Win a Part in the Hitchhiker's Guide

jweatherley writes "The BBC are offering someone the chance to win a part in the forthcoming Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie. You just have to send them a picture of somewhere on Earth that deserves to be spared from the Vogons by 25 June - oh and be British!" Python impressions don't count ;)

Comments

Some quotes, perhaps?

[strictnein]

Oh yes... might as well start with some nice quotes from the book:

"Drink up."

He added, perfectly factually:

"The world's about to end."

-------------

"You barbarians!" he yelled. "I'll sue the council for every
penny it's got! I'll have you hung, drawn and quartered! And
whipped! And boiled ... until ... until ... until you've had
enough."

Ford was running after him very fast. Very very fast.

"And then I'll do it again!" yelled Arthur. "And when I've
finished I will take all the little bits, and I will jump on
them!"

Re:Some quotes, perhaps?

[David Gould]

send them a picture of somewhere on Earth that deserves to be spared from the Vogons

"Go ahead, if it makes you feel better."

"Will it do any good?"

"No."

Re:Some quotes, perhaps?

[EvanED]

"But Mr. Dent, the plans have been on available at the local planning office for the last nine months."
"Oh yes, well, as soon as I heard I went straight round to see them, yesterday afternoon. You had'nt exactly gone out of your way to call attention to them, had you? I mean, like actually telling anybody or anything."
"But the plans were on display..."
"On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."
"That's the display department."
"With a flashlight."
"Ah, well, the lights had probably gone."
"So had the stairs."
"But look, you found the notice, didn't you?"
"Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It were on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the doory saying 'Beware of the Leopard.'"

Why do I get the feeling it will be possible to reconstruct the entire book from this thread?

Cool, I have my towel and everything!

[Anonymous Coward]

If they are giving away free Babelfish I am so there.

Re:Cool, I have my towel and everything!

[G-funk]

King oath, who hasn't always wanted a babelfish?...

And somewhat in the spirit of the guide, dozens of slashdotters actually cried "I _AM_ an American you insensitive clod!", and yea they were on topic, and the universe did collapse unto itself.

whoohoo

[nizo]

oh and be British!

I knew there was a reason I haven't gone to the dentist in a few years.

Re:whoohoo

[sydb]

Where does this idea come from? I mean, OK, I'm British and my teeth are a shambles, but I'm only a single data point.

Re:whoohoo

[hambonewilkins]

To be fair, the Brits do get "Hedley and Wyche, the British toothpaste"

Mike Myers: You Yanks have borrowed a lot of things from us Brits. You like our pubs, and you like our fish and chips. Well, let me let you in on another little secret: Hedley and Wyche, the British toothpaste!
Phil Hartman: It's the only toothpaste we ever use. One tube lasts for years!
Kevin Nealon: I've used Hedley and Wyche all my life and I've never had to go to the dentist!
Chris Farley: And it tastes great on a cracker!
Mike Myers: What makes brushing with Hedley and Wyche such a pleasure? The mild cleansing agent is combined with two tablespoons of pure cane sugar, for a smile that says, 'Yum, that tastes good.'
All (singing): Hedley and Wyche, the British toothpaste, it works OK and it tastes real great!
Narrator: Hedley and Wyche, the British toothpaste, for a smile that says: "Yum, that tastes gooood!"

On second thought, maybe you have to see the SNL sketch.

I love HGTG

[stev3]

"You know, it's at times like this when I'm trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young!" "Why, what did she tell you?" "I don't know, I didn't listen."

Don't spare THOSE places!

[Shoeler]

Instead of asking places to be spared, can we ask for places to be obliterated?

I won't say which places, of course. I'll be nice. (unless you ask nicely)

Re:Don't spare THOSE places!

[Anonymous Coward]

Instead of asking places to be spared, can we ask for places to be obliterated?
You are American, right?

Wait a minute...

[th1ckasabr1ck]

... THAT must be how Jerome Blake got the part.

Damnit

[mphase]

I'm usually on the other end of this and now I know how much it sucks. I can't partake because I'm American, arg...I mean bloody hell mate I'm as British as apple pi...umm bangers and mash.

Re:Damnit

[falcon5768]

speaking of which, what on gods holy earth IS bangers and mash!!!!!

Re:Damnit

[mopslik]

as British as apple pi

Isn't that a highly irrational comment?

Re:Damnit

[NoNeeeed]

Bangers : Slang for sausages. Presumably because they split when you cook them (if you forget to prick them first). These are not the same a weiners, or hotdogs which tend to be made from much more highly processed 'meat'. British sausages are not smoked, or kept in jars of brine, and are normally burnt to a cinder.

Mash : Mashed potatos.

So, bangers and mash is sausages and mashed potatos.

Mmmmmmmmmm. I suddenly feel very hungry... :->

Terry Gilliam

[fudgefactor7]

Gilliam wasn't a Brit, and he was a Python, and they adored him. But he was *in* Britain, so maybe there's luck that an emigrated Yank could score a roll... Here's hoping, at any rate.

Re:Terry Gilliam

[NoData]

so maybe there's luck that an emigrated Yank could score a roll... Here's hoping, at any rate.

Maybe you've just got to have a real hunger for it...

(where's -1: Groan, right?)

Doesn't seem right...

[Anonymous Coward]

Do Perl impressions count?

Thanks /. !

[Anonymous Coward]

June 25 is in 3 hours in Britain. Timely.

Re:Thanks /. !

[EvilTwinSkippy]

I never could get the hang of Thursdays.

Re:The Book

[strictnein]

and yes... I am an idiot for not linking to it

A picture to send

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps you have a picture of an animal in its natural habitat that blows you away

goatse comes into mind for some reason...

Something tells me...

[Unnngh!]

...that the winner is just going to have a really hot, photogenic girlfriend;)

Re:Something tells me...

[AKAImBatman]

...that the winner is just going to have a really hot, photogenic girlfriend;)

That gives me a good idea. Someone should take a picture of a young lady in a diner looking like she's busy writing something highly intelligent. For the caption write, "Young lady finds the answer to world peace!"

If they're true fans, how could they NOT pcik that one? ;-)

What IS bangers and mash?

[burgburgburg]

Why, it's a A great English family favourite

Sausages and mashed potato, served at the coronation of James II (1685-1688).

Amazing....

[Mz6]

That's amazing that simply linking to the article gets you higher moderation rather than a paste of hte link. I guess we really ARE lazy.

"Python impressions don't count"

[Trikenstein]

wink:wink nudge:nudge say no more

Brittain

[fishybell]

That's it. This is the last straw!

I've been complaining for a long time, but now I'm finally leaving.

Slashdot is way too U.K.-centric. Where's my news about America (land of the free, home of the brave)? I'm sick and tired of all this "Metres this" and "Stones that" crap.

Give me American, or give me death!

Re:Brittain

[Zaiff Urgulbunger]

ahem... just the one "t". Okay?

Re:Brittain

[antic]

I don't know. Britain seems to be all about tea, and one is never enough.

Non-Brits, don't lose hope!

[Strange_Attractor]

In this thread on the article's BBC website, the Responsible Parties strongly hint that they're working on a similar contest open to all.

Yanks need not apply...

[TiggertheMad]

*sigh* We saved them from the hun twice last century, and (possibly) once from the bolshevik hoards. We buy Harry Potter books by the shipload, and we put up with Hugh Grant's acting. Doesn't that cut us enough slack to get a shot at being vaporised by vogons?

If I was british

[fullmetal55]

I'd carve "Slartibartfast" into a glacier, pretend its Norway, and take a picture of it. afterall Slartibartfast won an award for Norway...

Some Ideas:

[irokitt]

o The White House

o Britney Spear's Mansion

o Redmond, Washington

o AOL/Disney/RIAA/$EVIL_CORPORATION headquarters

o Whatever company makes vending machines. I swear, I've lost so much to those things...

Re:Some Ideas:

[Smidge204]

Don't worry, we'll put the plans on display at the local planning office!

=Smidge=

Re:Some Ideas:

[kalidasa]

I believe the technical name for that topos is "the contractors on the Death Star."

Just like the Vogons

[Tjp($)pjT]

They even tell you about their contest when precipitous doom or the end of the entry period is too close to do any thing about it.

Slough

[T-Kir]

Yep, has to be Slough I'm afraid... (plus The Office is based there).

Re:Slough

[Nexus Seven]

And I thought David Brent was a fictional character...

Houses are so expensive because it's within spitting distance of London. Unfortunately, the average salary in Slough is well below the regional average, meaning the town suffers from a very low quality of life. Perhaps that's why I want to commit suicide everytime I go there.

Re:Damn

[frodo from middle ea]

True converstion between me and a MickyD slaes rep. in Pittsburgh, PA

Me:- One hot tea please.
MickyD :- One Ice Tea hot
Me :- (after thinking about what I really heard ) :- No I wan't just Hot tea
MickyD:- Yeas, One Ice tea hot, that's what I put in.
Me:- Just how do you make a Ice tea Hot.
MickyD:- Oh its easy Sir, We just don't use ice and use hot water instead of cold.
Me:- I'm lovin it.

Re:Be British?

[StateOfTheUnion]

Care to share which countries have the term "America" in the name? To the best of my knowledge, there is only one . . . when refering to countries, 'American' refers to the United States of America. If I were comparing continents, I would see your point . . . but I was comparing to British and the term 'Britain' or 'British' typically refers to the UK.

English grammar dictates parallel structure, if one compares, contrasts, or lists a country it is inferred that one is comparing, contrasting or listing that country to or with another country or countries (when the terms can be interpreted as a country or a continent).

Thus 'American' in the context that I used it refers to the citizens of the United States of America.

Don't believe me, check the dictionary

Resident

[gwernol]

oh and be British

No, that's not true:

The competition is open to UK residents only, of 18 years or over. Overseas players are not eligible. You do not have to be a registered member of h2g2 to enter.

You have to be a resident of the UK. I'm British but not a UK resident, so I can't enter. A Frenchman (say) or an American who lived in London would be eligable. That's several million people who you've just misinformed...

Re:Suggested location to be saved

[B.D.Mills]

I'm sure we can think of a few.

send them a picture of somewhere on Earth that deserves to be spared from the Vogons

I will assume that Vogons will be doing the judging. (Given that the competition closes in about 24 hours, this is probably correct.) What appeals to Vogons? Administration. Bureaucratic red tape, sealing wax and paperwork. Ugly, drab functionality.

Therefore, I would send in a picture of an administration building on Earth that is the most ugly, greyest, most drab utilitarian administration building in existence, and that also generates great quantities of bureaucratic paper work for no good reason.

That would be worth preserving - to prove to the universe that the Vogons can be matched elsewhere in the galaxy for sheer bloodyminded bureaucracy.