Everyday Words

The word "Noodle" is funny. No matter how you say it or use it in a sentence, it just sounds funny, like it's not even a real word.

Try it. Say it a few times. Noodle. Noodle. Noodle. I am laughing my ass off. A word that rhymes with Noodle would also be funny, but there are no words that rhyme with Noodle, Except Oodles, which is one of those made-up words so I am not going to count it even though it's probably in the dictionary.

Folks who make the dictionary always try to be hip and cool by including slang words and stuff like Oodles that may have come into widespread use at one time, but you don't hear much today.

I don't know that they ever take words out of the dictionary, but it's helpful for me to know that I can watch repeats of "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" with confidence that I can clear up all my confusion by looking up words like "jiggy". I don't think people much say "jiggy" anymore. I'm sure that no one says "bust a move" because once I said it about a year ago to see what would happen, and I was pretty much told that no one says that anymore. But not in so many words. There was laughter involved.

One words that astounds me is "cool". I don't know for sure, but I think people started using it in the 50s to describe someone who was disaffected and cynical, like Fonzie on "Happy Days" (at least how he was in the first couple years that show was on, where he rode around and never really said much; not like in the later years where he would give the thumbs-up and go "AAAAAAAAY!" like he was retarded or something). In the 60's I think the word could sometimes mean just the opposite, and at times it may have been "cool" to be all up and screaming and angry and protesting the war or whatever else the protested back then. It the 70's it was "cool" to be all wrapped up in yourself; in the 80's it was cool to be smart and greedy. My dictionary says that cool means "socially adept" but I think it has more to do with widespread acceptance, like being trendy and good.

What I think is interesting is that this is a slang word that folks started using at least 50 years ago, and they still use it, and it still means basically the same thing, and it's still slang. I mean, you don't hear captains of industry saying "profit margins were really cool this quarter" or the President saying "The Taliban is SO uncool".

I can't think of another word like it. I mean, there are slang words you could still say and people might know what it means, like "far out" or "gnarly", but you would sound like an idiot. And of course you could always say "awesome" but that's different, because it meant "good" even when it wasn't slang.

I just remembered that "poodle" and "doodle" both rhyme with "noodle". They are both funny, but having said both of them out loud several times, I don't think either is as funny as the word "Noodle". It would be funny if you had a poodle and named it Noodle McDoodle. And if it was really good at sticking to a budget, you could say it was frugal. And it played the bugle. I know those last two don't really rhyme, but they are still funny.

Names can be funny things, too, in kind of the same way. I mean like some names get popular and then fade away, like Brandon and Dylan got real popular when that 90210 show was on. I think they have to do with TV shows. Like how many girls do you know named Tabitha whose parents watched "Bewitched"?

It would be fun to have an alien name. I don't know why, but here are the rules for making up alien names:

1) Vowels: Lots of hard "A" and "O" sounds,

2) Consonants: Lots of "B", "L", and "K" sounds, and especially "X", "Z" and "Q" whenever possible,

3) End names with "ar", "ot", "ak", "an", etc.

3) 2 syllables,

4) Alliterate when possible

Boltak Mantor
Grocho Morbod
Toran Zartak
Maalox Baltan

See, it's easy.

I always thought it would be funny if an alien on Star Trek had a name that sounded like something else. Especially a cuss word. I mean, there are only so many sounds you can make.

"Welcome aboard the Enterprise, Ensign...?"

"Jonjo Buttwipe, Captain. From the planet Hemroidia."

(Off-subject for a second: It seems like more and more on Star Trek you can get away with anything by claiming that its part of your culture: "It's customary on my planet to kick the crap out of people for no reason, sir.")

To me, the word "Anthrax" sounds alien.

I've always wanted to just make up my own slang, so that there would just be like 4 or 5 people who knew what I was saying. On second thought that would be incredibly stupid.

The name "Wally" is really funny. I'm surprised that name isn't more popular than it is. Especially it would be for someone whose last name started with "W". Like Wally Washington.

I just thought of a great name for a band. Doofus.

Travel The World

People always say they want to travel.

"I want to travel when I get older."

"I love to travel."

"If I had a million dollars I would travel the world."

And yet everyone complains about airline food and the hassles of flying and airports and delays. And when you drive somewhere it takes forever, and when you get there you have to rest from your long trip. And what is there to see? Other places, other countries, other ways of doing things. Big deal. If you live in a halfway urban area in North America, you don't have to go more than 10 miles in any direction to meet people from 100 different countries. Want to see old buildings? History? Churches? We got all that right here, too. Folks don't know their own history. Plus, if you stay home, you can drink the water and you don't have to worry about someone serving you dog-meat or bugs, and you won't wind up in prison for accidentally saying something bad about cows. And everyone speaks your language.

I just don't see what the big deal is.