(I wonder how long a title can be in Blogger's parameters...)

In going through the backlog of old links, a collection of Verne-related links was found. I am somewhat tempted to turn this weblog into a purely Wells and Verne-related endeavor. At any rate:

• The Smithsonian observes the centennial of Verne's death, and explores his influence on today's literary world.
• if anyone should say Verne is no longer relevant to modern society, then the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is very interested in his Leyden Jar, would like to have a word with him or her.
• Verne's Voyages Extraordinaires featured over four thousand illustrations! The mind boggles!

Verne and H.G. Wells are often compared, especially in the small (but opinionated) world of steampunk. In a nice summary, Bookslut introduces interested readers to the works of Wells.

The primary reason for not turning the Steampunk Librarian into an all-Verne/Wells/Victoriana extravaganza is that, despite and in spite of the modern world, the aesthetic can be found everywhere these days, not just in literature. From the optical toys of the past, to schematics of planes which never flew, to the Atomium of Belgium's 1958 Expo ("the most astonishing building in the world," as it's billed, is slated to reopen in January 2006), to a gorgeously disturbing modern contraption called The Most Beautiful Machine, steampunk is all around us.

Moving house is hard. I'm still not sure where everything is.

However! We get back on schedule by catching up with some overdue links, including two sent by the Graveworm:

• Video iPod: An Improvement on H.G. Wells' 1899 Device?
• a man uses scrap cars to create abbey gargoyles.

Speaking of cars, the Drive Back in Time website, while not strictly Victorian, is a lovely homage to the vehicles of yesteryear. For true Victorian (or Neo-Victorian) wheeling of urchins, the Pramulator is all you could wish for.

Two links I've held onto for ages, waiting for the right time:

• Margaret Atwood, author of the Handmaid's Tale and more, has invented what she terms a remote autographing device. She calls it Unotchit ("you no touch it," she says it sounds like, "you notch it," I say it sounds like).
• EPIC, a short movie of sorts, imagines the future of communication.

An assortment of retro phones finishes out today's post. You can choose from several versions by Mockia or try to construct your own Port-O-Rotary as seen on SparkFun.

Updates will be more frequent, and may follow a theme on certain days if the audience so desires.