Comments on: A Big Hello to the Brass Goggles Community

By: Leonardo Wolfe

Leonardo Wolfe — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:57:08 +0000

Thank you for your support : )

By: Lister

Lister — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:45:55 +0000

What an utterly fantastic idea. As a lover of all things mechanical I would really enjoy being involved.

By: Leonardo Wolfe

Leonardo Wolfe — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:16:26 +0000

Thank you for your reply and support! I'll check out your website properly soon. Your work looks fantastic!

By: Teresa Reaver

Teresa Reaver — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:57:58 +0000

Hi Leo,
Nowhere near your area, unfortunately. I am an artist in Florida,USA. My work inclines to the mechanical and your post sounds interesting. Would like to contribute. You can visit my website and have a look-see.

By: steamcloud

steamcloud — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:54:33 +0000

Here we are, I sort of combined this post and the one you submitted to the Network: http://tiny.cc/oqhOh

By: Brass Goggles » Blog Archive » Announcing the Launch of the Aquitarian Guild of Inventors & Engineers

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:31:23 +0000

[...] keep everyone updated with my my previous post/s, here’s some links regarding the official launch of the Aquitarian Guild of Inventors & [...]

By: steamcloud

steamcloud — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:00:23 +0000

It's okay, leave it to me

By: Leonardo Wolfe

Leonardo Wolfe — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:20:29 +0000

Certainly a valid point! I'll make a note of it.

By: jacobpennock

jacobpennock — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:23:53 +0000

Mr. Wolfe,

I also have long been the occasional visitor to the Brass Goggles website, but this comment represents my first real foray into attempting to contact and contribute to its community (aside from a small bit of irc ramblings.)

My name is Jacob Pennock. I am a computer science graduate researcher in North Carolina.

It makes me quite glad to find that there are so many who share in my distaste for all things shiny and plastic. It also makes me glad to find that there are individuals such as yourself who share my drive to, shall we say, take this steampunk thing to the next level.

I have been spending a great deal of time lately contemplating this topic and have some ideas I would like to share. In fact I have an alternative proposition for all the amateur and professional scientists and engineers. While I agree that we need “A rebellion against the torrent of cheap, mass produced capitalist junk that rolls out of the worlds factories to end up in the garbage day after day” I believe that looking to the past and “creating devices and inventions from a period now long gone … too admire and relive,” is not the answer. We should instead set our eyes and goals on crafting our future. Not that there isn't merit in trying to relive the past or looking too the past for inspiration, especially in terms of craftsmanship.

We often forget that the future is what we make of it. I propose that instead of trying to relive a fantasy steamy past we try instead to build a very real magical future. Clarke's third law states; “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” I suggest that we mathematically and mechanically minded peoples start trying to apply this law. Our technology is really on the cusp of being able to do so. It takes very little imagination to see how wiimotes will evolve into magic wands, or how cell phones into crystal balls. With a big enough movement we could soon have a world full of elves instead of terminators. I would rather see a next generation of gadgets that would feel at home in a world created by Tolkien than a set of steamy ones. (Not that the steamy ones aren't awesome.)

So to all you steampunkers out there, if you want to jump ship and become technomancers or arcane artists with me, I am currently working on my own site where you will be able to find my ramblings about the future and read features on particularity magical projects of my own and the community (if I have one.) I plan on launching the site early next year but if you are interested in this sort of thing please feel free to send me an email and I will add you my mailing list. (lhommemagique@gmail.com)

p.s.

I agree with Max "WorldMaker" Battcher A Society sounds friendlier than a Guild.

By: Max "WorldMaker" Battcher

Max "WorldMaker" Battcher — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:43:46 +0000

I've been reading Quicksilver (by Neal Stephenson) lately, and the Royal Society of course plays a huge role in the book (as they did the scientific history of the time in which the book is set). Certainly a Society sounds friendlier (and less secretive) than a Guild.