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

Benjamin Franklin, a must read.
Ring the Horn, Lost on a Yank.
Isle of Wight Shipwrecks, too close to home.
Hole Punches, much rather watch paint drying on a wall.
Soil, Can't get enough of the stuff.

A4241008 - How to make an Emerald Star Cocktail - short, sweet, sounds rather nice RF

A417124 - British Village Fetes - particularly liked the Cowpat Bingo

A12644110 - Gustav Mahler's Only Visit to England - 1892 - skimmed it, not really my thing

A3814049 - An Easy way to make Meatloaf - meatloaf? Nahh

A158690 - Bwlch, Wales, UK - Short. Includes Wales. Read. Nuff said.

3.5/5

This is good fun!

MB, I'll maybe give it a go sometime. I'm usually a bit more conservative about using fruit though.

OK, today's selection:

A971318 Knitting machines. Just not my thing I'm afraid, I couldn't get past the first paragraph.

A72262 Cereal. Very short, a 1999 entry. Very flimsy and not much interest.

A3342548 Groningen, the Netherlands - Good straightforward guide to the city. I skimmed it, and would look it up again if I was headed that way.

A781887 How Best to Prepare Yourself to Become President of the USA - a bit over-long. Basically a list of statistics of how old presidents were, what jobs they had etc. A bit too list-y.

A845020 - Turkish Delight. Worth reading if only for the phrase "those slippery condomically-pink 'Turkish delights' that masquerade under a charade of chocolate."

I want to try again...

A2586125 - Timpani
Didn't tell me much I didn't already know, but it's a nice little piece. Until it gets to the part where it mentions orchestral pieces featuring the instrument and it refers to the theme tune to 2001: A Space Odessy

A997833 - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Very comprehensive

A670015 - Organic Coffee
Disappointing. But I can't really put my finger on why

A642160 - An Amazig A-Z of Space
Most excellent - even if some of the words matching the letters are forced in. It actually reads as though it's aimed at kids (not a criticism)

A2266823 - ADOM - the Computer Game
Sorry, not even slightly tempted to read this.

I think it's worth keeping this thread going. I'm amazed at what we've dug up.

A2181845 - How to obtain a visa in the US. Not an inspiring start to my set of five. I don't think Entries should be based on red tape.

A405505 - Rational numbers. Short and sweet. Can't knock it.

A12460303 - Jan Ullrich. Yup - I'll read anything sport-related.

A151507 - Dopamine. I seem to be going for the short ones today. Passable if insignificant.

A2982044 - Too subjective. I didn't enjoy this.

Only 2.5/5 this time.

B

A1124650 - The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Very detailed but since I've not seen it for yonks and yonks (and I haven't seen the original Japanese film) it's a little overwhelming. But a good comparison, I think

A13857122 - Poitin - Illegal Irish Whiskey
Interesting - it's quite recent.

A576155 - An Introduction to Corsets
it's the over-entry for a Uni Project but I don't have time to read more of them. I've bookmarked it for later though

A573950 - Richard III - Malignant or Maligned Monarch?
Lovely to see that "This glorious son of York" isn't portrayed as a hunchbacked monster. It's nicely written too, which is a bonus

A561845 - Football World Cup, 1950, Brazil
sorry, I'm not going to read it. I'm flamin' sick of

The Richard III was my favourite of these. But then,I am a Yorkshire girl.

"I don't think Entries should be based on red tape."

Put like that, it sounds bad - but entries on how to circumvent red tape might make all our lives a little easier!

Well, hootoo is very quiet tonight, so I had time to read:

A6985731 Blackbeard the Pirate - loved it.
A978979 Pen Spinning - had to read it because I didn't understand from the title what t was about. Found myself exercising pen spinning within minutes of reading.

A121041 Newton's Law of Motion - short entry, but I didn't understand it.

A269859 Pen names - another short entry, nice.

A2927388 Safe Trading on eBay UK - read it although not UK based and hardly ever bid on eBay.

A592913 - Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev - Chemist - short, about chemistry, so read

Oddly then ended up with this one A593110 -
The Periodic Table of the Elements - is this a conspiarcy?

A241057 - Ukuleles - short, so read it

A246179 - Dish Sculpures - How many times have you woken up to these?

A531334 - Field Marshal General Erwin Rommel - the Desert Fox - yeah, but no

A698556 - Torque or Moment - hmmm

4 and a bit (not bad this time!

Oops 6! must have gor carried with myself

So, therefore that should read 5 and a bit

1. A13857014 The Lily Leaf Beetle Date: 08 September 2006
I skimmed it, but didn't read in depth, as I have a bug phobia! Too much detail for a scaredy cat like me...

2. A673553 Andi Watson -- Comics Creator Date: 12 April 2002
Very interesting. I think that the British see comics as more of an art form than do Americans, to our detriment. Some cartoonists in the US get reputations, but often they're people like Jim Davis and the strip 'Garfield'...the Doonesburys are few and far between.

3. A4175228 How to Make Sherbet Date: 30 June 2005
This is truly an example of being divided by a commone language...in the US, we call the Sherbet Fountain something like Pop Stix. From the description, it's the same stuff and works exactly the same here as there -- soggy straw and powder up the nose, very popular.
In the US, BTW, we have something we call Sherbet, but it refers to a frozen confection, made from sugar, milk, and fruit juice/puree. Sort of like a sorbet?

4. A9115292 Cookham, Berkshire, UK Date: 21 March 2006
This was a good read, especially the part about Kenneth Grahame having been inspired to write the Wind in the Willows, suggested by the area. I emailed the link to a friend of mine who has loved that story since he was a little kid.

5. A283385 Cuban Pot Roast - 'Boliche' Date: 20 March 2000
Okay, this was unfair -- I already had my dinner, and this made me determined to make this for dinner tomorrow. Quite a good recipe, as it reads. Particularly the chorizo!

So, I'd say it was a 4.2 out of 5. I gotta do this more often, it was fun!!

SC

One and that turned out to be a new age crock of excrement. Body something. You could live your life according to this "body blue" print. I can't remember what it was called because it was immeadiately fogettable.

A2082971 - The Super Bowl - American Football's Greatest Prize
it's by Blues Shark which would normally mean good writing- but I can't face anything about American Football

A6985830 - William Kidd – The Unlucky Pirate
part of the Uni project on Pirates - which I read recently in honour of Talk like a day - so I'm not reading it again

oh dear, not looking good

A1047926 - Sawney Bean - Scottish Cannibal
well, I read this wondering if it inspired Sean Bean's parents... blimey! what a bunch! I'd like a bit more detail, but the writing is competent and it's an interesting enough subject

A778205 - The Bridges of Luxembourg
well... not totally Thrilling but then Luxembourg rarely is for me - again competently written (it could do, as so many entries could, with some h2g2 flair)

A12925046 - The City Barge Pub, Chiswick, London
this is more like what I imagined h2g2 would be about waaay back when I read the interview with Douglas Adams which piqued my interest about the site. Interesting enough - if I'm ever in that corner (and it's raining) I'll give it a go

hmmmmmmmmmmm nearly 3/5 but... well, frankly, not brilliant haul

next click (yep, I'm bored) got me this...

A5815 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (from this section: 3. Everything / Arts and Entertainment / Books & Literature / Literary Works and Reference Books / Fictional Works)

and I was about to wail and gnash my teeth when I noticed who wrote it... U42

Another very quiet day on hootoo:

A666047 Chutney - interesting, but left me wondering what pickling spices are.

A3795690 Beverages and Potions from the Elder - meant to read this when I came across this recently, so managed to actually do so today. I had no idea you could even make cosmetics of elderflowers.

A3403928 Food and the Colour Blue - was nearly put off by the mere length of this, but cpmpletely forgot about that once I had started reading. Liked it best from the five entries I read today.

A8676462 The Sweeney the Tv Series - didn't read it all, read the intro and the ending, skimmed the rest, don't know the series, will never get to watch it, so it's not that interesting to me.

A408601 Malta - some repititions in i, but on the whole, a very concise entry with good information abvout Malta.

Total today: 4.5/5 ...

...and some work for EF and the curators

A666047 Chutney - interesting, but left me wondering what pickling spices are.

Black peppercorns, mustard seeds, cloves and coriander. Usually.

A3403928 Food and the Colour Blue - was nearly put off by the mere length of this, but cpmpletely forgot about that once I had started reading. Liked it best from the five entries I read today.

Why, thank you.

B

You're welcome, B.

This is a fascinating 'experiment', makes me read entries I'd not necessarily come across otherwise (and as a sub-ed, I do come across lots of entries when searching for links). There are so many god entries out there, waiting to be discovered.
Thank goodness we campaigned and got the IID back.

the Gruesomes are tidying their rooms... I'm going to help after a cup of and another go on the IID

A12338688 - Installing a Vehicle-mounted Electrical Winch (26 Jul 2006)
I've used these things... let's see how it is. Oh my - that's fantastic. The writing, the footnotes (especially the footnotes) and it is a seriously exciting piece of kit to play with once mounted. Fantastic and I'm off to Deep Doo Doo's space to say so

A471430 - Cicadas (27 Nov 2000)
hmmm an early one... goodness what an interesting insect. I didn't expect to be grabbed by this, but it's written in a nice chatty, but authoratitive tone.

A593093 - Restless Leg Syndrome (25 Jul 2001)
I'd heard of this - but often wondered if it is real. Short and to the point

A1017884 - Cluny Earthlodge Village - An Ancient Fortified Settlement in Canada (30 May 2003)
Interesting read - I'd like to read more about this sort of thing

A245521 - Scallies (18 Jan 2000)
hmmmmmmmmmm in severe need of updating and reworking.

Not a bad haul.

Well, I've got two hours before I go to the pub, so here's what I've come up with.

A271748 - "War - the Game" by Crescent,
It's brilliant. Reminds me of being at school and the best bit is that it's on a totally childish subject but approached in a serious way which somehow makes it funny.

A10357427 - "The Peloponnese, Greece" by Ghoulmon (Gnomon I presume?),
It looks really interesting from my skim, but it's a bit heavy for a casual read. It's on my 'to read properly' list.

A222940 - "Jackson, Mississippi, USA" by Kota,
Wow. This one's old. It suffers from attempting to imitate DNA's style a bit, and it's very short. In need of a re-write/update I think.

A1064882 - "Swinton, Salford (Greater Manchester), UK" by Psycorp603
Ugh. It's my first entry, I get hate mail about it on a regular basis from Swintonians and it's getting quite out of date. It's cringeworthy is what it is. Damn you Infinate Improbability Button!

A1094258 - "Les Dawson - Comedian" by Dr E Vibenstein,
It's short, sweet and quite interesting actually. Although I don't find Les Dawson that funny.

Well, there's my contribution to keeping the thread alive!