Lighting Up the Sky What? You didn't spend your July evening parked in a lawn chair on a bridge, craning your neck to watch the exuberant explosions high above the river? What do you do with your time? Oh, yeah, you research, write for, and read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition. Fireworks is just one of the features that puts this planet on the map. The shows are free and safe, being carried out, appropriately, by volunteer fire departments. You rock, guys! I couldn't resist sharing some of the pics, and reminding you that our contributors, too, are shining lights in the internet firmament.
So what's on for this week? Well, before we get to the goodies, we need to make a couple of Public Service Announcements. Now, where did I put that loudspeaker?
- If you live in the UK, or are travelling there in July or August, have you made your plans to attend one of the three scheduled h2g2 Meets? Special attractions include beer and Amy Pawloski (in person this time, rather than paper facsimile). Check your local h2g2 listings for dates, times, and Satnav settings of the London, Manchester, and Edinburgh Meets. We also remind all h2g2ers that the h2g2 Post expects photos and personal reports, all glowing. Writing Tip: It is best to compose Meet Reports after the beer has worn off.
 - We still want your captionable photos. You are in severe danger of Critical Kitty Overload. On Saturday, before the fireworks, Your Editor went over to the farm. Farmer Hoggett said casually, 'Oh, be sure to ask Kitkat to show you what she found when she was cleaning up the garage.'
'Oh?' I said, thinking, Buried treasure? Historical wonder? After all, the farm is over 200 years old. . .
I went out to the barn. There, in a cardboard box, was another litter of kittens. I suggested naming two of them 'Coals' and 'Newcastle'.
Now, cats are wonderful. Even Molly, the Assistant Editorial Kitty, who has turned my capslock on one time too many this issue. But surely there is something else to look at on this planet? Anybody?
End of announcements. Now for this week's issue.
 - For wildlife, we have, er, a cat. No, don't run away, Willem also has lovebirds. Really. They're beautiful, and you need to learn about them.
- Awix tells you about a film. But first, he tells you about the yahoos in the cinema, and how he dealt with them. We don't know if the guy in It Comes at Night was heroic, but we're pretty proud of Awix, who kicks yahoo behind. The moral is clear: do not mess with cinema critics.
They have studied all the Jason Statham moves. - We have more quizzes! Test your knowledge of that iceberg – no, not the Titanic one, the giant Antarctic one. Figure out some funny handwriting. See how many of Icy's new English words you already know, and learn the rest. Give your brain a workout.
- Minorvogonpoet has a summer memory to share, and it's much less scary than last week's. Enjoy some quiet elegance in the park.
- Bluebottle's here with an update on the Flea Market. He's run out of James Bond movies: we invite you to guess the latest source of his punny titles.
- BB has also spotted another sign. Take a look. Chortle. Add some snark of your own.
- Tavaron's garden has produced more floral bounty. Enjoy her lilies. We're becoming Lily Central around here. Next step, virtual flower show. Somebody bring the garden gnomes. . .
 - There is humour. Some of it is by me. We also have a guest humourist, one Eli Perkins, a contemporary of Mark Twain's. Perkins' joke story is being published in the hopes that you'll all feel better about mine in future.
- As usual, we rant on about this and that. Ignore us, and send more Stuff.
That's our line-up. We'll let you go and read it. Please leave comments, send us new material, and remember to take your digital photographic devices with you whenever you suspect the universe might be about to do something interesting. We are so much better than Mostly Harmless, they won't believe it if we don't tell them. Have a great week out there!
Condolences: The Core Team, the Guide Editors, and everyone else on h2g2 extend their deepest sympathies to Galaxy Babe on the passing of her partner Ian. His star will continue to shine bright. On this side, we just want to wrap you in our love, GB.
As you will recall, Robbie Stamp let us publish his talk on grief a few weeks ago. The TEDx talk, entitled How Grief Feels, is now available on Youtube. Robbie was kind enough to ask us to share it. The thoughts are based, no doubt, on his own experience, but they're worth sharing with all our friends who are grieving. Pass it on. 
Dmitri Gheorgheni
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