While gathering materials and suggestions for things to feature on Beyond Victoriana, fellow steampunks offered quite a few delicious tidbits that were interesting reads and looks, but not quite enough for a full post. So here are some Odds & Ends from the aethernets and elsewhere for you to enjoy—
The Reads:
The Effluent Engine, part of A Story for Haiti project
N.J. Jeminsin (author of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms) wrote this steampunk tale about pirates set in New Orleans, originally for a lesbian steampunk anthology. Enjoy reading it, but better yet donate, donate, donate.
Pimp My Airship
Another entertaining read featuring African steampunk by Maurice Broaddus.
Distant Deeps or Skies
This just in today — Mexican steampunk story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that’s featured in Expanded Horizons magazine.
Moon Maiden’s Mirror
An evocative steamy fairytale in an Asian setting, written by Joyce Chng as part of Semaphore Magazine. Link goes to PDF of the September 2009 issue.
Steampunk: A Mobile Device Concept for Rural India
Thetechnology blog Adaptive Path wrote an interesting article about how engineers use concepts of steampunk technology to design mobile cell phones in India.
Frist mentioned by Jess Nevins (you may know him as the editor for the Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana) on the speculative blog community No Fear of the Future, about Lu Shi’e’s Xin Ye Sou Pu Yan (1909), with the following blurb:
“In this tale, Europe is a Chinese colony and it describes the Chinese government’s suppression of an uprising planned by European “restoration” rebels. The Chinese Emperor orders the generalissimo in charge of Europe, Wen Suchen, to suppress the rebellion with flying warships. Generalissimo Wen not only conquers all seventy-two European nations but continues on to the moon and Jupiter as well. The most marvellous part of this tale is that Jupiter is described as being covered completely with gold and abounding with flora and fauna–the perfect destination for migration. Wen is then appointed Governor of Jupiter. From then on, the means of communication and transportation between Earth and Jupiter is, naturally, by flying ship.”
Sent in from Professor Von Explaino in Australia:
“Found this picture in a holiday home my wife and I were staying in and thought it would be something you’d like or have a use for. The tattoos definitely seem Maori.”
“Punk Tribe” by 343GuiltySpark
And, as always, any suggestions for this blog are welcome! Drop me a link on the announcement page or send me a email. ^-^
Beyond Victoriana 
Thank you for posting Odds and Ends, especially “Moon Maiden’s Mirror”. I had fun writing the story. 😉
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The picture of the Maori guy is by C F Goldie, and the Maori guy in question is Te Aho-te-Rangi Wharepu, Ngati Mahuta. (I did look that bit up!) Appropriately for your blog, Goldie’s paintings are controversial due to the fact that he painted many Maori, and yet had “Victorian” views on Maori that are racist.
I had to laugh at the way Professor Von Explaino described the painting as it is, at least in NZ, an extremely recognisable and famous painting.
Yeah, after Prof von Explaino sent me this picture, I ended up writing a bit about Goldie’s Maori portraits too: https://beyondvictoriana.com/2010/03/29/beyond-victoriana-20-charles-frederick-goldie-and-his-maori-portraits/