In a better world I am a paid travel writer

[illdrinn]

Indulged in a glorious Summer weekend in Brisbane, mostly due to a game I'd forgotten everyone plays (despite being quite the contender myself) called "get everyone trashed till they can't move or speak". It's rather nice to visit home without the need to be at endless events and so got to catch up with many of my favourite people, eat far too much

Comments

[amhorach]

Every time I wonder about Australian culture, I remember that:

1. First, you gave us "Jacko" Jackson in a battery commercial.
2. Then, you gave us Crocodile Dundee.
2. Last, there was Steve Irwin.

It seems you're trying to export all of the really aggravating people, so your culture has to be improving at the expense of mine.

[azrebb]

Shit, they're onto us!

[illdrinn]

*nod* That really is about the crux of it... it's the weirder parts of our culture that other countries find fascinating and make famous. We dumped Rolf Harris on the English and Crocodile Dundee on the Americans. That beign said while it was the US that made Steve Irwin popular he's pretty beloved by most of this country... crazy fucker that he was.

[amhorach]

The same is true of any culture: the weird parts are what people are interested in, because the familiar parts are what they can get at home.

I mean, when you were in Europe, did you check out the post offices, or did you go to the Bone Church?

[illdrinn]

Both :)

I think the thing that tends to get me about foreign approach to Australian culture is that I don't then follow that every Czech land owning family builds churches out of bones, but many people seem to assume we're all certifiably mad crocodile wrestling country bumpkins with accents that would strip wall paint and the Berserker merit 3 times over.

[amhorach]

Ok, bad example.

All Austrailians /do/ have horrible accents, they are just different. Fiend does have an accent that will strip wall paint, whereas you sound like a snobbish aristocrat. Both horrible =P

Likewise, all folks from the USA own guns and drive large SUVs. We have two guns in the house, but I don't own an SUV.