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Douglas Adams Remembered By Those Who Knew Him
John "Widgett" Robinson writes "IGN FilmForce tapped a bunch of folks who knew and worked with Douglas Adams, asking them to share some stories of their time with the man himself. They've posted the results as an article that includes responses from Pythoner Terry Jones, author Neil Gaiman, actor Stephen Fry, Rutle Neil Innes, zoologist Mark Carwardine, and Monkee Michael Nesmith. I've never heard any of these stories before, so the thing winds up being a unique tribute to a very cool frood."
Yes, yes it is an attempt at humor.
A few years back, the surviving Python members got together on the Tonight Show (IIRC). It was the first time they had been together in years. One of them held an urn holding Chapman's ashes, saying that it really was all of them together again.
Then, not long into the interview, someone dropped the urn and the ashes spilled everywhere. The Python guys went nuts, cleaning it up (one pulled out a dusbuster, while someone else swept the ash under a rug) and then everyone realized it was a joke.
If only we could all be remembered like that.
Actually it's hoopy and/or frood. Froopy was never actually used in the HH books. Note it says 'derived' in the linked definition.
You may commence eating your towel.
Operator, give me the number for 911!
The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy game is one of the best and most difficult text-mode adventure game ever written. It was co-written by Douglas Adams and Steve Meretzky (author of the famous Planetfall and Sorceror, among others).
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The BBC has an interview with Meretzky about how his collaboration with Adams went, a great, long and detailed text, full of information. Now, that's good reporting!
Read it here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/stevem.sh
I didn't know Douglas Adams, but I knew the guy who killed him.
Adams lived and worked out in Montecito, CA, right next to Santa Barbara where I live. At the time I worked out at a small gym called just "The Club" down on lower State Street. It was kind of a personal-trainer gym and most of the people who worked out there had trainers.
Three of the trainers decided to start their own private gym in Montecito, and one of them had Adams as a client. That was where he died.
Apparently the private gym didn't have defibrillator equipment, nor had these personal trainers had any classes in using that kind of equipment. Adams' unexpected heart attack didn't have to be fatal. As he lay gasping his last breaths at the foot of this trainer, a guy I had seen around The Club, the trainer just stood there staring helplessly, wondering what to do.
It's a sad story, and the lesson is, make sure your gym has defib equipment, and make sure the trainers know how to use it. It could save your life some day. Don't let yourself end up as another preventable tragedy like Douglas Adams.