The Off Topic Topic

[Sheilbh]

If you're anywhere near the north of the country let me know.

Thanks!

I've actually already booked and I am basically just in Lisbon and Cascais. I basically booked it all the second we were told that you could go on holiday to the Green List countries and I wanted a break near the sea in very Brit style

[The Larch]

If you're anywhere near the north of the country let me know.

Thanks!

I've actually already booked and I am basically just in Lisbon and Cascais. I basically booked it all the second we were told that you could go on holiday to the Green List countries and I wanted a break near the sea in very Brit style

Well, that's a bit too far away for me to do a quick visit.  Enjoy your time there and let us know how much you enjoy the place. 

[Duque de Bragança]

If you're anywhere near the north of the country let me know.

Thanks!

I've actually already booked and I am basically just in Lisbon and Cascais. I basically booked it all the second we were told that you could go on holiday to the Green List countries and I wanted a break near the sea in very Brit style

With some time through Byron's Glorious Eden Sintra I guess. 

[Josquius]

Stagnation

Edit: I think I've mentioned it before but I also always notice this watching films and TV shows from all over. There is a point - my theory is it's the mid 2000s and the introduction of smartphones - where there's just more of a flattening of aesthetics - things start to look the same/come from the same palate and we are still living in that moment. I think it's really striking if you then watch, say Goldeneye v For Your Eyes Only or any film from 2000 v a film from 1986. The difference is just so much more stark and diverse (UK looks different from the US etc) compared to now v 2008.

I'd argue its a good thing that fighter plane development has stagnated. Developing planes to fight other planes isn't exactly a great use of resources.

As to a genericisation across the world- yes. This has definitely happened and its really sad.
The root of the problem here lies in the positive factor that design is beginning to enter every aspect of life and optimising things. No longer do you have America doing things one way and Germany another and both are equally valid, instead there's the way that has been shown to work best and nationalist fuckwits who insist on doing something different to be awkward.
Though that it even goes into less measurable aspects of life is sad. I miss little things like how in Japan McDonalds used to be written in kana.

[Sheilbh]

I know that this mainly comes up in the context of culture wars and the National Trust who are similarly eviscerating their expert staff - but this sort of thing really enrages me. Nothing makes me more small-c conservative


I don't understand the purpose of things like the National Trust and the V&A as part of our national culture - whether it's gardens, stately homes, paintings, fashion collections - if they have so little interest in the conservation/cultural side of it and primarily seem to want to run corporate event spaces and retailers

As I say with the National Trust I'm 90% sure the "culture war" stuff is very helpful for the management who fired all of their curators and made them re-apply for their jobs as well as hugely re-structuring them to reduce the number, and the depth of expertise and are currently trying to close a number of properties so they're only open on special events while a "core" of ten properties are open year round. But because they've included some - laudable - stuff on improving information around slavery and other really important context which gets attacked by Tory MPs they're able to dismiss all critics - including a lot of current (for now) curators as fuddy-dudddy conservatives/culture warriors - which is a narrative that then gets picked up in the Guardian and Telegraph

I genuinely think in 20-30 years time we'll look at this (and especially the amount of stuff that's going into storage to open up space for events) as very wrong-headed.

With some time through Byron's Glorious Eden Sintra I guess. 

Probs not. I'm doing as little as I can.

Normally when I travel/holiday I like to do and see a lot if I can. This time I have far lower expectations of myself

[HVC]

Go up to Nazare. only an hour and a half away from lisbon

[Grey Fox]

I've fallen into the youtube lawn care video trap.

Not learning how to care for your lawn but professional lawn care people doing their job & putting it on youtube.

Send help.

[Duque de Bragança]

Go up to Nazare. only an hour and a half away from lisbon

Sheilbh is not into surfing.

[HVC]

Go up to Nazare. only an hour and a half away from lisbon

Sheilbh is not into surfing.

There's other stuff there too The church is beautiful and the beaches and food is good hah

[HVC]

also, for some reason i think he might really enjoy the funicular.

[Sheilbh]

also, for some reason i think he might really enjoy the funicular.

I LOVE a funicular

But I might not make it. I'm basically in Lisbon for an afternoon and then Cascais

Edit: Obvs I will go back to Portugal - I love Porto and Lisbon

[Josquius]

Sintra was nice. Though I remember it being inhumanly hot.

[The Larch]

Sintra was nice. Though I remember it being inhumanly hot.

So, 28º? 

[Liep]

Sintra was nice. Though I remember it being inhumanly hot.

So, 28º? 

Reminds me, how warm is it around Galicia in August? 28 tops, right?

[The Larch]

Sintra was nice. Though I remember it being inhumanly hot.

So, 28º? 

Reminds me, how warm is it around Galicia in August? 28 tops, right?

Depends on the year, t can get ocasionally into the low 30s, but not much more than that.