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

http://genius.com/Frank-zappa-valley-girl-lyrics

"Valley girl" was on the album "Ship arriving too late to save a drowning witch." Totally useless fact. Wilkie Collins has been equally useless for me. I tried to go back to the essential classics, and then I was off on a wild ride to chase down the best of the latest books as they came. It's been seven years so far, and I never really catch up, though I try.

Collins never really made the cut as an "essential" author. Sounds like I mad a good call by skipping him.

If I want to see a screen saga of unlikable characters in a posh mansion, I can always see something like "Knives out."

But thank you, anyway, Dmitri, for being so persuasive. You've convinced me that now I can skip Collins without fearing that I have given up all hope of being erudite.

Go listen to Weird Al Yankovic instead.

I was watching "Blue lagoon, Awakenings" the other day and also wondered about some detail / background issues.

Like how can you be marooned on an Island for 100 days with just the clothes you beached in and expect them to be crisp, clean and undiscoloured at the end. The uniform tan they develop is also not from this world.

Given the amount of unprotected entertainment it is unlikely that no babies ensued.

Oh and: Yay, they killed the bad black panther! But what about the other panthers? Single panthers tend to die out when on an island.

Still, it is nice to know that the boy actor from the 1980's version ended up as a teacher in this one. Now they can make another movie about how he moved from 1849 to 2012. Maybe they can blame the Bermuda triangle…?

I can't blame the Bermuda triangle, but I'd be glad to do something about the Bermuda onion or the Bermuda shorts.

(please don't unsubscribe, Dmitri. I will try to be good. )

Do not underestimate the power of the triangle. When in doubt, listen to the first bit of Offenbachs Galop Infernal from Orpheus in the underwear ehrmmm.. underworld (aka Can Can) That is one piece of heavy triangulation.

Did you know most people hum that piece of music incorrectly?

They hum:

Tatatatatatatata tatatatatata tatatatatatatatatatatata (repeat from start)

While it should be:

Tataaa(rest)tatatatata tatatatatata tatatatatatatatatatatata (repeat from start)

I can't play or hear the Can-Can song without hearing in my head the words my sister learned to sing in school when she was about ten. That music teacher has a lot to answer for.

'Girls, won't you come and learn to do the can-can?
You are sure to find it positively fascinating...'

Most music teachers do.

I fear that I drove my first one to drink.

Now everyone wants to know what the words were…

I've seen the actual Moulin Rouge group performance on a village festival in the French Pyrenées, which happened to be at the same grounds I was camping for the night while hiking. Some French people (men) drove halfway across France to come and see the show.

Unfortunately, I got a back massage through my sleeping mat caused by the bass of the village disco that started afterwards

All I remember is that the verse ends, 'Come on now and show us how it goes.' Which I found inappropriate for ten-year-olds, frankly.

I don't think there were lyrics originally. This is a fun performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YceUokaMIk

Looks like a good workout, if you can manage it. If you can't, well, you're only human...