HELP. I’ve been volunteered to the Julkommitté, or Christmas committee, where I work: It’s my very first representative position at a Swedish institution, no less, and so far I’ve managed to avoid embarrassment by agreeing with most everything that is suggested. It’s shouldn’t be hard, really: We get a sum of money and have to spend it creatively on a Christmas party. This year, we’re going on a boat around the harbor.
But there has to be a theme, apparently, involving a quiz. You cannot have a julfest without theme and a quiz. Not ever having been to an organized julfest, I suggested Who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire-style multiple choice questions involving fun facts about Sweden, like: The percentage of foreign students in Sweden is a) 7.8% b) 14.3% c) 19.0% d) 40%.
This was met with jahas and the short sharp intakes of breath, both of which mean “not necessarily no, but certainly not yes.” So I really want to wow them for the next meeting, today, Tuesday at 3pm Stockholm time. Any ideas?
more information about the type of people and organisation you work for would be needed before appropriate advice could be given.
You are such a nerd. “Fun facts about Sweden” puts the quiz ahead of the apple cart. Pick your theme first and the quiz should then relate to it. And the whole point is not to have a theme about daily life, so something un-contemporary or un-Swedish would do the trick.
Try “Barbarella”: dig up some Jane Fonda dirt and have everybody dress up in sexy sci-fi costumes. Add booze and boat, and presto.
or day I say it… “ABBA” and/or Lapland culture?
Vikings? Far out…
Yeah definitely theme first.. How about Tarantino?
My vote is for “Fun Facts about Belgium.”
i think those “jahas” were of the “well, that’s a pretty stupid idea, actually, but i’m too polite to say so” variety.
presumably the staff in the animal porn movie production studio you work for are all swedish. “fun facts about britain” with questions like “what proportion of students in britain are foreign” would NOT be a hit over here. why don’t you dress up as “The Grinch” from the Jim Carrey movie — oh wait you wouldn’t actually have to dress up for that — and have a quiz based on unconventional children’s book characters.
Is it too obvious to theme it around sea travel? The quiz would write itself – questions about old ships, new ships, military ships, a geography bit about oceans and seas. I don’t know how you’d extend the theme unless you could get the catering company to dress in sailor uniforms. (The women in your company would like it at the very least!) Maybe lots of lemons to prevent scurvy?
I assume you’ve been given examples of past themes? That would be helpful. Of course, you were probably hoping for input from your Swedish audience – assuming one exists.
I think it should be a quiz about stupid and/or scary Christmas customs from around the world.
Or.
I once organized my team at work to create an office jeopardy game, the questions were mostly based on office gossip and trivia about the company.
Gossip is always a good topic.
“the short sharp intakes of breath [..] which mean “not necessarily no, but certainly not yes”
Say what???
I think you misunderstood the meaning of “jaha”.
It’s more like a way of signaling that you heard a person speaking. If used as a response to a negative sentence, use “nähä/nehe”.
Oh you mean they liked it, but were too polite to tell me?
In any case, you people are clearly very clever. The decision, in the end, was, reasonably, because the party is on a boat, to have a quiz about famous Swedish boats and Swedish seamen’s terms.
I’d so win that were it not for the fact I’m ineligble, being on the committee and all.
And entertainment, it turns out, will be Swedish Christmas burlesque. I’m _extremely_ curious.
so are we Stefan so spill.. when the time comes.
Interestingly enough after the Cowboys and Indians theme for our Christmas party this year, there is no theme….
sorry I meant the fiasco last year.. no theme this year.
Isn’t “famous Swedish boats” an oxymoron? I guess you really fit in where you work, Stefan: you’re all nerds.
Jame, not at all, think of the Vasa, which managed to spend nearly all its 15 minutes of fame afloat.
sorry Stefan, but you are a nerd. A very gentle and intuitive one, but a nerd nevertheless- this is the irresistable conclusion I have drawn from those “closest” to you ie. Eurof, Matthew and Jame.
Stefan: I realize the deadline is passed for your meeting, but assuming that you are still casting about for ideas, how about a “steriotypical Sweden” party, where people could dress as outlandishly overblown archetypes of Swedes, you could play only swedish music (the kind sung by groups who wear elk fur and/or Sami outfits, not the internationally celebrated kind) and the quiz could ask for the most or least Swedish responses to different sorts of questions and situations.
oops, I meant “stereotypical”
The Vasa?
Counsel for the plaintiff rests.
run. run like the wind.
Kartika– intrigued by you nerd conclusion. I don’t disagree at all, mind you. Even the gentle bit sounds right (intuitive, not so sure). But you say you have drawn this conclusion from those closest to him. Are you suggesting that Jame, Matthew and Eurof are nerds, too? or that what they say about Stefan is that he’s a nerd? Or both?
Charles
No need to be intrigued. Basically Stefan’s “friends”(I mean with friends like that who needs enemies?) as in Eurof and Matthew take great delight in lampooning Stefan at every available opportunity. there is some method in their malice however, and the basic tenet in all their criticism is that Stefan is always wrong and a nerd to boot… I am sure that they are fond of him. I can think of no other reason that they keep reading his blogs and inviting him to their weddings, where he seems to get his own back by lampooning them (well Eurof anyway) through the medium of film…
ps
I took a punt with the “Intuitive” as I remember Stefan telling me that he was a Pisces, and they tend to be intuitive.
You raise an interesting question: why do we all, for the most part, enjoy heaping criticism on Stefan to such a monumental degree? He is one of my dearest friends but few things in life give me more pleasure that telling him he’s wrong and being able to prove it. Perhaps it stems from his own assumption that he’s always right–a sin of which many of us are guilty–combined with the fact that he rarely is combined with his habit of adopting as his own other people’s half-learned, half-baked theories and running with them until they’re all bent out of shape.
I think its because he squirms so well. Not successfully, mind you, but it is fun to watch. Kind of the intellectual version of watching a bullfight. But this particular bull does charge voluntarily into the arena –indeed, he built the arena. So you have to conclude that he enjoys it. He’s like that guy in Germany who wanted to be eaten.
Perhaps, as his friends, we should be intervening and telling him to pull down the site, for his own good. But assuming that he’s still somewhat of sound mind, and given his strong libertarian streak, I think we shouldn’t. Indeed, as he is a friend, I think we should continue to give him joy by pointing out he’s an idiot. Now there’s a positive sum game we can all enjoy.
It’s funny you should mention the unswerving certainty that Stefan is always right Matthew. I remember having coffee with him way before either you or Charles had met him.. at Sydney University(alas such an impression was made on Stefan that he cannot remember it…) but there was some comment made that in his year book from High School(a sad Australian imitation of a US custom)his photo had an Oscar Wilde quote under it saying something like “I like to do all the talking myself as it saves time and prevents arguments and I’m always right..” or something like that… Do you remember that Stefan? Interesting that your young peers as they were then- 16, 17 years old picked up on it…
What surprises me though is the good humour with which he seems to accept all the nastiness- or the good natured ribbing that gets nasty…
I’m with Charles on this one. It’s destructive, but Stefan prefers the negative attention we give him to no attention at all. Call it masochistic but I think the best thing we can do is to play along. If we can brighten up his existence by tredding all over his ego, why not?