American-British Q&A

[JDKJ]

double-post

 

[Axolotl]

Ah, good to know
Ok so more questions for you:
How big IS Charlie Brooker over there?

Not very big but he seems to be getting more famous as times go on. He seems to be getting added to the list of got political comedians for TV but hes still

and what's Manchester like?

It varies, it used to be a really bad place to live, but recently it has improved greatly. It's one of the bigger towns in the Northwest and one of the more modern places in the North. Overall it's a pretty nice place to live if your the sort of person who can appreciate what it has to offer.


By the way is Piers Morgan really trying to make a career in the US? Because I heard that a while ago and I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

 

[SadakoMoose]

I have a question for the Americans among us.

How many British TV Shows are broadcast in the USA? Has anyone from over the pond seen Gavin and Stacey, the IT Crowd, the original Office (with ricky gervais) or Top Gear or any others you can think of

The American PBS (public broadcast system) will show things like Keeping Up Appearances, Last of the Summer Wine, and Are You Being Served?.
BBC America shows things like the modern Dr. Who, The Graham Norton Show, Top Gear, and Monty Python reruns, eternally almost.
They show Blackadder every Christmas
We don't get anything from 4, 5, ITV or anyone other than the BBC.
We don't even have access to the BBC iPlayer
On BBC America, they USED to show a combination of classics (such as Alo Alo and The Young Ones) alongside stuff that British people didn't want (My Family, My Hero).
We've never seen anything by Nigel Kneale, so it's not like we'd know what Quatermass was.
When I was a kid, some of the higher number cable stations would show British kid's television. So I saw things like Clangers, Bagpuss, Postman Pat, and Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde.
So yeah

 

[JDKJ]

Ah, good to know
Ok so more questions for you:
How big IS Charlie Brooker over there?

Not very big but he seems to be getting more famous as times go on. He seems to be getting added to the list of got political comedians for TV but hes still

and what's Manchester like?

It varies, it used to be a really bad place to live, but recently it has improved greatly. It's one of the bigger towns in the Northwest and one of the more modern places in the North. Overall it's a pretty nice place to live if your the sort of person who can appreciate what it has to offer.


By the way is Piers Morgan really trying to make a career in the US? Because I heard that a while ago and I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

No trying, he's doing. Piers Morgan just replaced Larry King on CNN -- probably with a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract.

 

[Karlosdj86]

I have a question for the Americans among us.

How many British TV Shows are broadcast in the USA? Has anyone from over the pond seen Gavin and Stacey, the IT Crowd, the original Office (with ricky gervais) or Top Gear or any others you can think of

The American PBS (public broadcast system) will show things like Keeping Up Appearances, Last of the Summer Wine, and Are You Being Served?.
BBC America shows things like the modern Dr. Who, The Graham Norton Show, Top Gear, and Monty Python reruns, eternally almost.
They show Blackadder every Christmas
We don't get anything from 4, 5, ITV or anyone other than the BBC.
We don't even have access to the BBC iPlayer
On BBC America, they USED to show a combination of classics (such as Alo Alo and The Young Ones) alongside stuff that British people didn't want (My Family, My Hero).
We've never seen anything by Nigel Kneale, so it's not like we'd know what Quatermass was.
When I was a kid, some of the higher number cable stations would show British kid's television. So I saw things like Clangers, Bagpuss, Postman Pat, and Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde.
So yeah

That was quick, thanks.

 

[SadakoMoose]

Ah, good to know
Ok so more questions for you:
How big IS Charlie Brooker over there?

Not very big but he seems to be getting more famous as times go on. He seems to be getting added to the list of got political comedians for TV but hes still

and what's Manchester like?

It varies, it used to be a really bad place to live, but recently it has improved greatly. It's one of the bigger towns in the Northwest and one of the more modern places in the North. Overall it's a pretty nice place to live if your the sort of person who can appreciate what it has to offer.


By the way is Piers Morgan really trying to make a career in the US? Because I heard that a while ago and I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Yes, and he's just as annoying as I would expect.
He embarrassed himself in front of Jesse Ventura, by being a big condescending pillock.
There's a movie theatre chain where I live called the "Regal Manchester". Is this funny?
While I'm at it...
Does anyone over on your end respect Alan Parkinson?
Also, do you remember Ghostwatch?

 

[Harkwell]

To americans: Why are you letting your government throw in the towel for manned space missions, instead now relying on the russians for transport?

Why drive to the mall when you can get a ride with a friend and leech off his gas?

 

[JDKJ]

Ah, good to know
Ok so more questions for you:
How big IS Charlie Brooker over there?

Not very big but he seems to be getting more famous as times go on. He seems to be getting added to the list of got political comedians for TV but hes still

and what's Manchester like?

It varies, it used to be a really bad place to live, but recently it has improved greatly. It's one of the bigger towns in the Northwest and one of the more modern places in the North. Overall it's a pretty nice place to live if your the sort of person who can appreciate what it has to offer.


By the way is Piers Morgan really trying to make a career in the US? Because I heard that a while ago and I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Yes, and he's just as annoying as I would expect.
He embarrassed himself in front of Jesse Ventura, by being a big condescending pillock.
There's a movie theatre chain where I live called the "Regal Manchester". Is this funny?
While I'm at it...
Does anyone over on your end respect Alan Parkinson?
Also, do you remember Ghostwatch?

I saw that Jesse Ventura interview. There was a point at which he'd have looked at lot better if he'd have simply said, "You know something, Jesse? You are one crazy motherf*^ker with all those conspiracy theories you got."

 

[Axolotl]

By the way is Piers Morgan really trying to make a career in the US? Because I heard that a while ago and I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

No trying, he's doing. Piers Morgan just replaced Larry King on CNN -- probably with a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract.

Oh god. I hoped tha people would have just ignored him. Well at least this means he's on a different continent I guess.

Also, do you remember Ghostwatch?

Yes but only because they keep metioning it in various TV clip shows and countdown type things. I've never met anyone who actualy saw it when it was broadcast and since it's never been reaired I doubt many people have actually seen it.

 

[JDKJ]

By the way is Piers Morgan really trying to make a career in the US? Because I heard that a while ago and I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

No trying, he's doing. Piers Morgan just replaced Larry King on CNN -- probably with a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract.

Oh god. I hoped tha people would have just ignored him. Well at least this means he's on a different continent I guess.

We've got our share off ass-bite TV personalities here. Shall I round up a few and send them your way? : P

Speaking of, there's a British-sounding (but he could be Aussie), not-so-funny guy who somehow managed to get his own late-night show in the same time slot as Conan O'Brien's show. Don't know his name, though. EDIT: Craig Ferguson and he's Scottish (Google is your friend in need).

 

[The Harkinator]

About how offensive is the word pillock considered to be?

It basically means idiot or moron. We use it a lot in banter here in Britain. Like if somebody turns his friends DVDs and games into a hilarious set of dominos by falling against a shelf with them on you say it while laughing at him.

E.g. if I want to let someone know they've been really stupid I'll say:
'You bloody idiot, don't step there! That's broken glass and you're barefoot!'

If you want to be lighthearted:
'I found out the problem with the internet, I forgot to plug it in.'
'You pillock, just because it says WIRELESS doesn't mean you don't need to plug it into the mains.'

I normally say bloody to let someone know how dangerously stupid (like high voltage style) they're being.

Ah, good to know
Ok so more questions for you:
How big IS Charlie Brooker over there?
Do you remember World of Sport?
Do you remember Ghostwatch?
and what's Manchester like?

Charlie Brooker may not be really big and famous but he is bloody brilliant (watch his Gameswipe show, find it on YouTube, pure excellence).
World of Sport, no it doesn't ring any bells.
I can remember Ghostwatch but I didn't bother with it.
Manchester is very... unique. It's a nice place with two football teams that hate each other. The Royal Theatre Company there is great and theres quite a few places to go. It's a big city so it has loads of good and bad bits but the Trafford Centre is somewhere everyone should go.

 

[JDKJ]

About how offensive is the word pillock considered to be?

It basically means idiot or moron. We use it a lot in banter here in Britain. Like if somebody turns his friends DVDs and games into a hilarious set of dominos by falling against a shelf with them on you say it while laughing at him.

E.g. if I want to let someone know they've been really stupid I'll say:
'You bloody idiot, don't step there! That's broken glass and you're barefoot!'

If you want to be lighthearted:
'I found out the problem with the internet, I forgot to plug it in.'
'You pillock, just because it says WIRELESS doesn't mean you don't need to plug it into the mains.'

I normally say bloody to let someone know how dangerously stupid (like high voltage style) they're being.

Ah, good to know
Ok so more questions for you:
How big IS Charlie Brooker over there?
Do you remember World of Sport?
Do you remember Ghostwatch?
and what's Manchester like?

Charlie Brooker may not be really big and famous but he is bloody brilliant (watch his Gameswipe show, find it on YouTube, pure excellence).
World of Sport, no it doesn't ring any bells.
I can remember Ghostwatch but I didn't bother with it.
Manchester is very... unique. It's a nice place with two football teams that hate each other. The Royal Theatre Company there is great and theres quite a few places to go. It's a big city so it has loads of good and bad bits but the Trafford Centre is somewhere everyone should go.

Does Man U. hate F.C. United or is it the other way around? Like a kid brother would hate a big brother that slapped him around all the time for no good reason?

 

[endplanets]

To Americans: when you see a mixed-race person of Afro-Caribbean/White European descent, do you class them as mixed race, or black?

I ask this because as a mixed race person myself, I've noticed that a lot of Americans don't seem to recognise it as an identity in it's own right; they are more likely to class that person according to what they physically resemble the most, i.e. tanned skin and coarse dark hair = black. This is really putting me off moving to America as I'm worried that I'm going to be given a new identity that I can't relate to.

Famed African American poet Langston Hughes said "You see, unfortunately, I am not black. There are lots of different kinds of blood in our family. But here in the United States, the word 'Negro' is used to mean anyone who has any Negro blood at all in his veins. In Africa, the word is more pure. It means all Negro, therefore black. I am brown"

In the United States we don't really believe in multiple races for one person. We go off of a "you look it you are it", part of our one-drop rule. Long story.
Back in the day the South had slavery. And on top of kidnapping, murdering and selling the children of their slaves they also raped the female slaves, very frequently. As a result there were a lot of 50/50 kids. These 50/50 kids would not be freed by their white fathers and would stay in servitude. Culturally, black slaves saw these 50/50 children as black since they stayed with their mother and grew up withing the black community, and these 50/50 kids were not seen as white because they did not grow up with their white father and live in their culture (mild speculation on my part). Since race was the justification of slavery, and owner's didn't want to free their profitable and sell able 50/50 offspring the laws were made say that any person with any black ancestry of any percentage (or extremely low in some states) was to be officially recognized as black, and thus a slave. These 50/50 kids might have been mildly resented withing the black slave community at the time (speculation on my part) but then those children would grow up and be raped by their owners or would marry a fellow black or partially black slave, resulting in a child that could have any mix of white and black. When combined with the fact that plantation owners not wanting to admit who their children were, slave mothers not wanting to talk about the father, children being sold away while extremely young and few birth records of slaves means that it is extremely hard for slaves to know their true racial makeup. Long story short, by the time the Civil War was over just about every slave had at least some percentage of white in them, but slaves, white people and the law did not care. When Jim Crow laws began to take effect the old laws about having "one-drop" was used to make sure that people with any percentage of black were discriminated against. If one had even a little bit of black in them they were considered black and were treated as such, legally and culturally by both African Americans and whites.
Notable examples include Frederick Douglas who states in his biography that his master was also his father and as such is 50% white and 50% black. Actually, I take that back, he never had much communication with his mom, who for all I know could have been 80% black 20% white or something else. So there is a chance that Frederick Douglas is more white than black.
Tiger Woods is the most extreme example. He is 1/4 black, 1/8 white (Dutch), 1/8 Native American and 1/2 Asian. So yea, he is twice as Asian as he is black. But since Americans use "you look it you are it" they see that black is his most visible trait and declare him black.
President Obama is another example. He is rare in that we know for sure that he is exactly 50% white and 50% black. Note that he is considered black despite this, and that his skin tone is very similar to that of other African Americans in America.
My Colombian dad says that it is weird how Americans view race. In Colombia they had slavery, but there was far less interracial mixing and as such their Afrian-Colombian population has very little white in it. But if an Afro-Colombian marries a white Colombian the child is considered Mulatto because there is a clear distinction between the black, white and mixed. Oddly, they have a reverse one-drop rule on top of that. If you have a small amount of white in you than you are considered white (while still also being Mulatto). My dad will turn on news and be confused when they refer to black people to which he responds "what are they hiding behind the white people?"

To answer your question. On paper you will be considered mixed (have to look up the specifics per state but modern laws are more logical), but to virtually every American you will be considered 100% black. If you try to say that you are Afro-Caribbean/White European you will just be wasting your time because the concept of mixed races is just something that we culturally do not use or that we care about. As for your African ancestry being from the Caribbean, that is something Americans will take note of and possible find cool. If you have a trace of a Jamaican/Haitian/Dominican Republic accent (but I assume you are living in Britian right now so how would I know) they might find that interesting little factoid to know about but of little real consequence.

But don't British people use the same you-look-it-you-are-it thought process when you just look at someone that we Americans use? Do British people use the terms Mulatto, Chicano (part Hispanic part white), etc or is it an all or nothing?

Chicano doesn't mean "part Hispanic part white." It means you were born in the United States of Mexican parents. Usually it refers to Californians. There's another term for Texans of Mexican descent: Tejano (pronounced tay-ha-no).

You are correct, my bad, I was thinking of Cholo (1/4 White and 3/4 Native American)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casta

 

[YouBecame]

America: Do you have any rivalries between states/ geographic factors? In England we have quite a big North/South divide, for example, and wondered if something similar occurred over in the US

It depends on where, actually. There's some pretty epic feuding between the states of Michigan and Ohio, which actually started over a land dispute when they joined the Union. I'm sure there's others, but I haven't been exposed to them sufficiently to recall offhand.

In addition, there's a number of stereotypes for people from any major region of the country. For example, San Franciscans are gay, Alabamans have 3 teeth and fuck their sisters, and anyone from New York is a colossal douche. I'm not really sure it counts as a "rivalry" per se, but there's so many different cultures in the US that stereotypes have arisen to cover just about all of them, and everyone knows them.

Is it mostly friendly banter, or is tehre some actual hatred among the regions?

Also, what do you mean when you say "joined the union"? Is that a local colloquialism?

 

[JDKJ]

America: Do you have any rivalries between states/ geographic factors? In England we have quite a big North/South divide, for example, and wondered if something similar occurred over in the US

It depends on where, actually. There's some pretty epic feuding between the states of Michigan and Ohio, which actually started over a land dispute when they joined the Union. I'm sure there's others, but I haven't been exposed to them sufficiently to recall offhand.

In addition, there's a number of stereotypes for people from any major region of the country. For example, San Franciscans are gay, Alabamans have 3 teeth and fuck their sisters, and anyone from New York is a colossal douche. I'm not really sure it counts as a "rivalry" per se, but there's so many different cultures in the US that stereotypes have arisen to cover just about all of them, and everyone knows them.

Is it mostly friendly banter, or is tehre some actual hatred among the regions?

Also, what do you mean when you say "joined the union"? Is that a local colloquialism?

It's a reference to joining the United States of America, which is often referred to collectively as "the Union." After the original 13 British colonies formed the original United States after the Revolutionary War, other territories on the North American continent were admitted to the United Sates as a new State. That's what's called "joining the Union." Michigan and Ohio weren't among the original 13 States. They joined the Union afterward.

There can be violent geographic rivalries ("beef" may be a better word), most often gang-fuelrd. During the 1990s, there was a long-lasting East Coast-West Coast beef centered in New York City and Los Angeles, respectively. A lotta people were killed as part of that beef, which didn't really end until both Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG were killed.

 

[Trivun]

About how offensive is the word pillock considered to be?

It basically means idiot or moron. We use it a lot in banter here in Britain. Like if somebody turns his friends DVDs and games into a hilarious set of dominos by falling against a shelf with them on you say it while laughing at him.

E.g. if I want to let someone know they've been really stupid I'll say:
'You bloody idiot, don't step there! That's broken glass and you're barefoot!'

If you want to be lighthearted:
'I found out the problem with the internet, I forgot to plug it in.'
'You pillock, just because it says WIRELESS doesn't mean you don't need to plug it into the mains.'

I normally say bloody to let someone know how dangerously stupid (like high voltage style) they're being.

Ah, good to know
Ok so more questions for you:
How big IS Charlie Brooker over there?
Do you remember World of Sport?
Do you remember Ghostwatch?
and what's Manchester like?

Charlie Brooker wasn't very big here in the UK for ages, but he's recently been getting a lot more attention and scope after writing Big-Brother-with-zombies comedy Dead Set, and his part in 10 o'Clock Live (kind of like our new weekly version of your The Daily Show). I personally follow him on Twitter, and he is getting more popular over time. He inspired Yahtzee, you know (yeah, you probably do already know ).

Never heard of World of Sport, though I'm not really into sport anyway...

I was too young to remember Ghostwatch, but I've heard of it since and wish fervently that someone would do something similar now, because it would be hilarious and awesome too .

I've been to Manchester a couple of times, and I've passed through it on the train plenty (changing trains at one station) and once by coach (a journey I will NEVER make again, it was that bad...). Manchester in general is pretty nice, my parents have been there a few times for the weekend and say the gay area (near the canal) is really nice and good for going out in. Also, they reckon the Trafford Centre is good. I'll be going there this year anyway for a weekend for Escapism UK 2011, so I can answer more on this then

 

[The Harkinator]

[quote="JaceValm" post="18.278865.10886355Does Man U. hate F.C. United or is it the other way around? Like a kid brother would hate a big brother that slapped him around all the time for no good reason?

There are two teams, Manchester United, who I support and Manchester City. Man Utd play in red shirts and white shorts, Man City play in Blue shirts and white shorts.
Utd is the most successful club in Britain and also the world, they have won over 35 major trophies (I mean about 4 or 5 many times) they are the most valuable club in the world £1.13 billion. but they're owned by the totally *****f**fdvfd**v*b*f*b**bdf Malcolm Glazer (yes he's american) who also owns Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he bought Man Utd then transfered all his debts (were talking £800 million, thats over $1 billion) to the club. All supporters hate him and rightly so, he has done nothing good for the club, he turned it into an easy place to store his unwanted debts.

City are not so successful, they are lacking in the trophy department and the prestige. Luckily for them they didn't get american owners (thats no slur on you another club, Liverpool have also been ruined by american owners) they got Sheik Mansour, a rich arabian prince with lots of oil(tasty tasty oil mmm), he has spent £300 million on City to buy new players so they're getting serious about challenging for trophies now.

United are the dominant team and since they're so close to each other in terms of geography they make obvious rivals. Rivalry in football is goes:
Nearest - Historical rivals - Current main challengers.
So cince City and United are nearest to each other and are big teams thats why they're rivals.

I never asked a question so here goes:
In MLS are there any big rivalries between teams based on anything other than being rivals for the title?

 

[daftnoize]

About how offensive is the word pillock considered to be?

It basically means idiot or moron. We use it a lot in banter here in Britain. Like if somebody turns his friends DVDs and games into a hilarious set of dominos by falling against a shelf with them on you say it while laughing at him.

E.g. if I want to let someone know they've been really stupid I'll say:
'You bloody idiot, don't step there! That's broken glass and you're barefoot!'

If you want to be lighthearted:
'I found out the problem with the internet, I forgot to plug it in.'
'You pillock, just because it says WIRELESS doesn't mean you don't need to plug it into the mains.'

I normally say bloody to let someone know how dangerously stupid (like high voltage style) they're being.

Ah, good to know
Ok so more questions for you:
How big IS Charlie Brooker over there?
Do you remember World of Sport?
Do you remember Ghostwatch?
and what's Manchester like?

Charlie Brooker wasn't very big here in the UK for ages, but he's recently been getting a lot more attention and scope after writing Big-Brother-with-zombies comedy Dead Set, and his part in 10 o'Clock Live (kind of like our new weekly version of your The Daily Show). I personally follow him on Twitter, and he is getting more popular over time. He inspired Yahtzee, you know (yeah, you probably do already know ).

Never heard of World of Sport, though I'm not really into sport anyway...

I was too young to remember Ghostwatch, but I've heard of it since and wish fervently that someone would do something similar now, because it would be hilarious and awesome too .

I've been to Manchester a couple of times, and I've passed through it on the train plenty (changing trains at one station) and once by coach (a journey I will NEVER make again, it was that bad...). Manchester in general is pretty nice, my parents have been there a few times for the weekend and say the gay area (near the canal) is really nice and good for going out in. Also, they reckon the Trafford Centre is good. I'll be going there this year anyway for a weekend for Escapism UK 2011, so I can answer more on this then

Although a massive charlie brooker I do find a certain irony that his job is to criticize television on television. I love it how he thinks films are shit in comparisson to games, here here

 

[DrOswald]

I can walk into a gun shop with 1500 dollars and a clean record and walk out three days later with an AK47 or a .50 caliber revolver. THAT is what I consider guns being allowed. I don't need a government certificate, all I need is enough cash to cover the cost of the gun and a criminal record free of felonies.

If your paying $1500 for a AK-47, your paying way too much. you can get a good AR-15 and great scope for that. Or like 8 shotguns.

For all those out there wondering how common it is to actually have a gun here in the U.S.A., I would say about a third are gun owners, with a much higher concentration of gun owners in less populated areas and much lower concentration in highly populated areas. Also, some places have higher concentrations of gun ownership, like Texas.

I personally own 2 guns, a .22 semi auto pistol and .22 semi auto rifle, and I plan on getting a shotgun in the nearish future.

I never hunt or carry, I only use my guns for range shooting. As far as gun owners go, I am pretty mild. Most gun owners have, at bare minimum, one powerful rifle, a .22 for practice, a semi auto pistol which is at very least 9mm, and 2 or more shotguns.

A lot of gun owners have conceal and carry permits, but most don't carry in my experience. Guns are annoying to carry on your person. The biggest benefit of the conceal and carry permit is that you don't have to pay for a background check so you save money when buying a new gun. Also, there are all sorts of laws about when one can actually use a gun in a public emergency scenario. They basically boil down to "don't use your gun." Again, expect more conceal and carries in low pop areas and places like Texas.

 

[Ris]

Honestly if gas wasn't eight or nine bucks a gallon and guns were legal I would have moved to the UK ages ago.

Just a quick thing, but this is a particular pet hate of mine, it annoys me when people think guns are illegal.

Guns are legal here.

We're just not allowed semi-automatic rifles over .22 caliber, or handguns that are not black-powder (like flintlocks, vintage revolvers etc.)

And our gun control is tighter. You must own a Shotgun Certificate (which are pretty easy to get) to buy shotguns, and for anything else and shotguns with a capacity over 2 or 2+1 you must have a Firearms Certificate, which is a little trickier to get hold of, but certainly not impossible.

I know you probably don't care, but for some reason I feel compelled to inform people of this

And I just pumped some premium octane gas at US$4.25 a gallon. Convert that to pounds and your gas ain't that much more expensive than ours.

Petrol (yes I will insist on calling it petrol ) around my area is £1.35-ish per litre. Not sure how that works out, but its still not cheap. But then I have a pretty small car, so it's swings and roundabouts really.

On Topic:

I've been vaguely toying with the idea of moving to the US for a bit and finding work. Not sure why, but seems like it would be an interesting experience.

Would there be any place in particular you guys would recommended looking at, and what general advice would you give to a clueless Englishman who is unknowing of your outlandish Yank customs

Are you aware that in many places in the States, unemployment's running close to 20%? Unless you're a Registered Nurse (about the only position for which there's guaranteed employment right now), I'd advise you think about that move long and hard.

Shitter

Well you've got 2 years before I finish University, better get on it and sort your job market out by then

But seriously, that sucks. I want to work abroad, but everyone and his dog from the UK goes to work in Australia and NZ. Not that I've anything against either of those places, I jsut like the sound of the USA as something a bit different

Actually a quick google seems to show that as of March 2011 US unemployment rates average at 8.8%, as oppose to about 8% for the UK - and they're decreasing. It's probably worth trying to get some industry/region specific figures, though.