Whiling the time away on this rather dull and rainy Sunday evening... ahead of the announcing of the EU election results tonight, browsing round my Facebook, I came across this gem posted by one of my friends there. Since I haven't posted many 'Funnies' lately I thought I would share it with you here!
The 'Penis Song' (Not the Noel Coward Song) is a song originally from the Monty Python film The Meaning of Life and released on the album Monty Python Sings.
In the film, it is sung by Eric Idle at a piano in the persona of a Noël Coward-style lounge singer, hence the sub-title of the song 'Not the Noel Coward Song.'
Beginning by addressing his audience, the singer says:
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Here's a little number I tossed off recently in the Caribbean!"
This initial innuendo is the opening gambit to the series of euphemisms that follow... alluding to male genitalia. The overall message of the song appears to be summed up in its opening line:
"Isn't it awfully nice to have a penis?"
Naturally, I'm thinking it is... it is!! 
Here's the video - Hope you enjoy it!
More info at 'Penis Song' (Not the Noel Coward Song) - information from Wikipedia
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Eric Idle gets his tongue around the Penis Song (Not the Noel Coward Song)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
As a Gibraltarian... do you find the term Llanito (or Yanito) offensive?
This question has arisen, following on from my post three weeks ago, when I reviewed Garrett Gibbons's excellent Gibraltar Documentary Film.
You can ignore my (perhaps long winded) explanation and just scroll down to the end of this post, where you will be able to vote on a Poll I have included here... in the hope of getting your view on this question. If you wish to read my explanation of how the question has arisen... then read on.
I recently heard from Garrett, telling me that he had finally given the film a title. Garrett has chosen to call his documentary film "The People on the Rock".
I will quickly add that the film is still in 'draft form' and in the process of being produced. Garrett further informs us that the next draft of the his film may not be available until late April, as he is busy trying to finish his BA degree at Brigham Young University in the USA... but, he assures me, it remains on his 'high-priority' list! Good... can' wait!
Anyhow, when I heard of the title Garrett had chosen, I'm afraid I was disappointed. I told Garrett that I didn't think "The People on the Rock" was the best... most descriptive title he could have come up with... and I offered him my own suggestion... "The Llanitos of the Rock of Gibraltar". For me, this is a much more descriptive title of what Garrett's documentary is about.
This, of course, is just my opinion. Ultimately of course... and bearing in mind it IS his film... it's entirely up to him what he chooses to call it.... and I very much look forward to the next draft.. and end product.
The discussion over the title however, has thrown up a question... over the term (or word) "Llanito" (or Yanito).
When Garrett read my suggestion, he graciously said he would "consider my advice" (heis a diplomat our Garrett)... but he added:"I'd like to use "Llanitos" in the title, but I got chastised by several Gibraltarians for calling them Llanitos... a few people got really upset, telling me that it was a derogatory nickname!"
I have to admit, I was VERY surprised to read his comment! In response, I said:"I've never heard anything of the kind and find it very surprising that ANY Llanito should take umbrage for being called what we call ourselves!
I would think this sort of sentiment very much in the minority! It doesn't trouble me in the least and no one has ever expressed a negative view on being called a Llanito to me... ever!"
That's really my impression. Perhaps I'm wrong. I often am... and at the end of the day, I have been living away from Gibraltar for quite a few years, (though I did live and work in Gibraltar between '96 and 2002) so it's not inconceivable that feelings may have changed in this regard.... but I doubt that there has been THIS fundamental a change.
Now, if we were talking about the word or term 'Gibo'... then yes... that I would understand if a few (quite a few even) take umbrage with that term. I make my views clear on this subject here: Defining the word or term 'Gibo'.
To reinforce his argument, Garrett asked me to re-look at a portion of his documentary, where a Gibraltarian comments on how he prefers to be referred to... and to my surprise, he feels that 'Llanito'... "es una palabra fea"!
You can see what Garrett is getting at in this excerpt from his documentary film, in the first few seconds of this video, listen to the response by this Gibraltarian, when asked "what does Llanito mean?":
Garrett wonders if this chap's reply is because Garrett is "an outsider"?"These guys didn't like me throwing around a local term that they use to describe themselves?"
Well... quite possibly but I have to say I am nevertheless surprised to hear this chap... with all due respect to him, saying that "Llanito es una palabra fea". I really am.
For me, it's never been a disparaging term, far from it. The term 'Llanito' reinforces my Gibraltarian identity. I would go further, it's a term that I am proud to be referred to as! In my experience, I think this chap's view is NOT shared widely by Gibraltarians... and it's not I don't think, a generation thing. At 55, I'm more his age myself.
But... this discussion got me thinking... and wondering if it's just me. I wonder if others feel like this fellow does. So I thought it would be an interesting exercise, to set up a Poll, asking the question:
If you choose the fourth option, 'Sometimes', I would appreciate it if you would explain by commenting here, using our comment facility at the end of this post, as it will be interestng to read your views on this further.
I'm sure many Gibraltarians will find this an interesting exercise... and I very much hope you will contribute to the poll. Please also share this with your family, friends, work colleagues... as the widest possible vote will give us the best impression of whether a Gibraltarian finds the term Llanito (or Yanito) offensive.
Thanks in advance for your input! :)
Update - 3rd May 2009
Well... now that the Poll has been running for just over a month, I thought I would post an update.
The results to-date, whilst a little disappointing on the numbers who have voted, is nevertheless fairly emphatic and confirms what I had thought. 25 people have voted so far... and this is the result:
Yes 8% 2
No 76% 19
Don't Know 4% 1
Sometimes 12% 3
Naturally I would have hoped for more votes but for reasons that escape me, many people have chosen not to vote. The page has been viewed 116 times since it was posted. Many of these are visitors from Gibraltar. Many of these page views were probably people who do not qualify (by that I mean not Gibraltarian). A few were also probably returning to check how the poll was going, myself included three or four times. However, I am sorry to say it's still very disappointing that only 25 people bothered to express themselves.
A special thanks to all of you who did bother to vote... and thanks also for your comments, which were very enlightening.
So... I think Garrett will agree, that there really isn't any reason or cause for concern, in choosing to include 'llanito' in the documentary's title.... which is how this question first arose, as this poll indicates (albeit with a very small sample) that the vast majority of Gibraltarians will not be offended.
I won't close the poll... so please feel free to continue to vote as I am still hoping over time, to obtain a wider sample of how Gibraltarians feel about being referred to as Llanito!
Thank you all again!!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I take my hat off to... Marina the Very Sexy Russian 'Wordsmith'
If you're male and you haven't come across Marina, the very sexy Russian 'Wordsmith' before... then I can assure you you're going to enjoy this!
Marina Orlova is her full name... and she proves intelligence is sexy!
Marina is a YouTube celebrity and the lady behind (or is it in the forefront) of HotForWords, a site (apparently) dedicated to teaching students across the globe about the intricacies of language.... at least that's what the supposed basis is!!
As a way of introducing her to you (it's the best I can do I'm afraid)... here's one of my favourite recent videos of her, showing Marina teaching us... a 'Cure for Hiccups':
Apparently, Marina's love for words began because she wanted to learn English. "In Russia the best way to do that is to study philology, which gets into the origins of words," she says."This makes learning so much more interesting, and the result was that I eventually became a teacher for about 20 high-schoolers back in Russia.
It was a lot of fun, and the students never seemed to miss class!"
No, I bet they didn't. Hardly surprising!
Though she never planned on becoming an internet celebrity, Marina says it just happened. One day, she received an email that inspired her to reach out to new students, via the web.
"My two degrees in philology were going to waste and one day in 2006 a friend sent me an email which said ‘YouTube.com - check it out.’ That email changed my life! I immediately created a channel and started uploading videos."
The rest as they say... is history... as now, her videos have been viewed over 170 million times!!
With a new word each week, her virtual classroom grows daily. Her calendar girl good looks and intelligence have granted her quite an audience, but given the choice... would she rather be pretty or smart? "I'd rather be smart!" she says.
Yes Marina... quite right... me too!!
Call me an old cynic... and I really don't want to spoil any of the fun... but come on guys... I'm as red blooded as you... and there's no doubting the fact that Marina is delicious and sexy (and quite amusing too)... but you just got to see through this!! This is just a different (and clever granted) take on an age old idea... a new perspective in offering us red blooded males (with perhaps more money than brains)... SEXY ladies in the media!!
I bet my bottom dollar (not sure if that's a well chosen phrase) that Marina is not the only one 'behind' HotForWords... there's a hell of a lot more going on in that background... believe me... including a few clever techie geeks and marketing people!
But... do I care? Not a bit... in fact, I take my hat off to Marina today... for maximising her very obvious potential... and very attractive upfront future... in fact... I've joined 6,843 others and am now following her updates on Twitter... we don't want to miss our weekly dose of interesting etymology now do we??!
Monday, March 16, 2009
In my Inbox today... Frases Llanitas (some funny Llanito phrases)
Here are some very funny Llanito phrases I received in my Inbox today from a Llanita friend.
I'm afraid, if you are a non-llanito speaker... these will make absolutely no sense whatsoever... probably not even to a Spanish speaker! I have included some notes on translation and on the Llanito language generally, at the end of this post.
Anhow... here are the funny Llanito phrases:
El llanito no te llama por teléfono: Te DA toques
El llanito no saluda: Te dice que pasa!!
El llanito no se enamora: Esta enchochao
El llanito no trata de convencerte: Te raya
El llanito no concierta una cita con sus amistades: Queda con Los colegas
El llanito no se lanza: Se Embala
El llanito no bebe mucho: Coge un siego
El llanito no es que no entienda: No lo capta
El llanito no te DA la espalda: Te manda a tomar por culo
El llanito no te llama la atención: Te shilla....killo!!
El llanito no molesta: DA el coñazo
El llanito no se baña: Se pega un duchaso
El llanito no se alimenta: Se pone como el kiko
El llanito no te golpea: Te suelta una ostia
El llanito no trabaja: Curra
El llanito no tiene amantes: Tiene dos o tres chavalitas
El llanito no se impresiona: Lo flipa
El llanito no tiene ganas de hacer pis: Se mea
El llanito no sufre de diarrea: Se caga vivo
El llanito no corre a toda velocidad: Sale follao
El llanito no duerme: Se queda frito
El llanito no se rie a carcajadas: Se parte de risa
El llanito no es buen tipo: Es buena gente
El llanito no hace algo mal: La caga
El llanito no intenta ligar: Intenta comerse un rosco
El llanito no pierde el tiempo: Esta rascandose
El llanito no habla claro: Te lo dice to a la puta cara
El llanito no esta cansado: Esta rebentao
El llanito no ve a una chica fea: Ve a un cromo
El llanito No Se enfada: Se mosquea
El llanito no le sale algo mal: Le estan mentando
El llanito no es cualquier cosa: El Llanito es un ser unico y extraordinario!!
Non-Translatable Llanito Notes
For non-llanito speakers... my apologies... but these Llanito phrases are pretty much... untranslatable!
You can have a go here if you wish... but I wouldn't hold up much hope for the result!
I've had a go at translating one or two... and the results are not at all good... but they are quite hysterically funny... well... to a Llanito!
For instance:
"El llanito No Se enfada: Se mosquea"... translates to: The Llanito was not angry: The mosque!! ha ha Gobbledeygook eh?!!
I'm afraid Google has yet to come up with a translation tool for the Llanito language! Something for my 'colega' friend Dale to work on perhaps? ;)
It would be very interesting to know what Spanish speakers make of this. Maybe we can attract a comment or two from Spanish speakers??
Sería muy interesante saber qué piensan los hispano-hablantes de estas frases Llanitas? Seria bueno si comentaras... gracias en anticipacion!
The last phrase however... does translate quite well:
El llanito no es cualquier cosa: El Llanito es un ser unico y extraordinario!!
Translates to:
A Llanito is not just anything (anyone): A Llanito is quite unique and special!... and that's undoubtedly true!! :)
Llanito explained
For those of you who have no idea what Llanito is... Llanito (pronounced [jɑˈnito] or Yanito is an Andalusian Spanish based vernacular or dialect spoken uniquely in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Gibraltarians call ourselves Llanitos.
Llanito consists of an eclectic mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English, marked by a great deal of code switching and loan-words from many other Mediterranean languages.
You can read more about Llanito and the Gibraltarian culture on Wikipedia > Llanito
You can find more information and posts about Gibraltar's Llanito language here.
You may also be interested in having a look at my colega's blog. Dale Buttigieg excellently blogs on the more 'academic' aspects of the Llanito Language here.
Acknowledgement
I am indebted to the lovely Llanita... Killagigi... for sending these Llanito phrases to me today... Thanks very much Killagigi!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Whose Gibraltar? A documentary film on the Llanito Gibraltarian perspective
A few days ago I posted about a Gibraltar Documentary Film project that Garrett Wesley Gibbons, of Brigham Young University in the USA, was in the process of putting together.
To my surprise... and I must say, a lot sooner than I ever expected, I heard from Garrett today, telling me that his film has now been posted!
Garrett has kindly posted his film with the proviso that you understand it is still 'a work in progress'. The film, as yet, has no music and is not fully 'titled'. I am, however, very pleased to share it with you all here... for you to enjoy and in the hope that you offer Garrett your comments and reviews on his draft, (my comments below).
Anyhow... here's the film... for your delight and delectation:
Well, I don't know about you, but I thought this is an excellent documentary... I really enjoyed it... lack of music or finished 'title's notwithstanding!
Gibraltar Film Documentary Reviewed.
On the whole, I think Garrett has done a great job so far. He has produced a very accurate perspective, from a Gibraltarian viewpoint, about the Llanito identity. With, what I understand were difficult time constraints, he has managed to describe the history and particularly the political aspects challenging Gibraltar today, relatively well, if perhaps not as broadly as I would have liked to see.
Personally, I would like to see some more comment, especially from the other political parties in Gibraltar.
As it stands... the only political view expressed, other than those of my friend Dennis Beiso's, the Gibraltar Government Archivist, (who, I must say, does a very good job in his summaries), are those of the GSLP/Liberals Opposition parties. This, I think, is not a broad enough perspective.
The politics of Gibraltar always raises great passions in many quarters... not least in Gibraltar itself, naturally, and many have an opinion of where we came from, where we are... and most importantly, where we are going. For this documentary to be fully comprehensive, I think it is important that it shows a broader inclusive view, from all sides.
It is important, in my humble view, that there is at least some comment by the incumbent GSD (Gibraltar Social Democrats) Government, particularly from Chief Minister Peter Caruana.
I asked whether the Government was given the opportunity to participate in the documentary. Garrett has answered this and a number of other questions here.
I would also like to see some comment from Keith Azopardi and the Progressive Democratic Party.
Of course, if one is going to (unrestrictedly) endeavour to have the broadest perspective, no commentary on the politics of Gibraltar can ever be complete, without the participation of the British or Spanish Governments' views on the age old question of sovereignty of Gibraltar. After all... it's the nub of the whole damn historic dispute right?
In fairness to Garrett, I think we need to bear in mind he has produced this film as a school project. It's not a 'BBC Panorama' type documentary... or intended to be a comprehensive history on Gibraltar. It's just his perspective... on the curiosity that is being a Gibraltarian Llanito. People need to judge this film in that context... as it does not propose to do anything else.
Be that as it may, and appreciating the producer's obvious time (and other possible) constraints... recognising that he couldn't fit it all in, I think the political perspective the documentary offers, is fair and broadly that held by most Gibraltarians. No doubt I shall soon be corrected by those who feel this is not so! :)
My Conclusion
I think this is a very well produced piece of work so far. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and I think most Gibraltarians (possibly with the exception of fanatical GSD supporters, who may hate the sight of 'the Walrus' and cannot abide the sound of 'the pipsqueak'), will also enjoy watching this documentary.
Gibraltarians just love watching ourselves. Sometimes I think we must have ALL been born under the starsign of Leo... "all Leos are trendsetters, leaders and adventurers. Their weakness is their pride. This is one sign where the saying 'flattery will get you everything' applies"!
But seriously... with the slight constructive criticism about broader perspectives notwithstanding, I doff my hat to Garrett... and thank him for his interest and for a very well researched and explained documentary about our homeland!
One final point I would like to make. The music, as ever, may well enhance or detract from the power of the film so care will need to be taken on the choice of music and how it is edited... but, on the other hand... what do I know of producing a film!? Not a lot! :)
Having said that... and finally... finally... on reviewing Garrett's very interesting documentary, having offered him my thoughts, I have also taken the opportunity to offer a couple of little suggestions, small amendments for him to consider making. These can be seen on the Gibraltar Documentary page posted by Garrett Wesley Gibbons on Vimeo.
You may have your own thoughts you might want to add? I know Garrett will be very grateful for your comments and feedback too!
You may also like to know there is a discussion on this film going on at Gibraltar News Online's Discussion Forum here: Gibraltar Film Documentary just published
If you missed the link in the review above, you may also enjoy further reading about this documentary and Garrett's explanation of the how and why he created this film: Gibraltar Film Documentary > Why?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Llanito or Yanito discussed on Gibraltar Discussion Forums
My post yesterday, about the fact that Gibberish may derive from Llanito, prompted Garrett Gibbons to offer us a link to an article he wrote entitled Did 'gibberish' originally describe the speech in Gibraltar (Yanito)? > An Alternative Etymology for Gibberish.
I am much obliged to Garrett for providing us with the link to this very interesting and well argued etymological article on the origins of 'gibberish'. I am also grateful for his interest in Gibraltar generally. Garrett is currently blogging about a Gibraltar Documentary Film project he is in the process of putting together. I very much look forward to viewing it, when it's finished!
Anyhow, this all led me to think some of you may be interested in the following links to discussions on Gibraltar Forums, where our rather unusual, maybe even odd and quirky (for some) Gibraltarian language, Llanito or Yanito, is discussed.
Here are three topics from Gibraltar News Online Discussion Board
Are we 'Llanitos' or 'Yanitos'??
Language/accent
Gibraltarian Bilingualism explained
Panorama Forum
This one may be a bit of a non story. There used to be a very good discussion on the Panorama Forum, on a topic entitled Giannito/Llanito, Dialect, Patois, Gibberish?. Sadly, this link was not working at the time of writing this post.
According to GoDaddy.com, the net domain registrars, the domain xsorbit3.com, which hosted the Panorama Gibraltar Discussion Forum, has not been renewed and is currenly offline!
A note on Panorama's, (one of Gibraltar's daily newspapers with an online presence), discussion page says:
To all users of our Discussion forum
The server which hosts the Discussion forum for Panorama www.xsorbit3.com has gone down.
To date no explanation has been received by us from Xsorbit despite attempts to contact them.
We are sorry for the inconvenience caused but this situation is outside of our control, and we are attempting to find a solution as soon as possible.
This is very sad news, as there were many very interesting topics about Gibraltar on this discussion board. Not least the one I'm referring to here, which had, if I remember rightly... something approaching 20 pages on the subject of Llanito, with many llanito words offered and discussed... and much amusing comment! I really hope this topic (or databse) has not been lost forever! It would be a real shame.
I have found a couple of pages on Google Cache, which are snapshots of how these appeared on 19 Jan 2009 19:44:24 GMT
Google Cache > Giannito/Llanito, Dialect, Patois, Gibberish? > Page 1
Google Cache > Giannito/Llanito, Dialect, Patois, Gibberish? > Page 3
I'm not sure how long Google keeps their cached pages... but they are there for now. Let's hope that Panorama can get those pages back up or somehow, in the hope it's not lost forever, recover that database of some great topics concerning Gibraltar!
In the meantime, I hope anyone interested in the subject of Llanito... can enjoy some of it, as discussed on these links.
For those of you who have no idea what Llanito is... Llanito (pronounced [jɑˈnito] or Yanito is an Andalusian Spanish based vernacular spoken in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Gibraltarians call ourselves Llanitos.
Llanito consists of an eclectic mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English, marked by a great deal of code switching and loan-words from many other Mediterranean languages. You can read more about Llanito and the Gibraltarian culture on Wikipedia
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Gibberish may derive from Llanito
Well... Wikipedia thinks so!
Gibberish is a generic term in English. It means talking that sounds like speech, but has no actual meaning. This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text or gobbledygook. The common theme in gibberish statements is a lack of literal sense, which can also be described as a presence of nonsense.
A further definition of gibberish in Wiktionary, the free dictionary, says it is speech or writing that is unintelligible, incoherent or meaningless. (can often be seen here!)
A family of language games in English are sometimes referred to as "Gibberish". Comedian Sid Caesar was noted for what he called "double-talk", an ability to speak varieties of nonsense syllables that sounded as if he was speaking various foreign languages.
Origin of the term
According to Wikipedia, the term is first seen in English in the early 16th century. A common theory is that the word comes from the name of the famous 8th-century Islamic alchemist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, whose name was Latinized as "Geber", thus the term "gibberish" arose as a reference to the incomprehensible technical jargon often used by Jabir and other alchemists who followed.
A second explanation, says Wikipedia, is from the British (sic) 'colony' (now of course, a British Overseas Territory) Gibraltar (from Arabic Gabal-Tariq, [Gibel Tarik] meaning Mountain of Tariq), whose residents frequently speak in Spanish and English during their conversations. Gibraltarians will often start a sentence in Spanish and switch to English halfway through, making it difficult for non-locals to follow.
Very true... we do!! :)
UPDATE: 21st February 2009 - 22:34
I have been contacted by Garrett Wesley Gibbons of Brigham Young University in the USA, who is currently blogging about a Gibraltar Documentary Film project he is in the process of putting together. Garrett has kindly informed me of a paper he wrote, entitled Did 'gibberish' originally describe the speech in Gibraltar (Yanito)? > An Alternative Etymology for Gibberish.
It's an interesting read... and my thanks to Garrett for sharing it!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Defining the word or term 'Gibo'
As you've probably realised... I call my Blog A Gibo's Tale. The reason why I call it so is probably obvious to any Gibraltarian... that is someone born and bred in the famous Rock of Gibraltar. I am a Gibraltarian and we are often referred to as 'Gibos'.
Being called a 'Gibo' can sometimes be offensive and I am aware some Gibraltarians feel offended by the term. However, in my experience, the word is more often used in a friendly manner (even at times affectionately), purely as a shortcut, an abbreviation for Gibraltarian, which one must admit, is a bit of a mouthful.
Since this blog contains a growing series of articles... stories about my thoughs and observations... musings if you like, I thought it apt to call it... A Gibo's Tale!
Now... just out of curiosity... and I've never done this before but I was sitting there watching the Six Nations rugby union games on telly this afternoon when the thought entered my mind... don't ask me why... but it did. I suddenly wondered whether any dictionary has ever defined the word 'Gibo'.
So, tonight, I looked it up on a couple or two well known online Dictionaries. What I found surprised me... and mostly I have to admit, disappointed me.
Disappointingly, the most well known dictionaries online, Dictionary.com, Cambridge University Press's Cambridge Dictionaries Online, the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia and Merriam-Webster Online, all found NO definition for the word 'gibo'!
But... I did in the end find a little gem. It's quite amusing so I thought I would share it with you here.
Ever come across the Urban Dictionary? The Urban Dictionary defines itself as 'the slang dictionary you wrote'. It challenges us to 'define our world'... and boy they do! Here's a direct quote:"Urban Dictionary edumacates even the hippest of cats!"
Fascinating huh? Here's a few examples I picked up off their front page:
hello list
The list of people you have to or want to say "hello" to on a daily basis. Especially relevant for students in university buildings, or coworkers in a workplace. Some people might decide to put you on their hello lists, even if they aren't on yours! Typically, reciprocity is expected.
Dropping someone from your hello list to just a nod when you pass him or her might be considered a snub by the other person.
retro-cringe
When you remember, the morning after, something you said, wrote, did, didn't say, etc., the day before..
'I texted undying love to that chick at the party when I got home.. This morning, I'm having retro-cringe, bigtime..'
carcolepsy
a condition affecting buddies on a trip who fall asleep as soon as the car starts moving, providing no company or driving help
Joe slept the whole way here, I think he suffers from carcolepsy.
Twitterrhea
Too many twitters per hour.
Guy Kawasaki had twitterrhea when he posted 18 Tweets in one hour on a Friday afternoon.
canniversary
A year from the date on which you were fired from a job.
"Next week is my canniversary from Enron!"
coin wankingFun huh? Yes... I thought so too!
The act of jangling change held in a suit trouser pocket, usually performed by male office workers whilst stood chatting to colleagues
to stand near someone, chatting to them, but simultaneously coin wanking by caressing and fondling the change in your pocket
By this time I'm thinking... if anyone has defined the word 'gibo', it's got to be these guys... right? Well, this time, I was not to be disappointed!
Urban Dictionary: Definition for 'gibo':
| 1. | gibo | 3 thumbs up   |
| when a boy thinks hes all that and trys to think he's better than everyone else. He constantly compliments himself and says how great he is all the time. A.K.A pretty boy Yo, shawn is a straight up gibo. by Wing_Whoe Nov 25, 2004 | ||
| 2. | gibo | 11 thumbs up |
| an arrogent prick who thinks nothing of breaking ppls hearts infact he quite enjoys it shes had her heart broken by a gibo | ||
| 3. | gibo | 5 thumbs up |
| I big headed fool, who things he's gods gift | ||
| 4. | gibo | 1 up, 1 down |
| Doing a Gibo : Saying you'll be going somewhere when you have no intention of going whatsoever. "Are you out tonight?" "Yes" 1 hour later............ "Gibo, where are you?" "I'm on my way" 1/2 hour later.......... "Gibo. The taxi's here. Where are you?" "Can't be arsed. I'm staying in getting stoned" by boooooth Oct 30, 2003 | ||
Personally, I like number 1. It's the one that gets closest to the Gibraltarian male psyche. Having said that... it could easily be just as applicable to some of our females too! heh heh
Since the Urban Dictionary is 'written by us'.... I thought I would add my little contribution... expanding man's knowledge no end!
A 'gibo' or 'gibbo' is a slang term which refers to a Gibraltarian. A person born and bred in Gibraltar... on the famous Rock of Gibraltar!
The term can sometimes be offensive but often it is simply used in a friendly or even affectionate manner.
The gibos in Gibraltar are warm, hospitable people!
Those bloody gibos are so laid back, you can never get anything done around here!
I expect... not ALL will agree!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Will football commentators ever get foreign names right...
I watched the Spain v England game tonight... shame about the result. (Spain 2 v England 0 - England were well beaten by a very sharp side playing some excellent football... he said through gritted teeth!)
Tonight, they had the admirable Roberto Martinez, presently enjoying great success as Swansea City manager, summarising and offering his country's view on the game. All very good... and he was excellent, eloquent and informed in his commentary. So... what's the problem?
The problem is that none of the 5 Live crew could get his name right! Neither the other commentators or presenter managed to pronounce Martinez properly... making listening, at least for me (and I imagine any other hispanic speaker also listening), highly irritating!
These sports commentators are supposed to be professionals, after all! You'd think they would just make a little effort to make sure they know how to pronounce names properly. One might wonder why Roberto Martinez didn't correct them. I expect he's probably too nice... and maybe is so used to it, he can't be bothered any more.
Not that I imagine they'll ever read this... but for the benefit of any other Brit wanting to know... the correct pronunciation for the name 'Martinez', phonetically, is : mar-TEE-ness. This doesn't work too well when it's written... so here is a great site for pronounciations where you can listen to it being pronounced properly: Inogolo - 'English Pronunciation Guide to the Names of People, Places, and Stuff'.
Will British sports commentators ever get hispanic names right? I doubt it! Exasperating!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sticks and stones... and stuff and nonsense
Some of you may wonder why I call my Blog 'A Gibo's Tale'. This will probably be obvious to any Gibraltarian. The answer is... because I AM Gibraltarian... and because we Gibraltarians are often called 'Gibos' or is it Gibbos? I'll stick to 'Gibo'... saves on typing!
Many Gibraltarians find this term offensive. I can't remember if I ever did, but I definitely do not now... not now that I'm all grown up anyhow.
I'm sure we can all remember, from the playgrounds of our youth, often hearing the old phrase "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."
I've been giving this phrase some thought recently. It came to mind in connection with a number of controversies that have rumpused across our TVs, Radio phone in programes and newspapers here in the UK over the last few months.... in various guises.
Earlier this month, we had the row over the BBC's sacking of Carol Thatcher from The One Show for allegedly referring to a tennis player off-air as a "golliwog"!
Chatting as she sat in the BBC green room after recording an episode of the evening television magazine program, Ms. Thatcher, it later emerged, said something to the effect that the French tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has a white French mother and a black Congolese father, reminded her of a golliwog. Several people there complained and word got out to BBC officials, who said the remark was “highly offensive.”
The BBC fired Ms. Thatcher from her slot as a regular contributor to the program after, it said, she dismissed her comment as a “light remark” and failed to make an appropriate apology.
As a result, the BBC was deluged by thousands of angry complaints accusing it of overreacting. Many made the argument that there is nothing so horribly wrong with “golliwog,” anyway.... and I agree... it's just a toy for christ sakes!
“She was making a friendly joke, rather as someone of the same generation might say, ‘Ooh, he looks just like Rupert Bear,’ ” the columnist Charles Moore wrote in The Daily Telegraph. Alluding to a postwar group of Conservatives who responded to a description of the party as “vermin” by forming the Vermin Club, Mr. Moore suggested that Ms. Thatcher “start a Golliwog Club.” What a great idea... I wonder how long it will be before we are invited to 'become a fan' of this group on Facebook!
Then there is the matter of the queen’s grandson Prince Harry and the “Paki” video.
The video, made by Harry himself, showed him blithely calling a fellow Army officer his “little Paki friend.” Since Harry had once demonstrated a certain insensitivity to nuance by appearing at a costume party in a Nazi outfit, the incident was perhaps not so surprising.
Harry apologized; the army apologized; everyone fell all over themselves to denounce the use of “Paki.” Even his friends said that Harry had used poor judgment and bad taste.
Then, again, came the backlash against the backlash.
In The Daily Telegraph, the columnist Simon Heffer said that, sure, the incident was unfortunate but that “the barely concealed, self-righteous glee with which solemn, boot-faced toadies of the politically correct establishment queued up to condemn the Prince” was nearly as bad.
By way of defending Prince Harry, an Indian friend of the family named Kolin Dhillun, who plays polo with Prince Charles, revealed that Charles calls him “Sooty,” and that he doesn’t mind at all.
Perhaps it is a generational phenomenon, or an upper-class one, or a bit of both... but for me,having been termed a 'Gibo' forever... I have to say I find all this pretty much as 'stuff and nonsense'!
“What is disappointing is that lately all this vitriol and condescension seems to be all generated from the upper echelons of society, people who you would imagine would view themselves as being cosmopolitan and having a global outlook on the world,” said Jonathan Thomas, the secretary of 100 Black Men of London, a group that mentors young people.
He has a point. Prince Philip, the queen’s husband (and Harry’s grandfather) and the epitome of the old-school upper classes, has a famous history of insulting groups of all kinds around the world, from Scotland to Australia.
“Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf,” he barked at a group of young deaf people in Wales, referring to a loud band playing nearby. In 1986 he warned British students in Beijing that “if you stay here much longer, you’ll all be slitty-eyed.” Ha ha... Bless him... and what's wrong with that??!
Meanwhile, the Eton- and Oxford-educated Conservative politician Boris Johnson once referred to “flag-waving piccaninnies” in a column for The Daily Telegraph. In 2006, he managed to offend an entire country when he wrote about “Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing.”
Mr. Johnson then promised to “add Papua New Guinea to my global itinerary of apology.” Last year, he was elected mayor of London.
Now I ask you... has the world (or Britain to be more precise) gone mad? Have our sensibilities... if not our sensitivities... been finally taken over by the twaddles of the politically correct brigade?
Unfortunately, too many societal groups seem intent today upon claiming that far too many words... always hurt!! Whoever believes this gets to feel hurt a lot and... to my mind, is always at the whim of some person out there intent on causing offence.
It has only been in recent years that significant questioning of a hurt response to such verbal slings and arrows has developed. In the gay/lesbian movement there was, at one time, much discussion over the words "fag" and "queer" with many of the younger generation of gays and lesbians claiming those labels publicly for themselves! In the same way, young blacks sometimes calling each other "nigger" has also been a parallel development. By so doing, these younger men and women, in my opinion, have increased their self-esteem, as well as making it impossible for homophobic/racist bashers to bother them with those words.
This, I think is a far healthier response and one which in pyschology academia, is considered as an example of empowerment. Ergo... A Gibo's Tale!
A few happier activists are even coming to a belief that there is no such thing as adult verbal harassment. They are viewing claims of verbal victimization very differently. Their view is that claimants of verbal harassment have often thrown away possibilities for verbal repartee and capabilities for moving away.
Most people these days think that nasty names "naturally" hurt folks. I think this sort of thinking is causing huge amounts of unhappiness and is at the root of all these controversies we have recently experienced.. and which we often term as the 'PC brigade' gone mad!
The process of name-calling is typically based upon feeling NOT OK, and name-callers are trying to make themselves feel more powerful by using the process. In the same way, those offended by name calling, are also seemingly there... just waiting to be offended or insulted... possibly because they themselves have a weakness, maybe even a chip on their shoulder. Here's the general psychological concept:
"If I call you a name and get you upset, then I temporarily feel more powerful because I had a powerful effect upon you. My self-esteem rises at your expense. I project my unhappiness on to you and you take it on if you allow yourself to be upset. If you do not get upset at my attempt, then I cannot dump my original unhappiness on you. Then I am left not only with my failure to successfully dump it on you but also with my original unhappiness to boot."
That's straight out of nursery school... or maybe the playground isn't it? But... it seems that's how it is!
For my money, if you're successful at being unbothered by their words, then the attempting offender winds up more unhappy and he'll probably soon stop bothering to use those words. Most of us learnt this at school, while growing up with our peers. Name-callers will usually feel worse if you do not react to their name-calling and very quickly will stop such behavior. If on the other hand you get visibly... or in any other way, upset... they'll just carry on.
It's about time, many in our wonderful culturally mixed Great Britain... learnt this simple bit of psychology... and stopped being so damn sensitive about far too much!
Gibos Rule! :)
