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

It is sunny, a cool breeze is wafting in through the open living room window, and Run DMC is on the kitchen radio. We've done a heap of laundry, which is also wafting in the aforementioned breeze - this is a lovely day!

Jim is reading Autocar (no, it seems he's reading 'Women of Wonder' edited by Pamela Sargent back in the 1980s. It comprises about 8 stories about women warriors, and as far as I can remember, they're pretty awesome. Leigh Brackett, C L Moore - and a bit of news, Andre Norton died at 93 on 17th March 2005. Wow, she was awesomely old!

Today, is Easter Sunday, and a day of such import and glory that everyone should celebrate - but most don't. Well, that is the way of things.

Last night we watched 'In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum', from season 2 of Babylon 5, and then right after it, the last episode of season 3, 'Z'ha'dum'. A really interesting idea, and a good one, because it was easy to see how things that happened in the latter episode were foreshadowed in the former. Babylon 5 was just one of the most remarkable series ever made - but we never saw it at the time. (Now of course, it's all out on DVD and we can see it all at once, which is probably more satisfying.)

Easter, yay!!!!

Easter Sunday started three hours ago over here. Service starts at ten this morning, in about seven hours, so I may as well stay up until then.

All my housemates are gone, except for Rachel! She stays downstairs, too, so I'm all alone on the top floor. It's all lonely and scary, but at least it means I can work without distractions, so long as I discipline myself not to go online.

So, to everyone, happy Easter, and hope you get lots of chocolate pagan fertility sculptures!

(BTW, I've been trying to get to see some Babylon 5 for ages! My Gran use to watch it regularly, and eventually she got me into it. She's also the one who started me watching Star Trek. Which reminds me to call her today, because I feel really guilty after reading an article about little robots which talk to lonely old people, apparently because their kids and grandchildren can't be bothered! Has nobody heard of the 'telephone'?)

(And what is it about sleepiness that transforms everything I write into a weird stream of consciousness ramble?)

- Jordan

Hi, Jordan, are you busy with work, insomniac or both? If it's insomnia, you have my sympathy...

We have just got into the Easter eggs. (I really wish I'd bought more, and some buns as well.) It's been so warm here for so long that I don't feel as hungry as I will in a few months further on.)

Is Rachel still awake? You could invite her up for a cup of or go down and have one with her, if she is. Are you going to an Easter service? Do Mormons celebrate Easter? (I suppose they would, wouldn't they? Silly question.)

Babylon 5 is so great! Your grandmother sounds pretty good as Grandmothers go (I never had any, so I have to rely on literary and cinematic views of them.)

Happy Easter!

for Andre Norton
I love the WitchWorld series, some great stories
Enjoy your Easter everyone (be it Christian, pagan or just consumer excess)

It's a while since I read Andre Norton, I have some here I must re-read...

One of the teachers at my school runs a club where we play the Babylon 5 collectible card game. Each player is a race and controls an ambassador, making actions that reflect the tv series through the manipulation of a deck of cards. I play Centauri, since when I discovered the game I was going through my ancient Rome phase and the Centauri are, after all, based on that civilisation.

they were?
presumably not on the vigourous, expansionist and militaristic republic

No, the declining empire that was once great. Truth be told, I haven't seen many of the shows, just played the game, mostly as a social activity - but as I understand it, the Centauri emperors were strongly based on their Roman counterparts: Cartagia, for example, being a direct take-off on Caligula - even their names are similar. I watched an episode with Cartagia shortly after seeing the I, Claudius series, and was struck by the undeniable similarity between the two emperors.

There's also a strong element of cavaliers/three musketeers in the Centauri, and that whole thing about honour - one might cite as an example the episode with the duel between Londo Mollari and Urza Jaddo, which was entirely founded on honour. In my 'younger days' (two and a half years ago) I was also going through a Three Musketeers phase, and this episode was one of the main reasons I still remain passionately devoted to the Centauri.

I can't remember their name but I liked the Centauri's bitter enemies the best
I thought the relationship between Londo and their ambassador was well done

The Narn. And their ambassador, G'Kar. At Bab-5 club the Narn are terribly unpopular. I don't think we've had a Narn player in the time that I've been there, but my friend who's been there since the old days thinks we might have had one once upon a time.

ok, the narn weren't charm personified
but I liked them

Hi, Echo... I didn't know there was a Babylon 5 card game... Come to think of, there would be... The Centauri are based on Rome?

I am reading two novels set in Ancient Rome right now, one is a Lindsey Davis Falco novel,the other is called 'SPQR - the Catiline Conspiracy'. Both detective novels, both very good...

The Narn. I prefer them to the Centauri. I am certainly on their side in the conflict.

Well here we are, the one day of the year on which we can ask: What did the Romans ever do for us?

As for B5, not bad, almost as good as Farscape, and nowhere near as good as the new Dr.Who. Oh yes my antipodean friend the first episode was aired last night and both my children were hiding behind the sofa!

The Centauri and the Narn were pretty low on my list of favourite B5 races. Much preferred the Technomages and the Shadows personally.

Blessings,
Matholwch /|\

<>

I have been reading about it on the Dr Who thread, and I am so envious... One day, soon, I hope.


Oh, the Technomages, yes, brilliant!

Just stopping by to wish you a Happy Easter!
Sorry, can't contribute to the Babylon 5 conversation, have hardly ever watched it. Is it really that good?

Hi, katkodl... Yes, Babylon 5 really *is* that good! Try to get hold of a video if you can..

Happy Easter to you too. (I wish there were some Easter related smileys).

I continue to have this bizarre devotion to the Centauri since I randomly fixated on them at the beginning of my Bab-5 playing career, but I think my favourite race is more likely to be the Minbari. Delenn is just terribly cool.

I read the first Lindsey Davis novel, Apple, but I didn't really enjoy it all that much. I found it a little unoriginal, I'm afraid. The best Roman book I've read all year was I, Claudius - the most amazing account of the Julian-Claudian dynasty. This was, of course, after watching every single episode of the terrific tv series with Derek Jacobi, which I checked out of the library on ancient VHS that kept getting stuck in the machine.

What have the Romans ever done for us?
Well, they gave us great material for a tv drama!

I Claudius was a wonderful TV series and a great book
I quite like the Lindsay Davies books but I'll admit they weren't brilliant
I think the Stephen Saylor novels set during the late republic are better for Roman-based detective stories
Other good Roman era novels are the Coleen McCulloch series that begins with 'The First Man in Rome', Ross Leckies series about the Punic Wars, 'Hannibal', 'Scipo' and 'Carthage', and Gore Vidals 'Julian' about the last pagan emperor

The Centauri Republic @ http://hyperspace.isnnews.net/cent/index.html#primus

Math, the production designer of the new Dr Who was in school with my eldest son. I saw him last year at my friend's cremation.


alji