Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with american

3-Ring A4-sized Binders

sdis — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:19:46 -0800

EuropeanOfficeFilter: Is there such a thing as a 3-ring A4-sized binder? How about a hole-puncher that works with A4 paper? American 3-ring binders are infinitely superior to the silly 2-Ring "PageRipper" Binders or the 4-Ring "CantTurnPages" Binders that are normal out here.

Anyone know of a 3-ring binder that fits A4 paper? (Most American binders, the paper is taller than the binder)

Bonus points for finding a 3-hole puncher that has a centering guide for A4 paper.

What's an "exotic blitz"?

jackypaper — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:25:30 -0800

In the NFL, what is an example of an "exotic" blitz package or a "complicated" defensive scheme?

Am I doomed to be a Football n00b forever?

TooFewShoes — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:45:54 -0800

I am a red blooded American, but I just can't seem to grasp football. I understand very little, as in once the ball gets to the end zone the team gets points. I like watching the games, but I feel like a moron. Help me! My dad is not a sports guy. My husband is not a sports guy. My brother-in-laws try to explain to me what's going on, but they are so involved in the games that it's hard for me to get it. I saw this question, but the asker was much better informed than I am and the answers confused me. This question was more what I'm looking for, minus the basketball suff. I am a very visual person, so anything with labeled diagrams or pictures would be appreciated.

Is there a book that I should read? I need something that breaks down everything from the positions to the rules and includes the plays. Is there anyway to catch up on the politics? Is there some "History of Football" out there for me? Are there blogs that I need to follow? I don't get the newspaper, but even if I picked up the sports page I would be totally lost. Is this something that I can be casually interested in during the season, or do I need to be fully obsessed? Can somebody clue me in on the system for college bowl games, because it seems random to me.

FWIW I prefer watching college football to the pros, and I like to root for Arizona State University and the University of Utah, but this is just because that's who my family roots for. I have no pro team loyalties. Utah has no pro team, so how do I go about choosing who to root for. College and Pro rules are different right? How are they different?

My son is starting to show some interest in the sport, and I'd love to get him in the local Pee Wee (is that what it's called?) league, but I need to understand what it's about before I can watch the games.

I am normally a pretty intelligent person, and it is really frustrating for me that I just can't get this.

What's American for 'undercoat'?

holgate — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:56:44 -0800

Can someone give me a primer on translating the British terms for wall / house paint into their American equivalents? I am no stranger to paint. At least, I wasn't until I moved from Britain to the US. Now I go into Lowe's Ace Depot and all the labels read "interior latex" and similar, which presumably makes sense to Americans, but doesn't help when I'm just looking for a tin of undercoat. Could someone with experience of doing paint jobs on both sides of the pond translate undercoat, gloss and emulsion into their American equivalents?

How to make my dog have a solid stool?

jwfree — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:25:15 -0800

What type (not brand) of dog food is good for dogs with bad gas and soft stool? I have an purebred American Bulldog puppy that is about five months old. She has been on the Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul (Large Breed) brand since I have owned her, which is about three months. This whole time her stool has had various states, ranging from diarrhea to normal. Along with this she has had very, very bad gas! The vet has checked her twice and assures nothing is wrong, she just has those two problems.

I am not sure if this is something that wears off in time since she is just a puppy or if I need to try a new food. It was suggested to me that I try a food without chicken and see where that gets us. The same feed store also informed me that Chicken Soup has been known to cause bad gas for American Bulldogs and Boston Terriers.

I am open to trying anything, even if it is a little pricier.

So many great options, why can I pick one?

BusyBusyBusy — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:43:47 -0800

[Overly broad project topic filter] Works of fiction or scholarly articles on American places? Help me find a work about or set in an American place that was written at the time. In a class I am taking this semester, we have been assigned a final project. We are supposed to examine a creative work (novel, poem, painting, scholarly article, movie, or even a blog) in terms of how it describes the character of an American place.

In class so far we have discussed
Tales of the City (Los Angeles in the 1970s),
Winnesburg, OH (for the Midwest),
Home to Harlem (for Harlem in the Jazz age) and
Sunset Blvd (for Hollywood in the 1940s).

For the final project we are supposed to do something similar. Pick a work, and analyze how it describes the setting in order to determine the "Americaness" of the place. It doesn't matter if we argue if its American or Un-American. Preferably created at the time it depicts. The problem for me is there are soooo many possibilities. But I can't seem to find one I'm interested in. It's like I have a mental block there, so I'm turning to you MeFites.

What is a great work that you love that is set in an American place? Anything interesting from any American time period. Please give me the best and most interesting works you can find. Extra points for things that aren't movies. I am bad at writing about movies.

Options I have considered (but am not thrilled about): A Christmas Story for 1940's midwest. Farewell to Manzanar for Japanese internment in during WW2.

Jazz standards in Chinese?

MostHolyPorcine — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:14:51 -0800

Where can I find American jazz standards sung in Mandarin? So, yea, I just watched Temple of Doom again and just started listening to all the old jazz greats again. And as craptacular as Kate Capshaw is, I do so love the opening scene with her singing Anything Goes in Mandarin. I know there was a Jazz scene in Shanghai in the 20s and 30s...did any of that survive?

I've been able to find some great Chinese Jazz, but I'd really like to hear the standards.

Help me understand American football

dcrocha — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:06:25 -0800

Help me better understand the fine game of American Football. I have been watching football since 1990, when I was 12. But in Brazilian TV all that was shown was the Super Bowl so we just had the opportunity of watching a single game a year. That made it hard to grasp the rules when you have no Internet and virtually no access to games and commentators who know what they are talking about.

Since 2000 we started getting ESPN on cable so I started watching many more games and get a better understanding of the game, in a way that I really started liking the sport, and I can say it has many fans in Brazil as of now.

However, earlier this year I moved to the U.S. so now I feel I need to step up my knowledge of the game in order not to be embarrassed when watching games with local friends.

Here I go:

1) What is a touchback?
2) When does a safety occur? There seems to be more than one case.
3) I don't see teams doing offensive plays with lateral passes unless they are really desperate (e.g. Cardinals at the last play of Super Bowl 43). Why is that so? Seems a good way to fool the defense and keep the down going.
4) What makes a good punt? Why aren't fake punts used more?
5) Rules for onside kick? Are there any other kinds of plays to be made during kickoff to try to recover the ball quickly?
6) Why do teams insist so much in rushing the ball when passes seem to be more effective? It looks hard to me to cross a barrier of giant men with any chance of holding the football.

You gotta help me with this one, as I don't like baseball and golf and my friends don't get soccer so American football is our only chance of an excuse to drink together while watching TV!

"Twin" Translation

madmamasmith — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:28:47 -0800

I am looking for translations for the words "twin" and "sister". I have used babelfish and other sites but really want the pronunciation not just foreign writings I can't decipher. Also, translations in other languages not listed such as different Native American tribal translations. Help?!

How can I convert prepaid reward cards to cash?

SuperCoolZane — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:42:01 -0800

What is the best way to convert prepaid reward credit cards to cash? I have a reward card from American Express and a rebate card through Visa that I would like to convert to cash because spending the precise amount the cards are worth is difficult.

WTB: 1 Young American Operating Manual, pref Canadian translation

256 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:50:36 -0800

Young Canadian couple is expecting to have a newborn American added to their family. Wonders if the child will need any special care above and beyond what would be given to a newborn Canadian. So, my wife and I are currently living in the USA on a three year work visa. My wife is pregnant with our first child, and we fully expect that the baby will be born here in the States. I understand that this would entitle him/her to American citizenship.

We don't intend to immigrate to the USA. In fact, it is our hope to be back in either Canada or the EU (where we have lived before and where my wife has citizenship) well before our child reaches school age.

We would, however, like to do everything we can to make it so that, should our son or daughter later want to make use of their American citizenship, it is easy for them to do so.

To be clear, I'm not looking for legal advice or visa-related advice for the present. We already have access to an immigration lawyer to answer those questions for us. Also, we're not particularly looking for general baby advice, we have plenty of family, friends, literature and doctors already quite happy to provide that.

What we're really looking for is particular gems about non-American parents having a baby with multiple citizenship which includes American. I can't provide a really good example of the sort of thing I'm looking for because, by definition, I'm not in a position to know it. Okay, here's an example: Make damn sure that the circumstances surrounding the child's legal right to American citizenship is well documented because it passing snuff now won't prevent people from wanting to go over it with a microscope should our child choose to run for political office in America some time down the road.

I'm hoping that there are more interesting tidbits than that but, hive mind, I'm leaving it in your hands to determine what it is you think we need to know.

Cultural appropriation or 70's pop culture?

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:46:32 -0800

Sensitive question about cultural issues and a halloween costume I might wear. Is this cultural appropriation or 1970's pop culture? Me (a white person) along with some other people want to dress up for halloween as "The Village People." I have been chosen to be the native american one. Is this a bad idea.

Also, when going to parties and such dressed in this costume, I would be with one other "village person" at all times, and we will probably be hamming in up by drunkenly singing "YMCA" and "In the Navy" if that makes a difference either way.

Would it be okay since I am dressing up as a village person, not a native american, or is it still too problematic to do?

Perspectives, especially if there are any Native American readers of this question who would be willing to answer, are greatly appreciated.

If anybody doesn't want to post their reply here, I will be reading replies sent to me at metafilteranon@live.com

What do I Need to Know About Healthcare Reform?

nostrich — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:26:46 -0800

I want to learn about American healthcare, where do I start? My SO is very invested in the healthcare reform stuff that's being talked about at the moment, but I find it rather difficult to engage in any kind of conversation on the topic, since my knowledge of American healthcare is almost nonexistent. I'm a Brit, so all I know is the NHS -- and I can already tell it's a totally different game for healthcare, but that's about all I know. I'd like to learn more about it, but I don't know where to start.

There have been past questions similar to this, but they seem to focus solely on the healthcare reform bill, and I'd like to get a little foreknowledge first.

So where do I start?

What would you class as 'typically Aussie'?

sunshine arakhan — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:45:23 -0800

Buying Australian gifts for an American friend and her baby... I've seen similar questions asked but couldn't seem to locate them.

I'm travelling to the US in the next few months to visit a lifelong pal who's recently had a baby (her daughter will be 7 months old when I arrive in November).
Over the 11 years we've known each other the various differences between Australia and America have always amused us (such as there's no such thing as sausage rolls in the States???). So I'm thinking of some awesome gifts I can buy specifically for her baby, without being too 'typical' (stuffed kangaroos and koalas and the like).

The closest things I can think off at the moment are maybe a Bonds baby jumpsuit (yes yes I know Bonds sold out and is now manufactured overseas but it's still an 'Aussie' brand) or maybe some cute bibs with Australian wildlife on it... but I'm looking for something more unique and creative! :) as my brain obviously is not.

So:
A) As an American, what sort of fun Aussie things would you enjoy recieving, for either yourself or your baby?
B) As an Australian, what would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!
FWIW I live in Melbourne, VIC.

Indian English Speakers with Shifting Western Accent

Non Prosequitur — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 10:04:40 -0800

Is it a widespread behavior for multilingual speakers of english to get a more anglicized accent when talking to a native speaker? I don't mean just common code-switching (someone getting a drawl in Kansas, or someone going 'you understand' vs. 'you feel me' in different contexts.) But people going from like, Indian english to completely westernized english (in accents, not necessarily in diction or dialect) without making a conscious decision to do so. This is besides people 'faking' an accent because of class issues related to these things.

How can a short but not skinny guy find the right t-shirts?

Ekim Neems — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:33:45 -0800

Where can a short but not super skinny guy get plain soft t-shirts in multiple colors? The smalls are always too small and the mediums too big! I've tried American and Alternative Apparel and their smalls are too tight around the chest & torso but the length is right. Their mediums are just the opposite, with the length being too long but the chest and torso just right. Once in awhile, I get an American Apparel printed tee in medium that shrinks to just the right length... but not always.

I've tried some Hanes and Fruit of the Loom, but I find the quality either too low or they don't come in more than a few colors.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Welcome to the Land of Opportunity! ...Or, at least, the Land of Hotdogs.

Ms. Saint — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:56:12 -0800

My British step-father has just become a US citizen. Given this, what would be a good way for us to celebrate the 4th of July? I usually live about a 1000 miles away, but I'm already planning to come home for the 4th of July. And given that it is the holiday about US/British relations, I can't imagine a better way to celebrate his coming over to the rebel's side of things. I want an all-out American extravaganza.

Now, of course, we'll have to celebrate with a feast of hotdogs and apple pie.... But, beyond that, we're all kind of blanking about what quintessentially American stuff we can add into a day's activities. Fireworks are illegal where he lives, so nothing too explosive can be involved.

Have any suggestions? I'm willing to consider anything from the painfully sincere to outright kitschy. Anything that specifically plays on the differences between British culture and American culture is especially appreciated.

Recommend some good US/British TV Shows!

ranglin — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:08:34 -0800

Can anyone recommend some good (fairly recent) American/British TV shows that my wife and I can catch up on during the ratings lull that's currently occurring in the US? Hi All.

Just looking for something to watch during the break and realised that there are probably some gems out there that we've just missed in the last couple of TV seasons. Looking for recommendations of shows to watch. Things that we've liked recently:

* Chuck
* Big Bang
* Dexter
* True Blood
* Dead Like Me
* Reaper
* Stargate Atlantis
* NCIS
* Bones
* Castle
* Dollhouse
* Fringe
* Leverage

Interested in shows in the same vein, but if you think something else would tickle our fancy, let me know!

Thanks all for keeping us entertained over the next few months! :)

What US flag should I hang?

neoist — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:06:54 -0800

Now that Summer's here, I want to get an American flag (stars + stripes) for the front lawn. Thinking 3x5 is best, but may go for a 4x6 - what's the best flag manufacturer on the market? Should I go with a nylon one to withstand the weather (in the rust belt)? Not too picky on price, but prefer it to be US made...

retail or wholesale?

abirae — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:36:11 -0800

How does American Apparel make money? A friend and I have a disagreement over this that basically breaks down to: retail or wholesale? As I understand it, they started out as t-shirt wholesalers and expanded into a retail empire. But where do they make the bulk of their revenue?

They charge much higher prices for their retail clothes than for their wholesale t-shirts, but maintaining storefronts must also be a costly undertaking. The higher overhead might cancel out the higher prices. They clearly have the money for major ad campaigns and numerous store fronts so they must be making money somehow, but I don't know how to find this information.

Of course, it's also possible that they aren't making money, or that one part of their business subsidizes other parts of the business. I know very little about garment manufacturing and retail, so I'm hoping that someone with a knowledge of the biz can clue me in.

"That Uniquely American Optimism"...Really?

jefficator — Tue, 05 May 2009 07:09:55 -0800

Is "that uniquely American optimism" really so? I feel like every other day lately, someone with authority of some kind swears we'll recover from this Great Recession because of "that uniquely American optimism." Are Americans really that uniquely optimistic? Does that mean that everyone else in the world is walking around seeing half-empty glasses everywhere? Or does it mean that Americans are all National Lampoon's European Vacation boobs walking around with no idea of the gravitas around us?

Seeking differences between American English and English English around 1776 - 1815

IndigoJones — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:15:51 -0800

England and America, two countries separated by a common language. Check. What I'm looking for are resources that cover the differences in spoken English (accent, syntax, diction, catch-phrases - it's all good) between the two countries circa 1776-1815. I recognize the regionalism of each country will complicate the matter, but whatever you have is welcome. Written is welcome if spoken is asking too much.

Are expensive American undergraduate educations worth it for foreign students?

Mo Nickels — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:44:41 -0800

Is it worth it for a foreign parent to squeeze his budget to manage very expensive undergraduate educations for his children in elite American schools? A respected colleague in Asia writes with this query. It's not so much about how to get financial aid when you are a parent of foreign student seeking an undergraduate education in the United States so much as it is a question as to whether it is worth it at all, even if you can pay.

His words are below, posted with his permission. I have stripped out identifying information. The family is not in Singapore, for what that is worth.

«I have 2 children entering university at the same time this year.

My son has won a partial scholarship to the Eastman School of Music, but even then, the amount we'd have to come up with to send him there is rather forbidding.

My daughter has been accepted into New York University to do Liberal Arts -- but without any aid, which makes it virtually impossible for us to help her realise her dream.

What resources can I apply for in the US or elsewhere to help them? We've tried ones in our country but so far without success.

Would you recommend they take up the places offered them by the 2 schools, given the constraints? Are the schools really worth the astronomical expense? (Well, I know Eastman is about second to Juilliard, and NYU is reputable, although its Arts programme is 15th in the world.)

Would it really count so much that these would be for undergraduate study? Do people look more at one's postgrad pedigree? Would it be just as well that they did their first degree elsewhere (more affordable) and seek to go higher at Eastman and NYU afterwards? (In fact, my son has also obtained a full scholarship to theYong Siew Toh Coservatory of Music in Singapore. But then, what is YST compared to Eastman?)

I'm sorry if I sound inane but this issue of my children's further education has been keeping me from sleep for quite a while.»

Trying to remember the name of a contemporary American Painter

ssimon82 — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:27:34 -0800

What is the name of a contemporary American figurative painter, in his 40’ies, lives on the East Coast, possibly Philadelphia, who paints very realistic, elongated female nudes? He’s been compared to Andrew Wyeth, studied with Russian painter whose name starts with M, was profiled in the New Yorker a couple of years ago. I think his name starts with C. I'm driving my co-workers crazy trying to remember his name. Please help!

Biography suggestions?

GatorFan2000 — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:32:48 -0800

What are some good biographies of James Madison? After reading the Malcolm Gladwell book, "Outliers" I decided I wanted to read a biography of each president of the United States to see what types of advantages lead to someone becoming the president of the United States. I'm about to finish American Sphinx, which is about Thomas Jefferson. Naturally, James Madison is next.