Happy Birthday Jules Verne

Eleven years ago, I watched the movie "Around the World in 80 Days" in the cinema. This comedic version featured Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan as Phileas Fogg and his valet Passepartout. In addition, it featured Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Broadbent, Owen and Luke Wilson, and former Python John Cleese in smaller roles. Although it performed poorly at the box office, I enjoyed it, and have watched it several times since on DVD. So when I found the novel included in this treasury of Jules Verne novels at Barnes and Noble, I wanted to see how the modern film deviated from the original story.

Surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly), the modern film bares little resemblance to the novel. As I enjoyed the movie, I welcomed a chance to experience a completely different story. Gone were all the steampunk elements, as well as the slapstick comedy. All new to me were Phileas Fogg as a man of the most exacting habits, who fired his last butler for delivering his shaving water two degrees too cool. As a rich gentleman, Fogg leads an insular, scholarly life. His only contact with the outside world is his daily walk between his house and his club in London. Yet he exhibits an extraordinary knowledge of all aspects of human existence. So strong is his faith in his own deductions that, when challenged, he bets his friends that he can circumnavigate the globe in a seemingly inadequate length of time. Oh, and the amount of his wager? Only the entirety of his earthly fortune.

This volume contains a plethora of black-and-white illustrations that evoke the imagery of the late Nineteenth century. In addition to Verne's exciting prose, the artwork keeps me turning the pages. Yet I can't read the novel fast enough. Weighing in at nearly three pounds, this hardback quickly grows too heavy to hold up while laying in bed at night. So reading it is reluctantly relegated to the daytime hours, when I can carve out a little time to sit down and read a chapter or two. Still, for the price, and with the sumptuous artwork, this collection from Barnes and Noble was a real bargain. 

Only one-third of my way into the novel, it's easy to see why readers flocked to Verne's stories. Around the World in Eighty Days is just one of fifty-four novels Verne wrote in his Voyages Extraordinaires series. I'd love to think that I might be able to read them all, but life is too short to allow me to read more than a fraction of all the books that catch my interest. So for now, I'll reluctantly content myself with finishing this novel during the daytime hours, and count the minutes between each reading session.

Really, Verne's adventure story is just too much fun!!!

Yesterday was Jules Verne's 187th birthday, so Happy Birthday Jules Verne! When I join you up above the clouds, I look forward to an eternity in which I can sing majestic operas, master the harp, and read all the great books ever written. Including yours.

Dragon Dave

Installing a Microwave Oven in 210 Days: Part 6

Ah...a happy sight.

I’ve drawn up a list of resolutions.  Hopefully, on those occasions I break the following resolutions, it will be for sound reasons. 

Rule #1: I pledge to never again believe any of the salespeople’s assurances.  They don’t know about my old appliances, or how they were installed. 

Rule #2: I will research all appliance purchases.  My new microwave’s exhaust fan is much louder than I had anticipated.  (This is not a huge issue, but it’s not like I can return the item now, either).

Rule #3: I will never again buy anything that I’m not going to use immediately.  Whether it’s an art project, installing a microwave, or something else, I pledge not to buy the item (and other associated parts, materials, etc.) and consequently let it clutter up our home until I get around to finishing doing, making, or installing said item.  In other words, don’t plan life too far ahead.  (This may be the hardest rule to follow through on).

Rule #4: I will anticipate problems, and look forward to solving them.  Even when reading the seemingly simple instructions for the wall frame, I felt as if I needed one of those cryptographic decoding machines James Bond was trying to get in “From Russia With Love.”  Or, as Kenneth Johnson said about writing his “Bionic Woman” scripts, obstacles define character.  Hungering for an easy life leads to procrastination and perfectionism.  I want to be more like Terrance Dicks, tough enough to overcome whatever problems that life throws my way.

Rule #5: I refuse to feel ashamed for choosing inelegant fixes.  Increasing the width of the dado on each cabinet, and gluing-in a strip of ¼” Oak below the shelf, might have been more elegant, but that would have taken more effort, precision, and time.  I will remember how ineffective Drax and Dran (or Perfectionism and Procrastination) were in Roger Zelazny’s story “The Slow Kings.”  After all, the brackets were inexpensive (parts and materials only cost us $19.25), and saved us lots of hassle and labor. 

(Note: if the microwave comes crashing down on the stove later, rethink Rule #5).

Well, there you have it: my five resolutions for the future.  As for the current project, I still have to decide whether to raise the doors above the microwave or affix some kind of hardware (such as pull-knobs).  I also need to reposition the upright supports.  This time I’ll drill pilot holes first so as not to bend the shelf unnecessarily.  Completing these last few details will go a long way toward making my project not only look more professional, but more serviceable.  Before, we didn’t use the area above the microwave for anything more than storing the broiler pan we never use in our gas oven.  Hopefully, when I’m finished, I’ll have more storage space above, and use it daily for storing the pans we use most. 

Installing our new over-the-counter microwave may have taken us 210 days, but no doubt saved us several hundred dollars in labor.  We can put that money toward our next vacation.  (Even if, unlike Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne’s classic novel, we only travel halfway around the world). 

Exhausted, but satisfied,

Dragon Dave

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