We have a new blog

We have always seen steampunk as a lifestyle, as something much more than brass and goggles, but not everyone shares that view. So we have started a new, much more personal blog about what we feel steampunk means, and how we put it into practice in our day to day lives. We will continue to keep Machina Fatalis going to post about topics of more general interest to the steampunk community but for those whose intrest in steam culture is as deep as our own we offer Greyshade Estate.

Chrononaut on the Boardwalk

Ah summers at the shore, the ladies and gentlemen in their whites, gay stripes and straw hats. The strong men, jugglers and arcades on the piers amuse the recreating masses of rich and poor alike. From the cliff tops ornithopters launch catching the updrafts and only occasionally crashing on the rocks below. Bathers in modest costumes enjoy the warm sun and waters trusting in the submarine kraken patrols to keep them safe. Fortunately death rays work underwater!

Of course we can't actually move Queen Bee's closer to shore physically but we can certainly move the atmosphere of the shore to Queen Bee's, for in August summer wear is certainly in order. Professor Greyshade will spin light and amusing tunes, we invite buskers to ply their trades (please send us an e-mail to let us know you're coming) and there will be other surprises including a rare cinematic treat. 

At Queen Bee's, 3925 Ohio Street, San Diego, CA

$5 at the door. Thursday, August 12th, 8:00 pm to12:00am, all ages.

http://chrononautclub.com/

2010's Steampunk At San Diego Comic Con

2010's San Diego Comic Con is looking like the Steampunk weekend of our dreams! Concerts, panels, vendors & artists plus the always popular Saturday steampunk meetup will keep us and the Steampunk community up to our brass in things to do. We've created this post as a way to help everyone keep track of all of the events of steampunk interest.  Events will be updated with information as we become aware of it. If you would like an event included, please email us. If you'd like to repost this list, all or in part, please give us a credit & a link. Thanks! See you at the con!

Exhibitors:
Ogner Stump/The Slow Poisoner S04 (Small Press)
Chet Phillips Illustration/Steampunk Monkeys P13 (Small Press)
Paul Guinan/Boilerplate CC09 (Artists Alley)
Mysterious Galaxy #1119/1121/1123
Wondermark/TopatoCo #1231/1233
Phil & Kaja Foglio/Girl Genius #1331
Tor Books #2310
Entertainment Earth #2343
Dr. Grordbort/Weta Workshop #2615
Quantum Mechanix/QMx #3251
Steam Crow/Monster Commute #4207
Rolling Thunder /Dave Dorman #4401/4500
Brute Force Studios #4919
Thing From Another World/CBLDF Fundraiser #5625/5626
Semantik Publishing - "The Heavens" comic due Fall '10 TBD
Dr. Steel's Army of Toy Soldiers MZ20 (Mezzanine Fan Tables)
Gaslight Gathering MZ10 (Mezzanine Fan Tables)

Steampunk Special Features:
Tor Books #2310 - Friday, July 23rd is Steampunk Day at the Tor Books booth. Stop by the booth to say hello and check out some of Tor’s steampunk offerings on display. While supplies last, we’ll be giving away an illustrated short story “The Life and Adventures of Young Sam Smiles by the Brotherly Order of the New Thought”. This short story ties into Felix Gilman’s The Half-made World, a forthcoming steampunk novel set in an alternate American West. At 2:00 PM we’ll be giving away copies of Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. For those of you who can’t make it out to San Diego this year, keep an eye on the @torbooks Twitter as we’ll have a couple of giveaways running that week.

Quantum Mechanix/QMx #3251 - QMx will be premiering the first piece in their new Warehouse 13 line, The Farnsworth. The Farnsworth is a video communicator that uses a secure line that only another Farnsworth can decode. Two prototypes will be on display at San Diego Comic-Con: an exact replica of the hero prop with grey screen and an “idealized” version with more detailed weathering and a realistic, semi-transparent screen.  Make sure you take the time to stop by the QMx booth (#3251) to learn more about items from the Warehouse 13 line as well as items from QMx’s other licensed properties such as Star Trek, Stargate, Battlestar Galactica and Firefly.

Thing From Another World/CBLDF Fundraiser #5625/5626 Participating artists include Phil Foglio (Girl Genius) and Nick Percival (Legends: The Enchanted). Original sketches to be auctioned for charity, limited edition autograph cards available of each sketch from the artist or TFAW booth.

Panels & Meetups: 

THURSDAY:
The Clockwork Girl - 11:00-12:00 Room 9 Alexa Vega (Spy Kids) and Sean Covel and Doc Wyatt (Napoleon Dynamite) talk about the feature film and show an exclusive featurette for The Clockwork Girl.

The Danger Element by Battle Jitni -12:00-12:30 showing in Marriott Hall Room 2 as part of the  SDCCI Independent Film Festival. See map in con guide for location.

Twisting Genres - 4:00 - 5:00 Room 25ABC Fantastic fiction authors talk about pushing the envelope on genre, not confining it to one definition. Participants include China Miéville (Kraken), Justin Cronin (The Passage), Naomi Novik (Tongues of Serpents), Daryl Gregory (The Devil's Alphabet), Jeffrey J. Mariotte (Cold Black Hearts), Robert Masello (Blood And Ice), Keith Thompson (The Leviathan trilogy), and Scott Westerfeld (The Leviathan trilogy). Moderated by Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy.

SFX presents The British Invasion - 5:00 - 6:00 Room 5AB Five top UK writers from the worlds of TV, comics, books, and movies discuss what makes modern British SF unique. Dan Abnett (Ultramarines), China Miéville (Perdido Street Station), Paul Cornell (Doctor Who), Kieron Gillen (Thor), Pat Mills (2000 AD), and Toby Whithouse (BBC's Being Human creator) talk to SFX magazine's Dave Bradley in this panel and Q&A session.

Thursday Offsite
Steam Powered Giraffe + Rumbledore 6:30 - 11:00 pm
San Diego's original singing robot comedy act are joined by one-man-band Michael Reed of The Smart Brothers as they weave a laugh-out-loud colorful performance imbued with pantomime illusion and folk inspired songs. Opening for the robots are the local Harry Potter band Rumbledore,
which will be followed by a live art showdown by SPG members Jon Sprague and Christopher Bennett, as they race to paint portraits of lucky raffle winners.
There will be prizes to win via raffle, Steam Powered Giraffe merchandise for sale, and a tournament of the SPG Card Game. Doors open at 6:30 PM for The Card Game Tournament. If you are participating make sure to arrive on time!
at Queen Bee's, 3925 Ohio St, San Diego All Ages, $10 at the door.

FRIDAY:
The Official Aspen Comics Panel - 12:00-1:00 Room 32AB  Creators Frank Mastromauro (Dellec), Peter Steigerwald (Soulfire), Vince Hernandez (Fathom: Kiani), Mark Roslan (Heroes), J.T. Krul (Mindfield), Joe Benitez (Lady Mechanika), David Schwartz (Fathom: Blue Descent), David Wohl (Witchblade), Micah Gunnell (Shrugged), Alex Konat (Mindfield), Eric Battle (The Scourge), Beth Sotelo (Fathom), and surprise guests are on hand to unveil Aspen's all new properties for 2010 and beyond! See never-before-seen covers and art, hear firsthand from the creators their plans for exciting new properties, and ask them questions directly in a special Q&A session. All fans in attendance will receive an exclusive gift courtesy of Aspen Comics.

Top Shelf 2010 5:30-6:30 Room 9 The crew at Top Shelf Productions celebrate their most international year yet, discussing their hit "Swedish Invasion" initiative, the acclaimed graphic novel The Playwright from British-Australian expats Eddie Campbell and Daren White, and their brand-new book of cutting-edge manga, Ax. And they'll show off exclusive sneak previews of upcoming books from  Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Jeffrey Brown (Incredible Change-Bots), Jeff Lemire (Essex County, Sweet Tooth), Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole), and so much more!

SATURDAY: 
Steampunk Meetup - Saturday 12 - 3pm The official Steampunk at Comic Con meetup is back! This time no room can hold us all, so we will meet at the center terrace stairs, bayside exit from Ballroom 20. Wear your best for the group photo at 2:00 pm, parade through lobby at 3:00.


Spotlight on China Miéville 1:30-2:30 Room 5AB Multi-award-winning author and Comic-Con special guest China Miéville talks about his books -- including The City & the City, Perdido Street Station and his most recent, Kraken -- in this special Spotlight panel.

Spotlight on Dave Dorman 2:00-3:00 Room 8 Eisner Award-winning illustrator and Comic-Con special guest Dave Dorman is best known for his stunning depictions from the Star Wars universe. Dave talks about his paintings and his comics work, including the eagerly awaited sequel to his Steampunk graphic novel Rail -- continuing stories set in his creator-owned universe, The Wasted Lands. 

Warehouse 13 and Eureka 3:30-5:00 Room 6BCF Don't miss two of Syfy's biggest hit series in one exclusive event. Catch back-to-back Warehouse 13 and Eureka panels, featuring Warehouse 13's Eddie McClintock (Pete Lattimer), Joanne Kelly (Myka Bering), Saul Rubinek (Artie Nielsen), Allison Scagliotti (Claudia Donovan), and Jack Kenny (showrunner/executive producer) and Eureka's Colin Ferguson (Jack Carter), Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), Neil Grayston (Douglas Fargo), James Callis (Grant), Jaime Paglia (co-creator/executive producer/writer), and Bruce Miller (executive producer/writer). Plus, Syfy brings back Cafe Diem at Hard Rock Hotel, featuring W13 themed items.

Disney Epic Mickey 4:30-5:30 Room 9 Warren Spector (creative director, Junction Point -- Disney Interactive Studios) and Peter David (award-winning comics writer and author of upcoming Disney Epic Mickey comics) share their insights about bringing the world and characters of the Disney Epic Mickey video game to life in two media -- video games and comic books. Warren and Peter explore "Wasteland," a world of forgotten, retired and rejected creative efforts from the Disney archives, and discuss the joy and challenges associated with writing for Mickey Mouse and his "brother," Walt Disney's first cartoon star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The panel includes discussion, gameplay demo featuring never-before-seen areas, concept art, previews of comic pages and Q&A.
ure Solider video game studio associate producer Adrian Lacey in a panel discussing the upcoming short film, as well as connections between the film and the game. Attendees will be treated to the world premiere debut of the film trailer, as well as a live demo of the upcoming video game.

War of the Worlds: Goliath 6:00-7:00 Room 5AB War of the Worlds: Goliath is an animated, 95-minute, battle epic set in a Steampunk 1914 Earth that has rebuilt and rearmed following the failed Martian Invasion of 1900. Set for release in early 2011, War of the Worlds: Goliath features voices by Peter Wingfield, Adam Baldwin, Elizabeth Gracen, Jim Byrnes, and Adrian Paul, among others. Producer Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Heavy Metal), producer/director Joe Pearson (Roswell Conspiracies, Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys), producer/writer David Abramowitz (Highlander), and producer Leon Tan screen footage from the upcoming feature, discuss the production process, and hold a Q&A session.

Saturday Offsite
The League of Temporal Adventurers Society Gala 8:00 pm - 2:00 am
Wrap up your Comic Con Steampunk experience with the steampunk party of the year! Featuring Voltaire, Unextraordinary Gentlemen, The Slow Poisoner, Veronique Chevalier, The Hoop Unit & The League of S.T.E.A.M. With guest DJ, Mr. Bodewell of Sepiachord and Professor Greyshade of Chrononaut.
at Queen Bee's, 3925 Ohio St, San Diego All Ages, beer & wine with ID
$18 in advance, $20 at the door (if available) L. T. A. Gala

SUNDAY:
Spotlight on Ann and Jeff VanderMeer 10:30-11:30 Room 8 Dr. Lambshead, Steampunk, Weird Tales, Imaginary Animals, and You— Weird Tales editor and Hugo Award winner Ann VanderMeer and her World Fantasy Award–winning husband, writer/editor Jeff VanderMeer, take you on a whirlwind exclusive inside look at a cornucopia of exciting new projects, from The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, featuring work by Mike Mignola and Greg Broadmore, to the Steampunk Bible coffeetable book, from the rejuvenated Weird Tales to the insanely entertaining Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals, featuring recipes for Wookiee and Cthulhu by Ace of Cake's Duff Goldman. With discussion, interrogation, arguments, and, er, Mongolian Death Worms. Nom nom.

Offsite Events:
Thursday 7/22
Steam Powered Giraffe + Rumbledore 6:30 - 11:00 pm
San Diego's original singing robot comedy act are joined by one-man-band Michael Reed of The Smart Brothers as they weave a laugh-out-loud colorful performance imbued with pantomime illusion and folk inspired songs.
Opening for the robots are the local Harry Potter band Rumbledore,
which will be followed by a live art showdown by SPG members Jon Sprague and Christopher Bennett, as they race to paint portraits of lucky raffle winners.
There will be prizes to win via Raffle, Steam Powered Giraffe merchandise for sale, and a tournament of the SPG Card Game. Doors open at 6:30 PM for The Card Game Tournament. If you are participating make sure to arrive on time!
at Queen Bee's, 3925 Ohio St, San Diego
All Ages, $10 at the door.

Hot Topic Tweetup - Food, Giveaways & surprises for Hot Topic fans. Follow them on Twitter for details.

Saturday 7/24
The League of Temporal Adventurers Society Gala 8:00 pm - 2:00 am
Wrap up your Comic Con Steampunk experience with the steampunk party of the year! Featuring Voltaire, Unextraordinary Gentlemen, The Slow Poisoner, Veronique Chevalier, The Hoop Unit & The League of S.T.E.A.M. With guest DJ, Mr. Bodewell of Sepiachord and Professor Greyshade of Chrononaut.
at Queen Bee's, 3925 Ohio St, San Diego
All Ages, beer & wine with ID
$18 in advance, $20 at the door (if available)
L. T. A. Gala

Chrononaut presents: League of Temporal Adventurers Society Gala

 

The San Diego Steampunk party of the year featuring:

Voltaire
Unextraordinary Gentlemen
The Slow Poisoner
The Hoop Unit
Veronique Chevalier

and the musical selections of Professor Greyshade of Chrononaut and Mr. Bodewell of Sepiachord.
Saturday, July 24th
8:00 pm to 2:00 am, All ages
Beer and Wine with ID
Tickets $18 in advance, $20 at the door & available at LTA Gala

At Queen Bee's in North Park near downtown. 

Reasonable parking three blocks from the event at Five Star.

Chrononaut presents Babbage Alley, a steampunk market

'Tis the weeks before Comic-Con International and all though the San Diego Steampunk Community people are sewing and tinkering and polishing brass in preparation for what has for decades been the biggest event on the alternative and fan culture calendar of San Diego. So what should Chrononaut do about that? Well, help us all prepare of course! 

We present a special evening of camaraderie and last minute shopping for mad costuming folks. We invite any and all vendors who have an interest in vending at Chrononaut to come tonight. Just email us and let us know what you want to vend, and bring your own table and light. 

We are also bringing the back the popular Beggar's Market; an open swap of steampunk related clothing and accessories. Donate what you no longer need to the Beggar's Market table and take what you do need. No money changes hands. 

Professor Greyshade provides the soundtrack and Jules Verne provides the inspiration to our silent cinema. 

We are also offering advanced tickets to the League of Temporal Adventurers First Society Gala with no handling fees.

FREE ADMISSION
with purchase of advance tickets to the LTA Society Gala
or $5 without 

Thursday, July 8th, 8 pm - 12 am at Queen Bee's, All Ages

http://ChrononautClub.com

Chrononaut Gets Airborne, for our one year anniversary!

Ladies, Gentlemen, Harlots and Scoundrels,

It has indeed been one year since the improbable experiment called Chrononaut began. Despite the fact that 99 percent of the population of San Diego has still never heard of steampunk Chrononaut has managed to establish itself as an unique island of creativity in the stagnant sea of local clubs, and has even gained some small amount of fame in the steampunk community globally.

To celebrate we draw on a quintessential of steam dream for inspiration, the dream of flight. No! Not the hideous reality of jet propelled cattle car caskets powered by corporate greed and plagued by terrorists, we mean the beautiful skies filled with stately airships and personal ornithopters that we really want. So strap on those flight caps and goggles for a special evening of aeronautical fun. The evening features shadow puppet perfection by The Animal Cracker Conspiracy presenting their original production Desire to Fly which they describe as "A timeless tale of innovation, longing, and imagination, Desire to Fly is a shadow puppet show inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s “flying machines” and man’s eternal quest for flight. In the distant future a Robot, fresh off the assembly line, finds himself wandering through a garden, where he unexpectedly becomes fascinated by butterflies. From this inspiration he attempts to build his own set of wings. His journey of experimental flight travels beyond the unexpected."

Rounding out the evening is a demonstration for radio controlled airship piloting by The Airship Consortium. A good thing Queen Bees has high ceilings Eh what? We will also be showing archival footage from the golden age of the Zeppelin, and of course there shall be vendors and Professor Greyshade.

Thursday, June 10th, All Ages. Doors open at 8:00 pm and the club closes at 12:00 am. $8.00 cover. See you there.

Chrononaut presents A Steampunk Circus

The circus is an inherently steampunk institution. It is as old Commedia dell'arte yet as new as postmodern performance art. It is a crossroads of skills and technologies both old and new that have always been used to transport us to an alternate reality outside of linear time. So it is with great pleasure that we announce an evening of circus arts featuring performers from the Lindley-Lopez Circus

We also are hosting face and body painting by Skin Tight Body Art. Brianna of Skin Tight asks that if you would like something especially elaborate you contact her in advance through her website. Regarding this we feel we must point out that Chrononaut is at once an all ages club and a forum for creative and alternative culture. With this in mind we ask only that you keep your bodily exposure within the bounds of public legality.

With all this plus the good Professor's musical selections, silent cinema, and vendors we could have a very full night, but there is yet one more factor to be considered in a truly steampunk circus, the DIY ethic of steampunk movement. We have always been impressed with the talent pool in our community and the way the entertainment at Chrononaut comes as much from the floor as the DJ booth or the stage. So we are extending a special invitation to circus-related busking. If you would like to perform on a pass-the-hat basis on the evening, e-mail us at grshado (at) yahoo (dot) com

Please note that the evening goes from 8:00 to midnight in deference to later sunsets of summer. $8 at the door (plus money for buskers) See you there!

Chrononaut presents Automatons and Alchemical Aberrations

Mad science and steampunk go hand in hand, and there is no more quintessential mad science activity than the blurring of the boundaries between the human and the artificial. With this in mind we present a grand exhibition celebrating the publication of a wondrous book penned by Dexter Palmer, The Dream of Perpetual Motion, telling the tale of prisoner aboard an airship crewed entirely by a clockwork creatures and a disembodied voice. We shall be giving away copies of the novel and posters.

Of course this is Chrononaut and no one expects you to sit about reading! Our headlining entertainment is a long overdue appearance by Colonel P. A. Walter I’s remarkable mechanical creations; the musical singing comedic troupe known collectively as Steam Powered Giraffe. They are either the most sophisticated fusion of steam and artificial intelligence technology produced in the late Victorian era or one of the most original musical and theatrical acts to be associated with the steampunk movement. You decide.

Opening for the mechanicals musicale are Elective Surgery, San Diego’s Repo! The Genetic Opera shadowcast who will demonstrate their art with a scene from the only musical film ever made about the horrors of overpriced internal organs.

Once again, we shall be exhibiting silent films featuring artificial creatures both horrible and fascinating. Our vendors have been working hard in their labs to bring you their own marvelous creations, and we will have music chosen by our own madman, Professor Greyshade.

Join us, Thursday, March 11th from 7 pm to 11 pm. Entry is $8 and is all ages, at Queen Bee's 3925 Ohio Street, San Diego, CA 92104  Chrononaut Club

Chrononaut presents the Brass & Lace Ball, an Evening of Steampunk Elegance

February is a month for romance and elegance, and steampunk has plenty of both. Join us for an evening of merriment and music on Thursday, February 11th at the Chrononaut Brass & Lace Ball. This is an opportunity to don one's most exquisite steampunk attire amongst like-minded individuals.
The evening will provide a vintage dance lesson courtesy of Liz O'Grady and roses will be given to all ladies in attendance. Our always imaginative vendors provide a perfect opportunity for purchasing tokens of affection for one's valentine before Sunday, whilst our silent cinema offers a heady romance of days-gone-by. As always, our own Professor Greyshade will play an eclectic anachronistic mix of music for your terpsichorean pleasure.
Chrononaut, Thursday February 11th, 7 until 11 p.m. All ages, $5 at the door.
3925 Ohio Street, San Diego, within Queen Bee's Art & Cultural Center.
www.chrononautclub.com