Wednesday, June 27, 2007

This is for you, dammit

I don't know. There I was, committing an act of great altruism and love, and what do I get in return? Petty quibbling on whether the Republic of Ireland can actually be considered a part of The British Isles or not.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not some uneducated twirp who thinks England is the name of all the countries thataway, forrin geerrl as I may be. I am speaking purely geographically - not geopolitically - when I claim that The British Isles is the name of that island group. To me, this smacks of the reluctance of the Canadians to be known as North Americans - which is, of course, abject nonsense, because they just are, ok?

Anyhow. Just in case this matter needs any clarification, I sent my beautiful, 22-hours-a-day Finnish sun over to comfort a weather-violated friend in the Republic of Ireland. You had better be nicer about it after this clarification, as I am wondering whether such a magnanimous act was altogether wise - it has gone down to + 16 here and it is absolutely pissing down (my summer holiday starts in two days).

For good measure, I'll send another sun. The first one can be for the weather-beaten friend who is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, not only in The British Isles, but also in Great Britain. So there.
aurinko ei laske

18 comments:

Merkin said...

One Ireland. Simple.

Anna MR said...

Simple indeed, Merkin, I quite agree with you there. It is just too bad that not everybody seems to find it as simple a matter.

However, I would like to emphasise I wasn't planning on opening a political can of worms here (although should you or someone else wish to do so, go ahead - but keep it civil, or I'll have to turn nasty - you don't want to see that). I was first and foremost committing an act of altruism and love, and, secondarily, merely making a geographical point. To illustrate further - for instance, Finns don't like being mixed up with the Swedes either (hey, who does? Oj då, ursäkta mej, mina svenska vänner, jag gillar er faktiskt, jag skojar bara), but it is alright to consider Finland a part of Scandinavia (which, really, we are only socio-politically, not geographically or indeed linguistically). Similarly, Central Europeans are Central Europeans, even if you fry them in butter.

Come on, you know I'm right.

Merkin said...

West of Scotland man says it is still a major can of worms, and I would never open it coz you just can't get it emptied.
I have family members on all sides and have no problems in insulting anyone from a position of strength.
i would have no problems in getting stuck in as a Devil's Advocate on CiF or somewhere like that.
Not here.
I am here for the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.
My one visit to Scandinavia was last Century when I recorded under the famous Cato Sanden at his
studio in Bergen.
Funnily enough, I always think of a record of his, 'Crossroads of My Life', when I see your title page.

http://tinyurl.com/yqee9a

The link is to a story I did on Ducky's site about recording in Bergen.
Enjoy.

Anna MR said...

"I am here for the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll."

Merkin, you really know how to talk to a bloggin' girl. Well done. A most stylishly avoided can of worms, Finland salutes you...

Off to look at your link now.

Merkin said...

ale, fajna = 'but, fine' ie great
zajabisty = 'fan-fucking-tastic'

the inclusion of the English within a Polish word is just a little bit of fun on my part - but which my friends in Poland liked.
There would be people, still, who speak no English but will say zaja-fucking-bisty.

Anna MR said...

Thank you for satisfying my linguistic curiosity, Merkin, and do note I will probably shamelessly borrow zaja-fucking-bisty whenever the mood grabs me.

Great link, too, enjoyed it very much.

Merkin said...

Better give you the sounds too.

'z-eye-a-beastie' is the easiest way to break it down.

I don't use the International Phonetic Alphabet very often coz it doesn't really get it (for me) with Polish

nmj said...

Both suns welcome, anna, honey, a sight for sore eyes x

Anonymous said...

They are both very beautiful pictures, Anna MR, and NMJ has it right - they are a sight for sore eyes.

Any petty quibbling over the status of the Republic of Ireland must surely be (temporarily) forgotten in the face of such wonders?

Peace, surely, has broken out, between this wretch of a friend and your most fragrant self?

Kind regards and light petting etc....

TPE x

Anonymous said...

Merkin - thank you for the pronunciation key. Instinctively, and due to my smattering of terrible Russian combined with my (really very good) innate understanding of the pronunciation rules of Finnish, I had a pretty much correct idea of how it was said. However...

I am inordinately fond of the phoneticalisation of the word, though. It is very good and funny in its own right.

Anna MR said...

NMJ, honey, my heart went out to you when you were describing your sweet peas. Give them some of the sun, too, won't you? But only a little, because more importantly, I want you to soothe your soul with it.

xx

Anna MR said...

TPE, wretch of a friend - I like the idea of peace "breaking out" so much I am almost prepared to pretend there hadn't been an ongoing state of peace between us anyway, because that ongoingness would make the breaking out unnecessary, and that would be a shame.

To quibble petti(ng)ly with you is also always a delight.

xx

Anonymous said...

'quibble petti(ng)ly'
That sounds nice.
Yum Yum Yum.

Anna MR said...

I'd know those yum yums anywhere. Behave, Merkin.

Merkin said...

Apologies, Mr Anna et al.
I read it a 'nibble pettingly'.
Ooooops, again.
My eyes, honestly.

Anna MR said...

Let us never forget our good breeding and nice manners, even if our eyesight sucks, Mr Merkin.

Anonymous said...

Precisely.

Merkin said...

Ooooooh, I can feel my backside stinging in such a virtual way.