Vi har inviteret Sharon, Lois’s niece, Michael, Sharons partner, og deres 2
små børn, Lily Rose og ”Lille” Lois til middag i morgen. Sharon og Michael har
til hensigt at se nytårets væddeløbsfestival i morgen eftermiddag, og efter
slutningen af festivalen besøge os så vi kan spise aftensmad alle sammen og
bytte julegaver.
Tilbageblik til
den 1. januar 2017:
Sharon, Michael,
Lily Rose (til venstre) og Lille Lois (til højre)
slapper af i
sofaen efter aftensmaden.
Lois har besluttet
ikke at gå i kirke i dag. Hun planlægger i stedet for alt det der, at smutte
ind i det lokale Sainsburys-supermarked for at købe et par ting: først og
fremmest noget oksekød og to flasker rosévin.
10:30 Lois
skal af sted – supermarkedet har allerede åbnet for kunder, selvom kasserne
ikke åbner indtil kl 11 på grund af lovene, der fastsætter regler for åbningstiderne om søndagen.
Jeg går i gang
med at rydde op i huset og støvsuge overalt, bortset fra stuen, som jeg har
besluttet at overlade til i morgen.
12:00 Jeg
hopper op på min kondicykel for første gang i 2 uger og cykler 3 miles (5km).
Jeg tænder for min smartphone og lytter til en interessant diskussion på YouTube, der handler om Trumps sproglige stil
når det kommer til at holde tale, interviews osv.
Prof John
McWhorter af Columbia University siger, at Trumps stil grundlæggende er prunkløs.
Hans sprog ligner sprog, da det oprindeligt opstod mellem folk, som ikke havde
noget skriftssystem.
Trump gik i de
bedste skoler, men han lærte ikke noget på dem, siger McWhorter. Hans stil er
flot når det kommer til afslappede samtaler, men han bruger samme metoder i
vigtige, formelle situationer. Han plejer at tilføje ”tags” til sine sætninger,
for eksempel, ”du kan tro”, for at forstærke sin mening, eller for at bekræfte,
at sit publikum forstår ham og er ”på samme siden”. Han bruger også at bruge
sms-konventioner og forkortelser (fx lol) endda i formelle situationer.
Alt det der er
usædvanligt, fordi endda i meget primitive analfabetiskes samfunder er der både
et højt niveau og et lavt niveau, når det kommer til at tale, så høvdingen
plejer at tale på en forsigtig og velovervejet måde, når han henvender sig til
sit folk.
Trump har et
yndlingsudtrykke ”Folk ved ikke, at”, ”Mange mennesker ved ikke, at”, ”Folk er
ikke klar over, at...” osv, hvilket betyder for selve Trump: ”jeg har netop nu fået
at vide....” . Trump har lyst altid at være førerhannen, den, der altid er et
skridt forud. McWharter finder Trump mærkeligt halvvoksen, i betragting af, at
han faktisk er senior borger.
Trump bruger
sådanne udtryk som ”Du kan tro” eller ”Mere, end nogensinde før”, “Mere end, vi
nogensinde har set før” osv for at fylde ud sine taler, fordi han ikke har ret
meget at sige, når det kommer til konkrete idéer. Og ligesom i afslappede
samtaler gører vi ikke altid umage for at tjekke op på kendsgerninger, før vi
udtrykker en mening, gør Trump det samme, endda i formelle situationer og på
officielle anledninger.
Columbia Universitys Prof McWharter analyserer Trumps engelske stil
13:00 Efter
frokost går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Lois sætter
sig foran computeren for at deltage i sin kirkes gudstjeneste, der bliver sendt
på nettet. Desværre er der engang imellem afbrydelser i transmission af en
eller anden grund.
15:30 Jeg står op og kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg finder Morten Ingemanns
seneste tegneseriestribe. Du godeste! Jeg får lidt af et chok.
Danske Ingemann er min yndlingstegner
– ingen tvivl om det! Han interesserer sig især for grimme, overvægtige,
midaldrende eller ældre folk, de slags mennesker, som de fleste tegnere
sjældent giver opmærksomhed til.
Danske Morten Ingemann, min yndlingstegner.
Det, jeg godt
kan lide med Ingemann, er, at han har en ægte kærlighed til sine midaldrende
figurer. Hvor ofte har vi i fortiden set Milo, en midaldrende og grundlæggende
ensom og ynkelig mand, men samtidig en af Ingemanns yndlingsfigurer, fanget i
pinlige situationer med sin sexdukke?!
Men i dag er
det helt hyggeligt og lidt rørende at se Milo og sin dukke sidde side om side i
deres favoritte lænestole og vente på dronning Margarethes tv-nytårstale, som
et ældre ægtepar. De er begge to klædt i festkostumer og festhatter og der er
serpentiner og papirstrimler her og der.
Der fejredes tidligere på aftenen – ingen tvivl om det!!!
Milo har givet
sin dukke en tæppe for at dække sin nedre dele, hvilket er en rørende gestus.
Hvem siger, at en mand og hans dukke ikke kan etablere et fast og langvarigt
forhold? Det kan være, at dagen kommer, når staten vil erkende disse slags
forhold, og endda legalisere dem som ægteskaber, lige så meget som homovielser
og registeret partnerskaber. Hvem ved?
Samtidig er
Milo lidt bekymret over, om dukken vil ”komme med dumme lyde” under dronningens
tale. Jeg håber på, at hans frygter viser sig at være grundløse. Måske vil
tegneren, Morten Ingemann, opdatere os senere på dette spørsgsmål, eller det
håber jeg på i hvert fald.
Dronning
Margrethe, der i aften holder sin nytårstale
Dronning
Margrethe opfordrer danskerne i år faktisk til at ”prøve at gøre noget, der
ikke er nødvendigt, noget er ikke er behov for, noget unyttigt!”. Nogle dansker er faktisk i gang med at drille
hende lidt med dette råd på de sociale medier (”gør noget, der er unyttigt, som for
eksempel, at være kongelig”, sagde en twitter-bruger), men det er jeg enig med
hende i. Som politikeren Pia Olsen Dyhr har sagt, ”Livet er ikke kun arbejde,
livet skal leves!”.
18:00 Lois
fortsætter med at arbejde på vores spritnye puslespil – to billeder, der
fejrede Waterloo-banegårdens 100. jubilæum i 1948: det første skildre
banegården i krigstid, det andet banegården i fredstid. I dag koncentrerer hun
sig om at lægge en af puslespillets soldatergrupper, der findes i puslespillets
”fredstid”-område. Af en eller anden mysteriøs grund marcherer en gruppe
soldater i traditionel rød uniform med bjørneskindshuer ved banegårdens indgang
– du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!
Ved mørkets
frembrud er der ubesindig tale om ”begrænset fremskridt”.
vores
spritnye puslespil: ved mørkets frembrud er der
ubesindig
tale om ”begrænset fremskridt”.
Pludselig
falder det os ind, at vi har inviteret Sharon, Lois’ niece, og hendes familie,
til middag i morgen, og vi skal spise på dette bord, lige hvor vi har lagt
dette 25% færdige puslespil. Du godeste, et stort problem!
Lois forslår,
at vi bærer det ufærdige puslespil på en eller anden måde op ad trappen og
lægge den på dobbeltsengen i Sarahs gamle værelse. Mit forslag er at ”begrave”
puslespillet under et tæppe og en borddug. Måske vil vi komme til at glemme alt
om puslespillet, og det bliver fundet mange år senere af arkæologer – hvem ved?
20:00 Vi
lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program, der handler om Groucho Marx, de
berømte komiker. Programmets vært er den charmerende Matthew Paris.
Lois og jeg
elsker Marx Brothers’ film, som mange af vores generation, og det er utroligt,
hvor mange senere komikere og andre blev inspireret af filmene, herunder The
Goons (Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers), Monty Python, endda Beatles i deres
film, såsom Hard Days Night, Help osv.
Programmets
deltagere diskuterer rollen spillet af skuespillerinden Margaret Dumont, som
den dame, som brødrene brugte som skydeskive. Ifølge Groucho, forstod hun
aldrig vittigheden, og det drillede
brødrene hende i en uendelighed med. Dette heldige komponent gjorde hendes
scener endnu morsommere, siger programmets deltagere.
Man henviser til
den berømte scene, et stort middagsselskab, hovr hun beder Dr. Hackenbush
(Groucho) om at sætte sig på sin højre hånd og en anden gæst om at sætte sig på
sin venstre hånd, og Groucho siger, ”Hvordan skal du kunne så spise din mad?”
Margaret
Dumont og Groucho Marx (til højre)
22:00 Vi går
grinende i seng igen – ha ha ha zzzzzzzzz!!!!!
English
translation
We have invited Sharon, Lois's niece, Michael, Sharon's
partner, and their 2 little children, Lily Rose and "Little" Lois for
dinner tomorrow. Sharon and Michael intend to see the New Year's racing
festival tomorrow afternoon and after the end of the festival visit us so we
can have dinner together and exchange Christmas presents.
Flashback to January 1, 2017: Sharon,
Michael, Lily Rose (left) and
Little Lois (right) relaxing on the couch
after dinner.
Lois has decided not to go to church today. Instead, she plans to swing by the local Sainsburys supermarket to buy a
couple of things: first and foremost some beef and two bottles of rosé wine.
10:30 Lois goes out - the supermarket has already opened
for customers, even though the check-outs do not open until 11 o'clock due to
the laws that set the rules for opening hours on Sundays.
I get going with cleaning up the house and vacuuming
everywhere, except for the living room, which I have decided to leave till
tomorrow.
12:00 I hop up on my exercise bike for the first time
in 2 weeks and cycle 3 miles (5km). I turn on my smartphone and listen to an
interesting discussion on YouTube all about Trump's linguistic style when it
comes to giving speeches, interviews, etc.
Prof John McWhorter of Columbia University says that
Trump's style is fundamentally "unadorned". His language is similar
to the kind of language used when the phenomenon originally came about, between people who had no writing
system.
Trump went to the best schools, but he did not learn
anything at them, says McWhorter. His style is great when it comes to casual
conversations, but he uses the same methods in important formal situations. He
has a habit of adding "tags" to his sentences, for example, "...
believe me", to reinforce his opinion or to confirm that his audience
understands him and is "on the same page". He also uses texting
conventions and abbreviations (eg lol) even in formal situations.
All that is unusual because even in very primitive
illiterate societies there is both a high level and a low level of language in use, when it comes
to speaking, so that for example a chief will usually speak in a careful and thoughtful way
when he addresses his people.
Trump has a favorite phrase "People don't know
", "A lot of people don’t know that. ", "People don't
realise..." etc, which means for Trump himself that "I have just been
told that... ".
Trump always wants to be the alpha male, the one who is
always one step ahead. McWharter finds Trump strangely adolescent, considering
that he is actually a senior citizen.
Trump uses such expressions as "Believe me" or
"More than ever before", "More than we have ever seen
before," etc. to bulk out his speeches because he does not have much to
say when it comes to concrete ideas. And just as in casual conversations, when we none of us always take the trouble to check up on facts before expressing an opinion,
Trump does the same thing even in formal situations and on official occasions.
Columbia University's Prof McWharter
analyzes Trump's English style
13:00 After lunch I go to bed and take a huge afternoon
nap. Lois sits in front of the computer and takes part in her church's Sunday
service, which is being transmitted online. Unfortunately, there are occasional
interruptions in transmission today for some reason.
15:30 I get up and take a little look online. I find
Morten Ingemann's latest comic strip. My goodness! I get a bit of a shock.
The Dane, Ingemann is my favorite cartoonist - no doubt
about that! He is especially interested in ugly, overweight, middle aged or
older people, the kind of people rarely paid attention to by most cartoonists.
The Dane, Morten Ingemann, my
favorite cartoonist.
What I like about Ingemann is that he has a genuine
affection for his middle aged cast of characters. How often have we seen Milo, the middle aged and basically lonely and pathetic man (at the same time one
of Ingemann's favorite characters), caught up in embarrassing situations with
his sex doll ?!
But today everything is quite cozy and it's a little
touching to see Milo and his doll sitting side by side in their favorite
armchairs, waiting for Queen Margrethe's TV New Year speech, like an old
married couple.
They are both dressed in party costumes and party hats and
there are streamers and other party left-overs festooning them both. There must
have been some kind of celebration earlier in the evening - no doubt about that
!!!
Milo has given his doll a blanket to cover her nether
parts, which is a touching gesture. Who says that a man and his doll cannot
establish a permanent and long-term relationship? It may be that the day will
come when the state will recognize these kinds of relationships, and even
legalize them as marriages, every bit as much as same sex marriages and
legalised partnerships. Who knows?
At the same time, we have to say that Milo is a little
worried about whether his doll will "come out with any of her dumb noises" during the Queen's speech. I hope his fears prove to be unfounded.
Perhaps the artist, Morten Ingemann, will update us later on this question, or
that's what I hope at least.
Queen Margrethe giving her new year's speech
tonight
Queen Margrethe this year calls on the Danes actually to
"try to do something that is not necessary, something that is not needed,
something useless!".
I see that some Danes are in fact already teasing the queen a
little about this advice on the social media ("Do something that's useless,
like, for example, being royal," said one twitter user), but I agree with the
queen about this. As politician Pia Olsen Dyhr has said, "Life is not just
work, life is for living!".
18:00 Lois continues work on our brand new jigsaw puzzle
- two pictures celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Waterloo railway
station in 1948: the first depicting the railway station in wartime, the second, the station in peace time.
Today she concentrates on doing one of the puzzle's
groups of soldiers in its "peace time" area. For some mysterious
reason, a group of soldiers are marching in traditional red uniforms with
bearskins near the entrance to the train station - good grief, what madness
!!!!
By nightfall there is heady talk about "limited
progress".
Our shiny new jigsaw puzzle: by nightfall
there is heady talk about "limited
progress".
Suddenly, it occurs to us that we have invited Sharon,
Lois' niece, and her family for dinner tomorrow, and we shall have to eat on
this table, just where we have put down this 25% finished jigsaw puzzle. My god, big problem!
Lois suggests that we carry the unfinished jigsaw puzzle
somehow up the stairs and put it on the double bed in Sarah's old room. My
suggestion is to "bury" the puzzle under a blanket and tablecloth.
Perhaps we will forget about the puzzle and it will be discovered many years
later by archaeologists - who knows?
20:00 We listen a bit to the radio, an interesting
program about Groucho Marx, the famous comedian. The host of the program is the
charming Matthew Paris.
Lois and I love Marx Brothers' movies, like many of our generation,
and it's amazing how many later comedians and others were inspired by the
movies, including The Goons (Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers), Monty Python, even
the Beatles in their movies such as Hard Day's Night, Help, etc.
The program's participants discuss the role played by
actress Margaret Dumont, as the lady that the brothers used as the butt of many of
their jokes. According to Groucho, she never got the joke, and the brothers
teased her endlessly about this. This fortunate circumstance made her scenes
even more amusing, the program's participants thought.
They refer to the famous scene, a big dinner party, where
she asks Dr. Hackenbush (Groucho) to sit on her right hand and another guest to
sit on her left hand, and Groucho says, "How are you gonna eat your
dinner?"
Margaret Dumont and Groucho Marx (right)
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