8.2.2010 von Traveler.

Official Steampunk Holiday!

Jules Verne is 182 years old today, if he would still be around. Happy Birthday, Grand Old Master!

PS: This entry was written on 10th February, although I put the event on my iCal…

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8.2.2010 von Traveler.

I announced a while ago that I am working on my first novel, based on the diaries found elswhere on this site. Well, I am making progress here but upcomming events, i.e. moving house and, the Gods and Saint Babbage willing, fatherhood in August, might delay the completion. Thus far, I have completed seven chapters, which amounts to about one third of what I have planned.

Anyway, here is the first chapter of “To the Ends of the Earth” (the title may still change). I hope you like it. Be aware that this is Steampunk from a German perspective, most of the main characters are German officers, it is a little different from other Steampuk novels and novellas, I guess.

Thus far, I have not encountered a single piece of Steampunk literature, that was not set in an English-speaking country. I am willing to be corrected, of course.

OK, once again, I hope you enjoy what I have created, feedback, suggestions and critcism are all very welcome.

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7.2.2010 von Traveler.

Yesterday we went to see the late show o the Sherlock Holmes movie. It was fun. There are, however some things in thta movie which could easily prevent it from beng fun.

I guess I start with the weak spots and finish with the best bits.

As far as I can see, there are three major flaws in this movie:

• The depiction of Holmes and Watson are relatively unfaithful regarding the original characters:
  Holmes is depicted as a half-crazed, manic  man with a tendency towards violence who engages in boxing-matches to let of steam.
  Watson is a gambler, who amonst other things bets on Holmes’ boxing matches.
• There is too much arbitrary action, pyrotechnics and violence.
• For a first adventure, the plot is simply too big, the task too grand.

Now for the good bits:

• The villain is brilliant, believable and in my oppinion the best played character.
• The movie isquite simply a lot of fun and does not take itself too seriously
• The steampunk elements: Mysticism, some weird science birdering on alchemy, a conspiracy and actually… No, this would be a spoiler
• The chemistry between the characters and between them and their respective significant other
• The camera person as a genious
• The machine at the end, such a marvelous steampunk contraption. Basically it is a clockwork bomb…
• The esthetics and imagery of the movie is simply excellent, ever single scene, every image adds up to form a beautifully dark and haunting image that finally resolves itself in:
• The possibility of a sequel

Well, if you are looking for a movie faithful to the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, skip this one. If you are looking for a fun and action-filled movie with a Cictorian setting, go see it, you won’t regret it.

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6.2.2010 von Traveler.

Just a quick entry, because I will not have time for more today:

There is a iPod game comming up, already free for Mac, that has a cool retro and steampunk feel to it. Steampunk because of the obvious aesthetics and retro because it looks so much like a classic Jump’n Run from the C64 days… Ahhh… The days of my youth…

Check out the video and the website:

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5.2.2010 von Traveler.

Right then…

A Steampunk should always grasp an opportunity to attend or participate in cultural events which fit the genre and so I did…  (I seldom get the opportunity anyway these days, I guess the people 120 years ago had it easier)

Sherlock Holmes seems to be all the rage these, there’s a new movie out, there’s a new trend in fashion:

(Steampunk/Dieselpunk elements going mainstream?) and of course, there are some literary events going, bringing the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the masses. It was such an event that my wife, two friends and me amongst about fouty other guests attended yesterday, it was held in a mid-sized café Munich, the NIEDERLASSUNG:

The reader, Deef Pirmasens:

Atmospherical music by Sascha Bibergeil:

The story read was The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (German translation from 1905). I must admit, to my shame, this was the first time I had contact with Sherlock Holmes that did not involve a televison series…. Admission fee was € 6 and it was six Euros well spent.

It was a thorougly enjoyable experience, Deef has a very pleasant voice that is easy to listen to, he gave each character his own unique voice, adding to charcter and depth of the experience and Sascha’s guitar play was most enjoyable and fitting and contributed greately to the atmosphere. I also found the story most intriguing and have to applaud the genius of Sir Doyle for creating such a brilliant mind like Holmes’ in his own. This very enjoyable reading of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is going to be the bar against which the Sherlock Holmes movie will be me meassured. We will very likely go see it this weekend.

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4.2.2010 von Traveler.

I ask myself:

Shall I get a hat? I’ve got two steamy caps (one of them a flyer’s cap) but they are only good for the colder part of the year. The question is, shall I get a steampunky hat for the summer? I’ve got an Australian (or very likely fake-Australian) bush hat but since I’m more the gentleman steampunk, wearing it with the rest of the ensemble would destroy looking the part. So the question remains:

Should I get myself a top hat, a bowler or a Bogart (which would be more on the Dieselpunk side), like the one shown in a previous post (the one about smoking). I guess the bowler is somewhat out of the question, since it reeks too much of English clerk to me (as in: Ministry of Silly Walks) and always reminds me of Charlie Chaplin. It really comes down to either a top hat or a Bogart. Hmmm… Luckily, there is quite a good store for hats here in Munich, I guess I just check what suits me best.

And there is sitll the matter of money… These things don’t come cheap and certain items I do not buy used. I shall see how much the hats actually cost and then I will probably decide not to get a new hat after all…

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3.2.2010 von Traveler.

Two images I simply had to share, they are too cool to pass by. The first one is supposedly pre-Great War but I am somewhat unsure about this. It is very steampunk, though The second one is just one great poster motive for fighting nerds. It basically says “This happens when Tesla goes bad”.

So please, enjoy:

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2.2.2010 von Traveler.

For some very important reason, I post this really cute Lil’ Cthulhu video:

I will also one of these days order Where the Deep Ones are and  a few other Mini Mythos books. You have to teach them early…

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1.2.2010 von Traveler.

Right, so here it is, the first episode of chapter two of Riese!

Please watch first before you read on, I speculate further down and the speculation contains a few spoilers. So, please enjoy the episode:

Now for the speculation and the spoilers:

The episode takes place in the vicinity of a town called Vidar. Vidar is another name taken from the Edda. Vidar is a son of Odin/Woden destined to avenge his father’s death at Ragnarok and a new character by the name of Rand, apparently a military leader, mentioned the enigmatic Siegfried. For those of you not familiar with the online alternate reality game surrounding Riese, Siegfried already made an appearance there, as someone with some inside knowledge of the sect and member of the resistance.

Now the speculation: A battle is planned to happen in or around Vidar, could this be a Battle of Vengeanc? And could this battle stop Eleysia’s military expansion for a while thus triggering increased activity by the sect and Amara?

And another speculation: Could it be that Trennan harbours some feelings towards Amara and/or Riese or feels some guilt towards Riese, judging from his responses during and after the bo exercise?

Hmmmm… It’s great to speculate!

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31.1.2010 von Traveler.

Oh joy! Tomorrow (judged by CET standards) the next chapter of Riese the Series will be released on their website and on Youtube (and a few other platforms). For me this means that when I get up tomorrow at around six in the morning, by the time I am finished with my breakfast I will have a visual treat waiting for me on the ætherweb.

At special times it really feels especially great to be a Steampunk.

I sincerely hope that Riese continues for quite some time. Even judged by the standards of other steampunk webseries around it is by far the best and most professional.
On a more global scale I have yet to find another webseries, no matter the genre, that so much captures my attention. Granted, Riese has two elements on its side: Steampunk and Germanic mythological influence. Both things I  am very much interested in.

The only point of criticism I have is the length of the individual episodes, they could be a little longer… But OK, this is just the standard complaint of a fan, so never mind…

So, do not miss  tomorrows/tonights release of the first episode of Riese’s second chapter. I am definitely going to watch an enjoy it.

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