bushpig 0 Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 Good post mantas! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 > What national anthem will your kids be singing at school? What about you Ocean? I know you have a kid, I know you are British but have lived in Japan for 14 years, but that’s about it. Are you one of those blokes with one foot in Japan and One foot in England and your cods dangling in yak shit somewhere in the Mongolian steppes? My kid sings the Japanese national anthem, and he's Japanese. My parents want me to get him British nationality 'just in case something happens', but I really can't be bothered. I wouldn't sing the UK or Japanese national anthem because I'm a republican and won't submit to be reigned over, even rhetorically. There are good things and bad things about every country, and I can choose to live as I wish in any one of many of them. I'm a citizen of the earth, and reserve the right to be critical and even rude about anybody's country, including my own. And as long as you're an Australian before you're an independent human, you'll be provoked into fits by people like me and the things I say. That's one of the signs of being a nationalist. I'm a member of a volunteer organization. Should I be proud of that? Or that there are certain percentage of other English people in Japan who are volunteers? Big deal, really. I have plenty of friends who are Australian and American or whatever. But because I can't get a reaction from them by poking their country, I don't bother. Did you know that the 'English' expression Hooray! actually hails from the Mongolian steppes? It means 'hooray' in Mongolian, and it was brought along with a lot of other very important cultural concepts to Europe by the invading Khans. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 I had to force myself to read it all. Sorry Mantas, it wasn't a good post, it was a really bad post that made you look like a head spinning nationalist with loads of low hanging fruit just waiting to be torn down. You don't even understand what it is that I go on about (admittedly too often). Your post proves that over and over and then ends in insults and insecurity. I don't hate or bash Australia. I simply question it sharply and at length and a lot of the aspects under question relate back to 'Aussieness' and our Anglo Celtic instincts. I do not believe Australia is the wonderful place many Aussies blindly believe it to be. It could be a shit load better. The issue lies within me, not externally. As I see more of the world I become increasingly frustrated by the fact that without great difficultly, one must live where they are born, even if the culture of that nation simply doesn't suit them. That's me, I tend to prefer like old world non-Anglo nations, its that simple (but I don't like all of them) I am glad that you bothered to write about your love for your country, you can do it as much as you like. But although you will never see why, all of your 'points' were not actually relevant to me, that's because you don't even understand what it is that I question. If anything, the way you spoke and why you spoke supports rather than refutes my concerns. If you are going then goodbye. ps - if anyone had the time or care, they could tear you to bits with what you wrote. It would be so easy that the respondent would come out looking like a mean bastard for picking on a soft target. pps - ignorantly resorting to relative income comparisons was possibly your weakest 'point', both that you did it and how you expressed it. Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Vegemite is a US product owned by Kraft (correct me if I'm wrong). It seems odd it's being banned but the World will go on without it. I am also a citizen of Earth. Vegemite, shirako, balut, McD's,...we can survive and might even be better off without them. Or like they did during prohibition, learn how to make your own. Ganbate die hards! Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 well, it is an Aussie product made in Aus. Kraft only bought out the original maker, but maintained production in Australia. Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Uncle Mantas, Don't let these guys get you down, mate. Here are a few shallow thoughts from ger (which is short for gerwich, my real name -Gerwich Josepe VanBullen (fyi, off topic)) I have a lot of Aussie friends. I did a degree with Macquarie Uni and I have considered living there because it sounds like a great place to live. I think Spud and O11 are great colourful contributors to this forum but I don't take much heed in Spud's anti Oz posts. Not that they're not legitimate-- I just don't particularly care (but then again I'm not Australian). It's easy to either praise or criticize your own country and that's probably where it's coming from. Spud and O11 are just two people in a huge forum so I wouldn't let them muscle you out so to speak. Anyway, I hope you continue to pop up once in a while. I liked the surf story about the killer wave that crushed every single bone in your body. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 We'll cajole him back. This has all been one big terrible pointless misunderstanding and over reaction. Ger, you have a cool name, in my heterosexual opinion. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 reminds me of brad Ger.. the fezz surfer. Mantas will be back, le spudos how many times have you spat it and left? and come back? And left? and... Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 About 4 times? Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 hey, in it's current state of mutation your name sounds like french vomit. Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Did Spud used wimp out and then slink back into the forum. I can't believe it. Did he used to get bullied or something? Link to post Share on other sites
bushpig 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 I only witnessed it once. He had a nice spat (but nowhere near as spectacular as the one with Mantas) with a vapid bit of bat shit from Aus (her expression not mine), and declared he had had a gutfull of putting up with this kind of shit and people misunderstanding what he was saying(which really meant he was moving away from daily email access for a few months during his intense hiking/camping/bc adventures), and was going to piss off and only post the occasional email just to keep us posted from time to time. When the holiday finished and he crashed back to the real world and having to work, he slunk (not really, but it sounds good) back in here and has been posting as prolifically and entertainingly as ever! Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 It was because she finished one of her annoying posts with “kisses darling”. I won’t post in a forum where little Brisbane office girls have nothing to say about Japan or snow and only participate for the drama and opportunity to be a smart arse, followed up with shit like “kisses darling”. Screw that for a joke. And what’s with the ‘me and Tasman’ spat label? I’ve hardly said a thing, not even typed a word in anger. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by db le spu: And what’s with the ‘me and Tasman’ spat label? I’ve hardly said a thing, not even typed a word in anger. Any heartfelt discussion, especially where disagreement is involved, is a spat, or an argument, or somebody raving, and as such is something that needs to be smoothed other without resolution. You should know that by now. I quite liked the vapid bat shit myself. But then I don't have anything against gurls in general. Link to post Share on other sites
kaiser soce 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Just getting back on topic a bit. I heard on the radio yesterday that the vegemite ban has been rescinded. Just did a bit of research to see what the story was and it appears after reading this article that it may never have been banned in the first place....talk about storm in a tea cup. Must have been a slow news day when the story broke. As a side note found this title of another story- "US Bans Vegemite, Tasebuds Rejoice, Shit Eating Kids Sad." Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 "But the FDA has not targeted it and I don't think we intend to target Vegemite simply because of that." You can't trust Americans. They say they don't torture people either. Link to post Share on other sites
spook 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Mantas, you might not post again but I’m assuming you’ll drop back in just to see what sort of a response everyone put up. You’re much more nationalistic than I ever will be, but there is no shame in that. You’ve shown yourself to have a much more balanced point of view and background than I garnered from your previous posts and you’ve got me on side with that. Living in a country and believing in a set of values is a good thing, and it is part of what makes Australia great. Above all else, for me the defining characteristic of Australia (whatever that may mean) is tolerance. And that’s coming from a mixed race background and copping a bit of shit when growing up. I haven’t lived everywhere in the world, but I’ve been to a lot of places, and I hold Australia in high regard. I ain’t gonna post again on this topic. You’ve got your POV, spud and ocean have theirs. I mostly hang out on here to mooch info on snow in japan, and to try and post something amusing every now and then. Plus I’m too lazy and unfocused to get into what I think is a largely pointless debate when everyone has drawn their lines quite clearly. It seems that everyone has moved on anyway... Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Ocean, who's they? We torture people all the time and frequently with our British comrades. I haven't met an American yet that doesn't believe the US uses torture tactics to coerce information from so-called terrorists. It might not be state policy but I assure you it's well known. Talk about a knee-jerker! Take my advice and get a new hobby. Watch that cheese mate! Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 A very measured response O11. I'm impressed but I was hoping for a little more entertainment. Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Ocean11: You can't trust Americans. They say they don't torture people either. Ocean is correct. You can't trust ANY Americans. By the way, I thought I'd share a picture of my bedroom. The Germans seem to dig it! SerreChe - any time on the glacier stuff - as long as it doesn't involve the math related to internal deformation processes Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Ocean11: I was looking for a good "fish on!" picture but couldn't locate one. I suspected your words were chosen with the same care as a fly fisherman rifling through his tackle searching for the perfect fly for the conditions Hi Ocean! Link to post Share on other sites
js 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by Plucky: Quote: Originally posted by Ocean11: You can't trust Americans. They say they don't torture people either. Ocean is correct. You can't trust ANY Americans. By the way, I thought I'd share a picture of my bedroom. The Germans seem to dig it! ... in the end, it's the vegemite they could'nt withstand Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Hey Plucky, to your above post that I forgot to reply to. I was planning to ski this weekend in Switzerland or Austria, but conditions just aren't worth the 8.5 hour drive to the nearest skiable glacier. So I am going to a more accessible but currently snowless part of Switzerland for some camping and exploring. I saw a nice hanging valley last year that looks like its own little lost world and am heading up there. The map shows some good ski touring potential as well, so its is kind of a reccy trip. The access road is a mountain pass and so it is closed in winter. This will be my last chance to poke around up there until next June. And learning Deutsche would be a lot better if I should just use 'it' rather than 'he' or 'she' when referring to a thing. "How is your finger?'", "She is broken, but my arm is ok, he is not broken." Its a useless complication that comes on top of having to remember der dei das. Basic Japanese has a much easier formula. Can some one send me a mail when the topic of American Torture includes a hot naked chick in lace up boots and an orange ball in their strapped up mouth who's intention is to escape her shackles and step on your left testicle with her pvc stiletto. ps that picture was amusing, but you forgot the Stingray. Link to post Share on other sites
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