Thursday, December 22, 2011

H2G2 Live on Tour in UK, the site and first dates


The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show Live will tour the UK from the 8th June. Already 18 dates have been confirmed and you can start booking now.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show Live will star the original radio series cast including Simon Jones (Arthur), Susan Sheridan (Trillian), Geoffrey McGivern (Ford), Mark Wing Davey (Zaphod) and Stephen Moore (Marvin).

The show will be adapted, written directed by Dirk Maggs who already directed for Radio 4 the radio adatpations of the last three H2G2 books and the two Dirk Genlty books.

The show will only be available latter as downloads and CD (but no DVD). According to Dirk Maggs, "show downloads will only be available to people who've attended that night's show *BUT* there will be a special CD recording for general release which will be extra specially super in ways we are still dreaming up!". 

For the dates, and links to websites where you can start the booking frenzy, please go on the official website :

http://www.hitchhikerslive.com/

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Tickets for Douglas Adams virtual 60th birthday Party for sale !



You can now buy tickets for Douglas Adams virtual 60th birthday party that will take place at the Hammersmith Apollo in London the 11th March 2012!

"11 March 2012 would have been Douglas Adams’ 60th Birthday. To celebrate this event, Douglas' family and friends, in association with 'Save The Rhino' (one of Douglas' favourite charities) are holding a very special birthday celebration in his honour at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The event will feature science, music, comedy and interviews with some very special guests, including Brian Cox, Robin Ince, Terry Jones, Dara O’Briain, Stephen Mangan and many more."

http://www.hmvtickets.com/events/4602

UPDATE :

there is an official website : http://douglasadamstheparty.com/

Among the guests, there are :

- Terry Jones and Michael Palin (Monty Pythons)
- David Gilmour and Nick Mason (Pink Floyd)
- Gary Brooker (Procul Harum)

And many more...

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Douglas Adams' virtual birthday party & Hitchhiker Live 2012



Here are some brand new informations about two upcoming events that any Douglas Adams' fan won't want to miss.

It's the first time we get info about the Douglas Adams' virtual birthday party.

"1) March 11th 2012:
DOUGLAS ADAMS' VIRTUAL BIRTHDAY PARTY - Douglas's family and friends are organising a splendid one-off in aid of Save The Rhino at the Hammersmith Apollo in London to celebrate Douglas's 60th. Tickets will be available. On stage various guest including Pythons, Professors and Plank Pluckers from Douglas's musical friends. More info soon on that from James and me."


We already announced here the upcoming Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy Live show that will tour in the UK but Dirk Maggs give us more informations on the show and confirmations about the people involved.

"2) June/July 2012:
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY - LIVE!
Our first UK Tour.
Based on the five Hitchhiker novels by Douglas Adams, Adapted written & directed by Dirk Maggs.
Performed live on stage by Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Susan Sheridan and Mark Wing-Davey, with the voice of Stephen Moore as Marvin the Paranoid Android (we are debuting a new-look Marvin). Live Band led by Philip Pope. Live Effects by Ken Humphrey and Dirk Maggs. Guest Voices Of The Book to be announced. Tickets hopefully on sale by Christmas - we are working hard this week to get bookings finalised. Poster will be sorted soon as well. It's going to be quite something and - though being performed radio-style - very visual too. Just about the most exciting thing I've worked on since we were last all together. Hope you can come."

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Jane Belson, Douglas Adams' widow, passed away

Polly Adams and Jane Belson (oil on Canvas, 2010, Philip Morgan)


Jane Belson just passed away, peacefully during her sleep,  this morning 7th september 2011, about ten years after her husband Douglas Adams. She was 59 years old and suffered from cancer for many years.

Jane Belson met Douglas after the break up with his previous love affair. He was then looking for a flat mate and they were introduced by a common friend Mary Allen. Jane moved in the spare bedroom in spring 1982. He was then trying to finish "Life, the universe and everything" : "There would be bursts of typing punctuated by long bits of guitar playing (acoustic - the electric guitar came later and annoyed the hell out of our neighboors). I'd come home from chambers to find Douglas waiting to read me what he had written, scrutinizing my reactions minutely and checking carefully to see that I was laughing in the right way at the right joke. It was my first encounter with a writer (well anybody really) who needed that level of reassurance" she told years later to Nick Webb, Douglas Adams first publisher and biographer ("Wish you were here", 2003).

"Jane and Douglas became friends, then lovers and eventually soulmates" explained Nick Webb. After almost getting married in 1985, they lived apart for a while but Jane Belson and Douglas Adams finally got married on November 25 1991, the day Pan Books threw a party for Douglas in the Groucho Club in London's Soho to celebrate the recent Pan publication of Last chance to See and the presentation of Douglas' third golden Pan award. It was a surprise for the guests of the said party as they got married this very afternoon.

Douglas and Jane had a daughter Polly born on 22 June 1994.

Polly wrote on her twitter account : "I wouldn't change the last 17 year for the world. I could never have asked for a better role model or friend. Rest in peace, mummy."

More informations about Douglas Adams' life on my online DNA biography page on douglasadams.eu.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

The H2G2 game is in fact an Ipad/Iphone app!



Ok, some of you may be disapointed by this news ("What? there won't be an other Hitchhiker game?? But i'm waiting since 1985") but others will be very please to know that, according to Wired.com, Hothead Games is working on an Hitchhiker app for Iphone and Ipad, involving Simon Jones (Yes! Arthur Dent himself!) that "will, essentially, be your own copy of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — the device from the stories, not the stories themselves. "

"I mean, you can pull up Wikipedia on your smartphone, but will it tell you about the Babel Fish or the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal? Well, OK, of course it will, because it’s largely written by geeks. But will it tell you about them with cartoons on a soothing green background and tell you about them aloud in Simon Jones’s voice? I think not. "

"The app will be all about the Hitchhiker’s universe, as though you really were using the Guide. Like the Star Trek PADD app that came out recently for iOS, the Hitchhiker’s app will be somewhat interactive, but will not go so far as to be a game. That’s despite the fact that the company that’s producing it, Hothead Games, is (as its name would subtly suggest) primarily a maker of games."



Of course I still wish they make a new computer adventure game from Hitchhiker, but this is great news too. Many tried along the year to make their own Hitchhiker book using a mobile device and wikipedia (see this example : http://io9.com/389983/now-you-can-have-the-real-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy), but even if wikipedia is often "apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate," it is certainly not as funy as the real Guide.

According to an other site, the Application will be ready "this fall. The price will be $0, and it appears as if future entires will be paid downloads".  I'm not great fan of additional paid downloads, as it can rapidly become a lot more expensive that what you would have wished to pay for the application. It means also that the free content could be quite limited, and some additional content would be produced only if people are willing to pay for it. If you've got to pay for each entry of the guide you would like to see it would be quickly annoying. Even if it would be quite funny (ir you're a masochist) to pay 0,79 euros for the entry about the planet earth !

Well, anyway, i'm a  bit masochist, and I can't wait to install the app on my ipad. I already bought my Don't Panic Ipad case  and installed my don't panic wallpaper. Come  on guys, i'm ready !!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Don't miss original Hitchhiker TV Series artwork on ebay

 Rod Lord has put a lot of new incredible items on ebay and continues to put new ones each week. So if you're interested with incedible collector items for The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy TV series, you have to watch very closely this list :


http://shop.ebay.co.uk/rodlord/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562

If you don't want to miss any item posted by Rod Lord on ebay join Rod's H2G2 mailing list http://www.rodlord.com/pages/hhgg.htm

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

New original Hitchhiker TV Series artwork on ebay



Rod Lord has put on auction four more Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy TV series artworks. Be careful it's just three day long auctions.


H2G2_ AW_011 : Babel Fish Sequence (early design)

"An item from the early stages of the Babel Fish sequence, the first half of which constituted the initial pilot test piece for the BBC.This item is an early "key" pencil drawing on 305x252 mm animation paper made by Rod Lord in the early stages of planning and layout for the part of the sequence where the Babel Fish turns head on in the centre of screen while a human head appears on the left and an Alien head on the right."

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290584173244&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

H2G2_ AW_012 : Babel Fish Sequence (early design)

"An item from the early stages of the Babel Fish sequence, the first half of which constituted the initial pilot test piece for the BBC.
This item is an early "key" pencil drawing on 305x252 mm animation paper made by Rod Lord in the early stages of planning and layout for the part of the sequence where the Babel Fish turns head on in the centre of screen while a human head appears on the left and an Alien head on the right.
The drawing on the left fixed with masking tape is an early stage of the change from the earlier more rounded style to the more "digital" feel of the final animation.
On the back of the drawing is an early stab at a similar change for the Alien's brain."

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290584177955&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

H2G2_ AW_013 : Babel Fish Sequence (early design)

"Items from the early stages of the Babel Fish sequence, the first half of which constituted the initial pilot test piece for the BBC.
These two animation cells were traced by Rod Lord and intended for the part of the sequence where the Babel Fish turns head on in the centre of screen while a human head appears on the left and an Alien head on the right.
When these cells were traced the intention was to paint them on the back in the conventional animation technique and use them as artwork layers under the rostrum camera using normal top lighting. They never got painted because the whole approach to technical production changed."

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290584571172&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123


H2G2_ AW_014 : Babel Fish Sequence (early design)

Items from the early stages of the Babel Fish sequence, the first half of which constituted the initial pilot test piece for the BBC.

This package represents the initial design work for the shift from the early more rounded style to the straighter more digital feel used for the finished work.

1 - A pencil drawing on 305x252 mm animation paper for the Babel Fish.
2 - A pencil drawing on 305x252 mm animation paper for the innards.
3 - A pencil drawing on 305x252 mm animation paper for the skeleton.
4 - An animation cell with a painted outline of the Babel Fish intended for the early intention of conventional top-lighting under the rostrum camera.
5 - An animation cell with a painted mask designed to be used over the outline for when the innards layer would be added.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290584182030&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:GB:1123

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

H2G2.com's future : the bright side of life?

On 24 January 2011, the BBC announced cuts of 25% to its online budget and that it wanted to close or dispose of 200 websites...  including H2G2.com. The H2G2 researchers soon gathered in The H2G2 Community Consortium to try to save H2G2.com

After months of anguish, yesterday, 21th June, The BBC have confirmed the success of the three-way bid by Robbie Stamp, the Community Consortium and Noesis.  

As you certainly know, Robbie Stamp was the former chairman of The Digital Village, the e-company co-founded by Douglas Adams and which released the Starship Titanic computer game and launched h2g2.com in 1999.

Other members of the winning team are Noesis Systems (http://noesify.com/) is an international social media provider and the the h2g2c3 (the interim H2G2 comunity consortium comitee!) which acts on behalf of the h2g2 community.

It's great to have Robbie Stamp on board again, ant the team seems very enthusiasts.

"Our primary objective in this first phase will be to transition h2g2 from the BBC onto Noesis servers. This part of the operation has been dubbed 'No Researcher Left Behind'. We will migrate entries and conversations to Noesis servers and match researchers with their personal spaces. More details of this project are forthcoming, but in the meantime, Don't Panic.

Once h2g2 is running stably and researchers settled into our new home, Phase Two begins and it will be time to focus our attention on building traffic, publishing more official entries more quickly, improving user experience and seeking ways to build revenue, which are likely to include sponsorship and advertising. The original h2g2 was supported by advertising.

Volunteerism has always played a major role in the success of h2g2. Soon teams of volunteers will be assuming the duties currently performed by BBC staff: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A85803384

An overview of the current volunteer schemes can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A42623219. Your help is very welcome.

If Phase Two is successful then it is the clear intention to move to Phase Three, which will mean the creation of a fully commercial 'for profit' entity, with its own Board. This company will assume operational control of the site, will be granted an exclusive world wide license to develop the assets held by the Foundation and will be able to seek external investors.

The Commercial 'trading arm' will be mandated to return a percentage of profits and/or a royalty to the Foundation, which will also be free to fund raise to support its activities in the way that any Charity would be.

It also is our intention to find a 'felt fair' mechanism to reward researchers building the Guide, should we all have created significant value at some stage in the future. Indeed now we have won the bid, we are working with the lawyers to establish the deeds for the Trust and to create the best way of doing just that.

The Community will also have the right to elect a Board Member to the Commercial Company and to elect a Trustee to the Charity Board.

At this stage we would intend that some paid staff be taken on to work full- and part-time with the volunteers. There will also be business development activities as we look for partners, sponsors and advertisers.

Alongside the development of the site, the emphasis in Phase Three will very much be on mobile development. It is this phase, the ability to deliver the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on smart phones, that will really take us a big step closer to realizing Douglas's original vision.

One thing that h2g2 has always done very well is develop writers. Through the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Foundation we can develop writers not only through the tried-and-true Peer Review process here on the site but also through schools, online tutorials and other charitable trusts. As more writers join our ranks we can build our Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything faster.

This strategy gives us a chance to build on Douglas Adams's original vision. It shows deep respect for and includes the Community, is broken down into realistic steps and has social responsibility at its heart with the creation of the Foundation."

The full text is here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/forums/A639056/conversation/view/F77636/T8244180

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Upcoming new H2G2 videogame



This was announced on towel day. Hothead Games will release a new game adaptation of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy... almost thirty years after the famous Infocom text adventure.

Right now we don't have any further informations. We don't know what kind of game it will be or on which platform it will run, and even when it will be actually released!

Hothead's most famous game is DeathSpank, a game released on XBoxlive and PSN for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 : "Created by Ron Gilbert, the legendary mind behind Monkey Island, DeathSpank is the rarest of the rare: an honestly funny, fun video game" according to Hothead games! Here is a review at ign :  http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/110/1106111p1.html

Hothead Games has also released "Bunny and the Zombie Slayer" and "Chromanoids" for iphone, and also "Precipe of darkness",  an episodic RPG/Adventure based on the popular comic strip "Penny Arcade" (pc/mac/PSN/XboxLive).

Hothead games has launched a website (well a webpage right now) for the upcoming Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy game that you can see here

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Happy Towel Day 2011 !!



Check http://www.towelday.org - There are Towel Day events everywhere in the world !!!

Don't forget your towel !

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Ten years...



Douglas Adams passed away the 11th May 2001 in California. He was only 49 years old. He had so many things do yet. He is still dearly missed by his family and his fans.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Hitchhiker Live 2012 : Exclusive interview with Dirk Maggs !

Dirk Maggs (the guy in the middle of the picture) during the rehearsals of Hitchhiker Live at the Hitchcon in 2009


Dirk Maggs, who is going to adapt and direct the upcoming Hitchhiker Live event that will tour the UK in 2012, has agreed to answer a few questions in exclusivity for douglasadams.eu.

Read Dirk Maggs' answers about the upcoming HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY RADIO SHOW - LIVE

Monday, April 25, 2011

H2G2 live will tour the UK in 2012!!!



Some days ago, James Thrift, Douglas Adams' brother, announced that we should "Watch out for some fantastic Hitchhikers news on it's way soon!"

Simon Jones finally announced it on Radio 3 on Monday 25th : "THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY RADIO SHOW - LIVE !" will be "a major UK touring event for 2012".

The show will  star all the main original cast still alive including SIMON JONES as ARTHUR DENT GEOFFREY McGIVERN as FORD PREFECT STEPHEN MOORE as MARVIN SUSAN SHERIDAN as TRILLIAN and MARK WING-DAVEY as ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX.

The show will be adapted, written and directed by DIRK MAGGS (yes the genius who did Hitchhiker Live at the Hitchcon and also adapted and directed the three last books of H2G2 for Radio 4 and also the two Dirk Gently books). PHILIP POPE will be the musical director.


Of course, this is great news for all Hitchhiker fans! I hope to publish an interview with Dirk Maggs very soon on http://www.douglasadams.eu.

Here is the press release : "Arthur Dent is having a bad day. Both his house and his planet have been demolished. The girl he really - really - fancies is on the third arm of a two-headed alien. His best friend isn't from Guildford after all, but a small planet near Betelgeuse. He can't find a decent cup of tea because there's no such thing any more. And he's still wearing his dressing gown.
Next year, UK theatre audiences will be able to experience the world's favourite sci-fi comedy at first hand, by those who helped create it, from the Heart Of Gold to the Restaurant At the End Of The Universe, performed live on stage by Simon Jones and the original Hitchhiker's cast, re-creating their iconic characters in a radio-style show filled with laughter, really wild sound effects and drinks with extremely silly names.
Douglas Adams's legendary comic sci-fi saga is packed with unique cultural and comedy 'firsts'. It spawned six best-selling novels, five award-winning BBC Radio series, a Television series and a blockbuster movie. Translated worldwide, it was voted Number One Audiobook Ever and one of the Best Loved Books In Britain. Its unique, irreverent and hilarious views on everything from Tea-making to Towels have won it an ever-growing band of devoted readers, listeners and viewers. This self- contained adventure will introduce newcomers to Babel Fish, Marvin the Paranoid Android and the Ultimate Answer to Life, The Universe And Everything, while delighting Hitchhiker fans of all ages.
Directed by Dirk Maggs - Douglas Adams's choice to conclude the saga in its original medium - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Radio Show Live will explode on tour in the UK in 2012.
   
Whatever else you do in 2012, make sure you know where your towel is ..." 


Note that the event will soon have its own website here : http://www.hhgglive.com 

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Dirk Genlty TV series : the BBC orders more episodes



At last, here's some good news (or bad news if you didn't like the pilot). BBC Four has ordered three more one hour long instalments of Dirk Gently. The pilot, broadcast in december, was well received even if some critics and viewers complained because the pilot was not a straight adaptation of Dirk Gently's novels.



According Digital Spy, The programme's star Stephen Mangan has now confirmed that the BBC has asked for some new episodes.

Writing on his Twitter page, he said: "Dirk Gently gets recommissioned! BBC Four have asked for 3 x one hours... No news yet on what they will be about/which bits of the books will be there/when they will be on. (sic)"

Mangan also joked: "That's the good news, the bad news is that Gok Wan will be playing Dirk and Kay Burley will be Richard MacDuff."



When he signed for the part, Mangan said: "I've been a fan of Douglas Adams ever since the Hitchiker's [Guide To The Galaxy]radio series which I used to record as a child and listen to over and over again in my bedroom. It's such a thrill now to be playing one of his brilliant characters. Dirk is a chaotic, anarchic force of nature with a totally unique take on the world. He is described as 'lazy, untidy, dismissive and unreliable'. I've absolutely no idea why they thought I'd be right for the role."

We're still not sure if  the Cold Feet actress Helen Baxendale and Darren Boyd, will also be part of the new episodes as Susan and Richard.



Some articles :


http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/31/dirk-gently-to-return-to-bbc4
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/31/dirk-gently-to-return-to-bbc4

Friday, March 25, 2011

"Shada" will be novelized and published in march 2012


That's great news for Douglas Adams and Dr Who fans. "Shada" is a lost story written by Douglas (it was partly filmed but it was stopped because of a strike). In 1992, its recorded footage was released on video using linking narration by Tom Baker to complete the story (with a booklet of the full script). Part of the shada storyline was included in the first Dirk Gently book.
According The Guardian, "Large parts of the story had already been filmed on location in Cambridge before industrial action at the BBC brought production to a halt. The drama was never finished, and in the summer of 1980 Shada was abandoned – although various later projects attempted to resurrect it.
Douglas Adams's Doctor Who series are among the very few which have never been novelised, reportedly because the author wanted to do them himself but was always too busy. Gareth Roberts, a prolific Doctor Who scriptwriter, has now been given the job.
Publisher BBC Books declared the book "a holy grail" for Time Lord fans. Editorial director Albert De Petrillo said: "Douglas Adams's serials for Doctor Who are considered by many to be some of the best the show has ever produced. Shada is a funny, scary, surprising and utterly terrific story, and we're thrilled to be publishing the first fully realised version of this Doctor Who adventure as Douglas originally conceived it."
Ed Victor, the literary agent representing the Douglas Adams estate, said: "The BBC have been asking us for years [to allow a novelisation of Shada] and the estate finally said, 'Why not?'" Having Roberts novelise the Adams script was "like having a sketch on a canvas by Rubens, and now the studio of Rubens is completing it," he added. The book will be published in March 2012 as a £16.99 hardback."
 Good news is that Gareth Roberts is an experienced writer who already wrote a lot of doctor who stories and who also worked a little in comedy for the Fast Show.
 Last october, 2|entertain announced that they will release Shada on DVD.
Big Finish has also released an audio version in 2003 with Paul McGann as the doctor.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

H2G2 back on stage at Glasgow (24th march-2 april)

The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy is back on stage! It's great news after years of shortage (apart from the great Hitchhiker Live events in 2008 and 2009, H2G2 have been quite rare on stage since Disney bought the rights of the movie in 1998).

You can read here an article about the diverent versions of Hitchhiker on stage.

The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy will be on stage at the Ramshorn Theatre from the 24th mars to the 2 april thanks to the Strathclyde Theatre Group.

AGNERS GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL
Strathclyde Theatre Group with Radio Theatre Group
Thursday 24 March - Saturday 2 April@ 7.30
THE HITCH-HIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
by Douglas Adams
directed by Susan C. Triesman @ Bruce Downie
PEOPLE OF EARTH YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!
A rare opportunity to witness the hilarious legendary BBC series: the one that pushed back the boundaries of radio comedy. DON’T PANIC! Bring your towel!!  An epic adventure in time and space including some helpful advice on how to see the Universe for less than 30 Altairian dollars a day. Imagine being in the studio for the first ever recording!!
There is nothing funnier than the original radio scripts by the great comic genius, Douglas Adams. Meet Deep Thought and find the Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything! Meet Marvin the Paranoid Android!! Spend quality time with Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Zaphod Beeblebrox,Trillian and Slartifartblast!!!
Tickets: Mon – Tues £7/4 Wed – Sat £10/7
Advance booking: www.ticketsoup.com

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Islington's people plaque : vote for douglas adams

Douglas Adams lived in several flats in Islington (the famous Borough of London). Here is the presentation on Islingon council website : "Douglas Adams was best known for his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio series and books. His other works include the Dirk Gently and Meaning of Liff books and his defence of biodiversity, Last Chance to See. He moved to Upper Street in 1981 and to Duncan Terrace in the late 1980s. His works contain frequent local references – Hitchhikers, for example, includes a character named ‘Hotblack Desiato’ after a local estate agent, key characters who met at an Islington party… and scenes in a prehistoric cave in the borough. Adams died of a heart attack aged 49."


Even if you are not british you can vote for Douglas Adams. Voting  closes on 28 February 2011.


As explained on the site "Islington’s green plaques celebrate historic people, places and events in the borough.  

The selection panel have now shortlisted the ten nominations listed below and it's up to you to decide. The five nominations that receive the most votes will be awarded an Islington People's Plaque."
To vote, please go here and fill the form (very easy, it will takes just a few seconds of your time) :

Monday, February 7, 2011

"42: Douglas Adams' Amazingly Accurate Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything" also hits the shelves!


Peter Gill has just published his "42 : Douglas Adams' amazingly accurate answer to life the universe and everything" (published by "Beautiful books").

If you ever wanted to know anything about 42, then this book should be a nice choice. And it seems to be a must-read for the Hitchhiker and Douglas fans.

Here is a review published in The Guardian : http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/03/douglas-adams-42-hitchhiker#start-of-comments

And another one in The Independant : http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/the-meaning-of-life-42-things-about-42-2205734.html

A presentation on the publisher's site : http://www.beautiful-books.co.uk/books/144-42-douglas-adams-amazingly-accurate-answer-to-life-the-universe-and-everything.html

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

"I was Douglas Adams' flatmate" hits the shelves


"I was Douglas Adams flatmate" is sadly not just about Douglas Adams as you can guess if you read the full tittle "... And other encouters with legends". This book, based on a Radio 4 series, also tells you about Ernest Hemingway, Sam Peckinpah, Johnny Cash, Tina Turner, Morrissey,...

I haven't read the book yet but this could be quite an interesting read.

In this collection of interviews, Andrew McGibbon talks to a close friend or collaborator of each of these often near-mythical figures. We hear the story of how Johnny Cash became the Man in the Black Suit from his tailor, Manuel; we hear about Les Dawson’s literary aspirations from his joke writer, David Nobbs; Jon Canter, flatmate, recounts the time he spent living with Douglas Adams as he turned from aspiring writer into international star; and in the final chapter, the author tells his own story of his brief spell as the drummer for Morrissey.

Brought sharply into focus through stories and recollections of incidents and day-to-day details, I Was Douglas Adams’s Flatmate offers intimate portraits, full of anecdote and detail, that show the subjects in a different light, close-up and often very personal. Because, while the legends encountered may be or have been extraordinary people whose public lives have been well documented, they still suffered ailments, drank to excess occasionally, bumped their heads and fell in love."

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

11 Early designs of the Babel fish on ebay



The great Rod Lord has put some new stuff on auction on ebay. This time this is no less than eleven drawings of the Babel Fish made during the preparation of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV series.

"I have come across a few items from the early stages of the Babel Fish sequence, the first half of which constituted the initial pilot test piece for the BBC.

These items were part of the early design process and use the initial slightly more cartoony design for the Babel Fish before I "straightened" it all up for the actual finished sequence to give a more digital feel.

This item offered for auction is a pencil drawing on animation key paper (31x25 cm) and is one of an animation of 11 turning the Babel Fish from side view to front view. There should be a number 12 but I haven't found that yet. If I do come across it at a later date I will offer that too.

I am offering these as separate items rather than a single package with the intention of giving as wide an opportunity as possible to an interested group rather than confining ownership of all to one individual.

This will come with an accompanying authenticating letter embossed with the Pearce Studios Ltd seal.

I will sign the drawing - and the letter of course !"

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Exclusive interview with Adrian Sear, record engineer on the Hitchhiker LPs


Interview Adrian Sear, The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy
envoyé par nbotti.

At last! I made this interview with Adrian Sear, record engineer on the Hitchhiker LPs, more than one year ago, the day before Hitchcon in October 2009! May he excuse me for being so late (but as all good douglas adams' fans i love deadlines!!).

Adrian Sear was record engineer on The HItchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy LP (1979) and its sequel "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" (1980).

Despite Hitchhiker's huge success on radio, at the begining the BBC didn't want to market the radio series. So producer Geoffrey Perkins and Douglas Adams spoke to a couple of record companies. They finally got a deal with Original Records, a small independant label. As the BBC owned the original version, they had to record a new version of Hitchhiker.

30 years after this recording, Adrian Sear tell us about this famous records, sadly never released on CD

Thursday, January 13, 2011

New original Hitchhiker TV Series graphics on ebay



Rod Lord who made the graphics on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the galaxy TV series has put some original artwork on ebay. This is incredible stuff so if you've got enough money, you won't want to miss such an opportunity.

The auction ends the 17th January. Click this the link to go to the auction.


According to Rod Lord's description on ebay :

"This package is made up of :

1 - The original storyboard for this sequence.
2 - One of the masters used under the Repromaster to animate Arthur and Ford away into space at the start of the sequence.
3 - The key animation guide for the first 12 positions of this animation.

This package will come with an accompanying authenticating letter and description embossed with the Pearce Studios Ltd seal.

I will sign each item - including the letter of course !

I will include a full description of how this animation was generated and used. The large Rotring pen drawings on celluloid which were the starting point for the animation were auctioned at Hitchcon 2009."
 

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Ninth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture


On Thursday 10 March 2011, Professor Brian Cox will give the Ninth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture at The Royal Geographical Society.

Brian Cox is a physicist but also a popular television presenter & radio broadcaster due to his ability to present science in an engaging manner.

As you probably already know "since 2003, Save the Rhino has held an annual Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture around the time of his birthday to raise money for rhino conservation projects, as well as tackling environmental crime and the trade in wildlife parts."

You can have more details on the event, and buy tickets on Save the Rhino International website here

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Update. Article about Hitchhiker on Stage


The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy has been adapted on stage many times since its first ever stage adaptation at the Institute of Contempory Arts (ICA) in London, between 1 and 9 May 1979.

I have added numerous pics and you can also download three full theatre programmes.

You can find the article in the "H2G2 the myth" section of the douglasadams.eu website.

If you have some informations that i didn't publish about the Hitchhiker's stage adaptations, please get in touch, and I'll update the article accordingly.