The word taboo originated from Tonga. This picture is of windsurfing in Tonga. Windsurfing is not taboo in Tonga.

Janitor's Note: We worked real hard this time to lead with an actual windsurfing photo related to the topic. Unfortunately, to do this, we had to google the word taboo. I had no idea that people used leather for things other than shoes, belts and jackets. I still wish I had no idea. Some things can't be unseen. And, yeah, there are some adult words in the links. I figure if you are old enough to click, you've heard them before.

Some things can't be said or written. It's bad luck, karma, profane or will steal your soul.

George Carlin is famous for his "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." While we might think that bit quaint and that in our more enlightened times, we've advanced and can, we still find some of those words on the naughty list, at least here in the U.S. Cee Lo Green really isn't singing "Forget You" and Mumford and Sons aren't singing "I really ... it up this time my dear.". This Canadian band, F-bombed Up (see, I can't even print it), was at the top, Numero Uno, of Spin Magazine's top 50 albums of 2011. Have you heard their name on the radio? Don't think so (unless you get satellite).

Not only can't we say or write these words, many times we can't even write the letters that constitute them. As a distinguished radiologist, Dr. Libshitz could put his name on front of his book:

This picture is of Taboo. He's with the Black Eyed Peas.


This picture is of tabouli, which sounds like a small taboo but isn't.


This is a picture of a Tabou windsurfing board, which sounds like tabouli, but isn't.


This is a picture of a Keith Teboul, which sounds like he should be designing boards named Tebouli but he doesn't. He's the shaper for Quattro and has shaped for Bic.

But, the poor fellow couldn't even put his name in an email address. Verizon refused. Well, ultimately he could but it was very hard and required the intercession of the local newspaper.

Carlin could have well added an eighth word to his routine - the Judeo-Christian name for God. No, God isn't his name, that's like naming your son, Son. Nor is it Lord, which is meant to be used in place of his name. Our best guess is Yahweh which simply means "He is". As the original Jewish pronunciation is lost to time and it was written only as consonants YHWH - the vowels are an educated guess. It was said less and less, only in the most holy of places and times and lowering tones until it was lost.

Today, in the Catholic Church, there is a directive against using or saying Yahweh in the liturgy.

Had Carlin done his routine 800 years ago, he could have also thrown in the name of Satan. Our expression, "Speak of the Devil" comes from the Middle Ages belief that the mention of the name of the Devil would cause him to appear typically with bad consequences. Of course, had Carlin done his routine 800 years ago, he would have been burned at the stake. Apparently, this belief hasn't entirely died out.

And, of course, what person under the age of 21 doesn't know who "he who must not be named" is?

We windsurfers have our own taboo: If the forecast looks favorable, you can't say it. You can tempt fate by obliquely alluding to it but that still has its risks. What happens if you say it? Like the Cheshire Cat, it fades away.

How many times have I violated this? Too many and, yet, I've failed to mend my ways. I see a model or forecast predicting wind a couple of days out, get excited, post in the forums and watch the W 15-25 forecast dwindle by each passing hour until we get Variable 5-10.

Hey guys! Hey, look! It looks like it's going to be windy Saturday! (Yes, these are real forecasts)

Uh... what happened? Did I do that?

Why do I keep doing this? My therapist says I still have issues over not getting the Hot Wheels I wanted for Christmas when I was eight no matter how many times I wrote the Bearded Man. But, I'm taking ownership of my problems and slowly getting to a better place.