Hilarity ensues at the absinthe bar in Bohemia
hugovk | Wikimedia Commons
Note from Dan: Mark is off today, but will return with his regularly scheduled post on Wednesday. With his permission, I’m posting a recent email he sent from Prague, following a night on the town that included many rounds of absinthe in a small dive bar. Mark tells me the formerly banned hallucinogenic liquor isn’t nearly as potent as it used to be. One way it’s now sold in Prague is mixed into soft-serve ice cream. A cone costs 35 Czech koruna, which is about $1.50.
Dan,
Last night I went out until the wee hours in Old Town Prague with DR and VH (I am protecting privacy here), two people from a leading Czech telecom company. Both are really sharp. DR is a viral marketing expert, who happens to be a very attractive lady. With me was also a colleague from France, who is now based in Spain. We ended up in a dive absinthe bar.
VH started talking about a recent local trial of an American college kid charged with vandalism. Apparently he busted off a piece of an historic 700-year-old town clock, breaking it in the process. The punch line of this funny story making the rounds in Prague is the American’s explanation to the judge. He argued that there was no sign near the clock prohibiting breaking off pieces.
As the conversation evolved into the charming peculiarities of Americans, I pulled up last week’s Fort Ross essay on my iPhone; not for them to read it, but to show them some of the comments about Europe made by the good folks of Roanoke, Va.
As the comments were read aloud, we passed the phone around the table in the same way a group just outside the bar’s open door was passing around a joint. Pretty soon everyone was pulling up the Fort Ross link on their phones. The laughter got so loud the waitresses came over and got involved.
Suzie’s comments were the grand winner. Her references to European hellholes, and claims of America’s superiority in every aspect blew away the laugh-o-meter. Of course Suzie’s comments weren’t the only ones that were appreciated. She had tough competition.
Everyone started Googling to find out more about Roanoke. Congratulations to Suzie & company for creating interest in Europe about Roanoke and the people who live there.
No promises, but if DR gets motivated, she certainly knows how to make the link to these comments go viral. Who knows – Suzie & company, and you and Roanoke by association, could soon be stars in Europe.
B. Regards,
-mark-
October 1, 2012 - 6:00 AM
so, instead of “building bridges” and changing “perceptions” mark is being a hypocrite and doesn’t practice what he preaches. Hilarious. And we’re suppose to take this anti-American serious?
Su-ZIE! RepreSENT’n! That’s how Girl DO, yo!
#1 Ugly Americans like suzie are the problem, mattyr, not folks like Mark.
mattyr suggests that Mark’s sharing of un-edited comments on this blog with Europeans is an anti-American act? Seriously?
He says that by sharing the link Mark is a hypocrite because it’s counter to Mark’s belief that we should build bridges to other societies?
By such a standard, certain posters on this blog are friggin terrorists. Now that should tell you how whacked mattyr’s standards are.
Glad I could entertain your emaciated yellow-teethed pals, Mark. I certainly hope America doesn’t continue its downward trajectory to end up like your precious European hellhole countries.
Dan, Sounds pretty anti-USA to me. Is anti-roanoke better?
2. Exactly, “here have a laugh at these Americans.”
3. A guest blogger preaches one thing and practices another. It’s not about other posters, it’s about the author. And it shows what his standards are. Not mine, just calling a spade a spade.
I’m sorry gdad I don’t see how comments on an obscure blog in any sort of way represents America in any sort of fashion. It’s the Internet. Hell it’s not even indicative of Roanoke.
But dr’s amazing viral marketing prowess will be sure to saturate the world gangham style of random comments on a swva comment section.
“But dr’s amazing viral marketing prowess will be sure to saturate the world gangham style of random comments on a swva comment section.”
Hasn’t happened yet. DR, where is that viral magic?
Yeah that’s a good idea. Let’s embarrass Roanoke some more, will ya?
sheesh
It hard to see how Europeans could possibly laugh at americans. What with all the quality televison they can access from satellite, they must be astounded at our advanced culture. How could anyone see:
Swamp People
Celebrity catfish noodling
Here comes Honey Boo
Moonshiners
Pat Robertson
Trininty Broadcast Network
Toddlers in Tiaras
and many others….. and not be impressed?
Suzie should learn more about the the Czech republic because such reflexive critcism tends to accentuate one’s extensive ignorance when one criticizes a country that has taxation policies that one spends a great deal of energy endorsing.
http://www.worldwide-tax.com/czech/czech_tax.asp
#10 “Suzie should learn more about the the Czech republic…”
Nailed it, da suze shows more of her vast storehouse of ignorance.
I know one good thing that comes from that region: hockey pucks. Though, the one I have is from Slovakia, not the Czech Republic. But they have produced a bunch of good hockey players, like Jaromir Jagr, Patrik Elias, Milan Hejduk, Bobby Holik, Martin Straka, and more.
Having lived in Europe previously (Italy), and having friends who spend large amounts of time there for work or personal reasons (Ireland, Germany, France, England), it’s a nice place to visit and wouldn’t be a bad place to live again, if I had to. But, I’d prefer to stay stateside. Despite some of the well-documented problems in some countries there, it’s really not a bad place. There’s plenty of locations within the US I would never want to live (been to quite a few and smoked the tires while leaving as fast as I could), and would take a country in turmoil like Greece over in a heartbeat.
I think they took the wormwood out of absinthe, which was what made the “Green Fairy” cool but also deadly.
Suzie – famously stupid on two continents.
Awesome that libs Mike Scott and Granddad are now singing the praises of the Czech Republic and noting their thriving economy is due to it’s low-tax policy. I don’t even mind that you had to leave Western Europe (which is what ‘Europe’ is commonly understood to mean) to find a success. What a shame Greece and Spain chose the Paul Krugman model which is to spend like crazy, and are on the verge of bankruptcy. The very opposite of the Czech Republic.
#5 Well, suzie, let’s take another look at what you called the Czechs Mark was with:
“Glad I could entertain your emaciated yellow-teethed pals…”
And then there was this: “I certainly hope America doesn’t continue its downward trajectory to end up like your precious European hellhole countries.”
Mind you, Mark was in Czechoslovakia so it’s obvious that’s one of the countries you were talking about.
So we’ve either caught you once again showing your ignorance until you looked it up on the Interwebs or you were so eager to insult that you were just blowing it out your butt once more.
Mark, I beg you, please don’t spread any tales equating Roanoke with Suzie. Your friends would really like Roanoke and if they are ever lucky enough to visit Roanoke, I, and I’m sure some other folks on this blog, would love to show them the real Roanoke.
Gdad,
I notice you evade the question. LOL.
So you are saying you have reversed your view and now realize low taxes create prosperity?
Welcome aboard. But aren’t you worried about alienating the other leftwing nuts?
#17 Of course I said nothing of the sort, suzie. What I VERY clearly said was that Mike Scott nailed when he pointed out that you were making fun of a country with taxation policies very much like the ones you favor. Thereby clearly demonstrating your ignorance of the country.
What an ignoramus.
“which is what ‘Europe’ is commonly understood to mean”
Bwahahahaha..right. You got pwned again cause you didn’t know crap about tax policies in the Czech rupublic and redefining commonly and universally accepted geographical boundaries isn’t going to help with the ignorance pit you’ve, again, dug for yourself.
Honestly, I don’t know why you do this. First you call the place a hell hole and now that you’ve read a little about tax policy it’s a conservative paradise.
Of course neither assumption makes any damn sense at all since you apparently haven’t been there to make a semiinformed personal decision.
19
So Mike Scott, let’s stick to the point at hand. Tell us when you became a free-market low-tax guy that would hold up the Czech Republican as a beacon of success among socialist hell holes? Aren’t you afraid the kooks here will disown you?
LOL.
Of course I said nothing of the sort, suzie. What I VERY clearly said was that Mike Scott nailed when he pointed out that you were making fun of a country with taxation policies very much like the ones you favor.
If you think I got nailed then you’re admitting the low-tax country is a huge success story, Granddad. As I said, welcome aboard! LOL.
#19 “which is what ‘Europe’ is commonly understood to mean”
Yep, Mike Scott that was such a sad and obvious evasion attempt.
#21 Boy are you flailing, toots.
Yes, Obama is holding a slight lead before the debates until you poll swing states, where he is leading by double digits. No wonder the wingnuts are restless.
“Kristen says:
Suzie – famously stupid on two continents.
Posted on October 1st, 2012″
Or:
Screwzie – now OFFICIALLY a world-class _____________. (Fill in the blank however you like.)
@20
“So Mike Scott, let’s stick to the point at hand. Tell us when you became a free-market low-tax guy that would hold up the Czech Republican as a beacon of success among socialist hell holes? Aren’t you afraid the kooks here will disown you?”
Errr. No. I never defended it, in fact I have no idea how well it works, and neither do you. But I did know they had structured their tax system that way.
And no, I am not scared I’ll be disowned by anyone by blog personalities. I have tangible relationships in my life that are far more important.
Suzie – famously stupid on two continents.
This is a girl who’d never been out of Jersey until she moved here.
Gotta get out a little, babe.
BTW, suzie is now suddenly praising a country (the Czech Republic) that has a government-run health system and proudly considers it self one of the LEAST religious nations in the world. Czechs are famously indifferent about religion. Not many “Christian” neighborhoods there.
BTW, suzie is now suddenly praising a country (the Czech Republic) that has a government-run health system and proudly considers it self one of the LEAST religious nations in the world.
You were the one praising it, Granddad. I am so glad you feel low-tax is the answer now.
I may have misspoke when I called Mark’s audience “yellow-teethed”. As we were talking about Europeans, this condition rests more with Western Europeans such as the Brits The Eastern Europeanfolks Mark is talking to are much less likely to have many teeth at all.