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The Write Way 25 June 2004 Shades of Schadenfreude Greetings, I imagine you're suffering the same as we are out here from the rash (or maybe plague would be a better word) of reality TV shows. We've had couples isolated in wilderness regions, competing for survival; couples let loose in derelict buildings, competing to run restaurants and to start resorts; couples renovating gardens and houses to save their relationships and then there's Big Bother er Brother. I must confess that I've never managed to watch an episode of this one, so what I have to say about it is based solely on the station promos ... It appears to involve a collection of highly egotistical youngish people who talk in loud voices, laugh hysterically and would be perfectly at home if captured by aliens who kept them in a glass-walled cubicle to observe their strange Earthling behaviour. Just what exactly is the fascination with watching other human beings go about their daily ablutions ... Is it just me or does anyone else worry about this? OK ... it IS just me ... Sigh ... The latest offering in this genre, back for its second season (why?) has four couples renovating housing units in a block and competing against each other to win a cash prize. It's quite a significant cash prize, too, because each couple wins whatever the unit sells for over and above the auction reserve price. These units are in a trendy Sydney harbourside suburb and should sell for around a million each, so if the producers set the reserves around $900,000, all couples are set to get a nice little reward for their time spent living in a zoo exhibit.
And yes, I have been watching this one ... purely in the interests of scientific observation, you understand. Or, if I'm honest, perhaps it's really the dreadful fascination these shows hold for us. There's that uncanny resemblance to a small furry animal caught in the glare of a Big Mack's headlights once you start watching. It's just impossible to turn away even though you know, for the sake of your good taste, you really, really should switch over to that documentary on SBS. The love of my life and I have quite a few discussions about just what it is that keeps viewers coming back each episode. Is it to see if the show really is as bad as we feel it is? To see if any of the couples will ever actually do any renovating? To see to just what depths seemingly normal individuals are prepared to sink for the sake of winning cash? No, dear reader, we've been forced to the conclusion that the reason for the show's popularity is purely and simply a case of Schadenfreude ... We all wait each episode to see what disasters will befall each hapless soul and then we're able to nod wisely and shake our heads while secretly taking pleasure in their misfortune. The show's producers, in their infinite wisdom, have seemingly decreed that it needs a little extra spice in the form of Conflict (not just conflict), so one couple has been all but ostracised by the other three. Each week we witness the spats and name-calling as practical jokes are launched and backfire. (What a lark, hiring a private investigator to take surveillance photos of the wife of the Outcasts ... Now why would she get all upset over a little prank like that? Some people have no sense of humour ...) The producers are playing favourites, giving another couple two return Business Class air tickets to fly to Paris after the show ... (What? The other couples don't think that's fair? What nonsense ...All's fair in TV reality shows, they should have known that when they signed on ...) And so it goes, and yet every week, tens of thousands of us (and I sadly include myself) tune in to watch the continuing saga unfold. Who will crack this week? I assuage my guilty feelings by reminding myself that this condition has a name and the name is Schadenfreude ... Isn't that a great word? Schadenfreude comes from the German word Schaden, meaning 'damage' and Freude, 'joy,' and there's rather a lot of it about these days. How else can we explain the success of these ghastly shows? What madcap pranksters we all are! I looked and looked and couldn't find an antonym for this word ... I welcome your suggestions! This week's quiz: Match up the words and their meanings: plangent, megrim, hamartia, eschatology, gnathonic, marcid, lickerish, aceldama, gemutlich, laputan 1. a place with dreadful associations 2. warm and congenial; pleasant or friendly 3. the branch of theology that is concerned with such final things as death and judgement; heaven and hell; the end of the world 4. the character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall 5. flattering; deceitful 6. withered or damaged 7. expressing or suggesting sadness; plaintive; loud and resounding 8. absurdly impractical or visionary, especially to the neglect of more useful activity 9. lascivious; lecherous; greedy 10. a caprice or fancy; depression or unhappiness It's end of semester out here and that means exam time ... An interesting tale one of my students sent me years ago ... BC (Before Computers): Cards offering used textbooks for
sale are posted on the university notice board at the beginning of each
semester. One read: "Introduction to Psychology, $8, never used." The
card was signed, "Must sell." Last week's quiz: 1. to go forward; to journey - WEND 2. tearful; causing tears - LACHRYMOSE 3. discreetly cautious; hesitant and vigilant about possible risks - CHARY 4. relating to, or being one for whom something is named or is believed to be named - EPONYMOUS 5. a blessing - BENISON 6. a joyous song of praise or thanksgiving - PAEAN 7. to acquire by effort - GARNER 8. a foolish action - FOPPERY 9. useful - UTILE 10.unimaginative; pedestrian - PEDANTIC I love stories about ducks, don't you? A duck walked into a pharmacy. He asked the pharmacist "Do you have any grapes?" "No, but the grocery store two blocks down sells grapes," he replied. The next day, the same duck walked into the same pharmacy and asked, "Do you have any grapes?" "No, two blocks down on the right," replied the pharmacist, somewhat annoyed. The third day, the same duck walked back into the same pharmacy and asked the same question. This time the pharmacist said, "We don't sell grapes here. You have asked for grapes now for three days in a row. I've told you we don't sell them here, this is a pharmacy not a grocery store. If you come back in here tomorrow asking for grapes again, I am going to nail your little webbed feet to the floor, NOW GET OUT OF HERE!" The next day the same duck walks back into the same pharmacy, this time with quite a bit of trepidation. He looked around and asked the pharmacist, "Do you have any nails?" "No," replied the pharmacist. "Well then," said the duck, "do you have any grapes?" See more about how ducks fit into the grand scheme of things here: http://www.write101.com/W.Tips223.htm Are you overcome by a wild urge to write about ducks, but feel you couldn't write your way out of a wet paper bag with your current writing skills? Then this is a job for ... (drum roll please ....) Super-Writing-Course! Ta-da! My writing course could be just what you need to refresh those skills that have been snoozing in the recesses of your brain since you left high school. Click now: http://www.write101.com/orderform.htm Our Map of the World still has room for some more pins. Drop by if you haven't been back for some time and don't forget to click on List to read the comments ... and then add your own: http://pub37.bravenet.com/guestmap/view.php?usernum=3170114826 A Little Something Extra We've spent quite a bit of time in the past six years, you and I, expressing our concern for the poor old apostrophe. In fact, that may well have been how you came to find this site in the first place. And you know I've always said that there are just two simple rules about when to use the apostrophe: http://www.write101.com/W.Tips137.htm and http://www.write101.com/W.Tips138.htm Well, I've just found an even simpler rule that will help everyone understand when to use it and when to leave it out. Patrick Nethercot is an ex-chalkie, too, and he's written a wonderful explanation about the single rule that governs the use of the apostrophe. Patrick's rule is this: "you use the apostrophe when letters are missing." Read why at Patrick's dreaded-apostrophe site: http://www.dreaded-apostrophe.com When you've read this, go ye forth and spread the word! Tell your children, stop people in the street and enlighten them, but most importantly, tell your greengrocer! Word of the week: Fungible (adj) interchangeable (n) something that is exchangeable or substitutable This refers to items that are freely interchangeable ... F' instance, if you were at the beach and your children were playing with other children, each child could carry buckets of sand from pile to pile, and your kids could freely mix sand from their part of the beach with sand from where the others were playing and no-one would really care, because the sand is fungible. However, when it came time to go home, you'd probably check to make sure you were taking your own heirs home and not someone else's, because kids aren't fungible. If you received this newsletter from a friend and you'd like to have your very own copy delivered to you on Friday, just click here: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and why not spread the word? Send your friends a copy and invite
them to join our merry band - we number over 9,000 now. Please forward the
newsletter in its entirety and note that no portion of this is to be circulated
for profit. This week's Latin phrase is making a return visit, just in time for that visit to your greengrocer: Aio, quantitas magna frumentorum est. (Yes, that is a very large quantity of corn.) Regards, Jennifer P.S. Want to donate to the upkeep of this newsletter? Here's how: 1. Pay by PayPal:
2. Click here to subscribe for a full year OR 3. Use your credit card on my secure order form: http://www.write101.com/fund.htm (You can also access the PayPal subscription link from this page if the link above didn't work for you. With PayPal, you can use your credit card, PayPal account or pay online using your own cheque account.) OR 4. Send a cheque (made payable to Jennifer Stewart): http://www.write101.com/fund.htm To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: mailto:WritingTips-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com or go to the web site, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WritingTips This menu will also let you change your subscription between digest and normal mode. Copyright 2004 Jennifer Stewart Individual articles copyrighted by
their authors.
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