Immeasurably More

Consider: The English were responsible for coining the name "Eggplant" in regards to a variety with egg shaped, white fruit that they became familiar with, yet strangely, they refer to them today by the French name of Abergine[ sic ], which is a corruption of the Catalonian name "Alberginia". from http://www.seedfest.co.uk/tips/eggplant_basicoverview.html Now, we know that Americans call eggplant eggplant, and the English call eggplant aubergine. Botanists of course call it Solanum Melongena. What do Australians call Eggplant? Submit your answer; win your postcard! ~~~ LeAn

Pub Quiz Question #1 was: What do the English call English muffins? The answer: Muffins As evidence, I offer the following link to the Kingsmill baked goods website, specifically, the muffins page. To confirm, I also showed an English muffin* to an English co-worker and asked, "What's this?" Her response was, "It's a muffin." So there you have it. Unfortunately, there were no correct responses. But don't worry, Pub Quiz Question 2 will be posted soon... ~~~ LeAn *I'm American, so to me, these muffins will always be English.

Me to coworker: "I'm feeling homesick." Coworker to Me: "Would it help if I wore a gun?"

Children and parents everywhere love Maurice Sendack's Where the Wild Things Are , and I, being no different, was looking forward to seeing the film version released last year. My English coworkers had never heard of Maurice Sendack or his book, so I invited one of them to go with me to a showing at the small local theater. If you haven't seen it yet, don't. Certainly don't show it to your children. And if you must see it, have your best friend/therapist/chinese-takeout-place on speed dial. It is one of the most depressing films ever made. And I don't mean sad or scary. I mean a story absolutely without hope or redemption. In Spike Jonze's worlds both real and imaginary, life stinks and it's not going to get better. Instead, see Stranger Than Fiction in which, when life gets bad, there will be Bavarian Sugar cookies. "And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and l

Dear Reader, To encourage blog participation, I am going to begin posting the occasional pub quiz question. The first correct answer will win a postcard from my extensive collection of postcards-bought-with-you-in-mind-but-never-sent. So submit your answer and get what's rightfully yours anyway! If no one submits the correct answer, I'll post it about a week after the question goes up. Today's question: What do the English call English muffins? With pen and postcard in hand, ~~ LeAn

Today I made my first purchase with my UK credit card. I paid £4.95 for a small mocha with whipped cream and a slice of lemon cake. This is a milestone in my UK life as I have twice previously been considered unworthy of a UK credit card. But now I have one and I can charge up to £260! What does £260 represent? < -- A Lulu Guiness Union Jack Jenny Bag (£225 from Harrod's) 260 copies of The Times-- > < -- 371 packages of McVitties Digestives And if I can't pay it all off on time, the interest rate is only 27.9% variable!