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

"I'm a singular man."

Who said this,who is most closely associated with this quote?

You get a pint of or a glass of chilled Sav Blanc if you get the bonus question which is: Who was our man talking too when he said the above quote(there's a clue! He's a bloke...)

...and no googling, coz that's cheating and it's just not done is it.



*Get this right and it's your turn.

Oh, I'm in Aus so don't expect an immediate answer due to us being ahead of you oop thar in the Northern climes...bedtime 'ere

Napoleon Solo (Man from UNCLE)?

Neil Diamond (1966) 'Solitary Man'
http://youtu.be/Ql4IiP__5ck
Covered by others such as Johnny Cash
http://youtu.be/amT4p14RHgo
and featured in Stargate Atlantis
http://youtu.be/yoOwXAzV6VE


~jwf~

NB: I didna google but I Utoobed

Sorry for late replies but no your both not close I'm afraid.

Our man is an historical figure and anyone who studies literature and history owes him a great debt.

(hope that wasn't too big of a clue)

Mark Twain?

No,tis not Mark Twain Mr X, but it is a man of letters. Your heading in the right direction.

He is such a figure of study and a man who we owe much to for...hmm, well that's enough clues for this Sunday night(my Australian time)

Is he real or fiction? Didn't Miss Bennett say, "You have a singular mind Mr. Darcy," to which he replied "I am a singular man," just before he stalked off for the umpteenth time!

Very good effort Lonnwy but he's a real person and he's from the 18th century he's called the Greatest - - - - - of them all quite often.

And there was me thinking Morrissey but 18thC a tad to early. But a contender for The Greatest Knob of Them All.

PP.

Casanova: The greatest lover of all.

Believed to have used the first condoms.




lil x

Hi lil, not the Casa fella but he did use 'The Pig', porcine intestine as a sexual sleeve for his member but such was his drive and passion that he went raking into the night in London/Edinburgh/Europe/his Grand Tour/and that was just his whoring.

He had grand affairs with married /lordly ladies and all through this he felt that he was "a singular man" and upon his return to England he felt that it and the world lay at his feet and was ripe for the picking or rather that they would have to notice him now because of his achievements.

Ah yes, I'm talented,I'm special,you'll notice me and it's a matter of time until His Royal Highness takes notice, takes stock and grants me a pension for I'm such a marvellous fellow.


I'm sure clues like that aren't doled out in QI(the HooToo QI mind you, not that pale S.Fry imitation)..I expect an answer shortly.

Noodles!

So near, and yet so far!


*puts on thinking 'at*


lil x

Are we talking about a famous 'doctor' here?

~jwf~

Well ~ jwf ~ , you touch upon a subject dear to our man's heart...

Well seems this one hasn't got legs So I'll answer it.

It's the 9th Laird of Auchinlech James Boswell and when he introduced himself to Rousseau and I think aged Voltaire as well, he said of himself that he was a 'singular man'

Only two days ago I was wondering if this had been resolved, but got waylaid when I came in to look....

.... Ooooh! Shiny!

Voltaire did indeed spend some time in England
and was mightily impressed by the intellectual
spirit and freedoms he witnessed. The pamphlet
and broadsheet market was at its peak in those
heady days of Johnson and Boswell, establishing
the principles of Freedom of Speech and Press.

When Voltaire turned his satirical criticisms up
to full Iconoclastic mode, a lot gets lost in the
translation and the cross-cultural values in the
gap between British and French sensibilities but
it is clear where he drew much inspiration.

Cheers
~jwf~

He landed on Voltaire's front doorstep ~jwf~(long after V's exile in England) with an introductory letter and more front than a weather map. Got an invite into the great man's 'house' and proceeded to stay and impose himself and his personality for a few days but was also shown up somewhat by an Enlightenment Lothario and neer'do well from the court of Fred the Great.

Easily England's and Scotland's stand out journalist(in the 18th century meaning of the word not today's)in that century.

I din't know that!
I had always assumed they met in England.
Obviously there is more to Boswell than meets the eye
as he stands in the shadows of the great doctor. Sounds
like he was a bit of an arrogant twit and had a prejudice
against them Johnny forriner types. Did this incident with
V come to your attention via some book or an internet blog?
The very notion of a "Biography of Boswell" strikes me as funny
because one never thinks of a biographer being biographed.
I'd like to learn more about this singular man's adventures
on the Continent.
Always enjoy having my concepts expanded.

~jwf~