In keeping with the original attempt at a theme, today's word is "pong".
I understand that in some circles, teeth are ground, fists clenched, and blood pressure raised whenever the term "ping pong" is uttered. I would advise such folks to get the fuck over it. Table tennis is an amazingly dynamic and demanding sport. No one could watch my company's ping pong tournament and deny that it takes a whopping load of skill, coordination, and athletic ability to play top-level competitive ping pong. Donggen and Perry were all over that table and the whole room. They made that ball do magic things. But ping pong is like bowling. The vast majority tinkers around and has a bit of fun. As a natural result, I've noticed that most people use the label "ping pong" out of ignorance, laziness, or affection, not out of spite. It's not like we're calling it "sissy ball" or "cunt". Although I do remember trying to watch a scrambled episode of something called the Dong Show at a friend's house early one sleepover morning. One of the acts featured ping pong balls quite prominently. But my point is that most folks don't care enough about it to insult it, so it's really sad that some people care enough to be insulted.
All that having been said, ping pong was one of the few "sports" that I found I enjoyed. As a big, dumpy nerd in sixth grade, this was an important discovery, on a par with "I can poplock really well" and "Wow, Angela got big boobs over summer vacation."
I suppose a nerd of my generation can't mention the word "pong" and not think of one of the original, quarter-eating arcade game (after Computer Space) Pong. Actually, Pong was a bit before my time, but it played a prominent part in my role as "most popular kid on the block" for an afternoon or two when I was the first kid to get an Atari 2600. Those were the days when my dad was having his soul vacuumed from his chest as he worked in corporate technical sales for Techtronix. My dad was always away on business trips, but presents fought for space under the Christmas tree. Before he decided to stay a human being and quit, his hard-earned cash won me an Atari. I could hardly believe my eyes. I think it was only later, when my best friend Kevin from across the street got a system with paddles that I actually played Pong. I remember Pong as one of the few games that used those damned paddles.
Finally, there's the close-to-home association with the word "pong". My mom uses it frequently as a synonym for stink. It has a sort of U.K. flavour to it when used in that fashion. It's one of the words that my mom uses in conversation, like "wonky", and gets blank stares from folks. She then has to protest her sanity to the group of ignorant gawkers. I fully expect my mom to just to start telling folks to piss off when this happens. I'm sure they'll understand that.
Pakeha