The Euro-USA thread

[chauderlos]

As some famour Literotician stated when he started his thread a while back (I won't throw his name in here, I've heard it has been considered bad etiquette lately), I don't know if this will fly or crash; anyway I give it a try.

I thought about a place where we could exchange ideas, questions, informations, etc... about the respective places we live. You see, one of the reasons why I prefered an American forum over a French one is because there are many things I like in american culture (and some I dislike, but what's love without disagreement?) and I wanted to share different point of views, although through a BDSM-prism. There are some fellow Europeans around who will maybe like the idea.

So... Let's start...

The other day, someone (and it's not etiquette here, but I really can't remember who wrote it) complained about the high price of gas in the USA.
I checked on the 'Net, did some math (can't you folks use liters instead of gallons?), and found out that, if it wasn't for the distance, I'd buy my gas in the States.
I'll spare you the details, but when a gallon of unleaded is $2.90 in the States, it's ... $7.60 over here.

 

[SweetGigi]

Yes, a lot of that has to do with the state of the $ right now versus the Euro.

You know the dollar is in trouble when Europeans are starting to come all the way over here to shop for things like they do (or did) in India and South America.

 

[snowy ciara]

So... Let's start...

The other day, someone (and it's not etiquette here, but I really can't remember who wrote it) complained about the high price of gas in the USA.
I checked on the 'Net, did some math (can't you folks use liters instead of gallons?), and found out that, if it wasn't for the distance, I'd buy my gas in the States.
I'll spare you the details, but when a gallon of unleaded is $2.90 in the States, it's ... $7.60 over here.

Part of the reason that gas costs so much more in some countries is that it's taxed so heavily for the public transportation (like train and bus service in England) and other uses. Here in my area of Canada, I'm paying about 1CAD a liter. (You folks can do the math. I don't have to work today since my school has no heat, so I don't have to do math today.)

 

[YourCaptor]

In my opinion gas prices are outrages, I can’t afford them, and theirs no other way to get around. Southern California is almost impossible to do without a car.

I have been wanting a motorcycle for a while, but with the government stapling insurance to everyone a bike could still be more expensive.

 

[LilyBart]

Sigh...although I complain regularly when I fill my own gas tank, this thread is a great reminder that we (in the US) have among the best gas prices in the world. Especially for countries where the the majority can afford to own cars......

 

[YourCaptor]

Sigh...although I complain regularly when I fill my own gas tank, this thread is a great reminder that we (in the US) have among the best gas prices in the world. Especially for countries where the the majority can afford to own cars......

However around here there is no public transportation and everything is miles apart, hence we still pay more then most Europeans.

 

[chauderlos]

This is somthing I've learned, except for large cities, public transportation is scarce in the US.
I very very seldom use my car to go to work. A monthly travel card costs around $50, it's not always convenient (often crowded - the line I use daily carries over 1 million passengers a day often), delayed, not air-con in the older trains...), but time and money saving. And it's good for the planet

 

[OGME]

It just needs leadership - see the transformation of Sheffield's transport system in the early 80s, or the changes in London right now.

Using a bike is the only reliable way of getting around this place, for all that much of it is designed for cars.

It doesn't matter how much petrol costs right now, it's going to go up, and, unless we change what we're doing and reduce our usage massively, there will be chaos when the end of oil approaches.

 

[naxalite0906]

Yes, a lot of that has to do with the state of the $ right now versus the Euro.

You know the dollar is in trouble when Europeans are starting to come all the way over here to shop for things like they do (or did) in India and South America.

Thats nothing to do with it, not for gas prices anyway. Because haven't US prices gone up? Before the pound/euro was as strong against the $ as it is now, there was a bigger difference in prices as yours were much cheaper..

Plus, people have always gone from the UK to the US to shop.. hehe... just now its better than it was because of the exchange rate.

I guess the one impression I have always had with comparing the US to UK is the cost of living etc in the US is a lot cheaper than it is here, but unfortunately that means their average wage is lower too which makes the whole thing relative.

 

[chauderlos]

Let’s change subject, will you ?
(And hey, for once I start a thread, I might as well do as I please)

So now in France we have this President, who already divorced twice (the last time while he already was in office) who marries - 3 months after his divorce –ex-model and singer Carla Bruni.
For those who aren’t familiar with her, here is a pic, and an other one, and a song of hers*. Cute, isn't she?

So, who do you think the American public would react to this? Do you think this could be happen in the States? (or elsewhere in the world)

*****​

* The lyrics go something like “ I’m told our lives have little worth, They fade in an moment as roses wilt, I’m told that the time that passes by is a bastard, Who knits cloaks with our sorrows, But someone told me, That you still love me…” – I like the image of coats woven by time with our sorrows and grieves…

 

[ShyGuy68]

Personally I don't have a problem with people of the government being divorced and remarried. It happens that people grow apart, I've seen it myself since my parents and sister all are divorced, and they all have partners that's also divorced. In these days it's just a part of life

 

[Tabea]

So now in France we have this President, who already divorced twice (the last time while he already was in office) who marries - 3 months after his divorce –ex-model and singer Carla Bruni.

Do you think this could be happen in the States? (or elsewhere in the world)

I have no idea about the United States but it could easily happen in Germany.

Gerhard Schröder (chancellor for 7 years) was already married for the 4th time when he was elected.
Joschka Fischer who was very popular when he was foreign minister is now married for the 5th time to a woman nearly 30 years his junior (the 4th divorce was during his term in office).
(I would guess that most Germans neither knew nor cared for the exact number of their divorces - at least I had to look it up)

Klaus Wowereit was elected as prime minister of Berlin even after he had outed himself as gay. (Might not have happened in other German states though.)

I hope it matters more to people how smart and competent their politicians are than the details of their private lives.

 

[chauderlos]

.....

 

[chauderlos]

La Môme - better known aboard as La vie en rose.
Marion Cotillard got the best actress Academy award - first time for a French actress starring in a french film.
How come this move made it so big in the US? (and, as far as I've heard, in its original version!!!)
It seems too that Edith Piaf is fairly popular - why?

 

[lilsubangel]

I'll spare you the details, but when a gallon of unleaded is $2.90 in the States, it's ... $7.60 over here.

Oooo, where is it $2.90 a gallon? I wanna move there. Where I live, it can range from $3.20 to $3.40 a gallon, and is expected to rise close to $4.00 by summertime.

 

[chauderlos]

Oooo, where is it $2.90 a gallon? I wanna move there. Where I live, it can range from $3.20 to $3.40 a gallon, and is expected to rise close to $4.00 by summertime.

Found the prices here.

 

[midwestyankee]

La Môme - better known aboard as La vie en rose.
Marion Cotillard got the best actress Academy award - first time for a French actress starring in a french film.
How come this move made it so big in the US? (and, as far as I've heard, in its original version!!!)
It seems too that Edith Piaf is fairly popular - why?

Je n'ai pas encore vu La Vie en Rose, mais je crois que les américains tiennent Piaf dans la même main que Sinatra.

I think that Americans of a certain class and level of education have a fascination with France that goes back a very long time. I think of the expatriates like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Henry Miller who made Paris their home during the 1920s and later. I think of the many great French films that have captivated university audiences here. I think of our devotion to the belief that French haute cuisine is the ultimate form of cooking. Piaf, it seems to me, encapsulates much of what America loves about the French. She is at once fragile and sexy, both a giant of popular music and a waif.

I have no doubt that I will see the move soon, as the wifely one recently bought it to show to her students.

Disclaimer: I have been a fan of Piaf for many years. I was introduced to her music as a high school French student and even one time entertained at a school banquet by lip synching "Milord" while dressed in drag. Thus I am not a dispassionate observer.

 

[Guest]

.....

 

[missy_me]

Wow. I just realized I can read French. Sorta. That's all.

 

[chauderlos]

Je n'ai pas encore vu La Vie en Rose, mais je crois que les américains tiennent Piaf dans la même main que Sinatra.

I think that Americans of a certain class and level of education have a fascination with France that goes back a very long time. I think of the expatriates like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Henry Miller who made Paris their home during the 1920s and later. .

Not to mention all those jazzmen who came to Paris in the '50s: Dexter Gordon (see Bertrand Tavernier's movie Round Midnight), Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Coltrane…

I think of the many great French films that have captivated university audiences here. I think of our devotion to the belief that French haute cuisine is the ultimate form of cooking. Piaf, it seems to me, encapsulates much of what America loves about the French. She is at once fragile and sexy, both a giant of popular music and a waif.

I have no doubt that I will see the move soon, as the wifely one recently bought it to show to her students.

Your mention of Piaf being a waif made me smile; at her débuts she was so thin and ragged she was nicknamed "piaf" - a dishevelled sparrow.

As for the movie itself, I found it very dark. Her life was a succession of losses and dramas, a real tragedy. Marion Cotillard is transfigured; it's amazing how she manages to really look like Piaf, although she's taller and younger.

Disclaimer: I have been a fan of Piaf for many years. I was introduced to her music as a high school French student and even one time entertained at a school banquet by lip synching "Milord" while dressed in drag. Thus I am not a dispassionate observer.

I bet a lot of people around here would pay to see you in drag...

I certainly couldn't see Hillary Clinton moving in with a hot female model.

Petrol prices have breached the £1 mark here, but then, as you've all said, pretty much everything is expensive here.

Chauderlos, j'étudie la français à l'université. Moi, j'ai trouvé que les films français les plus populaires ici sont Amélie, Love Etc et Delicatessen. Je n'ai jamais vu le premier, j'ai detesté le deuxième, et le troisième est mon film préféré. Quant aux livres, j'aime ceux de Raymond Queneau - et, bien sur, L'Histoire D'O.

Regarding Amélie, known here as Le destin fabuleux d'Amélie Poulain, I have mixed feelings. When I see it as a fairy tale, I like it, but I dislike the retro, postcard-like image it gives of Paris and France. No wonder you enjoyed Delicatessen, both have the same director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet (who also directed Alien IV: Resurrection – worlds apart from Amélie, hu?).
I haven't seen Love, etc…
Oh, and can I say I really don't like Histoire d'O?

Wow. I just realized I can read French. Sorta. That's all.

One of your many talents, Missy

 

[Betticus]

I was thinking that with the job of U.S. President being much like the CEO of any multinational corporation we should not limit ourselves to picking our leadership from the very sparse pool of either of two dipshits that the two main parties present for us.

I think we should open up the running to any qualified candidates worldwide.

Opinions?

 

[YourCaptor]

I was thinking that with the job of U.S. President being much like the CEO of any multinational corporation we should not limit ourselves to picking our leadership from the very sparse pool of either of two dipshits that the two main parties present for us.

I think we should open up the running to any qualified candidates worldwide.

Opinions?

Times of war, and international conflict.