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

Pratchett? That's terrible!

Hypatia, that's terrible (but glad you're OK). Are they tape backups?

I must have simulposted, Hyp. That sounds nightmarish.

Surely it can't be that hard for them to get *some* information from the tapes? Oh well, have some and try not to think about the extra work.

[MTG{KEA}LtG--Falling asleep at his desk]

Hyp, that doesn't sound like fun at all!

I dodged the proverbial bullet today, since my advisor forgot to put our meeting on his calendar. 2 more weeks to get something done!

[fg]

[GDZ]

Hyp is alive and well - wohoo!

It is funny how Christmas traditions change. I now quite look forward to seeing the Coca'cola adverts on TV every Christmas as fairly old fashioned and traditional. In someways they have replaced the old Avon adverts which were always the first Christmas advert to appear and remember the "Ding Dong Avon lady Calling" theme. Coke have even been giving away toy Coke lorries the same as in Coke adverts, with every 2 six packs of Coke in Britain, I don't know if they have been in America or even if we get the same adverts.
I find I can create more the Christmas I always wanted when a kid now I am an adult. partly it is due to having the money to and of course being an adult I can control things more now and would even be able to control where Christmas was as could travel to colder countries where snow is more or less guaranteed.

Strangely, I don't know if they are the same ads, but we get holiday/Christmas Coke ads this time of year, too. Many of them are the same as the year before and so on. Also, M&Ms have been doing the same ads every year for a while. And it's not truly Christmastime until I've seen the Corona ad where the guy in the trailer on the beach lights up the palm tree with Christmas lights.

There's also Fox News's Christmas traditions, but as I no longer live with someone who watches that nonsense, I'm not sure what they're up to this year.

I must admit I do like some Christmas ads and either record the best or they are there in breaks of Christmas specials and films I record and keep. For some reason a lot of ads this year are using the old Christmas songs which I like to hear, a good ad and and old Christmas song is a bonus. It is no point in naming ads to American posters as Argos means nothing in America I expect but they use a good old song called "It's beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" by original artist.

Glad you're ok, Hyp.


Dreadful news about the lost data.

I'm afraid I don't enjoy the coke ads. It seems like even more overcommercialisation being heaped upon the consumerfest that Christmas has become - and a cynical bit of marketing on the part of a very large company.
I could go into the parallels that could be drawn between crowds of people waiting for the coke truck and the anticipated arrival of the messiah - but I realise that Christmastime is also celebrated by non-Christians ... so that's not really an argument with an awful lot of mileage in it. Let's just say I find it unpleasant.

The festival can't start until several gallons of chemical toothrot have been consumed?

Paint me a cynic.

I don't wish to be offensive to anyone. Just saying.

Teuchter, I don't enjoy coke and commercialization at all, but some of the ads do seem well done to me. So far as the concept of people waiting for Coke/the Messiah to start celebrating, I'm pretty sure it's okay to point out that this seems in poor taste. Although non-Christians celebrate at Christmastime, there's something to be said for origins. I'm pretty sure that if British Petroleum implied that Hanukkah couldn't be celebrated without BP's oil, some Jews would be upset. The Holidays may be for everyone, but I hate to see spiritual events commercialized, even when I don't belong to the religion in question.

For the record, I was raised quasi-Christian with a strong leaning toward Agnosticism. That's more or less where I remain.

Oh, Hyp, no! The very thought of that much lost cataloguing data makes me shudder. I hope the files can be uncorrupted.

J rather likes the Coca Cola ads, go figure, she collects Coca Cola stuff.

I like the Coke ads with the baby polar bears.

So what's the ad with the robot in the shower about? The female-shaped one with the electric razor in the palm of her hand? What's up with that? And don't tell me 'selling electric razors.' It's almost as strange as the xmas Bailey's ad that came out last year.

Sometimes, when I watch the ads, it seems as if the writer/producers weren't even aware of what parts of their subconscious they project for all of us to look at.

Some ads we get here are clearly American due to buildings, but can't remember any specifically. Few adverts impress me these days as computer special effects are so common as to the point of pointless in a way if not backed up with real inventiveness. I do remember a very good and memorable advert around a year ago which I think was for jeans and possibly American. In it 2 people broke through the inside walls in a building head first. It sounds silly but worked very well. I like to watch those programmes that have colections of ads starting from around the 60s as they suddenly pop into the mind after all these years and it is surprising how well they are remembered.

Oh, poor Hypatia! Sounds like she needs the Roving Librarian right now! Or some sort of instantaneous computer healing.

I am one of the people who have gotten majorly sick of the commercialization of every darn holiday that exists, not just Christmas. It is all about buy buy buy some silly piece of plastic or a consumable thing chock full of high fructose corn syrup. I don't watch commercials any more. We tivo everything and zip through all commercials as fast as possible.

Coke and its success is a mystery to me. But what an amazing feat of marketing they have done to convince everyone that a substance that actually dehydrates you will assuage your thirst. But don't let me get up on my soap box and bore you.