Things I wanna know before I kick the bucket!

[LizzieMaine]

Back in the 60's when the Left wing Labour party came to power, Prime Minister, Harold Wilson , seriously contemplated the UK becoming the 51st State of the Union.

Some of us here wouldn't mind our state seceding to join Canada.

 

[Edward]

Some of us here wouldn't mind our state seceding to join Canada.

I've always marvelled that the US has held together as long as it has, given it seems less a unified country and more a continent containing a mix of diverse and very different countries and cultures. I often think that on this side of the Atlantic there's much too ready a tendency to assume that commonality of language equates to commonality of culture.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That's absolutely true. I've lived in California, and I've visited various parts of the South, and it really did seem like I was visiting foreign countries -- in the South, especially, I was acutely aware at all times that I was "the other." I've never felt that just traveling around the Northeast. Even in Boston or New York I have that sense of being "home" that I don't have in other regions.

I think the real problem is when any one particular sub-America gets up on the platform and starts honking and quacking about how it's "the Real America." No particular region or group of people has any claim whatever to being "the Real America," because the reality that there is no one "Real America" is itself "the Real America."

 

[2jakes]

I've lived in California, and I've visited various parts of the North and it really did seem like I was visiting foreign countries -- in the North especially, I was acutely aware at all times that I was "the other." I've never felt that just traveling around the Southwest.

 

[Zombie_61]

I've always marvelled that the US has held together as long as it has, given it seems less a unified country and more a continent containing a mix of diverse and very different countries and cultures...

That's an interesting observation, and one I can't disagree with. Perhaps more so than any other country on the planet, the U.S. is a combination of people and cultures from all over the world. The real difference it seems is, if an American moves to a non-U.S. country he or she is expected to assimilate to that country's way of life. Conversely, rather than assimilate here non-native people (i.e., people who weren't born on U.S. soil) tend to change their personal little corner of the U.S. to what they're familiar with from their native country, particularly in and around the "entry" cities like New York and Los Angeles, with the end result being smallish informal communities like "Chinatown", "Koreatown", "Little Italy", "Little Bangladesh", "Historic Filipinotown", and so on. America might be known as a "melting pot", but sometimes it seems there isn't as much "melting" going on as some people might think.

 

[2jakes]

That's an interesting observation, and one I can't disagree with. Perhaps more so than any other country on the planet, the U.S. is a combination of people and cultures from all over the world. The real difference it seems is, if an American moves to a non-U.S. country he or she is expected to assimilate to that country's way of life. Conversely, rather than assimilate here non-native people (i.e., people who weren't born on U.S. soil) tend to change their personal little corner of the U.S. to what they're familiar with from their native country, particularly in and around the "entry" cities like New York and Los Angeles, with the end result being smallish informal communities like "Chinatown", "Koreatown", "Little Italy", "Little Bangladesh", "Historic Filipinotown", and so on. America might be known as a "melting pot", but sometimes it seems there isn't as much "melting" going on as some people might think.

There's places I would not visit unless
I knew what color bandana is
acceptable.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Our melting is a different sort of melt -- unlike many European countries we aren't a country built on the basis of common ethnicity. The idea of any kind of a monoculture here is at its very root un-American, because it denies the entire point of this country. We're a stew, not a puree. The most American thing I can think of right now is happening in Lewiston, Maine, where at this very moment a Somali immigrant is selling a slice of halal pizza to a guy named Levasseur.

The idea that in some idealized past European ethnics all assimilated into a solid red-white-and-blue Americanism might be all well and good for a hokey WWII propaganda film, but it was often quite a bit of an exaggeration. When, say, Rosa Calmanetti introduced her boyfriend Jerry Monahan to her father, there's a better than even chance that she was taken by the arm and told "No daughter of mine is gonna marry a dirty mick." Just as Jerry was told by his dad, "them guineas, they're good for you know, foolin' around, but you marry your own kind, see?" So much for "we're all Americans here."

 

[Edward]

Our melting is a different sort of melt -- unlike many European countries we aren't a country built on the basis of common ethnicity. The idea of any kind of a monoculture here is at its very root un-American, because it denies the entire point of this country. We're a stew, not a puree. The most American thing I can think of right now is happening in Lewiston, Maine, where at this very moment a Somali immigrant is selling a slice of halal pizza to a guy named Levasseur.

The idea that in some idealized past European ethnics all assimilated into a solid red-white-and-blue Americanism might be all well and good for a hokey WWII propaganda film, but it was often quite a bit of an exaggeration. When, say, Rosa Calmanetti introduced her boyfriend Jerry Monahan to her father, there's a better than even chance that she was taken by the arm and told "No daughter of mine is gonna marry a dirty mick." Just as Jerry was told by his dad, "them guineas, they're good for you know, foolin' around, but you marry your own kind, see?" So much for "we're all Americans here."

The prejudicial aspects aside, one of the things I've always loved most about the US is that it does maintain both distinct identities and have its own spin on them. Herself watches a lot of the Food Network channel, where there are several shows dedicated to roadtripping and eating across the US. We're always fascinated by how each wave of immigration to the US and where it ended up informedthe local food culture to an identifiable extent, even if what they claim as 'authentic x cuisine' is dubiously so in reality. (Not least the "Irish" places where they serve a dish from the old country called "corned beef and cabbage" that nobody in Ireland ever ate, and celebrate somebody called St Patty - whomever she is.)

It's very easy as a European to raise eyebrows at the fact that so many US citizens never have a passport (it's only around 10% who do at any one time, isn't it?), but that's because we so readily forget how big the US is and how many different cultural experiences one can have within it. If only I were ever going to be in the financial position to be able to afford to retire, I'd have loved to have taken a roadtrip across the US.

 

[2jakes]

The prejudicial aspects aside, one of the things I've always loved most about the US is that it does maintain both distinct identities and have its own spin on them. Herself watches a lot of the Food Network channel, where there are several shows dedicated to roadtripping and eating across the US. We're always fascinated by how each wave of immigration to the US and where it ended up informedthe local food culture to an identifiable extent, even if what they claim as 'authentic x cuisine' is dubiously so in reality. (Not least the "Irish" places where they serve a dish from the old country called "corned beef and cabbage" that nobody in Ireland ever ate, and celebrate somebody called St Patty - whomever she is.)

It's very easy as a European to raise eyebrows at the fact that so many US citizens never have a passport (it's only around 10% who do at any one time, isn't it?), but that's because we so readily forget how big the US is and how many different cultural experiences one can have within it. If only I were ever going to be in the financial position to be able to afford to retire, I'd have loved to have taken a roadtrip across the US.

If ever you should go on a roadtrip, make sure you have plenty of bottle water because local water will taste differently from state to state.

 

[GHT]

If only I were ever going to be in the financial position to be able to afford to retire, I'd have loved to have taken a roadtrip across the US.

We have considered that idea, and it's still under consideration. If we downsize in property it will free up more than enough capital to realise our dream. I rather fancy recreating Billy Connolly's Route 66 road trip, the one he did on his three-wheeled-Harley, only I fancy doing it in a vintage MG.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The prejudicial aspects aside, one of the things I've always loved most about the US is that it does maintain both distinct identities and have its own spin on them. Herself watches a lot of the Food Network channel, where there are several shows dedicated to roadtripping and eating across the US. We're always fascinated by how each wave of immigration to the US and where it ended up informed the local food culture to an identifiable extent, even if what they claim as 'authentic x cuisine' is dubiously so in reality. (Not least the "Irish" places where they serve a dish from the old country called "corned beef and cabbage" that nobody in Ireland ever ate, and celebrate somebody called St Patty - whomever she is.)

I think you can pretty much make bank on the idea that the less "authentic" an ethnic meal is, the more American it is. The most popular Chinese meal these days is General Tso's Chicken, which of course was invented in Manhattan. And of course corned beef and cabbage became the quintessential Irish meal because Jiggs enjoyed it in the comic strip "Bringing Up Father" -- in Maritime Canada it's even called "Jiggs Dinner." And I imagine much of what Americans call pizza would go unrecognized in Sicily or Naples -- "breakfast pizza" made with sauce and cheese on an English muffin? The authenticity police would fall on the ground and have a spasm.

One of my favorite quick snacks is "welsh krolik," or welsh rabbit made wtih matzo instead of toast. Sometimes I use mozzarella instead of cheddar to make it an ethnic trifecta.

 

[Fading Fast]

I've posted similarly before, but if you want to see ethnicity, nationality and food mix up organically in a fun, natural, not-forced-or-top-down way - come to NYC.

Presently, many of the "Italian" pizzerias are owned / run by immigrants from Latin America (who took over in the last ten-plus years from the Indians and Pakistanis who ten-plus years prior had taken over from the second and third generation Italians [this oversimplifies, but you get the point]), so when you go in to grab a slice, the guys (rarely women) behind the counter all appear to be from Latin America and are usually speaking Spanish.

As with the Indians and Pakistanis before them, they make very few changes - they buy these pizza places as a way to get a start in the economy, so messing up a working formula is not the game-plan - but you will see a small this or that of their culture peak through as, recently, I noticed churros for sale at a pizzerias I happened to pop into.

This goes on all over the city and in all combinations. One of our favorite Mexican places, the last time we were there, had a kid from Sweden making a killer margarita (standing out in all his pale blondness amidst most of his co-workers and the bright Mexican-inspired decor). And that restaurant, being a notch up from a pizzeria and well established, has a lot of mashups of food - pizza with jalapeños and "Mexican" cheese, steak nachos, guacamole burger, etc.

And I could go on about the Asian "fusion" places that really took off in the last ten or so years where all sorts of different cultural cuisines are blending into an Asian "base" of cooking. Today, some of these are being "engineered" by the foodies, but the originals and, many still, are the result of second and third generation "kids" pushing their parents to "modernize" the menu. All cool stuff.

 

[Edward]

If ever you should go on a roadtrip, make sure you have plenty of bottle water because local water will taste differently from state to state.

Heh.... It is a fact, though, that most peopled who et sick abroad because of the water, it's not anything wrong with the water, just that it's different...

Funny how the taste can change, though. Where my grandparents lived in Ireland it's totally different to where I grew up..... eight miles up the road. Their water was very soft, ours hard....

 

[Zombie_61]

The prejudicial aspects aside, one of the things I've always loved most about the US is that it does maintain both distinct identities and have its own spin on them. Herself watches a lot of the Food Network channel, where there are several shows dedicated to roadtripping and eating across the US. We're always fascinated by how each wave of immigration to the US and where it ended up informedthe local food culture to an identifiable extent, even if what they claim as 'authentic x cuisine' is dubiously so in reality. (Not least the "Irish" places where they serve a dish from the old country called "corned beef and cabbage" that nobody in Ireland ever ate, and celebrate somebody called St Patty - whomever she is.)...

Authentic "non-American" food can be had in the U.S., but it almost always is provided by privately/family owned restaurants that rigidly adhere to using "Grandma's" recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. There are also regional differences in foods from other countries--northern Italian vs. southern Italian vs. Sicilian, for example--that are often taken into consideration, but most just consider it "Italian" food and don't really know why they prefer one restaurant over another beyond "The food's better there". Here in southern California what most people consider "Mexican" food can actually have originated in Ecuador, or Chile, or Venezuela, and those "in the know" can usually taste the difference, but to Joe Sixpack it's still just "Mexican" food and he doesn't care as long as he can get a lot of it for a low price.

With regards to "St. Patty", I don't know how it is in other countries but here in the U.S. most holidays are nothing more than an excuse to get drunk, barbecue, eat a lot of food, and, in the cases of "Independence Day" and "New Year's Eve", throw fireworks into the mix.

If ever you should go on a roadtrip, make sure you have plenty of bottle water because local water will taste differently from state to state.

Our tap water here tastes different from city to city. My hometown seems to keep tinkering with the additives they put in the water so it changes a little from time to time, but occasionally it tastes so bad that it's almost undrinkable. On the other hand, a good friend had relatives who would bring empty bottles whenever they visited from Palm Springs because they said our water tasted so much better than theirs.

We have considered that idea, and it's still under consideration. If we downsize in property it will free up more than enough capital to realise our dream. I rather fancy recreating Billy Connolly's Route 66 road trip, the one he did on his three-wheeled-Harley, only I fancy doing it in a vintage MG.

Oh, no no no. I've never made the trip myself, but I've heard stories about Route 66 specifically regarding it's lack of maintenance. Apparently it's no better or worse than anywhere else when you're in the populated areas, but when you're between cities in the middle of nowhere it can get rather dodgy and any number of pavement issues can damage your vehicle. If you ever make the trip, you'd be better off renting a car (I think you call them "hire cars" in the U.K.) rather than risk damaging a classic vehicle.

 

[scottyrocks]

I'd have loved to have taken a roadtrip across the US.

When you do, as you'll probably be landing here, be sure to let us know. There's lots of us in the NYC metro area. I'd even come into the city-proper.

You'll recognize me. I'm the one with the hat.

 

[scottyrocks]

Water in the NYC area, particularly the suburbs, can vary greatly even from town to town. NYC water actually tastes better than the surrounding areas, at least my surrounding area.

At any rate, I have replaced the Brita filters in my water pitchers with ZeroWater filters. Big difference for the better.

 

[vitanola]

We have considered that idea, and it's still under consideration. If we downsize in property it will free up more than enough capital to realise our dream. I rather fancy recreating Billy Connolly's Route 66 road trip, the one he did on his three-wheeled-Harley, only I fancy doing it in a vintage MG.
View attachment 115808

I made a trip like that nearly 40 years ago, travelling the Lincoln Highway, from New York to San Fransisco, in a 1915 Ford. I would very much like to repeat trip before I am too feeble to crank an automobile.

 

[2jakes]

"I rather fancy recreating Billy Connolly's Route 66 road trip, the one he did on his three-wheeled-Harley, only I fancy doing it in a vintage MG."


Something to consider before doing it in a vintage MG.

For daily driving, it's fine. Not for long-distant across the US.
I drove an MGB from San Antonio to LA.
I had to add a board to the gas pedal to prevent my right foot from cramping.
The piece of wood enabled me to rest part of my foot on the floor board.


The car broke down outside of El Paso.
How much to fix it I asked.

Water pump:$400, not including the labour charges.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Since 1965 I've lived much of my life in New Mexico. This place was multicultural before it was a word. At first, it was Latino-Anglo. Not just cuisine, but politics. For decades, Anglo governors alternated with Latinos. Same with Senators and Reps. Since the '70s we've acquired a large Asian community. I know we're considered a backwater (5 electoral votes. Who cares?) But you can't beat this place for multicultural ambience. I can drive into Albuquerque, consult with my Iranian doctor, have lunch at a great Turkish restaurant, visit a huge Asian supermarket for supplies to take back to my rural home, picking up some great Mexican takeout on the way.

 

[2jakes]

Since 1965 I've lived much of my life in New Mexico. This place was multicultural before it was a word. At first, it was Latino-Anglo. Not just cuisine, but politics. For decades, Anglo governors alternated with Latinos. Same with Senators and Reps. Since the '70s we've acquired a large Asian community. I know we're considered a backwater (5 electoral votes. Who cares?) But you can't beat this place for multicultural ambience. I can drive into Albuquerque, consult with my Iranian doctor, have lunch at a great Turkish restaurant, visit a huge Asian supermarket for supplies to take back to my rural home, picking up some great Mexican takeout on the way.

What I like about New Mexico is that it has dry weather in the summer
and can tolerate the heat better.
Temecula, Calif. has no mosquitos. That is so nice to be able to walk outside
and not get bitten.