jimbow8 Wrote:Thank you. I ALWAYS forget that. That guy is AWESOME!!
I agree. And I kinda want his lifestyle.
Here's some trivia: Wowbagger's insult is a bit different in the American version vs. the British one. The American versions of Adams's books were sometimes "toned down," for whatever reason. But in fairness, when Adams had to deal with what was basically censorship, he came through in spades. Witness the whole "Belgium" bit, which is actually extremely funny and necessitated more material -- some of which seems to subtly jab the censors. Originally the word was something much more obvious.
As much as I love the Hitchhiker books, I have to say that I may love Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency even more. It's got a brilliant plot that seems to reveal itself in greater detail each time I reread it. The way the Kubla Khan fits in is just brilliant.
Blake
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Blake Wrote:I agree. And I kinda want his lifestyle.I've only read the Dirk Gently books once, so maybe I need to reread them.
Here's some trivia: Wowbagger's insult is a bit different in the American version vs. the British one. The American versions of Adams's books were sometimes "toned down," for whatever reason. But in fairness, when Adams had to deal with what was basically censorship, he came through in spades. Witness the whole "Belgium" bit, which is actually extremely funny and necessitated more material -- some of which seems to subtly jab the censors. Originally the word was something much more obvious.
As much as I love the Hitchhiker books, I have to say that I may love Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency even more. It's got a brilliant plot that seems to reveal itself in greater detail each time I reread it. The way the Kubla Khan fits in is just brilliant.
Blake
I didn't know anything about toning down the Hitchhikers books. :confused:
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. ... The piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.
~ Howard Phillips Lovecraft
jimbow8 Wrote:I didn't know anything about toning down the Hitchhikers books. :confused:
Well, I don't want to overstate it. Suffice it to say that, in addition to "Americanizing" some of the English, the word "asshole" was changed to "kneebiter," and "fuck" was changed to "Belgium." The Belgium bit, of course, turned out great when he was basically forced to expand the joke out due to the publisher not wanting the dreaded "f-word" in the book. I daresay it's better, though the sequence is perhaps funnier if you read it with the knowledge that it was changed. It seems a bit of an inside joke.
On a related note, I just came across this quote on another message board. The discussion was about the asshole/kneebiter change:
Quote:"It got the point across contextually, and that's all that matters. If you don't like imaginary slang in place of actual profanity, you can go France yourself."Credit to somebody named "Detonator" on another board. I thought it was a hilarious post.
Blake
Please support Friends of Washoe.
Blake Wrote:Well, I don't want to overstate it. Suffice it to say that, in addition to "Americanizing" some of the English, the word "asshole" was changed to "kneebiter," and "fuck" was changed to "Belgium." The Belgium bit, of course, turned out great when he was basically forced to expand the joke out due to the publisher not wanting the dreaded "f-word" in the book. I daresay it's better, though the sequence is perhaps funnier if you read it with the knowledge that it was changed. It seems a bit of an inside joke.I don't remember the Belgium thing, but I find "kneebiter" to be a lot funnier than "asshole."
On a related note, I just came across this quote on another message board. The discussion was about the asshole/kneebiter change:
Credit to somebody named "Detonator" on another board. I thought it was a hilarious post.
Blake
The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. ... The piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.
~ Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Blake Wrote:<snip>And I've said it before, but I highly recommend his only nonfiction book, Last Chance to See. If you like Douglas Adams, you really owe it to yourself to read this book. It's very entertaining and funny, but enlightening as well.Agree completely. I have 4 different copies of it. Lucky enough to have one signed, my mum got it & a couple of others signed by Adams.
Blake
The only book I have more copies of is George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards.
I was shopping on ebay for a copy of this book (can't find it cheap locally) and found that repairmanjack7 is bidding on a copy. . . . . . One of you???
BTW, the Ultimate guide is on Amazon for about $10.00 new. It contains all 6 stories. I think I'll go for that one.
BTW, the Ultimate guide is on Amazon for about $10.00 new. It contains all 6 stories. I think I'll go for that one.
Got to see this last night at a free preview (after going through a security check and handing in my phone because it has a camera built in!).
It was fun. Visually, I think it hit the mark perfectly. Content wise, I got the same impression as I got with the book. Inoffensive, some laughs, a tad confusing, and overall a whole lot of nothing. Not to say I didn't like it, I just felt like there should have been more.
The cast were good, the visuals were magnificent, in places, and the humour was very British with a lot of slapstick. And I believe it will get funnier the more you watch it. So I'll try it out again on DVD.
Now, as to whether it is suitable for five year olds...
...minor spoilers below....
... there is one scene that might scare him, it freaked me out a bit. The John Malkovich character is brilliant, very menacing and a little grotesque, but when he takes his glasses off it might give a five year old a nightmare or two. PM me and I'll give you more details if you wish.
Aside from that, I think he'd like it more than I did, the Volgons are more amusing than frightening, I can't recall one swear word, and as I mentioned before the violence is of the slapstick variety.
Hope this helps.
Dave
It was fun. Visually, I think it hit the mark perfectly. Content wise, I got the same impression as I got with the book. Inoffensive, some laughs, a tad confusing, and overall a whole lot of nothing. Not to say I didn't like it, I just felt like there should have been more.
The cast were good, the visuals were magnificent, in places, and the humour was very British with a lot of slapstick. And I believe it will get funnier the more you watch it. So I'll try it out again on DVD.
Now, as to whether it is suitable for five year olds...
...minor spoilers below....
... there is one scene that might scare him, it freaked me out a bit. The John Malkovich character is brilliant, very menacing and a little grotesque, but when he takes his glasses off it might give a five year old a nightmare or two. PM me and I'll give you more details if you wish.
Aside from that, I think he'd like it more than I did, the Volgons are more amusing than frightening, I can't recall one swear word, and as I mentioned before the violence is of the slapstick variety.
Hope this helps.
Dave
Today, I went to used book stores, but I couldn't find out Japanese edition's Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Because the book is out of print... 
But I found out it in foreign book section. Of course, it's English paperback. Recently I'm reading English paperback, so I thought I can read it in English. On the other hand, I read about this book in other site. According to the site, "A lot of typical English jokes are in it. So, if you read it in English, the book will confuse you. Those jokes are difficult for Japanese"
Is it true? If so, tell me some jokes in here. If I can understand the jokes, maybe I can read it in English.
But I found out it in foreign book section. Of course, it's English paperback. Recently I'm reading English paperback, so I thought I can read it in English. On the other hand, I read about this book in other site. According to the site, "A lot of typical English jokes are in it. So, if you read it in English, the book will confuse you. Those jokes are difficult for Japanese"
Is it true? If so, tell me some jokes in here. If I can understand the jokes, maybe I can read it in English.