To Belgium, Thanks for all the memories, love Zaphod

[Sadie]

Obviously The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the most phenominal series in the entire universe.

Now, I know some may think that Douglas Adams "gave them a headache" because of the senseless approach he had with some of his characters, his pointless plot development, the horrible destruction of the Earth (several times, in fact) and the seemingly random usage of foul-sounding words, such as "Belgium" (pardon me).

But I HIGHLY disagree. With everything I just wrote. In fact, I think Hitchhiker's is a friggin' work of art, and it's apparent that I surround myself with morons all the time who just "don't get it." So tell me: Hitchhiker's Guide is a necessary read for ALL science fiction fanatics. Otherwise....I will have to throw myself in that brilliant machine that makes you realize just how pointless you are to the rest of the universe.

By the end of my working day with the SuperJerks of all time, I just thank God/Allah/Moses/Buddah/Zelda that Martin Freeman (aka "Tim" from "The Best Show On Cable" or "The Office") played Arthur Dent in the recent remaking of the movie version. That's what I live for...well, entertainment wise anyway.

k, that's all I wanted to say.

the one your mom forgot about,
Sadie.



oh, and p.s.: it also needs to be said that Zaphod Beeblebrox needs to be inaugurated in some badass hall-of-fame...for badasses.... I'm just sayin'

 

[BookStop]

By the end of my working day with the SuperJerks of all time, I just thank God/Allah/Moses/Buddah/Zelda that Martin Freeman (aka "Tim" from "The Best Show On Cable" or "The Office") played Arthur Dent

Yeah- he was the perfect Arthur.

 

[Star Vampire]

I never got why exactly Belgium would be a curse, or "foul-sounding word"

I live in Belgium, I love it...

 

[the smiling weirwood]

It's because of all the waffles.

 

[Star Vampire]

that's another cliché about Belgium I never got...

We have the best beers in the world, we invented french fries, we have the best chocolate in the world...
BUT NO WAFFLES

so why does every american seem to think Belgium is all about waffles...

 

[the smiling weirwood]

We're culturally indoctrinated to believe Belgiuum flows with waffles and lace.

 

[Sadie]

I never said that I associated Belgium waffles with the country itself. And actually, Douglas Adams wrote the novel. He wasn't American, and I don't think he meant "Belgium" to be a cliche. Rather, I think he was just being random...that's the kind of feeling I got, especially since that's how everything about the Hitchhiker's Guide is: R l A l N l D l O l M.

just sayin'

And btw, if I were living in Belgium, I would swear it was pretty spactacular as well.

 

[scalem X]

Hey we do have waffles, has been more than a year since I ate one, but still.

Belgium: comes from a roman word that means 'to swell up', because the Belgians seemed fiercer and bigger while fighting.

possible association in the hitchy guide: Belch-ium

agh well yes who cares

 

[Wayne Blackhurst]

Belgium: comes from a roman word that means 'to swell up', because the Belgians seemed fiercer and bigger while fighting.

Either that or they eat a lot of good food....

My brother lived in Brussles for about ten years, so I spent a great deal of time there. Wonderful city, wonderful people, wonderful food and drink.

And I got to eat waffles laced in maple syrup....

 

[cornelius]

we have a lot of waffles : Brusselse, luikse... they mean those waffles

and I'm eating some this afternoon! yaaay

*leaves some in the tearoom*

 

[j d worthington]

Ooooh... thanks, Cornelius. That should fit the bill Paige was looking for... And I could use one of those meself...

 

[Paige Turner]

I just thank God/Allah/Moses/Buddah/Zelda that Martin Freeman (aka "Tim" from "The Best Show On Cable" or "The Office") played Arthur Dent in the recent remaking of the movie version.

Is that the cute shy guy from Love Actually ?

 

[Hiro Protagonist]

Douglas Adams wrote great books. The origional movie/series that aired on TV was great also.

 

[pierre19]

The Belgian Waffle was introduced into North America during the 1964 New York World's Fair by its Belgian inventor, Maurice Vermersch. Observing that most Americans didn't know where Brussels actually was, he decided to change the name from "Brussels Waffle" to the "Belgian Waffle".

The Belgian waffle (also referred to as the "Brussels waffle") often refers to a waffle that is less dense, crispier, has larger partitions and a larger volume than the traditional waffle. They are often served as a breakfast, with the same topping choices as a traditional waffle. More often than the traditional waffle however, they are served with fruits, whipped cream or ice cream, sometimes served as a dessert. While the thickness is the most commonly accepted difference between the Belgian waffle and the traditional waffle, the use of yeast and beaten egg whites in most Belgian waffle recipes, as opposed to baking powder in the traditional waffle recipe, gives them a lighter and crispier texture.

 

[Briareus Delta]

Right, thanks for that. Perhaps if everyone can stop waffling on about waffles we can get back to the original point of this thread. Which was - Douglas Adams is awesome. I agree totally. A world without his books would be a much poorer place. He deserves a posthumous medal of some sort, in recognition of his unfailing ability to cheer people up.

 

[manephelien]

I think Douglas Adams wrote possibly the only funny post-apocalyptic novels in existence in this universe. A few pages and I'm grinning, no matter how grouchy I felt when I started reading.

 

[pierre19]

I thought the original point of this thread was what a bunch of jerks Sadie works with.
Anyway, I kind of thought Mr. Adams might have appreciated the waffle definition because of what a complete waste of time it was. It is just the sort of information Arthur would have needed had he decided to move on from sandwiches to waffles on prehistoric earth. Personally I think the whole Belgian waffle issue is shrouded in mystery and there are several waffle issues here which have not been fully explored.
Furthermore, I believe this thread has been firmly hijacked by wanton wafflry and tea drinkers. It should not fall back into the hands of well wishers.

Pierre

 

[HoopyFrood]

I think it's clear that I love HHGTTG, from my name alone. DNA (ha, if only I could have those initials...or something interesting at least) was an freaking genius, some of the sentences he comes out with:
The ships hung in the sky in the same way that bricks don't.
Let us grapple with the ineffable and see if we can't eff it anyway.

He was brilliant! And HHGTTG is a work of art!

I'm also a big fan of the writer that inspired him, good old P.G Wodehouse. He's a legend as well. And you can definitely see how DNA was inspired by him, they have the similar technique of using some brilliant (albeit slightly disconcerting!) phrases!

P.S Zaphod rules all. Although Authur Dent still has a place in my heart. I want to give Random a good slapping though, she annoys me...although she has a cracking name!

 

[Pyan]

I never got why exactly Belgium would be a curse, or "foul-sounding word"

I live in Belgium, I love it...

The original manuscript of the Guide had "f**k", not "Belgium" - it was changed before the first American edition because it might have offended readers in the USA, and lost sales.

 

[Stenevor]

Picked up the 5 book commemorative box set for £4.99!(RRP £34.95) from a bargain book shop a couple of weeks ago and have been working my way through them this week. Read the first 4, just got Mostly Harmless still to read.
Id read the first two years ago and enjoyed re-reading them. No loss of quality in the next 2 either. Really consistent all the way through. As someone said earlier you cant read this and not be put in a good mood. Ive not really been doing them justice though, reading them way too fast(on the sly at work).