I walked into work this morning in a lousy mood, now I am totally cheesed
off. Over the years I have found the Hitch Hikers Guide an inspiration,
indeed many of my 'backdoors' have been encoded with text from the famous
book. My hardback version (yep I shelled out the extra few quid to acquire
it 'A Trilogy in 4 Parts' says it all) is one of the finest and well read
books on my shelf.
'Tis a very sad day.
-----Original Message-----
From: Wayne Brown [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 13 May 2001 01:30
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: OT: So long, and thanks for all the fish.
I read an interview with Adams a couple of years ago in which he said he
felt he
had let his readers down at the end of "Mostly Harmless." He was having a
bad
year when he wrote it, and the gloomy, depressing tone of the ending came
from
his feelings at the time. Though he didn't promise anything, he hinted that
he
might try to bail out Arthur and the rest in yet another volume of the
"trilogy." Sadly, that's something else we'll never see now.
Wayne
Russ Smith <[log in to unmask]> on 05/12/2001 05:22:38 PM
Please respond to [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
cc: (bcc: Wayne Brown/Corporate/Altec)
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT: So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Wirt,
Okay.
Rs~
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2001 2:34 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT: So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Russ,
> Reading your email, I just felt it again.
You should post your response to whole list. It was worth reading.
Wirt
-----Original Message-----
From: Russ Smith [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2001 12:39 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: [HP3000-L] OT: So long, and thanks for all the fish.
Wirt,
As if I weren't having a difficult day before this news. I still remember
how I felt when I read the end of "Mostly Harmless". There was a sentence
or two about the Vogon Commander who had put into place a process whereby
Arthur Dent would be returned to Earth in time to be destroyed with it since
his leaving had caused so much trouble. The phrases I'm remembering were
something like "various subroutines were called for the last time". It was
a very empty and resigned feeling: there would be no more Hitchhiker's
books.
Reading your email, I just felt it again.
Rs~
-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Wirt Atmar
Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2001 8:22 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [HP3000-L] OT: So long, and thanks for all the fish.
May 12, 2001
Douglas Adams, Author of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," Dies at 49
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Science fiction writer Douglas Adams, shown in this file photo, died today
of
a heart attack in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Filed at 8:45 a.m. ET
LONDON (AP) -- Douglas Adams, whose cult science fiction comedy ``The
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' drew millions of fans and spawned a
mini-industry, has died at age 49.
The British-born Adams died Friday of a heart attack in Santa Barbara,
Calif., his London spokeswoman, Sophie Astin, said Saturday.
The ``Hitchhiker's Guide,'' which began life as a British Broadcasting Corp.
radio series in 1978, is a satirical adventure about a group of
interplanetary travelers; it opens with the Earth being destroyed to make
way
for an intergalactic highway.
It was turned into a book, which sold 14 million copies around the world,
and
later into a television series.
The book was followed by several sequels, including ``The Restaurant at the
End of the Universe,'' ``Life, the Universe and Everything'' and ``So Long,
and Thanks For All the Fish.''
The books blended satire, memorably named characters such as Zaphod
Beeblebrox and Marvin the Paranoid Android, and witty philosophy, at one
point supplying the answer to ``the ultimate question of life, the universe
and everything.'' The answer was 42.
Adams later recalled how he first thought of the book during a teen-age trip
around Europe.
``I was hitchhiking around Europe in 1971, when I was 18, with this copy of
'A Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe,''' he said.
``At one point I found myself lying in the middle of a field, a little bit
drunk, when it occurred to me that somebody should write a Hitchhiker's
Guide
to the Galaxy. It didn't occur to me that it might actually be me years
later.''
The book came 24th in a poll of the top 100 books of the 20th century
conducted by the Waterstone's bookstore chain and Channel 4 television.
Geoffrey Perkins, the BBC's head of comedy, called Adams ``absolutely one of
the most creative geniuses to ever work in radio comedy.''
``He probably wrote one of the greatest radio comedy series ever, certainly
the most imaginative,'' he added.
Born in Cambridge, England, in 1952 and educated at Cambridge University,
Adams began his career as a writer and script editor at the BBC, including
work on BBC TV's ``Doctor Who.''
He followed the ``Hitchhiker's Guide'' with several books about ``holistic
detective'' Dirk Gently; ``Last Chance to See,'' a book about endangered
species; and, with John Lloyd, the hilarious alternative dictionary ``The
Meaning of Liff.''
He also founded a multimedia company, Digital Village, which produced the
``Starship Titanic'' computer game and an online travel guide inspired by
the
``Hitchhiker's Guide.''
A frequent radio broadcaster on science and technology, Adams had been
working for several years on a screenplay for an oft-delayed ``Hitchhiker's
Guide'' movie.
In August 1996, he told a technology conference in New Orleans that the main
problem in adapting the series for film was not special effects.
``It's the nature of the story, which is picaresque, which translates to one
damn thing after another, and another, and another.
``It's very hard to translate that to a 100-minute feature film,'' he said.
``Every script has a beginning and a middle and an end.''
Adams married Jane Belson, a lawyer, in 1991. The couple, who had lived in
Santa Barbara since 1999, had a daughter, Polly.
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