In here goes some off the wall stuff that probably won't make it into my steampunk scenario. It's all steampunk related of sorts.

Here's my contribution: Steam Punk Star Wars

http://ericpoulton.blogspot.com/search/label/steampunk%20star%20wars

There will be a Space Race victory in this scenario but will it look like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y39gHihP74

Love Steam Trek!

Everyone that doesn't already needs to know about Vernian Process (http://www.gothpunk.com/formaldihyde/vernianprocess.html) - hours and hours of free Steampunk soundtrack.

And speaking of Steam Trek - definitely read Ishmael (http://www.amazon.com/Ishmael-Star-Trek-No-23/dp/0671743554/ref=sr_1_3/002-5396061-3296045?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192499921&sr=1-3), a roman à clef in which an amnesiac Spock is end up in an 1860s where he encounters characters from TV westerns that were more or less contemporary to Star Trek. Whoa! Talk about your Wold Newton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wold_Newton_family)! Then there's How Much For Just The Planet? (http://www.amazon.com/Much-Just-Planet-Star-Trek/dp/0671629980/ref=ed_oe_p/002-5396061-3296045) in which Kirk must negotiate vs. the Klingons with the people of a planet obsessed with Gilbert & Sullivan. The Klingon explanation of Victorian formal dinner attire is one of the greatest Star Trek moments ever, IMHO. Several SF authors receive homage as named characters in this "Tribbles" kind of story.

Maybe this better fits under the Contaptions & Inventions thread, but I've got other images I'm working with for the underlying technologies, and I just thought these were kind of cool to look at.

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7754/steampunkinventionswk7.jpg

Upper left: an internal-combustion-engine powered home vacuum cleaner by Bissell (the company is still in business, although this model is no longer available)
Upper right: a closed-cycle steam-turbine powered phonograph (apparently there were quite a few manufacturers, and a very active community of collectors today).
Lower left: a steam powered lawn mower ("If you want to borrow the flivver, first get down to that coal chute and get busy mowing!")
Lower right: a modern steam enthusiast powers up his computer (yes it really works).

Speaking of that last, I really need a new desktop. Love that dvd drive in the model on the right. A laptop like the one on the left would be even more convenient. Anyone who wants to see my tech icon production accelerate is welcome to get me one of these custom-built babies (Mac preferred).

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/1467/differentenginesyb7.jpg

The internal combustion vacuum cleaner is fantastic. I love the fact that you have to bring that enormous, filthy, fume-belching monstrosity into your parlour - complete with two men to operate it - just so that the other man can remove dust from the backs of your chairs.

The computers are great fun too. I'd love something like that. Don't forget that Leibniz constructed one of the first mechanical arithmetic engines, with an eye to organising the whole of knowledge mathematically!

I really ought to make some kind of seventeenth-century equivalent of a steampunk mod. Clockworkpunk? The idea needs work.

I really ought to make some kind of seventeenth-century equivalent of a steampunk mod. Clockworkpunk? The idea needs work.I've got some vague ideas about a "Secret History of the World" mod. First Era - Mu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_%28lost_continent%29) and Agartha (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agartha) as civs & technology ala Celestial Matters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_Matters), etc. Second Era - "New Atlantis", Rosicrucians, Camillo's Memory Theater (http://kelty.rice.edu/375/lectures/camillo0212.html) as a proto-Web, techs ala Giordano Bruno & Athanasius Kircher, up through the Enlightenment & Illuminati... Third Era - Steampunk Fourth Era - Retrofuture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro-futurism) with SubGenius (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._%22Bob%22_Dobbs), Schwa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwa_%28art%29) & Discordian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illuminatus%21_Trilogy) elements thrown in for good measure.

That sounds extremely interesting. You ought to get in touch with Rambuchan, if you're not already, as it sounds a lot like his planned but never completed medieval fantasy mod (set in the world portrayed in medieval maps, complete with all those strange monsters in central Asia...). Indeed I might have some good ideas myself if you want to get in touch about it at any point.

Vernian Process is a great find - fantastic custom music potential there!

We're straying pretty far OT; but, as to the ideas related to what Rambuchan was working, a little way down the list of mods I'm pretending I'm going to do one day is a Silk Road one (from Western China to the Levant) with a bit of John Mandeville & Baudolino thrown in.

Maybe this better fits under the Contaptions & Inventions thread, but I've got other images I'm working with for the underlying technologies, and I just thought these were kind of cool to look at.

Those are great. The lawnmower and cleaner are such a hoot and the computer is cool.


Don't forget that Leibniz constructed one of the first mechanical arithmetic engines, with an eye to organising the whole of knowledge mathematically!
I really ought to make some kind of seventeenth-century equivalent of a steampunk mod. Clockworkpunk? The idea needs work.
What about the Antikythera or the plain old abacus? Clockwork punk I think has it's own genre so you could find plenty of ideas. One of things I thought about was moving the timeline of my scenario back a bit to cover a lot of Leonardo Da Vinci inspired work and clockwork stuff. However, I decided to narrow the scope to make it more manageable and coherent. I do think your idea and Blue Monkey's Secret History mod have bags of potential and would be extremely interesting. I agree with Plot on the Vernian Process. I never even knew it was out there - certainly lots of great stuff in it that I can use.

Clockwork punk already exists? Damn - there was I thinking I'd invented a whole new genre. And I'd already thought of a better name too (Baroque & Roll). Although I suppose they did it on Dr Who already (the Madame de Pompadour episode) so there you go...

I do think it's best to restrict this mod to the purely Victorian-style stuff; it keeps the atmosphere much better.

Vernian Process: in my opinion The forgotten age is the best of the downloadable albums. I think it has a more professional sound than the others.

Clockwork punk already exists? Damn - there was I thinking I'd invented a whole new genre. And I'd already thought of a better name too (Baroque & Roll). Although I suppose they did it on Dr Who already (the Madame de Pompadour episode) so there you go...


Baroque and Roll is hilarious but it's already taken you know. Aparently it's neo-classical metal music.


Vernian Process: in my opinion The forgotten age is the best of the downloadable albums. I think it has a more professional sound than the others.
I'd agree with that although some of the covers are quite amusing and hit quite a sentimental note with a kid from the 80s.

I found this http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/26325/tophat.gif. Feel free to use with impunity.

While trolling for images I found one for a Wonder. I haven't reserved the last two colors in the palette yet. This one is meant ironically and humorously, in the spirit of Flashman or the movie "The Man Who Would Be King". Please don't look if you're bothered by the Victorian attitude of "White Man's Burden".

Bringing Pizza To The Wogs
Increases Commerce, Causes Corruption

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/3026/pizzawogs2xj1.gif

In here goes some off the wall stuff that probably won't make it into my steampunk scenario. It's all steampunk related of sorts.

Here's my contribution: Steam Punk Star Wars

http://ericpoulton.blogspot.com/search/label/steampunk%20star%20wars
]

HOLY SPIT!!! YOU'RE THAT GUY?!!?!? I don't know if you're aware of this, but your art has been featured on the Brass Goggles Stempunk Blog (http://www.brassgoggles.co.uk/brassgoggles/) and other related sites (like the Aether Emporium).

Blue Monkey: I know (well as well as you can know someone through the internet anyways) Jake von Slatt and Doc Nagy (the creators of the two computational devices you have pictured)... BTW, that telegraph sounder to the right of Jake's keyboard actually works, and is hooked up to his computer using a program that converts ASCII to morse code and it'll clack it out for him. Doc also has a steampunk laptop and scanner that he made (his laptop actually uses a clock windup key to turn on!!).

As for Vernian Process, I've recieved permission to use two of his Final Fantasy covers (Aeris's theme and The Highwind Takes to the Skies) for the FF mod, so He probably would be cool with us using his songs for this scenario... I'll PM him over at the stempunk forums and see if he's cool with that.

Oh, nice smiley, King Arthur... I'll have to let Tinkergirl (Brass Goggles Site Admin) know about it and see if she'll add it to the SPF smilie list....

HOLY SPIT!!! YOU'RE THAT GUY?!!?!? I don't know if you're aware of this, but your art has been featured on the Brass Goggles Stempunk Blog (http://www.brassgoggles.co.uk/brassgoggles/) and other related sites (like the Aether Emporium).


err.. no, I wish it was but it's not. I meant this is my contribution in way of providing the link. I will reword it so it's not misleading.

I put this post here because you don't yet have a specific thread for other parts of the mod:
Rufus T. Firefly made a set of interface backgrounds using Victorian images (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=96053). His library (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=125012) also has some other things that might be of use.

Ah yes that will be a nice touch thanks.

I think I have some of it already since it was used in an expanded Napoleonic scenario.

Great news guys!!! I just logged into the Steampunk Forums, and found a new PM in my folder.

To my surprise it was from Vernian Process (I was just about to PM him), and here's what he said:

Hey man, I just noticed the thread over in the civilization forum, you can let those guys knopw they are welcome to use any of my tracks, as long as they credit them properly. And if anyone uses any of my covers make sure they credit it to the original composer/copyright holder as well.

Oh and can you let that guy Plotinus know that the new album will have an even better production quality than The Forgotten Age.

Cool thanks man!

So, there you have it, straight from the man himself! :D

That's great. Nice to have a bit of inter-forum interaction going on there. The forgotten age has become my current music-to-have-on-while-working of choice so I shall be watching eagerly for the next one!

Yeah, Like I said, I'm already using his renditions of The Highwind Takes Flight and Aeris's Theme for the FF mod, plus a few other songs from his symphonic collection are in my playlist....

That's splendid HT, please pass on my thanks and assure him that he will be fully credited. Great to know we have such esteemed lurkers too.

Another one of Datamancer's steampunk computers - a laptop (http://technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1339) - made it to Technovelgy.com. Be sure to check out the 1600-1899 section of their timeline (http://technovelgy.com/ct/ctnlistPubDate.asp?BPDate1=1600&BPDate2=1899) of when inventions were first mentioned in fiction.

Oh yeah, best for last, there's a guy who's using twin Tesla coils as stereo speakers. Not to power the audio, the coils are the speakers (http://technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1338). I guess we'll have to add Surround Sound as a tech. And add Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science" to the soundtrack.

Now that I think about it, probably only Tesla coils could drown out the noise of a clacking kinotrope. Apropos of which, here's a link to the Difference Dictionary (http://www.sff.net/people/gunn/dd/).


Edit: And here's a goof about the entertainment offered on the Titanic (http://www.snopes.com/lost/poseidon.htm). Maybe in a SteamPunk world they too would have used a clacking kinotrope.

My God, what's their carbon footprint?

My God, what's their carbon footprint?You mean the audiophile Tesla coils? I would think ozone would be a bigger issue than CO2. Of course they could grab power from the aether as Tesla originally intended.

Just thought I'd mention the Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana (http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Fantastic-Victoriana-Jess-Nevins/dp/1932265155/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197253045&sr=1-1), even though I'm sure a lot of you have already heard of it. I borrowed it from a local library. It's a guide to the fantastic literature written roughly during the period, written by the same fellow who wrote those guides to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. If nothing else it could be a source for plenty of GL names. Look up "Electric Bob"'s entry for example. Maybe he'd be a good choice for a Science Advisor head.

Tesla Coil Tannenbaum (http://tesladownunder.com/Xmas.htm#XmasFinal). Be sure to cruise the web site for other fun stuff, like the mobile forcefield for vehicle protection (http://tesladownunder.com/Tesladownunder's%20Car%20Theft%20Pevention%201000. jpg) (potential unit fortify animation?), & the foil hat lightning rod (http://tesladownunder.com/TeslaPoolTinHat.jpg).

SteamPunk Santa (http://cyborgnecromancer.deviantart.com/art/Steampunk-Santa-72796605) (unit concept art?).

Not so funny as SteamPunk Santa but here is a nice link I stumbled across for The Steampunk Magazine: http://www.steampunkmagazine.com/inside/

The magazine is avaiable as a free to download PDF and certainly makes interesting reading.

Steampunk made it onto NPR (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18710895) (National Public Radio).

Check out the Nautilus Home Theatre (http://technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1450).

did you know that the Victorians invented & built (at least prototyped) all that "virtual meeting" "web-cam conversation" type stuff?

Check out the Comic Electric Telegraph (http://www.victorianlondon.org/communications/comictelegraph.htm).

May I present for your delectation the latest of Professor Symian Azule's Patented Solecistic Wonders -

"The Solved Mystery, or A Requisite Plenitude of Gentlemen for the Proper Infixing of an Electric Torch"

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/9884/lightbulbzv1.png

I'm truly chagrined by my multi-postings. On the gripping hand, I refuse to slow my pace until I find one worthy of a comment. Even a Bronx Cheer.

Came across an interesting contemporary image of Countess Ada Lovelace working out the maths for Babbage's Difference Engine. I'm not sure if it's an engraving or a woodcut:

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4226/rgncmpujlf8.gif

That woodcut of Ada Lovelace is cool...

Here (http://www.jibjab.com/view/125637) is proof that sometimes old-school technology totally PWNZ new-fangled crap. :D

Steam engine noise driving birds away and thus spoiling your Sunday drive through the countryside? Try out the Charvolant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pocock_%28inventor%29), designed by another brilliant British inventor.

That's a fantastic idea. I want one.

A good idea to help stop global warming perhaps

This site is ripping good! Modern products such as Wii, cell phones, etc. advertised in vintage style, many Victorian (http://www.worth1000.com/contest.asp?contest_id=18731&display=photoshop).

Gadzooks! discovered this blog about a whole Second Life SteamPunk (http://voyagesofdrfabre.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html) community.

This site is ripping good! Modern products such as Wii, cell phones, etc. advertised in vintage style, many Victorian (http://www.worth1000.com/contest.asp?contest_id=18731&display=photoshop).

That's been doing the rounds at my girlfriend's office since you posted it here. What great stuff. Although the car/bike ones don't look remotely odd to me, since all cars/bikes are indistinguishable to my eyes.

If some of you are wondering what one of the key influences on me becoming a steampunk are, here's a few videos I took last weekend at the Cumberland Valley Antique Engine & Machinery Association's Spring 2008 Steam & Gas show:

Three Hit-n-Miss engines (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMRTVNgKExQ)

1/4 Scale model of a Reid 6 Hp 2-Cycle oil field engine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amvg-VzlXB0)

15 HP Reid 2-cycle engine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzKNsZ9d_hk)

Several Large, antique industrial Gas engines (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_IdbWo60f0)

1908 Peerless steam Traction Engine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5nBbceOqMY)

Saw it on the funny pics thread, thought you guys might like it :)

http://www.specsappeal.net/steampunk.jpg

Some documentation, maybe? :p

http://www.amazon.com/Steampunk-Ann-VanderMeer/dp/1892391759/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212185655&sr=1-1

Annotated "map" of 221B Baker Street (http://www.stutler.cc/other/misc/images/bakerstreet_notes.gif).

Taking my daily perusal of wikipedia's front page reveals the following -

"The Anglo-Zanzibar War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War) was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. With a duration of around 40 minutes, it holds the record of being the shortest war in recorded history"

"Mark Twain and General Custer visited P. T. Barnum in Iranistan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranistan)"

Think of the potential steampunkery!