List of Lists.
"We are a nation that loves to live by lists." This is a collection of completely random and totally subjective lists. Spike, Angel and Firefly mentions.
[ edited by zeitgeist on 2007-06-30 16:12 ]
June 30 2007
You need to log in to be able to post comments.
About membership.
newcj | June 30, 15:44 CET
jlp | June 30, 16:04 CET
zeitgeist | June 30, 16:34 CET
Some thoughts:
Angel should be before Spike.
Funny that Fastlane replaced Firefly, but is also on the list, but lower ranked (as if it means anything).
"She's the Man" is based on Shakespeare's "the Twelth Night" and although it seems bad on the outside, is a pretty ridiculously fun and clever movie that should have made the list.
CaptainB | June 30, 17:33 CET
but missed Larry Bird's Hometown of French Lick, Indiana (35 miles from my house. :)
-In case you're wondering, I live right next to a small spot in the road called Handy, Indiana lol
-
[ edited by TDBrown on 2007-06-30 19:14 ]
TDBrown | June 30, 19:12 CET
3.141592 Remember the gender of the word "nombre" (through "Que j'aime a faire connaitre UN nombre utile aux sages").
(Yeah, I know, rather strange use of pi, but it works).
[ edited by Celebithil on 2007-06-30 20:24 ]
Celebithil | June 30, 19:16 CET
MySerenity | June 30, 19:45 CET
See, one man can make a difference zeitgeist. You're just like Knightrider ;).
That is the most totally random collection of mad randomicity i've seen in a while, love it (I used to have a 'Book of Lists' that was based on the same idea, which, in dangerously recursive fashion, appears on here as 'The New Book of Lists').
(one minor quibble though: if you have fruit in your full English breakfast you are, most definitely, doing it wrong ;)
Saje | July 01, 01:37 CET
So dissagree with CaptainB that Angel should be before Spike :)
ASH not on the "best use of glasses in a TV show or movie"? How can that be??
Firefly should be #1, but My So Called Life should be #2.
"'80's fashion trends we refuse to adopt again": No mention of Big Damned Shoulder Pads? Eeeew, looked good on exactly no one.
Cover songs that transcend the original hit it dead on, except for the one of Baby Got Back, which I've never heard. But I'd bump it anyway, for Sarah McLachlin's cover of Joni Mitchell's "River".
"Cool things to see under water" .... snorkeling in Fiji, I held a Nudibranch in my hand! ("Sea Cucumber" for the aquatically challenged).It squirted a cloudy white liquid out one end when I touched it. Ever try stiffling hysterical laughter while breathing through a snorkel?
Please, British whedonesqers, tell me you don't really eat baked beans and kippers for breakfast? (or with the kippers .... *at all*) And blood sausage? please don't even go there :)
Shey | July 01, 08:37 CET
A typical full English: fried eggs(s), sausages, few rashers of bacon, black-pudding, baked-beans, fried toast, maybe hash-browns, mug of tea (obviously). In Scotland you might get Haggis with it and possibly white-pudding too.
(we call 'blood sausage' 'black-pudding', makes it easier to forget you're eating a slice of congealed pig's blood ;)
Saje | July 01, 08:58 CET
Shey | July 01, 09:42 CET
My dad had me eating blood sausage when I was a kid. I remember it as being pretty good. Now I just cannot bring myself to eat it. ...and I give my son grief for tasting things with his eyes. Hypocrisy, thy name is Mom. ;-)
newcj | July 01, 15:21 CET
moley75 | July 01, 15:50 CET
Two words. Ulster fry.
Simon | July 01, 17:22 CET
Meanwhile, Spike and Angel, best vamps on TV, yay. And here's to the Count as the number three, THREE vampire.
deanna b | July 01, 20:39 CET
But British Heinz beans on toast = yum ...
Always tickles me to find out about the little differences. You guys seriously don't have 'beans on toast' in the US ? What do students live on over there ? ;)
Two words. Ulster fry.
Hah, only in the UK would folk compete to see who's breakfast is most likely to put you in an early grave. Full Scottish all the way, obviously (don't make me go nuclear and bring out the deep fried you-know-what Simon ;).
Saje | July 01, 20:54 CET
What a cheek. A bit posh indeed. I shall tell my mum and dad you said that :-)
moley75 | July 01, 21:45 CET
The Vampire list was perfect except I'd give Spike the most beautiful as well.
And the '80s fashion list is seriously off. They forgot to mention the hideous shoulder pads, and frankly all the teenaged boys I know are back to wearing the skinny jeans, and making it work.
And use of glasses? Giles of course.
Xane | July 02, 00:07 CET
And Xane .... right there with you, Spike would definitely get my vote as "most beautiful vampire ever".
Also about the big-assed shoulder pads. Almost as eeeew worthy as blood sausage.
I guess I lead a sheltered life, food wise, in a place where there are as many Health Food Stores as regular supermarkets. I'll happily stick to my organic bran flakes with organic milk & maybe a rasberry yogurt, for breakfast.
Shey | July 02, 01:58 CET
Always tickles me to find out about the little differences. You guys seriously don't have 'beans on toast' in the US ?
Um, well, Heinz beans on toast? Like straight out of the can? I don't eat baked beans out of the can for lunch or dinner, much less breakfast, without doctoring them up first. On the other hand, my mother is from Oklahoma (That is in the middle of the US, just North of Texas.) and she will always talk about how one of her favorite sandwiches as a kid was baked beans. It was apparently also what her mother used to give the homeless men who would come by looking for a handout during the depression. Where I was raised is not baked beans country, however. That is why people always ask us to bring baked beans to their cook outs, cause the old family recipe is awfully good. I guess I should try them on bread next time I make them...but not for breakfast. ;-)
newcj | July 02, 13:03 CET
gossi | July 02, 13:08 CET
williamthebloody1880 | July 02, 18:41 CET
And I love scones and marmalade
So there
redfern | July 02, 19:22 CET
Was up hiking the Speyside way last year and a few of the B&Bs did rowies. Tasty but you can almost feel the years falling off as you eat ;).
(for those that've not had the pleasure, a rowie is a bit like a heavy, salty bread roll designed by someone with a pathological hatred of healthy hearts - lots of butter in the mix ;)
And yep, HP with everything but it does work well with beans on toast. Never liked marmalade though, don't really like peel (so most fruit cake's out too).
Saje | July 02, 21:55 CET
Now you guys have me thinking. It seems like I should remember baked beans being served at breakfast, even though I was only over there for 2 weeks 12 years ago. All I remember is the black pudding and the ubiquitous grilled tomato showing up at every breakfast. ...and falling in love with both clotted cream and hard cider.
newcj | July 02, 23:01 CET
(grilled tomato - bleaargh. Not a fan ;)
Saje | July 02, 23:28 CET
HP sauce sounds like A-1 steak sauce.
Even though I am not usually one for the sweet version of things, I generally don't like English marmalade but love the sweeter version that I'm guessing is American. Have you tried both, Saje
Oh, and I guess I'm hungry because it just occurred to me that baked beans and cornbread is quite wonderful. Now you have me thinking I may have to do a traditional 4th of July thing with baked beans, burgers, corn on the cob and watermelon but make enough baked beans to have them later with cornbread...which is one of my favorite things for breakfast...the cornbread, not the beans...as already established. ;-)
Oh yeah, I missed asking before, what is ulster fry?
newcj | July 03, 00:24 CET
Don't think i've tried US marmalade but isn't sweet marmalade basically just jam (but with added evil peel) ?
(and an 'Ulster fry' is just a fried breakfast as eaten in Ulster i.e. Northern Ireland. Though you can get a fried breakfast - or 'fry up', hence the 'fry' - everywhere in the UK, each country/region will have its own variation so in Scotland you might get rowies and/or Haggis and/or white-pudding - like your 'blood sausage' without the blood - as well as the standard eggs, bacon etc., in Wales you may well get laverbread with it - made from seaweed but nicer than that might sound - and in Ulster, well, i've never been so don't really know. If only we had a real live Ulster-man kicking around ... ;)
Saje | July 03, 10:20 CET
I do remember Giles saying that about Jaffa cakes, but I always figured they had a specialty store in Sunnydale that sold British food stuffs like Wheat-a-bits, which we also do not have that I know of.
newcj | July 03, 13:49 CET
And, assuming we both mean the wheat based breakfast cereal, it's actually 'Weetabix' and they do, indeed, taste great crumbled up in milk (not sure about blood ;) though there's also the "eat 'em quick before they go soggy" school of thought. These people should not be trusted, they are maniacs of the first water ;).
Saje | July 03, 16:18 CET
People here usually pour the milk over the cereal rather than crumble things in the milk. I am an oddity (Hey, no comments.) in that I do not like anything floating in my milk. The "stays crunchy in milk" however, is a marketing thing for some cereal or another so I guess that particular group are on both sides of the Atlantic.
So Jaffa cakes have a spongy bottom, a layer of orange jello and chocolate on top? Jello wrestling jokes are trying to corrupt this post, but I won't go there. I will reserve judgement on how tasty they sound, however.
If everything is called jam, how do you know what you are getting?
There are many American names for things and expressions that came from Britian and stayed while they changed in the original area. Fall for Autumn is the most commonly used example. I looked up jelly to see if that was the same and this is what I found,
"Etymology: Middle English gelly, from Anglo-French gelee, from feminine of gelé, past participle of geler to freeze, congeal, from Latin gelare"
Another source cited a written example from 1381.
I'm going to take a wild guess that everything gelatinous was jelly and it split from there. Interestingly the dictionary I looked in had the etymology of jam as unknown. The fruit spread definition is thought to have begun as an off shoot of the "to crush" use. The first written use is cited as in the 1730's so it looks like jelly was the word before jam took over. Obviously you Brits just go with the latest thing. ;-)
newcj | July 03, 17:21 CET
"People here usually pour the milk over the cereal rather than crumble things in the milk." I don't know anyone who crumbles things into milk for breakfast so I think the British American Spike is just trying to confuse.
moley75 | July 03, 20:57 CET
People here usually pour the milk over the cereal rather than crumble things in the milk.
Yeah, here too. Weetabix come as dry sort of 'bricks' though so they lend themselves to crumbling in the hand (even then you'd normally just put them in a bowl and pour milk over as you would with any other cereal - I used to crumble them as a kid but that's just kids playing with their food). If the liquid was the food though (as with Spike's blood) and the weetabix was just for texture you'd crumble it in so you could control exactly how much you used.
If everything is called jam, how do you know what you are getting?
Well, we know we're getting jam ;). Dunno, look in the jar before buying or in the pot before eating ? You'll sometimes see "Whole Fruit" on jars with big bits.
(the OED has a cite which seems to think it might be a corruption of "j'aime" as in "I love it" possibly uttered by children upon tasting. I agree jelly was probably first BTW, because i'dve thought marrowbone jelly was around before jam)
And moley75, sure marmalade has a lot of sugar in it, that's what acts as the preservative (hence 'preserve' ;) but i've never tasted any that didn't also have a bitter tang to it. That, to me, is what separates it from jam (i'd assumed newcj meant 'no tang just sweet' so commented to the effect that that's "basically just jam" - might have been a tad over-literal, wouldn't be the first time ;).
ETA: Oops, just saw where newcj says "not bitter" so I wasn't actually over-literal (for a change ;), I was, in fact, just literal enough ;).
[ edited by Saje on 2007-07-03 21:23 ]
Saje | July 03, 21:14 CET
Exactly.
" I don't know anyone who crumbles things into milk for breakfast"
Thank you moley75 I was mislead by this comment by Saje.
"they do, indeed, taste great crumbled up in milk "
What do we think; accidental or a clever way to have a laugh at the Yank's expense? ;-)
I remember the first time I got hold of some British marmalade. I was a kid and was so excited because I loved marmalade and it was something that was not usually available at home. I took a big bite and Yuck. I was soooo disappointed. Now I have this strong urge to send Saje a jar of American marmalade, to see what he thinks. I've never sent foodstuffs overseas though.
newcj | July 03, 23:19 CET
What do we think; accidental or a clever way to have a laugh at the Yank's expense? ;-)
As if i'd do that ;-). Nah, I seriously used to crumble them as a kid. Even now, though I put them in a bowl and pour milk on, I still "smoodge" them around afterwards so that I end up with a sort of 'Weetabix porridge' rather than discrete 'bricks' (i.e. to achieve the same effect as crumbling) and I know a few people that eat them that way (though, clearly, I don't know moley75 ;). Prefer cornflakes anyway (has to be Kellogg's, there is no substitute ;).
Saje | July 04, 09:50 CET
[ edited by newcj on 2007-07-04 16:02 ]
newcj | July 04, 15:55 CET
"I used to crumble them as a kid but that's just kids playing with their food). If the liquid was the food though (as with Spike's blood) and the weetabix was just for texture you'd crumble it in so you could control exactly how much you used."
Or, they are using it to indicate that in some ways Spike is seriously immature. It was after all early in the introduction of Spike as a regular member of the cast.
"I still "smoodge" them around afterwards so that I end up with a sort of 'Weetabix porridge'"
Yeah, okay. Sounds...um...great. Of course I'm one who likes yogurt on her cereal so I really can't point fingers. ...and no that is not normal in America, it is just me and a few other people who have tried it when I said it was good. That kind of corruption, my conscience can handle. ;-)
After seeing the price of A1, I am leery about you tracking down American orange marmalade. If you are going to try to hunt it down, I guess I could give you a description, however. In my experience it is usually lighter in color, often a pale yellow, and has less peel. It has a slight sourness to go with the sweet, but is not bitter. If it is too expensive, just wait for that trip to the States you have planned. ;-)
newcj | July 04, 16:01 CET
Or, they are using it to indicate that in some ways Spike is seriously immature.
Good point. Or maybe not exactly 'immature' but 'simple' (as in straightforward) which for all his poetic insight he seemed to be, certainly regarding food etc. (he took a simple, almost childlike pleasure in e.g. Onion flowers and whereas Angel sometimes seemed like something of a connoisseur Spike was definitely more a Jack and coke or beer type of guy). I guess part of the vampire metaphor is a sort of permanent young adulthood and corresponding emotional 'inexperience' though so you're onto something I reckon.
And trust me, "smoodging"'s the way forward. Remember my words when everyone's doing it ;).
(and my uncle used to have natural yoghurt and honey on his cereal - may still do - so it's not unheard of. He lives in Edinburgh though so, y'know, allowances have to be made ;)
Saje | July 04, 22:27 CET
"Heh, mine's fond of saying he's not tight he's just frugal ;)."
Yes, the word frugal was used in our house on occasion. My dad gave credit to his frugal nature for being one of the few of his generation not to smoke. He just could not bring himself to spend money on something that he was going to burn for no real reason. So a case could be made for a frugal nature being healthier... well in that case anyway.
"Or maybe not exactly 'immature' but 'simple' (as in straightforward) which for all his poetic insight he seemed to be, certainly regarding food etc. (he took a simple, almost childlike pleasure in e.g. Onion flowers and whereas Angel sometimes seemed like something of a connoisseur Spike was definitely more a Jack and coke or beer type of guy)."
One could say that Angel was looking for subtlety in everything whereas Spike was, as you say, more straightforward in his approach. Even his poetry was fairly straightforward. It was not something that would need to be studied endlessly to try to figure out the meaning. On the other hand, I don't remember Angel ever adding things to his animal blood to try to make it more interesting. Probably part of his self punishment mentality. So Spike was more straightforward but would actually experiment more with his own particular "cuisine." Maybe it was Angelus who was the connoisseur while Spike was the guy who tries mixing the two dips together that were left after the party was over. (Hmmm dip.)
"And trust me, "smoodging"'s the way forward. Remember my words when everyone's doing it ;). "
Since the readers of this thread may be the only ones on this side of the Atlantic who have a clue as to what "smoodging" is, you might want to make that clear before you start suggesting people over here start doing it. We don't want people to start doing anything to frighten the horses, after all. ;-)
newcj | July 05, 04:07 CET
Southeastern US traditional: grits (best with cheese), eggs, bacon or sausage, toast. Could be hash browns instead of grits, too. Sweet cardiac arrest.
I thought the Weetabix dialogue was funny because it was Spike annoying Giles in that special way only he can. Spike generally seems to enjoy eating as kind of a sport.
Sunfire | July 05, 17:09 CET
newcj | July 05, 19:36 CET
Sunfire | July 05, 20:43 CET
Ah, grits. I found out what they were a few years back when I hung around on Slashdot (they used to have a meme over there about covering various things in hot grits). Sort of like porridge, right ?
(don't actually like porridge much. Nor whisky for that matter - blended anyway, don't mind a nice single malt every now and again. It's a wonder they don't revoke my Scottish passport ;-)
Maybe it was Angelus who was the connoisseur while Spike was the guy who tries mixing the two dips together that were left after the party was over.
Thinking about it, I reckon you were right the first time newcj. Angel's not just a connoisseur, he's actually old fashioned with it whereas Spike has kept his playfulness, his childlike experimentation, in fact he's constructed a persona that's totally centred on rejecting the old fashioned and stodgy (he is, literally, a 'young' punk). Angelus (as opposed to Angel) is somewhere in between, being a bit of a traditionalist but also maintaining his sense of whimsy (OK, evil whimsy but still ...).
You're also right about dip ;).
Saje | July 05, 21:34 CET
Hmm I think grits are technically the corn version of porridge. Is porridge the same as oatmeal?
Sunfire | July 05, 22:33 CET
...though waffles are yummy and it is maniacs with good taste who eat pancakes for breakfast...or any other time as well.
No you're right, Saje. Breakfast just doesn't inspire the same fire as...well...I won't go there. I don't really want a fight.
We actually don't use the word porridge except in old nursery rhymes. (Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot 9 days old. ...and people wonder why British food has such a bad reputation. ;-) ) I've been told that your porridge is our oatmeal, so grits could be one of the corn versions with corn meal mush (not that common anymore) as another version. (Using "corn" in the American sense of the word, not as just a grain.) It has a fine grainy texture, looking like Farina or Cream of Wheat though not tasting anything like them. It is usually a side dish, however, rather than something you eat as the main part of the meal. In the South it can be served at every meal without a raised eyebrow to be seen. In the North you won't find it anywhere except the supermarket and my pantry.
Oh, and going back to the list, I have to say I like scones, I mean they are just another form of bread/roll/American bicuit/etc.. What's not to like about bread/rolls/American biscuits/etc.?
ETA Sunfire beat me on the porridge thing. I really should not let myself be interrupted by life when I am posting.
[ edited by newcj on 2007-07-05 22:55 ]
newcj | July 05, 22:53 CET
And cream scones (with a dollop of jam) are probably the inspiration for ambrosia (or should've been), truly the food of the gods.
We actually don't use the word porridge except in old nursery rhymes.
Hah, we do use the word (obviously) except in old nursery rhymes (it's "Peas pudding hot .." over here or the version I learned was anyway. Funny old world ;).
There should be a list of characters with evil whimsy.
Hmm...
Glory
Angelus
Vamp Willow
Ethan Rayne ?
... coming up empty.
Saje | July 05, 23:15 CET
I was trying to think of characters total-- not just Whedonverse. I had some vague memory of liking a whimsically evil villain or two a lot but I'm still not remembering anything specific. I don't think I ever really liked the Joker in Batman. It'll come to me randomly days from now.
Sunfire | July 06, 00:47 CET
Yeah, just funnin'. I've been in a whimsical mood lately...and sometimes evil.
It seems like most of the villians in Batman had whimsey. Maybe because the good guy was so dour.
Did Glory have whimsey though? I can't think of an example.
Angelus, Vamp Willow and Ethan Raine, absolutely.
I'll have to think to come up with others.
Ow. That hurts.
Maybe later.
"it's "Peas pudding hot .." over here or the version I learned was anyway. Funny old world ;)."
It is funny considering how long ago pease got corrupted to pea. But then it makes sense that a really old nursery rhyme would have multiple versions. Just the other day a woman from Texas used the expression between a rock and a hard spot and I had to stop her because that is how I was raised with the expression at home. Outside the house everyone always said rock and a hard place. So I finally know it is regional, not just my family. Pudding/porridge may have been the same, or pudding might be the later version. Our definition of pudding is different from yours after all. ...and now that I think of it, you make pudding out of peas? Good grief!
You don't eat it for breakfast, do you?
[ edited by newcj on 2007-07-06 03:07 ]
newcj | July 06, 03:06 CET
And if you can eat it, someone over here will have had it for breakfast, anything's suitable for trying. Except pancakes ;).
(mostly "between a rock and a hard place" here though as a kid I remember "between the devil and the deep blue sea" being another common phrase, meaning the same thing)
Ah, evil whimsy from anything ?
Lex Luthor (in the films)
The Joker (he's gotta be in there)
The Master (recent incarnations - from 'Doctor Who')
John Doe (from 'Se7en')
... must be loads more but i'm blanking.
Saje | July 06, 11:31 CET
"And if you can eat it, someone over here will have had it for breakfast, anything's suitable for trying."
Well, yeah. That's a given anywhere...and my brother would probably be one of the ones who did. ;-)
"Except pancakes ;)."
I - will - not - be - tempted.
Can you have the Joker and not have the Riddler? ...or was he just in the TV show?
I was thinking Lex Luthor from the movies but was so tired I forgot he could be distinguished from the comic books. (Yeah a little tired.)
Have not seen the Master from Dr. Who or John Doe from Se7en.
The Master from BtVS actually had a strange sort of whimsey, "There is something in your eye."
But I'm blanking otherwise as well.
newcj | July 06, 13:35 CET
Ex: "My name will be on everyone's lips... assuming they haven't been torn off."
It could have been just a pure threateningly evil line, completely serious, but she'd deliver it like it was just a neat image to her. Serious about doing it but amused by the idea.
Sunfire | July 06, 15:29 CET