So, it was my birthday this friday, and across the nation there was widespread celebrating. Admittedly, the celebrating was because it was j-day, but a girl takes what she can get... ;-)
So, it was a nice birthday - nice and quiet. Fortunately, my family does not have any cinnamon-traditions, so that's good. And layer cake with chocolate mousse filling turned out to be a tasty idea :-)
The loot was quite good too. I got a little bit of this, a little bit of that, some very pretty pretties from
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drbillbongo, a very nice flat screen for my computer and some other stuff. Oh, but the best bit was without a doubt 
Admit that it's pretty, even if it's just a replica - but what would I do with a real weapon anyway? I admit, if it had been me doing the actual purchasing, I would probably have picked another. One with more, I dunno - pretty? But I like it. I like it very much. You see, the original was a local product - made at the Kronborg Gun Factory in 1848 and used in the First Schleswig War. Of course, the factory is long since closed and today Hammermøllen (the Hammer Mill) is a very idyllic picnic spot / small museum, of which I have memories of catching tadpoles in the stream and watching as a horseshoe was made, memories from a school trip. So it's nice for that alone.
Still, it got me thinking a bit. You see, in the box there was also a catalogue from the producer (and by the way, this I want - I will need another place to live and some sort of weapon's permit, but at some point I want it) and I noticed how most of the other replicas are, well, pretty. So I looked deeper and noticed, that most of them were duelling pistols or old enough that each gun was an independent work of art. This isn't. This was mass-produced for the common soldier at a sufficiently late point in history for it to be pretty much nothing special. This was a practical tool for shooting the nasty Germans, not a toy. And somehow I like it all the more for that. Although I do want some of the traditionally pretty replicas too.
And just because I'm feeling silly. Did you know that the Danish word for gunsmith is bøssemager, which can be mis-translated into English as "maker of gay men"? Some day I will have to look up the etymology of that word...
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And the bit of Danish etymology is just priceless ;)
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This was mass-produced for the common soldier at a sufficiently late point in history for it to be pretty much nothing special. This was a practical tool for shooting the nasty Germans, not a toy. And somehow I like it all the more for that.
I can totally understand you. :)
So the English word for "homosexual" is derived from "happy", the Danish one from "gun"? That is interesting. XDDDDDD (Makes me think of the fat gay men in your anthem... XD)
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Oh yes, liked them very much, thank you :-)
So the English word for "homosexual" is derived from "happy", the Danish one from "gun"? That is interesting.
The Danish word "bøsse" can - depending on context - mean three very different things: gay man, gun (though it's pretty oldfashioned) and certain types of containers. But yes, as best I know the gay meaning is derived from the gun, specifically a rude comparison between gay sex and the act of cleaning a gun. (Speaking of which, wasn't there a fic where Jack and James had fun with a gunnery instruction manual somewhere?)
Makes me think of the fat gay men in your anthem
Alas, the fat gay men are a whole different set of words and far more woody in nature. Though here's an idea: in Nordic myth the first two humans were carved from trees, the man from an ash and the woman from an elm. Maybe they had a gay brother carved from a birch? Or am I just being silly?
Which reminds me, my dear German friend, did you know that there is a sentence that has been amusing dirty-minded Danish students learning German for years and years? Ich bin böse und knalle mit der Tür (forgive me if any grammar or spelling sucks, I can never quite remember and I'm not digging up my dictionary right now). Now try and guess why...
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*snickers immaturely* XD
And... there is a fic about Jack and James and a gunnery instruction manual? I WANT TO READ! Where is it? *flails* (If there's something that might lure me back into the fandom, Sparrington and gunnery might just be it.)
Maybe they had a gay brother carved from a birch? Or am I just being silly?
No, makes good sense to me! Is also hilarious, which is always a good thing. XD (And it's a beech, not a birch, but I guess that doesn't really matter... *LOL*)
OMG. Böse. *ded* I totally did not make that connection. Also, it would be even funnier if you said "Ich bin böse und bumse mit der Tür", because "mit etw. bumsen" is an old-fashioned expression for "slamming something" and the modern meaning of "bumsen" is fucking. *snerk* I LOVE LANGUAGE.
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I think it's this one I was thinking of: http://thexyboombang.livejournal.com/10202.html Not exactly new, but still hot.
And it's a beech, not a birch, but I guess that doesn't really matter... *LOL*)
Of course. I always manage to mix up those two up when moving into English and I'm not even sure why...
OMG. Böse. *ded* I totally did not make that connection. Also, it would be even funnier if you said "Ich bin böse und bumse mit der Tür", because "mit etw. bumsen" is an old-fashioned expression for "slamming something" and the modern meaning of "bumsen" is fucking. *snerk* I LOVE LANGUAGE.
Actually, the one I posted already has that, because the Danish word "knalde" means banging, including in the sexual slang sense, and the Danish word "tyr" means, well, it means bull, but it's also the slang word for a rent boy's customer. Using the word "bumsen" wouldn't get half as many sniggers out of the Danish school kids, since the Danish word "bums" means either a pimple or a vagabond...