A Moment of Atheist Sentimentality

I had this kind of sad, kind of sentimental thought a little while ago, and I haven't been able to shake it.

I was thinking about the so-called "new atheist" movement. About atheist books on the bestseller lists. About atheism being widely and hotly discussed in magazines and newspapers and TV talk shows. About atheists coming out of the closet in ever-increasing numbers. About the atheist blogosphere, with hundreds of blogs on the atheist blogrolls.

And I was thinking:

I miss Douglas Adams.

(The "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" author, for those who aren't instantly familiar with his name.)

He would have loved all this. He would have been so excited, so proud, so happy. He was a big atheist, proud and angry and fierce, and he would have loved all this. Maybe he would have written his own atheist book. I want to read that book. It would have been smart, and hilarious, and totally devastating.

And he was a big techno-nerd. He would have loved the blogosphere, and he would have completely loved the atheist blogosphere. He would have had the best atheist blog ever.

Dammit to hell. I want to read Douglas Adams' atheist blog. Right now. I want it in my blogroll. I want to comment on it, and to get into silly comment threads on it that never seem to end. I want to check it obsessively every day to see if there's something new.

I miss him something awful.

Comments

[Geoff]

Hear, hear!

[jazzmodeus]

You'll be able to read it in heaven.

Don't hit!

[Kefanii]

This really hits me in the heart. Douglas Adams was what turned me from, in his words 'wishy-washy Agnosticism' to an outspoken Atheist, and I wish I could thank him for it. God, it was just too soon. I'm in total agreement, he would have loved the movement in this day and age.

[chancelikely]

42! No, wait, doesn't work.

I agree wholeheartedly. Actually, it was in reading over things Adams had written when I found out he died that I learned he was an active atheist. As if I needed another reason to like him.

[Oz Atheist]

I always liked his sense of humor and clever wit.
His atheist blog would be a great read, pity.

Then again we still have many other good blogs to read, such as yours.

[Kari]

damn - so true. When I heard he died I was at a loss. And now every May I try to remember to carry my towel as a tribute.

On top of that the recent news about Terry Pratchett suffering from a rare form of Alzheimer’s reminded me of Adams as well.

I always felt like I could just keep looking forward to a new book or a new project from both these men.

I shall have to get out my Sratship Titanic game and give it a whirl again.

[Spencer]

"...'Oh dear,' says God, 'I hadn't thought of that,' and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic."

I first discovered the hitchhiker's books in middle school, and my subsequent obsession with them did more to inform my developing worldview than any other single influence. I cried when I heard the news.

Just recently I was surfing through Youtube and found an interview filmed days before his death. at the end he promises that fans can expect a few new books in the next couple of years. that made me cry again.

[ssjessiechan]

You're so right. He did so enjoy experimenting with media. I grew up languishing in his glow with the books and the BBC miniseries, only to discover later what a real and whole person he was. It was like discovering a lost brother and having him die on the same day. I cried... I saved the Get Fuzzy that commemorated his death. And I don't think there's ever been a death of any human being that's affected me like his did. Made me think how impoverished the world was for it (I've been lucky with family, so far). And you're so right that if he were still here, he would be fighting with us. Making the whole world a better place.

Aw man, I think I need to go extract hugs from my cat now. I have a sneaking suspicion that when I have a child though, they'll have "no-God parents".

Maybe this is a place though, where you really do WISH there was a heaven for him to be banging away on the typewriter in. I really want to read the rest of the Salmon of Doubt. I used to drive past that same sign between Albequerque and Sante Fe and just pine. "Gusty Winds May Exist"...

[Urban Viking]

I was talking to Mrs. Viking about this just yesterday, coincidentally.

Up until my grandparents died recently, the news of his death had been the only one that ever moved me to tears. He is greatly missed.

[Jon Berger]

Perhaps you're lucky enough to have not already ready "Last Chance to See," his non-fiction book about endangered species. If you haven't, you still get to read it for the first time. In its way, it's as good as the "Hitchhikers."

[Michael Meadon]

Yeah, I totally agree... I want to read Adams' atheist blog too! And I want to read Sagan's skeptical blog for that matter...

[Vegan Atheist]

:'-( Now I miss Douglas Adams too. I want the damned sixth book in the Hitchhiker trilogy!

[Noxx Loon]

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

[Nurse Ingrid]

Plus, Douglas predicted the internet! And blackberrys and iphones! Remember, the "Book" itself was supposed to look like a largish calculator, and you typed in whatever it was you wanted to know about, and the information all came scrolling across the screen from the "Sub-Etha Net!" And he was writing this in 1977.

[Timothy (TRiG)]

My home on the Internet is on h2g2, the website he founded.

TRiG.