Italians vs. Europeans

This short video is by the same Italian animator (Bruno Bozzetto) as the "Yes & No" clip I had earlier this year (about driving). It's pretty much hilarious =D Are Italians really "different"? I'll leave you to decide ;)

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are A Spaceship

You're so weird that you're practically out of this world. You are a total dreamer. You are obsessed with conquering the impossible. You are wild and adventurous. You love thrills of all sorts. You are a true sensation seeker. You are always looking for that next high.

What Type of Transportation Are You?

Swedish Women Voted the Most Beautiful

I'm not lesbian, but I'm a woman. As a woman, I can appreciate beauty in all sexes since female sexuality is not as rigid as male sexuality. Not just that, but I just appreciate beauty, whether it's in a form of art, a beautiful person, or beautiful music, anything really. So what's the point of this entry? Well, I read travel magazines and in one particular magazine article, it listed the top 10 cities with the most beautiful women in the world. Sweden was #1. I'm not surprised. I've been to Stockholm and there were plenty of beautiful women there. It was nice and I don't have to be homosexual to say that. Like I said, I appreciate beauty in all forms. Still, I guess this entry is for all my male friends out there who are planning their next trip ;). Here are the top 10 cities according to Traveler's Digest:

Cities with the Most Beautiful Women by Dakota Smith

10. Montreal, Canada
Ahh the flavour of France but with the convenient location of Canada, Montreal is truly one of the world's best cities. So many colleges & universities, so many women, & with fashion sense, a very good quality may I add. The best part of course being that the women all speak French, the language of love. So my friends, take a trip to Montreal, and find a beautiful leather trench coat wearing beauty that will serenade you in French all night long.

9. Seoul, South Korea
Every guy loves Asian women, I'm pretty sure that's a scientific fact and Seoul is home to quite a few of them. The city is a large, cosmopolitan, & vibrant city. It's home to some of the best nightlife in Asia, so you'll also not be lacking in opportunities to meet people. After a trip to Seoul, whether you like Asian women or not, you'll come down with a case of the 'yellow fever'.

8. Amsterdam, Holland
Of course Amsterdam must make the list. This city has women more beautiful riding past on bicycles than other cities have going by in chauffeured cars. Dutch girls are amazing in so many ways, they're trendy, as well as cool, they're fun, & also friendly. They're the kind of girls that you just want to date for a very long time.

7. Tel Aviv, Israel
Israel has some of the best looking women in the world, something about those green eyes that are just particularly attractive. But beware as in Israel women over the age of 18 are required to have been in the military, this of course means that if you sleep with an Israeli girl's best friend, she may very well kick your ass, while equipped with an Uzi. Sure it's a longshot, but it could happen.

6. Caracas, Venezuela
Caracas the capital of Venezuela, Venezuela the country with more Miss Universe Pageant titles than any other nation, so you know it's capital is going to be raging full of beautiful women. Women so beautiful that they make Brazilian women look like trashier counterparts. I speak honestly when I tell you that I know what type of undergarments runner up to Miss Venezuela wears (let us just say little flowers), what I cannot begin to tell you however is the amount of fun you will have if you take a trip to Venezuela, say hello to Hugo Chavez for me.

5. Moscow, Russia
Mother Russia is home to some of the world's finest women, the Moscow subway alone has more beauties than most of the United States alone, & I live in the United States :( It's not only the regularity of tall, blonde hair, blue eyed women that make it so great, it's also the amazing level of friendliness that you will find. It's a definite unique experience when what seems the world's most beautiful woman is staring your way, it leaves you wondering whether you have something on your shirt, but you in fact probably don't, they could very well think you're hot.

4. Varna, Bulgaria
Many of you may not have heard of Bulgaria, some of you may not know where to find it on a map, but you have all been there, in your dreams at night when you sleep. A land of cheap vodka, no drug laws, mechanical bulls on the beach, & waterslides. A land of cafes with inflatable furniture, the land of g-strings, & see through pants, the land of topless sunbathing. But more importantly than all others the land of the world's most beautiful, charming, & stunning women, oh how I love them so.

3. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Buenos Aires should be designated the capital of the Western Hemisphere, not only for it's wealth of beautiful women on a scale unlike any other Latin Country, even the extraordinary Venezuela, but for being the best city this side of Paris. Buenos Aires is amazing, where else can you sing Madonna hyms by the burial site of Evita, answer nowhere. More importantly where else can I get invited to model scout competitions, invited to Fashion TV parties, & kiss a 6"4 supermodel, well not too many other places let me tell you.

2. Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen has surely got some of the world's most beautiful women, & also some of the friendliest, maybe even a little bit more sex orientated than their Swedish counterparts. For instance, I had just arrived at the Copenhagen train station, it was late, I was tired, I must've been looking good, for I noticed a hot Danish girl looking my way, so I looked hers, then I smiled, then she pointed me out to her friend, & next thing you know I had an entire high school classroom full of girls yelling at me, things, yelling things, good things. This alone is why I say Copenhagen is one of the best, it's like Amsterdam but instead of hookers, Copenhagen has porn stars.

1. Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm is a city filled with the best looking women in the world, women so good looking that when you walk in to a 7-11 you will swear that you have just walked into a reality TV set, What Happens When Supermodels Work at A Convenience Store? Yes I know it's a long name, but hey it's true. Better yet the women are super friendly, & extremely educated, they speak English with English accents, they start making you wonder whether England in fact had good looking women but they're all on working vacations in Sweden, turns out they're not as England doesn't have but in fact they're all just really well studied Swedish girls.
Out of the 10 cities listen above, I've been to 6 of them. Stockholm, I definitely agree with. Moscow, I believe them, though when I was there, I was stranded without a passport and I was 15 and in a panicked state and had no chance to notice even key architecture, let alone the women. Amsterdam, hm... I guess I was too amazed at how well people spoke English there (even 80-year-old grannies speak perfect English there!) that I didn't notice. Seoul I've been to when I was like... 8 so I don't remember much. Montreal I'd agree with though I don't like the Quebecois. The French they speak in Montreal isn't the same as they do in France and to me, it doesn't sound good and thus, not "romantic" or hot at all. Though, if you don't know a word of French (or if you LIKE the Quebecois accent), then heck you might not notice the difference. My brother and I have a theory as to why Swedish women are beautiful. Back in the ancient times, when Vikings roamed the lands that are now Great Britain, they took all the beautiful women, or most of them. Now, stretch that out over a couple decades to centuries and you might have a significant impact on the gene pool. That might explain why British women are considered "mediocre" and Swedish women "beautiful".

Today's Random Picture:

Happy Thanksgiving!

My second Thanksgiving celebrated abroad! I can't talk for long since I have an entire meal to prepare so I'll keep it short.

I wish all my American friends a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are a Red Pumpkin

You are beautiful, interesting, and bold. You may not stand out immediately, but you're the type of person who gets a lot of double takes. You believe life's too short to do anything you hate. There's so many things to love in the world, and you try to fill your life full of them. You have a heart for adventure and a passion for travel. Even if can't visit some place new for a while, you still remain curious about the world. You find it easy to be excited and optimistic about new things. You are fearless and believe that everything will work out in the end.

What Color Pumpkin Are You?

Removing the Bottom 5%

Sad as it is, in our world the few rich countries hold most of the world's wealth. If you remove the bottom 5% of world GDP contributors, you'd be eliminating a total of 81 countries, 2.9 billion people (~43% of the world population), and yet, only 5% of world GDP. Most of the countries that would "disappear" are those in Africa, Southeast Asia, a few countries in Latin America and a couple in the Middle East/Central Asia.
The poorest country (and thus the least significant GDP contributor) is Zimbabwe. Then follows the rest of the bottom 5% thusly:

Burundi, DR Congo, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Malawi, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Niger, Afghanistan, Togo, Guinea, Uganda, Madagascar, the Central African Republic, Nepal, Myanmar (Burma), Rwanda, Mozambique, East Timor, The Gambia, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Lesotho, Ghana, Haiti, Tajikistan, the Comoros, Cambodia, Laos, Benin, Kenya, Chad, the Solomon Islands, Kyrgyzstan, India, Nicaragua, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Mauritania, Pakistan, Senegal, Sao Tome and Principe, Ivory Coast, Zambia, the Yemen, Cameroon, Djibouti, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Nigeria, Guyana, the Sudan, Bolivia, Moldova, Honduras, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Bhutan, Egypt, Vanuatu, Tonga, Paraguay, Morocco, Syria, Swaziland, Samoa, Guatemala, Georgia, the Congo, Iraq, Armenia, Jordan, Cape Verde, the Maldives, Fiji, Namibia

Insane how unequal wealth distribution is in the world, isn't it? So many people study it and no one has yet discovered a plausible solution... will it ever end?

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Mashed Potatoes

You are reliable and steady. People know that they can count on you each year at Thanksgiving, and you are never a disappointment. While you may seem simple, a lot of work goes in to who you are. You are a bit of an under-appreciated masterpiece. You are both decadent and indulgent, while still being accessible to the common thing. In some ways you are all things to all people. You get along well with other people, but you're also good all on you're own. The bottom line is that you're easy to love.

What Thanksgiving Side Dish Are You?

Quaker Oatmeal

It's very surprising but I actually miss American food. I guess it's similar to my burger-cravings I had while in Mali. You crave what you can't have. What I can't have here in France seems to be cheap, readily available oatmeal. Yes, oatmeal. Americans eat oatmeal, probably thanks to the British (Scottish) immigrants who brought their oatmeal-eating habits across the pond. I'm not saying oatmeal doesn't exist in France, it does. It's called flocons d'avoine and they do sell it in big grocery stores/supermarkets. They're not steel-cut oats, though, but rather, the worse-quality rolled oats that I personally wouldn't eat for breakfast. I only used rolled oats for baking but here in France, they don't even know what I'm talking about. No one eats it. I never thought I'd say this but I miss oatmeal made with real oats. I miss baking for that matter. I regret having chosen this apartment. At least the other apartment, while further from campus, had an oven I could bake things in.
Some things you just can't find here in France. For instance, Thanksgiving is in only 2 days and I have yet to find canned pumpkins (or even whole, big, orange pumpkins) to bake pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin crème brûlée, pumpkin bread... You can make anything with pumpkins! Pumpkin soup or porridge even. Pumpkin is delicious! I remember I met some Russians who didn't think pumpkins were good until I made pumpkin cheesecake that changed their tune completely. I guess French people just aren't creative with pumpkins. They're open-minded about eating strange things like snails (I know, it's a stereotype but it's actually true), frogs (definitely a stereotype but they do sell it, though hardly anyone eats it), horses (less commonly eaten, but eaten all the same), rabbits, ducks, pigeons... such weird things that we don't eat in America... but they don't eat the "normal" things like pumpkins! It's strange. I never had this feeling when I was in Mali. Why is that? Is it because France is more similar to the U.S. than Mali? Is that why I'm making comparisons between the countries and finding it frustrating that I can't find things they I should be able to find them? Is it because in Mali I expected to find nothing and so, I'd already given up and thus frustration couldn't be found?

Whatever the case, I miss oatmeal... and pumpkin bread, pie, pumpkin everything. I always crave certain "comfort foods" when it's this time of the year. I have so many childhood memories of eating things like certain cookies and pies that it makes me a little reminiscent in late November and in December.

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Pumpkin Bread

You are considerate and generous. Your heart warms when you're able to do something unexpectedly nice for someone else. You know it can be a cold world out there, and you have plenty of happiness to spread around. You try to give as much as possible every day, and you know that small acts of kindness can often mean the much. Whether you're being a good listener or sharing a slice of your pumpkin bread, people feel lucky to be able to count on you.

What Pumpkin Treat Are You?

Panarin Predicts the End

Doomsday prophecies seem to be the trend these days. The world ending in 2012, global warming becoming irreversible if progress isn't made by 2025 thus melting the polar icecaps and eventually resulting in the end of the world, my sister saying that the world will end in 2060 according to some weird formula she came up with herself. In any case, of all of these outrageous claims, I found one particular doomsday prophecy particularly outrageous. A Russian professor, Professor Игорь Панарин (Igor Panarin) has been predicting the "moral and economic collapse" of the United States for the past decade or so. He predicts that the United States as we know it today will be obsolete by 2010. As if things aren't bad enough for America already, what with the recession, the financial crisis, banking crisis, housing market crash, the falling dollar, and now... this? Seriously???

Panarin, an ex-KGB analyst, is now allegedly spreading his outlandish prophecy across the Russian media, getting interviews, even giving lectures on what he claims is a hypothesis based on cold, hard facts. What ultimately leads the U.S. to disintegration? According to Panarin, a combination of economic decline, mass immigration, moral and social degradation will in turn trigger a second American civil war and the complete demise of the dollar. The end result? The break-up of the United States by mid-2010 into some 6-odd regions. Of course, Panarin couldn't stop and leave it at that. Not only would the U.S. break up, but these sub-regions would be controlled or absorbed completely by foreign powers.

Sound crazy enough? I personally think this is Panarin's own way of "getting back" at the U.S. and the West in general and their displays of schadenfreude at the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. The U.S. and the West watched the Soviet Union collapse with a sort of surprised satisfaction as communist dictatorial rule ended in ultimate failure. Is this Panarin's way of saying "it's going to happen to you too", even though it's not? What surprised me particularly was that his so-called "hypothesis" is actually somewhat popular in Russia. So maybe it's true that the Kremlin in Russia harbors some anti-American sentiments? Even though his theory is far-fetched to outright ridiculous, Mr. Panarin isn't regarded as some lunatic in his home Russia. In fact, he's the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s academy for future diplomats and he's also one of the talking heads on Russian (state-run) TV whenever US-Russian relations are the issue.

What exactly he hypothesizes can be summed up in this map:
* "The California Republic" comprised of the West Coast and states west of the Rockies would be taken over by China or fall under Chinese influence.
* "The Central North-American Republic" made up of the Midwestern/North central states would be absorbed by Canada or controlled by Canada.
* "Atlantic America", my home region, consisting of much of the Atlantic coastal states, would eventually attempt to join the European Union
* "The Texas Republic", which is the "Tex-Mex" area as well as a handful of other southern states would fall to Mexico or under Mexican influence.
* Alaska (or Аляска) would return to Russian possession
* Hawaii would be taken by Japan or China

China having control over Hollywood? Unlikely, since California is one of the richest American states and would be in the top 20 richest countries on its own. The Canadian Maple Leaf flag flying at the Gateway Arch in Missouri? Hardly imaginable. A European Union Institute residing in the heart of New York City or Washington, D.C.? Impossible. Mexico taking over the die-hard patriotic state of Texas? Not without a horrific massacre of some sort. Ok, Sarah Palin and the citizens dumb enough to elect her can go to Russia and as for Hawaii going to Japan or China? I doubt it, but maybe that's not as impossible as Canada taking over a huge chunk of the U.S.

While, as an American myself, I found Panarin's claims blasphemous, he refers to political scientist Emmanuel Todd, who predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1976. “People laughed at him" [too], he implies a similar vindication as he's quoted saying at an interview for this Wall Street Journal article. If you really think about it though, you can't even begin to compare the break-up of the Soviet Union with a possible break-up of the U.S. The Soviet Union wasn't really a voluntarily united country. It was transitioned into a Union from its original Imperial form (The Russian Empire conquered many foreign regions, obviously not a union with their consent). So a lot of people were discontent and there were several preexisting nationalities already within the Soviet Union. Can you really compare an Azerbaijani and Uzbek in the ex-Soviet Union and make similar comparisons to a Californian and a Wisconsinite? I don't think so, because in times of crisis, as 9/11 events showed us, Americans stand together and patriotism is rekindled. There is no way that could happen. Not only that, but his arguments are founded on untrue "facts". Economic decline and during the "Great Depression" didn't do anything to question U.S. unity. Our current "crisis" isn't nearly as bad as the media tries to scare us into thinking. Mass immigration? What mass immigration? U.S. immigration levels have been relatively stable and it is only recently that our immigration levels are matching that of the 1800s. As for moral degradation and the falling dollar, well, that's something we'll have to live with and work through, but it certainly won't cause another civil war.

Oh, I guess I should add that Panarin does try to buffer his claims with some insurance by saying that this is only 50% likely to happen. He adds that if in fact it did, it would be great - for Russia, that is. What I think he's missing out is, yeah, sure, even if Russia gets back its precious Аляска, the break-up of the U.S. would actually be more detrimental to Russia than it is beneficial, since the U.S. is one of Russia's most important trading partners, which closely ties the two countries together economically. End result: Russia would experience some serious economic turmoil of its own if the U.S. were to break up.

This case is similar to the apocalyptic prophecies of religious eschatologists and we can only wait to discuss and laugh about this next year, in November 2010. If President Obama is still the president of the U.S., I'm sure Panarin will retreat with his tail behind his legs and no longer make such rash proclamations. Of course, I'm confident to say that his prophecy is wrong. If it turns out to be true, then I guess he can put his foot in my mouth.

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Send

You are confident, assertive, and a real go-getter. You like to take action. You know that things won't get done unless you do them, and you're always willing to take the first step. You're the type of person who applies for jobs you may not get and initiates friendships with strangers. You believe that life can be full of wasted opportunities if you're not careful. You rather do too much than do too little.

What Email Function Are You?

Noticing Accents

The more you advance in a foreign language, the more you become sensitive to the local accents/dialects. This isn't just be but seems to be an overall fact that applies to all language learners. For instance, when I first started out, I wouldn't be able to tell you if a Strasbourgeois spoke differently from a Parisian or a Marseillais. Now, I could definitely pinpoint the differences. Not only that, but as is the case for German lately, I can even tell the difference between someone speaking English with a German accent from Sachsen and one speaking English with an Austrian-German accent. Crazy, huh? I haven't gotten the hang of the different regional accents of Russian but at least now I can clearly tell the difference between Russian and other Slavic languages like Belarusian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, etc. Before, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell you the difference between Slovak and Russian! (Don't kill me Pavol). But now, I can, without a doubt.

One such accent-detecting skill that has been getting rusty lately is my ability to detect the different Spanish accents. For the Spanish learners out there, can you tell the difference? Cathy? You've studied Spanish for nearly 8 years now, you must be able to tell them apart, right? I'll post the answers later =) Get them all right and I'll bake you a cake ;)

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are a Pumpkin Pie Baking in the Oven

You love to feel comforted and relaxed. For you, fall means turning inward and remembering what matters in your life. Fall rings in the time of traditions, and you embrace each and every one of them. Whether you're decorating for Halloween, cooking for Thanksgiving, or planning for Christmas, you really get into the season. You love sharing this time with your friends and family. You like to make new and lasting memories.

What Autumn Smell Are You?

Language Learning Difficulty Levels for English Speakers

I don't know about other governments, but the U.S. government's Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the Department of State came up with the approximate difficulty levels of all major foreign languages for native English speakers several years back. I learned of this categorization of languages a few years back but I realized I've merely talked about it and haven't shared the information publicly yet. First, I read it in a book about foreign languages (for English speakers) and I found the list on government website. I tried to go back but it didn't come up, so I decided to post it on my blog.
Before I get into that, I'll give you some basic details. The languages are divided into 3 major levels or categories. 1 being the easiest and 3 being the most difficult. The weeks and class hours estimated by the FSI is to reach S3 and R3 proficiency levels, the U.S. proficiency levels similar to that provided in Europe. Here's my rough estimate, correct me if I'm wrong!Does that mean you can get to level B2/S3 in Danish within 6 months in the comfort of your own home? Sorry to burst your bubble (mine was), but it's probably not likely. These estimates are based on the classes that the FSI students are provided with. Who are these students. Well, generally they are middle age (think late 30s to 40s), probably already speak several other foreign languages and have a "talent" for formal language study. Not to mention that their classes size is at it's largest 6 students, meet for 25 hours per week with an additional 3 to 4 hours of directed self-study PER DAY. If you made learning Danish a part-time/full-time job for the next 6 months, sure, you could get to B2/S3... but do any of us have that kind of time or commitment? I suppose Not. I guess that's why for normal people like you and I, it takes us years to reach a certain level of proficiency. The most difficult language to learn for native English speakers according to the FSI? Japanese. Not hard to imagine, with their 3 writing systems (katakana, hiragana, kanji) and the "inversed" sentence structure, I guess it's no wonder that's considered the most difficult.
*Languages preceded by asterisks are typically somewhat more difficult for native English speakers to learn than other languages in the same category.

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are a Scrambled Egg

You are spontaneous and fun. You like to mix it up in life, and you are very flexible. You consider any day that surprises you to be a good day. You aren't big on planning and structure. You are an agreeable, happy person. You can get along with almost anyone, and you're pretty easy to please. You live a somewhat chaotic life, but things seem to work out for you in the end. Even when things are a mess, you come out fine at the other end.

What Kind of Eggs Are You?

Jokes on the Job

One could say that Emma Clarke is the "voice of London". One of the leading voices in advertisement and department stores, she is probably better known to be the calm, cool, collected voice you hear reminding you to "mind the gap" in the London undergrounds. I heard this years ago but I haven't been able to upload the files or figure out a good way to post these... or maybe I was just too lazy =). Whatever the case, after nearly 5 years, I'm finally going to share some hilarious "jokes" Emma posted. Rumors are that she did it on the job but that might not be true. Still, they're pretty hilarious. Have a listen:

Must say, I love the British accent AND their humor =)!

Today's Random Picture:
Remember when Sarah Palin said she had foreign policy/international experience because she lived near Russia? I just found this New Yorker magazine cover parodying the "proximity of Alaska to Russia". Hahahah.