Happy Victoria Day Canada!
Well, I hope the Canadians have a fun and enjoyable holiday then.
What's Victoria Day...? asks an interested Aussie.
It is the day we celebrate our ties to the British Commonwealth (formerly Empire) and our love of the Queen. It's a statutory holiday in some provinces but not all. For the major aspect of my job—Horticultural Nursery Manager—it is the big sales day in Canada: Christmas for the garden industry.
Happy Victoria Day Canada!
Thank you very much! :D
Cool we have something similar we call it The Queens Birthday (not her real birthday and not the same day in all states) Holiday.
Have fun :-)
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That's not nearly as cool as celebrating rebelling against the British by blowing crap up on July 4th.
I'm just sayin'.
...MURICA!
That being said, Canadians I've run into are usually great folks, and you gave us many a great comedic actor over the years, so well on you my northern neighbors!
...why do you guys love the queen? Even in the UK all the monarchy really does is serve as a biologically inherited party planning committee.
I mean, "We love the Prime Minister of the UK" I would understand, I suppose.
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Hypothesis: By being a celebrated head of state that remains a prominent constant in society without wielding much actual power, and fulfilling the need some people feel for a "Big Momma/Daddy" figure to provide the sensation of social constancy and vague "everything's all right because they're in charge" without actually being a threat to everyone else (the way authoritarian leaders in republics are), a constitutional monarchy actually functions as a kind of heat-sink for fascism. The skeleton of such a government may therefore appear to be "less free," but in practice be MORE free than a pure republic, since this helps keep the head-quivering Order-addict set neutralized.
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We love the queen because we get a day off work.
We love the queen because we get a day off work.
Well there you go. Enjoy your holiday and scarf down lots of beer and barbecued munchies.
Hypothesis: By being a celebrated head of state that remains a prominent constant in society without wielding much actual power, and fulfilling the need some people feel for a "Big Momma/Daddy" figure to provide the sensation of social constancy and vague "everything's all right because they're in charge" without actually being a threat to everyone else (the way authoritarian leaders in republics are), a constitutional monarchy actually functions as a kind of heat-sink for fascism. The skeleton of such a government may therefore appear to be "less free," but in practice be MORE free than a pure republic, since this helps keep the head-quivering Order-addict set neutralized.
It could be as simple as people in general finding it easier to relate to an actual person who is the nominal head of state as opposed to a Constitution or set of ideals.
But they're not the head of state. They're a figurehead. It would be like if we Americans just lauded the relatives of previous Presidents and...
...and...
...oh, right, Jeb vs Hillary 2016...
...Kennedy family...
...dang it, I hate my hypocritical fellow Americans.
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Actually having a head of state in charge of charities, providing comfort during tragedies, and acting as a rallying point in the face of wars and other crises without any political agenda at all is an incredible boon.
Add in that the Queen has been kept apprised of all UK government activity since she started as the monarch, and the British PM has an advisor of unparalleled worth.
Her first PM? Winston Churchill.
:D
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Of course it helps that she seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Some of the people likely to succeed her I have my doubts about though. Regardless, one of the weaknesses of the American system is that it doesn't handle true long term planning that well. Having somebody nominally in charge who can take a multi-decade view of things could be advantageous.
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Her first PM? Winston Churchill.:D
Yes, that's occurred to me too - the monarch is now the vizier!
My fellow Americans, I think we are actually reaching a consensus here - let's rejoin the British Commonwealth!
You will need to understand Rugby and Cricket... You are getting better at beer. You must always do your best to annoy the English and you have to know the difference between England, Britain, Great Britain, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations.
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Her first PM? Winston Churchill.:D
Yes, that's occurred to me too - the monarch is now the vizier!
My fellow Americans, I think we are actually reaching a consensus here - let's rejoin the British Commonwealth!
As the British are likely to say...
"BUGGER THAT LOAD OF BULLOCKS!"
(Wait...Wait...you don't have insurance tgtg)
...okay, I'm on board, but only because having a do-nothing genetically inherited party throwing committee is less embarrassing than our healthcare system, the latest reform of which now has me paying higher taxes as a penalty because I don't have health insurance that I don't have because it's still too damn expensive!
Yeah, I'm actually on board. F*** this mess. And a break around 4 to chill with a cup of tea sounds great, too.
But the deal is all English cuisine is now retired (except fish and chips) for American. That's the subclause. I'm not eating bangers and mash, beans on toast, spotted dick, or whatever other culinary abortions I've experienced they call food.
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Shepherd's pie is still okay, though.
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Her first PM? Winston Churchill.:D
Yes, that's occurred to me too - the monarch is now the vizier!
My fellow Americans, I think we are actually reaching a consensus here - let's rejoin the British Commonwealth!
As the British are likely to say...
"BUGGER THAT LOAD OF BULLOCKS!"
(Wait...Wait...you don't have insurance tgtg)
...okay, I'm on board, but only because having a do-nothing genetically inherited party throwing committee is less embarrassing than our healthcare system, the latest reform of which now has me paying higher taxes as a penalty because I don't have health insurance that I don't have because it's still too damn expensive!
Yeah, I'm actually on board. F*** this mess. And a break around 4 to chill with a cup of tea sounds great, too.
But the deal is all English cuisine is now retired (except fish and chips) for American. That's the subclause. I'm not eating bangers and mash, beans on toast, spotted dick, or whatever other culinary abortions I've experienced they call food.
Sings: "Welcome back, Americans
Welcome, welcome, welcomeWelcome, welcome, welcome
Welcome, welcome, welcome
Welcome"
At the risk of Foolishly Patriotic 'Murican going all Paul Revere on my arse again, what is it about sausages and mashed potato or baked beans on toasted bread that revolts you so?
"Hank" is sitting at his kitchen table, his head in his hands, weeping and retching. Enter his wife, "Thelma"
Thelma. "Honey! What's wrong?
Hank: "Oh mah GAAAHD, Thelma! I was at the "mall", and there was this Britisher guy having lunch. He opened a tin of baked beans..."
Thelma {puzzled}: "OK...."
Hank: "Then he cooked the beans! Then he toasted some bread! Then he... He... Ohmahgaahd, Thelma! I can't say it! I can't! I just can't!"
Thelma: "Tell me, honey! I gotta know!"
Hank:
Thelma:
Hank:
Thelma: You know what I'm gonna do, honey? I'm gonna hurl, and once I've hurled, I'm gonna take my dainty pink boomstick, I'm gonna go outside, abd Imagonna God Bless Antarctica!"
Meat pies are fantastic. Just ask Sweeny Todd.
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Baked beans on toast is pretty odd. Mostly because toast has such a null flavor and baked beans have such a strong flavor that really all you've done is made your baked beans kind of crunchy.
Which is not a pleasant texture, in my experience.
A) We don't call them tins. They're "cans", and even if we did call them by their material they'd be aluminum. Not al-you-min-ee-um, but exactly as it is spelled, ah-loom-in-um. (I almost had to bust out FPM alias for that one.)
B) Why? Pure 100% bland flavor in my experience.
C) I don't personally eat meat, so I can't attest to meat pie, as it's been many a year since I had flesh of any kind, but I question it's comparison to a well crafted pot pie.
D) Sausages and mashed potatoes aren't bad, but I've yet to run into English cooks that understand what spices are and how to use them. They just cook everything up without so much as a shake of salt and pepper, let alone the glorious cornucopia of options available beyond. This isn't 1500, they're like three dollars a bottle, come on man! ...Also, the grease content is disturbingly high, but apparently that's something we also inherited from our parental nation.
That being said, Canadians I've run into are usually great folks, and you gave us many a great comedic actor over the years, so well on you my northern neighbors!
...why do you guys love the queen? Even in the UK all the monarchy really does is serve as a biologically inherited party planning committee.
I mean, "We love the Prime Minister of the UK" I would understand, I suppose.
We are still a bit miffed over the Bryan Adams thing, but we do recognize that Canada has apologized on numerous occasions for it.
I still don't know how to feel about Anne Murray.
Also, this:
" Imagine your children pledging allegiance to the Maple Leaf.
Maynonase on everything.
Winter, 11 months of the year.
Ann Murray... All day.... Every day"
THE HORROR! THE HORROR!!!
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What excuse do you have for Celine Dion? Eventually you people will run out of comedians to deflect attention, then the piper will need to be paid :-)
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We're the idiotic nation that bought most of her albums and gave her a permanent stint in Vegas. The way I look at it, Canada was just trying to get rid of her and didn't toss her far enough.
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Can't we just give her to the Biker gangs taking over Texas? Or is weaponized Celine Dion still against the Geneva convention?
A) We don't call them tins. They're "cans", and even if we did call them by their material they'd be aluminum. Not al-you-min-ee-um, but exactly as it is spelled, ah-loom-in-um. (I almost had to bust out FPM alias for that one.)
B) Why? Pure 100% bland flavor in my experience.
C) I don't personally eat meat, so I can't attest to meat pie, as it's been many a year since I had flesh of any kind, but I question it's comparison to a well crafted pot pie.
D) Sausages and mashed potatoes aren't bad, but I've yet to run into English cooks that understand what spices are and how to use them. They just cook everything up without so much as a shake of salt and pepper, let alone the glorious cornucopia of options available beyond. This isn't 1500, they're like three dollars a bottle, come on man! ...Also, the grease content is disturbingly high, but apparently that's something we also inherited from our parental nation.
Thankyou for the feedback, and any future dialogue will be almost painfully authentic, let me assure you.
I can only speak from my own experience, but most of the English food I've eaten, and certainly all the English food I've cooked, has been very well acquainted with the spice rack. Immigration/cultural influences from the Indian subcontinent/Caribbean/Eastern Europe have helped a great deal in that regard, and I am, after all, a man who definitely knows one end of a bottle of chili sauce from the other. Come into my kitchen , come, come, and don't worry - food poisoning is a myth!A bit of Worcestershire sauce makes all the difference to beans on toast, too.
So now you have SOGGY toast with beans all over it. Disgusting.
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English food can be very good. Home made Baked Beans on sourdough with bacon, poached eggs, corriander, and sausages is one of my favourites.
Then again you can have your Supersized Mac & cheese with cheese whiz and velveeta and grits in a big gulp bucket and think to yourselves you are the kings of cuisine....
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English food can be very good. Home made Baked Beans on sourdough with bacon, poached eggs, corriander, and sausages is one of my favourites.
Then again you can have your Supersized Mac & cheese with cheese whiz and velveeta and grits in a big gulp bucket and think to yourselves you are the kings of cuisine....
Come on, you can at least attack actual meals people eat.
Fried chicken and collard greens, for instance. Mmmmm.
Or grilled Florida snapper. Blackened. Side of cajun style black beans and rice and some french fries. Not my favorite fish, but it's pretty good. Catfish would be better but I can't remember if they're exclusively native to North America or not.
Mind you sourdough has a great taste and texture, so it might just work better than a plain jane bread like some kind of white or wheat.
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Bah! Ya haven't lived until ye tried "poutine"! Best stick-to-your -ribs winter food our French-Canadian citizens ever invented, eh! Fresh fries (real potato, not that fake golden arches garbage) littered with real cheese curds, and bathed in brown gravy, eh! Ye can even dress it up with chopped hot dog and fried onion. Hmmmmmm.
Oh yeah, don't forget to wash it down with good Canadian beer, eh.
There's only one British food I can't stand, and it's not even British!
For some reason there's a love of curies...I can't stand curies. For some reason, some love them. I can assure you, that to make curies, someone must be well acquainted with the spice jar (TOO acquainted for my tastes to tell the truth).
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I'm gonna be honest, I rarely eat American food anyway, being a vegetarian and all. We white folk sure throw a lot of flesh on our fare. My mom is from Germany, and I'm pretty sure vegetarianism is a swear word in German.
Usually I prefer Thai, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Greek, or any other food that isn't so meat-centric (yeah they have meat options, but they also have meatless ones that aren't just a collection of side orders) and something that has a potent kick-you-in-the-teeth boldness of flavor that isn't dependant upon fat and grease to give it substance.
As far as I've seen American food is just an overprocessed exaggeration of English, when you break it down and look at it's basics: Bland sides, greasy meat main course, too much bread to be close to healthy, and boring condiments.
But then it's been over six years since I've had a what is considered a main course from either, so I might not be the best judge.
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Australian "floating" meat pies are something I want to try, too.
I've tried both Vegemite and Marmite, and I prefer the latter - Vegemite has a lovely savory taste to begin with, but a lingering bitter aftertaste, whereas Marmite starts off bitter, but the lingering aftertaste is the lovely savory part.
Also - lamprey! It's so annoying hearing the Great Lakes area people complaining about the lamprey invaders and how they don't have any natural predators when they could find said natural predators by looking in the frigging mirror. Meanwhile, Europe's being forced to adopt conservation efforts for their lampreys...
...I just discovered Australia has lampreys; do you eat them there?
Floaters were invented by the British, but as they claim every time we won thier wars for them as a British or Empire or occasionally Commonwealth victory. Everything the British do is owned or owed to the members of the Commonwealth.
Vegiemite eating for the newb.... Take some Turkish bread toast till light brown, smother in butter so you have pools of melted buttery goodness. Take a knife and a small/tiny scrape of Vegiemite and dab it all over the toast, consume toast.
More advanced steps involve adding tomato and so on.
Hitting all the buzzwords today, I see?
There's a word for someone who likes to s+*~ on a previously pleasant thread for his own juvenile amusement, but the mods don't like it when I use the T word, so I'll let you figure it out.
I would have thought everybody on these boards was grown up enough to have a conversation about something as basic as food choices without it devolving into petty name calling but good job proving me wrong there slugger.
Enjoy the supposed butthurt I guess.
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As for the current topic, curries seem like a love it or hate it spice style. It doesn't help that a lot of people who might like curry flavors are operating under the misconception that they're all ridiculously spicy, so I know a lot of people who won't even try Thai or Indian food because "I don't like spicy stuff that much".
I adore curries of every stripe and national origin. Thai is my favorite, but Indian, Japanese, and Jamaican are awesome as well.
Thai red curry with tofu and lots of veggies on Jasmine rice....*insert Homer Simpson transcendent drool*
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