Hi all
For those who don’t know, I’ve been really interested in the SteamPunk subculture lately. For those who don’t know what its all about, I’ll post a few links below for you to look at. Basically my take on Steampunk in relation to Cyberpunk, is that while Cyberpunk hints at a future that could be, Steampunk hints at a past that wasn’t.
Ok, so who have I lost so far? Hehe, a few of you I’m sure. Ok, so Steampunk started out as a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction. It mainly covers works set in time where steam power is widely used, usually the 19th century and often the Victorian era England. Its kind of a glimpse at what could have happened in an alternate history where high technology and science had advanced more quickly than it did while still being in that period of time. Imagine great airship, analog computers, and such.
Ok, so now that we have some idea of the fiction side, what about the subculture? Well there are many people who like imagine themselves a part of a more civilized age. A time where machines were not only functional but looked good too and you could see all the beautiful brass whirly bits moving around.
To me its about mixing a bit of old and a bit of new. I’ve been into a lot of cyberpunk stuff in the past so I guess I kinda merge the two together to some degree. Some of my favorite steampunk work has been done by Jake von Slat and Datamancer. These two gifted gentlemen have managed to bring a wonderful old look to the world of modern day computers. Now while some people like the artifacts of the age that wasn’t others like to get into the dress and language of a bygone era. This is something that I am starting to do myself. One of the more popular items of Steampunk clothing has to be a good pair of goggles. You never know when you are going to be whisked away in a dirigible by a band of airship pirates. Next up seems to be waistcoats and corsets, and of course who could forget a good hat and pocket watch?
Now I am by no means a expert on the subject of Steampunk, and so far it seems that no one is as it seems to mean slightly different things to different people, so I’ll leave you with a few links to some of my favorite Steampunk related websites.
Until next time, keep it steamy 
SB
The Steampunk Workshop
Brass Goggles
Brass Goggles – forums
Steampunk on Wikipedia
The Clockworkers Guild’s Journal
The Steampunk Librarian
The Steampunk Home
Datamancer
Steampunk Fashion
Abney Park
