About Me

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I am the creator of steampunk reviews, a woman in love with history, mystery, and the fine things of life, though not necessarily in that order. As a self-styled aristocrat, I've aimed to cultivate an old world (real or constructed via movies being irrelevant to me) sense of elegance and taste, and have been going to great lengths to fulfill that goal. It is my aim to live a life that is enjoyable, rather than one obsessed with being 'perfectly good for me in every way'.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

The pear of anguish, impalement, and crappy shopping

So after a crazy, crazy weekend I come once more to my blog. Things move apace, my readers, what with my prepping for the Emilie Autumn concert (note the banner at the bottom of the blog), and making plans for my 'big buy'. The big buy is a piece of clothing that I purchase before the yuletide season and which makes me the star attraction at any event I go to. What this year's will be is still up in the air, though I'm very tempted by a red corset, a bustle jacket, and a short kimono dress. The pics below feature the three of them.
That aside, I also recently saw the Mother of Tears, a film by Dario Argento that completes his 'Three Mothers' cycle, which is a series of movies that feature three powerful and evil witches who are defeated, one after the other. I saw Suspiria - the first of the three - at a showing by my college's film club, and absolutely loved it. Now this isn't, admittedly, a steampunk movie in any way shape, or form, but it was a super creepy and violent romp (involving someone falling into a room full of razor wire and forever putting Saw to shame,) and given that I am a huge horror movie buff I was eager to see The Mother of Tears, which came out much more recently. So after chugging around on the internet for awhile I was able view it, and all I have to say is this: HOLY SHIT. There's alot of stupid in the movie, including some really atrocious dialogue, and more than a couple of gaping plotholes or obvious 'don't go in there!' type scares, but the big thing that made the movie absolutely bizarre to watch is the death scenes. As a history nerd and would-be museum curator, I have a fairly extensive knowledge of mediaeval torture devices, and this film features at least two EXTREMELY OBSCURE ones. I won't go into the nitty gritty about it, but know that it was as if someone had turned Dario Argento loose in the Spanish Inquisition (which no one expects) and said 'take whatever you want.'

Still looking for that steampunk lamp. Lots of good candidates are arraying themselves before me, and the question now arises as to whether or not it will sit on the desk or hang from the ceiling.

And finally, to revert to the mention of my weekend, I have a sort of 'mini-review' to share. Once I'd stabilized and wasn't reeling every time I stood up, my roommate and I packed ourselves into her car and drove to Ann Arbor, with the intent of getting her some period looking clothes for the concert. I'd done some online research and been informed that there was a shop called 'Adorn Me' that dealt in alot of lacy shirts and velvet coats, so I figured it was our best option. No sooner had we entered the shop, however, than I was proved deeply and egregiously wrong. The store was like a million boutiques across the US, featuring ugly hobo purses in technicolor leather with gilded chains, chunky plastic bracelets being sold for twice their actual worth (if not more), slouchy shirts that sag in all the wrong places, and enormous sunglasses that give one the appearance of being either a fighter pilot or a bug. Take your pick. I was thoroughly peeved, and my roommate and I beat a hasty retreat while trying not to make excessive faces or - in my case - dry heave from the highly chemical odor that permeated the whole place. So if you're ever in Ann Arbor, dear readers with any sense of taste, steer clear of Adorn Me.

Safe flying, airship pilots!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

The aristocrat plans for a concert

So now it's time for some actual writing, after last week's photo only post.

My biggest steampunk-related (or semi steampunk) interest these days is the fact that I will be going to the Emilie Autumn concert on December 6th, and it is my fervent desire to dress myself to the aristocratic nines for the occasion. This will be my first concert, interestingly enough, in that my childhood was spent primarily cloistered away from the world in an all girl's Catholic school where it was in my best interest to remain as reclusive as possible, so as to avoid the attention of the bigger fish in the pond, i.e. the blonde and gucci-clad girls who held in their hands the power to ruin one's life. It is rather strange, now that I think about it, that they held so much sway in highschool, but now that I am in college I see their kind every day and they have no power over me.

I am also on the prowl for a steampunk lamp. It's my intention to turn my room at my family's cottage into the lair of a gear-head naturalist, with steampunk gadgets, lithographs of plants, and shadowboxed bugs on the walls. I have several very nice candidates from Etsy, but I'm going to wait before I jump on any specific one. And while I'm on the subject, I've managed to get my roomie addicted to Etsy. Ah Etsy, the gift that keeps on giving.
 
Still no real improvement in the boyfriend arena. I've got my hooks dangling and baited in the water, but they've only had sporadic nibbling, and the one fish I'm most interested to hook worries me, as I'm not sure whether I'd be landing a prize bass or a hammerhead shark. I guess we'll just have to see, won't we readers?
 
And as I've said before, please feel free to give me suggestions for things to review either by email or in the comments. I'm always happy to oblige.

Safe flying, airship pirates!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Halloween: Costumes, pumpkins, ghosts, and hangovers.

Well Halloween was wild, and the ensuing week exhausting. So instead of a cohesive post, I present pics of myself in full costume.