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

I had an idea for a Guide entry this morning, loosely inspired by the "We Didn't Start The Fire" one that, rarely for me, hasn't been written already, and isn't touched on at Wiki.

A29776161

I've corrected the spellings so far as I could figure out from the lyrics which were available online; and intend later to getting on with the whos and the whys; but I'd appreciate support from anyone who could help with the less obvious ones, which will of course be credited.

Thanks in advance, and yes, I appreciate the irony

oof! My only contribution would be to say how much I loathe it.

I don't imagine I'd be of much help, either, as I've no clue what it's about.

No probs, I'm sure you'll hate it too. I'll do it mi'sen.

Oops! Misread it. I thought you were doing an entry on 'We Didn't Start The Fire'

Don't know the song, but most of those are easy:
ROBESON Paul. Communist singer
GOD'S SON Jeebers
HURSTON ?
AKHENATEN Incestuous Pharaoh
HATHSHEPSUT Pharoahess. Temple still standing - lots of big columns
BLACKFOOT Famed for their understanding of sub-atomic physics
HELEN Pretty queen
LENNON Some singer bloke
KHALO Mono-browed Mexican painting cripple
KALI Destroying goddess
THE THREE MARIAS ?
TARA A hill in Ireland, some kind of Buddist demigod...and the name of a guy I know professionally who's written his own W***pedia entry.
LILITH Source of womanly widom
LOURDE Madonna's daughter
WHITMAN Walt...slept with a man who slept with Ginsberg
BALDWIN Greatest novelist of the 20thC. Spokesman for The Black Panther Party
GINSBERG Allen...slept with a men who slept with Whitman
KAUFMAN Andy?
LUMUMBA Patrice. Assasinated Congolese socialist
GHANDI Bald guy in a nappy
GIBRAN Obscurantist Lebanese-American poet
SHABAZZ Betty. Mrs X
SIDDHARTHA Fat dude. Started a religion. Smiled a lot.
MEDUSA Bad hair day
GUEVARA Inventor of the radical t-shirt
GUARDSIEFF Gurdjieff, surely? Georgian mystic, associated with Theosophy etc. Namechecked by Kate Bush in 'Them Heavy People'
RAND Ayn. Nasty, selfish proto-neocon. Her books have drastic effects if they fall into the hands of impressionable undergrads.
WRIGHT Wilbur. Orville.
BANNEKER ?
TUBMAN ?
HAMER ?
HOLLIDAY Billy. She covered the waterfront.
DAVIS Miles. He covered Cindy Lauper and Scritti Politti.
COLTRANE Some horny dude.
MORRISON The lizard king. Evolved into a large mammal.
JOPLIN Janice or Scott.
DUBOIS WE - Sociologist. The Souls of Black Folk
CLARKE Arthur C?
SHAKESPEARE Robbie - plays riddim alongside Sly Dunbar
RACHMNINOV Plays the old Joanna
ELLINGTON Duke
CARTER Get? Jimmy?
GAYE Marvin. His dad shot him.
HATHAWAY Anne. Married to Robbie Shakespeare.
HENDRIX Played the banjo with his teeth
KUTL ?
DICKERSON Cheap as chips!
RIPPERTON Minnie. La-la-la-la-la EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
MARY Whispers words of wisdon - 'Let it be'.
ISIS Murdoch. also - Egyptian goddess. And the Thames - but only in Oxford.
THERESA Saint who confused orgasms with mystical visions. As you do.
PLATH Suicidal poem. Only read by suicidal chix.
RUMI 800 years old this year, I believe. Sufi poet.
FELLINI Made Italian films.
MICHAUX ?
NOSTRADAMUS I knew you were going to mention him!
NEFERTITI Egyptian bint.
LA ROCK ?
SHIVA The destroyer
GANESHA The Elephant Man
YEMAJA Voodoo chile
OSHUN Someone else in voodoo/ santeria/ Yoruba
OBATALA and again
OGUN ditto
KENNEDY Got shot
KING Got shot
FOUR LITTLE GIRLS Would these be the ones in the church fire?
HIROSHIMA Bombed.
NAGASAKI Bombed
KELLER If she felldown in a deserted forest, would she make a sound?
BIKO Died on the same day as Victor the giraffe. Had several student union bars named after him.
PERON Juan or Evita
MARLEY Robert Nestor
COSBY Family-friendly black man.
SHAKUR Sixpack

TUBMAN ?- Harriet, surely.

I still don't get what the entry is *about*. I'm not familiar with the man in question. But I guess I'll help if I'm able? I'm bound to have some free time, eventually.

HURSTON- Zora Neale Husrton? African-American folklorist? Author of "Their Eyes Were Watching God"?

CARTER- Godwin Wilson Carter, well-known scholar of African-American history?

Lovely lovely! I've edited a bit to help out if you have another peek - Kutl is supposed to be Fela Kuti, for one. And the online lyrics all apparently miss two - Hansberry (?) and Tesla out of The Prestige.

CLARKE- Claude? African-American artist.

The only "Michaux" I can come up with that might be even remotely related is some white-looking "urban" musician type. His web site has some background music; awful, Top 40 "R&B" type stuff. Surely it can't be the right fellow?

BANNEKER- Benjamin, duh! African-American mathematician, late 1700s- early 1800s

Well, Jaysus! I'd have known Fela KUTI! I'm a *major* fan.

Michaux looks like he might be this guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Michaux

Makes a little more sense than that other git.

I reckon Dickerson (not David Dickinson from Bargain Hunt) would be Eric Dickerson, NFL Hall of Famer and record-holding running back for the Los Angeles Rams.

Centuries of higher thought and I get the jock.

Yeah - I guess it's mainly about black folk, not mahogany folk.

Well he was at pains (literally, if you see the video for the Krust version) to invite the whole species into it, but his frame of reference is obvious. Shabazz features twice. Rand seems a bit incongruous though.

Maybe Earl Dickerson, African-American attorney from Chicago? He was one of the founders of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. He was also an alderman for the 2nd Ward.

HAMER- Fannie Lou Hamer, civil rights activist. She was one of the first African-Americans to register to vote. She helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and challenged the all-white delegation to the Democratic National Convention in 1964 in Atlantic City.

Woo-ee, I never thought all my US History and Pol-Sci textbooks would come out of storage...