Tea & Automatons

So according to the Oxford Dictionary of English, steampunk is “a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advance technology.”  It kind of misses the mark in my opinion, especially for a definition from such an esteemed source.  Well what can you expect from a book that  includes such words as “Chillax”, “Staycation” and “Bromance”.

Sourced from  this article in the Village Voice.

My friend Kevin asked if he could interview me about Steamcon and steampunk in general.  The first part is here.

The picture above is from the Victoria Steampunk Exposition.  I borrowed a friend’s gun.  When asked if it was a tiger hunting gun, I replied “I guess it is now”.  The tiger looks like he might be plotting revenge.

I am working on my wardrobe for Dragoncon.  I am doing one panel on the alt history track about costuming for women, so I guess I’d best have some spiffy costumes.  I promise pictures when I return.  I’m sure there will be lots of wonderful steampunk outfits there to get photos of as well.  So, back to work.

Over Memorial Day weekend, my husband and I attended The World Steampunk Expo in Dearborn MI.  It was very nice.  I gave four talks about various topics, so I had a good amount of my gear with me, including some of my gun mods.  We shipped a box and two trunks back to Seattle at the end of the convention, but somehow Fed Ex managed to lose one of the trunks.  As luck or Murphy would have it, this trunk contained two of my gun mods, including the one I am the most proud of.  I have worked with them to try and find the trunk, but to no avail.  I would ask that if you see this gun, the Suffragette, please let me know.  I would really like to get it back.  I know this is an enormous long shot, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.  The rest of the contents of this trunk are in this  Flickr gallery.  I am trying to replace as much as I can, but most of it will be impossible.  I am devastated by this loss.  What’s worse, I am having a hard time planning our trip to Dragoncon now that I don’t trust shipping methods and I have never trusted the airlines.  Boots, hats, and props are all difficult things to transport.    There just isn’t any way we can take enough time to drive from Seattle to Atlanta.  These are the woes of a traveling steampunk.  I am sure at least some of you can relate.

Chris Garcia has an online steampunk magazine called Exhibition Hall, that has been steaming along for  awhile now.  He asked me to do a review of the two conventions that I attended in May, Victoria Steampunk Exhibition and The World Steam Expo, since he was unable to attend himself.  So rather than repost the exact same reviews here, why don’t you go check out Chris’ endeavors.  I recommend going and reading the back issues as well.  I did the cover of issue #8.

This past week has been a whirlwind of steampunk excitement for me.  Friday I attended the clock unveiling at the MOHAI, for the new works we helped to raise the funds for.  Saturday and Sunday, I ran a table to promote Steamcon at the Little Red Studio’s Erotic Steampunk Event.  The weather was abnormally warm for our region, so it was a task to find appropriate steampunk wear, but I persevered.  I’ll have pictures of the events and outfits up soon.

I am still quite behind on the updates I have promised you.  Steamcon tasks and wrists that are being problematic, are only a few of my excuses.  I will soon be back on track but in the meantime, I give you some lovely photos from Butchart Gardens in Victoria B.C.  We spent a pleasant morning there before heading off to Victoria Steam Exposition.  You can see the full gallery here.  I borrowed the lovely parasol from Designs by Victoria.

Greetings!  I apologize for my absence but I have been traveling and am about to embark on another journey to Portland to see a concert by  the fabulous airship pirates of Abney Park.

I will post a review of all my journeys when I return.  In the meantime, I found a very well written explanation about why, generally speaking, post apocalyptic is not steampunk.  I have been trying to write up my thoughts on this matter and may still, but for now go and read the enlightening text by G.D. Falksen.

Last year in March, we, that is Steampunk Conventions Inc., the organization behind Steamcon, held a little day of classes that we called Steampunk University.  So many people had questions about steampunk and where to find clothing and how to make props that it seemed like a good idea.  We held it on a Sunday and had seven classes and a vendor’s room.  We had a little under a hundred students.  It seemed to go over well, and we had planned to try and have another one but the convention took most of our energy and focus.

Ericka of Steampunk Exhibition Ball, decided to hold a film festival as a fund raiser to help replace the clockworks that were taken from the gorgeous Carroll clock in front of the Museum of History and Industry.

Although it seemed like a good idea to hold another Steampunk University in conjunction with the film festival, we were very busy.  Luckily Nathan Barnett decided to take the reins.  In a very short period of time, the university and film festival became a reality.  There were five classes in the regular curriculum and five more that were a bit more advanced.  There were also two vendor’s areas.

I was pleased to be asked to do a talk on “Introduction to Steampunk”, a talk that I’ve given many times in the past, although I have added a lot to it recently.  I took the opportunity to do my first PowerPoint presentation since the facilities lent themselves to it.  I had also never done a talk on a stage, in an auditorium with lights and a wireless mic.  It was a whole new level of nerve wracking, but I think it went well.  I was also the first speaker of the day.  All in all, I felt it went over well.  People were educated and entertained.

After my class, I chatted with folks and wandered the vendors areas.  Lunch was Dante’s tasty hot dogs from their cart and some delicious tea from B. Fuller’s wonderfully well appointed stand.  My husband and I took a few pictures of the day which you can find here.  I also made a photo pool here for Steampunk universities past and present.

I sadly couldn’t stay all day, but I have it on good authority that in the evening they showed Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Time Machine, had a silent auction and intermission entertainment.  I am told that their goal for fundraising was reached, so the clock will be repaired.  It’s wonderful when the community can right such an indecorous wrong and have fun doing.  Kudos to Ericka, Nathan and all the crew that helped to make it happen.

Ever wondered how Steamcon came about?  I’ve done a guest blog about it over on STEAMED today.

Oh my, May is looking very busy indeed. I have a steampunk event almost every weekend. And I am speaking at all of them. And then of course there is the costuming…! My favorite part!  Now my husband is muttering something about brier patches. Heh. Yes, it’s going to be a very long and fun month.   Click on the links to find out more about any of the events.  I hope to see some of you there!

• May 2nd – May Steamcon Organizational Meeting
• May 8th – Steampunk University and Film Festival
• May 22-23 – Victoria Steam Expo
• May 28-31 – World Steam Expo