The h2g2 Post: 31.12.18

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Posted: 31st December 2018

Ring Out, Wild Bells

Im wildesten Kyrgyzstan by Awix

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light:

The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Yeah, we say, yeah. Verily. Let him die. Welcome the new year, with its new challenges. Its new possibilities. In 2019, perhaps peace will break out. It may be that politicians rediscover their souls. The Cat Video may reach new heights of artistic achievement. The year, like our brand-new gift calendar with the kitties on it, stretches out before us in all its pristine, yet-unscribbled-upon glory, full of hope and the secret wonder that we are still here on this turning globe. (Apologies for spoilers to the Flat Earth Society.)

This week, we're here to help you accomplish the dual task of saying farewell to 2018, and making plans for the coming year. To this end, Guide Editors Bluebottle and SashaQ have written summaries of the year in the Edited Guide. Awix, our film critic, wraps up the year in cinema, so you're well covered.

We have many things to show you this week, and the year is fading fast, so let's get started:
Reindeer on Main Street by Dmitri Gheorgheni
  • The long-awaited saga is here! Awix shares his photoessay 'Up and Down in the Ak-Su Valley', and we can finally learn what he was doing in Kyrgyzstan. He said, 'I may have misinterpreted the December Create challenge a bit, but we did come in from the cold.' It's breathtaking. It's hilarious. Read this!
  • Willem's got his natural history time machine out again. This week, you learn about cynodonts. They're strangely cute.
  • We have a hauntingly beautiful photo for the Caption Challenge. Wax philosophical, please. We also let a Japanese artist of yore tell you why foxes are important to the new year. See? We aren't all snark.
  • But, well, snark. Cartoons. Useless advice with added snark. I will help you learn to quote people properly. Stories full of snark, snark, snark. Just relax and don't fight it. Paigetheoracle's is a mystery, and Paulh's has squirrels in, appropriately. h2g2: where the nuts come from. (What play is that misquoting?)
    • Weary Christmas by Paigetheoracle
  • h2g2 photographers have been everywhere and seen everything: who knew the devil had his own fire hydrant? Or that the Eye of Sauron was hiding in a nature preserve? The artistic possibilities of coffee are also explored. You'll appreciate the art gallery this week.
  • Speaking of devils, Desideria the Demoness is back with more infernal action. She's beginning to grow on us. Those horns are sexy….
  • The answers to the Christmas Crossword are here, so you can sleep more soundly after the champagne.
  • Videos? Yeah, we have 'em. Some seasonal music. One of them is in Latin. How does the Post Editor play keyboards in Latin? It's not easy. As my late dad would have said, you have to hold your mouth right.
Cat Eclipse by Freewayriding
So there you have it. Lots to read, explore, enjoy, share.

One more thing: 1 January is not only a new year, it's also a new Create Challenge. By request from the Core Team, we bring you the challenge to share with us the inspirations you've drawn from the work of Douglas Adams.
  • Did Douglas Adams' work make you curious about something? What did you do with that curiosity?
  • Did The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy change anything about your personal outlook in life? Did it cause you to view the universe differently?
  • Did Douglas Adams' work inspire you to take any particular action? From signing a petition to save the whales to trying to perfect the Infinite Improbability Drive in your basement, we'd like to know about it.
  • Is there some particular action you'd like to see us, h2g2, take as a group that is somehow related to the ideas in The Hitchhiker's Guide or other works by Douglas Adams? What aren't we doing that we could be doing? (No suggestions for new smileys are being accepted at this time, sorry.)

Ponder that while you're lying in front of the bulldozer or sitting in a café in Rickmansworth. Also: have a wonderful start to the New Year (guten Rutsch, German speakers!) and remember to Send Stuff.


Create January 2019 by Freewayriding
January Create Challenge:
Drawing Inspiration from The Hitchhiker's Guide


Dmitri Gheorgheni

NATURAL WONDERS

END-OF-YEAR THOUGHTS

SIGHTINGS


JUST FOR LAUGHS
EXCITEMENT, ADVENTURE
REALLY WILD THINGS


The Post Office


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1Warning! This is what we in the US of A call a 'Third Grade joke', meaning it is perfect for amusing eight-year-olds. It can be weaponised against unruly children. Use responsibly.

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