xkcd

by **Robin S** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:11 pm UTC

MoonBuggy wrote:
Terry Pratchett
Douglas Adams
I do think that both would be quite different writers if they had a different cultural background. Then again, maybe it's because they have the same one as I do that I appreciate them so much.

How did I miss this? It is true, though, what you say: Douglas Adams wrote that when he released The Guide in the States, many Americans thought (for example) that "Ford Prefect" was a typo for "perfect".

by **dubsola** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:23 pm UTC

Every country has things to be proud of. I live in the UK now, but grew up in Australia, and, although there's some terribly cool stuff that comes from the people that live there (particularly in the arts and sporting realms), the best thing IMO is what you can see. It's the oldest country on earth, and when you're looking at the outback - a very real concept - there's a sense of ancient calm that is... well, it's something.

Spoiler:

About 2 hours from Perth, there's a really old karri forest, in a place called Boranup (Aboriginal names are great). It's one of my favourite places on earth.

Spoiler:

Let's go to the beach:

Spoiler:

I don't think it's jingoistic to be proud to show off the things that make Australia great. I don't really care, anyway - I'd happily extol the virtues of other countries I've visited. But just look at that sky!

by **davef** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:35 pm UTC

Cara's kinda beaten me to it, but she forgot to mention that Everyone In The World Wishes That They Were Irish.

\thread

by **Robin S** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:45 pm UTC

dubsola wrote:It's the oldest country on earth

In what sense?

and when you're looking at the outback - a very real concept - there's a sense of ancient calm that is... well, it's something.

I think that's true of anywhere that's been untouched by humans.

by **dubsola** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:31 pm UTC

Robin: Oldest in the geological sense, and yeah - that's true. It's just particularly special to *me*, because I grew up there.

by **Robin S** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:47 pm UTC

Fair enough. I'm still not convinced by the "geologically oldest" claim, though - I thought most of today's major landmasses had been around for roughly the same length of time.

by **Angelene** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:55 pm UTC

davef wrote:Cara's kinda beaten me to it, but she forgot to mention that Everyone In The World Wishes That They Were Irish.

\thread

Well it's not really a source of pride for me as much as annoyance, to be honest.

by **SecondTalon** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 2:58 pm UTC

..... so, is this when I mention that every time I meet someone who's lived in the US their entire life, their parents have lived in the US their entire lives, their grandparents have lived here their entire lives, and so on except that one set of great-great-grandparents immigrated from Ireland.. and the person insist on calling themselves Irish, that I just want to stab them in the throat until they admit their mistake?

by **davef** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:00 pm UTC

It's a Joke, people, jeez!

And yes, ST, now would be a good time to mention that, alright. I hate that too.

by **SecondTalon** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:05 pm UTC

Is it just this area, I wonder? I mean, granted my hometown was literally a hundredth of the size of Louisville, but it seems there's a metric fuckton of people who do that...about Ireland and Scotland. But mostly Ireland. I've never heard the same claims about Germany, England, Wales, Italy, France, Spain, and so on.

Ah, well... time to sharpen up ol' Stabby McNeckington.

by **davef** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:10 pm UTC

I've always wondered why that is. They say that 60 million people worldwide (or some ridiculously high number) claim Irish ancestry, and it seems they ALL want to shout about it. But you don't hear the descendants of German/Welsh/English/Polish immigrants bragging like that. I'm tempted to infer a link to WW2 vs the famine in the 1840s but it'd be very poorly thought-out and presented so I won't.

Anyway, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Newgrange, yada yada...

by **Torvaun** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:13 pm UTC

Don't forget that the Irish are also known for the IRA. Especially in England.

by **davef** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:14 pm UTC

Yeah, we're really fuckin' proud of that one. Have you read the news in, oh, the last ten years?

The Unionists didn't exactly shower themselves in glory, either...

You might as well say that the Americans are particularly known for the Klan, and that football hooligans are an integral part of the UK.

EDIT - ah, fuck, that post just made me really mad, sorry. I probably overreacted. I'm going out now to buy an outfit for a fancy-dress party on Saturday.

by **SecondTalon** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:31 pm UTC

That's an overreaction?

by **Torvaun** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:32 pm UTC

Hey, I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's true, especially in England. In America, you're pretty much just known for Leprechauns, St. Patricks day, and alcohol. Most of us hear IRA and think Individual Retirement Account.

by **davef** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:36 pm UTC

SexyTalon wrote:That's an overreaction?

Maybe a little bit, but I thought Torvaun was English, hence the 'Unionist' bit. But he's American, so thanks for pandering to shitty national stereotypes, fella.

by **dubsola** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:36 pm UTC

Torvaun wrote:Hey, I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's true, especially in England.

Where are you from / where do you live?

EDIT: oh, you're American. I suggest you have no idea what you're talking about.

by **SecondTalon** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:37 pm UTC

Hey, I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's true, especially in England. In America, you're pretty much just known for Leprechauns, St. Patricks day, and alcohol. Most of us hear IRA and think Individual Retirement Account.

Funny, I think redheads, Guinness, and shitty chain bars with names like Flannagan's, O'Malley's or O'Shea's....

Oh, and U2.

by **Torvaun** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:02 pm UTC

Apparently I've touched a nerve. Not my intent to offend anyone.

by **yellie** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:10 pm UTC

I'm proud to be Irish because of:
- People like Oscar Wilde, Padraig Pearse, Wolfe Tone, Samuel Beckett and a load more.
- I'm pathetically interested in Irish history; far more than English or European history.
- The architecture, which, although isn't as grand as other countries because we never got any Roman stuff, is still quite pretty.
- Our comedians are probably the best ever. Dylan Moran, David O' Doherty, Tommy Tiernan and Dara O' Briain, to name a few. We also have Graham Linehan, creator of Father Ted and the IT Crowd.
- It's so green! I love all the fields and forests and whatnot, and whenever I go abroad, I'm always disappointed by the lack of green.

I'm not proud to be Irish because of:
- U2.
- Knackers and D4s.
- All the stereotypes.
- Paddy's Day. (I-- I just don't like it?)
- the Real IRA

by **davef** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:11 pm UTC

You've obviously never been to Greenland, then. Har har.

by **Angelene** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:21 pm UTC

I'd like to agree with everything dave said except for the lame Greenland joke.

by **davef** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:22 pm UTC

Thank you, thank you. I'm here all week. Try the veal.

by **Cheese** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:15 pm UTC

Rippy wrote:- Generally in the top 10% of every kind of index or country comparison

What about 'least Canadian countries in the world'?

If you can't find the quote, it's more than a page back, sorry. But I don't have much else to add to the 'Britishness' boasting (and yes, it is boasting, but isn't this thread meant for plugging your country?).

by **davef** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:41 pm UTC

Torvaun wrote:Apparently I've touched a nerve. Not my intent to offend anyone.

That's almost an apology... :twisted:

Just don't go around making crazy statements you can't back up and you won't touch any more nerves.

by **Torvaun** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:43 pm UTC

Yeah, I don't apologize well. What you got is pretty much the full extent of my apologizing.

by **Rippy** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:46 pm UTC

Cheese wrote:
Rippy wrote:- Generally in the top 10% of every kind of index or country comparison
What about 'least Canadian countries in the world'?

If you can't find the quote, it's more than a page back, sorry. But I don't have much else to add to the 'Britishness' boasting (and yes, it is boasting, but isn't this thread meant for plugging your country?).

Well, by "top 10%" I meant "best 10%".

And in a "least canadian countries" list, the best place to be is last place.

by **oxoiron** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:00 pm UTC

Minnesota, home of:

Robert Zimmerman (AKA Bob Dylan)
F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)
Charles Schulz (if you don't know, you deserve a beating)

The Mayo Clinic (it's the friggin' Mayo clinic!)
3M (ever used Scotch tape, masking tape, Post-it notes, floppy disks, audio tape, sandpaper, blah, blah, blah?)
University of MN (can't beat 'em for organ transplants, artificial blood for Jehovah's Witnesses, synthetic rubber, etc.)
Control Data (first supercomputer)

Mesabi Range (more stuff for 3M to be involved in (e.g. taconite processing) as well as iron for everybody)
90,000+ miles of shoreline (that's a lot of shoreline, especially for a state that doesn't touch an ocean! suck it, CA, AK, etc!)

by **Cheese** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:02 pm UTC

Rippy wrote:
Cheese wrote:
Rippy wrote:- Generally in the top 10% of every kind of index or country comparison
What about 'least Canadian countries in the world'?

If you can't find the quote, it's more than a page back, sorry. But I don't have much else to add to the 'Britishness' boasting (and yes, it is boasting, but isn't this thread meant for plugging your country?).

Well, by "top 10%" I meant "best 10%".

And in a "least canadian countries" list, the best place to be is last place.

::grasps at straws::

Erm... "Most Frenchly-influenced countries"?
"Most Scottish Immigrants between 1860 and 1920"?
"Best mounted police"?
"Most satisfactory seperation of Alaska from the rest of the US"?

hmm... I think you're right, you do come in the best 10%.

by **davef** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:06 pm UTC

oxoiron wrote:University of MN (can't beat 'em for organ transplants, artificial blood for Jehovah's Witnesses, synthetic rubber, etc.)

Wait... what???

by **oxoiron** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:15 pm UTC

In 1979, a Jehovah's Witness received an artificial blood transfusion because he believed it did not conflict with his religious convictions (see article in NY Times.).

EDIT: spelling and added source

by **Torvaun** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:41 pm UTC

If I were from Minnesota, I'd try to downplay any connection to the Great Gatsby. At least you didn't try to mention the Vikings.

Being from Wisconsin, I'll go with Seymour Cray, Harry Houdini's early life, the extensive and awesome UW system, Patrick Rothfuss, cheese, Madison, the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act, Gary Gygax, August Derleth, and John Muir. Up until recently, we also had GenCon.

I'll try to ignore Chris Farley and Joe McCarthy.

by **oxoiron** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:57 pm UTC

Torvaun wrote:Being from Wisconsin, I'll go with ... the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act.

It's too bad he refuses to run for President. I like Russ Feingold a lot (even if he is from WI :wink:

).

by **'; DROP DATABASE;--** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:25 pm UTC

High Five to whoever renamed the thread. :lol:

by **kwub** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:42 pm UTC

Proud to be a western Pennsylvanian!
- Most beautiful woodlands in the US.
- Moderate temperature, summers are rarely too hot and winters are rarely too cold.
- The Jersey shore is only a short drive away.
- Really awesome old-school towns that are a blast to explore.
- Christmas in Bethlehem (w00t!)
- Turkey Hill ice cream (bingo right here).
- Tasty Cakes (can't find these anywhere down south).
- People who are generally neither irritatingly and deceptively polite (i.e. the Deep South) nor shockingly sociopathic (here's looking at you, NYC). I like the balance.

Other than that, I can't think of anything. The sheer number of allergens in the air are near enough to kill me, and frankly there is almost nothing to DO in the entire state.

by **MotorToad** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:43 pm UTC

If we're going to talk about people from states, I'll go ahead and play the trump card.

(Just be glad I didn't use the first picture that came up on Google!)

by **Mighty Jalapeno** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:45 pm UTC

Who renamed my thread?

I'm proud to be Miss Canada, dammit!

by **proof_man** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:03 pm UTC

by **Dream** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:37 pm UTC

Ireland has already been covered, in that everything I like about the place has come up from Cara, yellie and davef. The question is, can we claim the North for "Ireland"? I'm going to assume that now that we're all grown up and no longer squabbling, we can share it with Britain. So; Van Morrison and Neil Hannon must be added to Irish proudness.

Also, Guinness. I professionally work my way through beers from all over the world, and nothing from outside Ireland is even remotely similar. This beer is everything everyone says it is, and more.

We have corrupt, dodgy, scumbag politicians, like everywhere else. But everywhere else doesn't have:

The Mahon Tribunal.

The Moriarty Tribunal.

Celebrating over a decade of public service entertainment, while genuinely, seriously going after cabinet level politicians for corruption and bribery. Can you imagine it anywhere else? Sometimes Ireland is really great

Edit: wrong yellie. Sorry, spending too much time in SB lately...

by **peter** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:58 pm UTC

North Carolina

We make cigarettes!

We have the best college basketball teams!

We invented airplanes!

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