Some things just aren't practical on an airship.

[momebie]

If you mapped out my psychology,
it would look like archeology.

When I look back through my journal it doesn't tell me when I "discovered" steampunk. The first mention of it in the tags is dated the 13th of May, 2008. Nine days later I posted a snippet of silly bandom fic that would have fit into the steampunk genre if I'd ever completed it. From there it's all research and discussion and recs and talk of a novel I may very well one day finish writing with theemdash. (I'm being the slow one. I'm stubborn about Ideas.) To put things bluntly, steampunk ate my soul. And that's where the wind up begins.

Crick.

Steampunk, for those of you who aren't familiar with the term, is a literary and musical genre—as well as a quickly growing subculture—that concerns itself with alternate histories set between the Victorian Era and WWI. In steampunk there's certainly contraptions and brass and clock work gears. There's also gaslight and fog and the smog of the Industrial revolution. But there are other things layered over the coal dust on the goggles, as it were. Steampunk, for me anyway, is about optimism and hope and possibility above all else. It's a spirit of adventure that my life so sorely needed. Still needs. It makes me want to be a better person; a snappier, braver, more intelligent, more self-reliant person.

Crack.

There's a band called Abney Park. They were my first introduction to steampunk music and the idea of 'playing the part' until it became your reality. Captain Robert* sat on a Dragon*Con panel with Cherie Priest**, Stephen H. Segal***, and the Davenport Sisters**** and made it clear to every one of us curious people in the room that to him, steampunk was not a fad. It had become his way of life. If we wanted it to be our way of life, we could make it happen. All it took was some tweaking in our wardrobe and our brains. (And probably a certain amount of pigheadedness, but I have that in spades.) I don't often try to become other people, but I have had to train myself over the years to be the person I am now. I've had to consciously work at being kinder, happier, stronger, and more confident. If it was just a matter of owning what I wanted to be, I could make myself more adventurous as well. He was giving me, all of us, permission. I could take those steps I've been dreading, if only I could work out how to do it.

Creak.

Steampunk, because it teaches us that anything is possible, breeds creativity. A lot of the dress up these days gets flack for the people who merely stitch some brass cogs onto jackets and think they've got it, but there is some real genius lurking about the community. You've probably heard of Jake von Slatt of The Steampunk Workshop. He and the other contributors to the site spend their time adding a bit of alternate history beauty to real world applications. Tom Sepe's steampunk motorcycle is a thing of personal joy for me. And there's always the brilliance of Les Machines de L'Ile. The inventors and artists in the steampunk community show us that things don't have to be perfect and clean and rounded off at the edges to be beautiful. We can make beauty out of anything we want if we show it a little love. To me that means that I don't have to be perfect either. I don't have to fit into an iPod shaped hole with perfect curves and straight lines. And if I don't let fear of the imperfect limit me, out of my imperfections I might create something that's amazing.

Twang.

So really, steampunk ate my soul because steampunk is my hope for my future self. It's filled up all of the cracks in me that I was afraid of polishing up and showing off. It's given me an aesthetic to work toward and a science fiction based literary genre that's based in optimism and creation rather than destruction or cynicism. I love it. I read and I research and I study. I know so much, and yet I'm still a little afraid to participate. There is so much beauty out there that I don't want to mar it with my ridiculous ramblings and my inability to draw or write songs that make sense or build fantastic machines. I don't want to dress up an empty shell, glue some cogs to my head, and be the fashionable new thing for a while. I want to be the real thing, for life. But that's the next step. That's the thing I'm working toward and winding myself up to be. Like the Tin Man, I've always had a heart of brass. I just haven't had the courage to tap into it. I've done enough reading. It's time to stick my toe in the community and see who I can let myself become.

* Captain Robert (robert_from_ap) is the singer for the band Abney Park.
** Cherie Priest (cmpriest) is the author of Boneshaker, as well as other Clockwork Century works.
*** Stephen H. Segal was the editor-in-chief for Weird Tales magazine at the time I first saw him. He is now an editor at Quirk Books.
**** The Davenport Sisters run the Clockwork Cabaret podcast. (clockwrkcabaret)

This entry was written for Topic 1: Winding Up at therealljidol.

Comments

[team-jessie.livejournal.com]

I, myself, am just now discovering steampumk. So I'll use this as a bit of an introduction to the genre. :)

[momebie.livejournal.com]

HI. I'M GOING TO SPAM YOU WITH THINGS NOW BECAUSE I CAN TALK ABOUT STEAMPUNK FOREVER.

* Tor's Steampunk Fortnight (http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/10/steampunk-fortnight-on-torcom) will give you a feel for what's going on right now.

* The League of Steam makes really rad videos (http://www.leagueofsteam.com/).

* There's a really cool short film on Youtube called The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vORsKyopHyM).

* Links I collected from last year's Galaxy Express Steampunk Extravaganza (http://momebie.livejournal.com/538338.html).

Um...I'll stop now. >.>

[amomentarythot.livejournal.com]

You would love this steampunk inspired house (http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/house-tours/bruce-melanies-steampunk-victorian-house-tour-128693)!

I've never, ever been a part of any fandom, but if I had to choose one, it would probably be steampunk. The juxtaposition of Industrial Revolution plus optimism and the creativity, not to mention the costumes, fascinates me to no end. I'm just too chicken to actually do it, I guess *shrug*

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I do love the steampunk inspired house! It's quite adorable. ♥

There are many, many facets of steampunk. I've been reading about it for about two years straight now and I've yet to run out of things to look into. That being said, I'm a lurker in this like I am in anything else. I want to be a member of the community, because it appears to be one of intelligent, academic discourse and creativity, but I've yet to get up the courage to actually talk to people in real life. Even at Dragon*Con I sat in the back and took notes. It might help if Orlando had a steampunk group. Of course, I may have just not found it yet. Hm... But yes, I'm with you. Chicken shit to the core.

[brilliant-snark.livejournal.com]

STEAMPUNK. I heart it. I have a whole sketchpad full of steampunk clothing designs I could make work-acceptable...but that requires time and money to make it all. :P My first belly dance solo was to an Abney Park song. :)

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Ha. In that first panel I went to one of the Davenport sisters was talking about how she couldn't be steampunk at the office and Captain Robert shot her down and was like 'no, actually, it wouldn't be that hard, and also I dress this way all the time'. But I don't know that he has a day job with co-workers who are nosy and snippy, because while I'd love to incorporate more of those elements of style into my wardrobe if I had money, I can already hear my co-workers talking about me now. *sigh*

[matthewbowers.livejournal.com]

This is a lovely post!

I went to a steampunk-themed wedding reception once. I wore a suit and welding goggles. That's the extent of my knowledge and experience, but I love the way you describe it here. It's a neat aesthetic, but I'd never thought about it in any other terms before. Thanks for this!

[momebie.livejournal.com]

It won't let me see the link! But that's really nifty. Steampunk is a movement with a whole lot of layers. A lot of people are content with goggles and dirty pinstripe pants, but I want to just kind of immerse myself in it and see how I come out the other side. Then again, that's kind of how I feel about everything, because I'm weird and obsessive. DON'T TELL ANYONE, THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE NOTICED YET.

That being said, there are 100% more steampunk/dieselpunk/maker's fair sort of events up where you are as opposed to where I am. So, you know, another bullet point on the KL Moving Anywhere But Here list.

[majesticarky.livejournal.com]

Nice. I really like Steampunk, especially the fashions. I haven't read any steampunk novels. I'm sure they exist somewhere, but I've watched some anime. I consider "Exile Saga" Steampunk and it was amazing!

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I love the steampunk fashions, but I'm easy for old clothes, so. :p And there are tons of steampunk novels. Especially now that the market's going mainstream with them. (There is some debate about what should and shouldn't be classified as steampunk, but publishers will market what they want to market and how they want to market it, so there's not really a gatekeeper making sure things are correctly labeled.) The seminal steampunk work is considered to be The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. I would also highly recommend Cherie Priest's novels and short stories, which are actually American west steampunk.

As for anime, I haven't seen Exile Saga, but I love both Fullmetal Alchemist and Ergo Proxy. Ergo Proxy is more of a cyberpunk setting, but it has a lot of steampunk elements as one of the characters is living between domes.

[theemdash]

Word. ♥

[momebie.livejournal.com]

*fistbump*

[m-malcontent.livejournal.com]

Cool topic. I hope to see some steampunk fiction here if the prompts allow.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I've been trying to figure out how well fiction would go over for this sort of thing. This is my first time participating in LJ Idol, so I'm feeling out the waters. I have noticed that several of the participating journals seem to be entirely fictional, though, so I will probably branch into short stories eventually. I'm not nearly as exciting as the voices in my head. :p

[yachiru]

I like! Steampunk is getting more popular now and I think it's because of people like you who can articulate just how cool it is.

>_> I'm still bitter about Cyberpunk. It needs to come back dammnit.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I'm actually really happy to see it gaining attention. On one hand, I do worry about it being diluted, but on the other it might catch the attention of brilliant, brilliant people who can make WONDERFUL things who wouldn't have even thought to before.

And I LOVE cyberpunk! That's my third story in the hole, actually, after the steampunk I'm sharing writing duties on and the scifi novel I'm working on myself. I hope cyberpunk does make a come back. If for no other reason than the dance offs between the cyberpunk and steampunk communities would be amazing.

[lilycobalt.livejournal.com]

This was great! I honestly never really understood steampunk, but reading about what it means to you makes me think about taking a second look at it. I liked the part when you talked about how it shows that you don't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. And I'm glad you might look into steampunk again. I know it's not really of interest to everyone. I'm pretty sure my boyfriend thinks I'm crazy. But I love the romance and adventure of it all. In most of the 101 type of talks I've listened to or read they usually talk about how steampunk is kind of a reaction to the sort of Apple product/bridge of the Enterprise future that we're moving towards that's just too manufactured for comfort. It's definitely an assessment I agree with.

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

I've heard the term but never really knew. It's still as clear as muc but your explanation makes me want to read more. Nicely done.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Thank you. And this might help you actually: Steampunk 101 @ Tor.com (http://www.tor.com/blogs/2009/10/steampunk-101). It was written up by one of the guys I've heard speak at Dragon*Con, and it's pretty thorough.

[antianhedonia.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting about this because I've been hearing about steampunk nonstop for a month or two and I'd been dying to hear more about it, and more detailed.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Sure thing! It's something I love talking about with people. I'm going to give you the link I gave to the person above you. Steampunk 101 @ Tor.com (http://www.tor.com/blogs/2009/10/steampunk-101). That should help if you want a more complete outline of what it is exactly.

[heeroluva.livejournal.com]

I love steampunk. I wish there was more interest in it.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

It's really starting to get attention. It's been kind of exciting to watch how it's been growing in awareness on the internet and in the media these last several years.

[brilligspoons.livejournal.com]

HAY KL HAAAAAAAY

That is all. /drive-by

[momebie.livejournal.com]

THIS POST WAS WEIRDLY TIMED, WASN'T IT?

[imafarmgirl.livejournal.com]

This is interesting. I've never heard of steampunk before.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Ah! Well then, welcome to the hive mind. Enjoy your stay. ♥

[sra33.livejournal.com]

Hmm.... I've head of steampunk... in passing... nothing in particular. Never listened to it before, tho. I kinda like it. ^^

[momebie.livejournal.com]

If you're talking music Abney Park (http://www.myspace.com/abneypark) is the most noticed steampunk band, I believe. There are several others who fall into that specific genre like The Extraordinary Contraptions (http://www.myspace.com/theextraordinarycontraptions), Steam Powered Giraffe (http://www.myspace.com/steampoweredgiraffe), and The Clockwork Quartet (http://www.myspace.com/theclockworkquartet). There's also a lot of music that is embraced by the steampunk scene that is not overtly steampunk, but is very retro-futuristic in nature and therefore fits in with the anachronism of it all. Also, they're just rad. You can find a collection of some of those here (http://retrofuturistique.tumblr.com/).

[abstruse-fangrl.livejournal.com]

Steampunk holds a special place in my heart. If I see a novel described as Steampunk or a band or a short film, I'm so there.

It's always there, somewhere on my radar. I love that you see it as analogy for acceptance of yourself and this untapped well of potential within you.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I'm the same way with it. From the moment I learned about it I just started absorbing things and never stopped. I hope the community is around for a good long while.

[tentaclecore]

♥__♥

STEAMPUNK!!!

I adore steampunk. And clockpunk. And cyberpunk, techpunk, anypunk-at-all. So, yanno. This post feeds my soul. *draws hearts all around you and it*

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I ALSO ADORE ALL THE PUNKS. But steapunk is the one with the real special place in my heart. ♥ I'm glad to have helped feed your soul.

[lawchicky.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this- I learned a lot. I'd heard of steampunk before, but I didn't know much about it.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Sure thing! It's something I think about a lot, so it only seemed fair to put a bit of it into the Idol.

[barrelofrain.livejournal.com]

I love the way you describe what steampunk is (after "Crick.")

Neat.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I feel a little silly feeling so personal about it when I'm just on the sidelines for it all, but we all have our things.

[mstrobel.livejournal.com]

Just the word steampunk is enough to make me glee! I adored this :) I'm not very knowledgeable about it, but just the basic idea always makes me so happy when I'm reading a book or what have you.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way. It's very romantic sounding.

[locknkey.livejournal.com]

Very interesting and a nice reveal of the you that you want to be. :)

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This is my first year at this and I'm trying to work out how to go about making the posts.

[dreamwriteremmy]

'nother steampunk newb over here. Mostly right now we just collect keys in our steampunk collection (because funds are low and keys are fun and easy to hang onto. (Also much Abney Park love, though there's a deeper fascination with their darker songs for us -- things like Breathe and The Wrong Side because they just scream "dhampir" at us...that's probably a story for another day though lol).

-Dreamers

[dreamwriteremmy]

love when we fail at copy paste. >>; somehow LJ ate a couple sentences in there.


Nice take on the topic! [insert the steampunk newb greeting] We enjoy Steampunk as well. then above thread onward. XD


Also seconding the hope to see some fiction in here request.

[walkertxkitty.livejournal.com]

I'd always been interested in steampunk and write avidly in the genre but never knew it had a name until recently. Now I've joined a few communities --- more's the pity, there don't seem to be any real active and friendly groups around here --- and have tried my hand at making some of the jewelry. My Christmas present is to be a steampunk'd gaming desktop.

If you haven't already, you really ought to post this explanation elsewhere because it's one of the clearest descriptions of the genre I've ever seen.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

There are certainly pockets of steampunks who can get together in 'real life', but there aren't any very close to me, which makes me sad. It's a tiny thought in the back of my head when I consider moving to the northwest, because most of the shenanigans seem to happen out there. And there are a number of communities on lj for steampunks, but I'm not very active in any of them. I kind of wanted to make contacts off the computer first. That being said, there are much more comprehensive and precise explanations out there. :)

That sounds like an excellent present though, and I'd love to see some of your jewelry.