I just read part of the much circulated article: How The Do It Better. (A disection.)
Something struck me, this sentence: "So how come the Danes are the happiest people in the world? Living in the dark, no less".
I always have to correct people on this. Because Denmark is part of Scandinavia together with Norway, Sweden, and Finland, people think it is a very cold and dark country. But if you just look at a map, you'll see that not only is it no more north than England, but like England it is surrounded by water, and even the warm Gulf Stream, which keeps the country mild in the winter. Hard frost is actually pretty rare in Denmark, and the summers can get very warm, too warm for me. (Oddly, it is a bit cooler here in Lancashire, UK, I don't know why.)
Better start stocking up on warm clothes, Danes! Last I heard the Gulf Stream was on its way out.. huzzah for global warming.
ReplyDeleteglobal warming is a myth. it's a bunch of worthless hoopla.
ReplyDeletewe still have extreme cold in the winter and hot summers. end of story.
I have a serious question about Denmark. Maybe Eolake can help me out here?
ReplyDeleteIs public nudity forbidden where you live? Or can a woman go topless without being arrested?
Also, does Denmark have free health coverage for all? And are guns allowed to be owned privately?
The crime rate? Is it low? And is abortion and prostitution legal?
Thanks, Eugene
"Is public nudity forbidden where you live?"
ReplyDeleteI live currently in England. But in Denmark, public nudity is illegal, but few takes it seriously.
"Also, does Denmark have free health coverage for all?"
Yes.
"And are guns allowed to be owned privately?"
Yeah, but I believe they have to be registered.
"The crime rate? Is it low?"
Pretty low, comparatively. I think.
"And is abortion and prostitution legal?"
Yes.
though technically it's illegal to run a bordello.
I think England is probably cooler because there's less between it and the Atlantic Ocean. Denmark is protected by a lot of different landmasses, which allows the water a chance to warm up in a way that the Atlantic never does. Even though there's Ireland, Ireland is only a small protection against the mighty ocean.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered why pirates talked about the seven seas. Did they only know about 7?
So you wouldn't be prosecuted for going topless in Denmark - or is it more a question of just not being done?
ReplyDeleteTopless sunbathing (on the beach!) is allowed in the Netherlands. I didn't realize the first time I went to the beach, didn't know where to look. Come to think of it, I still don't. I wonder if a nude beach might be less distracting. :)
"So you wouldn't be prosecuted for going topless in Denmark - or is it more a question of just not being done?"
ReplyDeleteIt's both. Lots of topless on beaches. I have not seen anybody being so elsewhere, except sunbathing in parks. But I think there'd be a good chance of getting away with going for a walk topless.
Eolake reported: "(Oddly, it is a bit cooler here in Lancashire, UK, I don't know why.)"
ReplyDeleteDuring my visits to the British Isles I have found the weather there to be pleasent. I know many people disagree -- apparently so many that it has become a cliché. But I'm not a great fan of hot sunshine. The perfect skin of English ladies is proof that the amount of sunshine and level of humidity is just right there.
How did you end up in Lancashire and not some other town? Do Danes generally move to Lancashire? :-)
A few do.
ReplyDeleteThough it's a district, not a town.
I moved here because it's as good as anywhere, and Laurie Jeffery lives here.
Sunshine and hot weather are for lizards.
jack asscrack said...
ReplyDeleteglobal warming is a myth. it's a bunch of worthless hoopla.
Everyone has a right of their own opinion on global warming, including declaring it a myth.
Their opinion won't count in the end, though.
Fact is the CO2-graph started to go upwards at the beginning of the extensive burning of fossil fuels in the late 19th century.
Also the 20-times more effective greenhouse gas methane is on the increase, as well.
Ok. Now go to your garden, and start building a little hut, not with bricks but with sheets of glass (which is a 100% greenhouse gas). The more sheets you add, the hotter it'll get inside.
The problem is, if you think your brain starts to boil when you sit in your hut, you simply smash the glass and you'll be ok again.
But what'll become of boiling brains under an unsmashable atmosphere??
Beep.
Their opinion won't count in the end, though.
ReplyDeleteBuzz. Yes it will. Global warming does not exist period. Summer remains summer as winter remains winter. Nothing has changed. This past winter the wind chill was -50 degrees as the temp was 20 F.
People are so full of bullshit.
If anything, there is global freezing.
Just another fairytale the gurus in the lab are babbling about. It simply does not exist. Easy as pie.
Sunshine and hot weather are for lizards.
ReplyDeleteGive me the heat and warmth any day year round. The artic cold crap sucks and is depressing. Summer rules!
Jack A,
ReplyDeleteWould you call the melting of the North Pole and the Permafrost thawing "myths"? Maybe your climatology degree needs a tiny update once in a while.
Global warming is an average phenomenon. Its main consequence is an increase in weather extremes, because the weather follows the equations of Chaos.
Eolake said...
"though technically it's illegal to run a bordello."
Same in France. It's assimilated to pimping. Which can be somewhat of an amalgam.
Hannah said...
"I always wondered why pirates talked about the seven seas. Did they only know about 7?"
Correct. Seven traditional seas. The average pirate was no college graduate...
"Topless sunbathing (on the beach!) is allowed in the Netherlands. I didn't realize the first time I went to the beach, didn't know where to look. Come to think of it, I still don't."
:-) I adapted quite well in France, even though I'm a guy raised in Lebanon.
After an awkward moment that first time, when I didn't recognize my friend's mother tanning topless and in sunglasses near him... (Boy, did she have a young-looking body.) Luckily, I didn't try to hit on her!
It pays to be well-behaved. :-)
Monsieur Beep said...
"Also the 20-times more effective greenhouse gas methane is on the increase, as well."
I'll have to plead guilty about this one. Been eating peas lately. And cabbage.
"But what'll become of boiling brains under an unsmashable atmosphere??"
"Hmmm! Boiled brains..." -- (Homer Simpson)
Incidentally, nobody in Western Europe is doubting the truth of global warming any more. The season temperatures are beating all known records. Crazy stuff! Some are getting close to panicking.
Don't tell people living in forest fire-prone areas that the weather hasn't changed, or you'll get swiftly lynched. That, or committed to an asylum for some icy-cold showers. In both cases, not something to look forward to...
That, or committed to an asylum for some icy-cold showers. In both cases, not something to look forward to...
ReplyDeleteit's all poppycock, global warming. no way. why isn't the south pole melting if the north pole is melting? does not compute.
some people are so full of junk that it isn't even funny anymore.
if global warming existed we'd have summer throughout the entire year. and that doesn't happen.
the weather pattern is strange at times but i think its due to the senseless spacecrafts we shoot into orbit to joyride around the earth. yawn...........this is too insideous to keep yakking about.
jack asscrack said...
ReplyDeleteglobal warming is a myth. it's a bunch of worthless hoopla.
i'm in agreement with jack. it's hogwash brothers.
Their opinion won't count in the end, though.
ReplyDeleteneither will yours.
Give it up, folks, this is not a weather forum, not a political forum. Don't make me come back there! :)
ReplyDeleteGlobal warming is an observable fact. It is its cause that is questioned.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am not convinced about the prevailing theory that its (main) cause is greenhouse gas emissions. There are at least two alternative theories that are plausible: an astronomical one related to variations in solar output, and a geohistorical one related to what's known as little ice age.
But whatever the cause ends up being doesn't matter much. Reducing greenhouse gasses (a.k.a. pollution) is a good idea anyway. And there is nothing we could do to solar output. So let's try reducing the emissions and clean this place up.
Sorry, Eo. Looks like we posted at the same time. (I didn't see your post there when I started editing.)
ReplyDeleteSince this post is about Denmark, let's talk about one of my favourite authors, Hans Christian Andersen, instead.
Did you know that at the age of 54 Andersen published a story about the mystical concept Philosopher's Stone?
The story together with many others is available oneline.
Some people here didn't like the prose of John T. Reed (whom I introduced in this forum). What do you think of this writer then? Should old Hans have published How-To books?
H. C. Andersen (as he is usually called in Denmark) was a world class artist.
ReplyDeleteIt puzzles me a little that apparently in the US he is regarded as a children's author. His stories are way bigger than that.
"H. C. Andersen (as he is usually called in Denmark)"
ReplyDeleteI know. He is called that in Finland, too. But in the movie Hans Christian Andersen (1952) starring Danny Keye, they are constantly chanting his full name. So I thought I best write it that way lest some of our Amerikan friends might not know who we are talking about.
"It puzzles me a little that apparently in the US he is regarded as a children's author.
This is why I singled out the Philosopher story. On the face of it he was a children's author. It's just that when you are as good as he was, genres become meaningless.
"His stories are way bigger than that."
Say no more. Stories like Emperor are epical. (And, incidently, today more timely than ever.)
Oooooh! What are you going to do if you come back here, Eolake? ;)
ReplyDeleteTurns out Blogger had turned off your profile if you didn't sign in and switch to the new system... so with any luck, this comment and on should have my "artistic" photo again :)
ReplyDeleteHey, Pascal, got any idea what the original seven seas were, then? I tried looking at a map and counting... but what if they considering things seas which we now consider bays or even oceans?
ReplyDeleteThe seven seas.
ReplyDeleteSurprised me.
I'm not sure what you mean in your first post, Hannah.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Eolake, I love the internet. :) I've wondered that since I was about 8 years old.
ReplyDeleteI was referring to your comment, "Give it up, folks, this is not a weather forum, not a political forum. Don't make me come back there! :)"
Oh, missed that, silly me.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm a-gwynne give ya all a dang solid spanking, is what it is! I got yer belts, I gots yer paddles, I got yer whips, I gots yer canes.
/me speechless ;)
ReplyDeletettl said...
ReplyDeleteGlobal warming is an observable fact.
Global myth. Sorry Eolake, you can whip both that TTL person for his incorrect statement and me for my correct answer. I won't say anymore on it, ok? Promise.
Too bad this thread got hijacked with all that crud about blogal rawming. I would rather to have heard from some closed-minded bigots about why "we" do it better over here, contrary to the article about how "they" do it better over there; than to have heard from similar folks their opinions about verifiable scientific evidence and accepted conclusions which the assembled scientific community have agreed upon for almost half a century.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I frankly DON'T think that everyone is entitled to his (or, as some geniuses put it, "their") opinion. To make an obvious example, is Bush entitled to his about continuing the war in Iraq? Or how 'bout this one: is a man with a pistol who wants to propel a bullet through your brain entitled to his opinion about your value and worth as a living member of our species?
Really, I think the experts are "entitled" to an opinion because they bother to support it with evidence, they take the time to back it up in a publicly responsible way, they spend lifetimes gathering the skills and knowledge to enable them to make judgments in their fields. Their "entitlement" is earned. I don't have any "entitlement" to an opinion about (for example) global warming. I defer to the experts. Others here should as well, or choose a different planet to ruin, since I live on this one and I don't think it's appropriate for my life to be forfeit because of their arrogance.
Eolake said...
ReplyDelete"Give it up, folks, this is not a weather forum, not a political forum."
So true. This is a lonely hearts ad site, everybody knows that, d'uh!
Mr As Ice and Mr Asscrack seem in total agreement regarding the depth of my well-documented ignorance.
But I can't help wondering: what catastrophic temperature change would occur if these two ever met? I mean, Ice meets Asscrack, that's ass-king for trouble... Ace Ventura style!
TTL said...
"Reducing greenhouse gasses (a.k.a. pollution) is a good idea anyway."
Okay, I can take a hint! I'll start a crackers diet and stop farting. Will you get off my K's already? Sheesh!
"Did you know that at the age of 54 Andersen published a story about the mystical concept Philosopher's Stone?"
Did you know that at an even younger age, a Brit named J.K. Rowling did the same?
"What do you think of this writer then? Should old Hans have published How-To books?"
At least this one: "How to write stories that'll still be read long after you're dead." ;-)
I'm in love with the "Little Merry Maid". :-)))
"Stories like Emperor are epical."
Have you read the sequel to that one?
It gets instantly more epical when an angry naked troll crashes through walls while you're snipping undies for beans. Really, it's in the sequel!
Um... need I specify that it's NSFW?
Allrighty then, I'll specify: "Warning to all «specially gifted» trolls with a dainty cranium, do NOT read this nudist non-sexual webcomic at work if you're in a Blue State, or you'll get a headache and lots of unplanned free time. Unplanned and unpaid!"
Eolake said...
"The seven seas."
Argumentum ad Google: "if it's on Wikipedia, then it exists". And often vice-versa.
Eolake said...
"Well, I'm a-gwynne give ya all a dang solid spanking, is what it is! I got yer belts, I gots yer paddles, I got yer whips, I gots yer canes."
[Gulp!] You wouldn't happen to work for the Israeli police, per chance?...
I knew this idea of letting meself be captured thru the border was not only impudent, but also imprudent! The imagination of an Eolake Stobblehouse is nothing to be taken lightly.
If Emily Jean asks for me, tell her I changed my mind and went to Guantanamo instead of Haifa. At least, "interrogator" Lynndie England is a woman! (And beardless, too.)
I once read a She-Hulk story where she fights a parody of the Punisher, called (I think) the Spanker.
Me, I'd rather get disciplined by the Green Amazon! :-)
Final Identity said...
"Or how 'bout this one: is a man with a pistol who wants to propel a bullet through your brain entitled to his opinion about your value and worth as a living member of our species?"
You know, you raise an interesting point here. I think I might beg him to differ, in all the meanings of the word! "Or at least, think it over for a week or two, okay?"
"I think the experts [...] spend lifetimes gathering the skills and knowledge to enable them to make judgments in their fields."
What, are you implying that Prof. Asscrack is ACTUALLY NOT a professional climatologist? (:-O
Is that just your opinion, or do you have facts to back it up? ;-)
Be careful whom you libel among the influent and respected, or you'll get your own @$$cr@ck expelled from Harvard faster than you can say "supercalifragilistiexpialidocious", and your future career with Exxon might be compromised.
Which would be a very lasting problem since this planet is eternal and invulnerable according to local experts [who totally convinced me with their irrefutable enlightened arguments].
After all, what do I know? My own professional expertise about warm globes is a fever in the seater on a thermometer.
(With apologies to the professors for my foul language and trivial images.)