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Changing your name in Germany and Austria (and probably in other European countries) requires you to go through courts as well. Welp, it wouldn't take 5 years, but it's pretty expensive, considering the fact that you have to change all personal documents from birth certificate to passports. And...

I've never heard about these deed polls, very interesting. Central European law practice does not know unilateral contracts that are binding to third parties, at least I am not aware of such a construction. At first glance it's obvious why most governments are not in favor of such deed polls...

> And cannabis itself might not be that bad, but i think there's a > very thin line between trying soft-drugs and trying hard-drugs. That's a very good point! @ fast food Probably food chains will soon be forced to add labels to each burger warning of potential health risks (I think we had...

> I don't see why the authorities try so hard to care > about people's health. With all due respect to liberal political views, I think that there are public functions that should remain under governmental control by all means: water supply, electricity, postal services and in particular...

It seems to be a common trend nowadays to decriminalize/legalize so-called soft drugs (such as cannabis). It's certainly a step in the right direction. In most European countries drug offences involving cannabis are no longer prosecuted, as long as the amount in question can still be justified...

I'm also using a jumble of BE and AmE and try to read as much as possible in order to iron out netphrases/netspeech/neticisms. Reading offline, that is. :)

Highly interesting, thanks for the links, I'll have a closer look at them. Isn't that simply "lingua vulgaris" aka slang? I doubt that any ivy league prof orders a "caacktail". :)

Being a non-native English speaker, I found the following article quite interesting (taken from another board): = = = = = = = = There are different stories for different groups of words. The standardization of English spelling was a long, slow process, extending over centuries and full of...

Interesting ancestry... :) My family also originates from Northern Germany, being Lutheran makes them part of a very small minority in Austria.

As Moyashi pointed out, they usually gossip among each other. That's the reason we end up online at bulletin boards. ;)

I tend to believe it's a question of character. I am just reading a book by Allan & Barbara Pease entitled "Why Men Don't Listen & Women Can't Read Maps", in Japanese.

In Egypt, generally considered a moderate Islamic country with close ties to Western countries, people are boycotting U.S. food chains since long - mainly as a protest against U.S. support of Israel. Chains like McDonalds, Burger King and KFC are in the red while local food stores thrive. I...

True, Europe isn't one, and it won't be so soon. The United States of Europe are a common goal, but at the moment it's still utopia. On the other hand, look at European history since the days of Robert Schumann: the pace of integration is definitely increasing: Maastricht, Schengen, Nice and now...

U.S. has plan to occupy Iraq using Japan postwar model => http://home.kyodo.co.jp/all/display.jsp?an=20021011136 So will Tenno Saddam remain in power?

I think most Arabs can handle the Egyptian dialect as Egypt is the largest producer of movies in the Arab world ("Hollywood on the Nile"). :) 20 programming languages... wow, that's impressive. Wish I'd be literate in at least one, lol.

I was intrigued by his hairstyle during the world cup, but I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose. :)

Hehe, wait until you get a postcard from Turkey too. :)

Beckham's out, ladies. The latest fad are journeys to Turkey, in order to meet Ilhan Mansiz, the Turkish Stud, erm, Samurai. Female football fans find Turkish delight new flavor of the month "Monthly tours to meet Ilhan in Turkey that the company set up are booked out from November through to...

Hehe, I'm not as proficient, but according to Maciamo's scale I'd classify my language skills as follows: 5.. German, English 4.. French 2.. Arabic 1.. Farsi Although I'm studying Japanese (quite infrequently), I'm not counting it in, as I'd be too shy to use it even in daily situation. :)

Seiji-san directed the last New Year's Concert, which is usually attended by many Japanese coming to Vienna only for the concert (tickets have to be reserved years in advance). So the Ozawa clan is all music. :)