Rita experiences at first-hand the freak storm that has brought devastation to Washington DC... The voice on the radio spoke with a heavy Indian accent. He was calling in to "The Talk Back" line, a feature on Washington D. C. station WTOP that invites listeners to call and vent their frustrations ... Read More...
Dispatches from the Former New World
A treat for you this week, as Rita vividly recalls her epic bus trip from New York to San Francisco, which included witnessing an extraordinary romantic encounter... The kiss was the longest, most passionate I had ever seen outside a movie. The passengers craned their heads above the seats for a ... Read More...
Batten down the hatches, its American politics again. Rita doesn't think much of the 'Citizens United' decision... Greetings my fellow American Persons! My name is Behemoth Inc. and I am thrilled to celebrate my newly minted power of speech with you today. First I must confess that I come from a ... Read More...
...Long time ago. Rita recalls some favourite American Eccentrics... For Americans, an enduring and beloved stereotype is the English Eccentric. Lauded in literature and film, the Eccentric retains his place of privilege in the pantheon of British life adored by Americans. The cast includes the Royals, cheeky Cockney lads, women with ... Read More...
Rita despairs at a crazy new variant on one of the internet's most persistent conspiracy theories... Birth Announcement Born, in the United States of America in the eighth year of the 21st century, of the marriage of Ignorance and Racism: the Notion that the duly elected President is not American-born, and is ... Read More...
Rush Limbaugh fans beware - Rita gets political again in this dispatch and she's madder 'n hell... I’ve had some female medical problems lately, so I did what any respectable American woman would in these times. I consulted my local congressman. Before seeing my doctor I want to be sure I’m ... Read More...
This week, the true story of how Rita got a visa to enter the United States of America... “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” These famous lines from “The New Colossus” by Jewish-American poet Emma Lazarus are engraved on the ... Read More...
In today’s dispatch, Rita enjoys the latest US reality show… There are two hit shows on American television so far in 2012. One is a fantasy, Downton Abbey, in which we learn how the British handled their 1% a century ago. Apparently they imprisoned them in big old houses, forcing them ... Read More...
How did the USA end up with a National Anthem that's almost impossible to sing in tune? Rita investigates... It is tortured to death every weekend in sports stadiums across the nation – the notoriously hard to sing National Anthem of the United States, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” A Mount Everest of ... Read More...
Rita finds that the vicious polarisation of American politics infects even the season of goodwill... Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, sated with turkey and family togetherness, Americans abandon their homes to participate in an ancient ritual known as Black Friday. It is a bit like Pamplona’s running of the ... Read More...