Irony

At 04:19 PM 10/23/98 +0200, Mok-Kong Shen wrote:
>> Dear Friend,
>
>I don't know the English term but in my native language what is
>described is call 'chaining letters', supposed to be a method to
>become rich very rapidly. That was illegal, though.

In my language we have something called humor, which some
taxonomize with terms like irony, sarcasm, wit, etc.

At 04:19 PM 10/23/98 +0200, Mok-Kong Shen wrote:

>>> Dear Friend,
>>
>>I don't know the English term but in my native language what is
>>described is call 'chaining letters', supposed to be a method to
>>become rich very rapidly. That was illegal, though.

At 6:10 PM -0400 10/23/98, Anonymous wrote:

>In my language we have something called humor, which some
>taxonomize with terms like irony, sarcasm, wit, etc.

	In Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, we have this concept called
charity, which some taxonomize with terms like tolerance and benevolance.
Think of it as a reticence to be snide, petty, or sarcastic at the expense
of others.

Tim May <tcmay@got.net> observered:

>In German we have this concept called "schadenfreude," which basically
>means "delight at the misfortune of others."
>
>Or, more Calvinistically, delight that the chickens have come home to
>roost, that evolution is indeed working, and that people are getting what
>they earned.

	Ja, schadenfreude (a true gem of a word) is a appropriate response
to any geldverlegenheit which might bedevil some dummkopf who sneers at a
good-hearted effort to jump a language barrier.

-----
      Vin McLellan + The Privacy Guild + <vin@shore.net>
  53 Nichols St., Chelsea, MA 02150 USA <617> 884-5548
                         -- <@><@> --

At 8:16 AM -0700 10/24/98, Vin McLellan wrote:
>At 04:19 PM 10/23/98 +0200, Mok-Kong Shen wrote:
>
>>>> Dear Friend,
>>>
>>>I don't know the English term but in my native language what is
>>>described is call 'chaining letters', supposed to be a method to
>>>become rich very rapidly. That was illegal, though.
>
>At 6:10 PM -0400 10/23/98, Anonymous wrote:
>
>>In my language we have something called humor, which some
>>taxonomize with terms like irony, sarcasm, wit, etc.
>
>	In Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, we have this concept called
>charity, which some taxonomize with terms like tolerance and benevolance.
>Think of it as a reticence to be snide, petty, or sarcastic at the expense
>of others.

Well, as long as we're comparing languages, let me throw in German.

In German we have this concept called "schadenfreude," which basically
means "delight at the misfortune of others."

Or, more Calvinistically, delight that the chickens have come home to
roost, that evolution is indeed working, and that people are getting what
they earned.

I see it all around me. Keeps me going.

--Tim May


Y2K: A good chance to reformat America's hard drive and empty the trash.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
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