The h2g2 Post: 04.02.19

Created Dec 11, 2018 | Updated Feb 3, 2019

A crest bearing the legend The H2G2 Post

Posted: 4^th February 2019

Winter's Tales

This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.
Phil Connors in Groundhog Day

The Groundhog optimistically predicts an early spring. Let it be over soon. The charm of snow is fleeting. Mais où sont les neiges d'antan? I don't care where they are. The neiges d' aujourd'hui are clogging up my driveway, and I am sick of them.

Nonetheless, please keep in mind that, snow or no snow, you are expected to come up with something interesting for this month's Create challenge. We believe that Cactuscafé will do her bit now that we have explained the movie to her. We're not sure who ended up more confused. See the challenge page for details on what to write.
Street Crossing by the Library of Congress

Street Crossing by the Library of Congress

We have so much fiction in this week's issue that it fully warrants the Editorial page title. These are, indeed, winter's tales. First, I dug up an old science fiction story from the public domain archives. It's both hilarious and terrifying. These two adjectives also describe Paigetheoracle's 'The Man Who Wanted to Die, But Couldn't', which has been supplied with an illustration by the ever-helpful Freewayriding. Warning: do not read, or view, this webpage either during dinner or directly before bed. We will not be responsible for the consequences.

The fiction doesn't stop there. Freewayriding's old supernatural menaces, the Light and the Dark, are back for a reprise. They're up to no good, as usual. Not to be outdone, I discuss the problem of philosophical dualism in a little tale of urban encounter I call 'Of Light, Dark, and Other Things'.
Two Chums by the Library of Congress

Create's February challenge has already born fruit in the form of stories by Minorvogonpoet and Freewayriding. MVP's is uplifting. FWR's is about what you'd expect. Don't read this one before bed, either. Suitably for the subject of Groundhog Day, I've pulled out a rerun from the files. Find out why John Hates Mondays. (This one might help Cactuscafé understand the subject better while she's waiting for her DVD to arrive.)

It isn't all short stories this week. We have photos. We have, er, cats. We even have dogs! We have videos. Learn more than you ever wanted to know about the music of the 1920s. There are quizzes. There is cinema philosophy. There's the usual amount of humour and snark. Read, learn, take up challenges, supply captioning, plot revenge.

And have a great week! No matter what the weather does to us.

Quotes of the Week:
Named my children.

Named my cat.

Named my dog.

My wife even named her motor car. (Klaus)

But this anthropomorphizing of winter weather systems is flat out stupid.

– @Nightcam on Twitter

REMINDER Our new book, Colours of Wildlife: An Artist's Celebration of Biodiversity, by Willem, can still be ordered from Lulu. You know you want this.

February Create Challenge:
Your Personal Groundhog Day

Dmitri Gheorgheni

ANIMAL SPIRITS
Colours of Wildlife: Meller's Mongoose	Caption Challenge: Yawn!
A Winter's Day	Muddy Water
INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS
24 Lies a Second Political cinema.	Post Quiz About time.
Picture Quiz What did it do?	Writing Right with Dmitri Assumptions.
LOOKING AROUND
Parking Spot	Bird Roost with Steam Heat
Sea View Revisited	Loss of Uniformity
TO CHEER YOU UP
Art History 101 Saturday morning kids.	Gheorgheniplex Badger, badger.
Cartoon Corner Shakespeare, dog.	h2g2 Photography Cheerful colours.
WARNING: LITERATURE IS BEING COMMITTED!
h2g2 Story Child of the Dark.	Literary Corner It Started with Sputnik.
h2g2 Story Of Light, Dark, and Other Things.	h2g2 Story Why John Hates Mondays.
THRILLS, SPILLS AND CHILLS
Create February Teasing Alice.	Create February Seventh Heaven.
Desideria, Page 10	The Man Who Wanted to Die But Couldn't