The Salmon of Doubt

Douglas Adams joins the list of my favourite authors. It's a pity that he's not of this world anymore. Sure, Hitchiker is a work of briliance but reading his interviews, speeches and articles, I must admit that the man is the embodiment of the story.

The Americans are all mystified about why the English make such a big thing out of tea because most Americans HAVE NEVER HAD A GOOD CUP OF TEA. That's why they don't understand. In fact, the truth of the matter is that most English people don't know how to make tea anymore either, and most people drink cheap instant coffee instead, which is a pity, and gives Americans the impression that the English are just generally clueless about hot stimulants.
-'Tea', 12 May 1999

When at last we left, the children danced along with us for several miles, laughing and singing improvised songs-one of them would start, and the others would quickly pick it up and join in.
The words seem oddly dated, don't they? It all sounds rather naive and sentimental to be talking about children laughing and dancing and singing together when we all know perfectly well that what children do in real life is snarl and take drugs. But these children/kids/youth, and all the ines we came across on our journey, were happy in a way that we in the West are almost embarassed by.
-'The Rhino Climb'


And I really recommend 'The Private Life of Genghis Khan'.