So, tell us about your city

[#Classic Hi-Definition X]

Just as the title says.

Lakeland, FL (where I live):

- Population around 90,000 (will probably pass 100,000 by 2010)
- Located between Tampa and Orlando
- Spring training home of the Detroit Tigers
- Home to Florida Southern College, which houses the largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture in the world
- The first Red Lobster restaurant opened here
- Numerous lakes around the city (hence the name)
- The headquarters of Publix Supermarkets is located here
- The movie Edward Scissorhands was shot here
- Famous people who live(d) here include Faith Evans (singer), Ray Lewis (Baltimore Ravens), Joe Nemechek (NASCAR), and Forrest Sawyer (reporter)

Tallahassee, FL (where I'm at right now for college):

- Capital of Florida, located in the Panhandle
- Home to Florida State University and Florida A&M University
- Population over 150,000
- Won the All-America City award in 1999
- Hernando de Soto traveled through here in the 1500s

OK, now it's your turn.

[Mad Johnny Maxx]

Collins, Iowa.

Located right on Highway 65, it's a short drive to the capital of Des Moines and a short drive to Ames, IA which is home of Iowa State University.

Pretty much less than two square miles...last I knew, our track and field team does laps around here for practice.

And I'd say about around 700 people total live here...kind of a one horse town...and the horse got sent to the glue factory years ago.

[Citizen Snips]

Philadelphia, Pa

-Fifth biggest city in the United States (population)
-One time capital of the United States
-"The Birthplace of Independence", Philadelphia is where the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. Thomas Paine also printed "Common Sense" here.
-Home of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the world renowned Philadelphia Mueseum of Art (site of the famous "Rocky Steps") and what is hailed as the most impressive City Hall in the country.
-It has been 23 years since a pro sports teams has won a championship. No city with all four major sports has gone this long without one.
-Birthplace of Larry Fine, Stooge.
-Birthplace of Extreme Championship Wrestling, on the corner of Swanson and Ritner.

[frickinsweet]

Austin, TX

- Capital of Texas.
- Named in honor of Stephen F. Austin (not Stone Cold)
- City population is 690,252. Metro area population is closer to 1 million.
- Known as "The Live Music Capital of the World"
- Home of The University of Texas, the LBJ Presidential Library, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, and the largest state capitol in the United States.
- Celebrities from Austin: Lance Armstrong, Willie Nelson, Sandra Bullock, Stevie Ray Vaughn just to name a few (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Austinites)
- Notable wrestlers from Austin: Dusty Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes (Goldust), Paul London, Mark Henry

[Lenny: Smooth like Keith Stone]

Detroit, MI

* All the roads have construction on them
* We have a hip hop mayor
* Lots of crime
* Lots of homeless people
* WRESTLEMANIA 23

That about sums it up.

[erisi236]

Wilmington North Carolina:

- The town of Wilmington was incorporated in 1739.

- As of the census of 2005, there were 96,354 people, 40,649 households, and 19,398 families residing in the city.

- Wilmington is also known as the childhood home of basketball great Michael Jordan and journalist David Brinkley.

- 185 movies have been filmed in Wilmington including The Crow and Blue Velvet
- One Tree Hill is currently being filmed in Wilmington
- Actor Brandon Lee died in Wilmington

[cocainedbrain]

Decatur, Illinois

- Original home of the Chicago Bears, formerly called the Staley Bears.. or Decatur Bears.

- Was the murder capital of the world (based on population) 2 years in a row, despite being mostly upper middle class.

- Biggest claim to fame (aside from the Bears) was when 5 black students got expelled from high school for a big fight at a football game and Jesse Jackson came here to protest. There were KKK meetings held outside of our high school, which were locked down with snipers on top of the buildings. In the end, the police told Jackson that if he didn't take his protesters away from the schools, he'd be arrested. He was and was charged with trespassing and a felony for "mob-like actions."

- Had the first automobile fatality in the world as a man who was putting gas into his car got blown up. Obviously, this was before my time.

- Also had the first stoplight installed in the country.

- First home of Abraham Lincoln when he moved to Illinois to pursue his political goals. On May 6, 1860 the Illinois Republican Convention was held here. At this convention Lincoln received his first endorsement for president of the United States. It is kind of weird to drive past his house and realize Abe Lincoln once lived there.

- Has a series of books about it entitled Haunted Decatur, written by Troy Taylor. In them, he claims it to be one of the most haunted cities in the world.

- Despite only having a population nearing 80,000, it was on the top 5 lists of potential terrorist targets in 2001 due to our numerous factories and gas plants. Also, we have the HQ of ADM and the largest corn and wheat processing plant in the world. It was estimated at one time that nearly 60% of the corn and wheat produced in the US comes from our city.

All of this coming from a relatively small city that no one here has probably ever heard of.

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

Basically, Hiram,GA sucks. Oh, yeah, country music star Travis Tritt lives here. And "Big Bossman" Ray Traylor lived here around the time he died.

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France ( OK, I say Strasbourg under my avatar, but it' s next to Strasbourg, and Illkirch-Graffenstaden is unpronouceable if your not an inhabitant ).

Around 25 000 people ( maybe a bit more ).
Place of residence of Mehdi Baala, athletics World silver medalist, Europe bronze and gold medalist ( twice ), and winner of the Golden League in 2003 and 2006.
Named after a river that crosses it, called the Ill. The town is more often just calle "Illkirch".
Grew a lot in the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th due to its efficient factories. Today, you can still find machines and locomtives proudly showing "GRAFFENSTADEN" all over the world, and most of them still work and are still used ! Some factories also still exist.

One the cleanest places in France, we even got a price for this.



Also, the REGION were I live is were the Amish come from.

And here' s a shot of the Illiade, a place used for theatre, cinema and important cultural events in Illkirch-Graffenstaden :

[Michael Coello]

Former Home City: North Bergen, NJ

-Part of Jersey's 9th Congressional District(THE FIGHTING 9TH!)
-Close to Jersey City, Union City, West New York, and Guttenburg
-About 58,000 people, with a lot of Latinos.
-Notable Residents: James J. Braddock, James L. Brooks, Ice-T

Current Home City:South River, NJ

-Part of Jersey's 12th Congressional District(THE FIGHTING 12TH!)
-Close to New Bruinswick and Rutgers University.
-About 15,000 people
-Notable Residents: Troy Hill, Kenny Jackson, Frank Mula

[mo]

Amarillo TX

Nothing here at all really

-The Big Texan is pretty popular and was mentioned in the new WWE Magazine (either this issue or the last one)

-It was once the world's largest cattle auction place or something like that, don't know if it is now or not

-Hometown of Rick Husband, captain of the Columbia space chuttle that exploded, our airport is now named in his honor

-Hometown (either now or at some point)
-The Funks
-The Romeros
-Mike Knox ( didn't know that)
-Dennis Stamp (for all you WC fad lovers)
-Erik Watts
-Olympic Gold Medalist Brandon Slay, who was insulted by Kurt Angle when they came here in 2000 (Slay won the medal because his opponent tested positive for steroids)
-Art Bell
-Carolyn Jones, The lady who played Morticia in the old Addams Family series

Also, Oprah held a few of her shows here after being sued by some local cattlemen
also the basis of a lot of popular songs

[T.J. "the Crippler" Stevens]

Meriden, CT

-The Birthplace of the Steamed Cheeseburger

-Has Connecticut's highest mountain peak with it's famous Hanging Hills

-Nicknamed the Silver City due to it's high manufacturing rate of cutlery related items in the 1800's

-Usually just called the "Dirty Den" now

-The Robert DeNiro film "Jacknife" was filmed in Meriden

-The Real World's Paula (crazy, anorexic, drunken, psycho from last season and this season's Real World/Road Rules Challenge) is a resident of Meriden. I graduated High School with her and my friend dated her for years.

[Wolfpack Bitch]

Pittsburgh Basics

Home of the 5 time Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers

City Population: 350,363
Allegheny County Population: 1,336,449
Median Family Income (1997): $38,200 (within city limits)
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Median Home Sale Price (1999): $53,438
Average High Temperature (July): 82.5° F
Average Low Temperature (January): 20.8° F
Also Known As (AKA): The 'Burgh

Port: Pittsburgh is the nation's largest inland port, providing access to the extensive 9,000 mile U.S. inland waterway system.

Pittsburgh is within 500 miles of more than half the U.S. population, and the city is less than 90 minutes flying time from 20 states and Canada

Pittsburgh firsts:

Mr Yuk was created at the Poison Center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh after research indicated that the skull and crossbones previously used to identify poisons had little meaning to children who equate the symbol with exciting things like pirates and adventure.

Game 4 of the 1971 World Series was the first night game in World Series history, a series that Pittsburgh went on to win, 4 games to 3.

Pittsburgh's Civic Arena boasts the world's first auditorium with a retractable roof.

Allegheny County has more than 1,700 bridges, 720 within city limits, and 15 major bridges crossing downtown Pittsburgh alone.


The following movies were filmed in Pittsburgh :
The Mothman Prophecies
Wonder Boys
Dogma
Inspector Gadget
Desperate Measures
Diabolique
Kingpin
Boys on the Side
Houseguest
Sudden Death
Groundhog Day
Money for Nothing
Striking Distance
Hoffa
Lorenzo's Oil
Silence of the Lambs
Dominic and Eugene
Robocop
Gung Ho
Flashdance
The Deerhunter
Night of the Living Dead
Angels in the Outfield

Famous Foods originated in Pittsburgh
Iron City beer, Clark bars, Heinz Ketchup, Isaly's Chipped Ham and Klondik Bars

Famous Pittsburghers
Jeff Goldblum, Michael Keaton, Sharon Stone & Gene Kelly


And last but not least.. we have our own dialect.
www.pittsburghese.com/

[Andrew is Good]

Well, I currently live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, but they renamed a whole area around here the Halifax Regional Municipality, so that's kinda garbage.

Halifax, Nova Scotia
-Population around 385,000 people
-Sister Cities are: Hakodate, Japan, Halifax, England and Norfolk, Virginia
-One of North America's Major Hospitals (The IWK Children's Hospital)
-Canada's major naval base
-Canada's first permanent settlement (1749, over 100 years before Canada became an official country)
-Halifax also has Canada's oldest newspaper, printed book, university, government house, law school, among others.
-The birthplace of Basketball in 1892.
-Hometown of Sarah McLaughlin

Now, my hometown, Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, which I'll actually be moving back to in a week or so to stay there before I head out to Fort Mac.

Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia
-Around 7300 population
-Home of the Barra MacNeils and Bruce Guthro (who most of you don't know, lol).
-Was a mining town for awhile, from 1784-2001.

There not much to know about Sydney Mines because of its lack of activity. And just for fun, because I'm decently traveled (and will actually be moving to England very soon), I might as well talk about the place of my birth, and the place I will be heading to in January to make more money

Fort McMurray, Alberta
-79,810, counting all the people who come there around the world for work. Every race, creed and culture with one thing in common. Money. The actual population is 64,441.
-17% of the population is originally from Newfoundland & Labrador
-Large sites include Long Lake, Syncrude, Suncor, Albian Sands and others

[jcdenton]

Prince George BC Canada

About 70,000 peaple

Drug infested hellhole
Extreamly poluited
bad roads
very high crime

[4real]

I don't live in a city

[Spyke the Pacers Fan]

I'm gonna try to do this without using the typical "Sparta sucks" mentality many of us Sparta youth have.

Sparta, MI

-Is actually denoted as a "Village" rather than "Town" or "City"
-Located roughly 15 miles north of Grand Rapids
-Population: 2,400 (residents not living "in town" bump it up to 4,000+, i.e. people on the farms)
-Was originally called "Nashville." Named by it's original founder, Johnathan Nash. But when the city government was founded they voted to change the name, discovering there was already a Nashville, Michigan.

School Facts:

-Mascot: Spartans (Sparta Spartans... duh.)
-5 schools (Preschool, K-1, 2-4, 5-8, 9-12)
-Two high school teachers won Wal-Mart's Teacher of the Year award in 2004 (one of which is now a good friend of mine, and one of the few female Dungeons and Dragons players I know... wow, random.)
-Sparta High School's football team has made the playoffs 3 of the past 4 seasons, after never making the playoffs in over 100 years. But has yet to actually win a playoff game.
-Sparta has one of the best wrestling programs in the state, regularly winning state titles.
-Sparta's Girls Junior Varsity basketball team once went on a 56-game losing streak.

Other facts:

-Currently there are more pizza places than churches, Pizza = 6, Churches = 4
-The Sparta Lanes bowling alley serves as one of the few forms of entertainment in this town. Surprisingly, bowling is not that popular in Sparta.
-2nd leading producer of apples in the state of Michigan.
-Not a largely diverse town. Mostly white, with some Hispanic, very few Black and Asian residents. But despite this discrepancy in race, Sparta is a very racially tolerant town.

S'all I can think of. Despite the crap it gets by some of the younger crowd that lives here, it's really not a bad town.

[fuzzywarble, squat cobbler]

San Antonio, TX

-Seventh-largest US city in population (1.2 million)
-Home of The Alamo, the Cradle of Texas Independence
-#1 tourist destination in Texas
-Home to 5 universities and 5 community colleges, but we have no college football
-Schlitterbahn, the #1 water park in the world, is located 30 miles from here
-Home to wrestling superstar Sho Funaki
-Oh, and we have a pretty decent NBA team here

[SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman]

fuzzywarble said:

-Home to wrestling superstar Sho Funaki

And possibly Shawn Micheals.

[The Line]

Chewelah,Wa

-2200 residents
- one of our townsfolk was on THE AMAZING RACE, and the first LINGERE BOWL
-Another townsfolk of ours designed all the stages and whatnot for the latest rolling stones tour, including the one at the last Super Bowl.
-I live here.