Quite hot doesn't cut the mustard :P, I guess I just like my mustard so that it's lethal in large doses. When I was in the states I don't think I came across anything better than vaguely mustard flavoured sauce.Originally Posted by TillEulenspiegel
Quite hot doesn't cut the mustard :P, I guess I just like my mustard so that it's lethal in large doses. When I was in the states I don't think I came across anything better than vaguely mustard flavoured sauce.
You'll find the hot mustard in Asian restaurants/stores in the US.
The Medallion of the Imperial Psychopath, a Napoleon: Total War AAR
For the Emperor!, a Total War: Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai AAR
As somone with a somewhat bland palate I've always had a great deal of respect for Far-Eastern societies that can stomach and enjoy just about anything with nutritional value.
Mind you, the election of Obama was aberrant in its turnout - it was unusually high. It was an historic event, after all, and excited a lot of younger voters who typically don't vote in strong numbers. Normally it's even worse.
The reason for interest in something is not necessarily the source of knowledge about it. Then again, the inability to distinguish between fiction and history isn't one of humanity's strengths.
Good point. Full list here.
"And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves." ~ 1 Samuel 8:18
French can behave rude towards tourists, but in my experience only if you don't make an effort to speak French. If you try only a little bit, they love you.
Are Canadians really that apologetic? I've been to British Columbia once, and most people were very friendly and polite, but then most people were when I went to California as well.
What's with the casual intimacy of some nations? I'm very British in that I would only hug a close friend or family member, but some people I've met are very casual about going for a hug the first time you meet someone. And goodness knows what greeting with a kiss is all about.
From the pen of Mr. Ambrose Bierce:
ABROAD, adj. At war with savages and idiots. To be a Frenchman abroad is to be miserable; to be an American abroad is to make others miserable.
A few other definitions having some bearing on places or people...
MANICHEISM, n. The ancient Persian doctrine of an incessant warfare between Good and Evil. When Good gave up the fight the Persians joined the victorious Opposition.
MAYONNAISE, n. One of the sauces which serve the French in place of a state religion.
MANNA, n. A food miraculously given to the Israelites in the wilderness. When it was no longer supplied to them they settled down and tilled the soil, fertilizing it, as a rule, with the bodies of the original occupants.
OCCIDENT, n.
The part of the world lying west (or east) of the Orient. It is largely inhabited by Christians, a powerful subtribe of the Hypocrites, whose principal industries are murder and cheating, which they are pleased to call "war" and "commerce." These, also, are the principal industries of the Orient.
RUSSIAN, n. A person with a Caucasian body and a Mongolian soul.
MAN, n. [...] His chief occupation is the extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth and Canada.
AUSTRALIA, n. A country lying in the South Sea, whose industrial and commercial development has been unspeakably retarded by an unfortunate dispute among geographers as to whether it is a continent or an island.
BRAHMA, n. He who created the Hindoos, who are preserved by Vishnu and destroyed by Siva -- a rather neater division of labor than is found among the deities of some other nations. The Abracadabranese, for example, are created by Sin, maintained by Theft and destroyed by Folly.
No doubt there are others but those are the only ones that come to mind just now.
Last edited by Rii; 06-06-2012 at 02:41 AM.
You'd feel terrible here then. Hugging and greeting with a kiss to the cheek is quite common.
The orthography of the English language is about as demented as anything could be - that's what you get when you merge about four different languages over a couple of thousand years or so. It's a wonder anyone can spell anything in English at all, frankly.
I guess the time required to learn the spellings is the time saved by not pissing around with things like genders for objects, adjective agreement, and putting the verb is a silly part of the sentence just for the lols.
Irrelevant on further examination of the rest of the thread.
It also gives us time and opportunity to go and pick whatever new vocabulary strikes our fancy, giving us carte blanche to use anything just because they're Things Wut Sound Good.
"Say, that's a nice word you got. You weren't using it, were you?" Yoink.
1. Yes - not all but you definitely find the snobbiest French people in Paris. Whether that's pseudo-anarchist rage against america wannabe-rebels or the other side of the coin, posh society wannabes. God save you if your accent isn't perfect and you try speaking french! But I find it pretty fun to return the favour and pretend I don't understand their English either. That really winds them up :) Most French people are not like the parisiens though and as mentioned will appreciate your efforts.
2. Italians tend to come in two flavours. Very friendly, nice and hospitable or coldly hostile. They do not eat spaghetti with every meal, in fact (going to blow your mind here) spaghetti isn't very common. Other types of pasta are far more prevalent actually.
3. Germans are not very judging, at least not to your face.
I'm heading to Boston this summer for a couple of weeks (from Birmingham, UK.) Anything I should know?
Wait a sec-
I sees what you done there.
I recommend Cambridge for your nights out/bar times.
Free speech don't mean unchallengeable speech.
Something slightly more inward maybe but:
When I'm abroad (or any of my friends are) why is it our stereotyped Englishness (is that a word?) increases?
Because you tend to define yourself (and to be defined by others) in large part by what makes you distinctive. When you're abroad, that includes your nationality, whereas when you're home and surrounded by other Englishers it doesn't matter.
Last edited by Rii; 06-06-2012 at 10:52 PM.
:3
Actually, it reminds me of another Ambrose Bierce quote, "War is god's way of teaching Americans geography." Apparently it's a refresher course in linguistics, too.
The Chinese taught us the importance of gung ho, the Germans taught us to duck from their strafing during their blitz, the Arabs and Persians taught us to hide our admirals from assassins - not that we'd have anything to fight with without arsenals - and, thankfully, the Spanish gave us use for admirals in the first place by showing us what a flotilla and armada was. The Dutch gave us helpful tips on beleaguering the enemy before an onslaught, lest we be reduced to learn from the Spanish again and conduct only guerilla actions.
Of course, none of that matters without the French, for without them we wouldn't have an army, a navy, nor marines (or at least no volunteers), and of course that army wouldn't have artillery nor grenades or any materiel at all, for that matter, nor could it organize into battalions or brigades staffed by sergeants or corporals or any soldiers at all. There'd be no cavalry nor infantry en route. We couldn't reconnoitre before a battle to sabotage our opponents nor stage a defense at the bastion palisade to rebuff any attackers, but then we wouldn't have any enemy to begin with, so at least there's that. We'd be forced go back to the Dutch, holster our weapons and go on furlough.
Shit, the vast majority of our military lingo is French! This explains our luck overseas as of late.
Don't wear a Yankees hat?
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