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

Hello - Galaxy Babe said you were interested in when outside sites link to H2G2 articles and suggested I let you know that I've found that my Birth to The Beatles article is linked to by the Guardian. See: A67794178 (there's a link from there)

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Ooh, well done

I'll look up the newspaper article then add the details to my citations list in due course (A46972182).

Icy

I see you have two in the list already: Ventnor Piers and Richmond Castle. Did you know about those?

No I didn't!

But did you know that A715060 - War and Protest - the US in Vietnam (1972-1975)

was recommended reading for the 'Performance And The Media' unit for
BA (Hons) Comedy: Writing & Performance
BA (Hons) Performance
at Southampton Solent University.

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'THE UNIT DOCUMENT WILL SHORTLY BE AVAILABLE HERE ON MYCOURSE. Meanwhile, here is your subject/preparation for Week 1:
Wednesday 19 January 2010 : HC023 - 9am sharp!
Stage to Screen - The Musical: can it be political?
- Case study: Jesus Christ Superstar and the Vietnam War
Advance preparation:
Reading :
Uncredited, 2002. ‘War and protest – the US in Vietnam (1972-1975)’, BBC Home. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A715060 [also available from the Reading List at top]
(this is a short online article which will give you some background)

Oh, thanks for that - I might add that too

Hello Icy

I was wondering if I could interview you for the next issue of Super Market, a monthly article featured in the Post about the Flea Market?

According to our records you have rescued 3 articles:

The 'Big Five' Accountancy Firms (2007)
Tank Tops (2008)
Lake Garda, Italy (2009)

Are you able to answer these questions:

Would you like to tell me anything about any the articles that you have been involved in rescueing?

Would you only rescue articles about subjects you know well?

Have you approached a Flea Market Rescue any differently to how you write an article from scratch? Is it easier or more difficult?

When you write a Flea Market rescue, how do you decide what to keep and what to edit, and how much of a right do you feel that you have in making decisions about the article?

Would you recommend doing Flea Market rescues to other researchers?

How do you think you would feel about being on the other side, about someone else making changes to an entry you had written, if someone tried to rescue an entry you had abandoned?

Is there one that stands out as the most fun to write?

On the other hand, was there one that proved to be the most difficult to complete, if so, why?

How much revision do you think proper in a FM Rescue?

Are there any questions you think I should have asked, or anything else you'd like to say?

You only need to successfully rescue two more articles and then you would earn a Scavenger badge! So would you consider doing another Flea Market Rescue in the near future?

I hope you're happy for me to interview you - if you have anything else you wish to add, anything you don't want to answer etc, then yes, please feel free to say!

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I'm not a serial scavenger, BB. I've only rescued 3 in 10 years. However I'll answer your questions. Just don't paint me in the same light as those who have rescued countless flea market entries, like yourself.

I rescued the Big 5 accountancy firms as it was an excellent entry which dropped out of Peer Review when the author elvised. I picked it up straight away, as I knew a little about the subject. I didn't need to rewrite it, but it just needed a few contextual bits and pieces, so I was able to put a wrapper around it. I can't say it's the best entry I ever (co-)wrote, but it's an important subject, and an event which may be important historically in the future. It needed to be written.

I can't remember the context in which I came to work on Tank Tops and Garda, but I think it was when Matt started the Scavengers group. There was a push for people to trawl the flea market, and I found those two which I felt qualified to complete. Well, I say that - I've never worn a tank top in my life.

The original Tank Tops entry was a little short, but well written. Again, it just needed some context to make it more rounded. It wasn't difficult to find some style history online, and I did get some very good feedback in Peer Review. It was an enjoyable rescue.

Garda had already been picked up in Flea Market four years before, but the rescuer had elvised before making a start on it. It needed very little work. In fact, I should probably remove my name and give Vestboy a solo entry for it. I don't feel I added much in the way of creativity to this one, but it's nice to know it's in the guide.

There are hundreds of flea market entries, on a diverse range of subjects and in varying states of completion. It's difficult to advise, but I would tend to investigate those whose subjects grab me - ones which I would feel confident researching. If I had more time, though, I'd look outside my comfort zone - sometimes Peer Review can do the job of adding missing facts, if it's a popular subject.

As to how much revision is required, well, it's as much as is necessary to make it interesting and fun to read.

It's unlikely I'd let my entries go into the Flea Market, but if they did, I'd hope they were picked by someone who found the subject as interesting as I did, and understood the angle I was coming from when I set out to write it.

I'd like to write more entries generally - I'm just so busy at the moment. I have a couple of good original subjects which have stalled requiring a bit of research, and I'd probably finish those ones first. It might be a good idea, though, to have a trawl through the Flea Market to see if there's anything which could inspire me to get writing and researching again.

I did reserve one on Hawkwind a while ago, but I didn't get very far with it - there's an enormous amount of history with that band, and it just wouldn't be interesting to write about all the line-up changes over the years. I should probably unreserve it and find something more suitable.

Hope this helps!

Icy

That's brilliant, thanks!

Look out for it next month in .

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