h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have a tendency to agree. Although, I have only seen a few anime films, the general impression of the ones I have seen makes me agree.

Hello,

Yes. Even the soundtrack CD for "Ghost in the Shell" (it has a great soundtrack I might mention) has her topless on it. Sheesh!

Yours,
Jake

No, I haven't read "We" - I've just been on a Margaret Atwood spree recently and read all of her novels in two months - best one was "Cat's Eye", I reckon, though "Alias Grace" is very good. On that note, I will defend "THT" (almost) to the death... okay, it has flaws, I suppose. I can see your point about the the lack of international intervention, but then again, it was in the US, and I think that makes ll the difference. Atwood herself once said in an interview that she set it in the States rather than Canada because "everything's more extreme there". The US is the world's greatest military power, with a hell of a lot of lobbies, and it is possible for her to act independently. Look at the Kyoto treaty furore at the moment - Canada's prime minister and a host of other international polititians can object, but it won't stop them. But perhaps the best example is how John Redwood and the like are terrified of upsetting the Americans. They stopped the League of Nations being an effective force purely by refusing to enter. Unfortunate as it is, I think I can see a suitable level of power there for a potential crisis.

Ah, now the thing about breasts - the grass is always greener on the other side. Those without them want them, and those with them don't. It's just the assumption seems to be that anyone above 34C wants to buy vast white nylon lacy bras of a 1950s style. A great conundrum - popular culture dictates that large breasts are desirable, but the high street won't let them have sexy underwear. Or perhaps that's the idea, and Hugh Hefner is starting to go for women of his own age.

Why does it surprise you now? Humpfh.

And Barbarella! Oh, Barbarella... and the majority of graphic novels drawn by men with long hair, faded jeans and black T-shirts. I prefer Tintin myself - he's got gorgeous hands.

Right - I've had a idea for starting an h2g2 "George W. Bush is Really a Chimpanzee in Disguise" society. Any takers?

Hello,

Well, I had no idea how matronly bras get for the amply endowed. It seems almost like a prudish reaction against sex or something. Aren't we past that by now? I mean, your country gave us Lara Croft (talk about absurd female depictions), why aren't there better options for actual humans?

Incidentally, I feel like I should be polite and share my own measurements. 5'8", 135lb. suit size 36R. It's hard for me to find clothes that fit sometimes here in the land of the obese.

And there are too many religious revivalists here. Too many people who feel that faith in God (and no actual checking) are the only solutions. And too many people who feel we need "Fortress America" or other such isolationist pap. It's part of the Republican party mindset. Unfortunately, that mindset's in ascendance right now, but I'm hoping that doesn't last.

Yours,
Jake

I would like to join your society Emily. The man is a moron. Have you seen how Rory Bremner portrays him? It is good.

Hello,

As we say here, "Don't blame me, I voted with the majority." It's a depressing state of affairs.

Yours,
Jake

I liked Michael Stipe's attitude in "Q" magazine - "My plan is to ignore George W. Bush until he disappears. America is a big stupid country, but at the core it's smart". However, later on he says that he has changed his mind, and that "The president is not worthy of holding down a job in a laundromat"...

How can we ignore someone who keeps getting involved in things which could end in war?

Hello,

Well, the coasts are rather smart, but the core of the country is more rural and backwards. If the coasts were to secede, they would probably take 90% of the economy with them.

Yours,
Jake

Ta for the insight

Hello,

Well, you can guess which parts of the country voted for Bush and which parts voted against (hint: we call him a dumb hick here on the Atlantic coast).

Yours,
Jake

Hello,

Anybody here ever read steampunk? Talk about a strange direction in science fiction...

Yours,
Jake

Yeah - Gibson & Sterling's "The Difference Engine" is probably the foremost example of the genre, but the plot, characters etc are in essence *identical* to WG's more typical Sprawl trilogy etc.

I recently read a book called "the Steampunk Trilogy" but can't remember the author. It's brilliant - three stories about things like a clone of Victoria being made based on a newt, and Walt Whitman and (IIRC) Emily Dickinson travelling to another dimension and meeting Allen Ginsberg. Fantastic. When I get a chance, I'll look up the author's name.

(btw - should be the unofficial CP smiley? Not quite mirrorshades, I know, but still... )

According to the ever-handy Amazon (don't worry, Mr Moderator - no URLs here. ), the guy who wrote "the Steampunk Trilogy" is Paul di Filippo.

Hello,

Yeah, it really is an inventive genre. Even though it's set in a more modern time (with nanotech, etc), I also feel that Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" has a bit of a Steampunky feel to it.

Nice try on the smily, but I'm afraid not. Remember, we don't smile in our sunglasses, but look grim with a lethal sense of purpose.

Yours,
Jake

Sorry for not replying sooner, I think I've explained why not elsewhere.

To be honest THT is the only Atwood I've ever read (there, I've said it ) and it probably deserves a re-read if I can find it in a house that has builders in (semi-)permanently. I'm certainly not going to argue the toss over whether Gilead could be founded: something just struck me as odd. On the other hand, any country which can remove references to Natural Selection from text books by law is pretty scary.

I was amused to see that the moderator removed my URL even when I spelled it out. Do you think they look for certain letter combinations (like, URL, moderator, dot and com)? I have to say that the web site in question was quite amusing as it had a zoom function. Someone wanted to know whether we could implement that for graphs on our intranet. Oh, the random requests we get! Actually, the facility turned out to be nothing cleverer than an image map linking to a few magnified images. Now I have to implement a zoom facility for real as a result of some cheap trickery. Ho hum.

I can't remember what the bras for the more generously endowed looked like, but I remember it had them and they didn't seem that bad.

And why does it surprise me? Well, I have to admit that I tend to have an imaginary mental image of people I converse with on the net and yours (don't ask for more details - they really won't be forthcoming ) did NOT include 36DD breasts! Now why it should surprise me that anyone doesn't conform to the mental image is another matter....

Hello,

And your mental image for me probably doesn't include my bright green skin and four arms either I bet.

Yours,
Jake

No, surprisingly not. I guess my imagination is just a bit limited!

accept them, we all have limits