Dieselpunk

Something for Our Victorian Cousins

2012-01-29T19:15:00.004-06:00

Most Dieselpunks that I've met also have an interest in Steampunk. I often joke that Steampunk is a gateway drug to Dieselpunk. In fact, it was through Steampunk that I learned of Dieselpunk. So with that being said, I would like to put in a word for The Steampunk World's Fair.

May 18 -20, 2012, Piscataway, New Jersey will see the annual extravaganza of the Steampunk World's Fair. The Steampunk World Fair promotes itself as "the largest steampunk festival this planet has ever seen." The 2011 festival garnered about 3000 guests. According to Jeff Mach, creator of the event, "We wish to create unbelievable and unforgettable pleasure, camaraderie, friendship, and joy for each and every single person who walks into our event." The event has seen guests of all ages, from senior citizens, to toddlers. Festivals of the past have featured everything from Why Not Cake, an imaginative company of gourmet cake artists; to visits from award-winning author Leanna Renee Hieber.

The basic tickets for the entire weekend are $50.00. However, the Fair offers a variety of packages.

Level I: The Artful Dodger $60.00 includes express registration for the festival (no standing in lines, get your badge in advance), and invitation to the special VIP exclusive Guest/Staff "Meet and Greet" event.

Level II: The Gentleperson’s Gentleperson $70.00 includes express registration for the festival (no standing in lines, get your badge in advance), invitation to the special VIP exclusive Guest/Staff "Meet and Greet" event, and a special SPWF Poster containing exclusive artwork from one or more talented Steampunk artists.

Level III: The Gentleperson-Adventurer $95.00 includes express registration for the festival (no standing in lines, get your badge in advance), invitation to the special Enabler exclusive Guest/Staff "Meet and Greet" event, a special SPWF Poster which contains exclusive artwork from one or more talented Steampunk artist, a mention on this year’s "Hall of Heroes", along with a special VIP only absinthe pastry.

Level IV: The Mad Scientist $120.00 includes express registration for the festival (no standing in lines, get your badge in advance), invitation to the special VIP exclusive Guest/Staff "Meet and Greet" event at the con, a special SPWF Poster which contains exclusive artwork from one or more talented Steampunk artist, a mention on this year’s "Hall of Heroes", a special VIP only absinthe pastry, a special t-shirt along with a mention in their blog plus a thank-you in their playbill.

If you’re interested check out their web site.

Dieselpunk Lists: Going Where No One Has Gone Before

2012-01-08T20:15:00.009-06:00

“Captain, you are an excellent starship commander. But as a taxi driver you leave much to be desired.” - Mr. Spock to Captain Kirk in the episode A Piece of the Action

One might say that the television show Star Trek is an American institution. In our everyday speech we use terms from the show such as “Beam me up, Scotty,” “Warp speed,” and “Set phasers to stun.” In addition, the series has had such an influence on people that some engineers have been inspired to emulate the technology giving our cell phones flip up features as well as the creation of devices such as the tablet computers. The point of this article is that there were also several episodes of The Original Series that one could call “Dieselpunk.”

The City on the Edge of Forever
Hailed by many critics as the best episode of The Original Series, The City on the Edge of Forever begins with the Enterprise exploring a source of waves of time displacement. As the ship is rocking back and forth (a feature so often found in Star Trek that it’s been a source of many parodies) Dr. McCoy accidentally overdoses on a drug that drives him insane. In his drug induced paranoia he flees to the surface followed by Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Uhura and several Security guards. On the planet’s surface, they find the source of the time displacement to be an alien time portal. McCoy sees this portal and jumps through changing history, stranding them on the planet. Kirk and Spock follow him back in time to try to find McCoy and reverse the damage. Upon their arrival, they find themselves in New York during the early 1930’s. Spock, with his usual mechanical wizardry, learns that McCoy would somehow change history by preventing the US from entering WWII, thereby allowing the Nazis victory.

Even though, like the rest of the series, the episode was filmed on a shoestring budget and in this case obviously using the back lots of Paramount Pictures, The City on the Edge of Forever successfully captures the feel of America during the Great Depression. The dress and look of the sets gives one the feel of the 1930’s with its grime and hardship. The show captures the language of the time with references to living at a “flop” and seeing a Clark Gable movie. The gorgeous Joan Collins gives a great performance as Edith Keller who owns the “21st Street Mission” and who falls in love (of course) with Kirk. While at times it has a feel of a Hopeful Ottensian theme with Keller’s speech the episode ultimately breaks with the formulaic positive pattern found in so much of Trek and ends, in my opinion, as a Dark Ottensian story.

A Piece of the Action
In this episode, another starship called the Horizon had previously visited the planet Sigma Iotia II years before the Prime Directive (which was supposed to prevent interfering in the development of alien cultures) and found the inhabitants just entering into industrialization. Upon beaming down Kirk, Spock, and McCoy find that the aliens had taken a book left by the previous crew titled “Chicago Mobs of the Twenties” and had built their entire society based on the structure of the Mafia. There is no government on the planet but instead each Mob Family controlled territories that function on a feudal style system similar to fiefdoms in which the people pay a percentage to the controlling Mob who in turn provide needed services. These Mob families are in constant warfare with each other to try to expand their territories.

A Piece of the Action is a wonderful episode filled with 1920’s fashion, cars, tommy guns and style. It’s a lighthearted episode that doesn’t take itself seriously, full of humor and good fun.

Patterns of Force
The second season saw another Dieselpunk episode, Patterns of Force. Once again, we find where humans had contaminated an alien planet, known as Ekos. This time the contamination is by a contemporary human cultural researcher by the name of John Gill who thought that by arraigning the alien society into a Fascist system similar to Nazi Germany he would bring order to their anarchistic and violent culture. Instead, what resulted was society as barbaric and warlike as the real Nazi Germany of Earth’s past. In the storyline, the targets of the Ekosian Nazi hate are a peaceful alien race from a nearby planet known as Zeon who had arrived years ago to try to civilize the Ekosians. Our heroes from the Enterprise go under cover on the planet's surface to reverse the damage.

The name Zeon, being a clear play on the word Zion, was a not so subtle reference to the Jews and the oppression of the Zeons by the Ekosians being clear reference to the Holocaust. The message of Patterns of Force is that, no matter how benevolent the leadership might be, a dictatorial system invariably degrades into oppression and evil.

Conclusion
The Original Series wasn’t the only one to have such episodes. All of the various spin-offs had episodes that one might describe as Dieselpunk, which I’ll explore in later postings.

Dieselpunk Encyclopedia

2012-01-01T16:41:00.002-06:00

I'm proud to announce the launching of a new site created by Eli Krichevsky (Lord K) and I: Dieselpunk Encyclopedia. We created this site with the goal of bringing together material about Dieselpunk into one source for reference or research.

At the Dieselpunk Encyclopedia one will find articles on the Components of Dieselpunk, Dieselpunk Cinema, Dieselpunk Music and many more topics. In addition, one will find some of the landmark articles on Dieselpunk that have appeared in a variety of sources over the years.

The famed Dieselpunk artist Stefan Prohaczka made the art on the Home page especially for the Encyclopedia. We thank him for his generous contribution.

As the genre continues to grow and develop, so will this site.

Miscellaneous

2011-12-24T16:54:00.004-06:00

I have just two comments to post on this Christmas weekend.

First involves looking back on 2011. This year has been an amazing year in Dieselpunk. We’ve seen a massive growth in recognition and interest in the genre. Even when the term wasn’t used, though it has been more and more often, one couldn't help but notice the renewed interest in not only the events of the Diesel Era but the inclusion of Decodence (the aesthetics or feel of the 20s – 40s) by the mass media. In addition, 2011 saw Dieselpunk expand beyond cyberspace into the real world as Dieselpunks around the globe began forming groups by which they could come together to share the passion. Even in cyberspace Dieselpunk has continued to grow with sites such as Dieselpunks.Org seeing continuous growth in members. Plus, there’s been the growth of Dieselpunk fiction with the works of Larry Correia and David Mark Brown. Not to mention the 2011 Dieselpunk cinema productions of Hugo, Warhorse and the Adventures of Tin Tin. Yes, 2011 was a great year for Dieselpunk.

My second comment involves looking forwards but for this, I have to give just a tease. On New Year’s Day will be a new web site like no other Dieselpunk site. Those of us who are involved in this project hope that this new site will provide a unique contribution to the genre. On New Year’s Day I’ll post the URL. So check back here at the start of the new year. Until then, may the rest of 2011 be a wonderful and prosperous year to you my readers.

Green Power in 1930s

2011-12-17T16:23:00.004-06:00

Long before the modern concern about energy independence and breaking away from our addiction to fossil fuels, the Diesel Era saw a technology that today would make some people, if you would pardon the pun, green with envy. Following is an excerpt from Paul Gipe’s book, Wind power: renewable energy for home, farm, and business:

"During the 1930s, when only 10 percent of U.S. Farms were served by central-station power, literally hundreds of thousands of small wind turbines were in use on the Great Plains. These "home light plants" provided the only source of electricity to homesteaders in the days before the Rural Electrification Administration brought "high-line" electricity to all.

The market for small wind turbines blossomed in the 1930s as crude "crystal" radio sets were rapidly replaced with more powerful – power consuming – radios using vacuum tubes. Batteries initially met the need, but batteries need frequent charging. The solution was the "windcharger." Through skillful promotion by Zenith Radio and wind turbine manufacturer Windcharger, small radio chargers began spouting from rooftops across the plains states."

This may be an example of one of the lessons Dieselpunk has to offer. By looking back at the lesser known or fringe elements of the Diesel Era, we might actually find solutions to some of our modern day problems.

Dieselpunk International

2011-11-26T13:06:00.004-06:00

"Dieselpunks of the World Unite!" Well, that’s not exactly what Marx and Engels wrote but when I look around the web I find that it’s amazing how international Dieselpunk is. Dieselpunk groups are coming together in countries across the globe. In addition, Dieselpunk material isn’t limited to English but is appearing in various languages. What follows are a several examples of Dieselpunk as it appearing around the world.

North Texas Dieselpunks: As far as I know, North Texas Dieselpunks is the only formal Dieselpunk organization in the United States.

Dieselpunk SA: This organization consists of members from Steampunk SA and is set in Southern Australia. Ironically, they had their first meeting at the same time and day as the North Texas Dieselpunks.

Vancouver Dieselpunks: The Vancouver Dieselpunks had their first meeting back on October 4th 2011. To the best of my knowledge this is the only formal Canadian Dieselpunk organization.

Atlantic Republic: This is an online Russian language community that’s building their own virtual Dieselpunk world.

Russian Blogs: There are two Russian language Dieselpunk blogs, http://dieselpunk.livejournal.com/ and http://megan-swing.livejournal.com/

Dieselpunk.de: While I know of no Dieselpunk groups in Germany there is Dieselpunk.de, which is a German language blog.

Sindicato Dieselpunk: This is a Spanish based Dieselpunk Facebook group with members from Argentina, México, Spain and Chile.

Radio MetronomiK: Radio Metronomik is an online Spanish Dieselpunk Radio station.

El Investigador: El Investigador is a Spanish language Dieselpunk/ Steampunk magazine.

These groups and resources help show that in a very short period of time Dieselpunk has become a worldwide phenomenon that’s growing more and more every day.
Credits: The symbol in this image was inspired by the logo for Dieselpunks.org, which was created by Tome Wilson.

North Texas Dieselpunks

2011-11-12T09:44:00.004-06:00

Dieselpunks have a lot to learn from our Victorian cousins, the Steampunks. While there is a sizable Steampunk presence online, Steampunks are getting together in the real world. They have numerous Steampunk Meet-Ups and "Airships" (essentially clubs), which can range from just a few people to dozens of members. Usually these Airships will have members who share common interests ranging from Cosplay to Makers to Steampunk as a Lifestyle. There are also Steampunk organizations and conventions.

In my view, it's time for Dieselpunks to learn from Steampunks and start real world associations of our own. There are many advantages to face-to-face meetings. Studies have shown that humans are by nature a cooperative species. Humans who have real world friendships are often healthier and happier than those who limit themselves to cyberspace friendships. As the saying goes, "No man is an island." In addition, outside organizations can help those of us who make Dieselpunk a lifestyle. It allows us to share resources and support.

To put my money where my mouth is I've taken the step to start a local Dieselpunks organization: The North Texas Dieselpunks. Our first meeting is scheduled for November 19, 2011 as an "Eat, Meet and Greet" in the banquet room at Spring Creek Barbeque, 12835 Preston Road at LBJ Freeway, Dallas, TX 75230. It'll be an opportunity for local Dieselpunks to get to know each other and to make plans for future meetings and activities.

View Larger Map

Therefore, if you’re in the North Texas area and would like to join the North Texas Dieselpunks stop by and joins us for some Texas barbeque and a chance to meet likeminded individuals.

Note: the legendary Dieselpunk artist Stefan Prohaczka designed the North Texas Dieselpunks logo.

Dieselpunk Horror: Perfect Creature

2011-10-30T11:43:00.008-05:00

How could I pass up Halloween weekend without a post on Dieselpunk horror? In this case the 2006 vampire movie: The Perfect Creature.

In the alternate world of the movie, 300 years before the events of the story genetic experimentation had caused some male children to begin being born as vampires with enhanced senses along with improved strength, agility, reflexes and an extended lifespan. More importantly, it was found that their blood would cure the sick and injured. Because of these abilities they were considered a blessing by God and hence considered more perfect beings. A priesthood of vampires known as the Brotherhood was formed whose stated mission was to serve and guide humanity. When a vampire child was born it was to be taken from its mother to be raised as a Brother in the vampire religious order. Rather than feasting on the blood of victims, as in the usual vampire story, the Brothers are supplied with donations of blood by believers.

The storyline of the movie is a mystery that starts with a series of attacks on women in a city slum. The lead detective is Lilly Squires (played by Saffron Burrows) who discovers that the murders were being committed by a vampire Brother. In response, the Brotherhood assigns Brother Silas (Dougray Scott) to work with the human police and to catch the vampire mass murderer named Brother Edger (Leo Gregory) before he could strike again. The police along with the Brotherhood fearing a backlash against the vampires cover up the fact that the murderer was a Brother and publicly blame it on human psychopath.

Perfect Creature is a great example of Dieselpunk horror in how the alternate universe mixes Diesel Era elements with the contemporary. Early in the movie the Dieselpunk theme is made obvious as the audience is treated with a spectacular view of a massive zeppelin flying across the city at night as several more hover nearby. Throughout the movie there is a creative blending of modern technology and fashion with that of the Diesel Era. Along with this blending, society in the Perfect Creature universe seems modern in many ways. In one scene a criminal attempts to claim a right to an attorney and there’s an apparent equality for women as represented by the lead detective, Lilly Squires.

I have to admit the movie isn’t without flaws. Though the storyline is intriguing and the cinematography is well done, I found Dougray Scott as Brother Silas to be rather flat though one must wonder if that was the result of the actor or the product of poor direction. In contrast, the other actors, such as Saffron Burrows, Leo Gregory and Scott Wills, provide great performances.

My negative comments about Scott shouldn’t be taken as intent to discourage the reader from watching Perfect Creature. I highly recommend it because I found it to be very entertaining and original for vampire movies. It deserves to be a part of any Dieselpunk DVD collection.

Diesel Era History: 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition

2011-10-15T14:25:00.008-05:00

It was 1936 and the Great Depression was spreading poverty and starvation across the world. Black clouds from the Dust Bowl were blasting across the American plains. North America was wilting from one the worst heat waves in recorded history. Evil had gained power in Germany. However, it was also the 100th anniversary of Texas’s independence from Mexico and the Texans weren’t going to let these problems spoil their celebration. They called their massive party the Texas Centennial Exposition.

Built on the traditional Fair Grounds in Dallas, the Exposition, which many have compared to a World’s Fair in size and scope, ran from June 6, 1936 to November 29, 1936. Over 50 new buildings, designed by architect George Leighton Dahl, were built along with the needed infrastructure, costing $25 million. During the construction of the Exposition, the Italian artist Carlo Ciampaglia created 11 different enormous paintings totaling 5550 sq. ft. covering the sides of several buildings. In addition to the amazing wall paintings, artist Lawrence Tenney Stevens created a collection of unique Art Deco sculptures for the Exposition. One of the most bizarre was The Woofus, which was an Egyptian style statue consisting of a sheep’s head with chromium-gilded longhorns, the neck of a horse, a body of a pig, duck wings, turkey feathers and draped in a Mexican blanket.

A parade of high profile figures appeared at the Exposition. On June 12, President Franklin Roosevelt visited the Lone Star event. Other famous attendants were Amelia Earhart, Gene Autry (who filmed his movie The Big Show during the Exposition), Ginger Rogers as well as the fan and bubble dancer Sally Rand.

The Exposition brought in $50 million dollars into the local economy and created 15,000 jobs, which helped lessen the pain of the Great Depression for those living in the North Texas area. Over 6 million people visited the Exposition during its run in 1936. When the Exposition officially ended, it was temporarily reopened as the Greater Texas & Pan-American Exposition in 1937. Afterwards, the location returned to its traditional role as the Texas State Fair as well as the home of numerous museums and special events.

Many of the buildings from the Exposition still stand and are in use today making the location the largest collection of Art Deco buildings in the United States. Over time most of Ciampaglia’s massive art was painted over and literally forgotten. However, time began to wear down the painted covering and exposing Ciampaglia’s art. Thanks to a combination of Federal, State and local grants along with charitable donations, Ciampaglia’s magnificent art has been restored to its original glory. In addition, at some point in time the Woofus mysteriously disappeared. No one seemed to have noticed its absence because history failed to record when or how it became missing. In the course of researching the lost work of Ciampaglia in photographs and rare films, researchers rediscovered the prior existence of the Woofus. In 2003, the artists also recreated the Woofus and once again, it sits in its original place of honor.

Now known as the Dallas Fair Park, the location is definitely worth a visit by any Dieselpunk.

Dieselpunk Sports: Green Bay Packers

2011-09-25T10:51:00.014-05:00

In the summer of 1919, two men by the names of Curly Lambeau and George Calhoun in a small town in Wisconsin got together and decided that they would start a football team. Little did they know that they had started something that would lead to one of the greatest football franchises in history: the Green Bay Packers.

George Calhoun and Curly Lambeau

Shortly after their meeting, Lambeau and Calhoun went looking for a sponsor for their young team. The Indian Packing Company, who employed Lambeau at the time, agreed to provide the team with jerseys and a football field. The football team quickly became associated with the company and the name "Packers" stuck.

1919 Green Bay Packers Team

The Packers came out of the gate like a bulldozer on their competition. In their first season, they won ten out of eleven games. Since they played in an open field with no bleachers, they collected payment by passing the hat among the fans. By 1921, they were so successful that they were able to become a franchised team with the new National Football League that had formed just a year earlier. They quickly ran into financial problems as the fans donations weren’t enough to cover their costs and the company dropped their support of the team.

Eventually, Lambeau was able to buy back the team though they continued to struggle financially. A major breakthrough happened when local businessmen, known as "The Hungry Five," formed the Green Bay Football Corporation due to lobbying by the manager of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, A.B. Turnbull.

Certainly, its origin at the very beginning of the Diesel Era as well as continued existence are important components to consider when describing something as 'Dieselpunk' that's not enough. There are other football teams in the NFL, such as the Chicago Bears, that were founded at the same time and continue today. The Packers are unique because they’re the only team in the NFL organized as a non-profit and community-owned team. The Green Bay Football Corporation established this public ownership structure back in 1922. In contrast, the NFL requires that all of the other teams to be privately owned. This team structure and the fact that it's outside the mainstream adds the Punk to the Green Bay Packers.

This alternative form of ownership gives the Packers some unique features. Because of this, it prevented the team from moving to a big city. Green Bay, in contrast to the other cities with major league football teams, has a population of only a little more than 102,000 people. In addition, the loyalty of the fans, known as cheeseheads, is legendary. ESPN.com ranked the Packer fans as the second-best fans in the NFL in August 2008. At the end of each touchdown by a Packer at Lambeau Field, the player rushes to the sideline and does the "Lambeau Leap," in which he leaps into the adoring arms of the fans. During training camp young fans bring their bicycles to the Don Hutson Center where they can have their favorite player ride their bike. Recently, after an ice storm in February of 2011 the fans arrived to a call for help from the team to help clear the snow from the stadium.

I’m certainly not saying that to be a Dieselpunk a person has to be a Packer fan. However, I am saying that the Packers are unique in that when you combine all of the factors it’s safe to classify them as being Dieselpunk. I believe that the sportscaster, and host of the program Countdown on the cable channel Current, Keith Olbermann said it best back during the October 7, 2007 broadcast of NBC’s Football Night in America:

When we stop and extol the renaissance of Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers we forget something about them more astonishing still, THEY EXIST! In this time in sports when bigger isn't just better, it's mandatory. When it's all about small markets and large markets and revenue streams, there is a pro football franchise in Green Bay, Wisconsin...

How does Favre get to cavort in Green Bay when Green Bay is a vestige of a time when the NFL was made up of the Duluth Eskimos, and the Staten Island Stapletons and the Pottsville Maroons? The Packers have survived since football's Stone Age because of non-profit community investment. The fans, in essence, own that team. TV revenue sharing saved that team in the '60s and limiting free agency saved it again in the '80s. Green Bay, Wisconsin, population 102,313... should be the model for sports franchises in this country, instead it's an anachronism.

So root for the Bears tonight if you want but cherish the Packers. If only their template had been copied, the Dodgers might still be in Brooklyn and the Syracuse Nationals might still be playing in the NBA and Canada would have more than six hockey teams.

Therefore, now that football season is here again it’s time for me to ask my readers... ARE YOU READY FOR SOME DIESELPUNK FOOTBALL?

Gatehouse Gazette: The 1930s

2011-09-11T21:46:00.006-05:00

Once again, the Gatehouse Gazette has shown why it's a leader in the genre-punk community. The current issue (number 20) is dedicated to the 1930s along with Dieselpunk and is simply amazing. In this issue, the reader will find articles on Dieselpunk architecture, life in the 1930s, alternative history, movie and book reviews and much more. The list of contributing writers to this issue reads like a “Who’s Who” of Dieselpunk. It’s chock full of articles by Dieselpunk pioneers such as Nick Ottens, Eli Krichevsky (AKA Lord K), Tome Wilson and others.

I’m very proud to say that I also have an article in the issue concerning the Golden Age of Radio, which played an extremely important role in the Diesel Era and set standards that continue to have ramifications today in all forms of broadcast media.

As an example of the quality of this issue of Gatehouse Gazette, I want to include an excerpt from the Editorial by Nick Ottens, which has an excellent statement that helps to differentiate some important differences in viewpoints between Steampunk and Dieselpunk.

"Steampunk can be an escapist genre. It can make the past seem all perfect even if it’s a huge deception. Few of us would probably be better off living in the nineteenth century. But it’s nice reminiscing about the beauties of a past that wasn’t, especially if the present is so depressing.

Dieselpunk, on the other hand, confronts the Depression and all the miseries of its era head on, whether it’s totalitarianism, mysticism or the brutal technologies of war that are deployed against the forces of the Free World. There’s no time to sit around and dream of a better past. There’s also no excuse to wait for a better tomorrow. Dieselpunks roll up their sleeves and start building.

If there is hardship now, it used to be worse. If we could turn the 1930s into victory, surely we’re able to make a better life for ourselves now?"

Go the Gatehouse Gazette web site and download issue 20. You’ll be glad you did.

The Long Island Express

2011-08-28T21:40:00.004-05:00

Anyone near a television recently is aware that this weekend a hurricane blasted up the East Coast of the US leaving a trail of death and destruction. While most of the states on the East Coast are used to hurricanes, what made this one unusual was that the path took it through New York and up further north. However, this was not the first time the Northeast had been the target of hurricanes. In 1938, the Northeastern states were hit by a hurricane that some call The Long Island Express.

In 1938, the method of hurricane tracking was primitive by modern standards. Hurricane forecasting was wholly dependent upon reports from naval vessels and spotters along the shorelines. Unfortunately, the Great Hurricane of 1938 skirted outside the range of these observers and came blasting into the Northeastern states without warning.

As the Long Island Express came ashore, New York City lost power and the high wind caused the skyscrapers, such as the Empire State Building, to sway. In Westhampton Beach a cinema was swept out 2 miles into the Atlantic carrying with it 20 people who died. Many more died across Long Island as the storm surge swept through.

Rhode Island was hit especially hard. One reason was that it was a full moon, which meant that the tide was high. The force of the impact of the Great Hurricane was so strong on Rhode Island that seismographs as far away as Alaska detected it. The death toll in Rhode Island was in the hundreds.

The Long Island Express continued its path of death and destruction up the Northeastern States into Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. By the time it had reached Maine the storm had begun to lose its punch and damage was minimal.

Thanks to modern technology, and the good fortune that the most recent hurricane was less powerful than the Long Island Express, there have been fewer deaths this time. However, many have died and many people have suffered devastating loses. Please consider donating to the charity of your choice to help those affected by Hurricane Irene.

#DieselPunkMachine

2011-08-14T13:52:00.005-05:00

In previously posts, I’ve mentioned the grassroots origin of Dieselpunk. One example of this is the site deviantArt, which gives independent artists a place where they post their work online at no charge. At deviantArt, the visitor will find all forms of art ranging from digital art, film, cartoons, manga and much more. In addition, deviantArt is organized where there are various "groups" consisting of common themes. Most of the work is free for download while some are watermarked and limited to purchase.

DeviantArt is a wonderful source for dieselpunk art. Great Dieselpunk artists such as Stefan Prohaczka, ixlrlxi, and Alexey Lipatov all post their work on deviantArt. An exciting aspect of deviantArt is the group #DieselPunkMachine. The group defines itself as, "A group for the collection, sharing, and discussion of dieselpunk related art; DieselPunk being the sub-genre of sci-fi SteamPunk interbellum period through World War II (c. 1920-1945)."

"Red Hawks" by Lipatov

Admittedly, the quality of the art varies greatly on deviantArt. However, that shows something wonderful about deviantArt as well as Dieselpunk. Anyone can participate. One doesn’t have to be a fashion designer, historian or a professional artist. This openness to all is part of the greatness of Dieselpunk.

Captain America

2011-07-30T22:15:00.009-05:00

The comic book character Captain America is a Diesel Era legend. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America first appeared in December of 1940 though the cover listed it as March 1941. While the US wouldn't enter World War II for another year, the creators found fascism repulsive and felt confident that the US would eventually enter the conflict. Though the first copy sold nearly one million copies, interestingly, according to Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America, Joe Simon reported, "When the first issue came out we got a lot of... threatening letters and hate mail. Some people really opposed what Cap stood for."

What little criticism existed at this first publication quickly disappeared with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Throughout the war, Captain America was highly popular. Unfortunately, the character's popularity began to slip in the years that followed. In the early 1950's the writers tried to make him a Cold Warrior but due to his drop in popularity, the publishers discontinued his character in September 1954. However, as the saying goes, you can’t keep a good man down. Therefore, in March 1964 Captain America returned in The Avengers issue #4. The writers explained his return by saying that just as World War II was ending he was trapped in a block of ice due to an accident and had spent the decades in suspended animation.

Now the comic book character has come to the big screen with a bang. Captain America: The First Avenger opened July 22 at No. 1 at the box office with $65.8 million, which topped Harry Potter that weekend. Steve Rogers (Captain America) is played by Chris Evans with his archnemesis Red Skull played by Hugo Weaving (famous for roles Agent Smith from The Matrix, Elrond from Lord of the Rings as well as V from V for Vendetta) along with the great Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips. Joe Johnston, who many would remember directed the Dieselpunk classic The Rocketeer, also directed Captain America: The First Avenger.

At least one media outlet has used the term "dieselpunk" in association with it. Captain America: The First Avenger promises to be an important film for the genre of Dieselpunk.

Dieselpunk Fiction: Fistful of Reefer

2011-07-27T15:52:00.007-05:00

Much is happening in Dieselpunk at this time. One exciting trend is the growth of Dieselpunk fiction. While my regularly scheduled update will still take place this weekend, because of the importance of this growth I’ve decided to have an extra early posting.

In this posting, I turn my blog over to David Mark Brown to explain about his new Dieselpunk novel Fistful of Reefer and his series of Reeferpunk novels.

David Mark Brown

The Texas Company Town
By 1915 Thurber, TX existed as the largest producer of coal in Texas. It supplied a dozen railways with coal, paved much of the state with brick, and was the largest city along Interstate 20 between Ft. Worth and El Paso. And every bit of the town (from scratching post to hitching post, from pew to crapper) was company owned by Texas and Pacific Coal Company.

Yet by the 1930's Thurber was gone, and its success began to unravel during the winter of 1921-22. At their peak, company towns across the nation hosted 3% of the population. But were these towns a blight? or progressive beacons? Was Thurber a bastion of enlightened industrialist Paternalism or a cesspool of oppressive and monopolizing Capitalism?

Sexy, dieselpunk history
Either way, the dieselpunk history of Thurber is dripping with alternate-history sex appeal for an author like me. A entire town where the municipal government has been replaced by the sour bosom of the Company. It's perfect.

Sure you could take a crap in a state-of-the-art indoor commode, but any and all creative endeavors undertaken within its sacred walls belonged to the "Man." The washroom door might as well have included a cross-stitched plaque, "material and creative rights to all processes contained therein property of Texas and Pacific. Now you're cooking with gas!"
Thurber was the first completely electrified town in the United States with its own power plant built in 1895. By it's prime in 1915 every home included plumbing, power and natural gas heat. Sounds splendorific to me! But these company town modernizations came with a cost.

The cost
In 1921 the coal industry began to struggle as oil replaced coal in train engines and other applications. When the company tried to cut wages the local unions and the company came to an impasse. Some say it was a strike while others say a lock out. But miners living in company houses without company wages were soon evicted, giving birth to a tent city north of town.
Mexican scabs poured in to pick up the slack for a short time, until eventually Texas and Pacific Coal Company became Texas and Pacific Oil Company and relocated to its Ranger Oil Fields location, leaving Thurber to the history books.

The coal still sits there today, the good vibrations long gone. Possibly the Paternalism and enlightened instincts of industrialists with good intentions simply couldn't be sustained when the price of coal fell. Or possibly the greed and lust of energy-hungry capitalists demanded a shift to oil at the expense of the common worker. Or maybe both.

Bringing ghosts to life
Locals still muse and ponder over the fate of Thurber. What really happened back in '21? Why was such a profitable area and rich coal deposit simply abandoned? Why did the first fully unionized town in Texas suddenly fail? As an author free to speculate wildly about such things and meld history to my liking, I've come up with my own answers.

Reeferpunk is the series of novels and shorts in which I create such historical abominations of the imagination. Fistful of Reefer, the first in the series, is available from an ebook retailer near you. But it's the second book in the series, Twitch and Die! a Western plague novel,(hopefully available by Christmas) that will deal with the mysteries of Thurber. If all history was like this, I wouldn't have gotten so much sleep in high school.

Now through Saturday I'm running an Amazon/Kindle blitz to get as many people to download during that time period in order to bump my ratings.

Dieselpunk Lists: Dieselpunk Style Music Videos

2011-07-17T14:54:00.002-05:00

"I am scared easily, here is a list of my adrenaline - production: 1: small children, 2: policemen, 3: high places, 4: that my next movie will not be as good as the last one." - Alfred Hitchcock

I have to admit that lists are something I really like. Therefore, this is the first of an occasional series of various lists of Dieselpunk themed topics.

There are several music videos that, while the songs themselves lack anything that one would lead one to call them "Dieselpunk," the video productions all have Dieselpunk characteristics.

Madonna: Express Yourself

Probably the most Dieselpunk of all of the videos is Madonna's "Express Yourself." This video pays a clear tribute in its imagery as well as its storyline, what little storyline there is to her video, to the 1927 classic movie Metropolis. The end of the video is a special tribute to Metropolis with the words, "Without the heart there can be no understanding between the hands and the mind," which are nearly identical to the statement made near the end of the original movie.

Pat Benatar: Shadows of the Night

The video begins with Benatar working as a Rosie the Riveter in a factory during World War II. She looks over at a propaganda poster and slips into a daydream of being fighter pilot. While I can forgive the multiple historical inaccuracies throughout the video being that it’s a daydream, the most serious problem is that it portrays the women factory workers as though they were somehow not part of the war effort when in fact they played a vital role. Otherwise, it’s a fun video and, of course, one can always enjoy seeing someone hunting Nazis.

Depeche Mode: Precious

This video simply oozes decodence. Yet at the same time it includes a strong fantasy element in its presentation. That being said one gets a slight Steampunk feel to it with appearance of the mechanical sea creatures so one could possibly make a claim that it crosses both genres.

Gorillaz: Dirty Harry

One might say that this video has a Post-apocalyptic Piecraftian theme to it with the World War II paramilitary machinery and uniforms along with the impression of some form of post-disaster era with the desert setting.

Gorillaz: On Melancholy Hill

Once again, Gorillaz goes Dieselpunk. This video begins with "pirates" flying World War II era fighter craft attacking a cruise ship in which a girl wearing a mask grabs an automatic weapon from a brief case and fights back but fails to save the ship. She's later saved by a giant who rises from the ocean. After the sinking of the ship, the video cuts to a fleet of small bizarre submarines who are some unknown mission. It certainly ends with the possibility of a sequel.

Lady Gaga: Alejandro

In Alejandro, Lady Gaga gives us a video with a clear Dystopian Piecraftian feel to it. The paramilitary uniforms and neo-fascist, totalitarian imagery oddly combined with transvestite eroticism and bondage certainly places this video strongly with Dieselpunk.

My Chemical Romance: Welcome to the Black Parade

The combination of the largely black and white cinematography, the manner by which the action slows and stops like a hand-cranked camera, its disconnected and jerky editing, the use of the iris transitions, the woman who turns around wearing a WWI era gas mask and so much more all screams early Diesel Era. In addition, the landscape of a devastated city certainly could place it in a Post-Apocalyptic Piecraftian genre.

My Chemical Romance: The Ghost of You

Finally, there’s the outstanding video to the MCR song, The Ghost of You. In the video, the band portrays a group of GI's during World War II. The scenes alternate between a USO dance and their participation in the Normandy invasion. The dedication to realism of the Normandy invasion during the video is amazing. Through the creative direction and editing of the video, The Ghost of You does an amazing job of portraying not only the horror of the war but also the heroism of the Greatest Generation in a truly creative fashion.

Diesel Era Icon: Charlie Chaplin

2011-07-03T13:30:00.008-05:00

"We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery." ~ Charlie Chaplin

Nearly everyone recognizes the small mustache, bowler hat, cane and oversize shoes of the little tramp of Charlie Chaplin.

Born Charles Spencer Chaplin on April 16th, 1869, the little tramp had acting in his blood. His father was actor and vocalist while his mother had a successful career in acting. Early in life disaster struck as his father died when Charlie was just ten years old and then his mother became seriously ill. In an age before social safety nets, this forced Charlie and his brother to fend for themselves. With their inherited talents, the brothers took to acting to try to survive. Charlie’s genius was first recognized for his tap dancing with the troop The Eight Lancashire Lads.

At fourteen, Charlie’s first real acting was as a pageboy in a stage production of Sherlock Holmes. He eventually got into vaudeville, which brought him to America in 1910. American audiences loved Charlie on stage. In 1912, this success brought him his first offer of a movie contract though he didn’t sign one until November 1913 when he finally made his first movie with the Keystone Film Company. Just like his stage work, Chaplin’s acting on film quickly captured the heart of the American audience.

By 1914, Chaplin’s popularity had grown considerably and he signed on with the Mutual Film Corporation in which he made numerous movies. When his contract with Mutual Film ended in 1917, he decided to start making movies independent of any studio. Later the next year, he joined with First National Exhibitors’ Circuit to promote his own movies as well working to support the Liberty Loan drive of World War I by producing the movie The Bond.

In response to the iron handed control of the movie studios, Chaplin joined with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith in April of 1919 to found the United Artists Corporation. UA was organized to give the artists, writers, and directors greater control over their productions.

1925 Chaplin suddenly found himself caught up in scandal. He had cast Lillita MacMurray, whom he had employed as a pretty 12-year-old in “The Kid” and who now was 16 and going by Lita Grey, to be his leading lady in his new film, The Gold Rush. In a short time, Chaplin and Grey embarked in a clandestine love affair. Early into the filming, Grey became pregnant, followed by marriage to Chaplin. Though they had two sons, their marriage was a miserable relationship for both.

It wasn't long before their marriage began to fall apart. By 1928 Chaplin was in the midst of a new scandal due to a messy and public divorce with Grey. In spite of the divorce scandal, the next year Chaplin won his first Academy Award for The Circus.

Politically Chaplin was highly progressive. As he saw the effects of both the Great Depression and automation, he conceived of what would become one of his greatest movies, Modern Times. Made in 1936, Modern Times uses humor to portray the alienation and pain created by Modernity.

In 1940, Chaplin turned his attention to the evils of fascism with the making of The Great Dictator. His speech near the end of the film is recognized by critics as being one of the greatest in motion picture history.

As a victim of McCarthyism, when Chaplin was outside the US in 1952 on a visit to England J Edgar Hoover succeeded at blocking his return into the States. In response, Chaplin decided not to fight the block but to stay in exile from his adopted home and settled in Vevey, Switzerland. In 1972, he briefly returned in acclaim to the United States to receive an Honorary Oscar.

Charlie Chaplin died in his sleep on Christmas Day, 1977 in Switzerland.

Chaplin’s legacy continues today. Not only are his films still highly popular, in 1991 his movie City Lights was entered in the National Film Registry, but the songs that he wrote continue to live on in popular media as well. For example, Nat King Cole recorded his song Smile in 1954. Most recently, Smile was also performed on the highly popular television show Glee.

Dieselpunk for Beginners

2011-06-19T15:55:00.002-05:00

On the Dieselpunks Forum that I participate on, another member once asked me if I had any pointers for someone just getting into the genre. Since then I've attended a variety of events and have had quite a few opportunities to talk about Dieselpunk so I thought that this might be a good time to post a modified version of my reply back on the forum.

First, it's important to understand the first half of the name, "Diesel," and what it means. As stated on this blog, Dieselpunk includes, "the aesthetics of the 1920s through the early 1950s." This statement is what "Diesel" means in Dieselpunk and it’s the lifeblood of the genre. Anyone interested in the genre should learn as much as possible about that era.

Second, Dieselpunk is contemporary. Again, as stated on this blog, the goal of Dieselpunks "to create something unexpected and new by merging the zeitgeist of the past with today's technology and attitude." The diesel era provides the inspiration for the creation of something new and original. While we love Glenn Miller, Dashiell Hammett, Humphrey Bogart, and others of the diesel era Dieselpunk is the creation of something new. One can learn about these new creations by following not only my blog but also other sources, such as Dieselpunks Forum. I list quite a few links on the side frame of my blog as a resource.

Finally, there’s the second part of the name: Punk. There’s been much discussion in the Dieselpunk community about the use of the word but essentially, in my opinion, there are two elements. One, it’s what allows for alternative history, horror, science fiction and more. Two, the Punk in Dieselpunk also makes it very postmodern in that what's Dieselpunk to me may not be Dieselpunk to you but both interpretations are equally valid. Hence, we have the different types, flavors, sub-classes and so forth. This means that anyone who wants to consider him or herself as a Dieselpunk needs to make it his or her own and not worry what others think.

These are the basics of Dieselpunk. Does it sound like fun? If you think so and you haven't joined in then what are you waiting for?

Twit Publishing

2011-06-05T16:00:00.008-05:00

As mentioned in my last post, I was going to give a panel about Dieselpunk at the Steampunk convention, The Difference Engine, in Fort Worth, Texas on June 4th. Though the attendance of the convention was small, (which is common for a new convention) while there I had had the good fortune to meet with a local independent publishing house called Twit Publishing.

According to their website:

Twit Publishing LLC is an independent publishing company based in Dallas, Texas. It specializes in electronic, visual, and print media. PULP! Summer / Fall 2010 is the first of eight anthologies focusing on genre fiction that is the direct descendent of the pulps of the early 20th.

http://www.twitpublishing.com

In discussion with representatives of the publishing house, I learned that only recently did they realize that some of the fiction they've been publishing would properly be labeled as Dieselpunk. In addition, I learned that they're interested in publishing more Dieselpunk literature and that they are looking for writers.

So, check out their site. Show some support and buy their publications. In addition, contact them if you’re interested in having a book or story published.

The Difference Engine: One-Day Summit

2011-05-22T15:29:00.003-05:00

Some wonder what would have happened had Charles Babbage finished his fantastic machine called the Difference Engine in the early 19th century. Some say that maybe, just maybe, all of the world would have changed. With the power of his computer, the Victorians might have overcome so many of the engineering limits that held them back. Hence, we could have had a 21st century technological society built on brass and steam. It would have been a Victorian science fiction world as envisioned by writers such as Jules Verne. In other words, it would have been a Steampunk world.

In Fort Worth, Texas there will soon be a new Steampunk convention aptly named, The Difference Engine. While the actual three-day convention won’t be until December 30, 2011, on June 4th there will be a preview that the organizers call a One-Day Summit. A unique aspect of this One-Day Summit will be, among the usual panels and vendors, an ongoing murder mystery play that attendants can follow as the day proceeds.

So what does all of this have to do with Dieselpunk? My wife and I will be at the One-Day Summit presenting a panel on Dieselpunk. We’ll be using audio and visual technology to cover the philosophy of Dieselpunk along with the Dieselpunk lifestyle with its music, fashion, movie and art.

Therefore, if you’re in Texas on June 4, 2011 swing by the Radisson Hotel in Fort Worth to enjoy the convention and stop by to see our presentation. Registration opens at 9 am. The actual Summit starts at 10:00 AM and concludes with a dance starting at 11:30 and going to 2:00 AM the next morning. Tickets are $20.00 per person. Children 10 and under are free if accompanied by a paid Adult.

You can visit their web site at You can visit their web site at http://www.the-difference-engine.info/

Vintage Gastonia

2011-05-07T18:13:00.005-05:00

Gastonia, North Carolina is a small town of about 70,000 people near Charlotte. Though this little town, established in the mid 1800’s largely by the railroad, may not be widely known one thing it does have is a fantastic web site known as Vintage Gastonia. The web site, which is maintained by Trenton Creative Enterprises, has a wonderful collection of local links and details on the history of the area. However, the interest to Dieselpunks is the section titled "Time Travel." One of my favorite comments on that section is about the iconic fedora:

Like any other time travel exercises (making the past the present and even the future), wearing a classic fur felt fedora (or a similar panama straw in warm weather) requires a bit of courage and a good measure of self-confidence. You will draw attention to yourself. Prepare for a few giggles and an occasional smirk, but, for the most part, you will draw respect and admiration. People will come up to you and say, "I like your hat," or "Where did you get your hat?" Many men secretly want to wear sharp looking hats, and many women would like to see their men attired in a more dapper manner. A proper hat sets off well-chosen clothing and gives the wearer a more complete and finished look. Step out into your world with your "lid" in place. Neither you nor it will ever be the same!

Any Dieselpunk can tell you that the writer captured what it’s like to live a Dieselpunk lifestyle.

Back in the Lion’s Den: Dieselpunk Politics Revisited

2011-04-24T14:01:00.015-05:00

On March 3, 2011, the blogger A.E. Flint posted a powerful article concerning Steampunk titled Why Steam Needs Punk, which many prominent personalities in the Steampunk community endorsed and which sparked quite a few heated conversations on across the Internet. As the Steampunk community grapples with this issue, I thought it might be a good time to revisit a subject I addressed previously.

Many of my readers will recall that in the past I ran a series in which I proposed a working definition of Dieselpunk politics. In the previous articles I included three elements I felt necessary for defining a Dieselpunk politics: 1) contemporary, 2) having decodence in that we can identify it as existing in some form during the 20s through 40s, and 3) Punk in that it emphasizes independence and exists primarily outside the mainstream of politics of that time as well as today. In this posting, I’m going to explore a system called Economic Democracy.

I feel it’s important to note that while in the past the postings on possible Dieselpunks politics were not reflective of my views what follows are indeed my views and is a system that I personally advocate.

Economic Democracy

Because there have been various proposals of the years under the name of Economic Democracy for the purpose of this blog I’m going to give the version as I understand it:

An Economic Democracy would be a market economy,
The core economic unit would be based on autonomous, democratically-governed, worker-owned cooperatives,
In addition, there would be an increase in the number of family-owned enterprises and sole-proprietorships in comparison to the current capitalist system,
Both types of enterprises would be networked together by economic councils that would allow for mutual aid and input from the community,
There would also be the existence of non-profit and community-owned enterprises for services that cannot be provided by either co-ops or sole-proprietorships,
Investment would be provided by a mix of public sources in the form of governmental bodies and non-profit NGO’s rather than private capital, and
There would be extensive support to individuals and the various enterprises by local, state, and federal governments, such as universal health care and free education from pre-school through college.

I will begin with reviewing the diesel era connection, then review the contemporary element and end with why I consider this system Punk.

Toyohiko Kagawa

At the age of nine, Toyohiko Kagawa went to a Christian convent for his education where he converted to Christianity. After high school he entered a Christian college and later begun his ministry in Tokyo.

Eventually Kagawa traveled to America to attend Princeton University and returned to Japan to become a labor organizer in which he organized farmers into associations, student cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, and credit unions in Japan.

In 1936, Kagawa wrote his landmark book Brotherhood Economics. In it, he laid out a proposed system that would consist of networks of cooperatives organized into federations. The cooperatives within the federations would provide for health care, production, marketing and transport, credit, education, utilities, and distribution. Funds for the creation of cooperatives would be provided by cooperative credit unions. In Kagawa's model, which he called a “Cooperative Commonwealth,” he also kept small family enterprises and other private enterprises with caps on the private enterprises to prevent them from growing large and becoming a threat to the cooperative economy.

Karl Polanyi

Karl Polanyi is known for providing some of the philosophical basis of economic democracy. He was the son of a Hungarian engineer and a Russian mother. When the Nazis invaded he had to flee to England. In 1940 he received a three-year grant to be a Resident Scholar at Bennington College, Vermont. While there, he wrote his most influential book, The Great Transformation.

According to Polanyi we are, above all else, social animals rather than rugged individualists. Polanyi also held that capitalism is unique among the historical modes of production in that the market in the prior modes was “embedded” within the social relations of their societies in which reciprocity, redistribution, and communal obligations dominated. Capitalism changed this by using the State to ascend the market to the position of being considered the sole relationship. He called this ascension the “great transformation.” Finally, he held that the “self-regulated market” (SRM) or free market is not natural but is actually an artificial creation.

Polanyi is known as an advocate for a “functional democracy.” According to Mendell, “Polanyi designed an institutional arrangement of associations of producers and consumers and an overarching “kommune”, a citizen’s assembly of sorts, to work in the collective interest.”

Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day was born in Brooklyn, New York and eventually relocated to Chicago. In 1932 Peter Maurin, a Christian Brother, convinced her to publish a paper that promoted Catholic social teachings as well as a peaceful change to society. Day took to the idea and began publishing The Catholic Worker. According to Day, in her 1939 essay The Catholic Worker and Labor, “We pointed out again and again that the issue is not just one of wages and hours, but of ownership and of the dignity of man. It is not State ownership toward which we are working, although we believe that some industries should be run by the government for the common good, it is a more widespread ownership through cooperative ownership.”

Contemporary Advocates

Economic Democracy currently has a small but growing numbers of supporters. The most widely known is David Schweickart who is a Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago and the author of several books on the subject such as After Capitalism. Another prominent Economic Democracy advocate is Gary Dorrien, who is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University. His recent book is Economy, Difference, Empire: Social Ethics for Social Justice.

Economic Democracy as Punk
You, the reader, may be thinking that this is all fine but is Economic Democracy Punk? I say it is for two primary reasons.

Economic Democracy is about individual freedom, which rests at the heart of Punk, because its goal is to free the individual from corporate control while at the same time not allowing State control. In an Economic Democracy the individuals would own and control, either directly or through election of worker councils who would hire or appoint managers, their own economic enterprises without either corporate or State masters.

Another reason its Punk is that it has always been and still is outside the mainstream of the Right, Center or Left. The political Right opposes it because it would eliminate the existence of private capital and corporations. On the political Left, the Marxists oppose it because there would still be markets. Finally, the political Center of Social Democrats opposes it because it’s considered too radical for the same reason as the political Right in that it would eliminate private capital even though they would support giving workers more control over the economy, which the Left advocates. Economic Democracy advocates are outsiders from everyone in the political spectrum, which, in my opinion, is very Punk.

Conclusion
So there you have it, another proposed Dieselpunk political system. Unlike the previous proposals posted, this one isn’t a form of Anarchy for it maintains an important role of the State through investment, public services and at times community ownership of certain enterprises when necessary.

I would also like to state that, for me, Economic Democracy is an important aspect the Punk of Dieselpunk. It’s my opinion that Economic Democracy gives our genre a common political ground with Steampunk as presented by A.E. Flint in her blog. Our two genres not only share the practice of using source material from prior historical eras but also share a common political bond.

Even if you don’t agree me and with my support of an Economic Democracy, I hope you found it and the biographies of the diesel era advocates interesting.

Online Cinema Resource

2011-04-09T17:17:00.006-05:00

This week I want to write briefly about an excellent resource on all aspects of movies from the Diesel Era: "Film History by Decade," which is part of the web site titled "Filmsite" written and edited by Tim Dirks.

"Film History by Decade" is one of the best resources for films I’ve come across. Each decade has its own section dedicated to it in which one can explore specialty pages for each year. In addition, there are pages on subjects such as History of Sex in Cinema, Academy Awards Winners, Great Film Quotes, and Great Final Lines among others. The site not only covers the diesel era but motion picture history ranging from 1902 all the way up to 2010.

The site "Film History by Decade" is one that a film buff could spend hours at. I highly recommend it not only for Dieselpunks but for any movie buff.

The Gatehouse Gazette: The Jazz Age

2011-03-27T13:16:00.006-05:00

Part of the greatness of the Internet is its ability to empower individuals and groups to share information and opinion in ways never before possible. I firmly believe that future historians will look back on the development of the Internet, especially this feature, as a landmark event in human history as important as the invention of the Gutenberg printing press.

An example of the power of the Internet is the free online magazine The Gatehouse Gazette, which publishes articles on both Steampunk and Dieselpunk. First published in July of 2008, the Gazette articles are written by volunteers, many of whom are members of the online forum The Smoking Lounge. While obviously there will be some opinions expressed in the Gazette in which the reader will disagree, the articles are always well written and informative. The Gatehouse Gazette is an intelligent magazine with a sophisticated layout that’s commercial free and is available free to download.

One cannot stress the importance that the Gatehouse has had in the development of Dieselpunk. It was in the first issue that Nick Ottens and Mr. Piecraft published the landmark article “Discovering Dieselpunk.” Over time, there have been additional articles exploring the Dieselpunk genre as well as articles on diesel era history. Without a doubt, Dieselpunks everywhere owe a debt of gratitude to The Gatehouse Gazette.

The current issue (March 2011) is dedicated to “The Jazz Age” of the 1920s. The Roaring Twenties set the tone for the fashion, music, art, industrial design, and so much of what Dieselpunks call the diesel era.

In this issue of The Gatehouse Gazette, one will find very nice articles on diesel era fashion by Hilde Havaert and Ian Brackley. Lorenzo Davia wrote an article on Art Deco while Jacqueline Christi wrote an article about speakeasies and Prohibition. Tome Wilson, who is the founder of the Dieselpunks Forum, wrote an excellent article about World War I. I’m pleased to mention that this issue also includes an article that I wrote titled “The Philosophy of Dieselpunk.” In addition, included in this issue there’s fantastic photography from that era as well as great art in which two creations are by prominent Dieselpunk artists Stefan Prohaczka and Alexey Lipatov.

You can download the issue from their web site in two formats, one that is web based friendly and one that is of higher resolution and excellent for printing. I would also encourage the reader to visit their main page and to download prior issues of the Gazette.

The Aleutian Tsunami of 1946

2011-03-13T13:19:00.009-05:00

Recently, March 11, 2011, a devastating earthquake registering possibly as high as a 9.0 magnitude rocked Japan and sent a massive tsunami roaring across the island leaving massive death and destruction in its wake.

Almost exactly 65 years ago on April 1, 1946 an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude hit the coast of Alaska, which resulted in what is known as the Aleutian Tsunami. The Scotch Cape Lighthouse on Unimak Island off the coast of Alaska was obliterated by a 135-foot wave from the tsunami, killing all five members of the lighthouse crew. To illustrate the power of the tsunami, the Scotch Cape Lighthouse stood approximately 100 feet tall and was constructed of reinforced concrete. Not only did it destroy the lighthouse but the tsunami was so powerful that it eroded much of the cliff that the lighthouse had stood on. Below you can see before and after photos of the lighthouse

The Scotch Cape Lighthouse Before the April 1, 1946 Tsunami

A Photograph of the Remains of the Scotch Cape Lighthouse After the April 1, 1946 Tsunami

The Aleutian Tsunami blasted outward across the Pacific causing waves of destruction. One of the hardest hit areas was the Hawaiian Islands.

The first wave from the Aleutian Tsunami slammed into Hawaii about 5 hours after the earthquake. The tsunami affected the islands of Hawaii, O'ahu, and Maui. It wiped out the Hilo waterfront among other coastal towns such as the town of Haena. Waves hitting the islands ranged from 33 feet tall to as high as 55 feet. Unlike today, no tsunami warning system existed in 1946 so the tsunami caught the people of Hawaii unprepared. Estimates are that the tsunami killed more than 170 people on the Hawaiian Islands.

A Photo of Waves of Water Hitting Pier No 1 in Hilo, Hawaii during the 1946 tsunami
(Note: The arrow in the photo points to a man struggling against a wave from the tsunami.)

Photo of destruction in Hilo, Hawaii caused by the 1946 tsunami

The recent Japanese earthquake and resulting tsunami far exceeds the Aleutian Tsunami in both death toll and destruction. I’ve included links to several organizations in which one can contribute to help provide aid to the Japanese people.

International Medical Corp has an Emergency Relief Fund.

GlobalGiving.Org has a Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.

The Red Cross branches across the globe are responding. The American Red Cross has a special link that one can contribute for relief.

ShelterBox has also established a special fund.

Please consider giving to the charity of your choice.

Dieselpunk Art Showcase Video

2011-02-26T22:56:00.002-06:00

One of the fastest growing aspects of Dieselpunk culture is in the graphic arts. With that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to create a video displaying some of these fantastic artists and to promote Dieselpunk in general.

As you watch the video please take note of the names of each artist, which I include in each frame. A friend of mine told me that on productions made for the Internet, most people don’t identify the artists, but I wanted to give each person the recognition she or he deserves. In addition, take note that the music in the video is from the Swing-Punk musician Wolfgang Parker’s CD “Petty Standards." His MySpace page is http://www.myspace.com/wolfgangparker and you can purchase his CD from Amazon.

With creative people such as Parker and the artists showcased in this video the future of Dieselpunk looks bright.

Dieselpunk Animation: A Hard Life

2011-02-12T14:02:00.002-06:00

Most of my readers have seen the advertisement for the web browser Bing in which a person asks a seemingly innocuous question and is overwhelmed as everyone begins acting like zombies stating random bits of information. But I take exception with this advertisement because I find that it’s amazing what one can inadvertently find on the web while surfing for something altogether different. Not long ago I had the good fortune of randomly running across a short animated trailer titled "A Hard Life" made by the Romanian company Genius Film.

The story of "A Hard Life" involves a cricket and a hamster that go to New York City in the 1930s to find the hamster's family. In the opening scene the viewer is treated with the fantastic view of flying over and through Manhattan. The majority of the brief trailer involves the cricket and hamster meeting a fly as well as a bizarre mouse who are both obsessed with a lamp. There is also a nicely made brief scene at the end involving the famed Cotton Club.

New York 1930 - 3D Animation from Genius Film on Vimeo.

According to their web site Genius Films is, "A full service production company, Genius Films provides a complete range of film/video production, 2D/3D animation & VFX services for the motion picture, television and advertising industry, which includes arranging for production crews, key production personnel, equipment rental, sound stages, casting, stunt men and everything in between at significantly reduced prices." If this trailer is any indication then they certainly have a highly talented staff.

I've contacted the production company about "A Hard Life" and was informed by Ovidiu Halmagean, Produce/ CEO of Genius Film that unfortunately it was a project that never was completed into a full film so all we have is this brief little gem made by some very talented and creative professionals.

"A Hard Life," is great fun and perfect for the whole family.

Diesel Era Legend: Josephine Baker

2011-01-30T12:56:00.009-06:00

I have to say that there are few women celebrities of the diesel era that can get my heart racing as Josephine Baker can. Known to the French as "La Baker" to me the nickname "Black Pearl," which was used in some English speaking nations, may be the most descriptive for she was indeed as beautiful and rare as any pearl one will ever find.

Josephine Baker started life as Freda Josephine McDonald born on June 3, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri. While her father was officially listed as Eddie Carson, who was a Vaudeville drummer, there are questions concerning who her father actually was. Her mother was working for a German family as a maid at the time she became pregnant and Josephine's foster son, Jean-Claude Baker, in a biography wrote that, though Josephine’s mother stuck to the story that her father was Carson, Josephine always believed that her father was white.

Baker’s childhood was extremely hard. At eight years old while working as a servant her employer, a white woman, burned her hands because she used too much soap in the wash. Later, when she was 12 she ran away to live on the streets in cardboard boxes and eating from garbage cans.

Her luck changed when at 15 she was discovered for her street-dancing and was signed up by the St. Louis Chorus Vaudeville. From there she moved to New York where she performed at the Plantation Club as well as others. Her talent and reputation quickly grew as she became known as the "the highest-paid chorus girl in vaudeville."

In 1925, Baker traveled to France where she opened at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Her erotic dance style and near nudity catapulted her to stardom. After touring Europe she returned to France and became the star of the Folies Bergères. It was there that she performed her famous Danse sauvage in which she wore a costume with a skirt of artificial bananas.

As her fame quickly grew to mega-stardom she became close to famous individuals such as Christian Dior, Pablo Picasso and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ernest Hemingway called her, "the most sensational woman anyone ever saw." She made several movies and recorded several successful songs. Briefly she returned to the States and appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies but never received acclaim in America. In fact, she was ridiculed in the American press such as by The New York Times, which called her a "Negro wench." In 1937 she returned to France, married a Frenchman named Jean Lion, and became a French citizen. Later, in 1947 she married French orchestra leader Jo Bouillon.

Upon success Baker showed a love for the good life and living how she saw fit. According to the Josephine Baker Official site she loved to spend her money on jewelry and clothes in addition to all kinds of exotic pets, which included a chimpanzee, a leopard, a snake, a pig, a parrot, a goat, three cats and seven dogs. This love for enjoying life and independence included her personal relationships. In his biography of her, Jean-Claude Baker stated that she was bisexual and had several female lovers while she was single as well as married.

Baker’s fame was such that during the Nazi occupation of France, even though she was black and her husband was Jewish, she was able to continue to perform and interacted with Axis officers and government officials. What the Nazis didn’t know was that she was working as a spy for the French Resistance by passing on information that she picked up in her interactions with the Nazis. In addition, as she traveled to neutral countries she assisted the Resistance by transporting secrets written in invisible ink. Baker was also successful in helping individuals fleeing the Nazis to obtain papers allowing them to escape France during the occupation. At the end of World War II the French military awarded her the Croix de guerre.

In the years after the war Baker became active in the American Civil Rights movement. Baker was the only woman to speak at the March on Washington in 1963. She stood before the crowd wearing her Free French uniform and her medal of the Légion d'honneur. After the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King she was asked by Coretta Scott King to take over leadership in the American Civil Rights movement but she declined. Baker continued to fight for racial equality until her death on April 12, 1975.

The Rise, the Fall and (Possible) Rise Again of the Baker Hotel

2011-01-15T20:22:00.010-06:00

Mineral Wells is a small town of roughly 17,000 people set in the heart of Texas. In 1877 a man named James Alvis Lynch with his family located in the area to escape an epidemic of malaria and the humid climate found in North Texas. Upon his arrival it was quickly determined that the area lacked a sufficient water supply so the Lynch family had a well drilled. They immediately noticed that the well water tasted odd. After they tested it on the cattle they decided it was safe to drink. According to the family their health seemed to improve upon drinking the water. It was assumed that the water had healing powers and the word of its therapeutic affects started to spread resulting in thousands arriving in hopes of sampling the "miracle water." As the numbers grew the town of Mineral Wells was established in 1881 with Lynch declaring himself as mayor.

Over time multiple wells were drilled to satisfy the masses. With more wells came more tourists seeking access to the water and a growing tourist industry sprang up in the town resulting in the establishment of numerous bath houses and spas in the town by the early part of the 20th century. This growth in tourism in turn created the need for support industries such as food, entertainment and lodging. The mineral waters were beginning to be known worldwide as a cure all for many types of illnesses.

By the 1920's the citizens of Mineral Wells became concerned that the money from the tourists wasn't staying in town but going to outside investors. As a result the citizens of Mineral Wells decided they needed to have a locally owned resort hotel. So a small group of nine citizens raised $150,000.00 by selling shares in the future hotel to 253 stockholders. Now that they had start-up capital they needed someone to build it.

The citizens contacted T. B. Baker, who had been highly successful with hotels and resorts, to construct a new hotel. Over time he had built numerous hotels such as the Menger, Baker Hotel in downtown Dallas and the Gunter Hotel.

The Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells opened November 22nd, 1929 with 452 rooms and two spas. The hotel claimed to have had the first Olympic sized swimming pool in a US hotel. Unlike other pools the Baker Hotel pool was filled with the miracle water of Mineral Wells. It also differed from many structures of its time in that rather than an Art Deco design it was built as a "Spanish Revival Commercial High Rise." In addition, the hotel was fully air conditioned, which was uncommon in the 1920’s. It was also ahead of its time in energy efficiency in that the lights and fans were controlled by the key lock on the guest's room doors so when the guests would leave a room and lock the door the lights and fans went off.

There’s a long list of famous people from the diesel era who stayed at the Baker Hotel. The list included Judy Garland, Clark Gable, the Three Stooges, Roy Rogers, Will Rogers, Marlene Dietrich, Mary Martin, General Pershing, Dorothy Lamour, Sammy Kaye, Jack Dempsey, and Helen Keller. Probably the most famous, or one might say infamous, people known to stay at the Baker Hotel were Bonnie and Clyde who stayed one night under aliases.

But the hotel’s glory days have long passed. On April 30, 1963 Earl Baker, the son of TB Baker, closed the doors of the Baker Hotel and it has sat vacant and deteriorating ever since. The only resident now is said to be the ghost of a woman who people say was the mistress of the hotel manager. According to legend she jumped to her death from the top the Baker Hotel. Witnesses now say that today she roams the halls of the seventh floor.

But there's hope for the hotel. The Historic Mineral Wells Foundation is working to renovate the Baker Hotel and to bring her back to previous glory. You can visit the web site http://bakerhotelmovie.com/ where you can view photos and videos of the building and donate to help in its reconstruction.

Flavors of Dieselpunk: Conclusion

2011-01-01T14:11:00.007-06:00

In the last four postings I’ve reviewed the two flavors of dieselpunk as well as their sub-classes: Hopeful Ottensian, Dark Ottensian, Dystopian Piecraftian, and Post-Apocalyptic Piecraftian. For an excellent article of these flavors and their sub-classes I highly recommend "Discovering Dieselpunk," written by Nick Ottens and Mr. Piecraft in issue 1 of The Gatehouse Gazette, which I used as a primary source for my postings.

But I feel that if I stopped here with nothing more than a description of these elements there would be something important missing. It’s my opinion that these flavors and sub-classes tell us something special about dieselpunk. Dieselpunk is more than just Art Deco, Big Band music, vintage cars and cool clothes. These different flavors and sub-classes of dieselpunk, I believe, proves that dieselpunk is very special in that it’s highly relevant to the times we live in.

Hopeful Ottensian

"Believe in life! Always human beings will live and progress to greater, broader and fuller life." ~ W. E. B. Du Bois

As was previously noted Hopeful Ottensian dieselpunk looks at human progress from a positive standpoint. While human technological progress may advance at different paces, and at times might even slide backwards, the general direction is forwards. Though some of us complain that we don’t have the flying cars or jet packs that were promised us the fact that you’re reading this blog over the internet is a rather amazing thing. Many people, including myself, owe our lives to the miracles of modern medicine. Never in human history has so many people lived so well for so long. Hopeful Ottensian serves an important purpose of reminding us that, while the world is far from perfect, there are many positive aspects to our current times and that we need to avoid romanticizing the past for there never were any "good old days."

Dark Ottensian

"This is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering." ~ Theravada version of the Buddhist Dharmacakra Pravartana Sutra

Where the Hopeful Ottensian is positive about human progress Dark Ottensian is a cold, hard, slap of reality. The amazing progress that Hopeful Ottensians point to is unevenly distributed in which there are a vast number of people in the world, including those in the West, whose lives are, to borrow a phrase from Thomas Hobbes, "poor, nasty, brutish, and short." There’s widespread crime, crushing poverty, war, genocide, disease and suffering even in the Western world where Modernity and technological progress has made so many advances. In fact, these very advances in technology and increases in productive ability have toxic side effects such as pollution and class warfare. Just like the 1920's we have our own culture wars and the recent economic collapse is reminiscent of the collapse of the 1930's. Then when we try to fix these problems it all too often turns out as Robert Burn wrote, "The best laid schemes of mice and men / Go oft awry." If Hopeful Ottensian keeps us from avoiding becoming luddites Dark Ottensian is a warning against hubris.

Dystopian Piecraftian

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." ~ Benjamin Franklin

The warning in Dystopian Piecraftian dieselpunk has always been that freedom and human rights are fragile. As our world has become smaller and technology has tied us closer the potential for the loss of individual freedom has grown considerably. Add in the growth of terrorism, such as the attack on the US on September 11th, 2001, there has been a growing fear of how much freedom should we sacrifice for safety. The Left fears government and corporate intrusion into our lives while the Right fears bureaucratic control in our economic activities. Diesel era history shows that democracy itself is not a guarantee against tyranny for the Nazis were democratically elected by the German people. Dystopian Piecraftian dieselpunk reminds us that a free people must always be vigilant against tyranny.

Post-Apocalyptic Piecraftian
“When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” ~ Bible, Revelation 6: 7 – 8

While it was the creation of the atomic bomb that brought the realization that humanity had created the power to destroy the world we’ve come up with new ways of imagining Armageddon. Some of these scenarios are human made while others would be natural in origin. Besides nuclear war we now worry about Global Warming, possibility of an asteroid strike like the one that killed the dinosaurs, a pandemic due to increased global travel or genetic experimentation, another massive volcanic eruption similar to Tambora of the early 19th century that helped create the Little Ice Age along with other nightmare scenarios not mentioned here. Post-Apocalyptic Piecraftian helps to remind us to cherish our time on earth for life is fragile and we have no idea what the future might hold.

Conclusion
Dieselpunk is very much grassroots in origin. Forums such as The Smoking Lounge, The Dieselpunks Forum, online magazines such as The Gatehouse Gazette as well as various blogs are helping to develop the genre from the bottom-up rather than the top-down. This grassroots source gives dieselpunk an organic feature so that it’s in a constant state of change and growth, which helps to maintain its relevancy.

I hope my readers have enjoyed this series of exploring the different known flavors and sub-classes of dieselpunk. Most importantly I hope this series has been helpful in advancing the development of dieselpunk and to illustrate its relevancy for our world today.

Flavors of Dieselpunk: Part IV

2010-12-19T11:21:00.007-06:00

Becoming Death: Post-Apocalyptic Piecraftian Dieselpunk

"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." ~ Julius Robert Oppenheimer quoting the Bhagavad Gītā after the first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945.

As if Dystopian Piecraftian couldn’t be terrifying enough it gets even more ominous. In this installment I plan to explore the ultimate failure of humanity: its own destruction. It is the ominous vision of a dead or dying world combined with a diesel era esthetic or element that is Post-Apocalyptic Piecraftian sub-class of dieselpunk.

Diesel Era Source

By 1945 the world had seen the worse that Humanity could become. Depending on the source World War I may have cost as many as 16 million lives while World War II as many as 78 million. These two wars, combined with the evil of the Holocaust along with other atrocities, had shown the depths of depravity that the human race could sink to. But, as though these horrors were not enough, the end of World War II saw that the Human species had finally gained the ability to annihilate all life on earth with the creation of nuclear weaponry. This ability to destroy on a scale never before envisioned, when combined with the evil humanity had shown it was capable of in the prior wars, warned of the potential for a disaster of an unimaginable magnitude.

Image of the Trinity Test, which was first atomic explosion

It is the potential for catastrophe that arrived during the latter part of the diesel era that rests at the heart of Post-Apocalyptic Piecraftian Dieselpunk.

Post-Apocalyptic Piecraftian Dieselpunk

“I do not know how the Third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth—rocks!” ~ Albert Einstein, 1949

Ottens and Piecraft were right to include the Ralph Bakshi’s animated masterpiece “Wizards” as an example of Post-Apocalyptic Piecraftian dieselpunk (The Gatehouse Gazette, issue 1).

In the prologue of the film we learn that five terrorist had exploded a nuclear device that set off a chain of nuclear attacks that had destroyed the world and making it nearly uninhabitable. All that was left were mutants created by centuries of radiation. Then after two million years the elves and fairies returned to occupy the healthy green lands while the mutants continue to live in the radioactive wastelands.

One night the fairy queen gives birth to two wizard babies: a wise and good wizard named Avatar and an evil wizard named Blackwolf. After their mother’s death the two wizards, now adults, battle. Avatar wins the fight and Blackwolf is driven off into the wasteland. For over five thousand years Blackwolf studies black magic and digs up pre-holocaust technology in the hopes of finding the means of conquest but his discoveries are not enough to motivate his army of mutants to defeat the powers of magic. Then we’re told that he discovers something special.

Until this point the film, after being told by the narrator that the story concerns the ongoing battle between technology and magic, seems more Renpunk than Dieselpunk. The first hints of dieselpunk are seen when we’re shown a swastika painted under Blackwolf’s throne. Nazi uniforms and symbols appear, primarily with the mutants, throughout the movie. After learning about the President’s assassination, as he walks through his factory surrounded by war machines, Blackwolf states, “It’s time to strike, Sieg Heil.”

At one point Blacklwolf pulls back a curtain consisting of a Nazi flag and announces, “Attention, leaders of tomorrow’s master race!” He then uses a projector to show Nazi Germany propaganda along with German World War II military assaults. We learn that the projector is in fact a dream machine that transmits images of the German blitzkrieg into the minds of the fairy and elf warriors, which paralyzes them with fear to be slaughtered by his army of mutants and demons.

The majority of the story that follows is the quest by the wizard Avatar, the fairy princess Elinore, and the elf Weehawk to destroy the dream machine as well as Blackhawk and to save the world of the people of magic.

Warnings for Us All

What we see in the animated feature Wizards, and in Post-Apocalyptic dieselpunk, are two warnings. One warning is a reminder that humanity now has the power to destroy on a scale beyond anyone’s imagination, which is a responsibility that we must not take lightly. But it’s also a warning not to take our liberties for granted. After the defeat of Blackwolf, the narrator states that “Hitler was dead, again.” While the man named Adolf Hitler died decades ago we need to remember that the evil he embodied may always return. Post-Apocalyptic dieselpunk stands as a reminder of humanity’s capacity for self-destruction and for evil.

Flavors of Dieselpunk: Part III

2010-12-04T15:31:00.010-06:00

No Sadder Sight: Dystopian Piecraftian Dieselpunk

Introduction
"There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist." ~ Mark Twain

History is full of turning points. With a wrong military decision or simple bad luck a democratic nation might lose a war that in reality it had won or a democracy might fail where one had flourished. Such possibilities have intrigued writers and historians for years. The Dystopian Piecraftian sub-class of dieselpunk takes such possibilities seriously. This sub-class of dieselpunk could best be defined as a contemporary mixture of decodence with either an alternate history or future that’s often centered on, to quote Mr. Piecraft, "a world in which the enemy or ruling authoritarian state are a controlling force, unveiling a truly hopeless dystopian future." (Source: The Gatehouse Gazette, issue 1, page 6) Though in that same article Mr. Piecraft admits that this sub-class isn’t always hopeless it certainly portrays a darker and bleaker vision than the Dark Ottensian of my previous post.

Diesel Era Roots

"Our landings have failed and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone." A draft speech written by General Dwight D. Eisenhower just before Operation Overlord in case it failed. (Source: http://doinghistoryproject.tripod.com/id17.html)

Thankfully, the Allies invasion of Normandy in World War II was a success. Yet, some writers have postulated on the "What if?" scenario of a possible failure of the Allies in World War II. For example, in 2002 Peter G. Tsouras edited "Third Reich Victorious" in which various historians wrote short stories presenting scenarios in which Germany could have won World War II.

Cover from "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick

There are other possible diesel era nightmare scenarios. In 1935 Sinclair Lewis wrote the classic novel "It Can’t Happen Here" in which a character named Buzz Windrip is elected President of the United States and turns America into a dictatorship. Windrip wasn’t purely fictional but was loosely based on the real life Huey Long, who challenged FDR for the Democratic nomination and who was assassinated before possibly being nominated. Nor can we forget the most famous of diesel era dystopia novel of all time: 1984 by George Orwell.

These diesel era nightmare visions form the basis Dystopian Piecraftian Dieselpunk.

Dystopian Piecraftian Dieselpunk

In keeping with Ottens and Piecrafts recommendations I believe that Terry Gilliam’s movie Brazil is a great example of Dystopian Piecraftian dieselpunk.

At the beginning it’s immediately obvious that the movie is going to be unique. The style of dress is distinctly diesel era with 1940's style of clothing full of fedoras and suits. While the society has computers and robotics the technology is a bizarre mix of 1940's technology that seems patched together with unrelated parts that (barely) function along with some wonderfully odd machines and vehicles all of which seemed to have come straight from the diesel era magazine Modern Mechanics. Small bizarre television screens with magnifying lens are everywhere, which the people obsess over. Computer monitors are equally small with the same bizarre magnifying lens.

The politics of the country, which is never identified, is a strange Orwellian-style totalitarian society in which, while apparently Capitalistic, the State bureaucracy monopolizes everything with "Central Services" and controls all knowledge with the Ministry of Information. Part of the Ministry of Records is the division of "Information Retrieval", which is a Gestapo style organization that uses repeated terrorist attacks as an excuse to torture and oppress the people.

In the opening scene we see where the bureaucracy mistakenly arrests the wrong man by the name of Buttle because of a bug, literally, in the system. From there on we follow the lead character, Sam Lowery (Jonathan Pryce), who at night dreams of flying free as a bird. He’s happy in his job until he gets promoted, against his will, to the Ministry of Records by his influential mother (Katherine Helmond). Lowery accepts the promotion in the hopes of locating a woman that he had fallen in love with by the name of Jill Layton (Kim Greist), who he doesn’t know, but learned about while investigating the Buttle debacle. What followed for Lowery was adventure, hope, and ultimately horror.

The Triumph of the Human Spirit

When it comes to the dystopian sub-class of dieselpunk it’s important to consider the words of Terry Gilliam in a bonus feature to the DVD for Brazil, "If it shows anything profound, which I’m not sure it does, it is that people carry on. The architecture may be oppressive but the people are not. The human spirit is not that easily extinguishable." This faith in the power of the human spirit to survive and to overcome oppression is the message and the hope of Dystopian Piecraftian dieselpunk.

Flavors of Dieselpunk: Part II

2010-11-20T14:30:00.013-06:00

Innocence Lost: Dark Ottensian Dieselpunk

"All the time the flapper is laughin' and dancin', there's a feelin' of tragedy underneath…" ~ Clara Bow

In the previous post I explored what is often called Hopeful Ottensian dieselpunk. But not all of Ottensian dieselpunk is positive because it does have a dark side, which is appropriately named as Dark Ottensian. I have to admit this aspect of Ottensian dieselpunk holds a special appeal to me, which is one reason for the extreme length of this post.

Diesel Era Roots

1920’s: Modernity and Culture Wars

Modernity with its freedoms and challenges obviously didn't originate in the 1920's but the same advances that the Hopeful Ottensians celebrate helped contribute to a crisis where America had to face Modernity in ways that it never had to before. America’s response to Modernity was what today we would call a culture war. In the forward to the book The Culture of the Twenties, edited by Loren Baritz, Alfred F Young and Leonard W Levy wrote that the characteristics of the 1920’s were, "products of a pervasive clash between the values of a new urban, urbane, and modern civilization, and the pieties of small town, provincial America."

Though they were less in numbers, the political power in the 20’s rested with small town conservatives who were successful in passing legislation in the futile attempt to hold back Modernity. As a result they were able to force through their agendas such as Prohibition and the "criminal syndicalism" laws resulting in events such as the Palmer Raids. In addition, the 20’s saw a massive growth in Nationalism and membership in the Ku Klux Klan.

The cosmopolitan intellectuals, writers, and artists who were more receptive to Modernity responded with revulsion to this right-wing political activity by pulling away rather than pushing back. Many of those who could afford it fled to Europe while others dug in and created pockets of progressive and artistic communities within the major cities.

Caught in between these two extremes were the majority of Americans. According to Baritz, "The middle term was the world of the Jazz Age, flapper, speakeasy, and the rest. Reaching both forward and backward, it knew it was not truly of either world. It was the booming New Era, the Roaring Twenties. But it too was caught by the power of the village; it had to consume its booze secretly lest the village law cause embarrassment."

1930’s: Great Depression, Dust Bowl and the Rise of Totalitarianism

The crash of October 29th, 1929 along with the previous market crashes set off a chain of events that sent the world plunging it into one of the worst economic crises of modern history known as the Great Depression. To add insult to injury Mother Nature herself seemed to declare war on the American people. For years farmers had over planted without rotating the crops and had removed the native grasses. This, along with a period of extended drought, resulted in the nightmare of the Dust Bowl.

The international political scene was just as bleak. Stalin was terrorizing the people of the Soviet Union. In Italy while Mussolini claimed to make the trains ran on time he ruled the nation with an iron fist. The Nazis rose to power in Germany creating terror with their anti-Semitism, hatred and military expansionism. The Second Spanish Republic had fallen to the fascists in the Spanish Civil War. While in Japan the military gained power through “government by assassination” and began expanding its “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,” which was nothing more than a propaganda term for conquest.

It’s in these dark and violent times that Dark Ottensian dieselpunk inhabits.

Dark Ottensian Dieselpunk

I share the opinion of Ottens and Piecraft (The Gatehouse Gazette Issue #1) that the 1994 motion picture of The Shadow is an excellent representation of Dark Ottensian Dieselpunk, which I had touched on lightly in a previous post.

Lamont Cranston: The Tormented Hero

In the opening scene of The Shadow we see Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin) living in Tibet as a cruel and heartless opium drug lord. After being kidnapped by the Tulku, a local holy man, he’s told by the Tulku how he knows that Cranston’s been tormented by his, "black heart" and was always in "great pain." We then hear the famous line, in this case spoken by the Tulku, that Cranston knows, "what evil lurks in the hearts of men” because Cranston had, "seen that evil in [his] own heart."

Throughout the movie Cranston is shown as a tormented man. When Margot Lane (Penelope Ann Miller) tells him, "I'm not afraid of you," Cranston replies, "But I am." Later, he tells Margo, "You have any idea what it’s like to have done things you can never forgive yourself for?"

A Violent, Crime Ridden World

Early in the movie, right after the kidnapping, the audience is told in the narration that while armed with the power to cloud men’s minds, "Cranston returned to his homeland, that most wretched lair of villainy we know as… New York City." The world of The Shadow is one of drug lords and mobsters. Crime is rampant with an inept police force that was incapable of protecting its citizens, as illustrated in the movie by Wainwright Barth, played so well by the great Jonathan Winters. Society is filled with violence and corruption with the people’s only hope being a vigilante armed with ancient knowledge and occult powers.

The Shadow perfectly captures the Dark Ottensian sub-genre.

Hope in the Darkness
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves…" ~ Cassius in “Julius Caesar” (I, ii, 140-141)

Unlike Hopeful Ottensian, in Dark Ottensian neither human technological progress nor Modernity gives us hope for a better future. Instead, this drive for domination and control over both nature and ourselves is setting us up for destruction. The greater we strive to exert control and establish order the more chaos originates.

Yet, one shouldn’t think that the message of Dark Ottensian is one of hopelessness. At the end of the movie Cranston defeats Khan by learning to master the one thing that he never could before: himself. But he achieves this mastering not by exerting greater control but instead by letting go. He lets go of his past and his demons that haunt him as well as trying to control the Phurba by brute force. If one notices, previously in the movie the eyes of both Khan and Cranston would turn black when they used their occult powers. Yet, once Cranston achieves peace his eyes become pure silver. He has defeated his demons by letting go, finally achieved redemption, and we can see it in his eyes.

In Dark Ottensian hope for humanity lies not in Modernity’s drive for control and technological progress but by learning to let go of this desire for control and the demons that hold us back.

The Flavors of Dieselpunk: Part I

2010-11-07T15:07:00.013-06:00

Introduction
While dieselpunk is a varied and complex genre a general consensus in the dieselpunk community appears to have developed in that there are generally two major flavors or styles of dieselpunk: Ottensian and Piecraftian, which are named after two dieselpunk pioneers Nick Ottens and Mr. Piecraft. Ottensian dieselpunk draws its inspiration largely from the interbellum era while Piecraftian is centered on the 1940’s with a special emphasis on World War II. It’s important to note that Piecraftian dieselpunk, as envisioned by Mr. Piecraft, often has a dystopian element to it. Each flavor can be further broken down each into various sub-classes. This is the first in a series of posts in which I explore the various flavors and sub-classes of dieselpunk.

An important note: It should be understood that in many ways the term “flavor” is very appropriate for this topic. Just like a recipe includes a variety of flavors from many ingredients most dieselpunks mix the different flavors and sub-classes into what the genre means to each person. The purpose of this series of postings is not to stereotype or label but to help further the development of the genre through the exploration of trends within the dieselpunk genre.

World of Tomorrow: Hopeful Ottensian Dieselpunk

Diesel Era Roots
The Hopeful Ottensian dieselpunk sub-class views the interbellum era from a positive standpoint of seeing the proverbial glass as being half-full rather than half-empty.

The 1920's saw amazing advances in technology in human history. The first commercial radio station began broadcasting in 1920; automobiles became common place as their sophistication increased and costs dropped; the Great War had turned the primitive planes of the Wright Brothers from overgrown powered kites into impressive flying machines along with great advances in airships as well as the replacement of the steam locomotives by the diesel.

It was also an era of great scientific minds such as Einstein, Heisenberg and many more. Plus, it was an age of adventure with explorers such as Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart.

America saw one of the most dramatic increases in economic growth in its history. This era of prosperity brought a boom in consumerism as the sale of homes along with the new miracles of technology expanded dramatically. With the European economies destroyed due to the Great War America was placed in a position of dominance on the global economic scene. As a result it was able to place massive tariffs on imports while American exports expanded to levels never seen before.

In the area of art and entertainment the 1920's saw some of the greatest developments. Motion pictures saw rapid advancement and massive growth in popularity with actors such as Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Lon Chaney, Sr. and many more. The 1920's saw the growth of Jazz (to the point that the 1920s is often termed The Jazz Age), the appearance of Big Band and Swing along with the expansion in popularity of the Blues. The fine arts experienced a renaissance with Dada, Surrealism, and Art Deco. It was an age of artists such as Picasso and Norman Rockwell.

By focusing on all of this for many people the possibilities seemed limitless.

Hopeful Ottensian Dieselpunk
Without a doubt the best example of Hopeful Ottensian Dieselpunk is the movie “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.” According to Kerry Conran in an article at FilmFreaks.net (also referenced in Wikipedia) stated, “obviously the title refers to the World Expo and the spirit of that was looking at the future with a sense of optimism and a sense of the whimsical, you know, something that we've lost a lot in our fantasies. We're more cynical, more practical, which they lacked. They never thought about how practical it was to dock a zeppelin at the Empire State Building, but they did it anyway because it was the future. In that regard I think what this film attempts to do is to take that enthusiasm and innocence and celebrate it--to not get mired in the practicality that we're fixated upon today.”

“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” portrays the optimism of Hopeful Ottensian dieselpunk with Sullivan’s modified Curtiss P-40, Dex’s ray gun, as well as the armada of British flying airstrips. Even with Totenkoff’s use of technology for evil there’s the underlying positive theme to the movie and potential for technology to future progress. You can see this declaration of progress at the end with the great British fleet of flying land strips hovering in the background. Even one villain using technology for evil couldn’t hold back human progress.

Not all Ottensian is positive and hopeful for there is a darkness found in this flavor, which I will explore in my next blog entry.

Dieselpunk Horror: Shadow of the Vampire

2010-10-24T14:09:00.006-05:00

Though I normally don't post entries just a few days apart with Halloween being just next weekend I thought I would go ahead and post a review of one of what I consider to be one of the best dieselpunk horror films: “Shadow of the Vampire.”

Warning: the following review includes spoilers.

As I tried to write this review I found myself unable to improve upon a statement I found in Wikipedia, which was that the Shadow of the Vampire “is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic vampire film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, directed by F. W. Murnau.” In Shadow of the Vampire the actors and crew of the movie Nosferatu are told that the one playing the vampire, Max Shreck (William Defoe), would stay in character throughout the shooting. Over time as filming continues they become suspicious that something is wrong as members of the crew start to disappear or fall ill. Eventually the truth is discovered, which is that Shreck isn’t an actor but an actual vampire. The director, F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich), had made a Faustian deal with a real vampire that if he acted for him he would give Shreck the actress Greta Schroeder (Catherine McCormack) to feast upon.

This movie is a great example of dieselpunk horror. Not only does it rewrite the history of a real diesel era event (a common aspect found in many dieselpunk creations) but as one watches the movie one has to ask who the monster in the movie really is? Is the monster just the vampire or is the real monster much more human? The way the film presents this question adds a wonderful 'punk' component to the movie.

The Shadow of the Vampire isn’t an action packed horror movie, by any means. Also, though it’s rated R it’s certainly not a slasher film and is light on the gore and blood. But if you want a good horror movie with depth, wit and intelligence I highly recommend Shadow of the Vampire as an alternative to the usual formulaic horror films.

A side note about the real actor Max Shreck who played the vampire in the actual movie Nosferatu. An interesting twist of historical irony is that the actor’s last name just happens to be the same German word for “terror.” Not much is known about his personal life except, according to Wikipedia, “Schreck's contemporaries recalled he was a loner with an unusual sense of humor and skill in playing grotesque characters. One reported he lived in "a remote and strange world" and that he spent time walking through dark forests.”

Bellevue Cadillac: An Interview with Doug Bell

2010-10-22T18:39:00.003-05:00

Recently for Dieselpunks Forum I was honored with having the opportunity to interview the legendary Doug Bell, founder of the Bellevue Cadillac. Bellevue Cadillac is one of the leading bands of the retro-swing movement and has been previously nominated for seven Grammy nominations. Their music has appeared in numerous shows such as The Sopranos and Brotherhood.

You can read my interview with Doug Bell at the Dieselpunks Forum.

Film Noir Foundation

2010-10-10T15:05:00.009-05:00

There is simply no way to overstate the importance of Film Noir to the dieselpunk genre. Thankfully, there’s an organization dedicated to the preservation of the Film Noir classic movies: The Film Noir Foundation.

According to the Film Noir Foundation web site:

The Film Noir Foundation is a non-profit public benefit corporation created as an educational resource regarding the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of film noir as an original American cinematic movement. It is our mission to find and preserve films in danger of being lost or irreparably damaged, and to ensure that high quality prints of these classic films remain in circulation for theatrical exhibition to future generations.

That's the high-toned legalese. Here are the facts: Even as the high-tech revolution lets us own vast film libraries on DVD, the risk grows greater all the time that 35mm prints of some films will fall into disuse and eventually disintegrate—especially lesser-known titles that have slipped through the cultural cracks, but are worthy of rediscovery.

As a focal point of the classic film noir revival, the Foundation serves as a conduit between film companies and repertory cinemas still eager to screen these films in 35mm. Revenues generated by ticket sales encourage studios film archives to strike new prints of films that are at risk of disappearing from public view, either through neglect or scarcity.

Once these films are unearthed and returned to circulation, the chances exponentially increase that they will be reissued on DVD, available in pristine, affordable form for future generations of film-lovers.

As part of their public awareness campaign Film Noir Foundation hosts the annual Noir City Film Festival. The Film Festival runs for ten days every January in San Francisco showing rare films along with special guests and music. This year there will be a Noir City Film Festival held in Washington, D.C. running October 16th through November 3rd.

By making a small donation of $10 or more to the Film Noir Foundation web site one can subscribe to receive the Film Noir Foundation's amazing quarterly electronic magazine, the NOIR CITY, which has in-depth articles on classic film noir movies, their productions and the actors that we all love. This magazine is a must have for anyone who’s a fan of film noir.

Noir City

Like most non-profits the greater the amount of donation the greater the benefits. But what matters more than what one receives is the knowledge that by donating one is helping to preserve an important part of diesel era history.

Dieselpunk Art

2010-09-26T13:17:00.009-05:00

It seems like on a daily basis there’s more and more wonderful dieselpunk art being created and posted online. In this blog entry I want my readers to take a few moments and to closely examine this particular outstanding work of art by Ukrainian artist Alexey Lipatov, who is a freelance illustrator and comic book artist currently working as conceptual artist in casual games industry. His graphic stories include "Stalin vs. Hitler", "Wild Energy" (sci-fi) and "Hoffmann" (post-nuclear).

("Photo Session" by Alexey Lipatov)

Now I offer a question to my readers: what makes this drawing dieselpunk? There are specific aspects of this creation that makes it dieselpunk.

Leaving aside the fact that it’s a contemporary creation (a requirement of anything to be dieselpunk) it’s without a doubt heavy in decodence. Notice the diesel era mode of dress of the photographer along with his camera. Plus, the details of the vehicle have all of the elements of a diesel era car.

In addition to the strong decodence there are two aspects to this work of art that makes it “punk.” The most obvious is that the car is clearly not a run of the mill Packard. It’s apparently some form of retro-future flying car mounted with jet engines. One could stop here and declare this art dieselpunk but I want to go one step further. There is one other punk component that I find important in this creation, which is the female model.

Contrary to what some might think the fact that the model is nude doesn’t make it dieselpunk. Nudity in photographs and art was around long before the diesel era. What’s distinct here is that the woman’s posture and facial expression is a display of her power and self-confidence. She owns her sexuality and shows no shame over her body. This strong Feminist statement to me adds a strong punk element to Lipatov’s creation.

Alexey Lipatov’s work is an excellent example of dieselpunk art. You can see his more of his fantastic work at http://lipatov.deviantart.com

Online Sources for Dieselpunk Music

2010-09-12T15:39:00.007-05:00

In the previous posting I wrote about good online sources for diesel era music. In this post I address sources for dieselpunk music online.

It’s important to reiterate that one should not confuse dieselpunk music with productions from the diesel era. Diesel era music is important for dieselpunk in that it provides inspiration for the creation of something new much in the same fashion as the classics of the ancient world provided inspiration for the new creations of the Renaissance. Tome Wilson, web master of Dieselpunks Forum and without doubt a leader within the dieselpunk community, explained that, "Dieselpunk is a contemporary mashing of those classic aesthetics with something new, not a rebranding of the original." Wilson has stated what has largely become the standard definition of dieselpunk music.

(Radio City by Stefan Prohaczka)

It might help before I cover online sources that I provide a list of many of the bands and individual musicians that, while many might not call themselves "dieselpunk," are often listed as being dieselpunk artists and bands:

Wolfgang Parker
End Times Spasm Band
Big Rude Jake
The New Monty Show
RPM Orchestra
Gas House Gorillas
Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers
Squirrel Nut Zipper
Atomic Fireballs
Brian Setzer Orchestra
Cherry Poppin' Daddies (before they went back to their Ska roots)
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
The Puppini Sisters
Robbie Williams
Son of Dave
The Big Six
Indigo Swing
Eight to the Bar
Leon Redbone
Lee Presson and the Nails
Diablo Swing Orchestra

Now we’re ready to review the online stations. Unfortunately, while there are a lot of choices dedicated to diesel era music the online choices for true dieselpunk music are few.

Dieselpunks Forum
A great source of dieselpunk music is the Dieselpunks Jukebox found on the Dieselpunks Forum. The Jukebox provides six amazing hours of commercial free music for your listening pleasure. As the site states, the Dieselpunks Jukebox, "blends tunes from the classic era (inspiration for dieselpunks) with modern dieselpunk artists." At the Dieselpunk Jukebox not only will one hear quality diesel era classics but also hear great dieselpunk music from bands and artists such as Wolfgang Parker, Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Puppini Sisters and Royal Crown Revue.

LastFM
Another choice is LastFM. After setting up a free user account one chooses the "Radio" feature at the top of the page. This is where the list I gave comes in handy because typing in "dieselpunk" will result in odd collection of mostly goth and electronic. To create a station that plays dieselpunk music you need to type in a specific artist or band.

For example, I created my preferred station by inputting the name of Wolfgang Parker, my favorite dieselpunk musician. Not only did I have songs by Parker but the site listed with him Bellevue Cadillac, Indigo Swing, Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers and Royal Crown Revue among others.

While LastFM is great it has its limits. First, it’s only free to those inside the UK, US or Germany. Those in other countries must establish pay accounts to listen. Second, if you’re like me you prefer browsers such as Firefox, which has an AdBlock plug-in that prevents not only pop-up ads but also the irritating flashing embedded advertisements so common to pages such as Yahoo. For LastFM to work one must disable this feature. As a result the page is one of the most cluttered web sites with irritating advertisements that I have ever seen. Finally, sometimes LastFM seems to forget what choices one has made and will start playing something completely unrelated. After repeatedly choosing the ban button I found that at times I had to stop the player and reload the station.

Pandora
In the previous posting on classic diesel era music I recommended Pandora Radio, which uses the Music Genome Project to tailor its music to your preference. While in the last posting I recommended Pandora for blues it can be used to access dieselpunk music.

Just like LastFM, Pandora won’t recognize "dieselpunk" as a genre to create a station. So one needs to know the name of a dieselpunk band or artist and then create a station to match. Unfortunately, like LastFM, Pandora also has some problems. The most glaring flaw is its lack of selection. Pandora fails to include in its library several major dieselpunk bands and artists. For example, neither Wolfgang Parker nor Big Rude Jake will give results on Pandora. To add to this Pandora’s listening range is even more limiting than LastFM in that it only works within the US. Finally, while there isn’t the screen clutter of LastFM there’s an occasional product commercial.

So there you have it. If you want a mix of quality diesel era classics along with fantastic dieselpunk music then the best choice is the Dieselpunks Jukebox. It’s commercial free and all one has to do is sit back and listen. If you want just dieselpunk music with no classics then, in my opinion, your next best choice is LastFM, which has a great variety of dieselpunk music. The problem is that it’s free service is limited to only three nations and the page has excessive screen clutter. Plus, the fact that LastFM will sometimes fail to properly learn the style of music and will start feeding unrelated selections. Finally, the last choice is Pandora. A major problem is Pandora’s lack of selection though it can be good if the band you’re interested in is their library. While Pandora lacks the screen clutter of LastFM it does have occasional product commercials and it’s only free, with a 40 hour limit, inside the US.

Quality Online Classic Radio

2010-08-29T16:22:00.013-05:00

In my last posting I wrote about Radio Riel Dieselpunk, which I stated failed to live up to its name and was overall very poor. But since I like to keep things positive, this time I’m going to recommend some sources for quality online classic radio programming.

Before I start it’s important to note that none of the providers listed here portray themselves as "dieselpunk." All of them are clear that what they provide are classic productions from the 1920's - 1940's.

Online Libraries
One of the most impressive online libraries of diesel era classics is "Pilsner Picks." All of the choices at Pilsner Picks are free with a new song list ever month. According to Pilsner Panther he has an outstanding collection of over 12,000 vintage sound recordings so his material is always fresh.

One of the most unusual and fascinating online libraries is an archive of a show, which is no longer produced, called "The Secret Museum of the Air." In this hour long show Citizen Kafka and curator Pat Conte play some of the rarest and sometimes oddest recordings from the diesel era that you will ever hear.

What had originally been part of the radio station WAMU in Washington DC, the online radio station Bluegrass Country has a program hosted by music scholar Dick Spottswood, which he calls the "Obsolete Music Hour." His show, which actually runs for two hours, highlights folk culture in the United States with an emphasis on 1920s through 1950s.

Finally, for classic radio shows there’s the "Old Time Radio Fan." At OTRF one will find recordings of classic radio shows such as Gang Busters, Philip Marlowe and Dragnet.

Streaming Online Radio Stations
But if you would rather just sit back and let the broadcast stream there are several good options available to you.

If your interest is in old time radio shows then a good option is "Yesterday USA Radio Network." YUSA, which was founded in 1983 by Bill Bragg, is the worldwide voice of the non-profit National Museum of Communications. The station is also non-profit and is funded entirely by contributions from its listeners. The YUSA station is operated by an all-volunteer staff.

For music primarily of the 1920’s and 1930’s without a doubt one has to pick "Radio Dismuke." According to the Radio Dismuke site the station, "features original recordings from the 1925 - 1935 decade and can be heard at no cost from anywhere in the world by anyone with an Internet connection and a sound card equipped computer."

Another good choice is "The 1920’s Radio Network." This wonderful station broadcasts classic swing and big band 24 hours a day commercial free with just a break at the top of each hour to give their station ID and the fact that it is indeed the top of the hour.

For music primarily from the 1940’s and with more of an emphasis on classic swing and big band the best choice is the Menlo-Atherton High School radio station in Atherton, Ca, KCEA 89.1.

For diesel era classic streaming I highly recommend "Stay Tuned America." STA is an excellent station that broadcasts diesel era classics such as Big Band and Swing 24/ 7. But it’s more than just streaming music. They also have guess DJ’s who offer specialty program with specific themes.

If your interest is classic jazz then I recommend the "Swiss Internet Radio Service – Radio Crazy." The SIRS site states that, "RadioCrazy Classical&Jazz is a non-profit organization and one of the largest Internet radio services in Switzerland."

One simply can’t think of the diesel era without including the Blues. The best online source of classic blues that I’ve found is "Pandora Radio." Pandora uses the Music Genome Project to tailor its music to your preference. After entering an artist name or genre of music Pandora generates a station to match. As the music plays the site will ask you for feedback on each song through a simple check box. Over time the choice of songs will be tailored closer and closer to fit your preference. You can create any number of stations to match any preference you have at any time. There are only two downsides to Pandora. It’s not completely commercial free in that it does interrupt occasionally with a very brief product commercial. Plus, there are reports that if you listen for a too long period of time that it will expect you to sign up for a paid subscription though I’ve listened for hours straight and I’ve never been asked.

So there are some choices for quality online diesel era music by stations that are honest about the services they offer. All of them are for the most part commercial free with, in most cases, no subscription fees. These stations are available online 24 hours a day either live or archived as podcasts. In my next post I’m going to write about how one can find real dieselpunk music online. So stay tuned.

Radio Riel Dieselpunk

2010-08-13T15:53:00.016-05:00

Not too long ago I came across an online radio service called Radio Riel The site describes itself as follows:

Radio Riel is an Internet-based public radio station supported by listeners and sponsors, with five audio streams providing a unique selection of music, spoken-word and other programming to inform, educate and entertain, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Being a big fan of radio in general, especially internet radio, I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of their streams was labeled Radio Riel Dieselpunk, which describes itself as playing, "music from 1920–1940, including Pop Standards, Big Band & Swing, Burlesque & Cabaret & a dash of Film Noir Soundtracks. Currently believed to be the world's only Dieselpunk station."

Also on the site I found that they play the following:

Oldies, covers, remixes and revival, today's programme features Swing and Jazz music from the 30s through to modern day. From the originals like Acker Bilk, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, through the crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Ella Fitzgerald to today's revival with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Squirrel Nut Zippers and Royal Crown Revue there's a little something for everyone.

Seeing bands such as Squirrel Nut Zippers and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy listed made me hopeful. I decided to listen to Radio Riel Dieselpunk.

After two hours straight of listening to it I have to report that I’m very disappointed. While I did hear crooners such as Sinatra as well as Big Bands such as Benny Goodman I never heard a single retro-swing band such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy or Royal Crown Revue as they claimed on their site. Nor did I hear dieselpunk artists such as The Puppini Sisters or LaVay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. I certainly never heard the edgier dieselpunk bands and musicians such as Diablo Swing Orchestra or Wolfgang Parker.

Unfortunately even their selections of diesel era classics left me cold. Most of the artists played I had never heard before and the choice of songs where rather bland. Another negative was that Radio Riel interrupted their programming with advertisements much more often than other internet radio providers, such as Pandora.

When one combines all of this there was nothing about Radio Riel Dieselpunk that earned the label "dieselpunk." The station owners seemed to have a misunderstanding of what dieselpunk is. Dieselpunk isn’t a reenactment of the diesel era, though many of us at times enjoy reenacting the era's style and fashion, nor is it nostalgia by just replaying the productions from that era. It’s a postmodern movement that draws on the diesel era for inspiration as part of creating something altogether new.

Radio Riel Dieselpunk proves that just because you label a product something doesn’t make it so.

Diesel Era Classic: The Shadow's 80th Anniversary

2010-08-01T11:38:00.014-05:00

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

80 years ago, on July 31st, 1930, with that wonderful opening line America was introduced to one of the great diesel era fantasy heroes of all time, The Shadow. While at first he was simply a spooky narrator he was later turned into a fully developed character who used "the power to cloud men's minds" to fight crime on the mean streets of New York. The Shadow was eventually given his own comic book publication, The Shadow Magazine, in January of 1931. As though sensing the end of what dieselpunks call the diesel era, in the summer of 1949 The Shadow Magazine published its final issue.

Over the years the Shadow has appeared in other formats such as comic strips, television and numerous films. In 1994 The Shadow was made into a major motion picture starring Alec Baldwin as The Shadow and Penelope Ann Miller as Margo Lane, which received several nominations from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA. While it opened to mixed reviews Roger Ebert gives it three stars at his web site and writes,

"The Shadow" is the kind of movie that plays better, the more baggage you bring to it. If you respond to film noir, if you like dark streets and women with scarlet lips and big fast cars with running boards, the look of this movie will work some kind of magic.

Lamont Cranston / The Shadow (Alec Baldwin)

Margo Lane (Penelope Ann Miller)

The word in the media is that the rights to The Shadow have been bought by Fox and that a new Shadow movie is in the works with a possible release in 2012.

Wikipedia has an excellent article on The Shadow and its history.

Blade Runner: Dieselpunk or Cyberpunk?

2010-07-20T11:35:00.014-05:00

1982 saw the release of one of the great movies of science fiction, Blade Runner. Loosely based on Philip K Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” the movie, while not a box office success at its release, has since been declared "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and chosen for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

For those few who have not seen Blade Runner, the movie is set in Los Angeles in the year 2019. It portrays a dystopian future where Earth, for reason’s never explained, appears dying and in which those humans lucky enough to be healthy are abandoning the planet to live in “off-world” colonies. The only living things left on Earth are humans crammed into polluted, overpopulated cities, which are run as police states and where the people are forced to try to survive by retro-fitting technology. The central elements of the story involve genetically produced androids, known as “replicants,” who appear indistinguishable from humans and are created to slave in the off world colonies. After a violent rebellion the replicants were forbidden from Earth and a special police unit known as Blade Runners were created to kill (they use the euphemism “retire”) any rogue replicant that return.

In the movie the lead character, an ex-Blade Runner named Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford), is forced to rejoin the Blade Runner Unit to hunt down four rogue replicants who have returned to Earth and to “retire” them.

Historically, Blade Runner has been considered as a cyberpunk movie but I disagree. It’s my opinion, which has also been expressed by some others in the dieselpunk community, is that Blade Runner should actually be classified as dieselpunk. Let me make my case.

First, Blade Runner is heavy in decodence, which incorporates the aesthetics, styles and themes of the diesel era. Just as in the diesel era in Blade Runner there is an all-powerful capitalist Dr. Eldon Tyrell, CEO of Tyrell Corporation. The hair style and fashion of many of the characters, especially Rachael’s (played by the gorgeous Sean Young) and Gaff (played by the amazing Edward James Olmos) were clearly inspired from the diesel era.

Gaff (Edward James Olmos)

Rachael (Sean Young)

There are moments in Blade Runner that appear as though they could have been lifted straight from a classic diesel era film, such as the scene in the police office that used the lighting from a window to give the feel that they were watching a projected movie rather than a video. Not to mention the architecture of the city that was obviously inspired by the 1927 classic science fiction Metropolis. (Source: The Guardian)

Scene from Metropolis

Scene from Blade Runner

Second, the film has been appropriately labeled as “neo-noir” by Judith Barad in an article in Mark Conrad’s book “The Philosophy of Neo-Noir.” This is supported by Ripley Scott, the director of Blade Runner, who said in the documentary Dangerous Days: The Making of Blade Runner that he decided to, “make a futuristic film noir.” The noir elements are everywhere in the film. One can see it in the constant oppressive rain, which almost screams “it was a dark and stormy night.” Decker’s character is a detective taken straight from Philip Marlow or Sam Spade, down to the narration that was included in the theatrical release. To drive home the film noir intent, according to the documentary, during pre-production the actor Robert Mitchum was the first consideration to play Deckard because of his history of making film noir.

Finally, there is little in Blade Runner that’s actually cybernetic. Certainly there’s a great amount of high tech, such as flying cars, but cybernetic technology play a minor role in the film. As the replicant Roy Batty (played by Rutger Hauer) said, “We’re not computers Sebastian, we’re physical.” Some may protest saying that the central theme of the movie is to try to understand what is means to be human, which is a common theme found in cyberpunk. But Jerold J Abrams explains in Conrad’s book that all detective stories, whether they are classic tales, film noir, or neo-noir are actually searches for the nature of the self and the existential question of meaning. Such themes, even when placed in futuristic settings, do not automatically make a movie cyberpunk.

In conclusion, when one combines all three of the components found in the movie: decodence, neo-noir, and the minor role of cybernetics, it’s my opinion, that Blade Runner should not be considered a cyberpunk movie but would be better classified as dieselpunk.

Carnivàle

2010-07-04T15:08:00.007-05:00

It’s amazing how a movie or a series can come on the scene with flourish and acclaim then disappear to be largely forgotten. One such show was a fascinating dieselpunk series that ran briefly on HBO: Carnivàle.

Carnivàle debuted September 14th 2003, breaking all records for an HBO series at that time and winning numerous awards. The second season unfortunately didn’t bring in the audience like the first resulting in its premature cancellation.

Set in America during the mid-1930’s, Carnivàle is a classic tale of the battle between good and evil, which is explained to the audience in the opening of first episode by the actor Michael J. Anderson (known for the television series Twin Peaks and who plays a Carnivàle character named Samson) . We are first introduced to Ben Hawkins (played by Nick Stahl) who comes across with a simple but noble innocence.

Ben Hawkins (Actor Nick Stahl)

As soon as Clancy Brown, who played the deliciously evil Victor Kruger in the movie Highlander, appears playing a minister named Brother Justin Crowe it quickly becomes obvious which characters are going to represent which opposing values.

Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown)

The show’s creators and producers reportedly took great pains to try to recreate the time and feel of America during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. I can say that without a doubt they succeeded. In fact, it was in the areas of art direction, cinematography, costumes, and hairstyling that it won four of its six Emmys.

The opening to Carnivàle is fascinating in its use of tarot cards, which it incorporates with documentary footage from the 1930s giving you the impression that the events themselves were hidden within the art of the very cards. The opening is made all the more intriguing by the theme music that is wonderfully eerie and haunting.

Along with the amazing cinematography and artistry, Carnivàle’s storyline is infused with the supernatural and a sense of dread. Several characters in the travelling carnival who take on Hawkins have telepathic abilities that are frightening to both them and others. Hawkins and Crowe, as well as other characters, repeatedly have bizarre and confusing visions as well as powers that they don’t understand.

All of the characters in the series are shown as complex. Though they may be pimping, prostituting, scamming, or worse each character is shown as being very human with both good and bad attributes. The viewer will find him or herself caring about all of the characters, even at times Brother Crowe, throughout the series.

What can I say about the acting other than amazing? Stahl, Brown, Anderson and the entire cast give outstanding performances throughout the series.

A word of warning is required concerning Carnivàle. HBO seemed to pull out all stops with the freedom granted to it by cable television. The series contains scenes with graphic nudity, sex, language and violence. It’s certainly for mature audiences only.

Carnivàle contains all of the elements of what was referred to by Piecraft and Ottens as a Dark Ottensian dieselpunk (“Discovering Dieselpunk,” The Gatehouse Gazette, issue 1). It’s certainly Ottensian in that it takes place during the interbellum era. Yet, unlike most Ottensian dieselpunk movies which tend to be positive and optimistic, such as Sky Captain or the Indiana Jones series, Carnivàle is dark, violent and infused with an overt air of fear and impending doom.

Both seasons are currently available on DVD. I highly recommend Carnivàle as part of anyone’s dieselpunk collection.

The Grass is Blue: Expanding Dieselpunk Music

2010-06-20T13:50:00.010-05:00

As I mentioned in a prior posting there appears to be a consensus or standard in the dieselpunk community as to what should be defined as "dieselpunk music."

Since that posting I have fine tuned the definition to consisting of two critical components with one optional element. The first critical component is that there needs to be some form of connection to the diesel era. It may be preference for songs that were popular in that time. Or the musicians may have a musical style reminiscent of that era. The other critical component is that it needs to be contemporary in that the musical piece in question was created after the diesel era. This means that no matter how much we may love Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, the Andrew Sisters and the other masters of the diesel era their works are not dieselpunk. The last, but not absolutely necessary, component is that the trappings and fashion of the musicians may have a feel for that era though not necessarily the same as was worn then.

One can recognize these elements being applied in the comments made by dieselpunks on the various forums and blogs. Bands that play modern variants of swing music (retro-swing, Punk Swing, etc), such as Indigo Swing or Wolfgang Parker, are very popular in the dieselpunk community. Also, popular are contemporary big bands such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy or the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

But if we’re true to our definition then we may be overlooking a whole genre of music that should be considered dieselpunk. In this case, I’m referring to Bluegrass music.

Origins of Bluegrass Music
As mentioned earlier one critical component of dieselpunk music is a connection to the diesel era. A quick review of the history of bluegrass shows that it does satisfy this component. According to Wikipedia:

Bluegrass as a style developed during the mid-1940s. Because of war rationing, recording was limited during that time, and it would be most accurate to say that bluegrass was played some time after World War II, but no earlier. As with any musical genre, no one person can claim to have "invented" it. Rather, bluegrass is an amalgam of old-time music, country, ragtime and jazz. Nevertheless, bluegrass's beginnings can be traced to one band. Today Bill Monroe is referred to as the "founding father" of bluegrass music; the bluegrass style was named for his band, the Blue Grass Boys, formed in 1939. The 1945 addition of banjo player Earl Scruggs, who played with a three-finger roll originally developed by Snuffy Jenkins and others but now almost universally known as "Scruggs style", is considered the key moment in the development of this genre.

Bill Monroe

Contemporary Productions
Today bluegrass is alive and well with original productions and new songs. While one can still find musicians playing the traditional style, such as Ricky Skaggs and Hazel Dickens, bluegrass has continued to evolve and create sub-genres just as swing music has. One sub-genre is progressive bluegrass (also known as newgrass) with bands such Alison Krauss and Union Station, Railroad Earth, and Nickel Creek.

Nickel Creek

Trappings and Fashion
Unlike modern big bands and swing, contemporary bluegrass bands tend to place less emphasis on diesel era fashion. This is likely the result of the early influence of the founders of bluegrass, such as the before mentioned Bill Monroe, who intentionally strived to dress in contemporary fashion though often with the addition of a Western style hat. In the diesel era Southern culture was often portrayed by popular media in a derogatory fashion (I might add that this negative portrayal by the media can often be found today) and that the early bluegrass founders felt that dressing in a contemporary fashion would help give bluegrass, as well as Southern culture in general, respectability. Most modern bluegrass musicians continue this practice by also wearing modern contemporary fashion.

Alison Krauss and Union Station

If the Shoe Fits
So as we can see that, while bluegrass musicians might not dress in traditional diesel era fashion, bluegrass as a musical genre meets the two critical components of dieselpunk music in that not only did it originate in the diesel era but that bluegrass continues to evolve with new and original productions and sub-genres. In my opinion, it’s safe to say that modern bluegrass should be defined as dieselpunk.

News From the Front: A-Kon 21

2010-06-07T18:05:00.011-05:00

As Walter Winchell used to say, “Good evening Mr and Mrs America, from border to border and coast to coast and all the ships at sea. Let's go to press.” Well, I just got back today from the A-Kon 21 at the Sheraton Hotel in Dallas, Texas and I have news from the ongoing effort to spread the word of dieselpunk.

My wife and I started the convention the day before it began by standing in the very, very long line for pre-registration conventioneers. I was dressed in my usual dieselpunk style. That day I was in all black fedora, shirt, slacks and lapel vest along with a rich purple tie. I was surprised by the compliments and positive looks. I even had my photo taken once by a young woman.

Though there were no events or presentations dedicated to dieselpunk at A-Kon my contacts with people told me that there was a real interest in dieselpunk. The first actual day of the convention, which was Friday June 4th, I decided to dress in what I call my dieselpunk occult. Again I was in all black no vest, though I had my black fedora, of course. This time rather than a tie I had a red celtic choker medallion, a silver dragon chain and I was carrying a black walking stick with a dragon’s claw holding a red globe. Needless to say this opened many opportunities when my style was asked about.

That same night was the Steampunk Tea Party. Rather than change I went ahead in my dark, occult dieselpunk. Many of the steampunks that I spoke to while there, especially those who were more mature in age than other conventioneers, were not only knowledgeable of dieselpunk but spoke highly of it. Occasionally I even heard, “I actually prefer dieselpunk.” Another positive statement was, “A dieselpunk event here would be great!” One lovely lady, who was dressed in a very authentic looking Victorian dress and hat at the tea party, before I even mentioned dieselpunk, said about herself, “You should have seen me earlier today when I dressed dieselpunk.” I nearly dropped my cup of my tea when she said that.

Though there were very few costumes that one could call “diesel” there was one person who I would classify as “Piecraftian” dieselpunk.

There was also a pretty good Dr. Steel representation present. I saw several Dr. Steel buttons being worn and Dr. Steel videos were being given out free at the steampunk tea party.

Finally, there was the Abney Park concert on Saturday night. Needless to say, since I love steampunk, I couldn’t help but dress steampunk that day for the concert. After waiting for hours in line my wife and I, along with our friends, were able to get right in front of the stage. Then I saw something that I had never noticed before. Daniel Cederman, who plays bass guitar for the band, wasn’t really dressed steampunk. He was dressed dieselpunk!

Daniel Cederman

You can see further evidence of Cederman’s dieselpunk style at the Abney Park web site if you look at his images in the Crew section.

After talking to numerous participants about dieselpunk at A-Kon the reception was very positive. Many expressed an interest in seeing a representation of dieselpunk at conventions. From walking around and looking at the styles popular among anime fans it’s my opinion that any attempts to get a presence at anime conventions then Piecraftian style would be a highly popular one. Also, costumes such as Sky Captain with Polly or dressed as one of the aliens from Dark City would be a big draw. Dr. Steel is also a good starting spot. In the form of music I would recommend artist such as Wolfgang Parker, who has a harder edge with his Punk-Swing style of music. Those are just a few ideas and I’m sure there are many, many more.

Now it’s up to us to make it happen. Who’s with me?

Going Back to Nature

2010-05-16T13:32:00.010-05:00

“When every night,
The set that's smart
Is intruding in nudist parties in studios,
Anything Goes.”
Lyrics to the song “Anything Goes,” written by Cole Porter, 1934

After a long series on a rather serious subject I think its fitting to quote John Cleese, “And now for something completely different.” In this case, that difference is an essay on how the modern nudist movement actually traces its roots back to the diesel era.

Long before the diesel era organized social nudism was well developed in Germany, which many see as the birthplace of modern social nudism. Known as the Freikörperkultur (FKK), which translates as Free Body Culture, Germany saw a dramatic increase in popularity of nudism during the Roaring Twenties. As an example of its growth in popularity Germany’s first nude beach was established on Sylt island in 1920. No one should be surprised that the Nazis heavily suppressed German social nudism when they rose to power. According to Hermann Goring, “One of the greatest dangers for German culture and morality is the so-called nudity movement.” After World War II social nudism made a dramatic comeback and flourished in both East and West Germany.

German Nudist Magazine from the 1920’s

Social nudism wasn’t unknown in England prior to the diesel era either. Previously there had been several English nudist advocates, such as socialist and activist Edward Carpenter. In 1924 the first successful nudist club in the UK, which was named the “Moonella Group," was established at Wickford, Essex.

Just as in England there had also been several French advocates of social nudism prior to diesel era, such as a Frenchmen named S. Gay who established a naturist community at Bois-Fourgon in 1903. But it was Marcel Kienné de Mongeot who is often credited as being the founder of the modern French nudist movement in 1920. In the 1930’s the Doctors André and Gaston Durville opened Héliopolis naturist center on Ile du Levant as well as other nudist sites. Another French nudism advocate Albert Lecoq founded the North Gymnastics Center in 1933.

America also saw the birth of its own modern nudist movement in the 1920’s. Most trace the modern American social nudist movement to Kurt Barthel, who started the American League for Physical Culture in 1929. The League had its first outing, consisting of 3 women and 4 men most of who were in their twenties, later that year in New York. In addition to founding the League, in May of 1932 Kurt Barthel also established America's first official nudist camp in New Jersey called 'Sky Farm.' In the 1930’s the American Gymnosphical Association, an organization formed by a group of members who had left the American League, established another nudist club that they named 'Rock Lodge.'

Kurt Barthel

Barthel’s American League, after a series of spin-offs and reorganizations over the years, is considered the ancestor of the current American Association for Nude Recreation, which now has over 50,000 members and is considered one of the leaders in the today’s nudist (now called naturist) movement. In addition, both Sky Farm and Rock Lodge continue to operate today as member-owned co-operative naturist clubs.

One last item of historical curiosity is an advertisement from a July 1937 issue of Life magazine for Simonize Car Wax that includes a photo of a nude woman in a transparent raincoat that reads, “Don’t… Let Your Car Go Nudist!” Link to Life Magazine.

It should be obvious that contrary to popular assumption modern nudism as a movement isn’t a product of the Baby Boomers, or the hippy culture of the 1960’s, but is actually a product of the diesel era. Of course on a lighter note, being that this is a dieselpunk site, this revelation may also give some readers a new way to define “dieselpunk fashion.”

Dieselpunk Politics – Part 4

2010-05-02T10:30:00.006-05:00

This is the last of the installments exploring the possibility that there may exist something that could be labeled as dieselpunk political/ economic movements.

As I’ve done before there are some disclaimers that I feel are necessary. First, while only two socio-political systems have been addressed in my blog I don’t mean to imply these are the only two possible systems that may be worthy of being called dieselpunk politics. But, in my opinion, these two political/ economic schools are useful for demonstrating clear examples of two possible systems. Second, it’s not my intent to advocate for any specific socio-economic theory. Once again I wish to repeat that the goal of these blog entries is to offer support for my claim that such a label can be applied appropriately.

In this final entry on dieselpunk politics I’m honored that Hayen Mill has been so gracious as to honor us with another essay. In this case Mr. Mill has written on a school of thought commonly called “anarcho-capitalism” and its ties to the diesel era. So once again, I’m honored to turn my blog over to Mr. Hayen Mill. ~ Larry

A highly controversial political ideology that one could label as ‘dieselpunk’ is anarcho-capitalism, under the broader term of libertarianism. Contrary to minarchism, it advocates the elimination of the state and the elevation of the sovereign individual in a free market. In an anarcho-capitalist society, law enforcement, courts, and all other security services would be provided by voluntarily-funded competitors such as private defense agencies rather than through taxation, and money would be privately and competitively provided in an open market. According to anarcho-capitalists, personal and economic activities would be regulated by the natural laws of the market and through private law rather than through politics.

Anarcho-capitalists, a term originally coined by Murray Rothbard, see free-market capitalism as the basis for a free and prosperous society. "Capitalism," as anarcho-capitalists employ the term, is not to be confused with state monopoly capitalism, crony capitalism, corporatism, or contemporary mixed economies, wherein natural market incentives and disincentives are skewed by state intervention.

Murray Rothbard

In contrast with all the other anarchist theories, anarcho-capitalism is based upon the subjective theory of value, which holds that to possess value an object must be both useful and scarce, with the extent of that value dependent upon the ability of an object to satisfy the wants of any given individual.

One of recent possible examples of anarcho-capitalism in practice can be the Old West in the United States in the period of 1830 to 1900, according to the research of Terry L. Anderson and P. J. Hill, given that “private agencies provided the necessary basis for an orderly society in which property was protected and conflicts were resolved," and that the common popular perception that the Old West was chaotic with little respect for property rights is incorrect.

Not so wild west couple

Central to anarcho-capitalism are the concepts of self-ownership and original appropriation (aka homesteading principle), as well as the non-aggression principle (NAP). Anarcho-capitalists advocate individual or joint (i.e. private) ownership of the means of production and the product of labor regardless of what the individual "needs" or does not need.

Some contemporary examples of anarcho-capitalism include Merchant Law and the common modern practice of settling disputes through mutually agreed arbitration rather than government courts.

As written in the introduction to dieselpunk politics, there are three general elements necessary for one to be able to use the label dieselpunk:

1)contemporary in that it can be found today, 2) decodence in that we can identify it as existing in some form during the 20s through 40s, and 3) ‘punk’ in that it emphasizes independence and exists primarily outside the mainstream of politics of that time as well as today.

Anarcho-Capitalism fits these three by being contemporary (thanks to the Austrian School of Economics and writers like David D. Friedman) while at the same time paying tribute to the era of 1920s-1940s, when the idea of the businessman as the agent vital to the advancement of society was immortalized by examples of many great industrialists. It also emphasizes independence in that it rejects central authority and celebrates the integrity of businessmen when being confronted with regulatory agencies or government bureaucrats (this is immortalized by Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged). While not being a defendant of anarcho-capitalism, the book was the starting point of many contemporary anarcho-capitalists. It also exists primarily outside of the mainstream of politics, both during the 1920s-1940s as well as today. It is, however, currently rejected by most social anarchists, mostly by the use of the term anarchism as by the dispute of the legitimacy of private property, giving more emphasis to its marginality.

Dieselpunk Politics – Part 3

2010-04-18T13:54:00.005-05:00

Now that we’ve addressed mainstream politics of that era we’re in a position to explore what might be considered dieselpunk politics. In this entry I’m honored to introduce as a guest writer Hayen Mill who I had the good fortune to meet through the forum dieselpunks.org, which is at the forefront of dieselpunk and is playing an important role in the ongoing development of the genre and subculture of dieselpunk. Mr. Mill describes himself as a “young male from Europe, enthusiast about dieselpunk and left-libertarianism.” In this blog entry Mr. Mill honors us with an essay on Mutualism and its roots in the diesel era. ~ Larry

One of the less known hypothetical varieties in dieselpunk politics could very well be the mutualist anarchist school of thought, which can be included in the broader term of Individualist Anarchism. It can also sometimes be referred to as Free-market Anti-Capitalism.

Mutualism, originally coined by Joseph-Pierre Proudhon, envisions a society where each person might possess a means of production, either individually or collectively, with trade representing equivalent amounts of labor in the free-market.

Joseph-Pierre Proudhon

In contrast with other anarchist theories, mutualism can either base itself on the labor theory of value or on the marginal utility theory, allowing for greater diversification of arguments. A very recent mutualism revival, by Kevin Carson, focuses exactly on the later, while trying to reconcile Austrian economics with Marxist Theories (a very uncommon mix indeed!).

One of the most closely related historical events was the Spanish Revolution, a worker’s social revolution that began during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Much of Spain’s economy was put under worker control; Factories were run through worker committees, agrarian areas became collectivized and run as libertarian communes. Even places like hotels, barber shops, and restaurants were collectivized and managed by their workers.

Doctrinal magazine depicting the worker’s revolution

Mutualists have distinguished mutualism from state socialism, and don't advocate state control over the means of production. Benjamin Tucker said of Proudhon, that "though opposed to socializing the ownership of capital, [Proudhon] aimed nevertheless to socialize its effects by making its use beneficial to all instead of a means of impoverishing the many to enrich the few...by subjecting capital to the natural law of competition, thus bringing the price of its own use down to cost”. So while the Spanish Revolution is not a prime example, it retains some elements of Mutualism.

Integral to mutualism is the establishment of mutual credit institutions, which allow for equality of opportunity in accessing resources and allow for greater entrepreneurship as well as competition in business enterprises.

More contemporary forms of mutualism include the internet (with its free association liberties and free software projects, like Linux), cooperative enterprises (like Mondragón’s federation of coops) and some fair trade movements.

As written in the introduction to dieselpunk politics, there are three general elements necessary for one to be able to use the label dieselpunk:

1)contemporary in that it can be found today, 2) decodence in that we can identify it as existing in some form during the 20s through 40s, and 3) ‘punk’ in that it emphasizes independence and exists primarily outside the mainstream of politics of that time as well as today.

Mutualism fits these three by being contemporary (especially with Kevin Carson’s revival) while at the same time paying tribute to the era of 1920s-1940s, when the idea of revolution was believed as achievable and necessary (something that most mutualists still believe today). It also emphasizes independence in that it rejects central authority and prefers a more spontaneous bottom-up approach to society’s organization. It also exists primarily outside of the mainstream of politics, both during the 1920s-1940s as well as today.

Dieselpunk Politics – Part 2

2010-04-04T16:00:00.003-05:00

In the previous installment I proposed that there are three elements to what might be identified as dieselpunk politics: contemporary, decodence (pointing to or found in the 20’s- 40’s), and ‘punk’ (i.e. outside the mainstream with an emphasis on independence). The purpose of this essay is to provide a, very brief, review of the political/ economic systems during the decades of 1920’s through end of the 1940’s.

As I’ve done so before, once again I feel there is a need for a disclaimer. I’m not a historian and the following are topics that minds far greater than my own have written whole volumes on. Therefore, remember that what follows is a very, very brief description of the three mainstream political/ economic systems common in that era and is heavy with my opinion.

Capitalism
Capitalism, specifically as it was in America, took on different characteristics in each of the three decades of that era: The Roaring Twenties (roughly 1920’s), The Great Depression (roughly 1930’s), and The War Years (roughly 1940’s).

The Roaring Twenties
The ever useful Wikipedia states what I consider to be a fairly accurate description of capitalism during the Roaring Twenties. Wiki states that it was, “an era of "monopoly capitalism," marked by government's movement from laissez-faire capitalism and competitive markets to the concentration of capital into large monopolistic or oligopolistic holdings by banks and financiers, and characterized by the growth of large corporations and a division of labor separating shareholders, owners, and managers.”

The Great Depression
From a political and economic standpoint the distinctive characteristic of the 1930’s was the economic collapse by which it gets its name, “The Great Depression.” In the early years of the crisis, which began during the Hoover Administration, the US government took limited action. What little government steps that were taken failed to restart the economy. Some historians and economists go so far as to say that the action taken by the Hoover Administration may have actually exacerbated the situation. In contrast to Hoover, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took a far more active role through what he called The New Deal, which included the restructuring of the financial system along with establishing numerous governmental programs, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration, later renamed the Works Projects Administration (WPA). There were several other government programs initiated by FDR earning it the nickname as the Alphabet Administration. One can find a list of the various programs here.

The War Years
During World War II the American economy was geared primarily to one thing: war production. Factories that had been building cars were now building tanks and airplanes. Women who would never had been allowed to work outside the home were suddenly working in factories and holding jobs historically held by men. Rationing of goods was imposed across the country.

The latter half of the decade saw a period in which the American economy grew at a rate never before seen. In the closing years of the 1940’s America saw itself in a unique position in the global economy. Due to the devastating effects of World War II the European economies were in ruins leaving little competition to American business. American-made products flooded onto the world market as the rest of the world began to rebuild. The average level of education for Americans went up greatly as a result of government-paid education under the GI Bill. Wages and benefits for American workers rose dramatically as the Federal government supported the rights of workers to unionize. The decade ended with the start of the Cold War resulting in the continual growth of military spending by the government, which also pumped large amounts of money into the American economy.

Communism

Stalinism
The dominating figure in the Soviet Union starting in 1928 and through the diesel era was Joseph Stalin. As a result Communism as it appeared in that era is often referred to as ‘Stalinism.’ Again Wiki provides a great summation, “Stalinism has been described as being synonymous with totalitarianism, or a tyrannical regime. The term has been used to describe regimes that fight political dissent through violence, imprisonment, and killings.” In addition, Stalinism, unlike some other forms of totalitarian systems, retained the same rhetoric and imagery developed during the Bolshevik Revolution while adding his own additions to communist thought such as “socialism in one country.”

Stalin’s economic policy would best be described by what Trotsky called ‘bureaucratic collectivism.’ Back to our old friend Wiki, “a bureaucratic collectivist state owns the means of production, while the surplus ("profit") is distributed among an elite party bureaucracy, rather than among the workers. Also, most importantly, it is the bureaucracy - not the workers or the people in general - who controls the economy and the state. Thus, the system is not truly capitalist, but it is not socialist either.”

Fascism

There’s much disagreement among academics as to how to define fascism. To add to the confusion, the details of fascism as it appeared during that era, and ever since, have varied greatly depending on which nation-state one is looking at. That being said there seems to be a consensus on certain common components of fascism, especially during that era. Those features were: 1) they each had totalitarian political systems in which society was organized to service the State in which the military held a central position, 2) each fascist nation-state created a set of myths and symbols that portrayed their own people as being special in comparison to all others, 3) unlike Stalinism the fascist nation-states each maintained Capitalist economic systems (as long as the activity of any specific economic enterprise wasn’t in conflict with the State), and 4) they were highly expansionistic both militarily and economically.

In the next blog entry I’m honored to have a guest writer who will address one of two socio-economic models that I propose should be considered ‘dieselpunk.’ While there are other models beyond these two that I believe fit the criteria I will limit my blog to just reviewing what I propose are two dieselpunk political models.

Dieselpunk Politics – Part 1

2010-03-21T18:38:00.002-05:00

If dieselpunk cinema is considered controversial then any proposal that there might be a dieselpunk politics is nearly toxic as a subject in the online dieselpunk community. That being said, I do believe that it might be possible to identify elements that we can label as ‘dieselpunk politics.’ Before I begin some disclaimers are in order.

First, I do not consider my proposals here as critical in identifying oneself as “dieselpunk.” One can certainly enjoy ‘dieselpunk’ music, art, industrial design, history, literature, media and fashion without agreeing with this post or holding to any of the political schools of thought identified here.

In addition, there is a school of thought within the dieselpunk community, which is held by several prominent members whose opinions I highly respect, that dieselpunk is purely an apolitical, postmodern art movement. While I strongly agree that dieselpunk is very postmodern in nature I hope to show that there are concepts that, when applied to political and economic matters, can define certain political/ economic thoughts as being part of a family than can be labeled as ‘dieselpunk.’

Finally as part of my disclaimer, I don’t want to imply that any dieselpunk politics should be viewed as an organized political movement. In fact, I wouldn’t even support any attempt at creating such. To repeat, what I propose here is that there are certain elements inherit in dieselpunk that may allow certain political or economic schools of thought to be labeled as ‘dieselpunk.’

That being said let me now make my case for the existence of dieselpunk politics.

As my readers (it probably the height of hubris on my part that I use ‘readers’ in plural) might have been noticed in the prior postings on music and cinema there are two essential elements that, in my opinion, appear repeatedly as being ‘dieselpunk’: it must be contemporary while at the same time it must be decodence in character (decodence being a tribute or nod to the era of the 1920s through 1940s, even if not placed in that time). It’s my opinion that in the case of identifying a possible dieselpunk politics, along with the two previously mentioned elements, we need to give extra emphasis to the ‘punk’ in dieselpunk.

There’s a certain Eastern feel to trying to define what is meant by ‘punk’ in that as soon as you think that you understand what ‘punk’ is then it’s usually no longer considered ‘punk.’ Tome Wilson, of the excellent forum dieselpunks.org and whom I consider an authority on dieselpunk, wrote of a story told by Billie Joe Armstrong of the band Green Day, "A guy walks up to me and asks 'What's Punk?' So I kick over a garbage can and say 'That's punk!' So he kicks over a garbage can and says 'That's Punk?', and I say 'No that's trendy!" Armstrong’s comment is important in that it provides us a starting place in trying to understand the meaning of ‘punk.’

While one must be very careful in using online sources for information Answers.com gives an interesting history of the word ‘punk’:

Something like punk has been smoldering in American English for hundreds of years, undergoing drastic changes of meaning from century to century. It began as a bizarre kind of overcooked corn, explained in a 1618 account of certain Indians in Virginia: "Some of them, more thriftye then cleanly, doe burne the coare of the eare to powder, which they call pungnough, mingling that in their meale, but yt never tasted well in bread or broath." Around that time, also, punk was a word for "ashes" in the Delaware Indian language.

A couple of centuries later, punk had become a word for the slow-burning sticks used in kindling fireworks. By 1889 it was a slang term for a cigarette, and by the end of the century punk had a sense "worthless" as in a story by George Ade: "And this crowd up there was purty-y-y punk."

Today's first meaning of punk, a small-time hoodlum, developed in the period between the World Wars. And in the late 1970s punk came to designate bizarre clothing and body decorations associated with loud and aggressive rock music. To the general public, it still has an unpleasant taste.

If we accept Answers.com as a guide (though I can’t confirm the accuracy of its material) along with Armstrong’s story we might then define ‘punk’ as being a genre that has a strong element of independence, to the point of being considered rebellious, and which exists outside the mainstream to the degree that it’s often held as derogatory by the establishment. If so, then we may be able to say that a dieselpunk politics would have to include, along with the previously mentioned two elements, political trends that are highly critical of the status quo and are not found in the mainstream of that time or today.

At this point we may now have a working definition of dieselpunk politics: 1) contemporary in that it can be found today, 2) decodence in that we can identify it as existing in some form during the 20s through 40s, and 3) ‘punk’ in that it emphasizes independence and exists primarily outside the mainstream of politics of that time as well as today.

At this point it might be a good idea to step back and look at what was mainstream politics of the 20s through 40s. During that era mainstream politics took on three primary forms: Capitalism, Communism, and Fascism. Because of the amount of depth required by each I will dedicate my upcoming post to a very brief review of those three political systems as they manifested themselves during that era. Once we’ve addressed those then we will be in a position to explore what today might be considered dieselpunk politics.

Ingrid Bergman

2010-03-08T18:47:00.001-06:00

In my recent posts I covered some pretty heavy stuff in an attempt to create an identity that may be called ‘Dieselpunk.’ For this posting I simply want to briefly acknowledge one of the great gifts of the Golden Age of Cinema: the gorgeous and talented Ingrid Bergman.

Born in August 29th, 1915 in Stockholm, Sweden, Bergman went on to steal our hearts in films such as Casablanca and Notorious. Here’s looking at you kid.

Dieselpunk Cinema

2010-02-21T14:49:00.005-06:00

In my previous post I wrote about dieselpunk as a musical genre. Along with having a distinctive musical style dieselpunk is fortunate to also have a growing collection of motion pictures that one may call ‘dieselpunk.’ But before I can review one of the important dieselpunk films we need to try to establish the criteria necessary for a film to be labeled as such. One will find that many of the same criteria that I used previously to identify dieselpunk music are the same as those that will be used to identify dieselpunk cinema.

Before I go much further I need to provide a disclaimer. What criteria should be used to determine if a motion picture is ‘dieselpunk’ is highly controversial and there’s been much discussion in the online dieselpunk community whether this film or that film is ‘dieselpunk.’ So, like everything else in this blog, what follows is solely my opinion and I do not claim speak for anyone else.

In my opinion, one required component found in dieselpunk cinema, as in dieselpunk music, is that it must be contemporary in its origin. While the classic movies of the 20’s through 40’s were some of the greatest ever made, dieselpunk is a reimagining or retelling of that era and therefore originates after the golden age of motion pictures.

A dieselpunk movie may be set during the 20’s through 40’s but it’s not a necessity. It may be set during today or even if the future. But, in my opinion, in whatever time the motion picture is set another required element for it to be considered dieselpunk is that it must remind us of that bygone era. An excellent term for this, which was coined at the web site The Gatehouse, is ‘decodence.’ According to web site decodence, “embraces the styles and technologies of the era; it rejoices in a prolonged Jazz Age ambience.” Therefore, while a dieselpunk film doesn’t have to be set during that era it might have a noir style of storytelling, it might be reminiscent of the Saturday morning serials or it might simply incorporate the fashion or cinematographic style of that time. Whatever the setting or storyline a dieselpunk movie should always point us back.

Finally, though not mandatory, along with the prior mentioned essential components, it helps if a dieselpunk film incorporates a touch of irreverence. The presence of anti-heroes or wry humor, while not required elements, certainly adds to the ‘punk’ that the name of the genre implies.

So with the above criteria in mind I want to review a film that is universally recognized as being dieselpunk: “Dark City.”

Dark City is a combination thriller, science fiction, and murder mystery. It opens with the protagonist, played by Rufus Sewell, waking up with amnesia in a bathtub in a rundown hotel. He quickly finds in the blood stained room a horribly murdered woman. As he tries to recover his memory, he quickly learns that his last name is Murdoch, he finds himself pursued by strange men who all dress in dark suits, have shaved heads, and wear either black fedoras or bowlers. Repeatedly through the film Murdoch’s contacted by a person who claims to be a doctor (Kiefer Sutherland) and who claims to have all of the answers to Murdoch’s questions. Along with the talent of Sewell and Sutherland, we also are treated to a fantastic performance by William Hurt who plays police inspector Frank Bumstead and who inherits the assignment of solving the ritualistic murders after the previous detective goes insane.

Dark City was a sleeper film when released in 1998. With the exception of Roger Ebert, who declared it the best film of 1998 and praises it extensively in the extras found on the Director’s Cut DVD version, most critics gave it a lukewarm review. Over time its popularity has grown and Dark City has developed a sizable cult following far beyond the dieselpunk community. This popularity is well deserved and I highly recommend Dark City.

To read more about the concept of ‘decodence’ there is an excellent online article at The Gatehouse.

Dieselpunk Music

2010-02-07T18:13:00.006-06:00

I’ve been told that when some hear the term ‘dieselpunk’ they assume it’s a reference to a form of punk music. While obviously that’s not true, over time a genre of music has started to develop that one could call ‘dieselpunk music.’ The question is how to define it.

First, dieselpunk bands are always contemporary bands. While it's tempting to include the actual bands of the 20's through 40's (You just gotta love Count Basie, Glenn Miller and others from that time) the term ‘punk’ implies a reimagining rather than a retrospective or reenactment.

Second, if we're going to limit ourselves to contemporary bands then one must ask what style of music? It's my opinion, for what it's worth, dieselpunk music should be limited to bands and entertainers whose musical style pays tribute to the era while including original songs in their repertoire.

Finally, trappings and style should have a feel for that era though again not necessarily the same. So we could consider those who dress in pseudo-twenties through forties style.

In many ways the retro-swing movement of the 1990’s fits the bill for meeting the above definition and could be considered as forming the basis of what today might be referred to as dieselpunk music. And one of the great retro-swing, or might we now say dieselpunk, bands is Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (BBVD) was formed in 1989 in Ventura, California. They got their name when the great blues guitarist Albert Collins signed a poster for Scott Morris (BBVD leader and founder), “To Scotty, the big bad voodoo daddy.” Morris correctly thought that would be the perfect name for his new band.

Their big break came with the success of their songs "You & Me & the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)" and "Go Daddy-O." They’re most recent CD (released April 2009) is a compilation of songs by Cab Calloway titled “How Big Can You Get?”

My wife and I got lucky and recently caught BBVD in concert at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, Texas and I can honestly say they put on a fantastic show. BBVD has an excellent web site.

A Prairie Home Companion

2010-01-24T11:51:00.003-06:00

I know what you’re probably thinking. How can something called “A Prairie Home Companion” be considered dieselpunk? In my opinion, it’s actually very dieselpunk.

Radio dominated the 20’s through 40’s. Families tuned into programs such as Fibber Mcgee and Molly, Lum and Abner, Bell Telephone Hour, and the Grand Ole Opry. It was a time of Jack Benny, Fred Allen, and George and Gracie. Because of radio America witnessed the crash of the Hindenburg and the blitz on London.

A Prairie Home Companion (PHC) recreates the golden age of radio with original programming consisting of live music and stories. Some of the stories are regular installments such as The Lives of the Cowboys and Guy Noir: Private Eye. These stories, written and told by the show’s creator Garrison Keillor, recreate the feel of the old radio adventures. The most popular of the regular PHC stories is probably Garrison Keillor's monologue, The News from Lake Wobegon in which, “the women are strong, the men are good looking and the children are above average.” In addition to live music and stories, PHC recreates the radio commercials of the past using fantasy products such as Powdermilk Biscuits and Beebop-a-Rebop Rhubarb Pie.

PHC is carried live on Public Radio stations around the US, as well as on Sirius Satellite Radio, Saturdays at 5 p.m. CST. PHC is also streamed live at the show’s web site, http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/. The show is rebroadcasted at the web site every Sunday, 11 a.m. CST.

We're Having a Heat Wave

2010-01-10T15:40:00.006-06:00

Here in the cold of winter one can’t help but dream of warmer seasons. So with that in mind this posting will celebrate something what has come to represent summer to millions the world over: the bikini.

While two piece swimwear in the West has been around since at least Ancient Greece, the modern bikini dates back to 1946 when the engineer Louis Réard created a new style of swimsuit to sale in his mother’s Paris lingerie boutique. After struggling to find a model willing to wear his creation Réard hired a nude dancer named Micheline Bernardini (shown in the photo) to first wear the suit on July 5th, 1946 at a public Parisian pool. Summer hasn’t been the same since.

Times Square and the War Years

2009-12-27T15:41:00.003-06:00

Since 1907 one of the iconic images of New Years Eve here in the States has been the dropping of the lighted ball in Times Square. Yet there have been times in the 102 year history when the ball didn’t fall.

In 1942 and 1943, during the height of World War II, lighting restrictions prevented the ball from being dropped. The fear was that the light of the ball might make New York an easy target in case of attack. Instead, at midnight the people in the streets stopped and observed a moment of silence, which was followed with the sound of chimes were broadcast by nearby trucks.

Here's wishing everyone a happy and prosperous 2010!

Dieselpunk Christmas

2009-12-13T15:48:00.004-06:00

The 1920’s – 1950’s are known for giving us some of our favorite traditions of Christmas. It’s from that time that we have songs such as "I’ll be Home for Christmas" and "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby as well as Gene Autry singing "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" and "Here Comes Santa Claus." 1924 saw the first Macy’s Day Parade, which is often heralded as the start of the Christmas season. From that time we have movies such as "It’s a Wonderful Life":

and "Miracle on 34th Street."

It might be ironic that one of the great Christmas films set in that era was actually made much later. That movie is “A Christmas Story."

Released in 1983 this film, a box office sleeper, "A Christmas Story" tells the story of a 9 year-old boy named Ralphie Parker who desperately wants a "Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock" for Christmas. But with each request he hears the phrase, "You’ll shoot your eye out." Now recognized by many as a classic, "A Christmas Story" not only captures the feel of the early 1940’s but is made with a wry sense of humor that also 'keeps it real,' such as the father who would swear profusely when angry or the children's problems of having to deal with the local bully. "A Christmas Story" is a gentle film that the whole family can enjoy.

Merry Christmas to all.

Phantom Corsair

2009-11-29T21:22:00.000-06:00

The dieselpunk era saw the creation of some of the most amazing cars in history. One of those fantastic creations was the Phantom Corsair.

Built in 1938 by Rust Heinz the Phantom Corsair had a V-8 Engine and front wheel drive. Instead of door handles it was opened by pressing buttons on either the outside or on the dash. The expected sticker price was $12,500 but the untimely death of Heinz prevented it from ever going to production. It sits today in the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada.