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

I just realized there is noone living in the numbers just above or below me. I have no close neighbours... No wonder why it is so quiet here...

I was wondering if the cold is a curse more than a disease. Only wondering..

And where can I find information on Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Hi JAR,

I noticed your interest in Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Have you read The Little Prince? It's one of my all-time favourites. In fact, when I was in Paris last, with hardly a centime to my name, I purchased a beautiful version in hardback from an overpriced specialty store.

If you want info, probably type his name in any search enginer (I use Metacrawler, as it gives you the top results from the most popular engines)

Cheers
Tashalls

The Little Prince?

My father used to speak of the Little Prince, and after listening to him for a few years I finally succumbed. It's a great book! Few stories have so many different layers and ideas. I instantly fell in love with it, and made my dramaclass put it up as our last performance. Unfortunatly a suicide ()on the day before the last day of school made us postpone the premiere to beginning of next year, but it was a great success when we finally got to play.

It's a great book. Truly one of our times greatest. No wonder why the 50-franc has the Little Prince printed on it!

How terribly, terribly sad. My heart goes out to any teacher faced with such an awful crisis to deal with. I have a few friends who are teachers, some of whom also had students who felt they could no longer deal with life. If I may rant myself, I cannot understand what is causing children to lose hope in this way...I mean, I have read heaps on the subject, but noone seems to have any answers...

The book itself has such a message of hope, even amid its "sad ending", that it seems too ironic to think about this event, although I am sure you tried to come to terms with this as well.

Yes, I also thought the book has a message of hope. Actually, in a fit of "l'espirit d'escalier" (sp?) I realized that we probably could have put up the play anyway. Because of the ending I mean, hope regardeless of tragedy... It wasn't my desicion to make though, I was only a student, and at the time it really seemed like the only right thing to do.

I thought much of those who found the girl. It was the morning after the traditional end-of-school-forever party. It must have been horrible... She belonged to an extraordinary tight class. Everybody "played" with everybody always... Only logic I can find is that she never wanted it to stop.. I don't know... Seeing the flag on half when I came to school the final day that year was too wierd...

This posting has become rather sad... How to turn this around? Hmm... Let's just look to the stars... somewhere out there is my star... Special because I tamed it Do you have a special star?

It's a curious concept, thinking one "owns" a star...I remember reading you could "buy" a star to have it named after you (as they are discovering new ones every day). Made me laugh to think of one day visiting my star only to find it was inhabited by aliens who thought it was there...perhaps out there someone has bought Earth and is on their way here now...(scary sci-fi music starts)

I guess I would just like to lie on my back on clear nights looking up at them.

*gulp*
Let's hope the aliens are less combative than us.. Maybe we can share the solar system? Us earth, they Jupiter?

*winks conspiratorally with JAR*

Yeah, Jupiter, we will be generous and give them a huuuuuge planet all to themselves.
Perhaps we shouldn't tell them about the enormous gravity there, or noxious gases, or perhaps they won't notice?

*checks for bugs, cameras or extraterrestrial spysatelites*
None, ok..
Well, either they won't notice, or they wont be able to complain... So it's really a no-loose thing for us.

*guiltshock*

It would be genocide, wouldn't it? This really isn't a great start for our interplaneteral relations....

Hmmmm, would "genocide" be the absolutely correct word here?

*ponders implications...*

Perhaps xenocide might be more apt.



And as long as we keep the advertising above board (ie: Colonise Jupiter, you won't be able to tear yourself away...) we should be able to keep the interplanetary thing in hand.

*starts working on initial posters*

*stops*

The images might be trickier than I thought - I mean, do we depict aliens with three heads or two?

*scratches head*

Quite a quanundrum.... if that is a word... Two heads would favour Ettins and the like, and I'm not sure if that's such a good thing. Maybe a purely symbolic poster would be good...

ALIEN - - - - - - - - - - - - - JUPITER
ALIEN - - - - - - - - - - - - - EARTH

LOL - that'll do it!

start the presses, order two bazillion copies to be distributed throughout Alpha Centauri, Crab Nebula, and the various major galaxies.

(only classy ones, mind, we don't want any riff raff hanging around)

*drags huge press into room*
Phew!
I'm not really trained to use this but....

*presses big red button*
Maybe this'll do?

Yes, pressing the BRB usually does the trick - unless of course you're in a car, in which case you'll have wings coming out the side before you can say alien invasion...

*looks about in case anyone heard that*

*starts looking at flyers coming off the press, puts on transparent green eye shades, getting into the spirit of the venture*

D'you think we should order the dispatchers?

*looks in phone book under "Interplanetary Freight"*

Ahhh, here's one that sounds promising: Light Year Freight

Ops, posted a blank one...

Let's see, Light Year Freight? Do they carry light bulks years at a time or do they carry the cargo lightyears away? Better check that out.

I've installed some Random Noise Generators this weekend, which is why I haven't answered you yet. Whatever we say now should be relativly safe from evesdropping.

*hopes so*

I think we're getting close with the flyers. First batch is ready!

*scrutinises the flyers with keen eye for detail*

hmmm, these look okay...

how's the freight research coming along? I have the phone in hand ready to book, but I can't really hear the dial tone over the Random Noise...

what a conundrum: if I turn the Random Noise Generators off to book the freighter, someone might overhear, if I don't I won't be able to book...

...hang on, why am I using the phone? My ISP is tying up the line...

*Tashalls suddenly looks around to find JAR, who she hasn't heard stir for about a week*

Where are you?

*looks behind a growing pile of flyers*

No, it can't be....

*gasps in manner of melodramatic old-style black and white film*

...but I only turned of the RNG for a short time...the aliens couldn't have possibly heard what I was saying...

*looks in horror at the floor*

...

*gasp*
*raises hand towards Tashalls*
Wait... I'm.. not...
...yet..
*left hand fumbles through left pocket*
*left hand exits left pocket, holding a small white note*

*Tashalls reads note*

For a good time, call...

JAR (*blushing): ...Er, wrong note...*puts hand in left pocket and brings out another note, hands it to Tashalls*

Tashalls: But this is the confirmation order for Light Year Freight...but they've asked for a pint of blood in payment - that's a bit stiff...

JAR (Groucho Marx-style): I'll be a bit stiff in a moment if you don't hurry up and call the h2g2 ambulance with some compatible type coagulant...

Tashalls: ---

*reaches for phone, dials number for h2g2 ambulance*

Hold on, JAR, I'll get you some blood - what type are you?