Magzy asked me the other day whatever happened to Silly Sundays.
I think it’s 90% of post content here could be described that way so that didn’t make Sunday any special.
My mind went from Silly to Stereotype Sunday, inspired by Ms S’s love of German beer.
Armitage, Bavarian lederhosen, sounds like a winner to me!
So I’ve decided to take stereotypes of some countries and used them to objectify beautify our dear Richard!
This will be an ongoing project, so if there’s any other stereotypical features or garb of a specific country that you’d like to see RA plonked in, drop them in comments with suggestions on which feature to highlight.
It’s all a bit of fun, so I don’t want anybody huffing and puffing ready to blow this blog down, I don’t drink vodka much, nor do I have beached hair or eat kiełbasa.
Today we will start with German Armitage!
We know that Richard has the legs for these shorts and socks, he’s also been photographed nursing an oversized beer in his younger years.
I’ve taken the most stereotypical features like the full Bavarian outfit, beer, beautiful mountains, Octoberfest, pretzels, and some dog shape wurst because obviously no German household would be complete without it…
By the way, I met two Armitage fans in London last year in December and they were both wearing lederhosen which I felt was quite extreme seeing that it was very frosty that day…
OK, they weren’t, but wouldn’t it have been fun? 😉
Zum Wohl! Armitage Friends!
I Want to be a Pin Up 
So funny ! I like Bratwurst mit currysauce ! And what about Richard in Scotland wearing a kilt on a windy day ?
THAT is a must and let’s hope it’s a windy Stereotype Sunday 😉
Not to disappoint anyone (while others perhaps will heave a sigh of relief) I think it is only in Scottish Military Regiments that kilts are worn without “underwear” and I may even be out of date with *that* information. I can say for a fact that anyone I know who wears a kilt is always properly covered!! Good thing IMO!!
However, I’ve always wanted to see Richard in one. I think he would look fantastic! 😉
I like the idea of RA with nothing under his kilt, but then imagine sitting in his seat on a hot day… maybe we should all stick to undies 😉
I’ll have to check with my nephew who wears a kilt as regular dresswear. We have a company here called Utilikilts. It’s all the rage. You can find it on line if you use the name I just type and add a dot com to the end. Be prepared to see some gorgeous male models and some shirtless lassies. You might even find a nice model body to stick RA’s head on!!!
I do hope that by “check” you mean ask because otherwise things might get weird 😉
ask — check is an American word for asking…LOL
“I’ll go check if there’s petrol in the tank” and not by asking the car LOL!
Have I not said English is a stupid language and difficult language to learn? The check is in the mail. I’ll check with the mailman to see if it arrived. Check yes or no. I have to got to the doctor for a check up. Let’s play a game of checkers. When I finish grocery shopping I go to the check out counter…..
In the UK, Canada and no doubt elsewhere we spell it “cheque” – as in write a. . . so that does help to eliminate some of the confusion! 🙂
I’d love for someone to “Cheque me later” 😉 I could really use it!
If I didn’t like you, my dear, I’d be very much offended now. Whatever that is up there — well, it is very much a Bavarian stereotype horror — but it most definitely, emphatically is NOT German!!!
I know the world sees us all as Bavarian, but, please, please, please — Bavaria doesn’t even WANT to be German, and you can well believe me, most of us in the rest of Germany are not sure we want them to be, either. *sighs* I can offer you a bike or a horse (make your choice of favourite transport here – we have both and love them equally) and smoked ham on a slice of dark bread topped with a fried egg as the stereotype for our region. Any takers?
We don’t have Oktoberfest here, either, btw. Karneval in late winter/early spring and Kirmes whenever we feel like it. 😉
And seeing as 90% of Germans wouldn’t be caught dead wearing Lederhosen or Dirndl….well, you may get my meaning. 😉 If you want some kind of typical regional clothing: Friesennerz anyone?
Bryni, are you saying Germans don’t have Octoberfest? I am stunned.
Agzy, I want to see an American cowboy. It can be the John Wayne, Robert Redford (summer time) variety or the Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner, winter type.
Perry, nope, we (as a rule and with the exception of that German state down south 🙂 ) don’t. But if you are looking for one: Munich has one that starts in September. 😉
I’m not looking for one, I just always believed it to be a German experience. We have it here.
Some pubs here also celebrate Octoberfest in their own way and it is also seen as a German beer festival. So I’m scratching the title and changing it to stereotypical Bavarians in Munich 😉
Perry – meet pet peeve, pet peeve – meet Perry. 😉
I know it is – together with Mad Ludwig – what many people expect when they hear Germany. Whenever I have friends over from the US they are soooo disappointed that I can’t deliver anything but water castles (lots), bikes (even more), horses (not quite as many but enough) and rain (again lots)…. not even garden gnomes. I know – not very exciting, but that’s all I’ve got up here in the north-west. 😉
Maybe it depends on which part of Germany you live in. I have relatives ( actually, just one left) in Muenster and she also has in some specified place in Bulgaria. Today is Sunday, so I will call her and ask her about Octoberfest. I feel a little bit like that about New York, People are always worried you’ll get mugged in New York. And in all the years I’ve lived here-my whole life, I was only mugged once!
LOL! Done. We need Richard the cowboy with his thighs wrapped around a lucky horse 😉
Mmhh, Friesennerz is sexy I have to admit. Goes along with horrible weather and a cup of strong black tea with cream. Come to think of rough sea, weather- and lifehardened fishermen with big, strong hands, no fuss and few words. They know how to deal with the hardships of life and can comfort those in need. Can be very cosy (if a rough-and-ready rouge is in said Friesennerz). tsts, digress again…..
Pardon me, but I am off in dreamland now….fisherman, Friesennerz, …. ahem, yeah. 😉
Bryni, as the post suggests, this is playing with silly stereotypes for a laugh. Taking this in any way other than that is missing the point. Next week I’ll be poking fun of the French stereotypes. In no way shape or form should this be treated as anything more than a laugh. These are all based on silly Halloween costumes but I don’t think you’d feel offended if you saw someone wearing one of those.
First: I said “if” 😉 and while it is a sore spot for me, I didn’t mean to spoil the fun. I do get the silly stereotype part, but this is just one of my “don’t push” buttons. You can compare it to…say: the kilt is an English stereotype. You wouldn’t, would you?
Just like i.f. said, Bavarians are wonderful people and they really don’t deserve being ridiculed as much as they usually are. It is just that Gemany is so much more — and I’d like to see some of the other silly stereotypes mentioned once in a while. 😉 Friesennerz, herring, Ostfriesenwitze and taciturn fishermen are just as silly…even if a lot more practical in our weather here…well, the Friesennerz is, anyway. 😉 Though I could think of a practical use for the taciturn …ahem…again…yes…well. Maybe I really shouldn’t comment on a day when I have to do the tax report.
Sorry.
My ex-SO of twelve years was born between Bremen and Hannover and his family followed his father’s career from there to Buxtehude, Emden, and Aurich, so I’ve spent a lot of time in that part of Germany over the years (Moin!), and drunk quite a bit of Jever (which, incidentally, I can also get on tap here now, although it’s not my favorite), but it was my impression from being there so often for the summer and other long holidays, and living there while ex-SO was finishing his dissertation, that the Ostfriesen didn’t think of themselves as German. People would ask (auf platt, of course) “Fährst Du nach Deutschland?” when they were talking about a trip to Bremen.
Do you remember the Jever ad with the two East Frisian fishermen, and someone comes by and asks them what they’re doing, and one says, “Nebenbei dichten wir” and the passerby asks for a poem, and the first one says, “Wir stehen hier und angeln Barsch,” and the other one says, “Und das Wasser steht uns bis zum —-” and the passerby is about to finish the rhyme, and the second fisherman says “Knie.” There were a bunch of ads like that (one drawing on the famous Friesenwitz in the train where the Friese simply refuses to answer any questions in any language) that I thought were humorous employments of those stereotypes. I think that it’s just that outside of Germany, no one would get those jokes.
Lol – I remember those ads. Great stuff! But you are right – I do not think that someone outside Germany gets the punchline. Which is really a pity. Germans are definitely not as humourless as they are seen in other countries.
Please don’t call a kilt an *English* stereotype! You’ll have Scots like me all over the world getting their knickers in a twist! 😀 It’s okay! I’m only teasing, but some people can get pretty touchy about confusing Scottish with English or calling the whole of the UK “England”, something which happens a lot, BTW!
*gulp.
I love your idea and I love my Bavarian neighbours dearly. But picturing the elegant and sophisticated Mr. A. on the Octoberfest (which is notorious for binge drinking, terrible bad brassband-music and being a runway for B and C celebs that have no other possibility to get their pics in the yellow press) makes me choke on my coffee.
But I really miss garden gnomes in your pic. For stereotypical German there have to be lots of garden gnomes. Or garden dwarfs. With long flying locks and a bit of pelt on their shoulders. With a sword instead of a shovel. Oh sorry, I digress….
😉
Oh, yes, I can get behind that one – nice, stereotypically German …. a garden Thorin. 😉 Lovely.
There’s no place like Gnome. Gnome Sweet Gmone. The kitchen is the heart of the Gnome. My Old Kentucky Gnome. Gnome is where the heart is. Thorin go Braugh. You’re a Thorin in my side. Tell me when to stop….
LOL! You go girl! I see that we’re seeing thigh-to-eye with all these gnome and dwarf puns 😉
I know a lot of people who travel each year for the event and they actually said it was much too subdued 😉 A Spanish guy was disappointed that the party didn’t go in till the wee small hours of the morning. The garden gnomes would have been a great idea, but ever since I saw the film Amelia, I’ve associated it with the French LOL!
Subdued? Really? Wow – I know I am a spoilsport, but to me the Octoberfest is the sheer horror and it rarely can get any lower. I always thought one has to have a rather limited intelligent quotient to enjoy this kind of entertainment. (if someone reading this who is a frequent visitor to the Octoberfest please don’t be offended, it’s just my personal opinion)
I totally agree with you and Bryni. I´m German, too and have never liked Oktoberfest, Lederhosen, Dirndl, Blasmusik (though Blasmusik puts some naughty thoughts on my mind, because the word “blasen” is also connected to bl**-job in German language) and the whole Bavarian stuff, especially not the spoken accent.
Though I´ve to admit that the Oktoberfest is becoming more and more popular, even in our region in the middle of Germany. Last year it was held for the first time in my hometown…
I still wonder what is wrong with me??? 🙂
Nonetheless it´s a funny post for a lazy Sunday. Go on, AgzyM, next time I´d like to see RA wearing a Scottish kilt, “den Dudelsack blasend” (there are more naughty thoughts coming to my mind). Have to stop now, don´t want to be expelled from the blog:)
Oh dear, oh dear – Blasmusik is such a turn off! I didn’t even cross my mind to connect it with a b***-job. Thanks for putting delicate pictures of robust middleaged men with rosy cheeks in Lederhosen and knitted stockings on my mind. I have to swallow that down with a big glass of wine. Beer is also a complete turn off for me.
Otoh a dirndl is a delicate piece of tailoring. If you are gifted with curves in the right place it makes every woman look stunning. It faced a comeback in my area during the last years. But thankfully only for glamorous events as weddings for example. And wearing a beautiful Dirndl gets out the diva in every woman. I talk from experience. *gg
And yes: kilt it should be, prettyplease. Scots rock.
Ach du meine Güte! Wie festlichen Oktoberfest ist! Sie haben sogar Oktoberfest oder ist es einer von denen up amerikanischen Feiertag haben wir haben so können wir riesige Mengen an Bier zu trinken?
Oh my goodness! How festive Octoberfest is! Do you even have Octoberfest or is it one of those made up American holiday we have so we can drink massive amounts of beer?
Oktoberfest – the original – Munich. Massive amounts of beer, massive amounts of tourists.
I have to admit that I found this post hilarious — spit up coffee! — even though despite all the years in Germany I was never in München for Oktoberfest and admit that my love for German beer is modest in comparison to most people who go. I like Hofbräu and Hacker-Pschorr just fine, but the Munich-area beers I’d most like to drink a Maß of aren’t served on the Festwiese (afaik): anything brewed at Kloster Andechs, and Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock.
What’s funny to me — how good Richard Armitage looks in lederhosen! (even if none of my German friends would be caught dead wearing that stuff). Something about that flat front closure. Added bliss — how confused Armitage appears to be in this graphic. What am I doing here?
Rock on, Armitage stereotypes! Can’t wait for the kilt.
As with any stereotype, they are most of the time not accurate. But for the sake of this series of stereotype sundays I will contribute with the most common I hear about Mexicans~ Concerning clothes ( and what they sell here as costumes~)
A Mariachi is never missing from a party http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vx8NKz35afM/UgxSv3PH75I/AAAAAAAAuKQ/Ykbk023Kuj8/s1600/506.jpg (That is not a stereotype haha)
Now, in all seriousness, I don’t know why they think that all men dress like this: http://cdn.deguisetoi.fr/images/rep_articles/gra/de/deguisement-mexicain-homme_173837.jpg
Then, you have the Toreros~ http://www.ens.org.co/aa/img_upload/8efaf4cb2dcf796dd96a2d46b6d572ac/torero_copy.jpg
Or there are the Lucha Libre guys, but most of them use masks so that doesn’t help for this series haha 😛
Now, that I think about it, I’d like to see Richard as a Samurai as well~
What is this all about!! All those „Nordlichter“ insulting us Southeners!!! Woohooo!! Well, well! 😉
Ok, Ladies!!! Munich, me and my Dirndl are calling!!!! The whole city is swaying to and fro……
Being actually in the middle weekend of the 2 weeks lasting „Oktoberfest“ I can tell you, somehow the whole world is meeting up in our modest little town right now. 😉 This middle weekend is called „Italiener Wochenende“ (Italians), as there are 10thousends of Italiens in town with thousends of motorhomes parking everywhere (There are even dozens of „Carabinieri“ summoned to Munich to collaborate with the German Police to tame all those boozers just in case…. There are thousends of Aussies, thousends of Americans, thousends of Asians, all dressed in Lederhosen and Dirndls not to mention the loads of British, Dutch.and all the others from everywhere in Europe…. Yeah, this is called the 5th season of the year and the city is definitely in a state of exception. Not that I like it that much! I’m a non-beer drinker! Besides during that time it’s a big hassle getting to work with public transport, as all the undergrounds, the trains and buses are sooooo overcrowded!!!! I’m talking of more than 6 million visitors…..
Still, as a born Bavarian it has always bothered me that Germany so often is pictured only as Bavaria (Neuschwanstein), beer, garbs and Polka music. There is soooo much more……
Dear Agzy. Thanks for your silly Sunday. Doubtless you were not talking about me wearing Lederhosen, when we met in London last winter??? (You were supposed to keep it a secret!!!) Let us not lose track of the most important thing, let’s picture Richard in „Lederhosen“ (which is so NOT silly)!! Hey, we all know him in Guy-leatherpants!!! *gasp* He sure rocks those pants, imagine we have a look at his sturdy calves. Seasonal Highlight!! (What is Serv gabbing about a flat front closure?? Ohhh..) I tell you what! For this superior event I would even visit the „Festwiese“ personally, so as not to miss this extraordinarily opportunity of having a chance for a glance to men’s most handsome specimen …. ooofff
Yep Serv, he does look a bit confused, all dressed up festively, and I think it would need all his acting abilities to pass as native Bavarian….. *ggg* (Oh Servetus, that would be a nice „Ausflug“ to Andechs, haven’t been there in a while.)
BTW I love Friesland, MeckPom, the flat land and the coast. Born up in the mountains I always had a preference for the lower parts of our country! 😀
For the simple reason, that all of you out there in the world (I’m speaking about behind the Bavarian borders!! …and it’s not true!! I don’t want Bavaria to seperate from Germany!! LOL)… that all of you know how men really (wish to) look these days here in our little village:
…and dash it! I’m NOT a fan of FC Bayern München.
This brown sausage dog thingy is actually a balloon, nothing to eat, just to let you know…
Americans have this thing for button flies 🙂
But actually I think it’s not inherently that bad a look. It’s jinxed insofar as most men who are seen wearing it don’t really have the body for it. They’re usually little boy or else somewhat older men — and I mean, plump elderly Bavarian men look like plump elderly Bavarian men, whether they’re wearing Lederhosen or Armani. In Bavaria they are just more likely to be seen wearing Lederhosen. The thing that I find amusing is the shaving brush or whatever that is in the hat. 🙂
For some years now, it’s extremely popular for younger people (no hats with brushes on their heads!! Already queueing up in the early mornings to scavenge a seat in a beer tent) to wear garbs for the „Oktoberfest“ and all the inherent “After Wiesn Parties“ (which seem to spread more and more throughout the year!) For the spontaneous ones: http://www.muenchen.de/veranstaltungen/oktoberfest/after-wiesn-partys.html
Therefore you not only see kids and eldery men wearing the „Wiesn-uniform“. There is still lots of „plump visual imposition“ (is this the right expression?) out there in the streets, but nowadays it’s actually also more the Armani contingent that disguises in costly garbs.
Hilarious!!!! Thanks AgzyM for the great pic – RA looks really dapper in that leatherpants 😆
I think he pulls it off rather well too 🙂
Tej niedzieli jest już poniedziałek. Może niekoniecznie coś mnie ominęło… Czytam Twoje i to odpowiedziane „cudze”, i tak myślę, że stereotyp mocno się ma w świadomości bez względu na przestrzeń geograficzną tak rzeczywiście wszerz i wzdłuż, i w każdym możliwym geograficznym skosie. Było tak, jest i będzie. Niedobrze i dobrze nawet też, jeżeli nawet po ludzku chciałoby się powiedzieć: „trudno”. Można czegoś nie lubić i z tym się nie utożsamiać, ale inni coś z czymś kojarzą, a na to nigdzie dosłownie nie mamy wpływu. Chociaż czy aby na pewno w pewnym przypadku…? Myśli i w sto koni nie dogoni, AgzyM. Zastanawiam się (nawiasem więc), jaki wpływ na stereotypy o nas w masie mamy my sami. Temat na pewno (też) śliski, chociaż żałośnie jakoś śmieszny ten ciężki i swojski dowcip, i niedosłownie związany z rodzimym tym, powiedzmy, cepeliowskim folklorem, niestety. Chyba takie coś wolałabym, ale nie mam wpływu na to, jak funkcjonuje ten konkretnie cholernie niecepeliowski stereotyp, niestety(ż)… Wnerwia mnie on, ale rozumiem, skąd się wziął i w dalszym ciągu bierze czy jeszcze długo będzie się brał. Dobrze wyobrazić sobie RA jako choćby lajkonika czy harnasia Janosika w wersji Markowej Perepeczkowej, aby… jeju, jeju… z ciupażką, wędzonym oscypkiem i w filcowych gaciach z parzenicą pod gołą i najbardziej męską klatą w historii, ale czy reszta świata przynajmniej tak byłaby nas w stanie skojarzyć? Bigos z pierogami, zalewajka z żubrówką czy bursztyn/jantar, Gustaw lub Konrad, mógłby być gdzieś w specyficznie „naszym” tle obrazka, ale nawet rodzima Balladyna fruwała na hondach, więc nic dziwnego, że wnieśliśmy w światową literaturę jedynie sielankę, która porządnie trąci dawno zdechłą myszą i na obrazek się nie nadaje… No, cóż… nie lubię myśleć stereotypami, choć zdarza się, zdarza, AgzyM. Myślałam, kiedy jako pacholę (powiedzmy) pierwszy raz pojechałam tam, gdzie gdzieś powiedzmy piwsko, kiełbasa/salceson, kapelusik z piórkiem czy skórzane gatki na tym obrazku z naturalnym wypasem. To taka przenośnia, bo stereotyp, który kiedyś powiozłam na drugą stronę tej akurat granicy, bez zaskoczenia przecież – fatalny był i ukształtowany na „przesłankach”. Wiesz, z miejsca przełamałam fale i dziś kojarzę ten fantastyczny kawałek świata jako bliski mi kraj, gdzie RA doskonale pasowałby jako muzyk ze swoją wiolonczelą, a bez kufla z pienistą goryczką. To takie osobiste doświadczenie glinianych nóg stereotypu z niezapomnianymi koncertami domowymi w tle. Myślę, że Richard ładnie ozdobiłby obrazek z indiańskim pióropuszem, matrioszką, mongolską jurtą z pobliskim jakiem, cygańskim wozem kolorowym, czapką z pawimi piórami czy husarskimi skrzydłami, a nawet z knedliczkiem na talerzu dobrego wojaka czy wiatrakiem z sabotami u progu, tylko czy ktoś nie poczuje się nieswojo? Może lepiej wysłać RA na Marsa i zrobić na zielono i czułkowato, AgzyM? Jedno pewne – z kompleksami, ciemnotą albo ładniej: niewiedzą, głupotą i ze stereotypami trzeba walczyć humorystycznym orężem. Dlatego w Ciebie nie wątpię!
Na dobry dzień i na dobry temat to:
– Przepraszam, kim pan jest?
– Krasnoludkiem. Nie widać?
– Szczerze mówiąc, zawsze myślałam, że krasnoludki są małe…
– To zależy, Maryśka.
– Od czego?
– Od wzrostu!
(ewentualnie urażonych wiadomo, co…)
Mam podobną obserwacje (ale oczywiście nie tak kolorowo opisaną jak u Ciebie w komentarzu): Gdyby tak zwane żabojadki pierwsze poszły na ostrzał dowcipowy czy wywołałoby to tyle sprzeciwów? Myślę że nie. Wszyscy jesteśmy wyczuleni na stereotypy związane z naszymi narodowościami, Na Thora, jesteśmy Polkami więc wiemy co nieco, ale czasem taki stereotyp jest tak kompletnie zakorzeniony w świadomości mimo tego że nie ma wiele wspólnego z rzeczywistością że staje się po prostu żartem. Dzieje się tak bo wiemy więcej o świecie, innych ludach i ludkach, nawet głupi internecior przedstawia nam inny obraz świata, nie wspominając już o podróżach.
Pozostaje więc to, AgzyM, co wyśpiewał mężczyzna zawsze aktualny, bo konsekwentnie i seksownie obdarzony nieuleczalną inteligencją oraz pożądaną elokwencją na wzór. Na dodatek i do rymu, i do taktu niestereotypową oraz taką bardzo smacznie polską. Starszy dziś pan z klasą i po męsku dojrzałą słowną krasą, też wykraczającą poza stereotyp tego przymiotu obecnych gwiazd. Właściwie powinnam celebrować i użyć „ celebryty”, ale przez stereotyp z tym związany, nie będę w tenże przykry sposób obrażać prawdziwego mistrza, czyli Wojciecha Młynarskiego. On to, naprawdę zupełnie bez potrzeby tak długiego mojego wstępu, fantastycznie wymyślił i potem spokojnie wyśpiewał: „Róbmy swoje…”. Trzeba i miło przecież właśnie tak, czyli z humorem i pobłażliwością, AgzyM, ukręcać każdy twardy łeb stereo-typa/u i sprawiedliwie oddzielać ziarna nawet z jednego wora. O, znowu. „Niejedną jeszcze paranoję przetrzymać przyjdzie, robiąc swoje…”
Czasem, jak znowu dziś widzę, trzeba po wielokroć odgrzewać kotleta…
Kurcze,nawet “leterhosen” mu pasują 😀 Ja głosujem za szkocka spódnicą 😉
Będzie kochana, już jest ustawione w kolejce 😉 Może jeszcze z podwiewem coś zrobię 😉
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So this is what I missed a couple of weeks ago. Thank God my German countrywomen Bryni, i.f., Ute and Linda have already made all the valid points. All I will add to this is: While RA certainly has the legs to rock short lederhosen, he otherwise looks as un-German as a man could get. Hair too dark, skin too pale, the whole ethnic look is not right. Staying with the stereotypes, German men are burly, strong blokes, fair haired and fair-eyed, with a tendency to developing a beer gut. None of that exotic sexiness that the tall dark British hotpot embodies.
As for the two German “fans” you met last year – I’ll have you know that I *was* wearing my lederhosen, of course. Every German is actually required by law to wear lederhosen when travelling abroad, for the purpose of keeping up the image. There is a special allowance we are being paid every month, to keep our lederhosen in shape. However, we have the freedom to choose what kind of lederhosen we wear. Mine were in the shape of a black leather thong. Too much information? Well, you asked for it. 😛
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