Re: Important Changes To This Forum

[GrahamBy]

Douglas Adams' fans over here should recognize that piece...

The curse of immortality in a meaningless universe 

[Rob C]

The curse of immortality in a meaningless universe 

You mean, akin to having that '59 Coupe de Ville but no money for gas?

https://www.google.es/search?q=cadillac+59+coupe+de+ville&rlz=1C2PRFE_enES586ES586&biw=1262&bih=861&tbm=isch&imgil=xK9LSe1SsgfRsM%253A%253BDZgiwGrJgwHHkM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fen.wikipedia.org%25252Fwiki%25252FCadillac_de_Ville_series&source=iu&pf=m&fir=xK9LSe1SsgfRsM%253A%252CDZgiwGrJgwHHkM%252C_&usg=__A6JRJr-g7GQbbyDHzBI-eZpuVv4%3D&ved=0ahUKEwi86ObfuevPAhVJVxQKHSbJC_0QyjcIMQ&ei=Bs4JWLzNOsmuUaaSr-gP#imgrc=xK9LSe1SsgfRsM%3A

Rob

[Zorki5]

You mean, akin to having that '59 Coupe de Ville but no money for gas?

That quote was from the very end of Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams.

And at the [almost very] beginning of it we have this:

His name was Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged. He was a man with
a purpose. Not a very good purpose, as he would have been the first to admit,
but it was at least a purpose and it did at least keep him on the move.

Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged was –indeed, is - one of the Universe's
very small number of immortal beings.

Those who are born immortal instinctively know how to cope with it, but
Wowbagger was not one of them. Indeed he had come to hate them, the load
of serene bastards. He had had his immortality thrust upon him by an unfortunate
accident with an irrational particle accelerator, a liquid lunch and a pair of rubber bands.

<snip>

To begin with it was fun, he had a ball, living dangerously, taking risks, cleaning up on
high-yield long-term investments, and just generally outliving the hell out of everybody.

In the end, it was the Sunday afternoons he couldn't cope with, and that terrible
listlessness which starts to set in at about 2.55, when you know that you've
had all the baths you can usefully have that day, that however hard you stare
at any given paragraph in the papers you will never actually read it, or use
the revolutionary new pruning technique it describes, and that as you stare
at the clock the hands will move relentlessly on to four o'clock, and you will
enter the long dark teatime of the soul.

So things began to pall for him. The merry smiles he used to wear at other
people's funerals began to fade. He began to despise the Universe in general,
and everyone in it in particular.

This was the point at which he conceived his purpose, the thing which would
drive him on, and which, as far as he could see, would drive him on forever. It
was this.

He would insult the Universe.

That is, he would insult everybody in it. Individually, personally, one by one,
and (this was the thing he really decided to grit his teeth over) in alphabetical order.

[Rob C]

That quote was from the very end of Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams.

And at the [almost very] beginning of it we have this:

Which is fine, elegant writing, but having accepted all of that, I would rather have the Cadillac. I understand perfecly that it would live its - or my - pre-dust stage moving hardly at all, despite anything to do with fuel costs (or even Brexit), but simply from the logistical point of view that indicates that the local town, where it would be the ultimate penis extension (one even more powerful than the Red Dot which I also fail to own) would be out of bounds: too narrow for it to navigate. That trucks do so every day is another matter: they are used to it and scratches are worn as badges of honour and full employment The entire point of the vintage set of wheels is to have it better-than-new, a logic alien to trucks. Maybe trucks go with the faded jeans eth¡c instead. Having said which, hopping gracefully in one's faded Levis out of a '59 de Ville would also look rather cute, don't you think? I don't really know if it would be essential to open the door first. Of course, personal wear and tear might have something to say about that.

Not long ago, Chuck Berry donated his own vintage red Caddy to a museum (can't recall the name, but I think it's dedicated to African-American history, which is an interesting concept). He has also just released some new music. Goods for him!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/how-the-museum-talked-chuck-berry-into-giving-up-his-prized-red-cadillac/2016/09/21/9bae84c0-4aa2-11e6-acbc-4d4870a079da_story.html

Rob C

[Rob C]

Cadillacs in red; Mr Berry's chariot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuXz-Vbkg8A

Rob