Rolf-Peter Wille
Mitglied
I found this entry in my journal [Taipei, 2015]. It leaves me "with one auspicious and one dropping eye":
This Tuesday I made a joke about the moon that ended almost as tragically as the jokes of those poor Charlie Hebdo caricaturists; you know, the ones that were gunned down by terrorists revenging the Prophet while shouting "Allah is great!!! Allah is great!!! Allah is great!!!" (This is a sophisticated rhetorical figure. It is called battology and is defined as a continual unnecessary reiteration of the same words, phrases, ideas, or bullets.)
The episode began with my own mistake as I picked the wrong taxi to my dentist. The driver, looking simple, turned his mouth to me while driving and said: "Hello..., are you America?" Of course this is a sophisticated rhetorical figure, called metonymy, in which you replace one thing with another one—persons with a country, for ex.—when you say 'Germany is very strong,' and actually just refer to 'our' soccer team [I'm German and this journal entry is from 2015]. Or saying "Je suis Charlie", when you support Charlie Hebdo. Anyway, I was not America (though I am Charlie, of course).
"Are you France?" I wasn't France either but very tired, pointed upwards and said "Wo shi yueliang" (I am the moon).
"Oh..., India!" said the driver.
"No, moon", said I.
"Oh, you are Vietnam! (Yuenan sounds like yueliang, I guess)".
"No! Not Vietnam! Up there! Moon!"
"But Vietnam is not up there!" said the driver and fell silent. For a while he said nothing. Then I regretted my joke and confessed to him that I had been joking and was not from the moon.
"How long in Taiwan?" asked he.
"37 years." Naturally he was impressed and asked me if I have a Shenfen zheng (ID card).
"No."
"I want to see your passport!" said the driver then, "I want to see 'up there moon'!" Oh, oh..., this was taking quite the wrong turn. I restated in more emphatic language that I had joked and was from Germany.
"Oh, Germany!!!! Germany very strong!!! Germany very strong!!! War!!! War!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! War!!! War!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Germany very strong!!! Germany very strong!!!" (This is a sophisticated rhetorical figure. It is called battology and is defined as a continual unnecessary reiteration of the same words, phrases, ideas, or bullets.)
"...but we lost...", I uttered somewhat sheepishly (this figure is called "humility").
"Oh, Germany!!!! Germany very strong!!! Germany very strong!!! War!!! War!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! War!!! War!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Germany very strong!!! Germany very strong!!!"
We had arrived at my dentist's place.
This Tuesday I made a joke about the moon that ended almost as tragically as the jokes of those poor Charlie Hebdo caricaturists; you know, the ones that were gunned down by terrorists revenging the Prophet while shouting "Allah is great!!! Allah is great!!! Allah is great!!!" (This is a sophisticated rhetorical figure. It is called battology and is defined as a continual unnecessary reiteration of the same words, phrases, ideas, or bullets.)
The episode began with my own mistake as I picked the wrong taxi to my dentist. The driver, looking simple, turned his mouth to me while driving and said: "Hello..., are you America?" Of course this is a sophisticated rhetorical figure, called metonymy, in which you replace one thing with another one—persons with a country, for ex.—when you say 'Germany is very strong,' and actually just refer to 'our' soccer team [I'm German and this journal entry is from 2015]. Or saying "Je suis Charlie", when you support Charlie Hebdo. Anyway, I was not America (though I am Charlie, of course).
"Are you France?" I wasn't France either but very tired, pointed upwards and said "Wo shi yueliang" (I am the moon).
"Oh..., India!" said the driver.
"No, moon", said I.
"Oh, you are Vietnam! (Yuenan sounds like yueliang, I guess)".
"No! Not Vietnam! Up there! Moon!"
"But Vietnam is not up there!" said the driver and fell silent. For a while he said nothing. Then I regretted my joke and confessed to him that I had been joking and was not from the moon.
"How long in Taiwan?" asked he.
"37 years." Naturally he was impressed and asked me if I have a Shenfen zheng (ID card).
"No."
"I want to see your passport!" said the driver then, "I want to see 'up there moon'!" Oh, oh..., this was taking quite the wrong turn. I restated in more emphatic language that I had joked and was from Germany.
"Oh, Germany!!!! Germany very strong!!! Germany very strong!!! War!!! War!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! War!!! War!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Germany very strong!!! Germany very strong!!!" (This is a sophisticated rhetorical figure. It is called battology and is defined as a continual unnecessary reiteration of the same words, phrases, ideas, or bullets.)
"...but we lost...", I uttered somewhat sheepishly (this figure is called "humility").
"Oh, Germany!!!! Germany very strong!!! Germany very strong!!! War!!! War!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! War!!! War!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Bang, bang, bang, bang!!! Germany very strong!!! Germany very strong!!!"
We had arrived at my dentist's place.