In the Loop: January 4, 2008 Archive

Victorian-era laptops and steam powered guitars

Posted at 11:15 AM on January 4, 2008 by Sanden Totten (2 Comments)

Recently I bought myself a used computer . . . it's okay. But I wish I had gotten this computer. --->

(photos courtesy of wired.com's steampunk gallery)

It's in a style called Steampunk. Steampunk started out as a literary genre that took Victorian-era aesthetics and spruced them up with modern science fiction story lines. Think League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or even Will Smith's Wild Wild West. The technology is usually as advanced as what we have today, but it is imagined as if it was made during the age of steam powered machines.

The cool thing about steampunk though is that it goes beyond books and movies. Serious fans have been crafting steampunk devices like that desktop above . . .or a steam-themed guitar or even . . .

a steampunk motor home. That one looks like something out of a Miyazaki film. Apparently the folks who drive it dress in things like pith helmets and corsets.

You can check out more steampunk projects here. And while you're at it, take a look at these pictures of Star Wars as re-imagined steampunk style.

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