How Polish are you?

This is a little thing that I have stolen and modified from another Blog.  You can find it here.

I was going to use this simply as a conversation starter for my English lesson today, but apparently October is Blogtoberfest month (as heard by little birdies here and here).  I'm probably not going to join in officially, but as I am planning to do NaNoWriMo again this year, I might lift up the frequency of my blogs just so I get back into the habit of writing daily again.

So, here is the Quiz.  Tell me how you go.

How Polish are you? 

1.   do you have relatives who aren't really your relatives

a) yes

b) maybe, I'm not sure

c) no

2.    you love watching football, but can't play it very well

a) yes, unfortunately

b) I CAN play football

c) what's football?

3.    Pope John Paul II was Polish and his first name was…

a) Karol

b) Carol

c) John

4.    When do you take down your Christmas Tree?

a) February

b) January

c) 31^st December

5.    you open your Christmas presents on…

a) 24^th December

b) 25^th December

c) 26^th December

6.    The plural of PIEROGI is:

a) Pierogi

b) Pierogis

c) The plural of what?

7.    you see a girl/guy and the first thing you look at are his/her…

a) eyes

b) buttocks/chest

c) bank balance

8.    your parents make you listen to…

a) Polish disco

b) 90's pop

c) Classic Rock

9.    when you're at a stranger's house, you expect their garbage can to be…

a) under the sink

b) somewhere in the kitchen

c) in the laundry

10.   you take off your shoes as soon as you step into someone else's house…

a) every time

b) when you are asked

c) only when you have muddy boots

11.  weddings should last…


a) two or three days

b) 24 hours

c) three or four hours

12.  Marie Curie was born in…

a) Poland

b) France

c) Belgium

13.  your grandma understands you better than you understand yourself


 a) true

b) maybe, I'm not sure

c) no

14.  have you ever eaten meat on Good Friday?

a) never!

b) a couple of times

c) Friday is steak day!

15.   you dash your sevens and hat your ones

a) is there another way?

b) when I remember

c) no, what for?

16.  What do your parents do on a computer?

a) Play solitaire

b) look at photo's

c) surf the net

17.  your grandmother has a framed picture of Pope John Paul II…

a) beside your family photo

b) in the living room

c) in the attic

18.   your family considers mushroom/berry picking as 'having a good time"

a) yes

b) sometimes

c) what? Don't be ridiculous

19.  your grandma insists you wear slippers because the floor is chilly and you'll get a cold.


a) yes, even in summer

b) only in winter

c) my grandma doesn't tell me what to wear

20.  your grandma can tell if you like a girl/guy just by looking at you


a) yes

b) maybe, I'm not sure

c) no, my grandma stays out of my business

Answer Key:

Mostly A's: Yep, you are Polish.  "If you're not a Pole, you're not whole!"

Mostly B's: You wish you were Polish, but you still have a bit more work to do.

Mostly C's: You're not Polish.  Even if you think you are.

Is there a line on the horizon or not?

I am a bit of a fan of U2 and I was really looking forward to their latest album - No Line on the Horizon (NLotH).

I must admit though, that even after listening to it for a week, I am unimpressed.

U2 is a band well known for changing their style and sounds, whilst still retaining their soul. Albums such as Rattle and Hum, Pop and All That You Can't Leave Behind have helped to define the current music scene. However albums such as Zooropa, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (and now, dare I say it, NLotH) have not.

Perhaps U2's unpredictability has become too predictable? Perhaps Bono has lost his edge? Maybe Brian Eno wanted to get his moneys worth from his new echo machine? Maybe it's just that I have become out of touch? Who knows...

I guess that I have always enjoyed U2 for their clear lyrics (albeit difficult to understand) and strong guitar riffs. I've always thought that U2 was trying to say something (not necessarily something specific, although usually political or religious) through their music. It's as if the band knew what they wanted to say, and they used both words and music to convey their ideas and philosophies. ATYCLB was a classic example of this.

NLotH is definitely trying to say something, but it seems that the message is confused and hazy. It's more like U2 has stopped using a megaphone and is now transmitting via radio. A radio with poor connections and too much static. Has U2 become just another background noise?

Or maybe U2 is following the lead of REM. REM had a nice little album - Around the Sun, which was calm and introspective, and forgettable. Then REM released Accelerate, a more up-tempo album that returned to their rock roots. Is U2 returning to their rock roots with this album? I don't think so. In fact I don't know where U2 is going with this album...

(Of course it is also possible that I'm just annoyed because iTunes won't let me download the Cover Art...)