June 18, 2005
A couple of months ago I agreed to see the movie The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. If it hadn’t been for the opportunity to be an eyewitness to theatergoers dressed in bathrobes, donning PJs and clutching the ever significant towel, I should have waited for the movie to come out on DVD. At least then I could have comfortably worn my oversized tartan plaid Gap brand reversible robe in the confines of my own home. I tried to sleep through most of the film, but the surround sound and psychedelic colors kept my eyes and ears at attention.
This afternoon I put down my library copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy after a couple hour read. I powered through this enlightening short story just to make sure I didn’t miss any details that this cult book/movie had to offer. I state for the record that I have never been an aficionado of science fiction. I will up the ante to offer that comedic sci-fi is even less interesting to me. Maybe it’s make-believe planets like Magrathea or first/last names such as Zaphod Beeblebrox that just don’t hold my imagination. But I went into the movie open-minded and I returned to the book I had overlooked in 1979 searching for the meaning of life, the universe and all I came away with was Don’t Panic, the answer is 42, rats, dolphins, Thanks for all the Fish and there is supposedly a good Restaurant at the end of the Universe…
Still, I realized that the talented Douglas Adams was born shortly after me in a town in England that I fell in love within 1966 and he died a couple of years ago in the Santa Ynez Valley where wine and ocean breezes call home to my restless soul… However, when Adams’ big success hit the bookstands I was either caught up in the very important epic Viet Nam flick Apocalypse Now or the life and times of Patty Hearst or the famous disco demolition night at Comisky Park. I was heavily into Billy Joel, mourning the loss of Arthur Fiedler and celebrating the wonderful achievements of the Nobel peace prize winner: Mother Theresa. So shoot me!
To be certain, Douglas Adams was a creative genius who may not have lived to see his brainchild become a computer game or a Disney movie but he has been quoted as saying: “You live and learn. At any rate, you live.” And if you’re interested there is actually a lengthy Douglas Adams quotations page. If you are interested... My personal favorite is a quote from the infamous Slartibartfast who said: “The chances of finding out what is really going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say hang the sense of it and just keep yourself occupied.” AMEN!
This afternoon I put down my library copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy after a couple hour read. I powered through this enlightening short story just to make sure I didn’t miss any details that this cult book/movie had to offer. I state for the record that I have never been an aficionado of science fiction. I will up the ante to offer that comedic sci-fi is even less interesting to me. Maybe it’s make-believe planets like Magrathea or first/last names such as Zaphod Beeblebrox that just don’t hold my imagination. But I went into the movie open-minded and I returned to the book I had overlooked in 1979 searching for the meaning of life, the universe and all I came away with was Don’t Panic, the answer is 42, rats, dolphins, Thanks for all the Fish and there is supposedly a good Restaurant at the end of the Universe…
Still, I realized that the talented Douglas Adams was born shortly after me in a town in England that I fell in love within 1966 and he died a couple of years ago in the Santa Ynez Valley where wine and ocean breezes call home to my restless soul… However, when Adams’ big success hit the bookstands I was either caught up in the very important epic Viet Nam flick Apocalypse Now or the life and times of Patty Hearst or the famous disco demolition night at Comisky Park. I was heavily into Billy Joel, mourning the loss of Arthur Fiedler and celebrating the wonderful achievements of the Nobel peace prize winner: Mother Theresa. So shoot me!
To be certain, Douglas Adams was a creative genius who may not have lived to see his brainchild become a computer game or a Disney movie but he has been quoted as saying: “You live and learn. At any rate, you live.” And if you’re interested there is actually a lengthy Douglas Adams quotations page. If you are interested... My personal favorite is a quote from the infamous Slartibartfast who said: “The chances of finding out what is really going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say hang the sense of it and just keep yourself occupied.” AMEN!
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