If you want to tone down the fancypantsery and rock some steampunk casual, slip on a pair of Levis. History, technology and fashion meet in a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans.
Jeans and denim have an odd little history relating …
Archive for the ‘History’ Category
Weird Tales and Amazing Stories
Mar
13
March sees the birthdays for two magazines that would inspire fandom, Weird Tales and Amazing Stories. Weird Tales introduced H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos and Amazing Stories codified, if not named, science fiction via publisher Hugo Gernsback.
Weird Tales…
New Harmony in Indiana
Jan
30
Robert Owen developed a co-operative culture among the workers in his textile mill in New Lanark, Scotland, and attempted to implement his vision in New Harmony, Indiana. His ideals did not create a new society, but their impact is still …
The Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment
Jan
02
As something of a history buff, I wanted to know how Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation. As it turns out, it makes more sense to look at how it led to the Thirteenth Amendment.
Abraham Lincoln …
Chicago By Air
Nov
28
Fortunately, the Chicago Tribune did the work for me. The paper ran an article on aerial footage of Chicago from 1914.
The eight-minute film was preserved by the National Archives. The Trib gussied it up with compare and contrast …
The Sportsball Song
Oct
17
Being neither a patriot nor a sports fan, I’ve always wondered why people sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before a game. As it turns out, they just like it.
The story has it that the melody for “The Star-Spangled Banner” came …
The Apache Dance
Oct
10
Picture a choreographed West Side Story Jets vs. Sharks rumble in late Belle Époque Paris and you have the Apache Dance.
Les Apaches were violent young gangsters with a sense of panache. Think of them in cap, neckerchief and a …
Clockwork Futures: The Science of Steampunk
Aug
29
The real world is full of fascination and wonder, so I’m not a huge fiction reader. There’s always more to discover. At the same time, there’s a visceral appeal to the neo-Victorian aesthetic of cogs, gears and tubes. Brandy Schillace’s …
2017 Steampunk Invasion of the Bristol Renaissance Faire
Jul
18
The Victorian Era and Renaissance collide at the Bristol Steampunk Invasion weekend. Anachronauts should synchronize their calendars for August 5 & 6, 2017, 10am – 7pm.
The Bristol Renaissance Faire sports 30 acres of pure fun, 20 stages of variety …
The Tunguska Event
Jun
27
If eighty million trees fall in a forest and no one is around, does it make a sound? In the case of the Tunguska Event, the answer is “Yes.” On June 30, 1908, an explosion in eastern Siberia flattened trees …
