As Discussed at Lunch

Playoffs? P-p-p-playoffs?

Some might say that this story doesn’t reflect very well on the British, that they don’t bother to learn other languages and that the woman in question was an idiot.

I think you’d agree with me however, that the French are the true culprits with their lack of hospitality and general rudeness!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8218069.stm

This was on the BBC news website, so you know it’s 100% true.

A few choice quotes…

“French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as penny-pinching, rude and terrible at languages”

“…the French were the least ready to try a new language, unlike US tourists who were most likely to swallow their pride and order a pizza, baguette or a paella in the local lingo.”

“Britons came second for their overall behaviour, politeness, quietness and even elegance”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8143780.stm

I think this about sums it up:

http://www.achewood.com/index.php?date=06282009

Lest we forget his contributions to the world of science fiction:

The television show “Deadliest Catch” depicts commercial crab fishermen in the Bering Sea. Another, “Dirty Jobs,” shows all kinds of grueling work; one episode featured a guy who inseminates turkeys for a living. The weird fascination of these shows must lie partly in the fact that such confrontations with material reality have become exotically unfamiliar. Many of us do work that feels more surreal than real. Working in an office, you often find it difficult to see any tangible result from your efforts. What exactly have you accomplished at the end of any given day? Where the chain of cause and effect is opaque and responsibility diffuse, the experience of individual agency can be elusive. “Dilbert,” “The Office” and similar portrayals of cubicle life attest to the dark absurdism with which many Americans have come to view their white-collar jobs.

Interesting article from the NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html?_r=1&em=&pagewanted=all

“France might be just across the English Channel from Britain, but Emma Jane Kirby says both nations are still prone to the pitfalls of linguistic misunderstandings.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8096988.stm

An interesting article on why Land of the Lost did so badly and The Hangover did so well.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/06/land-of-the-lost-a-lost-cause-from-the-start.html#more

I think this is one of the greatest things I’ve heard about in a long time. If only I’d seen it.

Jimmy Kimmel Demolishes ABC’s Upfronts

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lancashire/8030766.stm