Category Archives: Wednesday Wonderings

Wednesday Wonderings: Updating the Lexicon

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I had a down moment and was rifling through the Lexicon, realizing that we have probably added many new terms that need to be updated within the old Lexicon that was carried over from the GTP site.

I took the liberty of adding a few, so here’s a few samples:

Bobo (n.) – 1. a person lacking originality and critical thinking skills, particularly in the face of intense competition. 2. a person who cunningly adjusts to an opponent’s strategy yet is underscored of their efforts because of past and present failures. 3. Former quarterback and current Offensive Coordinator of the University of Georgia Football team.

Dammit, Bobo (n./adj.) – taken as a singular term, this refers to a poorly designed or poorly called offensive play in American football, particularly by University of Georgia Football Offensive Coordinator, Mike Bobo.

Geniuses (n.) – a collective of people posting only the wisest and most well thought out opinions on virtual discussion pages, particularly about sports.

Joey Freshwater (n.) – 1. The name given to a journeyman coach who served on the sidelines of several Southeastern Conference football teams. 2. One who seemingly fails upwards, despite personal and professional transgressions along the way.

Kurb Stomped (or Kirb Stomped) (v.) – when the opponent of a Kirby Smart coached Georgia Football team has been beaten thoroughly or in an embarrassing manner.

Rain (n.) – 1. A sudden release of cooled air particles from the sky that falls to earth as droplets of water, sometimes referred to as a “shower”. 2. The chief reason why the “#1 for a week” Tennessee Volunteers Football Team lost to Georgia in November of 2022.

Twix (n.) – A social media site, formerly known as Twitter, that was bought by a space cowboy who changed the name to “X”.

Ladd McConkey gallops to the end zone in the 63-3 Kirb Stomping of the Florida State Seminoles, December 2023.

Throw it out in the comments and I’ll fold it into the Lexicon, and give credit to whoever comes up with it like the Senator did, as well.

Wednesday Wondering: Wastin’ Away in Margaritaville

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Searchin’ for my lost shaker of salt.

Excuse me. Here’s today’s Wondering:

Personally, I’ve done A more times than I can count, lived in B and don’t desire to go back, have nothing interesting in C personally, but I’m torn between D and E. On one hand, it’s hard to top Fort Myers and Sanibel Island, and you’ve got the Everglades in there and West Palm and Miami.

But if I had to pick, I’d head back to E and just spend the two weeks in Key West.

Hemingway, historic downtown Key West, six toed cats, reliving Running Scared, living it up in Margaritaville proper. I think I could spend a proper two weeks there.

How about you? Where would you visit if you had the choice based on the Twix above?

Wednesday Wondering: Theme Songs

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This should be a fun one. I can recall as a young lad, starting to drift away for the night and laying on the couch, suddenly stirring because of the first chords of a great TV show theme song.

Barney Miller definitely had a great song…I can’t say that I had much of interest in the show itself (I largely didn’t get it), but the song was great, soulful, and powerful. Nice. Some of the others I remember from my youth that I enjoyed a lot:

The Jeffersons

Sung and written by Ja’Net DuBois, who played Willona Woods on Good Times, and Jeff Barry, who had writing credits including “Doo Wa Diddy Diddy”. this song was recorded with a full on gospel choir and Norman Lear was so impressed by it it actually served to help set the literal vision of the show. Cool stuff and somehow can still remember all the lyrics to this day.

Dallas

Yep, this was one of those theme songs that signaled bed time for me, but I love how upbeat and strong the whole song is, including a key change and nice loud end. The series jumped the shark with Who Shot JR, in my opinion…or maybe it was when Bobby just showed back up in the shower in one of the episodes.

Hill Street Blues

Another signal for a date wit the Sandman, I have to say this song perfectly matched the shows very serious and dark seriousness and tone. It sounds like a memoriam when it played, and I can recall that I never, ever, wanted to go to that horrible, violent place called New York City.

Miami Vice

Mainly because this was one of my favorite shows, but Michael Mann always had really great songs with his series and movies, and I can recall listening to the tape back in the day that had all of Jan Hammer’s songs on it, and everything including the opening theme was a favorite of mine.

Simon and Simon

Just a great song, really enjoyed the series, too. Would’ve been a song I’d have listened to on the radio or on repeat if it was longer.

Others I can remember and really liked:

  • Magnum P.I.
  • Newhart
  • Little House on the Prarie
  • WKRP in Cincinnati
  • Fraggle Rock
  • Night Court
  • The Muppet Show
  • LA Law
  • The Dukes of Hazzard

How about you, Refugees? Which was your favorite and why…and which show’s theme song was your signal to head to bed?

Wednesday Wondering: Stranger Things

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Let’s kick it off with this:

Now that’s…that’s…unique. And a little strange.

I was a fan of Jack Palance on Ripley’s Believe It…Or Not…and you learned about a host of unique or strange things that were out there. My weirdest, strangest one I learned about…

The french tradition of eating the Ortolan Bunting.

Ze napkin! Eet does nothing!

As I’ve heard it, the French prefer to catch these little guys in nets during their migratory period to Africa, drown them in brandy, then roast them whole for about 8 minutes a side…then eat them…whole. Diners cover their faces with napkins, I’m assuming here to prevent others from being nauseated by seeing someone eating a whole bird filled with brandy. I’m not kidding you…

They are then kept in covered cages or boxes. They are then force-fed grain, usually millet seed, until they double their bulk. They are then suspended upside down over a container of Armagnac, and by dipping, made to drown, and then marinated in the brandy.[14][15]

The birds are then plucked, salted and peppered and cooked in their own fat for seven minutes. Many consumers of this dish then place the bird feet first into their mouth while holding onto the bird’s head. They eat the ortolan whole, with or without the head, and some may spit out the larger bones, while others eat the whole bird head, bones and all. The traditional way French gourmands eat ortolans is to cover their heads and face with a large napkin or towel while consuming the bird. The purpose of the towel is debated. Some claim it is to retain the maximum aroma with the flavour as they consume the entire bird at once, while according to The Daily Telegraph, “Tradition dictates that [the towel] is to shield – from God’s eyes – the shame of such a decadent and disgraceful act”,[14] and others have suggested the towel simply hides the consumers spitting out bones.[16] This use of the towel was begun by a priest, a friend of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.[17]

I don’t want to hear anyone say a damn thing about eating pig’s feet or gizzards, you hear me?

Anyway, what’s the strangest thing you’ve ever learned about…and be sure to share for the class.

Wednesday Wondering: Ain’t Quite What It Used to Be

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Here’s a picture that might resonate with some of our older readers:

I’ve heard stories about the crowd on the tracks. Seems like it was a fun time, and that’s an understatement. It also sounds like it was the Athens equivalent of the seating area for Los Angeles Raiders (not Vegas, the old school rough and rowdies) diehard fans.

The thing that gets me the most about the picture is the simplicity. A KFC bucket, a brown bag, and I’m assuming a cooler for the beer.

No pop up tents, priority parking passes, HDTVs, buffets, and a full bar. Honestly, the beer is a simple selection before there were eleven million types and microbrews. It was just simple. Hell, probably even cheap. Oddly, everyone isn’t wearing the latest $100+ Georgia gear that abounds in our modern era.

The thing I miss the most in the new era of Georgia football – at least for attending games – is the simple tailgate experience. We tailgated for years in the dark days of the 90s under an oak tree across from the practice field by Butts-Mehre, in what I think was the Credit Union parking lot.

It was here, I’m pretty sure. And it was *gasp* free to park!

We could just park, take out a few folding chairs, eat Publix chicken and drink beer. You threw the trash in a black plastic bag at the end, threw the chairs and cooler back in the car, and you were done. We might’ve had a radio going or playing music out of the back of the Jeep, but aside from that, it was easy and we threw a football around for entertainment. For games being played elsewhere, you heard the scores on the radio.

And no freaking phones or tablets.

That’s my old man gripe for the day…but for today’s Wondering:

What do you miss the most about attending Georgia football games from the days gone by?

Wednesday Wondering: It’s Just a Flesh Wound

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I did not know this:

I grew up watching Monty Python on Channel 8 (GPTV) and really got a kick out of it. I wasn’t allowed to watch much Benny Hill, but here was plenty o good comedy movies in my early years that shaped by funny bone today. Some of my favorites:

  • Vacation
  • Young Frankenstein
  • History of the World Part I
  • Sixteen Candles
  • Animal House
  • The Jerk
  • Bananas
  • Kentucky Fried Movie
  • Airplane
  • Better Off Dead

They don’t make them like they used to, as they say.

So what say you…what’s your favorite comedy movies and what makes them so good compared to anything we see today?

Your Late Wednesday Wondering: Nicknames

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This should provide us with some late afternoon conversation:

For our purposes, take it beyond just baseball and include all sports, or you can just keep it Georgia related.

To start, I really enjoyed “Le Sack” for Richard Tardits, “The Mailman” for Stetson, and I have a soft spot in my heart for “Sky” Hertwig.

How about you…what are you Georgia or other sports athletes’ nicknames?

Have at it.

Wednesday Wondering: Practice Makes Perfect

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Interesting sound bite from a Dawg here:

For today’s Wondering, tell me about something you had to work hard to perfect, through practice or patience, that made you excellent. I’ll start:

I’m a natural introvert. It’s baked in my DNA. One hallmark of introverts is their inability to express themselves, they’re corner huggers at parties, they’re quiet. One thing I’ll say is that beer and UGA broke me out of that. A public speaking class at UGA helped me a lot, and helped me more when the GA who taught it asked me out for a date. And my public speaking project was on the 2nd Amendment and why it was important for us to have the Right to Bear Arms.

In retrospect, I shoulda asked for a second date instead of stumping for the Amendment, but I digress. No, I don’t digress, she was as hot as a South Georgia summer under a clear blue sky beating down on rich, ripe watermelons, and I shoulda had more confidence. Ah, choices. And the life we lead. But, to this day, my remedial English class at UGA along with this fateful class has turned me into the man I am today. I wouldn’t be writing this prose without it.

Discuss, scamps.

Wednesday Wondering: Pet Smart

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Sorry for the lack of Musings and Roundtables this week. Been a bit of a week in the McDonough household so my apologies.

For today, here’s this to kick it off:

So, for today’s wondering…what’s your favorite pet, if you have one? Are you a dog person, a cat person, a farm animal person? No, not like the Tennessee folks might think of a farm animal, but more like a large animal, a horse you favored, cow, etc.

My personal favorite was an orange tabby named Wendell, who we found as a kitten at Wendy’s, and not necessarily because he was a cat, but because he had a magnetic personality. He’d gladly ride around on your shoulders, I’d take him out on bike rides and he’d sit with his paws on the handle bar like he was steering himself. He was a great cat, I’m not going to go into how he left us. Had a couple of others, two Russian blue cats that likewise were amazingly kind, we called Jake and Elwood Blues. Two cool and docile brothers that lived a long, long time and were great companions that weren’t a bother or a pain in the ass as many cats can be. And there was a chihuahua named Dooley. He was as all chihuahuas were, so let’s leave it at that.

So who/what is your furry sidekick of choice, and feel free to share a memory if you’d like to.

Wednesday Wondering: Is Atlanta Cursed?

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Not the town, per se, but the sports teams.

And…

I’m not sure about the Hawks, as I haven’t followed NBA Basketball since the days of Michael Jordan, however long ago that was. Atlanta United has taken a backslide. Georgia Tech basketball is the worst it’s been in recent memory (giggle). In general, the Atlanta professional sports product has recently left much to be desired, and the Braves had, at one time, been the lone shining spot in local pro sports that you could rely on to at least be decent.

But with the team’s focus less on the diamond and more about expanding the Battery into a multi-functional living space, America’s Team has become just another casualty in Atlanta sports lore.

So for today’s wondering…is Atlanta vexed as a sports town? Is it piss poor management, mediocre expectations from fans for performance, or because it’s just background noise for an expensive night out on the town?

Penny for your thoughts.