Fidelio Espinoza, from Vaughn Treude’s novel Fidelio’s Automata, is a fiery, handsome Cuban, who enjoys fine authentic Cuban fare. I can envision Fidelio savoring this dish. I happened upon this particular Chicken dish while studying in Santiago de Cuba. I was honored to stay with Chancellor Perez from the Universidad de Oriente. I found […]
In 1971, Paul Revere & the Raiders released the song “Cherokee Nation,” which bemoaned the loss of the Native American way of life. It was a major hit, but they should have sung about the Dakota or Apache because the Cherokee had already adopted white culture in the early 1800’s. They lived in houses, […]
Cherie Priest’s 2009 book Boneshaker is an exciting alternate history tale that takes place in nineteenth-century Seattle. In this timeline, the war between the Union and Confederacy continues into the 1880’s. The Pacific Northwest has remained a backwater, and Seattle itself suffered a peculiar cataclysm. Inventor Leviticus Blue creates an “Incredible Bone-shaking Drill Engine,” which […]
“Remember, remember, the fifth of November and the gunpowder treason and plot.” – English nursery rhyme Today in the UK is Guy Fawkes Day, which commemorates the 1605 foiling of a plot by Roman Catholic rebels to blow up the British Parliament building. It’s traditionally celebrated with fireworks, bonfires, and the burning of effigies of […]
The young adult novel Leviathan, published in 2009, is a good entry point for anyone interested in trying out the steampunk genre. It’s a great fit for the steampunk aesthetic, full of gadgets and amazing inventions that never were. The setting is in Europe, a few years past the Victorian Era in the nineteen-teens just […]
* Slogan is from a hat company advertisement, circa 1897 Hats were crucial to a respectable appearance for both men and women in Victorian times. To go bareheaded was simply not proper. The top hat, for example, was standard formal wear for upper- and middle-class men. Women’s hats were designed to match their outfits and […]
On this day in history in 1889, North and South Dakota were created. Formerly they were a single territory called Dakota, but the residents had a knock-down drag-out fight about the location of the capital city. Originally it was at Yankton, way down by Omaha. Northerners hated Nebraska so they moved it up the Missouri […]
