Subscribe now and choose from over 30 free gifts worth up to £49 - Plus get £25 to spend in our shop
Not only did he predict the smart phone and Wikipedia almost 50 years ago, but he has got this nearly right too.
Douglas Adams describes the Heart of Gold's radio as frustratingly advanced, evolving from buttons and dials to touch-sensitive panels, and finally to waving hands in the general direction of components, saving muscle but requiring infuriating stillness to stay on a single program, all while playing loud "gunk music" as Zaphod searched for news.
Apart form it applies to the new brew machine in our office. One false move and you get a random element added to your drink. In my case “sugar” and “strength” which occupy adjacent air space resulting in at least one brew a day getting an “ewww, it’s got sugar in it”.
The little kitchen next to it has a steady stream of people tipping their drinks and muttering.
Progress eh?
I heard the first HHGttG on the radio many moons ago, bbc radiophonic workshop and it was brilliant!
When on TV they had some blue food, not sure if it was baked beans but very blue, not inviting, maybe that is next for your office kitchen:)
i have to admit that i haven't read any of douglas adams books (i will try to remedy that situation) but i know that he was a great guitarist who played with pink floyd numerous times live i think. edit just bought the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy on kindle.
just bought the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy on kindle.
The Dirk Gently books are worth a read too.
It's unpleasantly like being drunk
What's so bad about being drunk?
You ask a glass of water.
i have to admit that i haven't read any of douglas adams books
I'd suggest listening to the radio series first, then read the books because they were written after the radio shows. Start with Fit the First here
https://archive.org/details/HitchhikersGuideRadioShowLive
I always have a wry smile when I pass the turnoff for Humbie on the A68. I know it's not the correct spelling but it's good enough
I grew up in the Humby you are thinking of, parents still live there. Two dozen houses, of which I have lives in three, and gets a mention in The Meaning of Liff😁
Any now I live in the Tweed Valley, so not a million miles away from Humbie.
The rumor is if you DM the right person they'll link you to all of the first 4 radio series.
Which would be, hypothetically, a great way to start your HHG journey.
Also, DA quotes? I vote
“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”
"there's a cool frood who knows where his towel is" - Ford Prefect was always my favourite.
And there's the paragraph about the hidden plans for demolishing Arthur's house. Need to go dig it out, still makes me laugh out load every time.
I'd suggest listening to the radio series first, then read the books because they were written after the radio shows.
I was really not aware of that!
I really recommend the "Douglas Adams at the BBC" audio book, telling you about his life, interests and his friend talking about him, it is extremely touching and only make you sadder he died so young.
"One of the things Ford Prefect had always found hardest to understand about humans was their habit of continually stating and repeating the very very obvious..."
Ford initially theorized that humans needed to keep exercising their lips to prevent their mouths from seizing up. He later revised this theory, concluding that if humans don't keep exercising their lips, their brains start working.
May I add a Dirk Gently quote:
There is no point in using the word 'impossible' to describe something that has clearly happened.
"What happens if I press this button?... Oh."
"Not again!" - Bowl of Petunias
Made me realise you need to concentrate on the apparent trivial details as he had a habit of weaving them back into the stories later.
"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."
I, for one, still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
Well this morning I have not done six impossible things before breakfast.
Don't forget the Babel fish! I was trying to explain to my 15yr old daughter how incredible airpods doing live translation is - just like a Babel fish. she was not interested.
I really recommend the "Douglas Adams at the BBC" audio book, telling you about his life, interests and his friend talking about him, it is extremely touching and only make you sadder he died so young.
Also worth reading 'The Salmon of Doubt'. It was published after his death and is essentially the first half of an unfinished Dirk Gently, with the rest of the book comprising material the family found on his computer. Some of that is articles he'd written and have been previously published, but some is his personal correspondence and other documents that give an insight into who he was. I particularly recall and like the letter he wrote to the Hollywood studio during the early development of the HHGTTG film.
"It is at this point that one of our heroes sustains a slight bruise to her upper arm."
Every time I put a pair of sunglasses on, I'm reminded of Zaphod's Peril Sensitive shades, which went completely opaque at the slightest hint of danger, thereby rendering it no longer a problem.
Instill refer to zen navigation. Where you follow a car and it takes you to where you need to go, not necessarily where you want to go.
When on TV they had some blue food, not sure if it was baked beans but very blue, not inviting, maybe that is next for your office kitchen:)
Interesting fact is that no one is predisposed to eating or drinking blue stuff (brightly coloured stuff being usually poisonous when ancestral memories were formed). A useful thing to know when someone is stealing your milk at work, a couple of drops of blue food colouring and no one steals the milk and it makes the tea and coffee a slightly strange colour too.
"It's at time like this I wish I'd listened to what my mother told me"
"Why, what did she tell you?"
"I don't know, I didn't listen"
But did you know the theme tune was actually an Eagles track? I didn't until I heard it two years ago and thought 'hang on....'
My favorite quote by him.......
There is a rumour going around that I have found God. I think this is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist
But did you know the theme tune was actually an Eagles track?
There was a single released with this on one side and Disaster Area's "It's only the end of the world again" on the other. I think that Disaster Area's front man and composer was actually Douglas Adams.
But did you know the theme tune was actually an Eagles track?
Absolutely not, I've always loved the theme tune and had no idea! Every day's a school day!
I'm not sure that humanity qualifies as "mostly harmless" any longer. At least we're currently limited to destroying ourselves & our planet. If we ever do go interstellar the galaxy's in trouble!
The point was that it was Earth that was listed as ‘harmless’ to the rest of the Universe. That was to be revised up to ‘mostly harmless’ because of the shenanigans of humans. But yeah, may need revising up again due the Musk and Bezos types.
Yep, still makes me laugh 🙂
But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”
Rumor has it that cheap free members can only use a few dms a day ! 🙁 they do get to read messages tho
"Imagine I have a blaster ray-gun in my hand"...
but you do have a blaster ray-gun in your hand...
Then you won't have to tax your imagination too much🤣
Classic lines from radiophonic workshop:)
But did you know the theme tune was actually an Eagles track?
Mind blown...
Used to insist on listening to the tapes anytime we had a long car journey when we were kids!
"you guys so unhip it's a wonder your bums don't fall off"
Definitely didn't get it at first and then it was a eureka moment 😂
'Come,’ called the old man, ‘come now or you will be late.’
‘Late?’ said Arthur. ‘What for?’
‘What is your name, human?’
‘Dent. Arthur Dent,’ said Arthur.
‘Late, as in the late Dentarthurdent,’ said the old man, sternly. ‘It’s a sort of threat you see.'
I'm so cool you can keep a side of meat in me for a monthUsed to insist on listening to the tapes anytime we had a long car journey when we were kids!
"you guys so unhip it's a wonder your bums don't fall off"
Definitely didn't get it at first and then it was a eureka moment 😂
It was actually 'Hey you! Sass that hoopy Ford Prefect, there's a frood who really knows where his towel is'
Sass means meet, know, be aware of, have sex with, hoopy means really together guy and frood means really amazingly together guy.
Not only did he predict the smart phone and Wikipedia almost 50 years ago, but he has got this nearly right too.
Douglas Adams describes the Heart of Gold's radio as frustratingly advanced, evolving from buttons and dials to touch-sensitive panels, and finally to waving hands in the general direction of components, saving muscle but requiring infuriating stillness to stay on a single program, all while playing loud "gunk music" as Zaphod searched for news.
Apart form it applies to the new brew machine in our office. One false move and you get a random element added to your drink. In my case “sugar” and “strength” which occupy adjacent air space resulting in at least one brew a day getting an “ewww, it’s got sugar in it”.
The little kitchen next to it has a steady stream of people tipping their drinks and muttering.
Progress eh?
I added four carrier bags to my shop trying to open the ****ing thing.
I don't think it's been mentioned but alongside the novels is Last Chance To See by DA and Mark Carwardine. Stephen Fry I think may have done a follow up TV series.
What do you get if multiply six by nine?
Rumor has it that cheap free members can only use a few dms a day !
This appears to be true, two messages, and it's per 24hr period not per calendar day.
Its easily the best trilogy in five parts.
i have to admit that i haven't read any of douglas adams booksI'd suggest listening to the radio series first, then read the books because they were written after the radio shows. Start with Fit the First here
Listening to it at work - I've read the books but never heard the show. Really enjoying it. Thanks for the link.
[Mod] link removed due to formatting issue.
Tricia McMillan = Trillion - I didn't even get that from the books - love this.
The weirdest thing is he seems to have predicted the 6 7 thing . . . .