Hailed by New Zealand’s National Radio as the pioneer of a new sound, Jordans music has been variously described as “industrial folk”, “folk noir” and “Antipodean Steampunk” yet defies any cut and dried description. Imagine a 19th Century Nine Inch Nails banging on old iron and steam powered machines, combined with the Dead Can Dance’s electronic folk soundscapes and Sinead Oconnor’s vocals in the background.

Jordan combines pioneer-era industrial found sound, with folk instrumentation and etherial vocal melodies. She usually writes “concept” albums with stories, old and new, told song by song. This means it makes sense to hear them whole. For that reason, her first 4 CDs are available via the discography listing on her Webpage for private listening purposes. Her Blog “the secret life of machines” is also read-worthy.

I’ve listened to her latest release, and I would have to agree with professional reviewers, her new release “How the Dead Live” is original, dark, and very, very powerful. One reviews states that this release is ” A soundtrack to the cinema of unease”. What more can I add?  Have a listen.

Worth checking out.

Steam Century: Kaposia will be hosting a mystery event on Saturday November 20, 2010!

The mystery will be at the beautiful LeBlanc House B&B 302 University Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413

Doors open at 5:30 pm, and the mystery starts at 6:00 pm.

Tickets will be available for purchase in advance at our website (via PayPal) for $10, or at the door for $12.

Please reserve your ticket now, as places are very limited!

Visit  www.steamcentury.wordpress.com for more information or to purchase tickets.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders Fields.

We’re pleased to share with you the latest League of STEAM adventure, “Full moon Fiasco” in which they hunt a vicious lycanthropic creature!

This is the exciting finale to Volume I of the “Adventures of the League of STEAM” web series.

Full Moon Fiasco

This should have been posted well before Halloween, and for that I apologize.

Peter Montgomery wanted something special for a Halloween decoration for his home, and this year he outdid himself with a giant  ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth” Steampunk Drill. The drill bit alone is 11 1/2 feet long. The “spine” of the cylinder is 13 1/2 feet long, making the combined total length 25 feet through the longest axis. The cylinder is 7 feet in diameter.

More pics and videos at his Halloween Website

If you would like to help defray his expenses, please go to this Kickstarter page and become a backer. Better late than never.

Most humble apologies from your Blog-master. Sidelined due to some personal issues (medical), we were unable to give the blog the attention it was due.. To those who submitted material via email,  I’mn getting caught up!..

Look for regular posts to start up in the next day or two…

Thanks!

HAC

Mat Haydn writes

“Last year I finally fulfilled a long-held dream of mine to attack the annual Hallowe’en Zombie Walk (in Wellington, New Zealand) with a group of “zombie hunters” (wielding nerf guns and air cannons). To make it a bit more fun we dressed as Steampunk Zombie Hunters. The zombies weren’t in on it, but played along… we were slaughtered in under a minute

Here’s the video: http://vimeo.com/7373475

But this year it’s going to be different! With my friends we’ve set up an official  Website and we’re running a small pre-Hallowe’en game too. Should be fun and hopefully something your readers might enjoy or get involved in.”

Steamcon® [in Seattle, WA – Ed.] is expanding our convention’s vending opportunities this year with an Artists’ Alley, a place for Steampunk craftspersons to promote their current or upcoming wares.  The wares must be hand-crafted, and Steampunk relevant- in layman’s terms, Victorian or steam age science fiction/fantasy.  You know the drill.

We know that it can be difficult for smaller-scale artisans to afford or procure a full-blown vendor’s table at conventions, so this is a chance for the less mass-produced artists to get their work out there…  And a chance for the rest of us to purchase any number of wonderful steampunk creations.

Artists’ Alley Rules and Regulations 1.    All wares must be steampunk relevant.  (Victorian or steam age science fiction) 2.   One table per artist. 3.   No crafting at the table that is messy, smelly or potentially harmful to the hotel.  No glueing, welding, spraying, etc. 4.   Steamcon will not provide electricity or wifi to the tables. 5.   Steamcon does not provide security for the tables.  All wares must be removed at night. 6.   Steamcon will not provide storage of wares at night. 7.   An artist table will cost $40.00 for the weekend.  Artist must also have a membership to the con.  Staff rate of $30 is available if they don’t yet have one.  A second membership is available at the same rate.  No more than two may be purchased per artist.  Some artists might be panelists or staff and already have memberships. 8.   Hours of operation are Friday – noon – 6:00, Saturday – 10:00- 6:00 and Sunday – 10:00 – 4:00. Artists may sit the tables longer than this but must be at their tables during this time, unless doing a panel. 9.   Table size is 6′ x 30″.

If you wish to participate, please read and fill out the applicationHERE and e-mail it to artists_alley@steamcon.org as soon as you can.  Space is limited and will be on a first come, first served basis.  Once accepted, you will be contacted by email and then you can send in your payment.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to shoot me a note at artists_alley@steamcon.org.

We hope to see you in November! -Claire Hummel Steamcon® II Artists’ Alley head

Irrational Games has announced Bioshock Inifinite,  the next installment in the Bioshock series.

Synopsis:

“BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter currently in development at Irrational Games, the studio behind the original BioShock (which sold over 4 million units worldwide). Set in 1912, BioShock Infinite introduces an entirely new narrative and gameplay experience that lifts players out of the familiar confines of Rapture and rockets them to Columbia, an immense city in the sky.

Former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt has been sent to rescue Elizabeth, a young woman imprisoned in Columbia since childhood. Booker develops a relationship with Elizabeth, augmenting his abilities with hers so the pair may escape from a city that is literally falling from the sky. DeWitt must learn to fight foes in high-speed Sky-Line battles, engage in combat both indoors and amongst the clouds, and harness the power of dozens of new weapons and abilities.”

Picture from the launch party:

More info, trailers and pictures at: Bioshock Infinite

The League of Victorian Imagineersholding our second Steampunk Exhibition during 23 October thru 5 December 2010. Our first exhibition holds the record for number of visitors for the Forrester Gallery. If you visit our web site www.steampunknz.co.nz you can find all the details you need to enter an artwork into the selection process. We encourage everyone to investigate this process and present a piece. Sadly, we cannot pay for the freight of any selected or unselected artwork.