The unimportant news thread

Started by Lethevich, March 05, 2008, 07:14:50 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

DieNacht

#460
QuoteBacchus?  Really?

Haven´t found the official explanation, but I guess the hedonism associated with it was the reason  ::) .

Due to an intense public debate, the responsible office had to acknowledge "Christophpher" though, but the parents fought 9 years for this and had to pay about 4000 $ for professional assistance. This was some years ago, though.

"Ludo" on the other hand wasn´t approved. 

(source, in Danish: http://www.faklen.dk/faklen/20/monopol.php etc.)

eyeresist

Quote from: Todd on May 19, 2012, 10:33:24 AMApparently, even enlightened New Zealand has a list of banned names.  Such offensive names as Duke and Knight are no-nos.  Do governments not have real issues to contend with?

Well, obviously certain names would be enablers for fraud.  Ideally, for instance, no-one would be allowed to adopt the first name "Doctor".

If you want your kid to grow up to be president, you could just call them "President" - problem solved!
(Bonus points if you have the surname of a past or present president.)

Todd

Quote from: eyeresist on May 20, 2012, 06:24:42 PMIdeally, for instance, no-one would be allowed to adopt the first name "Doctor".



Why ideally?  If some doofus wants to call him or herself Doctor, more power to 'em.  I can't see how a name of Doctor would be an enabler for fraud since anyone filling out Doctor as a name rather than a title would be immediately identified as a flake.
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

eyeresist

#463
Some perspective on modern habits:

The August 1924 edition of Harper's magazine carried an article entitled: 'Is the Young Person Coming back?' which recounted the experience of a young man who asked a city girl if he might call on her. The nub of this humorous piece was that when the young man came to 'call', he found to his astonishment that 'she had her hat on'. To older Americans, this could signify only one thing: she expected to go out. This was not what the unsophisticated youth had anticipated at all. To him, coming to call meant being received in the family parlour, making light conversation with the girl and her mother. On subsequent occasions, it might involve taking tea with them and listening politely while the young woman displayed her skills as a pianist. But this was not what the woman had in mind. She was expecting 'a date'; to be taken out and 'treated', and the young man ended up spending four weeks' savings in an effort to meet her expectations.

A generation later, dating had become so accepted that social scientists felt that Americans had to be reminded that there had been no 'dates' before around 1900.

...

The focal point of calling was gaining admittance into the private family sphere of the home which was the central expression of bourgeois status. Although privacy itself had only become a realistic possibility in the eighteenth century, thereafter it had rapidly established itself as a necessity for the affluent and an aspiration for the poor.

...

For the mass of working-class Americans, such privacy was very remote from the daily reality of overcrowding. ... The working classes consequently pioneered dating as an expedient born of the opportunities offered and the comforts denied to them. Forced out onto the streets, Addams warned, working-class youth was highly susceptible to the enticements of commercialised entertainment. Recognising the need for relaxation after a harsh working day, Addams worried nonetheless about the vulgarity of available leisure facilities.

Todd

The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Todd

The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Todd

The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Lethevich

Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.


Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Todd

#470
The Nanny State grows some more.  I remember in the 90s, when nicotine was described as being as addictive to heroin as part of the push to reduce smoking, some people warned that government do-gooders wouldn't stop there.  Some people even warned that food was next.  Well, here it is, a bold second step by a big city (after banning trans-fats).  The world needs to be made safe from Big Soda Pops.  Sixteen ounces is the medically determined (?) Bad Size.  (No mention of whether beer can be served more than a pint at a time.)  But why stop here?  Why not regulate sugar content itself, and ban any beverage that does not meet Nanny State approved nutrition guidelines?  Why not do what some people where I live want to do and ban sales of unhealthy foods to anyone under 18?  Seriously, some people want to ban the sale of "kid's meals" to kids without parents present.  I mean, that could never happen, right?  That's crazy, right?  Nah, it looks like it's a matter of time now. 

Of course, the tobacco settlement didn't quite reduce smoking as much as the crusaders claimed it would.  (The smoking rate dropped to around 20% and remains there.)  It did, however, result in a curb of the First Amendment, increased regressive taxation, and huge legal settlements that states used to pad their coffers.  There's simply no way that something similar would happen with Bad Foods.

The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Todd

The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Wanderer


Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot


Todd

The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

Philoctetes3

Quote from: Todd on June 11, 2012, 05:50:51 AM
First a chick left her baby on the roof of a car, now this.

Well that's not much of a story. I mean can't lizard spawn live on their own almost immediately after birth?

Karl Henning

Quote from: Philoctetes3 on June 11, 2012, 06:52:22 AM
Well that's not much of a story. I mean can't lizard spawn live on their own almost immediately after birth?

Is there some hidden relevance to this question?  I don't ask for any alleged relevance to be detailed; I am just curious.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Philoctetes3

Quote from: karlhenning on June 11, 2012, 07:06:03 AM
Is there some hidden relevance to this question?  I don't ask for any alleged relevance to be detailed; I am just curious.

Not that hidden:

https://www.youtube.com/v/A8g0kuqH0KY

Todd

Clean everything Polish lad - I like that show. 
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya