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

Nice to see someone else who reads a lot. But how did you get to h2g2 without having read Douglas Adams? (Maybe you did, but I can't find any mention of the great man on your space) Could you give in to the prejudices of a BOF and change the spelling in your name to "grammar"? Best wishes even if you don't

Don't you dare ask Reika to correct the spelling. I am fomous for my mispellings and I find great comfort that others mispell also. Remember, Albert Einstein had trouble spelling and didn't learn to talk until he was 5 years old. If we want correct spelling then I suggest we install a spell check.

Gentle teasing one and all!

MJM ACE

Ahem.... (see what I mean) Congratulations Reika on your Keepership! Very proud of you.

MJM ACE

Oops....That's what I get for changing my preferences at 1 a.m. and then quickly logging off! Wand'rin is right....if I'm going to be Keeper of Grammar, I had better be keeper of grammer!

I've just finished my composition in Spanish and felt my eyes bug out over the continued translation of a detective story, so once again, it's pretty late.

G'night,
Reika

Yawn....forgot something before I hit the "post message" button. Wand'rin....I have read all of Adams' stuff.....several times. I just haven't had time (what with work and school, etc, etc) to polish up the site. I haven't even really had time to think about what I want to put in that big empty space!

Reika

I depend upon my memory of the series. I wish they would be run again. I confess I have never read a thing DNA has written. But , being a SiFi fan I will probably read every thing of his from first to last. I do that with all authors I read. Philip K. Dick, one of my favorites, I read from the earliest to the very last (he had taken too much LSD by then). Same with Harry Harrison: I start with the earliest work and read on through to the latest. I choose one author and read everything they have written one book at a time. Am I obsessive-cumpulsive?

I want to rebuild my home page but just do not have the brains or time. Eventually: all things will pass, as will my old page.

How many books do you have now Reika? I just ordered a bunch of books from publishing houses for "class review." Can get some good books that way but some publishers are asking for the books back if you do not assign them for your class (nuts!).

Kindly stay in touch!
MJM ACE

Yawn....taking a break from studying....only one week 'til finals......

Yes, Michael Mole, you are a bit of an obsessive-compulsive! Somehow compelled to read ALL of an author's works? I don't usually need to read them all, but it an author has written a series, I find it is better to start from the beginning of the series. If I REALLY like a particular author then I will seek out the other stuff.

Say, how is the insomnia problem? Getting better, I hope!

Take care and Namaste,
Reika

Honestly, if I find an outhor I like I read everything they have written: from William Manchester to Graham Green to Jonh LeCarre. Finals are this week here so I have to do double duty: not only do I have to grade a bunch of exams and research papers, I also have to write out a syllabus for the summer courses I am teaching. Grading I hate, but writing a syllabus can be fun if you are willing to try new things. (Einstein: The only way to grow and learn is to do the same things in new ways and new things the same ways.) You will do well on your finals.

Do you read peotry? Can you suggest any good modern ones, except for the obvious few?

Sleep not going well. Ha, last week I laid down for a nap and woke up thinking it was 5:00pm and I had one hour to get to class. I had 13 hours to get to class; it was 5:00am! I am to see a doctor tomorrow about a pain on my back ribs which may be responsible for my restlessness. I do not believe it to be anything serious, just an old fracture that did not set right.

At least this summer I will be fully employed. I am getting desperate for a job with benefits (health) or at least pays enough that I can buy better coverage.

Must run for now. Will talk again soon!

Namaaste!
MJM ACE

I am very glad to hear about your summer employment, Michael. I know you were quite worried about it. I can understand why drawing up a syllabus would be fun.....it's the creative element combined with the hope for a good, enjoyable class. Grading papers? Ugh....one of the major reasons I do not want to be a teacher in any formal way. Tutoring....one-on-one stuff.....is more my style.

Poetry? Alas, this aspect of my literary education is sorely lacking. I do have a decent grounding in poets of earlier centuries (Milton, etc.) but nothing contemporary except for the odd piece quoted here and there in magazine articles or books.

Here's an excerpt I like: "I ride the water's song/sleek as a dolphin./Daughter, its constant pulse/belongs as much to you/as your own heart's ebb and flow./This sea that carries me/is velvet with depth./And wild with wave!/Come claim your place."

Supposedly it comes from a longer poem titled, "Child to Your Greater Sea" by Sue Silvermarie. The excerpt was printed in a book called "Open Mind--Women's Daily Inspiration for Becoming Mindful" by Diane Mariechild. The bibliography says the partial poem was reprinted from the book "Imagine Her Satisfaction," a collection of poems written by Sue Silvermarie and published in 1985. I have not been able to find this book. It was printed by the Midwife Press in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, so I suspect the book is out of print.

G'day and Namaste,
Reika

Tutoring can be quite lucrative and rewarding. I did this for a year or so with Korean students. I don't know Korean, but I knew English better then them and could help them with their class work. I won't say how much I charged but I did not sell myself short (I researched the topic of fees for a while).

You have me intrigued by the Sue Silvermarie poem. I will put my brother to work on it. He edits a small poetry magazine along with Full Professor duties. There are many, many used book stores here. Let me work on it.

On a sader note: Mom, who is 80, is slipping away from this existance, but peacefully. I am certain that transmigration will bring her back as a higher life form or total moksha. She is comfortable and the end is not unexpected so it is not like a clap of thunder out of the blue. I will be an orphan though. I have no family of my own. It makes me think of Dylan Thomas's poem, "Do not go gentle into that goodnight/Rage! Rage! against the dying of the light." Or Whitman's "When I Cross That Bar".

It will be an odd sense of detached freedom. For the first time in my life I will have the time and the funds to travel all I want. I believe I might take a sabbital from teaching, store my really important books, then take my guitar and cat and simply wander. I will have to invest in a laptop so I can keep in touch with my h2g2 friends.

Peace and slan leat Reika
Terry

Ah....travel....what a wonderful thing. I do as much as I possible can. I am aided by the fact that I have family and friends scattered all over the place. This way I can fly somewhere but have a free place to stay. Works very nicely for those on a budget. I did finally get a settlement from my car accident and I am indulging in a trip to Hawaii, Oahu to be exact. I'll be leaving on June 8th. I can't wait! I recently bought a scanner so I hope to be able to post some pics on a web site somewhere when I return.

I hope your brother can find out something about the book that poem comes from. Used bookstores here were a deadend and it appears to be out of print. I've tried several web sites that specialize in used books but no luck there either.

I don't know that poem by Whitman. We were required to read the longer works: Leaves of Grass (in its entirety) and When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed. I'll have to look up Whitman in the school library as that poem is not in the anthology of poetry I have here at home. I have been getting into haiku lately as it is part of the Zen experience. Here's two recent favorites:

Sitting silently,/Doing nothing,/Spring comes,/And the grass grows by itself.

Buddha Law,/Shining/In a leaf dew.

Namaste my friend,
Reika