Job Discussion Forums

[bennybunny]

hello fruity types,

going to siberia soon and wandering if anyone can give me an idea of prices for cd players - nothing too flash just something to play in my apartment to piss people off.

[Communist Smurf]

I'm curious what a "fruity type" is in London. In California, it is usually in reference to a homosexual. They even refer to eachother that way, so it isn't necessarily an insult.

Ok, I have a semi-funny story, but the humor might not translate through a written form. There was this homosexual student group on campus called the "*beep* Alliance." During a inter-club meeting, they were discussing fund raising and couldn't figure out what they wanted to sell, as they had already tried a number of things, like baked goods, BBQ, etc... They were asking other clubs what they thought would be a good idea for them to sell and if they could sell something novel in respect to their club. A friend of mine, in a very serious tone, said, "Maybe you could sell fruit."

You might need to be from San Francisco to understand that joke...

You're probably just wishing I would answer your question. It's a pretty general question, so I'll answer it in a very general way. Electronics here will usually cost much more than it does in the US, and I'm assuming in England too. If possible, bring it with you. I've noticed that sometimes you're better off ordering it from Japan and paying the extra shipping. Music on the other hand, in the form of CDs, will cost you sigificantly less.

The danger in ordering from a different country is power conversion. This is something I don't know a lot about. I believe Russia has the same voltage as Europe, but the plug holes are a *slightly* different size. They will still fit, but you have to tape it to get it to stay in sometimes! What's worse, is that sometimes the outlet will have an indentation in such a way that won't allow European plugs in without a conversion. Usually you'll only find this on surge supressors.

CS

[canucktechie]

Consumer electronics may be a bit more expensive here than in the US but I'm pretty sure they are cheaper here than in the UK (isn't everything?).

Take a look at http://www.eldorado.ru for an idea, and note that prices should be a bit lower at the Gorbushka market.

[bobs12]

The 'fruity types' really confused me too. I was tempted to reply with a 'how long is a piece of string' type answer, but CS's reply was infinitely more helpful. Electronic goods are expensive here, and there's also a widespread belief that most of the big stores that sell mainstream brands buy catalogue and shop returns in bulk from Europe and other countries. The rate of failure of goods bought in Russian shops is ridiculous, and don't believe the guarantees that you get- they're generally not worth the paper they're written on.

A simple solution to the problem about plugs that CS mentioned is to buy a plug for a few roubles You can do this with UK electrical goods- of the odds and ends that I've brought over, I've never noticed any problems with the voltage difference. It's cheaper than buying adaptors.

Incidentally, It's my birthday today. Went out of the flat in the afternoon to find my tyres had been slashed. Anybody want a good job in an expanding international software company?

Happy birthday bobs, from Russia with love and zenophobia.

[alekto]

Well, it depends if you want a little stereo or a cd player that you can plug into speakers (something I reconmend, as then you'll have a portable cd player to carry around too).

For a decent brand (ie that'll actually work well, for example panasonic or sony) you're looking at:

cd player/stereo - 1000r-1500r

portable cd player - about 1500r

portable MP3cd player - about 2000-3000r

speakers (computer speakers) - 200-500r

[bennybunny]

Among educated and intelligent sorts the term 'fruity' has little or no homosexual connotations. Indeed, it would frequently be used as a simple adjective to describe something good, interesting or splendid, e.g. 'he's a bit fruity' would mean 'he is an intersting and fun chap', and 'I had quite a fruity night out' would translate as 'It was a good night and I enjoyed myself'. However, when listening to the spoken 'fruit' one must be intimately aware of the use of voice intonation - 'fruit' can effectively mean anything the speaker wishes it to and it is up to him/her to express the meaning effectively through their speech. Confusion can obviously occur and the decision to use the terms 'fruit/fruity/fruitful' should not be taken lightly.
Furthermore, the term is rarely used in formal speech. The recognition from the speaker that he/she is making use of contraversial terminology generally requires the expression to be said in a particular way allowing the speaker to intimate to the listener that he/she is fully aware of the term being used, and recognises the consequences of doing so. Thus 'fruit' is generally pronounced with a slight degree of flamboyance in order to alert the listener to the speaker's understanding of his/her language use.
Among the uneducated classes, 'fruit' and its associated derivatives must be used with caution: to the ignorant ear it does often seem to confirm the speaker's homosexuality. However, clever use of the term can dispel this thought from all but the most suspicious of minds, and the above-mentionned use of flamboyant yet carefully controlled pronunciation can also demonstrate to the ignorant that the term is being used in a benevolent fashion and not as an outward show of homosexual pride.
I hope this clarifies the point .

[bobs12]

Good heavens, is it just my imagination or do all the new users on this forum have something jammed up their arses? Perhaps bennybunny would like to question our breeding as well?

Unbelievable. Good luck with teaching, bb. I'm sure you'll do well if you can manage to avoid the uneducated classes in Russia. Otherwise, I'm afraid you may find yourself eating borsch through a tube stuck down your educated and intelligent nose for a couple of months.

From Merriam Webster:

One entry found for fruity.


Main Entry: fruity
Pronunciation: 'fr�-tE
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): fruit�i�er; -est
1 a : relating to, made with, or resembling fruit b : having the flavor or aroma of ripe fruit
2 a : extremely effective, interesting, or enjoyable b : sweet or sentimental especially to excess c of a voice : rich and deep
3 a slang : CRAZY, SILLY b often disparaging : HOMOSEXUAL
- fruit�i�ness noun


From AskOxford.com:

fruity

� adjective (fruitier, fruitiest) 1 of, resembling, or containing fruit. 2 (of a voice) mellow, deep, and rich. 3 Brit. informal sexually suggestive.

� DERIVATIVES fruitiness noun



I'd be especially careful that your intimate awareness of voice intonation doesn't let you down, lest you should sneeze or cough mid-sentence and end up saying that your friend contains or is made of fruit, or, worse still, smells of ripe fruit.

I'm afraid that 'he's a bit fruity' is going to be understood by most to mean 'he's a shirt-lifter'. 'I had quite a fruity night out' pretty much sounds like you went to a gay bar and got gang-banged.

If you're going to teach your students to speak that kind of dialect-specific language I hope you have a good explanation ready for Mr. and Mrs. Konstantinovich as to why their 18-year old son was badly beaten in a bar on a field trip to the UK. Would you describe a lively, colourful man as 'gay'?

"Awite mate, yow lookin a bit gay today, know wot oi mean, eh? eh?" is bound to get you either beaten from one end or molested from the other.

If it's a word understood by the highly educated, why is it only rarely used formally, and why is it that our informal understanding of the word is unacceptable, despite coinciding with the definitions provided by two respectable dictionaries? Surely if it's so exclusively understandable to the intelligent and educated, it should be understood in all registers?

I have a suspicion (suspcious mind, you see) that it is a nonsense expression restricted to Hooray Henries and their kin.

[waxwing]

To bobs: Поздравляю с днём рождения, желаю счастья в личной жизни
- Пух

now ..

[bobs12]

Спасибо WW, всё fruity!

Это первый раз я вижу как ты наезжаешь на кого-то. Очень впечатляет! Я даже не стал поправлять его многочисленные ошибки, просто хотел его выругать. Такая подлая наглость...

[Communist Smurf]

Bobs - Счастливого Дня рождения!

Well, it looks like there isn't anything for me to say here, nor could I say it any better than you two have.

BB - I think there might be a little room for you to recover and reconsider your approach. However, given your demonstrated arrogance, I find it unlikely you'll wise-up -- nor will anyone here miss you after your departure.

Your call.

CS

[Castro]

CS,

According to the new Russian law from April the 1st you are not allowed to drink even alcohol-free beer in so called �Public Places� (means wherever except for home or special bar)
http://www.beerunion.ru/shownews.html?d=01&m=11&y=2004&uid=3800

As for the immersion program it sounds good. I heard this kind of tourist programs is the most popular between �new new-Russians� who prefer to leave the country only for business trips!

I see you�ve been to Cairo. I am going to spend Christmas Holidays there. Would you recommend some places to go or avoid? Thanks,

Bobs,

Это не первый раз я вижу как ты наезжаешь (спасибо за новое слово для словарика русского сленга) на кого-то, но первый раз ты пишешь по-русски. Это очень впечатляет! Я даже не стану поправлять � ошибок нет (и быть не может?). Просто хочу сказать: лучше поздно, чем никогда; и, конечно, поздравить с Днем Варенья... Надеюсь это не наглость и не подлая ...

[bobs12]

Наезжать- странно, а я думал это "общий" сленг? Значит питерский... боюсь что когда-нить поеду в другой город, и там никто меня не поймет. "А? Чотыговаришьинастранец? По-русски, мона?"

Спасибо за разграбление, совсем не беглость и не полость! День Печенья был просто фруто!

[waxwing]

[bennybunny]

I'm afraid you all seem to have rather missed the point.

[Communist Smurf]