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PC Doc 54
aka fcapes
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join:2000-10-28
Middle Island, NY
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| reply to jvmorris
Re: Why England Sucks
You have to wonder about someone who comments on another country's language - "Septics are stupid... they even had to dumb down the language so they could cope with it" - and manages to get a spelling mistake in their own statement! Twice!!  | |
jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
Premium,MVM
join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA | Actually, who ... oh, it was nemo!!!
(Actually, I suspect that was a deliberate pun.)
--
Regards,
Joseph V. Morris | |
nemo1966
join:2005-11-15
England
4 edits | reply to PC Doc 54
said by PC Doc 54  :You have to wonder about someone who comments on another country's language - "Septics are stupid... they even had to dumb down the language so they could cope with it" - and manages to get a spelling mistake in their own statement! Twice!! ??? lost me, what two spelling mistakes are there in that statement?
Edit:
I see you think I mean't "Sceptic".
"Septic Tank" Cockney Rhyming slang for "Yank".
Hence you are a "Septic" (A Yank - Yankee)
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septic_tank - this reference gives a description of a real septic tank and the slang version. The real version comes quite close
I think you just proved my case 
Another Edit:
Carrying on from that, I would be classed as a "Listerine"... Listerine is an Anti-septic. Anti-septic = Anti-Yank.
Get it? 
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PC Doc 54
aka fcapes
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2 edits | said by nemo1966 :I think you just proved my case Well then it backfired ... I live in New York but I was born and raised in Berkshire mate ... sorry to disappoint you 
Now - even though I realize the futility of taking on a mind like Nemo's, I feel I must point out some of your obvious misunderstandings: Americans in general are far from stupid, a LOT of Brits do NOT hate American tv or American humor, (and I still catch British tv so please don't try to tell me Office, Extras, Mile High, Emmerdale Farm, Crossroads or Coronation Street are your idea of better quality tv), and most of us know how to drive what we call a stick shift vehicle. I've personally owned 3 since I got here, and my (US born) girlfriend still has 2 and won't drive anything else.
On the other hand, in response to the original post: Mayonnaise? I've never heard of using mayo on food in England, I've always associated that with US deli sandwiches. And please, stop with the generalization that English food sucks, that is so 1960's!
Yes a lot of stuff is closed on Sunday, what a wonderful concept ... a day when there's no pressure to run out shopping, spending money you don't have, being dragged through clothing stores by the wife ... ahhh, bliss!
And, having grown up there, I can say I was never taught to equate American with stupid. In fact if anything I always had the greatest respect for the US, and now that I visit England with an American accent, I am almost always treated with respect. Quite frankly, with the damage our current president has done to the image of America, that amazes me! | |
jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
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join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA
| Well, I told you it was deliberate, but Cockney Rhyming Slang -- haven't heard that mentioned in years!
Now - even though I realize the futility of taking on a mind like Nemo's, ... Recommend you edit the above phrase; possibly replace "taking on" with "contending with", just for starters. Otherwise, I'll have nightmares tonight.
I feel I must point out some of your obvious misunderstandings: Americans in general are far from stupid, a LOT of Brits do NOT hate American tv or American humor, (and I still catch British tv so please don't try to tell me Office, Extras, Mile High, Emmerdale Farm, Crossroads or Coronation Street are your idea of better quality tv), and most of us know how to drive what we call a stick shift vehicle. I've personally owned 3 since I got here, and my (US born) girlfriend still has 2 and won't drive anything else. Indeed, I've owned seven cars in the US, only two had automatic transmissions. After trying three different rental cars with automatic transmissions on English country roads, it was a no-brainer to buy a manual transmission car for use over there, also.
On the other hand, in response to the original post: Mayonnaise? I've never heard of using mayo on food in England, I've always associated that with US deli sandwiches. And please, stop with the generalization that English food sucks, that is so 1960's! Mayo? Nor have I. (Maybe Tzale eats exclusively at motorway rest stops, MacDonalds, Burger King, and Pizza Hut?) Or maybe he's thinking of Kraft salad cream? (Something I don't particularly care for myself.) And, like you, I have no problem with standard English fare. It's a pity, however, how difficult it can be to find good Szechuan Chinese over there.
Yes a lot of stuff is closed on Sunday, what a wonderful concept ... a day when there's no pressure to run out shopping, spending money you don't have, being dragged through clothing stores by the wife ... ahhh, bliss! As an American, that was a bit unusual at first, but I've become accustomed to it. And, like you, I've come to the conclusion, it's got it's good points. (The real problem is when Christmas and Boxing Day fall on a weekend! )
And, having grown up there, I can say I was never taught to equate American with stupid. In fact if anything I always had the greatest respect for the US, and now that I visit England with an American accent, I am almost always treated with respect. Quite frankly, with the damage our current president has done to the image of America, that amazes me! And, going the other direction (from US to UK), my experiences are more like yours than Tzale's. I think it's fairly obvious that I'm an American (but oddly a lot of Englishman assume I'm Canadian).
--
Regards,
Joseph V. Morris | |
nemo1966
join:2005-11-15
England
| reply to PC Doc 54
WTF you claim to be born and raised in Britain but you didn't know what a "Septic" was????????????
BTW Yanks are thick, you may have been born in England you you have obviously gone down a lot since then... hence trying to correct my spelling etc when you actually know little of what you are trying to correct - a typical Yank trait
What next? well I suggest try shouting or bullying, that always comes next when Yanks can't get their own way
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jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
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join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA | Noooo, nemo . . A Colt 45 Automatic comes next.
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Regards,
Joseph V. Morris | |
PC Doc 54
aka fcapes
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| Actually no, the good old ignore button is what came next ... ahh, bliss, no more nimrod.
I know I should have avoided getting involved in a debate with the idiot, but it just pisses me off when I see stupid, ignorant, bigoted crap like that being spewed.
Sadly now the thread will probably disappear ... it would be nice if we could have had a genuine discussion on the subject without someone crapping all over it. | |
jvmorris
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Reston, VA
1 edit | Elf and Safely
Well, seriously, we could always start with elf and safely.
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Regards,
Joseph V. Morris | |
wonko3fc
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| Does England Really Suck more than America?
Not to deviate to far of thread but I quite like having automatic transmission. Indeed, having spent what feels like a lifetime on and off the clutch in the daily commute, my personal bliss moment came when the manual transmission was replaced with an automatic one - I tell ya, there is no going back now.... | |
jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
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join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA
| Oh, thanks for changing the header on your reply. I just went back and changed it on mine to "Elf and Safely".
But you ended up talking about auto vs manual transmissions!
At any rate, I'd much rather have a manual transmission in London traffic, if only for the better gas mileage. (And it does wonders to keep the muscles in the left leg in shape. ). But, outside of London, I spend very little time in city traffic. But on the country roads out in Shropshire, I'd much rather have a manual transmission (and the four-wheel drive) when I end up on a super-saturated shoulder (or even worse a ditch) so that a tractor (and you do indeed have huge farm tractors over there) needs to get past me. (I'm talking oncoming traffic here, guys.) And ditto for those nasty little situations in which you encounter icy patches on the hilly country roads in the wintertime.
As for your new header, I would have to say that there are things about England that I really like that I cannot find in the US and vice versa. And, conversely, there are things about England that I dislike and things about America that I really dislike, but -- for the most part -- these are distinct lists. (Perhaps we could have a lively discussion on whether Tony sucked more than Dubya? )
Quite frankly, this is one reason why I'd prefer to spend summer and winter in the UK (much milder in both instances than here in Virginia). And Christmas in England has Christmas in the US beat, hands down. Still, I like to spend spring and (especially) autumn in the US (we get better autumn foliage colors).
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Regards,
Joseph V. Morris | |
wonko3fc
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| said by jvmorris : (Perhaps we could have a lively discussion on whether Tony sucked more than Dubya? )
OOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooo YUK!
To much information!
That's a mental image I'm gonna have to try to purge now... Thanks JV! | |
jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
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join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA
| said by wonko3fc :said by jvmorris : (Perhaps we could have a lively discussion on whether Tony sucked more than Dubya? ) OOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooo YUK! To much information! That's a mental image I'm gonna have to try to purge now... Thanks JV! Ooooohhhh!!! Didn't think of it that way when I posted, but I see your point!
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Joseph V. Morris | |
jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
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join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA
1 edit | reply to wonko3fc
said by wonko3fc :. . . Indeed, having spent what feels like a lifetime on and off the clutch in the daily commute, my personal bliss moment came when the manual transmission was replaced with an automatic one - I tell ya, there is no going back now.... Ahhhh, the deeper nuances of English written communications! But again, this is really a cultural difference between the US and the UK. After all, most US commuters are the only occupants of their vehicle during the daily commute, so there's much less opportunity for clutching -- if you catch my meaning, if you get my drift.
Addendum: Unfortunately, I can no longer recall whether "If you catch my meaning, if you get my drift ..." comes from Beyond the Fringe, a most definitely English group or Firesign Theater, a most definitely American group of satirists. The two groups' performances are now so deeply interwoven into my psyche that it's impossible for me to separate them. . . . Why, I suppose I'll just have to listen to the original recordings again! (And, while I'm at it, I think I might as well go ahead and listen once again to the complete audio transcripts of "The Goons Show", which John2g so graciously provided lo those many years ago. And thank you for that, John.)
--
Regards,
Joseph V. Morris | |
jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
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join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA
| reply to jvmorris
Re: Elf and Safely
Ehh? Is it really going to be necessary for me (a Yank, no less) to explain to you poor Brits what's wrong with Elf and Safely????  Given the amount of criticism they routinely receive in the British media, I figure there must be a good caricature of elf and safely somewhere, although I must admit that I've never seen it.
At the moment, they're doing an excellent job of wiping out fetes throughout the UK, never mind things like Christmas (or wintertime holiday, if you prefer) decorations throughout the UK, but that's only the beginning of their transgressions.
How on earth do you guys put up with this crap?
--
Regards,
Joseph V. Morris | |
Pjr
join:2005-12-11
UK
1 edit | said by jvmorris :How on earth do you guys put up with this crap? By ignoring it
TBH the banning of Christmas decorations passed me by. Or was it that they were scared they'd fall on someones head? That's something else we have imported from the US: the sue culture. Slipped over on the ice and sprained an ankle really rather badly? Nasty bruise? Sue somebody, anybody, for as much as you can.
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It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall. | |
wonko3fc
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join:2001-06-02
UK
·BT Broadband
| reply to jvmorris
Re: Does England Really Suck more than America?
I wasn't aware that there was any evidence of original humor originating from the USA given the tightly constrained confines within what passes for 'satire' and the comprehensive absence of Irony.
NB: Watch Tzale come back at me now and prove me right | |
jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
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join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA
| Oh, sir! Now 'elf' is surely some sort of elf, but 'safely', I'm fairly certain must be some sort of troll.
After only six weeks' absence, I can't recall his name (I really hate that), but you've got at least one satirist in one of the major daily rags who also draws. Still, I've never seen the representation of elf and safely that I keep hoping for.
Still, you have a point here. With the exception of the Daily Show (Jon Stewart), the Colbert Report, and the occasional zinger from Olbermann on Countdown, we're long past the heyday of satire and irony here in the US (too complex for most of us these days, I suspect). We've got no new Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Tim Lehrer and TW3 is, alas, long gone. More's the pity. I think George Carlin tries, but he's getting on a bit these days. The snappy, clever dialog from films of the 30s and 40s is also long gone. Christ, (pardon my French), we don't even have a Pubmaster!
--
Regards,
Joseph V. Morris | |
wonko3fc
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join:2001-06-02
UK
·BT Broadband
1 edit | "Elf & Safely" very good like "Darby & Joan" no doubt?
Oh Wikipedia is busy off the back of these threads isn't it? Bung in another couple of Blades Dave, DSLReports is active again....
Addendum: I just realised Blades are a bit old fasioned these days...Esp for this forum... Dave! Scrub the blades, spin up a couple of additional VM's mate! | |
jvmorris
I Am The Man Who Was Not There.
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join:2001-04-03
Reston, VA
| reply to Pjr
Re: Elf and Safely
Exactly (and what was the title of this thread initially, once again)? The English ignore too much as their culture is stripped away from them. You go whimpering into that dark night . . . . (restricting your complaints either to the home fires or those few local pubs in which you are likely to know everyone present).
We tend to be a bit more noisy about that here in the US (and unfortunately only a bit more noisy these days), but then we tend to throw the bastards out of office. I think what really amazes me about the English is that your papers (which, admittedly are more competitive than most of ours) are certainly willing, for the most part, to criticize the Government freely, but the electorate never seems to respond, even though, for the most part, they reflect the attitudes in the daily rags. (Okay, the BBC, especially recently, has become the mouthpiece for politically correct positions as espoused by the Labour Party.)
Could it be that over here (US) a great number of our elected representatives must stand for re-election every two (or four) years, whereas your situation is every (what?) five or six years, at best? Admittedly, our basic 2/4 year electoral cycle has its good points and its bad points, but the real problem today in the US is that the electorate seems to have about a 24-hour memory.
TBH the banning of Christmas decorations passed me by. Or was it that they were scared they'd fall on someones head? Oh, gimme a break, you have an established religion in the UK, we don't in the US, but our 'Christmas' decorations are far more extensive than yours! (Okay, it's more marketing oriented here in the US than in the UK, but I've always found your decorations both more tasteful and more modest.) Oh, sure our (Christian) weekly church attendance is much more than yours, but you have more ostensible Christians (as a percentage of the population) than we do. We have a higher percentage of practicing Jews and Muslims than you do. (Okay, you beat us out on Hindus and Sikhs, but there doesn't seem to be any problem with the Diwali celebrations.)
Let me ask you this: How many Brits have actually been injured in putting up Christmas decorations along public streets in the UK without using cherry pickers to do so in the past 100 years? How many members of the general public have actually been injured by falling decorations in the past 100 years (due to a failure to use cherry pickers to install them, of course)? How many British residents have actually been injured during Guy Fawkes celebrations (not to mention Diwali) as compared to Americans celebrating the 4th of July?
(Oh heck, I'll need to come back later and finish this up); something else has come up.
That's something else we have imported from the US: the sue culture. Slipped over on the ice and sprained an ankle really rather badly? Nasty bruise? Sue somebody, anybody, for as much as you can.
--
Regards,
Joseph V. Morris | |
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