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=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: ggw on November 06, 2003, 10:53:00 am
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Study Ranks America's Most Fun Cities
Study Uses Criteria Such As Sports Teams, City Recreation Budget
When you think of fun cities, which do you think of? Las Vegas, New Orleans, maybe New York City?
Well, then you might be surprised to find out that in a new study Minneapolis was ranked the No. 1 most fun city in the country.
The study was done by the staff of the game Cranium, combined with Money magazine's staff, which turns out an annual study on the "Best Places to Live."
The criteria for the rankings included: number of sports teams, restaurants and dance performances, toy stores and city budget spent on recreation.
The Twin Cities have more theaters than Boston, more parks than Denver and more golfers per capita than any other city. With 10,000 lakes, it also has more coastline than California, Florida and Hawaii combined.
Top 50 Fun Cities
1. Minneapolis-St. Paul
2. Orange County, Calf.
3. San Jose, Calf.
4. Atlanta
5. Chicago
6. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Oakland, Calf.
9. Salt Lake City
10. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.
11. Portland, Ore.-Vancouver, Wash.
12. San Francisco
13. Baltimore
14. Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wis.
15. Denver
16. Detroit
17. St. Louis
18. San Diego
19. Indianapolis
20. Cincinnati
21. Columbus, Ohio
22. Philadelphia
23. Sacramento, Calf.
24. Nashville, Tenn.
25. Las Vegas
26. Los Angeles
27. Kansas City, Mo.
28. Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y.
29. Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.
30. Omaha, Neb.
31. Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, Va.
32. Houston
33. Cleveland-Lorain-Elryia, Ohio
34. Dallas
35. Memphis, Tenn.
36. Orlando, Fla.
37. Louisville, Ky.
38. Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
39. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.
40. Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, N.C.
41. New York
42. Boston
43. Hartford, Conn.
44. Austin-San Marcos, Texas
45. Newark, N.J.
46. Miami
47. Bergen-Passaic, N.J.
48. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
49. Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.
50. New Orleans
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/2608638/detail.html (http://www.nbc4.tv/news/2608638/detail.html)
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Thank god Newark, NJ made the list. I guess it's all the golfers who live there.
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Ah, Milwaukee...
The Baltimore of the midwest.
I've been to jail in both.
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Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
I've been to jail in both.
And Philly (http://www.antimusic.com/news/03/nov/item04.shtml) as well?
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Ah, Philthydelphia...
Baltimore on steroids.
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6. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
Yes sure... I trust this survey.
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Isn't Orange a county and not a city? ;)
Well, it's a fruit first and foremost, but you get the point...
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Best place I ever lived. Clean city, affordable, good live music scene, pro sports, college basketball capital of the East, a few hours from the ocean or the mountains, wonderful weather, friendly, friendly, friendly people...
Originally posted by Barcelona:
6. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
Yes sure... I trust this survey.
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D.C. is cool, but a little too crowded during party time and a little to much public gayness
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
[QB] friendly, friendly, friendly people...
Is that why you were asked to leave?
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Originally posted by Barcelona:
6. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
Yes sure... I trust this survey.
have you ever even been there?
I guess fun is subjective
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Best place I ever lived. Clean city, affordable, good live music scene, pro sports, college basketball capital of the East, a few hours from the ocean or the mountains, wonderful weather, friendly, friendly, friendly people...
Originally posted by Barcelona:
6. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
Yes sure... I trust this survey.
[/b]
Durham, the perfect place if you want to concentrate on a PhD in theology or another boring issue. There is nothing to do in that city, come on, 9th Street is the only street in Durham and it is sort of depressing. Chapel Hill, that place also has one street that is equally depressing,yes with more stores, but still depressing, except for the Cat's Cradle and except if you want to buy all the UNC paraphernalia. Raleigh? No comments.
The best thing of RDU? Its airport where you used to be able to take a BA flight straight to London and be anywhere in Europe in a few hours.
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Why is Stuckeyville not on the list?
They have bowling and everything there.
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Originally posted by Celeste:
Originally posted by Barcelona:
6. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
Yes sure... I trust this survey.
have you ever even been there?
I guess fun is subjective [/b]
I lived there for two years. I had a good time because I was concentrating on my studies, but to say that it is a fun city, I can't agree with that. However, you are right, fun is subjective, and I am sure there are people who had a great time there and I can't say they are wrong.
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Study Ranks America's Most Fun Cities
Top 50 Fun Cities
3. San Jose, Calf.
ahhh yeah, my hometown comes in 3rd!!!
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Originally posted by Barcelona:
Durham, the perfect place if you want to concentrate on a PhD in theology or another boring issue. There is nothing to do in that city, come on, 9th Street is the only street in Durham and it is sort of depressing. Chapel Hill, that place also has one street that is equally depressing,yes with more stores, but still depressing, except for the Cat's Cradle and except if you want to buy all the UNC paraphernalia. Raleigh? No comments.
The best thing of RDU? Its airport where you used to be able to take a BA flight straight to London and be anywhere in Europe in a few hours.
like Europe is so f'ckin great? It's alright...
anyway, I can see what you mean about Chapel Hill and Durham...I guess when you know fun people in any city it makes the place fun...I quite liked Raleigh when I visisted...
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I was somewhat dismayed at the criteria for judging most fun place.
It reads more like a list of conspicuous consumption. Does having the worlds biggest Mall on you doorstep really make somewhere fun?
As for Chapel Hill, there was nothing to do there other than drink and drive.
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Originally posted by mankie:
Why is Stuckeyville not on the list?
They have bowling and everything there.
I second that.
And Green Bay, too. Beautiful plumage ! (http://www.homestead.com/deidrababe/tightjeans.html) Green Bay has it all: cheese, bratwurst, beer & Lambeau field. It's all anyone would need.
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Originally posted by Celeste:
like Europe is so f'ckin great? It's alright...
[/b]
sounds like someone still hasn't gotten over the manic-mime incident!
You and your hubbie are just too American to appreciate Europe, you both probably bitched about the low water pressure coming out of the shower head, and the lack of ice in all the drinks, not to mention only two types of bread available for your sandwiches, and they don't have sour cream...my God those fuckers over there are nothing but savages...no sour cream indeed....then those cars, how fucking small does a car have to be for crying out loud...and what about their money, can't they use the US dollar? it's so inconvenient having to exchange currency, don't they know about Americans and they need to kiss our all US prime beef asses.
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Originally posted by mankie:
Originally posted by Celeste:
like Europe is so f'ckin great? It's alright...
[/b]
sounds like someone still hasn't gotten over the manic-mime incident!
You and your hubbie are just too American to appreciate Europe, you both probably bitched about the low water pressure coming out of the shower head, and the lack of ice in all the drinks, not to mention only two types of bread available for your sandwiches, and they don't have sour cream...my God those fuckers over there are nothing but savages...no sour cream indeed....then those cars, how fucking small does a car have to be for crying out loud...and what about their money, can't they use the US dollar? it's so inconvenient having to exchange currency, don't they know about Americans and they need to kiss our all US prime beef asses. [/b]
first of all, we don't really even drink drinks with ice...however, some fucking low fat yogurt and skim milk would be nice...of course, there was no shortage of cigarettes! we "appreciated" Europe...we (I can actually only speak for myself, so I will say "I") I am just not completely enamored with it, as some seem to be...like I said...it's alright
and I'd never complain about "exchanging" any currency...just go to a cash machine and you're good to go...
whatever
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The best thing of RDU? Its airport where you used to be able to take a BA flight straight to London and be anywhere in Europe in a few hours. [/qb]
like Europe is so f'ckin great? It's alright...
[/QB][/QUOTE]
That comment was just a joke. Of course you can be in NYC or Chicago in one third of the time it will take you to get to London or other cities in Europe.
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Shoot, you're totally right.
I've never heard any Brits/Europeans complain about America or Americans. It's just a one ay street. It's the Americans who do all of the complaining.
Originally posted by mankie:
Originally posted by Celeste:
like Europe is so f'ckin great? It's alright...
[/b]
sounds like someone still hasn't gotten over the manic-mime incident!
You and your hubbie are just too American to appreciate Europe, you both probably bitched about the low water pressure coming out of the shower head, and the lack of ice in all the drinks, not to mention only two types of bread available for your sandwiches, and they don't have sour cream...my God those fuckers over there are nothing but savages...no sour cream indeed....then those cars, how fucking small does a car have to be for crying out loud...and what about their money, can't they use the US dollar? it's so inconvenient having to exchange currency, don't they know about Americans and they need to kiss our all US prime beef asses. [/b]
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
[QB] It's the Americans who do all of the complaining.
At lease we agree on one thing.
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Top 50 Fun Cities
1. Minneapolis-St. Paul
2. Orange County, Calf.
Word. Who was loathing me waking up this morning and seeing this?
Since we know there's about one month out of the year that you can actually go outside and enjoy yourself in Minnesota, I'll boast in the fact that "The OC" is the most fun place in ths US for the other 11 months!!!!
Representing.....
And yes Mank, "The OC" is a county and not a city, but it's all so good that it's hard to break it up. For prosperity sake, we'll assume they're talking about Anaheim.
Venerable, a close second. Well done.
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
I've been to jail in both.
And Philly (http://www.antimusic.com/news/03/nov/item04.shtml) as well? [/b]
that was probably the fantasy he was working for, being beat up by schoolgirls. he's in jail jerking to it right now
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Let me tell you why I took an instant liking to that area for the year that I was there.
1. I don't go out to eat that often, but when I do, I like Indian, Italian, Thai, and Mexican. I could find all of those there, with vegetarian options aplenty.
2. There were a number of cool little independent coffeehouses and cafes.
3. I like to cook, and there were afforable grocery and whole foods stores.
4. I don't need a place that has four good concerts a week. One or two suits me plenty, and I found they get most of the shows that come to DC down there, at a lower ticket cost. I'n addition to the Cat's Cradle, there was Local 506 and a couple more in chapel Hill that I can't remember the name of. There was also the Brewery in Raleigh, and a couple of places in Durham that I never made it to in the one year.
5. You could drive 10 miles and be out into the beautiful countryside.
6. People didn't care what I did for a living, and didn't hinge their friendship on who I worked for or what I thought politically.
7. I'm a big baseball fan, and Durham had a beautiful minor league stadium. I'm not a basketball fan, but I imagine if I lived there long enough I would have been nudged into following ACC basketball, which would have been fun.
8. People (in general) seemed to strike a balance between building their education/career AND starting a family life, rather than being more focused on one or the other.
All of the above, and I didn't have to put up with city things that I instinctively dislike: tall buildings that block the view of the sky, massive traffic congestion, pollution, dodgy vagrants hitting me up for money, five dollar beers when I wanted to grab a pint, etc.
Originally posted by Barcelona:
6. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
Yes sure... I trust this survey.
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Originally posted by Celeste:
first of all, we don't really even drink drinks with ice...
bahaha, sorry that cracks me up as the first line of a counter-response
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Originally posted by Samantha:
Originally posted by Celeste:
first of all, we don't really even drink drinks with ice...
bahaha, sorry that cracks me up as the first line of a counter-response [/b]
Yeah. LOL. BUT...........why the Hell can't Europeans get some good ice? It's not like they don't have good technology or appliances there. Ice is so refreshing, especially on a very hot and humid day. There's nothing worse than a glass of iced tea with very little or no ice in it.
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Originally posted by vansmack:
Word. Who was loathing me waking up this morning and seeing this?
Since we know there's about one month out of the year that you can actually go outside and enjoy yourself in Minnesota, I'll boast in the fact that "The OC" is the most fun place in ths US for the other 11 months!!!!
Representing.....
And yes Mank, "The OC" is a county and not a city, but it's all so good that it's hard to break it up. For prosperity sake, we'll assume they're talking about Anaheim.
Venerable, a close second. Well done.
no offense vansmack, but i was in orange county for a couple of hours last month, and hated what I saw, it was 1 big strip mall, but I am sure there are better things about it that I did not see, did drive by the baseball stadium though
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Salt Lake City???? FORREAL? i thought you couldnt even drink there?
Well, that sums up my decision, I was going to go to New York City, but screw that, I'll book my tickets to Chapel Hill, North Caolina.
yawn.
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"The criteria for the rankings included: number of sports teams, restaurants and dance performances, toy stores and city budget spent on recreation. "
toy stores, thats MY definition of "fun"
did they count the number of times Andrew WK performed there each year?
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Originally posted by pollard:
no offense vansmack, but i was in orange county for a couple of hours last month,
I stand corrected. The OC is the worst place in the world if Pollard can't have fun in a couple of hours.
Minneapolis it is!
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Originally posted by vansmack:
Originally posted by pollard:
no offense vansmack, but i was in orange county for a couple of hours last month,
I stand corrected. The OC is the worst place in the world if Pollard can't have fun in a couple of hours.
Minneapolis it is! [/b]
Yup, Minneapolis has plenty of ice.
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Originally posted by vansmack:
I stand corrected. The OC is the worst place in the world if Pollard can't have fun in a couple of hours.
Minneapolis it is!
nothing to do with the ability to have fun, has to do with suburban sprawl
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Something is very seriously wrong if Baltimore is so much higher up on that list than New York City!
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or maybe people have different ideas of what is fun. :)
personally, i find NYC a bit overwhelming, and would much rather visit or live around Baltimore.
I would have to day Seattle is my favorite larger city (sorry to Celeste and other fans if Chicago the city), Portland, Oregon my favorite mid-sized city, and Asheville, NC and Raleigh, NC my favorite smaller cities (liked what i saw of Eugene, OR as well but not there long enough to form solid opinion)
And I'm even learning to appreciate certain things about DC, simultaneuously trying to ignore the things that irk me.
Originally posted by Jaguär:
Something is very seriously wrong if Baltimore is so much higher up on that list than New York City!
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check out all the cool bands doing in-stores here:http://www.sonicboomrecords.com/ and you'll see that Seattle is kicking DC's ass in the musical department...
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I think almost everyone kicks ass with in-stores compared to this area. We have so few of them. Toronto and the UK seem to have the most and the best.
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Originally posted by Samantha:
that was probably the fantasy he was working for, being beat up by schoolgirls. he's in jail jerking to it right now
I would've replied sooner, but I was on the phone to the bail bondsman. My vote goes to:
DUNDALK !
"Kiss me where it stinks, hon."
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Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
Originally posted by Samantha:
that was probably the fantasy he was working for, being beat up by schoolgirls. he's in jail jerking to it right now
I would've replied sooner, but I was on the phone to the bail bondsman. My vote goes to:
DUNDALK !
"Kiss me where it stinks, hon." [/b]
Dundalk is the trash capital of the east coast, if not the world! My mother grew up there though, when it was the "pleasantville" idyllic type town before all of the factories closed. now it is the most depressing place i have ever been to.... even more than newark!!!
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Paige, you haven't seen Essex. It's even worse! In fact, I've found that Dundalk often gets the bad rap for Essex. To make matters worse, in the past 10 years, Essex has gotten so much worse than it ever was.
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Newark is a good comparison. I get the willies whenever I have to drive to Newark, which is, like, once per year.
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Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
Newark is a good comparison. I get the willies whenever I have to drive to Newark, which is, like, once per year.
when i go even NEAR newark i fear that i will catch some venereal disease. <shudder> </shudder>
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
check out all the cool bands doing in-stores here:http://www.sonicboomrecords.com/ and you'll see that Seattle is kicking DC's ass in the musical department...
Seattle has more instores, but it also has more corporate coffee drinking, hiking boot wearing, tree hugging, protesting lesbians than DC does too.
lets put it this way, when you were a kid and you were bad...you had to go to stand in the corner right? remember that? now, look at a map.
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Originally posted by Jaguär:
Paige, you haven't seen Essex. It's even worse! In fact, I've found that Dundalk often gets the bad rap for Essex. To make matters worse, in the past 10 years, Essex has gotten so much worse than it ever was.
to be honest, jag, i cant tell where Dundalk ends and Essex begins
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Seattle has more instores, but it also has more corporate coffee drinking, hiking boot wearing, tree hugging, protesting lesbians than DC does too.
aside from the corporate coffee...which they have aplenty in DC anyway, is this so bad?
I think it beats pointy-Blahnik-look-alike-wearing, afraid-to-get-dirty, apathetic consumerist straight girls
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
lets put it this way, when you were a kid and you were bad...you had to go to stand in the corner right? remember that? now, look at a map.
and when I was bad, I got spanked ;)
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Well at least Seattle/Washington State is good enough to be part of the US. Canada was so lame that 19th Century US expansion never bothered to claim it.
And yes, Seattle does have a certain attitude. One that I'll take over DC attitude anyday.
And again, any store that has Bobby Bare Jr and Stars, two artists that I currently can't get enough of, playing on consecutive days, gets my thumbs up. Those two beat any in-stores in the DC indie rock stores that I've seen in six years.
Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
check out all the cool bands doing in-stores here:http://www.sonicboomrecords.com/ and you'll see that Seattle is kicking DC's ass in the musical department...
Seattle has more instores, but it also has more corporate coffee drinking, hiking boot wearing, tree hugging, protesting lesbians than DC does too.
lets put it this way, when you were a kid and you were bad...you had to go to stand in the corner right? remember that? now, look at a map. [/b]
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Well at least Seattle/Washington State is good enough to be part of the US. Canada was so lame that 19th Century US expansion never bothered to claim it.
hey don't you dis Canada!!!!
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Originally posted by Celeste:
Originally posted by sonickteam2:
lets put it this way, when you were a kid and you were bad...you had to go to stand in the corner right? remember that? now, look at a map.
and when I was bad, I got spanked ;) [/b]
Somehow, seeing as who you're married to, I bet you still do! :eek: :You naughty naughty girl!
(disclaimer....this is meant as a light-hearted complement to yours and Rhett's apparent healthy and adventurous sex-life. Didn't want you to take this comment the wrong way like you evidently did the Europe one)
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Originally posted by mankie:
(disclaimer....this is meant as a light-hearted complement to yours and Rhett's apparent healthy and adventurous sex-life. Didn't want you to take this comment the wrong way like you evidently did the Europe one)
no worries, mankie, I will always think of you as the man who rides the hell out of us, but at least shares our vegetarian values and gives us good chicken-friendly egg recommendations
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Century US expansion never bothered to claim it.
are you resorting to thoughtless comebacks again Rhett?
if pig-headed americans making fun of Canada really bothered me, i would have left here by now :)
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
?
if pig-headed americans making fun of Canada really bothered me, i would have left here by now :) [/b]
It's all they have seeing as the rest of the civilized world takes the piss out of them....and we all much prefer the canucks to those doodles anyway. ;)
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haha, thanks Mank.
reminds me a joke...
How many American tourists does it take to change a light bulb?
Fifteen.
Five to figure out how much the bulb costs in the local currency, four to comment on "how funny-looking" local lightbulbs are, three to hire a local person to change the bulb, two to take pictures, and one to buy postcards in case the pictures don't come out.
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I thought it was every bit as clever as your inspired rant about Seattle.
Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Century US expansion never bothered to claim it.
are you resorting to thoughtless comebacks again Rhett?
if pig-headed americans making fun of Canada really bothered me, i would have left here by now :) [/b]
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
I thought it was every bit as clever as your inspired rant about Seattle.
Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Century US expansion never bothered to claim it.
are you resorting to thoughtless comebacks again Rhett?
if pig-headed americans making fun of Canada really bothered me, i would have left here by now :) [/b]
[/b]
at least i thought of better words than, "lame"
:) dont worry, i love Seattle. just not for more than 48 hours at a time
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Originally posted by mankie:
....and we all much prefer the canucks to those doodles anyway.
They love you like they would an obedient beagle lap dog with mange. They respect us like they would a Doberman Pinscher. Most folks tend to prefer a grudging, fearful respect over a fawning, smothering puppy love.
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Originally posted by Dupek Chopra:
Originally posted by mankie:
....and we all much prefer the canucks to those doodles anyway.
They love you like they would an obedient beagle lap dog with mange. They respect us like they would a Doberman Pinscher. Most folks tend to prefer a grudging, fearful respect over a fawning, smothering puppy love. [/b]
So you're married?
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by Jaguär:
Paige, you haven't seen Essex. It's even worse! In fact, I've found that Dundalk often gets the bad rap for Essex. To make matters worse, in the past 10 years, Essex has gotten so much worse than it ever was.
to be honest, jag, i cant tell where Dundalk ends and Essex begins [/b]
Go look at a map. It's off in the corner. ;) No corporate coffee though.
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
So you're married?
Only to the lord our saviour.
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What's the deal with Minneapolis getting all these kudos?
U.S. City With the Smartest People Is...
...Minneapolis, Minnesota.
That's the word from researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater who studied statistics from five categories and 13 different measurements of literacy to provide a ranking for 64 U.S. cities with a population of 250,000 or more. The literacy profile for each city included citizens' educational level, newspaper circulation rates, library resources, the number of periodicals published in that city, and the number of booksellers.
The 10 most literate U.S. cities are:
1. Minneapolis, Minnesota
2. Seattle, Washington
3. Denver, Colorado
4. Atlanta, Georgia
5. San Francisco, California
6. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Louisville, Kentucky
9. Portland, Oregon
10. Cincinnati, Ohio
Other fun facts:
Seattle, Washington boasts the most residents with higher education.
Miami, Florida has the greatest public school library support.
Seattle, Washington has the most bookstores, including major retail booksellers and booksellers of used and rare books.
Newark, New Jersey has the highest newspaper circulation.
Washington, D.C. has the greatest number of publishers of periodicals.
The 10 least literate U.S. cities are:
54. Los Angeles, California and Toledo, Ohio (tie)
56. Fresno, California
57. Jacksonville, Florida
58. Memphis, Tennessee
59. Santa Ana, California
60. San Antonio, Texas
61. Detroit, Michigan
62. Long Beach, California
63. Corpus Christi, Texas
And the least literate city in the United States is El Paso, Texas.
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Washington DC has a higher murder rate per capita than Bogota.