More accurately, IF blogger John Graham-Cumming can raise a mere $640,000 then the Charles Babbage Analytical Engine will be built in its entirety.  The Analytical Engine is superior to the Difference Engine (it can calculate Pi), and no one has ever fully built one before.

You got to love these crazy mad scientist types.  The engine itself is in effect a real computer complete with the mechanical equivalents of a CPU, memory, microcode, printer, and program cards.  If it actually works, it’ll be a triumph in engineering, and a testament to the genius of Charles Babbage.  So, if you want to help then visit Plan 28 and donate.

Apparently, this won the Marvel Costume Contest at New York Comic Con 2010.  Good job, high-5!

New and upcoming Steampunk comic book by Joe Benitez with fantastic art and story.  I’m a harsh critic, especially when it comes to comics; but this one is a winner.

I used to collect comics back in the ’90s.  X-Men, Spawn, Lobo, Crow, and a few others.  My collection is now limited to a handful of favorites.  So naturally, I am very critical of comics.  I feel they have to have great stories, fantastic characters, and beautiful art.  I’m looking forward to following Lady Mechanika.

With no memory of her captivity or her former life, Mechanika eventually built a new life for herself as a private detective, using her unique abilities to solve cases the police couldn’t or wouldn’t handle. But she never stopped searching for the answers to her own past.

Set in turn of the century England, a time when magic and superstition clashed with new scientific discoveries and inventions, Lady Mechanika is about a young woman’s search for her own identity as she solves other mysteries involving science and the supernatural.

Via: Official Joe Benitez Site

Good God, look at this gun.  This is how you put rounds downrange.  It’s huge, almost the size of my manhood.  Of course, he can keep the gun and I’ll take his girl.  It’ll take more than portable artillery to stop me.

This is why we can’t have nice airships; Nazis suck!  I’ve invented a new term: FailPunk.  I searched and made sure no one else was using the term, and I couldn’t find any sites with Steampunk fail, Cyberpunk fail, or any other kind of punk fail.  Maybe it’ll catch on.

Want to make your own image macro?  I used ROFLbot to make the image above, which I think is far superior to the LOLbuilder.  If you’ve got a Punk Fail or LOL, send it to me and I’ll post it.

Oh, I’m going to catch sooooo much crap for this.  I saw this image over at Regretsy – Not Remotely Steampunk, which is a short collection of things that have been marketed as Steampunk but clearly are not.

And now some humor at Jesus’ expense, a.k.a. blasphemy.

How do you fight Sky Pirates?  Send in the Sky Armada.

The artwork speaks for itself.  It looks like it was inspired by the submarines, battleships, and aircraft carriers of World War II.  The attention to detail is superb, especially in regards to the military hardware and hull accessories.  See the full-size image.

Finally, a high-end pure Steampunk game.  Unlike Bioshock 1 & 2 which takes place between 1960 and 1968 making them Deiselpunk, Bioshock Infinite takes place in 1912 in the weaponized sky city of Columbia.  The failed utopia is reminiscent of the 1893 World’s Fair and is built on the idea of American exceptionalism.  Watch the trailer:

A moment’s respite. Elizabeth and Booker walk towards a bridge, when the familiar metallic clomp of a “Daddy” echoes around. This isn’t a mule, although it’s a more human Daddy than the diving suited huggables of rapture: a man’s face, black parted hair and elaborate moustache, peeks out above a suit that exaggerates his body. He has giant, crushing hands, pistons powering his movements. He’s mostly a power boss: bashing, grabbing, tearing. It’s clear that Elizabeth’s role is something of a co-op partner. Her and Booker’s powers combine to be more powerful than on their own, but she also seems to have more specificity about her uses. This fight is resolved when the pair of you bring the bridge crashing down on the Daddy’s body, slicing through the ground as the bridge support hits it. He scrambles at the crumbling structure with his oversized hands before sliding off Columbia.

BioShock and BioShock 2 sported multiple endings (good/evil) depending on the player’s ethical choices.  This made for a good interactive narrative, and a sound story altogether.  These games are also well-respected first-person shooters.  Typically, I’m cautious with game purchases and prefer to rent them first, but based on my past experiences with the BioShock games, I will buy BioShock Infinite blindfolded.

Via: PC Gamer

You’re looking at the Watt Industries Time Machine which sells for a mere $100,000.  The seller is serious about the price and even has the brass to charge an extra $10 for shipping.

Gather round to witness the latest creation from the Watts Industries’ labs. Watch in awe as the power of the hand held device for traversing the chrono scape transports our ‘willing’ volunteer through time itself. Feuled by raw liquid ether held in the containment vessel at the bottom, the user has only to wind the clockwork mechanism at the top the desired number of times to initiate chronoporting.

disclaimer: Watts Industries Accepts no responsibility for chronofreeze, ingestion by theropods, Vexatious encounters with robots and infantication. If raw liquid ether is ingested seek medical attention yesterday.

Seriously, for $100,000 I better get a DeLorean that can hit 1955, and I insist that it have the Mr. Fusion, Plutonium, hover conversion, the works.  In other words, a REAL time machine, not just some groovy lamp.  Granted, the lamp is cool, just not 100-Grand cool…

Via: DVICE

Can SteamPunk Sky Pirates win against the Predator?  I’ve seen enthusiasts invent some impressive weaponry, but would any of it stand a chance against the high-tech alien weaponry of Predators?

This is the first poll in what I hope will be a long series of “SteamPunk Versus”.  In the future, I’ll pit Sky Pirates against all sorts of foe and situations.  But for now, vote in the poll and/or comment, and let everyone know what you think.

UPDATE: This dog won’t hunt. I foolishly built the poll on a Macromedia plugin and sat on it for a dozen years. The results are GONE, but needless to say, we all know what the answer was…