Special Announcements..............Page 2

Texas Steampunk Societies.........Page 2

Literary Illuminations................. Page 2-3

Shout Outs................................... Page 3

Did You Know?............................ Page 3-6

Cousins.........................................Page 6

Secrets of Tea...............................Page 7

Funny Moments...........................Page 7

Kids Steampunk DIY Project..... Page 8

Calendar of Events...................... Page 8

Newsletter Info............................ Page 9

Flyer Invitation............................ Page 10

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Did you know:

Jules Verne wrote about eight

inventions which later become reality. Those

eight inventions were: The electric submarine,

televised newscasts (he wrote about it in 1889

& it happened in 1920), the solar sail, lunar

modules, sky writing (which he described as

“atmospheric advertisements”), video

conferencing (or as he described it: the

“phonotelephote”). Other inventions were:

The taser gun, and splash down spaceships

(other wise known as space capsules).

INSIDE THIS ISSUEMarch 2013 Volume 2: Issue 3

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The next couple of months, the schedule will be somewhat busy. We have meetings on the normal schedule, and then a few outings in the plans too, like a fencing workshop, aquarium and picnic outing, and other possibilities. Come by the end of May, SIS will be taking a break for the summer concerning meetings, and resume in September. However, we will still arrange outings.

We're still in need for writers. I know many folks do write short stories, and have an interest in many areas, like art, fashion, music, inventing/creating and I'd like to have more of these topics by our community to share. You might have 500 friends on your Facebook page, but there are more people who could benefit from what you share and aren't friends with you yet. So I hope we can expand this newsletter to be fuller with more content. There's also consideration on cutting the newsletter back to a quarterly edition to allow for more time to bring in more content. If this happens, it won't take place until the end of May. We'll discuss this more at the next SIS meeting and update in the next newsletter.

If you'd like to contribute to this newsletter, please send an email to

contact@steampunkis.org.

Current & Active in Texas:

• Territories of Houston Steampunk • San Antonio Neo-Victorian Society • Tech Steampunk Society • Steampunk Illumination Society • Austin Steampunk Society • Red River Regional Steampunk

Expeditionary Society• Lubbock Steampunk Society • Amarillo Steampunk Society

The Constantine Affliction by T. Aaron Payton

There are some benefits to getting older. I get to be cranky and this is assumed normal. I can pretend not to hear people when I want to ignore them, for which they assume I’m disabled, not rude.

The downside, I think, is that tastes become more particular. No longer am I satisfied with Milwaukee’s Best beer or Gallo wine. How was I so fascinated by the original Battlestar Galactica? Unfortunately, it is also true of literature. I used to be able to read anything by Terry Brooks or David Eddings. How did I

manage that?

This is all in preface to noting that when I come across a book that thoroughly entertains me theses days, I see it as a real treasure.

Such is the Constantine Affliction by T. Aaron Payton. This was a fun read.

The Constantine Affliction is a plague of sorts bedeviling England in 1864. The unusual affect, if it does not kill you, is that it changes your gender. Men physically become women, and visa versa. The name originates from the fact that it is suspected to have been spread by a carrier from Constantinople.

Pembroke Halliday, known as Pimm to his friends, is one of those gentleman detectives in the mold of Lord Peter Wimsey. He drinks too much, comes from a wealthy aristocratic family, and entertains himself by solving mysteries. Generally a good person, he nevertheless is convinced to help a man named Abel Value who is one of the biggest criminals in London. Value’s prostitutes are being murdered and left on his doorstep.

The crime boss manages to convince Pimm to investigate the murders by threatening to “out”

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Pimm’s wife Winifred. Winifred used to be a man named Fred and was Pimm’s best friend. Now a victim of the Constantine Affliction, Pimm offered to marry her/him to avoid scandal for both of them. It is a platonic relationship as Pimm continues to consider Winifred a man.

This is fortunate when Ellie Skyler enters the case. She is the intrepid reporter (Payton admits she is styled after the globe traveling Nellie Bly) whose undercover reporting reveals a mystery involving people close to Queen Victoria. Ellie is smart, brash and eager to prove herself the equal or better than any male reporter. This makes her wholly attractive to the modernist thinking Pimm, and creates an unusual “love triangle”. Though in fact Winifred is just as eager for Pimm and Ellie to get together.

Eventually the three get involved in a mystery that involves clockwork prostitutes, sea monsters in the Thames, and several competing mad scientists.

The story is fast paced and the dialogue witty. Pimm and Ellie are more of a Nick and Nora (Thin Man reference for you Dieselpunks) than a Holmes and Watson.

Amidst the mystery, intrigue and action of the story lays some interesting social commentary. The story deals with the controversies of the benefits of science and the inequality of genders. It raises questions about both without preaching or babbling on too much. What happens in a strict Victorian society when men suddenly become women? Can one man, no matter how brilliant, use science to better his version of mankind?

There are plenty of Steampunk and literary references, but Payton doesn’t hit you over the head with them to interfere with an interesting story. If the ending struggles a little to wrap things up; I still have to give Payton credit for his mash up of H.P. Lovecraft, H.G. Wells and Mary Shelley.

Payton (a pseudonym of author Tim Pratt) claims his inspiration from Tim Powers & K.W. Jeter, and he does a worthy job of continuing the genre.

_________________________________

Written & Submitted by Jonathan Carr.

A very Happy Birthday to ALL March birthdays from SIS. May you all have a wonderful day full of all the people you love and memories you will cherish!

SIS sends a special shout out to R3SEC for their successful fund-raising event, and a great big thank you for the invitation to take part in their milestone. We look forward to the Aeolo Expo in May!!

WHO WAS ROBERT TODD LINCOLN?

He was the only child of Abe and Mary Lincoln to survive into adulthood - with his three brothers having died from illness at young ages. Believe it or not, Robert lived until 1926, dying at age 83. But along the way, he sure lived a remarkable life.

For starters, he begged his father for a commission to serve in the Civil War, with President Lincoln refusing, saying the loss of two sons (to that point) made risking the loss of a third out of the question.

However, Robert insisted, saying that if his father didn't help him, he would join on his own and fight with the front line troops; a threat that drove Abe to give in.

But you know how clever Abe was. He gave Robert what he wanted, but wired General Grant to assign "Captain Lincoln" to his staff, and to keep him well away from danger. Page 3

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The assignment did, however, result in Robert's being present at Appomattox Court House, during the historic moment of Lee's surrender.

Then - the following week, while Robert was at the White House, he was awakened

at midnight to be told of his father's shooting, and was present at The Peterson House when his father died.

Pictured, are Robert's three brothers; (top-left) Eddie, (right) Willie, and (bottom-right) Tad.

Little Eddie died at age 4 in 1850 - probably from thyroid cancer. Willie (in the middle picture) was the most beloved of all the boys. He died in the White House at age 11 in 1862, from what was most likely Typhoid Fever.

Abe grieved the hardest over Willie's death. It took him four days to pull himself together enough to function as President again. Lincoln had a temporary tomb built for Willie, until they could return home with his body to Springfield, and he often spent long periods oftime at the tomb.

I guess Tad was a real hellion. None of his tutors could control him, which is why he grew up unable to competently read or write. He was a momma's boy; he had a lisp and was probably mildly retarded. He died at age 18 in 1871, most likely from the same thyroid cancer Eddie had died from, suggesting a genetic flaw.

But - back to Robert, shown above at age 22,

following his father's assassination, he moved to Chicago with his insane mother, and brother Tad, who was 12 at the time. Robert finished law school and practiced the craft for a time, while constantly struggling to keep crazy Mary in check.

As she had done as First Lady, Mary went on shopping binges that far exceeded common sense, driving what was left of the family fortune into bankruptcy, and leading to violent disputes between Robert and her.

Robert also had torrid battles with Mary to keep her from destroying Lincoln's private papers, not just for their financial worth, but for their historic value also, with Mary forever trying to tear them apart and burn them in fireplaces.

In fact, her irrational behavior (she was probably schizophrenic) grew so destructive that Robert had to have her put away, with his signature signing her into a psychiatric hospital, where she stayed locked up for three months. Mary never forgave him for it - and they remained estranged from then on - until Mary died at age 63 in 1882.

Worth noting, as a deceased President's wife, Mary had petitioned Congress for a pension, and by God, she got one! She received $3,000 a year, a sizable sum back then.

Of profound interest, as an adult Robert wrote there was a lot of distance between his father and he - caused mainly by Abe's being absent so much of the time during Robert's formative years. Abe was forever gone on state wide judicial circuits, or campaigning for office - or serving in the state legislature.

Robert writes that his most vivid memories of his father were seeing him pack his saddle bags to be off again. Nonetheless, Robert respected his father - and he wept obsessively the night he was killed.

In 1868, Robert married a senator's daughter and they had three kids - two girls and a boy, Abraham Lincoln's only grandchildren. Their son, whom they named Abraham Lincoln II (but whom they called "Jack") would die in 1890 from an infection arising from having a boil pierced under his arm. He was 15 at the time, and at above

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is a blurry, but still remarkable photo of his lying in bed, shortly before he died.

The two daughters, however, lived fairly long lives, one living until 1938 to die at age 69, and the other until

1948, dying at age 72.

The last direct descendent of Abraham Lincoln would be the child of one of Robert's daughters - Abe Lincoln's great grandson - a guy named Bud Beckwith, who died married but childless, in 1985.

The to right, Robert's children, taken before the boy in the picture, Jack, died.

In his own right, Robert made quite a life for himself. He got into politics and was highly regarded in those circles. In fact - he served as Secretary of War under President Garfield - and, incredibly, was with him when Garfield was shot at the Washington train station!

And then - some years later, Robert would also be present when President McKinley was gunned down in Buffalo! I'm telling you, if I were President, I'd be leery about having him around me - wouldn't you?

In later years, Robert would grow a beard. He would serve in other political appointments and ambassadorships, and later became president of the Pullman train car company, a booming enterprise back then, and a position he would hold for the rest of his life.

Worth noting, Robert was an avid amateur astronomer, and even had an observatory built into his Vermont home, which is better described as a

mansion, really; but anyhow - the telescope was so well built and powerful that's it's still used today by a local astronomy club!

Robert (far right) appearing in his late 70's at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922.

And below - is his house. Some joint, huh?

A footnote: Abe Lincoln once said he doubted Robert would do as well in life as he had done. You sure wouldn't know it from the pad Robert lived in, huh? Beyond that, Robert was several times offered the chance to run as President or Vice-President, with his every time refusing the offer, so - Old Abe's assessment of his son was way off the mark, wasn't it? Of course, who knows how much 'being Abe's son' influenced Robert's success in life?

Now for the most incredible thing there is to know about Robert Lincoln.

In his 20's, Robert was standing on a train platform in Jersey City - buried among a crowd of passengers attempting to buy sleeping births from a haggard conductor - when the train moved. Robert was standing so close to the train that it spun him around and sent

him dropping into the

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space between the train and the platform - a perilously tight place to be - against a moving train threatening to crush him!

Suddenly - a hand grabbed Robert by the neck of his coat and pulled him up onto the platform, a quick action by a solidly strong man that may well have saved Robert's life. And you know who that man was? It was Edwin Booth - the brother of John Wilkes Booth … who had murdered Robert's father.

Pictured to the right, is Robert's sarcophagus at Arlington National Cemetery, where he's buried with his wife and son Jack.

Cousins – Part 1Written & Submitted by Larry Amyett

Dieselpunks sometimes refer to Steampunks as “our Victorian cousins.” There’s a lot of truth behind this term in that, while we’re two distinctly different genre-punks, we do share a common family tree as well as share some common characteristics. I want to explore briefly two great US Presidents who were distant cousins and who each in their own many ways are representative of the genres of Steampunk and Dieselpunk: Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 28. 1858. Teddy (a nickname he despised) was a sickly child who suffered from asthma and repeated respiratory ailments. He overcame these ailments through boxing and extensive outdoor

activities as a young man.

Teddy, even while sickly, always exhibited the same spirit of exploration and adventure found within Steampunk. He had an intense interest in zoology, science and philosophy. For example, as a child he taught himself the rudiments of taxidermy and maintained what he called the "Roosevelt Museum of Natural History", which was filled with the animals and insects that he caught. By the age of nine, he codified his observation of insects with a paper titled "The Natural History of Insects".

In many ways, Teddy reflected the Victorian sense of virtue found in Steampunk. While Teddy was far from perfect and held some views that we would find repugnant today, he has a reputation for being a man of generally good character. Though he was writing about his father when he penned, “He combined strength and courage with gentleness, tenderness, and great unselfishness” many of those same virtues were apparent in Teddy’s own personality.

Teddy also reflected the idealism of Steampunk in his political life. As the New York City chief of police, he cleaned up police corruption. He also tackled poverty after meeting with Jacob Riis and visiting the slums of New York. Being that the political parties were ideologically different in the early 20th century than they are today, Teddy was both a Republican and a Progressive. He supported miners during their 1902 strike and successfully won higher hourly wages for the miners. He was also known as a “trust-buster” for advocating for the breakup of monopolies and for curbing corporate power. Teddy was also famous for government regulation of industry such as The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and The Pure Food and Drug Act.

Teddy Roosevelt died on January 6, 1919, which ironically is the same year that most Dieselpunks consider the start of what we call the Diesel Era due to the conclusion of World War I in the same year.

I will cover Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his dieselpunk connections in the next installment.

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1. The water quality

It is essential to choose fresh water with a low mineral content. The ideal is to use spring water or perhaps filtered water. It is also best to boil it in a kettle, because water heated in a pan can easily be tainted by the taste of the food previously cooked in this receptacle.

2. The water temperature

The golden rule about water temperature is never use boiling water on the tea, whatever kind of tea you are making. Green Teas require water at 70°C and black teas require water at 85-90°C. These days you can get kettles (Villaware) which enable you to choose your water temperature.

3. The teapot

If you are making your tea in a teapot, it is advisable to scald it first, i.e. pour boiling water into the pot, rinse it and throw the water away.There are two kinds of teapots:

1.Terracotta teapots which are said to have a "memory" because they retain the flavor of the

tea already made in them. It's best to have a different teapot for each kind of tea, so that you don't mix up the flavors. After use, the teapot should merely be rinsed out, without scrubbing it

or using any detergent, and then left to dry with the lid off. This kind of teapot is very suitable for black teas and Oolong teas;

2.Ceramic, metal, porcelain teapots, which can be washed in hot water (without detergent). These are more versatile because they don't

absorb the flavors of the teas.

4. The amount of tea

Custom dictates that 4 grams are sufficient for one cup. But the amount is partly a matter of preference. In the case of Assam tea, which is naturally very robust, you might want to reduce the strength and brew 3 grams instead of 4.

5. The brewing time

This is a very important step in the art of tea-making. In fact, the brewing time varies depending on the type of tea. An over-brewed black tea will develop a bitter taste whilst an under-brewed white tea will be flat and insipid.

Black teas are normally brewed for 2-3 minutes, green teas for 3 - 4 minutes. It is a good idea to check the brewing time before making the tea, because some teas need to be infused for very specific times: for example, Jade Pearl is left to infuse for 7 - 20 minutes, whilst Oolong tea will need 5 - 7 minutes for its bouquet to develop fully.Brewing is normally done with a lid on, so that the tea retains all its aromas.

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You will need four sheets of cardboard, about 1 square foot each, about two feet of string, a pencil, a ruler, some craft glue, an eraser, and an exacto knife.

Using the string, measure around the child's head to get the circumference.

Take the string, place it onto a sheet of cardboard, and keeping the shape/measurement you got from the child's head, place it on the cardboard, and then lightly trace that circle onto the cardboard.

Now add about an inch and a half of string to the previous measurement, and then trace a larger circle around the outside of the first tracing you did. Cut the inner circle

out with the exacto knife. This will be the hat brim.

Take another piece of cardboard sheet and using the string measurement which you used to measure your child's head, lay it out straight and measure it against a ruler to see how much length you have. Whatever your results, using that measurement, cut out that length of cardboard,

making it about 8 inches wide. For example: Let's say your child's head circumference is 13 inches. Then your cardboard cut out will be 13 inches in length and 8 inches in width.

On either side of the cardboard piece you just cut out, measure one inch of space, and draw a line every half

inch. These will become tabs you will use to glue the hat pieces together. Use the photos provided to reference to.

Cut the tabs on both sides at the marked lines, making sure to cut off every other tab and try to keep them uniform looking.

Now use your hat brim cut out as a template on the third piece of cardboard sheet, and create a

duplicate of that cut out, this time being sure to keep the piece you cut out, which will become the top to the hat.

On your fourth piece of cardboard sheet, cut out designs like feathers,

leaves, gears, or whatever you want to create. to add to the hat later.

Next, glue down the tabs of one side of the piece you cut out that will serve as the sides of the hat, glue it down to top side of one of the hat brim pieces.

When you've done this, take the second piece of the hat brim you cut out, and sandwich it on top of the glued

down tabs which are glued to the first hat brim piece.

Now take the hat top piece, and glue it to the tabs (making sure the tabs on top are facing

the inside of the hat). This will secure the top portion of the hat.

Finally, add the decorations you cut out from the fourth sheet of cardboard, and allow all pieces to thoroughly dry. Once dry, you can further decorate the hat, if so desired, with glitter, fabric, duct tape designs, or any other hosts of things.

Enjoy, & please consider sending us photos of your finished hat!

Source: http://tinyurl.com/bozpta2

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MARCH

• 03/07/13: SIS Meeting LI in Hurst, Tx

• 03/08/13 – 3/10/13: AllCon in Dallas, Tx

• 03/09/13: Marquis of Vaudeville in Dallas, Tx

• 03/16/13: Thingamajigy Faire in San Antonio, Tx

• 03/16/13: NTDP Meeting in Farmers Branch, Tx

• 03/17/13: SIS Meeting LII in Farmers Branch, Tx

• 03/23/13: Aeolo Expo Fundraiser in Marshall, Tx

• 03/23/13: Spring Steampunk Chautauqua in Houston, Tx

• 03/27/13: Steampunk Meet Up in Austin, Tx

• 03/30/13: Amarillo Steampunk Tea Party in Austin, Tx

• 03/30/13: Tesla Tea Party hosted by Airship Horizons in Tulsa, OK

APRIL

• 04/04/13: SIS Meeting LIII in Hurst, Tx

• 04/13/13: NTDP Meeting in Farmers Branch, Tx

• 04/14/13: SIS Fencing Workshop in Farmers Branch, Tx

• 04/13/13 – 04/14/13: 3rd Annual Steampunk Invasion of Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie, Tx

• 04/20/13: SIS Invasion of Dallas World Aquarium & Picnic. (Details to come)

• 04/20/13: Shakespeare's Steampunk Circus Birthday Party in Houston, Tx

• 04/26/13 – 4/28/13: Steampunk Empire Symposium in Cincinnati, Ohio

MAY

• 05/04/13: Aeolo Expo & Anniversary Gala in Marshall, Tx

• 05/03/13 – 05/05/13: Gaslight III: The Expedition in San Diego, CA

• 05/10/13 – 05/12/13: Louisianime: Steampunk Soiree in Lafayette, LA

• 05/11/13 – 05/12/13: Watch City Festival - City wide Steampunk Festival in Waltham, MA

• 05/17/13 – 05/19/13: The Steampunk Worlds Fair in Piscataway, NJ

• 05/24/13 – 05/26/13: Comicpalooza in Houston, Tx

• 05/24/13 – 05/26/13: Up In The Aether: The Convention in Detroit/Dearborn, MI

• 05/31/13 – 06/02/13: Akon 24 in Dallas, TX

Mailing Address: SteampunkISP.O. Box 202664Arlington, Tx 76006

Editor Email:contact@steampunkis.org

Website:www.steampunkis.org

Submission Deadline: 7th of each month

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