Friday, March 17, 2006

Green Eggs and Kegs

I had a nightmare last night that Hoop was gay. I woke up in tears blubbering something about his "male lover." Our internet, and then Blogger, has been down for the last seven hours. My St. Patrick's Day isn't off to the greatest start. But I'm determined to make it better, come hell or rabid leprechauns. Tonight is the night to get tanked on green beer and spend three drunken hours searching for four leaf clovers in the neighbor's yard. Here to celebrate the occasion:


St. Patrick's Day Trivia
1. St. Patrick wasn't Irish, he was British, born to a Roman official. His birth name was "Maewyn Succat."
2. When he was 16, pirates captured him and carried him to Ireland to be a slave.
3. He didn't really banish snakes from Ireland, because Ireland never had any. Scholars now believe snakes were simply a metaphor for the "serpent" of paganism.
4. The Irish have celebrated their patron saint with a quiet religious holiday for centuries, perhaps more than 1,000 years. It took the United States to turn St. Patrick's Day into a boozy spectacle. You're not surprised are you?
5. The term "shamrock" derives from the Irish word, seamrog, which translates to "little clover." But identifying a particular plant as the shamrock is a dubious practice, botanically speaking. No one really knows what a shamrock is.
6. The Blarney Stone, the object everyone kisses for luck, is a part of a wall on Blarney Castle in Blarney, Ireland. According to legend, an old woman cast a spell on the stone after being rescued from drowning by a king. When the king kissed the stone, he was given the gift of persuasive eloquence. Therefore it is believed that anyone who kisses the stone will receive the same gift.
7. Ever wonder who thought of dying beer green? Back when it was difficult for American bar owners to get their hands on a good Irish beer, they decided that the next best way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day would be to drink beer that was dyed green. Even now, when Irish beer is as easily accessible as driving to the nearest bar, people have stuck to the tradition of drinking the dyed stuff.

"Irish Hot Potato" Drinking Game:
Preparation: A ball, a group of friends, and a lot of beer.
Object: Basically the game is playing catch with your friends, but with a few exceptions. When throwing to someone, you must say the name of someone else in the circle besides the person you're throwing to. For example, Jack, Bob, and Sue are playing. Jack throws to Bob and says, "Sue." That's OK. If Jack throws to Bob and says "Bob," then he has to drink once.
Additional Rules:
1. If you say the same name twice in a row, you have to drink twice.
2. If you say your own name, you have to drink four times.
3. If you wait more than four seconds, you have to drink five times.
4. If you peg the ball at someone (a peg will be decided by majority vote), you have to drink six times.
5. If the ball goes astray, the last person on one knee with a finger on their nose fetches it. Everyone else has to drink seven times.

Daily Hoop Conversation:
Tink: Spring Break is next week.
Hoop: Oh yeah? Any big plans?
Tink: I figured I'd stay toasted all week. Maybe get a tattoo, shave my head, and call myself, "Tawanda."
Hoop: Sounds about right.

Daily Hoop Conversation 2:
Tink: I figured out what kind of job you'd be perfect for.
Hoop: What's that?
Tink: Digging cheap graves.
Hoop: Cheap graves?
Tink: Yeah, you're already so good at digging holes. You might as well sell them off and make some profit.

Have a safe and fun weekend!

16 Comments:

At 17 March, 2006, Blogger mamatulip said...

I love the Irish Trivia. #4 doesn't surprise me at all. ;)

 
At 17 March, 2006, Blogger Jess Riley said...

That was fantastic! When I was a kid my family would go all out to celebrate St. Paddy's Day, with corned beef, potatoes, & cabbage for dinner followed by a themed-cake with green frosting. I would have friends stay over and we'd "hunt for leprechauns" in the yard, using gold-wrapped chocolate coins for bait.

Aw gee, now I've gotten all nostalgic.

(Great Hoop convos, as usual!)

 
At 17 March, 2006, Blogger Odd Mix said...

So what was Hoop in trouble for when the last conversation took place?

And how come the Irish get your very own holiday with their beer and kissing an shamrocks and all. How come we Scottish don't get a holiday with our hagis, and blue paint, and bagpipes and... Oh, OK, now I get it.

 
At 17 March, 2006, Blogger mamatulip said...

Odd Mix, you Scots do have a holiday. Robbie Burns Day! LOL!

 
At 17 March, 2006, Blogger Chris said...

Fabulous trivia - I think I maybe knew one of those things...

Heh, I'm also curious what Hoop was in trouble for in conversation #2!

 
At 17 March, 2006, Blogger Tink said...

Hoop was in trouble because...

Hoop: Spring Break is more of a guy's holiday.
Tink: Why's that?
Hoop: Because only slutty girls participate in the parties.
Tink: You think so?
Hoop: You know the main goal is to get trashed and sleep with people.
Tink: So, it's OK for guys to behave that way but not for girls?
Hoop: That's not what I was saying.
Tink: Sure it is. So, how many of these Spring Break parties did YOU participate in Hoop?
Hoop: Um... None?

 
At 17 March, 2006, Blogger Pixie LaRouge said...

Odd, there's a party for Scots, complete with 'pipes and haggis. Robbie Burns' birthday ;)

Happy Green Beer Day, Tawanda. Have a great spring break!

 
At 17 March, 2006, Blogger Jay said...

Not only is your blog entertaining but it's educational. I'm a huge trivia hound.

When I lived in San Antonio I could spend St. Patrick's Day at Durty Nellies on the riverwalk. Drinking Guinness and singing Irish Drinking songs with the other drunks. *Sigh* .... Now I live in a dry county.

 
At 17 March, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I may have to play the 'Hot Potato' game tonight.

Although, my daughters have friends over so the house is filled with seven and nine year olds.

At least there'll be someone sober to call 911.

(thanks for visiting my blog.)

 
At 17 March, 2006, Blogger Mignon said...

Maewyn Succat? No wonder they called him Patrick.

 
At 19 March, 2006, Blogger Amanda said...

Hope you had a nice holiday despite the strange dream. I had a dream last night about a woman stuffing someones guts into a cardboard box.....not sure what that's about.

 
At 20 March, 2006, Blogger Robyn said...

I had thought about going to Dublin for St. Patricks Day. Being that it would only cost about $50. Oh sorry, was that me rubbing in the fact that I live in EUROPE?

Have a good one Tink.

 
At 20 March, 2006, Blogger DebbieDoesLife said...

I don't get any gay vibes off of Hoop at all.

He does give off plenty of "Open Mouth and Insert Foot" Vibes though.

 
At 20 March, 2006, Blogger The Queen Mama said...

Digging holes...snort, snort. I love me some Daily Hoop Conversation fixes. Just read the last 3-4 posts after being away from the blogosphere for, like, a WEEK!

Hope you had a great St. Patty's Day.

 
At 20 March, 2006, Blogger Tink said...

Bellsouth in our area is still off and on, imagine dial up only 10x slower and less dependable. I can't even get it to pull up the "New Post" screen. So there's probably not going to be any updates today. Bear with me guys. Hopefully I'll be back up and running tomorrow.

 
At 21 March, 2006, Blogger Turtle said...

There is someething so wrong about a Leprachaun baring his cheeks! Cover that bum up. A belated Happy St Paddy's, Tink!

 

Post a Comment

<< Home