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

I'm not so sure that the beloved Pratchett is retiring. I would in defence of that position refer you to the discusson that took place in "Other Discworld Sightings" in this forum starting with the *Rumour Mill* there seems to be a general consensus forming that the next book is called "The Truth", and is out in November. And following that the tentitivly referenced "Thief of Time", details about this are more sketchy. I, myself am not, but some of the researchers who contributed to this are also part of the unofficial/official Pratchett fan sight, Alt.Fan.Pratchett and tend to be rather knowledgeable in these areas, but hey if you know better, any view is welcome.

Clive

I didn't say that our beloved Mr Pratchett was retiring. In fact I have also heard somewhere about the next book being called "The Truth."
I think it has something to do with the millenium and religion or something.

What I did say was that I thought that Douglas Adams has stopped writing novels but now seems to want to write more computer games .

Anyway you'll probably know more than I will. Do you know anything of this gameshow?

Wow! My apologies. I completely miss-read what you said. *grovel* No excuses. I probably got confused with the forum title or something.(No, wait, that's an excuse.) Discworld, Hitchikers. Oh hell. When you said DNA retiring, I don't know, I just automatically assumed it was Pratchett. I'm going senile. Good grief this is all rather embarrassing.

Erm...well...ahem. If You can ever see to ignore that little slip-up *grovel, grovel.* Douglas did seem to finish off poor old Arthur rather conclusively at the end of "Mostly Harmless." So another Hitchikers installment may be a forlorn hope (although I did here some tale about when the Vorlon's destroyed Earth the last time it destroyed the Guide. The New 'Bird' Guide created by the new owners of the Guide, with the Old Guide now destroyed in all dimensions, resolves itself away into nothingess *at the end of Mostly Harmless* And since Arthur was due to die at Stravo Mueller Beta and this sets up some sort of paradox where Arthur isn't dead and Ford did get away and the whole sorry mess starts over again Arthur homless and Ford off on another loony escapde. And Zaphod's still out there somewhere. Something like that anyway. So you never know.) As for computer games there was some anticipation that the old hitchikers infogames text adventure might be re-released but I think there was some problem with licences and copywrites, that stalled a lot of development on that front.

Of the Gameshow, I know nothing.

Final, and last time this posting, apology for getting the previous message so hideously and completly wrong:

Sorry, sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry,sorry

Clive

Hi,

Sorry if the intonation of my reply sounded harsh but I was only meaning to be informative. So stop grovelling you grovelling grovelator (Eh?).
Do you know anything else about "The Truth"

PS I think the gameshow was hosted by Craig Charles if that helps you
at all at helping me help find more info. Help.

Bye.

A strange thing happened yesterday.

I had just clicked on the 'who's on h2g2' button and was merrily browsing it when on the list appeared the researcher DNA. And then my browser crashed. cursing my bad luck, I hastily re-loaded the h2g2 page checked the on-line list again and nerry a DNA to be found. And, well this got me thinking, (a rarity I'm informed but apparently it does happen), 'I know', I thought, 'I'll look up DNA in the 'search for a friend.'

Can you guess what I found?

DNA has a rather neat and secluded hompage all of his own. He is rearcher U42 (Naturally, I suppose. Apparently he dreaded that might happen but the jockular folks at h2g2 Towers can't resist a good tease.) This must not be common knowledge because the postings there were relativly old (9 weeks ago I think was the latest) and infrequently answered. And I did not recognise nearly any of the named researchers who had contacted him - not that I am in any great position to claim to know everyobody here but as it is you do tend to run into the same people now and again - although I did not bother to check if he had any 'older posts'

So, in reply, We could always try asking DNA himself about this game show because i have been plumbing the depths and coming up with nothing. We might, on separate line of enquiry see if this show was on the BBC - they might know.

See you later. i got to go an get pizza.

Clive

P>S What is a grovelling grovelator? It puts me in mind of some medievil torture rack. Or worse, one of those hideous mechanical monstrousities seen on the T.V show 'Gladiators.'

I shall look for this DNA-named-person you speak of and try to find out more. Thank you for your assistance.

P>S about the grovelator. It's all fairly simple.

A groveling grovelator is a grovelator that grovels
a non-grovelating grovelator is a grovelator that doesn't grovel
Isn't it obvious?

Wouldn't a grovelator that didn't grovel simply be a non-grovelator?

DNA being Douglas (N?) Adams.

Clive

I know! I know!
No need to be patronising, you patronising patronisering patroniserator.

PS. Does anyone know what the N stands for?

Noel, I think. But I'm probably wrong.

Sorry that wasn't meant to sound patronising. Let me now if you get a reply about the game show.

Clive

P.S Does any body (other than Douglas)know what that N stands for? Or has this already been covered in another forum?

I checked "Don't Panic" and it's definitely Noel. At least inasmuch as the phrase "Douglas Noel Adams" appears in the context of it being his name.

I like BOTH of their series. Although THHGTTG is shorter, and I've had it over a year now, and I've practically MEMORIZED the books, looking for fresh DNA books became tiring. I read both Dirk Gently books, and Last Chance to See, and nearly laughed my rear off. I've only recently become a fan of Discworld (say, about three months ago) and alread I've read most of them (save everything in between Equal Rites and Small Gods-I picked the series up a little on the late side....) A whole factory of British humor novels, which I love so much.

I also have recently read soem Carl Hiassen novels, which are Ameican parody novels. They're mostly murder mysteries set in Florida, and he REALLY hates tourism in Florida...his first book was called Tourist Season, and was about people feeding tourists to crocodiles named Pavlov. They get weirder from then on out.

I bought a copy of "tourist season" once but lost it before I had a chance to read it. I had thought that it was going to be a rather silly "serious" novel rather than a tounge-in-cheek thriller which was why I put off reading it. I will now try to get another copy.

No that you mention it I think the N is a Noel. Have you read "The meaning of Liff" or "The very jolly comic relief christmas book" as both of them were cowritten and editted by DNA. They are very good.
I don't think enough people have read "Last chance to see." Its one of my favourite books.

I've never even heard of Last Chance to See. I'll have to look that one up.
I know that I saw the name Noel somewhere on the guide so that must be it.

I also saw DNA on line here about 4 months back. I didn't have anything to add to the conversation he was in so I humbly went away.

BTW - In an on-line interview, DNA was asked:

Interviewer:
One author who is often compared to you in terms of style and humour is Terry Pratchett of Discworld fame. What is your opinion of Pratchett's work? Do you agree or disagree with comparisons between your works?

DNA:
I can't really answer this one.
I've never read anything by Terry Pratchett.

http://slashdot.org/interviews/00/06/21/1217242.shtml

DNA may not have read Pratchett's work but I would bet you a prize-winning chicken that PT has read Adams's books.
Simply because anyone with taste, a sense of humour and a liking for sci-fi comedy will have read Hitchhikers at some point.

PS, for Baron Bear Slide, Last chance to See is a non-fiction novel written by DNA about his tour around the world with zoologist, Mark Cawardine to see some really endangerred animals. It's very funny but also very poingiant.

"The Deeper meaning of Liff" is another unrecognised classic.
Farnham should enter the public lexicon. The days I have spent trying to fend off an impending sense of farnham...usually without much success.

"Farnahm" - 'That feeling of having acomplished nothing by four in the afternoon'.

I have wasted many a day experiencing a Farnahm. In fact my whole life could be compared to a Farnahm. It could be worse. My life has been compared to a Berepper and a Wetwang before. Neither is very complementary.

fans of terry pratchett normally refer to him as Pterry, the p being silent. if you've read pyramids you'll get the joke. if you ever saw the 80's BBC1 kids quiz show called Jigsaw, you'll find it even funnier!