Domkitten
Fanatic Posts: 470 Registered: 23/9/2002 Status: Offline
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posted on 11/12/2002 at 05:39 AM |
I want to work a in a place where everyone speaks my language. Seriously,
if I come to work tommorrow and have to explain something to someone I
might have to kill. It's just frustrating. No one knows what I'm saying
most of the time. I suppose this is because I work in a country where the
native language is not english, but still.
dammit. ____________________ It's like kegel exercises for your throat.~Monolycus |
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Wok
Occasional Poster Posts: 25 Registered: 14/11/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 6/12/2004 at 08:14 AM |
quote: Be careful how you say
"English" Wok, for there are quite a few English people from England on
this site. The Greek person you were talking to more than likely meant to
refer to Americans.
Oh I wasn't having a go or anything, just repeating what he said. We were
talking about England though, as I'm English by the way.
In brief, I'm just going to say I like English media as compared to the
world, I like the political system which I believe works surprisingly well,
considering. But I despise the general apathy culture, attitudes and
moronic type patriotism thats (dumb) founded in fear of 'the outsider'.
*note: I've no problem with patriotism per se, aslong as it doesn't boil
down to blaming a perceived foreign threat for any problem. Recently we
have many fools who are prejudice against immigrants and europeans without
having the faintest idea of what they are talking about. Christ, in the 80s
Punks/Unions/single mums were blamed, the 70s it was blacks 60s- mods &
rockers, 50s-00s- Arab, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants. Now
we have a fundamentally Anti-Europe bollocks view being orchestrated by
various right-wing people or groups for whatever reason.
Ah, I could go on about the conservatives took us into the EU, how
immigration is good, how and how hardly a single critic has read the
constitution let alone understand it blah-de-blah.............. |
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Schizo
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 897 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 1/12/2004 at 03:57 AM |
I chose, for my last year of High School, to study British History, and I
found that task both fascinating and exhausting. After all, as a person of
highly British decent (from many specific regions of those interesting
islands), that is my history. I wanted to know what happened to my
ancestors BEFORE the colonists landed on the uncharted shores of the New
World. So "I know the Kings of England and I quote the fights historical,
From Marathon to Waterloo in order catagorical," to quote Gilbert and
Sullivan (or I suppose, just Gilbert, since Sullivan wrote the music.)
Well, I guess not Marathon, since that was Greek, not British, but you get
the picture. Quite a squabbly little island or two, and it's a wonder that
they didn't kill each other off long ago, between their internal arguments,
and all the mainland invaders who wanted a piece of that foggy little pie.
So I know some stupid little details such as the fact that Henry V's French
widow married a Welch chap by the name of Owen Tudor, and from this line
(with a little addition later of some English royal blood) came the Tudor
line of Kings (and Queens) of Henry VIII fame (Henry the Eighth I am, I
am...) Just goes to show that, in Europe, everbody who is anybody is
related to anybody who is everybody, or something like that, and
all-in-all, it's worse than any hillbilly trailerpark full of Uncle Daddies
and Grandma Sisters. Resulting in the sort of inbred,
hemophiliac-carrying, slightly insane so-an-so's like the Kaiser Wilhelm of
Germany (who produced a pair of illegitimate twins, one of whom spawned
someone who spawned someone, who married my 7th grade music teacher. "It's
a small world after all, It's a small world..."
Anyway, long story short, I know a little bit about British history, and I
don't blame any wee Briton for nodding off or not paying attention, or just
plain getting solidly lost. After all, you have about a millenia of facts
and dates to wade through, instead of a mere, shmeer century or two. ____________________ "You can tell by the scars on my arms and the cracks in my hips and the
dents in my car and the blisters on my lips that I'm not the carefullest of
girls." - Dresden Dolls, "Girl Anachronism" |
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W0rmW00d
Fanatic Posts: 355 Registered: 5/8/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 1/12/2004 at 01:53 AM |
nah, mrd, wok is right. there are lamentably stupid people in britain
too.
the main reason that many english people dont know their own history is
that there is just so much more of it. we dont have the problem of
'civilisation started in the americas and then for god knows how long some
things happened. some of them involved incas rirtually sacrificing their
enemies to make the sun rise, some of them involved native tribes driving
buffalo over cliffs and probably taking peyote. then the white man came
across the sea and brought them pain and misery. they fought them hard and
fought them well, out on the plains they gave them hell' instead we have
all sorts of insanely alien sociopolitical concepts as society evolved
rather than being artificially created from the views of a few. there is
also an emphasis placed on international history so our own history
sometimes falls to the wayside. im not so sure about the caring about noone
but themselves thing. the english are no worse than any other country and
better than most. for a start there is the old commonwealth that england
seems to adopt some twisted duty of care for and politicos do try so very
hard. there are always a few rotten apples, fascisti, ukip arseholes and
the like to give a bad impression. and dont even get me started on the
sport fans.
anyway, the real point of my post:
abaddon - 'Of course on the other hand, if you're Scottish, you're probably
off your tits on meths and lying in a gutter in a puddle of your own urine'
- thats the real reason we were going to go to edinburgh uni isnt it. i
know its why i was, now admit that its not just the architecture.
____________________ Eritis sicut Deus scientes bonum et malum.
And the third angel sounded, and a troll army did descend upon the world. |
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MystryssRavynDarque
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 648 Registered: 24/9/2002 Status: Offline
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posted on 30/11/2004 at 10:50 PM |
Be careful how you say "English" Wok, for there are quite a few English
people from England on this site. The Greek person you were talking to
more than likely meant to refer to Americans. ____________________ "People always say what we are looking for is a meaning for life…I don't
think that's what we're looking for. I think what we're looking for is the
experience of being alive." -Joseph Campbell |
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Wok
Occasional Poster Posts: 25 Registered: 14/11/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 30/11/2004 at 11:13 AM |
Heh. I was talking to some Greek guy yesterday about this. He just didn't
like it how the English people, in general, seem to know hardly anything or
even care about anyone but themselves ultimatly. They don't even know about
their own history. |
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Schizo
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 897 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 30/11/2004 at 03:25 AM |
Most Americans really don't know their own language. I get so tired of
using a word that I don't think is really all that obscure, and having
people give me a funny look. It tires me, and I've ended up dumbing down
my conversations just as a matter of habit, and I think that's sad.
Incidentally, the best way to learn your own language is to study at least
one other language with a shared root. My (sadly) brief linguistic studies
in high school helped me inmeasurably with my vocabulary. Any Romantic
(latin-based) language is good, because even though English is technically
considered a Germanic language, the greater part of our vocabulary comes
from these languages (mostly French, thanks to the Norman invasion). Of
course, any Germanic language is good, too, and so is Greek. Many
educational and scientific terms come from the Greek. Of course, the best
way is to get right down to the root, and study Latin, or any other base
language. It's amazing how it helps you understand, not only English, but
just the way language works.
And then you can prepare to be completely unintelligable to the masses,
even while speaking their own language. *sigh* ____________________ "You can tell by the scars on my arms and the cracks in my hips and the
dents in my car and the blisters on my lips that I'm not the carefullest
of
girls." - Dresden Dolls, "Girl Anachronism" |
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Stille
Occasional Poster Posts: 42 Registered: 3/10/2003 Status: Offline
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posted on 29/11/2004 at 11:56 PM |
(Slightly) back on topic. English is becoming the trendy thing in my
country. Bad English, that is. Some of the jewels I can spot on my
half-a-mile walk home are "Live life to the full"(beer ad) and "Sundays
club:no figures, no drugs". Ah well, guess you don't have to learn a
language to use it... ____________________
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pale-face
Fanatic Posts: 478 Registered: 22/9/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 29/11/2004 at 03:06 PM |
I saw the Murphy’s live one time and they pulled out a guitar about half
the size of a ukulele and rocked out. I was in hysterics. ____________________ fucking classy. |
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Abbadon
Fanatic Posts: 499 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 29/11/2004 at 11:32 AM |
Schizo: Scottish, eh? HAHAHAHAHA. Clearly you have never been there or
those words would never pass your lips. Of course on the other hand, if
you're Scottish, you're probably off your tits on meths and lying in a
gutter in a puddle of your own urine. I do hope you will reconsider your
nationality preference. ____________________ Light is changing to shadow, and casting a shroud over all we have known. |
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MystryssRavynDarque
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 648 Registered: 24/9/2002 Status: Offline
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posted on 29/11/2004 at 10:24 AM |
Yeah, it is like The Casualties and Anti-Flag still play the small local
venues but their shirts are both sold, and cds, and patches, and buttons,
and whatever garbage their names can be tacked onto at Hot Topic or other
alt stores. Thought HT isn't that alt anymore is it? ____________________ "People always say what we are looking for is a meaning for life…I don't
think that's what we're looking for. I think what we're looking for is
the
experience of being alive." -Joseph Campbell |
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Schizo
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 897 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 29/11/2004 at 03:11 AM |
I think they're of Irish nationality but based in Boston. They're not the
sort of band that gets a lot of airtime on MTV, so it's hard to say what
kind of following they have elsewhere. My friend saw them, actually met a
couple of them after the show. She burned me a CD. I'd heard of them
before - they're always listed at Boston clubs when I search the local
radio stations for concerts. I kind of like them, but then I'm very
Scottish, so bagpipes are in my blood. I can't remember if I've seen
shirts at Hot Topic (don't get to the mall very often), but I think I
remember seeing their stuff in an alternative clothing catalog my friend
showed me. So they're small enough to play at the local clubs, but big
enough for the underground community to have heard of them - that's kind of
what I expected. ____________________ "You can tell by the scars on my arms and the cracks in my hips and
the
/>
dents in my car and the blisters on my lips that I'm not the carefullest
of
girls." - Dresden Dolls, "Girl Anachronism" |
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MystryssRavynDarque
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 648 Registered: 24/9/2002 Status: Offline
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posted on 28/11/2004 at 01:12 PM |
I saw the beginning of a Dropkick Murphy's set after The Casualties
performed. Sadly I had to leave early, but I heard the bagpipes and saw
the kilts on stage and in the crowd. Seem a little Irish to me. They
aren't a local band. Your nearest Hot Topic sells numerous Dropkick merch.
Oh, and yes the Belgians really do take their fries seriously. I once read
a poll forum about Fries on Slashdot slashdot.com . There are so many ways to do fries, and
here we do mainly one. Ketchup. I dip my fries in all of the different
available sauces to find what I like best, and I love to dip them in
Frosties at Wendy's. Here is that particular poll forum: http://slashdot.org/pollBooth.pl?qid=1175&aid=-1
[Edited on 11/28/2004 by MystryssRavynDarque] ____________________ "People always say what we are looking for is a meaning for life…I
don't
/>
think that's what we're looking for. I think what we're looking for is
the
experience of being alive." -Joseph Campbell |
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W0rmW00d
Fanatic Posts: 355 Registered: 5/8/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 28/11/2004 at 12:19 PM |
I thought that the dropkick murphys were irish. i could be wrong and havent
bothered to check, but they have a certain pogue-ness to them which speaks
to me of irishness.
they are moderately successful and well known in england, perhaps they are
'breaking' england before moving on to a more widespread acclaim in the
states if all goes well for them.
singing of guiness would also indicate irish roots if not outright irish
nationality.
____________________ Eritis sicut Deus scientes bonum et malum.
And the third angel sounded, and a troll army did descend upon the world. |
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Schizo
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 897 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 28/11/2004 at 04:53 AM |
Makes me think of the Dropkick Murphy song "Good Rats". (I think it's kind
of a local band, so I don't know if anyone else has heard of them.) It
refers to how back in the old days in Ireland, before sanitations had been
discovered, and Guiness beer was just starting out, the rats would get
drowned in the vats of beer. I guess once they cleaned things up, they
took care of the rat problem, people started complaining their Guiness
tasted different, so they had to add some beef flavoring (or so I heard) to
the mix to satisfy the customers who wanted that authentic rat taste. Or
so I heard. Anyway, the song goes "Come on, all ye good rats, we'll drink
you to heaven. You'll find the pearly gates in the froth on the floor."
It's a good, roistering, Irish-y band that somehow mingles punk with
bagpipes, and would fit in well in any dark, foul and noisome pub. ____________________ "You can tell by the scars on my arms and the cracks in my hips and
the
/>
dents in my car and the blisters on my lips that I'm not the
carefullest
/>
of
girls." - Dresden Dolls, "Girl Anachronism" |
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pale-face
Fanatic Posts: 478 Registered: 22/9/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 27/11/2004 at 01:05 PM |
I wonder if the sewer rats got plastered. because that would be funny
seeing little rats stumbling around. ____________________ fucking classy. |
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Wok
Occasional Poster Posts: 25 Registered: 14/11/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 22/11/2004 at 06:52 PM |
Remember when some fools went and brought French wine just so they could
smash and destroy it? Damn, I thought that level of stupidity was
theoritically impossible outside of the Whitehouse. |
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Psyche
Coward Posts: 4 Registered: 5/3/2003 Status: Offline
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posted on 22/11/2004 at 02:59 PM |
Et tu, callei? Helping rednecks speak french is funny, though. Back home, I
took five years of high school french and what I remember most is not the
french I learned, but the sort of southern/valley girl dialect of my "peer
group" as Madame attempted to teach us "lessez les bon temps roullez (sorry
about my spelling) and they sang Lady Marmalade to one another and cracked
up because they knowed French.
My dislike of the French began and ended with Christophe Solei, the walking
stereotype. Since this wanna-be Napolean I have met many natives of France
who not only believed in personal hygene, but also manners. He was just one
of those guys you only think exist in Chevy Chase movies. He wore powder
blue track suits and velcro sneakers and shrieked like a pre-pubescent girl
if anyone so much as touched him. he bathed once a week and wore gallons of
Drakkar Noir to cover it up. My French teacher said this was cultural
because so much of France's water was polluted that bathing too often was
risky. I submit that Christophe fell into the Seine and that's WHY it's
polluted.
He refused to speak English with anyone, but his host family (where I got
all my bitchy gossip about his deplorable personal habits) and his
teachers. Since the year didn't count toward his actual advancement in
France, he spoke to his teachers only as much as required to not "fail" and
be sent home before he convinced my gullible friend Shannon to marry him
and get him a green card. SHOCKINGLY, he divorced her as soon as possible.
She gained 150 pounds and pretty much lost her will to live.
So, for a while I hated the French. Now, I have learned to place my hatred,
not on a country or a people (although calling the French a 'people' with
the many divergent ethnicities there is rather like calling Americans a
'people'), but squarely on Christophe's hairy fucking shoulders. ____________________ Sanity is both highly subjective and highly overrated. |
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W0rmW00d
Fanatic Posts: 355 Registered: 5/8/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 22/11/2004 at 05:54 AM |
i think its adorable that liberty can be purchased. and in potato form.
i have heard more irate ranting about france than i have about iraq. it
seems incredible to me that there is more ire reserved for those who will
not support the war effort than those against whom the war is directed. ____________________ Eritis sicut Deus scientes bonum et malum.
And the third angel sounded, and a troll army did descend upon the world. |
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pale-face
Fanatic Posts: 478 Registered: 22/9/2004 Status: Offline
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posted on 21/11/2004 at 02:59 PM |
the Belgian's take their fries seriously. i'v been there and they had whole
meals of deep fryed freedom. ____________________ fucking classy. |
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