Yankee Culture

Yank Culture is the best culture, mate. I have no qualms at all marking up this page, since I was born on this dirt. If you only have a minute to spare, watch this [advert] and you'll at least have a stale view of Yank Culture. 
As pointed out by some Kiwi ratbag, we're bloody cultural imperialists.
If y'all were lucky enough to get to KohaCon2009 Plano then you should already have a feel for the American Southwest. 
==Listen==
[Louis Armstrong]
[Bon Jovi] Slippery When Wet
[Johnny Cash] Fulsom Prison Blues
[Ella Fitzgerald]
[Grateful Dead] Friend of the Devil
[Billy Joel] Go with the Greatest Hits (yeah all of 'em) or just "She's Always a Woman" if you haveta listen to just one.
RedCloud Death of a Salesman
[Carly Simon]
[Bruce Springsteen] Born in the U.S.A.
==Watch==
[Animal House] The only tears in this classic comedy should come from you laughing too hard.
[Craigslist Joe] A documentary where the maker travels on good karma for a month.
[Detachment] A hard hitting, award winning drama that hits way too close to home about substitute teaching in an inner city school. Arslan actually suggested this to me, though not for this page.
The Simpsons (If you've not seen the Simpsons, I assume you live under a different rock than I do.)
[Thelma and Louise] The ultimate chick flick.
==Read==
[Ceremony] Leslie Marmon Silko
[Gila Monsters Meet You at the Airport]
==Geography and Politics==
We have many great States and a handful or so of Commonwealths. WikiMiniAtlas will let you pick Nevada up and drag and drop it to say New Zealand so that you can get an idea of how big it is by comparison. While the State where one grew up will tell you a lot about someone, where someone's went to University, where their family has their roots, and where they work now is all part of the story. States within the same [Region] tend to be more similar to one another than two States one might pick on at random. Americans are free to move from State to State for work and play, and you won't need a new visa when you cross State lines. :) 
The unit smaller than a State is a County. Cities and towns lie within the boundaries of a County. So you have a formula like this: Town of Guilderland, County of Albany, State of New York.
You might hear someone talking about [Red States and Blue States] while you're here. Red States tend to be conservative and were carried by a Republican. Blue States are Democratic. Nevada, like many other States, is a purple State. So you should meet folks from both sides of the fence.
You'll definitely hear talk about the government shutdown. It's still not sorted yet. Senator Reid is from Nevada, so I expect a lot of chatter.
==Travel==
Americans <3 their cars.
Hitchhiking is different here. You probably are best advised to not take rides from strangers. In many places, such as on some State and Federal highways, it's illegal to hitch, and you could get arrested. If you do hitch, it's probably best to do so with a friend.
For long distances, air travel is the most common method of transport. 
Be sure to join the roadtrip to Tahoe. :) It's epically scenic.
==Baseball==
Yeah, that's right. Not sports, baseball.
While you're in Reno, it's going to be the last wee bit of baseball season. They're called the boys of summer, and real fans lament that things haven't been settled by now thanks to those sissy expansion teams.
Before the World Series comes the pennant races. There are two divisions. The National League and the American League.
Since the [only team that matters] isn't in the running, you simply must support Boston. No one supports Detroit. They cheat. Also, they had the most losses in AL history.
Meanwhile in the National League, it's the Cardinals versus the Angels. No one really cares who you support over there, since the [only team that matters] decided to rest this season.
Game One of the World Series is slated for the 23, which is when most of you fine folks will be leaving.
If you don't get how baseball works, feel free to ask Brooke for an explanation.
===American Football===
It's been rumoured that some people watch this nonsense. This season has been chock full of some very strange things happening and some really bad interceptions. It's early in the season, so no one really cares who you support.
Category:KohaCon13