Let’s talk about this word: Ok!

 

 Let’s talk about this word: Ok!

Etymology is the study of the origin and evolution of words, including their constituent units of sound and meaning, across time.

OK  is allegedly the most popular word in the world. It has been absorbed into countless languages in what scholars argue has been less than 175 years. It is arguably America’s greatest gift to English language expansion and the start of a massive influence of Americanism on the world.

It has been debated that there is no standard spelling. It can be Ok Okay or O.K. All are considered legitimate in editing circles as long as the one chosen is consistent to the piece.

The word "OK" has a disputed origin story with many countries claiming it as their own (as seen below)  but the first documented instance is recorded in the late 1830s in Boston as part of a trend of abbreviating misspellings, OK came from "oll korrect" for "all correct". Other examples were KG for “know go” for “no go”. OW for “Orl Wright” as in “ all right”. The joke is lost on us today but you have to only look at your earlier  Facebook posts to see how often you used LOL or OMG. When you see countless social media posts about Gen Z and Alpha slang explaining words like skibbidy, mid, and delulu. It’s not hard to understand how new words or phrases become part of our lexicon.

Allen Walker Read the linguist who rediscovered OK’s first printed use in the Boston Morning Post back in 1963 hypothesized that the abbreviation gained popularity (and in turn momentum) through a campaign slogan used by supporters of President Martin Van Buren during the 1840 USA election. Van Bruen’s nickname was Old Kinderhook, after his hometown, and he used the slogan “Vote for OK.” This was a perfect storm of syndicated paper stories and national news coverage, basically, much like today's social media and memes. OK had entered the wider consciousness.

 

By World War One it had spread throughout the globe.

Of course, lots of other variables have been put forward, many from different parts of the world with similar sounds and meanings, but none have been proven to be as influential or documented as the origin of the “oll correct” theory. Some of these are, but are not limited to:  English -Opposite of KO "knockout". Scots - och aye ("ah, yes")  Finnish - oikea ("correct") Greek -Initials of Ὅλα Καλά (Ola Kala, "everything is fine")

The word has also proved to be one of the most versatile in the English language by being adaptable as a noun, adverb, and adjective, It can also change its meaning via the volume and length of the speaker (not unlike Chinese) The only word that comes close to this versatility is a certain swear word starting with F.

 

As an adjective, OK principally means "adequate" or "acceptable" as a contrast to "bad" ("The boss approved this, so it is OK to send out"); it can also mean "mediocre" when used in contrast with "good" ("The french fries were great, but the burger was just OK"). It fulfills a similar role as an adverb ("Wow, you did OK for your first time skiing!"). As an interjection, it can denote compliance ("OK, I will do that"),

 or agreement ("OK, that is fine"). It can mean "assent" when it is used as a noun ("the boss gave her the OK to the purchase") or, more colloquially, as a verb ("the boss OKed the purchase"). OK, as an adjective, can express acknowledgement without approval. As a versatile discourse marker or continuer, it can also be used with appropriate intonation to show doubt or to seek confirmation ("OK?", "Is that OK?"). Some of this variation in use and shape of the word is also found in other languages.

This is a table from Wikipedia showing some of the disputed origins from other countries, languages and history.

English	Opposite of KO "knockout"				by 1981
Mandinka	o ke ("that's it", "certainly"; also "do it")	Introduced by West African slaves	by 1815	David Dalby	1969
Wolof	waaw-kay (waaw "yes" + emphatic -kay)	Introduced by West African slaves	by 1815	David Dalby	1969
Scots	och aye ("ah, yes")	Scottish immigrants to North America		"Barbarian"	15 October 1933
Latin	Initials of Omnis Correcta ("all correct"), with the K replacing the C	Used by early schoolmasters marking examination papers			1935
Finnish	oikea ("correct")				July 1940
German	Initials of "Ohne Korrectur" [sic] (German for "No changes")	The term OK was used by typesetters and people working in the publishing business. A manuscript that didn't need any changes or corrections would be marked "O.K." for Ohne Korrectur [sic] (German for "No changes").	c. 1900	Guido Carreras	June 30, 1941
Greek	Initials of Ὅλα Καλά (Ola Kala, "everything is fine")	Used by Greek teachers marking students' work. Prominence of Greek shipping would allow it to be spread by sailors		John Alfred Huybers	1913
French	O qu'oui ("ah, yes")	Emphatic form of "yes"	by 1768	William McDevitt[1]	by 1945
Choctaw	oke, okeh ("it is")	Frontiersman trading with Choctaws borrowed the word directly or via Mobilian Jargon	by 1812	William S. Wyman	August 1885

Originally in BBCN issue 344 July 2025

Paradiddle folk band

I love thrift shops, Antique shops & malls, anything where there is some link to the past, a bit of history,

 some memorabilia, something cheap. Anything cheap actually.

So it was a great surprise when I stumbled across an item recently at the Market Fair in FTG.

I’m not one to go looking through the old vinyl, I long ago was bitten by the CD bug and replaced all my old records decades ago and it’s still my format of choice, and if I can’t buy it, I burn it, is my motto these days. As for vinyl I don’t buy into that “It’s a warmer fuller sound” nonsense and getting up every 20-30 minutes to change sides got old in my teenage years, and let’s not mention the prices some people think these things are worth!

 But I digress.

This time I thought I’d flip through a pile of records in a stall that had some cool 1970s ephemera when I came across this particular album. It was the Warburton Hotel picture on the front that caught my eye, thinking that it may be a local act like The Cobbers or something. I saw it was a band that definitely didn’t want to be taken out of context named The Paradiddle Traditional Folk Band. On closer inspection on the back linear notes listed as vocals, guitar, banjo, harmonica lagerphone, and garden drum was our very own Strummer’s Tale author Rob Fairburn. To add to the prize, it had been signed by all members of the band.

I’m not going to say how much I paid for it, that way I don’t embarrass or give a big head to anyone mentioned. But it’s in my collection now.

I had to laugh to myself in 1978 Rob was making albums of Traditional Aussie music and at the same time, I was ears deep in punk/new wave music. I would go on to release a cassette in 1981 (none of this vinyl stuff, we were do-it-yourself back then, plus no self or disrespecting  record company would touch us) If anyone ever came up to me with one of those things, I’d have a heart attack, one because I’d been found out, and second they were meant to be so ephemeral that I doubt any of them even exist anymore.

But seriously, this album was a great find and puts credence to Mr. Fairburn’s stories. I was lucky to find this piece of history before he got to this part in his memoirs.

Boronia Now and Then Part 9

Boronia Now and Then Part 9 

More of the on going series of time lapse videos of the place I like to write its history.

The Basin Now and Then

 The Basin Now and Then

Another time lapse video of another place I like to write about. Outer eastern suburb The Basin.

Boronia Now and Then Part 8

 Boronia Now and Then Part 8

More of the on going series of time lapse videos of the place I like to write its history.

THE BORONIA MALL

   

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids

 

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (often referred to simply as Fat Albert) is an educational American animated television series created, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972 and aired until 1985 (with new episodes being produced sporadically during that time frame). The show, based on Cosby's remembrances of his childhood gang, focused on Fat Albert (known for his catchphrase "Hey hey hey!"), and his friends.

 

The show features an educational lesson in each episode, emphasized by Cosby's live-action segments. In addition, at the end of the early episodes, the gang typically joins in their North Philadelphia junkyard to play a song on their cobbled-together instruments, summarizing the show's lesson.

Origins and history

The character Fat Albert first appeared in Bill Cosby's stand-up comedy routine "Buck Buck," as recorded on his 1967 album Revenge. The stories were based upon Cosby's tales about growing up in inner city North Philadelphia. In 1969, Cosby and veteran animator Ken Mundie brought Fat Albert to animation in a prime-time special entitled Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert.

 

The special, which aired on NBC, was a hybrid of live action and animation. The music for the special was written and performed by jazz pianist/keyboardist Herbie Hancock in 1969 and was released on the Warner Bros. album Fat Albert Rotunda. For the animated portion of the special, it was necessary to develop the actual appearance of each of the Fat Albert Gang's characters. For this, Ken Mundie relied on animator Amby Paliwoda, a former Disney artist. Paliwoda not only created all the Gang's characters, but painted a "group portrait" which was eventually shown on the front page of TV Guide magazine shortly before the showing of the special.

Retitled Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, the series premiered on September 9, 1972, on CBS. Production lasted for 12 years, though production of the series was not continuous. It also spent another season in first-run syndication (1984–85). Three prime-time holiday specials (Halloween, Christmas, and Easter) featuring the characters were also produced.[10] Like most Saturday morning cartoons of the era, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids contained an adult laugh track, which was eliminated during the final season. The series was rerun on NBC Saturday mornings and on the USA Network in 1989.

 

The theme song, "Gonna Have a Good Time", was composed by Ricky Sheldon and Edward Fournier, and performed by Michael Gray (vocals), Kim Carnes (background vocals) and Edward Fournier (background vocals).

 

A cover of the show's theme song, performed by Dig, is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall and released on MCA Records. The song's chorus ("Na-na-na, gonna have a good time!") was also sampled in Fatboy Slim's 1998 hit single "Praise You".

Reference: Wikipedia Youtube

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids

 

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 8, 1973, to December 1, 1973. The series title is a play on the name of the unrelated 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The character's music group is called the Sun Dance Kids.

Plot

Similar to both Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and Josie and the Pussycats on CBS, the show depicts the adventures of the titular teen pop group. The band consists of 4 heartthrobs: Butch Cassidy (lead vocals and lead guitar); mini-skirted blonde beauty Merilee (tambourine); sensible Stephanie, nicknamed Steffy (bass guitar); and curly-haired Wally (drums) voiced by real life superstar and Monkees drummer/singer Micky Dolenz . Accompanied by Wally's dog Elvis, these popular rock stars lead double lives as government-backed crime-fighters.

The teens are advised by a supercomputer named Mr. Socrates, who is (somehow) violently allergic to dogs. When the group meets with Mr. Socrates in his lair for their latest assignment, Elvis is always told to stay outside. Yet Elvis always ends up inside the lair, by his own ingenuity and/or by Wally's forgetfulness. Elvis's mere presence causes Mr. Socrates to sneeze and go haywire; Mr. Socrates then sends the group out of the lair, and off to their assignment. Butch, designated as "Sundance 1", wears a special communicator-ring which keeps him in contact with Mr. Socrates.

Cast

·         Lloyd "Chip" Hand II as Butch Cassidy

·         Micky Dolenz as Wally

·         Kristina Holland as Stephanie

·         John Stephenson as Mr. Socrates

·         Judy Strangis as Merilee

·         Frank Welker as Elvis, Wally's dog

 

Four songs from the show were released as singles on Romar Records. A full LP was mentioned on the labels as forthcoming, but was never released.

 

 

Source: wikipedia-  youtube