Douglas Adams is one of those authors I’ve never especially enjoyed reading, but have always liked, or liked the idea of. I’ve enjoyed various versions of his Hitchhiker’s series and loved his work on Doctor Who. But I could never call myself a fan. I ended up snagging the audio version of this book a couple years back for a few dollars on a whim, and just cracked it open this past week. The implication on the write-up was that it would mostly involve Adams’ final book, which was unfinished when he died. This isn’t the case. In fact, the scraps of his final book, intriguing as they are, comprise very little of the eight hours. Maybe an hour, hour and a half. Most of it is various articles and tidbits, which I was ultimately glad of.
I found the opening especially touching, as friends Richard Dawkins, Christopher Cerf, and Steven Fry each read their own thoughts on his passing. And Simon Jones, another friend and the actor who played Arthur Dent on the Hitchhiker’s TV show, does a fine job reading the larger work.
Having just listened to Christopher Hitchens’ Arguably, another collection of essays, this felt like a nice follow-up. And it was interesting getting a glimpse into such an interesting mind. Adams had a very odd way of looking at the world. And I respond well to his seemingly contradictory extreme optimism laced with crushing pessimism. A worthy listen for those interested in people with unique perspectives.
The Salmon of Doubt
Author: Douglas Adams, etc.
Publisher: Phoenix Audio
ISBN: 978-1-597770-064 (audio version)
On Saturday the 24th, I traveled into DC to attend the first Reason Rally, a sort of celebration/call to action for folks like myself who believe in the rule of law and reason, as opposed to superstition, rumor, and whatever drivel Glen Beck crapped out of his mouth last night. After having our previous President say that I wasn’t a real American, it was nice to have a bunch of patriotic fellow rationalists together in one place to show that not only are non-religious people Americans, but we’re motivated and not going away. And I have to admit a certain swell of pride when secular members of our armed forces brought out the flags of the services and of the United States, and we collectively said the original Pledge of Allegiance.
(Not from the event, but it looked a lot like this)
The event itself was a bit uneven, with several highs and a few dragging bits. One nice aspect of the overall schedule was that everyone was on for only a few minutes, around 10. This kept people from going too long for the most part, though a few people still managed to make their presentations drag somewhat.
The highlights were Richard Dawkins, who spoke rather eloquently about some of the things that make the US Constitution as special as it is; James Randi, who is like an ancient secular leprechaun; and Adam Savage of Myth Busters. I also enjoyed presentations by Hamant Mehta, Jamila Bey, Fred Edwards (how is this guy not in movies?), Victor Harris, and Nate Phelps (yes, related to Fred Phelps). And host Paul Provenza was a gas.
The first few hours were quite inspirational in a way, with a lot of call to action and encouragement for political action. And a general call to come out of the atheist closet. As was brought up on more than one occasion, secularists are the ‘fastest growing but least trusted minority in America.’ And chances are, we’re not trusted because a lot of people simply don’t get us. I’ve heard on more than one occasion that it doesn’t matter what someone believes, simply that they believe in something (the implication is that that something must be a supernatural something). I find that sentiment more than a little troubling. But whatever, it was nice to see a whole bunch of people who think that evidence should be the basis of belief, and not old books or mystical revelations.
One of my fellows observed that for the next event, she would prefer that things be a bit more ‘professional’ and family friendly. I can’t disagree. For a meeting on the national mall, I’d prefer the swearing of which there were a couple extreme patches, be kept to a minimum. Though I agree with the Tim Minchin song lyrics, that if the F-word offends you but religious organizations protecting pedophiles doesn’t, then perhaps you should look into getting your priorities straight. However, I still think the overall event would have been stronger had a few people kept a more polite tongue.
As the day went on, there did end up being a few too many mid-level speakers going over the same handful of subjects that would hit the cutting room floor in a video version for sure. It got pretty cold and rainy, I wasn’t properly dressed, and we were all getting pretty hungry. So, after Eddie Izzard did his bit, we headed out. Heading into the Metro station was a bloody nightmare. It’s the busiest I’ve ever see it. We got the idea to go back a stop and try there, but then the train ended up being crammed full of people and we figured it would be easier to just walk to our destination. So, after a brisk walk through DC, which I enjoy doing once in a while, we ended up at the Mad Hatter, an Alice in Wonderland themed pub some of our group had heard of. Well, for themed eateries, it was pretty lame. The theme consisted of some movie posters and food names…the end. That said, the food was actually pretty good and shockingly inexpensive for in town DC.
Overall, a good day. It gives me hope that there are still Americans out there who believe in the principles of the Constitution, not the pulpit; the rule of law, not mythology anthologies assembled by ignorant savages. There are still people who believe in the vision of some pretty extraordinary men who understood that mixing gods and government is now and always has been a recipe for disaster. We know what governments ruled by religion look like. We have plenty of examples. I’m glad I’m not the only one who wants a return to the best of American values like E Pluribus Unum, instead of the post-War usurping ‘In God We Trust.’ And my grandfather fought fascism without needing to say ‘under God’ in his pledge, so why can’t we? If you want to live in a country where religion is more important than reason and law, I’m sure Saudi Arabia is nice this time of year.
-Matt
On a personal note, though I don’t understand it, I don’t actually have a problem with people who hold religious beliefs. But like sex, I think it should be kept behind closed doors and among consenting adults. And again like sex, if clubhouses are set up for its practice, they should be taxed like any other business (and if you don’t think religion is a business, you’re only fooling yourself).
This is my first entry in our new column covering the various dorky things we did over the past week.
So, first the movies I watched:
Fast Five: Now, I’ll admit, I may have missed a few of the subtle nuances, because I have not seen any previous Fast or Furious film. But, I think I managed to follow along. Basically, a bunch of meatheads like driving really fast and occasionally stealing stuff. Another meathead wants to stop them. There’s some stuff about a Brazilian crime lord. Lots of stuff blows up. And the camera lingers on sweaty musclemen like it’s a romance writer. The dialog is crap. The ‘acting’ is crap. But, that said, I enjoyed the heck out of this big dumb movie.
Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon: I always prefer when the Doctor and friends leave Earth, and this is no exception. The Doctor and Jo get wrapped up in some political mess on a medieval type planet that being considered for membership in a galactic civilization. This gives them a chance to see some aliens, fight a monster, and have several fun little adventures. For perhaps the first and only time, I actually liked Jo. This was a good one.
MST3K: The Indestructible Man: Oh, Lon Chaney Jr., you sad, sad man. An criminal gets turned into a nearly unkillable monster who just wants his money or revenge, or something. He ambles about as some other criminals and some cops look for him. Frankly, the film is pretty boring, but Joel and the bots are a lot of fun.
Doctor Who: The Claws of Axos: A really creepy alien menace shows up in the south of England looking for a snack. The usual crew from this era look into things, as an annoying and blustery Government official keeps sticking his nose in things. Unfortunately, the Master shows up too. I’ll admit, The Master is one popular villain I don’t much care for. He’s a little too Saturday morning cartoon cornbal for my tastes. But, the story is pretty cool and the explody tentacle alien monsters are completely disgusting.
Dylan Dog: OK, if you’re familiar with the comic this movie is based on, forget it. The film uses nothing but the name. If you are not, you should still forget it. This movie is pretty much a really, really long, really, really awful episode of Buffy. But, to help it suck, they added a super-dull narration that WILL NOT STOP. Say what you will about last year’s awful Skyline, but at least it was stupid enough to enjoy making fun of. Dylan Dog is just dull, dull, dull.
Thor: I’ve got to give it to them, they went for it. This movie is unapologetically set in the Marvel Comics universe. It doesn’t try to make stuff to real world. No toning down of the crazy god talk. Lots of nutty action and goofy but fun dialog. The cast is good, the effects are pretty good, and the story, for being an origin story isn’t mind numbingly paint-by-numbers like several others (Iron Man, I’m looking at you!).
Doctor Who: The Time Monster: One of the long stories from Jon Pertwee’s era, and sadly, featuring one of my least favorite recurring villains, The Master. Still, the story is pretty wild and there are some cool bits, including a trip back to Atlantis and a guest appearance from sexy Hammer girl Ingrid Pitt.
I also started watching the sadly short-lived TV series The Middleman, which I'm enjoying quite a bit. It's got sort of a weird mix of Special Unit 2 and Adam West's Batman. Crazy stuff.
And I started watching the Gerry Anderson series Stingray, the series he did just before Thunderbirds. Crazy undersea adventures, fish people, and lots of other puppety goodness.
I didn’t do a lot of reading this week. However, I finally finished Richard Dawkins’ excellent book The Greatest Show on Earth. Sadly, a book that should be read by a lot of people who will refuse to read it.
And the week was ended on a special Dork note with Free Comic Book Day where as Brad said, we managed to hit three different comic shops, see some good crowds of people, and drop a bit of money at each shop.
