Riven’s Neighborhood

seasonal steampunk

Tis the season for Tesla coil Christmas trees! We mentioned this last year, I think, but there's a new version for 2009.

Brass Goggles is also observing the season this month, and there are lots of posts these days.

Sillof is at it again, creating gorgeous steampunk versions of old favorites! Behold the Gaslight Legion of Doom!

Warren Ellis is also at it again, taking the piss out of steampunk with this week's featured design. (Get it while you can; the offer expires this weekend.)

Syzmon Klimek makes beautiful, intricate automatons; the web page may not be all that, but his creations certainly are.

If you're in the market for steampunkish stuff, there's a one-stop website that's been rescued from the ashes of Geocities! And if you're more in the market of making things rather than buying them, check out ConCraft Magazine for ideas and supplies and more.

Some of our local steampunks have discussed moving more toward the realm of Chap Magazine and the art of elegant manliness. In this regard, may I suggest a pinstriped cuirass for outings? Or, for those of us stuck in modern occupations, a rather steampunk-looking bracelet/arm cuff for rationalizing one's emotions. (Ha! This one cracks me up.)

spinning toys and dark nostalgia

'Tis the season for the mainstream media to discover steampunk all over again! The BBC discusses the trend, as does Time. (The BBC's version talks about the impact of Doctor Who, which is an interesting point.)

It's also the season for steampunk-themed Christmas lists and raygun calendars for 2010! The list includes a book I'm dying to see -- Eva Hagberg's Dark Nostalgia. If you're into that sort of thing as well, you will probably want to see this virtual tour of a steampunked house. The list does not include this "flapping push toy," but it should!

Exciting News from Six Apart (and the YouTube Conduit is Fixed)

Team Vox
Nov 17, 2009
49 comments

First, we're happy to announce that the team has identified and fixed the issue with the YouTube conduit; you can now find and add videos from YouTube to your library and posts. As always, thanks for your patience!

The other news we have today is about a new addition to the Six Apart family: TypePad Micro, a new free level of TypePad that is streamlined for microblogging. We see a new form of blogging emerging that lives between the quick status updates of Twitter and Facebook and the long-form posts of "classic" blogging; TypePad Micro is designed to meet that need. You can read more about TypePad Micro in Chris Alden's post on the Everything TypePad blog.

TypePad Micro

7 comments

A lot of the new capabilities we've added to TypePad this year were actually inspired by some of the best things about Vox: favoriting, member profiles, a dashboard to follow other bloggers, and easy ways to post content from other social media sites. But the things that make Vox different from TypePad are still there: Vox has always been -- and still is -- the best place for "friends and family" blogging, where you're in control over who sees what. TypePad, on the other hand, is built for the blogger who wants, no, craves, attention.

Do you have a passion or interest you want to share with people beyond your Vox neighborhood? If so, we'd love it if you tried out TypePad Micro. Maybe you've always wanted to start that obsessive blog that's just about waffle restaurants. Or want a place to share videos of your favorite band (Jonas Brothers, anyone? Anyone? ...). TypePad Micro's great for those topic-specific blogs. Take it for a spin and let us know what you think.

On the Vox front, our designers are working on some cool new themes (coming soon!). We'd also love to hear your thoughts about where we should take Vox in the coming year. What are the key things you'd like to see for Vox? If you've had a chance to use TypePad this year, what are the features there that we should bring over to Vox? And, if you're thinking big thoughts, how could we connect the Vox and TypePad communities in order to bring together bloggers and their shared passions? Your feedback is really important to us, so please leave a comment here, or shoot me a message.

And again, thanks for your patience as we found and fixed the YouTube bug!

~ daisy

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED. If you have a suggestion, please send it directly to me. Thanks!

Dances of Vice and more

Over the weekend, I will be at the third annual Dances of Vice Festival! You should be there, too. It looks like it's going to be an amazing time. (DOV is also on Facebook, where they are posting additional details.) Related to DOV is Zelda Magazine, which just came out with its premiere issue. Buy it if you can!

Steampunky designers are encouraged to participate in the “Voyage of the Chrononought” Design Contest, running through the end of the year. Have at it!

Amazing steampunk-ish metalwork is at "Sara 013's" Flickr account; check out the FreakAngels choker. Beautiful stuff.

It was once proposed, in the mid-nineteenth centry, that London be zoned into hexagonal shapes. It's true! Strange Maps describes the London that could have been, and points to a book of such things which looks really interesting.

Currently interesting in British transportation: the proposed "road train" technology, in which drivers could link up in a lane and then read, sleep, etc., until they want to get off the road. I have been dreaming about something like this for years, usually during the annual drives to New England.

And lastly, a media update: Disney seems to have put the kibosh on a remake of Captain Nemo's adventures for now.

YouTube Conduit

Team Vox
Nov 16, 2009
20 comments

As many of you have noticed, the YouTube Conduit is not working. I am so sorry about this; I know how frustrating it is.

The team is looking into how to get this fixed and I will update you as soon as I hear something. In the meantime, not all is lost... There is a work-around for posting videos.

When you're in the Compose Screen, just click on "embed." Ignore the fact that it says "Widget" before everything because you can definitely use this to embed videos as well. You'll just need to input the embed code from the video, enter a title (if you want) and hit OK.

It might not show up perfectly in your compose screen, but when you hit "Save," your video should appear just the way you wanted it to.

Hopefully this will allow you to keep posting videos while we figure out what's happening on our end.

As always, thanks for your patience.

~daisy

leviathans and glaciers and salons

We had some local steampunks over to our place last Friday, and it seems like a good time was had by all. There are photos over at the Steampunk Empire as tangible proof!

LA Weekly discovered Clockwork Couture and featured them, and Issue 9 of the Gatehouse Gazette has been published for your viewing pleasure. In even more literature news, Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan has also been published, and he's written a post discussing the illustrations and the book's concept in general.

New amazing steampunky weblogs keep appearing. Two I found this week: Decadent Handbook (specializing in the darker edge of Victorian/Edwardian art and literature) and the Steampunk Family (specializing in all sorts of things).

And finally...A man is building glaciers to stop global warming...and it's working! How wonderfully mad is that?

music and anarchy and loss

Pressed for time today, so here are the week's steampunky bits in quick-time format!

PhonoVault -- your resource for steampunk and seriously retro music.

Machinarium looks like a very cool new game.

MSNBC discovers steampunk and provides a slideshow of the haunted house in New York City.

The Monsterologist should delight any young explorer (or those who still want to grow up to be explorers).

Might the Hadron Collider be under attack from the future? Even the New York Times is discussing the possibility!

Coming Anarchy is a lovely site - how can I resist the slogan "speak Victorian, think Pagan"? Plus, they write about things like "deviant globalization."

The man behind PostHuman Blues, a wonderful website, has died. RIP, Mac Tonnies.

The Amazon Conduit is Fixed

Team Vox
Nov 2, 2009
24 comments

Go forth and fill your libraries with media.

Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.

~daisy

Amazon Conduit Update

Team Vox
Oct 29, 2009
19 comments

I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.

I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.

Cheers,

daisy

the beautiful people of steam

This week's steampunk entry consists mainly of steampunky people looking pretty. Enjoy and be inspired!

Exhibit 1: The tor.com meetup at Brooklyn's Way Station was well attended, from the looks of it.

Exhibit 2: The Oxford steampunk exhibition brought out the extremely well-dressed!

Exhibit 3: SteamCon in Seattle looks like a great success.

Exhibit 3.5: The poster for the new Sherlock Holmes film is out, and is not exactly steampunk but not really NOT steampunk, either. I am of two minds, obviously.

In more literary matters, a call is out for authors of steampunk romances. You have until next April to send in your masterpiece!

"Technology forecaster" Paul Saffo (who doesn't like the words futurist or futurologist) predicts an increasing divide between the rich and the poor in our technological future. Anyone who has read Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age can see the Vicky culture in the making...