The UK
- Thread starter Seattle
- Start date
Pinball1970
Valued Senior Member
Some beautiful places, Brussels not being one of them. Cantillon brewery is amazing, my friend lives in Ghent which is very beautiful.
Belgium is an easy target I suppose, there is a funny line in "Red Dwarf," probably because Belgium was the most innocuous country to have a go at.
A bit like getting home from work in a bad mood and kicking the cat. (Black Adder)
Hey, I know, let's post a video about how the US has higher productivity and higher GDP/capita. Because, yeah, that's everything you need to know about it to decide that it's better than any other country. Because that's all that matters. Not equality, for sure. I mean, if the total GDP went to the hands of 1 person and everyone else starved, that wouldn't matter because, well, productivity and GDP/capita, baby!!
Seattle
Valued Senior Member
That would be a cool video but it wouldn't be this video. Hey, I know, let's watch the video that we're going to comment on!Hey, I know, let's post a video about how the US has higher productivity and higher GDP/capita. Because, yeah, that's everything you need to know about it to decide that it's better than any other country. Because that's all that matters. Not equality, for sure. I mean, if the total GDP went to the hands of 1 person and everyone else starved, that wouldn't matter because, well, productivity and GDP/capita, baby!!
Pinball1970
Valued Senior Member
Talking of of the US, UK relationship, I just watched King Charles speech to congress, it was impressive. He is a good speaker and the content was pure class.
You guys discussed it on another thread but I cannot remember where.
Authorship of the speech was mentioned? Regardless of who wrote it, or whether King Charles contributed, he still had to deliver it and he did.
He reminded me of Hitchens.
Not everyone can deliver an effective punchline in one paragraph then scold you in the next.
I always regarded him as bit of a privileged, weak buffoon, not as idiotic as Edward or loathsome as Andrew and his odious greedy wife, but unimpressive all the same.
I was quite proud of him giving that speech, I felt all British like.
Anyway I will let you chaps get on with all that GDP, £&$ stuff.
You guys discussed it on another thread but I cannot remember where.
Authorship of the speech was mentioned? Regardless of who wrote it, or whether King Charles contributed, he still had to deliver it and he did.
He reminded me of Hitchens.
Not everyone can deliver an effective punchline in one paragraph then scold you in the next.
I always regarded him as bit of a privileged, weak buffoon, not as idiotic as Edward or loathsome as Andrew and his odious greedy wife, but unimpressive all the same.
I was quite proud of him giving that speech, I felt all British like.
Anyway I will let you chaps get on with all that GDP, £&$ stuff.
exchemist
Valued Senior Member
I thought it was for moules-frites.
exchemist
Valued Senior Member
Belgians are the butt of jokes, in both France and the Netherlands. Sort of how in the Britain we tend to make jokes about the Irish. It seems to be the same general idea: the Belgians are similar to the French or the Dutch, but..... a bit strange. Slightly surreal things happen in Belgium, as they do in Ireland. And, as in Ireland, they seem relaxed and not to take anything very seriously.
But on one point, I think the Belgians really do deserve criticism: their driving is atrocious. When we lived in The Hague we regularly made the journey to and from our London house by car, using the shuttle and driving across northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. I used to have to watch the road ahead and the mirrors like a hawk in Belgium. One had no idea what nutcase would suddenly appear and try to do something dangerous. They seemed to have a predilection for black BMWs. One time, in snowy weather when there were only 2 lanes clear, some fool decided to overtake everybody by using the snow-filled 3rd lane, at about 120kph. Result? He spun out of control across all 3 lanes just in front of us and crashed sideways on into the Armco. It was a miracle he did not get hit by other vehicles in the process. It's no wonder Belgian number plates are red. We learned to watch out for those when driving on the continent and to give them plenty of space.
I did watch the one you posted, despite the fact that it doesn't actually talk about "what happens when Europeans find out how poor they are". So I'm not sure what you're asking by posting it. Was there something you wished to discuss specifically? A point you're trying to make? Or are you just posting videos for the sake of it?
Just asking for a friend.
And waffles!
And their vast number of excellent beers, almost one per town, irrespective of size of town. If it was a "town" of one person it would probably still have its own beer and, more importantly, it seems, it's own specific glass to pour it in to.
They're not the worst, by any stretch. There are jokes about a number of countries that the white line down the middle of the road is not for dividing lanes but where you're supposed to drive. I've heard it said about Italy, and I can attest to it being true of Malta!
Pinball1970
Valued Senior Member
Every country bar the UK is nuts regarding roads. We made the mistake of driving round Paris in the 1980s. The autobahn was terrifying in the naughties but being driven round Portugal in a little sports car was the time I reconsidered my atheism.They're not the worst, by any stretch. There are jokes about a number of countries that the white line down the middle of the road is not for dividing lanes but where you're supposed to drive. I've heard it said about Italy, and I can attest to it being true of Malta!
No one has ever trusted me to drive in Europe or the UK, so I can only really comment on the service stations. Belgium at one time had these excellent automatic coffee machines--nothing quite like them anywhere else in Europe (well, not accounting for real espresso machines in Italy). Germany had the absolute worst and they totally gouge you for coffee on the Autobahn. Seems borderline criminal.
TheVat
Valued Senior Member
The mussels are good, but that dollop of mayo on the side for the fries is just wrong. (My anti-mayo bias extends to many foods) My quote happens to be Martin McDonagh, a line from his screenplay for In Bruges, in which Colin Farrell keeps bashing Belgium.
AFAICT, every country with automobiles has terrifying drivers. I remember even fairly sedate Omaha having a rush hour where every third motorist drove as if their hair was on fire.
This matter of lobbing insults is somewhat fascinating. I'm certainly no stranger to deploying insults, but I feel that at the very least I try to make mine somewhat topical. But with Seattle, I'm not sure how insulting me for being chronically underweight, for instance, is pertinent to anything being discussed.
But more curious are those insults which can be construed as perhaps somehow relevant. One in particular stands out: Seattle regularly accuses others of being antisocial. Huh?! Now I'm certainly a bit asocial, though impatient and mildly manic may be more accurate descriptors. And I'll be the first to admit that I've got some antisocial attributes, though I think in many respects these come down to unresovled tension between my anarchic and communistic leanings. In short, I think I've generally got a fair bit more "faith" in the positive potential for propaganda of the deed than do most people--than do most leftists really. But is that really antisocial? I'm not so sure about that.
Seattle, on the other hand, harbors many views which most readers would likely read as antisocial--with respect to social welfare, systemic racism (which he regularly denies exists), people with addictions or people who just make rather un-sensible decisions sometimes, etc. etc. etc. So what's the deal? Is it just some weird, inscrutable tactic? Or does he simply not know what the word means?
exchemist
Valued Senior Member
I’ve never had any problems driving in Italy, but it’s true I have not driven much in big cities there. The Netherlands is not bad, though there the bikes can be tricky. French driving I find very good. Malta, I don’t know at all.They're not the worst, by any stretch. There are jokes about a number of countries that the white line down the middle of the road is not for dividing lanes but where you're supposed to drive. I've heard it said about Italy, and I can attest to it being true of Malta!
Pinball1970
Valued Senior Member
UK service stations are the same, ridiculously over priced. Autobahn can charge higher because all the drivers probably think it's a good chance it could be their last meal.
exchemist
Valued Senior Member
Yes! One has to treat Belgian beer with respect. It is often strong and not to be drunk in pints like English beer.
exchemist
Valued Senior Member
I think garlic mayonnaise with chips can be good. But it needs to be real mayonnaise, made with plenty of mustard. Not the emulsified gloop you buy in jars.
TheVat
Valued Senior Member
Yes, alas my experience with mayo is largely the gloop. Adding mustard, especially a Dijon, could improve it considerably.
Most insulting gains leverage when someone posts honestly and admits personal ambivalence, dissonance, kinks, whatev. For a conservative (any ideologue, really) of a certain doctrinaire stripe, a chance to jeer at any imperfection on the Left or any moral failure of same is an opportunity to derail discourse away from good faith chat about principles and practice. Insults are part of that - an opponents moral flaws are loose locks of hair they can yank on. Distract distract.
Yeah, frittes and decent mayo pair well. I make mayo sans eggs, of course, which many would likely balk at. But really, I don't think that the eggs do a damn thing as far as flavor goes--they're just for the emulsifying. And you can do an excellent emulsification with just a fair bit of mustard.