I assume you haven't spent vast amounts of time in WI or perhaps even know the two events I referenced. CA (during the drought) proposed that they ship water from Lake Superior (North of WI, MI, MN and South of Canada) to CA via the Panama Canal to fill their pools or irrigate their dessert lawns. They ONLY wanted to lower the entire lake Superior by 3-4in (correct me if I'm wrong here). WI, MN, and MI have a lot of money that comes in from tourism and the industry was threatened, plus the loss of that water would change the eco-system of the lakes, streams and rivers all throughout the area...So CA could fill pools...

Milk..I don't even know where to begin other than a system was set up during the depression to encourage milk production in areas other than the northern mid-west. Prices were based on how far a farmer was from Eau Claire, WI. These pricing structures took more than 60 years to change, despite economic recovery and the invention of refridgerated trains to ship milk.

CA actually pays non-CA farmers less per gallon than they do their own farmers. Last I heard there were some cases pending.

I grew up in a farm town...:)

I would like to address this.

First of all, California is not all desert (and I'm assuming you meant desert and not "dessert" because we don't have lawns made of chocolate ice cream).

Secondly, unless you were living IN California during any of our droughts, then you don't understand how it was here. So keep on thinking that we were all sitting around our pools, with the sprinklers on, while washing our cars. :rolleyes:


How many people here know that there are still parts of California where they have regulations on when people can and cannot water their lawns?? *crickets* Yeah, that's what I thought

I know that...but then again I have family in California and have been there quite a few times.

That would be dope as hell, though.

If they did, I would be forced to agree that California is a much better state than any other in the U.S.

Until then, though . . .

...you'll have to go with CT.

Look; we've had a crooked Governor, lost an NHL team and mounted a futile bid for the New England Patriots. What state can match that?!

Collin
- central Connecticut born and raised, on the ballfields are where I spent most of my days...

That would be awesome. But I doubt my thighs could handle it.

:D LOL

Yeah, Cali does need to workout their water issues... They've been kickin' others so much in the azz about it that it is really not that cool...

But given the huge El Nino effects this past winter, and some of it is not done, yet, I think Cali might have a tad bit more water until the next drought... That could be next year or that could be 10 years for now--who knows?

With me and BobbytheDon thinking about nuking certain areas of Cali, I think "Ilse de Santa Los Angeles" sounds pretty nice...

With beach front property in Yuma, Arizona...

And don't forget, Mammoth Mountain is a volcano... Don't know how active it is, but it hasn't erupted in awhile--'bout time it does... It will DEFINITELY jack up ALL of LA by default--specially San Bernadino--think Pompei...

But, hey, I have been exiled from California for life... I have to obtain a visa to re-enter the state... And I still have to pay some BS taxes... Butthole FTB's!!!

Yeah, in Bakersfield--maybe Glendale, California and those burnt areas north of LA on the back side--not the Valley... But all the farmland where they grow cotton and other crap and gas costs $3.00 for regular unleaded...

Drove through the state to see that crap enough...

But most of Southern California is arid... High desert. The rainy seasons were cut off due to the pollution. Since LA and the state cut it's smog emissions (like the CHP gives tickets to gross polluters), there has been some improvement in air quality--some... It has taken 10-20 years since the state law was enacted, but there has been noticeable differences in meterological phenomena (on shore flow, etc.) and air quality...

But what was NOT anticipated 20 years ago were surrounding cities in other states would expand due to LA/SoCal-flight--like there is NO place to live or buy a home in SoCal--even a portapotty is over $200 grand... So folks moved to other states or cities nearby and still were able to get to Cali to work... I.e. Vegas and Arizona...

Then, after 3-strikes passed, all the 2-striked criminals bounced outta the state very fast...

Then, the electric crisis exacerbated by Enronites and poor planning by Gray Davis, just skrait jacked Cali...

Now, my family contends with El Nino...

But at least seeing cars float down the street in a police car chase that started on the I-5 in Upland, California down to the border is rather hilarious...

Nuke 'em... We don't need some parts of SoCal--so nuke'em...

Oh, and Little E, YOU DON'T WANT A WHOLE BUNCH OF CALIFORNIANS MOVING TO YOUR STATE... They will Kollyfornicate the place and that is uncool...

Where I live, we are notorious for Kollyfornicating... A day in the life of Isle de Santa Los Angeles...

The tsunamis after the "big one" hits would be cool waves to catch...

Yes. I hear the Californians are tired of Colorado and looking for other states to take over and ruin.

:confused:

What did that have to do with what I posted?

It's obvious that you (and many others) don't like California - and hey, that's fine, that's your opinion. But there are millions of other people that like it here, or we wouldn't be the most populated state of the union. :cool:

That's good because I'm sure tired of them being here. They don't know how to drive.

Silly... :p :D :) I AM from SoCal... I just got exiled from there--NO not for being 2 striker... Just couldn't find the job I wanted without commuting to another part of the state... Like why move from San Diego for a job in Irvine? That's a waste of time... Besides folks commute back and forth from LA to San Diego for their jobs on a daily basis. I just didn't want to be one of them...

I was just agreeing with your post... LOL. :rolleyes:

But I do like the "infiltration" of Californians into other states--it's like a viral/yeast infection... We'll take over the world!!! Bwahhaaaaahaaaahaaa...

The Cali Hype is OHHHHH so... How shall I say? Toasty...

I'm just mad because I didn't live in California for a year and owe the Franchise Tax Board taxes--$12 to be exact. Those fools in Fresno outta be ashamed of themselves charging me on my salary from another state... But what am I going to do? The FTB is worse than the CIA/FBI combined and they'll screw of your credit...

So, if I pay taxes in Cali, I'm votin' in Cali... Which makes me still a California resident... :rolleyes:

And I'd like to see the state I currently live in force me to lose my LA privileges... EFF that...

I am part of the SoCal "jet set" crew...

Hey Valkyrie--

We drive like lunatics because have you EVER been to a Californian DMV? Even if you manage to GET an appointment, you still have to stand in a 1000 person line for some biatch to tell you to go to another line to fill out some bullisht assed form in another line to take the test that you later found out you did not have to take... All the while, you memorized the entire eyesight board because you forgot your glasses and did not want to go into another line for the vision impaired board to only be told to make another appointment 8 months later... EFF that...

And then there's road rage...

And you have to be entering the freeway at 70+ mph or you WILL get waylaid by a moped...

And the cops don't care how fast your going on the SoCal Autobaun--that part after Camp Pendleton/San Clemente border check then after the North LA on the backside of the state... And definitely after Barstow... But don't go too fast past Xxzyxx Road in Nevada, because Nevada Troopers HATE LA drivers and shoot to kill... And all Californian license plates are from LA to these guys...

ooooh ok, my bad! haha :p

definately true!!

I went to Alabama once to see my Dad for 10 days. It was a very beautiful area, with lots of trees and hills. The people were friendly and I thought their accents were fun. However there were 2 things that bothered me:
1) I was in Birmingham, and the center of the city was essentially all hospitals and university buildings. It really lacked an entertainment district. Maybe I was in the wrong part, but my sister and I drove all over to find places to hang out. We found a few cool second hand record stores near 5 Points, went to the Barking Kudu for NYE and found some cute shops in a suburb with the botanical gardens, but all in all it was pretty sparse.

2) There was a racial divide that made me very uncomfortable. It was just odd for me to walk into a store where ALL the patrons were white and ALL of people who worked there were African American. Not only that, the nicer stores and restaurants tended to hire all white employees. I think the only place I went with a mixed staff was the Cheesecake Factory. I know in CA you are more likely to see people of certain ethnicities doing specific kinds of work too, but I felt like it was more stark there than it was even in Chicago or Wisconsin. It made me happy I lived in California

Hahaha... I was just talking to some friends about this the other day... "reminiscing" about the days of half-filled pools and brown, dead grass; oh, yes and the most memorable part of being a child growing up in the CA drought years, "yellow it's mellow, brown it goes down"...

okaay?! i was gonna post it... but thought, "nah, no one else is gonna get it!" haha

Hee! The crazy thing here is that people actually STOP before merging. Who does that?

I'm starting to think that California peeps are to Colorado as Illinois peeps are to Wisconsin. Not that Colorado is at all like Wisconsin, but still.

In my Secondary Education Teaching Prep course the other night we had a teacher share about a freshman she had a few years ago. The mother and the freshman and a little child came in to the parent/teacher/student conferences...
turns out the student and his mother were the parents of the child.

Immediately I go "shit, that stuff is supposed to stay in the South".

Turns out they had moved up from Alabama...

1) Its not just Birmingham. Except for New Orleans, the South is culturally vacant.

2) The strange thing is that what you experienced is actually progress. Maybe before we're all old and grey, the South will advance to where the North was 40 years ago.

I don't mean to nit pick, but since I was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, and still live here (and I'm sure that I will receive comments about being backwards and behind the times), I have to comment on the previous posts about Birmingham.

One trip to any particular city cannot give you the full picture of what that place represents. You cannot possibly experience all there is to experience in just a few days.

/rant

I think the problem was that, in this case, you COULD.

I knew it was coming. Thank you.

Oh but you DO mean to pick! ;-)

I didn't share all that I experienced, and I clearly didn't claim to experience everything. Those were the two large negatives I felt existed in Birmingham. I don't think you could deny either problem exists, or deny that if either were improved Birmingham would be a more pleasant area to live. The downtown area had lots of beautiful old homes and buildings that were really run down – extra commerce focused there would do more than provide an entertainment district, it would restore the local history. Also, race relations could use improvement in EVERY American city or town, so Birmingham certainly isn't alone in this criticism.

Additionally, my trip wasn't all bad: I got to try southern BBQ, I had a lovely time at a local state park, I found a Marc Jacobs purse on sale for 60% off at the Saks next door to the Cheesecake Factory, I met some very nice people, and I learned what a Kudu was.

I’m sure if you visited the city where I grew up you’d have hoards of things you disliked about it too. That’s fine – it’s not where you grew up, so of course some things would bother you. No big deal.

Michelle, what more could a girl WANT? ;)

What did Chicago have to do with this? I will preface this by saying I'm not a big fan of Chicago and won't be here too long.

You are from Northern California.

And what exactly do you have in Northern California? Nothing but high rents, dirty homeless people, and an endless population of complainers. If you didn't have the pretty areas like Sausalito, it would suck.

Talk about a second rate, wanna be NYC, but still suffering from a Napolean complex towards SoCal kinda city.

-Rudey

Northern California is such a joke. Isnt it full of a bunch of Hillbillies/Country People?

Yes. With the exception of a couple areas, the rest of it is hillbillies. It's even funnier that someone would talk badly about the South given that those areas suffer from the same...dearth.

-Rudey

Atlanta, Disney, Key West, Memphis

If you REALLY want to talk about Northern California, and not just the bay area , that includes Tahoe and north to the Orgeon border all the way down to about Monterey. There are not only hillbillies in that span of Northern California. Yes the central valley (around Stockton) has a lot of agriculture and "hillbillies" :rolleyes: (if that's what you want to call them) and I will be the first to admit that Sacramento, isn't really my favorite place to be, and isn't the most "happening" city, but that is not all that northern california consists of.

Charleston, Savannah, the founding cities for a multitude of sororities and fraternities -- Macon, GA, and Farmville, VA, just to cover six big sororities off the top of my head.

Hahaha, Disney makes the south not "culturally vacant"? You're funny. I do like Memphis though and Key West. But still, the heat! Yuck, I can't take it. :(

Yes you named some beautiful areas like Tahoe and Monterey but these are not booming places where people are coming to work. Oh yeah, Tahoe is soooo blue and Monterey has nice golf courses and a small aquarium. Those places aren't even connected by BART or whatever. In fact they remind me quite a bit of upstate New York.

-Rudey

Culturally vacant... vacant of WHAT culture, exactly?

I am not out here trying to convince ANYONE that the South is better than any place where y'all live. After all, I don't want you here anyway :p

I enjoy living in the South, and generally would not choose to live in the "North". I hate cold weather and I have a distaste for strong Yankee accents. However, that doesn't mean that the South is the only place in the US worth anything.

I think you have to live here to appreciate some of the finer points of Southern living... and if you aren't from here, I'm sure the vast majority of our way of life would seem ass-backwards to you. But when I go other places, I feel the same way.

I don't expect you to bow down and worship the lower half of the country. Just keep in mind that we are not always who you THINK we are. I take offense to being swept into the corner with the rest of the bible-beating, racist, gun-toting, "culturally vacant" trailer trash that many people think characterizes the South. You can be progressive and Southern.

The South was actually way more advanced than the North through slightly past the civil war if it makes you feel better.

But that is no longer the case. I don't think anyone is out there saying the South is just awful...ok some people are. But the fact is that the South no longer carries what it used to...

-Rudey

Hold up right there.....


Don't put Disney and Key West in "The South" category, because they're not. Florida is not "The South". Memphis and Atlanta type of cities are nothing like Miami, Key West, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Tampa, Orlando, Sarasota, Ft. Myers, St. Pete or Clearwater. :rolleyes: Florida is in it's own category. Thats like saying southern california is south-western.

so when I travel to Florida from Iowa I head north?
Didn't Florida have a town that just a few years ago still had white-only dining rooms in their restaurants?
Sounds South enough for me.