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

Glad it helped. Many of the comments were, as you've noticed, just suggestions - mostly to call your attention to places where I stumbled.

I'll try to clarify some of those you asked questions about:

>> -> A self-publicising recluse.
>> Why? (no really, I'm curious, not knocking).

It's a compound adjective.

>> USAF...

I thought about that too. You're probably right - American aircraft (or 'planes') might be clearer to some.

>> As others round hit the ground, HST stood proud
>> -> As others around him
>> Yours is technically more correct, but read the two out loud.

I know. The rhyme worked for me anyway, but your call! At least make it: 'round.

>> Inspired means inhaled, or breathed in; but is this usuage too obscure &
>> medical? Pun is fairly groan worthy anyhow. Dunno, should it stay or should it go?

I know, and it's very clever! I would try to keep it if there's a way. But it took two readings to get there. 'Muse' set me up to expect one meaning of inspired, but then I read that the muse was inspired (rather than inspiring, as I naturally expected) so I had to go back and read it again. All of which is OK! I'd just be concerned about interrupting the flow. Again (and as always), your call.

>> And for 30 years Hunter retreated...

Sorry! You missed my point here. I'm not questioning the exaggeration or hyperbole at all. I love it. My comments were strictly technical:

self-publicising and sex-related are compound adjectives (see moon-white and self-publicising earlier in the piece)

As for the bit about retreating - I just thought what you were trying to say is not that he 'retreated for 30 years', but that he 'retreated and spent 30 years as...'

No biggie.

>> Hunter was the Sheriff candidate...
>> That would be better English, but I need the weirdness at the end - will think of possible rewrites.

I certainly have no problem with weirdness at the end.

I love this piece. I have no idea where in H2G2 it belongs, but fwiw, I love it.

m

Kit asked me, as somneone who had written about HST on hootoo before, to comment on this, so here goes:

Fantastic article, original bits of Gonzo journalism which are true to the spirit of Thompson's own work without aping the style- original and humorous rather than hackneyed and derivative. Mixed in with an affectionate but honest trbute to the man himself.

I loved this. We need more genuine pieces of fantastic writing like this in the UnderGuide.

Thanks all for your help, I've had an edit, adopted, well at least half the suggestions you all made, and I think it's ready to be submitted to the under guide - now dumb question - how? The "submit" menu list disappeared when it went into the alternative writing workshop. Er...help, where to from here?

Hi kit

OK. From the top.

You can't actually put things forward for the UG. In fact you can't do what you want to do at two levels.

Entries for the UnderGuide are picked from the AWW by volunteers called Miners. (This is pretty much similar to the way that Entries for the Edited Guide are picked from Peer Review by volunteers called Scouts. The main difference is there are a lot of Scouts and they pick in a rota continuously, so that any ripe Entry in PR may be picked at literally any time. There are few Miners, though, so they all pick together, and UG-bound Entries are only notified once a month)

First level then : if you're not a Miner, you don't get to nominate Entries for the UG. You could always volunteer to be one, of course, but even then :

Level Two : nobody's allowed to pick their own Entries. Same for Scouts and the EG - our systems are peer reviewed (capitalised or otherwise).

However, you shouldn't despair, because quality writing does get picked up. Believe me, this extraordinary piece will make the UnderGuide, and that (to coin a phrase) is as much as I'm at liberty to say.

We'll have to make sure that the latest update is what's polished (Polishers are to the UG what sub-Eds are to the EG). I'll drop a pebble down the shaft.

All clear? I didn't think it would be. Anyhow, that's all you get for now, 'cos the Lions are about to kick-off against your Bay-of-Wotsit-lot. There's a whole different ball game.

Pin

okay, thanks for that, see if I'd read the right instructions I could've worked it out for myself. Doh!, sorry. Hope BoP didn't break Dallaglio before the tour really started - and incidentally see there isn't an entry for the Lions or the All Blacks in the edited guide...

Well, would you like to write one....?

Or even better... would you like to write one for the UnderGuide?



On the subject of mining and polishing, us UGlies are like an evil cult, and are always soliciting innocent researchers to become new members who can make up for the ones who get lost down the shafts or mangled in horrible industrial accidents with a polishing cloth.

If you'd like to join us you'd be welcome. Although not exactly onerous, it does require you to dig around in the AWW looking for gems, in reward for which you get to hang out in the bar of the "Pig and Slag" which is the coolest of the offsite lists. Unfortunately you are hanging out with entities like Pin (who is charming really) and me, but - hey.

Anyway, amamus 'odi et amo'.

B

Enjoyed reading this very much!

You've hit some great HST quotes.

Always liked from Campaign Trail 72: Two minutes & one gram before Midnight on the Pennslyvania Turnpike:

"here were these two freaks, broke & hopelessly stoned. Shot down beside the highway for lack of nothing more than a ninety-five cent jack handle...and now,after three hours of trying to flag down a helping hand, they finally catch the attention of a drunken lunatic who rolls a good quarter-mile or so before stopping and then creeps back toward them in the darkness with a .357 magnum in his hand."

"A vision like this is enough to make a man wonder about the wisdom of calling for help. For all they knew I was half-mad on PCP and eager to fill my Wild Turkey jug with enough fresh blood to make the last leg of the trip into Washington and apply for White House press credentials...nothing like a big hit of red corpuscles to give a man the right lift for a rush into politics."

I remember laughing out loud when I read this and remembered reading it when it was alleged that he died with Wild Turkey in one hand and a .357 in the other.

Thanks for the lift.

P.S. I thought Wolfe's "A Man in Full" wasn't all that bad.

Congratulations kitboyes ! This entry has been selected from the Alternative Writing Workshop and accepted for the <./>underguide</.>.

An UnderGuide Gem Polisher will be in touch for final revisions or tweakings before creating a UG copy of the entry to be featured on h2g2's Front Page.

Congrats again, and thank you for contributing here .

Well done!

When the going gets weird, the weird write for the Under... oh wait. No...

What I mean to say was this:

kitboyes!!!

m

Woo Hoo!

Kitboyes - I have grabbed this one for polishing - I like to pick the cherries! I'll take a look at it early next week, and come back here with any questions I have. The BBC has some fairly strict Editorial Policies on what can and cannot be done in terms of b*d l*ngu*ge and copyright material, which is why I grabbed it. I wrote the original EG entry somewhere on bad language, and Jimster edited it for the Edited Guide, so with the two of us on the case, we'll make the minimum changes possible.

I am SO glad this one's been picked!

Ben

Hurray for Ben!

Okie dokie - I have started it here: A4177280

I've put the UG blob in, obviously, and I'll probably put a link to the UG HQ behind the blob, which is something we are supposed to do, but I always forget.

The main thing with this entry, because of the appalling and shocking use of gratuitiously bad language () is that I have had to put a 'health warning' in at the top. On the other hand it does explain that this is meta-Gonzo - a Gonzo-esque tribute the the greatest Gonzo of them all.

I've taken the opportunity to link to the rather little we appear to have in the Edited Guide, and I can't remember anything appropriate in the UG to link to either.

I will work my way through tidying up the GML a bit, (I am anally retentive like that!) and let you know how I am getting on.

If anyone has any good BBC or external links, then please let me know, and I'll include them as references.

Cheers

Ben

If ever a 'health warning' was a plus, this would be the place! I expect the good doctor would approve.

Thanks every one for your kind words. Sorry I've been slack answering, I've been away withe army, (which sounds really macho, till you realise I was stuck in a class room lecturing medics about beta-lactams).

Um, guess I just answer questions chronologically...

B;
"If you'd like to join us you'd be welcome. Although not exactly onerous, it does require you to dig around in the AWW looking for gems"
- I'm very very tempted, my one concern is whetehr I'd be worth having, given the amount of time I could devote to it.

Phred;
"Always liked from Campaign Trail 72: Two minutes & one gram before Midnight on the Pennslyvania Turnpike... remember laughing out loud when I read this and remembered reading it when it was alleged that he died with Wild Turkey in one hand and a .357 in the other.
- I was feeling kinda guilty about not really mentioning anything about Fear and Loathing on the Campaign trail, but was weary about the article getting a bit big. I think the bit I would have used would've been the crazy abusive drunk who got on McGovern's train after HST loaned him his press pass, more because he was there causing havoc for 24 hours, and everyone just assumed it was HST.
P.S. I thought Wolfe's "A Man in Full" wasn't all that bad."
- Yeah, was too tough on Wolfe - once you get locked into showing how close you to the edge of defamation you can skate without going over, you find it hard to stop. Haven't read A Man in Full, but should have also mention Mau Mauing the Flak Catchers as superb.

michaeldetroit;
"When the going gets weird, the weird write for the Under... oh wait. No..."
- er...it seems, yes we do.


B
"The BBC has some fairly strict Editorial Policies on what can and cannot be done in terms of b*d l*ngu*ge and copyright material, I wrote the original EG entry somewhere on bad language, and Jimster edited it for the Edited Guide".
- Should be okay for copyright, (LlB should be useful for something), what are the bad language policies? Afraid I couldn't find your entry.

michaeldetroit;
"Hurray for Ben!"
- hear hear.


B
"I've put the UG blob in, obviously,"
- no idea what that is, but sounds wonderful
"The main thing with this entry, because of the appalling and shocking use of gratuitiously bad language ( ) is that I have had to put a 'health warning' in at the top. On the other hand it does explain that this is meta-Gonzo - a Gonzo-esque tribute the the greatest Gonzo of them all."
- Good one.

michaeldetroit
"If ever a 'health warning' was a plus, this would be the place! I expect the good doctor would approve".
- yeah, he wrote a few for his own work.

B,-
"I've taken the opportunity to link to the rather little we appear to have in the Edited Guide, and I can't remember anything appropriate in the UG to link to either."
- I hadn't seen the LSD article which was interesting.

"I will work my way through tidying up the GML a bit, (I am anally retentive like that!) and let you know how I am getting on".
-I'm guessing GML is the formattingy thingy, but I'll just nod and smile .

"If anyone has any good BBC or external links, then please let me know, and I'll include them as references".
- Can give you some suggestions if you want them,but felt I'd put a bit much flab in there already.

legal notes recognisable people;

Legal Persons defamed:
'Peter'. Much detail fictionalised. I believe sufficiently disguised, so as to be unrecognisable, except to himself.
Me. Volenti non fit injuria.

Legal persons +/- issues:
Tom Wolfe. Skirted the edges of defamation without crossing the boundary of opinion, review or truth.
Rudd Watts & Stone. Referenced by nickname "...you r-ddy tw-ts". Don't think this should be a problem, as it is pretty obscure, (and the frim has changed names in the meantime). Note they were not 'Pete's' law firm, so there's no chance of a defence of truth, (anyone who does know Rudd Watts should work Albert park would not be the best location to aim gold balls at their offices). If it is an issue, loose it.

Legal persons named where no legal problems anticipated; (living or extant) Ralph "Sonny" Barger, Greg Tolland, Rolling Stone magazine, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Bill Murray, Johnny Depp, George W Bush, AC Ross, John Burks, Anita Thompson, E Jean Carrol, Lion Breweries and (dead) Hunter S. Thompson, Orson Welles, Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey, Ernest Hemmingway & Richard Milhous Nixon.

Quotes not referenced - one reviewer is not referenced; "Streaker at Queen Victoria's funeral". Can find the reference if desired, (I think it was William Buckley). Three Hunter S Thompson quotes are acknowledged at the end, but other well known HST phrases are obviously interwoven within the text, which is not a breach of copyright under the paradoy exception. Samuel Johnson is unacknowledged, ("He who makes a beast of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man"), but he is out of copyright, & and I don't want to insult people's intelligence by saying where Pete got his quote from.

Bad langauage. Some can be deleted. Others possibly replaed with '#@$%&!"s or similar.


Thanks muchly;

>>'...I've been away with the army...'

I was 'away with the Air Force' once upon a time myself. We didn't get on very well and they begged me to go away.

In any case, I can't believe I didn't notice this in *any* of my earlier readings (and Ben would probably catch it anyway), but there's only one 'm' in Ernest Hemingway (several occurances in 'Odi...').

Have I mentioned I really like this piece?

m

Thanks again. I see I can't go in and fix it anymore, so for the benefit of Ben, (who I'm guessing can), other ways I've noticed I stuffed up are;

HST became a doctor of divinity* by mail order. [c.f. divinty] and he was not a real writer, but a journalist *instead, [not intead], who'se debt to Jack I treid to reference by saying he Kerouaced away in a stream of *consciousness, [rather than consiciousness]. According to Bill Gates, NZ English calls clay pidgeons pigeons, but I had consisered them alternative variants. Washington [capital P] *Post paid Wolfe to write a Thompson *piece [not peice] Now he’s dead,* I should put a space after that comma, before a lot of people are trying to be nice about him. Two *writers who did not dismiss Hunter as a comedian were not writiers. Spellings of honorable lightheaded and byline are by HST and I think should be preserved, regardless of what MS word says, however AC Ross' obituary in the San Francisco Tribune I'm sure printed *reveling by mistake when they really meant revelling.


....sorry, really should've thought to run the thing through a spell checker before now, shouldn't I...

Ben can, yes.

You probably already know, but anyway, what I came to post was a link; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4168266.stm
- looks like the send off by cannon is going to happen.

As a send off, it's got style, hasn't it?

Caught it on the news, but hadn't thought of linking. Thanks Waz.

I really will tackle this this week.

Sure I will.

..... oh ..........

................. look ....................

Is that an iceberg I see floating in hell?



B

Oh, goddess, it is over 7 weeks since I said I'd polish this.

The polished version is at A4177280.

Sorry about the delay in finishing it, Kitboyes. I am particularly annoyed that we missed the chance to put this on the front page at the same time that his ashes were shot from a canon. On the other hand, it does mean I've been able to include a link to news about it.

I've really enjoyed polishing it. I've put the italicised pieces in block quotes, but most of the other changes should be subliminal - they include standardising the GML (using Paragraph tags instead of line breaks, three separate periods instead of one elipses, standardising the treatment of deleted expletives, that sort of thing).

There are some changes which are slightly more obtrusive:

I've put all of the dialogue between you and Pete into quotes - let me know if you are not ok with that.

Also, the sentence "Pete's next drive bounced off some kinetic sculpture, denting in patina" made more sense to me if "in" became "its" thus: "Pete's next drive bounced off some kinetic sculpture, denting its patina" - again let me know if I've done wrong there.

I've italicised 'Rolling Stone' Magazine, and 'The New York Times'.

I assume 'not much of a legacy' should be in quotes in the following : He's 'the greatest Comic writer of the century' hyperboled Wolfe, before concluding, 'not much of a legacy'.

I've put the quotes into the following: 'Thompson was never beaten by the whole gang', writes Angels ex-president Sonny Barger. 'Just one man'.

I've taken the references out from the footnotes, which meeans that they look better, but it also means tha tthe footnotes appear after the references. Again- let me know if you are ok with this.

If anyone has any comments on the readability of the final piece, or any other aspect of the polishing. just post here.

Cheers

Ben