Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American inventor, is a favorite of steampunks everywhere. We’ve heard a lot about his eccentricities, but here are ten more fascinating facts about the man. See the video now on You-Tube.
Ten Fascinating Facts about Tesla
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Category: History
Thomas Pynchon’s “Against the Day”
Thomas Pynchon’s writing career has spanned half a century, earning him much critical acclaim. Believe it or not, Pynchon has written a novel in a steampunk vein, a weighty 2006 tome called Against the Day. Happily, it was available in audiobook, which these days is the only way I can find time for such a […]
Holidays and History
We associate holidays with a lot of things: with family, time off from work, food, celebration, and travel. But we often forget the history behind them. That was part of their original purpose, to keep our connection with the past and who we are as a people. It’s a lot more than just rah-rah propaganda […]
Historical Romance with a Patriotic Twist — “Halestorm” by Becky Akers
As an aficionado of steampunk, I tend to focus on fiction set in the Gilded Age of the late 19th Century. Yet I enjoy historical fiction from all eras. Halestorm (published 2012) is set in the 1700s and features Revolutionary-era American hero Nathan Hale. Despite the rather lame pun of the title, I was interested […]
Fourth of July Post – our Next Flag
America’s flag is unique among national flags in that it’s dynamic, mandated to reflect the number of states in our political union. As the country expanded, there have been 26 official versions of the flag. Contrast this with Britain’s Union Jack which has been in its present form for 218 years. The reason I bring […]
The Sunnyslope Street Statues
I’ve always been a sucker for silly public art pieces like these. There are probably a dozen or so of these human-sized metal statues standing along Dunlap Street in Central Phoenix. Two of my favorites are this cowboy and this dapper-looking steampunk fellow. There are also “footprints” and tools (hatchets, picks) embedded in the sidewalks. […]
George Stephenson, The Father of Railways
The renowned British engineer George Stephenson was born on this day in 1781. Few people may recognize the name today but during his lifetime he was called the “Father of Railways.” He was instrumental in the advancement of rail transportation, a key component of the Industrial Revolution. The standard rail gauge, with its 4-foot 8.5-inch […]