Namesake
As some of you may know, Engels is not my last name, nor am I a follower of the communist writer Friederich Engels. In everyday circumstances I go by my middle name while my first name, which is very German, remains unknown to most. However, that wasn't to be.
In my first year of uni, a couple of my drunken mates caught wind of the fact that I was going by middle name, and not my first name. In their words "I was living a lie." So naturally they left a drunken message on my phone (at 4 in the morning of course) . They argued that I must tell my then girlfriend (who was attending another uni) my real name and stop living this lie (of course they did all this in very bad Irish accents but I got the point). Finally, they declared that my real name was....they paused for a moment like drunken fools. Then the wittier of the two shouts out, "It's Engelbert. It's Engelbert Humperdinck!"
The rest, as they say, is history. Although, I never listen to the famous singer (though one of my kind college mates bought me a single of his), it has come to my attention that the "King of Romance" is touring Australia. And in fact he plays in Melbourne this Saturday, the 10th of June, which is quite remarkable as that date is indeed my birthday. Funny old world, innit?
In my first year of uni, a couple of my drunken mates caught wind of the fact that I was going by middle name, and not my first name. In their words "I was living a lie." So naturally they left a drunken message on my phone (at 4 in the morning of course) . They argued that I must tell my then girlfriend (who was attending another uni) my real name and stop living this lie (of course they did all this in very bad Irish accents but I got the point). Finally, they declared that my real name was....they paused for a moment like drunken fools. Then the wittier of the two shouts out, "It's Engelbert. It's Engelbert Humperdinck!"
The rest, as they say, is history. Although, I never listen to the famous singer (though one of my kind college mates bought me a single of his), it has come to my attention that the "King of Romance" is touring Australia. And in fact he plays in Melbourne this Saturday, the 10th of June, which is quite remarkable as that date is indeed my birthday. Funny old world, innit?
posted by Engels at 12:29 pm
22 Comments:
Since you're both German and White, (pardon me if I am politically incorrect) this may be of interest to you.
http://www.prussianblue.net/
Don't know if you've heard of them, but I'd like to hear your views on this.
Ben,
your friendly neighbourhood convenience store man
Engels' has seen them, I blogged on them waaaay back.
On a side not, Engels real name (the german one) is Holger.
You heard it here, folks!
Yes, I've seen the darlings from Prussia Blue.
And thanks, Aidan. I do have the power to remove your comments...
Holger is such manly name, doncha think?
Holger is very manly. In fact, practically the last thing that jumps into your head as you see it on the screen is Helga... AMIRITE?
Happy birthday for tomorrow my friend, have a beer for me
Actually, I didn't hear it here...and I think Holger sounds totally sexy.
Yes, Martini, I am awake. and no longer dwelling on the 1st floor. happy birthday do you engels, you half german cunt
Thank you guys. And thank you, Jan.
I will indeed have a beer for you Luke. Maybe even two.
Holger is very manly and sexy and sounds nothing like Helga... "a" is feminine, "er" is masculine, I think...
Ha, cheers martini.
I knew I was manly. And an island...deserted of women....
The irony is that even though my father hails from the part of Germany which is very close to Denmark (in fact I think Kiel was part of Denmark once, Aidan?), the name was actually given to me by my Aushtrayan mum. There was some radio presenter in Sydney called Holger, apparently.
holger cock
Annoying people from Kiel? Must be the trend.
You can call me anything you fancy Grogs... bar late for dinner (god, I hate that joke)
There you go.
I've never read Factor X. Hell, I hardly read any news papers any more. Just look at the headlines on my customised google home page. I am a über-nerd.
God, I feel like crap. Beer is bad...in large dosages.
Ah, the comics section. I think I used to read that at BK.
Kiel, or Schleswig-Holstein, was indeed once part of Denmark.
Additionally, it's the homeland of the Jutes, the neglected third partner of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain.
Holger groin?
Ah, the Jutes. That's why it's hard to genetically determine English of Danish descent since they hail from similar regions.
This is a site by Boshi's physics supervisor:
http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~s285238/History.html
Hey that's some nice stuff.
Late Roman and Saxon England is always overlooked by historians, and especially in popular historical accounts. I guess feudal Norman England is sexier...
It's a shame, because from Alfred the Great to Ethelraed the Unready, Anglo-Saxon England was led by pretty much the most consistently competent line of warrior kings in the world.
Fascinating history that.
As a side note, my German exchange student told me that the German dialect spoken in Schleswig-Holstein is the closest to English - some simple sentences sound nearly identical.
I guess that makes it the closest to Old Aenglish.
Really? I was always thought that Dutch was the most similar language to English. Same region yet again.
Well, up until the 16th century the Dutch WERE considered Germans.
Word of advice: don't say that to a Dutch person. The Philadephian dutch are actually German.
The land of Engels tribe, indeed.
"Dutch" both in the Holland and Pensylvanian variety are just corrupted translations of "Deutsch".
I remember this because it all came up whether Benedict was the second or third German pope.
One of the past German popes came from Rotterdam, which, though now "Dutch", was considered a German city back then.
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