I love humor, but my mind is like a sieve for jokes. I swear I can't remember a single one. Maybe you can help with that. I love how the Japanese have 'dad' jokes too. And all the subtle distinctions here!
The only other language I really know well enough to be funny in is Italian. I love some of their linguistic formations, per esempio how you can attach and "s" prefix to any word to negate the sense, like "fatto" (done) → "sfatto" (undone), and how this can also be used for slang formation.
German always just sounds funny to me, and of course British place, recipe, and especially pub names are a source of endless amusement. Can't wait to get back to Chunder Heath!
Our Israeli friend is one of the most blunt people I've ever met. As a person who is also blunt, presumably because of being autistic, I thought maybe she was just autistic like me!
Which now has me pondering the unexplored (as far as I know) cultural components to what gets labeled as autism in places like the U.S. and U.K. Some of the cultural quirks you described could also describe common traits attributed to autism. I used to date a German and would wonder to myself, is he autistic or just German? Lol.
Which also has me thinking about how many autistic ways of being are so often not even perceived in some cultures as anything out of the ordinary, which demonstrates howl differences that get medicalized in the U.S. and U.K. are just social constructs, because the hyper-capitalist culture cannot tolerate any differences that are less useful for production and consumption.
I was once on a Zoom call with a group of strangers and one was an older Dutch woman. When she started to speak, she was muted and a younger woman immediately started to explain to the older woman how to unmute. The Dutch woman, quick as a flash and sharp as a blade scolded, "Do not presume I don't understand how technology works!" I about fell out of my chair with silent laughter. It was awesome. The younger woman looked like she very much wanted to curl up and die. I hope to be so unapologetically outspoken when I am an old woman. Certainly working on it in my middle age!
Yeah, that tracks. I was doing a boat tour in Amsterdam with an American tour guide who had lived in the Netherlands for twenty years. He told us how when he saw a Dutch friend after many years, the Dutch friend looked at him -- the American, who had put on weight -- and very bluntly said, "How did you get so fat?"
We were there less than a month, half of that with very good friends. So our interactions with locals were somewhat more limited than usual. All I can say is I didn't love it because as a local friend put it, basically all of the Dutch are somewhere on the edge of the "spectrum." We're probably going back next year, so it will be interesting to see!
I enjoyed Suburra (the series) for all the dialects but it's a crime drama, not a comedy!
Thanks for this Nolan!
I love humor, but my mind is like a sieve for jokes. I swear I can't remember a single one. Maybe you can help with that. I love how the Japanese have 'dad' jokes too. And all the subtle distinctions here!
The only other language I really know well enough to be funny in is Italian. I love some of their linguistic formations, per esempio how you can attach and "s" prefix to any word to negate the sense, like "fatto" (done) → "sfatto" (undone), and how this can also be used for slang formation.
German always just sounds funny to me, and of course British place, recipe, and especially pub names are a source of endless amusement. Can't wait to get back to Chunder Heath!
I don't know any Italian, but I've noticed that "s" when people speak. Are there any funny Italian movies you recommend?
Our Israeli friend is one of the most blunt people I've ever met. As a person who is also blunt, presumably because of being autistic, I thought maybe she was just autistic like me!
Which now has me pondering the unexplored (as far as I know) cultural components to what gets labeled as autism in places like the U.S. and U.K. Some of the cultural quirks you described could also describe common traits attributed to autism. I used to date a German and would wonder to myself, is he autistic or just German? Lol.
Which also has me thinking about how many autistic ways of being are so often not even perceived in some cultures as anything out of the ordinary, which demonstrates howl differences that get medicalized in the U.S. and U.K. are just social constructs, because the hyper-capitalist culture cannot tolerate any differences that are less useful for production and consumption.
Sorry, I realize this veered off the topic of cultural humor!
Wow, that was indepth and interesting! Having spent time in the Netherlands, I can attest to Dutch bluntness. It's truly breathtaking!
I was once on a Zoom call with a group of strangers and one was an older Dutch woman. When she started to speak, she was muted and a younger woman immediately started to explain to the older woman how to unmute. The Dutch woman, quick as a flash and sharp as a blade scolded, "Do not presume I don't understand how technology works!" I about fell out of my chair with silent laughter. It was awesome. The younger woman looked like she very much wanted to curl up and die. I hope to be so unapologetically outspoken when I am an old woman. Certainly working on it in my middle age!
Yeah, that tracks. I was doing a boat tour in Amsterdam with an American tour guide who had lived in the Netherlands for twenty years. He told us how when he saw a Dutch friend after many years, the Dutch friend looked at him -- the American, who had put on weight -- and very bluntly said, "How did you get so fat?"
Thank you, Michael! Did you find the bluntness off-putting, or did you get into it after a while?
We were there less than a month, half of that with very good friends. So our interactions with locals were somewhat more limited than usual. All I can say is I didn't love it because as a local friend put it, basically all of the Dutch are somewhere on the edge of the "spectrum." We're probably going back next year, so it will be interesting to see!