#51: Plano, Part 72,396.The Plano plotline has definitely turned out to be one of the more unexpected and amusing tangents in our project. It is the sort of thing we could never have anticipated before launching the vote and has garnered a lot of strong opinions from people all over the country and the world.
Today, we woke up to find this opinion piece in The Dallas Morning News; the headline ("Sour Krauts") sums the article up pretty well. I must admit that it was surprising to find this as their lead editorial in a weekend edition--it's blush-worthy and exciting. If anyone in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area has a copy they can mail us, we'd appreciate it.
It's entertaining that even though the article takes an offended stance in regard to the German phenomenon, it still seems to be encouraging people to send us to Plano... so ultimately both parties are pushing for the same result. The piece also serves as a nice foil to the video segment produced by Plano Wired. It also provides a lot of interesting information about Germany's current emigration trend, something Nina and I were unaware of.
xoxox
Danny
Labels: D+N in Print, Plano
posted by Danny&Nina @ 11/25/2006 12:27:00 PM
12 comments
12 Feedback:
I just read the DMN article. Yes, Texas is Republican, but to say that we are immoral and racist is just plain silly! For goodness sake, we are in the Bible Belt!
Texans are warm and welcoming. I'm a Pennsylvanian who moved here in the mid 60's. I love Texas. You couldn't pay me enough to move back to the Rust Belt!
The most scenic part is right in the center of the state (Austin to San Antonio and west of that line).
On your list, I voted for Austin because of the scenery and night life. But all of your listed Texas cities have a lot to offer and you would be welcomed in any one of them.
Best wishes!
I think it's downright cruel to send any thinking person to Plano. I voted for you to come to where I live in Pennsylvania.
There's nothing in Plano. No where to go and nothing to do. Their idea of an artful museum is the "Southfork Ranch," a setting for the 1980's TV show "Dallas." Weekend entertainment consists of high school football. The Germans are right about Plano; it is a hotbed of Bible-thumping right-wingers who have little time for free-thinking people.
Houses are cheap, though (duh!).
I'm going to post a link to your website and ask people who know to send you anyplace except a "Red State."
The Southfork Ranch is not in Plano. It's not that bad of a place, but if you do end up in Texas, go for Austin. It's the only town that fits what you both say you are looking for, plus the average home price is still 165k. Plano's not too bad if you like Generica, it did have a wave of killer heroin in the late 90's, so avoid that please.
Suburb is as Suburb does. At least you would have a Whole Foods in proximity....
...and in Dallas County Bush received 50% of the vote to Kerry's 49%, so it can't be half bad now can it. I would say it is more of a purple county, maybe leaning to the maroon side of the spectrum.
Austin is awesome but lacks professional sports, one of the DANNY requirements. I am an Austin kind of girl and yet the Dallas area is growing on me. Any metroplex has lots of options for art and sports, hell in Big D they even have NASCAR.
Red State, Blue County Girl
All those mean Europeans making fun of our beloved Texas, simply O-U-T-R-A-G-E-O-U-S! :-) - No, seriously, the authors of this - err ... - impressive piece of investigative journalism in the DMN had probably only very little material to their disposal: This bizarre hate message on your forums by the person called "Lyzia" and the (somehow misquoted) English SPIEGEL article in Spiegel Online's international edition (that seems to be their source).
Kind regards from Berlin/Germany,
Christian
Texas is bei uns Dtl. eine Lachnummer und wirds auch immer bleiben...
I personally wouldn't recommend anywhere in Texas anymore. I've lived here 30 years and I'm heading North. Unless you enjoy spending inordinate amounts of time in air conditioning, look elsewhere. However, Plano would be the last place on earth I'd live. It's charmless and sterile at best and populated with folks who apparently had too much college and not enough high school. Take a look at the Great Lakes area, Wisconsin maybe. Stevens Point may be one of the nicest towns in America. You'll find the beer is fabulous, even by your standards.
Hey, I have lived and studied in Texas from 1996 to 2000 in Texas, and lived close to the dallas area. I have also visited Plano more than once during that time! I also need to mention that I am German :), born and raised in Germany. Plano is not to far from Dallas, Ft Worth Arlingon. There are lots of fun things to do in these Towns. Most Texans are very friendly warm hearted people, yet they tend to be less knowledgeable of the rest of the world. They don't care what happens in NY or anywhere else, I mean the state is twice the sice of Germany and has close to a 4th of population of what Germany has.
I think everybody should make up their own oppinion about Texas and or Germany before starting to point fingers :)
Texans are naive and lack somewhat a worldview, and are conservative. Germans are uptight, somewhat unfriendly and very liberal. This said, they are worlds appart and do not speak the same language :).
I love both worlds since they are part of my life, yet I do love Germany more, and I dislike the Texan President of yours.
On a further note, www.ehrensenf.de is an online satire video blog which brings out a very zynical video clip every day in which they make fun of german politics and world news and show some (in their oppinion) cool websites, gadgets and games on the net. It is like a daily show, maybe like LateNightShow or others, but on a less professional level.
Wow, the author of that article seems to be very bitter....as do some people who have left comments here.
While I can't say I love the heat in Texas, I do happen to be a free thinker living in Plano.
I think these last two or three statements really get to the point: Sure, Ehrensenf's approach *is* a joke at Plano's expenses, but certainly without any malicious intend (and I still believe the vast majority of Ehrensenf viewers realizes these are clichés and not reality). Plano Wired's reaction was quite mature and humorous as well, I have to say ("I'm looking for a German speaker" - "I drive a BMW" LOL). The only ones who got everything wrong were the DMN people ... :-(
Why all the hate for Plano? There is not one U.S. city that is without its drawbacks. The Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex is full of museums, arts, culture and night life. Yes, it does get hot in the summer and the conservatives can be irritating, but you can have a great life in Texas!
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