Steampunk....Ever Heard of It?

One of the things that I've developed an appreciation for over the last year or two is the steampunk culture. If you're looking at the screen just now with raised eyebrows and and a confused look, well, you're in good company because that's very often the look I get when I mention steampunk. If you're searching for a definition, however, think "Victorian era meets the technological era." It's all Jules Verne and H.G. Wells sort of stuff with their fantastic and futuristic projections powered by steam and gear works with the glow of 21st century technology peeking through. As much as I am enamored with the beauty that the marriage of these two elements creates, I am even more struck by what lies beyond the mechanization; the air of a genteel civility that seems to permeate the entire culture.

I shall resist the urge to turn this into a commentary on society today, but suffice it to say that the lure of Wells' time machine is great when i consider the possibility of travel to a time when a man wouldn't be caught dead with his pants below his derriere. But alas, I am firmly rooted in the present, if not by the lack of a working time machine, then certainly by my eternal devotion to electronic gadgetry. For as much as I love looking at steampunk art and contemplating what a Victorian cell phone would have looked like, (in my imagination it's all dark wood with glorious gold embossed metals, filigrees, and shining proud rivets), there really was no such device in the era of gentlemanly duels.

And so, for kicks, I leave you with a few links.  The first will explain more of what steampunk is and offer some gorgeous examples of the art and the last two are just....well....fun. We can do 'fun' here, right? :-))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i9ZX10iM64&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iRTB-FTMdk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eELH0ivexKA&feature=fvwrel