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

I was looking at my personal space tonight, and I realized that for all the stuff I've written for h2g2, there are only a few pieces that I feel an actual connection with. They're entries whose subjects moved or entertained me, even if the entry itself does not have the same effect. Some entries challenged me, some educated me.

My most recent EG entry is The Ashtabula Horror A29443223 which was nothing less than haunting to research. Digging into lives and stories of these people who died so suddenly and so brutally was brutal, and made me rethink how I view stories of disaster and death. It was also my first time trying to write something historical in a narrative format, so it was challenging to me.

A5104333 Alexander Hamilton is my hero, A1118648 Ty Cobb is the most compelling character I've ever written about, A8379507 Turd Blossoms and the American Dream is one of the weirdest angles I've ever taken on an entry, A30334808 the Potomac is one of my more elegantly thought out entries and A1043173 Andy Kaufman is an entry that wrote itself, but I should have stayed out of the way and let Kaufman tell his own story more. A4814110 Filibusters is the first entry I really set forward my opinion in. A3773225 The Assassination of JFK had me paranoid for weeks. A2622142 Preparing to be Inaugurated is the first entry I really took an unusual angle on. A3556820 European Cities in Ohio is the most pedantic topic of an entry I've ever written. In some way, all of these topics and entries left an impact on me.

I am writing this not because I think you'll be interested in my few entries, but because I wonder if anyone else has entries that they feel connected with? What entries are you most proud of (EG or not, obviously, I'm just talking about EG entries because that's all I write)? Has a project or piece you've written ever changed you in some way? For me, writing (for h2g2) is all about learning and discovering. Is it that way for anyone else?

Of mine, A22083301 (Kevin Carter - Photojournalist) is the one that really stands out. I found it very difficult to research and write, because it was virtually impossible to sit down and write objectively about him. Fortunately, I had Leo to proofread it and tell me when I was getting overly emotive. It was almost the last Entry I ever wrote, because I felt a sort of epiphany - how could I go back and write about mundanity?

There are plenty of others that I'm very proud of in different ways, but that was the one I learnt most about myself from writing. It was an eye-opening experience.

I'm also chuffed with my Post series, Absolutely Plumb A12153502, but that's because I was writing it mainly for my Grandad, who is also a huge cricket fan

This is quite a toughie for me really. I'm quite proud of many of the Entries I've written so I think I'll break them down into types.

EG Entries -

Geographical; I've done quite a few Entries on places I remember from my youth in Australia and places I've visited, but for me The Fairy Tree A9809472 is my all time favourite. I had a compliment about it too!

Supernatural/Folklore; I think I got a name for myself amongst Peer Reviewers for slightly weird subject matter, but my all time favourite would have to be the Ghost Chicken A14042099 . I still cluckle about it.

Animal related; Of all the Entries I've written about animals, I would have to say Fish A5808170 and the Stephens Island Wren A11484902 are my stand out pieces. Fish because someone said it was 'hootoo perfect', and the Wren as it was such a poignant little thing.

TV; My Entry on Dr Snuggles A8765553 isn't brilliant writing, but I'm proud of this one because the creator of the show actually complimented me upon it, an we are still in email correspondence.

Historical; I really enjoyed Researching this one Dr Charles West A8765553 , especially reading through the texts written by West and his contemporaries. Perhaps a hero of mine, I daresay.

Medical; It took me a long time to actually write something medical as I enjoy using h2g2 to get away from my working life. But when I did SUFE A24369915 it was from a teaching package I put together, and I think it's rather nice.

Flea Market Rescues -

I took it upon myself to really get Entries that had fallen aside from PR and into the Flea Market into the EG at one point, and I'm happy to say that I've managed to coax quite a few from bare bones into what I feel are enjoyable reads. Of the 25 or so I've done there's a couple that stand out for me;

English Pubs - A User's Guide A3176219 The original (A2611649) was far from poor, but I had real fun with this one, both 'researching' and in PR.

The Morning Glory A12219374 Ah, the PR thread alone had me in stitches, but I enjoyed all aspects of this one. That sound smutty? Oh well.

University Projects -

My project on British Fighters of WW2 was a joy to research and I'm quite proud of it as a whole, but especially The Supermarine Spitfire - Aviation Legend A10422325. I think it's a stand out piece and captures the feel of the plane. I enjoy going back and reading it every now and then.

Updates -

After being involved heavily in updating EG Entries, the one I enjoy reading from time to time is Computers A57728 . The original paragraph was not what some would deem 'classic' hootoo, it was pretty poor, so I'm happy to say that the newer one retains some of the cheekiness of h2g2, but informative too.

Creative writing for the UnderGuide -

Writing for the UnderGuide is great fun, and I'm so happy to have had a hand in Polishing up a number of Entries by other authors. But my own work Blue Marbles are My Seas A6637629 has always struck a chord, and with some great input from the gang in the AWW it turned from something okay into something publishable I feel.

Sorry, that's a lot I know. But I really am proud of a lot of the writing I've contributed to the EG. I can say with hand on heart though that some was perhaps written to formula and not as 'Matt' as I would like, but on the whole my 'voice' is in much of the work.

A couple stand out for me, and have come from being encouraged, directly or indirectly, by my friends here.

A13900042 Whaling and Whale Protection no contest, first one I thought of. A lot of authors listed but that's 'cos I added people in PR. Same with A9913908 History of the Transit of Venus

A14310569 Supporting British Tennis Players at Wimbledon is my "out of the box" entry prompted by ^^ Skankyrich ^^

A842924 Shirley Nolan, I still can't read that back without breaking down.

A23296584 The Suzy Lamplugh Trust - some people's courage makes me feel so proud. And A14286053 Jane Tomlinson.

A18805476 St Andrew's Hospice, Grimsby - where my father passed away.

A11814888 Elvis Impersonators possibly the most fun thing ever.
apart from
A9559678 Streakers and Streaking

Out of all my Egyptian entries, A28808571 Tutankhamun's Borrowed Tomb and Recycled Treasure is my favourite

Funny/weird: A12583361 the Cane Toad

oh and my all-time fave Star Trek episode A5762793 'The Visitor' which cracks me up every time

I know exactly what you mean. Quite a few of mine are decent enough entries but I don't really have a strong connection with them because they were originally for school/college/uni and I've just adapted them to fit here.

That said, I do like A28303968 (The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, 79 AD)because while I wrote it after reading about it for uni, it didn't really come directly from that. It's also a pretty momentous event, obviously.

Possibly my favourite of my entries is A22958265 (Papal Names) because it just came to me one day that it would be an interesting subject to write about and then that feeling wouldn't go away until I had! I wrote it very quickly.

I like A19877773 (The University of York, UK) because my entries, I find, are usually a bit dry. With this one, I felt that for the first time I'd managed to get a good balance between info and light-hearted touches like funny campus stories. It's also the sort of entry I'd want to read if I was applying there all over again.

A577055 (York, England, UK) was an update and I like it because (I don't want to sound cocky here, but...) it's a lot better than the original.

I'm not sure I can put into words what I like about A23499138 (Organising Your CD Collection). It was an attempt to write something a bit different to my usual, and a bit different from what was in PR at the time. It's mostly very obvious stuff, but I just feel like it came together really well, I suppose.

Wow, I'm going to be busy reading some of these tonight

Matt, did I ever tell you that I was the 'Anonymous' person who wrote the original PR entry on Nocturnal-Penile-whatever? I wanted to see what would happen if I put a dry little entry on a very not dry (wet? ) subject. I actually have quite a few entries that made it to the EG on various other anonymous accounts on hootoo. I'm happy you rescued it from the FM, it's a very stimulating and entertaining entry now... and of course, only you would be capable of writing an entry like that.
I gem polished 'Blue Marbles...' and I quite agree, it's a very well told piece.

'rich, I think that one of the best things an h2g2 researcher can do is to make the reader want to research a subject more. When I read your Kevin Carter entry the first time, I remember just spending a few hours looking into him, his story, the photos he took, the places he went... I don't see how anyone could read that and not want to find out more.

GB- I had no idea there was an entry on Elvis Impersonators. I'm looking forward to reading it. I've actually only read a few of the entries you linked to (part of the reason being, I think, that you really hit your stride in writing entries when I was away from the site for a year or two) so I'll have to look into them.

"Possibly my favourite of my entries is A22958265 (Papal Names) because it just came to me one day that it would be an interesting subject to write about and then that feeling wouldn't go away until I had!"

I know the feeling. There really are just some topics that beg to be EG'd, aren't there?

If I may add another of my own (only because El's mention of her York update reminded me) I like A306965 The Gettysburg Address. It's not a spectacularly well written entry, (though the words and sentiment of the speech is beautiful, which improves the entry in my opinion) but it's certainly an improvement on the entry it replaced. A solid update gives you a tangible sense that you've improved the guide. I should try a few more updates, actually...

<>

Oh I well remember that PR thread (can you find the link for Jordan, Matt?) that's one entry where the PR thread deserved linking to in the edited version oh and possibly Streakers and Streaking

You're right about me, Jordan. I did hit my stride while you were away, 118 is my solo efforts but that doesn't include my team-ups with pailaway like A23852216 (which did not start off as "The Growing Cult of Elvis Presley") and A18814089 SETI and the Wow! Signal and A24591341 42 Amazing Facts About Sawdust which we wrote via email while the "Will They Power your car with Sawdust from Canada" entry was going through PR (I'll find the linkA24145797)

This site is astonishing, for not only the wealth of people who are members here, the ideas that come forth and the collaborations which take place, but also how you grow as a person. I feel more fulfilled now as well

I've read the PR thread, actually. Sometime in the past month or so, I found the entry and realized that it was related to my old FM entry. Interesting thread, to say the very least.

I think, by far, my favourite entry of my own so far is the main page for the Route 66 Uni project (A3456065). It was something I was peripherally aware of until Number Six put out a call for help and I got to looking into it. I originally only intended to contribute material for the Missouri stretch. But by the time I'd finished the main page (two or three years later) and I showed it to a few people offline who had actually experienced the road in its heyday, they said I had gotten it just about exactly right.

The other thing about Route 66 is that it led to so many other things, including a number of day trips, and a whole week's vacation last year. There are so many places I still want to go. Plus it led to one of my other favourite entries, A1984403 The Coral Court Motel. It was a running joke my entire adolescence, and I never got it until I wrote the entry, sadly when it was entirely too late. The Route 66 project also led to A3152198 Burma Shave, and listening to my mom reminisce about watching out for the signs when she went to California on 66 in the 50s.

I was really educated by writing the Birth Control segment for Mu Betas 'Fire' project (A2640070), and now I'm considering expanding that snippet for a full version.

My favourite (only) update was A137657 Pizza, because I learned a lot and got to do lots of research (yum!). And since the original was by The Old Writing Team, I'm reasonably sure it was a big improvement.

I can't think of anything I've really challenged myself with artistically, though. Something to put on my list of Things To Do for this year.

Challenges are subjects you have no experience of:

A10832384 Cocaine
A24833270 Haematuria
A11102699 Vasectomy



Glad you read that PR thread, Jordan

Sure hope you have no experience with any of those, GB Especially the vasectomy.

I think the Route 66 project is excellent, by the way, broe. It's really the model of what a successful Uni project should be, I think.

That's right, they were pure research, I even linked to the cocaine in my Leo constellation 'cos of Pope Leo XIII (yet another string to Papal Names) being nicknamed the "Coke Pope" because of his love of cocaine wine.

I'm pleased you got that out of the Ashtabula Horror. I was pleased in the first place that you wrote it, just for the stretch. So very different from anything else you've done, and technically difficult to carry the power of a story like that one.

And a fine outcome

But it haunted you too. That's the other level. You're one of the very first to get that into the Edited Guide, genuinely dramatic narrative.

You might have started something, you and Trout.

Thanks for the praise, Pin, but are you not going to play? Which of your entries are you most satisfied with? Which had the greatest effect on you?
If I had written just about any of your entries, it would certainly rank as my best. I'm curious to hear which of yours you are most connected with.

For all of us, what we're writing right now really ought to be our favourite.

We should revisit our own finished writing critically, with an objective of future improvement. You did that in the first post, Jodan, but followers should be careful of sterile vanity.

You express surprise that you feel a connection with few of your revisited Entries. You shouldn't be surprised, though, because you're not writing them anymore. You've moved on.

The corollary: reading something fresh is always what stirs us. That implicitly means something written by others.

Maybe discussing our least favourite Entries would be more constructive? Or else nominating favourites that are not our own?

For the purposes of this thread, then, you ought to guess that my favourites are the collaborative ones. Best of all is Dadd = A4575639 - for the parts by nadia. If we have to consider something that's mine only, it follows that the favourite Entry will be an unfinished one, Cheval = A2993583. I'm pleased with what's written so far, but keeping it up is proving to be a stimulating challenge.

Fortunately, the symmetry of that piece allows me another thirty years to get it right

Oh I'm not sure I agree

Maybe I don't feel a present connection to things already read, already written, but it's the memory of that connection and the feeling I recall that is what is special about certain entries. For me, the processes of writing certain entries bring back certain memories. I feel memories pleasant, moving, inspiring and disturbing.

Shouldn't writers on this site be encouraged to seek subjects that move them and shouldn't they be encouraged to find the truth and beauty beneath those subjects? I think it's reasonable to say that the entries which the author felt something about - the ones where the writer pushes himself in whatever direction, comedic, unexplored, dramatic, etc - are the ones which are most compelling and stimulating to the reader. No coincidence there.

Right now, what I'm writing isn't really my favorite. Maybe it should be. I should be pushing myself more. Maybe I'm deceiving myself when I think that an entry on Cigar Store Indians or the Boston Accent doesn't leave much room for being truly creative. But I don't think so.

But I think there's value in recognizing past achievements. Even if it's a bit of vanity, perhaps we will chase that feeling of triumph until we find ourselves chasing new creativity.

"Or else nominating favourites that are not our own?"

If you insist Of your entries, I like...
A1037693 Batavia, which is what I (loosely) had in mind when writing Ashtabula.
A25953212 Ambrose Bierce, which isn't epic, but cleverly done.
From the other side of hootoo, I am still moved by A1117289 Seven Years On which was the first UnderGuide entry ever on the front page, with good reason. And I'm not sure who could read A4575639 Dadd and not be fascinated and disturbed.

I know what you're getting at. As I write, I feel all that. Recapturing it by re-reading the piece is rare for me, though. The ability to do so also seems unconnected with the quality of the writing.

I quite envy you your outlook. It's simpler and more optimistic than mine contrives to be. I can well believe that you find pleasure without vanity in reading your own work, but most of us have lost such innocence.

You deserve credit for Bierce. I got into the character through simmering resentment about your failure to co-operate with writing about him.

My favourite among yours? Ashtabula sets you a new standard. The Wright Brothers ones and the Civil War ones are good too.

To be truthful, though, I think you're at your best in convos rather than Entries. The person is often more interesting than the subjects. You're more interesting than baseball, anyhow

Oh no, I don't ever read my own work if I can help it. I'll read it in the process of writing it or if I need to reference it as a source for something else, but I never go back and read my entries for pleasure. I think it's kind of like listening to a recording of your own voice. I find my own voice irritating, personally.
If I'm reliving the experience of writing it, I'm probably just sitting down, thinking. I might be simply remembering something I read, and how it made me feel. There's one particular first-person-account for Ashtabula that still upsets me when I think about it.

But, since we're talking about other peoples' pieces, here are some of my UnderGuide favorites which I think everyone needs to read. If I can tempt some of my friends who don't typically read UG entries to read one of these these, this will be a journal well spent.

A28562330 The Mares of Diomedes, which is on its way to the UG I think, is just frightening on all kinds of levels. I read it fairly recently (November I think) so it may be that it's just still fresh to me, but it really is an impressive piece.

A2084294 Soul Mates, my favorite poem by Hyp. I dunno, maybe it's my friendship with her, but I still have large parts of this memorized.

A1917533 A Travel Story by gaston, who I rather wish would've stayed around and written some more. A2558964 Slippery When Wet has such great imagery and feeling.
A3892575 Springtime of my Death has an inspiring tone and mood to it, I can't read it and not fall into the same mood. A2163791 Rusalka is beautifully written. I miss nadia.

A4921175 Waltz XO is painful. So is A2528101 Tomorrow is too long and A1138844 Why? and A3204983 My Termination.

Those are just the UG entries that most affected me, though I'm forgetting many I'm sure. We are now heading into the UnderGuide's sixth year, which is just astounding to me. There is so much great stuff in the UnderGuide. Just incredible, really, that a little experiment *six years ago* could attract so much great stuff.

Well, I never J - that's your Morning Glory?!

Anyway, I'm proud to have been heavily involved in the UnderGuide too, well still am really, just not as much as I'd like nowadays (which may change).

But I must say I am constantly astounded at the quality of writing and entertainment I get from browsing through the AWW. And when I get a piece to polish - I think I'm equally proud and privileged to have my 'name' alongside such great pieces as She is NOT a retard! A4326509 , By the Shosse Enthusiastov A9904773 , Father's loss: in memory of Q A17319242 and Honesty is Hard A21382698 .

Being a sub and a scout there's pieces out there that are my favourites to have picked and subbed too, I don't list what I've scouted but so far my fave Entry to have subbed is Space Hoppers A29443241 , as I think I did actually due a true sub-editing job on it, and it's a classic hootoo Entry.

Going back to EG entries and the original question, I haven't many to choose from but I feel a connection with all of them. I mean they wouldn't exist, not like they are, if I hadn't written them. And with all but one I had to research and find out more than I already knew - so I owe them for that. With the ones on local places, I owe a significant amount because knowing more's made me appreciate living here more. An appreciable, enjoyable amount more - so that's a change as a result of writing them.

The Ruddy Duck Problem would be favourite though, because of the conversation with two people it led to that made me think deeper and change my view on the issue of alien species. Another change as a result of an entry. And it's the one least in need of a good rewrite, that helps.

I realised something reading your post skankyrich. Why it's so hard starting another EG entry - I want no less out of a new one than I got from past ones and it's difficult to find.