Earlier quoted context omitted.
It isn't for me, in Continental Europe. Where are you?
UK reader here. “Continue reading this article Register with an email address”..
Same here in Norway.
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” turns 42
51–60 of 76 posts
Re: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” turns 42
#52I recently reread Vonnegut's "The Sirens of Titan" and was really surprised to notice to what degree Adams drew inspiration from that book. He did acknowledge it as an influence [1], but some ideas my naive self had attributed to Adams are closer to well-done rearrangements/retellings of elements from Sirens of Titan (which certainly wasn't written in a vacuum either) in a different comedic voice. Both works are fant…
I read Sirens for the first time just recently, and I'm now frustrated with myself for not spotting the similarities... but then it's been nearly two decades since I last read H2G2...
Re: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” turns 42
#53It's quite fitting that we have Zaphod Beeblebrox clones in both Nr 10 and the White House.
"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made president, should on no account be allowed to do the job."
Re: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” turns 42
#54Incredible how many people and things were inspired by H2G2, including Radiohead: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ev4ga7/thom-yorke-confirm...
Re: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” turns 42
#55“There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”
While I’ve never heard this before, I did have a rather unfortunate chemically-induced experience that viscerally explored this idea in more detail.. :-)
If you've never heard this before, you NEED to read it.
Re: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” turns 42
#56> Douglas Adams’s masterwork is blithely comic in tone but deeply serious in purpose. I thought it was just a funny book. What is its "deeply serious purpose"?
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Re: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” turns 42
#57I love these books, but why post a pece that is paywalled?
Re: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” turns 42
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do hope the true ruler of things turns out to be an old bloke in a hut with no interest in anything beyond a vague affection for his (possibly imaginary) cat. Otherwise we’re really in trouble.
> an old bloke in a hut Wasn't he OUTSIDE the hut?
Perhaps you're thinking of Wonko the Sane, who lived Outside of the Asylum.
Re: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” turns 42
#59My first exposure to "Hitchhiker's" was probably the t.v. series. I loved the almost monochrome green graphics and text of the sections covering the Guide's topics, such as [1], which compared Encyclopedia Galactica's entries to the guide's. The narration of Kurzgesagt science videos reminds me fondly of the hg2g [3].
I also loved the bits about people who'll be "the first against the wall when the revolution comes".[2]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvtPglw5ftk [2] https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Sirius_Cybernetics_Corpo... [3] https://www.youtube.com/user/Kurzgesagt/
Re: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” turns 42
#60Incredible how many people and things were inspired by H2G2, including Radiohead: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ev4ga7/thom-yorke-confirm...
Naming a song Paranoid Android (my personal all-time favourite) was pretty obvious, though it is not about Marvin. I do dispute his opening statement - Ok Computer was their best album and one of very few albums that you can just leave on repeat without skipping tracks.