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Stupid Questions
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 10:42 am    Post subject: anglo-american "culture" Reply with quote

Big Brother ?

Another piece of anglomerican television "culture" that I have been spared. Writers on this forum should note that not all of us spend hours every day in front of the idiot box. Make reference to characters in Shakespeare, Dickens or Twain, but do not expect us to share your knowledge of televisual ephemera from the UK and USA.

My original above included the name D i c k e n s, but the smart technology here replaced that with *beep*.

Oh dear !


Last edited by scot47 on Sun May 11, 2003 11:27 am; edited 3 times in total
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Seth



Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 575
Location: in exile

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 10:53 am    Post subject: Scot47 Reply with quote

Is that your final answer?

You are the weakest link....Goodbye!
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R



Joined: 07 May 2003
Posts: 277
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It looks like I'm going to have to defend myself regarding this Big Brother thing. I don't watch it - don't actually on a TV - but it's a famous quote and a cut and pasted it from a website. NOT that I'm going to take abuse on my cultural standards in a forum that thinks D i c k e n s is just a swearword! Smile

Actually, I may be in agreement on that, but that's another argument for another time...

Rob, who reads Plato for fun and, for what it's worth (not much) is the only person in the world who has bothered reading all four of Umberto Eco's novels.
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grahamb



Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Posts: 1945

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 12:14 pm    Post subject: Not a stupid question, but amusing nevertheless. Reply with quote

An American friend of mine thought that New England was a state. Oops!
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 3:07 pm    Post subject: Do you hear an Eco? Reply with quote

Dear R,
Don't mind scot47 - too many years in the desert do strange things to a man's mind. And he was pretty strange even before he came here. I'll admit that we who are TVless by choice can sound pretty snobbish sometimes ( What me - watch the idiot box? Why I have far better things to go with MY time ). But, to tell you the truth, the main reason I don't have one is I'm scared of it. I know that if I let it into the house, it'll take over, and before I know it I'll be sitting there, gape-mouthed and vacant-eyed, watching anything and everything, up to and including Egyptian soap operas. Now if you really do " read Plato for fun ", you ought to consider coming here to the Kingdom to work. That's about as " fun as it gets " around this place. It's also a great place to read D i c k e n s ( excuse my language ).
Regards,
John
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R



Joined: 07 May 2003
Posts: 277
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 4:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is something that's been bothering me, actually. When you leave to work for years in another country, what do you do with your books? It would cost a fortune to ship them over but you can't just lose them - they represent a lifetime of, well, buying books. Smile And it takes a special kind of friend to allow you to liberally redecorate their house with bookcases, as well as making biweekly trips to the post office with whatever tome you've suddenly developed an uncontrollable urge for.

Or is this just me?
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Lucy Snow



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 218
Location: US

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 5:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We take our books with us. We built up a library over 8 years while we were in Japan, and we couldn't leave them behind. We didn't want to sell them either.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 5:07 pm    Post subject: books and a base Reply with quote

Books weigh a LOT. Moving around with your collection of books is difficult. Maybe you have to learn to discard them ? I keep some, but only a small percentage. Current employer gives no baggage allowance so I am restricted when I fly in and out. 20 kg or 30 kg when I use my frequent flyer card.
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Shonai Ben



Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 617

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 5:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I did the same thing.Every time that I went home I would ship a box full of books by surface,because it is the cheapest.Now I have all of my books here in Japan.If you do a little at a time it's not so bad.
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R



Joined: 07 May 2003
Posts: 277
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 5:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hmm, couln't afford the Lucy snow approach, couldn't stand the Scot47 one... I think Shonai Ben has it!
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Lucy Snow



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 218
Location: US

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We don't move a lot. When we left Japan, my husband's university paid the shipping costs. Now that we're thinking of leaving Hungary, we've budgeted enough money to take the books with us.

We always go through them periodically and cull whatever we don't want to keep. But give up most of them? No way.
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 5:14 pm    Post subject: Double yout pleasure Reply with quote

Dear R,
What gives me almost as much pleasure as reading a good/great book is giving that book to someone else to read. So, that's what I do with most of my books - give them away. In fact, there a great book give-away taking place right now at my apartment in Riyadh since I'll be leaving ( now Lucy, I'm NOT gloating - much ) in 56 days. There are a few books ( poetry, mostly ) that I always carry with me, but the rest all are set free.
Regards,
John
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Lucy Snow



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 218
Location: US

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 5:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like to lend books, but I also like to get them back. Smile

And yes, John, you are gloating.
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R



Joined: 07 May 2003
Posts: 277
Location: United Kingdom

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 5:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm one of these anal (but talented) people who can and will read a fat paperback without putting a single crease on the spine. I think people stopped asking to borrow my books when they got sick of my begging them yo be careful, following up with 2am phone calls - "I just had a nightmare in which you dogeared my American Pastoral!!! Is it okay???? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BOOK!!!!!!?"

It's not healthy but it keeps my books in my house.
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2003 5:25 pm    Post subject: Gloat? Moi? Reply with quote

Dear Lucy,
Pshaw - I'm far too mature to gloat; that's strictly for adolescents. So, when I mention the fact that I'M LEAVING SAUDI ARABIA FOR GOOD IN 56 MORE DAYS - EAT YOUR HEART OUT, well, that just for informational purposes.
Regards,
Johgn
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