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

Thanks for all the healing wishes.

Still full of headache (so very brief visit), but feeling less drowsy than I was.

Morning all.

Caer, hope you have a lovely time in Florence.

David, are you still headachy? I agree with the rest of you that films of people and animals being injured aren't funny. But then I never thought that someone being humiliated was funny either.

*wanders off to find some breakfast*

People like to see other people being humiliated because it makes them feel superior to that poor schmuck that just did something foolish. It's a bit of an ego trip for the Great Unwashed to see someone do something outlandish and embarassing. This is the Lowest Common Denominator, folks. Pandering to this crowd for so long is why our current societies are so hollow and phony.

Of course you're still headachy. You just said so.

Hi all,
personally, I dislike adverts that humiliate/disadvantage someone else, even if done in a light hearted way.
There used to be a tango advert that was withdrawn eventually as it involved people having things screamed in their ears scareing them.
There is an advert at the moment that involves M and M sweets, a person is tricked out of having a choice of video to watch through being given a colour of sweet as a choice that doesn't exist...true this doesn't really hurt anyone, but to me it says if you buy M and Ms you are a sneaky person.
.
There are many examples that seem like fun, but to me, if an advert says you will be associated with a sneaky, unfair behaviour, then that puts me off buying product.

*agrees with Marv*

Ben, there's nothing like the guilt of a warm bed early in the morning that you should have been out of an hour earlier. If all sins were that cozy I'd be thoroughly dam-- condemned. Consigned to, erm, heckfire.

One other thing about cowboy swearing: back in the 1800's people must have been more eloquent generally (no TV) because the cowboys certainly were, if they were literate at all. I will dig out an example of a threatening letter one cowboy sent another which is extraordinary not so much in what it says as how the man said it.

So cowboy swearing isn't just a few words -- it's colorful and grandiloquent.

*gets herself some tea and a cinnamon bun*

*simulpost with Strange*

There was a spate of 'mean' ads over here, too. I can remember two women driving in a car, listening to a message coming in over her phone on the speaker, from the driver's boyfriend. He wanted his things back from her place because they had just broken up. One of those things was the car the women were in. They laugh wickedly, she changes gear and they whizz off. Cruel.

Google has gone Miro-esque today.

Google is today!

I forgot to tell you about Minerva's latest. Yesterday morning I picked up my briefcase to leave for work and found a little snake in it! Smart aleck cat.

I'm a little late to the cowboy swearing convo, but I've always liked "son of a biscuit!"

And son of a sea cook, I've heard that one.

Yes, Google is extremely ! The snake in the briefcase, I'm not so sure. Which reminds me, what news of the smellfungus lately?

[ ]

[GDZ]

*David tiptoes in briefly and hope the screen exposure won't annoy his head*

If we tire of cowboy swearing, we can always try British upper class swaering, with their ballys and dash its.

Lil, the smellfungus is still among us. She is much more subdued of late as her sphere of influnece keeps diminishing.

David, take care of yourself. Or we'll slap the tarnation out of you.

I really don't like the pseudo-swearing that people would do in Utah. They would say "Cheese and rice" or "Fetch it" and the like. They mean the same thing that I do when I use the sylabically similar terms. It's sophistry to think that changing a few letters really makes your word better to the eyes of God. If you believe that something is sinfull or wrong, making a decision to go against that belief is wrong even if you change the words a little bit.

I swear. I have a mouth like a sailor. I know it's wrong. I am not proud of my decision to do something that I feel is wrong. I don't hide behind symantics, or try to alter the letter of the law to make myself feel better about it.

Here on the guide, I don't use the same words I do in casual conversation. I do this because I respect those I have discussions with. I am no tgoing to find new and entertaining alternate curses to use, as I am no tgoing to use the real thing either.


I know that this is not exactly where the discussion is going, but I wanted to add my two bits.




Lil, I would love to read the cowboy letter. Please post it's text once you find it.

I can't stand advertisements that wake up the pedant in me.

There's currently a popular radio commercial advertising a special type of wine cask that's supposed to be really convenient for some reason. At the end they say "practical, convenient, don't need a tool to use it."

I always wind up screaming "But it IS a tool!"

Meanwhile, I'll eat M&Ms regardless of whether or not they make me sneaky. It's a good product if you get the type with peanuts (in my opinion.)

And since I want to grow up to be a professional trickster, sneaky can't be a bad thing.

I'd be more creative with the language if I hadn't heard this bit of bad news a few minutes ago: my best friend just called me crying to let me know that someone (please insert creative name for this type of person) ran over her cat this morning.

I'd like to light a small -shaped candle for Sassy, the sweet and fat little black cat.

Laptop just got returned to me. It works! Unfortunately, it is in factory condition, which is to be expected, lot of work to get it to GDZ specs.