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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
What you have to realize is that there is a population of self-identified "alpha males" who admire the ability to shit-talk people. The extent to which the ST is objectively true or not couldn't possibly be more beside the point. Trump himself is one of these people, as are a lot of internet trolls. Making a target group look weak by making up new vulnerabilities is standard practice.
I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Considering how curry is originally from India, this is just proving the article's point.
Also, it's ridiculous how you are all getting so defensive at the very idea of white peoples' taste in food being called bland. This is exactly why Po C laugh at white people.
"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."Uh... no? The amusing part is the idea that white people don't like spicy things. Or that liking spicy things is somehow a racial concept.
My objection to that article is that their definition of "bland" is "without lots of spices". Cardboard is bland. Unadorned carbohydrates are bland. Something can have flavour without lots of spices—and something with spices can be bland because it's been overdone into complete featurelessness.
(Though as noted above, both English mustard and horseradish exist—though if we're going through random condiments, mint sauce is also present)
Edited by RainehDaze on Jan 18th 2019 at 3:54:12 PM
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Tell that to traditional sauces, mate. People focus on how "bland" British food is/was, forgetting how much salt, vinegar, onion, garlic, leek, mustard, cress, worts, mint and other herbs like rue, horseradish, apple, juniper, dried/fermented fish, dried/fermented mushrooms, seaweed and allsorts were part and parcel of the meal as sauces, condiments, pickles and other sides and tracklements. Also: mixing meat, alcohol and fruit goes way, way back, too, as marinades and gravy stock.
We've mixed sweet-sour-salty-sea-spicy for a long time. Americans think our food is bland and sucks... Because of the number rationing did on us both during the war and for decades afterwards.
We've finally got our groove back after losing so much. Sod you. Even sodding Puritanism couldn't kill the spiced mince pie or plum pudding!
Pickled onion Monster Munch and Twiglets: try them and weep. Salty-pickle-style and fermented flavours are big here for a centuries-long reason.
Edited by Euodiachloris on Jan 18th 2019 at 4:50:13 PM
Edited by RainehDaze on Jan 18th 2019 at 4:01:39 PM
"Also we cook nothing but potatoes and beef cooked beyond the point of edibility."
This puts Sam and Gollum's argument over food in The Two Towers in a whole new light.
On-Topic: I like how Kirsten Gillibrand is running as America's Mom.
This 538 chart
was brought up before but I wanted to bring it up again after listening to their podcast earlier about Gillibrand's ability to win the primary.
They're dividing Democrats into five constituencies, and the candidate who can build a coalition of at least three of these has the best chance of winning the primary.
1. Party Loyalists (This thread would refer to them as the Establishment.)
2. The Left (Progressives here)
3. Millennials and Friends
4. Black voters
5. Hispanic voters (sometimes in combination with Asian voters)
538 notes that this is just one of several methods of tracking who is on course to win the primary and also admits in the end the whole thing may turn out to be all over the place that no one will actually be able to predict the winner, but they think the model has merit and want to try it anyway.
It also notes that the constituencies are not mutually exclusive. Any single individual can be in multiple sides.
Here
are some of the most prominent contenders and where they are with each group. Despite their wider name recognition, Sanders and Biden seemingly have a lot of work to do building a coalition outside their respective corners. Kamalah Harris is in a much stronger position while Gillibrand is starting off as the Jack of All Stats at the moment.
In 538's podcast, they made note of Gillibrand's opening her run as a champion of women's rights which didn't have an obvious fit with any of their constituencies, but reasoned it away on the grounds that women make up a majority in almost all five of them, so she could be realistically appealing to every group.
Edited by Parable on Jan 18th 2019 at 8:48:31 AM
Trump is going to have a major announcement about the Southern Border 'Humanitarian Crises' tomorrow at 3 PM Eastern
. Many people are expecting him to declare a National Emergency.
Seems like Trump is realizing he can't get the Democrats to kowtow, and is running out of time. Hopefully Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer holds up against this Dictatorial Power Grab.
... isn't the stereotype of bad food targeted more towards Scotland in particular and Germany?
That said, I've not heard much good of British food, unless you count tea.
Edited by TroperOnAStickV2 on Jan 18th 2019 at 12:03:31 PM
Hopefully I'll feel confident to change my avatar off this scumbag soon. Apologies to any scumbags I insulted.
1954 was the official end of rationing. However, production of greater varieties of even basic, local foodstuffs lagged until the mid- to late-60s. The 70s were when people really started getting loads to experiment with in their kitchens, again. But, supermarkets. And, recession.
Don't get me started on supermarkets and their homogenous approach to both production and display.
Edited by Euodiachloris on Jan 18th 2019 at 5:12:48 PM
The brick of plastic. <shudders>
Also, don't underestimate what the wartime national loaf did to bread. Let alone buns.
My grandad (master baker and guild member) was beyond happy when he could, finally, after years and years, produce iced buns on the regular and by the tray-load. Just plain, old iced buns.
They sold like you wouldn't believe. Even though they were not a patch on the older recipes he wanted to put out in the shop. But, even in the '60s, he couldn't always secure the supply chain for nuts and dried fruit for Christmas baking, forget trying to get people back on figs and fennel seed or rye-and-caraway.
Edited by Euodiachloris on Jan 18th 2019 at 5:36:20 PM

That's probably an article for a culture thread, but my thoughts: I'm not sure I agree with the premise of the article. For example, Asian food is associated with rice and noodles, which are both bland.
By contrast, when I think of American foods, my mind tends to go for the following: Barbecue, Burgers, Pizza, Hot Dogs. None of those things are really 'bland' per se.
To be fair, I do like white bread as my favorite-and I do like it because it's bland. Though in that case I want bland, even-textured bread because I don't want it to compete with the flavor of the filling of the sandwich.
Leviticus 19:34