Steam..WHAT? You say?

Steam....What?

Good morning, All.  If you just happened to be in Winnsboro, Texas last Friday, well you probably were witness to the craziness.  And actually, it was rather crazy....because it was Crazy Daze in Winnsboro.  Or for the more civilized 3rd Friday Art walk.  All that means really is that the merchants and citizens get together, keep the stores open late, have great sales and tasty appetizers, lots of wonderful music and a few of us are into keeping Winnsboro Weirder by playing dress up!  (If you have every been in the Austin area, they have a Keep Austin Weird campaign.)


So, on the 3rd Friday of the Month, whether it is full moon or not....a pretty good handful of merchants and citizens, weeeell, let me put it this way, sometimes we don't even know what is going to happen!


Have you ever heard of Steampunk?  Neither had I but let me tell you about it, just in case, you come to Winnsboro and see us all dressed up!

Annie Oatmeal and the beautiful, but dangerous
Dressmaker!

Steampunk

"Streampunk is a genre that originated during the 1980's and early 1990's and incorporates elements of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, horror and speculative fiction.  it involves a setting where steam power is widely used--whether in an alternate history such as Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United States, or in a post -apocalyptic time--that incorporates of elements of either science fiction or fantasy.  (The term "Steampunk" originated in the late 1980s with a cheeky letter to Locus Magazine from science fiction author K.W. Jetter.  Jeter was trying to find an accurate description of works by himself (Morlock Night), Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates), and James Blaylock (Homunculus).  While Jeter coined the word, it was William Gibon and Bruce Sterling that brought the genre attention with the book The Difference Engine (1992).  This info is from the website www.ministry of peculiarocurrences.com).  Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology, or futruistic innovations as Victorians might have envisioned them, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style and art.  This technology includes such fictional machines as those found in the works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, or the contemporary authors Philip Pullman, Scott Westerfeld and China Mieville."

This info is from Wikipedia.

Always dapper and handsome.  Note the
goggles.

Mademoiselle!  Straight out of the pages of Art and Espresso!
And just where may she
be hiding her gun?

Hi, Annie!  Watch out she must
have a ray gun in the pocket
of that beautiful dress!

Doc?
You said I needed what removed?  

Okay, now this is just a sampling of the photos I took on Friday.  I will share more with you in the following weeks!  And yes, I did dress up as the mad (as in crazy) herbalist.  Ms. Dandy (Dandelion) Dragonfly.  My costume needs some work.....more metal, I guess, and definitely will have goggles and a gun.  Because a girl just cannot be expected to make a trip through the jungles of Victorian science fiction with out all the right stuff.  

Ms. Dandy Dragonfly....
the "Mad Herbalist/Chemist"
Okay, folks to my credit (or craziness)
I am wearing a wool skirt,
black boots,
a leather vest
and a hat.
I had just returned from a rushed trip to
Quitman, Tx to deal with a TAX issue
in an unairconditioned car
that decided to break down in
104 degree heat.
Oh well,
this is a great shot of a bit of
StarDragonfly Herb Company!

So, next time you are in Winnsboro, stop in and visit all our wonderful shops! We are a crazy lot here in Winnsboro, but we have lots of fun and hope all our customers, family and friends do to!  Until next time!  Herbally, Susan

Steampunk is...a joyous fantasy of the past, allowing us to revel in a nostalgia for what never was.  It is a literary playground for adventure, spectacle, drama, escapism and exploration.  But most of all it is fun!

George  Mann