Bloggers cramp?

My blogging statistics for 2011 have not been good. Since I started blogging in 2008, this year has been my least productive. Including this one, just fourteen.

To be fair, the main reason for starting the blog was to record the differences encountered by an Englishman settling to live in the United States.  Of course, the differences encountered over the first few years are now perfectly normal for me, so I don't feel the need to recorded them. In fact, there's sometimes a few seconds lapse when I think of how I used to pronounce a word or to think of what I used to call, for example "hamburger" or "ground beef" ("mince" sounds so, well "foreign").

I have learned a lot about myself from my random postings. For example in the early days of blogging I wrote a series of posts on my music preferences and in doing so found I didn't really have a preference, that I really did enjoy all genres of music . . . no, I don't consider a thumping bass that rattles my windows, music, so that techno (c)rap, or whatever it's called, doesn't count.

I was to continue by saying that I have never considered myself a snob, but that last statement could be seen to contradict that I suppose.  Of course, there are snobs of every kind, not only in music.  But I'm afraid - no, hang on there - I'm not afraid, to say, that if I enjoy it, I like it, be it music, wine, literature, art, or whatever.  And that's okay with me. I am not going to like anything because others think I should - however technically brilliant or clever(?)  it is.

My favorite Hans Christian Andersen story, The Emperor's New Clothes, may have been written as a "Fairy Tale Told For Children", but I'm of the opinion that many adults would be happier if they saw what the little boy saw and Danny Kaye sung - "the King is in the altogether".

To get back to the point - there is a point? As much as I admire those who blog regularly, especially the once-a-day bloggers, I cannot see me doing that.  I do intend to post more, if only I can remember those ideas for a post I have in the early hours!

A Significant Day

It may have been a local election, but today was a significant day for us.

Last Thursday we became American citizens. That in itself was significant. Becoming a citizen is very important to us and we are delighted to have the right, and more importantly, the responsibility to vote.

At the Oath Ceremony, the District Officer asked, "what will be different in your life, now that you are American citizens?" Among several interesting comments, several answered that they were now FREE. Having lived my entire life in countries where to speak your mind was (and is) not a crime, that answer did not occur to me. But it did to those who were from Somalia and other such countries.

The right to vote is precious and should never be wasted.

No doubt today's municipal election will have had a low turn out. That's a sad reflection on those who take the right the vote for granted.

It's all in the game

My original idea for this blog was to compare "life in North Carolina from the perspective of an Englishman".  In other words to emphasize the differences.

I've always been a fan of team sports and have never bothered too much with individual games.  Among the team sports played in England, Association Football, Cricket and Rugby Football are by far the most popular.  There can be no doubt that football is by far the most attended.

Here in the US team sports are huge. Although North Carolina has, to my knowledge, only two major sports franchises (NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, based in Raleigh and NFL's Carolina Panthers, based in Charlotte) college sports reign supreme.

Basketball and football dominate, but field hockey, lacrosse and baseball have big followings. Blue Devil (Duke), TarHeel (UNC) or Wolfpack (UNC State), the rivalry outweighs any thing Manchester United/City, Arsenal/Chelsea or Liverpool/Everton fans experience in the soccer mad UK. Tickets are always hard to come by, but nigh impossible at derby games. The TarHeels football stadium seats 63,000, Carter-Finley Stadium, home of the Wolfpack, seats 57,500, while Wallace Wade Stadium, home of the Blue Devils is bursting at the seams with 40,000. These three football venues are with 23 miles of each other!

Although of no appeal to me, motor sports are also big here, not surprising with Americas love of the automobile. NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing - not to be confused or compared to stock car racing in the UK) has a huge following and has, I believe just been made North Carolina's state sport. The Charlotte Motor Speedway has 140,000 seats, whilst over the state line in Tennessee the Bristol Motor Speedway holds 160,000 fans of this amazing spectacle.

Gail has never been a fan of sport (BrEng)/sports (AmEng), but has become a huge fan of baseball. We now regularly support Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Bulls are probably the most well-known minor league team, if only through the wonderful movie Bull Durham. The ball park, Goodmon Field, as a modern, well-appointed and friendly stadium situated in the American Tobacco District of downtown Durham. I can think of fewer relaxing or enjoyable things to do on a summer's evening than to watch a game, drink a cold beer, eat from a large range of concessions and enjoy the between innings fun. Bulls won their section of the International AAA League and reached the play-offs before being beaten by an excellent Columbus Clippers outfit.

It's not cricket? No it's not, but I like it . . . and I just wonder if, unlike here, you could "hear a pin drop" whilst the National Anthem was being played at Lords or the Oval? Oh, I forgot - it isn't PC to do that in England - is it?

Soccer (AmEng)/Football (BrEng) is represented locally by Carolinal RailHawks, who play in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

American sporting events really are entertaining occasions, whether your team is winning or not.

More tomatoes - conclusion

My original thought on starting this blog was to record the differences between living in the USA and England. To a degree I think I have achieved this, albeit with many deviations along the way.

Now well into our sixth year living in the beautiful state of North Carolina, I've come to realize how many things are similar while, thank goodness, many things are very different, even within this state.

Twenty years ago I asked a visiting technician installing new equipment at my workplace where his work took him. "Europe, North America and occasionally the Far East," he replied. "That's interesting, you must see a lot of sights and experience cultural differences?" His answer made me aware of this changing world. "Do me a favor mate, one Holiday Inn is exactly the same as another!"

That's probably simplifying the global world, or rather the economy we live with, but apart from the language and the prices, that statement rings true. I find it somewhat sad, that any Main Street / High Street / Alameda Principal or whatever, can look very much the same wherever you are.

One branch of one of my many interests is the study of transit buses. I view many photographs of these from the world over. What is more noticeable as each year passes is that not only that the vehicles are becoming so similar looking (even the individually owned, unique and quirky buses of Malta have been replaced overnight by the corporate giant of "sameness"), but the street furniture and the store fronts could be anywhere - one KFC, Best Buy, Starbucks is the same as another. There are exceptions of course . . . . . . . . . . .

 A typical Starbucks strip mall location in the US

This Starbucks is located at the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City, Beijing.

Bringing the peoples of the world together to work in harmony must be a good thing, but can individualism survive on Corporate Earth? 

I for one hope so.

Footnote - I have nothing against Starbucks, believe me (well perhaps the prices). I just prefer a strong regular at say, a Waffle House (no, that does not make me a redneck)!

More Tomatoes

An alternate title for "You say tomato, I say tomato".  I still have fun comparing American English (AmEng) with British (BrEng), so here are a few more (BrEng in italics):

Home improvement - DIY (Do It Yourself)
Anchor - Rawlplug
Dry wall - Stud wall (in AmEng, "studs" are to what the dry wall is attached)
Flip - House renovation
Outlet (electrical) - Socket
Trimmer (garden) - Strimmer
Wrench - Spanner 

Transportation - Transport
18-wheeler (or semi) - Juggernaut
Bus - Coach
Bus operator - Bus driver (operator is the company that owns the bus)
Cross walk - Zebra crossing (or Pelican crossing if controlled by lights)
Engineer (railroad) - Train driver
Intersection - Junction
Moving Van - Pantechnicon
Public Transit - Public transit 
Railroad - Railway
Switch (railroad) - Points (railway)
Streetcar or trolley  - Tram
Traffic circle - Roundabout

Employment
1st, 2nd and 3rd shifts - Early, late and night shifts
Flex time - Flexi time
Let go - Fired or sacked 

I have previously recommended one of my favorite blogs "Separated by a Common Language".The latest posting points out a wonderful English expression "I'm not being funny, but". Check it out, Lynnequist is wonderful at explaining these wonderful expressions and what the American equivalent is (or might be).

I'm not being funny, but I'm no expert as Lynnequist certainly is. Postings on this blog are merely my own observations and just for fun.

The Green Thing . . . continued

Progress has it's cost. There is no doubt about it. My last posting set me thinking even more of how "un-green" today's society really is, despite the current "green hype", compared to that of my parents generation and indeed, mine. 

Let me make one thing clear. I'm not criticizing progress. Modern appliances do save much time and (human) energy. I'm the first to admit that I will walk straight through an automatic door rather than pull open the manual one. What I was really thinking was more of the less wasteful and energy consuming practices of five or six decades ago.

My first thought was that, as general store owners, my parents sold biscuits (cookies), sugar, sweets (candy), dried fruit, etc. "loose". In other words, we weighed out the amount required,wrapped them in paper and the customer took them home in a basket she/he had had for years. There was never any reason to buy (and waste) more than we needed as, for example, Mum or Dad would cut and weigh however many slices of bacon a customer needed. Imagine going into a present day grocery store and trying to buy two rashers of bacon and the like?

Playing as kids, we would, when thirsty drink tap water, or if we had some pocket money (allowance) left we would perhaps buy a bottle of pop (soda) - my father made this on the premises. The bottle had glass "marbles" inside that sealed the fizzy drink as they rose to the top. I don't think you could even buy bottle water - if you could I certainly had never seen it.

We didn't have throw-away appliances. In the twenty-plus years I lived with my parents I can only remember them having one electric kettle. If it went wrong, Dad would replace the heating element. If it leaked, he would solder the seam. All this at a fraction of the cost of a new kettle.

The same with our shoes. Dad would repair our shoes, sitting there in the evening with tacks in his mouth, hammering new leather on the soles and "Blakeys" on the heels (I got through these pretty quick as I loved to make sparks on the pavement (sidewalk) by scraping my heels). Three pairs I had - the newest for Sunday best, then came the school shoes and as they got older, shoes for playing out. I considered myself very lucky - most of my peers only had one pair. I came home from school and before being allowed to play, had to change my clothes. If we were going out later, to the movies or to visit relatives, I would have to change again. Clothes did last longer and were better made even without the advantages of modern materials. We didn't have the "Lady Gagas" of today dictating what we should be wearing, so we never had to try to keep up with our peers.

The streets I played in as a youngster, weren't littered with discarded plastic bottles, candy wrappers, fast food containers, beer cans, etc. The bottles, be they pop or beer had deposits to collect and that was a source of income for us kids. Newspapers were truly recycled in one way or another - to wrap up our "fast food", that's fish 'n' chips (they tasted so much better than eating them from a plate like Mum insisted), and in poorer families to be used as toilet "tissue".

We actually walked places - most everywhere in fact. I walked to school, church, the movies, sports games and would only catch a bus if it was really necessary. Stores were in town (or on the corners of most streets in each neighborhood). Even those who had cars, didn't jump into them to travel half a mile to exercise in the gym.

Yes, I know "nostalgia is a thing of the past", and I'm not suggesting we turn back the clock even if we could. But before we suck up all the earth's oil, gas, coal, copper and other minerals only to fill up the holes with plastic bottles, containers and used appliances, shouldn't we (including myself), think of alternatives? None of us, even the faceless global corporations, own this planet, we are merely (very) temporary stewards and should take that responsibility seriously.

This "Green" Thing

This turned up in my inbox. It's worth sharing I think. As my dear mother once said, "There's nothing new under the sun!" I take no credit for the contents, even though I agree with them 100%.

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
 
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."
 
He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in its day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
 
But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day. In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.
 
But she was right. They didn't have the green thing in her day. Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts - wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.  Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right; they didn't have the green thing back in her day. Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house - not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
 
But she's right, they didn't have the green thing back then. Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
 
But they didn't have the green thing back then. Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
 
But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then?