This made me smile...and a bit homesick (no matter how loud we tend to be at times). Full text at link.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/bo...Dyer-t.html?em

You mean to tell me that not everyone refers to unknown persons / elders as "ma'am" or "sir"? How rude! Same goes for thanking folks who do something for you, no matter how small.

I have NEVER had "bad" service at a restaurant here... I wonder if that is part of why?


This cracks me up:
Loud people drive me nuts, no matter where they're from. Meanwhile, you know that if Americans are saying something very quietly to their friends, you know they're being catty / judgmental.

As long as the source is given and clearly pointed out then there are no copyright issues, surely?

You know when I was traveling back to NL from Lima there were two american guys in front of me (going to Atlanta). They were pretty friendly and chatty, what made me smile was that they were actually complaining of how fatty Peruvian food was (this comming from two more than plump guys)...I could not help but tell them, errr as fatty as McDonalds, buerger king etc etc? THey said oh no of course not but we do not eat everyday at McDonalds...Ahh funny Americans...

Yes, every day would be bad. We get our over-the-top calorie intake in many hidden forms. For example, as long as everything in our cupboard has "low fat" stamped on the container, it's healthy, right?? Take those low-fat Oreos

As a matter of fact, here is the disclaimer from the oreo company for such low fat cookies....

Trans fat content currently is not listed on the label for many of our products. For FAQs about trans fat, click here. We are rolling out trans fat labeling, so that all packages will be labeled by the FDA's deadline of January 1, 2006. In the meantime, we are providing this information for many of our products on our website. Where a product contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, the FDA requires that the content be listed in the package’s Nutrition Facts box as "0g". We use that same definition of "0g" on this website. When a label shows 0 grams trans fat per serving and lists a “partially hydrogenated” vegetable oil (such as soybean or cottonseed, among others) in the ingredients, the product may contain up to 0.49 grams of trans fat per serving. Keep in mind that ingredients and formulations change. The information shown here may vary from the content and label information of products currently in stores. For the most current information for these and other products, please Contact Us. For more information on how to read the Nutrition Facts panel, click here.

LOL I bought a box of low carb oreos...thought it was a great idea until I saw that each cookie has 50 calories! I think that is even more than the regular oreos!

I personally don't know anyone that carries guns.

That's a difference between copyright and plagiarism isn't it?

I can't just reprint a book as long as I acknowledge where I copied it from . . .

A lot of people own them, not so many carry them around.

Seems to me everyone does that.

I knew a few cops in Texas that did, and some of my friends had / have CHL's and exercised their rights.

I have a shotgun for hunting, but I certainly don't carry it on a regular
basis.

Thank you for posting that!

Yes but I mean that in the article, it seems to say that Americans don't care if they something offensive that could be overheard.

Between my friends and I, if we don't care if you hear it, we either think it's not that offensive (and you should - as Natasha says - HTFU) OR we are looking to pick a fight in the first place.

Or in my mother's case, she is sending a message loud and clear to everyone through her "innocent" public remarks. Why do old people think they can get away with this

Ahh, memories.

My brother's first wife was from Georgia...

This video will give an idea of how being catty with her went.

I find that English people do not lower their voices when they are abroad because they think that others do not understand them. I have over heard some very personal conversations, you should see their reactions when I interject and say "You're English? so am I"

It always make me laugh that they think others don't understand yet expect people to understand when they want service.

It's not just the English though, that do this.

I find that Americans are very polite. I barge into them and they apologize, then I get embarrassed and have to remind myself to be more courteous.
Years of battling the tube during rush hour is is a habit difficult to drop.

That was funny! It actually made me remember being fascinated with the British comments (I don't mean anything negative here, it's just interesting -- trust me, I am a sucker for a British accent!) but basically how it would take me about 30 seconds to realize that I/someone had just been the recipient of a slightly derogatory comment. But it phrased in such a lovely, witty manner that it took a while to get it!!

I could never really understand how a population as diverse as the US can get stereotyped in whatever particular way. There are just way to many different types of people living there. I don't think there has ever been a country as diverse as the US. They (we) could be the most accepting and forgiving people in the world, hence why they (we) allow themselves (us) to be extremely uncool or extemely cool.

Bless your heart.