Jambalaya fettuccini, Kirin, Sabrina, LOTR, and birthdays

I got out on time to meet Chrystal at London Drugs, but I just missed both the 401 and 407! We talked about her having Chinese food tomorrow, Boston Pizza, salad, jambalaya fettuccini, paying for ourselves, Emily, Mike, barbecues, the park, Chinese Eric, baby Ayler, her seeing Nathan / Daniel / Michelle / Maddie at Kirin, Phil's farewell on Sunday, Facebook, LOTR not being a ripoff of HARRY POTTER, her parents going back to Hong Kong for a month in September, Harmony / Holly / Myles / Brittney, her seeing Sabrina at the Skytrain station twice this week, Cindy and her birthday, birthdays in general, Pastor Bob, Grandma, and other life stuff. It was good, even if I wanted to go home almost immediately afterwards!

Ice Wine Chocolates! / You should have babies after getting married...

Visited Grandma briefly (she was watching old English movies), and went to the People's Drug Mart across the street from Dogwood to get a new pencil case (since my old one got really wet) and those ice wine chocolates that I'd seen last week: one for me, one for Chinese Eric, and one for Harmony. I'm sure Harmony will like them, haha! FAVORITE HOS, indeed! Unfortunately, the Canucks pencil case I got was too small for my stuff, so I went to London Drugs instead. (the Oakridge Zellers didn't have what I was looking for) Good thing that their purses and such were on sale, as I managed to get one which wasn't ridiculously huge for a "wallet"! When I got home, I put the chocolates in the fridge - thank goodness I didn't have to worry about them melting like I would have last week in the heat! Eve May added me to Facebook, too - WHEE! Then again, Daniel Lawlor unfriended me... oh well?


Grandma, on life stages after I reminded her that my brother has an infant son (she seems not to remember meeting him EVER): "Of course your brother has a baby! He got married, so he should have one by now!" HAHAHAHA!

Dwarves are my friend / "Hi, COME IN"

Eric just called, and I just got up - must leave. BLAH!


In Aliahan, you can rest at your house for free. Your mother says that your friends can come in and rest, too... but they're already inside! HAHAHA!




Once you're at the Navel of the Earth near Lancel, the faces on the wall in the basement shout messages at you like "Turn back!" No! I want to get the Blue Orb!




After you expose the "King" of Samanao as a fake (and restore the real king to his throne), the castle guards are a LOT nicer to you! You don't have to go in through the service entrance at the side anymore! "Hi, you guys! Come in! Come in!"




You get the Staff of Change from the Boss Troll (fake king), and you can use it at the Elven Village near Noaniels. The shopkeeper won't sell to you if you're in human form, but she will if you're a dwarf. (or all wearing Animal Suits won from Vampire Cats / Catulas) This girl says: "The dwarf is my friend."

Ryan support / Itself / Noaniels Wake-Up Powder

Ryan sent me a supportive trusting FB message, which is awesome! Talked to Talia on AIM briefly about TQC and road markings.


After sprinkling Wake-Up Powder on the sleeping village of Noaniels in DRAGON WARRIOR III (to get rid of a curse from the elf queen), this woman asks if you heard her snoring while she was asleep. If you say yes, she says it's embarrassing!




This is what happens when you parry (defend yourself) in a fight: "[character name] protects ITSELF." I know the game wasn't programmed to recognize male / female gender choices in random encounters, but it's still funny or WTF-worthy!

Navigating darkness, dentist, Spanish rice on sale

This morning, I woke up at 10, and was surprised that I still had power because of the scheduled electricity outage. But since I was still sleepy, I went back to bed. Later when I did get up and get ready, I found it was almost 1:30 after checking the time on my phone - RUNNING LATE AS USUAL TO MY OAKRIDGE DENTIST APPOINTMENT! Good thing that my apartment isn't too far away from the side entrance, but navigating in the darkness was still challenging! I was only ten minutes late despite just missing a bus and a Canada Line train, though. Caught up with Sean during the appointment: we discussed his seeing Nathan and his dad in his building elevator, Nathan being thinner or changing since he's been in the UK, Vernon, Lucas having a kid now, Steph's Vegas wedding, Dorcas and her Uganda missions work, Jon and Harmony, baby Ayler, 50-hour labors (he's glad he's a guy!), Sarah, Hannah, and more. Set up my next appointment for January 15 while I was there, too. Afterwards, I decided to go to the library. Turns out that my library card number was invalid, so I had to re-register my barcode into the system!

Got Country Mushroom rice, Butter and Herb rice, Chicken and Broccoli rice, Harvest Rice, Spanish Rice, Mexican Rice, Butter and Herb noodles, Teriyaki Rice, Cheddar and Broccoli rice, and Singapore Curry Noodle on-sale Sidekicks at Safeway for only a dollar each! I could have bought more, but was conscious of my money situation... also bought on-sale toothbrushes, toothpaste, replacement margarine - as a substitute for vegetable oil, too - and replacement on-sale St. Ives Aloe / Chamomile lotion. Had a bit of trouble at the self-checkout, but everything was less than thirty dollars! Went to the Apple store later, so I could check stuff there in the afternoon. I just hope the margarine won't be ruined by it being out for a few hours till I get home!

Hockey hangouts are EXCELLENT plans! / Grammar Correction Cat

Chinese Eric said hi on MSN at about 9:40, which was the first thing in a bit to make me grin! Gotta love good friends! Turns out the "moving" thing was actually "helping out family friends, and family-related stuff" - PHEW! Of course I updated him on things around here! Talked about my parents' cruise / lost luggage, funny CRACKED articles, the Duncan Keith hit on Daniel Sedin (concussion / resulting suspension of only five games), my upcoming crazy weekend, Harmony's pregnancy, Nathan getting back, hanging out next weekend before the playoffs start (OF COURSE!), HOARDERS, and more. Always good to talk to him, at least. *grin*

He says the Vancouver game against Calgary on CBC next Saturday should be good, and he'll call to confirm on Friday or Saturday. SOUNDS LIKE AN EXCELLENT PLAN! Discussed EXTREME COUPONING ("raid those homes in case of war or recession, hahaha!"), MY STRANGE ADDICTION ("I'm happy we're on the NORMAL side!"), and other weird TV shows... he makes me laugh, and I like that! I'm not surprised that he saw an episode of EXTREME COUPONING where one woman had 54 family-size detergent bottles in her collection! At around midnight, we agreed that it had been nice talking to each other, and that it was also late. He bid me goodnight as per our usual "moon emoticon" thing, which I'd missed. YAY FOR GOOD FRIENDS!


Siobhan found this excellent picture, which is SO me:

Macarons, Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Café, and SUGAR!

Got some cash from the bank before meeting up with Steph, Lisa, and Harmony for Macaron Day at Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Café. Turns out I didn't need it because they all refused my attempts to pay them back, but I'll use some of it to pay Eric back what I owe him! Denise snooped, and helpfully gave me directions from the Sears to Burrard; YAY FOR GOOD FRIENDS! They kinda helped, but I still got lost from Blenz downtown... good thing Lisa saw me in the half-dark on their way! Thierry was PACKED, but we managed to get a table after waiting a few minutes. We had four different macarons (lime / hazelnut / pistachio / chocolate), a fruit tart, chocolate pastries, water, and a lemon cake slice.

Discussed Winners, Mom's dog idea, the Sunday family dinner, pregnancy and the "baby gymnastics," Jon's personality as a kid, Harmony's childhood persona, what the baby MIGHT be like (hyper?), Daniel and Michelle's baby Maddie, how you can't call your own child "ugly," Lisa's sister-in-law Nicole, Gabe and Vivian, looking at open houses just because, contracts, Whistler, strata rules on Christmas lights and decorations (Feb. 5 is PLENTY OF TIME!), lychee, strawberries, kiwi, and taking one for the team as far as sweets went. Also talked about Purdy's hedgehogs (Lisa's never had them?! - then I'll buy her one in view of her diet since there's a store in Richmond Centre), diets, weddings, Dad not taking the heat in Singapore very well, the vinegar and egg concoction (NOT "afterbirth" protein source since there are better ones these days!), the lards' travel, the respite centre, our afternoons, and more. Got a train home JUST IN TIME, but really needed to pee by the time I got into Richmond - this had inevitable consequences like laundry and a quick shower (I didn't even need those on the ultrasound day!) and a TMI phone call to my sister!

Quintuplets Info, as of 2/29/12

Thank goodness for the Internet Wayback Machine! All info taken from Facts About Multiples.


Total Sets
I have recorded 795 sets of quintuplets in the world as of February 2012.

Earliest Quint Births
999 C.E. - Unidentified - A reference was found in the Annales Ottenburani SA 999, in MGH Scriptores V: 4 or 5.

First US Set
1875 - Kanouse (Wisconsin, February 13 1875). The five boys all died shortly after birth. There have been other sets born earlier, but none with solid information on them.

First Set To Survive
1934 - Annette Lillianna Marie, Yvonne Edouilda Marie (d June 23 2001), Cécile Marie Emilda, Marie Rein Alma (d 1970), and Émilie Marie Jeanne (d August 6 1954) Dionne (Ontario, Canada, May 28 1934). They were wards of the province and became a tourist attraction, housed in a hospital with a viewing area.

Identical Quintuplets
7 sets (possibly 8)

1786 - Waddington (likely in England, April 25 1786). Three were stillborn and 2 died shortly after birth. The bodies were preserved, and were tested & found to be identical.
1849 - unidentified (last name begins with W) (England, 1849) 5 boys, none survived. Reportedly one placenta from one egg; reported in London Lancet
1934 - Dionne (Canada, May 28 1934) Annette, Yvonne (d June 23 2001), Cécile, Marie (d 1970), and Émilie (d August 6 1954). The first set of identical quintuplets to survive.
1936 - unidentified (North Carolina, November 1936) 3 stillborn, 2 lived 30 mins. One was acephalic (had no head). There was 1 chorion, 1 placenta. The mother was 20.
1959 - Hannan (Texas, October 20 1959) Deborah (d), Janet (d), Karen (d), Melissa (d at one day), Suzanne Kay (d). They were the first set to be identified in utero by x-rays.
2004 - Quiroga/Aguilar (Mexico, August 24 2004) Lariza, Nessy, Diana, Tania, and Sonia. An article here states they are identical.
2007 - Molino (Philippines, November 7 2007) none survived, Clarisse, Claire, Kimberly, Joy, Mary Joy.

Possibly identical:

2008 - Szymkiewicz (Poland, April 2008) 5 girls, Olivia, Maja, Julia, Natalia, Karolina

The unidentified cases before 1934 were established by geneticist Dr. Norma Ford Walker (1893 - 1968).

Identical Quintuplets (All currently surviving)
1 set (possibly 2)

2004 - Quiroga/Aguilar (Mexico, August 24 2004) Lariza, Nessy, Diana, Tania, and Sonia. An article here states they are identical.

Possible:
2008 - Szymkiewisz (Poland, April 2008) 5 girls, Olivia

First US Quints To Survive
1963 - James Andrew (Jimmy), Mary Magdalene (Maggie), Mary Margaret (Margie), Mary Anne, and Mary Catherine Fischer (South Dakota, September 14 1963). 2 are identical.

Most Premature (All surviving)
24 weeks - Kameron, Izak, Chase, Halee, and Alexa Stone (Georgia, August 5 1999).
24 weeks, 3 days - Katina, Stephanie, Brooklyn, Shawn, and Darin Derks (Wisconsin, May 5 2003).
24 weeks, 3 days - Ilah, Paige, Ellie, Gia, and Enzo Spicocchi (Ohio, August 3, 2010)

Lightest Quint Birth Weight (Total, all surviving)
5 lbs 15.6 ozs - Stone (Georgia, August 5 1999) Kameron 1 lb 3 ozs, Izak 1 lb 3 ozs, Chase 1 lb 6 ozs, Halee 1 lb 4 ozs, Alexa 15.6 ozs.
6 lbs 6.5 ozs - Derks (Wisconsin, May 5 2003) Katina 1 lb 3 ozs, Stephanie 1 lb 3.5 ozs, Brooklyn 1 lb 5 ozs, Shawn 1 lb 3 ozs, Darin 1 lb 8 ozs.
7 lbs 15 ozs - Cassidy (Ireland, August 16 2001) Rory, Conor, Cian, Amy 1 lb 5 ozs, Dearbhail (g) (highest was 1 lb 11 ozs)

Lightest Quint Birth Weight (Single Quint Baby, surviving)
15 ozs - Nicholas Finer (Iowa, January 21 2000).
15 ozs - Giana Renteria (California, January 9 2005)
15.6 ozs - Alexis Stone (Georgia, August 5 1999).

One of the Torres girls weighed 13 ozs; I do not know if she survived.

Longest Gestation
34 weeks, 3 days - Joshua, Zachary, Dillon, Dalton, and Madison Wilson (from Pennsylvania, born in Arizona, July 23 2003).
34 weeks - The Hernandez/Torres (Mexico, December 30 1993) 5 boys.
33.5 weeks - Aguilar/Montiel (Mexico, August 24 2004)

Heaviest Quint Birth Weight (Total, All surviving)
21 lbs 7.2 ozs - Kassidy (5 lbs 1.2 ozs), Kaydence (3 lbs 6 ozs), Kyndall (4 lbs 2 ozs), Rustin (4 lbs 15 ozs), Ryder (3 lbs 15 ozs) Wilkinson (from Texas, born in Arizona, July 31 2007).
21 lbs 1.2 ozs - Joshua (5 lbs 1.6 ozs), Zachary (3 lbs 9.4 ozs), Dillon (4 lbs 7 ozs), Dalton (4 lbs 3.2 ozs), Madison (3 lbs 12 ozs) Wilson (Arizona, Jul 23 2003).
20 lbs 14 ozs - Abigail, Kathryn, Emiline, Samuel, and Nathaniel Bova (California, March 1 2001).

Heaviest Quint Birth Weight (Single Baby)
5 lbs 1.6 ozs - Joshua Wilson (born in Arizona, July 23 2003).
4 lbs 12 ozs - David Phillips (born in Texas, October 2008).
4 lbs 9 ozs - One of the Bova quints, (California, March 1 2001).

Oldest Living Set (All 5 survive)
61 years old - Diligenti (Argentina, July 15 1943) Maria Esther, Maria Fernanda, Maria Christina, Carlos Alberto, Franco (spontaneous)

First Quints From Fertility Drugs
1965 - Samuel Christian Clayton, Deborah Ann, Lisa Gay, Shirlene Jan, and Selina Joy Lawson (New Zealand, July 27 1965).

World's First IVF Quints
World - Alan, Brett, Connor, Douglas, and Edward Jacobssen (England, April 26 1985).
USA - Alexandria, Danielle, Erica, Veronica, and Raymond L'Esperance (Michigan, January 11 1988).
Canada - Maxine, Remington, Willie, Lance, and Wade Collier (Ontario, Canada, February 6 1988).
Mexico - Andrea, Alondra, Adela, Arturo, and Pascual Cuevas/Burciaga Mexico, March 15 1998).
Venezuela - Samuel, Fabricio (d), Jose-Alejandro, Jesus, and Jose-Francisco Cestari (Venezuela, November 21 1998).
China - Unidentified (April 2000).

All Male Quints (History)
45 sets - I have only found 45 recorded sets, only 16 (possibly 20) living.

All Male Quints (All 5 Living)
16 sets (possibly 20)

1914 - Salemi (Italy, May 13 1914) All survived after 1 week
1982 - Glasel (Israel, December 1982) Ziv, Ron, Shay, Dor, and Oz.
1983 - Ribero/Gil (Spain, August 14 1983) Agustin, Luis, Juan, Francisco, and Fermin.
1983 - Dormieu (France, December 19 1983) Benjamin, Pierre, Antoine, Clement, and Sylvain.
1985 - Jacobssen (England, April 26 1985) Alan, Brett, Connor, Douglas, and Edward.
1987 - Ascher (Germany, September 24 1987) Benjamin, Dominick, Daniel, Fabian, Felix
1992 - Guerra/Faciline (Argentina, June 28 1992)
1996 - Guttensohn (Alabama, August 8 1996) Mason Fielder, Eric Tanner, Hunter Christian, Parker Allen, and Taylor James.
1996 - Dourthe/Orrego (Chile, October 1996) Joaquín, Vicente, Francisco, Ignacio, and Sebastián. Two are identical.
1999 - Wells (Texas, December 14 1999) Jantzen, Briley, Zachary, Landen, and Jaden.
2004 - Kupe (Albania, March 19 2004) all survived their birth
2004 - Peltz (Minnesota, April 24 2004) Austin, Blake, Clayton, Daniel, and Ethan. Two of the boys are identical.
2005 - Moreno/Gonzalez (Arizona, April 26 2005) Enrique, Gabriel, Victor, Javier, and Jorge. Some may be identical.
2007 - Smith/Harris (South Carolina, July 27 2007) Matthew, Johnathan, Laten, Nicolas, Cody. Spontaneous.
2009 - Kumari (India, April 12 2009)
2009 - Conklin (Pennsylvania, 2009) Ian, Sawyer, Wesley, Micah, Travis

The other possible living sets are:

1957 - Unidentified (Turkey, July 1 1957)
1980 - Neuhoff (South Africa, February 29 1980)
1993 - Hernandez/Torres (Mexico, December 30 1993)
1999 - Unidentified (Saudi Arabia, 1999) doubt that all survived, as they said a set born in 2001 was the first to survive in Saudi Arabia.

In addition, there is also a set of 5 surviving male sextuplets, the Alexandros set, who live in California.

All Female Quints (History)
33 sets - There have only been 33 proven sets of all female quintuplets.

All Female Quints (All 5 Living)
5 sets (possibly 7)

1969 - Hanson (England, November 13 1969) Julie, Jacqueline, Joanne, Sarah, and Nicola.
2004 - Reyes/Quistian (Mexico, March 25 2004) Alba, Ananke, Regina, Dominique, Monserrat
2004 - Quiroga/Aguilar (Mexico, August 24 2004) Lariza, Nessy, Diana, Tania, Sonia (spontaneous, all identical)
2007 - Artamkin (from Russia, born in UK) Elizaveta, Alexandra, Nadezhda, Tatiana, Varvara
2008 - Szymkiewicz (Poland, April 5) Olivia, Maja, Julia, Natalia, Karolina (spontaneous, may be all identical)

The other sets that may have all 5 living are:

1979 - Torres (Colombia, October 1979)
1999 - Unidentified (Italy, July 1999) Sara, Beatrice, Benedetta, Arianna, and Martine.

First Set of African-American Quints To Survive
1983 - Joshua, Rhealyn, Brandon, Ashlee, and Renee Gaither born in Indiana August 3 1983.

Quints Without Fertility Methods (Spontaneous/natural conception)
111 sets - Almost all occurred before the 1960s. Since 1965, when the first set was born from fertility methods, only 23 sets have been conceived spontaneously in the world.

Youngest Mother of Quints
19 years old - Mother of Andre-Luiz, Manuel-Antonio, Daniel, Isaac, Levi De Oliviera Pereira (Brazil, October 30 2003) 4 surviving.
20 years old - Mother of Charla, Chanda, Christa, Chelsa, Casey Davis (Texas, July 18 1975).
20 years old - Unidentified (North Carolina, 1936) 5 boys.

Youngest Father of Quints
18 years old - Father of Tiques/Torres (Colombia, October 3 1979) 5 girls, 4 survive

Most Sets
2 - Unidentified (Malawi, Africa) She had 1 set of twins, 1 set of triplets, 2 sets of quints, and 1 set of sextuplets by 1961. 7 out of 10 children from seven pregnancies were alive in 1961.
2 - Kelly (Pennsylvania) triplets, quintuplets (1826), quintuplets (1826), twins (1827).

Sets With Identicals
27 sets total - Ranging from just 2 babies identical (17 sets), all identical (6 or 7 sets), 3 identical and 2 identical (1 set), 3 identical and 2 fraternal (1 set), 2 sets of identical twins (2 sets).

Delayed Quint Birth (All surviving)
17 days - Bailey, Shelby, Avery, William, Lucas Wainscott (Kentucky, November 16 and December 2 2001). All survive.

Surrogate Quints
2 sets - The Dysarz/Meehan set was conceived as quints, with 4 surviving. The Moreno/Gonzalez set were born April 26 2005.

Hospital Delivering the Most Quints
11 sets - Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Arizona (as of 2009).

Sets Born Per Year (USA)
Since 1989, there have been an average of 12 sets of quintuplets and higher born in the US each year.
4.68% of all quints will have some identical children.

Pho Lemongrass / 4-3 shootout win

Vanessa got on MSN at 4:40 to say that her mom made spaghetti meat for supper, but since she can't eat it, she was planning to go out for some noodles. I told her that the hockey game was on in about half an hour, so that wouldn't work out! She said something about perhaps doing Granville Island on Friday, and just paying for parking - we'll see how that goes! Later, she said that she couldn't help but patronize Green Lemongrass for Pho. Discussed my black pepper-flavored lobster chips, City Fresh Market, lemon tea, not feeling like doing things, getting up at 5 AM, trips to Tofino and Newfoundland, hockey, and more. I wasn't surprised when the hockey game went to overtime and then a shootout, AT ALL. Alex Edler scored in the shootout (one of the longest ever this season) to save the game... 4-3 against Nashville! Bitz and the Sedins were pretty good, too!

Baby Madeline / 2011 Checkbox Form Survey

Nathan says that his niece was born to Daniel and Michelle today - Madeline Reine is a beautiful name, for sure! Also talked to Vanessa on MSN for a bit, heh.


In 2011, I have...

[X] broken a promise
[] made a new best friend
[] fallen in love
[] fallen out of love
[] been in over two relationships
[X] lied
[X] gone behind my parents' back
[] cried over a broken heart
[X] disappointed someone close
[X] pretended to be happy
[] kissed in the rain
[] kissed on a first date
[] slept under the stars
[] kept your New Year's resolution
[] forgot your New Year's resolution
[] met someone who changed your life
[] met one of your idols
[X] changed your outlook on life
[X] sat home all day doing nothing
[X] pretended to be sick
[] left the country
[] almost died
[X] given up something important to you
[] lost something expensive
[X] learned something new about yourself
[X] tried something you normally wouldn't try, and liked it
[X] made a change in your life
[X] found out who your true friends were
[X] met great people
[X] stayed up till sunrise
[X] pigged out over the summer
[X] met someone from LiveJournal in person
[X] cried over the silliest thing
[] partied more than five times
[] was never home on weekends
[] gotten into a car accident
[X] found a person I never thought I'd become really good friends with
[X] had friends who were drifting away from me
[] had someone close to me die
[] had a high cell phone bill
[] wasted most of my money on food
[] had a fist fight
[] gone to the beach
[] seen a celebrity
[X] gotten sick
[] liked more than five people at the same time (... thank goodness, no!)
[X] had a wasted night
[X] became closer to a lot of people

NHL conference realignment, 6-0, hat tricks, and dentist appointments

Heard about the NHL conference realignment; interesting! Went to the dentist and talked to Sean for a bit, and was glad to be home! Listened to the hockey game later... Luongo and Booth were injured, but DANIEL SEDIN HAD A HAT TRICK, and HANSEN HAD TWO GOALS in a 6-0 win over the Avs! (three goals in 1:53) Schneider (the goalie) even got an assist on Edler's goal, haha. :D

Bad Baby Names, Part 10.1: Mailbag!

Part 10.1: Mailbag!


Eagle-eyed and iron-stomached reader Virginia directed me to what may be the Necronomicon of Bad Baby Names, the pitch-black pit from which all bad names emerge: Unique Baby Names. The page is part of Baby-Names-Etc.com, which appears to be one of the hundred and hundreds of poorly-put-together and apparently abandoned baby name sites on the web. There's no way to tell if it's an offshoot of a commercial site, someone's hobby, or what. Whatever it is, it's pretty cheap..... and EVIL!

I have written to the owners of the site demanding an explanation for the following article, as well as writing to the standing U.N. war crimes tribunal in the Hague, but have not received a reply from either.

UPDATE! Reader Lisa recognized this passage as familiar, and says the baby-names-etc.com people plagarized it in full from New Age Baby Name Book by Sue Browder. I suppose this explains the typos, but it doesn't explain the Conspiracy of Evil clearly afoot: Someone wrote something awful, someone edited it, someone published it, someone distributed it, someone bought it, and someone liked it so much they took the time to plagiarize it. Maybe Browder's lawyers can hash it out.


Here is the page, quoted in its entirety, complete with snotty comments, because I can't resist.




Unique baby names are fun, and unique baby names can be created in several ways. The ways to make a unique baby name is only limited by your imagination.

Wow. Comprehensive discussion as to why to create a name from scratch. "It's fun." Thanks.

• Anagrams: To create an anagram of an existing name, take the tile letters from the game Scrabble and combine them in different ways.
  

"I like Ohnj for a boy and Aejn for a girl."

• 
  
  Telescoping: Drop letters from a word until you find a baby name that is suitable. Kahlil Gibran can be changed to Kabran. Schuyler can become Sky.
  
  

Whoa... Kahlil Gibran isn't unique enough? I really like cars, so I used this technique and have decided to name my first son Autobile. I also like the films of Frederico Fellini, so I may name my first daughter Fedco Felin.

• 
  
  
  
  
  From the father's name: A boy can be named "Junior," but you can be more creative. Donald can become Doni or for a girl, Donie. John can become Jonette, Jonille, Jonalee.
  

... or Itmightbeyourkidlyn. You'remypropertyIownyouette.

• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  From the mother's name: A popular way to name a boy after his mother is to use her maiden name if it was Ward, Grey, Parker, Davis, Ross, Cole, Taylor, Williams - or an equivalent. Or the mother's name can be transformed to a boy's name. Mary can become Martin, Marle, Marwin, Marson, Marren, etc. For a girl, it can be Mari, Marina, etc.
  

I can't put my finger on why, but the first sentence, about "equivalent"(?) last names strikes me as racist. Oh yeah, it's because those are white white snowy white names. So I'm naming my son Kleinman Yamaguchi Chan-Jackson Hernandez Mangosuthu Rajagopal. Smith.

• 
  
  
  
  Combinations: Take the mother's and father's names, and combine to create a new baby name. Mary and John could be Marjon; Daniel and Susan would be Dansan; David and Sally could be Dally, not Salad! Alan and Mary make a very nice girl's name: Alray.
  
  

Marjon: a low-calorie spread. I can't believe it's not Marjon! Dansan - maybe if you're huge Cheers fans. Dally - as a middle name. First name: Dilly. Alray - makers of fine face creams. I had fun with this. I put my own parents' names (Mark & Susan - they're so very proud) in the Name Super Collider! and came up with: Marsan, Masu, Markan, Musan, Mausa, Sark, Sumar, Sarsan, Suma, Surk, Susar, Sum, Susam, Susamar. None of which I'd name my dog. OK, I'd name a cat Mausa. Or Carl. There's just something funny about animals with mundane human names.

• 
  
  
  
  
  Re-Spellings: Take a name like Marianne and make it MariAnne to create a new baby name. Arlene becomes ArLene. Catlin becomes CaitLin. Make Janet J'Net or J'Nette.
  

Oh, for cripe's sake! Is there a single person out there, a single, solitary person who thinks Marianne and MariAnne are different names? Could I get a show of hands? Anyone else thinking of SanDeE* in L.A. Story? Second question: Does anyone think J'Net or J'Nette are pronounced "Janet" ("JA-net") and not "Jeanette" ("gin-ET")? Seeing as how an apostrophe is a lingual blank, and not, as many people think, accents. If I ever parlay this site into a wacky candid camera show, I'm going to sic Monsieur Martin, my incredibly aggressive former French teacher, on people to teach them a thing or two about accent marks. After three hours of him yelling, "C'est circumflex! N'est pas accent grande! Jamais!" the parents will be filing the name change paperwork themselves. And crying. When it comes to unique baby names, anything goes! Names are everywhere, from designer tags to colors, like Azure, Rudby, Burgundy and Gray. Months like April and June are easy names for girls. States provide names like Dakota and Carolina. But be careful when you select a name. Careful like you were when you typed in "Ruby"? Complicated names that are impossible to pronounce will only bring grief from teachers, and teasing from classmates. Names that are difficult to spell will be misspelled throughout the child's entire life, and while it makes them unique, the aggravation can be a This from a site that just suggested Jonille? And here's a dire warning on giving a boy a girl's name and vice versa: It's a setup for disaster in the school yard. Howard O'Brien is now Anne Rice, author of the famous vampire books. She was given a boy's name because her folks wanted a boy! So be kind to your baby. Choose unique baby names with care. So if I give my kid an f'ed up name, they'll become a fabulously popular, though not overwhelmingly talented writer of gothy best-seller-list demi-porn? Susamar Rudby-Aejn Rajagopal it is! First of all, I have to comment on the Oleo name. While it is very similar to the Oreo brand name of sandwich cookies, any good crossword enthusiast will tell you that oleo is another name for margarine. It is analogous to naming your child "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" which, I might add, I found to be a ridiculous thing to name margarine. Two instances from my own experience of over-the-top names. I know a family with three children. The boys are Holland and Scotland and the daughter is Britannia. Britannia at least has precedence and is vaguely similar to Brittany. Scotland could, when he so chooses, go by the more standard Scott. But what of poor Holland? And then do these children grow up and name their children London, Oslo, Edinburgh, and Amsterdam? Another family with three children I know of gave their children names from the Bible. That is certainly not a new practice. However, instead of naming their children Peter and Paul, they gave their children Biblical place names. Their daughters are Canaan (Kay none) and Eden and their son is Jericho. Canaan was the land promised by God to the Israelites, the land flowing with milk and honey. Eden, of course, being the garden Adam and Eve were placed in and thrown out of after eating the forbidden fruit. Jericho is the city (coincidentally in the land of Canaan) conquered by Joshua and the people of Israel by marching around the city seven times and blowing trumpets. The nicknames I have heard them sometimes referred to by grandparents and whomever else are Caycay (KK), Edie, and Coco respectively. (being as these are nicknames, I have no knowledge of their spelling, having only heard them) Excerpts from the battle of Jericho (Joshua, Chapter 6)

"... and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city... And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. ... And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD.

Um, nice. It's also STILL being fought over fiercely, so in some ways naming your kid Jericho is a political statement, like "Kashmir" or "Belfast." Laurie Hickson-Smith, the red-haired hater of ceiling fans on TLC's Trading Spaces, gave birth this year to a son. Gibson Witherspoon. Even if he only carries "Smith" as a last name, this is a child who will be beaten up a lot. Jennifer (the net name spy!) spotted this one: Q: Ma'ire is a unique and beautiful name. How do you pronounce it? Does it have a meaning in another language? A: Thank you, I worked 9 months on that name. LOL. It is pronounced Mary, and it is the Gaelic spelling. (my family ancestry) I figured with a name like my momma gave me, I needed to keep up the tradition! -- Branwyn So the name's not because of your ancestry or anything, so much as the continued appearance of it. Ah. Actually, Branwyn's close, but no cigarillo. Maire (no apostrophe) or Máire (with accent) are Gaelic versions of Mary, as are Molly and Mairi. (Let's also remember that Gaelic spellings and English spellings have been drifting apart for the last 600 years or so, which is why they often have a variety of spellings for foreign words.) You also may be interested to know that Maire is French for "mayor." From Cynthia: I grew up in Hawaii, where parents could get pretty creative with naming children, with some disastrous results: In my high school alone, there were two sisters named Blessing and Gaiety (I know they had another sister, but can't remember the name). Another girl was named Blue Hawaii. In my culture (I won't name it, for fear that people can poke further fun), parents like to meld their names together when naming their child. As you can imagine, there can be a lot of original and unique names: Argyle (Gil and Arceli -- I used to kid him about being named after a sock...) Arleigh (Argyle and Leilani -- conglomeration of his older sister and brother. I saw this name pop up at the USS Arizona memorial. However, I don't think the parents had a clue.) Mariecon (My sister, melding after my mother's two first names... "maricon" in Spanish just happens to be a slang term for homosexual.) JoMar (Joe and Maria) I think I may have shared too many clues to remain anonymous. :-) Well, I found a bunch of Mariecons, mostly Filipino. (a ha! Nice try, Cynthia!) I only mention this because the Philippines was a Spanish colony for over 300 years - apparently, the term 'maricon' (and it is a very rude term) developed sometime after 1898. And this is a really obscure comment, but the name JoMar makes me immediately think of the masterwork of film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964). In this cinematic triumph, most of the Martians' names end with -mar (for Martian! Get it?!): Bomar, Momar, Girmar (played by Pia Zadora!), etc. I've gotten a few emails about the name Latrina, so I thought I'd do some research. Well, it should come to no one's surprise that 'latrina' in Italian means... latrine. According to the Kabalarians, who come up with (cough) meanings for every weird-ass name out there:

"Your first name of Latrina has given you a quick-minded, sensitive nature. It gives you a creative ability in art, music, singing, or fancywork, and an appreciation for refined surroundings."

This appreciation of surroundings must make life extra tough for the first two Latrinas I found, both of whom are in prison and looking for pen-pals, possibly more. (Both are up for parole pretty soon, gents!) Latrina 4458B is in prison in Connecticut for selling drugs, and will get out in 2006. She's looking for a man who is willing to look past her previous mistakes, and likes sports and kids. Latrina F6312 is in jail in Arkansas, and is looking for someone sensual to write to her until her release in 2004. Her interests include "swimming, fishing, camping, and romantic getaways." ... far, far away from this stinking prison. You'll be happy to know both are willing to relocate for the right man. I had the misfortune last year, of doing some work at a private religious schooling facility near where I lived. Amongst the students was a girl called Deztini. Bleach-blonde little girl about 11 years old, spoilt by her folks (her mother seems to have been far too influenced by the Krystyl Dolfin era of kewl grrl namezz!1!1!!), blasted rap music without having a clue what the words were. ... And her freaking name was *Deztini*, of course, pronounced as 'destiny.' The pain, the pain. Surprise, surprise, all searches I did for "Deztini" turned up porn sites, porn stars, and escorts. My cousin had a little girl a few months ago...they called her Perryn. I could handle that... but her big brother's name is....*ack*... Garland. My cousin named his daughter Paisley Miquel. My aunt and uncle were terrified when they had a son after. They were relieved when he and his wife settled on Matthew. Lol! Oh and I knew a girl in Japan who named her daughter Maekenzee Reenae. She liked e's, I guess. I was an elementary school teacher for many years -- here are some of the most memorable names. Alpachino Baines -- he told me his father was a big fan of the actor -- everyone called him Chino. Then there was a boy named Marvelous, and his brother Dominant. And let's not forget brother and sister Prince and Queen. But the one that takes the cake -- a little girl named Tajshma. You guessed it, her last name is Hall! Here are some lessons to be learned. #1. Marvelous Marvin Haggler's first name wasn't Marvelous. #2. Queen Latifah's first name isn't Queen. #3. Prince's real first name wasn't.... damn! It actually was Prince! Son of a ....! My favorite thing in this one (besides Alpachino, about which I honestly don't know where to start - how 'bout it's spelled wrong?) is that in searching the Web for Tajshma or Tashma Hall, all I turned up were sites of people who actually think that is how to spell "Taj Mahal." VFW Hall, Oddfellow's Hall, Tajshma Hall.... it all makes sense. My co-worker's last name is [the same as a popular TV character]. Of course, that name opens up a world of teasing. You think she'd name her sons fairly neutral names to keep the weirdness to a minimum. Alas, no such luck. The boys are Whitbread (family last name), Festus (yet another family name), and Aengus. (they added the e to make the spelling more Celtic) Wee Festus TV-Last-Name really has his hands full if he runs into TV fans of a certain age, or anyone with the TV Land cable channel. As they explain on their Web site regarding Gunsmoke:

As Dodge City's Deputy Marshal, Festus is the pride of the Haggen family, a clan of no-account hillbillies who may have less than 32 teeth among them. Although illiterate and often incoherent, the dog-eared Deputy has earned the respect of Dodge's townspeople as a capable lawman. And he is easily the most colorful resident of this frontier town. Festus is fiercely loyal to Matt Dillon and counts Matt as one of his two best friends - the other is his mule. His meager salary as a deputy forces him to do odd jobs to make ends meet, so when he's not covering Marshal Dillon's back, he's most likely painting a barn or digging a well to earn extra income. Festus is a bachelor, which should come as no surprise given his educational background and lack of personal hygiene. In his spare time, he can be found at the Long Branch Saloon, waiting for someone to buy him a drink.

I absolutely love this website! I woke up my whole family at 2 AM with my hysterical laughter. I have a contribution. I saw this name on the bulletin board at work, and cringed. And then laughed. I haven't the faintest idea how to pronounce this, but somebody named their child Treoganeke. I have a cousin named Carrianne [deleted] in Minnesota. She married a man named [deleted] Baird that is a Canadian citizen. They named their two daughters [First name] Koala Baird and [First name] Panda Baird. This one made me go a little berserk. Not because the first names are bad names. They're very nice (though increasingly trendy) names. Or even that Koala and Panda are much too cuddly to be used as middle names. Or even that they're paired with Baird, to up the cuddly factor 100-fold and make the kids sound like characters in a children's book (with accompanying line of plush toys.) Or the prospect that the girls are going to grow up into dark, petulent teenagers / young adults who smoke cloves, listen to German industrial, and read the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Oh no. It's that koalas aren't bears. They're freaking marsupials. That's how high my bad baby name tolerance has gotten. Update! In the last few days, I have been deluged with emails about how pandas aren't bears, either - they're closer to raccoons. Obviously, this required me to put on my safari hat and do lots of unnecessary research into panda physiology and behavior. Because... um... yeah. After reading a lot of looooong articles, one entirely about panda penises - the things I do for my readers! - it appears (drum roll) they are bears. Sort of. If they are, they're not very good at it. Scientists are still debating what the heck is with the panda, seeing as they look like bears, are built like bears, and are genetically close to bears, but do almost no bear things at all. They eat their veggies, they're really slow, don't hibernate, don't like caves, and have a mini-thumb and a nose like a kitten. Plus, red pandas look exactly like raccoons after a day at the beauty parlor. (I know, I know, red pandas and giant pandas aren't closely related. But I love red pandas, and couldn't leave them out.) What does this mean for the world of bad baby names? I'm not sure. I'm still confused from all the bear dick articles. But you just learned something, and damn it, I'm here to educate as well as entertain. When I was in college (in Santa Cruz), I worked for the food service. I got to see everybody's names, as we had lists. Bear in mind, this was in the '80s, so there weren't quite so many, um, inventive names then. I did see my share of unusual names and interesting combinations. (Jay Walker is a good example) But the winner (I swear this really is true) was the beautiful young woman named Velveeta. And I never had the guts to ask her about the origin of the name when she finally walked into the office to get her ID card recoded. I've regretted it ever since. I've gotten a few emails about Velveetas, but finding them has been nearly impossible. If you are or know a Velveeta, please drop me a line... we're all a little curious. (I promise not to call your name "cheesy.") Many years ago, when I was pregnant and going to a local hospital for the usual blood tests and such, I passed by the nursery with all the infants in their clear glass (plastic) baby buckets. (well, beds, but they look like little rectangular buckets) They had the first and middle name of each child proudly displayed on a tag, and one little girl had the misfortune, apparently, to be named by parents who'd dropped just a few too many hits of acid in their youth. Her name, and I swear before all that is holy, I am NOT making this up: Serenity Ambrosia. Somewhere in the vicinity of Rockford, Illinois, there is a teenaged girl who probably dresses all in black and scowls at everyone, and hates her parents. I have a cousin who named her first child Ansonetta Wynette. Her husband's mother, who was dead, had left a letter asking that her first grandchild be named that, because she thought it was the prettiest name on earth. Oh yeah - punishing a child for the wishes of a dead woman who never met her. At least the first grandchild wasn't a boy! When I was pregnant, I emailed someone that we were considering the name "Ryan" if we had a boy. I typed "Ryna" by mistake, and my friend asked people in her office if they'd ever heard of the name "Ryna." Someone liked it, and named her child that. Good thing I didn't accidentally write "ryno." Ryna's not such a bad name. It's also good for your sinuses: Ryna 12-S There are so many bad, unusual baby names, but how about naming your baby after a dog? I have relatives who named their two sons Buddy and Buster. I know a couple who has the last name Sherlock. They named their daughter Eilish. Forget about saying it ten times fast. Try saying it ONCE! My children's names are Caitlen Mekare and Arica Ashton. I am pregnant, and expecting a boy whose name will be Kai Thomas Orion. (I know, you are cringing here!) Now to my first daughter's middle name - and I warn you now: this is really twisted if you actually know where the name came from. Personally, I just liked the way the name sounded with her first name - strong, but still feminine. However, the novel it came from was Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned. The character Mekare (mah-CARE) is one of the twins who defeats the queen, and at the very end, Mekare kills the queen and eats her, becoming the queen of the damned herself. I know, just plain weird, but it is a pretty name just the same! On a side note, my brother has also read the book, and is set on the name Akasha if he ever has a daughter - Akasha was the first queen .... so we really must be a twisted lot! Please feel free to use excerpts of this to poke fun at - after all, you can see that I do the same on occasion! What a bad mother I am! LOL Well, if you open the door, it'd be rude not to walk in. (On the other hand, inviting me to give you a hard time about your kids' names makes it really, really hard to come up with anything. Curse you and your reverse psychology!) I have one thought, though. DeVille Mekare would be a great character name in some Tales from the Crypt-style low-budget tale of a clichéd horror version of Faust. Bonus points if you can get Pacino to do it.

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Okay, here is one from my husband's family, and one from mine to keep it fair -- both are girls: Sutter Lynn, and Lettice Catherine Oh man... Lettice (if it's pronounced "lettuce," as opposed to "Luh-TEES") is so close to those great urban legend names Lemonjello and Oranjello. She can marry a man named Tomate, and have kids named Onyon and Sesameseid Bunn. Update!: I've gotten a couple emails about Lettice Deveraux, countess of Essex and Leichester, cousin to Queen Elizabeth I, wife #3 of Robert Dudley and all-around neat person... not the kind of person to have a pretentious 21st century baby name! (Not that Lettice, as luh-TEES, is pretentious. I like it! "Lettuce" on the other hand...) But writing to me about Lettice Deveraux, no one mentioned other interesting historical bits like:

• Mrs. Dudley #1 took a header down some stairs, and speculation persists to this day Dudley - who made a habit of repeatedly and publicly proposing to the queen - had "helped." (Whether or not he looked like Joseph Fiennes is also debatable.)
  
• Mrs. Dudley #2 was Douglas Howard. Yes, an Elizabethan woman named Douglas.
  

I work for Head Start and we have a pair of twins this year: Pookie Bair (like bear) and Poopsie Dier (like deer), both girls! A few years ago, we had a set of twins who were named: Hunter and Fischer (Fisher), and their last names was Farmer! Ugh! Yes, but going back to the neolithic era, we see Hunter Farmers are more advanced than Hunter Gatherers. And Pookie and Poopsie. Were there ever two kids who needed Head Start more? I think we should take up a collection for them. A couple I know wanted their sons to have names beginning with "A." After Adam, Anthony, and Andrew were born, the only name they could think of for #4 was Amadeus. That was 8 years ago. This kid is regularly beaten up at school and ridiculed wherever he goes. They couldn't have come up with Alan? Aiden? Alex? Albert? Arnie?? My best friend Andrea, a teacher, was recently trading "most outlandish kids' names" stories with fellow teachers at her new elementary school. Andrea's favorite, "Cassanova" was trumped by someone who said she had a first grader named "PamperMe." What's next, a kid named "W'ipeMyAss"?! Thanks for the huge laugh. I'm very pregnant right now, and we just discovered that we're going to have a boy. My husband now expects me to live up to my promise to name our first boy after his father. (We ducked the bullet twice already with girls) Our baby is going to be named... Elvio. It was a huge relief to find that amidst all the other wackily named kids that our poor little boy won't stand out nearly as much as I feared. -- Erica P.S. Okay, in Italy, it's not an unknown name and my husband's entire family comes from Italy. But for me, it's kind of up there with Jawarhalal, Taybree, Kason... or even "Steve." ;) My maternal grandfather was an OB/GYN in a rural area of Pennsylvania in the 1940s. He would tell stories of delivering babies to mothers who had never been to a doctor or heard the medical terms for body parts. He mentioned one or two women who had to be discouraged from naming their children "Uterus" or "Ovary." Kids named Uterus, Ovary, and especially Placenta are covered on this page from Snopes.com, the universe's best urban legends site. It traces the racist or classist subtext of many stories of women giving their children embarassing medical names: Click here to read the Snopes article

Mormons, religion, burgers, birthday cards, Jordan, SETTLERS OF CATAN

Teunis got home before 8, saying that traffic had been so bad that he'd stopped off at Vera's for a burger as dinner, but he didn't appear to think much of the food there. Pity, since I heard it was good... apparently, there's some at Aberdeen, and I hear they're moving into the States as well. We also discussed a suitable birthday card for Jordan since it's his birthday tomorrow, baths, birthdays in general, butterflies, the color pink, dogs, little Joshua K., Jamie (jaebird), babysitting, laziness, hearing, money, Sees candy NOT being gum (AIYA!), grilled cheese sandwiches, Dylan forgetting his own birthday (as Jordan does - Teunis thinks it's common?!), whether Jordan was religious (but he's Mormon!), Connie and Jenny's birthday being the same day ("you're my birthday present, so you have to do what I say!"), Wendy's sons' birthdays being one day apart (Daniel and Cameron), raspberry jam, it being his last weekend here, no gaming, and more.

Eric got on MSN to ask whether my evening was TOO religious (not unless you count the Mormon discussion!), and then said stuff about it being 15 below Mercury. He also said Teunis was playing OBLIVION: ELDER SCROLLS / CHAMPIONS ONLINE, too. Then he advised me to leave the game pieces at Jeremy's so I wouldn't lose the games - YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN! We also discussed geekiness, looking stupid, whom I'd like to impress, his owning SETTLERS OF CATAN, owning everyone at the game, and more. Trust me, I put in my official RSVP from my Yahoo account stating that I wasn't up to it. (Eric knows better, but I didn't want to put THAT as my real reason) Besides, I've saved some money by not going out on the weekends and such these past few weeks - that's always good!

Cat Torren, Peggy Lee, Jazz Festival, Granville Island, and male escorts!

Eric picked me up a little later for the Jazz Festival than he said he would, but I did start on my Neil Strauss book! I told him about Teunis' fever, and we listened to Team 1040 dissect the first day of NHL free agency: Torres is GONE to Phoenix for $1.75 million?! (Glass also signed a one-year deal with the Jets) Salo and Higgins are back, but I don't know about Marco Sturm... and apparently, Jaromir Jagr is back in the NHL to Philadelphia. We also discussed Cindy, Vicky, walking, Sophie's Cosmic Café, and more on our way to meet Christon and Jeremy at Performance Works... man, Granville Island was CROWDED! Good thing we walked in during a break so we could get seats! They'd been there for a few hours already, so of course your ass gets numb after a while of sitting! (Peggy Lee and Cat Torren were quite good, as was the Mark McLean's Playground - the saxophonist for the last group reminded me of Ryan M. - eyeheartnewlife)

We discussed dinner, weekend festival plans, skewers, rice, beef, CD prices, THE MONSTROSITY OF CHRIST / conversational books / contingencies, chicken, Cindy / Vicky, the hockey news, my "hypocrisy," downtime, not moving much from our seats because we wouldn't be able to get EL PRIMO location again, my Neil Strauss book (Eric thought it was a Bathroom Reader - Jeremy can borrow it when I finish), the guys' Seattle trip next week, and more. I laughed at a few amusing write-ups in the festival guide: "Sounds at times like a freight train screaming down the tracks in the dark. There is beauty in this darkness." and "Melodies slide in and out of abstraction; skewed marches butt up against folk songs; chamber music niceties crumble under the assault of funk and psychedelia." Of course Eric moved to sit next to Cindy once she and Vicky arrived from the restaurant, but that meant I could sit next to Jeremy for once, hahaha. He didn't seem to mind our shoulders touching, heh.

After everything was said and done, we HAD to walk the wrong way back to the Sunfire because Eric wanted to spend more time with Cindy. He may be made of boundless energy, but I am not! Talked about Broadway / Granville, Christian schools, issues, my complaining about walking too much, DANIEL chocolates, Mr. Creep, my sleep schedule, getting together for lunch after July 18, "God opportunities," Richmond, telling people a bit too much, Virginia, expense, STARCRAFT 2, Steam accounts, CHAMPIONS ONLINE, Jasmine, posting, assumptions, and more. When I got home, Teunis was alive! He'd been throwing out some bad food and catching up on things like LJ / quiet time / podcasts. We discussed the History of English on Youtube, changing the light bulb in my room, sourdough, storage tomorrow, his fever breaking at 9-ish, fetish clubs, science fiction, DOCTOR WHO, DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, RPG people, Game Masters / Dungeon Masters, tagging people on Facebook, Cat's fiancé having a weird name (DAXX?!), and more.


Creative hearing of the night:

Me, on overanalysis and family reunions: "I'm sure a bunch of people think like I do!"
Eric: "I don't think anyone should think like you do!"
Me: "... what did you say about male escorts?!"
Eric: "... wow. That's the most creative hearing you've come up with. ... is Teunis your male escort?"
Me: "That's what I thought you said! And no, he isn't!"

Awana BBQ, Jessie, Daniel, being NORMAL, EXPIRED milk, noodles, and crafty hobbies

Sarah emailed us about the Awana BBQ, which I'd definitely need a ride to if Ada's not going. I have no idea, so I'll have to call her later. Also let Jessie know that I wouldn't be there next Sunday, either; she said not to be sorry, and advised me to take care. HA, THAT'S HOW NORMAL PEOPLE DEAL WITH IT! (excuse my childhood conditioning...) Daniel M. (sinsorium) added me to Facebook, too! When Teunis got home, I was quite firm in saying that the milk jug HAD to be gone from the fridge due to my grocery shopping (calling Barry) - it's well expired! He has this vendetta against bottled water, but I do like mine COLD! (he thinks the water made the potatoes go bad...)

Discussed starch, sugar, hot and sour soup with noodles someday, grilled cheese sandwiches, HST phone calls, noodles having sugar (not THAT much), summer's start, pain, driving, shampoo, conditioner, bread, microwave heat not melting storage bins, thirstiness, and more. Also talked about Scandinavian jazz, heavy metal, culture, Norse religious stuff, frozen yogurt, cravings, bodily reactions, unwinding, worrying, Tess, and more. Tried calling Chrystal, but got Emily instead; oh well!

You Should Take Up Journaling

You are very private, but you aren't aloof. You just have a well-developed inner world. You spend a lot of time thinking by yourself. It helps to get your thoughts down on paper. You are an idealistic soul. You have noble ideas about the world. You are a natural writer of all sorts. You are equally suited to writing essays, journals, and fiction.

What Crafty Hobby Should You Take Up?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

A 5-2 loss in Game 6 forces a Game 7 at home - WE CAN DO IT! / GUM IS GOOD

The beet green salad Jeremy made - it's kind of ironic that he had to get it from BOSTON.com, though! We also had borscht, bread, hummus, snacks, and more!

Kevin, Raymond, two of his Bible Study Fellowship friends (Simon and Wilson), Christon, Deb, and Dylan showed up at Jeremy's after I got there... and we got Nathan on Skype, too! (I talked to a bunch of people about the Canucks!) I went to Richmond Centre and Kingsgate Mall beforehand to get Crispers, Smart Food chips, Dove cucumber / green tea shampoo, and Dove conditioner (all on sale) - also returned a shampoo because I accidentally grabbed that instead of conditioner! I was civil to Raymond, and he answered a couple of my general questions, so at least that's good. The game turned out to be a 5-2 loss (but Henrik Sedin had one!), and we agreed that we wouldn't want to be downtown on Wednesday no matter what the result of Game 7 is!

Jeremy heard the police helicopters overhead, and went out on the balcony to report that downtown was pretty quiet after the 4-0 lead and pulling Luongo in favor of Cory Schneider after 3-0. We discussed the bad (shaved) ice and reffing, Mark Messier, the "12 past Luongo" thing, the Bruins fans razzing Luongo, Mason Raymond getting injured twenty seconds into the game and being sent to hospital, Teunis and his bogus percentages, Mike Gillis being REALLY red, CBC playing the same ad twice in a row, spicy Jamaican chips and ginger beer, ordering food for Wednesday, grass jelly drinks, police pouring out alcohol / the 4 PM liquor store closures, timeouts, the fighting, Dylan and Deb giving me a ride home, and more. Got home after discussing New York, baseball, summer, and more with Dylan and Deb, only to find Teunis going out. When he got back, we discussed gum / leaving / the past - yeah, I don't get it. At least Chinese Eric got on MSN to make the evening sweeter, haha. (also learned that Daniel and Michelle are expecting)

Stefan and the old prince / 2010 Top 10 and Trending Baby Names (KELLAN?!)

Kitty had this amusing story to share: "Years ago when my brother, Stefan, was a child, we went to a big liberation celebration with Canadian veterans in old WW2 vehicles, and also the father of the Queen, Prince Bernard. My mom pointed at the old man, and told my brother that that was a prince. My brother looked, and yelled out (loud enough for the elderly prince to hear) that that was not a prince, but that that was a very old man. It made the (now deceased) father of the Queen laugh."


Top Baby Names for 2010

The top baby names list for 2010 was announced this morning on Today by the Social Security Administration, and many of the chart-toppers come as no surprise. However, some names that made the list might have been inspired by unexpected trendsetters, including some of the stars of MTV's reality show Teen Mom.

Surprisingly, the name Joshua didn't make the cut for the first time since 1978.

In addition to the most popular names, the SSA also revealed a list of trending baby names that show the biggest spikes in popularity. Leading the trending girls names: Maci, the moniker of "Teen Mom" star Maci Bookout. Her son's name, Bentley, ranked as number one for the biggest trending name for boys.

Also noteworthy: Knox, one of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins, and Twilight name Kellen appear on the trending list, too.

Top 10 Names for Girls:
1. Isabella
2. Sophia
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Madison
9. Chloe
10. Mia

Top 10 Names for Boys:
1. Jacob
2. Ethan
3. Michael
4. Jayden
5. William
6. Alexander
7. Noah
8. Daniel
9. Aiden
10. Anthony

Top Five Trending Names for Girls:
1. Maci
2. Giuliana
3. Tiana
4. Quinn
5. Adalynn

Top Five Trending Names for Boys:
1. Bentley
2. Kellan
3. Knox
4. Enzo
5. Karter

Shanghai Wonderful - double engagement congratulations!

Nathan picked us up shortly after 5, and we were off to London Drugs so he could take that picture which I kinda think looks like Ciel. Teunis took the opportunity to buy some on-sale Easter chocolate, of course. Jeremy decided to meet us there since he got lost biking - we did see him on his bike earlier, haha. We talked about "Nathan Time," engine oil life, jelly beans, and more on our way to Shanghai Wonderful. Met Steph, Lisa, Harmony, and Jeremy there - I got Nate to call White Eric, and he came late, along with Christon. Eunice and Eddie showed up later; of course, we definitely did a double engagement congratulations!

Discussed engagement stories (lying in bed and asking / at a winery), Daniel and Michelle trying for something, GIANT SIU LONG BAO, Jeremy helping me with stuff, Shally and Jose, surfboard noodles, the drugged feeling, SLB steamer records, Ciel, Uncle Richard not being as loud anymore, Winnie saying no to more clothes from my mom, news, hockey playoffs, Whitecaps games / Montreal Impact, Shanghai Wind, water / salt / MSG, and more. Eddie thanked me for organizing it, and of course we hugged Eunice! We loitered for a bit discussing Saturday plans / Isabel / Randal needing help (he's overwhelmed!), then Eric drove me home while reminding me of tomorrow's meeting. Should be doable! Teunis then thanked me for inviting him out - hey, it's cool. ;)


The straw had a warning about "Hot Juice Inside":




Giant SLB:

Word Facts for Apr. 23-29, 2011

Word origin for the weekend of Apr. 23-24, 2011: religion - The word "religion" probably derives from the Latin word religare, which means "to bind." The sense is that a practitioner such as a monk or nun is bound by an oath of religious office. "Religion" once referred only to the practice of belief in a formal institution such as a monastery, but by the late Middle Ages, it had come to refer to belief generally.

Word origin for Apr. 25, 2011: foamcrete - "Foamcrete" is an ingenious kind of concrete foam used to stop airplanes in an emergency landing. The term first appeared, with the substance itself, in 1996, when it debuted at New York's Kennedy International Airport. The material can stop a runaway Boeing 727 travelling at 60 miles (97 kilometres) per hour in about 133 yards (123 meters). Fortunately, it is seldom used.

Word origin for Apr. 26, 2011: Quonset hut - A prefabricated metal building built en masse during World War II to provide temporary housing and offices for troops in the field, the "Quonset hut" takes its name from the place in Rhode Island where it was first manufactured. It takes its design, however, from a Royal Army engineer whose name is enshrined in the British version of the building, the Nissen hut.

Word origin for Apr. 27, 2011: May you live in interesting times - This supposed pearl of Chinese idiom, a curse that plays on the negative aspect of the word "interesting," is actually a sort of fortune-cookie saying - the fortune cookie being, of course, an American invention. In this case, the saying appears to have originated with a staff member at the British Embassy in Beijing in the late 1930s, though why its writer should have attempted to pass it off as ancient wisdom is anyone's guess.

Word origin for Apr. 28, 2011: Celsius - The world's most commonly used system of temperature measurement, which sets zero as the freezing point of water and 100 as its boiling point, was named for its inventor, Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701-1744). He coined the centigrade system just two years before his early death. The less obvious system that has 32 as the freezing point and 212 as the boiling point was likewise named for its inventor, German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736).

Word origin for Apr. 29, 2011: utmost - Readers familiar with 1960s slang - or fans of Jetsons reruns - will remember the expression "way out," a general term of approval. In just that spirit, speakers of Old English used the word ütmest, or "most out." The superlative sense comes from the bottom-to-top ranking familiar to contemporary theologians, in which heaven was the "utmost" of places relative to the earth.

Kayden, Justin, Isaac, Irina, reaction to coming out

Right when I finished having a late lunch, Teunis got up - we talked about thoughts and my sister for a while. When Henry called me, I was certainly ready to leave! He said that they'd watched the hockey game at Fellowship last night; NICE! When we got to church, I said hi to Golden and Daniel; I gave Chrystal her birthday present a little later. She seemed pretty touched by the chocolates and such, and said I didn't have to - well, a little late for that! Discussed my friend, not kicking people out, making sure I was okay (definitely), our weeks, travel plans, and more. When Melia got there, we talked in hushed tones about my sister and Angus watching hockey. (she was taking a study break - and told Sabrina that she sounded like her brother Edmond) I interacted with the kids Nathan (colors!), Irina, Ian, Harrison (who loves pressing elevator buttons), Rachel, Kayden and Justin (who are cousins and "always share and sit next to each other"), Amos, Isaac (birthdays), and others. (also said hi to Stanley, Rosenda, Mike K., Julie C., and others - UNCLE SAM WAS MODELED ON A REAL PERSON!)

John drove me home, and I saw my first ice cream truck this year; we also saw a car accident between an Accord and an SUV. When I got home, I called my sister; she can't hang out tomorrow because she's taking engagement pictures with Lisa on the Island. I asked her just how Mom and Dad reacted; she'd hung out with the lards yesterday, and waited till Big G had gone to sleep. She said that she had something to tell them, then started crying. Mom thought she had a boyfriend (complete opposite!), was pregnant, had been in a car accident, didn't want to go to church anymore, or other "extreme" scenarios. Then she said that it would be okay, so Steph told them what was REALLY up, and Dad walked out of the room before she'd even finished. She doesn't want to overwhelm them with engagement news (which is what I'd have advised her), so that's fine. Apparently, Mom's normal and has called her already to see how she is - Steph thinks she'll be okay, but WHO KNOWS about Dad. Not like he calls / emails us a lot anyway, but I won't talk to him about her for some time just to be safe. Oh well.