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

, boys and girls, redone again.
Let's see if this rendition makes anyone happy.

bump

I was watching, but I wanted to see what others said first, 'cos you know what I think already.

Anyhow, on the principle that the same old tune is still nicer than silence :

The catch here is that the people who've commented in PR are expecting a biography, because that's what EG-convention demands. You started out with essay on the man's legacy, which is something different entirely.

The EG can't do essays - at least not remotely provocative ones - because of the opinion-piece rule. That's our loss. The UG might get there with some in the end, but it's a drip-feed and it would never cope with a spate.

(If every Researcher here was suddenly moved to write their most heartfelt and original thoughts on a serious subject, so that h2g2 woke up one morning to find a treasury of high-quality personal journalism of just the kind that the BBC is famed for broadcasting, then we wouldn't know what to do with it. I think that's pretty sad)

Anyway, this Entry :

It's better every time, but there's nothing to add to what we had at the beginning. You're in uncertain ground between two objectives now, tr - the biography we don't really need and the essay in which you already said it all.

This has some poignancy again now, though. You've brought the story back from the sentimental, so it can be read (according to mood) as either heroic-epic or as litany of inconsequence. That's the essence of your point, for me, and the same quality was part of the power of the first version we saw, so well done for restoring it. As I keep saying, you can really write.

Pin
*thoughtfully puts down violin*

As always, your comments are appreciative, if not completely understood...

Tell you what. You appreciate them, and I'll completely understand them.
Then we're covered.
Pin

Remind me to hire you next time I'm Prime Minister...

Wow - as others have said, this is a marvellously well-written Entry, and in the name of diversity I think it deserves EG-hood. Are you still working on it?

Nope. Not unless forced to.

While I hate to be the one to twist your arm....

There's an 'e' in Holley as his birth name, but then it's spelled 'Holly' for the rest of the entry. Did he drop the 'e' or is it a typo?

Maria Elena has shared and suffered with Buddy's family from the fame and fallout that resulted from her short time with him. >> This makes it sound like Maria Elena was the cause of his fame and tragedy.

When Buddy was born, the local paper reported that a girl had been produced. When he was in Primary School, he was crowned King of the Sixth Grade. At the age of five, he helped his brothers win a talent contest by standing and singing with a violin in hand, the bow greased so that he couldn't make too much noise. When he was twenty... >> You might reverse the King and violin events to preserve chronology.

These recordings, ... don't put Decca in a very good light. >> Is Decca the big company, or a nickname for Holly?

Waylon Jennings, who was the Cricket’s bass player >> Crickets'

one of the Crickets (insert name here), >> did you find the name?

the e was dropped

This is really, quite excellent.

The other Cricket, where you've got (insert name here) is Tommy Allsup.
I think the rest of Miloso's comments are valid.

However, I read all the backlog, and I have an idea. In fact, I had this idea from the moment I finished the entry. This entry shouldn't try to compete in fact with the other biography one, because it will result in it being dried up and less interesting.
So, I reckon it should go into the EG under a different title. My suggestion is 'Buddy Holly - A Tribute'. There's already an entry called 'A Tribute' in the EG somewhere. I think it's to George Harrison.

This could allow the entry to maintain its style and get into the EG, while cleverly avoiding that rule that says we avoid duplication. After all, do we have any Tributes to Buddy Holly in the EG right now? No, just a biography

My .
I'd like to see this in the EG, though. So I hope you keep fighting the good fight here, Tonsil

I think the problem with the entry (in its various forms) was that it wasn't very celebratory - or tribute-like.

It might well be in the name, as I had always (until recently) viewed it as a prospective update, but then realised it really wouldn't work like that.

I'd disagree, Jims. I think it could be done as a tribute as there's already some basis there - I think it does celebrate the life and works of Buddy Holly. Better than the biography in the EG does, anyways. Some work might have to be done, but that's my suggestion anyway.

Okay, so what should I do?
Correct this one and hope it makes it through with another title?

Go back to the first one, clean it up and put it back in PR as "Buddy Holly: The Truth"?

Or try still another version, with elements of all the twenty before, and call it "Buddy Holly: Behind The Music"?

My original purpose was to supplant the incorrect current entry, not update it.

That's why the first version was such a tirade against inaccuracy.

Nostalgia is not very pretty to begin with, but when it becomes history, then it gets real ugly.

Oops, sorry. That's where this all started, wasn't it...

"Inca Roads"

Actually, Jodan, Jim was agreeing with you.

He said "I think the problem with the entry (in its various forms) was that it wasn't very celebratory - or tribute-like." but I think this could work pretty well, with some adjustments, as a celebration of Holly's life and works - a tribute.

This has moved on a fair bit from its original form though, Jodan

"adjustments"?

We're still in a bit of a quandry about how to put this into the EG. It's not a biography (as we've already got one of those and we therefore don't need another one in the guide). It's not *quite* a tribute (as the kind of info you'd hope to see in a tribute isn't in there yet - why he was so important, the people he directly influenced, the volume of record sales, etc). So the main question now is how we list it and categorise it.

I think we're all agreed that this is a very passionately written piece - it's just that at this moment, we're having difficulty seeing where it might fit into the EG. Suggestions and proposals from anybody would be greatly appreciated!

Paully

"It's not a biography (as we've already got one of those and we therefore don't need another one in the guide)."

Have you read all the versions?

The "biography" in the guide is nothing of the kind. It is full of inaccuracies and outright lies. The original intent of the first version of this entry was to replace it with something more factual.


"the volume of record sales"

Pleh. Has nothing to do with Buddy.


Anyway, Hi, Paully and welcome to the latest chapter in a long and arduous saga. The earlier versions are all archived at my personal space if you wish to see what everyone's been talking about for most of a year.