Waltzing Matilda - You'll never hear it the same again

"Unofficial" Australian anthem and cornucopia of idioms.  Cogitate on these for a moment and then read the words.  Amazingly rich!


waltzing: traveling to learn a trade
matilda: a swagman's napsack
swagman: traveling worker
billabong: bend in the river where the water pools
jumbuck: a large wild sheep
tucker bag: sack for carrying food


     Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong,
     Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
     And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag...

{read the long version}

Que Significa? - Spaghetti Western

Movies portraying cowboys in the American Southwest never really caught my attention, but apparently a lot of people liked them. In fact, many foreigners liked them as well. The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, starring Clint Eastwood and sporting a catchy tune that most would recognize was actually directed, produced, and filmed on location in Italy.

The Spaghetti Western era produced hundreds of westerns and got it's nickname because, well, they probably ate spaghetti when not filming.

{read the long version}

Que Significa? - 20/20 Vision

In the USA 20/20 is considered normal eyesight.  Meaning that you can resolve (see) at 20 feet what the average person can see at 20 feet.  A smaller denominator (number on the bottom) denotes superior vision.  20/10 is extremely good, while babies have 20/400 vision at birth, improving to 20/20 by age 6.  A hawk has 20/2 vision.  


If you are reading this, you are probably 2 feet from the screen.  A hawk could read this from 20 feet away.  Take 7 steps back and see how yours compares.

{read the long version}