Our own Hilde Heyvaert of the House of Secrets Incorporated was interviewed on Continue reading “Hilde Interviewed About Steampunk Fashion and Jewelry”
Author: Nick Ottens
Nick Ottens is the owner and editor of Never Was magazine. An historian by training, he works for an international consultancy and writes about political and international affairs for the Atlantic Sentinel.
J. Edgar Falls Short
J. Edgar, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was released in the United States late last year, but we didn’t have a chance to see it here in Europe until last week.
The biopic about the former FBI director, directed by Clint Eastwood, is a great history piece but ultimately disappoints because there isn’t much of a storyline.
DiCaprio absolute submerges himself in the role and excels as “the most powerful man in America.” The costumes, the décor, the lighting all enforce a sense of nostalgia that should appeal to dieselpunk enthusiasts. The movie shows a lot of history, from the anarchist hysteria of the early twentieth century to the 1930s war on Crime to fears of communist subversion in the 1950s and 60s. Continue reading “J. Edgar Falls Short”
Holmes, Watson Battle Moriarty in Game of Shadows
Guy Ritchie is at it again with his spectacular reimagination of the great detective. Robert Downey returns as the most outrageous version of Sherlock Holmes we’ve ever seen and Jude Law is impeccable as the loyal Dr Watson, who is again thrust into an adventure quite against his will.
There’ll be no spoilers in this review — that is to say, there’ll be no information that will spoil the movie experience but some tidbits of information about the plot, so if you’re puritanical about it, don’t read further! Continue reading “Holmes, Watson Battle Moriarty in Game of Shadows”
What Makes Steampunk Special?
Something about Dylan Fox’s rebuttal to Parliament & Wake‘s op-ed about why steampunk matters even if it isn’t revolutionary (I wrote my own thoughts about it here last week) got me thinking about what, if anything, makes steampunk uniquely qualified to be a vehicle for “change.” Continue reading “What Makes Steampunk Special?”
Does Steampunk Matter If It Isn’t Revolutionary?
The administrators of the Steampunk Facebook group and proprietors of Parliament & Wake have an interesting op-ed on their site where they argue that, “as a movement of social revolution, steampunk has failed.” Continue reading “Does Steampunk Matter If It Isn’t Revolutionary?”
Occupy, Steampunk Go Hand in Hand?
SteamPunk Magazine is planning a number of articles about the “Occupy” movement in its upcoming, eighth edition, which is something I’m looking forward to. I’m not a fan of “Occupy” but curious how they’ll make the case that it’s relevant to steampunk.
At the risk of speaking before my turn, some of the comments to the announcement that “Occupy” would be part of the new SteamPunk Magazine worry me.
Writes Ladd, “The occupy movement and steampunk do seem to go hand in hand.”
Really? Continue reading “Occupy, Steampunk Go Hand in Hand?”
Panzer 88: Nazi Madness in the Snow
After the “Ottensian” Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), maybe we will soon have a real “Piecraftian” dieselpunk movie as well.
Panzer 88 is an upcoming horror film that tells the story of a German Tiger tank in retreat from Russia in the winter of 1944. The five-man crew of the panzer stumbles across a Jewish town that was previously the target of an SS purge. There they become the target of a vengeful supernatural entity “that will stop at nothing until they’re destroyed.”
Continue reading “Panzer 88: Nazi Madness in the Snow”
Tinkergirl Talks About Creating Brass Goggles
Back in the summer of 2009, I exchanged several messages with the creator of Brass Goggles in hopes of completing a full interview for publication in the Gatehouse Gazette. Unfortunately, after emailing back and forth a few times, I didn’t hear back from her anymore, but I would like to share with you these tidbits of Brass Goggles history. Continue reading “Tinkergirl Talks About Creating Brass Goggles”
What If Steampunk Hurts?
What should steampunks do if their art or fiction or role-playing hurts others? Stop and abandon something that’s been part of the steampunk culture for years? Or ignore the feelings of others and have “fun”?
It’s a relevant question because the Victorian era had a lot of problems, several of which have found their way into steampunk even if we’re not always aware of it. Continue reading “What If Steampunk Hurts?”
Where Are the Steampunk Republicans?
Something I noticed reading the Twitter feeds of a number of American steampunk enthusiasts: they’re all anti-Republican.
I hesitate to say they’re Democrats, because the party might be too centrist for them. The number of disparaging tweets about conservatives in general, and Republican legislators and presidential candidates in particular, was high, though.
So where are the steampunk Republicans? Are they hiding? Do they even exist? Continue reading “Where Are the Steampunk Republicans?”