Recommendations

My last blog includes my recommendations for anyone interested in looking into steampunk. The following consists of online magazines, books, movies, music, and clothing that are worth looking up.

Online Magazines:

• The Steampunk Workshop - The Steampunk Workshop is mostly a do-it-yourself magazine, but also includes music and book reviews.
• Steampunk Magazine - Steampunk magazine is a free semi-annual magazine dedicated to the subculture of steampunk.

Books:

• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (comic book)
• The Time Machine
• The Difference Engine
  

Movies:

• Castle in the Sky - Castle in the Sky is a movie written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki (Ponyo, Spirited Away).
  
• Steamboy - From the same director of Akira, Steamboy is set right in the steamage and includes a lot of futuristic elements similar to those in the movie Wild Wild West.
  

Music:

• Sunday Driver - Sunday Driver is probably the most unique of steampunk music. This band combines both British and Indian influences that include a sitar, harp, clarinet, tabla and even a pair of dessert spoons.
• Abney Park - Abney Park is probably one of the most popular steampunk bands. Their music includes Middle Eastern percussion, violins, and Tesla powered keyboards.
  
• Dr. Steel - Dr. Steel's unique sound is often described as an "industrial hip-hop opera".
  
• Unextraordinary Gentlemen - Unextraordinary Gentlemen's steampunk sound comes from a mix of post-punk, synth-pop, industrial, and experimental music.

Clothing:

• Clockwork Couture - This web site includes steampunk clothing for men and women. Not only you can expect to see designer steampunk clothing, but also diesel punk collections, and clockpunk costumes. The clothing can be expensive, but if you are looking for something cheaper, they still have great items for sale in their clearance section that is more affordable.
• Gentlemen's Emporium
  

Goggles

One of my favorite steampunk accessories has to be goggles. Goggles can be of anywhere from engineer to aviator goggles, my favorite being the engineer goggles. While you can buy goggles on many web sites such as Etsy and Steampunk Emporium, most people who dress in steampunk attire make there own.

There really is no wrong way of how to make goggles. ThreadBanger has easy instructions on how to make steampunk goggles out of household items. They show you how to make goggles just using a baseball, Gatorade lids, hem from jeans, a clear plastic container, and spray paint.

How to make Steampunk Goggles:

Steamboy

Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Release Date: July 17, 2004 (Japan), March 18, 2005 (U.S.)
Plot: Steamboy is set in 1866 Britain and is about a young boy, Ray Steam. One day a Steam Ball is sent to his house by his grandfather and is put in a great deal of danger trying to keep it out of the wrong hands. He later finds out just how dangerous this Steam Ball is and will do everything he can to stop the wrong people from using it.

Steamboy, from the same director of Akira, is a very well-known steampunk anime. Set right in the steamage, the movie has a lot of futuristic elements similar to those in the movie Wild Wild West. Some of this include submarines, prosthetics, blimp with metal claws, and much more.

The Sub Genres of Steampunk

Corsets, petticoats, spats, goggles, and time pieces are some of the many things you can find in steampunk. Although it may seem pretty simple, there are also many different sub-genres of steampunk. Some of these include clockpunk, diesel punk, Western steampunk, and goth steampunk. Most are self-explanatory such as clockpunk which includes using technology based on springs and clockwork and dieselpunk with petroleum power instead of steam.

A clockpunk-inspired ring made from pieces of a watch.

Travel by Steampunk

Ferdinand Verbiest built the first steam-powered vehicle circa 1672. Made for the Chinese emperor, this was too small and only designed as a toy to be able to carry a driver or passenger, but was still the first working steam-powered vehicle. In terms of steampunk, a steampunk vehicle can literally mean a vehicle powered by steam or just by design.

Last year Toyota designed a new steampunk-inspired car called the FT-EV II, an electric car based on their iQ mini-car. What makes this vehicle steampunk-esque is it's very Victorian style mixed with modern technology. This vehicle will go on sale in the U.S. by the end of 2010 and will be known as the 2011 Scion iQ.

Sherlock Holmes (2009) Movie Review

Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham
Release Date: December 25, 2009
Plot: Sherlock Holmes is a remake of an old classic, which tells a story about the renowned Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Watson who are up against a threat to the survival of Great Britain.

There is unquestionably a steampunk theme to the movie. Similar to Wild Wild West, these movies share an evil villain who seeks to take over the world with their advanced technologies. Sherlock Holmes also takes place in a modernizing urban world of science and steamships. The steampunk fashion is additionally easy to pick out in the movie.

Overall this movie is definitely worth seeing. Even if one is not interested in the steampunk-themes, it has action, adventure, romance, and thrills, which makes this movie enjoyable for all audiences.

Steampunk and Belly Dance

For those not familiar with belly dance there are many different styles. Some of these styles include:
• cabaret - more traditional and familiar form of belly dance
• tribal - more Americanized version
• fusion - mixing belly dance with other different styles of dance such as
jazz or ballet
• tribaret - mix of tribal and cabaret
• plus many others forms

Steampunk belly dance would more fall into the category of tribaret or fusion.

Some other aspects that influence the style of belly dance are music and clothing. For steampunk-style belly dance, the clothing usually consists of bloomers, hats, parasols, Victorian shoes, and Victorian-style crop tops. The music a lot of times include artists such as Abney Park, Dr. Steel and some more “Middle Eastern” influenced music such as Beats Antique, Raquay and the Cavemen, Pentaphobe, and many others.


A simple Steampunk influenced belly dance costume; notice the hat, belt with gears, and lace top