The BEST Guide to POLAND
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Posts by Wiedzmin_fan  

Joined: 31 May 2010 / Male ♂
Last Post: 14 Jun 2011
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Posts: Total: 79 / Live: 20 / Archived: 59

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Wiedzmin_fan   
31 May 2011
Genealogy / Why are some Polish people dark complected, and others very light [511]

Blond map of Europe:
strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/blond_hair_map1.jpg

European haplogroups:
eupedia.com/europe/european_y-dna_haplogroups.shtml

Its just mixing with Russians, and other slavic neighbors who have darker hair... thats all it is. Its not because of mongols raping poles, or russian soldiers raping polish women...

Imho, (ethnic) Russians have a lot of blondes. It's hard to compare (does anyone have any reliable data?), but I would say about the same percentage of the population is blonde. For example, here are some pictures of ordinary Russians: olya-ivanova.livejournal.com/463895.html - if you ignore the poverty (it's a poor rural area) and the general mess, they look exactly like Poles.
Wiedzmin_fan   
4 May 2011
News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]

Also, quite often they shoot down their own planes

They don't need to shoot them down - they just, eh, forget to connect and/or check automated control systems before take-off. Check this out:

pprune.org/rumours-news/450293-barely-controllable-tu-154-another-ua232.html

That's actually the same type of plane as Kachinsky's.
Wiedzmin_fan   
7 Feb 2011
Food / Origin of the pierogi [118]

Eurola

Filling is usually kapusta/cabbage with boiled eggs.
Or mushrooms with fried onions.
Or fish with rice.

The meat ones are usually fried, and they have an opening/hole (not completely closed). and they are called "belyashi" instead of "pirogi" then.

But the key feature is the "fluffy"/rizen dough that's made with yeast. are polish pierogi made with flat dough?
Wiedzmin_fan   
6 Feb 2011
Food / Origin of the pierogi [118]

The picture is so strange - it looks like dumplings. Do you boil them or fry them? Also, the dough looks strange...

Do you have an equivalent of the russian/ukrainian pirogi - made with the fluffy yeast/sour dough, and baked?
Wiedzmin_fan   
5 Feb 2011
Genealogy / Polish looks? [1410]

if I have any Polish or slavic features.

IMHO, your head is not round enough ;)

I'll go with Celtic or Anglo. Just my $0.02
Wiedzmin_fan   
22 Jan 2011
Life / Do Russians and Poles get along? [53]

if course they are different.

my point was: very many similarities -> you expect more from them -> the differences are more jarring

do you understand what I was trying to say now?
Wiedzmin_fan   
22 Jan 2011
Life / Do Russians and Poles get along? [53]

that is a nonsense and wishful thinking

which part?

genetic: cultural:
language, food (vodka/golubtsy), etc. You don't see the similarities?
Wiedzmin_fan   
22 Jan 2011
Life / Do Russians and Poles get along? [53]

They generally don't, unfortunately.

I think that's because the two peoples are very similar genetically and in culture, but the Poles always looked to the West and adopted a "Western" religion, while the Russians are more Eastern/Byzantian. And the Ukrainians are torn in the middle (read Taras Bulba and you will understand!) :)

So they are similar enough for the differences to jar/clash the most, if you know what I mean?
They are not enemies, and not strangers (so they can't ignore and act in a civil manner), but they are like really annoying family members that always fight at family gatherings and hate each others guts?
Wiedzmin_fan   
1 Jan 2011
News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]

I think the factors that are being clarified now, are the ones that could have prompted induced pilot error.

I've looked at Russian aviation forums, and one of the problems has to do with classification of flight as military or civilian. if it was a civilian flight, they couldn't have ordered to abort it (but then there are other rules that were broken regarding accepting civilian flights in a military airfield); if it's was a military flight, then the ground technically could have ordered to abort (or had the authority to do so, anyway), but then they have to disclose the [military] guidelines on weather minimums and so on, and they are technically top secret, so the chicago convention doesn't apply. It's a right mess, really.
Wiedzmin_fan   
29 Jun 2010
Genealogy / Polish looks? [1410]



The homemade pûrno posted above reminded me of this.

(it's a song from a Russian TV series; somebody uploaded it with Polish subtitles)

Don't those folks look like 100% Poles to you? Well, except for Bezrukov - his nose is just a little wrong shape, that that's a minor thing ;)
Wiedzmin_fan   
24 Jun 2010
Food / Russia vs Poland Vodka war [73]

I hate fermented herring

Heheh. Well, I love it! To each his/her own, I suppose ;)

I have dreams about it (it's really hard to get here in the states, because it violates some of those pesky FDA codes). All the herring they sell here is pickled, not fermented.

I've gotta find me some good stinky fermented kind ;)))
Wiedzmin_fan   
23 Jun 2010
Food / Russia vs Poland Vodka war [73]

A question: in Poland, does Vodka go with seljodka (fermented herring), or is it a Russian thing only?

(I know it's not a Ukrainian thing, or not so much anyway, and that made me wonder about Poland too).
Wiedzmin_fan   
19 Jun 2010
Food / Russia vs Poland Vodka war [73]

The taxi driver barely speak Russian to say nothing about English. :)

Yeah, the driver is definitely not Russian (nor Ukrainian for that matter!).

Anyway, what Polish brands of vodka (other than Zubrowka) can you guys recommend? Or Russian, it doesn't matter. Something that is available for export. Here we buy Grey Goose mostly. I want to buy something more authentic next time.
Wiedzmin_fan   
9 Jun 2010
History / Why Poles love Russia [105]

Aren't you a Russian by any chance?

I am 1/4 Russian, 1/8 Polish, and the rest of me is Ukrainian. So it's close enough :)
Wiedzmin_fan   
9 Jun 2010
History / Why Poles love Russia [105]

Poland and Polish don't care much for 'Slavic'

Well, that's too bad. Slavic culture is pretty neat. I thought some of the pagan traditions are still preserved even to this day. Don't people celebrate Ivana Kupala and Maslennica in Poland? Don't they still refer to Svarog/Dazhd'bog/Veles/Perun, or to Baba Yaga? Aren't the musical instruments the same (gusli/svirel'/volynka/rozhok/zhalejka)?

I agree there's not much of similarity in the architecture. But the food is pretty much the same!
Wiedzmin_fan   
9 Jun 2010
History / Why Poles love Russia [105]

I think it's a love-hate relationship (with more of the latter). There are too many similarities between the two, which only makes the differences (and the betrayals, and the violence) all the more traumatic. It's like having a sibling you don't get along with - on one hand, you two are family, on the other hand, they are hurting you more than any stranger could.
Wiedzmin_fan   
1 Jun 2010
Genealogy / Polish and Russian DNA? [52]

or ethnocentric?

Rrr, my fingers sliped: it's ethnoGEOgraphic.

A particular ethnic group that lives in a particular geographic region for a long enough period of time develops a particular genetic make-up. Seems pretty straightforward, no?

If you say "these are Russian genes" then doesn't it run the risk of someone taking it a bit further and saying only those who have those genes are "real Russians".

"Russian genes" (statistically) exist whether you like it or not, and the science can break it down for you in terms of haplogroups, frequences, and all that.

What's wrong with that? It's a scientific fact.

We shouldn't discriminate against those who don't have "real Russian" genes when dealing with citizens of Russian Federation. They all have equal rights, be they ethnic Russian, Tatar, Yakut or whatever. I don't see a contradiction here.

I mean, we all have eyes, right? So we could always see when someone is Russian or not. The science just came up with a quantitative instrument to determine if someone is Russian. What difference is it going to make? IMHO, we are just back where we started, and the only solution is to treat every citizen as an individual, without prejudice.
Wiedzmin_fan   
31 May 2010
Genealogy / Polish and Russian DNA? [52]

If you run a google search for "genetic map of europe", you'll see some fascinating graphs.

Also, you can look up the following papers:

Nature 456, 98-101 (6 November 2008) | doi:10.1038/nature07331; Received 30 May 2008; Accepted 12 August 2008; Published online 31 August 2008
"Genes mirror geography within Europe"

and
European Journal of Human Genetics (2008) 16, 1413-1429; doi:10.1038/ejhg.2008.210
"Investigation of the fine structure of European populations with applications to disease association studies".

Short answer - yes, it looks like the Poles and the Russians are very close genetically.

EDIT:

What always puzzles me is how do they define what is "Russian" DNA or "English" DNA etc. Doesn't this assume that a DNA is actually nationalistic?

DNA is not nationalistic, it is ethnographic.