There are few things finer (particularly for dancing or just general ambience) than world music and rock. Abney Park is a fine source of both, and one of the most personable themed groups around.
They are based in the Pacific Northwest, which makes this Philadelphian's chances of seeing them slim to none. The god (goddess? perhaps) of brass and steam smiled on me, as I discovered in late June that they would be playing at The Church in Dallas.
Fellow privateers, aeronauts, and men of science, it was awesome. There was a bit of a long wait (doors opened at 8pm and I was the second in line) for the band to arrive. At 9pm they started playing La Citee d'Enfants Perdus over the 'stylings' of DJ Virus...and various other mystifying videos. As the hours crept from 9am to 12, we caught glimpses and heard rumors.
"The band is taking pics out front. It'll be a few minutes."
"I heard they had trouble with the sound check. It might take a few more."
Regardless of the delay, they got out there. They opened with some new songs, which indicate (to my mind) a slightly more rag-time, music-hall sensibility which I'm assuming will be the informing idea of "Aether Shanties".
We eagerly await its arrival.
The crew seemed a bit drained, which I entirely put down to Dallas weather. Dallas is not a pleasant place, even in the sheltering arms of the classic Church venue and in the company of Dallas steampunk fans. The heat outside was only slightly better than the previous week. Regardless, AP showed much love to the Dallas crowd, performing encores and throwing enthusiasm into an admittely terrible attempt at "Black Day" requested by the crowd, over Captain Robert's protest.
See what happens when you don't listen to your Captain?
The other songs were excellent, and since the only album I own by AP is "Lost Horizons", I learned something. Something that will probably result in me slinging more cash towards CDs, as soon as moving is completed. And who knows? I haven't visited my married friends in Portland in quite a while and I see they're doing a show in September....
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Oh noes! Need to get rid of Abney Park tickets (two)!
I recently made the mistake of buying tickets for three people (two I thought would be in the area) and found that (surprise!) two of them won’t even be in Dallas for the Abney Park concert at the Church. This is a particular sore spot as one of them has a Nice Camera and I would have loved having the chance to take pictures with the band.
The main issue, however, is finding a home for two luffly tickets to the concert in The Church. These tickets cost $15 a piece and I hate people who scalp, so I'm only looking to make sure that someone is capable of buying them. I'll think of something...comment if you're interested in seeing Abney Park in Dallas.
The main issue, however, is finding a home for two luffly tickets to the concert in The Church. These tickets cost $15 a piece and I hate people who scalp, so I'm only looking to make sure that someone is capable of buying them. I'll think of something...comment if you're interested in seeing Abney Park in Dallas.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Re: My recent absence
Hello, Angelie here. I haven't been on for a while, for very good reasons.
1) My career. I have a day job where I am fortunately well-recognized for my work. I try to save my best for it.
2) Personal life- You don't want to hear about this, right? Anyways, my family's been working for the past months on rebuilding after a fire.
3) Master's Thesis. I specialize in English lit, and I've got a thesis I can get fired up about now that I'm doing all the necessary groundwork.
4) Sorting out things and stuff. A general miscellany.
HOWEVER, I am fortunate in that my vacation time resulted in plenty of pre-plane downtime during which I could get much sorted out, and even more written. Good things are on their way!
1) My career. I have a day job where I am fortunately well-recognized for my work. I try to save my best for it.
2) Personal life- You don't want to hear about this, right? Anyways, my family's been working for the past months on rebuilding after a fire.
3) Master's Thesis. I specialize in English lit, and I've got a thesis I can get fired up about now that I'm doing all the necessary groundwork.
4) Sorting out things and stuff. A general miscellany.
HOWEVER, I am fortunate in that my vacation time resulted in plenty of pre-plane downtime during which I could get much sorted out, and even more written. Good things are on their way!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
What is Cloud-computing?
And why do we care? Well, go to Google and type in "cloud". When I did that at 1pm today, "cloud computing" was the first result at the top of the page. Fine and dandy, but what is it?
simple answer: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/cloud/
Premise: Computers suck (predicate statement, full stop).
Computers suck because they require software. Software that needs to be re-written, upgraded, patched, and most importantly, not be infected with bugs. And if you have several software programs that argue with each other- well, good luck will be needed. The solution IBM proposes (and Google has been interested in, as well) is that all the software is written and maintained with patches etc. elsewhere.
This may sound radical to some, but it's very similar to the practice most call centers follow with their phone systems. In Ye Olden Days, the phone numbers were routed through a PDX switchboard. This was very inconvenient, as the PDX could overload and shut down if too many calls came in and there wasn't sufficient lines or a ready mailbox. Call center IT departments and finance were forced to try and plan exactly for call volume and figure out how many employees needed to maintain the phone queue and answer the lines, and on top of this they needed to purchase equipment for needs that could change drastically.
Then along came VoIP. Voice over Internet Protocol currently can follow a model where each workstation in the center requires three things: A computer interface, a keyboard, and a phone that can pick up calls routed. No support structure, no giant boxes of cables or switchboard operators. All of the maintenance and support is done by the VoIP provider, who sets up the phone numbers to ring and be routed through their "cloud" on the internet. When a customer calls, the call is routed from the cloud, through their data-tracking, to the representative's phone. The managers can pull reports from access to the cloud, and there's no overhead related to IT. Easier tracking also means the company can better plan the number of reps needed to answer calls in a given season.
The point is, from what I understand "cloud computing" purports to be very similar, except companies like Google intend to also offer file storage. The files may be in your "interface", but you will need to be connected to get at them. Of course, hypothetically you could have files stored off-line elsewhere in case your account is hacked or something destroys your interface.
Now this may not be a bad premise for a steampunk story, if people are wondering how to apply modern ideas to their novel. Conceivably this is something that would appeal to the more sordid Victorian types. Imagine, if you will, a steampunk remake of An Ideal Husband. There are a lot of ways to twist it: I'll see if I can't reinvent the plot three or four ways to combine it with cloud computing. Watch for big Thursday post!!
simple answer: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/cloud/
Premise: Computers suck (predicate statement, full stop).
Computers suck because they require software. Software that needs to be re-written, upgraded, patched, and most importantly, not be infected with bugs. And if you have several software programs that argue with each other- well, good luck will be needed. The solution IBM proposes (and Google has been interested in, as well) is that all the software is written and maintained with patches etc. elsewhere.
This may sound radical to some, but it's very similar to the practice most call centers follow with their phone systems. In Ye Olden Days, the phone numbers were routed through a PDX switchboard. This was very inconvenient, as the PDX could overload and shut down if too many calls came in and there wasn't sufficient lines or a ready mailbox. Call center IT departments and finance were forced to try and plan exactly for call volume and figure out how many employees needed to maintain the phone queue and answer the lines, and on top of this they needed to purchase equipment for needs that could change drastically.
Then along came VoIP. Voice over Internet Protocol currently can follow a model where each workstation in the center requires three things: A computer interface, a keyboard, and a phone that can pick up calls routed. No support structure, no giant boxes of cables or switchboard operators. All of the maintenance and support is done by the VoIP provider, who sets up the phone numbers to ring and be routed through their "cloud" on the internet. When a customer calls, the call is routed from the cloud, through their data-tracking, to the representative's phone. The managers can pull reports from access to the cloud, and there's no overhead related to IT. Easier tracking also means the company can better plan the number of reps needed to answer calls in a given season.
The point is, from what I understand "cloud computing" purports to be very similar, except companies like Google intend to also offer file storage. The files may be in your "interface", but you will need to be connected to get at them. Of course, hypothetically you could have files stored off-line elsewhere in case your account is hacked or something destroys your interface.
Now this may not be a bad premise for a steampunk story, if people are wondering how to apply modern ideas to their novel. Conceivably this is something that would appeal to the more sordid Victorian types. Imagine, if you will, a steampunk remake of An Ideal Husband. There are a lot of ways to twist it: I'll see if I can't reinvent the plot three or four ways to combine it with cloud computing. Watch for big Thursday post!!
What Should I Do For Costumes In This Economy?
Saint me, I only wish I had better ideas. I know a lot of people get into the genre because of the variety and style of clothes that comes along with it- mad scientists in cloaks, foppish waistcoats with atomic wristwatches, and a dapper chapeau to complement your brass aviator goggles. For many, writing and listening to steampunk themes isn't the best way to experience it- this is a stylistic type of genre, thank you, and pass the brass polish.
If you also lack funds, a lot can be acheived with some leather castoffs, a couple of old vests, and some brocade curtains. Having a friend in theater definitely helps. And recently I came across Rivka's Mom. I recommend as a place to get ideas if you're that strapped or you fear that your interest in steampunk costumes may be a Passing Thing.
If you also lack funds, a lot can be acheived with some leather castoffs, a couple of old vests, and some brocade curtains. Having a friend in theater definitely helps. And recently I came across Rivka's Mom. I recommend as a place to get ideas if you're that strapped or you fear that your interest in steampunk costumes may be a Passing Thing.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Phooey. Work Web Banning Youtube.
But I can still post here! I'm linking (sorry, can't embed) an Abney Park video for their song Herr Drosselmeyer's Doll to showcase the type of fun expected in July.
Komme, fahren Sie hier.
Komme, fahren Sie hier.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Upcoming Abney Park Show
As part of the regular Steampunk-related events, I will be posting on concerts as well. If you live in Dallas, you're in luck because Abney Park will be playing at Alt/Goth venue The Church in downtown Dallas, on July 17th. I'm covering the event in costume and taking pictures for posterity.
More about the event can be found here.
See you there!
More about the event can be found here.
See you there!
Monday, June 1, 2009
So, What is Steampunk? Cont'd
To finish up on settings- I don't know if this will help further in describing the difference between steampunk, clockpunk, and cyberpunk, but here it goes: My quick and dirty guide to distinctions in setting:
If a fantastic garden of singing plants appeared in your backyard, and it was caused by Victorian fairies only visible using special crystal lenses and you devised cases of leather, brass and the crystal to catch them= steampunk.
If the fairies in question are gnomes using wound-up (but still magical) devices to power their garden, which is part of a giant and wholly automated astrogation device that uses nothing more advanced than a simple toothed escapement, and you catch them in a spring trap= clockpunk.
If the fairies are, in fact, an alien species and the garden is one of their artifacts, and you catch them with a vacuum cleaner and wear black goggles to see the radioactive exudia of their skin because they look normal= cyberpunk, especially if you get onto their ship and off of 21st century Earth.
Far more important than the stylistic elements (which sometimes have more bearing on illustrations than on the plot itself) are the themes of the same period that steampunk purports to take place in- that is, Regency-Victorian themes. These themes are the quintessence of steampunk, especially since the literature is an often-idealized version the Victorian era.
Gothic horror stories and the English Decadence of Wilde are particularly evocative of the genre, as are more "brainy" works such as Conan Doyle. Of course, Edgar Allen Poe was also influenced by Gothic-Romantic themes. In fact, his short story The Man That Was Used Up is recommended to people who want to write an effective steampunk suspense story with the majority of the “steam” well-hidden until the end. Be warned: you might have a hard time sleeping afterwards. Of course, part of the reason this story is recommended is because it implicitly deals with a common theme that should be treated in some manner: scientific and moral law called into question. Is it right to keep a man alive beyond the use of any of his natural organs and limbs, as in the case of Brevet Brigadier General John A. B. C. Smith?
This is one of the problematic questions; other similar ones are raised or grappled with in towering classics like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. For another example of Gothic horror sans science fiction, try George Eliot's The Lifted Veil, which also deals with forbidden knowledge and moral dilemma.
Without generalizing too much (and I have generalized a lot, especially in my first post) we can say that an earnest question to ask in dramatic steampunk is this: Is it right to defy natural law, and under what conditions will a man of sufficient genius attempt to usurp nature and Providence? For the idea of a natural order and Providence needs to be omnipresent in the story- there is the center of conflict. There must be rules before there can be any rule-defying.
If a fantastic garden of singing plants appeared in your backyard, and it was caused by Victorian fairies only visible using special crystal lenses and you devised cases of leather, brass and the crystal to catch them= steampunk.
If the fairies in question are gnomes using wound-up (but still magical) devices to power their garden, which is part of a giant and wholly automated astrogation device that uses nothing more advanced than a simple toothed escapement, and you catch them in a spring trap= clockpunk.
If the fairies are, in fact, an alien species and the garden is one of their artifacts, and you catch them with a vacuum cleaner and wear black goggles to see the radioactive exudia of their skin because they look normal= cyberpunk, especially if you get onto their ship and off of 21st century Earth.
Far more important than the stylistic elements (which sometimes have more bearing on illustrations than on the plot itself) are the themes of the same period that steampunk purports to take place in- that is, Regency-Victorian themes. These themes are the quintessence of steampunk, especially since the literature is an often-idealized version the Victorian era.
Gothic horror stories and the English Decadence of Wilde are particularly evocative of the genre, as are more "brainy" works such as Conan Doyle. Of course, Edgar Allen Poe was also influenced by Gothic-Romantic themes. In fact, his short story The Man That Was Used Up is recommended to people who want to write an effective steampunk suspense story with the majority of the “steam” well-hidden until the end. Be warned: you might have a hard time sleeping afterwards. Of course, part of the reason this story is recommended is because it implicitly deals with a common theme that should be treated in some manner: scientific and moral law called into question. Is it right to keep a man alive beyond the use of any of his natural organs and limbs, as in the case of Brevet Brigadier General John A. B. C. Smith?
This is one of the problematic questions; other similar ones are raised or grappled with in towering classics like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. For another example of Gothic horror sans science fiction, try George Eliot's The Lifted Veil, which also deals with forbidden knowledge and moral dilemma.
Without generalizing too much (and I have generalized a lot, especially in my first post) we can say that an earnest question to ask in dramatic steampunk is this: Is it right to defy natural law, and under what conditions will a man of sufficient genius attempt to usurp nature and Providence? For the idea of a natural order and Providence needs to be omnipresent in the story- there is the center of conflict. There must be rules before there can be any rule-defying.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
So, What Is Steampunk?
Whenever I mention my writing projects, inevitably someone either says "Oh, like The Difference Engine" or "You mean like Hellboy 2?", or (but not so often) "Like that Treasure Planet". And although there is a lot of similarities, to be honest I've never read The Difference Engine.
But what constitutes steampunk? More specificially, what do I mean when I say I'm writing a steampunk romance? Of course, I mean romance in the literary sense of "containing extraordinary characters and an overarching theme", although these ladies can provide fine examples of your modern romance.
But back to steampunk. It is often confused with cyberpunk, and between the confusion of the two and the fact that they mainly developed on the Internet makes research tricky. From the two genres comes clockpunk, pirate-punk, and no doubt other types of "punk" will be discovered. The Foglios also have made the distinction of gaslamp fantasy for more widesweeping changes in both scientific achievement in both physics and biology.
Origins- Early examples of what would eventually be termed cyberpunk and steampunk come from the 1930s and 1940s, with Fritz Lang's Metropolis being one of the prominent examples of cyberpunk. As such, it portrayed a harsh, brilliant world of science both originating from and struggling against human emotion and desires. The world of the future is rooted organically in its architects- both villains and heroes. Such is cyberpunk, which commonly can be detected by the anachronistic presence of outdated and obsolete-looking equipment alongside incredibly advanced technology. Think of the real world Neo wakes up in at the middle of The Matrix. Or most of futuristic anime. If you see goggles or a victrola in a space setting, it's cyberpunk.
Steampunk is the reverse, featuring advanced scientific achievement and gadgets in a Victorian/Regency setting. Victorian era = steam engines, hence Steampunk. Clockpunk is very closely related, but I think of it as more stylistic since the big thing seems to be gears, escapements, and automata made from such, and there doesn't seem to be a huge difference in ethos. Steampunk and clockpunk describe the same world: Victorian clothes, awesome gadgets, and amazing gallantry. That is my version of steampunk, and what I will review and post on. For Science!
But what constitutes steampunk? More specificially, what do I mean when I say I'm writing a steampunk romance? Of course, I mean romance in the literary sense of "containing extraordinary characters and an overarching theme", although these ladies can provide fine examples of your modern romance.
But back to steampunk. It is often confused with cyberpunk, and between the confusion of the two and the fact that they mainly developed on the Internet makes research tricky. From the two genres comes clockpunk, pirate-punk, and no doubt other types of "punk" will be discovered. The Foglios also have made the distinction of gaslamp fantasy for more widesweeping changes in both scientific achievement in both physics and biology.
Origins- Early examples of what would eventually be termed cyberpunk and steampunk come from the 1930s and 1940s, with Fritz Lang's Metropolis being one of the prominent examples of cyberpunk. As such, it portrayed a harsh, brilliant world of science both originating from and struggling against human emotion and desires. The world of the future is rooted organically in its architects- both villains and heroes. Such is cyberpunk, which commonly can be detected by the anachronistic presence of outdated and obsolete-looking equipment alongside incredibly advanced technology. Think of the real world Neo wakes up in at the middle of The Matrix. Or most of futuristic anime. If you see goggles or a victrola in a space setting, it's cyberpunk.
Steampunk is the reverse, featuring advanced scientific achievement and gadgets in a Victorian/Regency setting. Victorian era = steam engines, hence Steampunk. Clockpunk is very closely related, but I think of it as more stylistic since the big thing seems to be gears, escapements, and automata made from such, and there doesn't seem to be a huge difference in ethos. Steampunk and clockpunk describe the same world: Victorian clothes, awesome gadgets, and amazing gallantry. That is my version of steampunk, and what I will review and post on. For Science!
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