tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88822094173639571792024-03-19T02:42:50.889-07:00Marek Raczkowski CartoonsCartoons by Marek Raczkowski translated into English.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-1442341188084847332015-03-10T12:16:00.002-07:002015-03-10T12:16:23.279-07:00#65 - Tug of War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1SlaTN4PwYdt1xF-uhvB5UJDfSHDGZh4xrRYW6RVgZXtgTFbPOWs4lxtNQURJndood9cZCWFmsar9QL-QgefBPNatDqONjPAYakPOODh6zF7Zi13XnhCF0XE9mf5Chiy_KwObcsIlJ8/s1600/65.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1SlaTN4PwYdt1xF-uhvB5UJDfSHDGZh4xrRYW6RVgZXtgTFbPOWs4lxtNQURJndood9cZCWFmsar9QL-QgefBPNatDqONjPAYakPOODh6zF7Zi13XnhCF0XE9mf5Chiy_KwObcsIlJ8/s1600/65.jpg" /></a></div>
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This one is pretty old, from around 2000 I think. As per usual, this is probably a reference to a contemporary issue (the piece of land might be shaped like Poland on top) but the message is universal: infighting makes your group weaker, or more broadly, efforts that you think are advancing your interests might in the long run completely undermine them.<br />
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I don't post regularly because I am lazy about it, but I have a backlog of hundreds of Racz cartoons. They may see the light of day eventually.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-32045843127216175952013-08-25T23:24:00.000-07:002013-08-25T23:24:01.915-07:00a short piece about Raczkowski<a href="http://lutoslawski.culture.pl/web/english/resources-visual-arts-full-page/-/eo_event_asset_publisher/eAN5/content/marek-raczkowski#">Here</a> is a short, somewhat poorly translated piece that introduces Raczkowski to English speakers. Some interesting information in it, including more background for <a href="http://marekraczkowskicartoons.blogspot.com/2013/07/61-irrational.html">the 2 + 2 = 5 cartoon</a>. I've updated that post to reflect the new information. Let me say again I am sure I am missing political references in the majority of his cartoons. Please don't take my translations and explanations as definitive.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-78067033225970980482013-08-04T12:22:00.000-07:002013-08-04T12:22:20.203-07:00#64 - International relations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-37969825766870192232013-07-29T13:17:00.000-07:002013-07-29T13:17:00.157-07:00#63 - Worse than steroids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-27742143432379575842013-07-26T13:13:00.000-07:002013-07-26T13:13:07.243-07:00#62 - Like father, like son<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Not sure if he's getting at something larger here but the image of a child knowing his father's routine so well he can mimic it perfectly, down to the second, is pretty amusing. Notice the extra searching for the door key.</div>
<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-2220344906959748482013-07-14T19:37:00.000-07:002015-03-19T22:20:25.371-07:00#61 - Irrational<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The man is dressed in Polish national clothing, particularly his hat. He mistakes a plus sign for a cross and kneels to it instead of working out the equation and seeing the error. Polish nationalism is heavily tied up with Catholicism. Raczkowski makes a clear point about the ability of mental fixation, especially of the national and religious varieties, to blind us to obvious falsehoods. The reference to Orwell implies that the end result of this can be totalitarianism.</div>
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UPDATE: According to [an article that was either moved or deleted from the site] the above cartoon is referring to a controversy over the installation of a cross in front of the Presidential Palace. Once again we see Raczkowski's great skill in drawing a wider, almost universally applicable point from a local and contemporary event.</div>
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UPDATE 19 Mar 2015: Replaced image with larger version I found.</div>
<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-48308893715950173632013-06-08T14:23:00.000-07:002013-06-08T14:23:26.756-07:00#60 - Superstition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A dig at the persistence of superstition in the face of all evidence to the contrary.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-719619751131273332013-04-01T12:30:00.000-07:002013-04-01T12:30:37.208-07:00#59 - The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoritarianism">tyranny of the minority</a>, a well known problem of democratic organisation. The image of a triangle stabbing a circle recalls El Lissitzky's famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_the_Whites_with_the_Red_Wedge">"Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge"</a> poster from the Russian Civil War. Even though Raczkowski's wedge is blue, the reference is likely deliberate and concerns some recent event in Polish politics, perhaps some agitation by ex-Communists.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-2442076929847357182013-03-25T12:49:00.005-07:002013-03-25T12:49:51.318-07:00#58 - Seasonal.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Spring seems to have been mugging some parts of the world with snow, though I think Raczkowski is more likely expressing the Polish bleakness that I've <a href="http://marekraczkowskicartoons.blogspot.com/2012/10/49-upside-of-hell.html">mentioned before</a>. Hell could be better, and Spring could be your enemy.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-15614889559955010152013-02-20T21:06:00.001-08:002013-02-20T21:06:40.418-08:00#57 - English Protest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's finally here: the first English version of the famous "Kurwa mać!" Thanks a million to M@ who handled the image manipulation. </div>
<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-27474267393922064642013-02-20T13:02:00.003-08:002013-02-24T11:41:40.549-08:00#56 - Junior executive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is one of the first cartoons of R's I ever saw and it struck and still strikes me as deeply funny for reasons I don't fully understand. I particularly like the little boy's outburst in panel five, with its "sześć! sześć lat tato! jestem maluchem, szkrabem, malym chlopczykiem" - I've tried to get across the funny (to me) sound of <i>s</i><i>z</i><i>krabem </i>with <i>tyke</i>.<br />
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I don't know if the cartoon is a reference to contemporary events or just another riff on Raczkowski's theme of children encountering an adult world that is insane.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-36244475387157404692013-02-14T23:19:00.002-08:002013-02-14T23:19:40.030-08:00#55 - Group dynamics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Illustrating Freud's observation that "It is always possible to bind together a considerable number of people in love, so long as there are other people left over to receive manifestations of their aggressiveness."</div>
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The "you" is plural, which is marked in Polish grammar but not in English.</div>
<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-76638424142770596262012-12-22T16:00:00.004-08:002012-12-22T16:00:51.166-08:00#54 - Gift means poison in German<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I won't say anything about this except to point out the similarity with <a href="http://marekraczkowskicartoons.blogspot.com/2012/10/50-ordnung-muss-sein.html">another cartoon</a> combining toys and violence.<br />
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Merry Chrimbo.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-51488550145466727692012-12-10T12:22:00.002-08:002013-02-20T21:08:19.491-08:00Audience participation specialSo it's long past time that Raczkowski's famous <a href="http://marekraczkowskicartoons.blogspot.com/2010/07/from-marek-raczkowski.html">"Kurwa mać!" cartoon</a> got an international treatment. However I can't decide what to put on the banner. Motherfucker? Fuck that? Damn it? Better to put up a blank one and let everyone make their own.<br />
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<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-6676254262237610342012-12-10T12:07:00.002-08:002012-12-10T12:07:18.688-08:00#53 - His master's voice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi63UloGlPotfZNzonw6n3Ph1zYNiDyy2p5xIboN9DUBrF5S0J5GpU1nlsO3erJAbCSqTpEVCukOcLNtUfmTEFxNDRhpXYupPdetaylDCdE73jOnWiicL378YurJd3DC8NA7c9rr-0vfSA/s1600/53e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi63UloGlPotfZNzonw6n3Ph1zYNiDyy2p5xIboN9DUBrF5S0J5GpU1nlsO3erJAbCSqTpEVCukOcLNtUfmTEFxNDRhpXYupPdetaylDCdE73jOnWiicL378YurJd3DC8NA7c9rr-0vfSA/s1600/53e.jpg" /></a></div>
I don't know if Raczkowski is making a deeper point here beyond his usual theme of authority figures betraying the trust placed in them, but it doesn't matter. This is just flat out funny.<br />
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Language nerds may be interested to know that the man is literally saying "Wait here politely. Master will return shortly." That sounds odd in English so I changed it up. I wonder if any studies have been done on national differences in language used when speaking to animals.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-91842032988827259092012-11-25T11:12:00.001-08:002012-11-25T11:12:41.882-08:00#52 - please call with any information. any.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwkpn9rrAr6MwimlzBzXQAFrNRi1dr8n8QUzoUR_x_5BI6cKVWRv_XsB7Nq_mrNyhWHaDGGy8fnSYspro7jt3PLtHV8_fC4mEpLBoxDmQaHOLyyRthZuIhlFoDuhxoLR6yhIMP7nLBPY/s1600/racz%252520lost%252520and%252520foundenglish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwkpn9rrAr6MwimlzBzXQAFrNRi1dr8n8QUzoUR_x_5BI6cKVWRv_XsB7Nq_mrNyhWHaDGGy8fnSYspro7jt3PLtHV8_fC4mEpLBoxDmQaHOLyyRthZuIhlFoDuhxoLR6yhIMP7nLBPY/s1600/racz%252520lost%252520and%252520foundenglish.jpg" /></a></div>
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LOST FOUND</div>
<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-4359774471043157962012-11-04T14:35:00.001-08:002012-11-04T14:35:13.328-08:00#51 - Election special<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygZ-9LDHYtQL4_fymD_0ZLSmGALgtw-I169VVGL1aBAoKyWzlr2EDaNMO3t8P6hC3YDcvvLyoKzfT4a04_dMmuM0tRt35flVVXa8oFH8GuKgLZHLujpgKPscKv50Xyim2vLpUULJ_rXE/s1600/294507_262070003835091_180822955293130_723449_832402340_nenglish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygZ-9LDHYtQL4_fymD_0ZLSmGALgtw-I169VVGL1aBAoKyWzlr2EDaNMO3t8P6hC3YDcvvLyoKzfT4a04_dMmuM0tRt35flVVXa8oFH8GuKgLZHLujpgKPscKv50Xyim2vLpUULJ_rXE/s1600/294507_262070003835091_180822955293130_723449_832402340_nenglish.jpg" /></a></div>
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The original offers a choice between the Polish political parties <a href="http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prawo_i_Sprawiedliwo%C5%9B%C4%87">PiS </a>and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_Platform">Platforma</a>. I've taken liberties with the translation to make the gag a little funnier for Anglophone readers who might be following the US election.</div>
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The original says, on the left, "The president is a cloddish rural unsophisticate" (there's no precise equivalent in English of the Polish word <i>cham</i>) and on the right "I love the president!" I believe it refers to a recent Polish president who was thought of as crude and boorish. I've attempted to give a version that works in English.</div>
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For other political Racz cartoons that can be read as comments on the US, or indeed almost any, election, see <a href="http://marekraczkowskicartoons.blogspot.com/2012/01/20-left-and-right.html">here</a> and especially <a href="http://marekraczkowskicartoons.blogspot.com/2011/10/10-voting.html">here</a>.</div>
<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-82215222929850442012-10-14T12:44:00.002-07:002012-11-01T09:02:40.692-07:00#50 - Ordnung muss sein<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGg2m94qYaqfL_Vwt4BCRrIMLdlXlgyJ1zAZZRgd4c_SrDeucz33e-pz_G2ebeghLmHH5IC21uR6G3R9lCYh50gbEULfe8TwOc9H5viWiGYE7glvrrNYJNjhgqTH0DxBTwsk08mxjgDVc/s1600/racz%252520zabawki%252520porzadekenglish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGg2m94qYaqfL_Vwt4BCRrIMLdlXlgyJ1zAZZRgd4c_SrDeucz33e-pz_G2ebeghLmHH5IC21uR6G3R9lCYh50gbEULfe8TwOc9H5viWiGYE7glvrrNYJNjhgqTH0DxBTwsk08mxjgDVc/s1600/racz%252520zabawki%252520porzadekenglish.jpg" /></a></div>
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"Go and put your toys in order."</div>
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In Polish literally "Go and make order with your toys." In English we'd probably say "Go clean up your toys", and the child here would then wash them, but Racz is using the Polish form to make a subtle political point: the child has learnt that order is imposed by violence. </div>
<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-52962188910545757462012-10-08T12:08:00.000-07:002013-03-25T12:47:21.349-07:00#49 - The upside of Hell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT53ab34at7YDWoZnoYFjLlD08eQhaWUUNyQNDzUPi2Kgnej6wJuxCZhXFXguF9qwIiRysCE8ZlXcbPpqMpz75OPUigUtXwdVw0lPdo8S4HGTH_Vuf97NJvrsMyK3mTkq3xsoa6iH4J1o/s1600/249535_171622836230384_100001480055477_419452_7824641_nenglish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT53ab34at7YDWoZnoYFjLlD08eQhaWUUNyQNDzUPi2Kgnej6wJuxCZhXFXguF9qwIiRysCE8ZlXcbPpqMpz75OPUigUtXwdVw0lPdo8S4HGTH_Vuf97NJvrsMyK3mTkq3xsoa6iH4J1o/s640/249535_171622836230384_100001480055477_419452_7824641_nenglish.jpg" width="408" /></a></div>
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Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Hell really exists.</div>
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And those of you who come here have a</div>
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But, it's still better than life...</div>
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...and better than in Heaven.</div>
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I'm not entirely certain what the joke is here. I'm guessing Racz is illustrating the fact that people lie, and people who mean you harm will lie about what's in store for you, even to the point of saying that what's good is worse than what's bad.<br />
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I put it up though because a Polish girl once said something similar to me. Her name was Alina and we were talking at the end of a small party in a friend's apartment in Upper Silesia. I was planning to spend the night in the largest room of the apartment, which was unheated. Alina said that it was too cold, that I'd freeze. I said "That’s okay, if I die I’ll be in Heaven and I won’t have any problems." Alina replied, totally deadpan, without skipping a beat:<br />
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<b>"But you don’t know what kind of problems there are in Heaven. It could be worse."</b><br />
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That impressed me deeply. <i>It could be worse in Heaven.</i> I have sometimes thought of myself as pretty pessimistic but Alina's words demonstrate a degree of bleakness and hopelessness I can only regard with awe.<br />
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This comic reminds me of the Polish blackness Alina introduced me to, a level of despair that Americans have barely tasted but that Poles have marinated in for generations. "Hell could actually be the better deal - have you considered that?" And what if it is. What if it is.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-2193649616855899852012-09-23T16:07:00.001-07:002012-09-23T16:07:49.600-07:00#48 - Prospects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Woman</i>: Surely you have a wife or a girlfriend?<br />
<i>Man</i>: No! I'm a confirmed bachelor.<br />
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<i>Woman</i>: I don't know which is worse.<br />
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It's funny because it's true.Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-58723182709231479982012-09-09T16:13:00.000-07:002012-09-09T16:13:19.794-07:00#46 - A bad dream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The crucifix on the radio implies that this couple are listeners of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Maryja">Radio Maryja</a>. This station promotes paranoid thinking not all that dissimilar from the man's dream, which includes most of the bugbears of the contemporary Polish reactionary worldview: Jews, Germans, gays, and Polish land being owned by foreigners. Certain elements of the US political scene have similar nightmares.</div>
<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-92227603567669375982012-09-01T18:38:00.001-07:002012-09-23T16:10:32.134-07:00#47 - Vacation plans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A common sight in some Polish parks, indeed in parks worldwide, including those in my city: drunken unemployed men with nothing to do and nowhere to go. What <i>do </i>they do on holiday weekends?<br />
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A Pole writes:<br />
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<br />"Długi weekend" includes a pun. It is long and boring for these eternally jobless fellows. The phrase "długi weekend", however, is commonly used now by everybody, working or not working class heroes.<br /> It started with a several days break in May, which even turned into the whole week break.<br /> It is connected with the Working Class Day, followed by the Day of National Flag and Trzeci Maja, as you probably know, Święto Konstytucji in Poland.</blockquote>
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People prolong their holiday taking sick leaves or asking for the free week where they work. Such long weekends, sometimes lasting the whole week, happen now also in August when we've got Święto Maryjne,hi,hi, on 15th August. The third long weekend or week may happen on 1st November and around that day, when people go to the cemeteries around Poland.<br /> One long weekend is chased by another, it is the subject of idiotic conversations, it is discussed in the media, blablabla.<br /> Now, the funny side is that it is posh to go abroad for such a long weekend, especially in May or August.A small number of people can afford to do it and there's the rub.<br /> The people who want to show off and go for the whole week to Egypt, for example.<br /> They spend their time there, imprisoned in one of the hotels in Hurghada, swimming, picking up boys, observing teenagers and children, eating, drinking, taking massages, puking and farting, not knowing about the outside world at all.<br /> Then, relaxed to the extreme, they return, ready to meet such miserable creatures like me, who don't go to those blessed holiday resorts and spas, and tell them stories about the Arabian Nights and comforting them that their time is gonna come.</blockquote>
Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-92136700591639787582012-08-13T15:27:00.000-07:002012-08-13T15:27:02.122-07:00#45 - Temptress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-40960206940187079972012-08-04T09:31:00.001-07:002012-08-04T09:31:29.109-07:00#44 - English lesson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://marekraczkowskicartoons.blogspot.com/2012/01/22-wtf.html">Another </a>comment on the Anglophone invasion of Polish culture.</div>
<br />Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882209417363957179.post-52932024005430068262012-07-14T21:49:00.000-07:002012-07-14T21:59:04.307-07:00#43 - Collectible<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A Raczkowski classic. He cherishes the peculiar inner worlds of children. The joke's slightly funnier in Polish because zbieram is both "I'm gathering" and "I'm collecting", but the underlying idea translates just fine. There's also a possible reference here to a political affair R was embroiled in that involved dog poop, but let's not go into that now.</div>Swanditchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15316455524375152972noreply@blogger.com0