dolphin chorus made my day

Friendly reminder to those who may care:

May 25th is Towel Day. It was created to commemorate the life of Douglas Adams, who passed away much to early. Bring your towel around with you on this day, and show your support of a man who has brought much humour to this world.



Went to see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy today, and it did not disappoint. I was surprised to see so many bad reviews of it, but I believe that they were all written by people who HAVE NOT READ THE BOOKS. Seriously, if you haven't already read the books, then of COURSE you will totally not get this movie and all it's subtle (and kooky, playful, clever, and self-deprecating) humour. I suppose there are some movies-based-on-books out there that are wonderfully stand-alone, but I also think that anything with a cult following is far better when you are a fan (this goes for Lord of the Rings as well, but of course newbies are dazzled by the epic CGI since it's a completely different style/genre) - when you keep all of those clever lines in your heart and are thus enchanted when you see it come to life before you. A lot of the lines in the movie, I noticed, are really downplayed; so you have to be expecting them in order to appreciate them. HHGTTG is a movie that is more targeted to a specific (nerd) following, which will be unfortunate for its overall success, but I'm pretty sure that most fans will agree with me when I say it was well done. I particularly liked how Trillian came off as a character; indeed, a helluva improvement over the blonde bimbo from the amusing 80's BBC television series.

What I love most are fairytales. HH fits this category, and you really have to take it as such, and play along in order to have fun, or you won't enjoy it. (For that matter, other examples of my beloved genre are: LOTR, Star Wars, Terry Pratchett's Discworld, Tad Williams' Otherland, etc etc). I find that a lot of truths and things to ponder are often hidden inside these captivating sorts of tales, and the thing that sets them apart from other types of genres is that the authors' environment are unbelievably rich and detailed - you feel like you're living in it. Of course, critics and cynics will say that this is the worst form of escapism, but if I am wallowing in escapism, then so be it.

I'll sign off with a pic of Rincewind, Twoflower, and the Luggage (from Discworld), just for fun:



Terry Pratchett Books

Goin' to Cuba in T-minus 12 days and counting! I wanna visit a banana plantation and go snorkeling :D

posted by starfire @ 11:20 PM