Why don't Americans have field marshals? (1 Viewer)

[Holadem]

Same in Mass.

As a non-native speaker, to this day, I find it is nearly impossible to figure out how anything is pronounced in English just from reading.

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H

 

[Paul McElligott]

Not quite. Aluminium is considered the international standard spelling and pronunciation and was used widely in the U.S. until the late 19th century, when a spelling error in an advertisement by the largest North American producer changed how Americans spelled the word. Currently, both the U.S. and Canada prefer -um to -ium but the rest of the English speaking world uses -ium.

Currently both spellings are considered correct.

 

[JeremyErwin]

Element nomenclature is often political

 

[nolesrule]

You did read where I said "etymologically speaking", didn't you?

I'm well aware of the SI spelling and pronunciation and the history of the word in the U.S. However, that has nothing to do with what it was originally called by the scientist who worked to isolate the element (the "inventor") and how it came to spelled "-ium".

 

[JeremyErwin]

Elements of Chemical Philosophy (1812) refers to aluminum. It also refers to Silicum, and Ittrium.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Silicum

So many possible double entendres ... must resist ...

Just face facts, guys - none of you ex-colonials can spell and the sooner you come back under the protection of the British Empire the better. Just think what else awaits you - our superior food and dentistry, cricket rather than that silly rounders game you seem to like so much, beer served at a sensible temperature.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

So many possible double entendres ... must resist ...

I don't even go in that thread but I almost said something.

Andrew, I love your sense of humor.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Actually, you copied rounders from us, remember?

 

[andrew markworthy]

Actually, you copied rounders from us, remember?

Yes -and in the UK, rounders is played exclusively by little girls.

On the subject of sport - you guys have now got David Beckham. Please could you keep him?

 

[Jeff Gatie]

The only reason we have him is because like your rounders, our elite soccer players seem to be exclusively female. Though I can easily understand how a sport in which part of the "strategy" is to lie on the ground and kick your feet like a girl whenever someone dares to step on your shoelace is popular with our women.

 

[Holadem]

On the subject of sport - you guys have now got David Beckham. Please could you keep him?

The guys on the Fox Soccer Channel were really frustrated with him the other night, for good reason: If I understand it right, he has never given them a single interview. She shows up on stuff like Access Hollywood and Award shows, and is content with field questions from people who are utterly clueless about Soccer, but doesn't give the time of the day to the channel dedicated entirely to his sport int his country. He is too busy being a star to be a soccer player.

To illustrate this abysmal state of affairs, they showed a picture of Beckham gracing the cover of... Pottery Barn Teen (thus giving more ammo to Jeff Gatie). WTF? But he can't show up on the FSC?

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H

 

[Jeff Gatie]

H,

My younger brother grew up playing soccer, hockey and lacrosse and started varsity in each sport. Matter of fact, he started at both mid-fielder and goal for his high school soccer team and loved the sport. Yet to this day he is disgusted by the "writhe in pain until the penalty and then get up and brush off your shoe" actions that pass for strategy these days. Of course that has a lot to do with the fact his two other sports were (as my older brother put it) "not sports for timid little boys".

Especially in hockey, where the old school rules were that if injured you "made it to the bench" unless you were decapitated. Those things and the fact that my brother was the first soccer goalie in the history of the state to get suspended for starting a bench clearing brawl explains him having no use for faking injury. If you got enough balls to challenge a bench, you can't have much respect for writhing around on the ground due to a skinned shin.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

the sooner you come back under the protection of the British Empire the better

Would we get Canada as a consolation prize?

According to Wiki, the game of rounders originated in Ireland. I want to see Andrew call a bunch of Irishmen "little girls".

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Whooops!! Wait!! Hold the phone!!! I missed something here . . . There's actually a Fox Soccer Channel???

Shoot . . . I guess my all synchronized swimming and rythmic gymnastics channel has a shot after all.

 

[Holadem]

Best channel evaaaaaar. My tuner lives there, and breaks away once in a while for the occasional program of interest on some other channel .

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H

 

[andrew markworthy]

I guess my all synchronized swimming and rythmic gymnastics channel has a shot after all

Hmm ... let's see: a channel dedicated to women wearing very tight Lycra costumes placing themselves in positions designed to show how lithe and supple they are, with frequent shots of them doing this in slow motion. Why would anyone want to watch that? Its sister channel - women's diving and skating with post-event interviews in the shower - is equally likely to fail, I guess. [Um ... please note I do mean women aged over 18, folks, lest anyone gets the wrong idea about what I'm proposing].

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Swimming and gymnastics I enjoy (minus the synchronized and rythymic types) and believe it or not I'm a huge fan of Ladies Figure Skating. My sister competed for years and I admire anyone who can skate flat out for 4+ minutes when the average shift in the NHL is under 60 seconds. Though I do regret that, like gymnastics, the move towards more athleticism means a move towards younger and younger participants. The winner and runner-up in the last US Nationals are too young to compete in the Worlds, being 14 and 15 years old each. There is a certain elegance lost when the performer is very athletic, yet not as mature in the beauty aspect of the sport as some of the champions of old.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

but I'm often v. impressed by the interviews with some of your American footballers

That's because a lot of our players want to be either play-by-play guys or head coaches when they retire from playing, and both jobs require that they be reasonably well-spoken.

And just to fan the flames:

Soccer - Skinny guys in their little sisters' nightshirts run around kicking a ball until one of them finally gets it in the net. There are no formations, no downs, no plays, nothing that remotely resembles a plan. Several hours of tedium broken only by 1 or 2 goals per game and some guys rolling around clutching their ankles and crying.

(Real) Football - Giants in armor - without which the game would be immediately lethal - play a fast-paced game full of intricate strategy and tactics. Players continue to play with broken bones, sprains and concussions - and that's in the pre-season. By the playoffs guys are staying in the game with compound fractures and muscles tears, saving surgery for the off-season.

Regards,

Joe

 

[JeremyErwin]

Soccer - Skinny guys in their little sisters' nightshirts run around kicking a ball until one of them finally gets it in the net. There are no formations, no downs, no plays, nothing that remotely resembles a plan. Several hours of tedium broken only by 1 or 2 goals per game and some guys rolling around clutching their ankles and crying.
(Real) Football - Giants in armor - without which the game would be immediately lethal - play a fast-paced game full of intricate strategy and tactics. Players continue to play with broken bones, sprains and concussions - and that's in the pre-season. By the playoffs guys are staying in the game with compound fractures and muscles tears, saving surgery for the off-season.

Soccer is continuous action-- men running on the field for 45 minutes straight. Football is all about stopping the action to catch one's breath and wheeze.

 

[Holadem]

...and no one whose "national pass time" is the most insipid "sport" on Earth (often played by dudes with pot bellies who look like they just got off a 6-month long stint on the couch) has the right to diss any other sport.

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H