Expressions We Know

There are expressions that never die out.  The top expression at eslbuzz.com is: 1. I'd better get on my horse.  This is an expression I've never heard anyone say.  So as number 1 in the list, the my 'take-away' is that this is a very old list. These are expressions from my childhood... 2. Break a leg!  Good luck! (Usually said to someone who is going to appear in front of an audience.) 3. Dig in!  You can start eating your meal. 4. Bite your tongue!  Keep quiet! 5. Butt out!  Go away and mind your own business! 6. By the skin of my teeth.  Only just. 7. Beats me. I don’t know. 8. Drop me a line.  Write me (a letter). What about current jargon?  I found a list that looks more current at babble.com by JOHN-ERIK JORDAN 21. What’s up? / Wassup? / ‘sup? Meaning: “Hello, how are you?” No matter what you learned in English lessons, do not greet a friend or acquaintance with, “How do you do?” What’s up? or the even more informal ‘sup? mean the same thing without making you sound like you should be doffing a top hat. In more formal situations, it’s better to say, “Nice to meet you” or “Nice to see you.” The beauty of What’s up? is that it is not really a question in need of an answer. Just like the French “ça va?” you can respond to “What’s up?” with… you guessed it: “What’s up?”! We know you’re thinking it, so here’s the beer commercial that made the phrase world famous. 20. Awesome! Meaning: great In the old days, awesome was a word reserved for the truly powerful, fear-inducing and sublime: the view from a mountaintop, the sea during a storm, the voice of God emanating from a burning bush. You know, massive, awe-inspiring things that “put the fear of God in ya.” But awesome has expanded in the American lexicon to include the less awe-inspiring, like a hit single, a hamburger, some new sneakers… if you’re even just mildly excited about something, it can be awesome: “I saw the new Star Wars in IMAX over the weekend.” “Awesome. Did you like it?” “Oh yeah, it was awesome. Hey, can I get a sip of your iced tea?” “Sure.” “Awesome, thanks.” 19. Like Like can be used as multiple parts of speech (comparing similar things, in similes, a synonym for “enjoy”), but it’s slang usage — introduced into youth culture by “valley girls” in the 1980s — is hard to pin down. “Oh my god, it was like the worst date I’ve ever been on. Richard was like such a jerk!” In this example, like could be mistaken for a preposition meaning “similar to,” but it’s actually not! When dropped into sentences in this manner, like is a discourse particle or discourse marker which denotes topic changes, reformulations, discourse planning, stressing, hedging, or back-channeling. In practical terms, “like” is the word that just falls into the gaps in speech when you might otherwise say “um” or “uhhh.” If you want to hear like in action, there is no better example than Shoshanna from the TV show Girls. She’s like the best! Important note: Peppering too many likes into conversation can make one sound childish and frivolous — fine for parties but probably not job interviews (but most Americans under the age of 35 say the word more often than they probably realize). 18. I hear you / I hear ya Meaning: I empathize with your point of view With only three words you can make it plain that you are really listening to someone and relate to what they are saying: “I’m kinda sad to be back from vacation. I wish I was still on that sandy tropical beach.” “I hear ya. After I got back from Acapulco, the view from my apartment depressed me for weeks.” “Tell me about it,” is the sarcastic alternative, as in “don’t tell me about it because I already know too well!” 17. Oh my God! This exclamation is not as pious as it sounds. In fact, conservative religious types would probably find it tasteless (not to mention that it breaks the fourth commandment!) and would likely substitute with “Oh, my goodness!” Denizens of the internet probably recognize the version of this phrase that’s become enshrined in meme-dom as “ermahgerd.” The rest of the countdown is HERE. Gerry visits the steam tractor museum today.  I realize my pictures are from Winter, and may not be as much fun as what he'll experience today.  On the other hand, steam is wonderful any time of year.

Turkey Dinner

"Prior to the turkey tradition Christmas fare included roast swan, pheasants and peacocks.  A special treat was a roast goals head decorated with holly and fruit. Henry VIII was considered the first English King to enjoy turkey. Edward VII made eating turkey fashionable at Christmas." Shakespeare talked about it in Henry IV. And then of course, the Christmas Carol elevated it to stardom. Some believe Scrooge's gift of a Christmas turkey to the Crotchet family helped cement the turkey's place at the centre of the holiday meal for both modest and affluent households of England. And what about the tradition of breaking the wishbone? It comes from Europe, and is thousands of years old, originating with the Etruscans who believed chickens were oracles and could predict the future.  Are there Christmas meal records?  One site says that "One notable medieval English Christmas celebration featured a giant, 165-pound pie.  The pie was nine feet in diameter.  Its ingredients included 2 bushels of flour, 20 pounds of butter, 4 geese, 2 rabbits, 4 wild ducks, 2 woodcocks, 6 snipes, 4 partridges, 2 neats' tongues, 2 curlews, 6 pigeons and 7 blackbirds.  We have some pictures today to "Puslinch Steam" and another of the Christmas greetings.

The Flying Scotsman and the Steam Traction Museum

The news is producing some great stories - today it is the "Flying Scotsman' steam engine roars down rails once more.  It is here for you to read the article and see the video.  The quote of the day: “The smell of coal, oil and steam,” remarked one woman as it rolled past. “If you could bottle that in a perfume, I’d wear it.” In honour of steam, we head to Puslinch, Ontario where Wayne Fischer's Steam Traction Museum holds a wealth of treasurers.

Full Steam Ahead for 2016!

Steam Traction!  These are too big to be called 'Tractors'. That's what these pictures show.  We drove to Puslinch Ontario which isn't very far away - only a half hour or so.  It seemed like a century away - into the rural landscape of Ontario and into the past of farming. This is part of the collection of private collector and restorer Wayne Fischer.  He had an open house for the volunteers of the Steam Heritage Museum.  This is a private facility on his property.  Volunteers were allowed to invite a few friends and Gerry and I were lucky to be invited. We saw dozens of these massive steam tractors in the shop. The facility houses his own collection and has engines from other collectors so it is a big facility and is packed with these machines in varied states of restoration. At the far end is a boat which has the story of being the sister boat to the "African Queen" in the Humphrey Bogart movie. It seemed much bigger than Strasburg.  Or was it the music and food and everyone talking and enjoying themselves. There was a fiddle orchestra for entertainment along with the big table of potluck food.  It was a wonderful community event full of good spirits and steam enjoyment. And why have the Open House in the winter?  The reason is significant: this is the only place in Canada that you can come year round and see the machines running on steam.  The facility has special telescopic smoke stacks to allow the steam engines to be started indoors and driven outside. What an amazing day for lovers of steam! See and read more here.  Or also here for a news article. And wrapping up 2015 there is Contest News of Finalist in the November Betterphoto Contest for a Japanese Iris image. And I've published a photo essay about the Calamus Rusty Shed at Lifeashuman.com.  It's here.