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Group Hopes to Rename Street After Douglas Adams
interstellar_donkey writes "Despite the recent brouhaha over the renaming of 4th Ave after César Chávez, a Portland group is pushing to rename a local street after the late writer Douglas Adams. The street? Why, 42nd Ave, of course. According to their website, the renaming will reflect Portlanders' commitment to the arts, respect for the environment, desire to provide technological access to all, their passion to further education to all people, and most importantly remind Portlanders DON'T PANIC. This appears to be a serious movement, with preliminary paperwork already in the works."
Is this the first story to feature a period at the end of the title?
It would be so much more in the spirit of Douglas Adams.
Call the intersection at 6th and 9th 42.
All streets will be named Douglas Adams. Only the hoopiest of froods will manage to find their way.
Adams was pretty famous for his environmental activism, in particular campaigning on behalf of endangered species. There's more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams#Environmental_activism
The point they're trying to make is that by renaming the street in his honour, they are both showing respect to the man and what he stood for.
...another group has started preliminary paperwork to have 23rd renamed "Illuminatus", and a Prostitute Action Group are to rename 68th "We'll Owe You One".
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
Actually Matt Groening is from Portland,OR and many of the Simpsons character are named after streets in Portland.
I would strongly recommend not clicking that.
The link above got blocked by my stuff, but very little research reveals it's something you don't want to click on anywhere, especially not work.
For those who are interested, Douglas gave a lecture just a few weeks before his tragic demise. You can watch it here:
http://webcast.ucsd.edu:8080/ramgen/UCSD_TV/5779UniCalSanBar.rm
I've been a fan of douglas adams ever since I caught the very first broadcast of episode one of Hitch-hikers on the radio by pure, joyous chance.
I was somewhat surprised in later years to realise that it was actually his factual work 'Last Chance to See' that was my favorite of all his works (thought the Dirk Gebtly books are a close second). I never much liked the h2G2 books, I prefer the radio play.
Boring, boring, boring.....
The metropolis of London has no numbered streets, no grid system and numerous name conflicts - the number of 'High Streets' is - if I remember correctly - in excess of 50 and we Brits manage fine. And how can you live in a town which hasn't, at some point in its history, featured a 'Gropecunt Lane'.
init 11 - for when you need that edge.
I can see business booming in that street if renamed.
Restaurants, holistic detective agencies, sandwich stands, towel and fish shops...
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I live in Europe, and we have had names for our streets since... Well, since the streets were placed there. And I can tell you that we're not hopelessly getting lost all the time. The human brain is quite capable of linking names to places...
Naming a street after someone is a great tribute to that person, and in my book Douglas Adams deserves to have more than 1 street named after him. 42 of them in fact!
09 f9 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 c5 63
So that's where I left my towel.
http://jfin.org/jFin pure java open source financial library
If any street in London is to be renamed it must be in Islington. As a resident of the area DNA used to live Id suggest one of the side streets off upper street... maybe near Hotbalck Desiatos(for those that dont know thats a real estate agent... the real estate agent came first). How does one get the ball rolling on renaming a street in London? Id be up for a petition or whatever. Actually Ive come over quite serious all of a sudden. If anywhere has a street named after Douglas then it should be in Islington. If anyone has any ideas please mail be at kilgoretrout11235@yahoo.com
Oh and did you know threadneedle st used to be a gropecune lane?
No doubt being in America they're going to try and call it Doglas Adams or some other such vowel-mangling.
-1 not first post
You will of course need a "TomTom" the size of a planet to find it.
Genesis 1:32 And God typed
I live on 34th and NE Stanton, just 8 blocks (20 blocks per mile in Portland, so .4 miles away), and AS a resident, I HEAVILY support this measure. I used to work on 42nd and Broadway and am involved in the local business community there.
I'm also an atheist and an environmentalist, as are most of the people here. Well, there are a lot of lesbians, too, at least according to the Census Bureau factfinder website (I have no idea how they found that out, but it's true, for I bought my house from a couple).
It actually came up because the Hispanic community wanted to rename Interstate Ave after Cesar Chavez (since Union was renamed MLK), which the people on Interstate thought was dumb, so it met with heavy public protest. The Mayor and Council were all for it, and then the public found out.
Since 42nd is a kind of major street, it would be very cool to have it renamed after Douglas Adams! We could open a Don't Panic Coffee Shop (or electronic gadget store).
I think the only major complaint would come from "42nd Street Station", a little mini-mall just off Sandy Blvd that would probably have to change their name!
It just needs some money to pay for paperwork, so please, donate!
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One of the many changes involved in the paperwork is actually that a residential area will be bulldozed to make way for a highway overpass to the new Douglas Adams Avenue.
Using Dirk Gently's I Ching Calculator (please do follow the instructions), I came to the following conclusion regarding renaming the street:
THE JUDGEMENT OF KING WEN:
28. EXTREME OVERLOAD
The Environment Is Demand Temporarily Load With Many Events, Ideas And Situations, Which Your Consideration. You/They May Fight In Your Attempt, To Solve Problems. If Problems Is Not Bothered From Misunderstanding And Lack At Assessment By Other At Your Attempts, To Solve. If Your Poise Maintain Will Help You, To Follow. Do Not Use Powerful Methods. His Flexible And Prepare You For Fast Passages.
THE COMMENTARY OF THE DUKE OF CHOU:
Line 2: With The Right Companions, You Can Reach Almost Everything
The irony is, his last speech had the title "Last Chance To See"
Having read most of his books, I wish he was still around
Why not rename Gladstone Street, it already has The Pub at the End of the Universe. http://portland.citysearch.com/profile/11495658/portland_or/pub_at_the_end_of_the_universe.html
threadeds blog
I would rename a street after Aleister Crowley
It was his favourite, too.
For those who have never been in Portland, Oregon, we should explain that people are a little different here.
Question: Why do hippies move to Portland? Answer: Because there are no jobs.
The world's smallest park is here, and the world's largest bookstore.
The spirit of Douglas Adams lives on in the body of Linus Torvalds, who lives in Portland, creating artistic chaos for commercial operating systems. Douglas Adams loved technical gizmos. "Douglas was a keen technologist, writing about such inventions as e-mail and Usenet before they became widely popular, or even widely known." Linus Torvalds makes technical gizmos happen.
"Manage fine"? When the tube got bombed in 2005, the bookstores quickly ran out of A-Z books (detailed city map books) 'cause commuters couldn't find their way home without them.
In a rational sort of city, the natives don't walk around with maps.
"We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different!" -- Kurt Vonnegut
I live also in Portland and I simply detest these street name changes. This isn't simply a matter of swapping a handful of street signs. There are millions of maps both printed and internet-based throughout the world that are now out-of-date. And with millions of GPS navigational devices being installed in cars and other vehicles, all the software becomes invalid. And with the absurd tendency to change a major street name every few years, none of the software for Portland Oregon is ever correct. Try renting a car from the airport and trying to find an address on Portland Blvd, and then getting lost in Northeast Portland. What a nightmare.
This street-renaming tendency results from the inability to tell the difference between an empty symbolic gesture and an action that would really make a difference in the lives of the people? For instance, instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on a street name change for Cesar Chavez, why not spend the same amount of money developing a public domain software program that translates Mexican Indian languages like Maya and Zapotec into English. There are thousand or so Mexicans in Portland and the Willamette Valley who don't speak Spanish but occasionally interact with the locals. A language translation utility would be much more useful to the Mexican people in Oregon than an empty symbolic gesture like a street name change. It would be more in spirit with Cesar Chavez's actual vision of doing serious and concrete things to help his people in their daily lives.
Hmm. Does that make your local MLK Blvd a handle to Jesus? It might be handy if you expect Jesus' address to change.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
It's too bad there aren't any numbered avenues in N Portland, the fifth of Portland's increasingly inaccurately named quadrants...
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.