Friday, May 06, 2011
Raw Materials For Inventors
Random Nonsense
A site called Inventables has some of the most incredible raw materials for inventors I’ve ever seen.
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Saturday, May 29, 2010
World Steam Expo 2010
Random Nonsense
This past Saturday afternoon I visited the World Steam Expo in Dearborn, Michigan. Dedicated to all things Steampunk, it consisted of live entertainment, panel discussions, audience participation events, board games, computer games, a charity ball and—of course—a large vendor area for purchasing the very latest in steam age clothing, accessories, art and literature. Costumed “characters” were at every turn. If you’ve ever been to a Star Trek, fantasy or science fiction convention, you know what it was like—except you can mentally replace the Star Fleet uniforms with semi-goth Victorian garb.
You can see photos from the trip in my Flickr Gallery here. Or watch a YouTube version below.
Among the panels: The Cult of Death: Us and the Clockwork Afterlife; The Ethics of Mad Science; Weird Chemistry; A Demonstration of Rules and Techniques For A Gentlefolks Duel; Megalomania: Is It For You?; Basic Swordsmanship; Card Games fo the Victorian Era; Bartitsu; Gear Mining: How To Pillage and Plunder a Defenseless Mechanical Clock; Thrifting Your Way To A Steampunk Wardrobe; Victorian Fashion For men; Steampunk in the Media, Accessorizing and Modifying Nerf Weaponry; Steampunk in Pop Culture; Victorian Literary Themes In Modern Literature and film; Steampunk and History; Steampunk 101 and the Origins of Steampunk.
I managed to attend three of the lectures, two by Steampunk author GD Falksen: The Origins of Steampunk and Steampunk 101; and Steampunk Costume and Gadgetry, by a group called the Outlanders. I found both to be quite informative and instructive. The Falksen lectures touched on broad themes, examining the origins of the genre in 19th century science fiction (Verne, Wells, et. al.), and how it has developed today. The Steampunk Costume and Gadgetry discussion covered scrounging for materials, and putting them to use in making some of the more outlandish costume accessories.
In the vendor area, I was very much impressed with the imagination, artistry and craftsmanship on display. During one of the lectures, Falksen noted that Steampunk is a craft-oriented, industrial aesthetic in which steam engines are engraved to produce individualized works of art. It’s very detail oriented, and that shows in the works for sale. Leather, brass, glass, felt, lace and broadcloth were on display in abundance. I very much liked what I saw—although I can’t imagine ever personally wearing such things, or having them in my house.
For entertainment, there were bands, and shows that were a combination of cabaret acts/circus sideshow/comedy troupes: Abney Park, Tartanic, The Bawdy Boys, The Gypsy Nomads, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing, the Squidling Brothers and Illuminatus 2.1, a laser light show. From what I can tell, “Steampunk Music” for the most part is synonymous with poorly played, but funny Irish music.
I hope it comes back next year. I’d actually like to spend more time at the panels, and actually get some gaming in. Perhaps I’ll run a game of my favorite RPG of all time: Space: 1889
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Sunday, March 21, 2010
Red Dead Redemption Looks Great
Random Nonsense
A reason for me to buy the XBox 360:
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Friday, July 17, 2009
RPGs For Adults
Random Nonsense
Gaming Brouhaha blog has an intriguing article on RPGs designed for ADULTS. People with jobs and little time, but who still would like to sit down for a gaming evening.
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Monday, October 13, 2008
Lego Aircraft Carrier
Random Nonsense
Lego Aircraft Carrier. More photos here.
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Sunday, May 25, 2008
Star Wars World War II
Random Nonsense
Gizmodo has a gallery of a curious mash-up of World War II photos with Star Wars imagery. It’s very strange, and very believable.
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