I'd like a Ralph Lauren Seersucker Oxford (!), please

... Like I saw this guy wearing last night. But I wouldn't wear it in Denmark during the month of November... Let's keep it in the warm, summer weather, folks. Don't be gauche.

In other news, this bartender lit a firework/flamethrower thing for me on the bar last night while I was at a party I had planned/ was hosting. Like, sparks and flames and stuff everywhere. I've never seen anything like it. It was wild. America would never stand for fire hazards like that. Denmark is a strange country.

Burgernomics, The Big Mac Index of Purchasing Power Parity

So, I've been traveling a lot. In the past three weeks I've "been" (been, in this case, meaning at least stopped in a country for food or something else involving a monetary transaction on the way to another destination) in at least eight countries and made transactions in five currencies (Euros, HUF, Slovakian, Czech, and Danish crowns...). Both my recent travels and October have ended and my credit statements have arrived, allowing me to survey the damage in comparison to the USD and DKr. In some cases I was delighted, in some, horrified (blast you, exchange rates and transaction fees!). In the case of my corporate credit card (score!), I didn't really care. Anyways, I was bored and reading about world currency exchange rates (Yeah, I just admitted that), and I found this interesting perspective from The Economist... The Big Mac index on purchasing-power parity, regarding the equalization of price of goods and services around the world, over or under value, and trends. It's been awhile since I've blogged, so I thought I'd post it.

Dumbledore is gay

Dumbledore is gay, 'Harry Potter' author reveals. - CNN.com

Hmmm, who knew?! Thanks, Lia.

Signage

It's very interesting, living in Europe. Compared to the United States, countries are so close together that it's easy to cross through them, similarly to how I would regularly cross between Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, often in the same day. Imagine if people in MD, VA, and DC all spoke different languages like people in different European countries do... This would presumably pose a problem for signage, because one would have to post directions and important warnings in multiple languages so that people could read them. The thing I don't get (and the reason for this post) is why, on such signs, signmakers have found the need to designate the languages, either with a flag or a country symbol (ex. GB, FR, CZ, etc.) prior to the text. You would think that someone reading a sign would recognize their own language and not have to look at a sign thinking "Hmm, I wonder which of these is written in English? Gee, it sure is nice that they put a little Union Jack next to the English language portion of the sign. I could have spent ages trying to read this warning in Russian... Whew!!" No. People presumably don't do that, leading me to conclude that language designation is just a waste of time, space, and sign ink. Stupid.

Smokeless bars & the matchbook industry

Today as I was lighting candles in my room I was struck by a thought I entertained long enough to decide to write a post about. Where I live, smoking in bars and restaurants just became illegal on August 15th. Where I used to live, and many other places in the States, it's already been illegal for awhile. To light my candles today, I used a lighter (pink, from 7-11, nothing fancy, like a Zippo). While lighting my nine tealights, I found myself thinking that I really prefer to light candles with matches because I kind of like that sulfur-y match smell. Then, I realized that I don't think I've ever actually bought a book or box of matches. I always "steal" them from bars or restaurants, which technically isn't stealing at all because they usually promote the establishment or some associated product. So, by taking it and displaying (ie. on the table, by the candles) a "stolen" book or box of matches somewhere in my home, or whipping it out to light a cig (something I don't, but many people do), is promoting the establishment or a particular product. If you're super-interested, you can actually find a brief history of the matchbook and matchbook advertising here.

So, my final thought is... I wonder how smokeless bars and restaurants have impacted the advertising and promotional practices within the hospitality industry? I'm making a mental note to look next time I'm at a bar, but do bars still give out matchbooks if they are non-smoking establishments? I guess, technically, you could smoke outside and that it wouldn't really much matter to have matchbooks inside the bar anyway because people that would see them are already there... People would still pick them up and take them away and they would serve the same promotional purposes... Hmmm...

What's the matter with Denmark?

Picture I took last year, in Noerrebro:


Part one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgADAa7rggo

Part two: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2tVlLWJzYE

Part three:
1. crocs
2. the fact that people stop at street crossing signs all the time, at all hours of the night, no matter what
3. too retarded to use the slurpee machine correctly at 7-11
4. no word for "please"
5. not enough llamas. :)
... more to follow.

Why _________________ is Stupid.

Dworkin vs. Hovind

Creationism: http://www.tv-links.co.uk/listings/9/6169

Evolutionism: http://www.tv-links.co.uk/listings/9/5566