The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => People & Places => Topic started by: side_show on April 20, 2010, 02:10:03 am
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So in a turn of events nearly inexplicable even to me, I will be on vacation in Gulf Shore Alabama all next week. I know it's terribly unlikely, but if anyone's gonna be out that way, let me know. I will arrive just in time to attend this noble event, (http://www.florabama.com/Special%20Events/Mullet%20Toss/mullet_toss_faq.htm) although I'm not sure if I will attend it. I will most certainly be imbibing and have much needed beach time, regardless of the abuse of innocent giraffe.
Regardless, for a lady who has only been to North and South Dakota (apart from airport layovers), it will be one hell of an adventure. My good friend, who is a transplant from Birmingham to the Great White North, has warned me "you're in for quite a culture shock!" Um, yeah, with out a doubt!
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That looks like a whole lot of fun. Obviously, I liked my mental image of "mullet toss" a little better, but the giraffe-throwing is cool, too.
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Have fun at the beach!
I told my Gulf Shores story about my daughter, right?
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If you did, it didn't register. Until today, I had no idea that such a place as Gulf Shores even existed.
To be honest, until today I wasn't aware Alabama actually connected with the Gulf of Mexico - they don't really teach much American Geography in Canada. I recall that I once had to memorize all the states and their capitols for a test in Grade 9, and immediately after I forgot nearly everything I learned and never had to consider them again.
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So like a decade ago I knew this kid from Alberta and somehow we got into a discussion about the size of Canada's population. He was arguing that Canada nearly had as many people as the US, claimed like 200 million. And I was like, no way, 30 million tops. He was all, there are lots of big cities in Canada, and I was all, there are like 5 and they are all like within 30 miles of the border. Anyway, we looked it up and I was right. He blamed it on Canada's educational system because they taught more about America and Canada. Was he just full of shit? By the way I love Canada and I actually ended up defending your educational system and telling him he was just stupid. I don't remember how the discussion started. I think he just had a serious inferiority complex.
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I love it Miles. Canada doesn't have a bad educational system, you are just stupid.
Man, it is tempting for me to just get in the car and drive to Gulf Shores., but dang, it's 500 miles from Houston.
Gulf Shores is a lovely place, I'm sure, but why Gulf Shores?
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So like a decade ago I knew this kid from Alberta and somehow we got into a discussion about the size of Canada's population. He was arguing that Canada nearly had as many people as the US, claimed like 200 million. And I was like, no way, 30 million tops. He was all, there are lots of big cities in Canada, and I was all, there are like 5 and they are all like within 30 miles of the border. Anyway, we looked it up and I was right. He blamed it on Canada's educational system because they taught more about America and Canada. Was he just full of shit? By the way I love Canada and I actually ended up defending your educational system and telling him he was just stupid. I don't remember how the discussion started. I think he just had a serious inferiority complex.
No, the educational system here is pretty rad, but it's surprisingly Canada-focused. You'd think living next to the US that there would be more effort to have people educated on the country, but I suppose they assume Canadians learn all they need to know about America from TV. Surprisingly, I've found this to be mostly true. Either that kid was yanking your chain, or a dummy. Also, Albertans are like the red-necks of Canada, so there's a tad more self-aggrandizing bull-shit from people from that province than most. Being oil-rich seems to make people boastful and ignorant for some reason.
Yikes Paul - that's more than an 8 hour drive. I would be super happy to meet you in person though. Seriously, unless you have other reasons to head to the area, please don't- that's way too much effort.
Why Gulf Shores? It's a long explanation, without a lot of interesting points, but I'll try to keep it brief. I got a new job, which I start May 3rd, but I only had to give my current employer a week's notice, leaving me with a wonderful week off to do whatever I please with. I mentioned this to one of my best friends, who is from Alabama but has lived in Canada for a long time. She has recently had to leave her job with an organization related to receiving and investigating reports of on-line child exploitation and child porn (due to stress), and we had been working on the job hunt together for quite a while related to our mutual need for better jobs. Since she's unemployed, she told me she was planning on heading to the beach house she and her dad jointly own and rent out, which is in Gulf Shores, for some R&R, and since I was free, invited me to join her. I checked my air miles, and sure enough, I have enough to fly to Mobile for free, so I'm headed for a free vacation on the Gulf of Mexico, which is pretty rad, since it's definitely not beach weather in Canada for another month or so. In regard to the question of why my unemployed friend has a beach house we can use at our leisure, I should note she is the wife of the scientist I was at one point the assistant to - the one who I almost had to order Ebola monkeys for had I stuck it out working for him. They are well off, but thankfully neither she nor he are dicks about their affluence, as they both come from humble beginnings.
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Alabama is on the Gulf of Mexico?
I'm from New York City, we didn't learn any geography about other countries either, and it's all other countries to us, I guess.
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If you did, it didn't register. Until today, I had no idea that such a place as Gulf Shores even existed.
To be honest, until today I wasn't aware Alabama actually connected with the Gulf of Mexico - they don't really teach much American Geography in Canada. I recall that I once had to memorize all the states and their capitols for a test in Grade 9, and immediately after I forgot nearly everything I learned and never had to consider them again.
That's pretty much how most Americans learn it, too -- and we learn even less about Canada.
When I was a senior in high school, my AP US History teacher bet the EP Euro teacher that the Euro students could place more countries on a map of Europe than his students could place states on a map of the US. (Why he was betting against his own class is none of my business.) I was the only on in my class who got them all right; most didn't even get half the map filled in, and of those about half were wrong.
Everybody got Texas, California, Alaska, and Hawaii, though.
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That's pretty much how most Americans learn it, too -- and we learn even less about Canada.
When I was a senior in high school, my AP US History teacher bet the EP Euro teacher that the Euro students could place more countries on a map of Europe than his students could place states on a map of the US. (Why he was betting against his own class is none of my business.) I was the only on in my class who got them all right; most didn't even get half the map filled in, and of those about half were wrong.
Everybody got Texas, California, Alaska, and Hawaii, though.
The fact that not everybody got the state you were in at the time is The Saddest Thing.
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Even though I could probably fill in all of the states (except all those weird square ones right to the West of me...), I still find that I'm surprised by some relationships between states. For a long time, for instance, I thought Minnesota was right to the north of Missouri... I only remembered it wasn't because it is such a distinctive shape.
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The fact that not everybody got the state you were in at the time is The Saddest Thing.
Oh, yeah. That was a given.
It's not like this is SOUTH Carolina, or something.
Also: http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/usaquiz.html
I'm rusty. I only got 143 points (out of 150), because I confused Mississippi with Alabama and New Hampshire with Vermont, and I missed one of the square states out west (I think I clicked Wyoming instead of Colorado). Also, I mis-clicked one of the tiny New England States even though I know all of them by heart -- trying to do this on a 7.5" netbook screen is a significant disadvantage.
I got 31 of 39 on the Canada quiz. I hang my head in shame. http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/canquiz.html
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Europe: 82 out of 144. http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/euroquiz.html (http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/euroquiz.html)
Australia: 23/24 http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/ausquiz.html (http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/ausquiz.html)
Middle East: 48/75. http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/mideastquiz.html (http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/mideastquiz.html)
I bet most of you can beat those.
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148, 33, 118, 18, 51
you beat me on oz!
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America: 143 out of 150 (mixed up several of the midwestern squares, and 2 of the northeast.)
Europe: 102 out of 144 (ouch, eastern europe...)
Middle East: 57 out of 75
The middle east one embarrasses me, especially because it took me a few tries to find Iraq. If I had thought about it more I would have gotten it... you see the damn map on the news every day! Horrible. My (incorrect) sense of what it was near overpowered the fact that I know what it looks like.
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because I confused Mississippi with Alabama and New Hampshire with Vermont,
Mississippi is the one that borders the Miss. River and Vermont is shaped like a "V".
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it is weird how the idiosyncratic ways I remembered things in middle/high school come back.
I guess Vermont is like a V is not that wierd. But some of the European ones stick in my head in weird ways.
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The only part of the US map that confuses me are those tiny states up in the north east.
Side Show, Alabama coast is rad. It should be nice and warm and the ocean is nice and warm too. Jump in, get wet.
Post pics.
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US -- 150/150
CAN -- 39/39 (mostly dumb luck)
EUR -- 137/144
AUS -- 21/24
ME -- 72/75
ASIA (http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/asiaquiz.html) -- 92/96
S. AMER. (http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/samericaquiz.html)-- 37/39
AFRICA (http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/afrquiz.html)-- 134/162
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Caribbean 64/66
USA State Capitals 150/150
France 56/66
India 95/105
Mexico 80/96
Italy 58/60
Germany 47/48
Pakistan 24/24
Russia 152/255
African Capitals 161/162
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czechoslovakia went to czech republic and slovakia back in 93
i suck at african geography.
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I know that, buddy. Just a joke about how long ago that stuff was learned on the 'forced memorization' route.
ALSO: I would pick our resident Ichthyologist to be the second TOUAMBIE-Jeopardy nominee if the category of geography could be guaranteed because I'm assuming the Russia tally is a typo.
Nope. Have you tried the Russia one?
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It's nice not to be the smartest kid in the class, sometimes. I'm happy to be a small giraffe in this here large ol' pond we call the internet, thanks.
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Caribbean 64/66
USA State Capitals 150/150
France 56/66
India 95/105
Mexico 80/96
Italy 58/60
Germany 47/48
Pakistan 24/24
Russia 152/255
African Capitals 161/162
Kick ASS!!!
I love Geography.
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I got 142 for the US, pretty good for a New Yorker. Took me three tries for Alabama even after we'd been discussing it, though.
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150/150 USA, 37/39 Canada, and 145 on Europe because all those countries changed names and shapes and stuff after I took Geography.
You'll probably get a lot of this from your friend, but I'll risk redundancy for the sake of a crash course in visiting the South.
People are really that nice, sometimes. Sometimes they're only pretending to be nice, but screw those people.
Be prepared to answer the question "sweet or unsweet?" if you order iced tea. I would recommend trying sweet tea in privacy, as it's sometimes quite a shock to the system if you aren't used to that much sugar.
Um.
Hush Puppies are fried balls of corn meal, and are good.
Fried okra is really good IF it isn't soggy.
I am still not sure if turnips and/or collards are actually good or if I just like them because I grew up with them.
Have some fried chicken while you are there, and not from KFC. Look for some place that has concrete picnic tables in front and a menu where they push the letters into the little plastic grooves.
Actually, this is a good way to find good barbecue, too.
"Coke" is a generic term for all soft drinks.
Be warned that Alabama won the national championship for college football this year, and so you may encounter the phrase "Roll Tide!" This is generally harmless and no harm is meant by it. Just don't reply "War Eagle!" to them unless you know what you're doing.
You missed the spring break crowds, so well done there. Most natives will be relieved that you are not holding a warm beer and/or yelling.
Take some good bug spray, or make that your first purchase.
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Being that my best pal is from Alabama, I have had some of the introductory course in aspects of Alabama cutlure. The house is near a nature preserve and Sea Lab, so I have been warned about gators and sharks. There are apparently times when the sharkes come in, but there's also a lot of dolphins around - aparently the way to tell the differences is in the way they swim? Honestly though, with the ridiculously varied life I've lived, if my life were to end in being eaten by an alligator or shark, it would be sort of awesome in its own way. Painful, but awesome.
When it comes to the food stuff, I was one of my friend's guests on an episode of her (now defunct) TV show where we cooked grits, fried green tomatoes, greens and made sweet tea and mint julips. Both the tea and julips were astonishingly sweet, and we had actually reduced the amount of sugar in the tea. I've never had hush puppies, and there is already plans in place for eating good stuff. Can't wait. Will take photos.
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There is no need to try to tell the difference between dolphins and sharks, you should stay away from both. Dolphins are assholes.
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There are apparently times when the sharkes come in, but there's also a lot of dolphins around - aparently the way to tell the differences is in the way they swim?
Yo, check this out: dolphins, they swim like THIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i87ZCO8N9FQ&feature=related
Yeah, but sharks, see, they swim like THIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwqIlZwKUQY&feature=related
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Thank you, resident ichthyologist.
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I got 133 out of 150 on the US one. I don't know the north east very well.
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sweet tea mixed with cheap bourbon. YOU'LL THANK ME.
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sweet tea mixed with cheap bourbon. YOU'LL THANK ME.
Firefly vodka mixed with lemonade.
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ALCOHOL.
You're welcome.
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USA: 136/150 (it wasnt timed, so i should have taken a few extry seconds to think more)
CAN: 23/39 (im a canadi-aint)
EUR: 77/144
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Yes. Alcohol.
I'm looking forward to the novel experience of buying alcohol at a grocery store. That will be neat. However, in a turn of events, it may turn out that my friend will either join me later or not at all, and I'm not one to drink alone.
Considering where I'll be though, I'm wondering how hard I'll need to search to find a jug with "XXX" on it somewhere.
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I'm looking forward to the novel experience of buying alcohol at a grocery store. That will be neat. However, in a turn of events, it may turn out that my friend will either join me later or not at all, and I'm not one to drink alone.
Can you buy alcohol in a grocery store in Alabama? You can't in Texas. Hard liquor is only sold in "package stores" or liquor stores as we call them. You can in some parts of Louisiana. It varies from state to state. In Oklahoma the package stores can only sell alcohol, nothing else. In Texas the liquor stores sell other things, I don't know what the limitations are.
My favorites are the drive through liquor stores in Louisiana with frozen margaritas to go.
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Can you buy alcohol in a grocery store in Alabama? You can't in Texas. Hard liquor is only sold in "package stores" or liquor stores as we call them. You can in some parts of Louisiana. It varies from state to state. In Oklahoma the package stores can only sell alcohol, nothing else. In Texas the liquor stores sell other things, I don't know what the limitations are.
My favorites are the drive through liquor stores in Louisiana with frozen margaritas to go.
We have package stores in NC, too. AKA Alcoholic Beverage Control, or ABC stores. Pedro was astonished the first time he went to a grocery store in Ohio and saw rum on the shelves.
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I believe in states where Costco sells booze you can buy it even without a membership. I can't cite the particular law, but they can't refuse to sell you alcohol for some reason.
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In Kentucky you can only buy beer in grocery stores. Everything else you have to get at the liquor store, although Kroger is mounting an effort to allow wine sales in groceries.
In Missouri they sell everything in groceries -- beer, wine and hard liquor.
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Can you buy alcohol in a grocery store in Alabama? You can't in Texas. Hard liquor is only sold in "package stores" or liquor stores as we call them. You can in some parts of Louisiana. It varies from state to state. In Oklahoma the package stores can only sell alcohol, nothing else. In Texas the liquor stores sell other things, I don't know what the limitations are.
My favorites are the drive through liquor stores in Louisiana with frozen margaritas to go.
In VA it's beer/wine only in the supermarkets (and gas stations/drug stores/7-11s) but that includes things like Lynchburg Lemonade, Mike's, and Smirnoff Ice. ABC stores are all state-run and are also allowed to sell things like sour mix. And nobody can sell liquor (as opposed to serve) between midnight and 6am.
My favorite law is that any restaurant that sells wine by the bottle must let you take an unfinished bottle home. But they have to completely wrap it in paper to avoid open container laws.
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sweet tea mixed with cheap bourbon. YOU'LL THANK ME.
I walked by a bar this morning that had a promo poster out for some brand of "sweet tea-flavored vodka." Oy.
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Jeremiah Weed? I always see it at the bar but I usually stick to beer and whiskey.
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I walked by a bar this morning that had a promo poster out for some brand of "sweet tea-flavored vodka." Oy.
Firefly vodka mixed with lemonade.
Really, try it. But only Firefly. It is the Cadillac of sweet-tea vodkas.
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Alcohol at Costco? Wow. That is something.
I will have to do some investigative research into the whole situation when I get there. Interesting.
Also, I will be asking people to repeat themselves an embarrassing number of times due to the accent issue.
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Jeremiah Weed? I always see it at the bar but I usually stick to beer and whiskey.
That's the one. I am not a tea drinker under any circumstances, so I too will stick to beer and bourbon.
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Yeah, plus I have a terrible head cold and fly out on Saturday, so I'm on a herbal tea and zinc lozenge swilling spree right now. Hopefully I'm set to fly. I don't want the whole trip kiboshed due to being a biohazard.
I'm working my last day at the old job today, and I've done all my work, so now I'm just watching the clock. I ran out on my lunch break and picked up some USD, which is almost at par with the Canadian dollar.
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So if any of us are ever photographed nude and that photography becomes publicly available, it is your policy that we should make The Community aware of it the moment we know of it, just to nip it in the bud as well as in the service of good-natured sharing? This is a great idea, both sexily and practically, Ash. It just Makes Sense.
Here is a tiny can in trade for your brochure.
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Unless things have changed since I moved away, grocery stores are beer/wine only in Alabama, and even that can vary by county. Seek out an ABC store for the best value in liquor. I don't know how this works, but it is always a long drive to the ABC store.
Hope you feel better for the flight!
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im glad youre not going across the pond. europe must be a mess in the wake of volcanogate.
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According to this (http://blog.laborlawtalk.com/2006/10/04/alabama-alcohol-laws/) hard liquor is sold only in package stores in Alabama. Other stores carry beer and wine. It also says that 2/3 of the state is totally dry. Further checking reveals that Gulf Shores is in Baldwin County (http://abc.alabama.gov/wet_dry.aspx) which is wet.
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According to this (http://blog.laborlawtalk.com/2006/10/04/alabama-alcohol-laws/) hard liquor is sold only in package stores in Alabama. Other stores carry beer and wine. It also says that 2/3 of the state is totally dry. Further checking reveals that Gulf Shores is in Baldwin County (http://abc.alabama.gov/wet_dry.aspx) which is wet.
'Course it is! It's on the gulf!
[/rimshot]
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A friend and I were reading about liquor laws online at work the other day, and "moist" is a term we frequently found to refer to states or counties that allowed the sale of booze but had restrictions? Or maybe just allowed the sale of beer? But yeah, moist was how they were described. Which we found to be hilarious.
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"Yeah, we live in a damp county."
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Well I want to thank y'all for your input. I'll keep my eyes peeled and report back on what I learned about alcohole consumption in Alabama. I fly out tomorrow, and considering my head cold is still raging, I'm not sure if I will be much interested in the hooch. It doesn't sit well with me when ill, but I'm sure to shake it off during my vacation, which may lead to ill-advise and immediate celebratory behaviors. We'll see.
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couple shots of bourbon will clean out your nasals, don't forget
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Back from the Gulf odd that after I leave a place there always seems to be a sudden media focus on the area. The oil spill didn't affect my time there, but seeing all the pictures makes me sad as my time there was idyllic and peaceful - especially watching pelacans dive into the water for their chow.
Also, there was wine and beer at the one grocery store I hit up, though I only hit up the one.
A further report on the insanly tasty southern food I enjoyed will follow. I'm almost a week into my new job so life has been a tad hectic.
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I gather this has become about booze.
Why do some places in the US not sell it? I do not understand, at all. Religion? Nutjobs? The realisation that alcohol is, in the majority of cases, far more dangerous on both the imbiber and those around him compared to nearly any other drug? Are they merely relegating the status of said evil poison to the place it belongs in society, namely a place where shunning and disgust is placed upon those who abuse it?
Oh wait, alcohol's not a drug, it's a drink.
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You know what sucks? Evening hangovers after you get drunk in the afternoon and take a nap. Also, life.
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I gather this has become about booze.
Why do some places in the US not sell it?
because our country was originally colonized by quakers, puritans, and anabaptists.
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Southern foods I ate:
Biscuts and Gravy with Sweet Tea (for breakfast)
Memphis BBQ (pulled pork, sauce - hell yes... I don't like pork, or at least I didn't until I landed in Memphis)
Memphis BBQ Nachos - pulled pork, BBQ sauce, nacho cheese, tortillas - hell yes. Oh, god, so bad, so good.)
Crab Cakes
a Krispy Kreme donut ( not available in Canada)
Mmmmmm.... so good.
Things I didn't eat, but could have: fried okra, alligator, possum (we ran one over) or oysters.
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i'm impressed that you stopped at one krispy kreme. i have to have two or three.
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I wanted more after the first one (the first one I'd ever eaten) but after the first day, which is when I got groceries and the donut, I had no vehicle and was basically in an isolated beach house with nothing for miles in either direction. I am pleased to note that the Krispy Kreme I ate was consumed in Mobile, the original home of Krispy Kreme.
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You should have eaten both fried and pickled okra. Shit is off the chain. It is a constant disappointment that I cannot find pickled okra in colorado.
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You should have eaten both fried and pickled okra. Shit is off the chain. It is a constant disappointment that I cannot find pickled okra in colorado.
Yes. This. Spicy pickled okra is the best. The. Best.
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I have a corn, okra, tomato dish that I absolutely must make every summer. Is so good.
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Perhaps one could take the recipe for kimchee and substitute okra for cabbage.
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Now I want blackened alligator and raw oysters.
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i'll take my gator fried and my oysters steamed, please. side of fries? what kind of beer you got?
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they offer deep fried gator(also, ice cream sammiches made with hot-off-the-iron-from-scratch waffles) here (http://www.knoebels.com/).