Skylar MacDonald

Date: Monday, January 13, 1992, 5:26 pm To: Byron Preiss Dear Byron, Thanks for the script of the novel. I don't know what happened to the first one. It may have been a victim of the office move (see above). I'll respond as quickly and briefly as possible. One general point. A thing I have had said to me over and over again whenever I've done public appearances and readings and so on in the States is this: Please don't let anyone Americanise it! We like it the way it is! There are some changes in the script that simply don't make sense. Arthur Dent is English, the setting is England, and has been in every single manifestation of HHGG ever. The 'Horse and Groom' pub that Arthur and Ford go to is an English pub, the 'pounds' they pay with

are English (but make it twenty pounds rather than five- inflation) So why suddenly 'Newark' instead of 'Rickmansworth'? And 'Bloomingdales' instead of 'Marks & Spencer'? The fact that Rickmansworth is not within the continental United States doesn't mean that it doesn't exist! American audiences do not need to feel disturbed by the notion that places do exist outside the US or that people might suddenly refer to them in works of fiction. You wouldn't, presumably, replace Ursa Minor Beta with 'Des Moines'. There is no Bloomingdales in England, and Bloomingdales is not a generic term for large department stores. If you feel that referring to "Marks & Spencer' might seriously freak out Americans because they haven't heard of it (or because Marks and Spencer owns Brooks Brothers) we could either put warning stickers on the cover ("The text of this book contains references to places and institutions outside the continental United States and may cause offence to people who haven't heard of them") or you could, I suppose, put 'Harrods', which most people will have heard of. Or we could even take the appalling risk of just recklessly mentioning things that people won't have heard of and see if they survive the experience. They probably will - when people are born they haven't heard of anything or anywhere, but seem to get through the first few years of their lives without ill-effects.

Haha! Love this letter from Douglas Adams to his US editor about not Americanising the text of Hitchhiker's Guide. 🐋🌸

My favourite grasshopper fact: Grasshoppers first appeared on the planet 250 million years ago.

Grass did not appear on the planet until 40 million years ago

Imagine it: 210 million years, hopping around on any random surface you can find, waiting for the grass that will make you truly yourself.

There like 12 people who get to do and make and be in everything.

And then they go on each other’s podcasts and talk about the latest thing they’ve done or made or been in.

Round and round until the heat death of the universe.

200 years ago today, Alexander Graham Bell became the first Boomer to call someone younger than them for absolutely zero functional reason at all.

huh, weird; spent all yesterday - international women’s day! - dming women on here to let them know how much i, one of the good guys, appreciate them, and now lots have blocked me?

so much for “allyship” :(

I remain fascinated by people who are 100% all-in on using LLMs at their jobs (and telling everyone that they're doing it) and who appear to have never paused to consider "what value am I personally adding in here, at this point, and why do I think my employers won't eventually figure this out"

*7 Nation Army Cadence*
🎶I'm supposed to be working🎶

Title: "The Haters" panel 1. Two round characters sit in a cinema. Yellow blob "I hate this!" Red Blob "Me too!" Panel 2. They have left the cinema Red blob "I hated every minute of that film! It was nothing like the book!" Panel 3. "Did you like the book?" asks Yellow. Red replies "I hated it!" then asks "You?" Panel 4. Yellow blob "I've not read it. I hated the film purely on its own merits." Panel 5. Red blob "I'll lend you my copy." Yello blob"That's very kind." Panel 6. Caption: "Later" Yellow, reading the book "I hate this!" Red (happily) "I knew you would!!"

"the Haters" my books cartoon for this week's @theguardian.com

Oh sure, “you’re not supposed to drink WD40”. Then why does it come with a straw?

I turned 40 this year, and perimenopause seems to have hit me like a freight train. I'd like to talk about it this #IWD.

What’s shocked me is how little I knew about it before. We’re not taught about it so we’re not prepared. SexEd teaches us about when we’re fertile and just leaves it there!

Nancy's Sluggo shouting angrily with a speech bubble above him

"But when's International Woims Day?!"

Happy @herring1967.bsky.social Replying to People Saying “It’s 19th November” Day to all who celebrate.

The two weather forecast apps i have (bbc and met office) both prioritise the "now" in how they present info. I know the now. Make it easier to see the future. The next hours, the next days. Without having to interact.

It's valid to tell people "I have plans" if your plans are to sit on your couch. That's a type of plans

youraislopbores.me

@michaelspicer.bsky.social has a brilliant take on this type of programme:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjnm...

Me for days: UUUUUUGH I need some work to come in
Me, as soon as some work comes in: don't wanna

I don’t want to criticise our writing masters but the baby shoes were probably just smaller than the newborn’s feet by the time they required them - annoying but happens all the time. That baby’s doing fine and fat as hell.

One Year On: 13 people on the ruling that changed their lives On 16 April 2025, the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on their biological sex assigned at birth. Forget the rage-bait headlines and attempts to divide us through...

my first piece (cowritten with Catriona Innes) in a print magazine comes out today: we interviewed 13 people, mostly trans women, about how the Supreme Court ruling has affected them for Cosmo UK

www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a...

kind of crazy that if you have enough money and don't like what you see in the media, you can just buy up every film studio, news station, and social media app and change it

”you’re back early”
[grabs gun] “cereal got its balls back”

The more time I spend on social media, the more I am convinced I'm going to apply for one of those remote jobs to count Puffins on a Scottish island or something

screenshot of a comment on bbc good food david harris, 10th may 2019, five stars: This was really yummy and simple. Instead of pork I used lamb, and in place of the onions I used a few leeks. My kids don't like paprika so I used oven chips instead, and as I'm watching my weight I substituted the crème fraîche with low fat sausages.

found the person in charge of food delivery substitutions

Twin Peaks Logo Generator Turtle Power!

If you were OK with “Substack, the Nazi Bar,” maybe “Substack, a front for the gambling on life and death casino” might convince you.

Images of an old silver 1999 Toyota Corolla for sale

You want a car that gets the job done? You want a car that's hassle free? You want a car that literally no one will ever compliment you on? Well look no further. The 1999 Toyota Corolla. Let's talk about features. Bluetooth: nope Sunroof: nope Fancy wheels: nope Rear view camera: nope...but it's got a transparent rear window and you have a fucking neck that can turn. Let me tell you a story. One day my Corolla started making a strange sound. I didn't give a shit and ignored it. It went away. The End. You could take the engine out of this car, drop it off the Golden Gate Bridge, fish it out of the water a thousand years later, put it in the trunk of the car, fill the gas tank up with Nutella, turn the key, and this puppy would fucking start right up. This car will outlive you, it will outlive your children. Things this car is old enough to do: Vote: yes

Consent to sex: yes Rent a car: it IS a car This car's got history. It's seen some shit. People have done straight things in this car. People have done gay things in this car. It's not going to judge you like a fucking Volkswagen would. Interesting facts: This car's exterior color is gray, but it's interior color is grey. In the owner's manual, oil is listed as "optional." When this car was unveiled at the 1998 Detroit Auto Show, it caused all 2,000 attendees to spontaneously yawn. The resulting abrupt change in air pressure inside the building caused a partial collapse of the roof. Four people died. The event is chronicled in the documentary "Bored to Death: The Story of the 1999 Toyota Corolla You wanna know more? Great, I had my car fill out a Facebook survey. Favorite food: spaghetti Favorite tv show: Alf Favorite band: tie between Bush and the Gin Blossoms This car is as practical as a Roth IRA. It's as middle-of-the-

When I ran the CarFax for this car, I got back a single piece of paper that said, "It's a Corolla, It's fine." Let's face the facts, this car isn't going to win any beauty contests, but neither are you. Stop lying to yourself and stop lying to your wife. This isn't the car you want, it's the car you deserve: The fucking 1999 Toyota Corolla. Google map of cars location

Never forget: 8 years ago a random person on Craigslist wrote the most effective ad for the Toyota Corolla, ever.

This is what happens when you effectively have no ethical rules at the top of government — virtually limitless opportunities for insider profiteering.

For all of you concerned about your holidays 🙄