Happy July 4th, er July 2nd, wait… August 2nd, or 30th?

 John Adams wrote, and I quote:

 “the Second of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”

Okay America, what's going on here? This time last year it was 90F and sunny. Last year I sat in the sun and watched the local July 4th parade go by, and  cultivated a nice tan in my first few weeks adjusting to my new home country.

Today it's almost 90F, cloudy and muggy as hell (is hell muggy? I'd guess so).

But wait a minute, now you're telling me that July 4th isn't actually Independence Day? What mockery is this? John Adams reckons it should be celebrated on the 2nd (actual vote of independence) but those pesky Brits didn't even know about US independence for another six weeks!

Philadelphia, where it all happened, didn't celebrate until July 8th, and that was just with a parade and some gun fire, not a whole boat load of fireworks.

Incidentally, I also found out from Emma at Philly Love Notes that every July 4th in Philadelphia thousands of people head down to the waterfront at Penn's Landing and wait for fireworks. And wait. And wait some more. Because there are none. They're on the other side of the city.

The mental image of hoards of people bemoaning a lack of firecrackers cracks me up almost as much as when fireworks prematurely explode.

I tested this out on my US family and asked when the last time they saw July 4th fireworks on the waterfront.

Them: Hmm, several years ago at least.
Me: At least thirteen.
Them: No, not that long.
Me: No, I'm telling you, they haven't had fireworks there for at least thirteen years.
Them: Really? No. They happen there every year. Do you want to go this year?
Me: Uuuhh…

Philadelphia seems to have this collective false memory about the location of their fireworks. Is this the plot of M Night Shyamalan's next movie? As Emma later tweeted:  How do you convince 1000s of people not to show up to a fireworks show that doesn't exist?

If you're planning to head down to Penn's Landing tomorrow and take photos/video of disappointed patriots, please share the photos with me. I'd love to see them. As for me? I'll be at another parade this year. I promise to share some photos with you.

What are you doing for this most red, white and blue of holidays? 

Glad Notes: What does the DOMA repeal mean for immigration?

A few months ago I blogged this photo of one of Philadelphia's murals. This mural was completed in 2002, and the mural arts website states "It's a street party in an idealized Philadelphia".

The issue that the repeal of DOMA brings to the fore is that of equality between all of the residents and citizens that live in this big broad country. The New York Times published an excellent history of the cultural and political movements that led to where we are now.

The DOMA repeal is a step towards equality for all married couples in the eyes of the government. As Michael Barbaro from the New York Times noted:

As far as I understand it, repealing DOMA gives equal benefits access to couples who are married and live where their marriage is recognized. It does not force (or even encourage) other states to recognize all marriages, or give equal benefits access to all couples. Incidentally, gay marriage is banned in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and most of the US states, so the mural in Philadelphia is still an "idealized" street party.

Now, as I'm an immigrant to the US, and an immigrant purely because of my marriage, I'm interested in understanding what this means for US spousal immigration.

There was originally language to cover same-sex marriages in the latest US immigration bill, but it's been removed. However, US spousal immigration requires a marriage to be legal and recognized in the state or country where the marriage took place. Now that DOMA is being repealed, the federal government does not determine the legality of a same-sex marriage, the states do.

Previously, gay binational couples could not settle in the US at all, as reported in a NYT article I linked a while back. Now, it seems, they can.

Can anyone let me know if I've understood this correctly?

Glad Notes: A Play, a Pie, and a Pint

Next week, on March 6th, the Society Hill Playhouse here in Philadelphia will be launching their third season of A Play, A Pie and A Pint. This is a casual dinnertime theater special for just $15, where theater-goers enjoy an original short play, along with a choice of beverage and a slice of pie.

This tasty theatrical treat actually originated in 2004, in my old stomping ground at the Oran Mor, a beautiful pub and arts/events space in Glasgow, Scotland, just a stone's throw from my student apartment and campus. It was often the perfect for satiating my appetite for culture and pies, while appeasing my student budget.

Play/Pie/Pint is a sneeky, ingenious way to encourage non-traditional audiences to try out a trip to the theater and boost income for the arts. In Scotland they run matinees for the lunch-time crowd, so we'd catch a cheeky wee pint, lunch and a bit o'culture between lectures. Seeing a Philly incarnation amused me a lot!

Just one caveat: In the UK, pie means meat wrapped in pastry. Here in Philly it refers to a slice of pizza. I hope the quality of the beer and theater is universal though, because Philadelphia has some great beer and an excellent craft brewing scene, and fantastic arts and cultural scene. I look forward to trying it out!

Glad Notes: The musical fruit

Have Americans really never heard of beans on toast? 

Recently a good friend of mine asked me if this Reddit thread was based in truth. It kind of is, and kind of isn't. America has beans, and America has toast, but beans on toast? Not so much. But that's because there are some subtle differences between the US and UK concept of beans.

I'm not a UK baked beans fan. I don't like the orange sweet tomato sauce - so much so that the sight of beans irks me out. In the UK beans on toast is 1. A breakfast item and/or 2. A significant part of  most UK university students' diets. Except me. It was really hard being a student in residences and having to live with other students whose diets consisted almost entirely of beans on toast.

I am a US baked beans fan though - especially BBQ maple bacon beans. The other day I heated a can and poured them over a slice of toast for what I thought would be an acceptable brunch. I may never have eaten beans on toast before, but that's the way I thought it was done. I almost caused a UK-US diplomatic-domestic incident going by my husband's reaction. In the USA beans are part of a dinner meal - a side for corn dogs perhaps.

Here are 17 random facts about beans, beans on toast, and Heinz, which is probably the most well-known bean brand in the UK. I tried to get to 57, but ran out of, er, beans.

1. According to Heinz, the company invented beans on toast in 1927. 

2. Heinz Foods was founded in Pennsylvania in 1869.

3. Pennsylvania is known as 'The Keystone State'.

4. The Pennsylvania Keystone symbol is seen on many Heinz products, including Heinz Beanz and Tomato Ketchup.

5. The first can of Heinz Beanz was sold in the prestigious London department store Fortnum and Mason.

6. Classic Heinz Baked Beanz in tomato sauce is number three of the Heinz 57 Varieties. 

7. I've been told I have a Heinz 57 accent because it's influenced by so many regions and is very difficult to place.

8. There were more than 60 Heinz Varieties when the marketing phrase Heinz 57 was invented.

9. Beans on toast counts towards your daily vegetable intake. 

10. During WWII the UK Ministry of Food classified baked beans as 'essential'.

11. Baked beans aren't baked, they're stewed.

12. "Old Bean" is a slightly old fashioned term of affection still used in the UK.

13. The French equivalent of "Old Bean" is "Mon Pote" but pote does not mean bean.

14. "Haricot" means "bean" - does that mean a can of haricot beans literally means bean beans?

15. "There is no physiological harm from the flatulence caused by eating beans" - The British Dietetic Association.

16. Sitting in a bath of baked beans is a common fundraising strategy in the UK.

17. The Guinness record for most baked beans eating in five minutes using a cocktail stick is 258.

Glad Notes: What makes a Brit proud to be a Brit?

Marks, Sparks, and Migration: How Brits and British residents feel about the UK

Last week my Marks and Spencer slippers got a lot of loving from my readers, many of whom also received Marks and Spencer's footwear and/or sleepwear during the festive season.

Now there's demonstrable proof that M&S really does have socks appeal. This week a poll by think tank British Future revealed that M&S makes 4% of Brits feel proud to be British.

Though to be fair another UK department store, John Lewis, also allegedly makes 4% of Brits feel proud to be British, and of course these two stores pale behind other institutions that make Brits proud, ranking below the UK National Health Service, Military, and Olympics sportsfolk to name a few.

Pure socks appeal

Incidentally another recent poll, albeit run by a British bread company, claimed that Brits are most proud of their sense of humor and the lush green British countryside. Sturdy y-fronts, cosy slippers and emotive advertising didn't even get a look in (you've seen John Lewis's famous Christmas ads, and Marks and Spencer's salacious food porn, yes?).

On a different note, the British Future poll highlights Brits' unease and concern over the issue of immigration. Brits claim immigration causes the 'most division in British society as a whole today' above inequality, politics and even ethnicity. The poll also indicates Brits' general perception that immigration negatively affects housing, crime, employment and the NHS. The majority of those polled did however believe that immigration had a positive effect on football, fashion, food and entrepreneurship.

Interestingly, although six out of ten Brits wouldn't want to be citizens of another country, the poll suggests that immigrants to the UK are on the whole more positive and more optimistic about Britain and the country's future than natural-born Brits.

The UK coalition government is currently implementing new immigration reforms, with the overall aim of significantly reducing the UK's immigrant population. Regular readers of the Glad Blog will know that I have strong opinions about these latest immigration reforms.

A cross-party Parliamentary group is currently undertaking an inquiry into the new family migration rules, and individuals who have 'direct experience of the new family migration rules' are encouraged to provide written evidence by the deadline of 31st January 2013. I'm eager to see the results of this inquiry so I'll be sure keep you updated.

Finally though, I couldn't find data on the percentage of those born outside the UK that feel pride for M&S and their indoor winter clothing, but I have asked British Future and will report back to you on that too!

Glad Notes: Which Bunny Booster?

Welcome to Glad Notes, where I'll ponder cultural quirks from the New World (namely North America) and the Old World (Europe, mostly the UK). Those strange little facts that really bring no meaning to your day, but maybe you'll be glad you discovered something new.

As a Brit living with an American husband, I stumble across these things almost every day - usually in the midst of, or because of, some light-hearted marital dispute. The plus side of our cultural misunderstandings is learning useless new nuggets of information… Which I can share with you here.

Which Bunny Booster?

It's that time of year when TV commercials gain seasonal relevance. In the UK it's perfume adverts and supermarkets, and in the USA it's anything which could possibly have a vague link to Christmas - such as batteries for all those Christmas lights and annoying kids' toys.

Mark and I once watched a typical UK commercial for Duracell batteries, with pink bunny and all. Mark found it far more entertaining than anyone should find a battery advert.

Mark: Ha ha ha! Don't you get it? It's funny because they're making a play on the Energizer bunny.

Me: The what? That's the Duracell bunny. It's a thing.

Mark: No, it's the Energizer bunny, Duracell are copying them.

Me: Uh, it's always been the Duracell bunny. Energizer doesn't even have a bunny.

Mark: You're wrong.

Turns out we were both wrong. 

Energizer does have a bunny. 
But Duracell didn't copy it, Energizer did. 
And you might never see the Duracell bunny in the USA.

Duracell started the rabbit battery thing in 1973.

Energizer did a blatant tongue-firmly-in-cheek copy in 1989.

The edgy Energizer bunny gained far more traction in the USA than the cutesy Duracell one. It didn't initially work out well though. Duracell outsold Energizer as people associated "pink bunny" with "Duracell batteries". Oops.

That was until Duracell's trademark expired in the USA, and Energizer snapped up the bunny booster trademark. The Duracell bunny was chased out of North America and went into hiding in the Old World.

So this is why the phrase "Duracell bunny" is ingrained into my cultural subconscious to mean something that just keeps on going, but for Mark and other Americans it's the phrase "Energizer bunny". Mark insists the Energizer bunny is much better, but the traditional cuddly qualities of the Duracell counterpart are much more appealing to me. I detect a bit of cultural bias towards our own bunnies, as it were!

I think that demonstrates in part how pervasive cutesy commercial icons can become. We grow up with them, and they become part of our cultural identity.

Over the past few years the UK has been dominated by Russian meerkat insurance peddlers. They've become so popular that they sell plush toys, they sponsor one of the UK's highest rated prime time shows, and a Scottish aquarium proudly advertises a mob of meerkats amongst their stingray and starfish.

I thought I'd have a hard time explaining to my mother-in-law why Russian meerkats sell car insurance. But she instantly fell in love with them, proclaiming her desire for a meerkat plush.  The site doesn't operate in the USA though, which is a missed opportunity.

I realized there was no explanation needed. Then the same thing happened to me in Macy's at Thanksgiving. My mum and I saw a rather charming pyramid of plush ducks that yelled like an angry Philadelphian when squeezed. We had no clue what they were, so we bought two.

On the train back a woman asked if she could squeeze our Aflac ducks. We happily obliged and she thanked me graciously as the duck yelled AFLAAAC.

Later during the Thanksgiving parade we saw the same duck trundling above the streets of New York. A commercial followed, explaining the good work that Aflac does. Later again I saw this bizarre commercial, where the Aflac Duck raps in a battle against a pigeon.

It turns out the Aflac Duck is a seasonal thing. I didn't know. I didn't need to know. I already loved it.

We love our commercial cultural icons. It's a universal matter of forming a strange cultural identity. Just ask the Japanese, who seem to have an anthropomorphic character for everything.

AFLAAAAAAC.