meaning of " ochered' "

[Alina Israeli]

I think fun in lines is in the eyes of the beholder. I was so  
traumatized by lines coming out of the Soviet Union 30 years ago that  
for years (maybe ten or fifteen at least) refused to stand in any  
lines involving more than 2 people.

Economically speaking the line was the counterpart of the inflation:  
whereas in the West the price would go up in the Soviet Union the  
lines would get longer when the supplies got lower. Consequently,  
connections to buy stuff was the most important currency of the  
society which led to all kinds of favoritism, stratification even  
within the nomenklatura and so on. Trade relations were so warped  
that some of us found it outrageous and revolting.

Compared to American lines which happen for the toy of the day at  
Xmas time — Tickle me Elmo, the cabbage patch kids (dolls) (if  
anybody still remembers) and so on, or the concert tickets (people  
used to camp overnight) and even the Picasso exibit, two things  
happen/happened: 1. there was no viciousness familiar to us from the  
Soviet lines; 2. the market forces took over and some of those  
concert tickets are sold only through ticketrons and are priced out  
of reach of students  and the Xmas hit toys (wii this year) are sold  
on e-bay and Craig's list at twice the cost.

On Jan 14, 2008, at 4:15 AM, Margarita Orlova wrote:
>
> I guess Russians are too self-critical, their lines often are full  
> of fun


Alina Israeli
LFS, American University
4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington DC. 20016
(202) 885-2387 	
fax (202) 885-1076
aisrael at american.edu




-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------