General Discussion Thread

[Fenris]

It does have some very stereotypic themes really.

I've always preferred the other national anthem (Sønner av Norge) even if its just as stereotypically 'gosh, our country is great'. 'Ja, vi elsker' is a bit dull in my opinion, while 'Sønner av Norge' is a bit more energetic. Too bad its almost never used these days.

(A link to each for people entirely unfamiliar: Ja, vi elsker and Sønner av Norge)

[Fimbulvarg]

I've always preferred the other national anthem (Sønner av Norge) even if its just as stereotypically 'gosh, our country is great'. 'Ja, vi elsker' is a bit dull in my opinion, while 'Sønner av Norge' is a bit more energetic. Too bad its almost never used these days.

(A link to each for people entirely unfamiliar: Ja, vi elsker and Sønner av Norge)

Yes, but, well... what about the daughters? I like that the national anthem isn't too gendered really, I'd say it reflects well on Norway as a very fair society.

I like the other other one too, "hvorhen du går i li og fjell (wherever you walk in hills and mountains)", it's a good song to sing when trekking in the mountains all on your own or with friendly company.

[Fenris]

Yes, but, well... what about the daughters? I like that the national anthem isn't too gendered really, I'd say it reflects well on Norway as a very fair society.

I like the other other one too, "hvorhen du går i li og fjell (wherever you walk in hills and mountains)", it's a good song to sing when trekking in the mountains all on your own or with friendly company.

That is true, although I still prefer the melody of Sønner av Norge even if its overly male-centric (if you took a shot at every mention of 'son' or 'father' in the first verse alone you would probably need to go to the hospital). 'Ja, vi elsker' is just so... slow. 'Mellom Bakkar og Berg' and 'Frihetens Forpost' are also fairly beautiful songs in the same vein.

[Nimphy]

That is true, although I still prefer the melody of Sønner av Norge even if its overly male-centric (if you took a shot at every mention of 'son' or 'father' in the first verse alone you would probably need to go to the hospital). 'Ja, vi elsker' is just so... slow. 'Mellom Bakkar og Berg' and 'Frihetens Forpost' are also fairly beautiful songs in the same vein.

... Okay dialects, but how many national anthems do you guys exactly have?

[Fimbulvarg]

... Okay dialects, but how many national anthems do you guys exactly have?

None, but there is one we consider "the national anthem" by a kind of informal consensus. That's the one they play when we win all of the olympics and stuff. Then there are, well, several candidates.

[Fenris]

... Okay dialects, but how many national anthems do you guys exactly have?

No official ones. 'Sønner av Norge' used to be the one used in official stuff (in the 19th and early 20th century), but was gradually overtaken by 'Ja, vi elsker' as a de facto kind of national anthem, and along with those two, there were several other contenders (well, some of them still are contenders).

[Hrollo]

Paradoxically, while the French national anthem indeed has some rather enthusiastic bits about battle, it's not very nationalistic; there isn't much about France being great in it, rather it's more about defending our rights and freedoms against oppressors and tyrans.

While I don't know the lyrics beyond the first verse, I would not feel weird singing it, because it doesn't have that "our Nation is so great and others suck" vibe to me.

[Nimphy]

Paradoxically, while the French national anthem indeed has some rather enthusiastic bits about battle, it's not very nationalistic; there isn't much about France being great in it, rather it's more about defending our rights and freedoms against oppressors and tyrans.

While I don't know the lyrics beyond the first verse, I would not feel weird singing it, because it doesn't have that "our Nation is so great and others suck" vibe to me.

I do not usually feel awkward singing the Italian anthem either (most of it is "Will we unite already?! Austria is humiliating us, guys! Could we stop being jerks to each other and be a united nation already?"), but I don't know if I would feel comfortable singing the Albanian one (that one is really pathriotic, going along the lines of "Die for your country, are you a man or what?!")

[StellersJayC]

Isn't it strange how efforts to be productive lead to less productiveness?

[Piney]

Isn't it strange how efforts to be productive lead to less productiveness?

Yeah. I have this problem all the time. The thing is, anything that mentions the word "effort" is not something that mixes well with me. Like studying. I've never studied.

[Lenny]

The Australian anthem is basically "Yay, we have land. It is good land.". The two verses that are sung in the Dutch anthem (I think the original is 18 verses long or something like that) are really basically put "We stand by our country. We trust in God and ask him to keep us from our enemies.". The South African anthem is a prayer to God to bless and keep the country safe, and it involves 5 different languages (as in, there are 5 parts to the anthem, each in a different language). Very new, it was a merge of two different anthems after Apartheid was ended, in order to have an anthem that was acceptable to all the different cultural groups located in South Africa.

Isn't it strange how efforts to be productive lead to less productiveness?

Hmm, I don't know - it's more like, efforts to be productive lead to being productive in the wrong area. Still get things done, but not the right things.

[kjeks]

Yeah. I have this problem all the time. The thing is, anything that mentions the word "effort" is not something that mixes well with me. Like studying. I've never studied.

I'm done with it. I hated it in the end. But that is due to our national interpretation of how bachelor and master studies should work. It's crap. Now they wonder why so many students with excellent grades are pretty useless inspite of visiting corporations, factorys and organisations during their studies...

Though I may start again a different kind of studied after I'm done with my pracitcal training. I'd really like to be able to gather some psychiatric knowledge and in Germany your are only ablte to get this by having a university's degree.

[Eich]

Yeah. I have this problem all the time. The thing is, anything that mentions the word "effort" is not something that mixes well with me. Like studying. I've never studied.

*Is an engineering major*
If I don't study for my tests, I die.
That said, I never studied until I got to university.

I'm done with it. I hated it in the end. But that is due to our national interpretation of how bachelor and master studies should work. It's crap. Now they wonder why so many students with excellent grades are pretty useless inspite of visiting corporations, factorys and organisations during their studies...

Though I may start again a different kind of studied after I'm done with my pracitcal training. I'd really like to be able to gather some psychiatric knowledge and in Germany your are only ablte to get this by having a university's degree.

Yeah, there's a disconnect between what's expected of students and what's expected of employees.  I'm doing a sort of internship right now, and it takes a lot more effort to stay productive at work than it does to stay productive at school.  I'll be alternating between going to school and working, and each time I go back to work, I'll be getting bigger projects.  Hopefully having that extra responsibility will be enough to help me get in a more efficient working routine, as time progresses.

[Piney]

*Is an engineering major*
If I don't study for my tests, I die.
That said, I never studied until I got to university.

This is why I'm in art school.

[Fimbulvarg]

Looks like next years vacation will be going to Krakow. Really looking forward to that, I've always wanted to visit Poland. Word has it it's absurdly cheap.

Y'all been thinking about vacation or are you staying home?