HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ensalada@cats.ucsc.edu (Kevin Charles Rubio)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Challenge for Douglas Adams-freaks
Date: 10 Oct 92 00:37:59 GMT
Reply-To: keeper@deeptht.armory.com
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz
NNTP-Posting-Host: si.ucsc.edu



This is a post of the letter I sent in reply.  If anyone can help with
pre-HHGG stuff, please do.

--

 
 
I believe that Douglas Adams worked a bit on a radio series called
"The Burkiss Way."
 
But his fame began with the writing of the radio series
"The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy."  Only expecting it to be
in six parts, he ended it very assuredly.  However, he was asked
to do another six, and did so, leaving that series quite open-ended.
As it turned out, he never was asked to do more, so it finished
rather unfinished.
 
Two records "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Restaurant
at the End of the Universe" basically followed the same story as the first
series of the radio show, but with several script changes and additions.
 
A six-part television series "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
also followed that same storyline, also with changes.
 
Two songs; "Marvin, I Love You" and "Marvin, The Paranoid Android" feature
the same actor who has played Marvin everywhere else: Stephen Moore.
 
Then there are the four books you've read, and the latest book he's written,
called "Mostly Harmless," bringing the book series to five, plus a short
story, "Young Zaphod Plays it Safe" and other things like "How to Get off
the Planet."
 
He wrote for the BBC TV series "Doctor Who" in the late 1970s.  His
first story is called "The Pirate Planet."  He co-wrote "City of Death"
and wrote "Shada," which was never finished, but recently was released
on video with a voice-over by Tom Baker describing the missing scenes.
 
He also was the script editor for "Doctor Who" in 1979, and his style of
humour prevails throughout the episodes of that year.  In one story, the
main character is seen reading a book: "The History of the Universe; by
Oolon Colluphid" (that author name being one he had used in the Guide
series).
 
The plots for "City of Death" and "Shada" (and many scenes from the latter,
word-for-word) were merged into the book "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective
Agency."
 
A second Gently book came shortly thereafter: "The Long, Dark Tea-Time of
the Soul" (the name of which came from the Guide series).
 
A book or two "The Meaning of Liff" has been talked about a bit, but
personally I know nothing of them.
 
After travelling throughout jungles of Africa and elsewhere with a
naturalist (for a BBC television series) studying endangered species,
he wrote a book "Last Chance to See."  (It is a comedy, set around the
serious subject.)
 
He also has written many articles for MacUser magazine.
 
--
Do not reply to this letter automatically.
Mail me at keeper@deeptht.armory.com
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: etxjlar@eua.ericsson.se (Jorgen Larsson)
Subject: Re: giving your add to a hitch-hiker
Reply-To: etxjlar@eua.ericsson.se
Organization: Ellemtel Telecom Systems Labs, Stockholm, Sweden
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 07:36:16 GMT

In article 8066@kth.se, f90-jos@nada.kth.se (Johan Smros) writes:
> In article <1992Oct12.162830.24152@bas-a.bcc.ac.uk> you write:
> >
> >
> >There is someone currently giving their address as:
> >{name deleted}
> >Ericsson Telecom
> >Karlstad
> >The World (Tellus)
> >The Milky way
> >Universe
> >
> >
> >This is about as much use to an intersteller hitch-hiker as
> >
> >The Company
> >The Town
> >The World
> >The Milky way
> >Universe
> >
> >Which world, which Milky Way, which Universe?
> >(Tellus, yes do tell us  ;-)
> 
> Do you mean that there is more than one Milky Way? At least here in Sweden 
> thats the name of our galaxy.
> 
> But I suppose its better to give the sector as adress.
> 
> Johan Smros
> Vallentuna
> ZZ9PluralZAlpha


Whoop, I knew someone would react on my adress, interesting. 
Can anyone tell me how large a sector is? Since Johan claims that he lives in Vallentuna, sector ZZ9PluralAlpha, that sector can't be too large, at least it 
can't be larger than the planet earth (as we call it (except for you extraterrestrial
readers)). Does the books say anything, I don't remember.
I mean, what if there is a Vallentuna on the moon or any of the nearby planets? 
Perhaps sector ZZ9PluralAlpha is the Stockholm area, I have always thought things 
are a little bit weird there, maybe it is not actually situated on the rest of 
this planet, perhaps it is just sime kind'a illusion. 
Or maybe it is not there yet. 
Or has already been there. 
Does anyone have a sector map to help me straighten this up. 
Can there ever be guaranteed to have space-time continuity anywhere? 
Is Stockholm a hole in in space-time continuty? 
Is Naples really the asshole of Europe? 
What is the meaning of life, universe and everything? 
What, mice! Aaarghh!

Jrgen Larsson (sure about that)
Ericsson Telecom (not fired yet)
Karlstad (at least it seems so to me)
Sweden (according to earthly maps)
Do I dare to go any further, help me, my left leg is being distributed.
From: wowbagger@ed.ac.uk (Scott Telford)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: An evening with Douglas Adams
Date: 9 Oct 92 14:03:54 GMT
Organization: Dept of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh, UK.

In article <Bvt7vB.B81@dcs.ed.ac.uk>, wowbagger@ed.ac.uk (me) writes:

[stuff deleted]

...Oh, I forgot to say that whoever put about the nasty rumour that
Douglas doesn't like Terry Pratchett was wrong: DA said he's never
read any Pratchett so he doesn't know whether to like him or not.

-- 
Scott Telford, Dept of Computer Science,      electric mail: wowbagger@ed.ac.uk
University of Edinburgh, Mayfield Rd, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK.
------- Rollin' over like a big, big cloud/Walkin' out in the Big Sky! --------
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: igor@access.digex.com (Dan White)
Subject: Re: Marvin, The Paranoid Android
Organization: Society for the Prevention of Paronomastic Defenestration
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 15:07:09 GMT

In article <io0HsB1w165w@korova.uucp> thanatos@korova.uucp (Thanatos) writes:
>Hey all you froods, I read some where back that there are TWO songs with 
>Marvin in them.  I have both heard and read the lyrics to "Marvin, I Love 
>You" (Oh, BTW, Trillian's voice is the voice of the unidentified 
>woman/machine), But I'd like to see the lyrics of "Marvin, the Paranoid 
>Android".. And if you can, tell me any tape that that song may be 
>located, seeing that I am a true Marvin fan..=)
> 

Please e-mail directly to me.  I have information.  I tried to e-mail
to you and it bounced back as undeliverable.
From: kyraan@bach.udel.edu (Stephen Ch Litterst)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Mostly Harmless - POTENTIAL SPOILER thread (?)
Date: 12 Oct 92 20:11:55 GMT
Organization: University of Delaware

In article <Bw0tJ0.CqJ@news.cso.uiuc.edu> csedlack@ux4.cso.uiuc.edu (Christopher Sedlack) writes:
>ajdh@bnr.co.uk (Andrew J D Hurley) writes:
>
SERIOUS SPOILERS!!!!!!   YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!

ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE YOU WANT TO CONTINUE WITH THIS THREAD????

POSITIVE???


	In answer to the assumption that there won't be a sixth book... That's
what I like about Mostly Harmless, the ending.  He doesnt' kill Arthur, just
sets it up that he can die now.  Now that he's been to Stavomula Beta (sorry,
I'm doing this from memory) he actually has to be more careful and Adams has 
teh option of writing a sixth book.  I'm assuming this is going to be like 
the third and fourth books in that he didn't like writing them, but left the
previous endings ambiguous enough that they could either be left as is or 
added onto.  
	As to potential story lines?  Who knows?  DA could explore the 
ramifications of the `Plural' sectors; arthur could go insearch of Fenchurch;
Zaphod could discover another geas hidden in his mind... The mind boggles.

							Steve
From: jim@n5ial.chi.il.us (Jim Graham)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: An evening with Douglas Adams 
Distribution: world
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 92 18:03:04 GMT
Organization: Me? Organized? Hah! :-)

In article <1992Oct8.111002.1@geovax.ed.ac.uk> msc9309@geovax.ed.ac.uk writes:

> The questions he answered ranged far and wide.

> FILM RIGHTS: - He has tried to buy them back but it was going to cost
> too much, the reason the film was not made was that the producer didn't
> like the answer to Life the Universe and everything being 42.

this came up when he was here in chicago, too --- only at the time, I
guess it wasn't as final.  y'all might just find this amusing, if you
haven't heard it yet --- when he was here, talking about this, he said
something along the lines of the following (this is from memory from a
good long time ago, so forgive the errors).  he starts off quoting the
film's producer:

`` `this thing about the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the
Universe, and Everything is pretty good, but after you've spent all this
time building up to it, and you announce that it's 42, people are really
going to feel like you're jerking them around or something.' ''

and then, he tells us what he thinks of said producer's comments:

``You know, it's kind of like buying a gallon of chocolate-chip ice
cream, and then complaining about all the dark bits....''

hmmm....if only we could find out who this moron (oops, I meant to say
producer) is, and flood him/her with comments regarding their general
lack of education, etc.....  I mean, if they can read Hitchhikers enough
to want to make the movie, and then not understand the humor behind The
Answer, they can't be too bright, now can they?

--
#include <std_disclaimer.h>                                 73 DE N5IAL (/9)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNET:  jim@n5ial.chi.il.us  |  grahj@gagme.chi.il.us  |  j.graham@ieee.org
ICBM:  41.70N 87.63W                    UUCP:  gagme!n5ial!jim@clout.chi.il.us
AMATEUR RADIO: n5ial@n9hsi (Chicago.IL.US.Earth)    AMTOR SELCAL:  NIAL
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: wade@ucs.ubc.ca (Doug Wade)
Subject: Hitchhikers Guide Omnibus
Organization: University Computing Services, UBC, Canada
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 15:29:22 GMT

In case anybody is interested, Coles is selling (at least at their stores
in Vancouver) a reprinted hardback edition of what I think was called
the Omnibus - I'm at work and don't have my copy handy.

Anyhow it has the 4 parts of the trilogy and the Zaphod short story
for only $9.95.
From: rik@hplb.hpl.hp.com (Richard Beckett)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Scrabble and Book Signings
Date: 7 Oct 92 14:20:53 GMT
Reply-To: rik@hplb.hpl.hp.com
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Labs, Bristol, UK


In article <1992Oct7.075153.19099@aurora.dar.csiro.au>, spm@dar.csiro.au
(McEWAN Shane) writes:
|> And, of course, in the radio series, I believe Arthur had a pocket editition
|> of Scrabble.....so he didn't have to remember anything!

	People have mentioned this pocket scrabble set before.

	Two points:

1. He had the pocket Scrabble set on the Heart of Gold, yes, but he may have 
left it behind when he left, and anyway;

2. It says in the book that he MADE the Scrabble set himself by scratching
the letters onto small flat stones, and scratching the board markings onto
a large, flat rock.

	So, if he made the set himself, then his subconcious (whew!) would
	have made sure he had enough letters to spell out, whatever it was
	that the poem was about, oops ! :-}

	Get my drift ?

	Thankyou, and goodnight.


		RIK


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rik O'Chet, Bristol, England.		
Email: rik@hplb.hpl.hp.com		One's never alone with a Rubber Duck !
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: spm@dar.csiro.au (McEWAN Shane)
Subject: Re: Scrabble and Book Signings
Organization: CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 07:51:53 GMT

: 
: Ah, but Arthur pulled _ALL_LETTERS_ out of the towel, didn't he? But then, I
: expect it would be too much for most people to be able to remember the exact 
: distribution of letters in a Scrabble set after so much travelling in time and
: spece.
: 
And, of course, in the radio series, I believe Arthur had a pocket editition
of Scrabble.....so he didn't have to remember anything!

--

  Shane McEwan     CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research    spm@dar.csiro.au
================================================================================
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             |         ______  |       |       ___  _|   |      |
            ________|  ________|   _______|  _|     _\   _______|
================================================================================
Aspendale, Victoria, Australia 3195  Phone: +61 3 586 7503  Fax: +61 3 586 7600
From: jseaver@bigwpi.WPI.EDU (Jason John Seaver)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: SPOILER: Mostly Harmless
Date: 15 Oct 1992 12:16:08 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NNTP-Posting-Host: bigwpi.wpi.edu

In article <6449@m1.cs.man.ac.uk> ross-c@scs.leeds.ac.uk (R Clement) writes:
>*******SPOILERS********

>In article <1687F8340.BKD@USLVM.USL.EDU> BKD@USLVM.USL.EDU (Brian K. Dore') writes:
>>
>> 
>>Seems funny how not long after I finished Mostly Harmless, I flipped
>>on the television and saw "Misery" for the first time.  "Gee Mr. Adams,
>>I'm your number one fan!"  "Arthur can't be dead, he can't be!"
>> 
>>Brian  (Still trying to figure out exactly what happened, or didn't happen)
>
>I am now assuming that the forgetful people from out of space (how do you
>write their name again?) have been sent to fix the way multi-dimensional 
>space is breaking up (witness the migrating Perfectly Normal Beasts).
>Notice that the Guide Mark II disappears from possibility at the same time
>the lights go off in the Vogon ship. Could it be that whatever it is they
>do, the Vogons returned to their own dimension. In this dimension, the earth
>has already been destroyed, so it gets ticked off on the orders. Logically
>then, since the Vogons got sent back to their own dimension when space was
>"fixed", so too would Arthur, Ford, etc. However, they would be dumped into 
>empty space without spacesuits - something that they have survived before.
>
>Even if Arthur, Ford, and Trillian (twice) are dead, there is still one last-1
>generation human being surviving: Elvis.

	ARrrrrrrrrrrrrgghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!  I forgot about The King!  If he's
still around, then another Earth will probably pop up somewhere on the
probability axis.  Fenny's probably somewhere, too.

>Furthermore, given the infinite (?) number of worlds on the Probability axis,
>there are of course an infinite number of Arthurs, one of whom probably decided
>NOT to walk down into Stavron Muellar BETA (sp?). Note that as Arthur is
>walking in, someone says "I thought I told you not to come here". Perhaps the
>Arthur on that world (who didn't otherwise enter the story) had been banned
>from that club (breaking the dress code?). This suggests more than one
>Arthur, both of whom may be dead, but other Arthurs should exist (tho' if 
>space has been "fixed" they are now stuck in their own universes).

	I think there's only the one Arthur and Ford running around.  There
can't be an infinite number of Earths to destroy (otherwise the Vogons would
never be able to lay waste to them all), and the odds against them being
rescued in the first book were such that it may have only happened to them in
that Universe.
					-Jay
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: BKD@USLVM.USL.EDU (Brian K. Dore')
Subject: SPOILER: Mostly Harmless
Organization: University of Southwestern Louisiana
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 14:19:59 GMT

 
Seems funny how not long after I finished Mostly Harmless, I flipped
on the television and saw "Misery" for the first time.  "Gee Mr. Adams,
I'm your number one fan!"  "Arthur can't be dead, he can't be!"
 
I'd stay off of snowy roads if I were him.   :^)
 
Brian  (Still trying to figure out exactly what happened, or didn't happen)
From: smp@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Samuel Penn)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Green Smiling Planet
Date: 16 Oct 92 13:31:51 GMT
Reply-To: smp@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Samuel Penn)
Organization: Laboratory for the Foundations of Computer Science, Edinburgh U

The first time I ever saw the smily green planet thingy was when I got the
American edition of Don't Panic - as has been mentioned, the British covers
don't feature it. I 'think' I know where it came from though....

In one of the TV shows, I seem to vaguely remember an article from the Guide
about the population of the universe (I think), in which it was worked out
to be somethin like 0. Anyway, while displaying the pretty 'computer graphics'
of a string of zeros, the occasional smily green face would pop up out of
a random zero, and stick its tongue out.

Of course, I could be utterly wrong, and my memory is very dodgy on the matter,
but not having any video's of the TV series, I can't check this - maybe someone
else could. Then again, this scene could have come from another film/TV show,
but I'm 90% sure it was from HHGTTG.

Hope this helps.

Sam.
From: loki@orthanc.freeside.com (Biggles)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Mostly Harmless
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 92 15:07:33 CDT
Organization: Society for Balrog and Nazgul Understanding and Recognition

as010b@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (andrew david simchik) writes:

> 
>       Is there anyone out there who has bought and read the new fifth
> Hitchhiker's novel, _Mostly Harmless_?  I have and would like to discuss it
> with those for whom I will not be revealing any surprises.  I shall say no
> more to avoid giving anything away, but please post or E-mail me if you have
> read it already.

Thank you, some of us have not had the oppurtunity to get our hands on the 
book, and I'd rather not learn the plot before it is even realeased where
I am.  Discussing the novel in general is fine, but talking about the
specific plot ruins it for the few of us who don't know it yet.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"How can you be at two places at once,         loki@orthanc.freeside.com
         when you're not anywhere at all?"       (aka Biggles)
                   --Firesign Theater                                        
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: hill@latcs2.lat.oz.au (Craig Hill)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Mostly Harmless
Date: 11 Oct 92 11:27:44 GMT
Organization: Comp Sci, La Trobe Uni, Australia


  I just picked up and finished reading Mostly Harmless and came to the 
conclusion that it is full of garbage and nonsence.  However you must 
realize that this is DNA and it is brilliant nonsence that is well worth
reading.  Somebody said a while ago that the cover of Mostly Harmless was
supposed to have a planet with its tounge sticking out on it.  My copy has
a picture of the Earth with an arrow pointing at it.  Was there a change
in plan or do we have a strange version here in Australia.

     Craig     hill@latcs1.lat.oz.au
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Stop it, or you will go blind   |   Craig Hill                       |
|     ( Reading that is! )        |         hill@latcs1.lat.oz.au      |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: msc9309@geovax.ed.ac.uk (Dave Haddock)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: An evening with Douglas Adams
Date: 8 Oct 92 11:10:02 GMT
Organization: University of Edinburgh, Geography Department.

Hi there guys!

I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours last night with Douglas Adams - and
a couple of hundred other people - while he read extracts from his books and
then took questions from the audience here in Edinburgh.

He read chapters 1 and 7 from Mostly Harmless, then the 'snake expert' and 
'buying a condom' bits from Last Chance to See - which got the most laughs of 
the night. He finished up with some more from the Hitch Hikers Trilogy: 'How
to fly', 'The dairy animal wanting you to eat it', and 'Marvin stopping the 
Frogstar robot'.

The questions he answered ranged far and wide.

FILM RIGHTS: - He has tried to buy them back but it was going to cost too much,
the reason the film was not made was that the producer didn't like the answer 
to Life the Universe and everything being 42.

42: - This Douglas claims "is the funnest of the two figure numbers"

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD: - Wrong Question! It should be 'Do you believe there
is a God' as the original question implys that there is one. Answer = NO.

NEXT BOOK: - Probably a 'Dirk Gently', he has a few plot ideas in his mind but
is trying to decide if they are one or two Dirk books or even if there are a 
Dirk book at all.

ANY OTHER PROJECTS: - A possible TV series on the Universe in general, and
everything in it in particular. Douglas thinks this will fill 12 parts.

It is difficult to pick out highlights as most of what he said was very funny.

| Dave Haddock                  | Roosta "There aren't any real people here |
| MSC9309@GEOVAX.ED.AC.UK       |         at all!"                          |
| Department of Geography       | Zaphod "So what's new"  (Fit the Eighth)  |
| Drummond Street               |-------------------------------------------|
| Edinburgh   EH8 9XP           | DISCLAIMER - The University's six million |
| SCOTLAND                      | pound deficit has nothing to do with me.  |
From: v089l3s3@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Jeremy B Horwitz)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Mostly Harmless - My Fave!
Date: 15 Oct 92 00:40:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

I bought Mostly Harmless yesterday and finished it (due to the
damn classes inbetween) an hour ago.

I simply don't care what anyone else says on the subject. The
book, in my estimation, is among the finest I've read. I
realize that some people here have written that they "didn't have
a full laugh until page 60" or something, but I found the book
thoroughly witty and laugh-provoking throughout. 

Perhaps the key is to read it slowly. I found myself at points jumping
ahead because I knew a conversation was going to lead to some action
or something of the sort. Then, I remembered that I should really "read"
the book, not just jump. And, I enjoyed it more.

It has a solid plot, an excellent conclusion, and a steady stream of
intellectual crap (which I happen to have loved) in-between. 

Buy it. Especially if you can get a discount. Or, find a dissatisfied 
friend and take his copy when he's not looking, since he's unlikely
to care when he remembers that he forgot where he put it.

-> Jer
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: domalley@unix1.tcd.ie (Slartibartfast (alias Daniel O'Malley))
Subject: Re: Scrabble and Book Signings
Organization: Trinity College, Dublin
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 21:35:00 GMT

In <1992Oct5.203139.39667@datamark.co.nz> thomas@datamark.co.nz (Thomas Beagle) writes:

>ObScrabble: Once while on holiday, bored, and missing my computer, I
>duplicated the keyboard with Scrabble tiles. Weee!

But how did you represent the number keys, punctuation marks and
function keys???
Wait, don't tell me - It was a home made set.

Daniel.
--
|       //              |------Daniel O'Malley--domalley@unix1.tcd.ie------|
|   ===//  ===//  ===   |---"In the beginning, the universe was created.---|
| //  // //  // //  //  |-This has made a lot of people angry and has been-|
|  ==//   ==// //  //   |-----widely regarded as a bad move.":D.Adams.-----|