strange, also sublime

[eldritchhobbit]

I am back after a wonderful experience at Duke, in time to say happy birthday to Jules Verne (1828-1905), one of the great parents of science fiction.

In his honor, a quote for the day:

And, among the worthy people who have so kindly received us, I revise my record of these adventures once more. Not a fact has been omitted, not a detail exaggerated. It is a faithful narrative of this incredible expedition in an element inaccessible to man, but to which Progress will one day open a road.

Shall I be believed? I do not know. And it matters little, after all. What I now affirm is, that I have a right to speak of these seas, under which, in less than ten months, I have crossed 20,000 leagues in that
submarine tour of the world, which has revealed so many wonders.

But what has become of the Nautilus? Did it resist the pressure of the maelstrom? Does Captain Nemo still live? And does he still follow under the ocean those frightful retaliations? Or, did he stop after the last
hecatomb?

Will the waves one day carry to him this manuscript containing the history of his life? Shall I ever know the name of this man? Will the missing vessel tell us by its nationality that of Captain Nemo?

I hope so. And I also hope that his powerful vessel has conquered the sea at its most terrible gulf, and that the Nautilus has survived where so many other vessels have been lost! If it be so -- if Captain Nemo
still inhabits the ocean, his adopted country, may hatred be appeased in that savage heart! May the contemplation of so many wonders extinguish for ever the spirit of vengeance! May the judge disappear, and the philosopher continue the peaceful exploration of the sea! If his destiny be strange, it is also sublime. Have I not understood it myself? Have I not lived ten months of this unnatural life? And to the question asked by Ecclesiastes three thousand years ago, "That which is far off and exceeding deep, who can find it out?" two men alone of all now living have the right to give an answer -- CAPTAIN NEMO AND MYSELF.

-Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Comments

[roo2.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to squee over your icon. I was fascinated by Lon Cheney as a child. When I was a child, I mean. I wasn't fascinated with his childhood :-)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

LOL! I know exactly what you mean. The Man with the Thousand Faces!

[beledibabe.livejournal.com]

So glad you met Duke and won! So to speak.

Cool quote -- Jules was a childhood fav of mine.

And Lon! ::hugs Lon:: Ol' Mr. Creepydrawers.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Ol' Mr. Creepydrawers.

LOL! You bet! Gotta love him. :) Thanks so much!

[maidoforange.livejournal.com]

I loved Jules Verne as a kid. Great, fun stuff!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

I couldn't agree more! :)

Hello

[faramirgirl.livejournal.com]

Welcome back. Glad that you had a nice time at the Duke college.

Twenty Thousand Legues Under the Sea. I saw that movie, It was good.

Re: Hello

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! :) And I definitely agree.

[greenhoodloxley.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday Jules Verne! I'm so glad someone besides me bothers to say happy birthday famous people (dead or alive).:)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

LOL! Yep, I think we're kindred souls on that count. :)

By the way, could I ask you the world's Most Ignorant Question? How exactly do you post pictures to the community LJ? I'd like to do so, but I'm woefully ignorant. Sorry for the cluelessness!

[greenhoodloxley.livejournal.com]

Eh, don't worry, it took me a long time to figure it out too! I think I had to ask my sister, The All-Knowledgable Lady of Livejournal...
When you update your journal, at the bottom of the left corner of your update page it should give an option of which journal to 'post to'...It should say that, and you click that and it should tell you the different journals you have access to post in.
Hope this makes sense. I am rotten at giving computer, or otherwise, directions!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for your explanation. Actually, I know how to post text to different places; I just don't know how to post pictures anywhere. And since it would be fun to post images to the actorappreciate community, I thought I'd ask. Sorry for being unclear!

[greenhoodloxley.livejournal.com]

Ah, I understand now...*rearranged mind* Hm...it's best if you have pictures hosted somewhere, for example photobucket.com, etc...then you copy that img scr and post that...I think that's how it works.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Got it! Thanks so much! :)

[magicwondershow.livejournal.com]

hi. you don't know me at all, and i kinda stumbled on your LJ by accident. see, i saw an icon of yours in a community and clicked to see who made it (love teh_indy!), when i saw this gorgeous icon of yours that i was wondering if you'd be kind enough to share, since it looks like it was a special request and i would feel guilty about stealing it. it's a snape icon with a tori lyric from 'yes anastacia'. see - i love snape. i love tori. together, they're just love squared. but if you would prefer not sharing, that is completely cool with me. i just wanted to ask. anyway, now that you're likely sufficiently weirded out, i'll go now.

and btw, i miss 'the lone gunmen'. frohike made me happy.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh - you love Frohike, Snape, and Tori, too. Could you possibly be my long-lost sibling? :) Thanks so much for taking the trouble to ask me about the icon. The wonderful fortunateizzi should be credited for that one. And you are most welcome to share it! I would feel positively Slytherin-like hoarding it for myself. ::wink:: Enjoy it! And thanks again for your post.

[magicwondershow.livejournal.com]

you are the greatest person ever. thank you sooooo much for letting me borrow. with permission, even!

and i think you might be mine. i mean, man. that's just way too many coincidences. anyway, thank you again, and maybe our paths will cross again.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

No problem! I'm so glad you can use and enjoy it!

I do hope we'll "meet" in LJ-land again! :)

[serpentcoils.livejournal.com]

whee, i'm glad you had fun!! what a lovely quote, it's so hopeful-sounding. :)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Hey there! How are you doing? Well, I hope! I feel woefully out of touch at the moment. Isn't it a great quote? I'm so glad you like it, too!

[randomalia.livejournal.com]

You're back! I'm pleased to hear your trip went well. I hope you're also recovered - saw in the comments of your last post that you were feeling unwell. Sounds like a busy time of year over there!

Thanks for the quote - I haven't read Twenty Thousand Leagues, though I think it's on my bookcase. One day I will have to dig it out. :)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! I am indeed much better. They gave me a high-powered antibiotic I'd never had before, and though it immediately made me much sicker than I had been, that quickly passed and I actually got well quite quickly. (I had my doubts for a while there! LOL.) The last six weeks or so have been a trip, but I think things are about to settle down and even out, which is most welcome.

High five to the lady with Jules Verne in her bookcase! :)

[randomalia.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you're feeling better! That antibiotic sounds like a interesting thing indeed... I suppose it's vaguely like a fever: you feel far worse but it's doing the job. Whenever I get a fever I'm always reminded of that episode of Voyager, where the gel packs become infected and they have to raise the temperature in the ship to neutralise it. Strangely, thinking of that makes me feel better about it all (obviously because I am a big geek). :)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Ha! :) Isn't that the "get the cheese to sickbay!" episode? Good old Voyager. It's making me feel better all over again too, just thinking about it.