Yes, it’s towel day! And I wore my official Miffy towel, that I bought at Watsons on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong many years ago. It’s a little thread-bare, but when you are roughing it across the galaxy, struggling to survive against merciless hordes of alien creatures, it’s good to have a farcical bunny on your side!

As I walked across Harvard Yard, letting my freak flag fly proudly in the morning breeze, I may have been a little out of tune with the milling crowds of alumni and graduates in their black robes and crimson purple scarves. Sure, they will celebrate their commencement tomorrow, and go on to take up their places as the elite rulers of the world… but I am celebrating the life of Douglas Adams! — that great surrealist and comedic philosopher — and this old Miffy towel is a good enough symbol for me.

Aloha, compadres! Don’t panic.