If it's any comfort, at least some Episcopalians do it too, although I don't know if they're using "Operation World" as a guide.
A ghost? What's the deal? Is every frat on this campus haunted? And if so, why do people keep coming to these parties, cause it's not the snacks.
Xander ,'Dirty Girls'
All Ogle, No Cash -- It's Not Just Annoying, It's Un-American
Discussion of episodes currently airing in Un-American locations (anything that's aired in Australia is fair game), as well as anything else the Un-Americans feel like talking about or we feel like asking them. Please use the show discussion threads for any current-season discussion.
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Betsy HP - Feb 09, 2003 5:41:52 pm PST #1840 of 9843
If I only had a brain...
Trudy Booth - Feb 09, 2003 5:47:57 pm PST #1841 of 9843
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart
I know my last Episcopal church did this. It was sweet.
Typo Boy - Feb 10, 2003 11:09:06 am PST #1842 of 9843
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
Question for Australian unAmericans.
An Australian acquaintence complained that Americans are too goddamn senstive to argue with - a few friendly insults and wander off in a huff "like an elderly maiden aunt". Now aside from the sexist metaphor, I can think of lots of criticisms that can be made of Americans. "Overly sensitive" does not strike me as a usual one. Have I missed an entire stereotype?
§ ita § - Feb 10, 2003 11:11:23 am PST #1843 of 9843
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Gar, it depends on the topic. Every nationality has their sensitivities, and I've never found Americans as a whole particularly stoic about ignoring slights.
Sophia Brooks - Feb 10, 2003 11:12:58 am PST #1844 of 9843
Cats to become a rabbit should gather immediately now here
OK-- we really need pictures or I need to stop scanning. I've just confused 'Typo Boy' with 'Trudy Booth', and I am forever mixing up Ellen and Emily.
billytea - Feb 10, 2003 11:27:58 am PST #1845 of 9843
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.
An Australian acquaintence complained that Americans are too goddamn senstive to argue with - a few friendly insults and wander off in a huff "like an elderly maiden aunt". Now aside from the sexist metaphor, I can think of lots of criticisms that can be made of Americans. "Overly sensitive" does not strike me as a usual one. Have I missed an entire stereotype?
I believe what they may be referring to is that (IME) Aussies tend to pepper their relationships with more ribbing, digs, putdowns and such like. The 'it's a joke, Joyce' factor doesn't always translate well. (I do know of Aussies who've come to the US and got in trouble with that.)
Fay - Feb 10, 2003 11:33:44 am PST #1846 of 9843
"Fuck Western ideologically-motivated gender identification!" Sulu gasped, and came.
Re: sensitivities - in the UK, taking the piss is pretty much a national passtime, but in Australia I think it's maybe even more so. So maybe that's part of it?
billytea - Feb 10, 2003 11:36:01 am PST #1847 of 9843
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.
Re: sensitivities - in the UK, taking the piss is pretty much a national passtime, but in Australia I think it's maybe even more so. So maybe that's part of it?
Ah, that's the phrase. Yep, taking the piss is something of a national pastime, certainly more so than here.
Edit: and now I'm recalling the survey of national humour preferences that did the rounds last year, and also my own observation that American remakes of British sitcoms don't generally do well. The survey said that humour which relied on, basically, laughing at someone (due to foolishness, gullibility, moral turpitude or whatever) tends to be more popular than in Britain and Australia. Now, I think that needs some qualification. On Coupling, for instance, characters like Jeff certainly invite a great deal of the point-and-laugh. But (IMO), such characters also evoke greater sympathy than corresponding characters on American sitcoms.
I think this greater tendency to take the piss in normal relationships accounts for a lot of this. Ridicule can obscure a person's basic humanity; British sitcoms (good ones, anyway) are better at sidestepping this, because there's more of a tradition of doing so good-naturedly. (Paradoxically, this allows them to be more savage too at times.) But when you have a US remake, this gets lost, and all you have is a show based on ridiculing some sad bastards. And they already have reality shows for that.
Typo Boy - Feb 10, 2003 11:38:29 am PST #1848 of 9843
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
Ok, I learned something new.
Typo Boy - Feb 10, 2003 11:39:55 am PST #1849 of 9843
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
Oh, BTW - if I use heavy handed sarcasm, am I taking the piss? Or does the phrase only apply to a lighter touch?