Alvin Lee Message & Discussion Board
Thanks for joining in the conversation!
Reg, my post last eve about diversity among American accents was intended as information, "just in case", though I did realize you might be generalizing for humor's sake. My blurb this eve about blowing popsicle stands and jumping ship from the tour bus and such, however, was meant to be droll and rhetorical rather than informative-- hence my adding "of course" at the end of that portion, such phrase generally being regarded as a nod to shared knowledge. Of course! ;-) Nothing "strange" about my not having used the word "metaphor", as that word would not in the least have conveyed the humorous nuances I was after. Do you imagine *Laurie* doesn't know the term? Laurie is an English teacher's daughter, was an honor student in advanced placement English courses, and was a supervisor in an academic library for a number of years. Cough back at ya! ;-) As for the interpersonal dynamics at an all girls' secondary school with a nearly all-female staff dealing exclusively with those girls at that mind-bogglingly difficult, hormones-from-hell rollercoaster age: quel horreur! I might run screaming from the joint myself, to tell ya the truth! Surely you don't believe that one very specific context, however, with its own set of influences and considerations, displays the entirety of feminine behavior? Said behavior is often incrediby complex, and in my view (and the view of a great many women), largely beyond the ken of mortal men, heh. You may or may not have fully understood or fairly assessed everything you witnessed, you know. ;-) There is also the serious issue of women and girls who have been severely "patriarchalized" and brainwashed away from some aspects of their natural tendencies, and often greatly damaged thereby. This just isn't something most men have any clue whatsoever about, and many men arrogantly scoff or poke fun at the mere idea or mention of it, tsk. But it's for real. And how. Yes, stereotypes are often true, but the ones you applied toward me earlier today weren't true of me, that's for sure! I think you're making rather a lot of assumptions about me when you don't really know me or my life and circumstances. I've been under enormous stress and dealing with insufficient sleep in recent weeks, for example, which can make a difference to how anyone reacts to something. For most of my life, I've had a good ability to laugh at myself. Such a trait doesn't oblige me or anyone to laugh at anything and everything someone dishes out, though. And-- men taking ribbing better than women?? Say WHAT?? From other MEN, maybe!! Also, I don't think you can generalize about Americans, a massive and massively diverse crowd, not being able to laugh at ourselves as well as UK people. That hasn't been my experience at all. Though there ARE Americans with a lot of influence from recent UK ancestry in various regards. Myself, for one. :-)
Thankyou for your information on the history of the metaphor - which strangely you neglected to identify by name - although Reg was, in fact, already in possession of the basic necessary knowledge of the literary device involved.
Reg also taught in an all girls' secondary school - with a nearly all female staff - for sixteen years, so he saw, heard and generally experienced rather more of 'female interpersonal dynamics' than any man has any need to do. Suffice to say, he can confirm that some stereotypes become such as a consequence of their essential veracity; and that, in general, the most 'infuriating' thing about such unflattering stereotypes - whether of men or women - tends to be when this is pointed out. Men are from Mars and women are from Venus, and all that.('Although an occasional posting from Uranus is always welcome too, Reg', you may be thinking. Cough.)
There's a lot more 'ribbing' to come, it has to said. A lot more. Part of the difficulty may be that, when it comes to the international league table of 'as a nation we don't mind laughing at ourselves', the UK tends to be rather more highly placed than does the USA. Men can also take it better than women. And if a woman tends to be of a more sensitive and highly strung nature ... well, you get the drift.
Nevertheless, Reg is glad you're staying on board, Laurie. From now on your condition as a more than averagely sensitive, American female will be taken into account. Please have some feelings for Reg, as you observe him in future chapters being the one on board who will be most to suffer at his own literary hand.
And now Reg must get on with the tour. No further correspondence will be entered into. It is what it is. And what is that? Simply, an attempt to provide the maximum amount of information with the maximum amount of humour (at everyone's expense) for the purpose of providing the maximum amount of overall entertainment. Just remember that. And you won't go far wrong.
I do hope this tour continues, Reg. I appreciate the work you have done in adding "identities" to us all. I found it quite amusing. Not having the advantage of photos, it was always going to be guesswork, but I feel sure that it's all in the spirit of fun.
Laurie, please forgive Reg's rather British sense of humour! We Brits DO take pleasure in laughing at ourselves rather more than some peoples, and maybe Reg assumed we were all similar. Sorry to hear you're having a bad time at the moment, and hope things improve.
I,too, am having a rather poor time, and am hoping to receive some comforting humour from all the passengers, including you too, Laurie!
Take care and buckle up!
Re: I'm Going Home/Gene Vincent
Thanks for the good wishes, Tony! :-) Sorry to hear you're not having such a hot time of it, either, and truly hope things improve for you as well. I love and am quite familiar with British humour. I'm three-quarters British in ancestry, some of it recent, and I've watched a lot of British comedy shows. I do think it's a good thing to be able to laugh at oneself, and those who know me well know that I do so all the time. Not just when teased, but I'm generally able to poke fun at myself with great good humour. However, yesterday it was the timing, not the essential nature of British humour, that rubbed me the wrong way. I'll wager I couldn't stroll up, say, even to a British streetfight, roundly twit the guys going at it with masculine stereotypes about testerone overdose and bantam rooster syndrome, and expect the lads to drop the fisticuffs instantaneously and burst into appreciative laughter on the spot. I rather suspect I would be putting myself and my humo(u)r distinctly at risk, in fact. Likewise, I wouldn't walk into a British funeral and expect the grieving parties to take kindly to my sudden unsparing jokes about their newly-bereaved status (not that I would really tell any at such a time). My point is that even Brits have their limits to being ribbed-- and there's nobody as verbally scathing as a Brit whose ire has been aroused, either. Unless it's a German. Head for the hills, either way! ;-) Had Reg picked a later date to apply a bit of rueful good-natured humour to the fact of a prior tiff between Robin and me, AFTER she and I had broken the ice and made up, not WHILE she and I were just first getting back in touch with each other and feeling our way, I might well have found it funny. Then too, it's easier to laugh at oneself when one can actually SEE oneself in the image being presented. Alan's ribbing by Reg was funny because Alan is, in fact, a Scotsman. I may be a Witch, but I don't dress like Stevie Nicks (well, I do love and sometimes wear velvet or satin or such in romantic, fanciful, antique designs, but I wouldn't be caught dead in ugly clunky platform boots, and anyway I'm already 5'10"); I only wear black on Hallowe'en; I don't glower (I usually have quite a twinkle in my eye, and I smile and laugh a lot); I don't turn green when/if a man pays attention to another woman (Sisterhood is Powerful, and besides, I have never lacked for male attention); I don't go around saying "Duh!" or even "Tee hee!" (though I do write the latter now and again, heh); I rarely wear eye make-up, except onstage (such as back in my ballerina days) or to the odd party; and I am most definitely not brunette. If Reg can actually capture something of me for myself to laugh at, then I will do so, and with pleasure. If he fails, perhaps he can use the occasion to laugh at himself? ;-)
Laurie, please forgive Reg's rather British sense of humour! We Brits DO take pleasure in laughing at ourselves rather more than some peoples, and maybe Reg assumed we were all similar. Sorry to hear you're having a bad time at the moment, and hope things improve.
I,too, am having a rather poor time, and am hoping to receive some comforting humour from all the passengers, including you too, Laurie!
Take care and buckle up!
Thanks for the good wishes, Laurie. I enjoyed reading your reply and happy you're still on the bus!
Let's hope things improve all round. Life's too short.
Thanks, Tony! I agree! Glad you're on the bus too. Who knows what amazing adventures await us all? :-)
Let's hope things improve all round. Life's too short.