Random Thoughts....

Blind_Io said:
This proves the Blind_Io Dating Heuristic 3: The hot ones are always Crazy.

Of course the Blind_Io Dating Heuristic 4 is "So are all the others" but that's for another day.
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I will cherish, "The Watchtower," she gave me forever and ever. :heart:
 
BlaRo said:
Says you. :tease:

Seriously though, chill out. If I was Romanian I'd be proud of something that adds such mysticism to my native land. Use it to your advantage, let it bring in tourism dollars, tell everybody that Dracula's your 3rd cousin (twice removed)!
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Actually, that would come as a shame to our country. Vlad Tepes was one of the greatest leaders of Wallachia and doing such a thing would just stain his image even more than it already is stained by that puny novel.

Let's say that Frankenstein was inspired from the appearance and name of Benjamin Franklin. Would you feel proud if people proposed that they advertise to turists coming into the United States that Benjamin Franklin was actually Frankenstein or the model which inspired the novel? No, you'd feel as appalled as we do. This is not about mysticism and attracting turists, it's about a nation's pride for its long history.
 
Ben Franklin didn't impale people.
 
toma_alimosh said:
Actually, that would come as a shame to our country. Vlad Tepes was one of the greatest leaders of Wallachia and doing such a thing would just stain his image even more than it already is stained by that puny novel.
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"Puny" novel? :lol: (Reminds me of something else calling everyone "puny" :mrgreen:)

I agree completely. I don't want myths like this to spoil the image of the country. Romania should advertise itself as a country free of this myth, and describe the wonderous places that we STILL have (until some idiot politician or businessman buys them, makes a lot lot lot of houses or a hunting reserve or a timber-processing plant). I love the Carpathians. Being there is such a relaxing experience, in a place almost untouched by civilization, with the fresh mountain air in your nose and the landscape's backdrop. We should focus on mountain tourism, but not by building resorts high up in the mountains, but by organizing trips up on the forest roads. Should be an experience... Just don't forget to fit winter tires all the way up to the month of May.
 
Twerp128 said:
Ben Franklin didn't impale people.
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It was a damn example. If you can't picture the reference, then replace Franklin with Nixon or someone else. Great leaders who you know have a bad history because of just a couple of things they did and everyone's attention goes to the bad things and no attention goes to the good things that they did.

Same here. Vlad Tepes impaled people. But he impaled murderers, thieves, rapists, kidnapers, child molesters, crooks, invading enemy soldiers, assasins, etc. His means to justice were quite exagerated but he got things done. He never impaled or cut the hands off of innocent people. He was stern but fair. The people feared him for it and they respected him. No bad deed would go unpunished (but it would go severely punished).

That's how it was in medieval times, corporeal punishment was pretty much the rule all around Europe. Vlad Tepes was only more stern than the other political leaders of the time. And because he was stern, Romania was the country where laws were followed by a great majority of people by the book. They wouldn't dare break the law. He also opposed bureaucracy and wanted freedom for the peasants of the time to administer their own lands as opposed to the feudal system that was in place before him.

Also, his tendencies towards these violent and cruel punishments was what he learned from his days as a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire. As a young man, he grew up in a dungeon with the sounds of tortured people and the threat of slow, painful deaths if anyone thought of causing trouble there. He saw how closely those rules were followed and adapted those to his rule of Wallachia. For him, these punishments were all he knew and, most importantly, all that he knew that actually worked at detering people from going against the rules. So yeah, cruel. But it worked and it was for a good cause. Yet, most western historian fail to mention that in their journals; rather they like to focus on the bloodshed.
 
Well, I obviously can't tell you guys how to run your tourism industry. But here in fat, stupid America, the ignorant tend to portray Romania as an unhinged, lawless, hilariously backwards, Eastern European former-Soviet shithole (not my words, but you know what I mean). After all, Borat was filmed there, and that's not helping matters. Now I know that's not true, but the image of Vlad the Impaler is still a far more attractive notion than that. What other Eastern European countries can claim such a famous legend? Promoting it is a slippery slope, but as long as you don't have McDonald's marketing on your ass then it's nothing to be ashamed of, and will incite people to learn more about the real Romania.

I obviously don't know much about Romania, but my love of traveling means that I'd love to visit there someday and fix that problem.
 
vikiradTG2007 said:
Since we're on the subject of the country I live in, my dad just had me searching YouTube for some folk songs. And sung by some of the greatest voices that this country ever had. I tried not to show it, but those songs and voices can touch any heart which has feelings.
I'll soon edit this post with videos.

And there's a lot more. toma_alimosh, this should touch your national spirit:p
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Indeed. I think I have all those songs and more on my computer. My parents must have all of them. My mother listens to some folk songs at times.
One of the things I can pride myself with is a pretty large collection of Romanian movies. Which I'm struggling to multiply. These things are hard to find on the internet. And I still don't have some of the best ones.:mad:

And you're right, we should invest more in mountain tourism, now with the EU and all ... because for seaside, everyone would go for the Mediteranean, but in terms of mountains, the Alps are not necessarily the greatest choice in my point of view. They're nice and good for skying, but they're way too commercialized. The Carpathians are better suited for people looking to enjoy nature. Especially visiting them in the summer time. The Alps are boring in the summer. BTW, I never trekked to Moldoveanu summit, if you can believe that. Next time I come for a visit I'll make sure to have it as a priority stop. Everyone says it's a great experience.
 
Stern? He killed nearly 100,000 people! Hitler was a bit of a meanie, but damn that guy was a good painter. If you ask me the Dracula legend is a safer story then the real thing, but, it's your history be proud of it. Slavery wasn't our proudest moment, but we've embraced it and eagerly admit how we overcame and have grown because of it.

Plus, most people don't even associate Dracula with Romania, we just know it's an Eastern European thing. Over here we know about your l337 gymnastics skillz.

Oh, and I have friends teaching over in Bratislava for a couple years, so I do know Eastern Europe has a rich culture and has been changing rapidly over the past decades.
 
Twerp128 said:
Stern? He killed nearly 100,000 people! Hitler was a bit of a meanie, but damn that guy was a good painter. If you ask me the Dracula legend is a safer story then the real thing, but, it's your history be proud of it. Slavery wasn't our proudest moment, but we've embraced it and eagerly admit how we overcame and have grown because of it.

Plus, most people don't even associate Dracula with Romania, we just know it's an Eastern European thing. Over here we know about your l337 gymnastics skillz.

Oh, and I have friends teaching over in Bratislava for a couple years, so I do know Eastern Europe has a rich culture and has been changing rapidly over the past decades.
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Actually, those numbers are grossly exagerated. For one, they come from western european accounts of wallachian history. Wallachia and the surrounding regions were not very favoured by western countries because most of the time they gave in to the Ottoman sultan's wishes and paid them tribute so they don't conquer the country. So every western nation regarded the old wallachs as siding with the Ottomans and that they'd soon come to their borders to conquer them. So there was a large amount of animosity between the countries, thus they would paint the wallachs in the minds of their citizens as sinister, sinful monsters that feed on the blood of children. And of course, their leader would take the cake, especially when he had such a bad rap.

Out of those that remain and are true, a vast majority were killed in wars, rather than by direct order of Vlad himself. They only count as his victims because after they were long dead he chose to impale them and post them at the borders and trade routes so everyone would see what happens when they try and invade his country. If we're to judge on that, then Julius Ceasar was probably the biggest criminal in human history.

The number of people that he directly sentenced to death (as opposed to orders in time of war) doesn't even reach 700. That's a big difference right there. Sure, still a big number .. but far from 100,000.
If you got the 100,000 number from Wikipedia, read the whole article on "attrocities" and foreign views (not only the first number they give), only then you will see the real picture.
 
toma_alimosh said:
It was a damn example. If you can't picture the reference, then replace Franklin with Nixon or someone else. Great leaders who you know have a bad history because of just a couple of things they did and everyone's attention goes to the bad things and no attention goes to the good things that they did.

Same here. Vlad Tepes impaled people. But he impaled murderers, thieves, rapists, kidnapers, child molesters, crooks, invading enemy soldiers, assasins, etc. His means to justice were quite exagerated but he got things done. He never impaled or cut the hands off of innocent people. He was stern but fair. The people feared him for it and they respected him. No bad deed would go unpunished (but it would go severely punished).

That's how it was in medieval times, corporeal punishment was pretty much the rule all around Europe. Vlad Tepes was only more stern than the other political leaders of the time. And because he was stern, Romania was the country where laws were followed by a great majority of people by the book. They wouldn't dare break the law. He also opposed bureaucracy and wanted freedom for the peasants of the time to administer their own lands as opposed to the feudal system that was in place before him.

Also, his tendencies towards these violent and cruel punishments was what he learned from his days as a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire. As a young man, he grew up in a dungeon with the sounds of tortured people and the threat of slow, painful deaths if anyone thought of causing trouble there. He saw how closely those rules were followed and adapted those to his rule of Wallachia. For him, these punishments were all he knew and, most importantly, all that he knew that actually worked at detering people from going against the rules. So yeah, cruel. But it worked and it was for a good cause. Yet, most western historian fail to mention that in their journals; rather they like to focus on the bloodshed.
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IT WAS A JOKE! FFS!
 
I just read that Patrick Swayze has been given only 5 weeks to live. Thats a shame :(

news.com.au said:
PATRICK Swayze only has five weeks to live, it has been claimed.

The Ghost actor is reportedly suffering from a particularly vicious form of pancreatic cancer which has now spread to his other organs, and is not responding to treatment.

Swayze, 55, was diagnosed with cancer more than a month ago, the New York Post reported on its website today, citing a representative for the actor. The Post story follows similar reports in the tabloid press. No further details were available.

Swayze - who is a qualified pilot - has reportedly been flying his private Beechcraft aeroplane to Stanford University's highly respected cancer centre in Palo Alto, California, for radical chemotherapy.

However, the three doses of chemotherapy failed to significantly shrink the tumour, and doctors have now told the 55-year-old to prepare for the end, according to the National Enquirer magazine.

A source close to the star said: "He was told he could have two more treatments, but his cancer was not responding. In short - they held out little hope for a cure.

"It's time to start praying for a miracle."

The source said: "He looks terrible. We don't think he's going to make it. Patrick's family and friends are so grief-stricken they can barely contain their tears and anger."

Swayze - who is married to actress Lisa Niemi - has lost more than 9kg in the last few weeks, and is surviving solely on a liquid diet as he is having trouble keeping down solids.

Sufferers of pancreatic cancer typically have a survival rate of less than 5 per cent, but as the cancer has spread to Swayze's other vital organs he has an even lower chance of beating the disease.

Swayze first shot to fame starring as bad boy Johnny Castle in the hit 1987 movie Dirty Dancing before going on to star in a host of hit films including Ghost and Point Break.

Source
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Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. And to think his career descended into the butt of jokes...:cry:
 
Thank goodness he made Ghost, one of the best films ever made. He will always be remembered for that, and dirty dancing.
 
Cancer is fucked. :cry:
It can take anyone at anytime for no damn reason and there is nothing you can do about it.
Worst illness ever. <_<
 
Poor Patrick Swayze... I haven't seen that much of his work but he's cool. The worst is when doctors give you a limited amount of time to live... I'd much prefer just dropping dead than waiting for it to come. Plus doctors are wrong on many occasions. I know a guy who was given 2 months to live 3 years ago and he's still kickin' it.

I feel for him... :(

P.S. Quadrax, cancer sucks but I don't think it's fair saying it's the worst disease. At least AIDS is just as bad or worse... not so much of a problem in the West but so many Africans suffer from it and you can never recover unlike certain cancer cases. :(
 
Shawn said:
Poor Patrick Swayze... I haven't seen that much of his work but he's cool. The worst is when doctors give you a limited amount of time to live... I'd much prefer just dropping dead than waiting for it to come. Plus doctors are wrong on many occasions. I know a guy who was given 2 months to live 3 years ago and he's still kickin' it.

I feel for him... :(

P.S. Quadrax, cancer sucks but I don't think it's fair saying it's the worst disease. At least AIDS is just as bad or worse... not so much of a problem in the West but so many Africans suffer from it and you can never recover unlike certain cancer cases. :(
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Me too, I know a guy diagnosed with six months to live and he's still running around nearly two and a half years later.
 
Swayze's rep has said that the National Enquirer/Sun's "5 weeks to live" bit was off. He's been diagnosed, but is apparently responding well to treatment and has a positive prognosis.
 
I'm having English lesson at school right now and I'm bored, what should I do? :|
 
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