Men of Steampunk Calendar 2011

Though the year is partly spent, if you should be in the market for a calendar to markt he remaining days of this year called 2011, then here is one you might wish to peruse.

Sprockets and Lockets.com has the Men of Steampunk 2011 calendar for sale for 20 American dollars, which makes it a steal in any country! The pages abound with dapperly dressed gents showing their steampride in picturesque settings. I believe this calendar originated with Bianca Namori, an industrious member of  The Steampunk Empire, and may contain many photos of members of said group. Brilliant!

~ DreamSteam

(My sincere apologies that this post is so incredibly late! I just noticed I scheduled it for posting many months ago, but Blogger did not follow through and do that. Horrors! At least you will know where to get a calendar next year....)

Vote to bring back the LoLmart Steam Wars shirt!

Steam Wars, from LoLmart.com

Attention steampunk and Star Wars fans! Are you disappointed because you did not get to buy a splendid Steam Wars t-shirt before they were all gone?  I do believe I am. But you can do something about it! (Not me being disappointed, just about  the shirt.)

You too can go to the LoLmart.com web page where the shirt with the steampunkish Death Star hot air balloon, steam-driven Imperial walker, and propeller-driven X-Wing fighter images resides, and cast your vote to let LoLmart know that you want one; they will even notify you if/when it becomes available for sale again, if you provide your email addy. And, of course, there is room for posting comments there as well.

This wondrous link will take you directly to the place where you can cast your vote:
LoLmart Steam Wars Shirt

There's a SALE in my shop. Everything is 10% off!

You can now take advantage of the 10% off of everything sale in my Artfire shop! This would be an ideal time to buy something that you liked, but perhaps did not get around to buying. Or multiple somethings, if you so choose.

Just to let you know, I do ship internationally, and most of my items come nestled in lovely organza gift bags (rings come in white ring boxes, and earrings will come to you on a black velvet earring card inside the organza bag).

I truly appreciate all business, and as always, if you would pass along links to my shop to anyone who you think might have an interest, that is also appreciated. Enjoy the sale!

~ DreamSteam

Lee Presson and the Nails on Calliopes, the one steam-powered musical instrument

This post is stretching the steampunk link a bit, but the connection between this very lively jazz/swing band and SP is that Dieselpunk magazine once interviewed the lead singer. In that interview, he made a good point about musical instruments that can be considered steampunk ... that there is only one!  Here is what he said:

"I take great pride in the fact that the San Francisco Chronicle coined the term "Goth Swing" to describe LPN in 1996! The "electro-swing" I've heard so far I haven't been that impressed with, although I like the concept. Thomas Dolby's done dieselpunk as well as it could be done. Steampunk? I don't think it has an official sound yet. If you want to get VERY technical, the calliope is the world's only steam-powered instrument (that's right - CIRCUS music) so let's use that as a springboard for something! Second swing revival? Jazz never dies; it just lays low for a while. It'll be back, and we'll be ready."

The band has been active in the San Fran music scene, playing accessible music halls and generally giving audiences a great show (they often play at the DNA Lounge, solo or as part of the burlesque Hubba Hubba Revue. (Just this week, Lee helped with the bash in honor and memory of Eddie Dane, another SF entertainment icon, who recently passed away.) If you would like to learn more about LPN, here is their web site. They have played ballroom, jazz, swing, polka, waltzes... you name it! So by way of musical styles that are still evolving and making toes tap everywhere, I give you something to discover for yourselves. I  intend to investigate calliopes further, soon, though!

~ DS

James Corbett's Car Part Animals

Squirrel, by James Corbett

No, this is not grafting gears onto deceased fauna, for once.  Australian James Corbett creates animals from car parts, once they tell him what they want to be!  One can find his work on his own site and on dozens of others.  He even has a few for sale, including a feisty kitty.

This article tells of his journey from a wrecking-yard/auto recycling business owner to an acclaimed artist, and has many photos of his animal sculptures.  The British John Davies Gallery currently features Corbett's artwork, as well.  The artist leaves the parts as intact as possible, saying that he wants people to recognize the individual automobile components which comprise each sculpture.

Powerperformancenews.com conducted an interview with an interview with James Corbett, which you can peruse here.

Steampunk? Sure. Lots of time and effort?  Certainly.

How Robert Bunsen Saved the Victorian Era

'Ello, everyone! I am very glad to be back 'on the air' as they say.   Today, I would like to mention a an inventor who influenced the Victorian era, or the aftermath of it, in an unexpected way.

     Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was born in Gottingen, Germany, and went on to become a leader in the field of chemistry. In order to facilitate his laboratory work, he developed the gas Bunsen burner, which was simpler,  more economical, and could provide a higher-quality flame than the then-current laboratory burners. 

     Among his other notable contributions, one has a connection to one of the darkest phenomena of the Victorian era: arsenic poisoning.  Whether ingested or placed on the skin unintentionally or with intent, arsenic was a sure killer which was used indiscriminately by many people. (For example, Victoria-era ladies would place a mixture which included arsenic on their skin supposedly to treat wrinkles, arsenic was used in many 'patent medicines' peddled by quacks, it was used by legitimate medical practitioners before antibiotics were brought into use, and it was also found in certain pigments used in industry.  Bunsen himself became quite ill from arsenic poisoning. Arsenic was also one of the favorite poisons of treacherous fiends from the Middle Ages forward.)  

    Bunsen discovered that iron oxide hydrate was an antidote for arsenic poisoning; the information later made it possible for municipalities to filter arsenic from their drinking water.(Here is a link to an excerpt from a book chapter on the history of arsenic and its' use.)   He also pioneered the carbon cell battery and advanced the field of spectroscopy (spectral analysis of heated elements, using which he discovered caesium and rubidium).

     So, while he did not contribute to the steampunk genre directly, his efforts probably made the Victorian era more survivable, and thus last a wee bit longer!