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So.... Reclaim Australia related post ahead. I’m just going to casually chuck this behind a read more. Sorry folks, but it’s a long post.

First thing’s first. The Lindt Cafe tragedy. It was terrible, but the person behind it shouldn’t have been on the street in the first place. He had been charged with being an accessory to murder his ex wife and with 40 counts of sexual assault. He was obviously dangerous. But he wasn’t dangerous because of his beliefs. He would have been just as dangerous if he had been a christian, a catholic, or a jewish person. He had schizophrenia. Which isn’t by itself a bad thing, but considering his behavior he shouldn’t have been allowed to live in the community. His disorder may have contributed to his horrific behavior, but it would never excuse it, and he should have been institutionalised or arrested at his first charges.

In the end, it was one person. One person who was not mentally well. Reclaim Australia’s leaders, as seen on Sunday Night, consider the sins of one person, to be representative of a wide group of people. Most neurotypical muslims would never behave like this. Most neurotypical people would not behave like this. (And to be honest, most non-neurotypical people wouldn't behave like this either. Just in case any dickheads want to argue for expelling schizophrenics from Australia now.)

As well as that, I find fault with trying to bring Australia back to it’s “original values”, because it is such a vague statement. Even back when I was a kid, there were so many different ways to be Australian. There were so many people here from different cultures. People who had immigrated from Germany, from Italy, from China, from Japan, from America. From everywhere.

Heck, back before I was born, there were still people from other cultures here. During the Gold Rush in Bendigo and Barthurst, there were Chinese people hoping to get rich. In the 1860′s, there were Afghan people who rode camels through the desert. (Most of which were Sikhs, but some were Muslims.) There were also New Caladonians brought across as indentured workers for the sugar cain industry in Queensland. Australia has never been white. Even if we are the majority, there have always been other cultures and faiths here. (And that’s not even including the indigenous population. I’m sure they’d have a very different idea of Australia’s “original values” than Reclaim Australia does.)

So.... what are the original values we are supposed to be bringing back? And why should one group have ultimate veto over what a wide variety of people want? You aren’t our parliament, at least with them we can say we voted them in to represent us. Who voted for you to?

Honestly, I just don’t want to see this country stagnating as a culture out of fear. One, because if we do that we lose chances to grow as people, and two, because that means the terrorists win. They want us to be afraid. They want us to reject our Muslim neighbors, because it turns out, when you are constantly rejected, it makes it easier for people to radicalise you. Who would’ve thought it?

tl;dr, Reclaim Australia is basing their ideology off one example, that was primarily caused by mental illness and a failure of our court system. They also have very little to “reclaim.” We haven’t lost Australia. Australia is a shifting culture. It has always shifted and always will. Trying to cling to the past will just damage our success in the future. I completely support keeping extremists off the street, but most muslims are not extremists. And punishing people for crimes they haven’t committed is pretty un-Australian, right?

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I think the thing that annoys me most about people defending Sarah Nyberg by saying that she was just joking, is that they are usually feminists.

Apparently, they never got the memo about rape jokes. Or if they did, can not understand how pedophilia jokes can be similar to rape jokes.

To anyone who’s confused. This post has a pretty good sum up of what I’m talking about. (Though it uses the 1/6 statistic, the central message still holds up in my opinion.)

Basically, rape jokes can create atmospheres where rapists feel as if what they want to do is okay, can make them feel like they have allies on their side. And someone who’s making rape jokes might never want to hurt anyone, might just be making them for the cringy edgelord value. They could also be making them to test the waters. To see if they are supported, or shut down.

This is, from my experiences, true with jokes about pedophilia. Someone joking about it might have no interest in children whatsoever. They may also be trying to hide their interest behind a laugh, checking to see who laughs with them.

That’s what Sarah Nyberg did for so many years. Why else would a ‘joke’ go on for 3 or more years?

And why I mentioned personal experience? Because when I was 16 to 17 years old, I was a member of a forum and chatroom that had a admin and another poster usually joking about rape and pedophilia. (I’d also been lurking there since i was 13 years old.) They’d joke in the forum about raping a young character. They’d joke in the chatroom and have rp’s about it. (I remember one where they were on the side to find and rape said character. Me and another user were on the side trying to hide her and protect her. All fun and games at the time, it was all so edgy.) And before the imageboard got deleted, the admin’d joke on there too.

But y’know, it’s all a joke. Nothing serious. Everyone would laugh. I know I did.

And then it got serious. And it was no longer a joke. 

I left at 17 because I realised, despite them being my friends, I could no longer be around them. They were dangerous. And staying there would have caused me so many problems. Even back then, it was causing me problems. I couldn’t sleep at night properly. I knew what was going on was wrong, but wanted to not be the friend who ditched. I wanted to keep trying. But in the end I couldn’t and was just left feeling guilty. I ditched my DA too, because it was linked to the forum and people from there knew about it and would be able to follow me there.

It took a long fucking time to realise. And I prefer not to think about those years personally.

This was all about 4 years ago. Sarah Nyberg and the admin from the site I visited when I was a teen..... They don’t sound too different. Not different at all.

Do any of the people defending her wonder about the other people in the room? The kids who would have surely visited the forum at least sometimes? The teens (And I’m not talking '20 years old- yet still calling myself a teenager in a article’ teenagers- I’m talking about the real deal.) who would have seen the posts, who would have probably looked up to her regardless because she was a fucking admin? Because she owned a site they used that was dedicated to a game they liked?

Would you defend a rapist? Or someone who constantly said rape jokes, and revealed they wanted to rape a neighbor in a chatroom? No?

Then why is anyone defending Sarah Nyberg?

(Also, if people could please quit pretending it’s only gaters that want to see consequences for Sarah, that’d be wonderful.)

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If you don’t want to hear a bunch of stupid things said about bisexual women, don’t read this. If you want to read it and then let the writer know how obtuse she is…well, you know what to do.

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I think men overall just don’t understand that we cannot stop the blood. If there’s nothing to collect it, it’s going everywhere. Everyone can hold a shit, can hold a piss, and can hold back sex, until it’s convenient. When we bleed there is just no stopping it. It doesn’t matter if there’s nothing to catch the blood, it will keep coming.

That’s why this free-tampon discussion is over your heads. You don’t get it. You can compare it to toilet paper or condoms all you want but we all have control over those things. When we bleed, we keep bleeding until it’s done. There’s no clenching or muscle training that will keep us from bleeding everywhere.

So stop talking about what you don’t understand. If condoms can be free, so can tampons.

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This article made me so sad. My parents got married right before the civil war in El Salvador. My dad came here in 1979, right before my brother was born. He looked for a job for six months in San Diego, before his sister found him something in New York. He found an apartment and worked for 3 years. My mother would write him and tell him about the bodies that littered the porch and yard almost every night. He saved enough money to go back to El Salvador, hire a couple of coyotes and bring my mother and brother home.

My mom had no idea he was coming. She was hanging laundry and my brother was playing with his toys when my father showed up. “It’s time to go,” he said. My mother looked at him and the two men with him. She nodded. This was real. She scooped up my brother and barely had time to say goodbye to her family before they were on their way.

They made it to Guadalajara by bus, the most luxurious leg of their trip. They made the rest of their way by foot. My mom, my dad, the coyotes, and my brother who was only 3 at the time.

They made their way through desert and jungle, mostly at night. There’s one part of the story my mom tells over and over, recalling every detail like it was yesterday. They had reached a cliff that dropped about 20 feet. The only way around it was to jump it. My mom, having carried my brother most of the way put him down as she watched one of the coyotes and my dad jump. “Jump,” the other one said to her. “No. No. I’ll go back. This is too much. I’d rather go back,” she was frightened but she did not cry. “This is your only choice,” the man told her. “I am not jumping that with my son. Leave. I’ll go back.” The man stared at her. She was serious. In one swift motion, he picked my brother up, jumped the cliff and took off, past my father and the other man. My mom did not hesitate. Next thing she knew, she was tackling the coyote and taking her son back. “It was the only way to get you to jump,” the man said.

Crossing the actual border was easy. There was a hole underneath the fence that they all crawled through. From there, they ran for what my mother says felt like forever. Through people’s yards, past their barking dogs, until they came to a truck. They piled in, along with others who were also being smuggled in. The drive was long. I’m not sure how long they stayed in the house where they were being hidden, or how they were able to get on a plane, but they made it to San Diego airport. My dad bought my brother a little toy car before they got on the plane to New York. My brother says this is the first thing he remembers.

I think a lot about this story and what my parents went through to get here. I think a lot about what life must have been like back in El Salvador. My mother tells me about a little girl who went missing, only to be found buried upside down in the ground, her legs sticking out, and a pole jammed between them. It was a real life nightmare, and even though the war is over, gangs have taken over. Not much has really changed.

The people who come to this country, especially from Central America, see the US as their only hope. If they stay where they are, they die. They can come here, and they might die on the way, but there is hope that they won’t. That’s it. Their choices are die or maybe die. And IF they actually get here, it’s only to find that they’re not actually wanted here. No one wants to help them, they can’t find work, they are literally illegal. Imagine someone telling you your entire life and presence is illegal. You are not worth anything, not even your life. You left a life of fear for a life of new fears. Fear of being caught, fear of being found, accompanied by the still too familiar fear of dying. Their idea of The American Dream was a lie.

My parents and my brother are all United States citizens now. They are hard-working, tax-paying American citizens. My mother probably knows more about American History than anybody reading this. But she still doesn’t speak English too well, and since she doesn’t wear her certificate of citizenship around her neck, people will still think that she should go back to where she came from.

“Go back to where you came from. Go back to your life of fear, of hopelessness and nothing. Go back to probably die.”

Fuck you.

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Remember when video games were a hobby and not a political soapbox?  Fuck feminists.

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I really fucking hate that the fact that “reverse racism doesn’t exist” has managed to spread beyond tumblr. So incredibly depressing.

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Brain teasers for egalitarians/equalists.

Say I’m 32 years old and you’re 22 years old.

In how many years will we be the same age?

…

Silly question, right? If you define aging as a process that stops at death, the only way we’ll ever be the same age is if I die first. If you don’t, then we’ll never be the same age. Every time you age a year, I also age a year. Since our ages increase at the same rate, you will never catch up to my head start. We have achieved a total equality of aging, but that does not change the permanent inequality of our age.

Okay, say I have a million dollars and you’re completely broke. If we both get a dollar a day, how long will it take you to catch up with me?

Now, this one’s even sillier, because if you have no other resources, your dollar a day is going to be eaten up by basic living expenses that it doesn’t quite meet, and I have an excess of money that can be spent on money-making opportunities that pay off far better than an additional $365 a year. I could literally burn the dollar I’m getting as part of our Totally Equal Income and still make more money in a year than you do just by sticking my money in the bank. 

But still: both of us getting a dollar a day is totally equal, right? It means we’re being treated exactly the same.

And now, final problem:

If we have a world that contains structural inequalities, systemic imbalances, disproportionate danger faced by some, and unequal access to resources and opportunities, is “treating everyone the same” really going to result in equality?

Show your work.

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Things were so much simpler before women started stealing all of my favorite things from me. I don’t care what anyone says. Women aren’t and will never be true fans of Doctor Who, Star Trek or any of that. You jumped in because you wanted attention. You became “fans” because suddenly liking sci-fi shows and fantasy became popular. You only want guys to drool over you because you’re girls who “like” geeky stuff. Kindly go jump in a lake and die.

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So let’s make it clear guys

Pictures are pictures, they are not reality. 

Here is my stomach when I am standing and stretching, like real hard

here is my stomach when I’m just sitting normally

here are my legs when I put myself in a very uncomfortable position, I bend foward as much as I can and turn my legs in slightly

and here are my legs when I just stand normally

Don’t believe what you see on the internet, or on the magazines. Not only do they do that kind of thing, but they also use photoshop. You are beautiful and the things that society teach you not to like on yourself are human, and natural.

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HAHAHA HOLY SHIT WE WERE LOOKING AT PICTURES OF SURGERIES IN CLASS AND ALL THE GUYS WERE HOOTING AT THE SLICED BREAST ONES AND THEN THE TEACHER SWITCHED TO A PENIS PIC WHERE IT WAS CUT OPEN AND SOME 300LB JOCK DOUCHEBAG FAINTED RIGHT OUT OF HIS CHAIR BOYS ARE WEAK BOYS ARE FUCKING WEAK

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Remember when Dobson said he wouldn’t talk about GamerGate again. Here’s him talking about GamerGate again. 

Let’s go over the good and bad of this. 

The good: He finally drew Vivian James in character…at least appearence wise. 

The bad: 

1. Vivian James was created during the Fine young Capitalists fiasco in which a self professed radfem group opened a contest for women to submit game ideas that would be voted on and the winning game would then be created. This group was unfairly slandered by Zoe Quinn (you might have forgotten who she is after all this time. She’s the 5 Guys girl) and vilified by Quinn’s friends. 4chan decided to donate to TFYC’s project (4chan gave more money to women in gaming than any of the turbo feminists Preston worships) and because they donated enough money, they were allowed to design a character to appear in the game. 4chan eventually came up with vivian James (a play on vidya games), a grumpy girl who likes to play video games and doesn’t like video game journalists. 

She wasn’t created to show that gamers aren’t sexist (though it is likely that 4chan intentionally didn’t go with an overly sexy woman to further shit on feminist’s expectations), she was created because a bunch of anons wanted a “daughterfu” or in more general terms, a character they can cherish and be proud of. 

2. No one in GamerGate uses Vivian James to deter accusations of sexism. There’s already the Not Your Shield campaign in which female (and minority) GamerGate supporters can tell SJWs like Dobson to fuck off and stop using them as a shield. 

3. GamerGate co-opts many things. Mostly hashtags started out by anti-GamerGate but at the end of the day, Gamergate hasn’t launched any campaign to co-opt the Confederate flag. 

4. The reason GamerGate would give a shit about the whole flag thing (and this is based on more than a few people’s personal opinions but something that would actually be relevant to a consumer revolt about video games) is because games featuring the flag have been taken off of Apple’s online store. Not even games that support the confederacy, just games saying “Hey here’s the civil war. Here’s the union with their flag and the confederate with theirs”

Apple has since then put some of the games back on but it’s very telling not just to gamers but anyone with half a mind how absurd it is for Apple to self censor in such an appalling way. Let me spell this out to you, Dobson: censoring/banning the flag isn’t going to bring anyone back to life, nor end any racial injustice that exist, nor get the south to realize everyone else views it as a hate symbol, and most importantly of all

it won’t prevent violent psychopaths from having access to weaponry and going out and killing people. No, not just racists, but anyone because at the end of the day, this isn’t a race issue. It’s the same kind of issue behind the Aurora shootings, the Boston Bombings, the Gabriel Gifford’s shootings, and so on. 

But I digress. 

5. You’re legit trying to paint tens of thousands of people from all over the world and from all different backgrounds….as supporters of the confederacy and no, I highly doubt you’re saying GamerGate doesn’t believe the south should have been forced to merge with the north under a single government. You’re implying that GamerGate would use a symbol that supports slavery as if that’s what GamerGate believes. 

Good fucking job, Dobson. 

6. The comic doesn’t make any sense in general because GamerGate already has a well established symbol:

It’s been almost a year now and it hasn’t changed since then.

Don’t worry Dobson, I’m sure Brinna Wu will love you back for this comic. As for everyone else, you’re pretty much in the trash already. I expect to see you bitching on Twitter about “harassment” from GamerGate following this shit comic by tomorrow. 

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“But if we have trigger warnings then some people without actual triggers will just opt out of ‘challenging material’ because they don’t feel like dealing with it”

Ok? That’s not really my problem. People with disabilities, including mental disabilities, deserve to be able to access academic spaces and have the accommodations that they need.

Also, it’s not like students have historically had difficulty skipping classes. If they don’t want to attend, they will not attend. If they don’t want to pay attention, then they won’t pay attention. If they don’t want to complete their assignments, then they won’t complete their assignments and they’ll probably fail the course. Throwing trauma survivors under the bus to try to avoid this is incredibly unjust, and will also not be effective.

There is a separate conversation to be had among educators, students, and administrators regarding keeping students engaged in college classrooms. This is not that conversation.

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Throwback to when my mother was told she wasn’t allowed to work if she wore her nose piercing. Throwback to when I was told I couldn’t go to school because I had henna on my hands and was promoting “tattoos”. Throwback to when my mom was told to go back to her country when she wore a bindi. Throwback to when my mom was asked if she was a terrorist when she wore clothes from our culture. Throwback to when I was told “I’m asking to get robbed” when I wore a Payal (ankle bracelet).

Now our culture is considered “chic” “indie” “hipster” and it’s okay for anyone to wear without knowing the deep meaning behind it. That isn’t “appreciating” a culture. It’s appropriating.

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Demographics, or “You probably don’t even play games anyway”

[This is one part of an ongoing effort to respond to some of the most oft-repeated arguments in videogame culture, in an effort to put it all into one place to stop from having to repeat myself. For the sake of clarity, I use the term “regressives” as a catch-all for the people making the kinds of arguments I’m responding to. I use the term not as an insult, but as a way to save space and time, as a parallel and counterpoint to “progressives,” as well as to avoid the “no true scotsman” games that happen when you name a specific group (people either claim to not be in that group, or claim the group doesn’t say/do the thing you’re talking about). The term “conservative” is probably more accurate, since these people generally want games to stay the same, not go backwards, but “conservative” has so many other connotations that it would be unhelpful.]

One of the most ubiquitous arrows in the quiver of regressives in games is this: “You probably don’t even play games anyway.” It’s generally used whenever anyone who is outside of the perceived norm for “gamers” (that is, white, male, hetero, cis, able-bodied, etc.) demands representation or criticizes mainstream games in any way. And as a rhetorical tool, I understand its appeal. Because if it were true, regressives not only get out of having to combat differing opinions, they don’t even have to listen to them. Because, the idea goes (usually resorting to arguments of capitalism), if you don’t play games, your opinion on games doesn’t count. Of course the problem with this view, as everyone knows, is that it simply isn’t true.

Keep reading

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always-a-lighthouse:

smalltownboytm:

If black people stepping on the American flag offends you more than black people dying in the streets, you need to reevaluate your priorities.

If black people symbolically saying “fuck you” to every man and women who has died in uniform, doesn’t offend you, you need to leave this country.

If black people symbolically saying “fuck you” to every man and women who has died in uniform offends you more than black people dying in the streets, you need to reevaluate your priorities.

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white ppl have no culture

It must feel great to be this ignorant, Nonnie, but I can’t let this slide. 

I know a thing or two about cultures, as I love them very very much, so allow me to educate you!

Most of white people’s culture is from Europe! It’s a very cool continent, look it up! And therefore I will focus on European countries (I probably forgot 2). None of these countries have a small culture, so I’ll have to give you some very short, not exhaustive lists.**I’m also a CFS sufferer, and this is exhausting for me, so here and there you’ll just be linked to Wikipedia articles and lists.**I suggest you go to e.g. Wikipedia and search “Culture of [European country]” to find out much more. I’m sure you’ll have fun!!

Warning: very long post

Albania

Dances: Shota, Pogonishte, Dance of Osman Taka, full list

Traditional clothing in Albania includes more than 200 kinds of clothing! (examples: fustanella, xhakete)

Music in Albania has been under a lot of different influences. Traditional folk music differs by region. Albanian instruments include Çifteli and Lahuta, and some famous musicians are Inva Mula, Vaçe Zela, Çesk Zadeja and Aleksandër Peçi.

Architecture of Albania has been influenced by Greek, Roman, Ottoman, and Italian architecture, while preserving distinct Albanian features.

Albanian art

Andorra

Literature: Ramon Villeró, Michèle Gazier

Dances: marratxa, contrapàs

Music of Andorra

Armenia

The Armenian dance heritage has been one of the oldest, richest and most varied in the Near East! (examples: Kochari, Berd, Yarkhushta)

Armenian architecture is notable for its churches! Its distinct features have influenced Western church architecture.

Art and music of Armenia are very interesting and huge, please check them out on your own!

Austria

Honestly, if you know nothing about the culture of this country, you’ve been living under a rock. It’s famous and it’s huge, so what I’m mentioning is like 1% of it.

Many people here call Austria, especially Vienna and Graz, the centers of culture, and I agree! Seriously, visit Austria and see its culture and history, it’s everywhere!

Classical music!! Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Strauss, Jr.., c’mon, name some more. I know you know them. 

Austrian architecture is famous for its castles, palaces and buildings, among other architectural works!

Science!! Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis, Anton Zeilinger, Erwin Schrödinger, Quantum teleportation!

Austrian cuisine

Azerbaijan

Architecture in Azerbaijan typically combines elements of East and West.

There are so many dances in Azerbaijani culture!! (examples: Asma kasma, Abayi, Birilyant)

Azerbaijani rugs! Baku, Ganja, Karabakh and Shirvan rugs!

Cuisine, music, literature of Azerbaijan

Belarus

The traditional two-piece Belarusian dress originated from the time of Kievan Rus’, and continues to be worn today at special functions.Embroidery is important in Belarusian traditions!

Music of Belarus has a rich tradition of folk and religious music.

Belgium

Art of Belgium is big despite the country’s size, and dates back to the Middle Ages!

Music!! César Franck, Henri Vieuxtemps, Jacques Brel, Arno, Salvatore Adamo, Gotye!!Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, was born in Belgium! The country has also a very active jazz scene!

Brussels waffles! Belgian waffles! Speculaas! Cuisine!!

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Literature of BiH is very rich! Notable people include Matija Divković, Antun Branko Šimić, Ivo Andrić, Meša Selimović, Semezdin Mehmedinović… and many more!

Bosnian food is closely related to Turkish, Greek, and other former Ottoman and Mediterranean cuisines and often uses small amounts of spices.

Art and music of BiH

Bulgaria

Bulgaria has a rich heritage in the visual arts, especially in frescoes, murals and icons.

Bulgarian music is old, interesting and very complex!

Cuisine

Croatia

Since I’m a Croat who loves this country’s long and interesting culture, I’ll make a post just for it very soon!! For now, here’s your Wikipedia link.

Cyprus

Czech Republic

A Czech diet usually consists of a lot of meat such as pork, beef, poultry, and a lot of organ meat! More about its cuisine

Music is the most popular form of art in the Czech Republic and there is even a saying, “Co Čech, to muzikant”, which means “Every Czech is a musician”.

Czech art and literature

Denmark

Denmark has a lot of culture I gotta say! 

Folklore, art, literature  Hans Christian Andersen!!!), cuisine… it’s all too big, please check them out yourself!

Estonia

Finland

Germany

German culture began long before the rise of Germany as a nation-state and spanned the entire German-speaking world. From its roots, culture in Germany has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular. Historically Germany has been called Das Land der Dichter und Denker (the country of poets and thinkers).

Nine Germans have won the Nobel Prize in literature: Theodor Mommsen, Paul von Heyse, Gerhart Hauptmann, Thomas Mann, Nelly Sachs, Hermann Hesse, Heinrich Böll, Günter Grass, and Herta Müller.

German music is awesome!! (Austro-german:) Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, Haydn, Händel, Schumann, Johannes Brahms (I could go on forever) and many modern artist! Personally, I’m a big fan of their techno and rap.

Germany’s television market is the largest in Europe, with some 34 million TV households!

Architecture from Germany include the Carolingian and Ottonian styles, important precursors of Romanesque. The region then produced significant works in styles such as the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque.

There’s so much more to German culture, please read about it!

Hungary

Hungary is home to the largest synagogue in Europe (Great Synagogue), the largest medicinal bath in Europe (Széchenyi Medicinal Bath), the third largest church in Europe (Esztergom Basilica), the second largest territorial abbey in the world (Pannonhalma Archabbey), the second largest Baroque castle in the world (Gödöllő), and the largest Early Christian Necropolis outside Italy (Pécs)!

The music of Hungary consists mainly of traditional Hungarian folk music and music by prominent composers (Ferenc Liszt, Franz Schmidt, Dohnányi, Bartók etc.). Traditional Hungarian music tends to have a strong dactylic rhythm. 

Traditional dishes such as the world famous Goulash (gulyás stew or gulyásleves soup) are popular. Dishes are often flavoured with paprika (ground red peppers), a Hungarian innovation! Read more about cuisine!

Literature & film

Iceland

Ireland

St. Patrick’s Day anyone? 

Everyone knows a thing or two about Irish folklore, literature, language and cuisine!

Italy

Ah, Italy.. where do I even start? Italy has an enormous culture! To not know any of it is literally impossible! Italy is considered a birthplace of the Western civilization and a cultural superpower!

It’s too much to put in here. Look it up, I’m sure you know more than you think. Maybe I’ll ask my Italian boyfriend to make a post about it.

Kazakhstan

Kosovo

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Lithuanian cuisine features the products suited to its cool and moist northern climate: barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, berries, and mushrooms are locally grown, and dairy products are one of its specialities!

Lithuania’s art community is famous for Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis

Music of Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Moldova

Moldova’s traditional folk culture is very rich. The ancient folk ballads, such as “Mioriţa” and “Meşterul Manole”, play a central role in this traditional culture. Folk traditions, including ceramics and weaving, continue to be practiced in rural areas.

Moldovan cuisine consists mainly of traditional European foods, such as beef, pork, potatoes, cabbage, cheese, and a variety of cereal grains. Popular alcoholic beverages are divin (Moldovan brandy), beer, and local wine.

Monaco

Montenegro

Dance: Oro (eagle)

Montenegro has a lot of cultural and historical sites, including sites from the pre-Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque periods! More on its architecture

Cuisine and music!

Netherlands

The culture of the Netherlands is very interesting! 

Everyone’s heard of Vincent van Gogh (my fav artist..) right? Dutch art is the best thing ever. Seriously, read about it, I love it a lot!

The Netherlands has multiple musical traditions, ranging from folk and dance to classical music and ballet. Traditional Dutch music is a genre known as “Levenslied”, meaning Song of life, kinda comparable to a French Chanson or a German Schlager! 

Music and literature

Norway

Norway’s culinary traditions show the influence of long seafaring and farming traditions with salmon and other sea food, balanced by diary products.

Renowned Norwegian dishes: lutefisk,smalahove, pinnekjøtt, Krotekake, Kompe and fårikål.

Norway has a lot of interesting art, architecture and literature!

Poland

The culture of Poland is closely connected with its thousand-year history and its character developed as a result of its geography at the confluence of various European regions!

Its language is a thing on its own!

Philosophy!! Witelo, Frycz Modrzewski, Lwów–Warsaw school!

Polish cuisine is very rich and has a lot of traditional dishes (examples:  kiełbasa, pierogi, pyzy, schabowy, Oscypek)

Polish cities and towns reflect the whole spectrum of European styles! 

Portugal

The Portuguese participate in many cultural activities, indulging their appreciation of art, music, drama, and dance (Circle dance, Fandango, etc.)! 

Architecture of Portugal

Romania

The culture of Romania is a unique culture, which is the product of its geography and its distinct historical evolution!

Its history!!

Romanian culture has many strong folk traditions which have survived to this day due to the character of the Romanian communities, which has resulted in an vital and creative traditional culture. Traditional folk arts include wood carving, ceramics, weaving and embroidery of costumes, household decorations, dance, and richly varied folk music.

More on its folklore!

Romanian cuisine

Russia

I’m sure you know of Russian culture as well. It has a long history and can claim a long tradition of dividend in many aspects of the arts, especially when it comes to literature (Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, I’m sure you’ve heard of them) and philosophy, classical music and ballet, architecture and painting, cinema and animation, which all had considerable influence on world culture!

San Marino

Serbia

Traditional Serbian cuisine is varied and can be said to be a mix of central European, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. Notable dishes include: čevapčići, Serbian salad, Sarma and podvarak!

Serbs have many traditions, and a lot of them are religious.

Serbian literature and folklore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

The cultures of Spain are European cultures based on a variety of historical influences, primarily that of Ancient Rome, but also the pre-Roman Celtic and Iberian culture, and that of the Phoenicians and the Moors!

Spain has the third highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world, with a total of 44!!

The cuisines of Spain differ widely from one region to another, even though they all share certain common characteristics.

Football is the most popular sport in Spain. Notable teams include Atlético de Madrid, FC Barcelona, Sevilla Fútbol Club, Athletic Club,Valencia CF, Real Madrid C. F. and Real Sociedad!

Spanish literature has known a great number of influences and is very diverse. Some major movements can be identified within it.

The music of Spain has a long history and has played an important role in the development of Western music. It is also the main basis of most Latin American music.

Spanish architecture

Sweden

The oldest preserved buildings in Sweden, from the 11th century, are made of stone. The earliest brick buildings where erected in the late 13th century. More on Swedish architecture!

Traditional Swedish national costumes are sometimes worn on special occasions, such as Midsummer. All such costumes are brightly colored. Sverigedräkten, a version mainly in blue and yellow, has been the established National Costume since 1983 and is worn by royalty on some official occasions.

Music of Sweden!!

Switzerland

Swiss culture is characterised by diversity, which is reflected in a wide range of traditional customs! Its geographical position played a big role in this.

Folk art is kept alive in organizations all over the country. In Switzerland, it is mostly expressed in music, dance, poetry, wood carving and embroidery.

There is a strong architectural tradition in Switzerland. The Romanesque style of the 12th century can be found in cathedrals. This style, which is rich in expression, can also be found on many castles and fortresses around the country, many of which preserved in a good condition.

Science and technology in Switzerland!

Turkey

Ukraine

Ukrainian architecture reflects distinct features of that particular location and time period, read more on it.

For men, traditional dress includes Kozhukh, Kontusz, Żupan and Sharovary. For women, traditional dress includes Vyshyvanka, Kozhushanka, Ochipok for married women, and Ukrainian wreath for unmarried girls.

Ukrainian cuisine

United Kingdom

British literature, music, cinema, art, theatre, comedy, media, television, philosophy and architecture are influential and respected across the world. The United Kingdom is also prominent in science and technology. Sport is an important part of British culture; numerous sports originated in the country, including football. The UK has been described as a “cultural superpower”, and London has been described as a world cultural capital!!