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

Entry: The Statue of Liberty, New York City, New York, USA - A2611559
Author: Jodan - Wearing a T-Shirt with the advertisement 'Join the UG miner/polisher ranks today!' and a spiffy graphic. - U201497

One of the last things Bels wrote for h2g2 was a piece criticizing my original entry A985287 on the Statue of Liberty.

After he passed away, I was reminded of this piece, and so I edited the two entries with the result of this - a cleaner, nicer entry with more information.

So perhaps Bels isn't done contributing to h2g2 yet

Funny how quickly the original entry got through PR and how nothing is happening here at all

I'd just like some feedback.

My comments...

You say "when access is available", but don't really explain what this means. Under what circumstances is/is not access available? Is there a way for tourists to find out in advance? Something about how people aren't allowed to go up to the top anymore?

Why no link to http://www.nps.gov/stli/ ??? Other linkss I find interesting:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/11/

Information about the ferry to get there?

There are some interesting numbers here -- http://www.nps.gov/stli/pphtml/facts.html

Well, I don't think it's currently open, but will be this summer. So I didn't want to put either down, as it will change in the summer and likely will change again.

I think it would not be available during a fear of a terrorist attack, or after a major one, like with September 11th. But do I really have to put that in the entry? It's such a downer

What sort of information about the ferry? Anything useful is likely to become outdated anyway.

> I'd just like some feedback.

I'm sure the authors of the other entries here in the Update Forum would like some your feedback as well.

I'm not interested in Llamas or Belgium.

As far as the ferry, I would point out that it's no longer free like it used to be. And I would also point out where you go to get the ferry. Those 2 bits of information seem relatively unlikely to change quickly.

As far as access, there are 2 different issues. Access to the grounds, and access to the inside of the statue. I'm under the impression that access to the inside of the statue has been closed off since 9/11, and it appears like it's still somewhat unsure whether the whole thing will reopen this summer, or just the lower levels.

I would point out that the NPS site for the statue can generally be counted on to have up-to-date info on hours, fees, security screenings, and accessibility. I would also explain access to the grounds is limited on occasion due to national security, and that access to the interior has recently been limited due to construction and safety issues. Using a word like "recently" gives you more leeway....

I hate the word recently - it becomes outdated quickly. Normally I wouldn't be so careful, but this is the *Update Forum*

I'll slap up something about National Security and link to the NPS site for information on the ferry.

Is that okay, your Hummingness?

Normally I comment on just about everything in Update. I particularly remember starting some conversations about how this particular entry needed to be fixed when it was published.

But, I myself am too bummed out by Bels' passing to comment yet, except to say that it's admirable that you are fixing this.

Like Sea Change, I also was too affected by Bels's passing to want to think about this. But it deserves to be done.

Can you give me a link to Bels's comments? I can't seem to find them anywhere. Then I'll have a look at it.

F116755?thread=261746

I've had a detailed read through of this now. I'm surprised at the whole tone of it. It says that the statue was intended as a symbol of the liberty of the USA, but that this has been forgotten, being replaced by the image of a welcomer of immigrants. This certainly comes as a surprise to me. I have always been told that the statue represented the freedom of America, and that is why it was such a welcoming figure. When Europe was getting itself involved in more and more wars, most concerned with which ruler should rule which bit of the continent, America stood proud and free. It seems bizarre to me to suggest that the original meaning of the statue was ever forgotten.

For example, look at the use of the statue in the film 'Planet of the Apes' (the Charlton Heston version). Here it symbolised "America, home of the Free", whereas Heston was in a world where he could never be free.

--0---

The Colossus of Rhodes is not now reckoned to have ever spanned the harbour, but that was certainly the common conception of it at the time the Statue of Liberty was built, so you could probably rephrase

"spanning as it did the entrance to a harbour"

to become

"spanning, at least according to legend, a harbour".

Some minor changes:

Antartica --> Antarctica
4rth --> 4th
it's friendship --> its friendship
and Joseph Pulitzer --> Joseph Pulitzer
large numbers of people (not necessarily rich) --> large numbers of (not necessarily rich) people
Naval Commanders house --> Naval Commander's house

For what it's worth, the immigration angle is definitely what's pushed in all of the primary school history textbooks I've worked with here in the US.

Over here in Europe, it is definitely the "liberty, fraternity and France" angle that is stressed.

The books teach the kids that the "liberty, fraternity, and France" thing is where the Statue of Liberty comes from. But pretty much every other time it's mentioned, it will be in the context of immigration. Everyone remembers the "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses", and everyone remembers hearing that the Statue was the first part of America that new immigrants would see as the boat reached land (geographically, that doesn't make sense to me, but whatever).

One thing that might be worth adding is that the poem from which the above quote derives wasn't originally on the statue -- it was attached later (1903), and in part due to donations from the author. Here's a link to the whole text that might be worth including: http://www.nps.gov/stli/newcolossus/index.html

Oy.
I wish I had time to work on this, but I won't be around here much (if at all) for a while.

Can you be patient?

I think this is a run-on, or at least a sentence with too much stuffed into it-

"The Statue of Liberty is of course a hugely popular attraction in New York City's harbour, with ferryloads of tourists visiting every day, even in winter, and even those who have never visited it may possibly regard it as in some sense iconic."

I mean, there isn't really an obvious connection between all the people who visit it and its iconic-ness. Well, there is, but it isn't clear enough, or it could be done in two sentences. That's the first thing that jumped out at me. Be back.

"Bartholdi created this statue with a lot of symbolism."

This also strikes me odd.
Maybe,
"Bartholdi included a lot of symbolism in the elements of his statue"?
Or,
"The statues design includes a lot of symbolic something or anothers".

be back,

"The design of the statue allows for inner traffic. People can go up the stairs or the elevator to the crown, where they can see all of the harbour. This is free, when access is available."

*snort*

And when the line is moving faster then an arthritic snail, and isnt out the door and around the base. I dont know if you mention that, but during most seasons, you have to get there early to get up the steps, as they are too narrow to accomodate the crowds.

by the way, whats ironic about you?

PS: as much as Lady liberty was designed as a goddess- wasnt' she actually led after his mother?

Also, in the history part- the statue didn't go up for ages because they couldn't afford it. Some guy finally started a drive for little kids to donate a penny a day or something like that to finally get it up. Might want to include that.


The whole last paragraph sounds more like it came out of an Essay for english class than anything else. No offense, but are you still in school? I'm not sure it belongs here, and especially the end, where it becomes more of a political commentary than anything else.
"Emma's Mother of Exiles could cry out her message only 'with silent lips' - was she, even then, being gagged?"
Really has little or nothing to do with the statue. Or anyway, the connection is tenuous at best. I was just thinking that the article was great until I choked on the last paragraph, and needed a Heimich for the last line. After reading the paragraph twice I still dont get what slavery and Leaves of Grass have to do with the statue of liberty.
Otherwise I think it could get into the edited guide.