Unwashed Village
General Discussion => Unwashed Village => Topic started by: Solwyn on February 18, 2008, 04:50:07 PM
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I threw this in the debate forum, although I meant it more as a sharing of opinions (some of which MIGHT be contradictory). This president's day, I've been thinking about how we Americans see our nation, and how other nations see us. On the world scene, America's reputation is greatly tarnished, but as I'm sure many of you non-US villagers can attest, that doesn't affect your opinion of we, the populace, just our idiot leadership (and possibly by relation us for allowing them to get elected).
After reading the link Doombot posted about the Aussie Identity, I started to realize that America is ridiculously diverse in opinion and identity, and I don't think any one person can sum up a list of things that identify us. So:
Americans - list some things that you feel make up the identity of the America you know.
Non-Americans - list some perceptions you have of the identity of Americans.
I'll start:
I think conflict is the essence of American culture. There are always at least two camps to any major issue, and they are usually hotly debating each other. I'm sure that's true in every nation but I'm genuinely hard-pressed to think of a single issue all Americans agree upon, other than the fact that this is the best place to live (otherwise they wouldn't live here).
With that in mind, I think the best way to describe an American is to say they are diverse. But, three examples to get the ball rolling.
1) Pride in national sports heroes: the UK has David Beckham, and he's a big deal. To anyone from Colorado, John Elway is a GOD.
2) The "conservative" ethic - no matter how liberal or conservative, every American has this ideal that the world was better at some point in the past and they need to go back to it (aka pre-Civil War for some people, the return of the Clinton Administration for others).
3) Hatred of Paris Hilton - If you like her, you're not an American.
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1) I've become rather interested in Danica Patrick
2) I liked 1977 pretty well.
3) You forgot the corollary: If you like her, you're not a non-American.
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1) I've become rather interested in Danica Patrick
I figured you liked fast women.
2) I liked 1977 pretty well.
I'd heard a Rumour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumours) to that effect.
3) You forgot the corollary: If you like her, you're not a non-American.
Implicit in the initial requirement that all Americans must hate her. Corollary self-evident on assumption that hate is the absence of like.
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I'm off to work so this may come off as quickly written.
1. The assumption that you can 'make it'.
Your parents don't have to belong to 'old' money. You don't have to be Thurstan Howell the IV. There's a fairly good chance that if you work and are smart, you can make it in America and make it big. America's full of immigrants and born nationals that started with nothing and became million or even billionaires. There's the thought that it's possible.
2. Guns.
American's love their guns. Even I shot guns and I'm not a gun nut.
3. Violence.
We're a violent culture.
4. Too uptight on sex.
If it's the president doing something with an intern or a flash of a boob... we American's go into an outrage. We can show movies where people are hacked with a saw, or have a ear sliced off while dancing to 70's music but NEVER show 'too much' nudity.
5. Freedom
It seems like more of it's going away with restrictive government policies but freedom to do what you want with common sense is an American theme. You want to start a business? Go for it. You want to protest the government? Go for it. (We'll... kinda. It's just more hard) You want to go into the middle of nowhere and live? Go for it. You want to modify your body to look like a lizard man? Go for it.
6. Immigrants.
We're a nation of immigrants. Most Americans love the idea. We just don't like people coming into the country and getting what's perceived to be a free ride.
7. Nature
Something about unspoiled nature just seems American. Perhaps it's a lingering feeling from our pioneer days.
8. Cowboys (and Cowgirls)
It wasn't that long about that we were a frontier culture. The movies of that time were still popular till the 60's and that leaves a cultural mark.
9. WW2
A overwhelmingly feeling of pride how we Americans saved Europe from the Nazi hordes.
Just trolling on that last one. ;)
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4. Too uptight on sex.
I agree. Although I think it's funny, showing a girl in a swimsuit made up of barely more than two nickels and a shoelace is acceptable, even when she's jumping up and down. But if you show a nipple, so help you God...
6. Immigrants.
I agree with this one. I'm a European-American Mutt, and I'm second-generation American from four different countries. I just get pissed when immigrants:
-Refuse to learn English. I realize America has no official language but just learn a trade language. If I lived in China I don't expect I'd get along very far without knowing some Chinese.
-Refuse to become citizens. You can keep all aspects of your culture, America's not trying to rape you of it. Just start paying taxes like the rest of us and you can do whatever you want.
9. WW2
A overwhelmingly feeling of pride how we Americans saved Europe from the Nazi hordes.
How many Swiss people does it take to change a light bulb? Two. One to change the light bulb, and the other to remain neutral as Hitler's armies sweep across Europe.
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My brother and I were discussing the fact that Americans are seen as stupid because some seem to have little knowledge about the world outside of America. We kind of came to the conclusion that while ignorance played a part the fact that America is so vast and diverse means it's slightly inevitable that they won't feel the need to look outside of thier own country.
Ignorance and blindness is pretty much unversal though
I think it's true that it's a widely captialist society with a strong emphasis of self reliance and a lot of sink or swim mentality, but again, America is such a huge country that blanket statements about the identity of the average American just don't work.
Then again I could be wrong and you may all be illiterate, incompetent savages who still need the iron fist of us more cultured and evolved Brits. ;D
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My brother and I were discussing the fact that Americans are seen as stupid because some seem to have little knowledge about the world outside of America. We kind of came to the conclusion that while ignorance played a part the fact that America is so vast and diverse means it's slightly inevitable that they won't feel the need to look outside of thier own country.
Ignorance and blindness is pretty much unversal though
I think it's true that it's a widely captialist society with a strong emphasis of self reliance and a lot of sink or swim mentality, but again, America is such a huge country that blanket statements about the identity of the average American just don't work.
Then again I could be wrong and you may all be illiterate, incompetent savages who still need the iron fist of us more cultured and evolved Brits. ;D
Why do we have to learn more about the rest of the world when examples of the rest of the world are all over the place inside our country? The great thing about the US is that it truly is a melting pot of cultures.
As you said, blanket statements are not very accurate but I'm sure there is a reason the stereotype of the American tourist exists. More than likely it's because those that fit the stereotype are easy to spot and those that don't aren't ever really noticed. That's right, there are secret ninja Americans in your country right now. 8)
I'm not really a traveling type person and I have a short list of places I want to see outside of Georgia. The list is even shorter when I narrow it to foreign points of interest.
*shrug*
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That's what I meant Brug but I probably didn't express myself particularly well though. You have deserts and jungles and swamps and all kinds of other things like mountains and a truly diverse climate that means you don't need to step much outside of the American territories to see a large part of what the rest of the world has to offer.
That felt weird... Agreeing with brug? WTF? *nudge* *wink* :)
Damned American ninjas! I've seen them, they stand in plain sight doing normal things and being totally innocuous, they make my skin crawl!
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Then again I could be wrong and you may all be illiterate, incompetent savages who still need the iron fist of us more cultured and evolved Brits. ;D
See attached image.
I'm not really a traveling type person and I have a short list of places I want to see outside of Georgia. The list is even shorter when I narrow it to foreign points of interest.
I think a lot of the "rest of the world" (read the EU and other places where countries are fairly close to one another) tends to see that as us being narrow-minded.
I think a lot of people chastise we Texans for not using a lot of mass transit. Yeah every major city in Texas has a mass transit system (DFW (http://www.dart.org/), Houston (http://www.ridemetro.org/), Austin (http://www.capmetro.org/) etc) but every major city is so far from the others, it's not feasible to set up a system between them. Unless you want to take the Greyhound which ends up being a huge pain.
But I digress... what I meant to say is that I really want to see the world outside of this country, but because of my job and a variety of other things I just haven't been able to. Maybe that's the "excuse" a lot of Americans use but some like Brug don't care much to leave in the first place, once again showing that whole two sides of every issue deal.
But the point of the thread was to point out things you personally feel make up the identity of the nation. Good points either way.
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Why do we have to learn more about the rest of the world when examples of the rest of the world are all over the place inside our country?
Not.
Quite.
The.
Same.
Or even close.
But it's true. You don't have to learn more about the rest of the world. *bites tongue at this point*
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I see your little football thug and raise you a national treasure.
It's a hard one to answer Solwyn, personally I've met Americans from a lot of different places but I don't think I could form a coherent picture or solid opinion on American identity. More to the point I couildn't pin down a solid cultural identity at work in Scotland so that informs my opinion on National identity on a general sense. The media etc would like me to have an image of the middle east as a land of savages but I know that it just isn't true; people go out to a job every morning, worry about grey hair and do the best for thier families regardless of where they come from.
I think certain cultural motivators dictate the outward form of a national identity, Denmark is a country with a tiny divide between the rich and poor and a cultural de-emphasis on personal material wealth and a positive emphasis on domestic and sexual equality. A lot of the world kind of sees them as boring and bland people but thier social structure and the claimed socail harmony is inspiring.
If I were to catagorise America it would likely be in terms of astounding cultural diversity with a largely, but by no means universal, appreciation and pride in that diversity. To be honest though I've not had any real first hand experience of America to form a coherent opinion.
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Why do we have to learn more about the rest of the world when examples of the rest of the world are all over the place inside our country?
Not.
Quite.
The.
Same.
Or even close.
But it's true. You don't have learn more about the rest of the world. *bites tongue at this point*
That's what Discovery channel is for. I get to watch other cultures in their full glory from the comfort of my own living room and I don't even have to risk drinking their water.
*nods*
Edit - I feel I should add that this is more about my personal hatred of travel more than anything. I'm just not a person that likes to throw all my comforts to the wind to put up with a stressful trip somewhere where I'll inevitably be forced to go see things at someone else's pace instead of just wandering out and enjoying my free time.
I have MeKong: Soul of a River on tivo atm. It's all about wildlife on the river and it's in HD. That's good enough for me. ;)
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This reminds me of a story my friend told me recently.
He worked with a girl who had taken her suitcase into work because she was heading straight from work to catch a plane to Europe, possibly Italy, and she was taking all her gear out to show it off. At the bottom of her case there was a large cardboard box and someone asked what was in it, 'twelve pot noodles' she replied when asked why she said 'I'm not eating any of that foreign muck, I'd rather take my own muck.'
Stupid woman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_Noodle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_Noodle) almost unversally reviled as being truly terrible and one of the few foods where the container tastes better than the contents.
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This reminds me of a story my friend told me recently.
He worked with a girl who had taken her suitcase into work because she was heading straight from work to catch a plane to Europe, possibly Italy, and she was taking all her gear out to show it off. At the bottom of her case there was a large cardboard box and someone asked what was in it, 'twelve pot noodles' she replied when asked why she said 'I'm not eating any of that foreign muck, I'd rather take my own muck.'
Stupid woman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_Noodle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_Noodle) almost unversally reviled as being truly terrible and one of the few foods where the container tastes better than the contents.
I reminded you of that? :inquisitive:
I would have no problem eating foreign food. I eat it here all the time. Granted it's often Americanized but plenty of traditional restaurants can be found. I think I would probably draw the line at monkey brains...and English food. ;D
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I see your little football thug and raise you a national treasure.
I see your national treasure and raise you a fine import.
I guess it's hard to explain, but yeah I was just trying to see how people felt identified.
To be honest I feel very closely tied to what some call the "flag-waving patriot" aspect of our culture. I see myself as a transcendentalist, a promoter of free thought and action, and so forth. But like most freethinkers I hit a lot of backwards thinking people running the other way. And then we all stay about where we started, and there you have America.
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You didn't remind me of it directly Brug it was just where my train of thought was going.
I already used Hugh Lawrie as part of my top trump :P
I get what you mean though Solwyn, I'm quite patriotic I appreciate the contribution my countrymen have made to the arts and science and strongly believe we can still have a positive impact on the world, I'm proud to be a Scot.
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Yeah, I realize he was one half of Jeeves and Wooster, I was using him against you in an AMERICAN show... dun dun duuuunnnnnnn
But yeah, I want to believe that national identity is not a thing of Pre-World War II Europe, when racial identity was a big deal.
After that, I think people belong more to "cultures," so they can say and do what they feel no matter what the political choice of their country of origin.
I like to believe I'm a Celt, and identify with that side of myself (my mom's side of the family being mostly Irish). But I'm an American.
Oh, and to those of you who call all American Beer pisswater, go drink something that costs more than five bucks a 12-pack. Namely...
Sam Adams (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Beer_Company), anything by New Belgium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Belgium_Brewing_Company) or Leinenkugels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leinenkugels).
Just my 2c, but those all have fine brews, especially Samuel Adams Scotch Ale and Belgium Brewing Company's Fat Tire.
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But... but... the unutterable 'R' word... you can't do that! I used him to illustrate my point.
What I've seen of house he is very good in it but I'd contest that his presence and popularity on American TV only serves to strenghten my point about Americans yearning for strong examples and leadership from the god like British.
Silly post-colonial monkey. ;D
Seriously though.
I don't think that national identity is so strongly linked to racial identity anymore, most of the people I know from different racial backgrounds are happy to consider themselves Scottish and I tend to find that a divergent racial background doesn't make me question that assertion.
My limited knowledge of national/racial identity suggests there is still something of a conceptual dichotomy in how people from different racial backgrounds view thier national identity in its entirety though. I suppose that's really just a sign of people being comfortable integrating while still being proud of thier heritage which is largely what you've already said I think.
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I see what you mean, but I was addressing more of a point between national and cultural identity.
Like I'm an American, but I don't own an SUV. But that doesn't mean I smoke pot.
So we as Americans belong to these subcultures in order to find identity, based on a variety of reasons.
Also, House MD is awesome, and can I get an amen from the other colonials out there? Don't be have a kiwi on the forum? Or was it an Aussie? Or both. I can never remember. But I know we have some Cannucks.
Also, you Brits can keep Tom Cruise.
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We don't want Cruise, he keeps saying really odd things and scaring the children.
I see what you mean, belonging to subcultures is a universal though. I suppose I kind of touch on the metal subculture but I don't conform to the inherent clothing rules and I'm not tatooed or pierced. I find it slightly shocking that I conform to the portion of my society that looks down on a lot of other groups like the neds and the emos, I often need to catch myself and remind myself that thier mode of self expression isn't intrinsically less valuable than the way I choose to define myself.
I reckon that subculture is a valuable way of defining oneself in relation to the rest of society but I also believe that it can be a dangerous thing if you get carried away with it. In many ways subculture is becoming the new 'race issue'. Well... it's probably being given a brighter spotlight now than it has had for quite a while
I don't think being part of a subculture precludes some kind of national identity even if it's an abstract and I feel that national identity is definitely an abstract, we can form lists etc but they just don't capture the spirit of the thing.
I realise I'm totally getting away from the original debate and that I'm probably not quite getting exacly what you're asking for.
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My brother and I were discussing the fact that Americans are seen as stupid because some seem to have little knowledge about the world outside of America. We kind of came to the conclusion that while ignorance played a part the fact that America is so vast and diverse means it's slightly inevitable that they won't feel the need to look outside of thier own country.
There is something to that. If want something different, we really don't have to leave our country to get it.
Want the snow? Northern states.
Want isolated snow? Alaska.
Want the tropics and warm weather? Hawaii.
Want the beach? California, Texas, Florida and other states.
Want the desert? Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico.
Want high tech cities? Dallas, New York, San Fran, etc.
Want the simple cities? Go to Arkansas, Missouri etc.
I could go on and on. Any activity, sport, leisure activity can probably be done in the States. So unlike some countries, we don't have to leave ours if we want to see the beach or go skiing in the snow.
If there's a certain lifestyle then it's here too. Want an Asian, rural, gay, hippie or surfer lifestyle? There's probably a community that's built up around that theme.
So we really don't have to leave to do something since it probably exists.
There's certain exceptions of course. Obviously, I can't see Ayer's Rock in America but I can go to a safari and see kangaroos. =) And there's so much to see.
However, I DO want to be one of those people that travel. I like traveling.
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I would have no problem eating foreign food. I eat it here all the time. Granted it's often Americanized but plenty of traditional restaurants can be found. I think I would probably draw the line at monkey brains...and English food. ;D
Ewwww GROSS! British Food. =P Almost Burnt Bland Food dipped in grease.
If they go all out they dump a can of peas on it.
More Monkey Brains please!
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I figured the "Americans don't know about the rest of the world" thing would come up early. But how much do the average citizens anywhere know about the rest of the world? I would say it's easy to know all about different countries and cultures and languages when you have twelve of the friggen things in an area the size of Texas.
I would guess that my knowledge of the European map is better than most European's knowledge of the 50 states. And that's probably a fair equivilent.
I also agree that our identity, to me, is more business-oriented in nature. You can do (almost) anything you want here, without red tape. Want to start a business? Paint a sign and go for it (obviously, certain professions like doctor, etc need a license.) Personally, I like that a lot.
One thing I don't like (like many others) is this world cop thing. But we also have to remember that it was that attitude that probably kept the Russian bear out of western Europe in the 60's-80's. They certainly weren't afraid of France, Denmark, and Sweeden (to name a few.)
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Night Owl makes a good point about the knowledge thing. I can't use this as a sample but a Finnish buddy of mine once defied me to tell him to answer five questions about Finland without looking up the answers, I got three right. I asked him five about the US and he got them all wrong. I didn't see that as a failing on his part though, I'm just a nerd and like to know things that are (for all intents and purposes) trivial.
Although I'm amazed at how intricately some of my European friends understand the current US election, especially compared to some of my American peers.
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Although I'm amazed at how intricately some of my European friends understand the current US election, especially compared to some of my American peers.
Probably due to the effect that America has on the world. The world's going to be effected more by US policy than what Finland does. US policy can affect trade, wars, economies. Finland just sends us drunk posts and swears on our boards when they drink vodka.
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I figured the "Americans don't know about the rest of the world" thing would come up early. But how much do the average citizens anywhere know about the rest of the world? I would say it's easy to know all about different countries and cultures and languages when you have twelve of the friggen things in an area the size of Texas.
Texas is a good example. My boyfriend drives to Dallas sometimes. He can hit the Texas border and still have to drive for another 10 hours before hitting Dallas. If he wanted to pass Dallas and go though Texas on to Arkansas it would be about another 3 hours.
Europe vs. US Size Comparison Map (http://goeurope.about.com/od/europeanmaps/l/bl-country-size-comparison-map.htm)
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Finland just sends us drunk posts and swears on our boards when they drink vodka.
That's just what they export. I bet you don't know what they import. ;)
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Ants? Importants?
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Finland just sends us drunk posts and swears on our boards when they drink vodka.
That's just what they export. I bet you don't know what they import. ;)
I don't know what they import the MOST in volume but the most money they spend is on foreign fossil fuels and energy. Also foodstuffs since there's not enough agriculture to support the populace. And if I'm not mistaken they import the most from Germany.
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Ugh
Just read the next one...
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****QUOTED THE WRONG THING*****
"finnish vodka posting*
which reminds me
is Nak still alive?
[/quote]
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I've lived in Europe, but I am Icelandic and living in Iceland at the moment.
I've only visited the USA once. I went to New York recently, and it changed my perception of Americans quite a bit. I know it's just a tiny bit of the USA, but it is very diverse. Of course there were all these typical (and sometimes rather amusing) "American" things you'd expect to see, like a huge billboard advertising a movie with the slogan: "action-packed action"...But I don't think that would appeal to *every* American really. There were many things that were obviously very popular, but again, those don't apply to everyone. What I did notice though, and what I think of as very unique for the USA, was the crazy packaging. I don't mean loud pictures with colors, but the fact that every single thing you buy will be wrapped in plastic, put in a paper bag and then handed to you in a plastic bag. You'll have trouble finding coffee that isn't served in a cup made of styrofoam or paper, with a plastic top and then wrapped in a layer of cardboard to make sure your fingers don't get too warm from holding it. Even if you buy a tiny piece of chocolate to go with that coffee you will be asked: "would you like a bag for that"
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It's funny what stands out. =)
To me having potato wedges or french fries served in a paper cup in Australia stood out. Even though we get our french fries is something similar at McDonalds (but not that similar) just having them in a drink cup felt strange.
That and hearing 'bloody' all the time.
"I'm trying to get bloody organised!"
"I"m in the bloody que!"
"Bloody Melbourne traffic!"
I've lived in Europe, but I am Icelandic and living in Iceland at the moment.
I've only visited the USA once. I went to New York recently, and it changed my perception of Americans quite a bit. I know it's just a tiny bit of the USA, but it is very diverse. Of course there were all these typical (and sometimes rather amusing) "American" things you'd expect to see, like a huge billboard advertising a movie with the slogan: "action-packed action"...But I don't think that would appeal to *every* American really. There were many things that were obviously very popular, but again, those don't apply to everyone. What I did notice though, and what I think of as very unique for the USA, was the crazy packaging. I don't mean loud pictures with colors, but the fact that every single thing you buy will be wrapped in plastic, put in a paper bag and then handed to you in a plastic bag. You'll have trouble finding coffee that isn't served in a cup made of styrofoam or paper, with a plastic top and then wrapped in a layer of cardboard to make sure your fingers don't get too warm from holding it. Even if you buy a tiny piece of chocolate to go with that coffee you will be asked: "would you like a bag for that"
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What I did notice though, and what I think of as very unique for the USA, was the crazy packaging. I don't mean loud pictures with colors, but the fact that every single thing you buy will be wrapped in plastic, put in a paper bag and then handed to you in a plastic bag. You'll have trouble finding coffee that isn't served in a cup made of styrofoam or paper, with a plastic top and then wrapped in a layer of cardboard to make sure your fingers don't get too warm from holding it. Even if you buy a tiny piece of chocolate to go with that coffee you will be asked: "would you like a bag for that"
*nods* We do like our waste here. :(
That makes me curious though. Do Europeans get as much junk mail as we do or less? I'm guessing less but I honestly have no idea.
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It's funny what stands out. =)
To me having potato wedges or french fries served in a paper cup in Australia stood out. Even though we get our french fries is something similar at McDonalds (but not that similar) just having them in a drink cup felt strange.
That and hearing 'bloody' all the time.
"I'm trying to get bloody organised!"
"I"m in the bloody que!"
"Bloody Melbourne traffic!"
I've lived in Europe, but I am Icelandic and living in Iceland at the moment.
I've only visited the USA once. I went to New York recently, and it changed my perception of Americans quite a bit. I know it's just a tiny bit of the USA, but it is very diverse. Of course there were all these typical (and sometimes rather amusing) "American" things you'd expect to see, like a huge billboard advertising a movie with the slogan: "action-packed action"...But I don't think that would appeal to *every* American really. There were many things that were obviously very popular, but again, those don't apply to everyone. What I did notice though, and what I think of as very unique for the USA, was the crazy packaging. I don't mean loud pictures with colors, but the fact that every single thing you buy will be wrapped in plastic, put in a paper bag and then handed to you in a plastic bag. You'll have trouble finding coffee that isn't served in a cup made of styrofoam or paper, with a plastic top and then wrapped in a layer of cardboard to make sure your fingers don't get too warm from holding it. Even if you buy a tiny piece of chocolate to go with that coffee you will be asked: "would you like a bag for that"
There are probably some strange things that are unique to Icelanders. Maybe I'm standing too close to spot them...But if I had to guess, I'd say it's the habit of putting "cocktail sauce" on everything. When the British occupied Iceland in ww2 they introduced prawn cocktails to Icelanders. For some reason the prawn bit never caught on, but the sauce was a hit (a mix of ketchup and mayo). Everyone puts it on everything, be it pizza, sandwiches, hamburgers, fries, salad, fried fish or steak...This is probably a bigger contributor to heart disease in Iceland than tobacco. But it tastes yummy.
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*nods* We do like our waste here. :(
That makes me curious though. Do Europeans get as much junk mail as we do or less? I'm guessing less but I honestly have no idea.
We get lots of it over here. But you can put a sticker on your door that says "no advertising" or something similar. This has been known to lead some mailmen to think "oh, I guess he doesn't want his newspaper then, it being full of ads and all". So now you sometimes see "No advertising but I'd still like my newspapers and magazines thank you" stickers on doors.
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A friend of mine from New Jersey finally came down to Texas, and was amazed that we don't all wear cowboy hats and speak in accents. As a matter of fact it's something like 8-10% of us who are like that.
I think a lot of people have these preconceived notions of what people are like, and I think it's healthy when those get shattered, or at least cracked a little bit once you meet the person face to face.
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A friend of mine from New Jersey finally came down to Texas, and was amazed that we don't all wear cowboy hats and speak in accents. As a matter of fact it's something like 8-10% of us who are like that.
I think a lot of people have these preconceived notions of what people are like, and I think it's healthy when those get shattered, or at least cracked a little bit once you meet the person face to face.
My boyfriend groans when I play country music. In fact everyone from Texas that I met hates country music. =)
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My boyfriend groans when I play country music. In fact everyone from Texas that I met hates country music. =)
Which is funny because my two friends in Dallas both hate it too. ;D
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My boyfriend groans when I play country music. In fact everyone from Texas that I met hates country music. =)
Which is funny because my two friends in Dallas both hate it too. ;D
I like some of it. "Country" these days is too poppy for me. Not that I hate pop, but it all sounds the same, so I get sick of it. And I freaking HATE steel guitars in country music (sounds like a little kid pretending to make laser beam sounds... pyew pyew pyew!!). I love Texas blues (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lightnin' Hopkins, Johnny Winter). But Shania, Reba, and Garth don't really do it for me.
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My boyfriend groans when I play country music. In fact everyone from Texas that I met hates country music. =)
Which is funny because my two friends in Dallas both hate it too. ;D
I kinda feel that way about Hawaiian Music even though there's a large selection that's absolutely beautiful like Brudda Iz. I winch a bit when I hear it since I heard it for a VERY long time.
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But if I had to guess, I'd say it's the habit of putting "cocktail sauce" on everything. When the British occupied Iceland in ww2 they introduced prawn cocktails to Icelanders. For some reason the prawn bit never caught on, but the sauce was a hit (a mix of ketchup and mayo). Everyone puts it on everything, be it pizza, sandwiches, hamburgers, fries, salad, fried fish or steak...This is probably a bigger contributor to heart disease in Iceland than tobacco. But it tastes yummy.
Our seafood cocktail sauce is pretty much just ketchup and horseradish. I don't think I've ever seen it packaged with mayo.
But then again, although mayo is used a decent amount over here on sandwiches and in potato salads, it seems that the Europeans use it as a condiment much more than we do. (Don't the Dutch put it on their french fries/chips/whatever they call those fried potato things?)
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I hear the Canadians also enjoy Mayo on their fries/burgers etc.
Which isn't too bizarre I suppose. I think Mustard and Ketchup are the favorites here in the states when it comes to sandwich-type condiments.
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I like some of it. "Country" these days is too poppy for me. Not that I hate pop, but it all sounds the same, so I get sick of it. And I freaking HATE steel guitars in country music (sounds like a little kid pretending to make laser beam sounds... pyew pyew pyew!!). I love Texas blues (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lightnin' Hopkins, Johnny Winter). But Shania, Reba, and Garth don't really do it for me.
But Patsy Cline... if she doesn't do it for you, then you're either tone-deaf or dead.
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I fall to pieces when I hear Patsy Cline.
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That is so wrong.
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The king of puns is put off his beer by a Patsy Cline joke.
At least I didn't make an airplane falling to pieces joke... that would be insensitive, and I would never do that.
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Crazy...
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There He Goes... Quit Foolin' Around, if you spent Half As Much time Walking After Midnight as you do coming up with puns When You Need a Laugh, you'd be Stronger Than Me. Imagine That.
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You're The Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly.
(http://www.c4vct.com/kym/humor/c-w.htm)
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Pardon Me, I've Got Someone To Kill (http://www.c4vct.com/kym/humor/c-w.htm)
Side note: best... site... evar.
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Here's a quarter; call someone who cares.