dagblog - Comments for "Wolfrum's Morning: Don't Panic"

I believe it was a daughter,

acanuck — Wed, 11 May 2011 23:53:24 +0000

I believe it was a daughter, CVille, and 42 was his age when she was born. Aha!

Adams is the only person I know who wrote with a lilt. Almost as if to challenge his readers, "I can pull this off because both of us know the very next word you read will be hilariously perfect." And it would be. And you, the reader, would say, "OK, I'll give you that one. But ...."

A total delight to read. And yes, Hitchhiker fans overlook Dirk Gently and Teatime of the Soul at their peril.

I cannot resist (you know I

mageduley — Wed, 11 May 2011 23:42:20 +0000

In reply to Wolfrum's Morning: Don't Panic

I cannot resist (you know I just can't) without my absolute favorite part of HG:

May 42 be with you all :)

His 4 book, Hitchhiker's

Verified Atheist — Wed, 11 May 2011 23:15:39 +0000

In reply to I loved everything that

His 4 book, Hitchhiker's Guide, "Trilogy" is what made him famous, but the Dirk Gently Detective Agency books were wonderful and very thought-provoking.

Great news! He wrote 5 books in that "trilogy". Good news, there's also a sixth book. Granted, it wasn't written by him, but I've heard it's very good. Eventually, I'll find out if that's true.

I loved everything that

CVille Dem — Wed, 11 May 2011 21:52:37 +0000

In reply to Wolfrum's Morning: Don't Panic

I loved everything that Douglas Adams wrote, but his last book, "Last Chance to See," when he traveled the world to see animals on the edge of extinction has a special place in my heart. In it he referenced birds that had lost the ability to fly and were beaten to death by humans (just for fun, because they didn't taste good) who "discovered" the islands the birds had lived peacefully on for who knows how long.

His 4 book, Hitchhiker's Guide, "Trilogy" is what made him famous, but the Dirk Gently Detective Agency books were wonderful and very thought-provoking.

I don't know where I read this, but he referred to the joy of fatherhood, and noted that his little infant (I think it was a son) would give him a strange look now and then, and Douglas's take on that was that the baby was "rebooting." This was mentioned as he was discovering his love for computers.

He was a real treasure, and I always wondered if he had undiagnosed Marfan's Syndrome. He died while exercising on a treadmill, which suggested that to me.

Now, don't get me started on Bob Marley, whose gift to this world continues to keep us going with a little bit of hope.

Thanks for reminding us about

acanuck — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:17:40 +0000

In reply to Wolfrum's Morning: Don't Panic

Thanks for reminding us about Adams and Marley. Unique, irreplaceable voices.

Very apropos.

Verified Atheist — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:09:32 +0000

In reply to "Human beings, who are almost

Very apropos.

"Human beings, who are almost

cmaukonen — Wed, 11 May 2011 15:48:18 +0000

In reply to Wolfrum's Morning: Don't Panic

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability
to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable
for their apparent disinclination to do so." - Adams

(An extraterrestrial robot and spaceship has just landed on earth. The robot steps out of the spaceship...)

"I come in peace," it said, adding after a long moment of further grinding, "take me to your Lizard."
’It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see…’

‘You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?’

‘No,’ said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, ‘nothing so simple. Nothing anything like so straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.’

‘Odd,’ said Arthur, ‘I thought you said it was a democracy.’

‘I did,’ said Ford. ‘It is.’

‘So,’ said Arthur, hoping he wasn’t sounding ridiculously obtuse, ‘why don’t people get rid of the lizards?’

‘It honestly doesn’t occur to them,’ said Ford. ‘They’ve all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they’ve voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.’

‘You mean they actually vote for the lizards?’

‘Oh yes,’ said Ford with a shrug, ‘of course.’

‘But,’ said Arthur, going for the big one again, ‘why?’

‘Because if they didn’t vote for a lizard,’ said Ford, ‘the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?’

‘What?’

‘I said,’ said Ford, with an increasing air of urgency creeping into his voice, ‘have you got any gin?’

‘I’ll look. Tell me about the lizards.’

Ford shrugged again.

‘Some people say that the lizards are the best thing that ever happened to them,’ he said. 'They're completely wrong of course, completely and utterly wrong, but someone's got to say it.’

It must be Wednesday. I

Michael Maiello — Wed, 11 May 2011 15:19:41 +0000

In reply to Wolfrum's Morning: Don't Panic

It must be Wednesday. I never could get the hang of Wednesdays...

Man, DNA was awesome. He is

Verified Atheist — Wed, 11 May 2011 15:10:45 +0000

In reply to Wolfrum's Morning: Don't Panic

Man, DNA was awesome. He is truly and sorely missed. Thanks for reminding us.