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

There. All recommendations now implemented. I'm not entirely happy with the single speech-marks (') replacing the double ones (") since from an entirely aesthetic point of view they don't look as nice, but if that's the commonly accepted standard, then so be it.

Many thanks to all who have helped tidy it up, or have provided encouragement.

Dear Sir,
Your Entry caused me to laugh, which in and of itself would not have been a problem, were it not for the fact that I was enjoying a hot, caffiene-based beverage at the time.

I shall be presenting you with a bill for a new keyboard and ointment to soothe my scalded nasal passages.

I bid you good day,
Captain J. Alpha (Ret.)

Very amusing - an utterly bizarre song!

Many thanks to you both.

Many apologies to Capt. Alpha, however. If I'd had known that would be the result when I first wrote the entry, I would have put some kind of warning at the start.

Please send the bill to Frank Farian.

He's crazy like a fool, apparently.

Wait, was that Daddy Cool? He taught his four sons to handle their guns, was born on Christmas day and looked like a sugar in a plum in Belfast.

Ahhh, Boney M. Love 'em

I'd never heard of their song Belfast before, so I searched for the lyrics . Curioser and curioser!

It's the country that's changin'
All the people
Cause the people are leavin'

In terms of political songs from the 1980s that slightly miss the point, it's right up there with The Human League's 'Lebanon' ('And where there used to be some shops / Is where the snipers sometimes hide')

On something of a tangent, my housemates and I once re-wrote the lyrics to 'Daddy Cool' in honour of a certain Estonian Olympic Gold Medal-winning decathlete, who'd been something of a cult hero of ours:

He's no Baltic fool / He made Estonia cool
In the Decathlon he rule / His name is Erki Nool

You can probably guess how the chorus goes.

Returning to subject, I really like this entry

Hooray! Hooray! It’s a fine Guide Entry!

With reference to Footnote 5, I seem to remember that it was eventually admitted that Frank Farian did all the male vocals on Boney M records. This website confirms that version of events: http://www.groovecave.com/boneym/faq/#whofarian .
And while you’re at it, I’m sure you’ll want to link to the great man’s official website: http://www.frankfarian.com/ .

For me, the greatest ever tribute to the power of Boney M’s music comes in the film ‘Touching The Void’, which tells the true story of how two young climbers got caught in a blizzard high up on the Siula Grande mountain in Peru. One of them, Joe Simpson, fell and broke his leg. The other, Simon Yates, felt obliged to cut the rope that bound them together and to abandon his friend to give himself a chance to survive. But despite the deep snow, his exhaustion and the agonising pain from his leg, Joe somehow managed to crawl and hop down the mountain and survive.

In the film, Joe explains that what kept him going was that he had a Boney M song stuck in his head. (He doesn’t say which one, but ‘Brown Girl In The Ring’ is heard on the movie soundtrack.) He then says that while he could bear the thought of death, he couldn’t tolerate the idea that his last thoughts might be of Boney M. This terrible prospect drove him through the pain barrier to safety.

I don't know about Rasputin, but this entry really is Wunderbar.

(heart attack, is two words, I think)

can't wait to see this on the front page (mostly so I can tease my brother about how much he loved Bony M back then and the Nightflight to Venus poster he had in his room)

This is one of the best first-time entries that I've seen in a while.

Very nice.


Geggs

Why thank you!

Just thought I'd add my : I really *liked* this entry because it was witty, irreverent and well written. It also didn't follow a formula that had been viewed as a shoo-in for the EG. It described kitsch well with a knowing nod and a wink. Well done.

Gosh! And there was me thinking I'd upset you!

Thank you very much!

It looks like this might be snapped up on Thursday, when it becomes eligible for the Edited Guide. Not only have you grasped the feel or Peer Review on your first entry but you've given us all great memories of a classic disco song.

Hurrah!

*Beams.*

Thank you to everyone who has commented, corrected and encouraged. I'm a very happy Yalson.

Yep, I liked it too. Must get round to finishing off my Milli Vanilli entry at some point.

I've been circling this for a couple of days. There's nothing for me to contribute other than I like it very much indeed


* goes back to circling pattern *

"As a musical form for rhythmically moving to it is quite outstanding, since it operates at a bpm" - 'for rythmically moving to it'? this sentence makes no sense

"As a backdrop for taking large quantities of illegal stimulants and showing off in ludicrous clothing in expensive nightclubs it is equally well conceived" comma after nightclubs

"As a forum for informed debate on matters such as philosophy, history, politics and the like, however, it leaves a lot to be desired." Disco is a forum? what?

"double A-side 'Rivers Of Babylon/Brown Girl In the Ring'," comma inside inverted commas

"and the group were formed in Germany," and the group was formed

"The lyrics to their songs, however, always" no comma before however in this case

"daftness of 'Rasputin'," comma in quote

"Despite this you may rest assured that whatever you think up" comma after this

"('He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow',)" ditch the comma at the end

"'Most people looked at him with terror and with fear/But to Moscow chicks he was such a lovely dear',)" the same

"able to survive due to his hold over the tzarina" tsarina or czarina, pick one

"just fell into his arms'," comma in quote

'this man's just got to go!', same

"as 'such a lovely dear'," same

"'Russia's greatest love machine', or 'a cat that really was gone'." comma inside, period inside

"history's most supposedly evil men" try 'history's supposedly most evil men'

"'Rasputin's stomping faux-Russian intro" you begin this quote but never put a closing quotation mark in


The Professor
SG-5
Bolivia

You should put a comma inside the quotation marks if it's actually a quote, but surely not if the quotation marks are just there to denote the title of a song?