The BBC News website’s Technology section has presented us with a very nice article and video on Steampunk, featuring Mr. James Richardson-Brown, Miss Amanda Scrivener, and an inventor and contraptionist whose name escapes me for the moment…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8376028.stm

A very  well produced piece, that shows our little world in a very positive light; I for one think this reason enough for the licence fee!

Author Matthew Fleming has penned a novel, which,  in its intro is described thusly:

“Well, at least it’s a good story. (Of course I’d have to say that, wouldn’t I? But really: it is.) It’s a story about conspiracies and struggles to reshape the world; about secret wars between men like J. P. Morgan, Thomas Edison, and Nikola Tesla. It is about one of the strangest and least-known mysteries of American history: the existence and disappearance of the Lost Kingdom of Ohio. It is about science and faith, and the distance between the two. Most of all, it’s a story about a man and a woman, and about love.”

“The Kingdom of Ohio” is scheduled for release in December 2009.

In keeping with yesterday’s horological goodness, I though I’d share one more example of  “haute horlogerie”, this time by the consortium of MB&F (Maximillian Busser & Friends), which is “based around one very simple and fundamental ideal: to assemble dedicated Collectives of talented horological artisans, artists and professionals – all friends – to design and craft each year a radical and original horological masterpiece.”

So, without delay, I offer the Horological Machine #3:

Prices? Let’s just say $100,000 plus!

Louis Moinet Swiss watchmakers since 1806, have released tow limited edition watches, inspired by Jules Verne’s ‘From Earth to the Moon” Verne refers to chronometers several times in the novel: ““Barbicane had set his chronometer to within a tenth of a second of engineer Murchison’s”, and it was those references that inspired Louis Moinet’s designers to come uip with the Jules Verne Instrument No. 1 and No. 2, Both watches feature a “porthole” on the case side, that displays a piece of lunar rock, taken from the Dhofar 459 lunar meteorite. JV No.1 has an 25 Jewel automatic chronograph movement with a second time zone subdial. The chronograph is operated by a unique set of fold out levers. The case is made of of components in Grade 5 titanium, stainless steel, and rose gold.

JV No.2 is similar, but features a rattrapante split second chronograph.

Both watches are limited edition works, with 120 of each being produced,60 having a white dial, and 60 a black dial.  The JV No. 2 is the current model.  Price? The JV No.2 has a list price of $20,000

Dec.06.09 –  The problem may have been related to a buggy version of mod_disk_cache installed on the site.  Currently caching has been disabled to see if this corrects the RSS and other linking problems that have been plaguing Brass Goggles.  The site, though, may be a bit slow, until we get the fixes completely tested and in. Thanks, Harold (and the rest of the BG techno-boffins)

From the Event Website.

“The Premier Steampunk event of the Midwest welcomes you one and all for an event the likes the world has yet to witness. Join us for 4 days of wonder, amazement and splendor as we cater you to an event 120 years in the making. From special guests, unique programming, concerts, contests & more. Memorial Day Weekend, 2010 in Dearborn, Michigan. In conjunction with the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village. We look forward to meeting you, and your expectations.”

“To begin, we are pleased to welcome a series of very talented musicians.  So please give a round of applause to The Extraordinary Contraptions, Tartanic, and Abney Park!

The World Steam Expo will be running Memorial Day Weekend 2010(May 28-31) at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn in Dearborn, Michigan.  In collaboration with the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, we intend to bring you an event the likes the world has yet to witness.

There is so much more on its way, and as much as I would like to tell you everything this very instant, that would be spoiling the surprises that we have in store for you.  Be certain to keep your eye on that telegraph to find out more details about such events as our Charity Masquerade Ball, Victoria High Tea, and our Mad Science Fair.”

World Steam Expo 2010

A while back, the Forrester Museum in Oamaru held an exhibition of Steampunkery.  Galaxy Designs has created a blog for “The League of Victorian Imagineers, Oamaru”

Their Mission:

“A Victorian adventure in  the 21st century. An opportunity for unfettered imagination. Step back into the future of the Victorian 21st Century.What role did you play in the defence against the Martian invasion? Have you serviced your ray gun lately? A comfortable world of steam trains, airships and time machines where unexplored lands and strange creatures wait to be discovered. Where the 21st Century provides the technology and the Victorian age provides the look and feel. Nothing is beyond imagination. Oamaru is the natural home of Steam Punk.”

“Perpetual Steam Punk” is an episodic web series set in an alternate, steampunk, San Francisco.  It follows the stories of several members of the upper class in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco as they struggle to find and harness the elusive Perpetual Motion Machine.

From their website:

“Perpetual Steam Punk” is an episodic web series set in an alternate San Francisco. The Industrial Revolution was allowed to run amock, without any regulation of the resulting pollution, child labor practices, or general dirtiness. As a result, the US and the world became balkanized as smaller groups of people attempted to fix some of these problems. In San Francisco, a small oligarchy took over and attempted to become self-sufficient. In order to drum up patriotic support for their cessation from the larger country, they harkened back to San Francisco’s glory days – the Victorian era. To show their patriotism, the upper-class dresses in Victorian formal wear for evening celebrations.”

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Some people have been getting comments and posts (and some archive material) in the RSS feed for the site. I think I’ve traced down and fixed the issue, but it may take up to 48 hours for the situation to resolve.

If you still see comments in the main feed after 48 hours, please reply to this post.

If you don’t know what an RSS feed is, then kindly ignore this message.

Many who would seek to profit from Steampunk without practicing the culture themselves  are often frustrated that they can’t put “Steampunk-in-a-box” and sell it on store shelves.  As many of our readers know;  a top hat, goggles, and a waistcoat do not a steampunk make.  It is what inside that defines the culture.

That doesn’t stop folks from trying though.  After you click the continue link there is an example of people trying to sell you Steampunk, and actual Steampunk.   Let’s see if you can taste the difference: (more…)