Marvellificent Scriptorium

Another Song

2010-06-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since there's been a post and unfortunately, this song is really a stretch, but it's still slightly on-topic. I suppose we could delve into another "punk" genre soon. Maybe...biopunk. But for now, Lauren O'Connell's Levers and Gears (thanks to Squishi for finding the artist for me).

Does Steampunk have a soul, or is it Soulless?

2010-03-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

Probably a few weeks back I bought this book, though at the time it was less because it was Steampunky, and more that I just thought it sounded interesting. However, it is quite a great example of modern Steampunk fiction.

Set in an alternate Victorian era England, where vampires, werewolves, and ghosts are integrated into society, we meet our protagonist: Alexia Tarabotti. Alexia is not your common Victorian woman; she is a 25 year old spinster, who is in possession of an overly large nose (due to her Italian father) and a rather prickly attitude. Of course, she does have one other unique characteristic: she has no soul. Being Soulless, she has the ability to negate the powers of supernatural creatures by touching them. This talent come in particularly handy when a vampire tries to attack her at a party. She is forced to kill the vampire with her ever-present parasol.

Thus begins a mystery that leads Alexia to places she never dreamed of going, most notably into the company of the Scottish Alpha wolf: Lord Maccon. Alexia and Lord Maccon are of each other's acquaintance, mainly because of an incident involving a hedgehog. Although Alexia does not get along with Lord Maccon, there is a certain amount of chemistry between them. This lends the book enough romance to make it interesting, but not so much that it takes over the story.

With some fantastical Steampunk inventions, very proper manners, and lots of tea, Soulless quickly became one of my favorite books. Read it if you like paranormal romance mysteries, or read it because you like Steampunk. Or you can be like me and read it because of the tagline: "A novel of werewolves, vampires, and parasols." Parasols make almost anything worth reading.

More From Steam Powered Giraffe

2010-03-13T20:58:00.000-08:00

Electricity Is In My Soul

Steam Powered Giraffe

2010-03-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a long time since we've posted, but there just isn't enough steampunk stuff in the world. We must make more. These guys need to make it big.

Facebook

2009-11-23T20:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read the title correctly. We've had a Facebook group for a few weeks now. We're not too hard to find, but hey, I can add a link anyway: Marvellificent Scriptorium on Facebook

We've been there a while, but I completely forgot to mention it...or I've forgotten that I did mention it...either way, it's important! And by important, I mean it would be really nice if you would join. It's nice to know people actually read this.

Sherlock Holmes

2009-11-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else anticipating this movie as much as me? It looks awesome, not to mention it is supposedly steampunk. I intend on seeing it in the first few days it comes out, so I'll be sure to give my opinion and a slightly biased review (no such thing as a lack of bias so long as something exists and you know about it).

Anyway, yeah, I saw a preview for it and it had BETTER be as good as the stories and I'd be very happy if it was steampunk. It at least takes place in the right time to be steampunk, so it's likely that it will be. I'll be sure to report it!

Howl's Moving Castle

2009-10-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

This movie is what most people think of when they think of steampunk. That's really all I have to say...

I do not own the rights to this movie, nor did I upload it. This video was hosted on Google Video and is property of Disney (I'm surprised they're leaving it on there...they don't like anything getting out).

Mirrormask

2009-10-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Gaiman
And the things I write come true...

I know, tacky, but...hey, full movie follows!

A note: This movie isn't ENTIRELY steampunk; it's mostly fantasy, but has a few steampunk aspects. Without further ado, enjoy this AWESOME movie.

(I did not upload this, nor do I take credit for any part of its creation. Production Companies: Jim Henson Productions, Destination Films, The Jim Henson Company, Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Just a Little Bit of News

2009-10-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hello, dear readers, I would like to post a little bit of news (hence the title of this post). First, kudos to Jikei for posting some information about Steamcon. Second, if you look at our links you will notice that we have three distinct ports: Steam (for all things Steampunk), Diesel (for information about Dieselpunk), and Bio (I think you get it by now). If you have any more websites, bands, games, movies, music, books, etc. that we can add to our ports, your suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, we are recruiting for our crew. If you're interested in Steampunk, and flying on our airship, please just leave a comment. We also need to christen our fine vessel with an appropriate name, unfortunately the crew cannot come up with one. So leave a comment with any suggestions for a name.

I would like to leave you with a link to a Steampunk book by an author that I enjoy, although I have not yet been able to read this particular work: Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

Steamcon

2009-10-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

It's time for Steamcon once again, folks. As you probably know as a viewer of this blog (and if you don't, it's doesn't take much to figure out), Steamcon is the Steampunk Convention. This year, it takes place in just a few days and I want to go so bad! Unfortunately, I don't quite have the money to go all the way to Seattle (though I LOVE Seattle and would do anything to go for that fact alone).

Steamcon takes place in the Seattle Airport Marriot in Seattle, WA from October 23rd to 25th. For more information, visit Steamcon's website: Steam-con.com. Easy enough to remember it, huh?

Weapon Concepts

2009-10-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few steampunk weapons I designed for a game (that is currently still in the design phase).

(Click for a larger view)

If you can't read the notes, they are:
Pistol, Scale: 1/3
Armor-cutting Knife, Scale: 1/3
Borcian Claw, Scale 1/6 (and materials to make it)
Tesla Pistol, Scale: 1/5

Those scales are the sizes on my paper, not in the image. The image has been resized.

Greetings and Good Evening to You

2009-10-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to this blog that shall be devoted to all things Steampunk. I am absolutely teslafied to be able to share Steampunk with all of you, my little sprockets. What is Steampunk you ask? That's rather difficult to answer. It is a genre in books, music, and movies, a movement in fashion, and a culture onto itself. Combining Victorian era fashion and lifestyle with futuristic inventions like airships, it is a blissfully beautiful meeting of past and future. It's all made out of brass, gears, and powered by steam and tesla coils.

Since my explanation probably confuses most, I will provide some opportunities below for you to broaden your knowledge of Steampunk.

Steampunk (Wikipedia) - Some elementary information on what Steampunk is

Steampunk Magazine - A wonderful publication devoted to the culture of Steampunk
Brass Goggles - A place for those devoted to Steampunk to gather and talk
The Steampunk Workshop - Amazing Steampunk makeovers on otherwise commonplace objects, among other things
Abney Park - An impressive example of Steampunk music, thoroughly enjoyable even if you don't know what Steampunk is