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Ask Douglas Adams About...Everything
Who could possibly know more about Life, the Universe, and Everything than Douglas Adams? Who, despite being Mostly Harmless, could give a better anwer to almost any question you could ask? Could you please post your questions -- one per post -- below? Could we pick 10 of the highest-moderated ones and send them to Mr. Adams by e-mail? Might we allow Mr. Adams a week or more to answer, since he's as busy as RMS but has kindly consented to talk with us anyway?
The way you (and others) portray the way you work, I get the impression you find it very hard to finish a writing job unless you're actually looking starvation in the face if you don't deliver tomorrow. You've described some innovative and elaborate forms of procrastination, and you certainly don't produce new work at the same rate as you did when H^2G^2 was first being written. Do you see it as a problem? Or are you finding procrastination easier to overcome?
cheers!
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Xenu loves you!
Before Starship Titanic came out, there was talk of doing a CD-ROM based game consisting only of sound clips (no graphics, just radio). I see no mention of it on your site.
I hope this project is still in the pipeline -- it sounded very interesting. Is your first love still radio, or were you just looking for something unique (like Bureaucracy, perhaps)?
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how to invest, a novice's guide
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Here's my mirror
For instance, the original BBC recordings of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy have made frequent appearances on various pirate music sites, and they show up frequently in searches on Napster. What are your feelings on this sort of thing? Also, although I'm not aware of it happening currently, how do you think you might react to discovering that some of your various novels were being traded online?
Finally, many of us feel that the issue revolves around one of availability - for instance, if I knew that I could purchase digital recordings of the original HGTTG broadcast over the internet, I would be happy to do so, but as far as I am aware, such a distribution scheme is not currently available. Do you think that this is merely a cut-and-dry issue of intellectual property theft, or do you feel that issues such as these point out that maybe it is time for the publishing industries of these various forms of media need to redefine the way they do business?
Thanks again for your time.
Your Brain + EEG + LEGO Robots = Brainstorms
A couple of years ago, I discovered in a history book a mention of a book. It was published in twenty-five editions through the 17th century, and was titled:
"A plaine man's patheway to Heaven"
and was by none other than Arthur Dent.
Is this:
(a) somehow connected to the origins of the title & character naming of the Guide, or:
(b) a very good excuse for you to write a little sarcastic snippet on the nature of coincidence? :-)
Regards,
Martin Ling
The Hitch Hiker's Guide is probably the most well-known, if not the only known radio drama to gen-Xrs in the US. Do you think that given the vast array of media available today the Radio Drama as an art form is dead? Or do you think it can survive as Internet based streaming audio because the audience can listen to it at a time and place that is convenient to them, and there is a revenue model that works for US listeners?
As a possible follow-up, H2G2 has been produced as radio, television, book and (soon) film. In your opinion which media is it best suited to (financial considerations aside), and having been involved with all these productions, which would you have chosen to produce it as first if you had the opportunity to start at the beginning (again, financial considerations aside)?
Work for Change & GET PAID!
First, I want to say that you are my favorite author - it's a rare privelege just to say "hey". My favorite book is Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, though I've read every one of your other books as well.
:-)
I'm not going to ask a question about the content of your books, because I believe those questions are well covered just by reading them. What I am curious about is your opinion of other people interpreting your work into other media, and your future plans.
What was your honest opinion of the Hitchhiker's Guide movie that floats around on PBS? Why the hell was Trillian a blonde? And why did Zaphod have one floppy head that never said anything? Are there any plans to do another movie from any of your books, maybe with a better special FX budget?
Also, what do you have on the burner recently? Are there any more books on the way, or another attempt at a computer game?
Oh, and don't forget your towel.
--- "So THAT's what an invisible barrier looks like!" - Time Bandits
Mr. Adams,
I know that "creating content" (buzz word alert) is your livelihood, but how would you feel about "opening" that content at some point?
Do you think, at some point, you may "retire" and make a "gift" of your work to your fans? This becomes more meaningful as books become more of a digital medium. I would love to hand a disc with all of your books on it to a friend.
What I would like to know most of all, is how do you react to this question. Does it seem like a ridiculous question? Does it immediately strike you as something you would not even consider? Is it something you had already considered?
Did you consider piracy when the digital version (I can't remember the name of that computer book doohickey that it was on.) of the Hitchhikers Guide was released? Did the manufacturer convince you that it would not be prevalent, or did you not care?
Is there anything that convinces you that you are outside outside the asylum more than Slashdot?
-Peter
Slashdot cries out for open standards, then breaks them.
You've proven to me, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a person can only fly (under their own power), if just at the moment when they make the attempt, they are immediately and completely distracted by something totally unrelated to the attempt.
Is this a metaphor? Do you believe that we can only reach our truly lofty goals, by not actually paying any attention to them? Or, must we simply be distracted from our goals long enough that reach them without trying to?
Give a hand, not a hand-out.
Mr.Adams as someone who writes books(develops content) what view do you have on napster. It has been argued that commercialism is infringing on the freedom of ideas and that people distributing music for free on the net will force the record compaines to sell their products in a more consumer friendly(some would say cheaper)fashion. How would you feel abouting writing a book and only being paid for it if readers felt the need to?
Frode
z
I have no
It is somewhat amazing to me that many things in your books became internet household words. Did you have any idea when you were writing your books that you would be setting the naming standard used by millions of people?
In the past, you've been a very vocal advocate for Apple products, in particular the Mac. What are your thoughts concerning some of Apple's controversial decisions, such as killing production of the Newton, or where Apple is headed?
Hi Douglas,
I actually asked this question of you in 1998 and again in 1999 and your response was that you are waiting for a better development of the technology.
What do you think about the current development of eBooks? Have you had a chance to look at the eBook XML standard?
When can we hope to see an eBook-like version of the H2G2 as described in the story? (ie not an eBook version of the story H2G2 that you wrote but one similar to what Ford Prefect carries that contains an entire library of known knowledge...)
Obviously something like this would take up terrabytes of information but with storage capacities being what they are, perhaps you can start with a guide to various countries and work from there.
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Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
In the HHGTtG series, you deal with a culture accustomed to instantaneous access to hip information -and- time-travel. It seemed to spiral in on itself, with time being as inconsequential a barrier to getting the best possible parties that geography is in the age of highways and jets.
In the contested twilight of the 20th century, we can go out on any given weekend, and find people dressed up in zoot-suits swing dancing, decked out in bell-bottoms at a disco, and rushing about outdoors attired in the shining armor of medevil knights, whacking each other with sticks.
Has the internet and recursive nostalgia brought us to a point where modern culture is every inch as silly and fractal as the one you created?
Also: I have the phrase "Don't Panic!" marching cheerily across my web-access cell phone's display when not in use. Did you expect to see the technology you envisioned with "The Guide" come to pass in your lifetime? Are you terrified someone might come up with an infinite improbability drive sometime before dinner?
SoupIsGood Food
I'm wondering what happened to the next Dirk Gently book, Salmon of Doubt which was expected over a year ago. And what, besides the web site (which I'm sure is a lot of work) are you up to these days. Finally, what else can we hope to see from you in the future?
----------------- "I have a bone to pick, and a few to break." - Refused -------------------
But my question is: are there any music composition software packages/languages/environments that you find interesting? Anything that Richard MacDuff would find fascinating?
Tweet, tweet.
Infocom's HG2TG Bablefish puzzle is considered one of the greatest puzzles of all time. Beuacracy is considered one of the hardest, but fair, games ever. With the new resurgance of text adventures/interactive fiction in the last couple of years, and the idea that games like Zork will actually have longer life spans, with the coming of handheld wireless devices and the like, than graphical games (books are timeless, I guess a good parser on an IF is as well) have you ever considered reentering the text adventure market?
links
interactfiction.about.com
ifarchive.org
ifiction.tsx.org
when Push Comes to Shove
First, a big thank-you. You've made a lasting contribution to "our" culture (or should that be "culture"?)
I first read HGttG in my early teens. I doubled over laughing the whole time. I read and reread the entire series, bought both Dirk Gently books AND Last Chance to See. Loved them all and wouldn't trade having read them for anything. (btw, the first mental ward scene in Long Dark Teatime is a no-foolin', all-time classic.)
However, a few years ago I was talking to a (then) classmate. Very smart, philosophy-major type. He said (paraphrased) "I thought that HGttG was depressing. Such nihilism." At the time I thought "Hmmm...I didn't SEE a black beret on his head....". But every reading of the series since then his comment has struck me as more true--especially in the case of Arthur Dent. In fact, far from being funny, I now find Dent's character depressing--he's not just a loser, he literally has no control over his life at all (except in So Long for a while). And the control he does have does him no good (e.g. Earth is destroyed while he's trying to save his house.)
So my question is: When you were writing these books did you feel you were being gaily whimsical or did you instead feel frustrated and cynical?
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Linux MAPI Server!
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..about predicting the Internet?
My mental image of the the Guide (outside of the Don't Panic sticker) was a laptop computer with high speed access. The big hint was when you said (paraphrased) "The Guide contains vaste amount of information on every concievable concept, much of it completely erroneous or actively dangerous." That's about the best description of the Net I've seen, and it came about before the thing was mainstream. I guess my question is, Have you ever thought of it that way? Do you like turkey? And what's the deal with Smithers?
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+&x
How much was Lewis Carroll's work an inspiration for your own? Clearly he must have had some influence, regarding the number 42's significance in both his and your works. (Hunting of the Snark: helmsman rule #42; Alice in Wonderland: rule #42 that all persons more than a mile tall must leave the court; etc.) And one needn't go so far as to call both bodies of work "semi-incoherent" to find similarities in style and typical audience.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
A few years ago I read an interview wherein you said that you weren't happy with the way the fifth book turned out and were considering that you might go on to write a sixth book. First, was that interview accurate, and second if it is accurate are you still considering writing a new book for the series?
Now that it's been many years - to the extent you feel free to discuss it, whatever happened between yourself and Infocom way-back-when? Aspiring historians wanna know.
Q2: After what seemed an eternity, it was really neat to see you back on the scene with Starship Titanic. Although I enjoyed ST, I also had the feeling it was also a technology demonstration; here's a basic engine which will allow a few puzzles and the integration of video sequences with some sort of character interaction. The ability to parse text was still there; not quite as much as it was in the Infocom engine, but definitely a lot of potential. Soooooo...
The reason I ask is because, for me, this was the only thing I found lacking (or more accurately, "expected to find more of") in Starship Titanic -- so much of the humor your work series is literary and textual in nature, hence my burning desire for more textual puzzles. The writing behind the ST characters was great; I just wanted to experience more of it from the user's end. For me, that meant being able to type commands to the game, rather than mousing around the screen. And some things seem to be better represented by text than visuals; the Babel Fish puzzle in the original HHGTTG game, for instance, wouldn't have been nearly as funny if rendered only visually - the humor of the puzzle was powerfully enhanced by the writing associated with each failed attempt to get the fish. (Umm, but thanks for at least saving me the trouble of putting the fish in my ear myself!)
And finally...
As an inveterate hater of Wednesdays (middle of the week, its three days since you last had fun and 3 more before you have some more, Wednesday should be a holiday) I've always wondered.
Why did you pick Thursday as the day for that Arthur Dent never got the hang of ?
Oh and if I do get to ask a question I'd better ask another....
There was a Radio Series, a TV series, the books... but no film. What stopped Zaphod becomming the most self-centred person in Hollywood ?
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
One author who is often compared to you in terms of style and humor is Terry Pratchett of Discworld fame. What is your opinion of Pratchett's work? Do you agree or disagree with the comparisons between your works?
Did you write Mostly Harmless because of pressure from your fans, publisher, or accountant? Having read the full series more often than I would like to mention, it seemed to me that there was a lot of bitterness in the last book. Most characters were unhappy most of the time (not just the humans with digital watches), and you brought out the worst parts of these characters.
Also, killing off the main characters seems like the act of an author who is sick of it all, and never wants to think about that part of his work again. It reminds me of a story I once heard about Stan Rogers. He was a folk musician who wrote mostly about Maritime Canada (my neck of the woods). His most famous song was called Barrett's Privateers. It is said people wanted to hear that song so much that he started to hate it, and didn't want to sing it anymore.
Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a good book, but not nearly as innocent as the rest.
------- Mark
What was your initial inspiration for writing the Hitchiker's guide books? Did you realize at the time that most readers just didn't "get it"? Personally, at the time I first read them they seemed *so* distant from reality, but as I get older (33 now), each rereading gets funnier and funnier. I must be getting more of the jokes now.
Finally, did you ever imagine that your books could ever have developed a cult-like following?
This post brought to you by your friendly neighborhood MBA.
Did you endorse the use of "Babelfish" by altavista or did you consider trying to prevent them from using the word as they are far from proving that god does not exist?
Never underestimate the dark side of the Source
I need to know.
I'm thirsty. And sober.
[|]
I believe Mr. Adams wrote a few Doctor Who stories, notably "Shada," "Resurrection of the Daleks," and "Revelation of the Daleks." As yet, "Resurrection of the Daleks" and "Revelation of the Daleks" have not been released on video or in book form due to copyright issues.
With Doctor Who, the story writers retained the copyrights to their own work. Obviously, he doesn't have the copyright on the Daleks themselves (Terry Nation's estate does), but he does on the stories. I remember hearing that he required a lot of convincing to allow "Shada" to be released on video (which ended up being limited-edition, anyway).
What I want to know is, what's the problem with releasing "Resurrection" and "Revelation"? Is it some kind of dispute with Terry Nation's estate due to the use of the Daleks, or is he just being, well...stubborn? (Sorry, I couldn't think of a more polite word.)
One other issue (if this post is actually selected (probably not), please omit the following):
Also, am I the only one who's a little pissed that the NTSC videocassette version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was recorded in EP mode? Excuse me, commercial videos are not supposed to be done in EP!! There was a version on two cassettes in SP mode with a copy of the book, too, but it was (once again) limited-edition.
Also, I've noticed that the book version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that you buy in stores has been split into four parts and called a "triology of four." Ha ha ha, very clever. Those four books are quite thin; couldn't Mr. Adams (or his publisher) have saved us some money by combining them into one, thicker book, like in the limited-edition, SP-mode, NTSC video release? (Sorry if that sounded a little bitter; I just thought splitting up the book into small parts was kind of dumb...)
So just where did the dolphins end up after they left?
Dear Mr. Adams.
While the Hitchhikers' Guide trilogy is very good (I own a copy of the omnibus), I couldn't help but notice that it has 5 (five) parts. For this reason, I enjoy the Dirk Gently books greatly. My question is this:
What is your favourite type of cheese for cucumber, tomato and onion sanwiches on a nice French bread?
Thank you for your time.
Zac
You can never put too much water in a nuclear reactor.
Forget the BBC movie, I want to know about the other movie that is supposedly going to begin filming any day now. Of course, that has been the rumor for the past... decade is it? What gives? I seem to recall reading an interview elsewhere where you said another movie would be filmed besides the BBC that would (naturally) have nothing to do with any of the preceding four (and in a later interview, after Mostly Harmless five) books. Were those interviews ficticious and you never said that, or will there someday be a real, live, Hollywood version of Hitchhiker?
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"Duane Dibbley?" -- Duane Dibbley