Doesn't scare me dafydd, it's just good fun to watch cause I'm convinced you could conduct that kind of a survey in absolutely any country & come up with just as many dumb answers!
There is a mongrel race in most countries who's eyes look no further than the "american" MTV culture of hot dogs, tattoo's, body piercings, fast food, fast cars, skating, heavy metal, gangsta rap music, ott bling and hideous clothing that barely sits on the body. Current affairs unfortunatley is too real for them to even acknowledge let alone have a genuine opinion.
Take 10 idiots from suburban London and ask them
1. Who was the fúhrer ?
2. Who won the vietnam war ?
3. Who owns Northern Ireland ?
4. Who was prince charles's 1st Mrs. ?
5. Where is Newport ?
6. What was the mans sirname who invented McDonalds ?
7. How many consulants are in the english alphabet ?
8. What is 20% in a fraction ?
9. Who was Gearge W Bush's father ?
10. Name any 4 islands off britains coastline that are part of the uk
They will meet you with an open mouthed blank stare in the fashion of dubya when he is put on the spot with just as equally challenging questions
Ah, first of all, let me sincerely apologize for the idiocy of my fellow compatriots. I offer no excuses. Except that I too do not know who was the fifth man on the moon.
This does, however, give me a reason to direct you all to one of my favorite websites, which is actually non-political, despite the main subject (I look at it as an anthropological study):
It's "frightening" that I have so little to do but I've worked out that the fifth man was probably Allan Shepherd who also was the first man to hit a golf ball up there.
Two astronauts from each mission landed on the moon while the third looked after the main space ship.
Lovell didn't make it as the Apollo 13 mission had to be aborted.
Kennedy, FWIW, the interviewer asks "who was the first man on the moon", not the fifth. That's an Aussie accent. Aussies don't pronounce the "r" in "first". The program is CNNNN http://www.cnnnn.com/. The same guys do a show called the Chasers War On Everything which is also quite amusing. Their Nicorette ad send-up is particularly memorable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0PLPEGN2l8.
It sounded like "fifth" to me too but I'd better not say anything about Aussies, Americans, or even Geordies and their accents or else you'll accuse me of being racist again.
Quite right, Noxious. The answer to Nº 7 is obviously "none".
Perhaps a spelling quiz (taking into account the UK and US variations) would reveal some literacy horrors that are too often glossed over as "typing errors".
If we were as careless with numbers as some people are with letters, imagine the chaos that would ensue.
"tattoo's, body piercings, fast food, fast cars, skating, heavy metal, gangsta rap music, ott bling and hideous clothing that barely sits on the body" - watch it, Calico! - you're closely describing the audience on our session nights and possibly some of the players!
Well, I guess I've crossed the line with my non-music related link above and offended some people here. I sincerely apologize and have learned my lesson. Too bad there's not a delete button on this site.
I found it frightening because those people are allowed to vote.
How smart do you have to be to figure out that the Berlin Wall was in Berlin and that Kentucky Fried Chicken comes from Kentucky.I live near Antwerp (in Belgium for our American friends) and I've just been out shopping and everyone I asked knew the answers to those two questions.A friend of mine hails from California and when she phoned her mum to tell her that she'd moved to Belgium said mother asked "which country is that in?" I always suspected a a large proportion of the population of the USA were not the brightest buttons in the box,but some of the answers were beyond belief.It came as a bit of a shock because all the Americans that I know over here are intelligent,interesting people.I read somewhere that only 10 percent of Americans have a passport.
W T F has this got to do with music anyway there are 100's of things to gripe over in the world but is this ole yella board the place to air them ? I remember getting a yellow card from jez for accidently posting a thread about a particular session here instead of in the appropriate department. Please tell me the relevence this thread has to anything this site stands for. It is closely becoming the youtube forum there should be a sub category named media files for this sort of thing.
I often find that Europeans are shocked that Americans don’t
know much about geographically tiny countries in Europe but
when you reverse It and ask about them about small countries
outside of Europe they are equally as ignorant.
Our European leaders have shown that they can match
anyone when it comes to stupidity and bad decisions….and
believe me there are plenty of kids this side of the Atlantic
wasting their brains on dumbed down TV etc.
This bullsh*t mentality is the same that leads people to come
out with utter shidt like “you have to be Irish to play ITM properly”
<Quote> This bullsh*t mentality is the same that leads people to come out with utter shidt like “you have to be Irish to play ITM properly” </Quote>
You may laugh but during the war the Nazis enforced such things, including categorisation of instruments (for instance a Mandolin could only be used for playing Italian music).
I also agree that it was the first man on the moon not the fifth. Asking who the fifth man on the moon was is a bit more obscure than who was the first (which you might expect most people to know). But did any of them play folk music (not that you would have heard it with no atmosphere (no jokes please - we've heard them already)
The moon landing was faked, to annoy the Russians, so one person was right. However considering someone thought it was a Russian, it shows you how big a waste of money and space (no pun intended) the space race was.
As to the relevance to this site? Well when people submit threads worrying about playing on stage or such, just remember that this tape is an example of a standard modern audience. How could you be nervous anymore.
ok I am not English or American but I know that any kiwi who doesnt know 95% of those questions would be ashamed of themselves. The responses although they are edited are very very scary nevertheless.
the responses are not scarey nor should anybody apologize for them...pick anybody on any given day, ask a series of questions and they are going to not get them all correct...edit it all together and you have propaganda...just ask G. Bush and Fox News....what is there to apologize for????
If you filmed 10 dopey irish musicians not being able to answer these they would hit the roof because they are a sensitive species and go on the defensive a little too easily.
1. What key is the bucks of oranmore usually played in
2. How do you tune a guitar to dadgad
3. Name 3 popular keys irish music is played in
4. What instrument does kevin burke play
5. Who wrote dennis murphys polka
6. Spell uiellean pipes
7. What instrument do you play with a knife
8. What instrument does a failed fiddler play
9. Name 2 members present or former of the dubliners
10. How many finger holes does a tin whistle have
Looking down my tune list I can see some very important unanswered questions:
Who was Merrily and why did she kiss the Quaker?
What exactly did Jenny do to welcome Charley?
Why are Tinkers either jolly or yellow?
Why did the hair fall off my coconut?
What exactly is Fanny Power?
And......What exactly was the Clinking that Jenny got on the way to the Fair ?
What were the dogs doing among the bushes ?
Who was rolling in the rye grass, and why ?
I feel that knowing the answers to these questions would greatly enhance our playing of the tunes.
Interesting list of questions by Ripthecalico. A failed fiddler invariably goes on playing the fiddle. Irish music is all too often played in Eb, Ab and D minor (nothing against that, it just makes it hard to play along with album tracks...). Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners was really Mary O'Hara in a false beard. Denis Murphy's Polka was probably written and called after him by the other one, i.e. O'Keefe...
it would not be hard to find 10 candidates for these questions all be that they are usually steamed up a little too much, now that would make quality tv I dont know about frightening
Essex is right a bit from Wessex, where you and I live ... I think ... though either you, or I, or both, might live in Mercia, I suppose ... oh dear, my head hurts now ...
"Dafydd, most of those people don't vote anyway. Only about 50% of Americans bother to vote.
But you'll find that many democracies are that way anyway. Voting percentages are nowhere near 100% in most European countries, Australia, etc."
Voting is compulsory in Australia at all levels of government; you get in a lot of trouble for not voting so I would imagine voting rates would be very near 100% in Australia.
Anyway, there are glaring errors in 8 of your 10 questions, and several more in the remainder of your message. Normally I wouldn't point this sort of thing out in a discussion group, but when you set yourself up as a judge of other people's level of ignorance I think you make yourself fair game.
Frightening
Frightening
I don't know about you but this scares me.
http://dailyuploads.com/americansgetquizzedonworldaffairs/
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by dafydd
Re: Frightening
It doesn't surprise me, though. To be fair, we don't know how many people answered the questions correctly. They only show the failures.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Johnny Jay
Re: Frightening
Doesn't scare me dafydd, it's just good fun to watch cause I'm convinced you could conduct that kind of a survey in absolutely any country & come up with just as many dumb answers!
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Ptarmigan
Re: Frightening
As they say
"Only in America"
There is a mongrel race in most countries who's eyes look no further than the "american" MTV culture of hot dogs, tattoo's, body piercings, fast food, fast cars, skating, heavy metal, gangsta rap music, ott bling and hideous clothing that barely sits on the body. Current affairs unfortunatley is too real for them to even acknowledge let alone have a genuine opinion.
Take 10 idiots from suburban London and ask them
1. Who was the fúhrer ?
2. Who won the vietnam war ?
3. Who owns Northern Ireland ?
4. Who was prince charles's 1st Mrs. ?
5. Where is Newport ?
6. What was the mans sirname who invented McDonalds ?
7. How many consulants are in the english alphabet ?
8. What is 20% in a fraction ?
9. Who was Gearge W Bush's father ?
10. Name any 4 islands off britains coastline that are part of the uk
They will meet you with an open mouthed blank stare in the fashion of dubya when he is put on the spot with just as equally challenging questions
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Frightening
What's a consulant?
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Dr. Dow
Re: Frightening
Ah, first of all, let me sincerely apologize for the idiocy of my fellow compatriots. I offer no excuses. Except that I too do not know who was the fifth man on the moon.
This does, however, give me a reason to direct you all to one of my favorite websites, which is actually non-political, despite the main subject (I look at it as an anthropological study):
http://www.bushorchimp.com/
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by kennedy
Re: Frightening
I don't know either. Could it have been Lovell or Shepherd?
Obviously, it was the flight after the first landing as there were three astronauts in each mssion.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Johnny Jay
Re: Frightening
It's "frightening" that I have so little to do but I've worked out that the fifth man was probably Allan Shepherd who also was the first man to hit a golf ball up there.
Two astronauts from each mission landed on the moon while the third looked after the main space ship.
Lovell didn't make it as the Apollo 13 mission had to be aborted.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/6/newsid_4093000/4093061.stm
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Johnny Jay
Re: Frightening
Newport is in Tipperary, Mayo, South Wales, Rhode Island, Oregon, California....etc!
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by RockyRoader
Re: Frightening
There's a Newport in Essex too.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Dr. Dow
Re: Frightening
Kennedy, FWIW, the interviewer asks "who was the first man on the moon", not the fifth. That's an Aussie accent. Aussies don't pronounce the "r" in "first". The program is CNNNN http://www.cnnnn.com/. The same guys do a show called the Chasers War On Everything which is also quite amusing. Their Nicorette ad send-up is particularly memorable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0PLPEGN2l8.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Dr. Dow
Re: Frightening
It sounded like "fifth" to me too but I'd better not say anything about Aussies, Americans, or even Geordies and their accents or else you'll accuse me of being racist again.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Johnny Jay
Re: Frightening
Well, if it had been a Scotsman asking the question, there would have been no confusion between "first" and "fifth", that's for sure!
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by kennedy
Re: Frightening
Quite right, Noxious. The answer to Nº 7 is obviously "none".
Perhaps a spelling quiz (taking into account the UK and US variations) would reveal some literacy horrors that are too often glossed over as "typing errors".
If we were as careless with numbers as some people are with letters, imagine the chaos that would ensue.
Rant over
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by murfbox
Re: Frightening
"tattoo's, body piercings, fast food, fast cars, skating, heavy metal, gangsta rap music, ott bling and hideous clothing that barely sits on the body" - watch it, Calico! - you're closely describing the audience on our session nights and possibly some of the players!
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by RichardB
Re: Frightening
Well, I guess I've crossed the line with my non-music related link above and offended some people here. I sincerely apologize and have learned my lesson. Too bad there's not a delete button on this site.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by kennedy
Re: Frightening
I found it frightening because those people are allowed to vote.
How smart do you have to be to figure out that the Berlin Wall was in Berlin and that Kentucky Fried Chicken comes from Kentucky.I live near Antwerp (in Belgium for our American friends) and I've just been out shopping and everyone I asked knew the answers to those two questions.A friend of mine hails from California and when she phoned her mum to tell her that she'd moved to Belgium said mother asked "which country is that in?" I always suspected a a large proportion of the population of the USA were not the brightest buttons in the box,but some of the answers were beyond belief.It came as a bit of a shock because all the Americans that I know over here are intelligent,interesting people.I read somewhere that only 10 percent of Americans have a passport.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by dafydd
Re: Frightening
Dafydd, most of those people don't vote anyway. Only about 50% of Americans bother to vote.
But you'll find that many democracies are that way anyway. Voting percentages are nowhere near 100% in most European countries, Australia, etc.
I swear this is my last non-music post.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by kennedy
Re: Frightening
W T F has this got to do with music anyway there are 100's of things to gripe over in the world but is this ole yella board the place to air them ? I remember getting a yellow card from jez for accidently posting a thread about a particular session here instead of in the appropriate department. Please tell me the relevence this thread has to anything this site stands for. It is closely becoming the youtube forum there should be a sub category named media files for this sort of thing.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Frightening
I often find that Europeans are shocked that Americans don’t
know much about geographically tiny countries in Europe but
when you reverse It and ask about them about small countries
outside of Europe they are equally as ignorant.
Our European leaders have shown that they can match
anyone when it comes to stupidity and bad decisions….and
believe me there are plenty of kids this side of the Atlantic
wasting their brains on dumbed down TV etc.
This bullsh*t mentality is the same that leads people to come
out with utter shidt like “you have to be Irish to play ITM properly”
Frightening really.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by BegF
Re: Frightening
<Quote> This bullsh*t mentality is the same that leads people to come out with utter shidt like “you have to be Irish to play ITM properly” </Quote>
You may laugh but during the war the Nazis enforced such things, including categorisation of instruments (for instance a Mandolin could only be used for playing Italian music).
I also agree that it was the first man on the moon not the fifth. Asking who the fifth man on the moon was is a bit more obscure than who was the first (which you might expect most people to know). But did any of them play folk music (not that you would have heard it with no atmosphere (no jokes please - we've heard them already)
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by JonB
Re: Frightening
The moon landing was faked, to annoy the Russians, so one person was right. However considering someone thought it was a Russian, it shows you how big a waste of money and space (no pun intended) the space race was.
As to the relevance to this site? Well when people submit threads worrying about playing on stage or such, just remember that this tape is an example of a standard modern audience. How could you be nervous anymore.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by bodhran bliss
Re: Frightening
ok I am not English or American but I know that any kiwi who doesnt know 95% of those questions would be ashamed of themselves. The responses although they are edited are very very scary nevertheless.
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Joze
Re: Frightening
More than one bodhran in a session, where at least one is incompetent. Ditto guitarists. (Let's get this one back on track!)
# Posted on November 1st 2006 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Frightening
I know you were kidding, Bod Bliss, but if you weren't, please stop inhaling that stuff...
# Posted on November 2nd 2006 by Farr
Re: Frightening
the responses are not scarey nor should anybody apologize for them...pick anybody on any given day, ask a series of questions and they are going to not get them all correct...edit it all together and you have propaganda...just ask G. Bush and Fox News....what is there to apologize for????
# Posted on November 2nd 2006 by Sunnybear
Re: Frightening
If you filmed 10 dopey irish musicians not being able to answer these they would hit the roof because they are a sensitive species and go on the defensive a little too easily.
1. What key is the bucks of oranmore usually played in
2. How do you tune a guitar to dadgad
3. Name 3 popular keys irish music is played in
4. What instrument does kevin burke play
5. Who wrote dennis murphys polka
6. Spell uiellean pipes
7. What instrument do you play with a knife
8. What instrument does a failed fiddler play
9. Name 2 members present or former of the dubliners
10. How many finger holes does a tin whistle have
# Posted on November 2nd 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Frightening
Looking down my tune list I can see some very important unanswered questions:
Who was Merrily and why did she kiss the Quaker?
What exactly did Jenny do to welcome Charley?
Why are Tinkers either jolly or yellow?
Why did the hair fall off my coconut?
What exactly is Fanny Power?
# Posted on November 2nd 2006 by RichardB
Re: Frightening
And......What exactly was the Clinking that Jenny got on the way to the Fair ?
What were the dogs doing among the bushes ?
Who was rolling in the rye grass, and why ?
I feel that knowing the answers to these questions would greatly enhance our playing of the tunes.
# Posted on November 2nd 2006 by murfbox
Re: Frightening
Interesting list of questions by Ripthecalico. A failed fiddler invariably goes on playing the fiddle. Irish music is all too often played in Eb, Ab and D minor (nothing against that, it just makes it hard to play along with album tracks...). Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners was really Mary O'Hara in a false beard. Denis Murphy's Polka was probably written and called after him by the other one, i.e. O'Keefe...
# Posted on November 2nd 2006 by nicholas
Re: Frightening
it would not be hard to find 10 candidates for these questions all be that they are usually steamed up a little too much, now that would make quality tv I dont know about frightening
# Posted on November 2nd 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Frightening
"Newport is in Tipperary, Mayo, South Wales, Rhode Island, Oregon, California....etc!"
...Kildare, Shropshire...
The Isle of Wight would have been the most economical answer, since it could constitute a quarter of the answer to question 10 as well.
# Posted on November 2nd 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Frightening
I don't even know where Essex is. Still, obviously I've not missed much!
# Posted on November 4th 2006 by Mark Harmer
Re: Frightening
Hi Mark
Essex is right a bit from Wessex, where you and I live ... I think ... though either you, or I, or both, might live in Mercia, I suppose ... oh dear, my head hurts now ...
# Posted on November 4th 2006 by ethical blend
Re: Frightening
About question 6 in the first set of questions. Just a wee something interesting (or not) McDonalds was founded by a guy named Ray Croc.
# Posted on November 5th 2006 by buttercup chucklechunks
Re: Frightening
Essex was.
# Posted on November 5th 2006 by nicholas
Re: Frightening
"Dafydd, most of those people don't vote anyway. Only about 50% of Americans bother to vote.
But you'll find that many democracies are that way anyway. Voting percentages are nowhere near 100% in most European countries, Australia, etc."
Voting is compulsory in Australia at all levels of government; you get in a lot of trouble for not voting so I would imagine voting rates would be very near 100% in Australia.
# Posted on November 6th 2006 by kjay_bc_box
Re: Frightening
What exactly do you mean by a "mongrel race" Rip?
Anyway, there are glaring errors in 8 of your 10 questions, and several more in the remainder of your message. Normally I wouldn't point this sort of thing out in a discussion group, but when you set yourself up as a judge of other people's level of ignorance I think you make yourself fair game.
# Posted on November 6th 2006 by Bernie 29