steampunk

what is steampunk? it was initially a genre of literature fusing fantasy fiction and victorian era steam operated machinery. now, it’s a subculture of leather apron clad punk kids creating victorian inspired, yet modernly functional, appliances, accessories, and sculptures.there’s a lot of brass, goggles, and gears involved, and of course steam! i know i know it sounds kind of burning man , but though it may have similar aesthetic attributes, steam punk is less apocalyptic hippy drug induced bullshit and more concept. more production of workable objects. for instance:

cool watch, kind of old-timey, kind of avant garde right?

basic steampunk design of a turntable. completely functional.

bad ass electric guitar. shred!

i think this is just a sculptural mass….

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to covet or not to covet? covet. how rad right?! victorian flat screen. the perfect combination of old and new. dreeeamy.check out steampunk magazine for some steampunk literature and check out the steampunk workshop for steam and brass blog!p.s. now if i can combine punk and western culture…what would i call it? spurs and skins? boots and bodies? wunkern?

Mortified

This weekend was a great break in routine! Friday after work, my pals and I went into SF to see Mortified live. Mortified is, as my cousin Jaclyn describes, a mix between post-secret and Augusten Burroughs. Yes.

 

In actuality, it is a book compiled of old journal and diary entries from 80’s teen angst, sexual fantasies, religious inquisitions, and desperate means of survival. Needless to say, this stuff is super hilarious, but also a little unsettling due to similarities of personal growing pains.

 

The event was held at the Make-Out Room on 22^nd between Valencia (where all the dirty, sexy young kids hang out) and Market (where there are too many abandoned beautiful old theaters and eye glass stores).

 

The Make-Out Room is decked out in anything and everything glittery and sardonic. Silver streamers whirled from the ceiling, Mardi Gras beads framed the lazy spin of the disco ball, and the walls were lined with dense flower-printed chairs hiked up under Formica end tables- glued to the blue and orange vinyl flooring, and muddied-turquoise love-booths prevented walking room at the front of the bar/performance theater caboosed by a petite dark stage.

 

My favorite journal writer performed there on Friday too (Will Seymore)! It was they guy who wrote about his “Aunt Liza” (Minnelli that is), his unhealthy obsession with the soap opera The Guiding Light, his accidental shop-lifting habit, hatred of all things gym class, and infatuation with lemon bar recipes and salt-dough wreaths.

 

I laughed the whole way through as former geeks, Presbyterian nymphos, and utopian tendencied Goth chicks read their most embarrassing entries, through the competition of “worst teenage poet,” and through bursts of the-best-of-the-best 80’s tunes. I left with pit stains and laugh cramps and can’t wait to go again when they are back next month! Wanna come with?

 

Then on Saturday, we went to see Knocked-Up. Normally I would have been completely put off by this crude title (and the basic premise of the movie), but my boys from Freaks and Geeks

were in it, so I had to see it. I must admit, I laughed way too much and have no regrets on seeing it. There were some questionable areas, but dammit I needed to let loose and I did! Don’t pay $10 for it though- wait till its out on video.

Vivienne Westwood at de Young

this weekend is the last that Vivienne Westwood’s “36 years in fashion” collection will be on exhibit at the de young museum in san francisco’s golden gate park. vivienne westwood

popularized the iconic “punk” fashion of the late 70′s and early 80′s. she incorporated the DIY look into her chicken bone t-shirts,

in her rubber bondage suits and in the incorporation of the scottish tartan:

my favorite (of course) had to be the “siouxsie shoe”
(sorry i couldn’t find a picture, but i swear they fuckin rocked! buckles and rubber. hot).
Vivienne created architecture for the body; with dips and peaks of fabric consistent through her pirate, scottish, corset, and ballgown collections. westwood takes a traditional style and totally fucks it up….but not completely. for instance, she makes a mockery of turn-of-the-century british fashion, by recreating the styles with original tweeds and wools, but she makes the jackets bright and over-sized, and adds crinoline to shorter and shorter skirts, and uses rubber penis buttons to close her shrugs. also, in her ballgown collection she twists tradition just enough- the gowns are gorgeous in their superfluity and not exactly typical- a border westwood enjoys teetering on

while clinging to her ideals of androgyny.

i couldn’t help but think desperately of the music popular during each of her creative explosions, which also lead me to seeing some of my favorite literature characters in some of her outfits . for instance dominique francon from ayn rand’s “the fountainhead” is (hard to describe) a demure woman with an unavoidable attractive casing and passive aggressive sexuality who enjoys emotionally torturing the man she obsesses over and loves. ok, that was the best description i could do for now. but she would wear this:

note the huge darts over each breast. i suddenly found myself in love with dominique, and then with vivienne westwood after walking and reading throughout her exhibit- it’s only stop in the US. i really enjoyed the show because it was different. it was kooky. it was beautifully executed and effortless. i like an experience that evokes thought and brow crinkles.

umbrellas

i have never been able to understand umbrellas because i don’t care if i get wet. umbrellas have always been a mystery to me because i can’t understand why they appear just before it starts to rain. the rest of the time they are vacant from the landscape as if they had never existed. maybe the umbrellas live by themselves in little apartments under tokyo.

do the umbrellas know that it is going to rain? because i know that people don’t know. the weatherman says that it will rain tomorrow but it doesnt and you dont see a god-damn umbrella. then the weatherman says that it will be a sun-shiny day and suddenly there are umbrellas everywhere you look, and a few moments later, it starts raining like hell.

who are these umbrellas?

-richard brautigan

all i know is- that my greeen gingham umbrella is rather photogenic….
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*artsy photo by taylor