What is important in life?

[duszek]

People here seem to be offering distraction and entertainment as answer to the question what is important in life.

Is it not a little bit short-sighted ?

Mind and brain need input, that is true, just like the body needs nourishment.

I can think of at least two things better than entertainment and distraction: creative work and trying to invent something or find something out by doing experiments (like scientists).

[thedoc]

There really is only one way to 'see' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and that is by listening to the original version - the Radio Serial. It is available on audiobook.
Its great for long car journeys or in a context where you are using your eyes for something else but are able to listen, such as housework, painting, etc.
You miss the sound effects with the books, and the TV and cinema can never really replace the imagination.
The film was a travesty though it had its good points - but you just cannot condense 4 seasons on radio in to 90 minutes.

Was the radio version, the first production you heard, possibly after reading the book?

I would think that with any work of preformance art like movies, and music, (and literature), the first exposure is usually considered the best. I heard Dolly Parton sing 'I Will Always Love You' and, to me, none of the other renditions seems as good. Much the same way I am usually dissapointed with the remake of a movie. But on a few rare occasions I have liked a movie better than the book it was addapted from.

TV and Cinema are intended to replace the imagination with the film producers vision, and for some this is a good thing, not everyone can picture things in their mind very well. To some people the words on a page are just that, and don't evoke any image no matter how well described.

[Bernard]

And:
Do you imply that life is terrible as it is so we need humour in order to survive without getting depressed ?

I am working on other strategies, apart from making jokes.

One can put oneself under unbearable pressure by trying to be witty and cool all the time. That´s why I tried to go in the opposite direction and see what happens then.

We do need humour as part of survival I would say, but its not about making jokes - more about a sense of balance.

[reasonvemotion]

There really is only one way to 'see' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and that is by listening to the original version - the Radio Serial. It is available on audiobook.
Its great for long car journeys or in a context where you are using your eyes for something else but are able to listen, such as housework, painting, etc.
You miss the sound effects with the books, and the TV and cinema can never really replace the imagination.
The film was a travesty though it had its good points - but you just cannot condense 4 seasons on radio in to 90 minutes.

To CW

This is a little off topic, but I must take the opportunity. I bought my first audiobook, just last week, for the resons above. It doesn't seem to work in my car and in the computer even if settting is on the lowest, it is difficult to understand. Somehow it sounds distorted. I don't know how to fix this. Can you give some advice please?

[Lynn]

There really is only one way to 'see' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and that is by listening to the original version - the Radio Serial. It is available on audiobook.
Its great for long car journeys or in a context where you are using your eyes for something else but are able to listen, such as housework, painting, etc.
You miss the sound effects with the books, and the TV and cinema can never really replace the imagination.
The film was a travesty though it had its good points - but you just cannot condense 4 seasons on radio in to 90 minutes.

I agree but it was a means to introduce newcomers to the book, much like movie remakes and music covers. I recommend the BBC radio productions of The Hobbit (1968) and The Lord of the Rings (1981). The Hobbit was before my time however I listened to The Lord of the Rings with my eldest brother, either on the radio or later on his c30 recordings of the radio show. Rest assured, I now have the official recordings, which I think I will rip again tonight so I can listen to them on my phone when commuting .

[reasonvemotion]

A must see during a lifetime Tokyo Story, Yasujiro Ouzo Director


another British film I think made around 2008 An Education, Lone Scherfig Director, starring Peter Sarsgaard

[reasonvemotion]

Good health and peace of mind.

[duszek]

To become wise.

To learn from one´s own mistakes and to become wiser every day.

[Lone Wolf]

All I know that is important in life is doing my two daily exercises (breathing in and breathing out) so that I can tell everyone who asks, "How are you doing?", that I am getting older. Other than that I am seeking the answer to all the sayings of Jesus as stated in the Gospel of Thomas so I won't have to die.

[WhatIsImportant?]

I don't believe the religious stuff, but the statement "I breathe so I can tell people that I am getting older" I like, because it is honest and correct. Often when you get asked "How are you" it is only a shallow question, which many people don't expect an honest answer to.

[Lone Wolf]

The "religious" stuff you refer to was tongue in cheek. The Gospel of Thomas makes an interesting read as do all the other texts that were left out of the Holy Bible. If you are in the least curious, check online for the Secret Book of John and the Gospel of Thomas. Otherwise, you can find THE OTHER BIBLE at most bookstores.