(no subject)

[jadesfire]

Well, we can officially put last week's frostiness from my Legal Foundations course class down to nerves. They were much friendlier this week, and although the lecturer had to compress 2 hours of lecture into 1, she did a great job. Did I mention that I love the lecturer? She's one of those people who you feel lives at the edge of a chaos curve, but is incredibly knowledgeable about her subject.

The basic thrust of the lecture was that British law is what judges make of it, which I think I already knew, and how they get around precdent. Or don't. Something like that. Anyway, I think I learned something. Possibly.

Quick PSA: Do not listen to The News Quiz in any kind of confined public place like, say, a coach from London to Oxford, as the underpant jokes will cause you to embarrass yourself by snorting.

Quick favour request: Is there anyone out there who could make a little graphic for me? Please? I need about 500 words turning into a little picture so that it looks like a newspaper clipping. I could probably figure out the font, but making it into a full graphic is more than beyond me.

Did I mention how much I love wi-fi on the coach? It's about as much as I hate business men who spend the ENTIRE JOURNEY having a loud conversation on their mobile. *stabbity* Thank goodness for Radio 4 podcasts...

Comments

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

I'm off to bed right now but send them to me - and how big you want the final image to actually be and I can take a stab at it tomorrow.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hon :) I've just heard back from a rather confused beta, so it's going to need some editing before I can do anything with it. But I'll be in touch!

[mad-jaks.livejournal.com]

Oh and I found this - http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp

I Copy and pasted 500 or so words and it seemed to work okay except for a bit of silliness with warping the punctuation.

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

I heard those "pants" jokes on the News Quiz, and then somewhere on American news/humor later in the weekend, maybe Saturday Night Live? Anyway, I laughed harder at the News Quiz bits because they just got carried away. :)

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

The 'pants' jokes were more like Round the Horne than anything else (which is on BBC7 if you haven't heard it - highly recommended) and just hilarious. It was one of those programmes that seemed to be all tangents, which are definitely the best type :D

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

"I love your stories, Sandi, but I'm starting to not believe them. 'I was in a convent...'"

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

I'm listening to Round the Horne now on the radio iPlayer, but I'm completely lost. It's an episode from 1967 and I think the innuendo and parodies are whizzing by my head since I don't have reference points for them. I can't tell if they're commenting on anything that was current at the time. So I'm afraid I can't tell how it's similar to the News Quiz crew's pants jokes -- Round the Horne sounds pretty crazy, but I also get the impression it's scripted. (Granted, I get the impression that the folks on the News Quiz come prepared with a few rants and humorous comments, so I guess you could say when they manage to work those in, the New Quiz is semi-scripted even beyond the questions?)

Oh wait. You probably meant the somewhat baudy nature of the pants comments, didn't you?

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Round the Horne is possibly an acquired taste - it is scripted, but it's very, very rarely commenting on current events. The occasional celebrity mention, but mostly it's relying on good old double entendre. Maybe that's just a very British sense of humour that doesn't translate well.

It was famous for being able to make incredibly filthy jokes while being broadcast at Sunday lunchtime, so yes, I meant the pants comments were similar in tone to that ^_^

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

Americans do double entendre too, I promise. Probably not as elegantly as the British, but I understand the concept and do find that type of joke amusing. I just wonder if some of the specific jokes may be cultural and era based. I *know* the French do double entendres, but I've had very able French students in my class who didn't get American jokes of that type. Some of the terms they're using in Round the Horne, I don't even know the first meaning, so I can't relate them to a second meaning.

There was a skit with a man and woman making references to the lives depicted in TV advertising, and I was able to follow that even though I hadn't seen the 1960s ads. I think this may be a case of jumping in without really knowing what I was listening to (though I read the Wikipedia article), and I just need some time to get adjusted to the pacing, style and characters so I can work out what they're doing. Even when I started listening to the Friday Night Comedy podcast, it took me a few weeks to settle in to the format (especially with the Now Show) and be able to follow comfortably. You'd be surprised at the things we become familiar with in our own culture that are initially bewildering to people from another culture, even though they are technically not complicated. By culture, I mean even things like individual families or groups of friends within a school. When you move into a new situation, it takes some time to be able to go with the flow.

That sounded more lecture-y than I intended. I know this wasn't supposed to be an academic exercise, sorry! I will give Round the Horne some more time and see if that helps me.

Update: It's getting funnier! There's a character named Rusty Pigfumbler. :S

(You're going to hate me for all these edits...) Finished a second listen, concentrating better - it took me two tries to get "sorbet"/"sore Bet" and not til the second time did I realize I wasn't *supposed* to know what fumblejugs, nadgers, splod, munging and wirdle mean. *g*

[thalia]

I'll take a stab at the graphic if you want. thalia@destinysgarden.net

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Ooh, neat, thanks :) Mad_jaks has also offered upthread, but I know where to find you! Much appreciated!

[crystalshard.livejournal.com]

I'm sure I can find someone to invent a mobile phone jammer . . .

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

If it didn't inconvenience me (I ring to let J know when to pick me up) I'd say that all buses should have them. Maybe one that cuts you off after 5 minutes? That seems reasonable ;)