Wednesday's Word

formerly known as the "What're Words For..."

Word: Muckle (V.)
Definition: to seize, grasp

Usage:
“Muckle onto one end of this sofa, will ye? I put my back out yesterday and can’t lift nawthin’.”



(Definition from: "How To Talk Yankee", by Gerald Lewis & Tim Sample, copyright 1979, 1986 by The Thorndike Press; copyright 1989 by the First North Country Press)

Did You Know Tuesday

Did you know....

...that a group of pigs is called a drift?

Monday Morning Chuckle

If you decide to go camping in British Columbia, be sure to read and heed the warnings in reference to bears. And be sure to bring pepper.

Philadelphia Soul - Champions of Arena Bowl XXII!

The Philadelphia Soul just defeated the San Jose Sabercats by a score of 59 to 56 to win the Arena Bowl XXII championship. After achieving their best regular season mark of 12-3, the Soul stormed through the playoffs and into the Arena Bowl.

San Jose made a lot of costly mistakes that the Soul took full advantage of on their way to the victory. The Sabercats scored twice in the final minute (actually, within 14 seconds) making the game close, but the Sabercat's onside kick did not work for the them the second time, and the Soul covered up and ran out the final 15 seconds.

The Sabercats were the defending champs, a title now held by the Philadelphia Soul.

Yeah Soul!

WooooHooooo!!

The SoulMan is very very happy

Gettin' Your Soul On

Tomorrow, Sunday July 27, 2008, ArenaBowl XXII will be played in New Orleans between the Philadelphia Soul and the current reigning champs San Jose Sabercats.

I lived in Philly for 12 years, and it was 5 years ago that Jon Bon Jovi, Ron 'Jaws' Jaworski and others brought an arena football team to Philadelphia, a team they named the Soul after the musical history rooted in Philadelphia, The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP).

Their first season was a .500 season if I remember correctly, with the subsequent seasons being at that level or worse. I didn't care what their record was because attending the games is a lot of fun...much more fun than watching on TV because during the way-too-many-ads, at the game there is stuff being given away by way of games played on the field (races, football throwing events) and in the stands (name that song, trivia, etc). But this year, after an amazing 12-3 record, and one year after I left Philly, they have their best season so far, and make it to the big game, ArenaBowl XXII. Awesome!

Living back here in Maine has prevented me from seeing any of their games this year live at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philly (which was only 10 minutes from where I lived)...the first time for me since the Soul came into the league...but I was able to catch them occassionally on ESPN, and I will be watching tomorrow at 3pm when the final game of the season begins. I'll be wearing my scruffy, 5 year old Soul hat, drinking some beers, and wishing that, like will be happening at the game, someone would come out and shoot a t-shirt at me with their t-shirt shooting gun.

So just for fun, you should tune in to ArenaBowl XXII on Sunday, July 27, 2008 at 3pm (EST). And you should cheer for the Soul. After all, if they win, it'll be the first team in Philly to win a major championship in forever. And the city would love to have a victory parade.

GO SOUL!!

PS Yes, I acknowledge that the Flyers minor farm team, the Philadelphia Phantoms, have won the Calder Cup twice in their history...1998 and 2005, but the city really did nothing for that team. And actually, now that the city has decided to tear down the original Spectrum, the Phantoms are without a home and there is talk of moving the team one hour North to Allentown. How's that for a city supporting it's only championship team in over 30 years??

JAMES IS COMING!! JAMES IS COMING!!

Well, for the first time since the early 1990’s, James is touring the US and releasing their “new” album Hey Ma, which was released in the UK in April.

The tour starts in Boston at the Paradise Rock Club on Monday, September 15. The picture below is blurry and barely readable (yeah…my digi cam is two years old and completely sucks for close-ups), but it is my ticket for the opening night of James’ US tour in Boston.

I’m so psyched!!! The band starts their first US tour in a bazillion years in Boston on September 15, which is the day before their latest CD, Hey Ma, gets released in the US. This also marks the first time in the same bazillion years that James has had a US distribution deal.

So, hurry hurry hurry!! Buy your tickets to see James, and most definitely, if you don’t have it already, go out on Tuesday, Sept 16 and buy Hey Ma.

At some point on Tuesday, September 16, I will have a concert wrap-up from their show at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, and I’ll post their set list. I just wish I had the $$$ to head down to Philly at the close of their Boston show as the Trocodero is their next stop on this brief, 3-week US tour.

James, it’s great to have you guys back State-side!

Hey Ma, I’m going to the James show!

Wednesday's Word
formerly known as the "What're Words For..."

Word: Ye (Pronoun)
Pronounced: “Yee” or “yeh”
Definition: second person, singular or plural. This old fashioned word survives as a localism.

Usage:
“How be ye” is a common greeting, especially among older folk.


(Definition from: "How To Talk Yankee", by Gerald Lewis & Tim Sample, copyright 1979, 1986 by The Thorndike Press; copyright 1989 by the First North Country Press)

Did You Know Tuesdays…

A new feature here at TFKoP will be Did You Know Tuesdays where I’ll amaze you with amazing tidbits culled from some of the deepest depths of human history. Things that will astound you. Things that will amaze you. Things that will make you go…who the hell cares, TFKoP????

So, Did You Know…??

…that the former lead singer of 80's band Survivor, Dave Bickler, is the singer in the “Real Men of Genius” ads for Bud Light??? (NOTE: This series of ads used to be called “Real American Heroes”, but Budweiser wisely made the decision to change this to “Real Men of Genius” after the 9/11 attacks when it was clear that they could not call beer drinkers heroes when there were actual heroes who responded to, and in some cases died, during this tragic period of time.) This is no endorsement for any product made by Anheiser-Busch, because all of their products suck beyond belief, but they sure do know how to hire great ad agencies, and this ad campaign, around since 1999, is hysterically funny.

So, Monsieur Bickler has gone from this….(Eye of the Tiger video on YouTube):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hYVrTQwUJEI

Dave Bickler, on the left, with Survivor (1980'ish)

...to this...(Real Men of Genius ad on Youtube):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PotxdkKx-tA

Dave Bickler more recently...

A great move on his part.

Note: Sorry to make you link to the vids...blogger was not accepting these vids...or any vids...for some reason. Stoopid blogger.

Monday Morning Chuckle

People schooled in the fine martial arts skills of karate can be deadly with what they've learned.

Or, they can be complete dorks.

This week, I present the latter. Chop suey, indeed.

Christ...Hong Kong Phooey has better moves than these clowns.

Wednesday's Word
formerly known as the "What're Words For..."

Word: No-see-um (N.)
Definition: tiny biting insect, minge

When you’re off on a fishing trip, or just a walk through a field, and the exposed parts of your body feel dozensx of fiery nips, you’ve made acquaintance with the no-see-ums or minges.



(Definition from: "How To Talk Yankee", by Gerald Lewis & Tim Sample, copyright 1979, 1986 by The Thorndike Press; copyright 1989 by the First North Country Press)

Monday Morning Chuckle

Jerry Remy is the color commentator for NESN’s broadcasts of the Boston Red Sox games and has been since 1988. He used to be a second-baseman for the team from 1977 until 1985. Known as Rem Dawg, he is a likeable, if a bit goofy, guy. Watching him and Don Orsillo on NESN can often be a pleasant distraction from the game because of how funny they are together.

Why all the set-up for today’s Monday Morning Chuckle? Well, knowing the wackiness of Rem Dawg will help you to better appreciate this clip, which is from last season (2007). Remy, however, is still hearing about this little debacle that was caught on camera. It's friggin' hilarious!

One Year Ago Today....

....I drove my moving truck out of Philadelphia as I began my journey back to Maine. After living in Philadelphia since March of 1995 I made the decision to move back to my hometown and it was this day last year that a full 16-foot moving truck, driven by moi, left my tiny little South Philadelphia street to make my way back to a small town in Maine (pop. 9,100).

I do not regret the decision as it has been so much more quiet and peaceful here in Maine than it ever was in Philadelphia. I loved my 12+ years in Philly but have found that I'm much more suited for small-town living.

I'm still in touch with a couple of people in Philly and the surrounding area, but truth be told, I'm quite disappointed that so very few of the 'friends' I made in my 12 years of residence in the City of Brotherly Love have even bothered to send me a "how you doing?" email. What is it with people who subscribe to the out-of-sight-out-of-mind philosophy? I'm especially bummed that the my friends (with only 3 exceptions, and you know who you are and you know I hope to keep hearing from you) from my disc golf family have even bothered reaching out to me since I moved. I thought I had spent my 12 years in Philly at the disc golf course (which was my home-away-from-home) making friends, but it turns out I was only making acquaintences. Such is life. It just sucks when people look you in the eye and say "Oh yeah I'll be in touch!" and turns out that they just can't be bothered with picking up a phone or sending an email.

But that's neither here nor there as it has been awesome being back. Less crime, less violence, less trash on the streets (well, practically no trash on the streets), much better weather (okay, I concede...the past winter was pretty brutal up here) and people who actually say hi to you on the street who don't even know you.

Sunrise hitting Katahdin on the morning of July 4, 2008

So Philadelphia, I must say I had 12 good years with you and for the couple of people I'm still in touch with that made the stay in Pennsylvania worth it. But I am glad to be back in Maine.

TFKoP having a rough time enjoying Maine

One year and counting...

Wednesday's Word
formerly known as the "What're Words For..."

Word: Minge (N.), midge
Definition: A little, tiny, teeny-weeny insect with a vicious bite that is disproportionate to its size.



(Definition from: "How To Talk Yankee", by Gerald Lewis & Tim Sample, copyright 1979, 1986 by The Thorndike Press; copyright 1989 by the First North Country Press)

Monday Morning Chuckle

...delivered in the afternoon

A guy comes home from work and gives his wife the largest, most beautiful bouquet of flowers she has ever seen. Thinking this to out of character, she says, "Oh, I suppose know I'll have to be flat on my back with my legs in the air for the next five days?" To which the surprised husband says, "Why? Don't you have a vase?"

**wait for it......wait for it..........HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**

Going Uptacamp

It's 8am on Thursday, July 3rd, and I'm heading uptacamp! That's right, here in Maine, we go to our camp. Not a place to put up a tent, but an actual building that sits on the shore of a lake. Well, in my case, the camp (or 'cabin' as many of you may refer to this type of building) is on an island that's on the humungous South Twin Lake.

I held out hope that my closest friend would be inviting me to her wedding which occurs today, but alas they kept it to immediate family only, so I was left on the outs. But that's not a bad thing because now I get to spend a couple of days where the air is clear and at night you can see every fucking star in the night sky.

The beer is packed. The ganj is packed. I'm bringing some of the best food ever prepped for a camping trip. It's gonna be a fun, if not mentally-cloudy (**hiccup**), kind of trip. I can't wait. And of course, I have my fishing license.

Here's a wish to everyone for a super happy (and safe!) 4th of July weekend here in the States. 232 years of Independence here in the great United States of America.

I love it. Peace.

Wednesday's Word
formerly known as the "What're Words For..."

Word: Slicker’n a smelt (adv.)
Definition: easily

Usage:
“We kept to the right-hand side in the rips below Russell’s Point, found the heavy water, and put that 20-foot Guide’s Model through there slicker’n a smelt.”



(Definition from: "How To Talk Yankee", by Gerald Lewis & Tim Sample, copyright 1979, 1986 by The Thorndike Press; copyright 1989 by the First North Country Press)