I went to Kyoto and there are a large number of companies there who will dress you up in traditional costume for a day. You can dress up in a nice kimono, but for a higher price, you can dress up like a maiko or geiko. Any geishas you would meet in the streets would actually be dressed up tourists. I went and dressed…

Great! One of the better sites on the net! Welcome in the fold!

I remember I visited a museum in Luxor, Egypt where the attendants had come up with a nice cure for this. Whenever a tourist touched one of the granite sculptures they came down on them in a a group and demanded a fine. Under threat of calling the police and a jail sentence, the tourist would have no choice other…

Emma Frost is doing that whole super villain thing again.

Nobody really defends these, it’s just that they have kind of always been there, and the cities that have them are not sure what to do with them. That is one big difference between the US and the Belgian situation. In the US there are apparently plenty of people willing to defend the Confederacy. But I’ve never heard…

Well he needs love. Looking in all the wrong places...

the mental gymnastics some people can perform are quite impressive!

Yeah, there are a few. They are very controversial, and get vandalized a lot. Ostend has this monstrosity called “Gratitude of the Congolese people to Leopold II for freeing them from Arab slavery”. Seriously. Somebody sawed of the hand of one of the Africans to bring it more in line with reality, and the city placed…

The symbols are destroyed in an attempt to stamp out the beliefs they stand for. In some cases, this leads to terrible loss...

good pick, wonderful album!

good pick, wonderful album!

Good to see that there is something we can do and there is a way back to a better environment. This I think every time I see a white stork- which now is often! Back from the brink of extinction. Nature is strong and finds a way back when given half a chance.

I read about that and it horrified me. You will always be considered a second rate Jew because of circumstances beyond your control. It is a saddening word.

I live in Antwerp, which has a large Jewish community, and I see some if this first hand. As usual, the problem is not culture or religion, but extremism. There is a small but highly visible section of Jewish society who are so extreme in their customs that Salafism pales in comparison.

Kind of disappointed that they cast two males for two non-gendered characters. But at least they are good actors. Great book, I hope they do it justice.

The anonymity of the internet makes that very difficult, while putting out accusations against random people is extremely easy. As I said, I’m not against naming and shaming Nazis, but please be extremely careful with the sources and do not share anything that is not thoroughly confirmed. This could backfire. We need…

Potentially very dangerous as people are likely to be misidentified. I like the sentiment behind it, but this can lead to innocent people being victimized. What can we do to avoid this?

Same thing for me I think. But at least you have my star :)

Dutch person piping in. Yes, I definitely jumped rope a lot as a kid. It was a big thing in the 70's when I was a kid. Not sure if it still is. There were songs that went with it, and sometimes two ropes were used.

You sound like a real joy to be around.

I’m not sure about the breweries, but I can confirm that there are no geckos in the Netherlands (apart from a few pets). Northern Europe gets a raw deal when it comes to reptiles. There are few.