Harry Kim's promotion... or lack of it.

[Orphalesion]

How do you know he didn't?

Robert could have worked the chateau all day, then cooked dinner for the wife and kid.

Humans don't cook from scratch.

Well in the scene Picard calls her the :best cook in France" and she's like "Well Robert and I had many talks about a Replicator" and Robert is quick to put that idea down.
So it seems reasonable that she does all the cooking, has perhaps voiced that she wants a replicator and Robert told her to go back to the kitchen.

If any Europeans take that as an insult, you should - get your stuff together so it doesn't happen!

Why would it be bad for Europe if that happened? Most European countries with their limited/non-existant natural resources and small economies are no longer fit to stand on their own in a global market. If anything many Europeans are too stubborn to recognize the possibilities and advantages an even more unified Europe would grant them. Really the time to cling to an antiquated national identity is over in my opinion.
And the vote of the Scots to stick with the UK rather than leave it shows that at least they understand that the days of nation states are slowly passing. National pride won't help you if your economy takes a nosedive. And as hard as recessions hit large countries, they hit smaller ones even harder.

The US are a single entity, yet within this entity there are regional cultures that differ from one another and they all benefit from being part of a larger entity for defense and economical purposes.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

Mother wanted a replicator and Dad was a real dick about it.

PICARD: Leave it to Robert to find the best cook in France, then marry her.
ROBERT: Yes, but sadly cooking is becoming a lost art. That's your wretched technology again.
MARIE: Robert and I have had more than a few discussions about getting a replicator in the house.
PICARD: I remember the same discussions between mother and father.
ROBERT: Father understood better than anybody else the danger of losing those values which we hold most precious.
PICARD: I don't see that you have to lose anything just by adding a convenience.

I'm imaging that if a replicator senses "fire" that it would start vomiting retardant.

Not that that is really a problem the remaining Picards have to be so concerned about anymore.

I thought it was what it did when it sensed intelligence...

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I don't know, I thought traditionally the English hated everything about the French culture, except for the ones with sophisticated tastes of course...

 

[Mytran]

Well traditionally, England has been at war with France for most of the last thousand years!

But speaking as a modern Englishman (and a European) I for one can't see a downside to a more unified Europe. It's not like anyone is forcing us to abandon our countries' cultures. Which just makes the Picards' accents even weirder...

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

Well traditionally, England has been at war with France for most of the last thousand years!

But speaking as a modern Englishman (and a European) I for one can't see a downside to a more unified Europe. It's not like anyone is forcing us to abandon our countries' cultures. Which just makes the Picards' accents even weirder...

We have some great actors here. I wonder why they couldn't cast a real Frenchman for that role.

 

[Mytran]

As SFDEBRIS points out in his review, any foreign accent can serve as any other foreign accent to the mainstream American audience.

Although I do think Patrick Stewart is awesome (there may or may not be some English bias there )

 

[Orphalesion]

^ Nah, it's not bias Patrick Stewart is awesome. He had the dignified air needed for Picard.

I don't think his accent is really much of an issue, but theoretically it would have been just as easy to make him a Brit.

 

[MacLeod]

How do you know he didn't?

Robert could have worked the chateau all day, then cooked dinner for the wife and kid.

Humans don't cook from scratch.

Well in the scene Picard calls her the :best cook in France" and she's like "Well Robert and I had many talks about a Replicator" and Robert is quick to put that idea down.
So it seems reasonable that she does all the cooking, has perhaps voiced that she wants a replicator and Robert told her to go back to the kitchen.

If any Europeans take that as an insult, you should - get your stuff together so it doesn't happen!

Why would it be bad for Europe if that happened? Most European countries with their limited/non-existant natural resources and small economies are no longer fit to stand on their own in a global market. If anything many Europeans are too stubborn to recognize the possibilities and advantages an even more unified Europe would grant them. Really the time to cling to an antiquated national identity is over in my opinion.
And the vote of the Scots to stick with the UK rather than leave it shows that at least they understand that the days of nation states are slowly passing. National pride won't help you if your economy takes a nosedive. And as hard as recessions hit large countries, they hit smaller ones even harder.

The US are a single entity, yet within this entity there are regional cultures that differ from one another and they all benefit from being part of a larger entity for defense and economical purposes.

Or in the case of Scotland perhaps it was better the devil you know. And a lot of Scots (or rather people living in Scotland) voted for independance. It would be interesting to see how the vote would have gone if only people born in Scotland were allowed to vote. And I suspect that a great many of the estimate 800 000 Scots born people living and working in the rest of the UK would have voted to remain in the Union.

As for the EU, perhaps the real question facing it is what sort of EU does the population want? The recent EU elections showed an increase in EU sceptisim even in more pro-EU countries. Sure the economic downturn might have had an impact on that, but I would perhaps add that it is also a failure in part for our elected officals to engage with the population at large.

Yes the economic downturn hit some nations worse than others. Put if you look in the eurozone there is some resentment of the massive bailouts paid by some nations to others, and in those that were bailed out there is resentment about the austiry measures that they had to impliment in order to recieve the bailout.

Do I think the UK should withdraw from the EU - No

Do I think the EU needs reform - Yes

Do I think the UK (or other EU nations) should have a refeerendum on membership if they want - Yes, but that's simply democracy at work.

But I don't want to derail this thread into yet another EU debate.

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

^ Nah, it's not bias Patrick Stewart is awesome. He had the dignified air needed for Picard.

I don't think his accent is really much of an issue, but theoretically it would have been just as easy to make him a Brit.

Yeah, but for a series that boast a unified unprejudiced poly-cutural future. They could have given us an example of that when making the show itself and cast the real McCoy () instead of a make believe like they did for Chekov for example.

 

[bbjeg]

^ Nah, it's not bias Patrick Stewart is awesome...

 

[MacLeod]

^ Nah, it's not bias Patrick Stewart is awesome. He had the dignified air needed for Picard.

I don't think his accent is really much of an issue, but theoretically it would have been just as easy to make him a Brit.

Once they cast Patrick Stewart, I think they have changed Picard's nationality to British. Note that it really matters what nationality he was. But what would really have changed if they had changed his nationality to British?

Nothing really springs to mind, even coming from a family of wine producers is plausible.

 

[Orphalesion]

Once they cast Patrick Stewart, I think they have changed Picard's nationality to British. Note that it really matters what nationality he was. But what would really have changed if they had changed his nationality to British?

Nothing really springs to mind, even coming from a family of wine producers is plausible.

Well the name would have to be changed, but aside from that nothing really.

 

[JD5000]

In my personal experience, America isn't looked on very favorably by Europeans and an average European would take insult if one's home country or continent were to be compared to America. If present company is excluded, thanks, and I apologize for the stereotype.

What I always gathered with Picard's 'dubious' lineage is that Earth culture has been so homogenized by the 24th century that one's name or even country of origin (nation states aren't even supposed to exist politically at this point) doesn't necessarily indicate a distinct cultural identity. My last name is very French, but that's because of my grandparents....I'm pretty frickin American! I have fun with some of my Hispanic buddies though - I'm white, but a lot of their families have been in America longer than mine!

 

[Guy Gardener]

Countries are then like states/provinces.

In one future history Britain allows itself to be renamed "Air Strip One".

 

[MacLeod]

In my personal experience, America isn't looked on very favorably by Europeans and an average European would take insult if one's home country or continent were to be compared to America. If present company is excluded, thanks, and I apologize for the stereotype.

What I always gathered with Picard's 'dubious' lineage is that Earth culture has been so homogenized by the 24th century that one's name or even country of origin (nation states aren't even supposed to exist politically at this point) doesn't necessarily indicate a distinct cultural identity. My last name is very French, but that's because of my grandparents....I'm pretty frickin American! I have fun with some of my Hispanic buddies though - I'm white, but a lot of their families have been in America longer than mine!

I suspect the average European doesn't really think much about America (and to be clear I mean in the sense of in their everday thoughts).

 

[Guy Gardener]

I can see some snobbery and class warfare taking place between the Greeks who watch Dubbed American sitcoms, Subtitled American sitcoms and exactly the same sitcoms in the original English without subtitles.

 

[trekshark]

Mother wanted a replicator and Dad was a real dick about it.

PICARD: Leave it to Robert to find the best cook in France, then marry her.
ROBERT: Yes, but sadly cooking is becoming a lost art. That's your wretched technology again.
MARIE: Robert and I have had more than a few discussions about getting a replicator in the house.
PICARD: I remember the same discussions between mother and father.
ROBERT: Father understood better than anybody else the danger of losing those values which we hold most precious.
PICARD: I don't see that you have to lose anything just by adding a convenience.

I'm imaging that if a replicator senses "fire" that it would start vomiting retardant.

Not that that is really a problem the remaining Picards have to be so concerned about anymore.

one thing that bugged me about that is that I'm pretty sure a replicator can replicate raw food as well as cooked. So it's not like having one means you can't still cook

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

Mother wanted a replicator and Dad was a real dick about it.

PICARD: Leave it to Robert to find the best cook in France, then marry her.
ROBERT: Yes, but sadly cooking is becoming a lost art. That's your wretched technology again.
MARIE: Robert and I have had more than a few discussions about getting a replicator in the house.
PICARD: I remember the same discussions between mother and father.
ROBERT: Father understood better than anybody else the danger of losing those values which we hold most precious.
PICARD: I don't see that you have to lose anything just by adding a convenience.

I'm imaging that if a replicator senses "fire" that it would start vomiting retardant.

Not that that is really a problem the remaining Picards have to be so concerned about anymore.

one thing that bugged me about that is that I'm pretty sure a replicator can replicate raw food as well as cooked. So it's not like having one means you can't still cook

Picard's brother would object that it's not real food if it doesn't come from a live animal or plant.

 

[JD5000]

I suspect the average European doesn't really think much about America (and to be clear I mean in the sense of in their everday thoughts).

Ooooh, burn....well played, dear chap!

 

[Kobayshi Maru]

I suspect the average European doesn't really think much about America (and to be clear I mean in the sense of in their everday thoughts).

Ooooh, burn....well played, dear chap!

They're reminded of America when they use their TV sets. Many programs come from there.