A few days ago I observed that if an American upstart company began selling British-style tea, given American marketing habits they'd probably be most successful with a name like "Pompous English Twit" that would include a guy with bad teeth in a tuxedo on the box. It then clicked in that, for at least the naming convention, "Twinnings" has much the same effect for mental image and product association in the American mind.

Auckland is a city in New Zealand. I learned this at a tender young age when there was an episode of Full House when some of the girls sneak through airport security to see what the inside of a plane looks like, and when it takes off they hear that it's going to "Oakland" and blow it off as a mild inconvenience. It turns out that it's actually going to Auckland! What a quandary!

I think that seeing a recreation of this episode made in a post-WTC attack world would be pretty cool.

I would like to hear as many filthy Aucklish stereotypes as possible. For research purposes, you understand

Pub, help me out here

Also, Seth, I was wondering if you knew the name of that one 18th century romance novelist that always wrote about noblewomen weeping and bemoaning their fate out in forests until they just happen to meet up with and be 'comforted' by muscular goatherders

I always try to remember her name so I can tell everyone about how much I hate her guts, but then I go and forget her name

Her writing style consists of dull, single sentences spanning entire pages, and the only reason anyone remembers her is so that they can talk about a few female "great authors", if that helps

Not to Gus, but:
http://www.answers.com/topic/come-fl...=entertainment

The way it talks about Danny "hooking up" with a woman and he can't stop talking about how "beautiful" she is gives me the mental image of malpropre* use of vulgar sexual allegory.

*I have to use this word because I don't know a good English translation for its original sense of "amiss", but I guess it's developed a different meaning in French since the 18th century that does have colorful equivalents in English.

Emu mistook the point of MM's thread for "things you'd tell Juttin's younger self".

It's a little creepy just how seriously they're taking that episode explanation.

I agree with Seth that British food is fairly unremarkable unless you make it a point to look for the "delicacies" such as the aforementioned spotted dick, or haggis.

The only problem with the heart stopping British breakfast is that it comes with black pudding, which is analogous to pure sin in circular form.

While the Brits have achieved the pinnacle of candy bars (Hershey's chocolate is ass compared to the likes of Cadbury or Galaxy), their cracker and snack food selection leaves much to be desired. You'd be hard pressed to find a big bag of potato chips (that aren't split into 6 smaller bags) and it seems as if Nabisco has completely ignored the European market. It's very very sad when you can't just nip to the supermarket to pick up a box of Better Cheddars or Bugles.

I haven't eaten a candy bar in forever :( every time I feel tempted, I realize that I could use the money to buy a new pen instead

Quite the reverse. Jafas are the clean metrosexuals that take the tax money from the pockets of the dirty & hard working kiwis.

DO you have any jafa jokes

Yes.

Weeeeeell, let's hear em

Oh, and England has Garfunkel's, well atleast London has.

They have delicious BBQ meals. Especially the ribs, I loved 'em and the sauce was just awesome. :yum

Best and sofar only BBQ ribs I've gotten chance to eat

Head over to Kansas or Texas sometime, you'll see what bbq sauce is, was, and always shall be

You didn't ask if I had the inclination to post them.

Why not? None of us are aucklish, we're not even fellow New Zealish

Gus, I really didn't take you for the type to quote from the rosary, but okay! (I've seen the same line in a biology academic journal so it's okay.)

Since I say the rosary in Latin, that prayer always throws me off because it uses similar verbiage as the Sign of the Cross but it has to use different grammar. "Sicut erat in principio, est nunc, et in secula seculorum" is a great line to use anywhere because the original phrase for "ever shall be" means, per my own understanding of the words, "in the age of all ages".

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=jafa+jokes

lol @ the second result

Google's spider process frustrates me a great deal for a number of reasons, but probably not nearly as much as it frustrates my large audience of people who are pissed off that they were linked to my website while trying to find scholarly resources on medieval French calligraphy because of me selling things on craig's list.

Seth, are you talking about when I (edit: attempted to, I can't say I'm well versed) used the rites of exorcism on Zeldasbiggestfan and WhiteRat freaked out because he thought it was an invocation of Satan? 'Cause I don't remember using using catholic latin phrases any more recently than that

WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU CROSS A JAFA WITH A BEAR.

A BLIND BEAR. BECAUSE...

you'll see what bbq sauce is, was, and always shall be

That's a fairly common literary allusion to the Glory Be, one of a few formulaic prayers that actually sticks to the memory because it's so short and is used in a repetitive cycle.

Next time I have to argue with a psychologist about why a particular categorization they throw at me isn't cogent, I'll just show them a medley of my contributions to the this thread made in the past four days and the futility should be apparent.

Jesus is in your head. AND YOU NEVER KNEW!

I actually wanted to quote Light Years, but that's what popped up into my head instead

But thinking I'm a sophisticant (how the fuck do you spell that) works too

That reminds me, I still need to see that in French, I think the language used would be gorgeous

I wanted to make a joke about worshiping Mary so that Jesus wasn't actually in his head, but I think it'd get lost in translation from Catholic self-deprecation to I-Mockery self-deprecation. That, and discussing theology is something I'm wary of doing on I-Mockery unless it's exploited to talk about how great my girlfriend's pussy would be if I had a girlfriend.

Aforementioned female acquaintance in real life linked me to http://www.penisland.net/ from her office, then immediately set her status to an away message.

I think I found a new supplier for when I have to replace my Montblanc.

I've always found theology kind of dull, unless it's approached from a psychological angle


The only theological discussion I'd really like to have is where the fuck these death metal bands are getting this "Eleventh Seal" crap. There are only seven in revelation, retards >:

Oh my god, Seth, your female acquaintance is my hero

I draw a distinction between theology and exegetical criticism :rolleyes :posh

Why can't the monocle guy roll his visible eye and save me the effort? Fuck, if we had an emoticon like that I don't think I'd have to post anything else.

I happen to like arguing the same old shit over & over, it's why I'm on the internet.

Like I mentioned earlier, I can show you a YouTube video that would probably make her far less heroic. I just refuse to because I can imagine things going horribly wrong.

Or maybe that was in an AIM conversation with Pub, which is effectively the same thing as posting in this thread.

I'd like to know what specific 'holy text' these guys are getting it from, the only parallel I've managed to dig up on the subject is that the theme also apparently appears in a few video games and anime, which really somewhat confirms my theory that all death metal people are doing everything they possibly can to crush their inner dorks

God, I type slow

I actually have more than one arguably attractive female friend in this town, with whom I communicate primarily via AIM.

Seth: you've yet to sling comments at me that uncomfortably straddle the fence between facetiousness and actual deep personal contempt for my existence, in the bloomington thread about Baked

You're right GG. Theology IS boring.

I get the distinct impression, that, if we ever met in real life, I would be found to be a slow witted insect

IN REGARDS TO SETH. NOT THAT GUY, SETH!

No need to make the distinction, you'd be pretty slow next to me as well.

I REALLY doubt that you'd be much use in a discussion as to whether or not Voltaire grew alongside Candide

I was going to say something very self-deprecating about how is it you guys have all these friends in comparison to my complete lack, and then I realized that some combination of leaving the house and NOT TRYING SO FUCKING HARD would be helpful.

I'm really not the guy to consult for Simpsons references, but there's one that really touches my heart.

I think a mid- or late-90s episode had Lisa meet a fellow intelligent girl her own age, and by that time the show had established her as an unrealistically intelligent 8-year-old. When she meets the girl with her father, they invite her to play a game where he says the name of a public figure and she has to devise an anagram of the name that describes him/her. He throws one out, then his daughter replies in within a few seconds. Lisa, when given one, just hums uncomfortably and then the father gives her a ball to play with.

I love it because my life from 2002-2005 was a constant oscillation of which side of the equation I was on.

And I HIGHLY doubt that you've read Tennyson

Not you, Seth


Wait, I actually haven't seen that episode, was it a newer one

NO OPINIONS HERE, JUST COLD, UNCARING FACT!

:EMO

and I dislike discussing theology only because I get really easily frustrated by people who insist on using repetitive and moronic arguments for ANY side.

Well, to be fair, I found both Tennyson and Byron so tedious that I frequently mix up their works and biographical details.

Congratulations! You are the female Pub!

I would have said overly self-involved over tedious, but I've no question that you chose the better description.

SUCCESS. I will celebrate by getting trashed.

I hate poetry in general, but Tennyson's just plain beautiful

Besides, the first poem of his that I read was The Kraken, and somber moods with water imagery is really my thing

No, it's pretty old.

It touched my heart.

If that is true then if you two ever meet it will surely be the end of the world.

But we won't have to worry about that because of the whole not-leaving-the-house thing :whew

I thought I saw all the older ones

I'm a goddamned failure

Well, I usually talk about theology in a historical context, so it's pointless to take it seriously outside of "NO, SHITHEAD, it's obvious that Aquinas would argue that FIFTEEN angels could dance on the end of a needle pin!"*

I do take certain realms of theology pretty seriously, but that's because it's mostly shit I made up when I was 17.

*Popular cliché often mistaken for an actual medieval debate, but actually invented by later satirists.

I LEAVE THE HOUSE REGULARLY

to go to the publishing lab

Probably not seeing as how I prefer to explore and discuss my own theories of the ties between freedom, religion, and the state rather than plagiarize, or compare, other people's ideas.

I'm a big mythology freak, so I get involved with theology when the two bleed into each other

Tennyson is certainly memorable and I couldn't possibly hope to do better on the very best of my perfect days, so I'm not one to pick too much, but... Well, I've always been attached to Wordsworth.

PJ, if you're not actually going to say anything, shutcher trap

It's not true, she merely said something stupid.

I've actually never read much of wordsworth :(

Yeah, no one but you has good ideas.

I've always preferred philisophical discussions concerning the existence of the human (or animal) soul rather than Theology. But then again, Theology can be pretty interesting if explored counter-intuitively in a philisophical manner rather than a religious one.

I was going to agree, but

I'm using that as evidence to the argument that we'd probably actively dislike each other.

Grislygus:

http://www.online-literature.com/wordsworth/2208/

People have great ideas. But why not tell me yours rather than someone else's from 200 years ago?

Alright, I'll remind you that Isaac Newton may have had certain eccentricities that are outright stupid by modern viewers, but he was probably more intelligent than your intelligence is capable of formulating a coherent image against which you could base comparison against yourself.

Also, he wasn't really famous for being humble, either.

He said something like,
"If I have been able to see further than anyone else, it is merely because I have been standing on the shoulders of giants."

(I'll not look up the exact quote because I want to impress you with my memory of how close I came to it.)

So, yeah, saying that you ignore Voltaire because you have your own views, which I'm sure have all the uniqueness and profundity to shatter the earth, is pretty fucking stupid.

Please, PJ, elaborate on these discussions

Because most of the things I hear as 'original ideas' have already been explored 200 years ago by someone much smarter & interesting than you.

Whoah, where'd he say that

I'm losing track here

Oh wait, there it is

Is he retarded

I always like the story behind that. The next letter was all "YOU'RE A MIDGET? I HAD NO IDEA! LET ME APOLOGISE PROFUSELY!"

Hey, I didn't know that Leibniz was really all that tall! BUUURRRRRRRRRRN!

*If this is "ye" for the reason that comes to mind, related to the "Ye Olde Taverne" cliché, then someone in the wikiquote world is tragically stupid for having access to the original typeface of this quote yet not understanding how to read it.

Quote:

"My favourite piece of information is that Branwell Brontë, brother of Emily and Charlotte, died standing up leaning against a mantelpiece, in order to prove it could be done. This is not quite true, in fact. My absolute favourite piece of information is the fact that young sloths are so inept that they frequently grab their own arms and legs instead of tree limbs, and fall out of trees. "

By Douglas Adams. It doesn't fit so well into the current conversation but it's my favourite quote and I can't imagine it coming up in a better situation.

It's a good thing I'm not trying to shatter the Earth with my philisophical views then I guess. I just find it more interesting to have a discussion with someone who isn't constantly saying "Voltaire said in 1789...", and can show me their intelligence (and expand mine) by coming up with original thoughts.

On the other hand, how much does knowing and quoting Voltaire pay these days?

:love

MY PERSONAL AND ORIGINAL BELIEFS ARE THAT STARGATE SG-1 IS BY FAR SUPERIOR TO THE OLD BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, THOUGH NOT NECESSARILY THE NEW SHOW. VOLTAIRE, KISS MY FLABBY, WIDE, AMERICAN ASS

Which discussion? All I see are 3 different people talking to themselves about 3 different topics and my having to defend myself when I attempted to add my input.

So please, let me know what topic you wish me to elaborate on and I shall.

Honestly, I was going to respond with the estimates of some friends' present salaries that they earned with university and grad school experience that both required and enhanced such grasps on such things. But, for unrelated reasons it hurts my head so trust me when I say "a lot, if you're actually good at it."

For being such a genius, Peggy Hill, you sure seem to have a hard time dealing with the nature of the internet.

I just said that in my head using John McGinley's voice and I'm embarrassed to admit that I lol'd

Which seasons? Final season 70's BSG (super powered children traveling through time & all) isn't as bad as current SG-1.

Also, rewatching Buck Rogers recently I wondered why that hadn't been remade, oh wait! Farscape.

Guys, that was an invitation to ask me for a riveting discussion about how þ, Ð/ð, the Greek letter Upsilon, our Y, both phonemes made with "th" in modern English, other archaic letters I can't find on the character map, and the vowel shift of the high middle ages all came together in evolution of the English language to form one of the most perplexing semiotic clusterfucks in history.

IT'S TOO LATE NOW, DON'T EVEN TRY.

I daydream John C. McGinley & Hugh Laurie team-up fanfiction. :x

What about John Goodman and Hugh Laurie? :eek

Mush like the British poet discussion a page back, that was a topic I explored fully on this board five years ago & now have no interest in reevaluating.

Good try though.

I can't even remember, I'm too baffled by your last bit of "input".

Hang on, let me try to begin to dissect the logic here. You make the point that I am dumber than you are, and I sarcastically counterpoint that you aren't exactly an intellectual, using an example of something that I am interested in, and that I know there is a zero percent chance of you knowing about, let alone being interested in.

This is a risk, because if you ARE interested in Voltaire's overall philosophy in Candide, you'll soon make me look like an idiot. However, your response, as predicted, is that you are not interested in the subject.

In fact, interest in Voltaire is a handicap. At first, it appears that you might be making the point that I am unoriginal for being willing to partake in a debate that has been going for centuries. Later, however, in a response to Seth, it becomes apparent that the mere mention of Voltaire is what you are irritated by, which could be due to the fact that you're talking out of your ass and are intimidated by a subject that you know fuck-all about, but that's just conjecture.

To justify your interesting position that you are smarter than people who are knowledgeable about Voltaire merely for the fact that you are not, you take up the stance that you come up with what we might call "original content", and we do not. Seth infers once again that you are an idiot and that your point is stupid, far more eloquently than I have at this point.

You return fire by claiming that it's "a good thing [you're] not trying to shatter the Earth with [your] philisophical views then [you] guess." You are justified in not caring about Voltaire because you are uninterested in having new and compelling ideas, therefore definitively proving that you are a genius.

You finish with the point that it's "more interesting to have a discussion with someone who isn't constantly saying "Voltaire said in 1789...", inferring that a single offhanded mention of Voltaire is pretentious and that you are more interested in having a conversation with someone who can prove their intelligence and expand yours by talking about "new" things which, since they do not talk about any previously explored ideas, have little to do with history, literature, or science. Instead, this person must come up with new and compelling ideas of their own, which you have already stated that you personally are uninterested in having, you leech.

Then you finish with the inference that knowing about Voltaire is a liability in the job market.






Seeing as how the conversation will have hurtled forward by this point, and unraveling your backwards, monkey brain so far has proven that it is not worth the effort, I'm just going to continue taunting you for being a retard from now on.

With House MD treating the American King of England? :rock

HAWT. Crap, I don't know if I'm kidding anymore.

Grisly: Without getting too involved in the convo, I have to commend your patience.

If I DIDN'T effectively prove that I can counterpoint, then I wouldn't be justified in belittling the twat

Yeah, dealing with people like that is sometimes best summarized by the Simpsons vignette I mentioned. That's why I always keep balls on me that I can condescendingly inform them of their stupidity by placing them in their hands.

It's just really hard to do, psychologically speaking, when you're not entirely sure that they won't squeeze once they have your scrotum in their palms.

Goal: accomplished.

I agree, but I really don't have the patience or remaining skill for such things.

OH FOR THE GOLDEN DAYS OF YOUTH, WHERE I ONLY USED THE SHIFT KEY TO BEGIN WORDS.

A bag of Sourcream & onion flavored chips
A bag of cheese puffs

I can't decide which one I should pick - It's your call