Monday, August 04, 2008

Maps on Monday



An alternative map of the United States where each state is named after a country with a similar Gross Domestic Product, courtesy of The Big Picture.

Hmmm.

So California is France, Texas is Canada and Florida is South Korea. Sounds about right.

But wait. What is that state in New England just to the west of New Hampshire, sorry I mean just to the west of Bangladesh? It's the Dominican Republic, now part of New England and therefore part of Laser Class District 7.


That's an in-joke that I'm going to have to explain.

While chilling out over beer and burgers after the Buzzards Bay Regatta this weekend we were joshing with Ari Barshi, owner of the Laser Center in Cabarete in the Dominican Republic, who has been sailing a number of the District 7 (New England) Laser regattas this summer. Not only that, but most of the New England Laser sailors present in the group had also had the pleasure of sailing at clinics and regattas hosted by Ari in Cabarete. So over the third (or was it the fourth) beer someone proposed annexing the DR to D7. Then over the fifth (or maybe the sixth) beer some bright spark suggested holding the District 7 Championship in Cabarete next year. Why not? We might get more than seven entrants that way.

Seems like the map was prophetic. Move over Vermont. Welcome Dominican Republic.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Beer, Burgers, Buzzards Bay."

Quelle alliteration! Incroyable! Fantastique!

Docker d'O
Californie,
Etats-Unie

Tillerman said...

Pleased to see that some of you Califrancais know your new language. Now where is my Vietnamese dictionary?

Joe said...

Maps on Monday, what a great idea!

Carol Anne said...

Her English is too good, he said,
Which clearly indicates that she is foreign.
Whereas others are instructed in their native language
English people aren't.
And although she may have studied with an expert
Di'lectician and grammarian, I can tell that she was born
Hungarian! Not only Hungarian, but of royal blood,
she is a princess!

(thanks to STLYRICS.com for the words)

Tillerman said...

Thanks carol anne. According to my map you are now a Hungarian grammarian yourself.

Carol Anne said...

Unfortunately, the only Hungarian words that I know are "goulash" and "paprikash." Oh, well, at least I'll eat well.

Now, if I were up in Nebr -- er, pardon me, the Czech Republic, there are two words that have moved into the English vocabulary: "robot" (slave) and "ahoj" (pronounced "ahoy"; hello/goodbye/peace/aloha/shalom). I have since learned some other important vocabulary: "pivo" (beer) and "na zdravi" (to life/cheers).

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