Time Machine Booth? Priceless.

Mad scientists with Victorian flair, lend us your ears: next week is your week to sail your rocketships to the moon -- or at least dock them at a SXSW steampunk party.

And for the rest of you who don't regularly don goggles and ride penny-farthings: about steampunk. Steampunk refers to a brand of creative science fiction that weds modern technophilia with the sweet trappings of railroads, air balloons, top hats and all-around steam engine-ness, drawing inspiration from writers like Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and Mary Shelley. (A great example of the deliciously wacky steampunk flavor? Back to the Future III.)

You can experience more of said flavor next Monday, March 12th at Scholz Garten. The oldest little pub in Texas will host an interactive showcase called, "Futures of the Past: A Steampunk Adventure." Austin's White Ghost Shivers will share their musical talents, and so will a local vaudeville troupe. Oo-la-la! But the evening's highlight sounds like the Modern Marvels exhibit, "...which will hold visual and interactive artworks from local and national artists who specialize in Steampunk styles. Included works involve hand-made shadow boxes, a time machine booth, and candles that spin under their own steam power."