While checking the latest and greatest news this evening I stumbled across a great story from the UK. It is a Reuters story on a study about how Britons over 52 are grumpy. Being the nice person that I am, I thought I would check the UK Reuters and include a link to the story from that site since there are so many UK gals here. Sure enough I found the story, but something else caught my eye. Both the US and UK sites have links to share the story on Facebook as well as other sites, and there is a tally next to each link as to how many times the story was linked. The results are as follows:

At the US Reuters site, the story as of 10p.m. eastern US time had been shared 57 times.
and
At the UK Reuters site, the story as of 10p.m. eastern US time had been shared 4 times. (one of those is me testing the counter, lol.)

I think that says a lot about the differences in our cultures and why we have many of the arguments here that we do.

US version:
http://www.reuters.com/ar[...]0101008

UK version:
http://uk.reuters.com/art[...]0101008

Maybe more fascinating is that the story made US Yahoo news and gained 335 more shares, but the story is not on UK Yahoo. Interesting censorship when you are talking this is a UK story in the first place. Do Britons ever laugh at themselves?

Hugs,
Marsha

All Brits over 52 are grumpy?
Something else not to look forward to.
My dream has been to take early retirement and then live full time.
I don't want to be a grumpy old woman.
What are the early signs?

Well done Marsha, I guess you really enjoyed another dig at us on this side of the "pond" You obviously didn't read Julia Sands post.
Firstly I'd say, as I've said a few times before, you shouldn't believe every thing you read in the press or on line.
You and the the reporter responsible for this garbage obviously know little about the "British Psyche" The article was based on the interviews with 2000 souls, hardly a representative sample. I don't know 2000 people over the age of 52, but those I do know are certainly not described in this article.

Do Britons ever laugh at them selves? A lot more often than I'll wager you do, but you simply wouldn't understand.

Huggles

Becca

hiya Mar...
knitting is god to while away the hours hun, painting your nails fiddly but hey your worth it!!!!!!!!!
trolling through reuters news leads like train spotting at JFK

loads of love and hugs cheeky sabini xoxo

I've just read an interesting article, it claims the US deliberately blew up that oil rig in the gulf so that an American company could take over the whole oil field? what rubbish, as if!!!
Next they'll be claiming that the US will invade other countries simply to gain access to their oil!!! oh, but wait? .......never mind.

Huggles

Becca

PS. I'm not sure I wish to be grumpy when I get old, but I sure plan on ageing disgracefully!!!!

PPS. My mum says 52 isn't old, grumpy old bag!!!! lol

LOL, I shouldn't really be surprised some of you took this story the way you have. At least Janis saw the humor in it.

Did the others of you notice that this is posted in the Transgender Fun forum? HaHa stuff, I think my last line was very appropriate, "Do Britons ever laugh at themselves?"

Next, I did not have to troll through reuters to find the story Sabini. It happens to be the lead story on Yahoo News - Odd News http://news.yahoo.com/odd
You would need to either be blind to miss it or close minded.

So Rebecca, what does your story on oil stuff have to do with "Fun", I must have missed that.

Geez Girls, laugh.

Hugs,
Marsha

I agree Karen,
Marsha, my reference to the oil rig story wasn't meant to be "funny" (although presented in a slightly humorous way), was merely to high- light the drivel published on line and in the media. I don't believe the rubbish you posted, nor my story, which incidentally, I didn't offer a link to as I don't wish to encourage such trash.

Huggles

Becca

LOL, I love it.

When talking with many of my longtime customers I use to say how people who knew me as Mark, will always see characteristics of Mark in me. And I go on to say but when I go out shopping or even standing in line at a restroom, nobody knows I'm anything but a woman. At LGBT socials, lesbians come talk to me just as they would any other gal.

That is what I use to say, but one day a customer of mine said, "No, I don't see Mark at all in you anymore. I see Marsha." That is when I realized it wasn't so much that they saw Mark in me, it is that they were looking for Mark in me.

That is exactly what is going on here. Many of you are looking for criticism. I really feel sorry for you. To live life in such a negative way when there is so much out there to enjoy, it must be painful.

In a forum at another website I was talking about having the support of my family, church, and how well my business is doing even with my transitioning. I got a reply that asked me to not talk too much about how successful my transition has been because there were others at the site who were deeply hurting because they have lost everything, and my positive story might hurt their feelings. LOL. I write that stuff to give hope to new gals coming along, not for you gals that have given up.

Do any of you see the point I'm trying to make. Misery likes company, and apparently many of you participate in that game. I am sorry, I have no intentions of wallowing in your misery. Focus all you want on the negatives in life, obviously when you repeat it enough you believe it. I have chosen to live my life in a positive way and because of that I have been successful.

Wallow in your misery, I will be happy to continue making fun of that behavior. Because for any gal to be happy and succeed in transitioning, they need a positive outlook on life. I want new gals that come here to know there is a choice.

Hugs,
Marsha

I believe you misread that Lucy, I said I will continue to make fun of that "behavior", I did not say I would make fun of the misery. And I intentionally worded it that way and just like I said, there are those that look for negative in everything and you looked for it and found what you wanted to believe I had said, and you were wrong. I see so many who look for excuses in everything that goes wrong with their lives. They literally look for the negative in everything. It is that behavior I adamantly disagree with and I feel it is exhibited here time and time again.

Feel free to talk about how I like to take jabs at the UK, because you along with others simply miss the fact you constantly take jabs at the US. Oh, let me add, maybe you didn't read Julia's post, lol. I guess that is ok in your book. At least I can laugh at that stuff and move on. So yeah, I see this stuff as funny.

Hugs always,
Marsha

Rebecca,
1) We all HEAR stories along that line ... "the US deliberately blew up that oil rig in the gulf so that an American company could take over the whole oil field? "
In fact one person here on another forum stated "Maybe this is a North American thing where they expect everyone else in the world to be just like North Americans or you will be bombed!"
***When people hear statements such as these, they should be a little more "free thinking" and consider where it came from.
2) we also here people stating things like "the US will invade other countries simply to gain access to their oil!!!"
I don't think many people realize that Canada supplies more oil to the US (25% of their total supply) and from a Canadian point of view...I don't think the US has any intentions of ever invading Canada.

-------------------------------------------------

"and my needs entwined, like ribbons of light...and I came through the doorway, some where... in the night"

*facepalm* You know, maybe...just for a while...we should all shut it when it comes to "humor" that might not be considered "humour" to others. I love my sisters from across the pond. I really have no desire to get into a slapping match when it comes to our respective countries.

Z

Hi Marsha,

Maybe you thought this was fun, but even a casual reading of these forums over the last couple of weeks should let you know it would not be taken that way. Not funny in this context.

Perhaps you'd like to be Moderator of the "Fanning the Flames Forum." And yes, I did mean "flame."

What were you thinking?

Melody

Thank you Karen and Melody, clearly this is not about Brit’s who don’t laugh at themselves; of course we do. Regardless of everything I’m about to say, I can’t see anything funny in this story, it just looks like Marsha having another laugh at the “UK gals”. Are you laughing with us or at us? It’s hard to know, it certainly appears you are laughing at us. Not that this would ever bother me, and just for the record, I am sure you meant it to be light-hearted, I noticed it was in the fun forum, and yes I do have a sense of humour. Please don’t accuse me of simply taking this story the wrong way.
There is a time and a place Marsha. Coming as it does in the middle of several threads that have deteriorated into a US vs UK theme, and someone threatening to leave over some such comments only makes this less funny, and let’s face it, it was never going to be a belly-laugh was it?
If you want to highlight the importance of laughing at yourself, then laugh at yourself, not at someone else. Don’t you get that? Don’t you see why it’s not really funny?
I’m not being a stuck-up stuffy old Brit, really I’m not, I am so not like that. I am just sick of people criticising certain aspects of another person’s country. You, Marsha sound like a stuck record sometimes; UK gals this, UK gals that. We are not all the same. We are not all bonkers. We do not all have misguided beliefs in our laws and our systems, and despite what anyone thinks about the government’s handling of transgender and other minority groups, us UK gals are doing just fine thank you very much.
When you constantly criticise stuff that goes on in the UK and the UK gals themselves, why should we then find something like this funny? Your “UK gals” comments are not always intended to be funny are they. Even your fellow Americans don’t think this is funny. I don’t think it’s the people who aren’t laughing who lack a sense of humour, I think your post lacks a sense of humour. I am sure you can do better, Marsha.

Please, everyone – stop trying to make out that your laws/systems/beliefs/sense of humour/whatever are better than ours. It’s nonsense. We are both civilised countries, and as individuals I am sure we all manage ok. Lumping us all together and implying that UK gals have a certain personality trait or a certain foolish belief is not helpful, not rational, and not funny.
Get it?
xx

Marsha, that is the sort of response I would expect from ASF. You’re not the only successful transitioner here, and I don’t think many, if any of the regular forum posters life their life in pain, wallowing in misery. I am glad your life is brilliant and I’d always want you to share that. My life is brilliant too.
But I’m sorry my plea has fallen on deaf ears, at least in your case. I am sorry too that you think it’s fair game to make fun of other people’s misery, that doesn’t sound very Christian to me.
I wonder if Mark was as stubborn as Marsha; heaven forbid that she should admit to making an error of judgement.
I do respect you Marsha, and I agree with you more often than you make out, but I think your “UK gals” comments are considerably less than positive. I’m not looking for criticism, I am trying to be constructive. For someone who is so critical themselves, you don’t take it very well.
Hugs to you from a positive UK gal who is definitely not wallowing in pain, misery and self-pity.
xx