There are no cats in America, and the streets are paved with cheese...

I wanted to tell you all about a really interesting multi-part documentary series that premiered last week. Faces of America is airing on PBS and follows 12 celebrities as they learn more about their family histories and ancestors. Henry Louis Gates Jr. (you all remember him , don't you?) is the host and he makes these really neat scrapbooks for the people with historical documents and photos teaching them about how they came to be in this country, and interesting things their distant relatives did.

One thing I think is remarkable is how cut off from their family histories so many of the people seemed to be. I always thought this was something that primarily concerned black Americans because of the legacy of slavery. But there were many white participants in the program who didn't know very much about their pasts.

Another thing I noticed was that, when faced with no information we tend to fill in the blanks with information that a lot of the time, is not accurate. For example, Mike Nichols always thought that his late father (who was a doctor,) had scraped and struggled to put himself through medical school. Nope, turns out Nichols' grandfather had made a bunch of money from owning a gold mine in Russia.

I know I would love to participate in something like this, because I would really like to know as much as possible about my past. I am looking forward to hearing more, particularly from the black participants--to see what kind of information Dr. Gates can compile for them.

Faces of America airs Wednesdays (that's tonight!) on PBS, check your local listings for times. You can also watch the premiere on their website if you missed it.

Did you see the first episode? If so, what did you think? Would you want to participate in a project like this? Why or why not? How much do you already know about your family history? Are there any specific things you already know that you'd like to examine more in-depth?

You're what the French call, "Les incompetent"

Bonus points if you know what movie that's from...

There was an SNL sketch many years ago (Jimmy Smits was hosting) where they were in an office and trying to decide what they wanted to eat for lunch. They were mentioning a lot of Mexican dishes, and every time they did, they said them with this really exaggerated Spanish accent. This was during one of SNL's "not funny" periods, so it wasn't that entertaining.

BUT, it did get me thinking-- What makes it weird/funny for people who aren't native Spanish speakers to use an accent when saying Spanish words? When a person uses a French word or phrase, the expectation is that he/she will attempt to replicate the correct French pronunciation. What makes it different for Spanish?

Say my two examples out loud...
Example: Je ne sais quoi. If you know this phrase, chances are you said it much like a Parisian would.
Example: Enchilada. Not so much with this one. What's up with that?


My theory is because French is seen as being cooler and more sophisticated, and Spanish is not. Why? Because white people speak French, and brown people speak Spanish.

Which leads me to a somewhat related topic--Spaniards. When you think of a person from Spain, do you associate them more closely with Europe, or Latin America? Do Spainiards consider themselves "white"? For that matter, do lighter-skinned Europeans consider themselves "white", or is that a concept that stays within the borders of the U.S.A? Inquiring minds want to know.