Open Thread
Filed under: Open Thread — Michael van der Galien, Editor-in-Chief on May 16, 2007 @ 6:26 pm CEST
Got news, links, something to say, nothing to say but want to say something anyway, this thread is for you.
Have fun.
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1 Alan
May 16, 2007 @ 6:38 pm CESTFurther interesting thoughts from Alan:
As many of you know, in the course of his studies Michael will be visiting the US sometime next year. However, I’ve realized that there could be a problem with this:
Since it’s very unlikely that he’ll be given a plane ticket and a suitcase full of guilders and sent off on his own, it’s reasonable to assume that he’ll spend time at an American university. And therein lies the problem.
American universities are known for being bastions of liberalism–and having studied at or worked for six different universities, I can confirm this. What do you think would happen if Michael ended up at, say, UC-Berkely or UW-Madison? A consevative would stick out like a sore thumb there.
2 David
May 16, 2007 @ 6:53 pm CESTTry Bob Jones University, they’ll think Michael is a godless liberal…
Where are you thinking of going Michael?
3 David
May 16, 2007 @ 6:55 pm CESTHey, where has my post gone???
4 mvdg
May 16, 2007 @ 6:59 pm CESTDavid: the spam filter is overdoing it a bit these days. I had to de-spam it for some freaking reason.
5 David
May 16, 2007 @ 6:59 pm CESTWierd. I type and submit post 2, nothing happens. I submit post 3, it shows up, but numbered as post 2, then I come back a few minutes later and post 2 has magically appeared as if from nowhere. Perhaps my new internet connection is not compatible with this site.
6 David
May 16, 2007 @ 7:01 pm CESTSorry, our posts must have crossed. Thanks for the explanation.
Which august institution of learning were you thinking of atending in the US?
7 mvdg
May 16, 2007 @ 7:03 pm CESTActually, I might go to another country, for more personal reasons.
Also: you’re not the only commenter who is being herassed right now by the spam filter: I had to de-spam comments from LThomas as well.
8 Alan
May 16, 2007 @ 8:05 pm CESTUnderstandable.
But it would have been interesting to see if your expectations of America actually matched the reality. I find that Europeans have signifcant gaps in their understanding
For a modest example, last Christmas I saw an article about a Dutch man who had come to New York for the post-Christmas sales because things were, “so cheap”.
Americans would use many different terms to describe New York, but “cheap” isn’t one of them. Unless this guy was looking for something unique to New York, he probably paid a lot more than he needed to.
Which he would have known if he was more familiar with America.
9 mvdg
May 16, 2007 @ 8:05 pm CESTAlso: for those who don’t already do so, be sure to check out Central Sanity on a daily basis as well. I publish a couple of posts there every day, and, far more importantly, others do so as well: Pete Abel of course (he owns the blog), but also Chuck Butcher and Dennis Sanders.
10 mvdg
May 16, 2007 @ 8:08 pm CESTAlan: lol, trust me I won’t make that mistake and, as an American Studies student my perception of America is very simple: not understandable, awkward, strange, different, incredibly big.
11 Interested
May 16, 2007 @ 8:42 pm CESTMust say - twould be a shame Michael.
Could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for you - and life’s no stage rehersal.
Course that same statement applies to the other as well I suppose.
12 mvdg
May 16, 2007 @ 8:49 pm CESTExactly man. It’s a difficult choice, but not as difficult as I first anticipated. Some pull factors are stronger than others
13 Interested
May 16, 2007 @ 9:12 pm CESTlmao
I know what you mean.
14 David
May 16, 2007 @ 9:14 pm CESTMe too. I just spent a year living in Hungary for such reasons
15 Alan
May 16, 2007 @ 9:17 pm CESTMichael-
LOL! Now that’s a pretty accurate description!
16 Michael van der Galien
May 17, 2007 @ 8:39 am CESTlol
David: yep, life’s like that sometimes isn’t it.
17 Michael van der Galien
May 17, 2007 @ 8:40 am CESTand: how’s life in Hungary?
18 David
May 17, 2007 @ 8:55 am CESTSadly, after a year and a few months in Hungary, a country which I love greatly but where (unfortunately) it is very difficult to make money and where the tax rates were astronomical on the little that I did make (sorry about the rant) my wife and I decided to return to the UK last week, so I’m now back in rainy Northern Ireland. I am quite sad about this and I am currently trying to re-launch my legal practice, hoping that some clients still remember me.
On the plus side, I had an enjoyable year, I worked in a good office for much of it and had lots of experiences that I would never have had if we had stayed in NI. I also speak basic Hungarian, which is one of the world’s most difficult languages…
Which country does your, er, “pull factor” come from?
19 David
May 17, 2007 @ 8:55 am CESTAnother post vanishes…
20 mvdg
May 17, 2007 @ 9:35 am CESTAy, that’s difficult to do man. How’s that going?
Yeah, I know about Hungarian, they say that it’s, indeed, incredibly difficult to learn and not related to any known language.
Turkey.
21 David
May 17, 2007 @ 12:43 pm CESTWork wise I was quite depressed until about an hour ago when I got a phone call from a previous client (who is a reliable payer) giving me lots of work for August, so now I’m much happier.
Turkey, ah, that explains the number of items with a Turkish focus. Best wishes in all your endeavours…
22 C Stanley
May 17, 2007 @ 1:04 pm CESTLOL, Michael, does your girlfriend know that she has a new nickname: “pull factor”?
Are you planning to study in Turkey, or just take an extended visit during a break? And do you think that you (or the two of you, as the case will hopefully be for you
) might travel to the US in the future?
Just curious…if you don’t mind the personal questions.
23 Interested
May 17, 2007 @ 2:36 pm CESTlol, now that pull factor is outta the bag - so to speak.
That’s what I was thinking as well, joint US Studies in the US.
24 mvdg
May 17, 2007 @ 2:54 pm CESTWe will see about those details.