This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
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Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
cicely That’s pretty nice piece of percussion music, but I’m having serious doubts that the sounds are made by ice. It’s possible of course, but there’s some big red flags. Stuff recorded live out doors doesn’t sound like that. Even with studio editing you’d expect some wind noise, or the rustling of jackets and the like. Still, it sounded good.
FossilFishy
It is currently 9:20PM, the temperature is +1°C.
Predicted overnight low is -21°C.
Don’t you wish you were here?
Today chigau, I most certainly do. Even after six years I still struggle with the heat in a way that I didn’t with the cold after I had a couple of Edmonton winters under my belt. Ah what it is to be 20 years older and slower to adapt….
yeah, the reciprocity would be interesting to note.
After which thought, I grabbed my dictionary to investigate the meaning of the reciprocal number of women polled for these lists. Wouldn’t you know it?
Undefined.
Harvard student issues fake bomb threat to get out of final exam. From all indications, this led to no one being harmed. However, our tax dollars were wasted here. I’m guessing he didn’t bother to think of how his actions could impact others.
#281 rq
We can’t complain, in general.
We are also happy about the development of our children. What we are worrying about lately is, that they most definitely will have unnecessary difficulties in their later life. Like finding a sustainable peer group or acceptance from others. We feel like raising children in a glass bottle, not connected to the outside world. So, even if they are happy now, did we give them the right start to survive in this society later by themselves?
Are you fucking kidding me?
More than a year’s worth of reports, inspections, and records indicating a problem with the Triumph, and they apparently did nothing.
But there’s even greater outrage to come:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/17/travel/carnival-cruise-triumph-problems/
Emphasis mine.
WTF??!! This is their defense?
Am I wrong to think that it *is* the responsibility of the cruise line to ensure adequate food, sanitary and safe living conditions, and a seaworthy vessel?
@Tony!
No. You’re not wrong to think it is the responsibility of the cruise line to ensure adequate food, sanitary and safe living conditions, and a seaworthy vessel…
…sort of.
I don’t know what jurisdiction’s laws will be employed here (I just spent a whole term studying that, and there’s a lot to consider), but in common law jurisdictions exclusion and limitation clauses are themselves limited within contract law. Other jurisdictions cover such things with consumer protection law (that, essentially, creates implied conditions in the contract, so it’s still within the contract, but not in “contract law” – meaning a rule about how to handle a contract. We’re not interpreting/adjudicating contract clauses under consumer protection law, we’re adding clauses in by statute. It’s related, but not technically the same thing).
Actually, in common law jurisdictions, X&L is handled both within statute AND by overlaying consumer protection laws. Civil law jurisdictions – I think – have contract adjudication rules that likewise restrict what you can put in the X&L, but I’m not sure. Asian legal systems and Islamic legal systems are where I’m especially ignorant, so I can’t say what would happen if they had a clause saying the contract would be adjudicated under the law of Taiwan or Japan (though Japan has imported some common law stuff in the area of contracts, but I have no idea how much or how faithfully).
Tony (#501)
Well, I bet the Office of Student Conduct (or whatever Harvard calls it) will see to it he’ll never have to take another final ever again.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/12/opinion/downey-home-plate/index.html?iid=article_sidebar
Kudos to Major League Baseball for working to ensure greater player safety.
Good morning
I think what this means is their indignation at being expected to know the basics about how cis female anatomy usually works. Cycles, periods, what and where a uterus is…
While “being a chef” probably means “know how to make your own goddamn sandwich.”
Some while ago I read a new German study about hetero men and what became quite apparent was that lots of their misery was due to the fact that their ideas about “what women want” were still stuck in the last century. So they thought their job still was “provider” and then they couldn’t understand why she was unhappy because she wanted somebody who was a partner, a father and who was able to buy his own goddamn undies.
x/0 = infinity. Don’t let the formalists tell you otherwise. >.>
Look at the preeeeeety metallic colors on this wasp, which is a new discovery out of China.
****
Ear acupuncture may actually be effective. Effective at *what*, though?
Is there something to this?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2206232/
(note: The first link refers to the 12/16/13 release of the results of a randomized clincal trial of 5 ear acupuncture points for the treatment of overweight people. The full text is behind a paywall.
I wonder what Nerd’s thoughts on this are…
The article from the NCBI dates back to 2007.)
The across-the-street-people are having another party
or maybe it’s the same party
…
oh, for the stamina of youth
@Tony!
I think I’ve seen 1 baseball game start to finish in my life (well, one other than kids playing). It was a minor league game 25-30 years ago.
So I’m pretty ignorant on this stuff. But I was under the impression that trashing the catcher was a response to catchers blocking the path to home plate.
isn’t there a rule against running outside the …the… running path? So if there is, this would already be illegal if the catcher isn’t blocking your path deliberately. If the catcher is blocking your path deliberately, doesn’t the catcher have a say in preventing this?
Will they punish the catcher or the runner? Both?
Both seems the only reasonable option, as one is engaging in illegal behavior that has always been illegal – blocking the runner’s path (hasn’t that always been illegal? If not, why don’t more people block running from 1st to 2nd while the short stop runs up to tag 2nd base?) and one will be engaging in behavior newly illegal by this rule.
But frankly, and I know this is total victim blaming here, but I think this is a special case where the logic holds, while we can agree that some things are never “asked for” by a catcher (like a punch included as the runner goes by) the unenhanced impact of body on body has to be exactly what the catcher intended, right – to slow the runner by a few moments so that an out can be scored?
If it’s what the catcher intended, then isn’t that the same as consent? How can you intend something without consenting to it?
So shouldn’t the rule be overt attempts to injure the catcher are outlawed, but impact only, so long as the runner is on the running path, is actually the catcher violating the rule blocking runners and so it’s the catcher that’s penalized?
Am I so ridiculously ignorant of baseball that I’m missing something important? Has there been a trend of runners coating their uniforms with mace and smearing it on catchers as they go by, or something?
*Testing*
Did I really log on this time or have I just been “celebrating” too much (and halucinating?).
DISCLAIMER: This Samsung Andriod is a pain in the….
Bluentx:
I feel you. Have you had trouble with FtB?
Phone (?) Kicked me out of ftb (again), Tony. I was testing logon and haven’t checked last 20 ? Hours of posts. Will try that now… may not return from the ether…
–please ignore bad CAPs…etc.
Ok. Can’t seem to access first page of current Lounge. *sigh*
bluentx
At least you’re here!!
re: that list from theoreticalgrrrl
Dunno about all the other (straight, cis) women here, but I for sure don’t want my Husband to be my father and/or my brother (I’m surprised they left son off that list).
And if they think a man doesn’t need all kinds of support and honesty and etc., then they have a seriously low opinion of men.
I’m really sad that list is going around on your Facebook, theoreticalgrrrl. I’ve started marking such things as spam automatically, although I don’t know if that actually does anything. If I feel up to it, I like to add comments (in this case, something along the lines of You sure don’t think much of men but with more snark).
Anyway, welcome, welcome, vent away, Tony mixes a mean drink, and there’s usually some cookies around here… somewhere… *wipes crumbs away from mouth*
cicely
That was an interesting video, but even as a non-percussionist, I have questions about how they make those sounds on the ice in gloves… And also, the title says ‘metre-thick’ ice and they’re not playing on metre-thick ice, they’re playing on smaller broken slabs of ice, which isn’t exactly what is described. The introductory playing looks suspicious to me, but the hands move too fast over an unclear background and it’s hard to see if it is videoshopped in or not. The closest to a skeptical look at the video I found here. Everyone else is raving about it.
Tony re: baseball
I don’t know how keen baseball fans are on their violence and substitutes, but if they’re anything like hockey fans, prepare for an uproar (they wanted to reduce the contact aspect of hockey due to proof that percussions and chronic injuries were, umm, unhealthy, and… people went berserk – ruining the sport, spirit of the game, just a few small hits, etc. …). But I think it’s the right decision.
Oh, and Tony, about auricular acupuncture, I found this, and wiki still calls it alternative, so I’m pretty sure it’s still woo. Besides, anything connected to detoxification puts my hackles and suspicions way up.
Tony (#509)
Would it help to know that Nogier was a homeopath and that he decided which bits of the ear corresponded to which bits of the body based on the ear’s resemblance (in his mind) to a fetus? (See here.)
Hi there
I just went home from school (internship on Wednesdays).
Either I get a bad cold or I have a vaccine reaction but no matter what I’m feeling like somebody chewed me up and spit me out again. I can’t quite decide between I’m hungry and I want to puke. Maybe I’ll just eat something and then do the puking…
*off to bed*
Giliell
I find it’s better to puke with a full stomach. :/ But that’s just me.
Feel better soon!!!
I’m sure similar things have been posted, but here’s another lesson on how to help someone having a panic attack / PTSD.
Still wondering what that secret code is. Probably more decipherings of sekrit messijis in junk DNA. (And really, comet ISON? Into the sun? I thought comets went around…)
I think Kevin Carr from Jamie Oliver’s site lucked out. While the food here is generally delicious, all the haut cuisine is as inaccessible as always… But I also wonder what kinds of preconceptions about eastern European food he had before coming here?? It’s not all sauerkraut and sausages, you know.
Go for the interviews, stay for the house-porn. I will never be that hip.
And to finish off, a look at Canada’s apartheid and Mandela’s legacy. Interesting and thought-provoking, though I confess I don’t know enough to unwrap it completely.
Giliell I hope you’re feeling better soon.
rq I too prefer (in as much as it can be considered a preference) to have a full stomach before being sick. Not an option my wife has had this week: she has no appetite and being sick. Not good. She’s getting better though. I still have no appetite, but have so far avioded any other symptoms.
Can I also add to people’s endorsement fo the lounge. It’s the most welcoming place on the internet!
To quote someone people may recognise: ‘Safe haven of the sleepless, where the deep fryer’s always on.’
bassmike
Ugh, so much sympathy for your wife! Dry-heaves are the worst. :(
And may you continue to avoid any other symptoms! And your daughter, too!
rq thanks! Having no appetite it this time of year is not fun. Hopefully we’both be better by the weekend. Last night our daughter ate more than either of her parents!
bassmike
Yes, be well in time for the christmas feasting, in order to feel ill once again afterwards! :D Hopefully this plan will succeed.
Ye Olde Blacksmith
By the way, thank you for the invitation to ‘collaborate’ on a piece of art. I look forward to the result (whenever that may be). Very intrigued, and just a leetle beet excited, too. :)
In light of the ice drumming up thread:
A drummer uses natural environments to change the reverb on his kit. Very cool. Don’t listen to the snap of the initial impact of the stick on drum head or cymbal, the real difference happens in the sounds that follow.
FossilFishy
Now that is cool.
So why is there no ‘car repair shop’ button among the Effects functions on my keyboard??
I hope you and your wife feel better soon bassmike.
And I wanted to say that I hope you took my “real instrument” comment in the humourous manner in which it was intended. Pretty sure you did, but just in case…
Truth be told, despite spending over a decade playing in one band or another I never made enough money to pay for my gear*, let alone anything else. Anyone who has the dedication and the chops to do it for real has my admiration regardless of the number of strings on their instrument.
*Spending the majority of my time in a nine piece that only had 5 or 6 songs out of 40 odd in straight 4/4 might have had something to do with that. :) I should have bailed when I overheard our principle song writer mutter to himself “Dance to that fuckers.” as he was working out a new riff. We weren’t avant guard or experimental or what ever the fuck we thought we were. No, we were user hostile.
I’m pretty sure that comes with the latest software upgrade rq, along with abandoned factory and wind farm. That video also has the advantage of being pretty clearly for real. (Still not convinced by the ice one.)
FossilFishy I took your comment in the manner in which it was intended, so offence taken. As I mentioned; I play some percussion in the orchestra and have other (huge pun alert!!) strings to my bow in the form of playing other instruments.
Also, I get the ‘not playing in 4/4’ thing. My goto drummer is always on the lookout for including a 7/8 or 5/4 bar whenever he can. Sadly, I only encourage him.
And rq don’t think I didn’t see the ‘messy bass players’ comment a while ago. We bass players have long memories you know!
I have to sign off for today. Hopefully catch up with you all tomorrow. Thanks for all the good wishes, and I’ll leave some cookies in the lounge, as I’m not interested in them at the moment. Stay safe.
*puts quarantine tape around bassmike‘s cookies*
I love quirky rhythms thrown in for no good reason! I know this is a repost, but this is my choir performing a traditional folk song in a contemporary choir arrangement (by which I mean it is newer than 10 years). And it is full of rhythm quirks, which makes it fun to sing and makes our conductor easy to piss off. :)
OK, I’ve eaten some rice, I’ve slept, I feel a little better
Best wishes to you, bassmike and your wife. If it’s Norovirus it usually passes rather quickly, fortunately.
rq
You (the choir) sound great.
I can only carry half a tune. Sometimes I make a deal with the little one: I’ll stop singing if she stops crying. (OTOH, when she’s cried herself into a real fit singing the lullabyes I sang her as a baby has a really soothing effect. Only I ruined “Scarborough Fair” for myself for all time)
Giliell
Did you try singing both tracks at once? :) I like your deal with the little one. :D
Only Eldest has ever liked my singing, to tell the truth. Youngest is very actively against any kind of singing by me, to the point where he throws a fit even if I’m humming something abstractedly under my breath. He likes rock music, though – it’s the only stuff that will get him dancing. The older two will dance to anything with a decent bass, and have recently proclaimed my Youngest Brother’s glitchhop/dubstep/other related music to be The Best Music Evarrrr.
rq
Nah, I’m not Agnes Nitt
I usually sing the man’s lines first and then the woman’s lines, although I love it best when there’s a couple alternating the lines.
‘rupt.
But of course I have to pass on news about Porsche.
Portia
That is awesome. Still, a ways to go before we can download a Portia…
And I found this. A simple tip for talking about race.
And then I found this article, and it’s getting the spam marker on Facebook. Don’t read it unless you want to be outraged. I can’t even be bothered to put up a snarky comment for this.
Excerpts:
And the whole article starts with this gem:
I’m sure a few people in the Lounge would love to comment how gender is all based in biology and is not arbitrary or fluid at all… Right??
Ugh.
Oh and I missed this line:
That’s right, you dissident lesbians – men are out there for you to RESIST! You may ask about gay men, but in this world, there are no gay men! No sensitive men! They all want to work on oil tankers! RARRRR!! Or something. :)
VW makes an efficient car. May it have a long and economic future! Together with the electric car.
(crossposted from Ed Brayton’s blog)
“If we must teach religious alternatives to scientific theories, there are thousands of sides, not just to evolution but to every other theory.”
.
NB! This is the solution to how to deal with demands to “teach the controversy”.
If the state demands the teaching of beliefs opposing science, the teachers should simply provide a summary of creation stories from all over the world.
Hindu, maya, viking, the creation story of the !Kung bushmen, the various versions of Aboriginean creation stories (if you go in alphabetical order, this should come first).
“Back in The Dream, Kangaroo Bloke created the Earth…”
birgerjohansson
Here are two (one, two) images to go with your comment. :)
And we did have a religion class in grade 11 that looked at other religions – it was called World Religion, and was actually very well presented and well done (and interesting!) despite being at a catholic school…
*ahem* Here‘s a more comprehensie version of image two above, and I think I found my favourite. (Just google ‘teach the controversy’ in image mode… Gold!)
rq:
From your link-
Yeah, women don’t do any of those things.
And it couldn’t be that the absence of women in many of those situations is due to rigid gender roles.
Actually, it’s everything from + ∞ to − ∞. The whole y axis, if you draw it.
Yeah, right.
Authors, reviewers and editors fail development biology forever.
♥ ♥ ♥ the cartoon ♥ ♥ ♥
“The car doesn’t move very quickly (0-60 in more than 12 seconds) or fast (top speed is 99mph).”
99 mph? That’s, like, 160 km/h? There are a few highways in Germany where you’re allowed to go faster than that; but anywhere else in the world? A common top limit for highways is 130!
“It won’t break any speed records, but it can go 261 miles on one gallon of diesel fuel.”
Now let’s see what that means, because I’m used to fuel consumption being measured in liters per hundred kilometers. 10 is much, 3 (“The Three-Liter Car”) is the goal, there’s an almost unmarketed car that goes below that and looks normal but nobody knows about it (and it’s weak).
Assuming I remember everything right, 1 mile = 1.602 km, and 1 gallon = 3.78 l.
261 miles/gallon
418.122 km/3.78 l
110.614 km/l
0.009 l/km
0.9 l/100 km
Wow.
Wow.
VW is only planning on making 250 of those, each for the price of 111,000 €. Let’s hope they get surprised by enough demand that they start making them in series.
That’s Republican National Committee Chair, Reince Priebus, speaking this morning. He can talk and pull stats out of his ass at the same time. It’s impressive.
Republicans continue to have a policy problem when it comes to women voters, and not just a “tone” problem as they assert.
♥ ♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♥
♥ ♥ ♥
Timecube! And Xenu!
@fossilfishy & bassmike:
I love beating out some 7/8, but somehow I tend to screw up the 5/4.
The ice percussion was fun, but what really blew me away was how CLEAR the ice was.
That indicates (IIRC) that it froze very quickly in a still environment (no wind mixing bubbles between gathering ice grains, no slow gathering of large grains that are then welded to each other: the whole kit & caboodle freezes together.
i’ve never seen natural ice like that.
=======
@Tony!
Those manly men GTOW who built the global economy!
So self-sufficient. Why I heard that in the early years they would pop out, gum a first meal of raw placenta while mom was still whining about how difficult was the labor, then toddled off to climb a tree in hopes of cornering a tasty squirrel. And it was in just such manly hunting endeavors that they learned to walk a steel scaffold. But if that wasn’t enough, they left the later years behind by drilling watermelons so that they could, uh, drill watermelons, forcing their manly, man-babies to use their own muscles to break out of the rind, instead of learning to passively allow one self to be pushed out by a woman.
With a first meal of melon – so much more nitrifying than anything that might come from a woman, and eliminating that perverted stuff about sucking on a nipple – they would dash about in a burst a sugary energy, catching rabbits by hand instead of cornering squirrels in trees.
oh, the heady days, when first man realized that he was made to be able to perform overnight delivery. Sure, that first guy dropped dead at Sparta after running not much more than 150 stadia, but then man worked smarter and flew the airplane! The heady days of the DC-8, back when men were men and women were stewardesses!
And all with no help from the ladies at all!
Darrell Issa, Chair of the House Oversight Committee, is hosting a road show in which he pretends to investigate the effects of Obamacare. Issa picks the questions that will be asked from the audience, and he even chooses who will ask those questions, and who will sit in the audience.
Rachel Maddow nails Issa.
Issa is following the example set by Dan Burton, the congressman who started all kinds of witch hunts aimed at taking President Clinton down. This included investigating the White House Christmas card and the correspondence of the Clinton’s cat. In other words, you make up scandals and then you use taxpayer money to prosecute these ridiculous “scandals.” Like Issa, Burton was “crazed with hatred” for the President. Maddow provides details of this background before getting to the current Issa material at about 6:00.
Burton also subpoenaed documents and then released only cherry-picked portions of those documents, or he released classified documents by going against court orders. Darrell Issa is a master at these illegal and/or cherry-picked leaks. Issa’s leaking problem is so big that the White House is now refusing to give him documents he has subpoenaed. The dude is a proven leaker, sending classified material and cherry-picked material directly to CNN on the same day that he receives it. Now he has the “Obama will not comply with subpoenas” schtick to add to his grievances. The big fight over subpoenas is not over.
Issa is big in Texas, and he is having an effect. Part of the Issa effect in Texas is keeping the sickest and the poorest people from signing up for healthcare insurance.
This could be good news for Democrats: lots of Republicans retiring from Congress. Still, we will have to move quickly and aggressively to take advantage of it. 2014 elections will be marred by voter suppression laws that are aimed at lowering the number of Democratic Party voters. Getting out the vote, and getting around or over the hurdles to voting is not going to be easy.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/retirements-shake-congress
My paralegal accidentally sent me an email both complaining about me and leaking something personal I told her. Yaaaaaay. : / I decided to laugh it off and answered “Who are we talking about? She sounds awful!” : p
Lake Baykal is exceptionally clean. Crystallization germs must be few and far between. Maybe it got supercooled, and then much of it suddenly froze all at once.
I like that. :-)
Oh, Portia, that’s horrible – iirc, she seemed really supportive and friendly at first? Sounds like a very smart response on your part, though – you’ve effectively made it clear a) that you got the email – no pretending you didn’t – b) that you have a sense of humour and c) that you’re open to criticism and that she can raise any issues she has with you to your face, no need to sneak around behind your back.
So go you for dealing with it head on but in such a smart and non-confrontational way; and so sorry you had something so unpleasant happen, though :-(
Crip Dyke
I’ve seen similar ice, though, granted, not that clear. I wonder if it forms every year as clear?
yubal
(from way upthread, and before I forget!)
I would say the answer to your question is YES – if you’ve given the tools to navigate the world in their toolbox, and you’ve taught them to use them, then I am positive that your daughter will be fine! Plus from what I’ve read of you around the Lounge and elsewhere, you sound like you’re doing a fine job of life and parenting in general. :) Go you!
Of course, I’ll probably be wondering similar things when mine get to that age.
[/advice from inexperience]
Portia
I hope things don’t go on like that… :/ And then what opposablethumbs said, I think you’ve done the sensible thing, and now it’s up to her to own up to what she did, or try to act like it never happened. Good luck!
Tony @545
Notice, though, how she writes overwhelmingly men, thus dismissing any and all contributions that women do make. And yes, nary a mention of chilly climates in certain job sectors, rigid gender roles imposed by culture on society and the stress involved in breaking them, the pressures women still feel to be ‘feminine’… Also, she mentioned how the current system isn’t due to the massive oppression of women throughout history, but I wonder – if women were so unoppressed, why did they have to fight for the vote?? Or would she rather women just not participate in society at all, and just be – as she says and I paraphrase – safe and comfortable in their homes, taking care of the helpless babes?
I don’t understand people who can look so blindly to history and say “That was awesome! Let’s keep doing it!” while totally missing the entire point.
Portia
I’m a bit worried about leaking the personal info, though…
Portia,
Your paralegal doesn’t seem like a trustworthy person.
I don’t like her.
Your answer is great, regarding the badmouthing part. I guess a snarky “So, have you got any more scoop on this awful person? Just curious.” addendum is out of the question?
Portia
I think your was a good response but
Did anyone else get the email?
Kids’ names
Hi Everybody.
What are fashionable kids’ names where you live? If you have young kids, nieces, nephews or grand-kids, what are their playmates’, classmates’ names? What names do you hear being called out when you go pick your little one up at school or daycare?
What are some names you like? Names you’re tired of? A name that left an impression on you for some reason?
I’m not asking this for any particular reason. I’m just fascinated with names. I like to look at old town records of births and deaths and walk through graveyards looking at names. I read obituaries and every year I check census records’ ranking of birth names.
I’d be particularly interested in hearing
… I meant to erase that last phrase.
Bicarbonate
commonly heard girls’ names:
Emīlija, Elīza, Elizabete, Līga, Ilze, Ilona, Viktorija, Dace, Gunta, Linda, Ieva, Alise, Ance, Annija, Kate/Katrīna, Marta, Beāte, Māra;
commonly heard boys’ names:
Emīls, Kristians, Valters, Viesturs, Jānis (not to be confused with the alternate spelling of Janice), Krišjānis, Kristaps, Roberts, Matīss, Markuss, Andris/Andrejs, Mārtiņš, Valdis;
nice but more rare girls’ names:
Jolanta, Viviāna, Gundega, Karīna, Maija, Rasma, Dagnija;
nice but more rare boys’ names:
Juris, Edgars, Ēriks, Sandis, Miķelis, Tomass, Regnārs, Reinis;
There’s probably a rather noticeable difference in popularity among Latvian names here in Latvia, and Latvian names given to children born in Canada/outside of Latvia. Latvians in Latvia tend to give their children (at least, it seems to be the fashion now) latvianised English or French names, instead of more traditional Latvian names (even in the case of, say, David, people are more likely to write it Deivids (phonetically) rather than Dāvids (the more traditional ‘Latvian’ way of spelling it).
For what it’s worth, Husband and I avoided common names as much as possible and went with the good old-fashioned names of Nikodēms, Marians and Jonatans (which is a rare name here, although the English version is not).
Portia:
Good response.
She must not worry about being seen as trustworthy…
****
AHA! I have finally found an example of Men’s Rights activism!
Oh, wait…
****
A thematic follow-up to Lynna’s #451:
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/debates/iowa-secretary-state-mike-schultz-voter-fraud-investigation-nets-16-charges-and
In a move that will surprise nobody, Shultz wants even more money to support a larger investigation into voter fraud.
So, I’ve long been a huge fan of:
Nicola/Nikola/Niccola
Alessandre/Alexandre
and
Natasha
Jayne has been completely rehabilitated for me by the Firefly character.
in every case above, there is at least one famous man with the name (though Jayne is fictional) and at least one famous woman with the name. Certain communities may consider the names more or less feminine, more or less masculine, but the names have tradition behind them that really help.
Tera is a gender flexible Celtic name that’s pretty awesome, though I’m not sure about any famous role models or even any good Tera characters in books.
Max is a great kids name, but it always feels a bit …much…to me when applied to an adult. YMMV.
My all-time favorite gender-flexible name belonged to a woman:
Nikola Jayne Victoria-Brown.
At the time I didn’t think Jayne was very gender flexible, but the man they call Jayne cured that, for sure. It makes the name even more spectacularly awesome in retrospect.
I love the rhythm of it. Bum-bm-bm Bum gm-Bum-bm-bm Bm.
Dactylic Stress pause Dactylic Stress
it’s just a really nice pattern.
i recommend names the fit that pattern, if last name allows.
That’s a nickname in the original, and exclusively female as far as I’m aware.
FossilFishy, my sympathies for you and Small Fry.
I had doubts about the lake percussion, as well, but know that I do not know enough to judge.
–
Shiny!
:)
–
*gentle hug* for Giliell. I know that hungry/nauseous cross-connect all too well….
–
birgerjohansson:
I’ve long thought that, if I were a science teacher, this is the way I would approach it, devoting at least two weeks to it, with the full panoply of surprise quizzes and tests. Then, when asked why I was “wasting the students’ time” with such nonsense, I would say, “Because I am required by law to Teach the Controversy—which means, all the Controversy—not just the one you favor!”
After that, I would probably be in need of a new job, but hey! omelets and eggs, ya know.
;)
–
In my generation (’86), it looks like people were going for simplicity with a lot of “ordinary” (also, biblical) names like Ivana, Petra, Maja (female) or Marko, Josip, Igor (male).
Kids these days have names like Sara, Lara, Iris (female) or Roko, Gregor, Niko…. I don’t know a lot of people, so I’m not really sure.
I like longer names, more old-fashioned. Like Sofija, Katja, Katarina(female), Sebastian, Daniel, Krešimir (male).
What annoys me are alternate spellings that are bound to complicate people’s lives. See, someone could be Daniel or Danijel, Sofia or Sofija. Even Katja or Katia. So I’m not sure if I’d actually use any of these names for a kid, I would probably go for something that won’t make “with/without a j ” the most often spoken phrase for them.
Yeah, Nataša is nice.
Obviously, I really like Beatrice, that’s why I chose it for myself. Not really used here in Croatia, but there are some “adjusted” versions heard here or there (mostly in Istria), like Beatriče.
Kresimir (I can’t type it with the accents), nice!! I’ve always adoooored Igor. Thanks, B.
I like the name Beatrice (Beatrise here, pronounced in 4 syllables).
Oh, forgot to mention Kārlis/Karlīna ar pretty popular here at the moment, and also Māris (boy name).
I’ve always liked the shorter more typically Latvian names, as they’re shorter and have nice rhythms to them – Āris, Tālis, Māris, Jurģis; and the more imported ones, like Ingus and Zemgus. I’ve also long preferred the shorter girls’ names like Anna, Ieva, Lote, Juta, Lidija, but Husband and I couldn’t agree on any – so we went the other way, for imported traditional but long names.
I’m in love with the name Adelaide, and I like the Latvian version of Isis (Izīda) for a girl (four syllables) and obviously our kids’ names took the semi-religious route, because I like the flow of Latin/Greek names in Latvian.
I like any and all (or most) variants on Niko/Nicholas/Nicola/Niklāvs because my unknown grandfather (he died a month before I was born) was a Nikolajs, and the name always had a sort of mystery to it, so Eldest got Nikodēms because I wanted to commemorate, not imitate, but my sister still thinks I named him after her middle name (she’s named after the opera, though, first name).
And I have a secret love affair with the names Cassander/Cassandra, but I’m not sure why. I used to be a big fan of the angel names (Gabrial, Raphael…) but they don’t sound as nice in Latvian.
Approving
Petra
Katya
and adding
Aral
Names (western Canada)
My generation (now 25-30):
Girls: Katie/Katherine/Kathleen, Megan/Meghan, Krista/Kristine/Kristin, Erin, Danielle, Julie, Laura
Boys: Andrew, Michael, Timothy, Colin, Wray, Jason, Kyle
Young kids now:
Girls: Emma, Madeline, Abby/Addy, Ada/Ava
Boys: Ethan, Aidan, Riley
Also, with its big skies, open horselands, wildflower meadows, and ruggedly beautiful badlands, “Montana” because a very popular gender-flexible name, evoking all those varied images.
I say try to get in front of the trend. If that’s what people like, name your kid Kazakhstan for the I-was-there-first cool factor.
There will be a cool factor, right?
People are gonna flock to it, right? Big skies! Meadows! Horse country! Badlands!
Anyone?
Waiting for my hair to dry a bit before heading to bed…
Names
Girls: Jessica, Angelina, Zoe, Lika, Ewgenia, Anastasia, Alexandra, Jerzey, Lisa, Marie, Nia, Nina, Celine, Arueed, Kira, Kiara, Michelle, Laura…
We went for something completely different: Menina and Madita
Boys: Niklas, Niko, Max, Felix, Sebastian, Christoph(er), Paul, Arthur, Ludwig, Kevin, Noah, Justin, Jeremy, Alexander, Nils, Leon, Luca, Lukas, Tobias…
You’ll note some Russian sounding names and rather old-fashioned German names like Arthur and Ludwig. Both usually mean German-Russian immigrants.
English names are unfortunately stigmatized as belonging to children of poor people with disciplinary problems. I’m sorry for every Kevin there is.
Giliell:
Do you mean English names are stigmatized in Germany? If so, that’s interesting. How did that come to be?
Re names… an amusing story.
Way back in 1980 a young woman in Santa Barbara, California escaped her paramour of many years duration and went to work for a mutual friend in New York City. The former paramour was a pompous but very wealthy scion of displaced European aristocracy. A year later the woman learned that the scion had married and his wife was expecting a male child. One afternoon the scion phoned the young woman’s place of employment to boast about this development. The young woman generously offered congratulations and inquired after preferred names. Had one been chosen? The scion replied that they were nearly decided on Dibblemont Prothero then several family names. Oh, thought the young woman, poor kid. So the young woman laughed heartily and said, “Your’re kidding! How gawd awful pretentious. Listen, if you don’t know this already I’ll clue you in… kids are cruel. If you give your son such a horrid name you will be to blame for the bullying he will undoubtedly receive.”
The scion was offended at the young woman’s response, sputtered something rude and ended the call. The young woman learned several months later that the scion named his son Michael David.
I like to think that I sent a huge good deed out into the universe by calling a fool a fool.
Tony @562:
For an economically conservative political party (at least that’s what they claim), Republicans are sure big on wasting taxpayer dollars.
gender-neutral name I love: Vanja
Croatian immigrants returning back home after working in fureign countries for years, thought up names with weird spellings before it was cool (hipsters!). So a 80-years-old neighbor is called Mery.
Ugh, so sorry to hear, Portia. Hopefully the info wasn’t too sensitive, and now you know she’s a person you can’t trust with anything further. I have several friends I like a lot, but I’ve found out the hard way with them that nope, they don’t get to be on the “trust with sensitive info” list. Some people are just too chatty.
Stayed home from work today, supposedly to get caught up and have some time for myself. That..kind of didn’t happen, as a lot of chores got in the way. But at least a few things got off of my plate. Emotionally I’m still flopping around like a boneless chicken, but I’m forging through to the weekend with a couple of well-placed (by which I mean “those who won’t mind”) “sorry, I can’t get that done by the deadline”s to get some breathing space. Ho ho ho.
Thanks to this commenter at Mano’s, I have had the “pleasure” of reading The Female Privilege Checklist:
Now, I’ve been using privilege to mean unearned benefits or advantages granted by society to an individual based upon their membership in a particular group/class.
Based on *that* definition, more than a few of the so-called “Female Privileges” aren’t benefits. #1 certainly isn’t. Society doesn’t grant women the “Pregnancy Privilege”.
Some of the others are just bizaaaaaare.
Beautiful name that got ruined by stupid company using it for their product: Ariel.
Dibblemont Prothero?? …
I forgot to mention I like the name Felix.
And Krešimir is all kinds of awesome!
Husband was misidentified as Igor on our wedding day, thus I nearly married the wrong man (so to speak). But I suppose the pastor could be forgiven, as he was old and crotchety and Husband has an uncommon Latvian name (as do I).
I had two different people, who didn’t know each other, continuously call me Jelena. My name is Renata.
I guess I just look like a Jelena.
Tony
I would like to dispute numbers 3, 5, and 10 right off the bat.
And the rest… They’re not really privileges. Someone else will probably define it better than I could. But remaining seated while greeting someone – that’s a privilege, really??? They were really reaching when they went for the toilet paper roll. And I’d rather get a handshake than a hug, in most life situations (yay touching me is a privilege??). Oh, and number six. I’m pretty sure there’s people out there constantly telling women to shut up, no matter what emotions they’re expressing.
Tony
Apart from the things that are obviously work you do for other people, whoever wrote it doesn’t know much about women and their lives.
And yeah, English names became very popular among mostly lower class people. Since they objectively struggle more while also often not having the best tools at hand to solve personal conflicts, those kids often end up as being the “troublemakers”. And then people expect Kevins to be troublemakers and you got a vicious cycle going.
In Latvia, Emīls is the expected trouble-maker, due to a popular film called Emīla nedarbi (The Mischiefs of Emil, an adaptation of the (I believe) Lindgren book about Emil from Lenneberg (sp?)).
Of course,
is a definite advantage, amirite?
re. Tony’s list (in batches):
1. is creepy. I don’t want to mold someone into the person I choose. That’s horrible.
2. but I’m expected to be the family’s bread maker. yay
3. Ah. I guess the devil really is in the details. when appropriate. Of course, where and when is something appropriate? I say wearing a short dress is appropriate whenever I chose it to wear (with possible exceptions of work, but only if short is meant to mean micro), other people’s opinion would differ.
4. Amazing. Being able to vote has got nothing on this one.
But really, I at least half-get up whenever* being introduced to someone.
*ok, almost
5. Actually, I am. Often. I don’t see what that’s got to do with being a woman.
6. Huh? I might not be told to shut up, but starting to bawl at work would probably cause some changes in opinions about me… and behaviors. Word crazy would probably be mentioned. Or histerical.
Laughing is, as far as I know, “allowed” for all genders.
If anything, a strong laugh might be considered unfeminine, while a man can chortle as much as he wants. Also, I sometimes snort when something is funny. Totally unfeminine, as I’ve been told.
7. Um, if those weren’t stereotypical, you wouldn’t have to feel defensive about them in the first place.
8. You call it bonding, I call it handing you all the dirty work.
9. *eyeroll*
10. I do like to imagine a naked to the waist hunk wielding an axe, but really, isn’t this a bit ridiculous? You’re only at ten, I’m afraid you’re get to “hunting for food” by 15.
—
I’m bored.
Yeah, because being considered flighty by default is really something to be grateful for.
Ugh, fuck off.
I love the name Ariel and first encountered it in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Unfortunately it has been thoroughly disneyfied and seems now to only reflect princess-like mermaids.
Also, in the realm of weird, I have a twin sister (not identical) with a short, one syllable first name similar to mine. Dozens of times I have been referred to by my sister’s name although the person making the mistake had no way to know that I have a sister of that name. The names don’t sound alike, they are just short punchy names. Weird.
rq
Yeah, Dibblemont Prothero. Unbelievably ugly name methinks.
I rather like the name Prospero, but I’d never name my child that. Cymbeline, too. Actually, Shakespeare has a lot of awesome names that I would never apply in real life. But they work great on the characters.
Oh! I have to mention… My two favourite latvianisations (call it what it is – a bastardisation) of English names EVER are… (and this is in all seriousness) Veins and Brains – for Wayne and Brian. I’d consider the names for a pair of cats, but children? Nuh-uh.
Beatrice
I’d get you a half-naked lumberjack who was willing to chop some wood for you – or hunt a rabbit with his bare hands, or something equally rustic and manly (voluntarily, of course), just because you took the time to get to 11. :)
12. This is related to you being a woman… how exactly?
13. Why yes. Men are taught not to ask for help. That sucks. I don’t get the “used to”. I would understand “allowed to (without social repercussions)”, but you seem to imply women are feeble things that soon get used to asking for help for everything.
14. It’s nice to sit in public transport, I admit. But I’ll have to wait to be an old woman for that. Holding doors open… well, that really shouldn’t be so much trouble to do it yourself so I don’t see what great havour you’re getting there. When people have their hands full, it’s only decent that someone close by holds the door open. Gender irrelevant.
15. HAHA. Translation: My partner/husband can’t be fucked to do home finances.
For single women: Of course you get less money than a man, you just learn to deal with that.
16. LOL
Translation: I’m never going to be given any real power when there’s a man nearby.
17. Honey, a man knows how to do it too (seriously, what’s there to know), he just doesn’t want to do it.
This one just tells women they’re suckers.
18. *don’t get it*
19. She doesn’t have a very high opinion of men, does she?
20. I do believe men who are serious about their jobs prefer to be considered professional and ethical.
21. Oh gad. Is she reading herself?
It wasn’t explicit, but this totally reads as “Women get all the shitty jobs, so I’ll have other women to rely on among cleaning ladies and office aides “.
22. Yeah, no thanks. Bring on the handshakes, save the hugs for friends.
23. Except that some of those stereotypes you list favourably do make you look like a thread. Like that “prerogative” to change your mind.
24. Oh, lucky lucky women. We can be lying assholes and manipulate men by our tears.
Yeah. that’s only a privilege if you’re an asshole.
25. Oh please, you sanctimonious asshole.
I can’t believe I didn’t fuck up all those blockquotes.
(after reading rq’s)
Do I get two lumberjacks for getting all the way to the end?
*grin*
Beatrice
Yes. I’ll search some out for you when I get home. :) (Consenting volunteers only, of course!)
If we’re going gendered, I think
Athena
is underused. There are lots of good names from deities, actually.
Selene/Selena
Cybele
Pallas – again, from athena, but I actually think this is a gorgeous name, and it’s used so rarely (and was a place-associated name anyway, IIRC) that I think it’s pretty flexible.
============
Okay, look, the odds that anyone would do this are low, but someone named their kid hitler, so here goes:
What about comic-book names? I’ve always liked Cassandra, Callisto and Amora. I wouldn’t name my kid Rogue, but I’d think seriously about giving a provocative rugrat that nickname.
Logan isn’t bad.
i think Amira is a great name (Tagalog, i think)
Yes, Beatrice. You get two. Door #1.
rq:
You only need to search for one.
I’ve done part of the heavy lifting (phew…that was some effort), the rest is up to you :)
Tony
My thanks, good sir! :D Sounds like you had that one waiting around for an opportune moment… ;)
I’ll take care of the second one. *tee hee*
Thank you, Tony, for going through so much trouble.
Oh, gee, I got to deliver a Tone vs. Substance argument on FB just now:
All of that was in response to a post from a friend about the Duck Dynasty dude who said some anti-gay shit. I’m off to work, otherwise I’d pull up a link for ya’ll.
Ciao.
Crip Dyke
Yeah, sorry about all the gendered names I’m throwing out. :( There aren’t any non-gendered ones in Latvian, so it’s hard to get back into the more English-thinking aspect of my brain that might come up with more gender neutral variables.
Alas, I’ve never been into comic books enough to name any good names from them, but I’ve always thought Wolverine had a nice ring to it, for a girl…
It’s going to be awkward when rq, in trying to best Tony, sends a lumberjack to my door.
—
Vanja is the only non-gendered name used here that comes to mind.
Bicarbonate:
Names I hear at pre-school: Finnigan, Magnus, Ulrich, Aurora, Bailey (boys & girls), Raegan, Livi, Felix
–
Popular names: Payton, Ava, Aiden, etc.
–
I feel like there is a sort of de-stigmatization going on with more untraditional names, which I think is good. But during the hiring process where I work recently, this was said, “Well, we certainly can’t have a ‘Guadalupe’ sitting at the front desk”, and that resume was summarily tossed aside. So that is shitty.
Last night the Redhead was on the phone to her parents. Her dad mentioned a PBS show on a strike by the copper miners in 1913 in Dah YooPee was running in his area. Since I lived in Dah YooPee for 15 years, it was of interest. After that, there was a show on how Arthur Conan Doyle via his Sherlock Holmes stories gave rise to the science of forensic evidence.
Go, Tony!!
I’m just going to leave some epic Latvian names here (epic as in they’re from our national epic story), it’s the closest I have to knowing comics with super-heroes. There’s Lāčplēsis (bear-ripper), Kangars (not sure of the meaning, but he’s the baddie), Aizkrauklis (I like to translate this as beyond-the-raven), and Koknesis (wood-carrier… and dirtier minds than mine will wreck the pronunciation in English…). Then there’s Spīdola (shining-egg), Laimdota (given-by-luck), and Staburadze (also not sure, probably named after the location Staburags).
That being said, I know someone who named their child Lāčplēsis. The other male names haven’t been used in the recent era. Laimdota is a fairly not-uncommon name for girls still, but because Spīdola is the witch of the story, she’s not a popular namesake. And I don’t think anyone has ever used the name Staburadze.
Non-gendered names: Courtney, Raegan, Payton, Juniper, Lee…
Oh yeah, on tone v substance – I’m in a discussion right now that is sort of on the important side for me, involving making some operations guidelines. I started an argument about not using civility as one of the guidelines, and need to back it up. Apart from blog posts (maybe in addition to), are there any sociological studies anyone can point to about the harm that civility clauses can do to marginalized groups? I will search on my own too, just didn’t know if there were any known go-tos that would be easy to list. Thank you.
yazikus
Those are some cool names (I like Livi).
Oh, my best friend went Fleetwood Mac and named her daughter Rhiannon.
Beatrice
Not likely, at least not via overnight delivery. ;)
OH carlie I also forgot to dispense your *hugs*, here they are, sorry they’re late!!
rq
I love that song so much. I also knew someone who named their daughter for it.
–
When I walk into the pre-school and hear all of the kids hollering at each other I could totally imagine them all being little forest children in some cool fantasy epic. With cloaks and stuff.
–
My co-worker’s sons go to school with a set of twins named Jealousy & Precious. Note sure what the parents were going for there. Naming in such a way is sure to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Staburadze
That one sounds Caucasian (like, Georgian, maybe?).
Let’s see, my grandkids: Owen James; Naomi Ellen; Skyler Cadence; and Alexis Michelle, whose name was changed by her adoptive parents to Marta, and I don’t remember the new middle name.
I’m good with most of them, though I do feel bad for Sky-guy, my youngest’s first. And “Cadence”, which she wants pronounced “kae-‘da(n)s”, the French way of saying the word – nasalized vowel and all – which is of course not a name. And is also a word in English, as “‘kay-dnse”, meaning sort of “the rhythm of the thing”.
Also, his birth certificate is screwed up, because my daughter can’t read for shit. So his birth certificate reads “Skyler Cadence LASTNAME LASTNAME”, because she wrote in his full name as “first name” on the certificate, and then noticed the surname goes in another box, but was, alas, too dim to think of crossing it out or asking for another form. I love my daughter, but I’m never quite sure whether she’s really suited to community living. She’s got serious learning disabilities, along with a few other issues, that make her ability to care for herself quite dubious – when in school, she was in that awkward borderland between “too disabled to handle regular school” and “just eloquent enough to stay out of special needs education”, and I think they fell on the wrong side for her (we sent her to an integrated private school with small classes, and nearly bankrupted ourselves doing it). Hence the adopted second, and her first is under the full-time custody of my ex. Sigh.
I love her very much, but I wish she didn’t want so desperately to be a mother that she kept becoming pregnant by jerk-ass shitheads who disappear as soon as the pee-sticks come out. She’s really vulnerable to any guy who’s willing to say “I love you”, and because of her disabilities, is completely incapable of detecting falsehood in others. Like, completely. No exaggeration. This was used to horrifically cruel effect by her schoolmates, all too frequently, in ways I’m sure you can all imagine. Poor kid.
Now she’s decided she’s Muslim (three months ago), and is sporting hijab most of the time (the black-sack-with-hair-cover look). Mostly, I suspect, because she met a friend who was Muslim, and liked the fellowshippy stuff that the friend took her to. Still…if it’ll serve to keep her from getting pregnant constantly, I’m good with the Muslim thing.
I said too much, didn’t I? I know, this was just about names. But my kid makes me really sad some days. :(
I just read about a couple who named their kid Kal-El.
Gosh CatieCat, that sounds really hard. I hope she is happy and stays safe.
@rrq
don’t worry about it. I’m not trying to napalm anything that has ever been connected to a gender. Wanting it to be non-compulsory is not the same as saying “kill it with fire”.
Entire toy aisles where everything is pink, however?
Kill them with fire, for sure.
i ♥ you.
I’ll leave this here, too.
Look what Ally has linked to.
This is painfully funny.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/hetpat/2013/12/18/trollololol-bmj
I am now picturing the whole X-person Wolverine franchise in pink…
nail polish on the ends of those knuckle-sword thingys…
lacy bra…
and, of course, a hair ribbon
and long eye-lashes
yup
sounds good
Off the top of my head In my daughter’s six year old cohort:
Identifying as Girls; Zoe, Zali, Teegan, Schyler (sp?), Lizzie (Elizabeth)
Identifying as Boys: Lochlan, Baily, Samual, Dylan
I’m missing six, these are the ones The Small Fry talks about all the time.
The SF’s name is also non-traditional. We’d narrowed the list down to 10 names for a boy and 10 for a girl by the time she was born. I’m a little ashamed that we never considered making a list of gender neutral names instead of separate lists, but there it is.
In the end the girl’s list had nine traditional names, spelled in the traditional manner, and one that Ms. Fishy had invented by combining the names of a couple of her favorite people. We chose that one because how could we not? This little creature was perfectly unique, to us and to the world. It seemed weird in the moment to name her a well used name. And thus we doomed her to having to spell it for folks for the rest of her life. Ah well, at least it’s phonetic and once spelled it’s not easily mistaken thereafter.
Months later we also discovered that it was in fact a real name. It’s a very old-fashioned Welsh male name, so somehow we backed into what now can be considered a gender neutral name.
Big hugs to CatieCat.
I have a male cousin Skyler, which isn’t as unusual as the one named Raiya (male). I’d divulge other family names, but that would probably tag my family too closely! There’s a mix of downright odd creative names (not too many), straight-from-the-hills style old country names, and classics.
I have a strangely spelled first name, and after I got married acquired a strangely spelled last name to go with it. At least I can weed out telemarketers very quickly and with the honest statement “No one by that name lives here.”
Beatrice (#589)
Ohhh, is that what that one means? Sounds like a super awesome “privilege” from the PoV of the women “in low places.” In addition to being stuck in a shit job, they have to suck up to women who will take advantage of them. Yeah, that’s really unfair to all the dudes in the world.
carlie
Ha! Never thought of that.
I should have though because Ms Fishy kept her last name. I often get calls asking if they can speak to Mrs. {my last name}, or they say “Hello Mr. {her last name}.” at which point I say: “There’s no such person.” and hang up.
Just in case anyone’s curious.
Here in descending order are the top 25 girl names in France for 2013: Emma, Manon, Chloé, Camille, Léa, Louise, Lola, Zoé, Jade, Léna, Clara, Inès, Maëlys, Lilou, Eva, Juliette, Anaïs, Clémence, Alice, Lucie, Romane, Sarah, Margaux, Ambre et Jeanne.
Boys: Louis, Lucas, Hugo, Nathan, Gabriel, Clément, Jules, Raphaël, Léo, Arthur, Tom, Baptiste, Théo, Éthan, Maxime, Maël, Mathis, Enzo, Timéo, Paul, Thomas, Antoine, Axel, Maxence, Sacha.
Maël is the newest on this list, it is also given to girls.
My response to that list of “female privileges” is out of moderation over on Mano’s blog.
Tony [from days ago, regarding my cat curling up in a box]:
It is a No. 10 envelope box my husband brought home from work. It is approximately 12″ long, 9″ wide, and 4″ deep. Chloe curls up quite a bit to fit inside; she’s about 10 lbs.
I had a previous cat who did that a lot. It made me think of a snake tasting the air. Since Miriya was a very security conscious cat, it is entirely possible she was testing air for hidden dangers. She used to make security sweeps of the house on a regular basis, and generally following particular patterns. Having once fallen into a filled bathtub at a young age, Miriya was forever wary of them and was always sure I was in mortal danger if I decided to take one (a very rare occurrence). She would check on me about every 30 seconds to make sure I was all right. :D
I’m basically threadrupt.
Ogvorbis – *hugs, chocolate, and support* I’m so glad you’re commenting again.
cicely, David M, Portia, and rq – *pouncehugs with chocolate*
I’ll also leave a pile of *pouncehugs* here for anyone who wants one, and another pile of *gentle hugs* for anyone who wants one but finds a pouncehug a bit overwhelming.
I’ve missed reading you guys, but the holiday season and two weeks of migraines have definitely put me behind on everything.
I’m horrible at names in general.
But see common russian ones here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Slavic_naming_customs#Given_first_name. >90% people I know that are from Russia or similar have first names on that list. Not me tho.
The sad part is that I can’t think of anything better to replace male-coded given name. and people calling me by that *bugs* me.
A Noyd: @619:
I loved your point by point takedown at Mano’s!
Hekuni Cat:
It is so adorable that your kitty would check on you when you took baths ☺
I wonder what Megyn Kelly would do if she found out she’s basically Michael Scott, the boss character from The Office. Only even less subtle.
~*~*~*~*~*~
@Tony (#623)
Thank you!
Yeah, there’s two women in this workgroup.
One is tall, blonde, skinny and wears glasses and some 23 years old and the other one is me, small, fat, dark-haired, without glasses and 34. No need to remember or indivisual names, guys, so that you send your mail to the right person, right?
‘morning
I still feel like shit but I’ll get my ass to college.
+++
Names again:
Germany has RULES. And they are weird, because they were written in the 19th century and then got added to as the world changed which makes them a complete fucked-up patchwork. But names HAVE to be unequivocally male or female. Unless you’re from somehwere that doesn’t have any clear markers. Or they have any clear markers but of course nobody knows them here. And it’s all within the power of the clerk who registers your child and then there are individual bastards who make you jump through hoops.
Mr.’s cousin is called Marion. Now, this could be either male or female, but it never got used as a male name in Germany. Instead boys would be called Mario. But when Mr.’s uncle arrived at the office to register her, the clerk told him that Marion was ambigous and they needed a second name. So he headed back to the hospital. They agreed on Maria after his dead mother. Back through town to the office. Well, no, since catholic men can have Maria as a second name Marion Maria still didn’t make the cut. So he needed to go back to his wife again
rq
Emil is popular here, too, but not stigmatized. It has a lot to do with social class. Since those who name their boy “Emil” after Lindgren’s character are usually middle-class people who enjoyed an upbringing with books, that rubs off. The little one’s name is the German version of Lindgren’s female mischief-maker. Maedeken in the original, it was “translated” as “Madita” into German. I say “translated” because you can hardly translate a made up name. And never was a child more aptly named.
Tony
I see, we will never fight about a guy. Your “hot lumberjack” leaves me pretty cold. He looks like he’s got not clue where to turn on the chainsaw which is good because he’s half-nekkid and therefore unfit to wield one. It’s like the pictures of almost naked women wearing a hardhat and holding a hammer. They make no sense to me. I want nakedness in a context where it makes sense.
Wow…
Not that I’m hinting anything.
Also, I took a “career development” class this semester and half of it was basically apologia for this. >.>
Just catching up. Looks at quarantined cookies. Well if no-one else is going to have them…..
rq I’m very impressed with the choir! You sound excellent. I like the quirky rhythms too. I think it takes great skill to write a piece with them that is still good to listen to. Here’s my orchestra playing a piece with similar time signature changes. On the first page of my music there are no two bars with the same time signature.
As to children’s names: Ruby, Imogen and Charlotte seem popular for girls. Traditional names like Edward and Henry are coming back for boys.
This is for Beatrice. :)
Some more names I thought of while I was out:
Laila, Lalita, Madara (really love this one, it shortens nicely to Made), Indra, Aija;
Agnis, Gundars (means fire-maker!!), Jēkabs.
A.Noyd
*thumbs up*
That was a very good read!
Hekuni Cat
Hmm, I kind of missed your *pouncehug*, so this time – you get a *pouncehug* in return!! And best wishes for the migraine not returning for a good long while.
bassmike
Nicely done! I enjoyed your orchestra very much – hadn’t heard that piece before, and I liked it!
Here, I’m going to show off some more: at 1.34.00, my choir gets on stage and we do some music. The first song is more of a classic (story about a princess in a sunken castle and how one day it will rise up again – very traditional, standard sort of tale), second one you’ve heard already, and the third one is about midsummer – I like it because it takes a regular 4/4 rhythm and does things to it to make it non-standard and interesting, midway shifting to a 3/4 rhythm but returning to the original melody in a different time. Was a lot of fun to sing, too – I do wish they’d shown more of our conductor, since he has this great style with economy of motion but absolute clarity of intent. And the camera kept missing me, so you can’t see me at all in the close-ups. ;)
Azkyroth @627
Is that about the Lounge? No, I see it isn’t… But dayum, it comes close!
And perhaps this confidence is more Giliell‘s style… ;)
thunk – is your last name one that could be used as a nickname, possibly with the addition of a jaunty “y” at the end? Or do you have a middle name that can be modified?
Azkyroth – there was recently a tldr episode about something very much like that comic in terms of feel. Show description:
Crip Dyke
[a note]
While true, the reason why I thought so is kind of the opposite – runs the reverse course, if you will.
See, when I was little, I was (a) raised in a gendered language environment (Latvian); (b) forced to learn a non-gendered language by osmosis once I started school (English); and (c) taught a second gendered language while in school (French). Guess which language felt more comfortable and logical to my brain? So I always wondered why Wolverine had a girl’s name – it’s the ending, see, a very French-like feminine ending, because at that age grammar rules have no exceptions. And the regular form of ‘wolf’ looks like that (-f ending), and feminising similar words (bear with me here, I was under 10) in the French gives -ve endings, so, obviously, QED and all that, Wolverine is a girls’ name… Why would they give a boy superhero such a girly name???
Then later I found out that wolverines aren’t actually related to wolves (even more awesomely vicious creatures instead), and that whole thing where the English language is confusing in its gender indications (that is, it doesn’t really have any). But it all made sense at the time. And I’m still sometimes sidelined by certain names or things in other languages, where my previous language patterns assign a particular gender, when the opposite is meant, and all this in spite of a rational and conscious part of my brain trying to interrupt and say that gendering people and things really isn’t all that important. :)
And I ♥ you too. [/a note]
rq:
Very nice! My Latvian is
pretty badnon-existent. I assume that it was a choir competition of sorts.rq
Well, if he could put on a shirt, please?
+++
Would you believe it, the guy who fucked up his emails actually apologizes
We went with Mackenzie for Daughter’s name. I think it is pretty gender neutral, but it seems like it is mainly considered a girls name now, at least around these parts.
Some of the cooler names around here:
Identifies as female: Mariyam, Caelyn, Ava, Kennedy, Brooklyn
Identifies as male: Therin, Garret, Johl, Colier, Slater
There are, of course, a ton of
Michaels, Davids, Adams, Johns, and Justin’s
Heathers, Autumns, Jennifers, Megans, and Madisons
That is refreshing.
Giliell
Yay for the apology!
bassmike
Yah, a competition of sorts – it’s the annual amateur/non-professional choir review/ranking, with extra oomph due to the hemidecadal (that’s a word, right?) Song Festival (just this past summer). We got third, nationally – which is actually fourth, since they have Grand Prix, then first, second, third, etc. … Weird if you ask me.
Giliell @626:
Oh, don’t worry, we could still fight over a guy ☺. That was me trying to find a shirtless lumberjack–*any* shirtless lumberjack. I didn’t find him attractive either.
Re: names
Marion is a nice name for either a boy or girl. It is really stupid that parents cannot name their children as they choose.
Tony
One day we need to find an appropriate one to do so ;)
Actually, that was when my stupid heteronormative brain finally realized that there was something “odd” with my new best friends: He and I were arguing about whether Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt is more attractive in Interview with a Vampire (Tom Cruise? Really? But he generally fancies smaller guys, so I guess it might be that) and she rolled her eyes on us. The rest of the heteronormative world went on to speculate for years about our apparent threesome…
+++
Yes, the apology was refreshing.
It’s as easy as that. No hard feelings anywhere.
Frankly, I don’t find either one of them particularly appealing.
Ride the Unicorn!! (Cute idea!)
Doctor Who meets Sherlock (fanwork – I am… ambiguous about it, but it was rather nicely done).
The odd thing? Took me a while to actually figure it out.
rq
third/fourth sounds very good to me. The standard is very high.
Brad Pitt was definitely very hot – in Thelma and Louise, until he turns out to be (do I need to say spoilers for a twenty-year-old popular movie?) a bad guy. But that shirtless rhinestone cowboy…ahem…thing he had going on in that…ooh…pic was definitely…ahem…noticable.
Please excuse me.
I’ll be in my bunk.
Tony @641:
Good luck with that. Lumberjacks wear heavy long-sleeved shirts for a reason. The fellers on fires, in addition to the fire gear, also wear heavy leather chaps and goggles. Running a chain saw produces lots of high-speed small pieces of wood. Many of which are sharp.
Now, off duty, they may go shirtless. Possibly wearing just the chaps, but not on the job.
========
Hi, all.
OMIPU! That gets printed out and stuck on Teh Project Board™! (Behind Sleipnir, of course)
Oh the possibilities… Unicorns, dragons, cephalopods (ooohh tricky), oh…DINOSAURS!!!!
*must not slip into creative fugue state… too much to do today*
CaitieCat
I had not yet seen Thelma and Louise, and now I will never watch it!! *stomps off to the corner with blankie*
:) (Actually, I’m sure I’ll watch it eventually, no matter the spoilers I hear in the meantime.)
mostly threadrupt… yay apologies, yay Ogvorbis and Ye Olde Blacksmith, yays to thunk and CD and everyone who keeps it fuzzy by being all human up in here.
carlie and Azkyroth: an xkcd commenter linked to this (sad) little story:
Link to comment with the full story
First of original Twitter series
Follow-up
Storify… twitter moves fast nowadays.
OGVORBIS!!!! YAY!
*tacklehugs*
*Spoctopus is pleased*
*waves at Pteryxx* 8-)
When a Republican politician angers Tea Partiers what can he do to get back in the good graces of the rabid right wing? Go after those freeloading school children!
Rep. Jack Kingston, currently running for the U.S. Senate in his home state of Georgia, was in deep trouble when he said he was in favor of amending or fixing the Affordable Care Act rather than repealing it. He got out of this trouble by attacking the school lunch program for poor children.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/kingstons-race-the-bottom
What comes next? After you have gone after the lazy freeloading children, how much lower can you go to placate the rabid right wing?
Pterryx:
Why ‘yay’? What did I do? Or what do you think I did?
I dunno, it’s a sweet gesture, but I still find it creepy when men substitute their daughters in for their wives… :/
As for respect for others, well, if you mean “shitless of my dad”, then yes, this works for me. (TW violence against children) I just don’t see how spanking has anything to do with teaching respect. That’s certainly not how my children are learning respect, and so far, they’re catching on…
Ogvorbis: you came back. ♥
Pteryxx:
First, sorry I murdered your name.
Second, not too sure how long I will last. Not in a good place right now. So I am pretending to be human.
Ogvorbis
Depends on the job ;)
Good to see you, I hope you get in a better place soon
Ogvorbis, it’s good to see you – I hope you are OK, and please stay around. This place is the better for having you here.
Og: likewise re the place and the hopes. If you want or need the space, go on and take a break on purpose even – you’re not obligated to stress out just to keep a presence here. We care that you’re okay, not merely that you’re making yourself available to us.
Oh, and don’t worry about my nym – I rather like seeing the different and characteristic ways folks misspell it, not to mention mispronouncing it. (FossilFishy used to spell it differently almost every time. ) ~;>
QFT
You may notice a sudden surge in approved comments appearing — akismet is acting up, and marking a whole lot of people as spam. Now cleared.
For your amusement, Eric Youngstrom is also raging in the spam queue and trying multiple pseudonyms to get through, so you might watch out in case he finally sneaks through. He’s very, very upset that he can’t comment here. It’s his right, I guess.
NEW THREAD.