Growing up, I have heard this story often:
Once upon a time in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat, contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle. The frog hopped into the princess's lap and said: "Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am and then, my sweet, we can marry and setup housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so.
That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on a repast of lightly sauteed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled to herself and thought: I don't f**king think so.
So the morale is for all you guys out there: don't let an evil witch cast a spell on you. Stay true to yourself :-)
Friday, 27 January 2012
Saturday, 21 January 2012
The Queen of Denmark since 1972
Last weekend when I was in Denmark, it happened to be the 40th anniversary of the Queen of Denmark. I went into town to see the Golden Carriage with HRM and the Prince travel from the royal castle to the town hall of Copenhagen together with my mum. We had a nice day together with a many other people who were there to take part in the celebrations.
I am not a royalist as such but I admire her. I think it is impressive that a woman past 70 goes on a sleighride across the Greenlandic Ice to camp in a tent. She speaks at least 3 foreign languages at a level to express herself artistically. And she is an artist and an inspiring public speaker. And she does it all with a fairly relaxed attitude. She is natural and unpretentious.
As long as the Monarch can act as an inspiration for ordinary people and represent the country to the outside world in a favourable way I think it is worth supporting.
I am not a royalist as such but I admire her. I think it is impressive that a woman past 70 goes on a sleighride across the Greenlandic Ice to camp in a tent. She speaks at least 3 foreign languages at a level to express herself artistically. And she is an artist and an inspiring public speaker. And she does it all with a fairly relaxed attitude. She is natural and unpretentious.
As long as the Monarch can act as an inspiration for ordinary people and represent the country to the outside world in a favourable way I think it is worth supporting.
Borgen
Recently a British bloke told me excitedly how he and his wife are watching the new Danish TV-series Borgen on BBC. They enjoyed it but had to pause it every now and then to discuss: "it is a bit unusual with all this political stuff" he explained.
His comment surprised me but then I realised that it was because I come from a culture where most movies and TV-series are political. Some are funny, some are serious, some are only funny to Danes but most take a stand politically or raises questions. It's normal for us.
The Danish mentality is very critical and sarcastic. It means that if we are not careful, foreigners might feel hurt or accused by a statement which was only an attempt to be funny or seem clever.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/
In this episode Birgitte Nyborg goes to Greenland. She suggests to one of her closest advisors that she will apologize to the leader of the Greenlandic homerule but is advised against it as an apology could incurr costs. In this case it is obviously a political decision about her position in relation to Greenland but it is also an example of how serious an apology is taken by the Danes. Compared to the English, we consider much more carefully if we were at fault and if we are willing to pay for our mistake before we apologise.
His comment surprised me but then I realised that it was because I come from a culture where most movies and TV-series are political. Some are funny, some are serious, some are only funny to Danes but most take a stand politically or raises questions. It's normal for us.
The Danish mentality is very critical and sarcastic. It means that if we are not careful, foreigners might feel hurt or accused by a statement which was only an attempt to be funny or seem clever.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/
In this episode Birgitte Nyborg goes to Greenland. She suggests to one of her closest advisors that she will apologize to the leader of the Greenlandic homerule but is advised against it as an apology could incurr costs. In this case it is obviously a political decision about her position in relation to Greenland but it is also an example of how serious an apology is taken by the Danes. Compared to the English, we consider much more carefully if we were at fault and if we are willing to pay for our mistake before we apologise.
Suspiciously happy
Danish people don't do compliments very well. If you say something nice to a Danish person, you might get a reply like: what do you want from me? Especially when complimenting a woman you know on her looks, she will often say: so I don't normally look good? Don't get me wrong, the tone is jokingly friendly and it is only meant as a diversion because our Jantelov does not allow us to show if we are proud of ourselves or might agree with the compliment.
In general Danish people can be very suspicious if someone is too carefree and happy. Not that it meets disapproval, but you are less likely to be taken seriously in the Danish culture if you don't criticise anything. People will think you are either fake or a little slow.
I have met English people who seem to think like that but in Denmark that attitude is predominant in schools and the media, so you constantly get these attitudes reinforced.
The English media appears more focused on telling a story where the Danish media usually try to anticipate if the events of the story will have any consequences and if they are good or bad. Or if the motives behind the actions in the story were good or bad.
You can't change everything all the time and that is hard to accept if you have always been told you can change the world. While we need to be critical of some things in life, it is up to each individual to choose what is worth our attention. And why not try and spread some sunshine by pointing out the good things about other people in the process?
In general Danish people can be very suspicious if someone is too carefree and happy. Not that it meets disapproval, but you are less likely to be taken seriously in the Danish culture if you don't criticise anything. People will think you are either fake or a little slow.
I have met English people who seem to think like that but in Denmark that attitude is predominant in schools and the media, so you constantly get these attitudes reinforced.
The English media appears more focused on telling a story where the Danish media usually try to anticipate if the events of the story will have any consequences and if they are good or bad. Or if the motives behind the actions in the story were good or bad.
You can't change everything all the time and that is hard to accept if you have always been told you can change the world. While we need to be critical of some things in life, it is up to each individual to choose what is worth our attention. And why not try and spread some sunshine by pointing out the good things about other people in the process?
O'Manne Light: Ironien forsvandt i en bundløs trusse
O'Manne Light: Ironien forsvandt i en bundløs trusse: Ting veninder siger til hinanden, når det bliver lidt akavet: I dildobutikken, efter at have stået med en vibrerende dims i hånden i ubort...
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)