The Steampunk Librarian

a dance before the Carrington event

Back in 1859, a "space storm" caused what came to be known as the Carrington event. If the same thing occured today (and it very well might, according to NASA), we're in deep trouble. On that cheerful note, let's delve into steampunk!

 

Steampunk World has published  a wonderful post chock-full of links on Victorian London, and promises even more detail in the future, while Make delves into the (gorgeous) history of airships.

 

Meanwhile, Colombia has embraced ethernet cable as a hip new fashion accessory. Well, sort of. It does look very cool. I think the Club Creatures were the inspiration, personally. (And speaking of the Club Creatures, it's official; I'm going to be accompanying them to the Dances of Vice May event in New York! Woohoo!)

 

I don't explore Second Life very often (my first life takes up enough of my time as it is), but there's a vibrant steampunk community going on over there, and they even boast a Miskatonic Valley among its geography. Ooooh, ahhhh.

 

Steampunk and vaudeville and burlesque all seem to be melding together in some odd fashion, so people interested in steampunk may also like Matt Hoyle's Barnumville photography. I know I do.

 

And lastly, the rich may just buy "Jeeves Wooster lights" outright, but they look ripe for DIY experimentation among the poorer and punkier of us!

Happy Ada Lovelace Day!

Happy Ada Lovelace Day! Celebrate women in technology!

 

The Club Creatures went to the Dances of Vice event in NYC last weekend, and had a wonderful time. I may be joining them for the May gathering! (I have to start planning an outfit right away, if so.)

 

The Library of Congress has a site titled "Chronicling American" which looks at events from the papers of 100 years ago. The entry for March 7, 1909 is taken from Ogden, Utah's Morning Examiner and concerns Count Zeppelin and his amazing machine. Photographs included!

 

Also at the Library of Congress: some enterprising types have started a Flickr tag called "Great Mustaches of the LOC" and the photos definitely live up to the hype.

 

From the young adult section of the library comes this recommendation for Mainspring, a steampunky sort of book which sounds like something I need to read right away.

 

There is something about the combination of steampunk and LEGOs that just seems to inspire people. The latest concept depicts steampunk Ghostbusters. I especially like Egon's outfit.  If you like your objects a little bigger than LEGO, check out Mike Rivamonte's amazing robot creations.

pipes and eyes

Catching up with steampunk around the web...the winners of CG Society's Steampunk Myths & Legends contest have been announced! You can see more details on their site, including this detailed look at Steamnocchio.

 

EgoPHobia's guest steampunk issue has hit the web. There's all sorts of stuff to explore there (and probably even more if you can read Romanian).

 

Elizabeth F. sent in the link for Clockwork Couture, which is, of course, all kinds of awesome.

 

The wondrous brains at SteamGear Lab have created an EyePod. With an eye! Get it? It's totally functional, too.

 

Finally, Gawker reports (via the Wall Street Journal) that smoking an actual old-fashioned pipe is a cool thing to do amongst the young and hip these days. Who knew?

of legend and fairytale

How have I not heard of Legend before? It has Richard Dean Anderson! And Q from Star Trek! And steampunky accents!

 

Other stuff you should know: a steampunk Frankenstein monster is in existence, and a steampunk fairytale photoshoot is scheduled to take place in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens on April 25. Mark your calendar.

 

Speaking of Brooklyn, the artists behind Teetering Bulb live there, and create beautiful art that's now available for purchase!

 

Transhumanism may not mesh with some people's idea of steampunk, but it does with mine, and so this story about a real bionic eye seems to fit in well with today's theme.

of widgets, divination, and mermaid tails

The Eaton 2009 conference looks amazing. Anything titled "Extraordinary Voyages: Jules Verne and Beyond" is bound to be interesting, right?

 

The Aether Emporium is newly on Twitter, hoping to disseminate steampunk to the masses in 140 characters or less.

 

Gothla US: the Divining happens this weekend. Steampunk meets goth culture meets belly dancing. Wow.

 

River Otter Widget Studios not only has a great name, but makes awesome functional steampunky gadgetry!

 

And finally, which of the following is not a true story? An amputee gets a functional prosthetic mermaid tail; a school board member wants madness to be part of the curriculum; and a meteor just missed hitting Earth last night. Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.