Every Inchie Monday: Underground

Hello Folks,

In The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, our intrepid travelers have found the legendary planet Magarathea, where Zaphod, tells the group, "the Magaratheans lived most of their lives underground"  There was no overpopulation or pollution, "they just didn't like [the surface] very much".  So thus Zaphod, Ford and Trillion head underground to see what they can find.  Later Trillian "was reminded unavoidably of the London Underground, though it was less thoroughly squalid" [Chapter 20].

I knew the Magatheans lived underground when I made my inchies before I started on my quest to find all the words, so I didn't realize I was using Trillian's (in the book) idea about the London underground.  Keep in mind I live in Canada where we call the Underground a Subway, and there is no subway in my city.

I really was quite stumped for a while in considering what I could quill that would represent underground.  I drew a little picture of things that grow underground 

and there was my inspiration.

I've always wanted to live in Toronto where they have subways.  I have a friend who lives there and he hates the subway and often walks long distances to avoid them at rush hour.  Guess the grass is always greener...

Have a great week.  Maybe hiding underground would protect us from all this intense heat we are getting.

I also wanted to say how much I appreciate your comments.  They delight me and I look forward every week to reading them.  Thank you.

Every Inchie Monday: spiral

Hello Fellow Inchers,

Well if rain was difficult to find, spiral was darn near impossible.  I only found it because it is on the page facing the rain reference (I'm not re-reading the whole book - just looking for the words).

In chapter 18, after the gang have (or is it has - is gang singular or plural?) escaped the misslies being hurtled at them by turning on the improbability drive, Ford "who was sitting on the spiral staircase, a nicely chilled Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster in his hand says 'But where are we?'"

Drawing a spiral staircase seemed beyond my ability.  And I really wanted to do the subject I picked.

When I was a little girl I spent eight years taking figure skating lessons (at 2 different clubs at the same time) - it's what you did as a Canadian girl child when I grew up.  Now girls play hockey too.  I tried to draw a skating spiral, but I am hopeless at drawing figures.  I can draw faces, but get all messed up when I have to do bodies too.  So I cheated and found a picture on google. 

And I 'quilled' a spiral, although  I'm not sure just twisting a piece of paper constitutes quilling:

I loved figure skating as a kid and I still follow it diligently on TV.  I do have a thing about Women's figure skating though, because the skaters are so young - hardly old enough to be called women.  But when our bodies mature it is very difficult to do some of the things the youngsters can do.  I think they should have age categories or something, beyond what they already have.  

Off my soapbox.  Hope everyone has a special week, without too many stressful twists and turns.

Every Inchie Monday: Rain

Hello Folks,



Well, the only reference I could find to rain at this point in The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy is to the song that Eddie is singing as the missiles from Magrathea are heading towards the spaceship Heart of Gold.  [chapter 17 - and very hard to find it was!]  I'm sure everyone knows the song You'll Never Walk Alone that begins "When you walk through a storm hold your head up high and don't be afraid of the dark;"  well 
'''Walk on through the rain...' sang Eddie."  I think the song  originally comes from the musical Carousel but I like the version by Gerry and the Pacemakers.  There's an Elvis version too if you are that way inclined.

The rain word did make me think of the Rain God in the Hitchhiker's series - the rain likes this man so much it is always raining on him and he knows every different type of rain there is - but that doesn't come until the third book of the 'trilogy'.        

Now my inchies - the first is your generic drawing of rain.  

 I quilled two rain inchies - the first is what is at the end of the rain - a rainbow

and it may be hard to make out but this is an umbrella with rain falling on it.

In Southern Ontario where I live we have had very little rain this past few weeks - the grass is yellow and there is a fire ban on.  So even though I hate getting wet, I'm hoping for a little rain soon.

Every Inchie Monday: Computer

Hello Fellow Inchers,

I don't often do this but I can't resist showing off my latest creation.  It is a queen sized afghan crocheted in my favourite colours.  It has 18 different yarns, 320 squares, 1280 colour changes and 1352 ends woven in.  It took a little over four months to finish.  It sits on my bed and I confess that I love it and am quite proud of it.

On to inchies:

It's relevant to remember that there was no such things as personal laptops when The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was written.  How far we have come and how marvelous the future is going to be!

There are many references to computers in HHGG, but the best is to Eddie, the obnoxiously happy computer.  He both talks -- not a common feature of computers in 1979 -- and has ticker tape. 

I've pared down my references to just one (this post was very long to begin with!)  The gang have just discovered the legendary planet Magrathea and call on the computer for help.  It replies, 

''Hi there!  This is Eddie your shipboard computer, and I'm feeling just great guys, and I know I'm just going to get a bundle of kicks out of any programme you care to run through me." [chapter 16]   (Later they find an alternate, equally annoying, personality for the computer but I haven't found that in the book yet.)

Like the cybernetic doors, it is infinitely annoying.


Now for the inchies.  I wanted to draw one of those old fashioned computers such as I imagine Eddie looks like, including ticker tape which says the same thing his voice does.

And again I couldn't think of how to quill a computer so I made a tiny laptop from paper.  It has the world's shortest alphabet but those pieces of paper are so tiny I could hardly hold them even with tweezers, never mind fit any more in.  It also explains why they aren't exactly square either.  It's hard to see but the 'screen' has stickles on it so it shines.

Hope you have a happy, happy week!