Is Steampunk Dead?

Victorian costumes, airships, steam engines, bizarre old yet modern weapons, fueled by a little magic or Æther... The awesome Steampunk subculture has been a part of my life since I played my first Myst game on PC and I watched The City of Lost Children wide eyed.

Steampunk movies like Sleepy Hollow, City of Lost Children, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Army of Darkness (although more Dieselpunk) and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen have always been some of my favorite movies. I am a member of steampunk groups on SecondLife, I read steampunk books, watch steampunk anime (Steamboy), play steampunk games (Myst / Riven, Thief, Final Fantasy) and now recently I have started making my own weapons, jewelry and costumes (for Halloween this year), (yes, I am a nerd).

The Rumors

Something has been worrying me. I hear rumors that Steampunk is dead. Internet forums, blogs like Gizmodo and other naysayers are announcing the death of steampunk. Their reasons... you can only make so many modified weapons, tea kettles, and "steampunkified" normal everyday gadgets for one lifetime.

But, gadgets are only a small part of the sub-culture. Alternate history, costumes, games, fiction books and writing, and Internet steampunk culture (like groups on SecondLife, blogs, and forums) continue to thrive and inspire new creative works. The most recent being a new book by George Mann called The Affinity Bridge (thanks to my friend Sara for the heads up) which was just released last month (July 9th, 2009).



The Evidence

There are also a few new steampunk style movies that have been released recently. Most notable are the 2007 adaptation of Neil Gaiman's book Stardust, The Golden Compass, the adaptation of Jeanne DuPrau's teen books City of Ember and most recently Focus Feature's "9" in which a group of sapient rag dolls, living a post-apocalyptic existence find one of their own, 9 (Elijah Wood), who displays leadership qualities that may help them to survive.

The uberpopular handmade craft selling site Etsy is also full of steampunk art, jewelry and creations that are very popular and sell on a regular basis. I also see steampunk art seeping into mixed media conventional art pieces, photography and mainstream jewelry.

So to all of you naysayers (I just like that word), I say Nay! Don your goggles, fire up the airship! Steampunk is not dead!

Disagree? Leave me a comment...

Are we all going to die? Planet X (Nibiru), 2012 and the end of the Mayan calendar

Have you heard the rumors going around? The Earth is going to be turned into a wasteland starting in the year 2012!
Apparently this is a fairly popular rumor floating around the internet at websites like Your Own World USA.com, Planetxvideo.com and a whole boatload of videos on YouTube.

The theory is that this planet is the ancient Sumerian planet Marduk or Nibiru and it is the eleventh planet in our solar system that has a large orbit that is off center from the rest of the planets. It appears once every 3600 years and has caused destruction and chaos every time it rolls around. According to some ancient extra-Biblical texts, Nibiru was the cause of the plagues of Egypt, Noah's Flood, and it was the star of Bethlehem that led the wisemen to Jesus.

In 1976, a new age-writer by the name of Zecharia Sitchin linked the Planet X-problem of the astronomers up with the Sumerian and Babylonian mythology of Tiamat and Marduk. (You may have heard him on the popular radio show Coast-To-Coast with Art Bell or George Noory).

I admit, I was a little bit freaked out. I spent a whole day this week watching videos and reading about Planet X. Then I started looking for real scientific proof and hard astronomical facts and couldn't find any. Finally, I found this very logical web page by the fine people at Exitmundi.nl. I don't want to copy or redistribute the writing and facts that they have already researched here. So I would suggest anyone that has further questions about Planet X to go check them out.

Then in a still small voice I heard Psalms 116:7:

Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.

and I felt better because I know God is in control... :-)

Update! Another great debunking post is available at: Astrogeek
.

I'm Dreaming Of A Weird Christmas

You've all seen the normal Christmas decorations, now check out the weird side of Christmas... From wacky, yet mesmerizing Christmas light shows, to creepy Christmas ornaments, to nerdy Nativity scenes...

I know Christmas is supposed to be a time to remember Jesus' birth, but I think that the baby Jesus has a sense of humor as well. In that spirit, I bring you my Top 10

WEIRD CHRISTMAS!

(brought to you by... The Internet. Open these in a new window or tab, so you can come back and enjoy all of them!)

1. Creepiest Christmas ornament (A fetus soldier to adorn your tree this year. Very anti-choice, pro-military chic.)
2. Krampus is the evil demon anti-Santa - from Birmingham's own Mental Floss Magazine.
3. DIY Geeky Nativity Scenes - mostly lego, but how about the Simpsons, or mine ("All God's Creatures" edition)!
4. BetaMaXmas - Kindof cool actually... for an 80's kid. Watch 80's Christmas sitcom clips and vintage commercials on a virtual TV. You can even adjust the antenna for better reception!!!
5. Scary Santa Compilations - There's alot of these floating around, but this is the best compilation. Also check here and here for some good crying babys pics.
6. The Ugliest Christmas lights - Some of the most hideous holiday decorations ever!
7. 17 Jaw-Dropping Christmas Light Shows - the best of the best... really cool and weird.
   
   
   
8. Seasons Greetings Machine Maze... Thingy - created by Roy Doty see if you can follow it all the way to the end.
9. Robot Gift Guide - Robots... nuff said.
10. Wierd and disturbing Christmas Cards

Well, that's it for now. Hope you guys enjoy these!
If you like this kind of thing, please consider subscribing via RSS or email!

Have you found anything funnier or weirder than these? Leave me a comment and I'll add them to the list.

Arrrgh! Pirates in deez waters!

According to BBC News, Pirates are on the loose! No, its not Johnny next door downloading the latest "Tropic Thunder" bit torrent to burn and sell to you, nor is it Stacie making you a copy of her iTunes library with the latest Britney and T-Pain tracks. Its actual pirates... with ships and weapons taking over middle eastern and Indian merchant ships.

It is now being reported that an Indian navy warship has fired on and sank one of the pirate motherships after it refused to stop for investigation.

Some of the pirates have recently held a Saudi-Arabian supertanker hostage and are reported to have collected more than $30m in ransoms this year.

Excuse me while I grab my parrot. Shiver me timbers! I realize that its a serious political issue but I like reading about pirates. Just thought it was interesting. Now you know the kindof nerd I AM...

Josh