Where to Start?

So now that I know that there is a subculture out there that isn't completely hung up on historical accuracy, that has a sense of humor as well as a sense of style and a sense of history, that encourages DIY and experimentation, and that's large enough to generate its own series of cons, how does one go about joining in?

In my case, being a perennial introvert, I start by reading about it. I've got several lists of blogs and websites (the ones I refer to most frequently are linked in the "My Blog List" sidebar, along with several books (both Victorian and Modern) and a Pandora station set to Abney Park for atmosphere... As I look around, I realize a number of things. One, I already know several folks who are involved to a greater or lesser degree - a friend who attended a recent con as Mama Gkika (of Girl Genius fame), another who got tagged in someone else's Facebook album wearing a pith helmet and khaki shorts while fondling a repainted Nerf rifle, and a co-worker whose steamsona evidently operates of the same basement that my Real Life job takes place in...

Being acquainted with other introverts of a scholarly nature, I also discuss my budding interest with them, and the conversation almost immediately turns to questions of privilege, identity, and racial projects - because that's what we do for fun. Seriously. Look up "Moff's Law" - I found it via the Silver Goggles blog, and had an epiphany. Turns out that while there is a certain amount of reification of imperialism and Victorianism inherent to a Steampunk worldview, the precise amount is highly variable and subject to irony, parody, reflection, deconstruction, and serious analysis. Wheee! I'm already following blogs by two graduate students working on Steampunk projects, and I look forward to finding more. It's almost enough to get me to dust off my GRE scores and try to get back in myself...

But then I might not have time to start the craft projects. After purchasing my second Utilikilt, I had a sudden thought that the canvas duck model with the leather hammer loop would make a pretty good foundation piece for a Steampunk outfit, and that's when I suddenly got the research bug. I'm saving up for a pair of premade boots, but I've picked up a couple of Nerf guns that I plan to spraypaint this weekend... I found out that there's a Tandy Leather Factory outlet just north of my neighborhood, and I've still got some leftover odds and sods from the short-lived Viking Garb making era. And I found out that one of the guys that I work with (and game with, and do game development with) knows how to weld... Time to complete a project or two.