Le Tour de France and the Epic of "Dune"

Today is a Rest Day for La Tour de France - a seriously needed rest day after two days of stress and strain in the Alps. But the weekend was magnificent and so much fun to watch. It was anything BUT easy, but kept us watching until the end - DH on his tablet and I on my laptop or phone. The end, on Sunday, was just below the top of Mt Blanc - absolutely stunning and with a BUNCH of exhausted riders. 

It was a beautiful Alpine stage and weekend - such fun to 
see the big mountains again. They ended on Sunday at the 
"top" of Mont Blanc - not the actual top since that was 
above the comfort level for the riders and spectators, but 
it was quite near to the top, so the vistas were magnificent. 

Today we start out with our semi-annual dental appointments. That messes with everyone's schedules. I'm always first one - 7:30 am for me. DH has his appointment at 9:10 am, and Chickie hauls in there for a 10:00 am appointment. 

Chickie borrowed a trailer similar to this from a friend. 
Claire purchased the trailer hitch and wheel boot and had 
them installed onto her car. They'll be driving to Montana 
next week, so everything had to be ready to go after 
yesterday. They're building a box to fit into the trailer so 
that they can put the desk flat into the box, cushion it, 
screw down the lid and take it back with them to Minnesota. 

Chickie was going to spend yesterday constructing a large box from plywood that will fit into the trailer she's borrowed from a friend that she's driving to Montana with her next week. They've got all the bells and whistles. The trailer hitch is a locking hitch, and they have a wheel boot for security as well. They'll put blankets all around the desk to cushion it and cover it, and hopefully it won't weigh an absolute TON so that it will be possible to get the antique desk up the stairs and into Chickie's half of the house. 

The best thing about the original "Dune" 
movie from 1984 was Sting. He was gorgeous 
in the film, and pretty was all he was supposed 
to be, frankly. He didn't really move the plot 
along, but he was some nice eye candy. 

We had watched Part 1 of the new "Dune" movie a week or two ago, and felt the need to see the original "Dune" movie again, so we watched that last night. Now DH will be grabbing the paperback from our library to read it again - it's been a while. I think I own at least the first six books, maybe even more. The world that Frank Herbert built on Arrakis was magnificent. Apparently there are 22 books in the series as of now, of which 6 are his:  Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune. I'm pretty sure I own at least those six, and probably some of the others that were not by Herbert. It's a huge universe that he envisioned and, he said, there simply wasn't enough room in one book to encompass it. 

"Dune" part 2 is supposed to be released 
into theaters in October this year. We'll 
see if that actually happens. I won't see it 
in the theater (DH hates seeing movies 
there - he can't hear them properly. With a 
DVD, he can enable captions.) If it does 
get released on time and if the DVD is 
available for Christmas, I'll add it to my 
Holiday Gift list. 

Looking at the original "Dune" movie again, I can certainly see why the remake was done in two parts (second part to hopefully be released sometime this year or early next). I know they originally wanted to make it in more than two parts, but the funding fell through. Still, it should do a bit better than the original movie - there's just too much to compact into a single movie. Watching the original "Dune" is like reading a Reader's Digest Condensed Book - a taste, but no depth. 

I'm pretty sure this is the set of Dune books that I own in 
my library upstairs. The original "Dune" and the sequels. 
I loved the story - loved Arrakis and the entire idea of 
the worms and stillsuits and the Bene Geseret. It was a 
world of complexities and without easy answers, and it 
brought ecology into the mainstream, a rarity for any 
fictional book. 

So, I'm heading out to my dentist and to start my day. Since it's a Monday, it will only be DH and I in the shop, which means I'll have to fight for every break from the sales floor. *sigh* He doesn't mean to abandon me, but he works on his stuff in the basement and I help customers. Half the time he forgets his phone on his desk, so getting in touch with him if I need help is difficult. It's 1000% better when it's just Chickie and I on the sales floor. We actually get things done! LOL So, have an excellent Monday and Slava Ukraini. I'll be back tomorrow.