Category: American Culture
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British And Irish Foods
I was delighted to discover, in a random Jewel Osco in the middle of nowhere in Illinois, a supermarket section entitled “British and Irish foods”. For a nation whose national dish is curry and whose culinary achievements are usually mocked, I was curious to see what on earth was in there. Here are the results: […]
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Student Politics at Northwestern
There’s no solution to politics, which is one reason I’m not into it. (Though I do like Rage Against The Machine.) This stand, found a few weeks ago on the pavement outside the Kellogg building, caught my eye. … yep, that poster on the side there says “I LOVE CAPITALISM”. (And yes, I’m aware of […]
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Chicago Cab Patrons
Spotted in the back of a Chicago cab Just in case you were considering beating in the taxi driver, this polite notice exists to dissuade you.
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Chicago Blues
Two facts about Chicago: The people are very friendly There is an excellent blues / jazz scene The combination of these two facts led me to be on stage last night at Kingston Mines, courtesy of Charlie Love and The Silky Smooth Band. Charlie (the gentleman in the middle) kindly lent me his guitar, a […]
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File Compare
On a walk along Noyes here in Evanston, I spotted this outside what looked like a halls of residence for the undergraduate school. Since we don’t have proms in the UK (but we’ve heard a lot about them), this piqued my interest. Two more quick notes on the culture diff. Light switches. In the UK, […]
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Business Leadership Club – Utah 2008
As I start my travels to start the Utah Business Leadership Trek, I peer out through the porthole of my vehicle. Denver. Planes with propellors. Grand Junction. I cling to my phone. EDGE signal unavailable. Utah. Fewer bars. Crazy bus drivers. Last Facebook status update. Dirt tracks. Red sand. No signal. This is a bad […]
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More Handshake Protocols
Two more handshakes to draw to your attention. Fists: The first is very simple – offer a fist, with the back of your hand pointing upwards. Usually you’ll get the same side as reciprocation, i.e. if you offer a left fist, you’ll see their right fist. These then touch knuckle to knuckle. Nice and simple. […]
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There Is No Poop On The Pavement
As above. I live in the only block of flats in Evanston that allows dogs, so I would expect dog poop density to vary like this: P = K * ([(r+1)^2] – [(Dr+1)^2]) P is poop density (unit volume per unit area) K is a constant (a factor of the number of dogs in the […]
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MBA value in the US and Europe
I’ve often wondered why there is such a difference between how MBAs are viewed in Europe and the US. It may be obvious, but here’s my take – it’s cultural, and the reason why lies in cheap ads. Here’s a sign I caught while waiting in line at a currency exchange: Do you see that? […]
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Home from Home
With the luxury of a little spare time, I hopped onto the L and headed into Chicago yesterday. My objective – find winter clothing before the cold snap hits and I freeze to death. Of course, I got completely distracted and ended up wandering around a shopping centre instead. I was fascinated to discover which […]