SHAW 2016: Syncretic Balinese Treasures

I went to Bali in 2010, before starting my M.A. degree, with my family for Lunar New Year. Bali is a state of Indonesia, at the far-eastern tip. (It also shares the same timezone, which makes it a bit confusing when you wake up at 5am and it's already pretty light out and you're not used to that.)

Balinese culture is a combination of different cultures, and it's pretty easy to trace where each element in their architecture and aesthetics are from, while still appreciate it all as singular wholes unique to the region. The Hindu and Buddhist influences stand out strongly, coagulating into the local folk aesthetic.

And boy are there some steampunky things there!

SHAW 2016: The 4 Most Steampunk Places of Riverside

Yes, Silver Goggles is once again participating in Steampunk Hands Around the World!

Folks may or may not be aware that currently, I live in Riverside, California. I'm not a fan of Riverside, exactly: the sun is aggressively hot and bright for too many months of the year; it's too dry; Southern California does not believe in public transportation; affordable housing apparently does not exist. That there are palm trees everywhere also gets on my nerves: they don't belong here, they're here only for the "exotic" feeling which is pretty pointless, and the desert could use more good desert-loving trees that provide shade to its inhabitants. I am not, however, the architect of this region.

Fortunately! Not all is lost on me here in Riverside. Today, I give to you my four favourite spots in Riverside that I try to make people aware of. Two of them are right downtown, and if you visit, I will make sure to take you there.

#SEAsteampunk news!

I haven't really been posting here much about the IndieGoGo Campaign for The SEA Is Ours: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia. Mostly because I've been pretty obnoxious about it on other social media platforms (sorry, Twitter and Tumblr followers and Facebook friends). Also because in the first couple of weeks of the campaign, I was emotionally exhausted by the whole thing. 

It is now twelve hours to the end of the campaign. We hit the ground running, and we actually reached the base goal of $8,000 on Day 15. There was a lot of weeping involved. Since then we have been aiming for the first stretch goal, and we hit that the other day, too. 

Joyce and I will be working on a teacher's edition for the anthology. We hope to have it done by early next year, and it will be available for download, probably with a pay-what-you-like fee. 

The book has now been sent off to the printers, and it will be ready for the shelves on November 30. It's a delay from the originally stated November 1 date, because our publisher, Bill, recently suffered a tragic loss in his family. 

Bill himself will be going to Europe for the next few weeks, and when he gets back, he'll be making many, many, many trips to the post office. (Customs for international shipping takes about 5 minutes each parcel, aaaaaaaaand he does it on top of a day job! No, don't ask me how he does it, yes, lean back and stare in wonder.) 

Thanks to everyone who's been supporting us so far, and looking forward to your reactions when you get the book!!