HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY Day!!!

One of the cool things about having a blog is the fact that I, effectively, have my own little universe here.

Everything that I report about is what I perceive. And what I perceive isn't an event, but the way that I remember that event -- the way that event exists IN MY MIND. And what you perceive of those events I report on is what happens in YOUR MIND as you read MY WORDS. You read my words and they unfold an event in your mind, and that becomes the reality of the universe that is this web-log.

SO...

As the sort of creator of this little virtual universe that is rayjaysblog, I can name myself mayor.

Mayor Ray Jay.

And as mayor, I can create new holidays to commemorate the people and events that I feel are most important and influential!

Therefore, as Mayor Ray Jay -- mayor of RayJaysBlog -- in commemoration of one of the GREATEST literary minds OF ALL TIME, Douglas Adams, and in commemoration of the single work that introduced his brilliance to the world, and in commemoration of the single incarnation of this work that proved most elusive even though not ultimately unatainable, I declare Tuesday, September 13, 2005 THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY Day!!!

That's right! From midnight tonight until midnight tomorrow, it is officially HHGG Day all over RayJaysBlog!!!

Tomorrow is a holiday for me! When I get off work tonight, I'm stopping by Walmart and picking up a copy of the Widescreen Edition of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY on dvd, then Brian and I will most likely watch it and the bonus features until one or both of us pass out!

Then, when we wake up, MORE HHGG!!!

I'm listening to the Primary Phase of the radio show in my car.

No work tomorrow. (Actually, that's just kind of how my schedule works out, but HEY! Who CARES, right?)

I don't think I'll be watching the 1982 BBC TV series in commemoration, though. I'll probably just stick to the current dvd. (Better directing, better sfx, hotter Trillian.)

AND... I invite YOU to -- whithin the guidelines of your own spiritual beliefs and lifestyle choices, naturally -- celebrate HHGG Day with me! I get that maybe you didn't set aside money just for the release of this dvd as I did. And maybe you don't own the BBC TV show, or the BBC radio show version, or even any of the books.

That's okay!

Here are a couple of links that will allow you to enjoy the genius that is Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy without spending a dime:

www.hitchikersmovie.com

www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers/game

www.douglasadams.com

www.h2g2.com

The first one is the official movie website. I recommend the games, but in particular you MUST play with the animated GUIDE!!! It's only got a few entries, but they're fun! You can find the Guide in the "Characters" section of the site. (The Guide is, indeed, an important character in the stories.)

The second link takes you to a Flash version of Douglas Adams's 1985 text adventure game version of HHGG! It's infuriating, but FUN! Plus, BBC has Game Hints off to the left of the game screen, so when (not "if") you get stuck you can have Douglas himself help you out with hints he wrote back in the 80s!

The third link is to DNA's website. HHGG Day really isn't about any version of HHGG, it's about that whimsical, stimulating, FUN state of mind that Douglas Adams is, uniquely, able to place us in. So if you don't know tons about Douglas, or you want to learn more, this is a good place.

The last link is to a site Douglas co-created on the Net in the mid-90s. When he created the fictitious Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- the book within the books -- he has it written by contributors who beamed their entries into the Sub-etha Net, so that those entries could be viewed INSTANTANEOUSLY by any Hitchhiker's Guide unit (think laptop or Palm Pilot, in Real World terms) out there.

In 1978, when Douglas created the fictitious Guide, he had NO IDEA that the Internet was going to develop along almost exactly the same lines as his Sub-Etha Net.

But once he realized that it HAD done so, he helped develop a website that allowed contributors to upload their entries about life, the universe, and everything onto the Internet, so that those entries can be viewed instantaneously by any PC, laptop or Net-capable Palm Pilot out there.

And if you're wondering: Yes, I am a contributor! I have contributed to date, ONE whole entry! A review of WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW?!. (Just seemed like SOMEONE should mention that movie on that site!)

So go check out my review of WTBDWK?! on h2g2, and play Dougla's text adventure game, and check out the clever Flash version of the Guide, and do whatever else you can think of to help ensure you HAVE A HAPPY HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY DAY!!!