straker; Two-Man Gentleman Band; Voltaire; Creature Feature; Circus Contraption; The Decemberists; World Inferno/Friendship Society; Luminescent Orchestrii; The Scarring Party; Vermillion Lies; That 1 Guy; Hellblinki Sextet; Harlequin Jones; Reverend Glass Eye; Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band;
and yes, even Abney Park, because fact is: they were in my starter steampunk kit.
Now, not all of those bands are steampunk or should necessarily be called steampunk- and some of them, like Voltaire and The Decemberists, not all of their songs. But they are each of them something I would stand behind as what steampunk music feels like for me.
Then, too, a lot of people like to label literature as being steampunk; including things which have until recently simply been classic science-fiction lit. Stories which were alternate-realities in the time they were written, or looks to the future, are now being called steampunk: Jules Verne and H.G. Wells and the like are being considered the grand-daddies of steampunk.
ARE they steampunk? Is there enough of the punk (in the sense of "something that annoys or causes discomfort", especially "one who does not conform, pointing out the monotony of conformity for those who do") in these books to warrant them being progenitors of the genre? Is it worth mentioning as even proto-steampunk, a place that is "a good start"? Or should we move to the 80's and 90's lit, which STILL didn't necessarily call itself steampunk, for the first place to go for steampunk reading?
That brings up something else: the punk in steampunk. In the beginning, not much thought was put into what the punk meant. It was a joke at how cyberpunk was around and now this stuff was steampunk, har har, very funny. But can't we get comfortable saying, yes, though it didn't originally mean something but with newer people and ideas coming to the field, the punk DOES mean something now? There are the gaslamp fantasists and neo-vics who neither need nor want the punk, but there are people for who steampunk can be something harsher, louder, and doesn't take "because" as an answer.
If the punk is not important to someone, maybe the person should look harder at themselves and ask why it doesn't matter to them yet they continue to use it. Because, for me, ignoring the punk part says that as a subculture and small community, we introduce ourselves with a name that was and still is simply about... what? About making fun of another subculture? That... really doesn't throw the right message out there, guys. And cannot possibly be all that punk has to offer.
But moving back to the topic at hand...
There are movies, film, television, and anime too that have been adopted by steampunk. Wild Wild West, Back to the Future Part III, The Rocketeer and City of Lost Children to name only a few that I loved before I had steampunk to put them together on a mental shelf; I even put Waterworld in there, being like a post-apocalyptic steampunk world where everyone is making their own inventions and goods out of whatever they have left. But these were not greenlit going, "Hey, you know what's a cool style? Steampunk. Let's make one of those movies." They knew the style they wanted, and put it forward, and it just happens to look awesome.
It's like steampunk aesthetics, imagery, and media... was sitting around, knowing its style was something interesting and quirky that not everyone would like, and waiting for someone to go, "You. You are steampunk. Come, join us even if you already have other friends. You are welcome here."
What the problem becomes is this: some people are in the camp that the only things which are steampunk are those endeavors set forth by the creator as steampunk projects. They feel that it is the creator who has final say on what something is or isn't; and they may decide it is not steampunk, even if you say it is.
I can understand that this covers a lot of people's asses, so that they don't look too "hip and with it" on something that is only really big online and creeping into fancy fashion and movies; or on things that they feel have a different, not-steampunk-friendly message that is getting twisted or misinterpreted.
One issue with this is that, once your art leaves you, you sort of don't have any right to it anymore minus copyright and so forth. If I write a story, and publish it, those are no longer MY characters. They are your characters, because it is your time to spend with them now. Likewise, if you enjoy a piece of art, it is yours now to enjoy. And therefor, if steampunks like something for being steampunk that the creator did not make with that intention... it sort of becomes something that is steampunk-acceptable. Ba-goosh, after all, means "steampunk approved!" in Dreadspeak.
Note, too, if an artist doesn't mean for their work to be on the same wavelength as steampunk, but their message is getting misinterpreted, perhaps it is time to consider alternate ways of telling this message. Something is lost in the translation, and it can't ALL be the audience.
But, really, steampunk is adrift in an ocean of media mostly NOT "made for steampunk". So would it be fair to discount things that have passed long before steampunk hit this stride, and not consider them steampunk? A lot of bands and movies see a resurgence of interest in them, if they are discovered by someone to have a feel they equate with their own style of steampunk- is that such a bad thing?
Must something be made with the clear intent of being steampunk or can we retroactively give a personal category to these things?
What, really, is the problem with steampunk re-appropriating their entertainment?
---
Perhaps some other time I will talk about trying to find steampunk art that speaks to the Industrial heart of my steampunk in a sea of Victorian steampunk art. But that is a conversation for another night!
Much love,
Whisper
ps: Holy cow! I hadn't realized Lucretia had been the one to come up with the title "The Indifference Engine", but she did! And that is going to be the name of Professor Elemental's brand new album! Huzzah! Congrats, Lucretia!
Saturday, September 12
Tom Brown rocks me like a hurricane
And he should rock you too.
Check out
Copper Age
And tell me- I DARE YOU- tell me that you are not instantly in love with this man's artwork. (I have a print of this one- if you want a print of this, or any of his other work, go to his deviantart page: http://copperage.deviantart.com/)
::drool::
I met Tom and his son Kormac at PortCon Maine this year. I actually met a lot of cool people in Maine this past year...
But these guys were fantastic. And Tom instantly became one of my favorite artists- one, his art is gorgeous, and two, he uses pencil! Pencil! Hardly any good pencil exists these days. In fact, I was talking to Cap earlier about how in school I felt like people were telling me that if you drew in pencil there was something "lesser" about your artwork than the people who did ink, watercolor, sculpture. So I have a great amount of personal, artist-to-artist respect for Tom for the amazing pieces I watched him make over the weekend, as we sat next to him in Artists' Alley.
Please go check out Tom and Bryn's story of Hopeless, Maine. And, bonus! It's got a steampunk edge. As Tom said to me recently, it is "an alternate world story, with late Victorian setting, and trappings, paranormal, monsters, and magic/steam age hybrid tech." (And yes, many of those monsters have tentacles heh) The island is also cut off from the rest of the world, so they have to DIY a lot of stuff and make clothes from the remains of the old Victorian Era clothing. Totally awesome!
I've looked around online a bit already, and it seems that- even though the official launch was just today- this site is going crazy! People are really enjoying it. Copper Age is going to be huge and you won't want to miss it.
Much love,
Whisper
Check out
Copper Age
And tell me- I DARE YOU- tell me that you are not instantly in love with this man's artwork. (I have a print of this one- if you want a print of this, or any of his other work, go to his deviantart page: http://copperage.deviantart.com/)
::drool::
I met Tom and his son Kormac at PortCon Maine this year. I actually met a lot of cool people in Maine this past year...
But these guys were fantastic. And Tom instantly became one of my favorite artists- one, his art is gorgeous, and two, he uses pencil! Pencil! Hardly any good pencil exists these days. In fact, I was talking to Cap earlier about how in school I felt like people were telling me that if you drew in pencil there was something "lesser" about your artwork than the people who did ink, watercolor, sculpture. So I have a great amount of personal, artist-to-artist respect for Tom for the amazing pieces I watched him make over the weekend, as we sat next to him in Artists' Alley.
Please go check out Tom and Bryn's story of Hopeless, Maine. And, bonus! It's got a steampunk edge. As Tom said to me recently, it is "an alternate world story, with late Victorian setting, and trappings, paranormal, monsters, and magic/steam age hybrid tech." (And yes, many of those monsters have tentacles heh) The island is also cut off from the rest of the world, so they have to DIY a lot of stuff and make clothes from the remains of the old Victorian Era clothing. Totally awesome!
I've looked around online a bit already, and it seems that- even though the official launch was just today- this site is going crazy! People are really enjoying it. Copper Age is going to be huge and you won't want to miss it.
Much love,
Whisper
Ideas for the event!!!
I am awake way past the times I should be, thinking of things I ought not, and feeling like I need to be productive!
We would really like the Mad Science Fair to run. The only problem I foresee is that most of the makers and contraptors are hermit-like folk sometimes. We know so many people who can make amazing things, but tend to stay away from people. they are content to make their devices and toys, and go about their business.
So, if anyone has ideas on how to entice those strange and astonishing few into poking their heads out of their labs like meerkat long enough to present...speak up!
Or if you have ideas for devices, toys, props, furniture...start planning now! you have 6 months!
There is a lot more in the works, as well. Including a somewhat surprising offer from an unexpected benifactor. *ominous theramin chord*.....*quickly followed by dumb Ed Wood jokes*...*nevermind*...
Will the website ever be up? Can people start booking rooms yet? How will the Captain ever escape the crocodile pit below and the head hunters above...WITHOUT HIS WHISKY?!
Tune in next time kiddies! More news on the aether from Steampunk World's Fair!
Brought to you by Retro-Futurism: Where being historically accurate is not historically accurate!
We would really like the Mad Science Fair to run. The only problem I foresee is that most of the makers and contraptors are hermit-like folk sometimes. We know so many people who can make amazing things, but tend to stay away from people. they are content to make their devices and toys, and go about their business.
So, if anyone has ideas on how to entice those strange and astonishing few into poking their heads out of their labs like meerkat long enough to present...speak up!
Or if you have ideas for devices, toys, props, furniture...start planning now! you have 6 months!
There is a lot more in the works, as well. Including a somewhat surprising offer from an unexpected benifactor. *ominous theramin chord*.....*quickly followed by dumb Ed Wood jokes*...*nevermind*...
Will the website ever be up? Can people start booking rooms yet? How will the Captain ever escape the crocodile pit below and the head hunters above...WITHOUT HIS WHISKY?!
Tune in next time kiddies! More news on the aether from Steampunk World's Fair!
Brought to you by Retro-Futurism: Where being historically accurate is not historically accurate!
Friday, August 7
Getting ready for ...Halloween? Yes. Yes, we are!
Hey guys, just wanted to put it out there that we are getting ready for October. We need to be a bit more stationary than we have been during mid- to late-September and then through just before Halloween.
We are looking to see if anyone in the general Witch's Woods area (Westford, MA) has a driveway they wouldn't mind us spending some time in (a few days at a time) so that we can be close to the Woods.
Also, preferably, people who are WORKING the Woods.
See, we are not comfortable with having our home at the Woods- tires have been slashed at the Woods before, after all.
So if someone who is going to be working the Woods has a driveway for us, and a ride in to work for us, I know this is a lot to ask but please let us know!
We are going to be working build (hopefully) and then the first 4 weekends of the Woods. The last weekend we will be up in VT for BakuretsuCon.
Thank you guys! Email me if you have any suggestions or help. ^_^ whispermerlot.. yahoo
Much love,
Whisper
We are looking to see if anyone in the general Witch's Woods area (Westford, MA) has a driveway they wouldn't mind us spending some time in (a few days at a time) so that we can be close to the Woods.
Also, preferably, people who are WORKING the Woods.
See, we are not comfortable with having our home at the Woods- tires have been slashed at the Woods before, after all.
So if someone who is going to be working the Woods has a driveway for us, and a ride in to work for us, I know this is a lot to ask but please let us know!
We are going to be working build (hopefully) and then the first 4 weekends of the Woods. The last weekend we will be up in VT for BakuretsuCon.
Thank you guys! Email me if you have any suggestions or help. ^_^ whispermerlot.. yahoo
Much love,
Whisper
Monday, August 3
Back from CT-con...
First things first, I promised our good PortCon friend, Tom Brown, that we'd post a link and promote like hell his comic/interactive horror world, "Hopeless Vendetta". Check it out, the art is gorgeous and Lovecraftian, and so is the story.
http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmhvcGVsZXNzdmVuZGV0dGEud29yZHByZXNzLmNvbQ==
We are hoping Tom has a chance to join us up at BakuretsuCon in October!
--
I just spent about 4 hours looking for pictures of us from CT-con, and not updating here...
But let me just say that we have a new crew member on the Icarus, the Professor (who is working on his steamsona, but his personality is 100% Dreadful!)
And now... I need to go!
Much love,
Whisper
http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmhvcGVsZXNzdmVuZGV0dGEud29yZHByZXNzLmNvbQ==
We are hoping Tom has a chance to join us up at BakuretsuCon in October!
--
I just spent about 4 hours looking for pictures of us from CT-con, and not updating here...
But let me just say that we have a new crew member on the Icarus, the Professor (who is working on his steamsona, but his personality is 100% Dreadful!)
And now... I need to go!
Much love,
Whisper
Thursday, July 30
Weekend of Wrong; ConnectiCon 2009
Hey guys, exciting news!
At the Weekend of Wrong at Midsummer Magick Faire this coming weekend, Jeff Mach has announced that we have a couple awesome guests coming:
The world-famous "Gypsy Nomads" (www.thegypsynomads.com) will be performing their music this weekend, and famed steampunk author G.D. Falksen will be appearing on Sunday.
This is also our “anything goes” costume weekend!
So come on down, it's going to be wacky and awesometastic.
And then, over at Hartford, CT, the Dreadfuls will be putting on four panels, an impromptu sky-pirate shindy, and a steampunk photo session!
Steampunk 101
Room 15 (I thin- the big one at the end on the left-hand side, upstairs)
2:00pm Friday
Bring your camera and best steamgear for the photo session on the main staircase at 3:30 on Friday!
Steampunk Culture
Room 15 again
5:00pm Friday
Sky-pirate Shindy
Likely at the end of one of the upstairs hallways, probably around 8:30 or 9pm Friday night.
Bring your dancing shoes! We'll be playing everything from Dr. Steel and The Dresden Dolls to Gogol Bordello and Two-Man Gentleman Band!
Then...
Steampunk Costumes and Props
Room 16 (the one right before the last one on the left hallway, upstairs)
8:30pm Saturday
Enthusiast's Guide to Steampunk in the Media
Room 16
10:00pm Saturday
The Saturday panels are held opposite the Masquerade, I believe, in a smaller room than the Friday ones.
COME SEE US! Midsummer Magick! CT-con!
We miss you all and look forward to seeing our CT-con friends once more.
Much love,
Whisper
At the Weekend of Wrong at Midsummer Magick Faire this coming weekend, Jeff Mach has announced that we have a couple awesome guests coming:
The world-famous "Gypsy Nomads" (www.thegypsynomads.com) will be performing their music this weekend, and famed steampunk author G.D. Falksen will be appearing on Sunday.
This is also our “anything goes” costume weekend!
So come on down, it's going to be wacky and awesometastic.
And then, over at Hartford, CT, the Dreadfuls will be putting on four panels, an impromptu sky-pirate shindy, and a steampunk photo session!
Steampunk 101
Room 15 (I thin- the big one at the end on the left-hand side, upstairs)
2:00pm Friday
Bring your camera and best steamgear for the photo session on the main staircase at 3:30 on Friday!
Steampunk Culture
Room 15 again
5:00pm Friday
Sky-pirate Shindy
Likely at the end of one of the upstairs hallways, probably around 8:30 or 9pm Friday night.
Bring your dancing shoes! We'll be playing everything from Dr. Steel and The Dresden Dolls to Gogol Bordello and Two-Man Gentleman Band!
Then...
Steampunk Costumes and Props
Room 16 (the one right before the last one on the left hallway, upstairs)
8:30pm Saturday
Enthusiast's Guide to Steampunk in the Media
Room 16
10:00pm Saturday
The Saturday panels are held opposite the Masquerade, I believe, in a smaller room than the Friday ones.
COME SEE US! Midsummer Magick! CT-con!
We miss you all and look forward to seeing our CT-con friends once more.
Much love,
Whisper
Friday, February 13
An Attempt to Explain. Part I
Steampunk is a word that has worked its way into everyday life for me. In peculiar ways I never considered possible. A year ago, I discovered the word as a genre. It was a setting to put books, movies, pictures, artwork into. Then I discovered the fashion. Followed soon after by the toys (lord the TOYS!) and then, I discovered the philosophy.
There is no set philosophy, and it would be wrong of me to tell you "This is all that steampunk is!" I've also said many times over that I shouldn't sit around explaining what steampunk isn't. I can take a random object in my hands, and tell you 'this isn't a table' and that doesn't help you a whole lot does it? I can spend all day telling you what it isn't, without ever explaining what it IS. So I approach you, as a self-proclaimed steampunk. I approach you as someone who has found SOMETHING worth discussing in this peculiar and ill-defined culture of anachronisms and oddities. I just hope to pass along that little spark that lit my engine to you folks. (heh...imagery.) So please allow me to muse for a little bit for you. I hope it at least provides entertainment for you.
The aesthetic of steampunk is akin to Victorian era dress and artifice , but not exclusively so. It has varied from renaissance to post-apocalyptic styles as well, but it always seems to favor the superfluous in mechanics, fashion, and style. On top of that, it has a fascination with machinery that you could see working. It has a distaste for circuitry and silicone. It doesn't always shun them, but it shy's away. Think Wild wild west, Steamboy, and H.G. Wells novels. Not necessarily in that order.
Now, the actual term came about as a joke. Certain writers were using the term to make fun of the culture/genre called Cyberpunk. It was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek nickname for the alternative style they were presenting, I suppose. But whatever the reason, the Steampunk culture has adopted it as it's own. It is also odd that this all came about from literature, as opposed to goth and punk, which centered around music.
Alright, I am getting too academic about this. But I guess, to define it, I kinda have to. Alright. Steampunk as a culture has also taken on certain political and social mentalities. The most obvious one is something called Upcycling. This is where someone takes something old, or unused, and modifies it and makes it something new or useful. Whereas recycling is re-using the same materials...Upcycling is modifying and upgrading those materials. The upcycling community has apparently been around for a while (and not as much of a community as a bunch of people who did it...just because) but has taken a front seat in Steampunk society. (is that a good term? Steampunk society? Who cares?! I'll use it anyway...you know why? I'M THE WRITER! BWAHAHA!)
Next is the rejection of commercialized production, and and corporate control of...well...anything. There is a phrase that is very often dropped at steampunk gatherings..."Hate the Factory, Love the Machine". It's odd to think that something with such a heavy influence from the industrial revolution era of western development seems to deny the actual progress of industrialization. It's almost a belief that mass-production and corporate growth have wrung the neck of our our Culture. (capitol C...actual culture, not the sub culture of steampunk. Just wanted to clarify. Carry on.) People use to live in an actual community. A town or city use to actually mean something. We've heard stories about the ghettos of New York. Where you lived was important. What you did was significant. Not simply in a 'My sports team is best!' sort of way. They used to riot over societal wrongs done to them. (an aside...where the FUCK did that go?!?! I want protest songs on my radio, I got SEXY BACK! Eff you, Justin. Eff you.) Hell, look at the movie "Gangs of New York" that movie has a very good steampunk and period look to it, without using cogs and gears every five seconds. But that's just my personal opinion.
Anyways, there also used to be a pride of quality. If someone said 'I bought such and such a thing from here' people use to agree or disagree on the quality of said product and said establishment. A tool made right was considered a thing of beauty. Similar to how a well made weapon in medieval times seemed to take on a magical quality. Excaliber, in a sense. So a specific product, with a certain name to it, was respected and cared for.
Nowadays, we are a world of fast and cheap. We are not materialistic, or else we would be concerned with the MATERIALS we are using. Fabrics in clothing would be of importance...whens the last time you've wondered about the quality of your T-shirt's thread and weave? Does it even HAVE a weave? What the FUCK IS A WEAVE?!?! How often do you consider the quality of your big mac? Not in a 'this is unhealthy!' but in a 'this burger fills me up quick, but doesn't keep me going all day long.' way. I mean, look at the crap they used to eat...not even one hundred years ago! EVERYTHING was fried in fat and butter. But hell, it FILLED YOU UP. It wasn't hollow and made to taste passable. Do you see where I am going with this? Instead of Quality, we have settled for Quick and Easy. This is on of the big topics of discussion between myself and some of my steampunk compadre's.
This is becoming somewhat dense, I think. For a blog to be bogged down this soon, before we even start traveling, would be bad. So I will trail off here, and hopefully touch upon more aspects of Steampunk as a culture later on. I may even correct myself. The ideas around this are always changing, and should be allowed to do so. Don't take it too seriously. At it's core, steampunk is pulp. It is a group of people who are disinterested with the society we live in, so instead they are making toys, dressing up, and rejoicing in the finer (and not so fine) aspects of our society's long dead history.
So if you take any of this too seriously, you've lost the plot, and should stop reading the book. Take a breather, and then try it again later...ya know...when you aren't so huffy and rightious.
*Bagoosh*
Captain, over and out!
There is no set philosophy, and it would be wrong of me to tell you "This is all that steampunk is!" I've also said many times over that I shouldn't sit around explaining what steampunk isn't. I can take a random object in my hands, and tell you 'this isn't a table' and that doesn't help you a whole lot does it? I can spend all day telling you what it isn't, without ever explaining what it IS. So I approach you, as a self-proclaimed steampunk. I approach you as someone who has found SOMETHING worth discussing in this peculiar and ill-defined culture of anachronisms and oddities. I just hope to pass along that little spark that lit my engine to you folks. (heh...imagery.) So please allow me to muse for a little bit for you. I hope it at least provides entertainment for you.
The aesthetic of steampunk is akin to Victorian era dress and artifice , but not exclusively so. It has varied from renaissance to post-apocalyptic styles as well, but it always seems to favor the superfluous in mechanics, fashion, and style. On top of that, it has a fascination with machinery that you could see working. It has a distaste for circuitry and silicone. It doesn't always shun them, but it shy's away. Think Wild wild west, Steamboy, and H.G. Wells novels. Not necessarily in that order.
Now, the actual term came about as a joke. Certain writers were using the term to make fun of the culture/genre called Cyberpunk. It was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek nickname for the alternative style they were presenting, I suppose. But whatever the reason, the Steampunk culture has adopted it as it's own. It is also odd that this all came about from literature, as opposed to goth and punk, which centered around music.
Alright, I am getting too academic about this. But I guess, to define it, I kinda have to. Alright. Steampunk as a culture has also taken on certain political and social mentalities. The most obvious one is something called Upcycling. This is where someone takes something old, or unused, and modifies it and makes it something new or useful. Whereas recycling is re-using the same materials...Upcycling is modifying and upgrading those materials. The upcycling community has apparently been around for a while (and not as much of a community as a bunch of people who did it...just because) but has taken a front seat in Steampunk society. (is that a good term? Steampunk society? Who cares?! I'll use it anyway...you know why? I'M THE WRITER! BWAHAHA!)
Next is the rejection of commercialized production, and and corporate control of...well...anything. There is a phrase that is very often dropped at steampunk gatherings..."Hate the Factory, Love the Machine". It's odd to think that something with such a heavy influence from the industrial revolution era of western development seems to deny the actual progress of industrialization. It's almost a belief that mass-production and corporate growth have wrung the neck of our our Culture. (capitol C...actual culture, not the sub culture of steampunk. Just wanted to clarify. Carry on.) People use to live in an actual community. A town or city use to actually mean something. We've heard stories about the ghettos of New York. Where you lived was important. What you did was significant. Not simply in a 'My sports team is best!' sort of way. They used to riot over societal wrongs done to them. (an aside...where the FUCK did that go?!?! I want protest songs on my radio, I got SEXY BACK! Eff you, Justin. Eff you.) Hell, look at the movie "Gangs of New York" that movie has a very good steampunk and period look to it, without using cogs and gears every five seconds. But that's just my personal opinion.
Anyways, there also used to be a pride of quality. If someone said 'I bought such and such a thing from here' people use to agree or disagree on the quality of said product and said establishment. A tool made right was considered a thing of beauty. Similar to how a well made weapon in medieval times seemed to take on a magical quality. Excaliber, in a sense. So a specific product, with a certain name to it, was respected and cared for.
Nowadays, we are a world of fast and cheap. We are not materialistic, or else we would be concerned with the MATERIALS we are using. Fabrics in clothing would be of importance...whens the last time you've wondered about the quality of your T-shirt's thread and weave? Does it even HAVE a weave? What the FUCK IS A WEAVE?!?! How often do you consider the quality of your big mac? Not in a 'this is unhealthy!' but in a 'this burger fills me up quick, but doesn't keep me going all day long.' way. I mean, look at the crap they used to eat...not even one hundred years ago! EVERYTHING was fried in fat and butter. But hell, it FILLED YOU UP. It wasn't hollow and made to taste passable. Do you see where I am going with this? Instead of Quality, we have settled for Quick and Easy. This is on of the big topics of discussion between myself and some of my steampunk compadre's.
This is becoming somewhat dense, I think. For a blog to be bogged down this soon, before we even start traveling, would be bad. So I will trail off here, and hopefully touch upon more aspects of Steampunk as a culture later on. I may even correct myself. The ideas around this are always changing, and should be allowed to do so. Don't take it too seriously. At it's core, steampunk is pulp. It is a group of people who are disinterested with the society we live in, so instead they are making toys, dressing up, and rejoicing in the finer (and not so fine) aspects of our society's long dead history.
So if you take any of this too seriously, you've lost the plot, and should stop reading the book. Take a breather, and then try it again later...ya know...when you aren't so huffy and rightious.
*Bagoosh*
Captain, over and out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)