Brothers Campfire Punk, Steamy Politics, and Tiny Rams Heads

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Hello, Benjamin from Brother’s Campfire Here!

Things have been a little slow due to recovery from a gall bladder removal. The incision under the sternum holds my shovel hand back from any practical persuits, presently.

I have my paperwork in at the doctor’s office to return to work and it has not been processed yet. This is just as well as it has caught up with me a little, leaving me sickly.

Time is running out to train for a 50-mile hike this year and right now I can’t walk a mile, reminiscent of January’s covid and March’s dental work. I did hike quite a bit in February.

My Beloved has told me to slow down numerous times.

SLOWING DOWN.

So, I have written a lot instead. I started with retro-futurism in mind and I will see where it takes us. Here is what I have written so far.

Issue #01, #02, #03

As a majority of you are in the writing scene as well, I would like and admire your feedback and contributions.

I am no expert in the way of literature and I have very limited education in a classroom setting so take it for what it is worth, but today, I will briefly discuss…

Steampunk

Steampunk Looks Over The Top To Me.

There is just too much coal, hydraulics, gears, unexplained technology, and ridiculous ornamentation of useless mechanisms everywhere.

I was good until the mini ram skull…. Where did he?…. Why??

The same goes for the artwork,and themes, and clothing.

Does everyone have to wear a bowler or derby? Are corsets and stripes a must? Why arent the goggles worn over the eyes?

It makes her sick as well or she stopped by the Puking Peasant Inn

Perhaps it must be that way.

Or… It might just be science fiction or retro futurism. Jules Verne would know, but I don’t think he is taking calls.

I was having a discussion with Herb Thiel, my father, and determined human nature transcends settings, and while settings are nifty, so are the folks in the story.

To cut to the chase, I will go my own way exploring the genre, but I may still call it Steampunk. (And I may give in and use Mini Ram Skull guy in the story)

Steampunk, in general, seems to be written in Victorian and industrial revolution type settings, answering my own questions about some of the attire.

A rapidly changing world, complete with an age of invention and discovery (to include uses for steam) is a storytelling dream. You can go anywhere in such an endeavor.

I recoil at the word punk. Initially, it meant a prostitute, and troublemaker and moved on in definition to various movements of angry social alienation, anti-authority, and anti-establishment, rebellion, and nihilism.

None of these qualities are anything I would like to encourage, and I considered a few things about it in no particular order.

While the Victorian age and Indistrial Revolution may have questionably benefited a few, there are dark aspects omitted such as child labor laws, exploitation of minorities, hostile takovers of countries, and all kinds of debauchery. Fiction or no, there is no real altruism in this setting.

To me, resisting evils and advocating for reform does have a place in society, but not in a spirit rejecting moral principles or with the philosophy that life is meaningless.

In my first three issues, I discussed a character named Petra in a scientific setting, and a few that were willing to protect her undertaking with force of necessary. Punk? Who can tell.

Thus far, I reject the etymology of steampunk, but I will use it to describe the genre of my current storyline. I can probably step over this roadblock and sleep well at night.

Well, that is my ramble.

I want to get back to typing this story so effectively that you give a yell, crying more, more, more.

Author: Benjamin

Benjamin Thiel is a community leader, urban farmer, and author of The Ongoing Tale at Brothers Campfire. He might know a guy...

60 thoughts on “Brothers Campfire Punk, Steamy Politics, and Tiny Rams Heads”

  3. Ryan Callahan says:

    P.S. Praying we both heal quick and get back to normal healthy life. That was quite a surgery!

      1. bwcarey says:

        holmes is the star that lights eternally in many minds, cheers for the comments

  5. Mr. Ohh's Sideways View says:

    Enjoy the new stories Steam Punk Is victorian England With machines. BIG Machines.. Electronics do not work but Massive gears accomplish the same thing. Steam is the power and electricity is minor at best.
    ,,
    ,,
    ,,
    Laugh and brighten your heart

      1. herbthiel says:

        I agree that it is all about gearing and steam. Wind-up (there’s a name that escapes me) mechanisms. I would suggest just telling the story and let the scenery figure itself out, although you have a lot more authors with experience and real published books who may advise differently, I don’t know. Thanks for the shout, by the way.

  6. Jaskiers says:

    Hello buddy !
    Happy that you have time to right while recovering. I will make sure to check out your work !
    I’m actually writing a short novel about American soldiers landing on Iwo Jima, I’m writing it in English, it’s a challenge, first time writing something in English ! I’m looking forward for your critics if that okay with you. I haven’t finished it yet, don’t know when it will be…
    Have a good recovery and good writing !

    1. Benjamin says:

      I look forward to reading your English Post! If you send it to me on my contact page, I can proof read it for you to the best of my ability! I am really excited about your story!🤠🔥

      1. Jaskiers says:

        Wow that’s very kind of you ! I don’t think I will bother you with proof reading, I have to learn from my mistakes (and there’s a lot !) and keep writing and reading in English. Keep improving. I don’t want to waste your time either !
        It’s just that your point of view as an American will be very very helpful for me. As an American Literature passionate, It’s gonna be really important to have your opinion.
        I’m still searching the ending of my story, hopefully I will find something good !
        I’ve started to read your new tale, I love it, not much of SteamPunk in my readings habits lately !
        Have a nice week and thanks again !

  7. Cindy Georgakas says:

    wow ben you’ve had your share of stuff to deal with. i agree with you wife, slow down.❤️enjoyed your writing🤗

  9. 9siduri says:

    Hope you’re healed and on your feet soon. No fun being sliced open and having bits of you taken out.

    Regarding steampunk, I personally am not excited about it. Personal preference is all. I agree with the Victorian setting. There are those who chose other settings, however, for example, black American writers set stories in Africa. There are stories set in South East Asia, too. I don’t suggest borrowing these ideas or ethnicities, only that Victorian England isn’t the only place to successfully set a steampunk tale.

    Happy writing.

  11. eob2 says:

    I don’t know why I wasn’t getting your posts in my feed, however I have some reading to catch up on now. I don’t care if it’s steam punk, gothic, vampires, magic etc etc as long as the storyline and characters grab my interest I’m in it to the end. I hope your recovery is coming along well.

    1. Benjamin says:

      🤠🔥 Thank you for your encouragement! You are amazing!
      Because I am self hosted, I have unique problems with the WordPress Application they want me to pay 7.99 a month to even use keywords.

        1. Benjamin says:

          I reached out to them. That is how I found out. I am required to buy a membership to Jetpack

          1. eob2 says:

            I’m not sure I know what that means. I don’t self host, I just have a non ad plan.

          2. Benjamin says:

            I don’t know to be honest. I noticed that my kew words do not catagorize on WordPress and sometimes I am not in follower feeds. When I reached out, they told me I needed to be a paid WordPress member or have a paid version of Jetpack. I do not know of ot os the case or if they did not want to work on the problem.

          3. eob2 says:

            Well I’m gonna see if I get notices now, I unfollowed and refollowed and enabled notices, we’ll see what happens.

          4. Benjamin says:

            Way cool! My Email subscription thingy should be repaired as well. I appreciate your support! 🤠🔥

  13. cheriewhite says:

    I’m praying for your complete recovery from your gallbladder surgery, Ben. And wow! I’d never heard “Steampunk” until I read this. The word itself sounds more like the name of a rock group than a genre. I’m so glad I learned a new lesson today! 🙂

    1. Benjamin says:

      Thank you for your prayers! It is an interesting genre, Cherie. I do plan to go my own way with it. Petra, the Erratic Engineeress, is fun to write fiction about, but it requires a LOT of research to keep my science fiction believable. It has been an education so far!

      1. cheriewhite says:

        I hear you there. I imagine it would take a ton of research and that’s time consuming but worth it in the end. Petra is my heroine! GIRL POWER! 😁

        1. Benjamin says:

          It is time-consuming and fun. I am a fan of all things science related, sp coming up with plausible explanations is fun!

          1. cheriewhite says:

            Aw, yesss! Doing something you enjoy definitely doesn’t feel time-consuming. I read and research human psychology and behavior through books and articles and love it! I’ve researched bullying, abuse, and human hostility and hate since 1995 and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. Like you, my son is into science-related stuff and he could immerse himself in it without getting bored. Thank goodness for hobbies! 😀

          2. Benjamin says:

            I enjoy your research. It helped me rationalize several tough situations I have been in. You have been incredibly helpful and I know I am not the only one.

          4. Benjamin says:

            Absolutely. I am not at the liberty to speak of these concerns in public as yet. Perhaps I will make them part of the story.

        2. Benjamin says:

          Petra is pretty nifty. Writing female characters is hard sometimes!

          1. cheriewhite says:

            I can understand that. It’s easier to write about someone of the same sex.

  14. Petra says:

    I’ve always found the term steampunk weird, because as you said punk was primarily an ideological/political subculture and the way I see it steampunk is more of an esthetic thing with a particular look and Verne and Lovecraft etc. The good thing is though, that everyone can explore writing stories in every genre in their own way, so go where it takes you. 😊

    1. Benjamin says:

      Thank you! I will give it a go. I hope you enjoy it!🤠🔥

  15. equipsblog says:

    I follow another blogger (https://teagansbooks.com/) who writes on different aspects of fantasy including steam punk. You riff about punk made me curious about the definition of the punk genres.. I found a blogger that I have not read before that has a post defining the different types of punk. I found it worthwhile to read.https://sorcereroftea.com/punkpunk-a-to-z-of-punk-genres/
    “Punk genres are really defined by taking the technology of a given time period, and stretching it to fantastical levels. There is contention on this point, because many believe punk genres should also be about rebellion, social alientation and sticking it to the big government. But the fact is, a lot of work in these genres doesn’t do that anymore.

    I personally think the very best punk works come from taking this technology, and working with how it would impact society. From cyberpunk robotics, to the green tech of solarpunk, we’re given a lot of opportunities to break away from real-world, right now, social norms in these genres.

    1. Benjamin says:

      Thanks for the links! I think in Victorian terms, having two female heros is quite punk for the setting.

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