Jake von Slatt, one of the steampunk laptop creators and famous steamy dude, has linked to an interesting speech about why people do what they do re: steampunk, and I thought it might be useful and interesting, particularly, for those of you that say, “I don’t get it.”
I’m not wedded to it, heart and soul, but it makes some interesting connections that I won’t disagree with. I do think people interested in anachronistic technology are more likely to fully grok that we’re living in our own world of technology that will, soon enough, be obsolete.
One day people will chat amongst themselves in the HyperCafe where they can get their NewCoffee and say to each other, “Can you believe they used silicon? And that they made toxic waste? Where’d they think -that- was going? What was with those goofy people of the 20th century?”
Very interesting. I’ve been wanting to get into the crafting side of the movement, but don’t really know where to begin.
anachrotech, steamfashion and MAKE are good places to start. go to my del.icio.us acct and look up steamy or steampunk and you should see a large number of links (I don’t use delicious anymore, but it has a pretty substantial repository from when I did).
It’s good to read some of the fiction, just to get good ideas. Mainspring, for instance.
And it is good to buy tons of steamy craft stones from Earthenwood Studio, mostly ’cause she’s a friend of mine. :D
Seriously though, it really depends on where you want to begin. I’ve been off-and-on working on a ray gun based on an old vibrating massager I found at an estate sale – I haven’t worked on it in months, but I have ideas for putting hidden LEDs in it and some motion, tubes and electro-luminescent wire… it’ll be fun, if I ever get around to it.
Gotta start with something, and there’s nothing wrong with doing something just to get in the practice.
Cool. I’m subscribed to Von Slatt’s blog, the steamfashion LJ group, and BrassGoggles.uk right now. I’ll check out those other links though.
I started making my own goggles, but am rethinking their entire design. I have brass painted plastic for the lens housing now, but would rather have actual metal there instead. (wish I had a house with a workshop)
Good luck with your project!
Some of the costumes and props at Dragon*con this year were AMAZING, really inspiring.
I wish I’d seen them in person. I, too, wish I had a house with a workshop.
Ha! That essay is fantastic.
Quotes like that are why I love Sterling. No quibbling, no ambivalence, no equivocation… just vast, sweeping, blunt statements. Thanks for the link!
Yeah, I like that he doesn’t make too much out of it, or pretend that to some extent it isn’t just playing ‘dress-up’ in a different way.
Yeah, he could easily have inflated it to some grand purpose.. but keeping it realistic (I mean, it *is* dress-up, at the end of the day) makes his point all the more real feeling.
I read this essay today, and thought “I should give everyone the link. Wait, Sken posted this link already…” Duh.
Great essay, but he’s pretty good at that.