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

Tall and tanned and young and lovely...

From what I hear, you're basically right - except that black people are seldom in the top flight of society.

Film recommendation: Have you seen 'City of God'? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/ It's rather brutal in places, but *extremely* good. Robert Altman said 'It's the best film ever made - or that will be made during my lifetime.'

Plus it features Brazilians dancing to the 70's disco classic, 'Kung Fu Fighting', yet somehow managing to still look cool.

Yes I saw City of God, and remember it as very exciting, but in the end a little worthy. Is that the word I want? A little awkwardly contrived, like Tango or Nine Queens. But a terrific portrait of a frenetic city, and a great achievement to put it together.

Ah! Someone else who's watched Nine Queens!

Amores Perros? Y Tu Mama Tambien?

In City of God...wasn't there an implication that it was unusual to see a black face in a proper job at the newspaper? And that it was somewhat liberal for a white journalist to sleep with a black guy?

Well...I *say* 'white' - although white Brazilians tend to come in various gorgeous shades of cafe au lait.

Sure, we could go on like this forever . . . what beats me is the way Halle Berry and Tiger Woods are called black, when they are in equal measure white and Asiatic respectively. But of course: racial terms are used to mean "non-white" . . . as in "touch of the tar brush".

Movies: Amores Perros, no; Y tu mama tambien, si!

the most appropriate adjective to describe Halle Berry - or Thandie Newto, who's in the excellent Crash is 'gorgeous'

Hear hear, and same for Naomi Campbell.

I've always had a thing for Naomi...although I'm led to believe she's 'Not A Nice Person.'

btw - when I was younger and leaner and had a cooler haircut, I was told I had a remarkable resemblance to your fellow citizen who married her.

Adam actually married her? I'd forgotten that.

A navuncular word of advice, though; if you limit your affection to Nice Persons you are liable to be lonely sooner or later . . .

Which reminds me of one of my Dad's favourite verses:

If only the good were the clever!
If only the clever were good!
The world would be better than ever
We thought that it possibly could--

But alas, it is seldom or never
That either behave as they should;
For the good are so harsh to the clever,
The clever so rude to the good.

Or, as my music teacher said...

The rain it raineth every day
Upon the just and unjust fella
But more it raineth on the just
For the unjust's got the just's umbrella.

Another of my Dad's favourites!

Though I find he misquoted Elizabeth Wordsworth http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~martinh/poems/GOODAND

In a related vein...

A friend of mine would often praise a favour with 'How noble!'. Which she's then spoil with 'And after all, 'tis better to be noble than to be handsome.'

Wilde?

Not Wilde; at a guess he would have said the opposite. Let's a-googling go . . . well, that sure draws a blank!

Which just goes to show that the web isn't the repository of all human wisdom after all.

No - I had the same thought about Wilde, but I thought it might have been one of his characters.

Some 18th or 19th century novelist?

Hmmm. The 'tis rather leads one in that direction.

You know...as I started typing, the name 'Disraeli' popped into my head. I've no idea where it bubbled up from - but it kind of fits, no?

Don't see Disraeli saying anything so committal. All I know of him are wonderfully evasive sayings like "I'm on the side of the angels" and "All sensible men have the same religion [what is it?] -- sensible men don't say".

>>I'm on the side of the angels

Good lord! Is that where it comes from? As you may have noticed, I say it myself. A few years ago I used to post to the R4 Word of Mouth and used it during a conversation with Michael Rosen hisself. Shortly afterwards, I heard him say it on the telly.

That's memes for yer!