Author Archives: Andrew Bae

Drinking Game – United States

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Nationality: Caucasian
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2008
Primary Language: English

Drinking Game- United States

“This drinking game is called Beer pong. The main equipments needed are 22 16oz plastic Dixie cups, 2 ping pong balls, beer, water, and a table, usually around 8 feet long. The basic rules are: you set up a triangle at both ends of the table using 10 cups at each end. With the remaining 2 cups you fill them up with water. The 10 cups are evenly filled up with 2 cans of any beer of your choice. There are 2 teams (of usually 2 but sometimes 1) at each game. The overall goal is to throw the ping pong ball into the other team’s cups. Every time the ball falls into a cup, that team has to drink that cup. The first team to eliminate all of the other team’s cups wins. The losing team has to drink the remaining cups of the winning team.”

Eric said he learned this game when he first came to college. It was a random night in his dorm room and some of the older kids wanted to play beer pong. This was when he first learned how to play. He said that at the beginning it was harder than he thought. However after playing for awhile, he got the hang of it and got pretty good. He said that there are a lot more specific rules to the game; such as if you bounce it in then it is 2 cups, you can’t lean forward, and etc. He said the rules really depend on your preference and the preference of the people you are playing with.

I actually really enjoy playing this game. I first learned how to play in my freshmen year. It was during spring break when I went back home. One of my high school friends was have a party at his house. It was there where I first learned how to play this game. A lot of the rules I learned there are similar to the rules I play now with my friends at the University of Southern California. Some of the rules were that “only bitches blow” meaning if you are girl you can blow into the cup to get the ball out; if you bounce it in, that’s 2 cups; if you make it in to the same cup, that’s 3 cups you have to drink, etc. I realized after playing many games of beer pong, that the rules are very similar and slightly vary. Each person has there own little ideas what the rules should be. Also, sometimes my friends and I would like to add new rules to the games such if you throw it off the wall or throw from really far and make it in then it’s 2 or 3 cups. So sometimes I like to change the rules around to make it more exciting.

Phrases – United States

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Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 24, 2008
Primary Language: English

Phrases- United States

“Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear; Beer before liquor, never been sicker”

Steven said he heard this phrase a long time ago in high school. He said he probably heard it sometime around his junior year. He said that was when he started to go drink with his friends and party. He said that there was this one night where he had drank too much and was throwing up. And one of his friends came up to him and told him to remember: that liquor before beer, you’re in the clear; beer before liquor, never been sicker. This meant that as long as you drink hard alcohol before you start to drink beer, you won’t get sick. I asked him if he thought this was true. And he said that he doesn’t think so. He said that he always drinks whatever there is and has no preference to what he wants to drink first. So he doesn’t think this phrase holds any weight of truth.

I have to agree with Steven on this. I usually start off with a beer at a party. I personally enjoy the taste of beer and so I always like to get a beer first whenever I start to drink. Then later, usually someone always wants to take shots and then I start to drink hard alcohol. There have been several times where I have gotten sick but there also have been many times where I haven’t gotten sick. So I personally do not think that this phrase is true. However, I have heard from other friends that this is true. They always take a shot of hard alcohol before they drink anything else. So I think it might have to do with the individual’s body and possibly the mindset of the individual. The whole drinking hard alcohol beforehand can be like a placebo effect. So it tricks the individuals to think that they are safe from getting sick so in reality they don’t get sick.

Fishing Lore – United States

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Nationality: Korean
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

Fishing Lore- United States

“When going out tuna fishing, you must eat the heart of the first catch of the day.”

Peter said he first heard this when he went deep sea fishing from his friend Michael Chang. It was the winter of 2006, and they were out fishing for rock fish. It was not in season for tuna yet but they were talking about going tuna fishing in the summer in Mexico. Mike asked him if he had ever gone tuna fishing and Peter said that he hasn’t. Well, Mike told him that when they go, the first tuna you catch, you have to eat the beating heart of tuna (raw). The guys fishing next to him, agreed with Mike and told him that he had to eat it. Peter said he didn’t really know why he had to eat the heart. He assumed it was either for good luck or by consuming the heart; he was part of the sea. He just assumed that it was a fisherman’s lore and part of the seaman’s law.

I actually heard this with Peter. I was there actually fishing with Peter and Mike; when Mike told us that we would have to eat the heart. I’ve never heard this before until Mike told us about it. I had forgotten about this “law”/ “lore” until Peter mentioned it again when I was grilling him for some folklore. I also just assumed that it was for good luck or to show your manliness. Tuna fishing has a manly bravado attached to it and to show your manliness, I figured, you would have to eat the heart. I think it is kind of a right of passage in the fishing world. My dad fishes a lot and I know he has gone out a couple of times to go tuna fishing. I have never heard my dad telling me you have to eat the heart. So I’m not sure whether this has any truth to it or not. However, the fishermen around us all seem to agree with Mike.

Talking to Eric [1] about this, he said that he hasn’t heard this before but he has heard sometime similar. He said that you are supposed to eat the heart of the first tuna you ever catch. So it is kind of like a right to passage of being a fisherman. Many people can say that they have gone fishing but not many can say they have caught a tuna and ate its heart. So he thinks it is a right of passage to manhood and fisherman.

Also looking around the internet, I found a lot of video clips of people, not surprisingly teenagers, eating the heart of a tuna. One clip I found was titled, “My first right of passage in catching my first tuna fish” [2]. So I believe it is considered to many a right of passage.

Source:

1)      Henry, Eric. Male, 21 years old. Student, University of Southern California.

2)      “My first right of passage in catching my first tuna fish”. YouTube. 8 Oct 2007.  <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSsx0-Gjpds&feature=related> 2 April 2008.

Playground Song – United States

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Nationality: Korean
Age: 7
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 28, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

Playground Song- United States

“I see London, I see France, I see Andrew’s underpants; they’re not white, they’re not blue, they are filled with number two.”

Kai said he learned this in his playground at school. He said whenever he sees someone’s underwear; he would say this. He said kids at his playground say it a lot. He said he didn’t know who taught it to him. He thinks he learned it from kids on the playground.

As part time job, I tutor at this tutoring center in Korea Town, part of downtown Los Angeles. I guess as I was stretching, Kai had seen my boxer briefs. It was then when Kai out of no where says, “I see London, I see France, I see Andrew’s underpants; they’re not white, they’re not blue, they are filled with number two.” So I decided to ask him some stuff about this phrase and include it in my folklore collection. Just like most kids, Kai learned this on the playground from other kids. Even when I was younger, I learned most of my phrase from the playground from other kids. I feel like this phrase is a little different from my childhood. I remember the first part of the phrase: “I see London, I see France, I see “someone’s” underpants”. However, I do not remember the second part at all. I always thought it ended with underpants. Kai told me that a lot of them do stop at underpants but sometimes he likes to say the other part too. So I guess it is preference but still I was not aware of the second part until I learned it from Kai.

Playground Songs – United States

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Nationality: Korean
Age: 9
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 28, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

Playground Songs- United States

“Andy and Mary sitting in a tree. k.i.s.s.i.n.g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage.”

I asked Joanne to tell me the version she knows for the K.I.S.S.I.N.G. song. She told me that this was the only version she knows. She learned it from her older sister; who is 11. She said she saw her sister saying it to another boy and she decided to copy her. She said her sister didn’t like her copying her and got mad at her. I asked her if she knew what this song meant and she said she kind of knows. You say it to your friends if they like someone. I asked her if she says it to her friends often and she said she doesn’t but her sister says it often. She told me that her friends and she don’t like boys and boys are losers.

Joanne is a funny little girl. I tutor Joanne at a tutoring center in Korea Town in downtown Los Angeles. I asked her to tell me any playground songs or phrases that she likes to say. She first told me that she didn’t know any. However, when I asked her about the K.I.S.S.I.N.G song, she told me she knew that one from her sister. I remember learning this song when I was a kid in elementary school. I remember that I had huge crush on older girl at school and all my friends would tease me about it with this song. I guess even with time, some things don’t change in playgrounds. I eventually started to sing this song to my other friend when they had crushes. Of course, at that age, we all would deny our little crushes and call girls gross and ugly. I remember there was a second verse that we would sometimes sing. It would continue on with “That’s not all! That’s not all! “name” is drinking alcohol!”. Joanne didn’t seem to know this part because her older sister did not mention this part. I asked her if her classmates say the second verse but she said she didn’t remember.

With a quick search on the internet, the first site that came up was the Wikipedia site. The Wikipedia site description of the song was, “a name of a playground song or taunt. It really only achieves its desired effect—embarrassment—when sung among children to a couple that is in romantic love. The embarrassment is derived from the prospect of romantic contact between a boy and a girl, usually an uncomfortable topic for young children.” The site also showed some variation to the song that I know. The first verse was the same but it was the second verse that was different. In the second verse, Wikipedia has it as “That’s not it! That’s not all! “Name” is drinking alcohol!” It also mentions other variations for the last line of the song; “Here comes a baby drinking alcohol! (or) playing basketball! (or) peeing on the wall!”[1]

Source:

1) “K-I-S-S-I-N-G”. Wikipedia. 7 April 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-I-S-S-I-N-G>. 29 April 2008.