Cultural Differences

[Skimba]

Don't ever forget about the Nazis.

[EvilJekyll]

I like how out of context that statement is on the top of it's own page.

[Dusk]

Does anyone have a decided opinion on Will Self the author?

I was given one of his books some time ago, as it reminded the giver of me [/poorlyformedsentence].
I think it was his second book and I ended up being slightly insulted. Man. That was ages ago. I don't really recall much about it now.
To answer your question: No.

Brian Blessed

is the Emperor of Man as far as I'm concerned. Have you not seen Blackadder??

Bedknobs and broomsticks.

I recall a flying bed. Armor. An Enchanted Knob. Angela Lansbury.
Maybe I should force my kids to watch it.

[MysticalDescent]

Bedknobs and broomsticks.

I recall a flying bed. Armor. An Enchanted Knob. Angela Lansbury.
Maybe I should force my kids to watch it.

I'd be horrified if you didn't.

[ntw3001]

the giver of me

I started reading this sentence at the end (I know, I'm charmingly quirky) and my understanding was that you were referring to your mother.

[jvcc]

Brian Blessed

is the Emperor of Man as far as I'm concerned. Have you not seen Blackadder??

Yes, it is one of my favorite tv shows. But I had watched a recent comedy program where they were discussing Blessed in what was either a playfully mocking way or just a mocking way (he was on some terrible show called City Hospital where he and other presenters interviewed the recently ill or injured), so I was concerned that his reputation may have gone downhill since the early 80s.

An Enchanted Knob.

*snicker*

[ntw3001]

Brian Blessed

is the Emperor of Man as far as I'm concerned. Have you not seen Blackadder??

Yes, it is one of my favorite tv shows. But I had watched a recent comedy program where they were discussing Blessed in what was either a playfully mocking way or just a mocking way (he was on some terrible show called City Hospital where he and other presenters interviewed the recently ill or injured), so I was concerned that his reputation may have gone downhill since the early 80s.

I don't think so. It's not as though there was ever any element of reverence to his reputation. He was pretty well-respected, but as the main king of ridiculousness. It's not as though David Attenborough had fallen on hard times and started presenting Cosmetic Surgery Live (although thinking about it, that may have been the only possible way to make that show fit for human consumption. Vanessa Feltz did not have that effect, although I'm sure the effect she did have was exactly the one the producers cast her for).

[ntw3001]

Cultural difference: Canadians keep complaining about Christmas music. Canadians have never heard of Slade. Canadians have nothing to complain about.

For the full Slade experience, set this song to play on repeat in every single public place for three months. Season with Shakin' Stevens. But not too much! We wouldn't want to spoil the Slade.

[jvcc]

I feel like I should know more about Canada. I've been to Canada and not the UK, and yet I could probably write a book containing everything I know about England and its subsidiaries yet I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a pamphlet on my neighbor to the north.


Note: I do not frequently refer to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales as England's "subsidiaries," nor do I believe that they are in anyway inferior to England. My use of the term was merely a way of avoiding the repetition of using the word "UK" twice in the same sentence.

[EvilJekyll]

Cultural difference: Canadians keep complaining about Christmas music. Canadians have never heard of Slade. Canadians have nothing to complain about.

For the full Slade experience, set this song to play on repeat in every single public place for three months. Season with Shakin' Stevens. But not too much! We wouldn't want to spoil the Slade.

I don't know, it feels like in this area it's mainly McCartney on repeat. This list is more or less accurate to a degree, except McCartney feels like it's closer to #1.

[James]

I should point out that "animated suits of armour" and "Nazis" were implicitly included when I said that I remembered "the invasion bit" of Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

Brian Blessed

is the Emperor of Man as far as I'm concerned. Have you not seen Blackadder??

To be fair, the first series is the worst of them. He's excellent in it, though.

[loofah]

Do not be fooled by youthful exuberance and boyish good looks: I'm rapidly approaching thirty, and therefore no longer of any use to the species.

Renew!

[jvcc]

Oh, I thought of another person: Jeremy Clarkson. I've read/heard a lot about his politics and general character from secondhand sources, but never bothered to look up what he believes or is like directly.

[PonderThis]

Do not be fooled by youthful exuberance and boyish good looks: I'm rapidly approaching thirty, and therefore no longer of any use to the species.

Renew!

[IanC]

Oh, I thought of another person: Jeremy Clarkson. I've read/heard a lot about his politics and general character from secondhand sources, but never bothered to look up what he believes or is like directly.

Hes a tuna sandwich. There. Simples.

[MysticalDescent]

Oh, I thought of another person: Jeremy Clarkson. I've read/heard a lot about his politics and general character from secondhand sources, but never bothered to look up what he believes or is like directly.

He's a man who grossly exaggerates what he really thinks for the sake of good television. I like him, Top Gear is entertaining, although he descends into self parody a little too much sometimes.

There's been some business lately because of a joke he made on an awful TV show that nobody watches. On the subject of UNISON strikes (and don't get me started on people who complain that strikes are 'inconvenient' MISSING THE POINT ENTIRELY) he said:

"I think they have been fantastic. Absolutely. London today has just been empty. Everybody stayed at home, you can whizz about, restaurants are empty...Airports, people streaming through with no problems at all. And it's also like being back in the 70s. It makes me feel at home somehow...But we have to balance this though, because this is the BBC...Frankly, I'd have them all shot. I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families. I mean, how dare they go on strike when they have these gilt-edged pensions that are going to be guaranteed while the rest of us have to work for a living?"

Cue newspaper hysteria over the second part of that quote that doesn't bother with the rest of it. Every so often he blurts out some controversial hyperbole. I don't see why people get worked up about it. It's not as though he's an actual mentalist who says extreme things because they're mental.

[Skimba]

Oh, I thought of another person: Jeremy Clarkson. I've read/heard a lot about his politics and general character from secondhand sources, but never bothered to look up what he believes or is like directly.

Hes a tuna sandwich. There. Simples.

What the fork is a "hes"?



Yea, I'm being a tuna sandwich and I don't give a poopcakes about it.

[James]

Hes a tuna sandwich. There. Simples.

What the fork is a "hes"?

You've got it all wrong. Look at the context. "Hes" is clearly a verb. The question is therefore, "How does one hes a tuna sandwich?".

(Sorry Ian.)

[IanC]

fork the lot of you

[jvcc]

Oh, I thought of another person: Jeremy Clarkson. I've read/heard a lot about his politics and general character from secondhand sources, but never bothered to look up what he believes or is like directly.

He's a man who grossly exaggerates what he really thinks for the sake of good television. I like him, Top Gear is entertaining, although he descends into self parody a little too much sometimes.

That's about the perception I had of him. I like Sean Locke's material about Top Gear, which is that it's impossible not to enjoy it even though you hate it. I believe his exact statement in regards to his experience of watching the show was, "Wankers. It's good, this."

There's been some business lately because of a joke he made on an awful TV show that nobody watches.

They talked about that on Have I Got News for You, I think. He got in trouble on that show, too, for saying he killed a fox with his car or something. But that was a while ago.

[fanelian]

Here's a cultural difference, I think. When we in Mexico say "Felices Fiestas" which is translated to "Happy Holidays", is not out of consideration for anyone. In Mexico people rarely give any thought to the fact that not everyone is Catholic or at least some sort of Christian. We use that phrase in reference to the 3 main Holidays that are celebrated in December: St. Maria de Guadalupe (which is a big deal for Catholics in Mexico), Christmas and the New Year.

This makes me smirk whenever I see an American talking about a "war on Christmas" or some such, because of the use of that phrase. In my mind "Happy Holidays" is just another way to wish for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, you know, for variety.

Maybe this should have gone in the Blurt thread.

[jvcc]

I imagine the American evangelical right would have something to say about your attempts to add variety to your season's greetings down in Mexico.

Terry Wogan is another person I wanted to ask about. Again, not British, I think, but close enough.

[ntw3001]

Wikipedia says he has duaal citizenship (British/Irish). He is one of the little people in the radio box.

[jvcc]

He's been on QI and hosted Never Mind the Buzzcocks, too. And he does Eurovision, right? I'm mainly interested because he did that terrible interview with David Bowie which I can't find on the internet.

[Zombie Protestor]

This is probably the best place to put this, but after years of hearing the hype about it, I saw that Doctor Who is available on Netflix and decided to try the first episode. I have one question: Does the show get better at some point? The characters are not very believable and the special effects look like it was made in 1996 with a budget of $50. Some thoughts while watching the episode:

"Look, we have an interracial couple! We're progressive."

"Okay, conspiracy dude, is the Doctor title handed down through the generations or is there one immortal Doctor? You need to make up your mind."

"Those are terrible photoshop jobs on the photos of the Doctor being in famous scenes, and that 100-year old drawing looks suspiciously like it was done yesterday."

"The boyfriend is getting criticized a lot for not helping, but then again he just got ate by a trash can and deposited out into a room with a talking vat of plastic that commands an army of walking murder mannequins via radio waves, and an alien shows up with your girlfriend to reason with it. Yeah, I think I might be a little speechless too, considering she had a full day to deal with this news and I've had 20 minutes."

"Rose, grab my TARDIS. *grab* Adventure!"

"'Rose, would you like to come in my spaceship?' 'No, my boyfriend needs me.' 'Did I mention that it travels through time?' 'Screw you, boyfriend! I'm running off with this guy I met yesterday!'"

Maybe I'm just not used to British television. Who knows.