Sharks, Guns and Other things that get jumped

I try to follow a fair number of blogs to get some general idea of what's going on in the world of the webernets, and what I keep hearing from any number of sources is that Steampunk is dead, over and done with.

This bothers me. And it speaks to the dreadful indie tendency of the internet where maximum clout is earned by being the first to declare something uncool. Being on the edge of cool is no longer enough, it is now necessary to prematurely declare the death of certain subcultures just so you can be the one who got over it first.

One of my favorite things about Steampunk is the work ethic involved, the time and craftsmanship that is in lovely opposition to a lot of the me me me now now now clamoring of culture. It's not likely to ever gain a lot of acceptance outside of a select circle of people for that same reason but I happen to like that circle of people. I also enjoy going to the Renaissance Festival, and while that might not be cool it's still fun and enjoyable to experience a version of the way things were. Why else do we read historical novels? Certainly Steampunk is no more authentic Victoriana than RenFest is a genuine mimicry of the actual Renaissance, but we are a romantic species and we enjoy this.

So stop trying to declare that Steampunk has jumped the shark, it hasn't even got its skis on yet.
In the words of many a drunken lout at the Renaissance Festival:
"I'm not dead yet!"