Monthly Archives: May 2015

Make something round

Nationality: American
Age: 25
Occupation: Student
Residence: LA
Primary Language: English

Informant places 5 sticks on the counter, all parallel to each other.

“Make something round from these sticks, only moving two of them.”

The informant takes the two outside sticks, and places them perpendicular to and above the 2nd and 5th sticks. This forms three letters, which together spell “TIT”.

“So when I was about 10 or so, I went out to visit my uncle. I always used to visit him during the summer. By this time, I was getting older and I had always had older brothers, so, ya know, I was starting to figure some things out. I guess my uncle picked up on this and wanted to initiate me into becoming a man or something. So I go to his house, and he asks if I want to hear a riddle. I say yes, so he lays out 5 sticks and asks him to make something round while only moving two. I consider myself smart, but I couldn’t figure it out. So he shows me, and he got so excited about it.”

This particular riddle seems to be something of a coming-of-age ritual, a way to initiate a young boy into becoming a teenager. This transition is often accompanied by increased interest in sex. This riddle seems to be a way to gradually push the subject over the liminal, and onto the path toward adulthood.

What’s the difference…

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Performance Date: 4/23
Primary Language: English

”What’s the difference between a waitress and a toilet?

A waitress only has to deal with one asshole at a time!”

“I originally heard this one from my Mom, she worked as a waitress and would even tell this joke to customers sometimes! It always makes me laugh, because it’s true!”

Jokes are often shared among those in the same occupation, often as a way of connecting about shared experience. In this instance, the joke seems to reference two integral parts of working as a waitress: the possibility of getting unruly or rude customers, and the need to balance multiple customers at once.

I found the fact that the informant’s Mom could even share this joke with customers interesting. The universal plight of the waitress is well known even to those outside the liminal, and as such the humor can be appreciated even by those to whom it is pointed at.

Not sure if…

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English

3ep2

”I love the ‘thoughtful Fry’ meme. It’s from Futurama. I love the meme probably because it’s from Futurama, and I love Futurama. It’s one of the more memorable of the memes I have seen, and I like that it’s relatable. It also changes a lot and has a lot of different types. Memes are interesting for that reason, there’s always a new one coming out.”

Memes, as a newly minted product of internet culture, often deal with or reference certain aspects of contemporary popular culture. Futurama is, in many ways, a staple of modern young adult culture; it is something most young adults recognize easily and a large portion of them are dedicated fans. As a comedy series, it is easy to see why something from Futurama could be adapted into a meme. Memes often thrive by being relatable and relevant, and utilizing something from a show near-and-dear to the hearts of many a millennial is a recipe for success.

El sordo no olle, pero compone

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Performance Date: 4/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

”El sordo no olle, pero compone.”

The deaf person doesn’t hear, but he composes.

“If someone isn’t really paying attention I guess, or they do something wrong so that it’s obvious they weren’t paying attention, people use this to call you out. My mom would use it a lot whenever we were being bad in general though.

I found this proverb interesting, mainly because I couldn’t necessarily think of an equivalent one in English. The context in which it is used is one that I (and many others, I’m sure) am familiar with; I am curious to know why some cultures have a niche for this particular proverb and others don’t. The proverb appears to reference the composition of music, and implicates that composing music without having the ear to listen to it is a foolish venture at best.

 

Sana Sana

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Performance Date: 4/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

”Sana Sana, Colita de Rana”

“Heal Heal, butt of the frog”

“Whenever someone gets a boo-boo, you rub it and say the phrase. It’s supposed to make it feel better. I learned it from my family, mostly from the women (Mom, Grandma, Aunt). It wasn’t really something men in the family would do. It was done a lot more to my brother than it was to me, cause he was a baby and always cried. It actually does sound kind of ridiculous once you translate it *laughs out loud*”

Boo-boo’s are an inevitable part of the rowdy and rambunctious days of childhood. Scrapes, cuts, and bruises happen regularly, and most parents have their own ways of cheering (or toughening) their children up. This example I found interesting, as I had never heard it before. I laughed along with the informant and my roommate at the translation of the phrase. I would even contend that the ridiculousness of the phrase (and the humor resulting from it) may be the overall point of the custom; one of the best ways to distract anyone from pain is to make them laugh.

I also found the gender component of the custom interesting. There seems to be some sort of cultural stigma against men “babying” their children in this instance, something I can relate to from my own childhood.