Zompist Bboard Again

Ares Land wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:27 am Oh! What a bunch of assholes.
The irony of it is, if there's a country that would benefit from a bit of soul-searching concerning WWII, it's France.

France at the time was horribly anti-semitic and had quite a number of home-grown fascists. Many countries were forced into collaboration back then, but in France we really did more than that: we went along with the program with cheerful enthusiasm.

Yeesh. That just makes it all the worse. I don't want to ruminate further or displace anyone else who wants to vent, so i'll stop my trail here unless somebody responds to an earlier comment.

Ares Land wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:37 amBut... French people don't hold a grudge against Germans!

The English seem way more obsessed with Germany's role in WWII than the French. I guess because it was the last time the UK really felt important?

In France people used to be very bitter towards the Brits too! (Dunkirk and Mers el Kebir and all that, plus the ancient tribal rivalry)

Besides we always got along with the Germans after WWII, and of course from Alsace and Lorraine Germany is actually closer than Paris. Geographically I mean, but sometimes culturally.

And everywhere across the country you got twinning and partnerships with German towns -- not something we have with Britain, at least not as much.

Linguoboy wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 11:19 am

Ares Land wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:37 amBut... French people don't hold a grudge against Germans!

The English seem way more obsessed with Germany's role in WWII than the French. I guess because it was the last time the UK really felt important?

Somehow I'm reminded of "The Germans"...

Travis B. wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:13 pmSomehow I'm reminded of "The Germans"...

Monty Python's humour is general is filled with references to Nazi Germany, to a degree which I found frankly bizarre as a child. I get that they were trying to be taboo-breaking, but why that particular taboo again and again?

Linguoboy wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:58 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:13 pmSomehow I'm reminded of "The Germans"...

Monty Python's humour is general is filled with references to Nazi Germany, to a degree which I found frankly bizarre as a child. I get that they were trying to be taboo-breaking, but why that particular taboo again and again?

I have always had the impression that the British are much more bitter about WW2 w.r.t. Germany than Americans are.

Latest vent from the Evergreen Home For Decayed Women Birthing Bodies:

Morning: One resident took someone else's platter of BBQ ribs (left unwisely unattended on the kitchen counter) and fed them to her dog.

Noon: Confronted about the above, the rib-pincher started crying, then screaming, and then picked up her dog and tried a couple times to throw it out the third-floor window. (Turns out we have firmly-installed screens, at least.) This did demonstrate how few fucks she gave, but didn't much de-escalate the dispute.

Evening: My schizophrenic neighbor got into a purifying ecstasy and, following instructions given to her directly by God, got to mixing together bleach and ammonia and God (literally!) only knows what all kinda cleansers. Minor evacuation, venting (atmospheric, emotional; spiritual too perhaps), now loud singing and ear-shattering peals of sarcastic laughter from next door.

Mind you, if any of these folks heard I was into conlanging, they'd be uncomfortable and weirded out, I bet. Fridays, man, Fridays!

Home for decayed women...well that's totally a kind thing to name a women's shelter /s. That really sucks you had to deal with those assholes.

fusijui wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 10:01 pm Latest vent from the Evergreen Home For Decayed Women Birthing Bodies:
(...)

Again, what the actual fuck. You got my sympathies, as always. Please tell me you have some hope of getting out of there.

Linguoboy wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:58 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:13 pmSomehow I'm reminded of "The Germans"...

Monty Python's humour is general is filled with references to Nazi Germany, to a degree which I found frankly bizarre as a child. I get that they were trying to be taboo-breaking, but why that particular taboo again and again?

To the extent that I understand what makes comedy works... It's hard to beat the Nazis for dark comedy, if you're into dark comedy at all, of course. You get the sense of relief, the taboo-breaking and the general sense of ridiculous -- what's more ridiculous than goosestepping at over-the-top rallies with a completely straight face?

Stephen King quipped lately that comedy and horror play on about the same mechanism.

It's not just the Brits... Nazi jokes are very popular here too.

Linguoboy wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:58 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 5:13 pmSomehow I'm reminded of "The Germans"...

Monty Python's humour is general is filled with references to Nazi Germany, to a degree which I found frankly bizarre as a child. I get that they were trying to be taboo-breaking, but why that particular taboo again and again?

This is exactly the opposite of how I feel about Nazis in media. To me, it's Americans who seem bizarrely obsessed with Nazis.

Travis B. wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 6:07 pmI have always had the impression that the British are much more bitter about WW2 w.r.t. Germany than Americans are.

I mean, that would make sense given that the Nazis actually attacked Britain.

Notice how I don't equate Nazis to Germans (except maybe during WW2 at best). Nobody else should do that either. What is the point of going forward if every single crime is irredeemable? Why are the Germans (in this example) meant to be hated for all eternity? By the English no less. There should always be a way out to become human instead of eternal enemies. What is the purpose of hating the English, Germans, Japanese, etc, forever no matter what? And I'm aware not everyone has done everything, obviously reparations should be done.

I think you might be kicking in an open door here, Starbeam. Of course you're right on this point, but, except perhaps for our handful of right-wingers, I don't think anyone here thinks hating an ethnic group forever, or even for a short time, is a good idea.

That's a relief, I hope you're right.

My yard has been colonized by Japanese stiltgrass! Oh boy!

(If you don't know what that is, imagine if kudzu was a grass.)

That sounds very unfortunate (I'd never heard of the plant, and it's a shame it's invasive — it's rather pretty); I hope you may be rid of it soon.

So yesterday, the curtain rod in my bathroom fell down and scratched up the walls. And now it turns out that I have an apartment inspection this week, leaving me no time to fix it. Not even sure what to do.

malloc wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:21 pm So yesterday, the curtain rod in my bathroom fell down and scratched up the walls. And now it turns out that I have an apartment inspection this week, leaving me no time to fix it. Not even sure what to do.

Toothpaste.

malloc wrote: ↑Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:21 pm So yesterday, the curtain rod in my bathroom fell down and scratched up the walls. And now it turns out that I have an apartment inspection this week, leaving me no time to fix it. Not even sure what to do.

Explain that it was an accident?

Can landlords just schedule apartment inspections in the US? That's awful!

(In France they're much like vampires. They can only get in if you invite them.)

Ares Land wrote: ↑Wed Jun 16, 2021 2:35 am Can landlords just schedule apartement inspections in the US? That's awful!

(In France they're much like vampires. They can only get in if you invite them.)

It depends on what's written in the lease, but I remember there's often a clause that they can on a periodic basis on the condition that they give you a certain amount of notice. To be honest, though, I never have dealt with a landlord inspection in my many years of renting (in many countries!) apart from the moving in/moving out inspection (the état des lieux)


Minor vent: Waiting around for grant decision sucks, especially since the most likely way to extend my contract to stay in the Netherlands is by getting one (or more) of these...