SPM2-web.pdf

S team P unk m agazine

# 2

A Journal of Misapplied Technology

[

Lifestyle, Mad Science,

Theory & Fiction ]

I-Wei Huang * Donna Lynch

* G.D. Falksen * Margaret

Killjoy * John Reppion * Libby

Bulloff * Cory Gross * The

Catastrophone Orchestra *

Johnny Payphone * Rachel E.

Pollock

It is too constricting to say that you must always think

outside the box; whether you are thinking inside or

outside the box, you are still letting the box dictate

your thoughts, are you not? What you are not ac-

knowledging is the honest fact that “the box” itself is

igmentary, illusory. And as long as one continues to

act in reaction to this perceived set of dictates, one

cannot be truly original in thought.

— Erica Amelia Smith, An Address as to

the Nature of the “Proper” Uses of Technology

he front and back cover artwork was done by Steve Archer. His

work can also be found on pages 2, 24, and 54.

SteamPunk Magazine Issue #2 -

issue two:

Contents

Narratives

Uhrwerk: he Incredible Steam Band....................................14

by John Reppion

Mining Medusa ..........................................................................25

by Donna Lynch

Unbound Muscle........................................................................39

by he Catastrophone Orchestra

An Unfortunate Engagement (part two) ...............................63

by G.D. Falksen

Yena of Angeline (part two) .....................................................69

A Journal of Misapplied Technology

How does one misapply technology? When we asked this

question of our friends, readers and contributor-base, a myriad

of answers was forthcoming.

Some spoke of the creative misappropriation of technology;

there are those who power record-players with bicycles, sew

cogs to clothing, contrapt overly-complex machines with

which to open their cat door, or tear apart their computers to

retroit them with brass keys. hese people are not afraid to

signiicantly demean their eiciency in order to ill their lives

with wonder. Others referred to how technology, as is currently

applied, serves as a bufer between us and wonder: mono-

cropped farms, car culture, omnipresent air-conditioning

and heat, etc. he homogenization of technology is indeed a

travesty, a pox of our own inliction.

Of course, it is a false claim that technology itself is

“unnatural.” We must think only of the lens that allows us to

peer into the heavens—or at the chaotic dance of single celled

critters—to realize that invention need not be evil. But if

technology, as it is applied, has separated the vast majority of

us from the natural world, then it is time that we misapply

it. Let us be diverse and ineicient!

by Margaret P. Killjoy

Interviews

I-Wei Huang ................................................................................22

contraptor extraordinaire

Features

To Electrocute An Elephant....................................................... 6

how Edison killed a century on Coney Island

Steam Gear .................................................................................... 8

a fashionable approach to the lifestyle

he Lady Artisan’s Apron .........................................................32

how to sew this functional, fashionable piece

he Pennyfakething ...................................................................34

how to build an ingenious bicycle

A Steampunk’s Guide to Body Hair........................................48

how to ind the hairstyle that suits you best

O Coal, You Devil.......................................................................50

the environmental impact of coal

A History of Misapplied Technology .....................................54

exploring the history of the steampunk genre

Earth Sea & Sky ..........................................................................76

Now let me climb down from the soapbox and

welcome you to issue #2 of SteamPunk Magazine.

I never could have hoped that so many people

would connect with the irst issue, and all of

us who worked so hard to bring it to you are

beaming proud.

As we are still an emerging magazine,

we adore feedback of all kinds. Tell us what

we’ve done right, what we’ve done wrong.

Write us letters. Send us clock gears. Submit

articles, essays, stories, rants, comics, and

fashion tips to us!

— Margaret P. Killjoy

an excerpt from an antiquated book of natural science

SteamPunk Magazine Issue #2 -

Reviews

what is SteamPunk?

What is SteamPunk

Magazine?

contact collective@steampunkmagazine.com to get a shipping

address for any physical things you would like reviewed.

Graphic Novel

Jane Irwin with Jef Berndt

“Vögelein: Clockwork Fairy”

Fiery Studios, 2003

www.vogelein.com

Album

Abney Park

“he Death of Tragedy”

Self-Published, 2005

www.abneypark.com

Short Stories

Jimmy T. Hand

“he Seduction of the Wind”

Strangers In A Tangled

Wilderness, 2007

www.tangledwilderness.org

The term “steampunk” was coined

to refer to a branch of “cyberpunk”

iction that concerned itself with

Victorian era technology. However,

SteamPunk is more than that.

SteamPunk is a burgeoning subculture

that pays respect to the visceral nature

of antiquated technology.

It’s about “steam”, as in steam-

engines, and it’s about “punk”, as in

counter-culture. For an excellent

manifesto, refer to the irst article

in our irst issue, “what then, is

steampunk?”

SteamPunk Magazine is a print

publication that aims to come out

seasonally. Full quality print PDFs

of it are available for free download

from our website [http://www.

steampunkmagazine.com], and we

keep the cost of the print magazine

as low as possible. All work on

the magazine, including articles,

editing, illustration, layout, and

dissemination, is done by volunteers

and contributors. To see how you can

get involved, see the last page.

letters

Jimmy T. Hand’s collection of bedtime

stories for “nights you wish the whole world

in lames” is a poignant amalgamation of

short parables and speculative iction.

Brilliantly printed as a 28-page zine,

Hand’s work runs the gamut from simple

to complex, and the layout of his lealet,

laced with beautifully stark black ink

doodles, relects this very notion. he

characters in his tales are believable and

representative of not only their own

stories, but ours, the reader’s, as well.

Approximately half of the stories within the

collection can be classiied as steampunk.

“Anna the Clockmaker” speciically deals

with a woman who sets out to reset the

time of the dominant clock of her post-

apocalyptic city. Her story contains a

pro-feminist critique of man’s obsession

with measure as control. he clock itself

stands as a testament to revolution and

Anna becomes a heroic and yet very

human igure as she attempts to mend its

damaged gears. Another of Hand’s more

steampunk stories is “he Baron”, a short

story dealing with such diverse subjects

as airships, street musicians, and class

wars of the organic versus the mechanic.

Ending abruptly as many of Hand’s pieces

do, it is a solid political statement as well

as an entertaining iction.

Perhaps Hand’s best written pieces

are his shortest—“Of Empire and Village”,

clocking in at 193 words, and “Of Moth

and Flame” (at 278 words) hit hard and fast

and leave the reader to salivate and savor

the consequences of action, reaction, and

inaction. Overall, he Seduction of the

Wind is an excellent collection of short

stories and comes highly recommended.

I was bicycling back from mailing of a

few copies of the magazine, when, taking

a random route home, I passed a used

bookstore that I had never seen before.

Inside, I discovered a graphic novel with a

title I couldn’t refuse: Vögelein: Clockwork

Fairy . I bought it, took it home and

devoured it. Metaphorically, that is.

From a SteamPunk point of view, you

simply can’t go wrong. he protagonist is

a clockwork fairy who was constructed

by a clockmaker in the 17 th century. She

lives in the modern world. he social/

environmental situation of our world is

addressed without falling into the trap

of demagoguery. Did I mention that the

protagonist is a fairy, made of clockwork?

Cause she is. And she’s an excellent

character, too.

he artwork is beautiful—each panel

its own painting—but, I must admit,

not reproduced all that well in black &

white: it seems like it was made to be

viewed in color. But self-publishing is like

that: sometimes you do the best you can

aford.

he history of the book is quite

meticulously researched, and there are

amazing footnotes in the back, including

one that describes in detail the 17 th century

method of making clockwork. he world

as portrayed is dark, but not dire, and it

really does a lot to inject a slight bit of

magic into every day life—as much with

its portrayals of humanity as its portrayal

of true magic.

Abney Park, for those who are unfamiliar

with it, is an impeccably dressed band that

sings dark, electronic dance music with

gothic sensibilities. But of course, like

any decent band of any genre, they have

a bit more to add: in this case, it is a sort

of exotic/world sensibility that appeals

to our hopes of inding ourselves lost in

the opium dens of our steampunk future.

Musically, I ind myself remarkably drawn

to the voice of Robert, the lead singer, as

he sings airily, epically. he harmonies

with other vocalists are done quite well,

and the myriad of singers helps the album

tremendously.

Although I admit that I am not

remarkably well versed in this genre of

music—my tastes running in less dance-

orienteddirections—theclosestcomparison

I can summon up is Bel Canto.

If there is a weakness to this album,

it is its reined nature. It feels a bit like a

dulled blade—the musicians are all quite

competent, the songs are well composed,

but the music allows itself to fall too easily

into the background. It’s possible, even

likely, that the band doesn’t sufer from

this problem when they play live.

My favorite tracks are “Dear Ophelia”

and “All he Myths Are True.” I can’t say

that I could recommend this to the general

SteamPunk crowd, but only because there

is no general SteamPunk crowd. If your

tastes run towards dance music, then it is

very likely that you will ind things herein

that please you greatly.

write us at collective@steampunkmagazine.com

Dear SPM,

A warning might be appropriate for

the sticklers for authenticity who read

your glass armonica article. While many

of the time believed that the sound of the

instrument caused madness, the suspicion

today is that the lead was leached out of

the glass bowls by the moistened ingers

of the musician, and over time built up

to dangerous levels. his is still only a

suspicion, but readers already teetering on

the edge of madness may want to take it

under advisement, and satisfy themselves

with quartz-glass bowls instead.

-Victorian Radical

Dear Steampunx,

I was wondering about the fate of

Noisecore “music” in teh age of steam.

Given that residents of this age had to

constantly deal with the similar sounds of

gear mashing throughout their daily lives,

does their appreciation of this music

decline, or is it still able to captivate the

teeming masses in the same way that it

does in the present world? hx.

-Lord Teh

We’ve got no idea whatsoever. Anyone care

to respond?

SteamPunks on the Aetherweb

There are several destinations of choice for the cyber-inclined SteamPunk:

brass goggles blog : http://www.brassgoggles.co.uk/brassgoggles/

brass goggles forum : http://www.brassgoggles.co.uk/bg-forum/

aether emporium wiki : http://etheremporium.pbwiki.com

steampunk: victorian adventures in a past that wasn’t: http://welcome.to/steampunk

comic by Doctor Geof

- Letters

SteamPunk Magazine Issue #2 -

To Electrocute an Elephant

from the Catastrophone Orchestra Archival Vault

illustration by Suzanne Walsh

Coney Island, the fabled wundercabinet of New York City. A place where

Astors and nickel-a-day chimney sweeps rubbed shoulders along a mile of mediocre

beach and warped boardwalks. It represented progress more than any world’s fair,

realizing the potential of radical egalitarianism with the newest and most original steam

apparatus anywhere in the world. It is itting that xenophobic status-crawler homas

Edison would use Coney Island’s “crown jewel” Luna Park as a stage to highlight the

new—and ghastly—power of electricity. It all began with a 28-year-old elephant.

As the 9th century made way for the 20th, one of

the biggest attractions at Coney Island’s Luna Park was its free-

roaming private herd of elephants. A favorite among them

was Topsy, a three-ton tusker whose great strength had been

put to use building many of the attractions that made Coney

Island so much fun. Topsy had helped move the world’s largest

steam boiler, a machine that powered no less than three rides—

including a steampunk favorite “A Trip To he Moon”.

Topsy could work hard, but he could be pushed only so far.

One day, a drunken Eli McCathy—an abusive lout of a trainer

who had beaten one of his own children to death two years

prior—tried to feed a lit cigarette to Topsy. he giant paciderm

knocked McCathy to the ground and stomped him to death.

hompson and “Skip” Dundy—two shady businessmen who

were never shy of publicity—publicly declared they would hang

Topsy for his “crimes”. hey claimed the elephant had killed two

others, but further research suggests that this was just one of the

lamboyant duo’s many exaggerated claims. he ASPCA [American

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] became involved,

criticizing the plan to hang the elephant and the newspapers had

a ield day with the story. hompson called up the famed inventor

Edison to see if he would be willing to do the honors.

For over two years Edison had been publicly electrocuting

dogs, cats, lambs, and even a calf to prove that alternating

current—a competitor for his direct current systems—was

dangerous. It is unclear if any of the more than two-dozen

animals executed by Edison had ever committed a “crime”.

It was an easy sell for ultimate wheel-dealers Dundy and

hompson. Topsy ofered an opportunity that Edison couldn’t

resist; what better way to demonstrate the horrible consequences

of alternating current than to roast a full-grown elephant? hree

years earlier, Edison had been “robbed” (as Edison had phrased

it in a letter to his teen-age niece) by being denied the right to

ilm the death of President McKinley’s anarchist assassin, Leon

Czolgosz. He had been limited to ilming the convict going

from a dingy cell to the death chamber to be electrocuted and

the dead body being wheeled out. Edison was not going to be

denied again; he arranged for everything and even paid for the

execution out of his own pocket.

Edison sent over a crack team of technicians—and his ilm

crew. On January 4 th , 1903, Topsy was led to a special platform

and the cameras were set rolling. Over 1,500 hundred spectators

surrounded the terriied animal. Edison himself spoke to the

assembly, which included prominent businessmen and the

assistant mayor. He praised the achievements of the “unseen

ire”, a term he stole from his arch-enemy Nikola Tesla, and

proclaimed that “we are entering a new age…” He grabbed the

switch with his mink-lined gloves and smiled. It took only 6,600

volts and a little less than thirty seconds to start the elephant’s

feet on ire and kill the mighty Topsy. Edison later showed the

ilm to audiences across the country to prove his fallacious

point.

In the end, it made no diference. AC beat out DC, but the

Wizard of Menlo Park still made tons of money.

hat wasn’t much consolation to Topsy, who was dead, nor

to Luna Park, which was eventually destroyed in a horrible ire

that was caused by Edison’s DC electric light system. Today,

nothing remains of either, except for Edison’s ilm. If you ask the

folks at the Coney Island Museum , they’ll show it to you.

As of this writing, the last season of old Coney Island has begun.

here is a large development plan to “sanitize and modernize”

Coney Island. hor Equities was buying up midway turf and

will be building a shopping mall/waterpark complex. he new

year-round entertainment complex would include a beachfront

hotel and spa, apartments, open-air cafes along the boardwalk,

arcades, bowling alleys, a pool (yes, a pool right next to the

ocean), movie theaters and other non-freak-related attractions.

Edison would be proud.

- To Electrocute an Elephant

SteamPunk Magazine Issue #2 -

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