Advantages: Britain
Disadvantages: London lost its charm

...about the language and the British culture? Hey, all they need to do is bleed victim and the government comes up with new ideas to make them happy. Because if the new foreigners aren't happy and catered for in all their needs, someone among them will say that it may be against the law... So suddenly we all have to accept foreign cultures, but they do not seem to have to fit in to the British way of life. Somehow a very one-sided affair! I for one live in a council that is claiming that ethnic minorities should have a fair shot at life in London. Latest figures show that less than 45% of the residents in this council are white. So who's in the minority...maths anyone...did I miss something? So the culture we have in our area is one of mosques, pound shops, very little english and lots and lots of violence; miles away from what... Read review

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Advantages: Fresh new music
Disadvantages: Initially appears to be very samey

...Leeds five-piece Hadouken! have just released their debut album, Music For An Accelerated Culture. The new-rave quintet, who are named after a fireball throwing attack in the popular video game series Street Fighter, have appeared on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show with their internet phenomenon double a-side "That Boy That Girl/Tuning In", and in January this year two of the band members Djed and presented the show themselves. Their music, which is said to fall under the Asbo-disco genre, is heavily influenced by dance artists The Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers, and tackles issues such as debt, drinking, and youth culture. The album features the popular MySpace track "Get Smashed Gate Crash", and their singles "That Boy That Girl", "Liquid Lives", and "Declaration Of War". The exterior artwork is very much reminiscent of J... Read review

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Advantages: Well written, well acted. Genuinely very funny.
Disadvantages: It’s on Channel 5.

.... He’s the exchange student that’s only just learned English and is trying to get to grips with American culture. He’s great and I think that he’s given the funniest lines. The adults are also good. The character of Red is somebody that I’ve slowly warmed to as the series has gone on. They also have some new camera angles in the show. if people are sitting around a table, they have the camera just on one persons face while they are talking. The camera then moves around to the next person who starts talking. It sounds weird but it works and is especially funny when the guys are having surreal conversations during their pot smoking sessions. I have seen fantasy sequences done before but not as good as the ones on this show and they are always very funny. The 70’s type set is fantastic and the show won... Read review

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Advantages: Any culture is better than no culture at all
Disadvantages: It doesn't actually exist

...So obviously, opinions in this category should follow a Q & A format. Disappointed already, eh? Sorry, but there’s no such thing as UK culture. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland plays host to a wonderful disparity of cultures. And despite the will of the people generally, this pot pourri of cultures has been marketed as some sort of collective since the days of James VI (and, apparently, I) Alastair Campbell’s ancestors must have been spinning in the 1700’s. I hope he’s proud of that, at least as a diversion, given that around the same time his other ancestors were massacring McDonalds, men, women and children, on the frozen slopes of Glencoe. So already you know where this is going! I sincerely hope England win the World Cup. If they do, I will applaud them. On one condition. That every pundit... Read review

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Advantages: we have many different cultures
Disadvantages: people aren't willing to accept some of them

...This is just a theory, but when i was studying english language, there was a section on culture. After reading a few poems and having a big discussion, the class decided that culture is identity and identity is language. Let me explain. The dictionary definition of culture in the sense that we want it is "customs, achievements, etc. of a particular civilization or group". This basically means something that a particular nation can be known by. Imagine that you're stranded in a foreign country, you don't speak one word of the language and nobody can speak english. Immediately, you have lost your identity. You cannothelp yourself, you cannot let people know who you are. You've lost all links to your culture. English is spoken all over the world, but not one nations english will be like anothers, because they have forged... Read review

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Advantages: helps people who genuinely have a claim and need the money
Disadvantages: some claims sound ridiculous, and also ppl are confused about the issue

...Lately the media has been giving us scare stories about "compensation culture" - the idea of a culture where people receive compensation for any little injury (physical or psychiatric), no matter how it was caused, and this will apparently lead to a "nanny state" (another stick to beat the government with!). Look beyond the headlines and it's a different story. First, a brief history and explanation of this thing. There are 2 big branches of law in England and Wales: civil (or private) law, and criminal law. There are many branches within these, and the two big ones in civil law are the law of contract and the law of torts. "Compensation culture" is to do with the law of tort: an area of law that enforces people's "duty of care" towards each other, for example food manufacturers have a duty of care to their customers by making... Read review

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Advantages: easy money
Disadvantages: no trust

...Britain has gone mad concerning the compensation culture. It just seems that everyone is willing, without any remorse or guilt, to sue anyone for the slightest of reasons. In some cases family members are making claims against each other for the simple reason of making easy money. There are even criminal organisation who are deliberately causing accidents involving motor vehicles, such as removing brake lights and then suddenly stopping in front of another car, then claiming for whiplash and other injuries, then making a claim against the innocent motorist that they have just 'conned'. There are many similar 'stunts that these criminals use and as it is hard to prove against there claim then the insurance companies simply pay out, thus forcing the companies to raise there premiums for everyone else. Britain has become a nation... Read review

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Advantages: Fun for all, relaxing to play
Disadvantages: A little too slow if your after a bit more action

...Cultures is a resource management game based around Vikings. You control a small group of Vikings and train them to do various jobs like being a huntsman, baker, farmer, etc and you build them places to live and work. The game is cute and the Vikings do not go rampaging about the land, looting and pillaging. It's not that kind of game and they aren't those kind of Vikings. You build your community. Male Vikings go to work and female Vikings cook them dinner and have babies. When two Vikings get married and have somewhere to live, you can tell them to have a baby. The baby arrives and grows up. Once the baby (boy) reaches adulthood, you can train him to do whatever job might be required. Baby girls grow into women, who then have more children (if you want). Care needs to be taken to ensure that there is enough food... Read review

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Advantages: Great debut
Disadvantages: Not many

...The Ordinary Boys hail from Sussex and 'Over The Counter Culture' is their debut album, and quite impressive it is too. In fact, it is one of the best new albums I have listened to this year. The Ordinary boys take influence from the Smiths and the Jam but puts these influence into hyper-mode with a fresh upbeat driven record. Front man, Preston, sounds uncannily like Morrisey but, in my opinion, uses his voice in a much better way (I find Morrisey a bit annoying). Indeed, the Ordinary Boys take their name from Morriseys 'Viva Hate', so you can definately see where their influences lie. An album full of cracking riffs, catchy pop-like tunes, great lyrics, and a scattering of ska-like brass, this is definately an album to listen to! ------------------------------------------ Track List: 1. Over The Counter Culture (03... Read review

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Advantages: Coffee is kinda nice...I guess
Disadvantages: Tea has been forgotten

...silly about the whole thing. Now, however, if something upsets me at work or I'm worrying about an essay for uni., my friends will immediately tell me they are taking me for a latte... We go to trendy coffee shop, pose in front of huge milky coffees and dissect my woes in the manner of a therapist and his patient. But, to be honest, this only ever confuses things and its not until I muse over the situation on my own with a quiet 'cuppa' that I manage to actually resolve the problem. You see, along with the new-found obsession with coffee, comes the new 'coffee-culture' and I think its caused the loss of some of our 'British-ness'. -It makes us all think that we can only be cool if we swan around in starbucks and the likes sitting in 'tub' chairs and openly discussing our problems with our fashionable friends as if we're in an American... Read review

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