The Supreme Tradition of Spelling Bees

The quirkiness of Maryland is not limited to Baltimore.

Not vegetarian-friendly.

Bizarre. And funny:

"I'll be honest," she said. "I can't sing, I can't dance and I don't play any musical instruments." So it had to be muskrats.

That's a riot!!

I liked this too:

She was in a locker room at South Dorchester School, a few minutes before the pageant, with curlers in her hair and a dead muskrat in a plastic bag. The animal had been caught in a spring-loaded trap in a nearby marsh that morning. Now, it looked awfully fluffy.
"I did blow-dry it," Phillips said.

Edited by: VinnyD

As one of Prince William's future subjects (his grandma is officially queen of Australia too) I don't mind his language so much - at least he sounds like he is a young fellow living in the real world. Better than coming out with some pompous stuff like "one doesn't really like one's own country when those dastardly newspaper proprietors are so beastly to one's family".

Although grannie would probably not approve of him knocking England, the British newspapers really are a nasty lot.

re prince willliam: i agree with what libbyh says about being "in touch with real life", and it is also a very british thing to have a critical relationship vis-a-vis one's nationality (one of the reasons that, as a german, i can feel so at home in the uk, much unlike france)

Being critical of your country may be fine, but not when you're a potential future King!

It's more complicated than that. If the average Brit has a few things he likes about the UK and a few things that he does not, the Royal House may well be within the sphere of things that he likes that define being British. So what if the King then propagates that being British is not that great? And also, if enjoying Britdom = admiring the royal family (or a part of it), how do the members of the royal family feel British? Surely there's enough left in the box that defines Britishness besides the Queen, but their Britishness might well be different from your average guy's Britishness.

When Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, born in Argentina, arrived in the Netherlands a few years ago, they made her go to all the important places, meet all the important people, study the language, the history, etc. This took a few years. Last year, at some multicultural event, she gave a speech, and she said what I think was meant as a multicultural gesture: "I have studied the Dutch for a few years now, and I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as The Dutchman. They are all different." This got her into BIG trouble. I don't quite understand why exactly, but apparently there were people who would like to think that there is a core to every nationality that everyone with that nationality should possess.

This is an interesting problem and one that has come up for me on occasion. It's very difficult to become part of certain countries and not others. I mean, anyone can become Canadian, American, or Australian, I suppose -- these are all countries based on immigration from so many different places. But other countries, like many in Europe do have a stereotypical image, whether or not it is accurate. Hence the difficulty of assimilating immigrants who look different, or have different customs that they want to retain.

Even if the British can criticize England, there is a kind of stereotypical "English person", and it's not necessarily the Queen, and that self-deprecating humour is part of it. The French too criticize their country, but in a sort of self-satisfied way. And I have come to the conclusion that you cannot become French -- I have been here nearly 30 years, but still only said I was French in S America because it was simpler, having a French passport. Otherwise, if the discussion comes up, I end up trying to explain or just say I'm Canadian, even though I spent much less time in Canada than I have in France.

My 2 cents worth. Oh my God I nearly puked when I read a previous post. I am Australian and do not consider myself to be a subject of some female person in England, nor do I consider myself to be a "future subject" of William. Kings and Queens, and the aristocracy have no place here in Australia, we don't need them, we do not want them.

That said, when some bloke happens to have a HRH in front of his name, he should be more circumspect and ensure he doesn't break the 11th commandment_"Thou shalt not get caught." He should be an embodiement of all that is good about England, and in the harsh light of day should portray all her strengths and none of her shortcomings.

I have no time for so-called 'royalty' or any of their 'aristocratic' dweebs or chinless wonders .

Edited by: Captain_Courageous