h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

[LIL]
having great trouble with Hootoo since downloads keep timing out

Seems fine for me at the moment Lil. Perhaps there is trouble with the BBCs us proxy server

*Wakes up. Heads to the sign and hits it. It now reads "38 down, 142 to go"*

Lil, your test for Canadian-ness is all well and good, except that by its definition GL, who lives there, isn't Canadian, and I -- who have only been there once and am not related to anyone from there -- am Canadian. People ask me all the time whether I am from Canada because I say things like aboot, but I have to say that I'm not.

Mike Myers always claims to have a heavy Canadian accent, and I just can't hear it.

Looney, the Kiwi in my class is not a guy, but a girl. Got any tips on how to get Kiwi girls to take notice of you? Is the fact that I don't drink alcohol going to doom any chances with her?

I think sheep jokes are probably out if you want her to notice you in a nice way Arl.

I'll note that.

*wakes up*

Matina, another Irish Coffee, please...

You would find it difficult to track down my accent - since I don't have any specific accent to call my own when I speak English (no, Swedish does not count) I tend to imitate anyone I'm talking to... talking British English with British people, American English with American people - same thing with my German, almost ruined it spending some time in Switzerland!

Mike Myers does in fact have a heavy Canuck accent. I can't really explain it but there's a big difference. Beyond the obvious "aboot" and "eh," there's also the saying the first "a" in pasta like the "a" in lack, instead of the like the "o" in cot. This is all examples of the top of my head, so you'll pardon the not-making-sense bit. There's also a general difference in tone.

Argh, I can't explain it. Never mind.

[Caer], just back from a w/e in the Cotswolds and will catch up with backlog asap.

Ah, well, he spends most his films doing other people's accents anyway...

Loony bungee's in - MR there's a yarn about a bungee jump that I did on my space.

I'm sorry to report my sorry I got it wrong post was wrong. It's been confirmed the Taliban did shoot down an unmanned American drone plane. A world scoop for NZ TV?

Morning all, lovely spring morning (Monday) in Godzone.

When my brother returned home to Kiwiland after spending 30 years in London, he sounded (to my ears) like a native German speaking posh English.

In the 70s I spent a few months living with a German family. The 'man of the house' taught English at a nearby college. As he had learnt English in an American prisoner of war camp (WW2) he had an American accent. No doubt his students sounded the same.

I'll shut up now

Thank you, sea. It wsa very nice getting a chance to talk to you.

Red, I think that you are refering to the bridge over the Royal Gorge. At least, I've been told that's the bridge to bungee off of, if you intend to jump off a bridge.

G7

Arl, regrding chatting-up the Kiwi sheila (slang for young woman - don't call her a sheila ) you could try commenting (lying about) how wonderful it is that New Zealand women hold most of the top jobs in Helengrad, ooops New Zealand

Looney, are you telling me how to get her number, or how to get her handprint in red on my face?

She will be pleased to talk to someone who knows something about her home country.

It's not just the PM and leader of the Opposition who are sheilas. Other top positions held include, Governor General, head of the biggest public company (NZ Telecom) and Chief Justice. I could list more... Do you want/need names to go with the positions?

The upside of all this of course, is that with the women doing all the work, it means the men can spend more time at the pub

[Amy]

[op] Just got back from watching A Knight's Tale. Funny movie with some cracking action sequences

That noise helmet mentioned a while ago would have killed me. I am much better now but still sub par. Drinking lots of water and trying to stay awake. I do not want to go to bed soo early that i get up in the middle of the night.

Awricht, whaur's a' they lassies that likes tae hear a laddie speak Scots? Especially thon fiery red-heided yin...

(Oh Spiny, come ON....)

MR, I enjoyed the whisky and I thought about Bryan. Isn't it remarkable how small the world is becoming? I hope he didn't suffer at the end, and that he would enjoy the idea of complete strangers raising a glass in his honour.

BTW, let's see if I got this right: You'd bungee jump off a bridge, and jump out of a plane, but you're afraid of flying? Care to explain that to me

Off to bed now as the grandfather clock in the hall struck one some time ago