[worry]

The Onion on learning to take a joke:
http://www.theonion....ht-years,38394/

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Things Fiddler expected from investigating the flour while I was baking:

1. Not this.

[Maark Abbott]

Boop!

It looks like as well as Dita of High House Sausage, we now also have Dati of High House Bun. It'll be more epic that A vs T (because spoilers).

[Loki]

Indonesia’s Death Penalty Or Australia’s Asylum Policy?

[Tsundoku]

I think this could be used to cover a multitude of situations where you don't know what to say.

http://www.news.com....d-1227356251794

This post has been edited by Sombra: 15 May 2015 - 10:21 AM

[Tsundoku]

Double shot!

Well, this can't possibly go wrong ...

http://www.news.com....c-1227356704994

[HiddenOne]

Here is a special film that some of you may enjoy, It's called Kung Fury prob. NSFW in some places


https://youtu.be/bS5P_LAqiVg

This post has been edited by HiddenOne: 29 May 2015 - 07:25 PM

[Maark Abbott]

Very seriously considering an Open Uni degree in Paleontology. It was always what I wanted to do as a young'un...

[worry]

An interesting analysis of the pop-punk "accent": http://www.atlasobsc...lyze-the-accent

[Illuyankas]

I think there's a niche for literature that looks at the bizarre and strained sexual politics of fantasy stories, through a comedic filter. We could call it satyrical fiction.

[Excidius]

I'm in Croatia at the moment - staying in a town called Novigrad, which I have learnt means 'New City'. I don't know in what language. The strange thing is that it is not new, nor is it a city - more of a two-layered town.

Moreover, in the Witcher world of which I am heavily invested in, there is a Redanian city called Novigrad. I shared this with a far too excitable Witcher group I am a part of and they were far too excited about it.

I'm also getting horribly sunburnt.

[Puck]

Novigrad/Novi Grad is quite a common place name in slavic countries (hence the inclusion in the Witcher world), the landscape's dotted with Novigrads. According to Wikipedia, Croatia alone has four of them. Calling a place 'new city' seems to have been quite common everywhere. Naples/Neapolis means 'new city', too.

Yes, I'm bored during lunch break.

On a more random note, I feel like there's a heightened.. how should I put it nicely.. caution? attention? ..towards foreigners in Germany. Lately, when I talk to my mom on the phone while in public, say, the on the train or somesuch, heads have been snapping round and people shuffling around as soon as they hear I'm not speaking German. It's happened several times today alone. It's weird. Thanks, politics.

This post has been edited by Puckstein: 14 July 2015 - 11:30 AM

[Excidius]

Puckstein, on 14 July 2015 - 11:12 AM, said:

Novigrad/Novi Grad is quite a common place name in slavic countries (hence the inclusion in the Witcher world), the landscape's dotted with Novigrads. According to Wikipedia, Croatia alone has four of them. Calling a place 'new city' seems to have been quite common everywhere. Naples/Neapolis means 'new city', too.

Yes, I'm bored during lunch break.

On a more random note, I feel like there's a heightened.. how should I put it nicely.. caution? attention? ..towards foreigners in Germany. Lately, when I talk to my mom on the phone while in public, say, the on the train or somesuch, heads have been snapping round and people shuffling around as soon as they hear I'm not speaking German. It's happened several times today alone. It's weird. Thanks, politics.

I would concur but living in England I do admit to getting irritated when others don't speak English all the time. It's petty, and with other - albeit more extreme - Englishmen whom state 'England - We want it back' and the suchlike, I don't think they realise for centuries England has been directly tied with immigration and cultural mixes (Anglo-Saxon to Anglo-Norman to Angevin, etc).

[Maark Abbott]

I can see that point. My take is: If you live in a country with a primary native language, you should be able to speak it, even if only a little so that you can get by. It's very irksome when trying to deal with someone who hasn't got a clue what you're trying to say. If I moved to Sweden, or Greece, or Japan, I'd fully expect that it'd be on me to learn their Mother Tongue.

[Puck]

I see both of your points and I generally agree. If you live somewhere, you should take action to be able to communicate in that language. HOWEVER I also see the other side and I refuse to give up my mother tongue - which is already use very little. For me, there's a huge difference between 'being able to communicate well in the language of whatever country one lives in' and 'never using my mother tongue in public ever again'. People don't give you weird looks when you speak English or French or any other european tongue (I'm in Germany here), even if you can't get one German word out properly. They do when you speak something else.

Don't get me wrong, I dislike it as well when people speak in a language not everyone understands when they COULD and it's relevant, say at work or social whatevers. Anyone who trys that stunt with me gets told to speak German, thankyouverymuch. But when I'm on the train and my mother phones me I will damn well talk to her in whatever language I please, and damn anyone who might overhear and feel left out. I speak German better than some Germans when it's called for.

This post has been edited by Puckstein: 20 July 2015 - 11:08 AM

[Andorion]

Puckstein, on 20 July 2015 - 11:04 AM, said:

I see both of your points and I generally agree. If you live somewhere, you should take action to be able to communicate in that language. HOWEVER I also see the other side and I refuse to give up my mother tongue - which is already use very little. For me, there's a huge difference between 'being able to communicate well in the language of whatever country one lives in' and 'never using my mother tongue in public ever again'. People don't give you weird looks when you speak English or French or any other european tongue (I'm in Germany here), even if you can't get one German word out properly. They do when you speak something else.

Don't get me wrong, I dislike it as well when people speak in a language not everyone understands when they COULD and it's relevant, say at work or social whatevers. Anyone who trys that stunt with me gets told to speak German, thankyouverymuch. But when I'm on the train and my mother phones me I will damn well talk to her in whatever language I please, and damn anyone who might overhear and feel left out. I speak German better than some Germans when it's called for.

Learning the language of the land does have its points but you will be in big trouble over here. Hindi only works in North India, my own mother tongue is Bengali and the South has like 4 languages.

I wonder how Germans would react if I spoke Bengali on public transport.

[Puck]

There are those cases, too. But that's kind of beside the point. I was replying to Excidius and Maark who I felt needed reminding that speaking the language of the country you move to and your mother tongue are not mutually exclusive.

[Maark Abbott]

Puckstein, on 20 July 2015 - 11:04 AM, said:

I see both of your points and I generally agree. If you live somewhere, you should take action to be able to communicate in that language. HOWEVER I also see the other side and I refuse to give up my mother tongue - which is already use very little. For me, there's a huge difference between 'being able to communicate well in the language of whatever country one lives in' and 'never using my mother tongue in public ever again'. People don't give you weird looks when you speak English or French or any other european tongue (I'm in Germany here), even if you can't get one German word out properly. They do when you speak something else.

Don't get me wrong, I dislike it as well when people speak in a language not everyone understands when they COULD and it's relevant, say at work or social whatevers. Anyone who trys that stunt with me gets told to speak German, thankyouverymuch. But when I'm on the train and my mother phones me I will damn well talk to her in whatever language I please, and damn anyone who might overhear and feel left out. I speak German better than some Germans when it's called for.

That's a fair way to look at it. Also, speaking German on the phone to your mother? My mental image of you has now become Asuka from NGE.

[worry]

HitchBOT is DEAD!
http://www.huffingto..._n_7919122.html

[Andorion]

http://www.tor.com/2...turing-dragons/

A friend shared this link with me. Some great dragon art here!