Its glory flashed before my eyes, and i hesitated. I hesitated and it was gone ....

"what, pray tell?" you ask...

behold:The Big Daddy Nerf mod

as a passionate enthusiast of the foamed-petrochemical polymer dart throwers, so beloved of costumers and cavaliers alike, I am frequently dismayed at my lack of -real- talent at cosmetic modding, but am always happy to support those who are. (Functional modding, I feel myself capable of, however).

When this aforementioned Etsy item was mentioned on Giz i hesitated in purchasing, only because of some recent financial ... excesses ... on my part.

Kudos to the Maker, and also, the intrepid purchaser.

BluAfterGlow and Steampunkerie are pleased to present Melbourne's only regular steampunk nightclub, "The Conservatory". Join us for a night of conversation, shenanigans and revelry as we take over the neo-victorian library lounge of ABODE's first level. Dress to impress in your steampunk finery and connect with your steampunk community! Relax and socialise in the lounge area or dance the night away on our dancefloor. Enjoy our "Tesla" cocktail or other imbibements with a complimentary $8 drink card if you arrive before the midnight hour. ABODE is a kink-friendly and queer-friendly venue, so you should be too to feel comfortable at this event. 



More details can be found at www.BluAfterGlow.com

Flickr is a great place to see some really magnificent steampunk event posters and other artworks. Here's just a taste:

Of course D-I-Y is a big part of steampunk ,unfortunately some people instead create items of (YSH)D-I-Y - You Shouldn't Have Done It Yourself... the result is things that are Not Remotely Steampunk:
Some of the best (or should we say worst) examples of this are shown off at "Regretsy" under their "Not Remotely Steampunk" tag.  Faced with these hilarious mishaps of design, there is nothing left to do but bask in the Schadenfreude..


It's pretty clear most of this stuff isn't being made by people who are part of the steampunk community. Rather, it's just people whacking on a "steampunk" tag to get some extra traffic to their listing. Let such imposters face the slings, arrows and snark of the steampunks, I say! 

Well now, weary travelers, do I have a treat for you.
Fresh from the flesh-pots and workshops of Harrisburg, PA Lady Clankington brings us her range of ... very exciting and entertaining devices inspired by the Silver Age of science-fiction. Step aside Eroscillator, back off Orgasmatron, for cutting edge Steampunk design in your bed-chamber, have a look at at what's coming from this delightful Lady's workshops.
I'm giving serious consideration to my next purchases ... I already have a holster ... now I just need an event and a test subject ... oh look ... Her ladyship ... Catch you all later ...

Now here is a useful resource for steampunks - I am of the belief that to be steampunk you really ought to start with a victorian influence.. and this is a treasure-trove for those looking for inspiration..

The Victorian Image Collection.

I especially enjoyed looking at the Victorian Costumes section.. seeing various historical eras re-imagined with the Victorian Eye results in some really interesting stuff:



From their "About Us" page:

The Collection

The Victorian Image Collection consists of over 200,000 cartes de visite, cabinet cards and large format photographs from the Victorian era and has been built up over many years.

The majority of the photographs are portraits taken in the studio and, occasionally, outdoors and they provide a UNIQUE RESOURCE – they are not available anywhere else.

The images illustrate a fascinating view of Victorian life and fashion – people in their best clothes, their working clothes, their uniforms, their traditional clothes, clothes for specific events in life and clothes designed for a wide range of leisure activities. With the clothes are all sorts of interesting accessories used for fashion, work or pleasure. Also included are wonderful images of ladies hairstyles and magnificent moustaches and beards of the gentlemen from a bygone era. All categorised for easy retrieval.

Some of the images in the collection were originally made for sale to the general public and therefore are not unique but are, nevertheless, rarely available for reproduction. These include photographs of famous people and of topographical views which, incidentally, pre-date picture postcards by up to 40 years.

Many of the more interesting images have been made available on this website so that they can be enjoyed and appreciated by a wider audience and, also, to help defray to cost of maintaining the archive.


Research

We are always interested in co-operating on projects of all sorts either on a paid basis or a voluntary basis as appropriate. Payment will depend on the nature of the project and whether it is commercial, low profit making or non-profit making. You can find further information here: Research Services.


Family History Research

We also have a sister site which is designed specifically for family history researchers. It is packed with information on Victorian photographers, their customers, their studios, their addresses and the dates that they were in business. The site is particularly helpful for people trying to DATE their family photographs – something which helps them to discover who the photograph is of. You can find the site at www.cartedevisite.co.uk

I'd love to be in Oxford so I could check out this exhibition, it looks awesome..





There's a couple of Australian artists featured, I really think we ought to do something like this here.

As part of the whole TOR steampunk bonanza that's going on at the moment, Cheryl Morgan, Publisher of Emerald City has published a list of "The Top 12 Classics of Steampunk" It's worth a look, if you call yourself a steampunk, and you haven't read all of these, consider adding them to your library list. 

There's also a call out for submissions to "The Steampunk Bible" from Tor.com Steampunk Month collaborators Jeff VanderMeer and S.J. Chambers:

Noted Archivist Seeks Steampunks to Index

Cover of Steampunk

World Fantasy Award winnerJeff VanderMeer’s The Steampunk Bible, published by Abrams Image, will provide a comprehensive and lavish overview of all aspects of Steampunk, in text and pictures. Research for this momentous and globe-spanning project includes the compilation of a comprehensive Archive of, and Index to, everything and everyone Steampunk and Steampunk-Related. This Archive will be made public online, and you also might be contacted about appearing in the book.

If you would like a website or blog link, book or brick-and-mortar establishment, to be considered for the archive, please send the relevant information to Master Archivist S.J. Chambers (steampunkbible at gmail.com) or to The Steampunk Bible, c/o Jeff VanderMeer, POB 4248, Tallahassee, FL 32315 USA. Make sure to include a short paragraph describing your submission and your complete contact information. Although the Master Archivist’s extensive list of ongoing clockwork projects makes it impossible to guarantee a reply, you may be sure she will give each missive intense scrutiny. As part of a Larger Study, please consider including Your Personal Definition of Steampunk with your email message or snail mail parcel. Rest assured, the Master Archivist and her minions are also out in the World, actively seeking Steampunks for the greater glory of the Archive.

 Lots of other stuff going on over at www.tor.com , and the month is almost over - check it out while you can!

Here's something I have been thinking about a lot lately.. the steampunk ethos of "love the machine, hate the factory" can also be applied to financial/financing matters. The amazing Cory Doctorow
spoke about his take on it in MAKE magazine, and he makes some fine points. I think there's other things this philosophy can be applied to as well.

Whenever I have a choice, whenever I am able - if I have a choice between supporting a big corporation and supporting a small business - I'll choose the little guys. If I have a choice between supporting a small business and a teeny weeny one - I'll lean towards the smaller one. If I can go local, I will. If I can help an artist put food on their table, I will. If I have a choice between handmade and mass-manufactured, I will choose the handmade item.

And for investing? I'd rather put my money into the hands of people who will use it to do good things. Participating in Microlending is one way to do this - instead of dealing with a big bank, it gives people the option of getting money from individuals instead. As an investor, instead of putting money into shares, stocks, bonds.. I can invest in making someone's life better. www.kiva.com is one place to find microlending opportunities. At the moment they don't offer interest, but reportedly this will change soon.

Another good thing to participate in if you get the chance are self-funded projects. www.kickstart.com is one site that you can use to find and fund projects. Here's a project I threw a few bucks at today:



There's hundreds of projects like this.  I think this is one of the ways in which technology is helping artists.  Amanda Palmer put her own spin on this issue in her blog. The mechanisms are in place for people to "escape the factory". Books and albums can be self published. Cottage industries can sell to the world through the web. Artists can seek funding, sell their works and connect to their fan base. You now need "a thousand true fans", not an agent or a company to represent you.

A year or so ago now, I moved from Brisbane to Melbourne after losing my job. I was in fairly dire financial straights - if not for the generosity and aid of some friends I would have been in a very sorry state indeed. One friend in particular lent me a significant amount of money. When I was able to pay it back, my friend said, "no, don't pay it back, pay it forward..." I have tried to do that, putting it into the hands of people who need it.

Since moving down here one of the big differences I've noticed, and one of the most welcome, is the number of smaller businesses in operation here.  I have hardly been in a supermarket since I got here. I am able to get what I need in ways that I find a lot more aligned with my ethics.

The more people do it, the easier it becomes. There's a change in the wind.. and the steampunks amongst us are raising their sails.

Living with a couple of hot steamy men, I feel I'm qualified to call them when I see them.. here's some good looking gentlemen that have caught my eye recently..

Here's renowed rapscallion Tom Forde - he's a fashion designer with his own menswear line, and it shows:


Go forth and Be Steamy!