> That certainly makes sense. It's difficult, sometimes, to become familiar with entities on a map that you only know by name. If you ever visited out here, it would probably make all the difference.

Maybe. I can memorize political boundaries from a map, but my spacial orientation is... well, nonexistent. Although I suppose identifying state x with memories z sub x, y sub x, and a sub x would give me at least a little something to go on. Otherwise, it's almost like memorizing poems in a foreign language-- it's all Greek to me. [Actually, I was thinking of it being meaningless, memorizing syllables and sounds, but I haven't slept very much, nor have I eaten anything since 5:15 yesterday morning save some birthday cake and not much of that, I walked for about two and a half hours longer than usual, and I was rather hyper and so expended even more energy, left the party early at 8:30 and still had an hour drive to get home with a friend so I couldn't sleep then and it's past lunchtime, so right now that seems rather funny. I'm sure it won't make sense later. Just thought you might like to know.]

> And, in all fairness, we eastern state people, especially New Englanders, have a slight advantage, in that we *do* relate to most if not all the "little" states, and I don't need to "relate" to Alaska to remember where that is. Then again, there is that "one of those square state" syndromes here, where eastern state folks can't tell one western state from another, because they're all rectangles. (Never mind that only two of them are actual rectangles.)

Hee. I think everybody but those living there thinks that. That's the only place I've ever traveled enough to be slightly familiar with [...my aunt's house, my grandmother's house, my other aunt's house, my other aunt's house, and several college campuses...] and the first thing I think of when I think of the area is the fifth grade report I did about Utah where I discovered they were all simple geometric figures.

> > Heck, I didn't even know people there talked funny! :-)
>
> Ha. Not all of us. My parents are New Englanders, but their accents aren't strong, and I grew up all over the world, so I talk pretty generically.

Not strong by outside standards or by NE standards?

> I'm curious about something: if Hollywood were just next door to Boston, would the "normal" American accent be Bostonian, and all you folks out west be quaint?

Well, normal American for me is set by the fact that my parents grew up in California and most of the people I know who are from out-of-state are from the rectangle-state area. :-)

I guess I figured there was no "normal" American accent. I thought people heard Southern American or Eastern American the same we hear South German or North German.

You're probably right, though. I'm sure Hollywood has a large impace on people's views of normal American. Never really thought about it.

> > Show you to tsk in my general direction!
>
> :-) No excuses. Get out a map and wave to me.

[looks down at book] Hii-ii! Hiii, Sam! Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! [hand waving furiously, knocking things over]