NIMBY writes: NIMBY has now reached the critical juncture we have seen looming for sometime.  To further our progress with the city – where things are still going well – we have had to make many tough financial decisions. We have shelled out endless amounts of money for permit fees, engineers, and testing services.  In the name of progress we have had to divert funds from everyday bills, like the rent, to finalize the city process.

You can donate here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1362561841/nimby-industrial-art-and-diy-space

Donate directly:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=10559466 (Tax Deductible Donations - email rachael@nimbyspace.org)

[Be sure to click through to see the video of what goes on at NIMBY even if you don't pledge and BTW, they just got $200 from me. - Jake]

Back in August I received a slightly odd email:

Phil is drawing a cover for Windycon's Blaylock short story collection, and he sort of used you as the guy building a mechanical dragon in his garage... Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. 

If it wasn't, and you'd rather we made it not look quite like you, please e-mail me and let me know! 

(I know we should have asked first, but we got carried away... sorry!) 

Thanks-- 

--Kaja

Of course I was deeply flattered and quickly responded that I, in fact, felt honored that they chose to use my likeness!

Click for a larger version and the opportunity to buy a print if you so desire

One of my most common rants about steampunk style involves long-winded kvetching about the forgotten Eastern influences on the genre. I'll spare you the snarky details, but it comes to this: I want to know why I practically never see steampunks tapping into the deliciously decadent culture of India. I want to know to where Captain Nemo disappeared. Considering the rule of the British Raj in India from 1858 to 1957, Victoria's title of "Empress of India", and the 200-year force in the country of the British East India Trading Company (who dealt in tea, silk, cotton, indigo, and opium as well as political oppression), I am rather surprised that very few steampunks reflect this in their garb and choice of music.

However, a band called Sunday Driver was brought to my attention¹ this week, and let me tell you--these folks are definitely doin' it right. Their music is a careful and delicate fusion of Indian chant and English folk, laden with formidable female vocals and subtly morbid and mad lyrics (their band name supposedly came from a gene commonly found in mice!). The sound is energetic, crisply recorded, and each song is entirely different, keeping Sunday Driver on rotation over my speakers all week.

JGN Writes:

Steam Engines in NYC!!!

Who would think that the oldest continuously-operating, privately owned steam-powered electrical generating plant in the United States sits in a quiet Victorian section of Brooklyn, New York?  Pratt University has its original steam-powered engine room intact. It was used for many years to generate electricity for this college. These generators are no longer used for power but they are still hooked up to the steam plant, so every once in a while they are powered up to keep them alive.

Every year at Pratt on New Year's Eve Conrad sets up all of the large steam whistles live outside.  It gets pretty noisy there (passersby get to pull the ropes) and of course there is the nice smell of oily steam in the air!

[Click through for a lot more pics and a video of last New Years Eve whistle blow!]

Vintage Punk¹ Street Fashion at SPWS

Because I am primarily a photographer (and only secondarily a coolhunting blogger), a major aspect of my posts here at SPWS is visuals. Thus, once a month or so, I will be posting photographs of the sort of timeless, casual style I laud. My goal is to display real people in their real, everyday clothing, proving that this genre isn't just for cons and parties. I also intend to post a plethora of photos of masculine fashion, as it seems like most of the fashion pics available online are female-centric.

Now, I expect some of you to get all uppity about sticking to established genre conventions or act disappointed that I'll be showing a wide array of mashed-up vintage punk styles (not just Victoriana), but now is your opportunity to get over it. My way is much more fun, anyhow.

So, let me introduce someone you may recognize--this is Nathaniel Johnstone from Abney Park. 

If you dropped by my house you'd probably be disappointed. Because (with the exception of my office, which is more post-apocalytic than anything else) it's simply not very steampunk. I do have plans, but none have come to fruition.

However, a couple of weeks ago I was invited by Bruce Rosenbaum to visit his home in Sharon, Massachusetts and what I found there was just stunning!

As previously mentioned by Jake, I'm in charge of the wearables for this year's SPWS gift guides. So, without further ado, thus follows a selection of items that might find a lovely home in the wardrobes of you and yours.

I've included prices, which range from stocking-stuffer to bank-breaking, and sizes where applicable. My goal was to display mostly unisex items, bespoke, or clothes that are available in a wide range of sizes, that can be worn daily instead of just for special occasions. Some of these items are store-bought; some are handmade. I've bought a number of the following items myself, or witnessed them displayed by friends, and I can vouch for their quality.

Please enjoy all of the shiny! Click "read more" to see the whole list.

This year I decided to do something a little different with my gift guide. Rather than try for a steampunk theme, I decided to apply a steampunk philosophy.

I thought back over the things that I purchased that have pleased me greatly.  Often they were purchases that I agonized over.  Purchases where I stretched and bought something I really couldn't afford or where I bought the most expensive version of something rather than heeding the conventional wisdom of "shooting the middle."  

To quote Bruce Sterling:

It's not bad to own fine things that you like. What you need are things that you GENUINELY like. Things that you cherish, that enhance your existence in the world. The rest is dross.

So enjoy, these are a few of my favorite things . . . 

Get a glimpse of Datamancer's latest "OMG, I squeed my pants!" casemod: The Clacker on German TV on Doc's own blog.