Is This a Steampunk LARP or San Francisco?

I just got back from a week of hanging out in the San Francisco Bay area. On one weekday afternoon I went by Borderlands Books, a remarkable 2000 square foot science fiction and fantasy bookstore that recently relocated to a neighborhood called The Mission District. When I lived in the Bay Area 10 years ago this neighborhood was a bit sketchy and was known for its Mexican gangs and punk rock dives. I was shocked last week to see how much The Mission had gentrified, especially Valenica St. where Borderlands is located. While gentrification-by-hipster isn't terribly interesting or unusual, the case of Valencia St. merits mentioning because there is an usually strong flavor of steampunk in the gentrification. Within a four or five block area I counted at least three shops devoted to selling steampunk lifestyle supplies. Animal skulls with bits of broken clocks glued to them. Brass steam pistol replicas. Glass and gear curios that look exciting but don't actually do anything. Lots of victorianish doodads and gewgaws. And vests, course.

During the week I was in the Bay Area (not jut Valencia St.) I saw a number of people walking around in public, in broad daylight, openly sporting steampunk accessories or complete outfits. Before this I had only seen this kind of thing at comic book and/or gaming conventions. I saw plenty of vests and highly manicured moustaches, which aren't unusual in some L.A. neighborhoods these days, but I also saw capes, clockwork goggles, petticoats, bodices, and so on. Costumes, really. While I'm not necessarily a huge steampunk fan, this whole thing is kind of interesting to me. In 20 years we have seen steampunk turn from a geeky niche literary trend into a street fashion. How in the world did this happen?

I'm kind of jealous, I must admit. When will MY favorite literary niche - weird space wizard fantasy - be able to break free from the underworld of rennies and roleplayers to get its turn in the fashion spotlight of wayward middle class youth? When will I be able to hang out at my favorite Orange County Korean Taco truck without feeling self-conscious about wearing wizard robes? I think I look quite dashing in a pointy cap. Maybe this new Conan movie will at least make it easier for me to spearhead fur loincloths as the next geek fashion trend.

John Thor vs. Satan

I kind of thought my Gamma World Mutants of Metal setting was slightly original. It turns out I was totally fooling myself. Troy Z. sent me a link to this footage of national treasure John Thor fighting Satan in the rare 1987 movie Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare:



Here are some awesome clips representing other aspects of Thor's career. Talk about 18 STR coupled with various mental mutations...

"Is this a band of heavy metal music? How about I do some metal bending?" he asks during a concert just before... bending metal:



A moustachioed Thor uses oral gas generation to explode a hot water bottle on the Merv Griffin show:

Obscure 80s Swords & Sorcery Movie Trailers

Not all S&S actually, there's also a nice post-apocalyptic trailer featuring Patrick Swayze thrown in there (thanks Big Buck!)...

WARNING: One or more of these trailers may have boobs in them! If you are outraged by boob imagery please surf yourself to the next website. Thank you, friends.

Woah! Interesting Wizard Tattoo Ya Got There!

I can instantly relate to anyone that has one of these:

Shatner Choppers

Right Side:

 

Left Side:

On the chopper - lookin' great, Boston Legal!

Model Photo:

Star Trike:

More Fantasy Van Murals

Riffing off of Grognardia's earlier treatment on the topic, I thought I'd post some additional remarkable van mural pictures I've collected while trawling the internet. Seeing vans like these when I was a kid always made my day. Luckily, around Southern California you can still spot them occasionally, especially those with supernatural Aztec murals. A few months ago in my neighborhood I saw a truck fully muralized for the heavy metal band Man-O-War and I started screaming to my wife with excitement - I wish I had a camera for that one.

Weird Body Armor From J.C. Penney

Make a fashion statement with your choice of armor!

Air Jeans look smart when matched with a salmon turtleneck!