Numisi writes:

...I write to you to represent the Italian Steampunk community. We have worked hard for a year to make this community emerge, trying to make people know what Steampunk is also in Italy . . .we know that there are a lot of Italian Steampunks out there, but only a few know we exist, so, we need a hand by someone known like you to reunite all of them.

Our url is http://steampunk.forumcommunity.net, and the name of the website is Laboratory of Time. We'd be glad if you read something of our website, and if you have problems with the language, simply ask for everything you want to know: everyone there speaks English, so you would be soon answered!

Best regards,

Numisi Nebulosa

The spread of Steampunk throughout the worlds is both amazing and wonderfully exciting to me! I can't wait to see the mods that are sure to come out of  Italy in the near future. Everyone brings a bit of their own aesthetic and culture to this genre and with Italy's history of artistic expression, fashion, and design; the results are sure to be something special!

A very nice documentary about the Steampunk exhibition at the Oxford Museum of the History of Science.

This exhibition was curated by Art Donovan who you will recall did a similar gallery show in the Hamptons last year.

[Via Make:Blog]

I have several 6 volt lantern flashlights kicking around the shop.  However, I never use them because I generally baulk at the $7 they want for a lantern battery that can't be recharged.

So I modded a flashlight to take a 6 volt 4 Ah lead acid battery I bought at Home Depot . . . 

Over at Birds Before the Storm Margaret Killjoy tells a disturbing tale of police response to demonstrations at the G20 in Pittsburgh.  One of the people arrested is SteamPunk Magazine author Professor Calamity and he is being held on felony charges for 'tweeting' police movements during the protests.  To be honest I have not been following the protests closely, but on the face of it these charges seem ridiculous and the polices response scarily overblown.

New 10/21: Updates on Professor Calamity and Tortuga House

New 11/3: All charges against the pittsburgh twitterers have been dropped!

[Thank goodness! - Jake.]

The day after I returned from SteamCon in Seattle I got into the car to go to the day job and discovered that my battery light was on in my 2007 Toyota Yaris.  Being an old Volkswagen man I resisted the urge to get out and hammer on the the alternator with a monkey wrench.  Instead I turned everything off and then listened carefully to the engine RPM as I turned on the rear window defroster.  When I pressed the defrost button the engines revs did indeed drop about 100 and the engine lugged for a moment until the ECU gave it a bit more gas to smooth out the idle.  Good. This exercise told me that the alternator was charging the battery and that the problem was with the warning light itself. I could safely drive the car for the rest of the week and figure things out at my leisure.

This morning I started working the problem . . .

Noted Archivist Seeks Steampunks to Index:

World Fantasy Award winner Jeff VanderMeer's The Steampunk Bible, published by Abrams Image, will provide a comprehensive and lavish overview of all aspects of Steampunk, in text and pictures. Research for this momentous and globe-spanning project includes the compilation of a comprehensive Archive of, and Index to, everything and everyone Steampunk and Steampunk-Related. This Archive will be made public online, and you also might be contacted about appearing in the book.

If you would like a website or blog link, book or brick-and-mortar establishment, to be considered for the archive, please send the relevant information to: Master Archivist S.J. Chambers (steampunkbible at gmail.com) or to The Steampunk Bible, c/o Jeff VanderMeer, POB 4248, Tallahassee, FL 32315 USA. Make sure to include a short paragraph describing your submission and your complete contact information. Although the Master Archivist's extensive list of ongoing clockwork projects makes it impossible to guarantee a reply, you may be sure she will give each missive intense scrutiny. As part of a Larger Study, please consider including Your Personal Definition of Steampunk with your email message or snail mail parcel.

Rest assured, the Master Archivist and her minions are also out in the World, actively seeking Steampunks for the greater glory of the Archive.

(Victoriana Invention poster by John Coulthart)

When we moved into our house there was an electric chandelier in our dining room.  It was an adequate enough fixture but incandescent chandeliers are terribly inefficient, six 25 watt bulbs actually put out a fraction of the amount of light as a single bulb of half the combined wattage, and while they do make candelabra base compact fluorescent bulbs, I find their light cold, harsh, and they are not very dim-able.

Besides, nothing beats real candle light for a romantic dinner at home.

Read on for details on converting an electric chandelier back to candles . . .

I had the great privilege of meeting Whisper Merlot and many of the Penny Dreadfuls when we shot the Make:TV Steampunk piece a year ago this past July.  These folks truly are living the life.  Tor has a great interview with Whisper up on their site now.

In addition to talking about living full-time aboard the S.S. Icarus (an actual vessel mind you, but alas, not an airship) and travelling New England spreading the Steampunk gospel, Whisper discusses The 2010 Steampunk World's Fair:

The Steampunk World’s Fair is going to be held at the Radisson of Piscataway, NJ on May 14th-16th, 2010. It will be three glorious days, a never-ending steampunk party!

Professor Elemental, whom people will know from his pith-hop video “Cup of Brown Joy”, is making his debut United States appearance for the event. He is coming over from the UK and is a wonderful and hilarious guy. We also have Black Tape for a Blue Girl, a dark cabaret group; Madame Ximon, a dancer and head of steampunk gaming event TempleCon; Thomas S. Brown, the artist for New England steam-goth webcomic “Hopeless, Maine”; Opera singer Katie Kat; Veronique Chevalier, coming in from California to sing and amuse us. And of course lit-master G.D. Falksen. Isabella Drive, the steampunk rock band, is working us into their busy schedule, too.

I think I may just have to go! I wonder if they'd let me park the bus in the parking lot?

Click through for Cup of Brown Joy - not to be missed!

The Steampunk exhibition at the Oxford Museum of the History of Science opened yesterday!

Art Donovan writes:

I promise you that the art in this show is nothing like you have ever seen! Not to be "booster-ish" or anything, but I've had to wire my jaw closed after seeing the artist's works in the completed installation.

Dr. Bennett and his Museum Staff have presented an exhibition that is truly unique, culturally significant and absolutely unrivaled. (The private opening party tonight was astounding). Location: Broad Street, Oxford.

WIRED also has a nice slideshow with images of the artwork on display!