Sensational Sicily!

Word of the Day: TINGO!

Easter Island... Home of TINGO

I'm pretty much completely packed right now and am in the final stages of clearing out our office.  However, as you've probably gathered, I have a certain ability to get distracted right in the middle of doing something... such as posting a blog in the midst of cleaning.

That being said, I have a tendency to collect interesting articles and tidbits that can be used at a later time (this might be officially the 2nd 'later time' in my brief history of collection).  In one such article, I found a description of perhaps the coolest word I think I've encountered in a long time... the type of word I hope to learn in Italy and incorporate into my everyday life.

  

TINGO (Pascuense, Easter Island)

"To take all the objects one desires from the house of a friend, one at a time by borrowing them."

What is cooler... the fact that someone actually does this?  Or that it is done so prevalently on Easter Island that it would necessitate a word?  And what does it take to become a Tingo master -- leaving your best friend in shambles?  Also, it would cause some interesting situations - such as being sure that the only place you ever hang out with your friends is at THEIR house.  Perhaps one day I can travel to Easter Island and do a documentary on a Tingo Master.  That would be cool... unless he likes Video Cameras and wants to borrow mine.  SAC.

I hope there is a website that I can nominate Tingo for "2008 Word of the Year."  I will let you know how we do... although we might face some tough competition from BAKKU-SHAN - a Japanese word that literally means, "A girl who is pretty from behind but not from the front."

Ok - back to packing!

~ J. Twice

MFC - Ya when i get back

Mixed Martial Arts is the fastest growing sport in the world -- with millions of new fans discovering a sport that now has boxing on the ropes.  I mean, who wouldn't want to watch two grown men kill each other until one is unconscious?  Maybe in a couple years, they'll even let us vote thumbs up / thumbs down whether we get to kill the loser (I wonder if anyone's done that before?)

  

Our TV production company - DUAL Productions - recently produced MFC Lucky 13 and MFC 14: High Rollers, two full-length Pay-Per-View shows for the Maximum Fighting Championship, Canada's Top Fight Organization.

Due to the fact that many of you may not have seen it, I thought I would post a video here to give you a better idea of what I do when I'm not throwing footballs.  I got to both direct and edit these shows ... and it gave me invaluable experience for the future.

On a side note, I would love to see a 64 man MMA tournament one day - like the NCAA College Basketball Tourney of Mixed Martial Arts.  Only instead of real fighters like Randy Couture, it would be all Movie Fighters.  Can you imagine?  Bruce Lee taking on Yoda from Episode II.  Chuck Norris vs. Neo from The Matrix.  Jackie Chan vs. "The Bride" of Kill Bill fame.  (Someone send me a bracket and it shall be posted!) 

As we're headed off to Italy, I personally can't be as heavily involved in the MFC's upcoming shows - but I wish Mark Pavelich and the boys there all the best! 

Also, a big thanks to Lalo & Five Stone Music for the killer music.  Enjoy!

~ J. Twice

SAC: The new LOL

LOL or SAC?  You be the judge...

We all have pet peeves.  For some, it's bad drivers.  For others, it's chewing with your mouth open.  But mine is perhaps a little more far reaching -- touching all members of the growing community of text messengers that span the globe.  I'm talking about a little acronymn called LOL.

For those of you still "using CD's," "setting your VCR," or "unnecessarily using quotation marks," let me explain (although you do get bonus points for reading a blog.)  LOL is an internet / text-message / instant message acronymn that stands for 'LAUGHING OUT LOUD' and commonly used as a response to a joke or witty comment.  Let me give you an example:

FRIEND1: Hey man, whattup?

FRIEND2: Leaving 4 Italy in 3 dayz... cr8zy

FRIEND1: Sweet eat lots of meatballs

FRIEND2: LOL. Fo' sho'

Now, is the 'meatball' comment witty?  Yes.  Is it funny?  Yes.  But is it LAUGH OUT LOUD funny?  NO.  And that my friends, is where my beef lies.

Comedians - or people like me who just tell lots of jokes  - live for that LOL moment.  We work for it.  We strive for it.  We are rewarded by it.  Because let's be perfectly honest - it takes a LOT to make someone actually LOL.  I'm talking hit-in-the-groin-with-a-ground-ball funny.  I'm talking Bambulance or Felching funny.  That's LOL... not meatballs.  I mean, all it's doing is giving a bunch of mediocre comedians a false sense of confidence.  There's some very boring people out there with a 58% LOL ratio.  In fact -- LOL is the digital equivelant of the adult courtesy laugh (the one all people over the age of 18 give at cocktail parties and office water coolers after any joke/story told, regardless of its merit.)

  

And thus we come to SAC.  SAC simply means SMILING AT COMPUTER.  As you read this sentence, you are probably SAC.  SAC is what happens 95% of the time -- and that's ok.  It's good.  It preserves the authenticity of the LOL... while at the same time acknowledging the witty-ness of the sender.  We all need to use SAC more often.*

FRIEND1: Hey thanks for the ride last night

FRIEND2: Don't be silly - it was no prob.  What r u doing?

FRIEND1: Just gonna sit around and use Google Maps all day to look at my house, my parents house, and where I work.

FRIEND2: SAC. Holla at me later. And check out the Grand Canyon too.

Please -- do your part.  Please help spread SAC worldwide.   

KEY POINT:  LOL is not a term to be thrown around lightly.  When most of you say LOL, you really mean SAC.

And for those of you saying OMG or WTF, I know this post had nothing to do with Italy.  SAC.

~ J. Twice

* SAC also applies to phone text messages as well... simply because SAP is not as LOL.  By the way, the 2nd most underrated punctuation mark is the asterick.  It's as under-used as LOL is overused... but don't EVEN get me started on that!  

Euro-FITTED!

two-faced (too-faist)

adj.

1. Having two faces or surfaces.

2. Hypocritical or double-dealing; deceitful.

This is my watch.  It is two-faced.  And if I had to choose a definition from above, I'd probably go with the first, that is, unless the time is off by just a fraction of a second, and then it would be undoubtedly the second.  What time is?  7?  Liar!  It's really 6:58... please stop being deceitful.  (Or as Jay-Z so eloquently states, "Even a broken clock is right two times a day..."  My watch is such, as its two-faced nature tells me the time in both Edmonton, Canada and in Catania, Sicily.  Plus, its Nike which means it's sweet.

That being said, the real reason my watch is two-faced is because it is part of my euro-fitting.  Euro-fitting also begs a definition, which I could not find in Webster's... so I will step up and offer my own:

Eu·ro - fitted (yoo-ro, phi'ted)

adj.

1. Being outfitted for travel to Europe

2. Dressing like a European (also see: European Poser)

As my departure date nears, I find myself doing my best to get Euro-Fitted.  Hence the sweet two-faced watch.  My wife has also been doing her part -- and thanks to the inspiration from George Contreras... American Football Coach / Newly-Minted Italian Fine Dresser -- she gave me a new scarf and hat for my adventure.

The scarf, which could be described as slightly 'metro-sexual,' is my favorite color - dark black (yes, i did just say dark) - and is made of the finest blend of 100% cotton.  This is a sure fire hit.

The hat is a paperboy style - a modern twist on the 30's classic.  I only hope I can be as industrious and profitable as those fore-runners to their under-age sweat shop current-day contemporaries.

However, the coolest thing about the hat is that it has the British Flag emblem on the top.  That is sweet... because now anyone in a helicopter can pick me out on a crowded street.  "Who's that guy?" "You mean the English one?

KEY POINT:  When going to England, make sure you wear something with a British flag symbol on it... that's so they don't know you are AMERICAN.

Also, be sure to check back on this blog often, because 6 months from now... you might not recognize me!

~ J. Twice

ps Thank you Christie for being my Euro-Fittin' accomplice!

Cucina!

As the countdown reaches one week before our journey to Italy, Christie has been dazzling me with her best Italian dishes.  I must admit that its funny - when we were dating the last place she wanted to be seen was the kitchen, but now (and thanks to long mornings spent with Rachel Ray and Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis) she's cooking like crazy!  

I'm sure the food in Italy is going to be spectacular -- and in fact, we've already had two people offer to give Christie authentic Italian cooking lessons in Sicily!  (translation: begin the season as a QB - end the season as an Offensive Lineman!)

The dish pictured here is her version of Pasta Bologna - a hearty mixture of onions, carrots, mushrooms, and spices cooked with red wine and cheese... YUM!!!

The other interesting thing I've noticed as I prepare to depart is how similar my current condo is compared to my new home in Aci Castello -- check out the pics!

My final commentary of the day (and yes, Dad, I know I'm not in Italy yet so you think I'm just filling space with rhetorical babble until I get there.. but this is 100% certified interesting to me) is that it is reassuring how close Italian is to Spanish romance language reference here>.  I did take a little Spanish in school (and living in Tucson helped too - there are even places there where the Stop signs read, 'Alto!') so hopefully I shouldn't be too lost.  The reason I bring it up is that when I went to look up what 'Kitchen' was in Italian (so I could title this post), I learned that the word is CUCINA in both languages!  Alright... I know A word!  Now all I need is a few more and I have a sentence!  Giddy up!

~ J. Twice 

JJ's Book Club #1

I like to pride myself on learning new things.  I don't know if I'm particularly fond of the term "life-long learner" -- or using "extra" "quotation" "marks" in "general" -- but I definitely am always looking for something new and exciting -- and than passing it on to friends.

For those of you who know me well -- you know of my desire to one day write/produce major motion pictures, and I'm always drawn to stories of people doing interesting and extraordinary things, such as traveling to Europe to play football.  (just kidding).

That being said, I am going to make it a point throughout this adventure to share some books, films, and tv shows that I feel are remarkable -- that are a PURPLE COW.  (This is a term coined by author/blogger Seth Gobin in his book by the same name, in which he talks about the nature of remarkable things in business.)  According to Seth:

KEY POINT: Everyone has seen a million BROWN COWS.  But I bet if you saw a PURPLE COW you'd remember it!  To stand out in this world, you must be a PURPLE COW -- you must be remarkable!

Therefore, think of me as your virtual Steve Irwin, pointing out cool stuff as if to say Croikie!  We gotta strange one 'ere!  So without further ado, here's the debut members of JJ's Book Club:

JJ Book Reference #1:  ONE RED PAPERCLIP By Kyle MacDonald

Dude.  That is what I said about a hundred times while reading this book (all in one sitting).  One Red Paperclip tells the story of a guy who decided to start trading, beginning with a single red paperclip, for something that was bigger and better.  He began by trading the paperclip for a pen, then the pen for a stove, and so on... until 14 trades later, he had a house.  Not only that, but the adventure had led him to become a new person and to seek out adventure in life.  This book is extremely well written and has many "laugh out loud" moments.  In fact, it is about the closest thing to what I aspire my writing to be -- witty, articulate, and inspring.  REQUIRED READING FOR ALL POSITOLOGISTS.

JJ Book Reference #2: YES MAN!  By Danny Wallace

I read YES MAN! about 2 years ago... and after about 3 pages said to myself -- this would make an UNBELIEVABLE MOVIE.  Well -- for the 18th time in my life with a movie idea I was beaten to the punch -- as the major theatrical release starring Jim Carrey comes out in December 2008.  SO... why don't you go pick up a copy of the book right now, read it quickly... and then when the buzz starts to build in about 9 months you can casually turn to your friend and say, "man, I read that a while ago..."

The story of Yes Man! is remarkably similar to One Red Paperclip -- where the book's hero challenges himself to say YES to every question he is asked for an entire year.  (Again, not because he's crazy but because he is tired of living just an 'average' existance.)  While this does get him in trouble in some places (he does at one point have to make an exception to questions asked via spam email after receiving his 5th penile enlargement device)... it does lead him on an exceptional set of adventures that again leaves him a much better man than when he began.

In conclusion, I think the reason I am recommending these two books is so that you get a better understanding of who I am -- just like these guys -- I feel that I'm about to do some pretty cool stuff, simply because I'm opening myself up to the possibilities of what is "out there."  And if I can inspire any of you to do the same in your life, than it's all been worth it for me!

~ J. Twice