Another wonderful book is The Young Man's Book of Amusements, which fortunately is online - all 384 pages of it! - for one's reading pleasure. If you like this sort of thing, you may also like the offerings at Necromance, which has two brick-and-mortar locations but is also alive online. I particularly like the home decor items.
Another discussion/argument/debate about steampunk is afoot, which has sparked similar discussions on other parts of the web. Meanwhile, Les UX have been found not guilty for their latest escapade - restoring the Pantheon's clock in Paris. (To me, this is quite steampunk, what with the undercover efforts and repairing antique clockwork and all.)
And lastly, something which is not really steampunk at all, but is futuristic and weird and silly: a robot ladybug cleans restrooms and makes idle chit-chat with you if you like. I like the idea of a world with robot ladybug janitors.
Yep, that is my stained glass. Eeek! A slightly different version of the Angel of Death is at the show (the one pictured above now lives in Toledo, where she is happily reaping souls), as is the Cthulhu mosaic table I made over the summer and a bat-themed glass & wood box I made with Mr. Kazendei. If you're near Cincinnati this month, try to stop by and check out all the local artisans - I've seen a few pieces already and they're all very cool!
I went to San Francisco two weeks ago, and we went to an absolutely amazing store called Paxton Gate. It's highly recommended for anyone into science, history, or art...including steampunks!
Continuing on with the art/steampunk combo post...the always fascinating Instructables website shows you how to make your very own mad scientist goggles, and if you're especially hardcore you could try to replicate this voltmeter-ammeter bra. Eeek.
A gallery of tarot card designs shows how infinite the symbols behind the cards can be, while a gallery of old photos themed around crime and punishment show how it's possible to waste entire days and nights poking around Flickr.
If you want old-fashioned housewares and lighting, Rejuvenation is the place to go. I love the light switches!
Something fun for the futuristic transhumanists among us: a free downloadable pdf of Raymond Kurzweil's essays from 2001-2003. (Thanks, Bunny!)
Behold the museum of flashlights, bringing you a vast array of tiny lights throughout the years.
So what attracts a person to steampunk? A discussion on LiveJournal brings up all sorts of interesting points. The overall answer is the same one I have: we were always interested in this sort of stuff, we just didn't know there was a name for it!
(I also like this comment: "It's the constant feeling that I was born a century too early or a century too late.")
And finally, Unhallowed Metropolis looks like all kinds of awesome. The bios are especially great.
Steampunk Magazine just came out with its third issue, and you should read the back issues, too.
John Danforth makes daguerrotypes out of modern images, and they are amazing.
The Mad Scientists make trivets using computer chips, and they are also amazing!
This water-cooled PC, however, may be the most amazing thing yet. I am in awe.
Feast your eyes on the amazing shrinking kilogram! I poked around a bit and discovered the Bureau of Weights and Measures has some very industrial/steampunk displays, as well as an incredible amount of scientific information on their website.
Over in Barcelona, meanwhile, Casa Battló is equally stunning, but in an artistic way. Check out the detailed photos of all the rooms, and look at the outside architecture. Wow.
An exhibit featuring some full-scale replicas of Leonardo da Vinci's creations has started in San Francisco. Oooo, ahhhh! I may actually get to see this in the coming weeks.
I believe I've linked to the Gothia Gazette before, but there's always new stuff to see there.
