I see. Thank you.
The 42 reference isn’t necesarily to try and be funny. Not everyone knows the reference, if you use it, it’s not just for humor’s sake but to ferret out other Adams fans. Same with “the Adult Conspiracy”.
You say “42” and those in the group that like Adams say “Hey, a fellow fan”.
Say “Adult Conspiracy” and you’ll get folks saying “aha!! another Xanthian”!
Oops, the previous was meant to convey agreement with D_odds. 
Hmmmmmm, perhaps we should present the story about the time his boss got the two farms mixed up and went to the wrong farm to castrate the sheep? That one never gets old for me. Or the one with Tristan and James bringing the cat (coming out of anesthesia in the cardboard box) back from surgery?
does the pope shit in the woods???
We have a contractor where I work, who says to me, * every single morning, * “Workin’ hard, or hardly workin’?” and then laughs heartily. I can’t even summon a wan smile any more, though he still thinks it’s a knee-slapper. It wasn’t funny the first time he said it to me, * five months ago. *
The only thing such a “weeding” could possibly be useful for is finding out which people jerk it to Red Dwarf and Terry Pratchett and, in the case of your latter example, pictures of naked children.
HUH? In the first why is it so bad to find fellow fans?? (to anything??)
Second what the hell are you talking about ??? The “Adult Conspiracy” reference doesn’t have anything to do with porno, especially illegal porno.
Just thought of one though. When idiotic, coverall wearing, beer guzzlin’, wolf whistlin’, BUFFOONS answer “why? ja fart?” when you say “excuse me” while trying to get around someone who is blocking your way.
GUH!!! I want to just slap them!!! Not only NOT funny ever! Not even the first time, but it’s crude, insulting and uncalled for.
He’s talking about the incredibly damn disturbing tendency of Anthony to extoll the sexual attractiveness of fourteen-year-olds. It’s quite mild in the Xanth books, IIRC (haven’t touched one for about 8 years) in comparison to some of his “adult” series.
Shudder.
As for Greyson, screw you. Yeah, “42” gets overused heavily by the geek quotient. Especially where I am, and most especially by people who are either a) in high school, b) just out of high school, c) only acquainted with other geeks, d) really badly socialized, or e) any combination of the above.
For some kids in high school, Douglas Adams is like this big secret. It’s something that their friends have read, but almost no one else their own age has ever heard of. So if they make an offhanded reference to “42” and someone GETS it, then – wonder of wonders – they have something they can actually talk to this person about. It’s a socialization tool and an excuse to have a conversation, which makes it staggeringly useful in taking introverted “geeks” and getting them over their fear of people.
I’m talking first-hand with these experiences, obviously.
The problem occurs when these tools for socialization become the only tools the person can use comfortably. When the only conversations the person can have are riddled with quotes from various geek-chic novels, movies, and TV shows, they have a problem.
But damnit, Greyson, people are ALLOWED to watch Red Dwarf and read Adams and Pratchett and ENJOY THEM. Adams was funny (okay, not VERY funny), Pratchett is funnier, and Red Dwarf is at least as amusing as the average US-based sitcom. Furthermore, some people even get to enjoy these licentious pleasures while being mature, pleasant, socially-rounded individuals.
But what do I know. I’m a fifteen-year-old boy named Kevin, and I’m wearing a red anorak right now. :rolleyes: 
IRL:
Someone Else: So what do you major in?
Me: Psychology.
SE: Oh, are you going to give me free advice? or You can get plenty of practice around here.
Geez, its like that Dilbert cartoon where the woman asks Dilbert for electronics advice.
“Do you ask doctors for free advice,” asks Dilbert.
“Actually, I got a full physical by the buffet,” says girl.
Enter Wally in white lab coat. “I’ve never off duty,” he says.
I know it just a way for people to try to connect with the major, but come on. You’re better than that. The next time a college student tells you their major, please ask them how they like it and what they plan on doing with it. Resist the urge to ask for advice. You can do it.
I only got it because I’ve seen The Singing Detective.
Okay. Those old headlines, which arestill going around after 15-20 years. “Soandso fed secreary” and the like.
Aren’t there any new stupid headlines? Sure, every day! But what gets circulated endlessly throughout the Internet are the antiques.
(The only recent one I can remember was only funny because of its placement. “Mad cow rules.” There was more to the headline, like, “Mad cow rules ignored” or “endorsed” or “extended,” or something, but the second line was below the fold.
Huh, whatdya know. In the Xanth series, it seemed that the 14 year olds were only attractive to each other, and the adult conspiracy was specifically designed to keep them OUT of the sexual loop so to speak.
I’ve read just about all of his other stuff (well, Isle of Woman did have young girls being sexually attractive, but I think that was probably pretty historically accurate), and I don’t recall that he made much over the sexual attractiveness of young women.
I just thought of it as a “different” sort of book and a fun ice breaker. As in something two people meeting (especially online) have in common. I’m a LONG way from high school, and I’m pretty far from geekdom too.
The person complaining about it was the first person I’ve ever seen who got so hyper annoyed about it. I just thought it was kindof funny.
ARRGGH, I forgot to finish my sentence!
The “…and I don’t recall that he made much over the sexual attractiveness…” line was SUPPOSED to end “…in his other series…”
IIRC, there was a rather disturbing scene in one of the Incarnations of Immortality books with a shapeshifting character that, for an adult male, turned into a 14-year-old girl.
As for 42, it’s not everyone who uses it to extremes. I do know a particular unfortunate who will answer 42 to ANYthing he doesn’t know the answer to. Unless he says “fnord”.
If he doesn’t know the person involved, he will then say “Have you ever heard of that? 42? It’s from this really good book.” And then he natters on, and on…
My problem is not with people who simply read books or watch shows. People enjoy a wide spectrum of things, from Are You Being Served to Atlas Shrugged to Poop In My Mouth 4: The Stalls of Paris (which is pretty dumb because everybody knows that 2 was the best one).
That doesn’t mean, though, that you have to walk into the office wearing an “A is A” shirt to figure out which people are “worth talking to”, a phrase which sticks in my craw. The idea that liking a certain book somehow puts you above all those other presumably uncultured Friends-watching peons is representative of a remarkably stagnant attitude which, when taken to the extreme, produces people who are very, very uncomfortable to be around, as you have probably seen.
Oh, and in regards to Piers Anthony: I’ll see your 14 year old and raise you some hot, pre-pubescent loving. 
Hey, I like Friends. 
Sorry, I get a little oversensitive about that sort of thing. On one hand, you’ve got people who play that card heavily and hard, and then you’ve got people who have gotten on with their lives.
Oh, and many of my friends haven’t read what I’ve read, done what I’ve done, seen what I’ve seen. They’re perfectly worth talking to…if a little misguided, as they have Rejected the One True Humor.
As for Firefly – heard of it, never read it. The brief summation I’ve heard kind of turned me off. Call me close-minded, but…ughhh.
Why does using a common interest as an ice-breaker necessarily mean that a person is deciding “who’s worth talking to”?
I went to the site, but would have liked to have seen a blurb on the book. There are a ton of new ones I haven’t read. I love his “Space Tyrant” series.
Interesting author, he writes such totally different stuff, it’s almost as if his different series were written by different authors.
Rebel Without a Clue
Can we retire it now, please?