Capto Iugulum Background Thread

[EQandcivfanatic]

I've already got 3 tv cultural submissions in reserve! Make some of those into movies lucky.

 

[Luckymoose]

I've already got 3 tv cultural submissions in reserve! Make some of those into movies lucky.

I keep forgetting to include them in my orders. If you'll take them, I'll PM you some this evening.

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

Sure, actually looks like I'm running short on such submissions for this update.

 

[Lord of Elves]

These are some interesting developments. You better believe I am already scheming.

 

[Quisani]

I will confirm that I've been trying to get some cultural radio/television/movie/book contributions in for some time. I figure if I keep sending them with Prospective cultural contributions, they will be admitted at some point.

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

@Quisani: I just have been trying how to fit your radio show contribution into a non-nuclear world. It just doesn't seem to work somehow, at least not in capturing the spirit of what you're trying to go for.

 

[JohannaK]

EQ doesn't want Kipling to publish anything else.

 

[TheLastJacobite]

EQ doesn't want Kipling to publish anything else.

It's not him, it's the British controlled media punishing him for speaking the truth

 

[Quisani]

*shrug* I understand. Some of them didn't feel right at the time either, but they'll fit in somewhere down the line.

 

[Luckymoose]

I sent you one, EQ, but I'm not sure if you'll accept it. I have some others, but I think a good old fashioned action/romance is better than the darker stuff.

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

Yeah, that's been my trouble with some of the submissions, they felt too dark for the era we had. I mean, realistically I'd say that what would probably be popular right now would be espionage stuff, fantasy, and probably a decent helping of invasion stories.

 

[Circuit]

While we're on the topic, I wonder: what is the overall state of consumer technology and standard of living (where are we compared to OTL and to each other)? I've also been wondering how GDP compares to EP (since the two are not the same) and who is where in terms of GDP and GDP-per-capita.

 

[EQandcivfanatic]

I'm not touching GDP with a ten foot pole, but I will go into standards of living.

I hesitate to qualify nations under our OTL "First World, etc" statuses, but there are definitely distinct differences for the individual in terms of quality of living. In wealthier places right now you could safely qualify standards of living roughly as those of 1950s USA, in terms of the middle class anyways. If I were pressed to say the best place to live, I'd actually go for Switzerland. It's quiet, access to cheap luxury goods from Germany, the Confederate successors, and Italy, while not being too overcrowded. It has good roads, public transportation, and good healthcare. Whether poor, rich, or in the middle, I'd say Switzerland is probably the best place to live for the largest percentage of its population.

Otherwise, what we could loosely term as a First World sort of environment (though not to same degree of disparity as OTL) would be the South America economic bloc, which despite recent tensions is still highly productive and linked. This would be Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil. Admittedly, Uruguay did put a bit of a hiccup in the system, but it seems that the resolution of the crisis could very well set things straight in a hurry. Also I'd clump an assortment of other nations, but not in any one geographical location. Britain and assorted dominions (minus Guangxi) are fairly nice. Portugal is VERY nice these days in terms of available luxuries and standard of living. Vinland of course is a delightful place to live, assuming that you're not on the border with the USA.

I hesitate to qualify Germany and Italy in these estimates, as they don't have the same degree of wild consumerism and luxuries available to them as SouAmerica regions do. I'd place them in a "Second World" sort of status, along with the other South Americans not mentioned above, Aztlan, and Japan.

Of course the absolute worst place to live is probably any Subsaharan African nation. Haraldsholm itself is actually fairly nice in that portion of the continent, but everything else languishes in squalor and poverty. South Africa would be the sole exception for the moment, as it actually has functioning sewage systems and modern healthcare. Being a peasant in Russia would probably also come pretty close in a lacking lifestyle. To be fair though, it'd probably be worse to be one of the displaced serf types living in the cities, with vicious work hours, hardly any pay, and a cramped apartment, assuming they aren't living out of an alley. On the other hand, if you're rich or a member of the middle class in Russia, you can probably enjoy a very luxurious lifestyle.

 

[Shadowbound]

What do I need to do to fix Benin, then? I've got a list.

 

[Grandkhan]

What about Denmark? Given its lousy economic progress in the last twenty years, I always kind of parsed it as hardly first world. Probably something like Eastern/Southern Europe in the 90s. Is that correct?

 

[spryllino]

I would like to suggest, irrelevantly to the present discussion, that, with Septembrist governments quite to fall out of office in Orleans and Normandy at the next elections, and with another Septembrist government in Paris, and with the dismantlement of the Confederation being called "one of the greatest political mistakes of the twentieth century" elsewhere, there might be something to be said for just those three NPC governments putting into motion negotiations to reunify, not only because it's a good idea - and they can always leave joining up with the rest of the Confederation until later - but because it might be their only chance of winning the next election in some cases. (I expect this should be made easier by the fact that the Septembrist movement probably still has some level of unified structure.) At any rate, that's what the Septembrists would be doing if I were in charge of them.

 

[Luckymoose]

Otherwise, what we could loosely term as a First World sort of environment (though not to same degree of disparity as OTL) would be the South America economic bloc, which despite recent tensions is still highly productive and linked. This would be Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil.

I'd imagine living in a Brazilian metro, like Rio or Sao Paulo, would pretty much be easy street. Definitely wouldn't be lacking in access to luxuries. I'd actually be curious to know more about Rio. Statue of Liberty and subways and airports and all the coolness.

Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires (maybe Montevideo on a good year) are probably the best cities in the Americas.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

I've always pictured Nya Stockholm (OTL Québec) as one of the nicest places to live in Vinland, followed by Nya Göteborg (OTL Montréal). Nya Stockholm is a major port, and remains a relatively stable and peaceful city, as well as having all of the benefits of being the national capital. Nya Göteborg is the center of many businesses, and another major port, but it is also a major immigrant destination, so it has a lot more poverty and pollution. Sammanström (OTL Winnipeg) is a sprawling midwestern metropolis, being a rail transportation hub and major center of immigration. Thus, its issues are similar to those of Nya Göteborg, although the weather is somewhat worse: baking in the summers, frigid and blizzard-y in the winters.

 

[Jehoshua]

Rome is probably a reasonable place to live in (slightly better than Italy) in terms of availability to resources, although I've always pictured it as being somewhat lacking in the motorised vehicle department due to the unrepentant medieval streetscape (the cities population almost certainly is still completely contained within the Aurelian and Leonine walls). I suppose the unique characteristics would be the overabundance of clergy and the absence of liberal/prole views in the media thanks to the inquisitorial censor.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Also, I can totally imagine Inspektor Bobrovski radio plays.