Top 5 NLG Steampunk Articles 2011

Choosing my blog's Top 5 articles for 2011 wasn't easy. If I ranked them by pageview, recent articles would be at a disadvantage against those that have been published for some time.

In the end I decided to rank them by calculating the average monthly pageviews [(actual pageviews / days published) * 30 days]. As a last step I removed seasonal posts as with my formula they skewed the result. Seasonal posts are articles that might be very popular at the end of the year, but will probably be ignored during the rest of the year. The results in reverse order:

Top 10 Steampunk Web Articles 2011

Everybody seems to make best of the year lists, so I'm making my own. The rules are they must be related to Steampunk, and not have been linked to elsewhere on my blog. It doesn't matter when they were published, but I must have discovered them during the past 12 months. In reverse order:

Hugo (2011)

Synopsis
In 1930's Paris, an orphan lives hidden in a train station's walls. He takes care of the station's clocks, and tries to fix an automaton left to him by his late father. Based on Brian Selznick's New York Times best-seller "The Invention of Hugo Cabret".

The British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture and it's exhibits originate from all over the world.

Physician and naturalist Sir Hans Sloane collected more than 71,000 objects over his lifetime. He wanted them to be preserved intact after his death, so he bequeathed the whole collection to King George II for the nation in return for a payment of £20,000 to his heirs. The gift was accepted and on 7 June 1753, an Act of Parliament established the British Museum.

St James's Park and Green Park

St James's Park

St James's Park and Green Park together with two other Royal Parks of London, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens form an almost continuous green area in the centre of London.

In 1532, Henry VIII purchased an area of marshland from Eton College, through which the river Tyburn flowed. On James I's accession to the throne in 1603, he ordered the park drained and landscaped, and kept exotic animals in the park, including camels, crocodiles, and an elephant, as well as aviaries of exotic birds along the south.

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens together with two other Royal Parks of London, Green Park and St James's Park form an almost continuous "green lung" in the heart of London.

In 1536, Henry VIII acquired the manor of Hyde from the canons of Westminster Abbey and enclosed it as a deer park. It remained a private hunting ground until James I permitted limited access to gentlefolk, and appointing a ranger to take charge. In 1637 Charles I opened the park to the general public.

In 1728 Queen Caroline carved Kensington Gardens out of the western section of Hyde Park. During the next ten years fashionable features including the Round Pond, formal avenues, and a sunken Dutch garden were added.

The Three Musketeers (2011)

Synopsis
The three Musketeers go to Venice to steal Leonardo da Vinci's Airship blueprints, but are double crossed by Milady who gives the plans to the Duke of Buckingham. On their return to Paris they are disbanded by Cardinal Richelieu for their failure.

A year later a young D'Artagnan moves to Paris and befriends the three former Musketeers. They unite and attempt to stop Cardinal Richelieu's plans to engulf Europe in war and seize the French throne.

Peyton Place (1957)

Peyton Place inspired David Lynch and Mark Frost when they were creating the look and atmosphere of the town of Twin Peaks, including the fact there would be a lumber mill.

Synopsis
Allison MacKenzie narrates the story of Peyton Place, her home town in rural New Hampshire around the time of WW2. At first the town seems tranquil and idyllic, but soon it is shown to be rife with moral hypocrisy, social inequities, and class privilege.

The Truth behind Pirate Stereotypes

I noticed there is great interest in pirates amongst Steampunks, and not just those of the airship variety. This reminded me of a great article I had read about pirate stereotypes. In it two historical piracy experts are asked about buried treasure; wooden legs, hooks, and eye patches; parrot on the shoulder; pirate fashion and bling; and "arrrr" the accent!

Scotland Yard

Scotland Yard is the London Police elite investigation agency mentioned in Sherlock Holmes and other stories. But what is it really, and why is it called so?

Amerigo Vespucci: The World’s Most Beautiful Ship

I had the luck of visiting the Amerigo Vespucci, a tall ship of the Italian Marina Militare, named after the explorer of the same name. When I saw pictures of this ship I thought it was made of wood, so imagine my surprise when I saw it's made of riveted steel plates. It seems caught between two eras, the looks of an 18th century wooden ship, and the technology and materials of the 1920's (with small upgrades for the 21st century). Click on the pictures to see in more detail.

Mad as a Hatter? Millinery and Mercury

The Hatter character in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)

In the late 14th and 15 centuries hats started to be worn regularly. During that period hats for men were considered an important fashion item, unlike women’s hats which only became considered as a fashion item in the 18th Century.

Millinery has existed in Britain since the 1700's.  In English courts the term milliner was used and this was derived from the term for travelling haberdashers from the Duchy of Milan in Italy.  These travelling sales people sold 'Millayne bonnets' and all the items necessary to dress, and were called millainers.

The British Parliament

The crowned portcullis gained widespread use as the emblem of the Houses of Parliament in the 19th century.

This is a follow up to my Parliament vs Monarchy article, and it attempts to explain the British parliamentary system. The British legislative authority (known as the Crown-in-Parliament) has three separate elements: the Monarch, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons.

The House of Lords (also known as the Upper House) is made of two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual (senior bishops of the Church of England) and the Lords Temporal (members of the Peerage). Members of the House of Lords are not elected democratically, but are

Parliament vs Monarchy

Houses of Parliament

This is my first historical article about the Victorian Era. I believe if I am to write a Steampunk novel based in Victorian Era Britain, I have to understand life back then. Their culture, politics, and technology. During my research I learned many interesting facts, and I'd like to share them with you.

By the time of Queen Victoria, the British Monarch was already a figurehead, and Parliament held legislative power. Ever wondered how the power transfer from Monarchy to Parliament happened?