Mardi Gras

The end of February rolls around and with it comes Mardi Gras - when translated from French means literally "Fat Tuesday". In the UK, we call this day (the day before Ash Wednesday) Shrove Tuesday or, more commonly, Pancake Day. In the Christian faith, this is the day before Lent - the 40 days that represents Jesus' time in the wilderness and a traditional time to fast, or these days, give up something. Thus, pancakes were a way of emptying out flour, milk and eggs from the pantry. Anyway, over here in the US, Mardi Gras is typically associated with New Orleans - and despite the effect of Hurricane Katrina last September, the city is determined to have a good party anyway - and, y'know, why the hell not?

Mardi Gras came to New Orleans through its French heritage with early explorers celebrating the French Holiday on the banks of the Mississippi River in 1699. The date itself depends on the lunar calendar and is always 47 days before Easter, and over the years, the New Orlean folk have added to the occasion with carnivals and parades. The offical colours for Mardi Gras were chosen in 1872 by Rex, the King of the Carnival that year and are Purple, Gold and Green - standing for justice, power and faith respectively. It may surprise you to know (as it did me) that the season actually begins way back on January 6th - Twelfth Night - and my workmate Kellie - who is originally from the New Orleans area and lived there for some time - tells me that the parties start from then and basically get bigger and louder, and more fun until the peak on Mardi Gras itself. Sounds good to me. It's also reassuring to here that, whilst Katrina may have damaged a lot of the structure of New Orleans, the heart and spirit are resoundingly intact.

A Tip or Two

Over the 165-odd posts i've made on here, I really can't remember if i've addressed the issue of tipping (even if i have, this is my blog so nah!!!). I'm sure it's something that a lot of non-Americans are aware of (certainly in the UK) - the fact that tipping is somewhat de rigeur over here rather than just for particuarly good service as it is in the UK (I'm not wholly sure what it's like in other European countries). Anyway, in some cases this is fair enough. I have no objection to leaving a dollar tip for a drink at a bar (especially when the drinks are particularly cheap!), especially if it's a busy night. Having worked in a bar, i know how hard it can be from the other side (except, of course, i didn't make half as many tips). Same goes for a restaurant - i don't mind leaving a standard tip (i use 10% as a benchmark although i believe it's usually 15%) if the service has been fine - the waiter/waitress is friendly etc. Hell, i don't mind if the service isn't brilliant so long as the food is excellent. I'm not disappointed much these days.

There are some things that i object to tipping too - i think taxi fares are pretty ridiculous and so feel rather put out having to leave a tip - unless they actually gauge your mood enough to strike up a conversation or know when to leave well alone. Oh, and provided they get you their in a reasonable time - i had one taxi driver a few years back when i was going to Dulles airport near Washington DC whose taxi actually broke down - and it took him 20 minutes longer to get to the airport. He didn't even apologise - and looked rather sour when i only gave him a couple of dollars tip - what the hell did he want? Blood? There are also places like newsagents where they have a tip tray on the counter. I mean, for what? You get what you want, take it to the counter and they take your money and give you change. If they did the maths themselves, i'd maybe consider it but otherwise they can go jump. Of course, all this means that when i come back to the UK either visiting or in the end, i'm either going to rejoice at the chance to be stingy again - or not be able to get out of the habit of tipping. Being a Yorkshireman, what do you think it's gonna be???

Darwin vs SC

There is a lot in the local and state newspapers about the current argument in the State government about what to teach in the science classroom. As you can guess, this is predominantly centred around evolution - or rather, around it's more en vogue opposite number - intelligent design, a more up to date version of creationism - essentially stating that certain naturally occurring things are so intricate in design that it is impossible for them to have evolved by chance - and so must be the work of a higher power. Essentially, the politicians here are trying to decide if the scientists are going to teach the children to criticize evolution - even though the theory itself is widely accepted in the scientific community. Those speaking up in defence of intelligent design say evolution is 'just another theory' and say that the whole point of science is to make theories and then test them, modifying them as appropriate. What is needling to a lot of those opposed to the measures is that such opposition to the teaching of evolution was pretty non-vocal until the Intelligent Design theory came into being - and that a lot of people pushing for this are jumping on a bandwagon.

Now I am a firm believer in Evolution - i guess as a scientist, you might expect that - and, although not parituclarly religious, i also respect other people's beliefs. What is most irritating to me about the whole intelligent design argument being put forward here is that whilst supporters of the teaching of this theory are eager to foist it into the scientific curriculum, the theory itself doesn't BELONG in the scientific classroom. The main point of any scientific theory is that it must be able to be tested and verified experimentally yet i personally can't see any way in which the I.D theory can be - so essentially it is reliant on faith - a very unscientific principle indeed. Thus, in teaching students an unverifiable theory that has something of a creationist ring to it, it sounds rather like those avid supporters are trying to foist a religious perspective into science - something that should not be done. Science is about making tests, and drawing conclusions from what you learn; about trying to understand more about the world around us. It's not about trying to debunk religion and the sooner people realise it, the better - then perhaps these ridiculous arguments can stop.

On Religion

One thing people had strongly warned me about with moving to South Carolina, is the fact that it is in the South of the USA and at one edge of the so-called Bible Belt - the strip of land from East to West covering a lot of the southern states known for their strong religious views. The way people back home talked, they made it sound like there would be sermons on every street corner. Fortunately, this part of South Carolina is a lot more easygoing. Sure, religion is something that is intermingled in every day life - people mention church, a lot of social events occur at church - and, yes, there is religious programming. Whilst some of this is the preacher style schtick that appears on the UK show Tarrant on TV frequently, there are also the programmes that come across as more sincere and less showy in there messages.

Ultimately, the bottom line is that i get the impression that people aren't just religious here - they are also respectful of religion and other's beliefs in general. Thus, my experiences in Charleston thus far are rather less extreme thatn other experiences i have heard of in states such as Texas (a friend's son-in-law refused to let their children watch Harry Potter citing it as evil and the devil's work). Somewhat appropriately enough, a colleague tells me that Charleston was one of the first places of religious tolerance in the state (if not the US) - citing 'You name it, there's a church for it' and indeed, there are 258 churches in the Charleston county area - and certainly i have seen plenty of them on many wanderings and trips downtown. So, if as many religions and sects can exist peacefully in a county in SC, maybe there's hope for the rest of the world.

Presidents Day

The ongoing saga of American Bank Holidays continues as the 20th February rolls around and with it, the annual Presidents Day bank holiday - some of you might remember i mentioned this when talking about Martin Luther King Day a month ago. Anyway, the original version of the holiday was first held in 1796 and was to commemorate the birthday of George Washington who was born on February 22nd 1732. Well, at least according to the calendar in use since the mid-18th century - although the older calendar had his date at 11th February. But hey, who's counting? By the time the 19th century rolled around, Washington's birthday was an established national holiday - with traditions on the day intself including Birthnight Balls in various regions, speeches and receptions given by prominent public figures, and a lot of revelry (i.e. people getting pissed as a fart) in general. Then, as so often happens, real life decided to mess things up.

Along came Abraham Lincoln - another revered president (to this day) and also a February child like Washington. Everything was fine until Lincoln happened to get assassinated and exactly one year after this, both houses of Congress (The Senate and the House of Representatives) gathered for a memorial address in a formal observance of Abe's birthday - however, whilst the holiday became observed in some states, it was never made a federal holiday. In the 1970s, legislation was introduced to standardise the holiday as the third Monday in February whether it fell on Washington's birthday or not. Then, with the introduction of Martin Luther King Day, those States observing Lincoln's birthday decided to remove the holiday and so, whilst apparently today is officially still Washington's birthday, it has popularly (and in some states, legally) become known as Presidents Day. Now, who fancies lobbying for a Winston Churchill day in the UK?

Over The Hill

Saturday comes round again and with it, yet another party - this time at Stefka's house (she of the Christmas Eve party) to celebrate both her and another colleagues (Maurizio) 40th birthdays - going over the hill (although apaprently, 40 is the new 30). Anyway, a few of us (not too large a number as Stefka's apartment is not huge) made our way over there for 7.00 - with food and drink to complement what there was. I decided to do a cheese board basically cause i was feeling too lazy to cook (and yes Mum, there WAS wensleydale on it and it had all gone by the end of the night). So, as it tradition, we ate (a bit), drank (quite a bit) and generally had a pleasant evening indeed. We even managed to do some group karaoke (although it has to be said that listening to "I've Got You Under My Skin" in an Italian accent was probably the highlight of the evening). Quite what Stefka's cat, Mishka (is that spelt right?) made of it all, i can only imagine.

Suffice to say, by the end of the night a lot of food had gone - but there was still plenty left for us to take some home as well. With some cajoling, i took back some of the cheeses i had bought and quite happily took some of the beer that Stefka had bought for the occasion (it was all european as i recall so definitely not a problem - if it was Budweiser, then there may have been issues). Largely, i think we all did a pretty good job of distracting both of the birthday people from even thinking about turning 40. Next year though, i suspect we may be having a 39th birthday celebration for them both!!!

Sideways On

Since joining the library downtown, i've had to undertake a weekly visit - largely to return DVDs that i have loaned (this week - 'Twelve Angry Men" - an excellent film if you haven't seen it). As a result of this, i've often decided to take slight different routes to get back home through some of the other neighbourhoods - mainly to have a look at some of the architecture on display. Now Charleston has some interesting old houses to look at - with a lot made out of wood rather than the brick that i'm used to seeing at home (is that really the best idea in a hurricane zone? Answers on a postcard...). Anyway, on my many trips round the city, i noticed a common feature - and a rather unusual one at that. Many of the front doors of houses here (or at least, what i would call the front door - let's say the main door) are placed at one end of the back terrace/porch - so that you enter right through from the street on to there rather than into the house itself.

Beyond this, the houses themselves are pretty stunning. As with a lot of houses over here, there is a tendency to build out of wood rather than brick - but this doesn't detract from the elegance. Another common feature of houses here is a back terrace or porch - what in the UK would be called a patio (except there is would be made out of concrete slabs), a deck or a veranda. I can fully understand the necessity for this. Given how swelteringly hot the summers get here, existence before the time of air conditioning must have demanded an outside room essentially. And herein lies the origin of the sideways on door. Imagine if you had your lounge outside on the deck and any old Tom, Dick or Harry walking past could peer in and see what was going on. The solution - add a door, raise the house up a bit (such terraces are often a few feet above the ground in the more extravagant houses) and hey presto - a bit more privacy for all.

A Bit Nippy

Leave it to the British to moan about the weather - or that's what you'd expect anyway. Y'see, after having a nice couple of weeks of unseasonably warm weather at the start of the year, it seems that we're paying for it now by having weather that could be described as 'a bit chilly'. Thus, when the sun isn't shining directly on you (the sun does still come out and we have generally nice clear blue skies), the temperature leaves a lot to be desired. This morning, i was up quite early to come to the lab to switch media and was watching the news as i ate breakfast. The weather came on and revealed that it had only just climbed above 35F - that's about 1C - no wonder i legged it to work as fast as my (frozen) legs could manage.

Now, i know what most of you are thinking - at least the one's back home. From what my family have been telling me, it's not exactly been a picnic over there. But then you do have to remember that this is a place where the summer is ridiculously hot so this kind of cold is felt even more so. Well, at least that's my excuse (and i'm sticking by it!!!). From what i've been told, there is usually one last cold spell before Spring hits and the temperature turns more clement. I'm hoping this is it. And it could always be worse. Last i heard, there was about a foot of so in Washington DC and places in Maryland and Massachusetts had lost a lot of power. Hey, maybe it'll help with the oil prices!

Game On

As regular readers of this blog will already know, i have shifted from volleyball to softball in the intramural league - again, as part of a departmental biochemistry team. Well, this Sunday saw our first game - and, in all fairness, we weren't really 100% prepared for it - this is mainly as our attempt at practice the week before had kinda been ruined by the fact that one of our number (who shall remain nameless) got us roped in to a pick-up game and so our captain Amy did not have much of a chance to scout out the best batters and fielders (in terms of ranking and position) and we didn't really have the opportunity to go through some set plays for both infield and outfield. Thus, this game was something of a practice for us really and i think we did pretty well. Okay, so we lost 10-9 - but it all came down to the last innings (we were 9-4 up till then) and the game was stopped only because our time was up (it was a 7 innings game or 1 hour limit). We found this rather unfair given that we started 10 minutes late (the umpire's fault) and finished 5 minutes early (we think because he decided that we couldn't both get another innings in each).

Anyway, after the 'practice' the week before, i had said that i would be happy to pitch - so Amy and I arrived about 90 minutes prior to the start of the game to give me a few warm ups. I had pitched at our practice and was slowly beginning to get the hang of it towards the end - so after 40 minutes of practicing and some good advice from Amy, i was heading towards getting more strikes than balls. In the game itself, it took me a couple of goes to get warmed up - but i was pleased none-the-less - i only managed to walk the one time (when you throw four foul balls in a row) and also struck two people out. On top of that, i managed to tag another person out and assist in getting two out at first base. Ultimately, whilst we were disappointed to lose in such a fashion, we had all enjoyed ourselves and feel that we will be somewhat more confident this coming Sunday for game 2. Watch this space!!

Sayonara

This weekend saw myself and many workmates attending a party at Ashley and Jim's place - a cookout and drinks (although whilst the cooking was indeed outside, the eating and drinking was primarily indoors on account of the bitter cold here of late). And the occasion? The impending departure of our visiting postdoc - Hiro - as he finishes up his year here and returns to Japan. It has to be said that he is an energetic presence around the lab - and it's going to seem rather unusual without his being here. The fact he was here for such a limited time meant that it was something of a cliche to enter the lab at all manner of hours to find Hiro working away at his latest experiments. I hope for his sake that he has a bit of a rest when he goes home!!

Anyway, the grill-out (BBQ) was a great success - food was delicious (it was pointed out to be a couple of times that it was organic and free range, after my grim reading last week) and there was plenty of it - so no complaints there. Also plenty to drink as well so there was much merrymaking to be had indeed. Highlight of the evening for me, i have to say, was when an episode of "Fawlty Towers" was screened (Jim has them on DVD). Given that most of the assembled crowd had never seen (or indeed heard) of the show, it was something of a treat for me (as a patriotic Brit) to hear the laughter. I'm just expecting to go in on Monday morning and have to explain a few of the jokes to people :D. Anyhow, all the best for Hiro on his return home - i'm sure everyone in the lab wishes him well.

North and South

The North-South divide in the UK is something of an established fact. It's usually summed up in the sentence 'Empty the North, Concrete the South' in reference to the government's plans to build considerably more housing in the Southern regions. However, it extends to more than that. Generally, the Northern people (of which i am one, i should add) tend to be considerably friendlier and more down to earth than their southern counterparts. Well, from speaking with friends and colleagues here, and from some experience of my own, there also appears to be that big North-South gap here. Except it appears that things are the other way around. The Northerners are considered cold, whereas the Southerners are friendlier. But there are more subtleties to it than that.

The Northern USA (particularly here on the coast) have something of a reputation for keeping themselves to themselves - it's not that they're unfriendly, more 'that they'll only speak to you if they want to' as a colleague's wife put it the other week. So if they want to be your friend, there's nothing to worry about. On the other hand, the Southerners are friendly, but it might often be out of politeness. Thus, if you meet an acquaintance and they are very 'Hello! How are you?!', it's considered something of the normal greeting - and they are not always expecting a full reply. Thus, i tend to just say 'doing good' or 'fine' - you get the picture. Of course, as is always the case with real life, things are never purely black and white and i'm sure there is plenty of gray in the middle. It just makes me wonder if there are similar divides in other countries. Anyone like to answer that?

Tax Returns: A Headache in Waiting

With me being both new to the country and also going away in April (to Canada), i decided this week that it would be a good time to start sorting out the business of Federal Tax Returns (that have to be completed by April 15th) and, my God, am i glad i thought to look at this early. I have to say that this is one time, i'm thankful for the British Government being the way it is - in that the Inland Revenue in the UK do this all for you. Anyway, the point of the tax return is for you to fill in how much you earned, how much federal tax (i.e. money for the US government) was taken off you and then calculate exactly how much should have been taken off you. If the balance is in your favour, you get money back off the government. If not, you pay them. Of course, this takes into account money that the State and local government took off you and also how much medicare went as well.

Of course, being a non-US national, this all becomes that BIT more complicated. First, you have to determine if you are classed as a resident alien or non-resident alien (whilst you could be resident in the eyes of the social security administration, for tax purposes you could be non-resident initially). To do this, you have to fulfil the following criteria: a) Have lived in the US for at least 31 days for the current year b) Have been present in the US for over 183 days in the past 3 years calculated as: All the days of the current year + 1/3 the days of the previous year + 20% of the days of the year before that. What makes it worse is that when you try to read the instruction booklet (online, i should add), it makes it even less clear. One has to wonder if it is purposefully this way, so the government can swindle you and you're none the wiser.

Going Soft

Fear not for, unlike my anonymous commentator hopes, this is not going to be a post revolving around anything particularly innuendo laden. Rather, the title seemed rather appropriate, given my latest venture at MUSC. Now that the intramural volleyball season is over and done (my team didn't get anywhere unfortunately - we lost and won an equal number of games), the Sports Center are moving towards more summer (i.e. outdoor) games, even though the temperature is still a bit peaky at the moment (after an unseasonably warm three weeks of January, it's not got rather chilly and windy). The lastest intramural league is in Softball (see the title now?), regarded over here as a downgraded version of baseball (although to most British this is a modification of Rounders anyway). The game essentially follows the rules of Baseball but uses a softer ball and underarm pitching.

As with Volleyball, a biochemistry team has been put together - but with a (thankfully) different captain in charge - one who used to play the game in college. The volleyball captain is also on the team - and displays an annoying habit of browbeating as if he's an expert in every game. Believe me, he's not. Anyway, it's been sometime since I played either softball or rounders (10-15 years) so i was glad that Sunday was a scheduled practice before our first proper game this coming Sunday. Once i got used to catching with a mitt (and catching the ball properly - rather than smack in the palm of the hand) i was fine in the field and it looks like i may end up as pitcher. My batting was also pretty good - managed to whack it a hundred or so feet With a bit of luck, we will have some more success in this league than the volelyball. And apologies for the lack of innuendo.

Superbowl Sunday

This Sunday, it was time for the game that is, i guess, the US equiavelent of the FA cup - namely, the Superbowl with this year being particularly special in that it was the 40th Superbowl - this year held in Detroit and between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks (How do they come up with these names? I havent a clue). Anyway, as you can imagine, a good number of Superbowl parties were going on and i made the decision not to attend any of them (cause i REALLY dislike American Football) and went to the cinema instead! hehehe

The Superbowl originally came in 1967 as a match between the winners of the established National Football League and the upstart American Football League - in the UK, this would be like if the winners of the Premier League played the winners of the first division. Anyway, aside from the football, its also become a major focus for advertising and Hollywood - the show on TV attracts a considerable audience and many companies are happy to pay through the nose for 30 second advertising slots. Not only that, they also pay a fortune to put together extra special adverts for the event - or wheel out their new trailers (we had ones for MI:3 and Pirates of the Caribbean 2 - others i may have missed). So, as with so many things these days its less about the event and more about how much money you can make off it. Incidentally, today was also a year since i arrived in Charleston for the first time (for my interview at the lab) - amazing how quickly that went.

You Are What You Eat?

Having finally got round to joining Charleston Public library (and SO glad i did), i managed to get hold of a copy of a book that has intersted me for some time - "Fast Food Nation". Now, given the title, you might expect that it's like a written version of the film "Super Size Me" in criticising the Fast Food industry - but it goes a lot further than the (very very good) movie. It delves further into the whole industry - from how it all came about, to the effects it has had on the cattle and corn industry, the meatpacking industry, the hygiene of it all in general etc. etc. Now, this may sound rather boring, but the book is written in an easy to read style with some good dollops of wry commentary along the way. Being nearly through the whole book now, i have to say that it would DEFINITELY put me off eating at any of the umpteen fast food chains and such that are present in virtually every American city.

I have to say, the biggest shock for me (and one that i was unaware of) was the levels to which the meatpackers and cattle farmers stoop to squeeze the most profit out of the product. This includes injecting growth hormone into the cattle (and poultry) - something that i was unaware of and that is banned in the EU. The standards of infection control are appalling - with traces of E.Coli 0157:H7 (a BAD strain - one that caused a few deaths in Scotland a couple of years back) found in a considerable number of ground beef samplings from a lot of major manufacturers. Not only E.Coli, but other bacteria such as Salmonella, Cryptococcus, and Listeria - some of which can only be transmitted through faeces (as the book succinctly puts it - "there is shit in the meat"). Taking all this on board, I am very seriously dropping meat from my diet completely (save for, perhaps, fish). I have, for the past few years anyway, substituted a lot of lentils, beans and pulses for ground meat so it wouldn't be that much a stretch. But i can't help but wonder what kids are getting as an extra the next time they buy a Happy Meal.

Groundhog Day

Of course, no time spent in the US would be complete without mentioning this annual ceremony that goes on in the town of Punxatawney, PA (Pennsylvania, in case you didn't know - and, yes, the place DOES exist!!). For those of you who wonder what the hell im going on about, try checking out the movie "Groundhog Day" - which IMHO is a modern day comedy classic. Anyway, every year on Feb 2nd (the day itself), a lot of the locals and people from the surrounding state(s) all gather in Punxatawney - a small town of 6,100 people about 65 miles NE of Pittsburgh (at Gobbler's Knob) to hear the forecast from the groundhog - affectionately known as Punxatawney Phil. Anyway, its up to Phil to tell us if we're going to have an early spring.

Apparently, the legend originages with the Germans as they believed that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on the Christian holiday of Candlemas (i.e. Feb 2nd) then winter will last another six weeks; if no shadow is seen, legend says spring will come early - the Americans chose the groundhog to explain this. So, the whole ceremony has gone on for quite a while (119 years) and in this time, 'Phil' has seen his shadow 96 times, not seen a shadow 14 times and apparently there are no records for 9 years on the way (maybe they were lost in the snow showers or something!). This year, alas, there was bad news - he saw a shadow - but that didn't stop the gathering crowds turning it into an impromptu revelry focused around the Superbowl this Sunday (hey, they're Americans after all). Anyway, after the busy day i've had, i sure as hell hope i don't have to go over it again tomorrow (watch the movie and you'll understand).