Happy New Year!

Posted by on December 31st,2009

The folks at Brass Goggles would like to wish all our readers a very Happy New Year!

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Windermere Delights!

Posted by on December 30th,2009

“There is nothing- absolutely nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

That’s what Ratty said to Mole in Kenneth Grahame’s beloved classic, ” The Wind in the Willows”. It gets even better when the boats are those gorgeous steamers that abide at Lake Windermere.

The railroads arrived at Windermere in the 1840s and with the railroads came the Victorians. Today, Victorian steamers and steam yachts still ply the lake.

Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, wealthy English industrialists built their summer retreats and vacation homes around Windermere. The lake, 10.5 miles long and about a mile wide, is still surrounded by their substantial homes, many now converted into guest houses and hotels. Victorian steamers still cruise from Lakeside, Bowness or Ambleside and it is possible to cruise in an Edwardian steam launch, like the one pictured here, from the  Lake Windermere Steam Centre and Museum.  In fact Lake Windermere gave its name to the Windermere Kettle, a small hot water tank heated by boiler steam, that was used to generate hot water for tea,  during those leisurely cruises – Capital, what?

A Steampunk Cruise on Sydney Harbour.

Posted by on December 29th,2009

From Patrick Twyford (aka Wilham de Gray, a boilermaker of the Imperial Engineering Corp.) comes this set of pictures taken on December 19..

“I had the good fortune to be a part of a Steampunk Cruise aboard a restored 1902 Steamship called ‘The Waratah’. It was a truly incredible Steampunk event and we were fortunate enough to have had a professional photographer onboard with us. I am emailing you hoping that you might wish to use our event/photos as content on your blog so that we might show the world and community abit of what the Australian Steampunks are up to.”

A Steampunk Cruise – Sydney Harbour

Steampunk Quarterly – Writers Wanted

Posted by on December 28th,2009

From

Dr. van Klausen via email, comes this:

Greetings!

For the first issue of our steampunk story zine “Steampunk Quarterly”, which hopefully will be published in February, we still need more stories.

So we put out an announcement for every steampunk writer out there to send us her or his story. Every story published will be rewarded with $50. The length of the tales should be between 7,000 and 9,000 words.

Stories can be submitted to stories@steampunkquarterly.com .  Our website is, of course, Steampunk Quarterly

Clockwords – A Steampunky Flash game

Posted by on December 27th,2009

Clockwords is a hectic word game set in Victorian London. You are a genius inventor who discovers plans for a mysterious machine that runs on the power of language. Then your lab is infiltrated by mechanical insects that have come to steal your secrets!

Clockwords

1st Annual BG Christmas Message.

Posted by on December 25th,2009

Taking a cue from Her Majesty the Queen,  here is the 1st Annual Brass Goggles Blog Christmas Message, hopefully the start of a tradition here at the blog

This is my first Christmas as the  Brass Goggles  Blog Admin,and I have to say that its been an interesting few months and a learning experience in picking up the reins here at the blog.  It’s always a fun task each day to see what’s new in the SP realms and try to find items that would be of interest to the BG community. On that, I must offer a heartfelt “Thanks” to all those who responed (and continue to do so)  to my call for blog-worthy material. You have been a great help, and I applaud your sense of community.  I also set a few goals,  those being to try and ensure that there was always a new post every day, and to bring the BG Blog back to the fore as the premiere SP genre blog.  So far, so good, as they say.  I hope to be able to continue to bring you the best SP blog possible in the new year. I hope you find our offerings interesting, and as always, I always welcome comments and suggestions.

So, no matter what holiday you celebrate at this time, please accept my sincere wishes for a happy holiday season.

Harold

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Saturday Maintenance

Posted by on December 24th,2009

The company from which Brass Goggles purchases its hosting service has announced that the server we’re on needs a fairly significant hardware repair. In order to accommodate this, our site may have to be taken off-line periodically throughout the day on Saturday, Dec. 26.   These outages should generally be only a few minutes in length, but it’s possible to have several hours of outage if things go wrong.

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T’is the Season – Steampunk Style – Day 8

Posted by on December 23rd,2009

A few more Christmas tidbits:

Make some Victorian Ornamentsfrom from juice can lids.

And yet another source for gifts:  Chrononaut Mercantile

Mitchell & Webb – Victorian Society

Posted by on December 22nd,2009

Despite the subject matter, I felt this perfectly embodied some key points of the victorian age.

Enjoy! – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHze0SqB5Zg

& for Steampunk in general, this –  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HgejSCHRi8

Update: After a quick search, it looks like these have been mentioned in the forums but I’m including it here for those that only read the blog or have missed the forum posts.

T’is the Season – Steampunk Style – Day 7

Posted by on December 21st,2009

For Day 7,  lets have something a little different. How about a recipe from 1846 for  “A Yorkshire Christmas Pie”?

“First, bone a turkey, a goose, a brace of young pheasants, four partridges, four woodcocks, a dozen snipes, four grouse, and four widgeons; then boil and trim a small York ham and two tongues. Season and garnish the inside of the fore-named game and poultry, as directed in the foregoing case, with long fillets of fat bacon and tongue, and French truffles; each must be carefully sewn up with a needle and small twine, so as to prevent the force-meat from escaping while they are being baked. When the whole of these are ready, line two round or oval braizing-pans with thin layers of fat bacon, and after the birds have been arranged therein in neat order, and covered in with layers of bacon and buttered paper, put the lids on, and set them in the oven to bake rather slowly, for about four hours: then withdraw them, and allow them to cool. While the foregoing is in progress, prepare some highly-seasoned aspic-jelly with the carcasses of the game and poultry, to which add six calves’-feet, and the usual complement of vegetables, &c., and when done, let it be clarified: one-half should be reduced previously to its being poured into the pie when it is baked. Make about sixteen pounds of hot-water-paste, and use it to raise a pie of sufficient dimensions to admit of its holding the game and poultry prepared for the purpose, for making which follow the directions contained in the foregoing article. The inside of the pie must first be lined with thin layers of fat bacon, over which spread a coating of well-seasoned force-meat of fat; the birds should then be placed in the following order :—First, put the goose at the bottom with some of the small birds round it, filling up the cavities with some of the force-meat; then, put the turkey and the pheasants with thick slices of the boiled ham between them, reserving the woodcocks and widgeons, that these may be placed on the top: fill the cavities with force-meat and truffles, and cover the whole with thin layers of fat bacon, run a little plain melted butter over the surface, cover the pie in the usual manner, and ornament it with a bold design. The pie must now be baked, for about six hours, in an oven moderately heated, and when taken out, and after the reduced aspic above alluded to has been poured into it, stop the hole up with a small piece of paste, and set it aside in the larder to become cold.

Note.—The quantity of game, &c., recommended to be used in the preparation of the foregoing pie may appear extravagant enough, but it is to be remembered that these very large pies are mostly in request at Christmas time. Their substantial aspect renders them worthy of appearing on the side-table of those wealthy epicures who are wont to keep up the good old English style, at this season of hospitality and good cheer.”

Charles Elme Francatelli, The Modern Cook (London: 1846)