Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Who was the first to "Hunker Down" ?

With Katrina and Rita hitting the Gulf Coast with extreme prejudice, I think it would be a great idea if some Jillionaire donated a hundred bucks for each time someone on TV says the phrase "Hunker Down" ! A buddy of mine even said it during a Las Vegas sandstorm, suggesting that since the weather was so miserable, we ought to "Hunker Down" for the night at the Orleans Hotel....somehow it doesn't seem right that "Hunker Down" should be in the same sentence with a Casino!

Here is the most official explanation of the phrase I could find....

It sounds like the most typically American of phrases, but it seems originally to have been Scots, first recorded in the eighteenth century.

Nobody seems to know exactly what its origin is, though it has been suggested it’s linked to the Old Norse huka, to squat; that would make it a close cousin of old Dutch huiken and modern German hocken, meaning to squat or crouch, which makes sense. That’s certainly what’s meant by the word in American English, in phrases like hunker down or on your hunkers.

The Oxford English Dictionary has a fine description of how to hunker: “squat, with the haunches, knees, and ankles acutely bent, so as to bring the hams near the heels, and throw the whole weight upon the fore part of the feet”. The advantage of this position is that you’re not only crouched close to the ground, so presenting a small target for whatever the universe chooses to throw at you, but you’re also ready to move at a moment’s notice.

Hunker down has also taken on the sense of to hide, hide out, or take shelter, whatever position you choose to do it in. This was a south-western US dialect form that was popularised by President Johnson in the mid 1960s. Despite its Scots ancestry, hunker is rare in standard British English.

I have to admit...the LBJ explanation makes the most sense!!!



Monday, September 19, 2005

Trying to Reason with the Football Season!

It's Monday night and I'm just now able to speak about Notre Dame's overtime loss to Michigan State. They played like a top 5 team and I was real impressed with the Irish and their big comback that just fell short. The clock ran out with MSU pinned on their goal line which eventually spelled doom for domers since we suck when it comes to overtime. If MSU goes out and lays an egg next weekend, it will really piss me off since their Quarterback looked like the second coming of Fran Tarkenton! To add insult to injury, MSU made a big deal of planting their flag on Irish turf right in front of the cameras. I bet Coach Weis makes good use of that next year when we visit Lansing!!

I also took a sound thrashing in fantasy football, my pick em league and all my side bets. Everything I backed went to hell in a hand basket.


"Where's that Sharp Knife...."


Saturday, September 17, 2005

A Generational View of the Name Game!!


SPITTIN BILL DOAK


Just killing some time before ND plays Michigan State later this afternoon! Started noticing the difference in nicknames comparing my parents generation to present day. It would seem that people were much more humble back in the era of "The Greatest Generation". When you were stamped with a nickname back then, it was usually something cute that wasn't very flattering. My mom was called "Jimmy" and my father had many mysterious names like "Oral" and "Hank". My dad apparently had a brother they called "Oval" and I even had an "Aunt Nonie"!

Another window into past nomenclatures would be baseball nicknames! Names like Dummy Hoy, Wahoo Sam Crawford, Turkey Strearns, High Pockets Kelly, Leo "The Lip" Durocher, Peanuts Lowry and Spittin Bill Doak! Compare that to names of present day players like Crime Dog McGriff, Neon Deon Sanders, The Big Unit, Scrap Iron Garner, Mr. October etc.

You might also notice that very few kids these days are named John, Bill, Bob, etc.

Are we a little full of ourselves compared to earlier generations?

Friday, September 16, 2005

Big Party in Klingerville!!!

MUDHENS TAKE THE TITLE!!!!!!


Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Quote of the Week!!

I would like to thank my old college bud "The Senator" for this one...it's a classic!!

"Government is the Entertainment Division
of the military-industrial complex."
-- Frank Zappa
(1940-1993), Musician

Lose the Urban Assault Vehicles!!

It's about time we get serious about fuel conservation and dump those Gas Hog Urban Assault Vehicles we've been driving....will the VW Bug make a comeback!! I wish Toledo had a Bay Area Rapid Transit or even an Elevated like Chicago!!!

The Dreaded Healthcare Hunt!

First, lets start with this little tidbit from the Miami Herald..

Workers to bear more health care costs




Associated Press

The nation's employers are struggling with close to double-digit increases in health care costs in 2006, and consequently will be shifting more of that burden to their employees, according to a new survey of more than 1,800 firms.

The preliminary survey, released Tuesday by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, found that employers anticipate an almost 10 percent increase in health care costs next year, about three times the rate of general inflation, if they leave benefits unchanged.

I am starting a new job in less than two weeks and am on the hunt for individual healthcare bennies. So far, there is absolutlely nothing that matches my present group plan. I will probably have to face a high deductible with an 80/20 plan. For a guy with no bucks in the bank, that basically means avoiding the doc at all costs.

I can take comfort in the thought that if I get run over by an out of control Hummer, I will only owe thousands instead of millions. At least I have some comfort in knowing that with my new job...the more successful I am, the more money I make. I will need it since my "Wild Child" days are catching up with me as I pass from the "Dirty Old Man " stage to the "Geezer" stage!

At least I'm not watching "Lawrence Welk " reruns, yet!!

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Sleepy LeBeef at the Black Swamp Fest!!


Made it down to the Black Swamp Fest to check out Sleepy LeBeef!! Hooked up with Sudsy (And Family) and Spence who are alumni from the record store days. Sleepy did a great job once again with "Polk Salad Annie". I was a little disappointed since he didn't do "Suzie Q" like he did at the Magic Bag in Detroit. Other than that, Sleepy Rocked!!

Gorgeous night in BG and everyone was talking about the next days football matchups, when all of a sudden a hush fell out over the group and I felt a female type hugging me from behind! My delusions of grandeur were completely assuaged when I found it was my neice, who was there with her pilot hubby, Tad, being good Bowling Green Alumni!

Got home just in time to see OU put a whoopin on Pitt!!




Explaining EastToledoVille


Actually, I no longer reside in East Toledo. The guy that lived upstairs starting selling stale cigarettes to the kids out front of the house which was really emabarrasing when I brought the girls from the office home for lunch. I now reside in the suburbs. I still think of myself as an East Sider because "You can take the boy of the East Side, but you can't take East Side out of the boy"!!

Welcome to EastToledoVille!

I just stumbled across this really cheap and easy way to have my own blog!! I'm not really sure where I'm going with this but I guess this will be about the meanderings of the typical midwest paycheck to paycheck type dude trying to make sense of it all.

Just had an emotionally mixed bag weekend. I was all pumped up Saturday morning when The Irish won the big game in the Big House but was bummed out later when the Buckeyes went down to the stupid Longhorns.

The local primaries are going on in the Glass City. We have a person named Opal Covey running for Mayor. I think she should be elected mainly because of her entertainment value. I don't think she has a good record with animal advocacy groups, however!!