Jules Gabriel Verne (1828–1905) was a French novelist, poet,
and playwright best known for his adventure novels and
his profound influence on the literary genre of science fiction. Verne was born in the seaport of Nantes, where he was trained to follow in his
father's footsteps as a lawyer, but quit the profession early in life to write
for magazines and the stage. His
collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led
to the creation of the Voyages
Extraordinaires, a widely popular series of scrupulously
researched adventure novels including Journey
to the Center of the Earth (1864), Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the
World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne is generally considered a major
literary author in France and most of Europe, where he has had a wide influence
on the literary avant-garde and on surrealism. His reputation is markedly different
in Anglophone regions,
where he has often been labeled a writer of genre fiction or children's books, largely because of the
highly abridged and altered translations in
which his novels are often reprinted. Verne has been the second
most-translated author in the world since 1979, ranking between the
English-language writers Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare; he
probably was the most-translated during the 1960s and 1970s. In
English he is one so-called father of science fiction, a title also given to H. G. Wells and Hugo Gernsback. Verne's
largest body of work is the Voyages
Extraordinaires series, which includes all of his novels
except for the two rejected manuscripts Paris in the
Twentieth Century and Backwards to Britain (published
posthumously in 1989 and 1994, respectively) and for projects left unfinished
at his death (many of which would be posthumously adapted or rewritten for
publication by his son Michel). Verne also
wrote many plays, poems, song texts, operetta libretti, and short stories, as
well as a variety of essays and miscellaneous non-fiction. Read more and see graphics at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne
Around the World in Eighty Days is a classic adventure
novel by the French writer Jules Verne, published in 1873. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days on a £20,000 wager
(roughly £1.6 million today) set by his friends at the Reform Club.
The story starts in London on
Tuesday, October 1, 1872. At the Reform Club, Fogg gets involved in an
argument over an article in The Daily Telegraph stating that with the opening of a new railway section in
India, it is now possible to travel around the world in 80
days. Accompanied by Passepartout, he
leaves London by train at 8:45 P.M. on Wednesday, October 2, 1872, and is due
back at the Reform Club at the same time 80 days later, Saturday, December 21,
1872. The science fiction novel The Other
Log of Phileas Fogg by Philip José Farmer gives an alternate interpretation of
the story. In 1874 a theatrical
adaptation by Verne and Adolphe d'Ennery opened at the Théâtre
de la Porte Saint-Martin in
Paris for 415 performances; in April 1876 it transferred to the Théâtre du Châtelet where it ran for 2,195 performances
over 64 years. In 1946 Orson Welles produced and starred in Around the
World, a musical stage version, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, that was only loosely faithful
to Verne's original. A musical version, 80 Days, with songs by Ray Davies of The Kinks and
a book by playwright Snoo Wilson, directed by Des McAnuff, ran at the Mandell Weiss
Theatre in San Diego from August 23 to October 9, 1988, receiving mixed
responses from the critics. Davies's
multi-faceted music, McAnuff's directing, and the acting were well received,
with the show winning the "Best Musical" award from the San Diego
Theatre Critics Circle. In 2013 a
musical version "Around the World in 80 Days" with book and lyrics by Chris Blackwood and music by Piers Chater Robinson went on general release and has had
productions across the globe. Mark Brown adapted the book for a five-actor
stage production in 2001. St. James Theatre, London put on an adaptation by Laura Eason which was directed by Lucy
Bailey and ran from 26
November 2015 to 17 January 2016 with Robert Portal as Fogg, Simon Gregor as Passepartout and Shanaya Rafaat as Aouda. See
adaptations for radio, films, television and games at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days
Cyberlaw Clinic – Harvard Law
School – [January 16, 2016], “the Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic, on behalf of a group of esteemed law scholars, filed an amicus brief (pdf) in the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia in American Society
for Testing and Materials (ASTM) v. Public.Resource.org. Amici argue
in the brief that model codes incorporated into law are not, and should not be,
copyrightable. Several standards
developing organizations (SDOs)--including ASTM, the National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA), and
the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)--filed
the lawsuit against Public Resourceback in 2013, alleging copyright and trademark infringement. After a lengthy discovery process, the
federal District Court in D.C. is currently considering motions for summary
judgment from both parties.” http://www.bespacific.com/clinic-works-with-law-scholars-to-argue-against-copyright-in-legal-codes/
Ramsey,
Michael D., The Original Meaning of
‘Natural Born’ (January 7, 2016).
Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2712485 orhttp://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2712485 McManamon,
Mary Brigid, The Natural Born Citizen
Clause as Originally Understood (2015).
Catholic University Law Review, v. 64, no. 2 (2015); Widener Law School
Legal Studies Research Paper No. 14-21.
Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2444766
A.Word.A.Day with Anu
Garg
photoshop (FOT-uh-shop) verb tr. To digitally alter an image, especially in
order to distort reality. From Adobe
Photoshop, a widely-used software package for editing images. Earliest documented use: 1992.
peeps (peeps) noun
People, especially when referring to one’s friends or associates. Shortened form of people. Earliest documented use: 1847.
Feedback to A.Word.A.Day
From: David
Fischer Subject:
Photoshop It is unfortunate that “photoshop” has
acquired such negative connotations. In
the old days of black-and-white film, advanced amateurs and pros routinely used
filters to darken skies, and dodged and burned their prints to bring out or
diminish certain areas. Photoshop now
makes such operations so much easier and more exact. No one ever asked me if I did these things in
the old days, but I have been asked (more like accused) about Photoshop
use. For me it is just another tool to
make an expressive print.
From: Steve
Haskin Subject:
photoshop There are also several
variant words derived from the same root:
“That photo looks shopped.” etc.
I’ve been a Photoshop guy since ‘91, BTW. It was actually released for the original Mac
SE in 89. Windows came in 1991 or
so. The original greyscale editor was
developed in 1987-8 by the Knoll brothers.
From: Larry
Alden
Subject: Peeps To a birder, peeps are small brown and white
sandpipers (named for the peeping call notes, I gather). The five common North American species of
peeps are told apart by subtle differences in feather color, size, leg color,
wing length, bill structure, etc. Due to
the fact that their plumages vary with season and age along with the
possibility of similar species showing up from Europe or Asia, peeps provide an
identification challenge to even the best birders.
From: Eve
Burton Subject: peeps When I saw the word “peeps”, I immediately
thought of marshmallow chicks,
ubiquitous at Easter. My husband agreed
that was the first meaning of the word to pop into his head. I also thought of baby chicks. I’d never heard the word “peeps” applied to
people before.
From: Robert
Low
Subject: peeps With “peeps”, you should have added (and you
will doubtless get many responses just like mine) that “peeps” are what baby
chickens use to keep contact with their “momma” hen when they are out “free
ranging” for insects.
http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com Issue 1416
January 28, 2016
To a poet, silence is an
acceptable response, even a flattering one. - Sidonie Gabrielle Colette, author (28 Jan 1873-1954) Colette was a French novelist nominated for
the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948. Her
best known work, the novella Gigi, was the basis for the film and Lerner and
Loewe stage production of the same name.
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